America's that way!

Heads which were too sore for much activity yesterday thankfully improved today and, after the obligatory nod to Columbus on his column, we actually did something we'd decided on at home. This is the first time anywhere that I've taken a trip on an open-top tourist bus. There's a convenient stop in the Port Vell area, so that's where we got on, staying on board for the loop around the Olympic Village at the seafront and getting off at the Barri Gotic for a pleasant wander through the maze of streets around the Cathedral, a stop at a watering hole close to Placa Reial (a favourite haunt of mine on my previous trip), a short visit to Gaudi's Palau Güell, and a rest stop in the Market off the Ramblas before switching to another tourist bus line and making our way to the Gracia area of the city.

We spent quite a while wandering around, eventually settling in an unprepossessing little spot which just happened to serve what turned out to serve some of the best tapas we found on the trip.