Braving Barcelona!

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Just a nibble as free tapas!

Barcelona is a big place!! With this in mind we chose to have two nights somewhat outside at Castelldefels. We had stayed there many years ago and knew it was OK for parking, has a nice beach with bars and getting into the city by bus:- something we had planned for the Sunday - is straightforward. That is all true, but we had near disasters on each of the three days involved. On Saturday we set off in great weather, crossed into Catalunya and picked up the motorway for a wide northerly sweep round the city. Naming of roads starts to get a bit tricky. (AP, B, A, E etc) We had Bob's list of distances on each and there was a dispute at one point over whether we had gone far enough. We need a good road atlas for Spain and somehow have never bought one. We became convinced that we had seriously overshot a junction and so came off at the next with no idea where we were. The upshot was a huge, hot extended tour on non-motorway roads, we later discovered to be officially pretty! Eventually getting to Castelldefels we could see the Ibis but not get in! Frayed nerves, but a decent place to stay! We went off for the afternoon walking alongside the Olympic Canal from 1992, marvelled at the Cable Water-skiing and found a crowded but friendly beach bar. As Rajoy had just resigned we toasted a socialist government - of sorts! It was very sunny, the sea was almost inviting and we had a great couple of hours, but decided not to eat but take the bus back up to the centre of Castelldefels for an early supper. Alighting at a random stop we found just the place: Bar 101 - unpretentious, spacious and with a long menu of tapas in Spanish rather than Catalan - so intelligible to Greyrocks! We walked back to the hotel sparing only a minor thought for the weather forecast!

With Rajoy out - maybe!

Next morning it was raining! We killed time but it got worse, so we grabbed an umbrella and headed for the bus stop - only to see the expected bus pass as we walked. We lurked in LIDL and caught the next. It is a 40 minute ride, but interesting and very cheap. It also became very crowded and we were pleased to get off at Placa de Catalunya - except that it was now torrential rain, so we ran into a brasserie we know nearby and had a couple of disappointing tapas. It rained all day, which made Las Ramblas an obstacle course with umbrellas, puddles, and lost, loud and bad-tempered tourists (So unlike our good selves of course!) All bars and cafés were full. This was not nice! We thought of the Contemporary Art Museum and would even have paid. We argued about its location and arrived to discover it closed at 3 pm on Sundays. It was 3.15!  More bar-lurking (a very nice one!) and the bus back. A driver gave us wrong information about two very similar bus routes and we had to walk  a long way other end to change buses. By then it had just about stopped raining. Devoid of ideas and the will to explore we went back to Bar 101 and sat inside for freebies and some warming dishes.  Next day would be Ruth's birthday and "Things can only get better!"

Barcelona: 3 - Greyrocks: 0 (half-time)

The day would have an odd form as we were to catch a ferry at 10 pm. There were several options, and we chose the worst. We wanted a fairly early dinner near the port, and we needed to plan for navigational problems and not exploit free parking at the hotel for an unreasonable time.  So we checked out at 12, left the car for a couple of hours whilst we did a supermarket visit and walked down again beside the canal to the beach, ate our sandwiches and went for a quick drink at the same chiringuito. (There we met a British boy having his birthday too - his First - Ruth's a somewhat larger number !) Then we went back for the car. Even in the telling the naivete of the next bit is staggering! We managed the route as far as the port entrance with little trouble, so decided to go right up to the terminal - in case we could - perhaps - park and walk. Of course we couldn't! We had picked a few Trip Advisor recommendations open all day on Mondays. Mostly they were in Barceloneta. It was a June afternoon: pleasantly sunny after an appalling Sunday. Chances of parking an over-height GB-plated car with all the travelling worldly wealth - for a reasonable price -  in the crime capital of Europe somewhere two paranoid geriatrics would feel comfortable about or could observe throughout a leisurely meal? Exactly - how dumb to have even considered it! So we drove on looking for other beach-side spots and came upon a space near a chiringuito. Never mind TA and the special occasion  - this would have to do! And Ruth's review says it all  - except the "lucky escape bit"! R could not initially get the machine to accept a debit card as it should. and we debated taking the rick of being without a ticket. After getting change and help we settled at a table with a view of the car, Whilst Bob was in the loo a towing lorry arrived and the guys looked particularly carefully at Yvette and her very valid parking ticket. A close shave!

We took sequential walks along the very pleasant prom and then headed back to the port, prepared for a long and tedious boarding process. This time, however we got the documentation sorted instantly an were beckoned aboard, found the cabin and the bar and that they had cheap Prosecco and the prospect of adequate WiFi in the morning. Equanimity was restored - but next day it would be Italy!