So, I
had the opportunity to finally visit Barcelona (Spain) – it’s been high on my
list ever since I moved to Europe …. Everyone who has been there loves it – I’ve
never heard anything bad about it ….. So, off to Barcelona I went because I was meeting
some dear friends there …. They were on a cruise and their last port of call
was Barcelona so I decided to pop down there (it’s only a 1 ½ hour flight) to
meet them …. They arrived on a Monday, so I went on Sunday so that I could be
sure to see all of the “sights” I wanted to see before coming home on Wednesday
…. I had two full days there …..
So, let’s start with the flight …… I joined the ‘mile high club’ ….. (no not THAT one) ….. but I did do something on the plane that I’ve never done before (and hope will never do again) …… I threw up – from both ends …….. what a way to start the trip ….. you know when you’re just sitting there (anywhere) and you’re feeling kind of puny then suddenly you have the thought ‘I’m going to throw up’ ….. you tell yourself no, because it’s really unpleasant to do so, and the more you say to yourself ‘no’ the worse you feel ….. then next you can feel the blood draining out of your face and then your face is covered with perspiration – at this point you know you’ve lost the battle and it’s coming no matter what you try to do …… so, here I am seated next to the window ….. I NEVER sit anywhere other than the aisle but this time I just had to be cheap (and not spend the extra 5 euros) so I was assigned a window seat …. A French couple were next to me and I said in French (yippee, I got to practice my French – and I must say I didn’t do too badly ….. I may have not said it the ‘correct’ way but they understood me) …. [there is a viral bug going around] So, I said “Pardon, j’ai un petit gastro, désole” as I stood up and pointed towards the bathroom …. [okay, I confess – perhaps they didn’t understand me at all, I imagine standing up was a clue that I wanted out of my seat] …. So off I traipse to the bathroom and commence to be in there for about 30 minutes ….. I’m actually surprised none of the flight attendants (I so wanted to type ‘stewardesses’) checked on me, but secretly glad they didn’t …… After I returned to my seat (pardon, pardon, désole) time marches on and then I return for round two ….. this time just standing up got my seat mates to move ….. I was there for a short period this time as the Captain announced we were getting to land …… le sigh !
After
taking the bus from the airport into central Barcelona I then had a 20 minute
walk to get to the AirBnB I had rented. It was actually a ‘room’ in a person’s
apartment [well, that’s how it’s listed
but it’s the entire 2nd floor of the apartment complex and they live
on the 3rd floor – boy I scored !] …. So as I was walking I saw a
Gaudi across the street from the side I was walking on but I felt so awful I
didn’t stop to take a photo ……
I’m
met at the AirBnB by a guy who speaks no English or French – so what do I do
? I decide to bastardize all three
languages and speak a mix of fren-span-lish …. He shows me around pointing
(literally pointing) out my room, the bathrooms, the kitchen and the living
room area and mimes what each of the three keys open ….so far so good ….. until
I try to be nice and ask him his name ….. good lord, you’d think for hundreds
of times I filled out a citation, crime or arrest report I’d remember how to
ask someone their name in Spanish … but no, I couldn’t think of it for the life
of me, so I squeaked out – with lots of confidence – “Comment vous nom ?”
(which is horrible French – I basically said ‘How you name’, but it sounds the
same in Spanish “Como vous ... “ …. I was very happy to remember to use the ‘vous’
form of speaking ….. but in Spanish I should have said “como se llama” (I just looked
it up on Google Translate …. ugh – now I remember how to do it !) …. But I’m not finished …. He answers “Washington”
– you could have pushed me over with a feather – I looked at him and said “really,
Washington ?” and he nodded ‘yes’ ….. I figured I’d dug my hole deep enough so
just thanked him and entered my room and never left until the morning I had to
go back to the airport to come home !
So …. Here is the photo documentation of my trip – my bed was all I saw …..
My AirBnB Room in Barcelona
Now, I
did have a surprise (actually had this before I even left my apartment living room)
at how expensive the “tourist trap” things are in Barcelona ….. of course
Barcelona is Antoni Gaudi and Gaudi is Barcelona – so that’s what I wanted to
see ….. many people recommend getting tickets online beforehand which I
willingly embraced …. I was astonished how expensive anything “Gaudi” is …. Basilica de la Sagrada Familia (22euros), Casa Batllo (30.50euros) and Casa
Mila/La Pedrera (22euros) …. Those are the tickets I bought, all non-refundable ….. at least the Museum Miro was only 12euros
but was closed the day I wanted to go ….. And back to Gaudi – the famous park “Parc
Guell” is 7.50euros ... I seriously doubt that he built the park expecting that
people in the year 2018 would be charged to look at his work (ugh).
So, on
my way to the airport to return to Paris, I walked by the Gaudi building I had
seen the first day but ignored. I now realized it was the Casa Batllo, so
although it was dark outside I took a photo of it because my first thought was ‘geez,
Gaudi is gaudy’ …. (hehe) and I paid 30.50euros to take a picture of the
outside front of the building that every other person on earth can take for
free …. Oh lucky me !
Casa Batllo
Je
dois rentrer à Barcelone
