I RECALL A few years back when the eurozone crisis erupted, Spain was among the worst hit economies.
It was lumped with other severely at-risk economies under the unflattering acronym PIIGS, which stood for Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain.
That devastation (brought about by a huge trade deficit, a burst property bubble, etc) provided a fascinating backdrop to my trip (to accompany my wife on an education conference) to Barcelona in the past week.
In the background: the National Art Museum of Catalonia. This is one of the most majestic places in Barcelona, where a fountain show starting at 9 pm (it's still bright at that hour in summer) attracts massive crowds. Photo by Leong Chan Teik
I was keen to visit Spain for the first time, and hoped to gain first-hand insights into how it was recovering its economic footing aided by the Eurogroup's pledge of a financial support package of up to €100 billion.
Turns out that as a tourist, one learns most from reading news reports rather than from cursory observations of daily life in the city.
It doesn't help that one does not have opportunities for deep interaction with locals, who largely do not speak English anyway. 
Inside a train station, he belted out popular Paul Simon songs and passers-by dropped coins into his collection box.
Photo by Leong Chan Teik.The bad news is that Spain's unemployment rate currently is at an eye-popping 27% but you can't tell that from the bustling life in the city.
In fact, in the midst of the crowds of tourists at fascinating spots, you are misguided to think that businesses must be enjoying boom times.
Thus, I'm afraid there are only tourist-related nuggets of experience I can share from my 7 days in Barcelona.
Since this is a finance website, I will confine the sharing to money-related matters.
1. Air ticket: A return ticket for a direct 13-hour flight on Singapore Airlines cost S$2,562.
2. Pick-pockets: Nothing untoward happened to me (and my 13-year-old daughter who travelled with us) although I read that pick pocketing is a pervasive issue in Barcelona.
3. Hotel: Our rate for a double room booked through Agoda was S$189.40 a night. An extra bed cost another S$42. The interesting thing is that outwardly, the hotel (Catalonia Rigoletto) looks more of a backpackers' but the rooms were surprisingly lovely and spacious. It's rated 4-star.
I guess the operator bought a low-cost building and transformed the rooms to a high standard. And location-wise, it was excellent as a MRT station, a large shopping mall and, most importantly, the venue of my wife's conference were within 10 minutes' walk. It ws a bonus that the Barcelona FC stadium too was nearby.
@ La Boqueria market: Fruits galore, and what cheap prices some go for (compared to Singapore). Photo by Leong Chan Teik 4. Food: Forget about S$3 bowls of noodles or plates of chicken rice. You can't find them in Barcelona and meals are 2X-4X as expensive as what we get at home!
One exception: cherries, which cost the equivalent of S$6.50 per kg while they usually go for S$15-20 and as high as S$38 (at Cold Storage) in Singapore. Not surprisingly, I had lots of cherries with a special relish.
5. Train travel: You can buy bulk at a discounted rate. We bought 1 ticket for €10.3 and the same ticket could be used for up to 10 trips. Additionally, the same ticket can be shared -- ie, after I had gotten past the turnstile, my daughter could take the same ticket to gain entry.
The ticket entitles one to any trip irrespective of distance in Barcelona. (It's quite a different system from Singapore's which does not offer bulk discount nor flat fee travel.)
6. GST/Shopping: GST is a hefty 21% on most goods and services but if you buy stuff to take out of the country, you can claim a GST refund by showing the receipts and your purchased items at a Customs counter at the airport and getting a Customs stamp. Restaurant and grocery bills are not included.
I bought a dress and a handbag for my loved ones at Desigual (this brand orginated in Barcelona) and learnt that the prices are at substantial discounts to those at its Singapore outlets.
@ Sagrada Familia (above): Tonnes of cash pouring in from tourist spending but the century-old church is still under construction and that consumes a lot of funds too. Photo by Leong Chan Teik.7. Sagrada Familia (right): This is the No.1 tourist attraction in Barcelona. It is the most acclaimed work of Antoni Gaudi (who, incidentally, is buried inside).
We queued for nearly an hour for tickets. The entry fee ranges from €12.80 to €23.80. I can't imagine the amount of cash that it earns every year from tourists.
Such attractions contributed to Spain's tourism revenue of €59 billion in 2013 which was a record year (Singapore's tourism revenue in 2013: S$23.5 billion).
8. No-go places: The aquarium was on my list but just the night before, I came across too many disappointing reviews on TripAdvisor.com to want to spend €40 for two tickets. I thought we would end up with probably a dissatisfying experience in comparison to the incredible S.E.A. Aquarium in Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.
We went to the zoo but on looking in and around, we decided against paying €19.90 per ticket as we were sure the zoo experience would be a letdown too compared to the Singapore Zoo. Like most Singaporeans, we are veterans when it comes to visiting the Singapore Zoo!
9. SIM card: I bought the lowest-priced pre-paid SIM card from Vodafone for €10 which came with a 600 MB data plan. Good for Whatsapping on the move as well as surfing the Internet, checking emails, and using Google Maps as we explored the city. (In the end, I consumed only 220 MB).
10. Forex: At Changi Airport, I got €1 for S$1.76. Several days later, to top up my wallet, I went to La Caxia bank next to my hotel and changed money at the lousy rate of S$1.8755 for €1.
At Barcelona airport for my flight home, I noted the rate quoted at a money changer was S$2.00. Lesson: Change all the money you need in Singapore!
Well, that's some of my experience. If you have different experiences or views, or even similar experiences, please share them below.
Related story: ISAAC CHIN: My Pleasant Trip To Economically-Depressed Spain
