Good

Barcelona was a really wonderful place to be - one of my favorites so far - an almost perfect mix of the frenetic tourist-trap feel of the big cities, and the self-paced enjoyment of the smaller ones. Las Rambalas had all the people you could handle and more, and that seemed to be the point; but the gorgeous sights by day, and slightly scary and claustrophobic alleys by night were much more manageable. The weather during my stay was nearly perfect, hot but comfortable during the days, cool and refreshing at nights - every night I wound up walking the streets long past all the shops had closed, just enjoying the breeze. The proximity to the sea also meant the entire city had pristine air, a wonderful change from Paris

Although I didn't eat out much for "real food", the city was full of terrific ice cream shops, which I practically lived off. The best was Patagonia Bar, with amazingly good tropical fruit varieties

Bad

By far the most strenuous walking city so far, I almost entirely avoided public transportation, but at the expense of a bum knee, a blister on my foot, and a huge sunburn. Las Ramblas also got a bit too seedy at night - my worst encounter was when one of a group of prostitutes tried to grab my arm after I'd clearly said no. I understand being a 5-foot tall, 180 pound hooker may be a tough gig, but let's try to stay civil

Ugly

The tap water was far too heavily chlorinated, and its temperature bottomed out at lukewarm, leaving a taste like drinking out of someone's backyard pool

Accomodation - Centric Point

Second only to St Christopher's in Paris, Centric Point was the most commericial hostel I've stayed at so far, but it was also fairly enjoyable. The first night there was a rowdy frat-like crowd of Americans and Australians, but after that it settled down a bit and was more friendly. The staff and the reception were consistently cold, but the stay was otherwise pleasant. The breakfast, complete with fresh fruit and a number of varieties of cereal, juice and shrink-wrapped snacks, was the best I've had so far

Places

I'm posting brief notes on this stuff for now... not enough time in the day to write things out fully, and I may be back in Barcelona for a few hours on a train layover to revist a couple Gaudi sites

Las Ramblas

Enjoyable if a bit stressful walk through the crowded streets lined with a variety of shops, restaurants, street vendors and artists - everything from shell games to ice cream to prostitues. I left valuables in the hostel while walking the area, especially at night. More interesting were the dozens of narrow winding alleys running all over the area near Ramblas, which seemed like they ought to be a good place for getting knifed, but in fact had everything from tasty kebab shops to 4-star restaurants. Favorite site were some young people running through an alley pushing two couches they'd stacked on top of each other, lord knows why

Parc Guell

A steep, stair-heavy walk to the top, but offered a great view of the city. I somehow missed the supposedly trippy Gaudi artwork, so I'm planning to get back if possible

Montjuic

You can and should easily spend a day walking up this huge hill on the outskirts of the city. It's lined with assorted museums, parks, beautiful scenery and views of the city, etc. I started at Palau Nacional and from there took the long way up past the area built for the '92 Olympics, skirted through a park, up to the castle, then down for a longer tour in the park and then the steep walk down towards the harbour area. Even skipping the museums that was a 6-7 hour round trip, and utterly exhausting

Estadi Olimpic

Almost deserted when I arrived, I couldn't find much in the way of activities, but it was exciting to walk through the actual Olympic area and it provided a decent pit-stop on the way up Montjuic

Castell de Montjuic

More impressive for the views and landscaping than the castle itself, but well worth the climb to the top of Montjuic for the awesome perspective on the city and harbor. The tourist crowd was pleasantly low

Sagrada Familia

Impressive for the size and the bizarre, unique architectural style - unfortunately I didn't have a chance to go inside, because of a protest on the street nearby, cause unknown