Our first full day in Barcelona coincides with the Sant Jordi (Saint George) Festival. Although it is not a public holiday, his saint’s day (April 23) seems to bring out everyone for the celebration. Tradition dictates a rose for her and a book for him on this day for lovers. La Rambla, our destination this morning, seems to be the epicenter for booksellers and flower vendors drawing thousands upon thousands of visitors. We navigate the throngs until we reach La Boqueria. This amazing market has vendors selling every type of food imaginable with a degree of specialization that is unknown in the US. The slide show below is a small sampling of what can be found.

After a brief snack, Nicolai left by taxi for a video production studio to make an audition tape for a TV series in the US. More on this later, should he get a call back. Meanwhile, Jeanine, Maya, and I walk to the Barcelona Cathedral. Maya opts to watch the street performers gathered in front while Jeanine and I take the full tour.

After completing the tour we gathered up Nicolai and drove to Park Güell, a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of El Carmel and offering panoramic views of the city of Barcelona. It was designed by Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914 and is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Works of Antoni Gaudí”.

For dinner, Nico and I joined the folks from Coca Cola who have sponsored our trip. We met at the Hotel Rey Juan, pictured below, where we met the whole team.