Here is an accumulated set of recommendations from our experience staying in Barcelona in May 2016.

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It is our last day.   Boo Hoo.   Harry has noted that this is the first vacation in a long time that he hasn’t been ready to go home.    I agree.

The Museu d’Historia de Catalunya is housed in an old brick warehouse building called the Palau de Mar it is alongside the sailboat marina.  The exhibits are on the second and third floor, which are in reality the third and fourth floors since the ground floor is 0 not 1.   The exhibit space is cavernous.   The exhibits are arranged chronologically.  The second floor begins with the Paleolithic Era and ends in 1714.   The third floor exhibits cover the industrial age through the present.

There was so much to see and experience that we needed to take a break half way through.   The elegant restaurant with a spectacular terrace on the fifth (sixth) floor provided the perfect respite.   Our only regret was that we hadn’t discovered this place on Day 1 rather than on Day 21.   We took as long as possible to have our drinks and snack.   

In presenting their collection the museum staff have employed a smorgasbord of techniques.   Video projected on top of photographic images, dioramas, models, video clips, audio clips, there are doors to open, suits of armor to lift, model horses to climb up on, recreations of rooms, and, of course, buttons to push.   

We chose to return to Sensi Bistro one more time for our final tapas dinner.  There were still some items on the menu that we had not yet tried and a, of course, a few that we had to have again.   We took one last stroll around the neighborhood after dinner quietly saying goodbye to our favorite haunts.

So the order of the day was to cross things off the list. First stop was the Temple of Augustus.   In Roman times there was a temple roughly where the Cathedral is today.   It is roughly the highest spot in the Old City.   All that remains of the 120 Foot long Temple are four Corinthian Columns (dating from 1 B.C.) that are now surrounded by other structures.  It is still an imposing site.

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We were in the Cathedral Plaza at noon today to see la Sardana.  La Sardana is the national dance.   It is not a raucous affair.   The dancers are somewhat solemn; as they all perform the same steps the dance symbolizes the equality of the Catalan people.   If you want to join in you place your belongings in the center of the circle along with everyone else’s and join the circle.   The dancers are traditional accompanied by 11 musicians who are collectively called the cobla.   The Plaza was filled with dancers, and spectators.  ​

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When we went to bed last night we expected that we might be awakened by over enthusiastic soccer fans after the big Madrid v.. Madrid match concluded.   Instead we were awakened after 11 pm (23:00) by the sound of a loud speaker on it’s highest setting and a large crowd.    Getting out of bed to investigate we saw a candlelit religious procession winding through the streets below complete with the saint’s statue being carried on a flower-strewn platform.   Hopefully they were on their way to a midnight mass otherwise it is hard to imagine as to why they chose to do this at such a volume at 11pm. It was, however, a sight to behold. ​

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