On The Road Again...........

Hi All, 

By popular demand 'Connecting the Dotts' is making a return appearance for the duration of Dott's July Birthday Adventure.  At the start of 2016 I realized this was going to be a milestone birthday year for me and decided to plan an adventure.  To my amazement their were even 8 other people in this world who were willing to sign on as co-conspirators!  I am blessed with wild and crazy people in my life and I love them! 

This all starts today with Lonnie flying from San Francisco and me from Los Angeles to have us arrive in Athens, Greece for a brief one night layover.  Then on Saturday morning the real adventure starts. 

I look forward to sharing our adventures, stories and yes, excuses with all of you for the next month. Thanks for coming along for the ride. 

Eivissa, the Land of Charm and Glamour!

The Catalonians call Ibiza, Evissa and refer to it as 'the land of charm and glamour'.  They must be
right as Rob and I are charmed and we have seen the glamour.

Our second day in Ibiza is even better than our first if that is possible.  Rob the ‘night clubber’ slept late just like a teenager.  I got up with the sun and found a nice quiet place in the shade to write yesterday’s blog.  Rob found me around 10am and asked, ‘What do you want to do today?  Nothing I replied, cool’ he said.   And that pretty much sums up the day!

We lay on the beach for a while then went splashing in the sea.  Followed by lying on the beach again, followed by lunch.  We mixed things up in the afternoon and took our naps at the pool.  Awaking refreshed we played around in the pool until just before that ‘prune stage’ became permanent.

Late in the afternoon we were happy to stroll a short distance down the beach to our known favorite beach bar the Nassau Beach Club.  It was my turn to try the Islena beer and just like Rob enjoyed it.  We laughed about how long it might take Trader Joe’s to have it available in the States or maybe we could purchase it online.  Neither which we were serious about but it was perfect conversation for a completely mellow day.  We just we’re prepared at that point to coherently discuss the presidential election or whether or not Americans are too dependent on foreign oil.

We took the afternoon showers that have been a highlight of most days this year and were again today.  While I dried my hair Rob went seeking a couple more of those beers, after all our time was getting short here and we really we’re yet ready to admit we’d had our last Islena!  Rob was itching for a game of Cribbage.  He has now learned the real name of the game and is quite proud of his summer accomplishment.  He has also become a damn good player and has beaten me the last two nights. He’s determined to make it a ‘sweep’.  Sitting on the balcony in the twilight of the day playing a card game with one of your best friends, sipping an Islena is just about as perfect as life gets.  Oh, and before I forget, I won the game!

Rob and I are really pathetic pool players but we have always loved to play together.  We had been passing by these pool tables and before dinner we simply had to get our hands on cue sticks and entertain the onlookers with our lack of skill.  As always we enjoyed every moment of it.  Rob won when I sunk the 8 ball, the usual!

It was back to the Nassau for an excellent dinner and an even better atmosphere.  Clearly we both loved this place.  I used to think of this fantastic beach bar at Megan’s Bay on the island of St. Thomas as the perfect beach bar but it’s now a close second to the Nassau Beach Bar on Ibiza.

Tomorrow we will fly back to Barcelona I will spend a quick night there before starting my trip home.  I offered Rob the opportunity to write a farewell blog as I have done with my other guests this summer.  He wanted to do it but we continue to have so much fun it never gets done before I’m on the plane home so he sent me the email that follows:

I'm sitting on the deck of the hotel on my last night and I can't believe it is ending! It is a perfect night with clear blue skies and you can see all the way to the sea! Thank you for such a wonderful, exciting adventure! I really feel like I know this city now. It would not have happened without you! I went back to Taller Tapas today and had the salt cod....it was just as amazing as the first time! Sitting here having a wine before dinner reminiscing about the last two weeks and how very special Ibiza was! I will never forget the Nassua Beach Club! Thanks for the fun and most importantly the friendship! I hope you find your houseboat and the dreams that you have of it come true!

XOXO
Rob

PS you have my permission to use this on the blog since we were so busy I forgot to write while you were here!

LOVE
Rob

Ibiza, Ibiza, Ibiza!!!

When we were first planning this summer Rob asked me if I’d be interested in going to Ibiza for the last couple of days that I would be in Spain.  No, I told I didn’t think so.  I had the idea that Ibiza was nothing but the kid’s party island and I just didn’t think I’d be up for that at the end of the summer.  But after giving it some thought I changed my mind and I’m so happy I did!

