While we were on our two-week Asia trip, American Airlines announced a double qualifying miles promotion through the end of Jan 2012. These EQMs are how we qualify for frequent flier perks like early boarding, free checked bags, upgrades, etc. So after our return stateside ,Eric started looking around for a trip so we could take advantage of the promotion and found some well-priced and well-timed tickets to Barcelona at the end of January.

We spent a week in Barcelona in June 2008 and it’s been one of our favorite cities ever since. However, we’ve traveled quite a bit since then, so we were a little concerned that it wouldn’t live up to our memories. Thankfully we had just as much fun this time around!

As before, our favorite section was the Barri Gòtic, the Gothic Quarter, where narrow cobblestone streets lead to winding alleys and lots of restaurants and shops.

La Seu Cathedral was across the street from a wine bar we enjoyed so we ducked inside to warm up a bit and check out the interior.

Leandra had good luck clothes shopping in Madrid, so on Saturday we headed up to Passeig de Gracia, the famous shopping street of Barcelona. Once again Leandra found a couple shirts at Shana and a new pair of walking shoes from Camper.  As most of the stores in this area are aimed at women, at least Eric had interesting architecture to admire.

Gaudi’s Casa Mila on Passeig de Gracia

Santa Caterina market