IT ISN’T EASY TO FLY FROM SICILY TO MALLORCA. Most flights require a change of planes in both Rome and Madrid and the cheaper ones have long layovers. Instead we flew to Barcelona for a few days and will continue on to Mallorca on Friday. And with Covid in the rear view mirror, we flew maskless for the first time in three years!
Ramblin' along on La Rambla
We stayed near Plaça Reial in 2011
At first we thought the airline had “misplaced” our luggage but with several flights arriving from Rome at the same time, John took us to the wrong carousel. Then when we had our luggage he picked the wrong taxi to our AirBnB—the one that over-charged us $10, a mortal sin in Connie’s mind. John’s choice of an AirBnB isn’t up to our usual standards, even though it has three bedrooms and two baths. But with hotel and restaurant prices in Barcelona it is still a good deal.
Detail on Casa Batilló
We went out Wednesday afternoon to get the lay of the land and pick up a few things from the pharmacy. Well, one thing led to another and we ended up over on La Rambla, near where we stayed in 2011. I had forgotten how wonderful Barcelona is with its pedestrian friendly boulevards, up-up-up-scale shopping and great architecture. And as long as we were in the neighborhood . . .
Casa Milà
Woman on a Red Bike and Casa Milà
We've been fans of Antoni Gaudi and his drippy sand-castle type of architecture since our first visit to Barcelona in 2011. So we rambled up La Rambla through Plaça de Catalunya onto Passeig de Garcia to Casa Batilló, one of Gaudi’s most famous buildings and one of the “Works of Gaudi” World Heritage site. We didn’t visit the interior in 2011 because of the €14 entry—and at €29 we didn’t go in today, either! But we crossed the street for some photos of Casa Milà, another “Work of Gaudi.” Six miles for sunscreen and vitamins!