Our original flight on Vueling Airlines from Barcelona to Ibiza was scheduled for 7:25a, early but we wanted a full day after landing so we agreed to go for it.  Then sometime in June Vueling advised us they had reschedule the flight for 6:05am……….what, the middle of the night!  We had completely packed the night before so when the alarm went off at 3:45am we were up and moving immediately.  In the dark of the night we glanced about the flat for the last time to be sure we weren’t leaving anything, tossed on the backpack, grabbed the last bag of trash for the bin downstairs and said good-bye to the now famous for a variety of reasons flat.

There was only one taxi waiting in Placa Sant Jaume at that time of morning but fortunately we only needed one.  The ride to the airport was fast, I guess they don’t care much about speed limits at 4:30am.  After check in and security we were finally about to get our first cups of very badly needed coffee.  This is something Rob and I have in common, we are morning coffee drinkers.

The plane ride was easy and we were in Ibiza before the sun was up!  Our hotel turned out to be a short taxi ride from the airport but of course there wouldn’t be a room ready for us for hours, we understood. We placed our luggage in the luggage room and asked how we could find a bus into old town.  Rob is giving me this trip to Ibiza as a thank you for his time in Barcelona so he has made the arrangements and at first he’s having second thoughts about the hotel. It’s at the far end of the beach and a little bit funky but I like it and assure him it will be fine…….it turns out to be even better than that!

We catch the local bus (during the day, at night it becomes the ‘disco bus’) and eye the sights of Ibiza Town along the way until we get off at the city center bus station.  But there is no bus station.  There is simply a three block area on one street they call the ‘bus station’.

We can see the old castle, cathedral and other places of interest atop a very steep hill that neither one of us thinks would be any fun to climb so we seek out a tourist information office and learn for $1.65E we can take a special bus to the top.  Money well spent if you ask us.

The views from the top are vast and impressive but not necessarily magnificent.  The town is interesting and diverse but not necessarily beautiful.  But there is something about Ibiza, maybe it is the energy, or playfulness but whatever it is something makes this place light hearted and joyful.  We both like it already.

Rob is into Trance music and knows all of the clubs here that I have never heard of before.  Rob can’t believe that I have somehow never heard of these clubs.  Each of the clubs has a retail local in the city center where they sell club items and tickets to the clubs.  If you buy your ticket here and are in the club before 1:30am the price is only $53E instead of $67 at the door.  What a deal that’s all I have to say!  Rob has come with the idea he wants to go to the most famous and the original of these Club Pache but has second thoughts when he hears the cost and times. He buys a cool hoodie at the souvenir shop and then we go have a beer at an outdoor café so he can think about it.  He really wants me to go with him but that is just not going to happen.   It would be torture for me in every way. Finally he decides it is his one and only chance to do it so he’s going for it and we return to the store so that he can buy his ticket.

All summer long I have wanted to buy silver or gold lame jeans.  The only time I have seen them is when Sue bought some in an Italian store in Barcelona.  The ones Sue bought didn’t fit me well at all and if you’re going to wear flashy jeans they had better fit perfectly.  As we were making our way back to the ‘bus station’ to return to the hotel we did a little window shopping.  The clothes here are very flashy, sparkly and expensive but absolutely exquisite.  I am especially attracted to a woman’s clothing store called the ‘Accompaniment of Men’.  I’m still thinking about the name as I drag Rob in.   And there they are dark gold lame jeans that look great on me!  Yes, I paid way too much for them but I don’t care I am going home with my hot new jeans from Ibiza!  I couldn’t be happier. 

We spent a couple of hours sunbathing by the pool while Rob tried to sleep so he would be able to stay up for his big night and dug into a new book called ‘The Perfectionists’.  Around 4pm our hotel started playing what I think is called ‘chill out music’.  But we could music that sounded better coming from somewhere down the beach and went to see if we could find it.  What we found was our dream come true place called the Nassau Beach Club.  A beach bar and restaurant to die for. 

I haven’t had a beach drink all summer but today I’m going to have a Pina Colada.  We sit at the bar and watch the bartender made the drink from scratch…..nice!  Rob tries the local Ibiza beer Islena.   His beer comes in a white aluminum can with flowers and ‘Flower Power’ written on it, it’s a happy look not manly like most beers.  He likes the beer, I will too before the trip is over.

I came very close to missing Ibiza, I’m really glad I didn’t!

Last Day in Barcelona!

How did this happen?  How can this be possible?  But it did happen and it is possible, this is my last day in Barcelona.  Tomorrow Rob and I will fly to Ibiza for a couple of days and then I’ll be on my way back to New Orleans on Thursday.

