mymidlifegapyear: Barcelona

The adjective BEGUILING has 2 senses:

1. highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire

2. misleading by means of pleasant or alluring methods

The last time I was in beguiling (1) Barcelona I was 17!

I have memories of my Mum slightly tipsy after sharing a jug of sangria with me and us meeting 2 Spaniards, teachers who thought Mum was my older sister. We ended up travelling with them through Spain, but only after we had taken a photo of their car registration and sending to our relatives in Italy in case anything happened to us! It was one of a few precious memories of my Mum and me together, when she was free and happy.

This time I am going for a few days on my own before joining my dear friends Viv and Hugh for my Mediterranean cruise. So many years have passed since that first visit, so many memories and experiences, I was headstrong and had stars in my eyes and thought I could change the world.

The nearly 10 hour trip from San Francisco to Paris is finally over. The A380 was packed to the rafters, all 538 seats were filled and no matter how new the plane, and how great the entertainment, it is still a long, uncomfortable trip “down the back”.

I’m waiting at Charles De Gaulle airport for my flight to Spain. Technically, I have been up all night and I’m flagging. I’ve been in transit 4 hours and the plane is delayed.

Barcelona is a wonderful surprise. Its tree lined Las Ramblas area is full of tapas bars and restaurants. Nearby Paseo de Gracias is full of brand shopping (I am not normally a shopper but Barcelona is a place I could do some serious damage!) and everywhere you look are stunning tree lined avenues and a few Gaudi masterpieces. The whole city is like a living art gallery.

There is a great airport bus service that takes you to the major city stops for about 5 euro that has luggage space, so it is cheap and easy to get into the city even with luggage.

I was lucky to be staying right at one of the bus stops at Hotel Condestable www.condestablehotel.com which is a comfortable, mid range hotel close all Barcelona's attractions.

My friends stayed at the more up market http://www.hotelinternacionalcool.com/

which was right on Las Ramblas, and in walking distance to Taller de Tapas on Pl Sant Josep Oriol 9 www.tallerdetapas.com which was a really wonderful place for a drink and great food.

For a cheaper but no less wonderful meal check out the market on Las Ramblas with its cool little eateries.

After a couple of easy days exploring Barcelona (the Red Bus is worth doing) it was a short taxi trip to the port to board the gorgeous Nieuw Amsterdam for the “luxury” part of my mid life gap year adventure.

A presto

Mon x