We heard nothing but good things about Barcelona. Sometimes such heaping praise brings letdown. But from our hotel in the center of the city, walking the most spacious boulevards of any city I’ve experienced we easily dodged the robust cadre of pickpockets, and perfect November weather allowed us to delve into an endless variety of tapas in the outdoor cafes.

A brisk thirty-minute walk brought me face to face with the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudi’s masterpiece begun in 1882, still not finished. For reference Notre-Dame de Paris took 200 years to finish.

In the distance, sticking up above the skyline like a sore thumb was the twin sister of London’s gherkin.