08.16.06
Remembering Barcelona and France
Tonight my brother and sister in law have been over to collect my nephew who has been with us for the last 2 weeks and tomorrow it is back to work. Why is it that you spend so much time waiting for that holiday to come and all of a sudden it is gone and over with? Thank goodness then for our ability to remember, to talk about those great things that have happened, to keep memories close to us. Barcelona was all that I could have wanted and more. It was a fantastic city, full of wonderful, if at times bizarre architecture for instance a cathedral still in construction though another steeped in history and an amazing place to walk round and onto the roof of! Yes, I took this photo from the roof of the cathedral!
The open top bus trip around the city allowed us to see so much of the area in one go, and to identify places we would like to return to in the ensuing few days. It also allowed us to visit the home of Catalan football, the Campnou, where Barcelona FC the current European Cup holders (unfortunately) call home. It was the most amazing stadium and we spent a good couple of hours walking around the stadium and museum. Even teen son (an Arsenal fan, the team who are current European cup runners up) was suitably impressed.
Our hotel, the Barcelona Princess, was close to the beach, so on our second full day we took a day off and relaxed on the beach and swam in the Mediterranean, before resuming the sightseeing that night, with a trip by metro into the city centre and dinner and a stroll through the Ramblas. I partook of a particularly potent Cava Sangria which was also extremely pleasant.
Luckily, I had two young men on hand to escort me back to the hotel!
More of this tomorrow!
