Do you speak Flanswyli?

Barcelona twice in less than two months? Yep, that's right! I went back to Barcelona because why the heck not? Its only an hour and a half flight away and its wonderful there.

After my friend Jen left Geneva, I helped Travers get ready for his trip to Kiev on Tuesday, and then I left for Barcelona on Wednesday to meet up with Jen and Kara.  I was so excited that I ended up getting to the airport about an hour too early. It was worth it though cause I would have gone stir crazy sitting at home.

On the plane, I had a spectacular view of the Alps. It was amazing to see the different peaks and valleys. The second picture here shows a lake, possibly Lake Annecy, which we went to with Suzy in June during her visit. I wish I had a better camera, because these views were just jaw-dropping.

Once I got to Barcelona, I met Jen and Kara at the rooftop pool deck of our hotel, the Mandarin Oriental. It was a beautiful sunny day and they had just ordered a bottle of Cava. Yumm. We spent the next few hours catching up, sunning ourselves and sipping champagne. When the sun started to set around 6p or 7p, we went down to the room to get ready for dinner.  Three hours later (yes, 3 girls and 1 bathroom takes 3 hours), we were finally ready for the evening.  So we took a cab to the Port-Olympic area and had a delicious dinner at Sotavento steps away from the beach. We enjoyed our meals and ordered more Cava and just talked and gossiped the rest of the evening.

Thursday morning, we got breakfast at Pans & Company, which is the best place to get breakfast. Only 2.20 for a cafe con leche and pastry of your choice. Amazing!  Then we spent the rest of the morning shopping at Mango and Zara. After lunch, we decided to take the metro to Park Guell.  After hiking up some hills and taking some outdoor escalators, we arrived at Park Guell. Travers and I hadn't been here during our last visit, so it was exciting to see something new.

Park Guell, designed by Gaudi, has a huge terrace lined with benches that have colorful mosaic tile designs embedded into the concrete. There were several street vendors selling lots of jewelry and souvenirs, which we discovered is illegal as lots of them fled when the police came to patrol the area. Good thing it was after Jen and Kara bought some jewelry.  After walking around a bit, we sat at an outdoor cafe that overlooks the terrace, and sipped sangria while enjoying the live music and sun.









That night, after lots of sun and sangria, we went to a nearby restaurant called Brown 33. Travers and I had gone here during our last visit, and it was just as delicious this time. We got a table outside, and sat for several hours eating delicious italian dishes, and sipping Cava. We stayed for so long that the waitstaff had to ask us to leave as they were closing up for the evening.

Our last day in Barcelona was unfortunately overcast and chilly. We shopped around some more, trying to stay indoors as much as possible, hoping that the sun would fight through the clouds. We then slowly made our way down the famous La Rambla, stopped into the Mercat de la Boqueria to view all the amazing foods, fruits, fish, meats etc..., and ended up at the same plaza that Travers and I had gone to with Rosemary and Mike for lunch last time we were there, the Placa Reial. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch, hoping the darkening clouds would go the other way. Then we strolled through old town to shop some more, and found our way to the Rambla de Catalunya for a rest and a pitcher of sangria.

For our final night, we got all dressed up, and made a reservation at a local restaurant in Old Town recommended to us by the concierge.  We had a pre-dinner cocktail at the hotel bar, The Banker's Bar, which had its walls and ceilings lined with old metal banker's boxes, like safety deposit boxes almost. We then headed to dinner at Pla. It was a great recommendation by the concierge. The two story restaurant was small but didn't feel crowded or cramped, even with all the tables occupied. The decor was very cool and the food tasty. It was the perfect last meal in Barcelona.

We ended the night at a bar around the corner, just laughing together at all the fun things we had done. I left early the next morning for Geneva.  I have the best memories of this girls trip, and hope we can all do it again soon.