I might as well back track this year. 2020 was the fourteen year anniversary of Brian's death. Shari and I chose Barcelona as our celebration destination. Spain, in general, but every time I would mention that I would be heading to Spain, people immediately said--oh, Barcelona, right? It felt kismet.
We arranged an eight day excursion to Barcelona. Initially, I thought we would attempt to check out Madrid or a day trip somewhere. We ran out of time! And, Barcelona was magnificent. The architecture, wide boulevards encouraging walking everywhere and food. My flight to Barcelona was not that fantastic. The night of my departure, I drank five americanos to help me stay awake. I will be honest. Coffee has never affected me or so I thought. I was unable to sleep into the following day. Maghan agreed to take me to the airport at 4 am which was really sweet. He had finished working a shift around midnight and arrived at my house by 2 am. I treated him to breakfast at Pete's before heading back to the airport. I thought I would be able to sleep on my flight to New York. No such luck and then I met Shari at JFK. We had a four hour layover which allowed us time to eat, drink and catch up. The flight to Barcelona, I think, I slept an hour and a half. When we arrived in Spain, I was disoriented and trying to find the right train connection became annoying. We finally found our airbnb and I took a much needed nap. Only an hour and a half to minimize the onset of jet lag.
We made our back into the city and found a money changer before finding lunch. I think our favorite metro stop was the Arch de Triomphe. Somehow, that was our entry and exit to the city. We were able to maneuver, easily, from this destination. We tried other stops but always ended up confused. I bought a map the first day which was the best purchase.
Over the course of the next week, we walked everywhere. To Park Guell, the majority of the Gaudi highlights, the beach for am yoga and of course, to restaurants. I love the culture over there. I would begin my day with cava and vermouth. We would sample a few tapas before heading to a different area of town. We took in one museum, the Picassso. It was nice. I was thankful it was a free exhibit on Sundays. I don't know that I would have loved paying for it.
Some of the food highlights--Quimet, Quimet, tapas 24, canate--to name a few. I loved Quimet, Quimet. I wish we had found it sooner. The tapas were delicious! And we returned to tapas 24 for the tuna potato salad and foie sliders.
The trip was phenomenal and Brian would have loved it. Shari and I are trying to figure out where to go next year. I think our options will be limited. Probably domestic travel. Maybe somewhere in the Caribbean or Puerto Rico. I should put some effort into making it work.
I am about to head outside and enjoy the sunshine! It is a beautiful day to go outside. I am also stopping by my favorite taproom later to see friends. I have some bubbly to drop off. Cheers to Friday!
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