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 Some general information on Barcelona
Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is located on the coast and bounded by the Collserola ridge and rivers Besós and Llobregat. The city is less than 150 kilometres from the Pyrenees. Barcelona's location on the shores of the Mediterranean means that it enjoys a warm, welcoming climate and pleasant temperatures all year round. Rainfall is occasionally heavy, with levels of around 1,000mm per year. This helps to maintain the many green areas around the city.

In Barcelona, as in the rest of Catalonia, the are two official languages : Catalan, the language of the region, and Spanish, the official language of Spain.
As in most countries, the clocks are an hour ahead of solar time (GMT) in winter, and two hours ahead in summer. The clocks change twice during the year.

In Barcelona mealtimes are usually a little later than in the rest of Europe. Breakfast is between 9am and 11am and is similar to other countries on the continent. Lunch is served in restaurants between 1pm and 3pm and dinner form 9pm until midnight.

Barcelona's location on the shores of the Mediterranean means that it enjoys a warm, welcoming climate and pleasant temperatures all year round. Between the Barceloneta district and The River Besos, the city has over four kilometres of perfectly equipped beaches which are frequented by its residents during most of the years. Barcelona also has an Olympic harbour which provides excellent conditions for water sports
                 
Rainfall is often heavy, with levels of around 1,000mm per year. This helps to maintain the many green areas around the city.
In any season of the year, Barcelona basks in the sun. You can eat in open-air restaurants or have a drink on the terraces, by the shores of the Mediterranean sea.      

National Palace of Montjuic:

This palace, built by the architects Cendoya, Catá and Domènech, was constructed in 1929 in order to house the installations for the International Exhibition of that year in Montjuic, and to display a selection of Spanish art. Along with other buildings from the same exhibition it should have been knocked down when the exhibitión ended, but it was preserved and the Catalonia Art Museum, which hitherto had been in the Arsenal building in the Ciudadela park, was housed there.
 

                   
You can just make out the La Casa Batilo (pictured right) next to the building on the corner which was our first encounter  with an Antoni Gaudi creation. The picture to the left is the promenade which is lovely for an early evening stroll before supper. You can enjoy freshly cooked fish in one of the
seafront restaurants or a traditional Spanish Paella, one of my favourite dishes.

                      
Some more pictures of Barcelona just click for a larger view.

         
                                                                                                                                                                 The Olympic Stadium
                   
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