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Our last day in Barcelona arrived and we said goodbye to my dad and Glenna. After D's morning nap, we headed off to try to go to Palau Guell which had been closed for renovations but was scheduled to open today. It was also closed for renovations when we were here six years ago. A coincidence we thought, but apparently the renovations began in 1990 and we just happened to be here for opening day!! We actually managed to get a ticket, but our entry time wasn't until later in the afternoon. So off we went to see the Museum of Barcelona City.
The Museum showcases quite the history of Barcelona. Its main claim to fame is the discovery of the ruins of the Roman city of Barca right below it. Unlike most of the ruins we've seen (this square used to be someone's house), these ruins were of factories and other public areas. The two main factories were fish processing and wine making...I guess things haven't changed much in Barcelona in 2000 years.
After seeing the ruins, we grabbed lunch at Maoz, our favorite vegetarian chain we discovered in Amsterdam. We ordered two falafels and then hit their
topping bar to bury our falafel until it was unrecognizable: curried chickpeas, pickled mushrooms with cilantro, olive tapenade, orzo with parsley, tahini, yogurt with dill....so good. (and french fries, to tone down the health factor) D really loves falafel!
After letting D run around on the playground for awhile, we headed to Palau Guell for our entry. Palau Guell is the only home Gaudi ever finished. The Guell family was insanely wealthy for their time (late 1800's) with their fortune estimated at 70 Billion Euros in today's money. The house was like candy for the eyes. Everywhere you looked, there was some exquisite detail to note. The rooftop was full of chimneys that bare a striking resemblance to the later work Gaudi did at Parc Guell (I guess the Guell's liked their chimneys). We felt extremely lucky to be here on opening day and even more lucky to actually get a ticket.
After D's afternoon nap, we wandered up to Plaza Espanya to take a last look at some street scenes. Then we headed back to have one last beer on a patio, the patio of our apartment building. There's a tiny bar downstairs and we noticed there
was a probably two year old girl and a dog there (D's two favorite things) so we had a seat. No one spoke a word of English but we had a great conversation none the less. D and her new friends played with their two balls and tormented the dog while Pat and I had a plate of various salted and dried meats, cheeses, and olives (love it!). Sadly, D started to turn back in to a pumpkin and we had to call it a night.
Our bags are packed and we head to Menorca tomorrow. Not sure about internet there so we'll post when we can.
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