One of the wonderful things about being in a place to do consulting work is the freedom to choose what and where. And when an occasion arises to Barcelona, Spain as the “where”, well who wouldn’t? I was fortunate to have almost two days in Barcelona before work and it gave me a chance to look around and shed a bit of jet lag.
The weather was great. Unseasonably warm they said. The city is very walkable and the people are friendly. I need to learn Spanish. It would be the courteous thing to do when visiting. I tried a little bit and the locals were patient and diplomatic. The current economic situation isn’t really apparent as you walk the streets. The region of Catalonia (where Barcelona is situated) is apparently more well off than some other areas of Spain. Overall unemployment is at 25% and the outlook is not rosy right now.
A few pictures of Barcelona.
Barb's True Stories 
How fortunate to get that opportunity. I to have been doing consulting for Brazil and USA but to date the renumeration has not been great and I would pick Barcelona over LA any day.
I agree it is the courteous thing to do to try to pick up the local language and the history. It is all so interesting no matter where we end up.
If only the west could take the courteous route and embrace French when travelling to the French speaking areas of Canada and visa versa. How it would be a more neat place for all.
It is really starting to hot up here in Queensland and throughout many areas of Australia, Soon the place to be will be NZ. Back there beginning of December and embrace the Kiwi’s and the beaches. You might be about due for a few weeks of your winter in NZ??
Heating up in Australia and cooling down in Canada. I hope the consulting becomes more rewarding for you. It’s a different way of generating income for sure. As for spending time in NZ, it’s something we have on our “really want to do” list. Good to hear from you Steve.
Great pictures ( I looked at part 2 already). What a city. So much history. Also, glad to see the bull-fighting arena converted to shopping.
I really enjoy your posts about Turkey. Now there’s a place with history. Is language a barrier there when you travel?