Today, we planned to walk towards the old Spanish town area, visit the big market (La Boquerua), and then put our toes in the water. We set out around 11:00.
One of the first things that we came across is the beautiful Cathedral of Barcelona. We walked all around, and James was very good. There is a courtyard outside where several big white geese live. James liked looking at the geese and things seemed to be going well. We hit our first snag in the day when Sam and my mom wanted to browse around the gift shop in the cathedral and it took forever to check out.
Justin was ready to move on, and they were in line waiting to check out. Not a big deal, of course, but James adds an extra layer if complication onto things. He doesn’t exactly sit still for long periods if time. It’s best to just keep moving.
That brings me to my next topic. Everyone has a different definition of “vacation.” Some people like to sit and people watch for hours, others like to shop, others go to fancy restaurants, and some walk the city. Justin and I have traveled alot together. We kinda have a routine. Justin leads the way, and I try to keep up. We usually eat one main meal per day and there is no leisurely shopping. I am always welcome to go out on my own, but I don’t feel very confident with my sense if direction. My mom is doing well, but I think that she may be having some trouble with the pace. We don’t stop and browse around stores. We don’t eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s just a different type of travel. We are used to doing it, but it’s not for everyone. I just want my mom to have a good time. I feel like I’m sort of in the middle….wanting to make my mom happy but also knowing how Justin likes to do things.
Anyway………we made it to the beach in Barcelona. It isn’t the nicest or cleanest but James had the best time! We all had fun hanging out and seeing the sights. There was a guy that was completely nude. I’ll leave it at that. There are always some sights to be seen on European beaches.
James soaked his clothes so we had to buy him a new t shirt, and we took a cab back to the apartment. He fell asleep around 6:30 on the sofa, and we made the risky decision to just put him to sleep even though it was so early. I’ll pay for that later.
For dinner Justin, Sam, and I had some tapas at a couple of places. The first place that we went to had a line of locals outside the door before it opened so we decided to check it out. It was really good. There were a bunch of different tapas with toothpicks in them. They charge you based on how many toothpicks you end up with. Prices of food and wine are extremely reasonable. After that, we went to a restaurant that Scott and Kerri suggested called La Flauta. We had some great sangria and delish tapas.
After that, we went to a rooftop bar and had some mojitos.
We got home around 11:45. James must have sensed that I was back and immediately woke up. He was in a very confused/ night terror state and was inconsolable. I’ll save you the gorry details but it took until about 3.5 hours to get him back to sleep, and he wasn’t the only one crying. He slept until about 6:30 and was up for the day. I really wanted to throw myself out the window.
Hopefully tomorrow is better
Alyce