Good morning! It is warm and bright here on our balcony. We have coffee while we overlook the sailboats and ships on the Mediterranean Sea. We watch the many people getting their morning exercise, many with their dogs, on the trails around our beautiful Hotel Miramar.
After coffee, we ready for the day and head out to find lunch and a castle. It’s very hilly here so we are getting good exercise! There are beautiful gardens and stairways, steep and long, everywhere we go. Shawn is wonderful at doing the research to find great little finds for us to experience. Lunch today is no exception. We come upon a little restaurant that normally would not have caught my eye, but the ratings were good. We go inside and enjoy a delicious lunch with versions of fried potatoes, tomato bread and a tabbouleh type salad with kale and quinoa as its base, that we’ve never had before. We also enjoy a plate of fresh parmesan cheese.
We start on the hike way up the hills, all on streets and through gardens, up to Castell de Montjuic. The walk is strenuous and invigorating but it’s so hot and we didn’t bring water with us…we take note that we will bring water from now on! We stop at a little bar by the Olympic pools from Barcelona 1992 for water and marvel that the pools are now of good use to the community. There are many people enjoying the escape from the heat.
We continue our trek up to the castle and once there, explore the inside as well as the grounds. I am continually amazed at the size and the amount of labor that went into the building of such places. The moat and the walls around the castle are vast. The castle overlooks the sea and I can easily imagine being on the outlook for invasion by pirates!
We meet a gentleman of Eastern Indian descent who is here from San Fransisco with his family. We chit-chat for a few minutes and before parting, he makes sure we know that the little restaurant on the grounds will gladly fill up our water bottles with cool water. Nice to know!
We decide to enjoy some time around the hotel pool for a couple of hours, after which we call an Uber and head to see our show, Grand Gala Flamenco at the Palau de la Musica Catalana. The venue is in a busy section of town where there are lots of restaurants and stands to buy ice cream and souvenirs. The theater itself is beautiful, with sculptured statues, stained glass and artistically designed walls and ceilings. The show is comprised of a small group of talented people. There are two singers, three dancers, and four musicians. It is lovely and captivating.
When we leave the theater, we head out onto the street and notice the still very warm, still air of the evening. We each get an ice cream cone and decide to walk back to the hotel. It’s much easier to exert the energy of climbing the hills without the intensity of the sun overhead.
Though it is dark now, the streets are still very busy. At 10:15 p.m., see a barber shop full of men and men driving a garbage truck down the street collecting trash. We take a picture for our grandson, Owen, who is fascinated with garbage trucks.
Once back to the hotel lounge, we enjoy watching some of the swimming competition of the Olympics and witness the setting of a world record by China. We settle in for the night, excited for what tomorrow has to bring. Good night, beautiful Barcelona!
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Sincerely and with love,
Sheri