Barcelona

Welcome to the city where everyone's an artist! Here a sidewalk is not just a sidewalk, a door isn't just a door, its all art. Barcelona is in fact little more than one big art gallery; every open space an opportunity to exhibit, build, sculpt, paint. All of which seems to attract every single tourist from all corners of the world - Barcelona's sidewalks are, even more than Rome, we thought, filled with rucksacked, pale-skinned people wandering around with cameras around their necks and city maps in hand.

So these two rather palefaced South Africans have joined in, camera in hand, rucksack packed with extra jersey, water bottle and city map, gawking through shop windows, queueing at museums and munching sandwiches while sitting on benches in city parks. When in Barcelona, do as all Barcelona tourists do!

We're staying in a rooftop flatlet in the old part of Barcelona, in a building that opens up into the classical narrow, no, NARROW alleys that criss-cross ancient cities, and that were designed before the motor car was invented. Our neighbouring buildings include a chocolate shop, a quaint stationery seller, sundry pastry shops and a place that sells tassles. Yes, tassles.

Who'd have thought one can make a living selling tassles...

Tomorrow we're joining the sightseeing circuit, taking in the major sights, which should take us about two days. Then we're off to Figureres, about an hour from Barcelona, to see the Dali House and museum. So we're looking forward to three days of arty overdose!