Vaca Part 4

Day 11: Back to Warrington via Cheltenham

After our excellent weekend with C1 & C2 we bid our adieu and headed to a cheese and cider festival at The Royal Oak in Cheltenham.

Cider, that is, real cider or its pear cousin perry, is a STRONG drink. Because the line for cider was really really long, I split my pints with A, one of DH's good friends that I adore.

I promise, A, I like you so much more than these photos show. My mouth gets tired when I smile too much!
Some of the ciders were really fabulous. Dry, fruity, a touch sweet. Then there were ciders that tasted like burnt, dirty hot dog water. No joke. How we got through that glass is beyond me.

Anywho, a couple hours later and I was wasted. Completely off my face. I started taking random photos, including the one below of the Quite sign. For some reason I thought this was the funniest thing ever.
I then proceeded to cry in the car for half an hour, telling DH (huge sobbing voice): "I'm horrible at my jooooooob. I fooooool them every day!"

HAHAHAHA.

Apparently cider brings out my insecurities.

DH bought me a triangle sandwich at Marks&Spenser and I was happy again. So to sum up:

Cider = insecure Elliott
insecure Elliott + cheese and pickle sandwich = happy Elliott

Days 12-14: Barcelona!

DH and I left the next morning on the 6am flight from Liverpool to Barcelona. I'd never been to Spain so I was SO excited.

We took the train into town, threw our bags into our excellent, modern room in Hotel Goya, and walked La Rambla! La Rambla is a tree-lined street that splits the center of town and there is NO better way to get a feel for Barcelona. We had tapas at a forgettable bar but the bottle of rioja was excellent. :)

After La Rambla, we headed to the harbor and the beach. Barcelona's beach is man-made but absolutely beautiful. We spent the early evening people watching at a little beach bar.

(Amazing sand castles with water fixtures!, DH enjoying a mojito at the beach, football stadium, and the Port of Barcelona)

The Spanish eat meals MUCH later than Americans so we headed to Barri Gotic around 10 to grab dinner. I LOVED the Gothic Quarter/Barcelona Cathedral. It was filled with dark and twisty cobblestone streets. Surprisingly, I didn't feel unsafe. I guess when an 80 year old Grandma is shuffling through the alley with you, you figure you're in an ok area.

(La Sandrada Familia, Monument a Colom, Casa Batllo, jambon at Mercat de la Boqueria)

The next morning I woke up feeling virus-y/food poisoning-y. Let's just say that I have a great appreciation for our hotel's original 18th century bathroom tiles. UGH.

DH took great care of me, including running to the pharmacy about 10 times. He also brought me the Spanish equivalent to ginger ale and Saltines: Lemon Fanta and breadsticks. HAHA.

The next day I was able to get out of bed so we took it easy and went on the tourist bus! Laugh if you will but it was actually really interesting and we saw SO much more of Barcelona than if we had walked.

(Bus tour, Casa Mila by Gaudi, the incredibly detailed street lights, Porto)

We saw all of Barcelona's "greatest hits" including Sangrada Familia, Casa Mila, FC Barcelona's football stadium, the Olympic Stadium (holy cow, what a view!), and Catedral Barcelona. The bus is the hop on/hop off type so if you want to visit any place you can. Even though it seems really touristy and cheesy, I really recommend it!

We headed back to Barri Gotic for a quick meal of tapas, including the incredible jamon, and then back to the airport for our Liverpool flight.