The Majestic Hotel, Passeig de Gracia

It's the eve of Kings' Day here, which means it's kind of like Christmas Eve. However, instead of all the wee ones tucked up in bed like my memories of Christmas Eve in Scotland as a child, whole families are out in their thousands and the excitement is quite palpable. We've just walked the length of Gran Via de les Cortes Catalanes, which is lined with stalls on both sides and selling everything under the sun. We stopped for a tapa in a Galician place, squeezed ourselves into the standing room only, as it was absolutely jumping! All these families would have just seen the Kings' parade. The Three Kings arrive at the port in full regalia and then parade through the streets on large carnival-like floats, throwing out sweeties to the crowds. Many barrios also have their own parades. After all the excitement, we're now in our local Frankfurter and it's just like any other night of the year here. Good to experience the atmosphere tonight though and know that we're not going home to present wrapping!

My blip's another emblematic Barcelona building: the Majestic Hotel, Passeig de Gracia, in it's Christmas finery.