Temperatures have dropped thanks to yesterday's downpour. The smell of rain, fresh air (or as fresh as it gets in a city) and the light breeze have brought with them a premature start to the Autumn weather. Or at least in the eyes of many Catalan commuters, who could be seen this morning wearing jackets and cardigans, hunched over and walking cross-armed towards the metro. Trust me, though, it's not that cold. Highs of 28ºC and lows of 19ºC, expected later on towards the evening, together with a bright sky and renewed ability to walk up Portal del Angel without melting into a puddle of sweat has certainly lifted my spirits.
But the weather isn't the only reason you should make the most of today, neither is the fact that it's a Friday. VAT (or IVA) goes up tomorrow. Although Barcelona taxistas have said their fair will remain the same, it's expected small businesses and families will be hit the hardest.
In an attempt to stave off the worst of the economic crisis, some people are coming up with innovative solutions. Others, on the other hand, know and good idea when they see one and pinch it. The latter is certainly the case in the story of two tight-fisted couch-surfers who are hoping to bring the art of kipping on a stranger's sofa to avoid paying for hotels to a living room near you. The idea is to open up the network of over 4,800,000 couch-surfers world-wide to Barcelona. I'm not sure the two Catalan entrepreneurs who recently opened a youth hostel in the city, which managed to become fully-booked within the first month of business, will too happy to hear the news.
There's plenty to look forward to over the coming days as there are some great events coming up on the Barcelona calendar, and I'm not just talking about La Diada. Former White Stripes member Jack White is performing his new album at Razzmatazz on Sunday and the acclaimed stage act STOMP is making noise at the Teatre Victoria starting on the 5th.
Signing off, for the last time. Have a great weekend.