Barcelona, itself a vibrant commercial city in Catalonia, achieves touristic fame largely from the works of Antoni Gaudi and other moderistic architects.

Here are some photos of Parc Guell, a park designed by Gaudi.

Madrid, the capital of Spain, is the least attractive tourist city among the five I visited. The top attractions are the museums (I went to two of the top three: the Prado (photo 1) and Reina Sofia (photo 2) but not Thyssen Bornemisza), the rather austere Palacio Real, and the Plaza Mayor.

The day trips to Toledo, Avila or Segovia should be great, although I decided to stay in the city during my second stopover there, primarily because of the miserable rain and wind (the weather during my first stopover there was glorious). I went to an Irish pub to watch the Arsenal vs Manchester United Premiership game - an interesting experience.

The Atocha rail station, near which the bomb exploded, looks like a rainforest (photos 3 & 4). It was just over a week after the bombing when I made my first stopover in Madrid. Photos 5 & 6 show how Madrid remembered the victims (outside the Atocha station and near Puerta del Sol, the city centre).

I really like the "chocolate con churros" drink. Actually, the chocolate is not for drinking but serves as a dipping sauce for the flour sticks (photo 7).

A brief description of my just-completed trip in Spain:

(1) Duration: 11 nights, from 21 March to 1 April.
(2) Itinerary: Madrid (1) - Seville (2) - Granada (2) - Cordoba (1) - Madrid (2) - Barcelona (3)
(3) Transportation: London (flight) Madrid (train) Seville (train) Granada (bus) Cordoba (train) Madrid (flight) Barcelona (flight) London

Hi, just got back from a month-long trip to Europe (UK, Ireland and Spain). I shall post some of my travel photos over the next week or so. But first, a photo of me at the Arsenal stadium (Highbury).

Just finished the Spain trip this morning. I am now taking a rest in London for a day and a half and shall be flying back to Hong Kong tomorrow evening.

The weather in Barcelona, my last stop in Spain, was largely OK. Rain affected only half a day of my sightseeing programme.