A Beautiful Week in Barcelona, Spain

After one week in Barcelona, Marilynn and I look forward to separate, solo international travel adventures. She will fly to Bulgaria, while I take a train to one of France’s oldest cities, Clermont Ferrand. We will find out where the travel gods guide us from there, until we meet three weeks later at our rendezvous point, in Helsinki, Finland. For now, we will stroll the streets and eat our way through Barcelona together. Come along and enjoy Barcelona with us.

After an all-night flight with no sleep, and unable to check into the hotel early, we stroll these walk-friendly, “artsy” streets dazed and jet-lagged.

The travel gods bring us to what becomes our favorite place in all of Barcelona, “Mercado de Boqueria” a super fresh market, where seafood rules and butchers slice razor thin hams and cheeses.

Bread, fruits, vegies, sweets, baked goods, and unknowns fill the surrounding stalls. I stock up on our usual breakfast fare and snacks for in the room.

We love seafood and make a beeline to the seafood bars, returning so often that the proprietors recognize us in the elbow-to-elbow crowd.

They laugh and seat us as soon as possible. The beer and cava pour and soon we devour our favorite delights.

Hats off to the first human being who had ever eaten a raw oyster.

Barceloneta Beach and the harbor fail to inspire desert dwellers like us who seek shade.

That is, until we have one overcast cool day, perfect for walking, running, or sailing.

Sit. Sip Estrella beers. Watch the continuous flow of people walk along “La Rambla,” Barcelona’s most popular pedestrian walkway. People watching never grows old.

When the strong Estrella beers kick-in, munch on various tapas or your preferred “flavor” of paella. The squid ink variety wins our stomachs.

We notice that none of the restaurants or cafes play music here. Quite refreshing to focus on conversation rather than musical bombardment that reduces conversation to shouting. And despite the crowds everyone acts polite. As an American used to having lots of personal space, I find it impossible to let my guard down.

Just when you think that nothing can be any more magnificent than the Barcelona Cathedral, “La Sagrada Familia” makes an appearance.

The Basilica, which has been under construction forever and ever, makes everything else look modest. Are we in Disneyland?

After several days of strolling the streets, our senses adapt and start to notice intricate details.

However, one cannot miss Master Gaudi’s architecture at “Casa Batllo” and yes, the word “Gaudy” comes to mind.

A walk up to Carmel Hill to explore Park Guell, famous as one of Gaudi’s greatest creations, finds entry tickets sold out. That is our punishment for rarely making plans. But we still enjoy the view.

Both of us feel that advance plans are overrated unless on a tight time schedule. We are not. Sold our house, have no residence, and not even sure of where we want to live. Travel expense dominates our monthly budget, for as long as we can maintain health and mobility. For now, we break down and buy tickets to the park to use on our last day in Barcelona. Even that creates a bit of stress. Yes, we would drive “normal” travelers crazy.

Time for me to head out to the train station, and for Marilynn to the airport. We invite you to come along and see what kind of adventure awaits.

Thank you, Abundant Universe!