I never forget how lucky I am to be able to do this.
Jump on a train and after 45 minutes I can arrive in the middle of Barcelona on Passeig de Gracia.
For those of you who always think of me basking in the sunshine, I just need to tell you – today it rained – all the time.

But I still went to Barcelona for the day

You have to start the day with a little something

Then I went to visit Santa Maria Del Mar.

We are reading a novel about the life and times of a boy who helped with the construction of this church – all the stones had to be carried from the quarries at Montjuic down to the site near the harbour where the cathedral was being built.

‘Una catedral construida pel poble i per al poble en la Barcelona medieval és l’escenari d’una trepidant història d’intriga, violència i passió.’

I am amazing myself by reading it in Catalan- missing some of the nuances but understanding the general drift. I am very slow and not only because of the language – it is not a book that I imagine has a happy ending!

Medieval life was hard.

Today the doors were closed so I walked around the outside.
Drinking fountains opposite the front door.  I expect when the stone carriers arrived they were always thirsty

Something that looked like a baseball net on one wall but I imagine it was an old lamp holder.

And at the back the view up to the old Born market hall.

Next stop was the Santa Llucia Christmas market to search for small figures to decorate the cake. Most of the stalls sell all that you need for creating a Pessebre – the Catalan nativity scene – including the famous caganers.

The tackiest ones have piles of Tiòs ready for December 24th

All day I hunted for these very comfortable house shoes

This shoe shop was very stylish and friendly but didn’t have what I wanted.

In the end I found them back in Granollers!
Where I also caught sight of Santa Claus shopping in the rain.