#2702 vacation day 3: Barcelona

I hated my post last night. I felt so sad and angry and anxious - it would have been better if I hadn’t posted at all, but the reality is that not everything about travel is great. I’m better now, so let me tell you what happened (briefly) and then we’ll get to the good stuff.

The flight out of SLC was delayed by about 45 minutes. That in itself isn’t terrible, because we had nearly two hours layover in Paris. We were told repeatedly by the Delta folks that it wouldn’t be a problem, except that when we landed in Paris, the plane was parked at a remote gate and we had to take a bus to the terminal. Charles De Gaul Airport is HUGE. When we got to the terminal, we had less than an hour to get to our connecting flight and absolutely no idea where we were going. We scurried through the airport, found our terminal and rushed toward it only to be slowed down by going through security. I can assure you I received a VERY thorough and lengthy pat-down. By the time we got through security and passport control, we had about 15 minutes to get to our gate, which we did with about five minutes to spare. MT and I gave each other high fives and we wiped our sweaty brows. 

We got on the plane, and then we sat on the fully loaded plane for about an hour. There was something about a passenger in a “complicated” wheelchair that needed a special truck to get the wheelchair on the plane. In the end, that passenger did not get on the plane, and we headed to Barcelona. Unfortunately, the passenger in the wheelchair was not the only entity that didn’t get on the plane. Neither did our luggage. 

The lost luggage department told us our bags were on the next flight from Paris which would be arriving in a couple of hours, and that they would bring the bags to our hotel. There was nothing for us to do but get a taxi to the hotel at that point, so we did. I can tell you that we were both feeling pretty unhappy about the situation, but there was nothing for it and we are in Barcelona and it was a beautiful day, so we went out exploring.

I only got us turned around a little bit, but once I got my bearings, I thought I did pretty well getting us where I wanted to go. The first stop was Plaza Cataluña so I could show MT the approximate spot where Mom met Dad. It was really windy and the fountain was spraying onto the sidewalk, so we didn’t get too close, but I like the photo we took:

Poor MT is squinty, but I’m happy!

The next stop was at the Font de Caneletes. The legend is that if you take a drink from the fountain, you will return to Barcelona. It’s worked every time for me, so I took a drink and told MT to take a sip. 

HOORAY!!

I wanted to take MT to a restaurant that Mom, Lizzie, and I loved when we were here a few years ago called Els 4Gats. I was so excited to find it again! We had canas (beers) and tapas. The place has been the same probably since it opened in 1897. I love it. 

After the meal, we walked around the Gothic Quarter, stopping to admire the Cathedral, Plaza Real, getting some gelato (THE GELATO COUNT HAS BEGUN!) , strolling down Las Ramblas and back to the hotel, passing by Casa Battlo. 

Depression came back when we entered our room and our bags had not arrived. I called the front desk to see if the bags were there and hadn’t been brought up to the room, but no. That’s when I wrote my last post. With no way to charge our devices and feeling tired and cranky - jet lag is a Thing - we decided to go to bed. I was sleeping pretty soundly an hour or so later when the room phone rang. It was the front desk letting me know our bags had been delivered. We were so happy! MT went down to the get the bags, and then we went to sleep.

Today has been wonderful. We got up early, had a bit of breakfast, then walked to La Sagrada Familia. We didn’t buy tickets to get in the church because we didn’t think we would have time, so we just walked around the outside, and not even within the fences. It is still spectacular. There have been many changes to the church since the last time I saw it. MT seemed fascinated and took several pano photos. I even gave pano a try. Here is one of my photos:

We spent about an hour looking at the church, then walked back to the hotel. It was a gorgeous spring day here, so we left our jackets and set out again toward Las Ramblas. We decided to have a beer while we waited for my cousin and her family to arrive. The beers we got were massive, but we were up for the challenge. 

We went across the street to Plaza Real and soon enough, Sonia, Eric, and Nicole arrived. It was so great to see them! We had lunch reservations at a restaurant in the Gothic Quarter called Los Caracoles (Casa Bofarull) that has been in the same place since 1835, run by the Bofarull family. The food was delicious - Marty had caracoles (snails) and paella. I kept it simple with croquetas and canalones. I loved the company the most!

After lunch, we strolled through the Gothic Quarter, visiting various plazas, walking by the Cathedral, and talking, talking, talking. We ended up at Plaza del Pi for drinking and more chatting. It was wonderful. 

Too soon, it was time for Sonia and her family to head back to their home in Santa Cristina. MT and I walked back to the hotel, got our jackets, and walked back to Las Ramblas for a light dinner of tapas. MT has been all about the tapas. After the meal, we came back to the hotel, passing by Casa Battlo yet again. I stopped to take this pano photo. I have never seen it at night, and I was charmed.

 

My photo does NOT do it justice. The place is gorgeous.

In case you are wondering, we walked about 10 miles today. I logged in over 23,000 steps! I don’t think I’ll get that many tomorrow, but I’ll let you know.