Lest We Forget it Is Summer...

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Geo: 41.3879, 2.16992

With our dining experience extending so late the previous evening, we were all more than happy for the late breakfast call today. I think we did not meet until 0900, but even that felt a little early. Our plan this morning was for a short hike to a monastery located on a small hilltop just outside Gratallops. Barbara was not up for the hike, as during the night, the A/C in the hotel evidently went kaput. Their room, in particular, had gotten hot during the night, and she did not rest well.

The rest of us loaded up in the van for the 3-minute drive to a pull-out on the side of the road, from where we hiked about 20 minutes to the summit. The views were stunning, and given that the monastery is only sporadically occupied, we had the entire mountain to ourselves. Though it was still only around 10:00am, we noted that it was going to be a particularly hot day. Till now, including in Gratallops, we had been spoiled by an utter lack of humidity. That was now changing, with the air feeling distinctly heavier this morning. It would then change completely for the worse once we got up to Barcelona on the coast, which was dripping in humidity.

Alas our rooms back at the hotel did offer us a chance to cool off, so we were all looking forward to loading up the van and enjoying the A/C. Jeff and I scouted the parking situation outside the hotel. There was now one vacant spot, into which I thought I might be able to maneuver, so I carefully navigated the van up the hill, so we could load up all our bags, including our now substantial haul of wine. As soon as I got atop I realized it would be impossible to swing the van into the spot. With K's assistance I attempted to back down the hill, which garnered a multitude of curious heads popping out of the doors and windows along the alley as people watched me attempt the maneuver. It was frustratingly slow, so I drove back up and, this time, with a lot of people watching my four sides, I was able to execute another multi-multi-multi-point K turn, and get the van pointed downhill. I was extremely relieved to then load everything up and crank the A/C to max. We were then on our way to Barcelona.

I think we were all happy to hit the main highway after about 30 minutes, and leave the curvy roads behind us. I filled up the van at a station we knew had diesel, as we would be dropping the van off as soon as we got to Barcelona -- no need for a car there, and no desire to deal with the horrendous parking situation. I thought the fuel would last a little longer and the gauge still indicate "full" when we got to the city, but alas I ended up having to top it off again in Barcelona.

As in Lisbon, for the van rental, we split between airport and downtown locations. In this case, we had picked up the van at Barcelona airport upon arrival, and would now leave it at a downtown location, not too far from our hotel. Our trusty GPS Jaime guided us straight into town and, thankfully, our hotel was located on one of the main boulevards, so navigation was not too difficult. I dropped everyone and all of the bags at our hotel, and then reset the GPS to guide me to the Europcar location to return the van. I lucked out and found a gas station about a block away, where I topped off the tank. A few blocks from there, I located the rental location, only to discover that it was closed -- to reopen in two hours, at 3:00pm. Sigh. What to do? I circled the block a few times and then saw a parking spot close to Europcar, into which I managed to parallel park the behemoth. I'd since had a text from K telling me that our room was not yet ready and that, as compensation, they'd upgraded us to a suite. Bonus! The Rieckoff's room was ready, as was the room that Charlotte and Anna would share. K was waiting in the lobby. I made the 15-minute walk back to the hotel, but it was immediately evident that we were near the water, as the humidity levels were near Washington, D.C. norms. Even walking in the shade the whole way back, I was coated in sweat when I hit the lobby to find K enjoying some complimentary champagne. We grabbed Anna and went across the street to grab some lunch at a small restaurant. By the time I finished, it was 2:45pm, so I left them to settle the bill and return to the hotel, while I walked back to complete the rental car return. Timing worked out, and the two representatives were unlocking the gate when I walked up. After retrieving the van and driving it to their underground garage, a thorough inspection was held. She spent a lot of time inspecting the damage we had noted at the airport. I then pointed out that the airport attendant had attached a waiver, at which point she let out an audible sigh of relief. She's spent so much time looking at that damage, that she did not note the damage my stairs had inflicted. Another bonus! In reality, the van was so dented, that the relatively minor scratch I left was lost in all the noise and I harbor no guilt.

K had texted me our room number, and by time I reached the suite I was a literal damp rag. Before I even walked around and admired the huge room (series of rooms, really), I cranked the A/C as high as it would go and melted into the couch.

Seeing what a mess I was, K had suggested we stay in and cool off, rather than head out. No doing. She'd waiting almost 30 years to get to Barcelona and we had such limited time; we WERE going to go out and do something. While Anna elected to wait behind -- Charlotte had gone exploring with her father, so Anna had the room to herself. It was the first time in over three weeks that she had truly been alone, and she was cherishing the moment. Her attitude was basically, "don't let the door hit you in the ass when you leave."

Jeff has become friends with a man he met back in Gratallops almost 10 years ago. He now lives in Barcelona with his family, where he and his wife act as representatives for a number of small, family-owned wineries. They serve as brokers to link the winemakers up with distributors in countries around the world. We were to have dinner with this man -- Jordi -- and his family that night, at a place they had picked down on the beach. We were not meeting until 7:30pm for drinks, so K and I had a good chunk of time to do some exploring.

We successfully navigated the Metro to go a whopping one stop to the main Place de Catalunya, from where the famous Les Rambles pedestrian mall runs almost two kilometers down to the oceanfront and cruise terminals. From the moment we emerged into the square we were both struck by the sheer numbers of people. There were people EVERYWHERE. Talk about bustle. It was a bit overwhelming at first. We first thought the crowds might have been extra large, given that it was Sunday afternoon, but it turns out there were just as many people the next afternoon. Once we had our bearings, we started down Les Rambles, which was completely shaded thanks to the trees and buildings, making it relatively cool. We made it all the way to the end before we called "uncle" and retreated to a small restaurant on the Mirador de Colom circle, which sits across from the main cruise terminal. We savored the air conditioning, as well as a couple of very large Sangrias. We checked in with Anna, who I believe resented the interruption, as Charlotte had yet to return and we were infringing on her "Anna time." She texted us a few minutes later, saying that a man had come to the room with champagne and a fruit platter. She asked if it was for her, which we said, "If he brought it to your room, it's for you and Charlotte. DON'T DRINK THE CHAMPAGNE." Incidentally, we were pleased to find the same welcome gift waiting for us when we eventually returned to our room.

After a quick stop at Gaudi's Guell Palace a few blocks away, we got back on the Metro at a different location, executed a successful transfer, and got back to the hotel with just enough time for showers before assembling in the lobby to meet Jordi and the others for some cocktails.

Jordi, his wife Carmen, and their two children -- Laura (age 14) and Jordi Jr. (age 10) -- arrived. There was an exchange of gifts between everyone, to include very generous (and unexpected) gifts for K & I, as well as Anna. They had made reservations at a restaurant on the beach, and while the kids had been advised to bring their swimsuits if they wished to go swimming, no one did. The tables were on a platform literally on the beach, with about a 20 meter walk down to the water.

We walked quite a while and talked, before giving in to tired feet and splitting up into multiple taxis for the ride down to the restaurant. Thankfully Jorgi handled all the ordering, as we ended up with a huge array of tapas and different paellas, which we all shared at the table. They knew what to order and it was all spectacular. In typical fashion, the meal stretched quite a while. It was after 11:00pm before we started walking down the beachfront promenade toward a taxi stand and it again struck us just how many people were out and about. There were as many people out as there had been in the afternoon. I'm still dumbfounded by it all. I have yet to experience a city with so much energy and activity in all my travels.

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