I was in Barcelona, in Spain‘s Catalonia region, for the first time since 2006. This time with Oriol who grew up in the city. On the first night, we walked through the El Born and Barri Gótic neighbourhoods.

Barcelona is being overwhelmed by mass tourism, it is said. But none of that was visible on this evening stroll. Maybe the rain and the fact it was a generic Tuesday did or dod not help.

I made an old school photo montage of our walk. We started at the Arc de Triomf, continuing to the Centre Civic Convent Sant Agustí and El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria.

From there Oriol took me to Barcelona Estació de França railway station because I like trains. The tracks are in curve as measure against earthquake damage.

After the station, we visited briefly the Basílica Santa Maria del Mar, the Centre Cívic Pati Llimona with Roman escavations and the General Post Office Correus i Telègrafs.

We stopped at the Plaça de Sant Jaume, where Barcelona City Hall and Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalonia Government Palace) are located.

We walked by Barcelona’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia and the Sant Felip Neri church. The Plaça de Sant Felip Neri was a location for executions during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.

We ended the night eating vegetarian at Teresa Carles.