Palace of Catalan Music | Palau | Música Catalana | Palace of Music

ENTERTAINMENT "Palau de la Música Catalana, the Palace of Catalan Music: That's where you would go to hear a great concert of either classical music or flamenco guitar. Paco de Lucia was there when we were there. Fantastic flamenco acts come through also. Other- wise, Barcelona is not really a flamenco city in terms of dancing. Nor is it a bullfighting city, which didn't bother me one bit. The Palace of Music, although not designed by Gaudí, has a similar style. It has mosaic tiles and beautiful turn-of-the-century decorations - very colorful. I haven't been in any concert hall like it in America."

SUNDAY

THE CATHEDRAL "You have to visit the main Cathedral. It's huge. It has a lot of beautiful chapels, but what's special about it is its interior courtyard with its trees and little pond with geese and ducks. The Cathedral is a hub of the city. At noon, you'll see the local sardana, the traditional cotillion kind of dance. You'll see people dancing this slow dance in a circle, sometimes wearing traditional dress. There are a lot of older people and children, and it's charming. There is also a flea market in the square in front of the Cathedral. I'm a big antiques junkie. They had some nice little figurines like you'd find in the old churches. They're all made of composition or wood, they are beautifully painted, and some of them are really expressive."

DINNER "Cal Pep doesn't have a sign on the outside, but it's the most incredible seafood restaurant. It's near Santa Maria Del Mar. It doesn't look like anything on the outside, just a doorway. You don't even know it's there. You have to reserve ahead, and then you go inside where they serve you course after course of the most incredible seafood dishes, a million different courses until you can eat no more."    AW