Barcelona is a city of the light-handed and the quick-witted and can pose a test for any tourist.
On booking into our hotel we noticed a young Irish girl in the lobby phoning home with plaintive appeals of, "Can you sort it out from there?" It transpired she had been carrying her passport in her back pocket, from which it had mysteriously disappeared. I'll run that past you again - back pocket. To the accomplished thief in Barcelona this would represent taking candy from a baby.
The city is a magnet for tourists and therefore for sneak thieves and pickpockets. The typical tourist arrives with cash, credit card and passport - and most importantly, a relaxed frame of mind, seduced by the city's beauty and the sunshine. A gentle stroll down Las Ramblas would put anyone at their ease.
Luckily, I had been warned. My friend Joe, a Barcelona veteran of two years' standing, said it was a great place but that you needed an eye in the back of your head. My sister-in-law was a victim of thieves twice in three days but my brother claimed it wasn't the money and passports that hurt most, but his etchings, the loss of which, he claimed, ended his hopes of being an artist.
I had also heard other travellers' tales : the two "policemen" who checked an Irishman's papers only to relieve him of €700; the passer-by who pointed out bird-droppings on a tourist's clothes and helpfully cleaned them off, but cleaned out his wallet as well. The "bird-droppings" turned out to have been chocolate spray, applied by an accomplice.
On Las Ramblas there were posters warning, "It's not a game" illustrated by a picture of the pea-and-three-egg-cups trick with a handful of money thrown in. On my last day in the city, having paid my hotel bill and retrieved my passport and credit cards from the hotel safe, I went for one last ramble while my wife shopped.
On the Plaça de Cataluña I was drawn by a small crowd watching the pea and egg-cup trick. The Eastern European gentleman orchestrating events was very fast but my eye was good and from a distance I got it right every time. Then he noticed my presence and beckoned me to have a go at picking up the right egg-cup. I moved forward and as I bent towards the conjurer's table I felt the gentlest of touches from my right and quickly stood back. The accomplices were strategically placed in a square and moving in for the kill.
It was a narrow escape. "You were lucky there, buddy," said a passing American. Just a moment off guard and I had very nearly paid the price.
What of the city's real attractions? The justly celebrated art nouveau architecture of Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) are a feast for the eye in both shape and colour. The extraordinary buildings he designed, as well as the Park Güell, are unmissable. Most extraordinary of all is his still unfinished cathedral, the Sagrada Familia, which has become the best-known symbol of Barcelona.
Work on it began in 1882 and has continued in fits and starts down the years. The estimated completion date is 2030. It really is an amazing sight. In a city where the man himself was sometimes subject to ridicule in his lifetime, it is ironic that his unfinished work now attracts more than two million visitors a year.
The Picasso Museum is well worth a visit, though it can be very crowded. If you want to escape from the city visit the park and castle of Mountjuic. It affords panoramic views and, for the brave-hearted, a cable-car ride over the harbour.
The city is blessed with good restaurants, some reasonably priced, and of course there are always the tapas bars. We found a particularly good one just off Plaça de Cataluña on the Passeig de Gracia.
On and off Las Ramblas can be found Irish pubs but the Irish Cultural Centre established by Steve from Finglas is a real gem. He has created what could only be described as a real Irish rural pub and makes good use of newspapers - not on the floors, but on the walls and ceilings.
If you want to see what a bit of imagination and a limited budget can achieve pay him a visit at 10 Carrer Ros de Olano in Gracia. I'm told by the "experts" that the Guinness is the best in town and he even stocks Tayto crisps.