Barcelona Beckoning

Flying Qatar Airways, we set off to Barcelona via Doha. Qatar airlines have won best airline 6 times. This accolade meant nothing to Jason – he wasn't impressed in the least! We had forgotten what it was like to travel cattle class for more than 24 hours. Leading up the trip, I’d felt like Kath from Kath and Kim in the episode where they go to the Hyatt Coolum and fly Qantas ... business class, as she kept reminding everyone. Unfortunately we weren’t going business class. But fortunately we weren't going to Coolum either. We were going somewhere much better (sorry, Coolum)
Cooped up like battery hens, we were wedged at the back of the plane, behind a Brazilian couple, for over 14 hours. If we thought that we had little room on this leg of the trip, this was nothing compared to the next. From Doha to Barcelona, Jason was squeezed in the middle of the row with a tall, larger-than-average man to his right. At least this flight was only 6 hours.

Early in the morning, around 5am, we arrived in Doha, Qatar to face a 35-degree wall of heat. There was a haze covering the entire city and all that could be seen were the silhouettes of skyscrapers in the distance. After being herded onto a bus and driven for what felt like kilometres, we reached the main terminal of the airport. We then had to navigate our way through the labyrinth that was Hamad international Airport. We really needed to pack a cut lunch to survive the distance. Lucky we had 2 hours between flights, because by the time we got to the gate it was time for boarding. We were positioned behind a younger Spanish version of Donatella Versace. I'm not sure if she was trying to match her brassy hair tone with her orange skin or vice versa.

After checking into our hotel, freshening up, we set out to explore La Rambla, stopping along the way to taste the local delicacies and take in the atmosphere of Barcelona. In one club, we met an Argentinian couple and chatted for a while - mostly about Argentina, Buenos Aires and the difficulties of learning Spanish. We’re fairly certain that the girl was having difficulties understanding our Aussie accents.

And it wouldn't be a Ricky/
Jason travel adventure without a moment where Jason thinks he’s lost his wallet or been pickpocketed. Well, less than 24 hours into the latest adventure, panic sets in, only to realise that his wallet was in his bag.

We spent the next two days wondering the city centre of Barcelona, grazing and drinking along the way. Oh how we've missed these little adventures!

We've slipped back into European dining habits, with dinner occurring at 10:30pm. Though we may have had dinner earlier had we walked into the correct restaurant. Jason had found a Mexican (yes, not Spanish. We had already filled our bellies with Iberian jamón). We were seated at our table, but something wasn't quite right. I could smell Ramen not guacamole and chilli. Sure enough, we had walked into the neighbouring Ramen restaurant. We quickly exited when we realised, letting out a "sorry, wrong restaurant" in Spanish. We ended up having to go to a Spanish tapas bar because the Mexican restaurant was booked out. Oh well, time for Paella.

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