Life Is A Moveable Feast, and It Has Moved to Barcelona

After checking into the Hotel Majestic. (Hotel Pretty Good, yes. Majestic? Maybe a stretch). It turns out that it is one block from one Gaudi-designed house, and two blocks from his famed apartment building. Today (Tuesday) is Gaudi day for us. All Gaudi, all the time.

Anyhow, we went for a late afternoon walk through a very lively city – despite large chunks of the population being gone for August holiday. Interestingly, three languages work here – Catalan, Spanish, and English. Apparently, Catalan is NOT a dialect of Spanish, but a separate and distinct language.

We wandered past fountains and down Las Ramblas. I had a conference call, so we wandered back to the hotel in a different direction, got some ice cream, and people watched. The girls thought Barcelona is cool. And it is. As much as we enjoyed Greece and Turkey, it was good to be back where at least one of us (Carol) could speak the language (well, Spanish, not Catalan). Heck, I can read some Spanish.

Our first choice for dinner was closed – the restaurant owners are away on holiday, so we made reservations for nearby de Madre Tapas. Wow – what a meal. Not one of the high end restaurants (we weren’t in the mood to go dressed up), but the food was amazing. Carol ordered in Spanish, and carried on a brief conversation with the waiter. Maddy, Carol, and I shared many different plates of tapas. Julia and Torie ordered entrees.

I picked out a relatively cheap bottle of Priorat (the wine growing region near Barcelona. We ate great food (including grilled salted peppers from the Padron region), sat outside, and enjoyed ourselves for quite some time. I could spend every night having tapas and hanging out.

Afterwards, Carol and I went up to the rooftop bar – with Barcelona laid out around us – and enjoyed the view and a drink. Great vibe already to the city.

(Barcelona does have a reputation for pickpockets, so I am wearing cargo shorts with my wallet zipped away safely in a lower pocket. It’s not exactly a fashion statement, but it will do.)　　

Off to enjoy gaudy Gaudi.