2024 Spain – Barcelona
I asked the hotel to get us a taxi to the airport, and their “Five Star Service” supplied one that looked like it was bought from Fred Flintstone. Our flight was to Barcelona, where this time we stayed in the centre as we were only there for one full day and wanted to be able to walk everywhere. Despite the Hotel Barcelona Centre only being a standard four-star hotel, it was £257 a night, which was the most we had ever paid, but it seemed that all hotels were expensive in Barcelona. We were very happy with it, although I thought it a bit much that after charging so much for a room, they wanted an extra £5 for a fried egg with the “inclusive” breakfast.
We arrived in time for an early dinner (by Spanish Standards) and went to a Tapas restaurant called La Flauta, which was highly recommended. We were still not feeling great, so when we saw a queue of ten people waiting inside, I wanted to go elsewhere, as it looked like a small restaurant, so I couldn’t face waiting for ten people to finish their meal before we could sit down. We were just about to leave when a waiter said that if we didn’t mind sitting outside, we could have a table straight away, and as there were heaters that made it just about warm enough, we agreed. Ordering was difficult because while we were waiting inside, I had seen lots of fantastic dishes on the counter waiting to be served, but I didn’t know what they were called. It should be acceptable to walk around a restaurant and order by pointing at what people were eating, but I expect it would be frowned upon.
There was some confusion with our order, so I didn’t get quite what I wanted, but it was ok. By the time we had finished our meal, I was amazed to see that the queue had extended outside the shop and at least thirty metres down the road. I had never seen such a long queue waiting outside a restaurant, and I felt stupid having given up our place when there were only a few people in front of us. During a trip to the restroom, I saw that the restaurant extended right around the side and up the stairs, and had I known that, I certainly would have waited. 
It was quite a long walk to the restaurant, so by the time we arrived back at the hotel, I was shattered and full of cold, but thankfully I managed to get a good night’s sleep and was ready for our visit to the Picasso exhibition the next morning. We had wanted to visit the Sagrada Familia Cathedral as well, but I was surprised to find that it was booked up weeks in advance. I can’t say I am a big fan of Picasso, as his paintings made no more sense to me than one of his most famous quotes, “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” Surely he painted like a child when he was a child? Besides, if children’s paintings are so great, why don’t they sell at auction for millions of dollars? Are children’s paintings only valuable when they are painted by adults? I enjoyed the exhibition though, and hadn’t realised that he wasn’t a bad painter before he changed to his magic mushroom period, where the big bucks were.
We went to a nice little restaurant where we were served by a friendly and vivacious Russian man who insisted on knowing where his customers came from before serving them. As soon as we sat down, I noticed some faint music and a hissing sound, like a radio that had not been tuned in properly. It was irritating, but I didn’t say anything to the waiter in case he fixed it and it turned out to be techno music, in which case hissing was infinitely preferable. If I saw the words “chicken nuggets” on a menu, I wouldn’t look twice at it, but for some stupid reason, I was seduced by the name Crispy Chicken Poke Bowl, which turned out to be chicken nuggets with rice and a few odds and ends, so it was disappointing. Federika was a little happier with her avocado, but it was nothing memorable. We knew we should choose restaurants more carefully, but we had reached the age when the desire to eat well was less than our desire to stop for a rest. After lunch we took a stroll down Las Ramblas, which I had heard so much about, but what turned out to be just a long, tree-lined road with a lot of restaurants and bars on either side. We would have liked to go to the Casa Batlló, which was designed by Gaudí, but there was a long queue and we were happy enough seeing it from the very impressive exterior. 
Flight schedules made it difficult to stay in Barcelona for more than one day, but we were both happy to be going home as our colds had taken a lot out of us. I really liked Barcelona, and as it had become a transport hub for Dubrovnik, I had no doubt we would be able to stay longer next time. One of the things that impressed me most was the pedestrian crossings. They were everywhere, and drivers actually stopped at red lights.
Now we come to the end of our Moroccan adventure in 2024, and it is time for me to say adieu until next time.
2024 Barcelona and Morocco
