The wonderful city of Barcelona was all about seeing friends Helen and Rob for the first time in almost three years. It always amazes me when we re-meet people with whom we instantly feel comfortable and start up again as though very little time has passed.

Our first meeting was on a two-week cruise in Antarctica in January 2007 where we had a lot of fun both on the ship and on the ice. We then saw each other a few months later in Mendoza, Argentina and kept in touch through Facebook and the occasional e-mail.

Well, we wasted no time catching up on all our stories and drinking a few bottles of wine in the process (the Spanish wine industry appreciates our efforts, I’m sure). I don’t think I’ve laughed that much in years as we remembered some of our on-board adventures (including Rob getting caught stealing a free bottle of wine) as well as many misadventures that have occurred to both couples since our initial meeting.

As much as we might have liked, we couldn’t spend all of our time together reminiscing and drinking so we went walking around the wonderful city of Barcelona. This eastern Spain city is known for its architecture, its artists, many parks and a beautiful seaside location.

We visited Guell Park – a huge green space designed by architect Antoni Gaudi – where broken porcelain was used to bring color to cement benches, ceilings, sculptures and a couple of houses. The neighborhood had so many shops that sold nothing but objects made of broken tiles that you would go blind trying to find anything in them.

Whether to honor or despite architect Gaudi’s influence, the park featured quite a few statue artists – people dressed in a number of strange get-ups who stand immobile so that passersby give them money. We saw the Invisible Man and the Cave Man as well as a couple of soap bubble artists creating gigantic orbs reflecting all sorts of colors. The best artist, however, was the African man playing music from the French opera Carmen (inspired by a Russian poem but set in Spain) on steel drums in a Spanish park. How international can you get?

An amazing sight to see was the Church de la Sagrada Familia (the Sacred Family) which has been under construction since 1882 – yes, for some 130 years. The variation in colors of the stone and cement is a result of environmental conditions including pollution as you can see in the photo of a new statue installed on an old part of the church. Antoni Gaudi is the primary architect although he’s been dead since 1926 – a man who’s obviously had a great impact on the city.

We also walked along the waterfront a few times and went shopping in the market on Saturday where Rob bought everything he needed to make delicious paella. We ate well, we drank well, and we had more fun than anyone should hope for. And we’ll be starting all over again in Carcassonne, France when we re-meet in a couple of weeks.

WHAT’S NEXT: Spending four days in Madrid although it is supposed to be cold enough to snow. We want to visit its most important museum, the Prado, as well as its many parks. Much of our visiting will depend on how cold it is. We’ll then be moving to Hel & Rob’s flat in Carcassonne, France – likely for a couple of months as we’ve run out of money and can’t afford to do much more of Europe. Rob and Hel are joining us, along with some other friends, in Carcassonne for the New Year.

We are skipping Italy, Greece and Turkey and even the beaches of Vietnam are more expensive than staying at Hel & Rob’s place for a month or two. Then we’re off to Hong Kong to get the appropriate visas and then we move to Wenzhou, China for Jacob to start his job in February 2010.

NOTE: My “This Expat Life” & “Writing on Wednesdays” blogs are on hiatus until we settle down in Wenzhou in February 2010. Between now and then, I’ll be writing only about Baby Boomers Traveling. Hope you enjoy coming along with us.

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