Since this is my last day here it is a day of cleaning, laundry, organizing and packing.  How in the world am I going to add all those things I’ve purchased one at a time throughout the summer to already full luggage?  As I was making the various purchases I always knew there would be room for that one item but now when they’re all together it looks like a challenge. And in the end it was a challenge!

Rob and I have planned this day well.  He wants to go to Sagrada Familia and at this point I feel like I have it memorized so while I do my chores around the flat he will tour the church.

My work goes well and I am at a good stopping point until the laundry hanging on the balcony dries when Rob comes back bursting through the door.  Like all of us this summer he has just spent two hours in Sagrada where there were a million things that amazed him and he wants to talk about every one of them.  I sit down and listen, I understand this awe I still feel it myself.  Most of the things on Rob’s mind are the same or similar to what also still awes me.  But Rob has a very interesting question I can’t answer.  It is especially interesting because at this point we all know that there were no accidents in Gaudi’s world.  Everything he did he did with purpose. Rob had spotted a plaque on the wall above a stature he especially liked that was simply a bunch of numbers and he was unable to get a pattern or a meaning from the numbers.  But he had taken a picture of it and he wondered if I saw anything that it could mean?  I looked but no, I didn’t see anything either but suggested we try to Google it. 

Google or should I say Wikipedia is there for us.  The numbers in the plaque add to 33 in every direction we read.  Sure enough, we confirm this and it is true.  Thirty-three is the age of Jesus when he was crucified.  Once again Gaudi has proven everything we believe about him to be true!

Rob has gotten lost on his way back to the flat from the Metro and in his course of travel he has come across a little tucked away restaurant he’d like to try for lunch.  No asking me twice, I’m hungry.  Rob can’t tell me exactly where it is but close enough that we are able to find it in Placa Pi.  One of the plazas I’ve always enjoyed.  The restaurant was busy and the food was true Catalonian and excellent.  We shared cod, asparagus, chorizo, and potato bravas.  Rob was happy with his find and so was I.  It was nice to be enjoying yet another fine new restaurant on our last day!

The rest of the afternoon was spent with finishing my work and Rob repacking for Ibiza.  Once the bags were packed and sitting by the door we were both ready for a little Canasta (Cribbage!).  Rob wins and he is over the moon happy with himself, I enjoy his glee. 

We have packed small bags for our trip to Ibiza and we’ve made arrangements to store our large bags at Hotel Axel while we are gone so we load them into a taxi from the plaza and head across town.  We are planning to have dinner at one of the restaurants near the hotel before returning to the flat but when we ask for a recommendation from the front desk we’re told it’s Sunday and almost everything is closed.  We walk a few blocks in a couple of different directions and confirm that which we’ve been told and already knew anyway, it’s Sunday and ‘almost’ everything is closed.

Sue and I originally found Milk because it was a Sunday and Milk was one of the only highly recommended and reviewed restaurants that was open.  Rob and I returned to Milk tonight for exactly the same reason………..thank you Milk!

As we walked through the door we were greeted by Jose with a huge smile and his usual I’m so glad to see you.  What by now has also become normal, once we are seated he comes out from behind the bar with the Spanish two kisses to the cheeks welcome and then sits down next to me for a chat.  When I tell him it is my last night in Barcelona he says, ‘No, why can’t you stay, we want to keep you’.  I tell him it is time, he tells me he doesn’t care he doesn’t like it.

We order dinner along with a bottle of wine but when Jose returns he has three shots which we all share in friendship.  Rob and I share empanadas, a Cesar salad and my favorite the Sophie Lorraine pasta.   Rob loves everything but especially the pasta!  After dinner we are presented with another shot, compliments of the house.  We pay the bill and have started to get up to leave when Jose arrives again with yet another shot.

I feel complimented but tell Jose the shots must stop and we must leave.  He shakes his head ‘si’ and then hugs me one more time and of course kisses both cheeks………..Milk and Jose were lucky finds three months ago!

 

 

 

 

 

From the Top of Guell to the Top of Axel

I’ve been to Guell Park several times already this summer but Rob doesn’t want to go alone so I join him for one more visit.  Unlike some of the other Gaudi adventures this one is a beautiful park and just being there provides the enjoyment that any beautiful park does except for the huge crowds that are ever present in Parc Guell.

