ARRIVAL IN BARCELONA
Our flights were smooth, the line for entry into Spain long, but moving; the bags, however, took a long time to be delivered to the belt. There was traffic from the airport making the ride to our hotel longer than usual. Given the hotel’s location in a pedestrian area, we were dropped off a short distance away. Thomas from the hotel met us and assisted with getting the luggage there. Our room has a large window and a French balcony overlooking a historic square and an elementary school. The square doubles as a playground, and kids were noisy running around. After hours, small groups of adults gathered here and there in the square enjoying the soft night air.
TAPAS AND AFTERNOON
The culinary theme of the day was tapas. After checking in and cleaning up, we were ready for some lunch. Ever efficient, Thomas walked with us to point out several possible small options for lunch not far from the hotel. We opted for Bar Mono and shared some tapas: chicken croquettes, fried artichokes with Romesco sauce, and cod fritters.
All very tasty! The Chief Penguin also sampled a bowl of gazpacho, a lovely cream version that too was delicious. This was a good way to return to Barcelona on a sunny pleasant day.
We booked dinner at the hotel and then spent part of the afternoon sitting on the rooftop deck. There’s a small pool, not really deep enough for swimming, but attractive to the doves and pigeons diving by for a drink. We both relaxed and struggled to stay awake, mostly me. Later we took another walk, and the Chief Penguin found the hotel we had stayed at 10 years ago. It’s on a big square in front of a cathedral where we had witnessed a lively, yet peaceful. demonstration for Catalan independence. Our old hotel had changed its name and, when the security guard allowed us in to take a peek, we could see that it had been nicely renovated and was more elegant than in the past.
MORE TAPAS FOR DINNER
Dinner started at 7:30 pm and we were there, ready to eat again and then retire for the night. This time we had smoked salmon and chicken croquettes, a lovely plate of paper-thin dark red Iberian ham, a board with small wedges of three cheeses, and a chewy round fougasse (bread) stuffed with potatoes, all washed down with glasses of the local white and red wines! The food here was more refined than that at lunch and simply delicious.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, we have a full day devoted to Gaudi, Sagrada Familia and two other buildings of is. Now for some desperately needed sleep!
Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)
