Do not eat hamburgers which are partly cooked. Not only do they give you a really virulent form of food poisoning, they stop your blog writing for days on end..anyway..

I spent most of Sunday sleeping and trying to recover enough to fulfill our reservation at Spoonik, one of our favourite places for a gastronomic ‘experience’. Our meal began at 21:30, rather later than we are used to. However, as usual it didn’t dissapoint and we were seated with a lovely couple from Manhattan and two delightful couples from Barcelona. We didn’t leave Spoonik until well past 1am, by which time I was almost falling asleep over the petit fours….not quite, as they were delicious but I was completely shattered.

Monday was much improved, both in weather and health. We’d been advised to visit the Hopital Sant Pau, an oustanding modernist hospital begun in 1902 and completed in 1930. It’s since been superceded by a more modern hospital close by and the old site is open to visitors. It’s simply wonderful. A truly hidden gem. You shouldn’t visit Barcelona without seeing this….have I pushed it enough? I’ll let some images fill in for inadequate prose…

On Tuesday, we had arranged to meet Reuben at his shop, where we needed to finalise a purchase. We also met up with Madeline, his wife and Candela, their beautiful daughter who is just over 1 year old. We also had a chance to meet and chat with Jean Briac one of the outstanding artists whose work Reuben displays in his shop : It reminds me of something.. These are two of his works…

After business was concluded, Reuben closed the shop and off we all went to lunch!! A couple of hours later, after a stroll round the area we said goodbye and went off to Casa Battlo, where we were to meet Christina for our personal chocolate tour. We tasted different grades and types of chocolate in Sampaka, visited Takashi Ochiai, where we sampled some delicious sake, yuzu and cava flavoured truffles, finishing at Bubo, where we were treated to a lovely chocolate gateau and a glass of cava. We enjoyed our tour with Christina thoroughly, it’s a great addition to your Barcelona experience…..