I stayed in the Regencia Colon Hotel in Barcelona in Jan. It is a 3 star hotel, sitting behind the Colon Hotel, 4 star, much more expensive but with a view of the cathedral. The Regencia Colon Hotel was about $134 for 2 people. Here's a bit of info from my still unfinished 8-) travelogue:

>From the Barcelona airport, we took a 18.65 euros taxi ride to the Hotel Regencia Colon which was a very short block from the cathedral. The Hotel Colon sits overlooking the cathedral & was priced three times as much as our 134 euros for our very adequate, twin room. We congratulated ourselves on having such a fine travel agent. (me) 8-) Our room had nice reading lights, was airy, fresh & clean, & a terrace which actually if you stretched out over the wall, Sharon said, we, too, had a view of the cathedral. There was plenty of space in our room & the twin beds had good, firm mattresses. Showers & a clothes change were the 1st order. Thus refreshed we walked to & in the Gothic cathedral which was started in 1298 & completed in 1448. In the near-by, very-old, Gothic district, a narrow, rabbit-warren of streets with small shops & small restaurants, we found a Croussanterie (bakery), & had very typical cheese toast, like a big pizza slice, mushroom for Sharon & bleu cheese for me. The gals behind the counter didn't speak English so I dredged up a tiny bit of Spanish & then I pointed to the food in the display case, I thought it might be broccoli but I told Sharon after the 1st bite that it was moldy cheese. Delicious & fresh! A coke light & a chocolate milk completed our dinner for a total of less than 5 euros for 2 people. The food display cases were just inside the front door, we chose our food, it was then heated & served to us in a small back room. Back to our room, we watched a bit of CNN & CNBC in English. We both read & were asleep by about 7:30pm. We were both awake by midnight, read for an hour or so, then slept til 8:30am!

Tuesday, January 28, we went back to the same Croussanterie for breakfast. Our hotel had a nice buffet breakfast but it was an additional 9 euros each. Our fresh baguette, butter, peach jam, & café con leche was 3.75 euros for a meal for 2. Off to the Barcelona airport for the TAP flight to Faro with a change of planes in Lisbon.

Hope that helps. Hope you have a cheese toast for me!

Carol Bailey Madras, Oregon beautiful, fall day here...crisp air & blue, blue sky, about 65 degrees