Just returned from a 5 day business trip to Barcelona, Spain.<br><br>Barcelona is a beautiful city with many diversions for the tourist. Web sites will give more information than I can possibly include in a trip report. For that reason, just a handful of comments.<br><br>1. Transportation: The airport is international in every sense with outstanding service. I came through the Atlanta gateway on Delta, which runs a daily 767 nonstop. The airplane was full but not unpleasant. In Barcelona, it's probably advisable to take a taxi to your hotel, use the Metro (subway) for most everything else. The latter is inexpensive, relatively clean and goes everywhere.<br><br>2. I stayed at the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I. It is a high-end hotel where prices were neverthless quite reasonable. The architectural design is modern and minimalist, but the facilites were superb. If exercise is important to you, the fitness center at this hotel is the best I have seen at any hotel, anywhere in the world. <br><br>3. The most interesting museum I visited was the Fundacion Miro. This is dedicated to the work of Joan Miro, but also has a few interesting pieces by his artist friends, including Alexander Calder. The docents are superb and one comes away with a great appreciation for Miro's life and thought.<br><br>4. Costs probably vary by season as they do in most of Europe--this was 'shoulder season'--too cold for much beach--so prices at the hotel and for food seemed quite low by European standards.<br><br>5. The work of the architect Gaudi is plentiful and a joy to tour for those who appreciate modernist design.<br><br>6. Barcelona works on Spanish time, meaning that the evening starts at 10 pm, and people are going until 3 am and beyond. It takes a night or two to get used to this. <br><br>Overall, I had a great time and would/will go back for a pleasure trip.
