Barcelona? It's just unbelievable
By DON AND DIANNE HONEYCUTT

Disbelief is the key word as you wander the beautiful capital of Catalonia.

Don't know where Catalonia is, eh? Well think Barcelona, the second city of Spain, but the first city of Catalonia. It's the semi-autonomous region in the southeast of Spain with a history and a language to rival the Spanish empire itself.

Disbelief? Well, yes. You'll have a hard time believing the place is so beautiful; the architecture is so amazing; the buildings are so old; the people are so friendly; and the food is so tasty.

That's Barcelona, a pretty unbelievable place. But believe it.

A tour of Barcelona is a dream-like experience. The city is the home of the architect Antonio Gaudi. His vibrant designs and magnificent constructions add gaiety and more beauty to a city already beautiful for its location beside the sparkling Mediterranean and its treasure trove of historical buildings.

Gaudi's architectural works are confections of light and glass and fantasies all bound up in edifices built for living and working in a busy city.

His masterwork, Holy Family Cathedral, or Sangria Familia in Spanish, has been under construction for more than a century and is yet to be finished.

Gaudi is the favorite son of Barcelona and the natives are rightly proud.

In the center of Barcelona is the Gothic Quarter, a warren of medieval streets, squares and sites where visitors can wander for hours in peace and calm, heedless of  the bustle of the city around you.

Barcelona has so much to see and do that the mind races again with disbelief. But it is easy to catch a tour bus to go sightseeing.

There is plenty of shopping, notably around Las Ramblas, the mid-city pedestrian walkway that is the center of activity in Barcelona. The area is full of everything: food, art, entertainment and lots of people.

At the foot of Las Ramblas, just by the city's port, stands a 200 ft. tall statue of Christopher Columbus. It is fitting that he should stand there. It was to the port of Barcelona that he returned on his epic 1492 voyage to the New World.

Columbus didn't know where he was going nor where he had been when he came back from America all that time ago.

Not knowing where you are going would be a good thing in Barcelona. The city is a delight to wander aimlessly, popping into restaurants here and there, people watching, and eventually, perhaps, ending up at the beach.

This is a huge city and the beach area comes as a surprise, like much else in Barcelona. The beaches are clean and accessible and the Mediterranean is turquoise and beautiful.  On warm days -- and few are not warm in this blissful place -- the beaches are awash in beautiful people.

We spent a lovely long weekend in the capital of Catalonia. But we are planning to go back and lose ourselves for a longer time here.

US Airways has seasonal flights to BCN leaving PHL at 6:25 p.m. each day and arriving from BCN  at 10:35 a.m. each day. 

We fly Boeing 767 aircraft, which provide a comfortable ride in coach and a superior ride in Envoy. 

If you ever have the chance to fly Envoy, go for it.  You can afford the extra cost surely, when you consider this: Because of Spain's law airline taxes, the cost for coach is only around $31 round-trip each for a retiree/spouse non-rev.

Spain's currency is the euro, so you should check the exchange rate before you travel.  Those who do not travel to Europe so much should realize that the US dollar is not legal currency there.