We wake up to our last full day in Barcelona. We’ve been traveling for 13 days now and decide to hand launder some of our clothing. We lay it carefully out on the furniture on our balcony to dry, hoping that the wind doesn’t come up while we’re out for the day. It should dry fast because of the intense heat that’s been present here all week.
We walk to the oceanside shops and restaurants to eat lunch, browse around and get some exercise. As we approach the beach, a man holding an umbrella (one of many selling umbrellas and beach towels) engages us in light-hearted conversation while he tries to convince us of our need for shade. He is fun and has a pleasant demeanor so I ask him if I can take his picture. He gets nervous, politely declines and walks away. I notice a police car has pulled into the plaza behind us. The man with the umbrella alerts his friends on the beach and the men scatter. One buries the umbrella he has been holding in the sand nearby. They don’t seem fearful; more like mischievous teenagers not wanting to get caught!
We explore a beautiful, sprawling hillside botanical garden overlooking the sea, one of many in Barcelona, called Jardins de Mossen Costa I Llobera. There are cacti, succulents, blackberries, bougainvillea, and many varieties of beautiful flowers. I continue to get a workout climbing the endless, long stairways that bring us through the garden and back up to the area of our hotel!
After our time out exploring, we enjoy some refreshing time in the pool, and then get ready for dinner. We choose a restaurant next to our hotel called Martinez. They serve many authentic Spanish dishes and the hostess and servers are all very friendly. We are placed at a small table where we sit side by side looking out over the harbor and the sea. Our server is a young lady with a very thick and beautiful Spanish accent. She brings us each dish and waits to see if we like it; there is true joy on her face as she watches us delight in the food and drink. There are a couple of moments where the language barrier presents itself and when we are able to guess what she means, she exclaims, “yes!” and excitedly repeats the words that we used.
Toward the end of our meal, she has time to chit-chat with us. She tells us she was born here in Barcelona and has lived here most of her life. She asks our names and tells us her name is Christina. She leaves the table to attend to the needs of her other customers. When she comes back, she quizzes us on her name and is pleased when we easily tell her, “Christina”. She repeats back “Sheri, and Shawn,” and we all laugh at our ability to recall!
Shawn and I reflect on our trip so far. We decide that our favorite part of travel is getting to know people from all over the world and trying to get an understanding of different cultures in a meaningful way. We also love the food and drink as well as seeing the beautiful sights. We like to take a leisurely pace instead of trying to see everything. We are learning that so much is unpredictable and we strive to accept what comes our way. We are mindful not to special order anything and if there is a misunderstanding due to language barriers, we let things be the way they are whenever possible. It’s truly a practice of the art of surrender, a way of being accepting and gentle with ourselves and the world around us.
Barcelona has been good to us.
You are an inspiration. I am an extrovert and my greatest regret from our international travels is making new friends and connections. You are out there doing it and I love it.
Hello David! Ah! You are so good at connections! I’ll bet you made more than you know…writing about it certainly seals it to memory. Thank you for following!