Honeymoon part 2!

After 3 days in wonderful and beautiful Girona we headed back to the big city on the train. We arrived in Barcelona and headed off to The Barri Gothic area where our hotel was located. When we arrived they told us that our hotel room was not ready for us--the lights were not working--so we had been relocated down the street to another hotel for the night. It didn't seem so bad,so we plopped our stuff down and took off walking several miles to Sagrada Familia--a chathedral started by Gaudi, but yet to be finished. It was amazing and a little surreal. Definitely worth the walk through town! We headed back for dinner and an early night after a long day of travel. The next morning we realized the room we were sent to wasn't all it was cracked up to be after all...we couldn't wait to get out of there as the sink was clogged and the shower didn't work. We gladly trekked back down to the hotel to see if we could check in. We were assured the room was now fixed and ready, but it was not cleaned yet, so we'd have to come back in a couple of hours. So...off we went to explore the rest of the city. Barcelona was much bigger than I could have ever imagined. The Barri Gothic area we stayed in was filled with charming little streets packed with stores. We spent the day getting lost in the streets, checking out little placas and exploring all that we could find. The next day we did more of the same, while also traveling the Rambla (main street in town) down to the port. Along the way we checked out the Boqueria (market), ate some tapas, and visited the main cathedral (which was sadly covered on the outside due to construction. Luckily, Steve knew a couple of people who were living in Barcelona and they were kind enough to take us away from tourist central one evening. We traveled by metro to a little area that held the most charming little restaurant. It was an old building which used to house a wine warehouse type place...we ate rabbit and snails and drank wine with good friends. It was a perfect night full of traditional catalan food! The next day we found our way up to Montjuic with its castle and olympiv remnants. We took a gondola (that took us high above the city and up the mountain) and you could see the amazing view of the huge city that is Barcelona. It was the perfect way to cap off our visit. The next morning we were off to home. A wonderful trip had come to an end, but we know it marked just the beginning of all sorts of adventures yet to come for us!

Pictures don't do any of the trip justice...but they are much more beautiful in full size...you can always click on them to make them bigger...sorry some are sideways...I am too lazy to change them.


Sagrada Familia

Steve posing on Montjuic

YUMMY tapas at the Boqueria

Not a true report without some fashion...Tapered pants were all the rage...ugh, thank goodness i don't have to do that!

Our usual meal of coffee and ham sandwich...they do love their bread and ham!

The square right around the corner from our hotel where we ate and drank and watched...

The Placa Catalunya...the main plaza area...it was filled with pigeons to chase and feed and apparently if you're 5, to sit down and hang out with.

View from the balcony of our hotel room (the one we liked, not the scuzzy first one!)

La Taverna de Marguerite where we ate with good friends, Marco and Savita

Some of the roman walls

Us high above Barcelona

Placa del Pi

Barcelona from up above

La Boqueria...where you can find anything from rabbit to snails to fruit to fish to tapa bars

Church passage way...so beautiful as it sits high above the street.

Good friends at dinner

sitting in the placa you see the strangest things...like dogs in side cars...how cute!

views in La Boqueria...who knew it was foreshadowing of dinner yet to come

Gondola to Montjuic

Graffiti is everywhere in Spain...most of it very artistically done, but everywhere nonetheless...from train stations to gates that pull down over stores...

Honeymoon!

After flying into Barcelona and spending the night...where we literally walked in to our hotel above the train station and fell asleep (which was fine b/c the room wasn't much to look at or enjoy), we headed off by train to a little town about 1.5 hrs away from the big city. We weren't sure what to expect from Girona, but it truly was a gem! Our stay in this charming town was amazing...even with the cathedral chimes waking us up in the middle of the night.

It all began as we took a taxi from the train station in Girona and were amazed as it woun up the hills to the top of town. These road has literally enough room for one car, so when someone came the opposite direction they performed quite a dance in order to both get where they needed to go. Our hotel was at the top of what was called the "Jewish Quarter" which was full of charming narrow streets filled with cute restaurants and little shops. Just before we reached the top of the hill, and our hotel, we saw a wonderful old cathedral that was built in the early 1700s. It was just steps from our hotel and the base of which became our morning hang out...where we drank ourcoffee and watched the crazy tourist groups who flocked to the church (and blocked the roads as they walked aimlessly without concern for those cars which were trying to maneuver the steep narrow roads of the city).

Finally we reached our hotel and I can not recommend it enough! From the charming rooms with exposed stone, to the modern amenties, to the awesome location, to the great staff...it was truly one of a kind! Inside the hotel you could see the signs that this town is training grounds for many professional cyclists...there were signed jerseys thanking this small hotel (maybe 12 rooms?!) for their great accomodations while they trained on the nearby hills.

Our days were spent seeing the sights of this beautiful city...charming gardens, the wall you can walk on that runs around the city,and all sorrts of beautiful little nooks and crannies. We also took a drive...yikes...where steve drove (a stick shift...which he is not used to) and i navigated (of course I am directionally challenged). It was quite a trip! We saw a beautiful town called Pals that looked like it came out of a movie set, and also a seaside town called Begur that plays home to the tourists of N. Europe during the summer (although it was almost deserted when we stoppedy by...luckily we missed the busy tourist season!) Our last stop was the Mediterranean Sea itself as we visited the beach of Aguiablava and it's green blue water and white washed homes with spanish tile roofs standing beautifully in stark contrast.

Here are some of the sites.


This is the crazy leg that sat in every restaurant. They carved the meat right off that hoof that sat on the counter...I'm not sure what I think about that!

Steve and I walking the wall that ran around the city

The beautiful building of Pals

Steve driving on our way out of Girona on our adventures

The view from the balcony of our hotel

The cobblestones that covered the roads

a typical Girona street

The Gardens of Girona

More Girona streets

The River Onyar divides the old and new parts of town and is lined with colored apartments that result in quite a site!

Beach at Aguiablava...our trip to the coast.

Begur...a resort town just up from the coast.

Mediterranean sea...how beautiful!