Today, we packed up and left Collioure. We wanted to leave around 9:30 am, although I knew that was a long shot. We ended up getting out the door around 10:30 but not without breaking a bottle of wine. Oops. Oh well, we had about an hour in the car before getting to our wine tour/tasting and picnic lunch.

We visited Terra Remota winery and vineyard. It is in Spain and very different from the chateaus in France. It is much more modern and industrial. They make some really good wine, and we enjoyed our visit. Justin also set up to have a picnic lunch in the vineyard. It was fantastic! It was actually a picnic for 2 people, but it was plenty of food for Sam, Justin, and I. Plus, it was a really good bargain. It was 40ish euros for the picnic and a bottle of wine. That same thing in Napa would have probably cost around 100$.

It took about 1.5 hours to get to Barcelona. Our apartment is in a great location, and we have plenty of room. We parked the car a couple of blocks away. Of course, James fell asleep about 15 minutes before we got there, so I put him in the baby carrier and held him while Justin and Sam unloaded the car. While they were unloading, Nonna arrived!! James was awake by then and was very excited to see his Nonna.

Justin had to go turn in the rental car, which turned out to be a giant disaster. Luckily, none of us were with him. He had some major issues getting to the car rental place due to a Renaissance festival that was going on. He said that he had to drive through some extremely narrow streets and wasn’t sure if he was going to make it. Justin doesn’t exaggerate. I believe that it was bad.

Justin and I had reservations at Pakta. It is a Japanese restaurant, and it was amazing! We got one of the tasting menus, and I think that there were about 20 courses! Some of them were very small (just 1 bite). We sat at the bar and got to watch the chefs prepare the food. Everything was so creative and beautifully presented. The fish was extremely fresh and delicious. We had a really nice time!

Sam and Nonna walked down the street with James in the stroller and picked up some dinner and sangria.

Tomorrow is our first day exploring Barcelona!

Adios!
Alyce