The End of Our Stay in Barcelona

Our five days in Barcelona have come to an end and they were wonderful but, maybe, too busy.  The first day at sea on Riviera is a welcome break.  Let's see if I can remember where I left off on the last blog post?  I think that I said that we were going to a flexitarian restaurant, Flax and Kale, on Wednesday night which we did.  The food was good (in fact, the black cod was delicious) but the service was not so good.  We ordered a nibble and some bread to start to be followed by a salad and then the cod.  Unfortunately, the salad came before the nibble (almonds) and the bread and then the cod came before we finished the salad.  I guess I should have been more specific about the timing I expected.

Thursday, we did another excursion that we booked through Viator.  It was a day tour of Girona and Costa Brava.  The tour started with a long stop in Girona which has a medieval old town.  Girona was the location setting for Game of Thrones which we have never watched.  Apparently, the church was blown up in one of the episodes.  We got quite an extensive walking tour through the town and then had lunch.  

After that it was off to Pals which has a very well done restoration of its medieval old town.  Pals had a sizable Jewish population until the inquisition.  It also has a bridge that was designed by Eiffel, the guy of tower fame.

The final stop was the fishing village of Calella de Palafrugell.  It seems to more of a beach community than a fishing village but it was beautiful nonetheless.  Very pretty white buildings alongside nice beaches.  When we planned this trip we talked about doing a walking tour through the region much like the walking tour we did in the Dordogne region of France a few years ago.  But, in the end, we opted for this less strenuous option.  As we walked through Calella de Palafrugell we spotted the way-markers that are used for the walking tour and wondered if we should have done that.  The weather was ideal which was also a concern as we planned.  Our only complaint about the tour was our guide.  While he was nice and knowledgeable, he was British and I would have much rather have a Catalan guide, particularly with all that is going on in the area these days.

Friday, we went to see La Sagrada Familia, the church that was started by Gaudi in the 1880's and that is still under construction.  The last time we were there was probably 15 - 20 years ago.  I can't say that I noticed much progress but that may just be a result of a faulty memory.  When we get home I'll have to dig out some pictures to compare.  Their goal is to finish the church in 2026 which coincides with the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death (which for you trivia lovers, was the result of his being hit by a streetcar).  Regardless, the building is really incredible and so unlike any other church we've been in.  We booked our tickets for the first entry at 9 am which was wise since it was uncrowded when we got there and crazy crowded by the time we left.  We also booked the access to one of the towers which was worth doing.  The elevator ride up was easy, the stairs all the way down, not so much.

The rest of the day we took easy but we did do a walk in the neighborhood behind our apartment, kind of off the beaten path from the main drags of Barceloneta.  We discovered lots of little shops and restaurants and decided that the next time we come back we will do less touring and more actual living in the city.  Linda also took the opportunity to get her hair cut so now she is sporting a Barcelona haircut to go with my Tenerife haircut!