We’ve begun our big summer trip for 2025, where Jewel and I headed out on June 13th to Barcelona, Spain for a few days, then onto an Oceania cruise for 25 days, then a few days in Reykjavik, Iceland before flying home in July.

Flight – We flew out of our usual Dulles (IAD) airport, only it WAS Friday the 13th, and the weather was calling for evening thunderstorms. They came, with lightning, so we were all boarded with doors closed and crosschecked, when we were grounded for lightning, delayed for “a bit”, then a bit more, then more, and a total of almost three hours on the tarmac. A 6:30pm flight didn’t fly until 9:30, but after that, it was smooth and uneventful (our favorite flying status).

Because prices of transatlantic flights are so ridiculous, we went with our standard plan to buy coach seats, hoping for a possible cheaper upgrade later on. That didn’t happen. However, we did get some travel magic in our seats. We did the trick of getting an A and C seat, leaving the middle seat open. Since we were in the back of the plane, it was still unfilled until just days before flying. So I was able to swap to C and D seats, meaning we had two aisle seats, “next” to one another. Upon boarding, the unfortunate middle passengers next to each of us were a honeymoon couple and the flight attendants somehow found them two seats together, a row back. This left our seats intact with the two middle seats empty! So, while not the reclining first class seats that never materialized for us off the waiting list, but we did have seats next to us empty, so it allowed more stretch out room, ability to cross my legs, and no human shoulder to shoulder with us.

Took about two hours to get through customs and baggage and such before we were at the hotel, around 11:30am. We couldn’t get our room early, but the hotel was classy and professional, so they whisked away our bags, got us speedily checked in. Since Jewel had picked a really nice hotel and location in the Catalonia Portal d’Angel, we were just a few blocks from La Rambla and right in the fun part of the Gothic Quarter, so walking around was easy and fun.

Parc Guella – we were bold to assume we could push through and not sleep, so after lunch at Pan Bakery and walking around, we got into our room, took a Power Nap and got cleaned up, then headed to our pre-bought tickets at Parc Guella, a lovely and way-quirky park that contains a couple miles of trails through what I can only call creative architecture. Columns made of various materials, a few buildings with Disney-esque design, a lovely plaza, a cross atop a stone pile, and more. Views of Barcelona are lovely, including great shots of the Sagrada Familia, the skyline, the oceanfront, etc.

While the street we were on was a boisterous pedestrian avenue with thousands walking and live entertainers all over the place, our room was cool, silent, and had a gorgeous balcony with a view to local neighborhood, our pool two stories below us, and birds singing every day and literally zero noise from the city. We slept fitfully as we adjusted, but the room was great.

Food – We ate well at amazing venues, including La Alcoba Azul – a tiny hole in the wall tapas place. Family owned with a great bartender/waiter, delightful hostess with fluent Catalan, but also flawless unaccented English (her father is British and she grew up in Barcelona) that looked like a young Keri Russell. Food was terrific! We were adventurous and had a bunch of neat things we’d never order as entrees, but they were wonderful. Tosta with grilled lamb, spinach leaves, tomatoes; stuffed peppers with goat cheese, and carpaccio using cod or a similar whitefish that was heaven. The pace at Spanish restaurants is slow but this was a great evening and great walk through ancient streets of the Gothic Quarter.

Sagrada Familia – On Sunday, our second day in Barcelona, we did a mix of walking, shopping, swimming, sunning, people-watching, and then, tickets to the Sagrada Familia, the world famous world heritage creation by Antoni Gaudi and others that is over 100 years and counting of construction. The recorded audio tour was worth it, as it is really interesting and the building is so quirky and detailed that having things pointed out would be pretty valuable to a visitor. We decided to walk back as the streets allow for a lot of shady blocks and the breezes were pretty constant. So we got to see a wide swath of the city. We came back to the Quarter and went to another great dinner find – La Taverner (?). Totally family-owned and heavily neighborhood-oriented. We weren’t the only tourist, but we were definitely surrounded by locals who all seemed to know one another, and even got involved in a street tussle that involved a chase, a slap, and a running escape. So, eating outside and eating at a locals place has its benefits!

Monday we were to transition to the ship, but I’ll wrap for now!