The trip to Spain was just amazing. There are just too many great stories and memories to share. I'm going to try to break it down into chunks....not only for your sake but for mine. Maybe the trip will last a little longer this way. In short, it was one of the best trips I've ever had the pleasure of taking, Spain is beautiful and the people are very friendly, hospitable and helpful (except for that one bus driver in Gava del Mar), and they are very tolerant of people who butcher their language.
Our first day in Barcelona was a marathon, we arrived at 2pm and walked around like zombies for a while, took a bit of a siesta and then walked around like zombies, well into the night, to get ourselves onto Spanish time. Spanish time is a lot different than Sugar Land time. In Sugar Land we eat lunch at noon, dinner at 7ish, TJ falls asleep around 8:30 or 9 and we are both in bed by 11ish. Spanish time means lunch at 1 or 2 followed by siesta and then tapas at 7 or 8 and dinner around 10pm. I really don't know what happens after midnight, outside of our apartment, because it was all we could do to keep everyone mobile long enough to finish dinner and meander our way back to our apartment. It seemed like it took all week for us to figure out lunch, tapas and dinner times. One thing is for sure, you can always drink...any time!
We decided to take a bike tour on our second day in Barcelona. I love bike tours! They are a great way to see the highlights of a city without wearing out your feet. Usually the bike tour has a knowledgeable guide and a few other interesting people along for the ride. Ours was no different.
We had originally planned to go on the 11 a.m. bike tour on Sunday (our first complete day in Spain) but none of us woke up until after 10! Great way to jump right into Spain time! We were forced to go on the 4 pm bike tour. Best decision we didn't have to make. Turns out the 4 p.m. bike tour is more laid back and easy going AND we got to stop for tapas and drinks at the end! Bonus!
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| Here we are in front of Sagrada Familia |
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| Sagrada Familia, Barcelona Yes, Gaudi was a genius! |
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| the ceiling alone was worth the price of admission in the Palau de la Musica Catalan! |
So in the best order I can come up with, here are some highlights of "a bike ride to remember"!
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| Barcelona Cathedral |
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| Arc de Triomphe |
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| Running club in the park next to the Arc......not part of the official bike tour! |
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| Cool fountain near the zoo Parc de ciutadella |
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Bull fighting ring, but no bullfighting. It is illegal in Barcelona now
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| Down to la playa and the Olympic park taking pictures while riding a bike....a new skill |
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| tapas and drinks, the perfect way to end the perfect ride! |
The night did not end with our tapas! Oh, no....it was only 8:30....time for drinks and walks in busy squares full of people dining al fresco or as they say in Spain, "al aire libre". There was no way we were calling it a night! We learned a lot about Barcelona that day and we just could not let it end. So... we walked a little more and finally headed "home" to our apartment. Only to be greeted by a very sweet gift from our families to wish both couples a Happy 35th Anniversary. We raised some really great kids!
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| First, there was balancing on a ball in the square! A girl has got to have fun.... |
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| Oh, and I forgot to mention, I'm moving to Barcelona to run my new bar! |
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| Thanks kids!!!! |
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| We enjoyed our gifts on the roof the next day! Yeah, the weather was miserable.... |
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