This was my first trip to Barcelona, but I didn’t get to see much of the city. I saw quite a lot of the airport (although not the airline lounge, despite being entitled access I was banned because my codeshare was apparently not eligible). My experiences flying with Iberia confirmed my worst fears: the airlines of Latin countries are generally to be avoided. Tiny seats, surly service, and not even a free glass of water. Not exactly what I expect when I’ve paid nearly EUR600 for a ticket.

I did get to see a lot of Barcelona that was not on the tourist track, however. The taxi driver did not know where the hotel was, so we relied on GPS. And GPS decided to take us on a tour of some of the grottier areas of Barcelona. And right through the middle of the trucker’s strike.

The factory itself was interesting, although I have not had a tour of the production facilities yet. The overwhelming smell when I was there was of fruit flavouring, cloying and sticky-sweet. Apparently this isn’t too bad – when they produce mint products, the smell is unbearable. Remind me to give mint day a miss.

We had some great tapas at a restaurant near the hotel, washed back with a good bottle of Rioja. I was pleasantly surprised after coming from Switzerland – I had to ask the waiter if the wine was priced by the glass or by the bottle, because a bottle of wine in Spain was roughly the same price as a small glass in Switzerland.

It managed to rain for nearly the entire trip. Not quite what I had expected from sunny Spain. Overall, my first trip to Barcelona wasn’t an overwhelming success. Maybe next time will be better.