By now I know the Metro trip like an old pro and have even figured out the best way up the steep hill after you get off the Metro.  There is one street where they have actually installed escalators for several blocks to help with the climb.  That’s the one I like!  We want to arrive early but actually arrive about noon which now that I’ve been in Spain for a summer has become my early.

Rob is awed by the many surprises the park has to offer and runs (yes, runs) from one delightful wonder to the next.  This is truly nature and art coming together in the best way that can be imagined. And as many times as I have now been to the park I must admit I am still enthralled with some new discovery every time I go. 

A family is trying to set up a picture with several children and mom while dad is snapping.  Frist the crowds and then the children are making this much more difficult that it needs to be.  I stop and chat up the kids, then do a bit of crowd control and dad gets his shot.  We are all laughing as we wave good-bye and go on our way.  I am briefly reminded of all the wonderful interactions I’ve had with complete strangers this summer.  Maybe they were only moments but then it is the moments that make up the day that make up the life, it really is all about the moments.  These moments have made the summer.

Rob has covered every inch of the park but is still asking for more, I finally am able to convince him he has seen it all.  However, on our way to finding the correct exit we are able to revisit a couple of his favorites one more time.  He leaves happy.

We don’t have a plan for the rest of the day so as we walk back to the Metro I ask Rob what he’d like to.  To my delight he wants one more lemonade beer from what is now known as ‘our’ beach shack.  Perfect!  It’s been hot in the park and a lemonade beer sounds really good so it off to the beach we go.   As I maneuver our way to the beach Rob compliments me by saying, ‘I am so impressed with how well you know your way around Barcelona’.  I can’t imagine anything else it all feels like home to me at this point.

At the beach shack we score a great table in the shade and are ordering our first beers before we’re seated. This is where I discovered lemonade beer and the last one proves to be just as delightful as the first one was.  The only difference is that the first one was a surprise and the last one an excited anticipation. 

It’s been a long hot day with lots of walking and by the time we reach the flat we are both ready for a rest.  Rob has big plans for us tonight which will involve staying out later than usual.  The hotel Axel where he will stay after I leave Barcelona has a rooftop bar and we’ve both become very fond of the rooftops of Barcelona so we intend to go there after dinner tonight.

We keep dinner simple………..one last stop at The Ginger Bar.  I actually just want to order two of the Prawns Potato Salad but Rob talks me out of it by saying he promises to eat just a couple of bites of it and leave the rest for me so we just order one.  I’m happy with this arrangement!  As much as I like the food at the Ginger Bar I have not gotten to know the owner, an English woman who has always seemed a tat unfriendly to me or the waiter/bartender who is pleasant but in a perpetual hurry so saying good bye here is easier than it has been at some of my other favorites.  And although the waiter is cute enough to take a picture with I’m sure he wouldn’t have been able to find the time!

Now it’s off to Rooftop heaven.  The Axel Hotel is in the L’Eiample area so we take a taxi instead of walking.  The elevators in this hotel are funky as they often are in Spain.  There are two elevators in the lobby but when you get in them there is no button for the rooftop.  You actually have to go through a bar and into what looks like a service elevator to find the secret button.  I ponder at what the history might be here.

But once the elevator door does open the Rooftop Bar is noisy and full of life!  We both order a vodka tonic and sit down to enjoy the view, the night air and the energy of this bar. Rob has chosen his hotel well!

Sitges, Schillings and Saying Good-bye

We feel like a beach day and as much as we like the Barcelonetta Beach we think it would be fun to go to Sitges.  Since I was in Sitges with Sue in July for my birthday there isn’t much planning to be done we just toss our swimsuits and beach towels in the backpack and walk to the Liceu Metra Station on La Rambla.  The Metro in Barcelona is a terrific system where there are frequent stations and the trains run every few minutes.  The only problem is that the stations are not air conditioned and are often very, very warm.  We’re early today so it’s not a problem this time.  The Metro takes us to the train station where at this point in the summer I even know which line I need to be in to buy tickets on the 'commuter lines for today only'.  It’s a snap once you know the ropes!

