Barcelona

We arrived in Barcelona yesterday morning, very early. We got off the ship and found a cab to take us to our apartment. By that time it was raining very hard. Our taxi driver spoke virtually no English, and when we gave him our address, he looked panicked and didn´t seem to know where that particular address was. Luckily Bill, who is nothing if not thorough, had printed out a Google map that showed exactly where the apartment was located. The taxi driver was very happy.

Much to our surprise, the apartment is located on the narrowest street I have ever seen. We literally had trouble opening the doors on either side of the taxi because it was so narrow. We had to wait a bit to get the key, because the person who was to meet us to give the key to us was late. We probably got into our apartment near noon.

The apartment is, let´s say simple. It consists of two twin beds, a bureau, and (thank you God) a private bathroom with a shower. The room is literally no bigger (if as big) as our cabin on the ship. Normally that wouldn´t bother me much because we spend so little time in the room. However, the rain that had begun that morning never let up. In fact, it poured rain the entire rest of the day. We tried to not let that stop us. We took off walking Las Ramblas, which is a street that goes down the length of the old city.

We found a restaurant in which to eat lunch about 2 o´clock. Bill and I each had paella, and we really weren´t very impressed with it. It was very salty. After that we walked some more, including a visit to La Boqueria, which is a huge market. It was so crowded, however, that we left there quite quickly.

Finally we couldn´t ignore the rain any longer, and we went back to our apartment. We were both drenched, and we stayed there for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Around 9, we were going stir crazy, so, though it was still raining, we set off on foot once again. We went down Las Ramblas to a HUGE department store that included a supermercado in the basement. We walked around the store a bit, and then went to the market. We bought some Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, potato chips, mustard, bread and wine. One note: the bread was called Pan de Molde. That seems like a funny name for bread. Also, the wine we bought cost about two and a half euros. We can find Two Buck Chuck (or its Spanish equivalent) anywere!

Today (Sunday), the sun is out, though I think it will rain later. We walked down to the old city again and attended Mass at the Cathedral. Those of you who have attended Mass with Bill know how heartily he sings the hymns. You will be happy to know that he does the same in Spanish! We had a book we had purchased that had the Order of the Mass in many languages, so we could follow along somewhat.

Happy Mothers Day to my sisters, sisters-in-law, stepmother, mother-in-law, daughters-in-law, friends, and anyone else I may have forgotten. We miss you all.