Spain

I really wish I could sleep on airplanes.

Saturday, October 19

When we arrived in Barcelona, we were excited to stay with long time friends of DH2. They lived in an old livery station that showcased the old wells and cabling. This is third second home and where they plan to retire.

Our first jaunt was to walk through the old town/tourist section where I bought a fan for future hot days. After wandering to the beach, we drank sangria while ogling the beautiful people. After a brief siesta, we had tacos and I passed out by 10.

Sunday, October 20

Everything starts 3 hours later than what I am used to so breakfast was at 11. We walked by some Gaudi buildings, through the gardens, and tapas-ed our way at lunch (3pm). Another rest and then we dined (9am) at the 6th best restaurant in Barcelona. Incredible food.

Monday, October 21

I sadly only slept 2 hours and was a zombie when we breakfasted and set off on the train trip to Montserrat. It took a lunch, funicular ride, and hike before I felt human again. The view was almost 360, with the Pyrenees hiding behind a back of dark clouds.

Besides severe religious art, the Montserrat museum has lesser works of Picasso, Pissaro, Dali, and Sargeant.

The Basilica was beautiful, I’d never seen so many candles lit in prayer. The famous Black Madonna was installed above the alter with no photos allowed. We stayed for evening vespers and received the whole catholic experience: chanting priests, a choir of alter boys, standing and sitting at random intervals punctuated with priest expositions and usher admonitions for those who tried to take photos. Forty-five minutes of the catholic life is enough for the next 25 years for me.

Exhausted and asleep by 8pm

Tuesday, October 22

Ah, I felt much better for the train back to Barcelona. Although it took 3 hours and multiple car changes, we arrived in Sitges in time for DH2’s meeting. I chilled most of the day and st

arted wandering in the late afternoon. The overcast light did not lend itself to pretty pix so it was mostly a stroll to get the lay of the city. I found the Barcardi statue to commemorate that the owner of the Barcardi company (founded in Cuba) was born in Sitges. We had dinner with colleagues who used to work in DH2’s lab.

Wednesday, October 23

I was thrilled to find blue skies in the morning so I was bent in revisiting locations scouted from the day before. I walked up and down the beach front to enjoy nature’s beauty and Spanish architecture. In the museum, I fell in love with a room of sculptures that looked out to the ocean.

As part of the conference activities, the group bussed to a winery tour and then to dinner. I met another wife who was planning to hike the coast to the next town and invited me to join her.

Thursday, October 24

So at 10am the next day, we headed west. The trail followed the train tracks and over looked nude beach coves. The small hills were a good test for my balance since i didn’t have walking poles. I think if I’d been by myself, I could have completed the journey in 2 hours but it was a lovely day and at a casual pace, we arrived in 3 hours. Coffee and a ham sammie revitalized me so we could find Old Town and a baby clothing store for her grand kids. The return train to Sitges took 16 minutes.

I rested and we had an early dinner.

Friday, October 25

On the last morning of the conference, I walked the beach for the 6th time and we were picked up by a colleague who drove us to Tarragona. DH2 toured the colleague’s lab at Rivira i Virgili while I drank in the cafeteria. We all then went to lunch (how is 3pm lunch????) overlooking the marina.

Our hotel looked over the Roman Colosseum ruins next to the beach and we strolled the old town late into the evening.

Saturday, October 26

Anniversary day! 2 years.

We walked around Tarragona with our generous host and boarded a late departure high speed train to Barcelona. The train was a half hour delayed so we were nervous about getting to our Sagarda Familia tour. We caught the perfect taxi for us at the station; the driver sped through town, ran lights, and shaved several minutes off the estimated Google time.

There’s a new capitalist enterprise where businesses like a restaurant or convenience store will keep your bags (for a price) while you’re touring the area. We dropped our bags at the convenience store and scampered to our tour meeting spot. The Sagarda Familia was pretty inside with dramatic stained glass and high ceilings. I liked that each country and language was represented somewhere in the church. Because it was raining, i didn’t get to tour the towers.

For dinner, we ate with a former student of DH2 and my cousin’s daughter who happened to be studying abroad in Barcelona for the semester. Tapas, sangria, and gelato in the plaza capped off our anniversary.

Sunday, October 27

We lazed in the morning, gearing up for the triathlon of events planned for the day. The first leg was walking to a vegetarian restaurant for lunch with a colleague of DH2 and his young family. Is vegetarian paella really paella? Debate amongst yourselves.

The second leg was the Miro museum. After 20 minutes of walking through the galleries, both DH2 and I came to the same conclusion: not as impressed as we have been with other museums devoted to a master. His narrative didn’t speak to either of us and we didn’t like much of his work. I had to look carefully for what I did like so what I did like was nice but there were very few pieces. Ironically, we bought glasses and a pitcher from the gift shop.

The third leg was Parc Guell. I wish I had prepared for this because I think I would have had an even better experience. Light was flat but I bet under sunlight, it would have been spectacular.

Hungry and tired, we returned to the nearby plaza for our last tapas and sangria. We may have also stopped for our last churro on the way back to the hotel.