The train ride to Sitges takes about 45 minutes and the last half consistently has views of the Mediterranean so it’s a very pleasant journey.  Once we arrive in Sitges we just follow the crowd with all the beach paraphilia and in no time are at the beach.  We arrive hungry since we haven’t eaten yet today so immediately head to the restaurant where we celebrated my birthday.  We’d had a great dinner there so it made selecting a restaurant an easy proposition.   Rob went Spanish and had gazpacho and empanadas which he has described as the ‘best empanadas he’s ever had'.  This is amazing considering the number of empanadas he ate while we were in Puerto Rico!  I wimped out with the world wide favorite a chicken Caesar Salada

We walk among the stores and along the beach boardwalk just enjoying the relaxed feel of Sitges and occasionally stopping to glance in a window or two but we’re not really shopping today and aren’t even serious about our looking.  Neither Rob nor I are truly sunbathers but it’s time to get on the beach.  Town is busy but the beach not so much.  We find a couple of available beach chaises and spread out our towels.  After a half hour or so Rob goes to take a dip in the water.  When he comes back he has realized that that was the first time he was ever in the Mediterranean Sea, cool, very, very, cool.  We manage to make it a little more than an hour before we both are eager to declare our sunning over for the day.  It’s very warm, probably the warmest it has been since Rob arrived in Spain.   So we wander around a bit looking for that one special place to have a drink before we head to the train station.  Just off of the main city plaza we find a taverna with a delightful cooling breeze.  Rob orders a beer and I determine it’s time for sangria and we both want waters.

Rob’s beer and the waters are delivered by one of those guys you can only find in quirky beach towns.  You know the kind I mean, guys who don’t fit in to constrictive society.  They are free spirits who live life on their own terms.  I don’t think these guys ever get rich or own fancy cars but somehow I think they find their happiness.  He says the sangria will take a minute and we wait five while the whole time we can hear him working away inside the bar.  Finally when my sangria arrives it is nothing like I expected.  First it is the color of ice tea, not red or lemony colored like the cava sangrias.  Next it is layered with a caramel brown color on the bottom, a lighter yellow brown in the middle and then almost yellow on top with the ice.  It’s not what I expected but it's very pretty and with my first sip I learned it was not like any sangria I had ever tasted but it tasted great! 

Back in Barcelona in time for dinner we decide we are going to a kind of modern hip restaurant in my neighborhood called Xaloc.  Rob likes the food and the atmosphere.  I enjoy my dinner but have eaten there three times this summer and have never seen the same waiters twice.  The fellow who waits on us this time like the others delivered great service and had a charming personality.  I have to wonder what they do with their waiters. 

The time has come and as I knew it would for me to do something I don’t want to do, say good-bye to Cristo the bartender at Schillings.  Of all the places in Barcelona Schilling has been my favorite since the first week I was here and that was mostly because of Cristo.  Throughout the summer we have shared stories and adventures, troubles and joys.  I have grown to know him well and him me.  We are friends, real friends and this will be my hardest good-bye in Barcelona.   When we arrive the bar is busy but Cristo finds the first chance he can get to come over and welcome us.  He asks what we’ve been doing and Rob tells him about our day in Sitges.  We order a drink well at least Rob does by now it is automatic that Cristo starts pouring my glass of chardonnay as I walk in the door.

When we’ve finished our drinks I tell him this will be the last time I’ll be by before I leave Barcelona in a couple of days.  His face goes sad for a minute and then he says, ‘true friends never leave your heart even when they can’t be near you’.  He comes around the bar to give me a hug good-by and Rob snaps a picture of the two of us.

And then we touched the fingers tips of my left hand and his right as we have done to say good-night all summer.  I’m not sure how or why we started doing this but it will always mean something special to me, the touch of friendship!

Living the Good Life!

Rob spends his morning going to the Picasso Museum and exploring the La Born area.  We’ve walked around the Born before but usually on a day when most of the businesses were closed so this is the first time he gets to see in full bloom so to speak.   I use the morning to catch up on my blogging which has been more and more difficult to get done since Rob and I have been keeping such a busy schedule.  It was a good morning for both of us, Rob who has long been a Picasso fan loved the museum and now feels satisfied he’s seen the Born and I’m back on track and up to date.  Now it is time to pick up my ring from Miguel the man with the ‘secret of mystic jewels’ and I am very excited.  The ring fits perfectly and I proudly wear it out of the shop and for the rest of my life!

So far Rob has been enjoying our Spanish dining but we haven’t been to any of the high end group of previous chefs from El Bulli new restaurants here in Barcelona.  He’d like to try at least one of them so we talk over the options and decide on lunch at Dos Palillos.  I first had lunch there with Sue and have been trying to get back ever since but they were one of the restaurants that was closed the entire month of August so I am delighted I will get another chance to dine there.   Dos Palillos opens for lunch at 1:30pm and doesn’t take reservations so we plan to arrive right around their opening.  We’re a few minutes early and there are already a few people waiting so it appears it is going to be a little busier than when Sue and I were here.  The daily lunch menu is posted on a sign board out front in Catalan.   Rob and I read through as best we can which isn’t all that good but I can tell he’s feeling just a little strange about all of this.  Once the doors open and we are seated at the counter inside with a good view of the many chefs at work Rob seems to relax a bit.  He tells me he likes the atmosphere. 

