We left Madrid and traveled on an Iryo high-speed train to Barcelona. We had purchased first-class tickets and the seats were very comfortable and included breakfast. I enjoyed the Spanish breakfast with jamon and it was delicious. Upon our arrival in Barcelona our Airbnb host suggested we have lunch at Bo de Bernat just steps away. The restaurant served Catalan cuisine and was delicious. I loved the Arroz mi Rosso oxtail and rice in gravy. It was like a braised oxtail stew with rice covered in a rich gravy! I need to try and recreate this dish. A bottle of cava was only $9!

We had tickets to see FC Barcelona that afternoon. The game was played at the Olympic Stadium on Mountjuic. Despite taking a taxi, we still had to climb steep stairs to get to the stadium. The game against Real Sociedad started off great. However, before we even reached 10 minutes into the game, Sociedad was penalized with a red card. This meant they would have to play with one less player for the rest of the game. So, predictably, Barca won which was great for the fans and made for a fun game. Since the route back to our Airbnb was downhill, we easily walked it. We bought a variety of empanadas and enjoyed a Rioja at our Airbnb while finally doing laundry!! This was a welcome activity since we packed lightly to easily maneuver through train stations and on trains.

On our first full day in Barcelona, we scheduled a walking tour to introduce us to the city. We visited a market where I bought some chicharron. We enjoyed the energy at La Rambla, a lovely pedestrian street with vendors along the way. We explored the Gothic Quarter a historic center of old Barcelona where we saw walls built by Romans. Next, we walked to the trendy Born District for shopping. We ended at the Basilica De La Sagrada Familia. Construction on this basilica started in 1882 and is still going today. I can’t believe the vision that the architect Gaudi had. How did he design and bring to life this amazing feat of architecture and engineering? After our day of walking, exploring, and architecture, we participated in our second tour of the day. We scheduled a pub crawl for the evening. During our time eating tapas and having drinks, we enjoyed conversations with new friends from Florida, Germany, and Scotland. I even got to speak in Japanese to my German friend Rosa who holds a PhD in Japanese! What fun!

The next day, we decided to take the train to Girona. While there, we picked up some bread and fuet (Catalan sausage/salami) for our Airbnb. We found a sidewalk cafe and enjoyed lunch while watching the world go by. We made our way to the cathedral where another episode of Game of Thrones was filmed. I may have to watch the show one day. Girona is a great day trip from Barcelona only 40 minutes away on the high-speed train. If you choose the high-speed train, you should get there early to go through security. We had a little hiccup with our timing but we made it to Girona. In the evening, we hired a chef to cook for us in our AirBnb. We enjoyed cannelloni, croquette, Spanish tortilla, all in the comfort of our space. What fun. If only our kitchen had more utensils and cooking equipment, it would have been easier for our chef. I guess most visitors to Barcelona are going out and about for meals.

Next day: Visit to Montserrat. It is a mountain range home to the Virgin of Montserrat. The Black Madonna resides in the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery. People visit her to pray for a miracle while touching her hand. There is even a room where people bring things back to give thanks when the miracles come true. There were a few walking canes and many baby clothes there. On the mountain, we had a tasting of liqueurs that hopefully, that blessed us a little more. We bought some truffle cheese made in the area to bring home to Hawaii. After we got back to Barcelona, we headed to the market and found a seafood restaurant. The restaurant gets their seafood from the vendors next to them and it’s so fresh. We had what I call our big fish lunch – a huge platter of fish! From there, we walked off the huge meal by heading to the beach where we saw the Mediterranean Sea. It was too cold to put our feet in the water. Instead, we enjoyed a jug of sangria at a sidewalk cafe.

On our last full day in Barcelona, we visited Casa Batllo. This building designed by Antoni Gaudi was spectacular. This stop made me become a huge fan of Gaudi. I love the colors and imagination displayed at Casa Batllo. After this first stop, we had a quick lunch at a bakery. I enjoyed a sandwich, an ensamada, and freshly squeezed orange juice. The next stop of the day was to the Picasso museum. Until this stop, I didn’t realize that Picasso had such a strong connection to Barcelona/Catalunya. Very cool stop. We then found an espadrilles shop!!! Yes, I did buy shoes and can’t wait for the rain to stop so I can use my Spanish shoes. On the way back to the Airbnb, we stopped at the Born City Center Museum — El Born CCM. There were exhibits that help visitors see what life in Barcelona was like in the early 18th century. Coming from an island, I was amazed to see remnants of the wall surrounding Barcelona. This wall served as protection during the Roman Empire. On our way back, we popped in to Dunne’s Irish Pub and had some Strongbow cider. Next stop was for vermouth and tapas at a tavern near the apartment. This set us up perfectly for our fun olive oil tasting at Hola Olive with Carolina, the best EVOO educator.

On this last day in Barcelona, we stopped at Sant Antoni market for olive oil and olives. Enjoyed empanada and fideua (paella with noodles instead of rice) for breakfast. We checked out of our Airbnb and moved a little closer to the airport. The next hotel was the modern Renaissance Fira Barcelona. There was an IKEA and a mall next to the hotel. This meant shopping on this last day in Spain. We bought rice, saffron, chocolates, and more olives and got some rest before a long journey home.

There were a few slight delays on the way home but we made all our connections. Going through customs and immigrations in Washingon, DC was smooth and easy. I declared my cheese and there were no problems. We had an overnight layover in Los Angeles and stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Los Angeles LAX/El Segundo. It was conveniently located close to the airport and an In-N-Out Burger. We checked in and got some burgers before getting some rest before our morning flight. This is a no-frills hotel but just fine for a place to get some rest for a few hours. We made it home to Kona along with all our bags. What an awesome Spanish adventure. Living Hilo Style in Spain.