Monday 11th March - dawned sunny and we spent the morning
catching up with a few chores, such as finding the washing machines and figuring
out how they worked. We also met two of
our leaders for the tour, Ann and Steve who were very welcoming and friendly.
During the afternoon we explored our nearest town – Vilanova
and had a very bracing walk along the sea front, though sat outside a café for
a café con leche in the sunshine.
Tuesday 12th March saw most of the group arriving
during the course of the day. We helped
out with couple of vans struggling to get over the kerbs of the pitches. A good way to bond and meet your fellow
travellers. In the evening we enjoyed a
welcome meal in the site restaurant. One
of the dessert offerings was fried milk, which Sarah ordered out of curiosity. Not sure she is any the wiser!! The nearest description she could give was
deep fried condensed milk. We won’t be having
it again.
Wednesday 13th March started wet with the thunder
and only proceeded to get wetter. We
had a coach tour of Barcelona planned which was not a great success.
We couldn’t see much and got extraordinarily wet!!! It took 2 days for our shoes to dry
out. Mid-afternoon we cut the trip short
and came back to the site. In
recognition of an unsuccessful day our leaders organised a drink for everyone
in the bar at 6.30pm, which was very welcome and enjoyable.
Thursday 14th was a free day and the weather was
glorious, not a cloud in the sky. We
decided to drive back to Barcelona on our own and have another ago. We walked the length of Las Ramblas,
stopping at a tapas bar for a coffee and to explore the amazing market.
The displays of fruit, veg, sweets and meats were quite
something. Though sampling the delights
turned out to be expensive. We then
walked right along the front past the marina to an area known as Barcelonetta. This is a very old area of the City where the
streets are much narrower. We had a
wander and some lunch and then took the metro to see the Sagrada Familia –
Gaudi’s unfinished cathedral.
What a sight for sore eyes.
It is quite an absurd and fanciful building in many ways but the intricacy
and attention to detail is beautiful.
The design of the columns and the roof inside are intended to give the
feeling of a being a forest and it works.
The colours of the stained glass windows and the effect of the sun
streaming through them was stunning.
The building is still unfinished though they have continued
to work on it since Gaudi died in 1926 and it is said it will take another 100
years work.
We then went up to Parc Guell, another Gaudi masterpiece
with a number of buildings which looked like they were designed for gnomes to
live in or as part of a Star Wars set.
There were some beautiful mosaic tile patterns on the buildings and a
panoramic view of the City.
Friday 15th March saw us take a tour of the
Torres vineyard and the chance to sample a little tipple. Though we have been aware of Torres wines for
years we did not appreciate the size of the business and range of wines that
they make.
We then travelled up into the mountains to the visit the monastery
at Monserrat and appreciate the far reaching views. We understand there is also some good
walking to be done from here if you have the time.
Saturday 16th March. We flew back from Barcelona to
the UK due to the fact that my mum was terminally ill. She died in the early
hours of Tuesday morning.
We will continue the blog when we return to Spain.
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