Barcelona ... update from the road

Well this is new... actually posting from the road. Right now I´m in our hotel in Barcelona. The room is pretty small and Toby´s still sleeping, so I´m taking advantage of the breakfast buffet and free internet.

So far Barcelona has been magnificent! We touched down to pleasant, balmy weather (plus 15 or so) and palm trees. We found our way through the airport, navigated the aerobus successfully and made our way to our hotel with no problems. That´s always a delight isn´t it? Those are the things that make me the most tense when anticipating a trip. Once I´m at the hotel, I relax.

And what a hotel indeed. I ended up booking us in a more upscale hotel than I normally would because they had a special price and they advertised a 24 hour snack buffet which piqued my interest. The buffet was the first stop once we had checked in. It consists of fresh fruit (pinapple, kiwi, oranges, etc), salad fixings, cereal, toast, snacks (peanuts, olives), desserts, cookies and some warm items as well as coffee, tea, beer, wine, juice and pop. You probably can´t even imagine how much I love this buffet. I say to Toby every time I go: I LOVE this buffet. And he says: Yes, I know, you already told me.

After fortifying ourselves with the buffet we were off to the Sagrada Familia church by Gaudi. We walked and took in some of the Eixample district architecture. The chuch is really breathtaking even though it is not finished. I was really taken with the idea that we got to see a witness the construction process of this big cathedral in the same way the people in the middle ages would have seen many of the gothic cathedrals that we have the benefit of seeing fully completed. Anyway, there will be pictures once we are back home of the beautiful soaring arches and nature inspired architecture. All I kept thinking was: genius. Why didn´t anyone think of this before?

Then we came back for a rest and a nibble at the snack bar before heading out for a walk down the Ramblas to the Christopher Columbus monument and harbor where we sat and took in the sight of the sailboats, sea and lights of the city. Ahhhhhh....

Yesterday we started out early and went for a walking tour of the gothic quarter with an adorable guide named Bernad (not sure how you spell that). It was very well done and we felt like we saw and learned a lot that we wouln´t have otherwise. Then we stopped for a quick sandwich and blew off the planned Picasso museum for walking along the beach. We loafed, walked and people watched the afternoon away in an incredibly enjoyable fashion. Then we snacked on some tapas, sangria and beer before heading back to the Picasso museum. It was very educational as it covered much of his early life and works.

Then we made our way back though the twisting lanes of the gothic quarter to a recommended cafe for churros con chocolate. There was a line at the door and the place was packed with locals. We knew it would be good. And it was. The chocolate was as thick as pudding but luckily not quite as rich as it looked or it would have been impossible to eat the teacup sized portion. We dipped our churros until they were gone and then ate the chocolate until our tummies ached. Ah. Now that´s a really good end to a terrific day.

More to come when we get home!

Adios.