Blogs from Catalonia, Spain, Europe

NOVEMBER 3, 2019 All good things must come to an end. It was finally time to say “goodbye Barcelona”. Goodbye to everything Gaudi, the Barri Gotic, Sobremeso (sit and relax, order some Pipas (sunflower seeds) with a nice glass of Rioja and watch the world go by). Farewell to my favorite Boquerones (White Anchovies cured in OVO & vinegar), and the amazing Crema Catalonia. Muchas Gracias! It was wonderful to walk in the footsteps of Fermin and Daniel (from The Shadow of the Wind) in the historic areas, including the wonderful Cathedral of the Sea, and to revisit this city, now transformed from its smokey and dirty caterpillar stage into the beautiful butterfly it is today, competing with Paris for Europe’s best city. Port Vell, with its harbor full of yachts and tourists, has become a ... read more

NOVEMBER 1, 2019 Today we were booked for our move out of our BCNGotic apartment to the Abba Sants Hotel which was included in our upcoming cruise to return home. I called the hotel and asked if we could check in late in the day, they assured me it was no problem. I then checked with BCNGotic who said if we collected our bags before we left for the day, they would store them in their office where we could retrieve them when we returned. So far so good. Having packed our bags, gobbled down food from the fridge and Teresa’s dessert for breakfast, we were off to the Palau de la Musica to meet our Viator guide Sergio for our Game of Thrones day tour to Girona. We knew the group would be small but ... read more

OCTOBER 29, 2019 Our Gate 1 tour was over and we needed to check out of our the NH Collection Constanza hotel to get to our new digs by 9am. Before we left for our trip to Spain, I had made reservations for us to stay in a charming 3 bedroom apartment through Bcngotic on 6 Carrer de l’Argenteria, Ciutat Vella (Old City) in historic Barri Gotic. We had a quick breakfast at our hotel, said our goodbyes to Vera and our new friends then grabbed a cab to the other side of the city to check into our apartment. We quickly got our key, settled our bags, then ran to make our 11am tour of the Palau de la Musica (about 10 a minute walk from our apartment). We were panting but grateful we had ... read more

BARCELONA, Oct 27, 2019 We turned our clocks back one hour (Franco decided to change the time one hour forward) and we left Valencia at 8:30AM. I feel more rested, thank you Franco. Vera told us that after the civil war most people had to have two jobs in order to put food on the table. It was not easy to both eat and get to work. As a result, the time change gave them more time to eat later, yet, Vera told us, most people in Spain don’t know about the time difference in Catalonia. She said some of the locals want to change back to Spanish time but others think it culturally unique and special. As we knew from our travels before that Spain has a law that makes it mandatory that drivers of ... read more

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about, be kind, always.” As I exhaled into my first downward dog for 8 months I felt a rush of shame roll over me. How had I let it get this bad? My knees were bent, my stomach rolling over... my right heel screaming out in pain. That’s how I reminded myself, be kind Saskia. That was my mantra that class as I struggled for the first time since I can remember to touch my toes and scolded my stomach and weight, be kind Saskia, your here. You made it to the mat. How did I get here though? After starting to run in 2018 I was healthy and happy practicing yoga at least twice a week and running three times. I injured my foot that ... read more