The second half of our time in Barcelona was as good as the first and the weather improved! We put away the thermals and brought out the T-shirts!
The experience of renting an apartment in a local neighbourhood (out of the tourist area) was exactly what we hoped for - shopping at the local market, wine and tapas in the square, and immersion into the day-to-day.
We flew back via Zurich Friday and drove ourselves back from LA to San Diego this time on Highway 1 - the Pacific Coastal route. The Southern California coastal towns are interesting - some quite old fashioned, and some really trendy and the beaches busy with surfers, and beach volleyball.
We walked across the border, had one night in Tijuana - (haven’t been to Tijuana for over 30 years ) and back to La Paz Sunday afternoon. Great to be back!
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| Close to the peak of the mountain at Montserrat |
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| We got the funicular up, and hiked down! |
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| A view of the monastery from the pathway down |
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| Good Friday procession in Barcelona. Serious stuff. |
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| 30 guys underneath the purple curtain stoop to carry this heavy load, and have to rest frequently. |
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| The 'penitents' - with no shoes, and chains. |
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| 3 hrs later the second shrine arrives at the cathedral. It was a very moving experience. |
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| I met a new friend who gave me his map of all the local breweries. |
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| We put it to good use. This is Martina (from Argentina) pulling a pint at Ale&Hop |
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| Mariachis are worldwide. We shared a metro trip with these. |
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| De Angelis restaurant, was one of the highlights of our trip. We met lovely 'local' Italian people. |
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| The owner getting passionate about his pizza dough! |
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| The biggest let down was the churros & hot chocolate in our neighborhood. It was truly awful! |
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| Backstreet painter in the Gothic area |
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| Using the magical map, I found another happy place (and a dog!) |
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| Leanne has her "Happy" moment on the beach at Barceloneta |
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| The stairs to our "attico", luckily there was an elevator for the first 5 floors. |
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| The view to the east |
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| The view to the west |
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| Our local 'hood' after it rained. |
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| Outside a really nice family business where we bought a present for Rylie. With 'Blanco" the rabbit |
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| Our tickets to tour the Sagrada Familia got screwed up, so we missed the tour. (still waiting for the refund!) |
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| A large scale demonstration of independence- people wore yellow ribbons on their lapels too |
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| Literally everything tastes better with this on it. |
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| Second visit to De Angelis - one of the BEST pizzas I have ever eaten. |
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| Flying back over the Alps |
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| And always a Rylie moment to finish. |
