San Francisco gave a proper shout-out to the inarguably wonderful Catalan people today (full disclosure: your editor's family hails from the area) after signing a sisters-cities pact with Barcelona, Spain. Spearheaded by Sister Cities International, a nonprofit "designed to strengthen partnerships between U.S. communities and those abroad," Mayor Gavin Newsom made it official on Monday. Sister Cities International strives to "build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development."

San Francisco has 18 sisters cities, including Amman, Jordan; Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast); Assisi, Italy; Bangalore, India; Caracas, Venezuela; Cork, Ireland; Haifa, Israel; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Krakow, Poland; Manila, Philippines; Osaka, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; Shanghai, China; Sydney, Australia; Taipei, China Taiwan; Thessaloniki, Greece; and Zürich, Switzerland.