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Relaxed after a long weekend, and only a teasing Tuesday of work, where I at least pretended to answer some calls and shot some emails, I was back on holiday Wednesday putting complete faith in my friend Erin who had organized the whole trip for her husband Dan, his friend Tim and of course, me!
I was so relaxed about it all, that I in fact had no idea what times the flights even where! I just knew that I was to met Ez at London Bridge at 4pm. It was only there that I discovered with a train ride, shuttle bus and checking with security that our plane was taking off in less than 3 hours.. Hmmm.. All of a sudden, not feeling so relaxed!
We were meeting Tim at the airport, who was being driven in by friends, as we did a super check in (where I very proudly weighed in at 10.9kg.. A far cry from my 21kg to Amsterdam and 57kg from Melbourne!) and ran through the seemingly endless maze of terminals to be the last seated on our Ryan Air flight.
Armed with my “Do Not Distirb” eye mask and my latest
Hillsong album, I was able to sink into my seat and return to my relaxed state from the hours earlier and I was on my way to Barcelona.. The passengers beside me were much less relaxed, as although they arrived with 3 hours before their flight and were the first to check in their baggage, it was their first every time in a plane. It lead me back to thinking when my very first journey was.. And I couldn’t.. Giving me a brand new appreciation of the Australian, and my parents, lifestyle of curiosity and travel!
Plane wheels came down and a short shuttle bus ride later we were in the heart of Barcelona city, buzzing at 1am despite being a Wednesday!
Not being ones to shy away on our first night, a quick refresh and we out on the search of Sangria - a traditional Spanish/Portuguese punch of red wine, fruits, lemonade and ice, something that Joe and I used love making in the Summer!
Finding it in the Placa Reial, one glass was all we needed, because we hit the pillows pretty hard that night, ready to start exploring the brand new city!
Starting
the day with breakfast of fresh fruits on the beach, with our sunglasses out in dresses and shorts, we weren’t letting a glimmer of sun escape us, and we decided to spend the morning wandering our little hearts content, as I love walking up and down and orientating ourselves as best we could without looking to our maps.
Our apartment could not have been more perfectly placed! On the side of the marina, we were only 2 mins from the beach, and only 10 mins walk from the main strip, we had the very best of both worlds and incredible access to the sites! But all this walking made for thirsty work, and we took great delight in enjoying the many Gelato stores we found down each alley!
Our first find was the Church of Nostra Senyora de Betlem, strung in flags that we’re still not certain on the reason, before finding ourselves back at the fountain in Placa Reial where we had been the night before.
One of the first things that I did notice while walking was the cleanliness of the city. It’s just beautiful, and had the feeling of being incredibly safe!
We
stopped for lunch in on of the large city markets (called mercats) where we were spoiled for fresh fruit, much cheaper than England and amazingly fresh sea food, which I was very knowledgeable of following my sushi course less than a week earlier! And after a very filling Paella - one of the most famous Spanish dishes of flavored rice, chicken and seafood, paired with a large seafood platter, we licked our fingers and dug into the Lonley Planet walking tour.
First stop, the Santa Maria del Mar, a beautiful church with stunning grand windows and beautifully created detailing not unlike many of the churches in Europe. We then followed the mapped tour to Sant Jaume Square & The Palace of the Generalist before coming out to The Cathedral, hidden behind scaffolding - and despite our curiosity, we weren’t dressed appropriately to go in, so we headed off to stop number four on the map, the Palaca del Rai - Roman Ruins.
You have got to love the Roman innovation, using urine to clean their linen, and adding fruits and rose petals to their wines to ensure nutritional value, they had their world figured out!
We were
then taken by the map to Salo de Cent Theatre, and who know what or where we were supposed to go, but playing dumb, we walking straight inside and through doors that I’m sure we weren’t supposed to, taking us up stair cases and into training rooms and practice areas! Unfortunately no door opened to the stage or main auditorium, but we did fly right under the radar and walked out without causing any alarm!
The boys decided to carry on the walking tour, while Erin and I figured that when in Spain, do as the Spanish do, and we headed to the beach for our afternoon siesta, walking down The Rambla and through The Old Port Marina checking out all the beautiful yachts, and their sailors!
Bronzed and energized, we met the boys back at the apartment ready to hit the town for Tapas, where it took some time for Dan to adjust to the tiny sizes of the dishes! One was never quite enough, and it took quite a few rounds for he and Tim to feel that they had been well fed!
When they finally felt full, we started to head down some more
little alley ways and off the beaten track to find a Spanish watering hole. One just seemed to jump out at us, as we walked into this tiny little bar, which seemed full with energy and culture! With one group of students traveling from Italy, another group from Germany, and a bar tender that only spoke Spanish, the night was filled with laughs!! She was crazy!! Free-pouring more than 4 shots of spirits per glass and not touching the till once, she refused to take any payment and just wanted everyone to have fun!
Word must have spread, and the bar was crammed to capacity with more and more people, no-one understanding a word of the other language, so all communication was in expressive language and large gestures! Drink orders were growing and to help her out, the crazy bar lady invited people behind the bar to help her out, drinking as much as she was serving, she still wouldn’t except any payment!!
I haven’t laughed so hard in such a long time, as the combination of mixed cultures and potently mixed drinks, the crowd was getting more and more enthusiastic.. But it did leave many worse for
wear, including our boys, Tim and Dan!!
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Lauren
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I have a photo taken at the exact same spot on the bridge!!! Brings back fun memories!