We just got back from nearly 3 weeks of PURE vacation. This is very rare for Jack and me, since he has a “real job” and does not get the buckets of vacation that academics are afforded. THIS was a REAL vacation – neither of us did a single iota of work. It was incredible. And needed.
Thanks to my family (THANK YOU EVERYONE), we rented a studio apartment in the Gothic district (Barri Gòtic) of Barcelona for 2 weeks. We were 3 blocks off the Ramblas (right at a Metro stop – Liceu) and about 7 minutes from Port Vell and the Passeig de Colom.
The “reason” for picking Barcelona (other than the OBVIOUS – charm, beauty and amazing food, wine and people) was MotoGP (pics are HERE). Yes, we went to ANOTHER GP event!! It was WONDERFUL. The weather was spotty, but the practices, qualifiers and races were excellent. Unfortunately Lorenzo was badly hurt in practice, and did not participate in the race.
(Both of these photos are from Friday, before free practice. We had paddock passes and were hanging out near the residence RV’s as the GP guys headed for the pits for practice!! LUCKYLUCKYLUCKY!)
After race weekend, we spent the remainder of the time on vacation. **I had to be reminded of that, on occasion, when I would hyperventilate and have small fits over Jack sleeping in. I eventually loosened up.**
We were in Barcelona for the first time in the summer of 1999. A lot has changed, not the least being the ECONOMY. The Euro has made all of Europe VERY expensive and much harder to live in. The days of certain countries being cheap (Spain on the peseta) are over! Given that, we still LOVE Barcelona, and Spain, and would move in an instant, given the opportunity!
Having been there 9 years ago also meant that we had already done/seen a lot of the standard tourist attractions. So this trip we could just relax into and enjoy the city without the strain and rushed chaos of trying to “do all the sights”.
We did some touristy things (the Picasso museum, Parc Guell, the Dali museum in Figueres), but for the most part, we wandered, ate, drank and relaxed. A short smattering of pictures are HERE.
Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
I’ve tried it in two different browsers and both show the same outcome.