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Barcelona Part Three

After visiting the Cathedral, we decided to take the Metro and go see Poble Catalunya. It was on Trip Advisor's "Top Then Things To Do" and we liked the description of a model village that contained elements of all the architectural areas of Spain. We had been to a similar village in Palma and enjoyed that.

The Metro is very good, quite easy to understand and fast. We arrived and I pulled out my iPhone GPS to see which way to walk to get to the Poble. It reminds me of the old "follow the bouncing ball" as I watched the arrow move along the blue line when we were going the right way and then move off to the white/gray area when we didn't turn where we were supposed to. We had quite a climb to get to the Poble and when we were returning later realized there was a much easier way to get there. Another black mark against GPS. 

It was after noon and so hot. We sat at a table in the shade and had a glass of lemonade while we recovered from the climb. The Poble was great, though. It contains shops and shop fronts as well as a small modern art museum and a "monastery." I enjoyed just roaming around with no fixed agenda, looking and taking photos.





Yes, that is Richard!! He actually encouraged me to take a photo of him. Amazing.















This mural reminded me of Quinn's favorite fairytale stories.























While we were wandering around the Poble, Laurie and family were at the beach. CJ said that although the beach was clean, there was a rim of garbage in the water at the edge that he and Porter had to wade past to get to the water. Glad we didn't go--the beaches here in Ireland may be chilly but they are clean. And Porter was embarrassed by the topless women--hasn't seen any of that in Arizona!

We walked back down to the Metro from the Poble at about 3:00. By this time the heat was scorching and I noticed sweat trickling down people's arms and necks in the Metro. I felt it trickling down the back of my t-shirt too. Richard decided he was too tired to go out walking that night with the kids so he stayed in the air conditioned hotel room and family and I went walking along Las Ramblas which is a long, vibrant, boulevard with street vendors and mimes. Finally was able to share a paella with CJ--very, very good! And Laurie and I shopped at Mango and Zara for Quinn and Mercy. Loads of sales going on. At 10:00 p.m. Barcelona was still busy and restaurant staff were standing outside their establishments trying to coax us in for tapas and paella. No thanks, have had our fill. But a long cool drink at Starbucks--that was great.










Never leave your phone in the hands of your daughter when going to the restroom
Nor in the hands of your grandson!

Now that's more like it!



Lyrics from Abba's "Mamma Mia" soundtrack come to mind when I think of our time together:

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers all the time 

We said good-bye at breakfast the next morning but at least it is only for about three months. I will miss the opportunities to go over to Europe but I miss my family more.

One more day on our own in Barcelona coming up soon.

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