We took a train along the coast from Valencia north to Barcelona. Public spaces can tend to blur together when you've seen enough of them. Valencia Estacia Du Nord (the new train station) is an exception. Renovated with mosaic tiles, decorated with stained glass panels featuring the iconic Valencia oranges, this train station was beautiful. The ride itself was also highly enjoyable. We were seated with an adorable nineteen month old Spanish cutie who charmed us throughout the three hour trip. Forget the fact that we were within sight of the Mediterranean Sea the entire journey. We couldn't keep our eyes off Scarlett. Scarlett knew how to wink and wasn't afraid to use it.
Our hotel in Barcelona exemplified the expression location, location, location. Not in a good way. I thought we were in the right location, but alas, it was too close to the beach and right on Las Ramblas. The rowdy part of Las Ramblas. There were thousands of tourists going nowhere, back and forth. The drinking, shouting and fighting went on all night long, the hotel itself was a dump, the management rude and arrogant and the air conditioning barely worked. It was also one of the more expensive hotels we stayed in. Breakfast not included.
Booking the trip to Europe reminded me of remodeling the house. It kind of fell apart at the end. There are only so many decisions you can make WELL without compromising quality. Decision making fatigue set in and the mind gave up. Planning all the destinations, factoring transportation, cost, sights and everything else can be a wear out. In Barcelona, I picked badly.
We did the requisite tour of Parc Guell with all the famous Antoni Gaudi sculptures, including the home where he lived for twenty years - now a museum. I have to say, I was underwhelmed. It was extremely crowded. I can't recall ever being someplace where so many people were taking photographs. The shapes were whimsical and avant-garde for the times, but really it was a bunch of broken tile slapped on concrete. I've done mosaics and it's not that difficult. It's dramatic and unusual, but the artistry doesn't compare to the cathedrals we'd seen. Eric said it reminded him of Santa Barbara's Madonna Inn.
After Parc Guell we took a wonderful walk all the way back to our hotel through the trendy Gracia and upscale Eixample neighborhoods, finally winding through the historic Ciutat Vella. It took all day. Anything to avoid going back to Las Ramblas. Passeig de Gracia, the main boulevard through the wealthy neighborhood that features numerous Gaudi buildings was very pretty, but the stores were mostly chains you'd find in any large city. And the graffiti. It was everywhere, even in the nicest neighborhoods.
On a side street near our hotel we found an Irish pub that was showing Wimbledon. We settled in to watch the Djokovic-Tsonga match with a bunch of rowdy Texans. Everyone in that bar, employees included, was rooting for Jo-Wilfried. We had to buy more drinks when he won a set so we could stay and watch. At that moment, it occurred to me that so much of traveling is about renting space. We were already paying a premium to live in our house in California. Then we were renting a hotel room we didn't like, so we spent the day escaping in cafes and bars. You don't even want to think about what each day is costing.
That night was our second and final night in Barcelona. We had a very good dinner in one of the charming, old squares. I LOVE warm evenings and eating outdoors in summer. It was romantic with the light fading (at 10:30 p.m.) and Flamenco dancers to entertain us. The next day Eric was off to Scotland to see Caitlin and I went to New York City to be with Allie.
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