SPAIN

Location - Western Europe; Capital - Madrid; Population - 46 million; Currency - Euro MORE SPAIN

The Royal Wedding brought holiday madness to the UK so I booked a flight to Barcelona and made my way to my final European micro-nation, Andorra - April 2011.

Spain is part of the Euro-zone

I loved this look. The guy is advertising a club using a very floral motorbike on Las Ramblas - Barcelona

Las Ramblas seems to be busy at all hours, especially on the weekend - Barcelona

A rainy look at Las Ramblas, the main shopping street in Barcelona, from the top of the Christopher Columbus statue

At the bottom of Las Ramblas is the Monument a Colom - Barcelona

In the English speaking world Colom is better known as Italian explorer Christopher Columbus - Barcelona

Cross the road from the Columbus statue to the city's port area - Barcelona

The Homenatge a la Barceloneta stands on Sant Sebastia beach, with the W hotel in the background - Barcelona

The cloister of Barcelona's Gothic Cathedral, a short walk from Las Ramblas, in the Barri Gotic quarter

This was early morning on Good Friday and the streets of the old Gothic Quarter were quiet - Barcelona

A painted shutter in the Gothic Quarter - Barcelona

It was a cold and damp Good Friday in the Barri Gotic, Barcelona

On La Rambla del Raval is the work known as 'gat' (does that need a translation?) - Barcelona

Back on the main Las Ramblas boulevard, an Easter march was taking place on Good Friday - Barcelona

The first thing that came into my mind was 'Glad they're not wearing white', but apparently some were. Luckily nothing to do with the KKK though - Barcelona

Barcelona is famous for the fantastic buildings of Modernist architect Antoni Gaudi. This one is known as La Pedrera.

A couple of minutes away from La Pedrera is Gaudi's Casa Batllo - Barcelona

The skull or jaw-like balconies of Casa Batllo - Barcelona

Casa Batllo is an apartment block which Gaudi refurbished in the early 20th century - Barcelona

Casa Batllo's main window - Barcelona

You'll find most of Gaudi's works involve curves - Barcelona

The weird and wonderful designs of Antoni Gaudi on the Casa Batllo rooftop - Barcelona

Back in the Gothic Quarter is the 19th century Placa Reial - Barcelona

Placa Reial is surrounded by bars and restaurants - Barcelona

Walk through the arches on Placa Reial to check out a few more restaurants - Barcelona

The early evening streets of El Raval, on the west side of Las Ramblas - Barcelona

In El Raval is the London Bar, famous as a spot where Picasso has partaken of a tipple or two - Barcelona

Gaudi's best known creation is the amazing La Sagrada Familia church - Barcelona

Work started in 1884 but, as can be seen by the cranes, it has still to be completed - Barcelona

There's evidence of Gaudi's customery bright colours and curves - Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia also draws on Gaudi's love for nature - Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona

At the time of Gaudi's death in 1926 La Sagrada Familia was less than a quarter complete - Barcelona

The entrance to La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona

Inside La Sagrada Familia, columns stretch upwards and branch out at the top - Barcelona

Looking upwards to the church ceiling - Barcelona

The alleged completion date of the church is 2026 - Barcelona

Four of the intended eighteen spires of La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona

The midway-point between Av Tibidabo metro and Tibidabo itself - Barcelona

Taking the funicular up to Barcelona's highest point, Tibidabo, at 512metres

At the very top of Tibidabo is Jesus himself, perched on the Church of the Sacred Heart - Barcelona

On a clear day the views from Church of the Sacred Heart (Temple del Sagrat Cor) are stunning - Barcelona

And you can even take a 'flight' at Tibidabo's funfair - Barcelona

Beyond the funfair, the city of Barcelona stretches out to the Mediterranean

Just to the left of the statue head are the towers of La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona

Checking out the funfair plane at Tibidabo, Barcelona

I didn't hang around until sunset but I'm sure the night scenery must be amazing - Tibidabo, Barcelona

The red to the right of the tower is part of a rollercoaster ride - Tibidabo, Barcelona

The curved building on the coast rising into the sea is the W Hotel, Barcelona's answer to Dubai's Burj al Arab

Back down in the city, cable cars link Montjuic hill's various sites - Barcelona

18th century Montjuic Castle crowns the highest point of Montjuic - Barcelona

And it's another place for great views, this being a section of the port - Barcelona

You can just make out the Columbus statue rising on the left, with the old port and marina to the right - Barcelona

Boats fill the old port and marina - from Montjuic, Barcelona

This view from Montjuic stretches to Tibidabo, with Collserola Tower to its left - Barcelona

There's some busy bars and restaurants in the Gracia area, particularly along Carrer de Verdi, Torrijos up to Placa de la Virreina (pictured) - Barcelona

The red and yellow stripes of the Catalan flag in a Gracia home - Barcelona

Placa de Sant Josep Oriol, in the Gothic quarter, has a small market and is edged by the Santa Maria del Pi church - Barcelona

Damn I've forgotten these American women's names. You know who you are! After too much Irish beer in the Gothic quarter - Barcelona

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LINKS

www.barcelonaturisme.com

www.spain.info - Spanish tourist board

http://spainguides.com

www.visitaspain.com

I am not responsible for the content of external websites.