last notes on Barcelona

We've moved on now, but a couple of other things came to mind as we're leaving.

Barcelona's hot - really hot. And humid. I spent all day, every day, sodden. Even at night, in our little room with no air-con, we slept above the covers with a floor-fan and still sweated through the night. I didn't sleep well there.

The other thing that struck me is the huge profusion of two-wheeled transport; not just motorbikes and scooters, but bicycles as well. No-one wears helmets despite the teeming and unpredictable traffic that screams through the city at all hours. I saw three teenagers head off on one scooter early one morning, clearly leaving the scene of the previous night's party.

There's a service called 'bicing' - an automated bike-renting service all over town where locals swipe a pre-paid card and grab a bike from the rack. People without cards can pay with credit card and you see these odd little red and white bikes everywhere. During the day the racks are nearly empty, so many people use the service.