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!