IN SPAIN, Barcelona

I had a very stressful trip to Stansted airport yesterday in the afternoon because a lot of morning flights to Spain were cancelled and I expected the worst. Luckily, everything went well; when I arrived in Barcelona, I understood how much trouble the country had. From Girona airport I took a "minimum bus service" to Barcelona Estacion de Nord (1 hour, 14 euros) where I met my host Miguel Angel. Miguel is a very nice and talkative guy and he lives in a spacious apartment which he calls "small" but for London conditions it's big. He lives right in the centre of the city.
We went for a walk last night and I could see the results of yesterday's general strike. Shops windows were broken or shops burnt and there was rubbish everywhere as the garbage services were on strike too. All other services were called "minimum". It looked exactly like the riots in London last year.
http://elpais.com/especiales/2012/huelga-general/

Today I did some visiting. Barcelona is beautiful but I still prefer Buenos Aires which is more spacious. There are also so many tourists here... The sky is clear blue. I felt so good walking in La Rambla, a 3-lined pedestrian mall, in my summer clothes.
In the picture: Placa de Catalunya