Hola a todos!
Just got back from a wonderful weekend in BCN and wanted to share a few pieces of information.
Stayed at the Hostal Opera, which was excellent. Price is 58 Euros for a double with bathroom. Place is spotlessly clean, quiet (as I got it, all rooms are facing the backward patios) and safe (front desk staffed 24 hrs a day). Location cannot be beaten, you step out of the door and stumble on the Ramblas immediately (Metro Liceu). They´ve got a TV-lounge with internet access and vending machines for snacks, coffee and water.
Very nice staff, booking via internet without any problems. Website at www.hostalopera.com

A good option for breakfasting is the Cafe Opera on the Ramblas right opposite the Opera. Beautifully decorated cafe catering coffee, pastels and tapas.

A few other places to eat:

Txapela Euskal Taberna on Passeig de Gracia 8-10 (right off the Placa de Catalunya):
Busy after-work-place-to-be filled with locals as well as tourists. As much as 50 varieties of tapas on the menu - some of the best I have eaten so far. Don´t worry about language problems - you simply indicate what you want to eat by pointing it out on the paper napkin at your place.

El Cafeti, Carrer Hospital 99, www.elcafeti.com

Small restaurant in the old town, area might look a little bit dicey at night, but what you find at the end of the passageway right of C/Hospital is a beautifully decorated, somewhat shabby-chic-looking restaurant with solid home-cooked-style catalan food. The three-course menu del dia (water and wine included) is offered at 9 Euros. Off the beaten path, but worth the way, if you are in the area.

Two cafes in the Barri Gotic, both on C/Petrixol:

No 11, La Pallaresa, is nothing special ambiente-wise. Narrow tables, neon lights, but the waiters in white dinner jackets are busily juggling their trays among the crowds of locals who stop for coffee.
The chocolate and churros are better than at the San Gines in Madrid (sorry, folks!) - and that says something! If you order the chocolate with cream, be sure to get a cup of dark, rich, hot chocolate with a veritable mountain of cream on top (calorie-equivalent probably exceeding that of a full meal, but then: who cares? You can always work it off, climbing up the stairs at the Sagráda Familia...).
If you do not get a place to sit there, try the El Xocoa right next door (left hand side). Stepping in there you might think you have died and gone to chocolate heaven. They serve chocolate in any possible varation you can imagine. Hot chocolate to drink and as many as a dozen different chocolate cakes/pastelerias at any given time. The shop next door offers home made truffles and pralines.

Another tapas place: The restaurant right opposite the Palau de la Musica Catalana (Forgot the exact name, something like Taberna Palau): We went there for tapas before the concert and I made the mistake to order some of the tapas on display. Well, not exactly a mistake, because they were gorgeous enough, but had I looked at the menu, I could have choosen among such unusual tapas as chicken with curry and cocos, hummus, and other varieties, which sounded really worth trying. Prices start from 2 Euros.

Ok, I seem to write about nothing but food, but I still want to add, that you should not miss the Mercat de la Boqueria (right off the Ramblas between the Liceu and Placa de Catalunya). It´s food-heaven. Never seen so many varieties of groceries and fresh fish. Right at the entry there is a famous little tapas bar, El Pinotxo, serving coffee from 6 a.m. We went over the market and tried a variety of fruits and nuts and juices. It is also great for shopping little presents for hobby-cooks, like saffron and spices (I especially like these little picturesque metal boxes with pimenton).

OK, apart from the food, the weather in December was a pleasant 16 degrees Celsius with clear skies. A great time for a visit, because the city was not as packed with tourists as in spring or summertime.
Transfer from the airport: the advice for catching the train into town (I think it came from Mongo - muchas gracias!!!) was an excellent option. Fast, cheap and convenient. Trains stop at the Sants station and the Placa de Catalunya, from where it is easy to get around by subway or taxi. Only if you have much or bulky luggage, a taxi or the bus from the airport is a better option.

OK, I hope I haven´t bored too many with all my food talk. I am just so grateful about all the information I get from this forum, that I am happy being able to give some of that back...

Feliz Navidad,

la calma

I, for one, am now starving!!!!

Glad to hear you had such a fabulous trip!

Hola, Puna!
Sorry about this mouthwatering report, but it was just so gorgeous...
One downside: The concert at the Palau de la Musica (Handel´s Messiah) was not as gorgeous as the food.
Choir and orchestra were from Minsk and they were good enough, but the conductor did a very bad job, taking the tempi of the piece slower and slower with every bar...
Anyway, the concert hall is really worthwile to see, because you look at it and ask yourself: Is is romanic? Is it Fin de siecle? Is it Art Deco? Is it crazy?
Mosaic patterns and glass ornaments in every possible colour, life size reliefs of naturalistic motives and in between all that the busts of composers. Amazing place. More like a church, but a very worldly one, than a concert hall.

I really have to go back - definetely for the food - and then I have to make it to the opera...

From Prussia with Love,
and a very Merry Christmas to you,
la calma