I had a terrible sleep last night, Jess slept in with the big fella, and I shared the teeny tiny bedroom with Syd. And jumped in with Johnny twice, when I couldn't sleep there. And then moved back to Syd's room, after doom scrolling for 1.5hrs, and then magically woke up at 10.30am.

Luckily, K4 had gone out foraging, and came home with pastries and coffee. They make everything better.

Showered and dressed, and out on a Monday morning. Ok, that's a lie, it was afternoon. Monday afternoon. No-one likes an overachiever. Lol.

We headed up La Rambla, in the opposite direction to last night, and fell into the Mercat de la Boqueria. It was crazy and intense!!! So many smells, flavours and delights!!! New things to try! Some things we liked, some we didn't. The kids were very brave.

Dragon fruit juice - sweet, ok, but kind of bland. Needs more, but we finished it, and moved on. Potato tortilla, spicy chicken and actual home made potato crisps. Watermelon (for Syd who has been craving it, but I would rather stick needles in my eyes), and a sandwich. All delicious.

I watched a young fellow buy an oyster, which was HUGE, and 4 Euros. He bought 1 oyster. He looked at it from all sides, smelled it, and just admired it. I had to move on, but I'd have loved to watch him eat it. I bet it tasted good. It was a bit too early for me to eat an oyster, but I would have happily lived the experience through him.

Up we toddled to Primark, which Syd & Jess had been nagging me about since we let them spent 20 mins there in London. 4 floors of chaos. The girls found a few things they liked, and we lined up for 15 mins to pay for it. Hard work, but worth it.

Actually, shopping has had me quite conflicted. I have found some really lovely things, which I would have LOVED to buy. BUT, it's stinking hot and humid (we've been so lucky with the weather, 26-30 degrees), and all of the clothes in the shops are for the upcoming winter. Such beautiful clothes. Very 1990. We were so stylish in 1990. I was a geek then, but I would have been so on trend if I was in 2023!!!

So, I've not bought much, but I have a head start on next season ladies!! Check in if you want some tips. And I'll tell you nothing, and will be looking oh so fabulous!!! Mwah, ha, ha, ha, haaaaaa. Oh, ok, hit me with your fashion questions. I'm an expert now. Just ask me.

Off to find some of Gaudi's buildings. Casa Battlo, Casa Mia (La Pedrera), and then the Sagrada Familia. Alllll so beautiful. Back when I was here in 1997, all of these places didn't cost a dime to get into. If they did, it wasn't much (because I didn't have a lot, actually, I ran out of money in Portugal, and had to bludge my way back to London. But that's a story for another time). But now, they're dead expensive to visit. Between 20-40 Euros, which for a family of 5 gets a bit hefty. The kids can shout us when they're super successful, and we visit next time. On my super yacht.

So we admired them all from the outside, oohing and aahing, with due adulation.

And on we went to have a rest stop, a cava, a piddle, and a walk on to the Sagrada Familia. I loved it when I was there in 1997. It was beautiful, and I watched some older gents play petanque out the front. It was lovely, and serene, and one of my best memories. I went up one of the spires, until got tooo tight for my liking. Then I went down, unwinding in the other direction (which was good to stop my head from spinning), came home and had rose coloured glasses on for the next 26 years.

Then today, we got there, and it was huge. I mean, it must be double the size of what I saw all those years ago. It's fancy and ornate, and crazy immense, and still only half of the predicted size of what I think they have planned. It's a construction site, and there are SOOOOOO many tourists. And the front of the cathedral is now the back, and I can't find the place where those gents played boules.

Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful, but it's kind of show-y off now. Not demure and understated. Anyway, go you, Sagrada Familia. Go forth and prosper. I hope Gaudi is looking down and loving what you're doing. AND I hope I get to see it when it's finished. AND that I don't forget to book tickets before we get there.

Off home we went, after debating either a 45 min walk home, or 14 mins on the train. We picked the train!

A quick (not very quick) trip the the Carrefour, which was excellent! With Syd shouting along the way that she wanted a dick waffle, which she'd seen in a shop on La Rambla, but didn't really know what she was wanting. 15 mins later of singing about it, she got shut down, she wasn't going to have a dick waffle, and that was the end of that. And PLEASE, would you stop saying dick waffle!!!

Back home for some 2 min noodles (gazpacho for me, with some brie on a "roll my eyes back into my head" delicious baguette), and ham rolls for dinner.

The girls & I conned K4 into taking us out for a 9pm sangria & diet cokes, in the very civilised Gothic Barrio - which is in the opposite direction to La Rambla, then we've come home to watch some Ted Lasso.

Bedtime shortly. Wish me luck for a good sleep. I've also invested a sangria, a champers and another sangria into it. <fingers crossed>.

13,000 steps.