Day 10 - Highlights of France & Barcelona
Our first stop once we crossed into Spain was Figueres and the Salvador Dali Art Museum. Now I'm not at all an artsy fartsy person so I wasn't terribly excited about this stop. Europeans sure love their nudity. I have had to get over the shock of seeing art of naked women everywhere! Americans are a bunch of prudes compared to the Europeans!
Katie and I had about all we could stand of nudity after about 30 minutes in the museum so we wandered the town of Figueres in search of coffee and breakfast...nude statues before coffee is just a little too much. We found a cute little spot for a chocolate croissant and something that was supposedly hot chocolate and I'll tell you, the croissant was better than those in France!
The lunch spot for the day was La Roca del Valles, Spain's version of Tanger Outlets, so we had time to shop and eat! The outlets were packed since yesterday was May Day many people made a long weekend of it so everyone was out shopping. I found some cute Clark's wedges and we pushed through the crowds to eat lunch at a sandwich shop. I'm so tired of eating bread! The bread is great in France & Spain, but they eat so much of it!
It was a short drive from La Roca del Valles to the city of Barcelona so we arrived at our hotel by 4pm and caught the bus to Las Ramblas where we met complete chaos. I suppose the extreme crowds were due to the holiday and it was a Friday night, but it was elbow to elbow people the entire length of Las Ramblas. You can definitely compare Las Ramblas to Paris' Champs Élysées and I'll give it to Paris for a more organized road versus shop set up.
We were pushed the entire length of the Ramblas and only broke through the crowds to visit a few stores. We ventured down some side streets and I know I have travel in my blood when it excites me to see a hotel that I have researched and recommended to clients!
We found La Boqueria Food Market and I felt like my childhood hero, Travel Channel's Samantha Brown, was exploring the food stands with me. The market had everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to meats and seafood to chocolates and candies. It was packed with people but many of the stands were beginning to close up so I got a fresh fruit smoothie for only 1€!
As it got later, the crowds thinned out and we found an outdoor cafe on Las Ramblas to have paella and sangria and people watch before catching a cab back to our hotel. Tomorrow is our last day in Barcelona and of our tour. It has been an amazing journey and there are still more highlights to be seen!
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