#18 barcelona

And the gong for most liveable city goes to... Barcelona! (if you don't count the lack of jobs, scarcity of accommodation and high cost of living, that is.)
Yes, I loved this city. It goes right up to the top of my "places I would like to live" list. It has some of the best food in the world (Cal Pep - amazing seafood tapas and top ambience; hell, even the streetside felafal rolls were the best I've had in my life), stunning architecture, great bars, cobbled streets, a picturesque waterside area, blue skies, friendly locals and perfect, perfect weather - every day! Yes, it was a balmy 27 degrees all four days we were there, without a drop of rain and only light-jumper weather at night.
Lucky there was a big downside - we paid 75 euros for one of the hostels we stayed at, and we stayed at 3 places in total for the four nights we were in Barcelona as everything was booked out - or else I'd be tempted to unpack my backpack there permanently!
My praise of Barcelona is also tempered by the many stories I heard of tourist muggings and pickpocketing - so with my ultra-expensive camera I was on a constant vigil for thieves. Luckily, everyone thought that Kris was a local - he got stopped for directions from Spanish people (asking him in Spanish) no less than four times. And you know what? He does look Spanish. And I look like his dirty gypsy girlfirend. Yep, we'd fit right in.
Another thing I loved about the city was the overwhelming presence of artist communities and artist (and anarchist)-run squats. We were having a pleasant stroll around Gaudi's Park Güell when we noticed a huge handpainted sign on the balcony of a nearby block of units which said: "Why call it tourist season if you can't kill them?" Ha ha ha... rough lot, these Spaniards.
I also dragged Kris around on several gourmet tours of Barcelona, but he secretly really got into them - as you can see from the picture of him heartily making a very strong jug of sangria. La Boqueria fresh food markets were awesome - especially all the live seafood and exotic cuts of meat. Not so awesome, though, was a bottle of rose wine that we swilled one night just before going to bed. The next day, we both woke to absolutely punishing hangovers that lasted most of the day. Stay away from Cune rioja wine.

Most hilarious thing we've seen on our entire trip:
A tubby, middle-aged man riding his bicycle naked through La Rambla, the most crowded street in Barcelona. Even weirder was the fact that no one else seemed to be perturbed by it, not even the 10-year-old girl standing beside him with her mum. Utterly bizarre.