A hotter day as we were heading for a high of 32C, which is a lot on the top deck of a hop on hop off bus. We decided to get another 24 hour ticket and complete the red route, given we’d had to abandon that less than half way on Wednesday in order to get to our tour of the Sagrada Familia. 

Much of the tour is through leafy streets and the red route takes you out to the beaches. 

Our first stop was to take the cable car up to Mount Juic. We didn’t know what we were going to and assumed it took us out over the water as we’d seen a cable car near the ocean liner terminal on the Wednesday. It doesn’t go near the sea but was worth the visit. 

On top of Mount Juic is a fortress that dates back to the 1600s and had had a sad and varied history, as you’d expect for a historic fortress in a country that has seen a lot of conflict.

There’s a good visitor centre with models and explanations but most of the exterior framework of the building is under renovation. It has a squarish courtyard and then extensive terraces beyond the walls and on the upper levels.

There’s a moat (no water but deep enough to enable protection from invaders) which is being converted into lovely gardens. The views over the city, port and coast are spectacular. 

After rejoining the bus we headed to the marina area where we had a late lunch of tapas and sangria.

Both were excellent and that became our second and only meal. The marina area is very like the Viaduct in Auckland. 

We had a long walk along the marina until we came to the first of a long stretch of beaches, separated by rock groynes. The beaches were packed and it was great to have a paddle and a walk. 

We eventually rejoined the bus route several stops later and finished the red route which took us past the Sagrada Familia. It was great to see it from the top of the bus as first we got glimpses and then came up close. 

When we returned to town it was about 8.30 so we headed back o the hotel. Pauline, Mike and I fancied an ice cream as it was still hot and we were thirsty. We found a gelato place on Plaza  Catalunya which made excellent ice creams, shaped like flowers. You could have up to 4 flavours. They were worth the slightly longer diversion and money!