RENAS DE BARCELONA (BULLFIGHT ARENA), PARC GUELL (GAUDI), LA PEDRERA CASA MILA (GAUDI MASTERPIECE), SIR VICTOR ROOFTOP BAR AND LA RAMBLAS CAFE!

Soooooo, guess what?  We woke up to a rainy Monday morning in Barcelona and decided that Patte and John needed better DRUGS than the over-the-counter concoctions they’ve been taking!  So we ventured to a nearby coffee shop and enjoyed breakfast while waiting for their doctor appointments!

In case you were wondering, I was wearing THREE LAYERS under my jacket (yes, it was cold and damp outside), and John was sitting in a very low comfy leather chair! 🤪

Patte and John left for their doctor’s appointment and Mike and I stayed at the coffee shop when, all of a sudden, everyone’s phone sounded this LOUD alert!  Although Mike proved to be very good at Spanish translation, he failed miserably at reading this text!   (We guessed it was a FLASH FLOOD ALERT!)

It wasn’t long before the sick ones returned, looking like drowned rats but bearing GOOD DRUGS! 🤣🤣🤣

First stop: RENAS DE BARCELONA, which was the old bullfighting arena turned mall!  Thank goodness bull fighting was outlawed (can’t even imagine)!  From the rooftop we had great views!

Second stop: PARC GUELL (GAUDI), which we planned to get to on the Hop On Hop Off Bus.  But after waiting over an hour with no sign of a bus, we opted out and headed to the Metro.  We bought tickets to GAUDI PARK (we thought) but were told by a local that we were heading to the wrong GAUDI destination!  We jumped off the metro and hailed a cab!  

We arrived (at long last) and saw people walking up some steps, so we joined in (assuming that was the way to the park).  OMGoodness, we went up about 3,499 steps (I kid you not)!!!  When we FINALLY got to the top, we were told the park was closed due to inclement weather!  Say what?  

We walked up every one of those 3,499 steps for what?  For the view!  🤪🤪🤪  We also learned that the reason the Hop On Hop Off bus never showed was because it too received the Alert (we all got in the coffee shop) and was sent back to the station due to INCLEMENT WEATHER!

Here are the steps we climbed,

and here was the view we enjoyed!

Third stop:  LA PEDRERA CASA MILA (GAUDI MASTERPIECE)

Cool building, but it, too, was (closed for inclement weather)!!!

John found a lovely rooftop bar at the Sir Victor Hotel where we enjoyed Happy Hour and discussed our day!  Mike described it as a “Rocking Chair Day.”  We went back and forth all day long and never really got anywhere!  But we all agreed it was fun trying to figure it all out!  

We were told by one of our Uber drivers that the rain this morning was very unusual for Barcelona.  That was why the buses were called back to the station and that was the reason for all the closings!  

We returned to that infamous street, La Rambla, where we chose an adorable canopy cafe, on the side of the road, for dinner.  It was all decked out with twinkle lights, plants and chandeliers and was a great place to eat and people watch!  And, guess what?  It WASN’T closed for inclement weather!  HURRAY!

OH, WHAT AN INTERESTINGLY GOOD DAY!