Our first course is crab wontons which we both really like.  It is followed by a dish of seared tuna belly and eight different types of seaweed.  This one tests Rob a little as he eats the seaweed piece by piece to get the taste of each one.  I like them better all mixed up with a combined flavor.  Our next dish contained several types of different vegetables, some we could identify and some we couldn’t but a base of bok choy and an out of this world sauce.  I loved this one and Rob liked it a lot better than the whole seaweed thing.  The fourth course was a Japanese hamburger which I do believe was Rob’s favorite.  We finished our meal with ginger ice cream.  Rob liked his lunch and completely enjoyed the Catalan woman who he sat next to who thought her English wasn’t so good but she and Rob catted away with no trouble.   He was really happy to have had the experience but doesn’t really think he needs to do that type of dining again.   I’m cool with it I have already had more opportunities to eat at over the top restaurants this summer than I ever expected could happen.

After our long lunch we strolled by Carmen’s father’s guitar shop in hopes she would be there and we could tell her a personal good-bye but unfortunately the shop was closed and I simply had to leave my business card so they would know I had been by.  As this week goes on the many good-byes are bitter sweet for me but I realize that is only because my experience of the Spanish people has been so rich. 

Rob wants to go through Gaudi’s Casa Batillo so I leave him at the ticket line and window shopping along the way I weave in and out of the various old Gotic streets and make my way back to the flat.  Once again he returns to the flat after touring the house full of excitement for the amazing talent of Gaudi.  Rob has become a fan of Canasta and is determined to beat me so he’s itching for a match.  Now we’re not actually playing Canasta we’re playing Cribbage but each time he calls it Canasta and each time I correct him.  I think it’s going to be easier to just call it Canasta.   Our games are fun and a good way to spend a late afternoon.

Rob has wanted a paella dinner since he arrived and every night I talk him into something else.  After our decadent lunch I’m not very hungry so I decide this is the night Rob should finally get his paella.  Since I’m not fond of the stuff I don’t pay much attention to it but believe a restaurant very nearby Trocodoro’s offers some of the best paella around so that is where we plan to go.   As you can see by the picture and the smile on his face, if lunch wasn’t exactly what Rob had expected the paella was.  He loved it!  I had a dish of baby lima beans, asparagus and shrimp which I completely enjoyed and Rob thought disgusting.

At the jewelry shop we have learned of a very nice hotel called the Casa Fuster that is just past the Diagonal on Gracia and has a fantastic rooftop bar and jazz in the street level bar on Thursday nights.  Rob and I are both fans of the rooftop bars and this is our only Thursday night together so there is no question we have to go. It’s a cab ride over to the hotel and our young taxi driver says it is a very nice hotel and expensive with a twinkle in his eye.  The hotel is elegant and beautiful but alas there will be no jazz.  It will start again next week.  We never understand why there isn’t any jazz but it’s not important.  We love the rooftop.  The night is a perfect temperature and the view down Passeig de Garcia is breathtaking!  Rob strikes up a conversation with a most interesting young Indian man from London who is a travelling accounting professional.  He’d been all over the world and told us he was in his early 30s, definitely an impressive person.  But what impresses Rob the most is that he has just returned from Ibiza where we will be going Monday morning.  He provided Rob with lots of recommendations and Rob couldn’t have been happier!

We are on our way back to the flat and arrive at the front door when Rob announces he’s not ready to go home, can we find somewhere for a nightcap?  Well, the wine bar is just down the street and I do want to say good-by to Michael the owner bartender before I leave Barcelona so sure why not.  I always knew Michael had a business partner but I had never met him before this night.  Rob knows a lot more about wine than I do and he and the guys chatted about the various areas of Spanish winemaking.  Rob came not believing he liked Spanish wine very much but I think this night at Zona d’Ombra might have changed his mind.  Our one nightcap led to another and the fun simply continued as we were the only customers in the bar and had everyone’s full attention.  But finally we had to say good-night and this time mean it.

As Michael and I were saying good bye he told me, ‘Barcelona will be a sadder city when you leave, your smile and your positive energy made it brighter and we will miss you!’  I adored him too and it was he who made my summer brighter…………