Brave in Barcelona

We crossed the Spanish border around noon today.  No big deal, of course, since the EEU, but we did notice some Civil Guards standing around.  I've heard that Europeon countries may return to stopping people because of immigration worries.
Once we reached the coast, the vistas were spectacular.  We found a small town , picked up something to eat and took it to the beach.  Funny thing is - it was almost impossible to find something savory.  There are tons of bakeries but they specialize in sweets.  Nor was there any evidence of fast food.  My kingdom for a burger!
Navigating Barcelona's streets was no big deal, thanks to GPS.  We were handily guided right to the front of our hotel.  But, here is where the story gets complicated.  Our consierge (or whatever the equivalent is in Spanish) stepped out from behind his desk and told us to take the car...right, left, right, blah,blah....to get to the parking lot.  We thought we understood and off we drove into the abyss of Barcelonian traffic, without a map or our GPS!  Pretty soon, we knew we were lost and so we parked at the nearest lot and then realized that we had no idea how to get back to our hotel; nor did we remember the address! No one seemed to be able to help us, despite Doug's pleas in Grade 10 Spanish. (They actually speak Catalan here - maybe that was the problem)   In desperation we bought a map and figured out where we were.  Then we found a cab driver who kindly gave us walking directions (rather than"taking us for a ride").  Whew! Mucho stress.
We have just returned from dinner, a busy walk down the Carrera de Ramblas where we found a restaurant.  The streets are teeming with people.  There is a protest in Madrid against the lack of government action on the economic crisis and it has spilled over to Barcelona. The demonstration is in the square just down the road from our rooms. There is also a football match between Barcelona and Manchester United today  to add to the hyper atmosphere.  And it is Saturday night.  Altogether, it is wild out there!