We’ve recently returned from a flying visit to meet up with family staying in Spain. We had a room in the delightful Can Rosich farmhouse B&B, set in wooded gardens, a couple of miles from the coast, at Santa Susanna. Two days were spent absorbing the architectural delights of Barcelona – following in the footsteps of Antoni Gaudí I Cornet – and the walled city of Girona, with one days birding on the lower slopes of the Pyrenees, in the Núria valley, north of Queralbs. Garden birds included Golden Oriole, Black Redstart, Hawfinch, Cirl Bunting, Western Bonelli’s Warbler and Red-rumped Swallow. Best of the Alpine species: Griffon Vulture, Citril Finch, both Chough and Water Pipit, plus several nice butterflies. Once you get your head round the covid testing requirements, and complete the voluminous paperwork, the actual ‘re-entry’ process into the UK is pretty straightforward. A lot of effort for just a few days but it was nice to get away, explore somewhere new and get reacquainted with Spanish birding… and architecture.