Barcelona

Barcelona is one of the most popular European travel destinations. It is located in northern Spain, in the Catalonia region near the border with France, on the Mediterranean coast. Modernism, a variant of Art Nouveau, was born in Barcelona in the late 1800s. Gaudí designed many buildings in the Eixample district of Barcelona.

Max, a transplanted Italian, lives in the Sants – Montjuïc district and runs The Urban Suites.com, 20 suites and apartments (vacation rentals) just a ten minute walk from Montjuïc hill. He wrote an article about his neighborhood, telling us some of the things to do and see there.

Slow Europe Article -  Sants – Montjuïc District in Barcelona, Spain

I have not traveled to Spain recently (the last time I was there was in 1972 – probably things have  changed), but it is near the top of my travel list (under “France” and “get my ass back to Italy”). Barcelona would be a great arrival city. Fly into Barcelona, spend a week, enjoy the sea and sunshine, then take the train up into south-west France. Or my dream of driving along the Mediterranean through Spain, France and Italy*. A possible plan for my 2010 trip!

* Inspired by the book “Feeding Frenzy: Across Europe in Search of the Perfect Meal”, Stuart Stevens, The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997 Buy from Amazon.com