Perhaps I should provide a bit more context than I did in my last post. Canadian Thanksgiving is in early October. Where I live, late November is known for only one thing – the arrival of winter. But I work for an American company, and I’ve discovered that Thanksgiving week (American Thanksgiving week that is) tends to be quiet. Very quiet. The few months leading up to Thanksgiving, on the other hand, seem to be the busiest time of the year, so about now, I’m ready to relax. Last year we headed to Mexico for a week on the beach. This year we opted for Barcelona. It isn’t quite as slow as a week reading a book in the sun, but it’s close – at least the way we do it. We plan to spend our time just wandering around the city with no particular objective other than to soak up the local ambience. A Thanksgiving get-away isn’t quite a tradition (yet) but it’s well on its way to becoming one.

And before you say anything, I rather enjoy posting these musings while enjoying a glass of wine at the end of the day, or a cup of coffee at the start. This is an important part of relaxing for me.

All of which brings us to today. It was a sunny Sunday, and we went for a walk. Along with many local families enjoying a warm November afternoon.

Blowing bubbles seems to be a big thing in the parks. The children clearly love it.

I have to admit I was pretty fascinated by it myself.

The adults have their own entertainment, with a number of people dancing the swing.

The Arc De Triomf anchors one end of the park. It was busy enough to be interesting, but  not to the point of being crowded. Just about perfect.

Our major activity for the day was a self-guided walk through the Gothic district. It includes remnants of the city wall dating back to Roman times and columns from a temple to Augustus. And of course, the cathedral.

I took many more pictures of the cathedral from the main square, but they all tend to look like run of the mill pictures of yet another impressive cathedral with a bunch of people standing around taking pictures of yet another impressive cathedral. What I find far more interesting are pictures of the ordinary and the unusual – often combined in the same picture. Like the plant growing at the feet of the gargoyle (technically a “grotesque” in this case, I believe), half way up the cathedral wall.

It was a warm sunny day, so we ate lunch outside on an elevated patio overlooking a street in the Gothic district. Interesting architectural details are almost everywhere, like this picture taken from our table.

Or these ornate doors, spotted while traffic waited for a garbage truck to finish collecting.

A very elaborate and ornate bell and weather vane. This was near the cathedral, but it wasn’t clear if it is the main bell. I suspect not.

And finally, two pictures taken at the beginning and the end of the day. First, an interesting architectural detail on an apartment building built in 1892. I like the plastic pink  flamingo on the balcony, second from the left.  Don’t you find yourself wondering what they were thinking…?

And finally this apartment building with colourful detail on the roof.