Things Heat Up in Barcelona!

GRATITUDES: I need to start by offering a huge "thank you" to Cindy for reminding me that I had downloaded Rick Steves Europe ... and then ... I completely forgot about it. And "thank you" Barb for reminding me I had downloaded all the City Guides ... and ... I had also forgotten about them!! GAH!! Apparently I was more savvy and organized BEFORE we hit the roads!! 

And so ... we hopped on the red line today and got to enjoy more fabulous views of Barcelona. It is such a sensational mix of water and green spaces/trees and architecture! We both marvel at the way they have stategically lined the roads with trees in front of the buildings ... to distract from the feeling of being between city buildings! And ... the water and mountain areas ... and artistic impressions with the way the city has been planned it so appealing to us! It just feels so spacious here!!

GRINS: John said today that he thinks Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities he has ever visited. I would have to agree! We even had a short conversation about whether Spain/Barcelona bumps Ireland/Dublin as our favorite place in our travels this trip. We decided they are neck and neck ...so far ... but, we still have two more days here in Barcelona. So ... we'll let you know the verdict on Saturday. We leave for a small town north of here to take a little rest and sit by the water. We were inspired by John and Marie's time in Roses, so we are going to go there on Saturday for three days. But ... we have even been talking about coming back here for a few more days before we go to Portugal.

We got a few pictures on our bus ride today ... and ... we spent a bit of time walking along "LaRambla". It's a gorgeous tree lined pededstrian walkway that is one of the busiest and most lively streets in Barcelona. It is paved in the most interesting way. The walkway looks like it is uneven ... in waves! It felt so odd for me ... I kept feeling like I was walking up and down the waves in the pavement! I took a picture ... not sure if you can see what I mean ... but it was strange.

GIFTS: We followed this walkway right down to the ocean and then, were going to find the subway so we could get to our cooking class. It turned out to be further than we thought, so we hired one of the bicycle 'tuk-tuks' to ride us there! He was lovely and provided such a nice commentary to highlight some of the sights we were passing by. He even reminded us to watch out for the pickpockets! Apparently, they are quite bad at this particular subway!

GRIMACES & GRATITUDES: And ... we were literally "cooking in Barcelona today ... both in the kitchen and the out of doors! We attended a Paella Maestro Class and learned how to cook a traditional paella, make a sangria and also crafted a creme brulee ... they call it "crema catalana." It threatened to rain here again today, but it did not. The sun was blazing hot all day and its supposed to be even hotter tomorrow. As I write this, it is after 9:00pm and it is still 27 degrees ... but the Weather Network says it feels like 34 degrees. We would agree!

GRATITUDES: All in all it was a great day ... and ... we got some really good ideas for things we'd like to do tomorrow from our bus ride today. And so ... good night for now! See you again tomorrow!Читать далее