Just D.I.N.K.ing Around: Wheels Up!

V-Day has Arrived!

Not Victory Day, Vacation Day! After many, many months of planning, it was finally take action day! Jamie and Kelly were leaving Seattle flying Lufthansa airlines through Frankfurt to Barcelona. Tari and Duane were flying Delta through Paris to meet up at the airport.

This time we splurged on Business Class! Let's just say that flying coach after this is going to be pretty difficult.

We got to the airport fairly early. In Seattle you always have to assume the security lines are going to be long, so getting there early is the norm. We figure if security is not long then that gives us a chance to grab a drink and/or lunch. We also are lucky to have a system called CLEAR that we signed up for that makes getting through security so much easier. This did leave us with plenty of time to grab some food and drink at Dungness Bay at the South Gates.

We shared a bottle of Alexandria Nicole Pinot Gris and some Poke before heading to the Lufthansa lounge to wait for our flight.

This trip was going to have a lot of "firsts" for us. First time to Barcelona and Portugal, first time renting a car in Europe and first time flying there in Business Class. Jamie was very excited as we were flying on a 747 and had seats reserved on the top deck.

I have to say that flying at this level, does make a difference! Each person has a reclining bed, larger TV screens, a personal amenity kit that included great hand lotion and lip balm.

Bye Seattle! See you in a couple of weeks! Ironically, the day we were leaving Seattle it was starting a heat wave that was going to take the temps into the mid 80s. For Seattle that is a unheard of this time of year. Normally, we are still in rainy season, so we had a great opportunity to see the city as we flew north.

Hola Barcelona!

Finally, after about 12 hours on a plane, and one run through Frankfurt's airport, we officially landed in Barcelona. Since we arrived a couple of hours before Duane and Tari, we found a nice little Tapas Bar right out side baggage claim to pull up a chair and wait for them.

Of course, we had to re-hydrate, being on a plane can really dry a person out! The Tapas Bar we found had one of our favorite Bruxas Albarinos so that worked out well.

For this trip we will be staying in all VRBO type of rentals... no hotels for us! In Barcelona, we found a nice place right by the Gothic Quarter and not too far from the beach front. Once we arrived and did a little unpacking we decided to hit the town for some wandering and food.

While wandering the narrow streets in the Gothic Quarter, Kelly and Tari found a great little shop selling fans and handbags. In Europe, where air conditioning does not quite mean the same it does in the states, fans are a godsend. They each found one they could not live without.

Continuing the wandering lead us to the Cathedral of Barcelona. The Cathedral was built in the 13th century and has an elevator that can be taken to the top to see incredible views of the city. I am not sure if this looks like Notre Dame or if Norte Dame stole from them but their spires certainly look similar.

By this point Duane and Kelly were starting to get "hangry" so it was time to find some food. Barcelona is known for it's Tapas scene where you hop from bar to bar having small plates or bites of food. The gang could not wait to get it a whirl.

Our first stop was a place called Zim. It was on one of the small side streets and as recommended by a cheese shop we had popped into. We were not disappointed! No photos were allowed inside. The place was small, like 8 bar stools for seating small, but it had a great wine selection for 3.50 euros a glass and good cheese and tapas. They had a spreadable sopressata that was very good. It had an almost smoky BBQ flavor. I would have pictures here, but i did not want to risk any body parts by holding Duane and Kelly back from the food when it was put in front of us.

After a couple glasses of wine, cheese and the sopressata it was time to move on. I will admit the moving on after a couple of plates was a hard concept to get comfortable with. But, we were determined to succeed.

Our next stop was a few doors down at Le Bouchon Wines and Eatery. They had a rather robust tapas menu.

Along with some great Tapas, our waiter recommended a 2010 Vina Cubillo Rioja, their house wine. It was VERY good and only 24 Euro a bottle.

We got a little bit of every thing....mostly seafood. Kelly found a new favorite, Cod Fritters

Anchovies

Calamari

Pulpo...otherwise known as Octopus

Tomato Bread....yep, it has that simple of a name and that simple of a list of ingredients: bread, oil, and yep tomatoes. In Barcelona you normally have this bread with your meat and cheese.

Traditional Italian Meatballs with a sauce made of red wine and cuttlefish.

Good Food, Good Wine, Good Friends with Plenty of Laughs and Smiles

Instead of moving on to another Tapas Bar, we decided to stay and camp out at this one for a bit. Our waiter was fun and actually from Italy so Jamie and he spoke Italian back and forth. It did not help us practice our Spanish, but Jamie was having fun.

A Touch of Gray

Nothing really unusual with these next pictures....these are more "Kelly got a new phone and was trying out the filters.

One of the things that makes Duane a great travel buddy is he can stop and do a creepy smiley guy at any moment...which always is an amazement to Jamie

Yep, if you look you will see that Kelly and Tari somehow managed to color coordinate their outfits without living anywhere next to each other or talking to each other prior to the trip.

Okay, the time difference and flights that day are starting to get to Tari... time to wrap up and call it a night.

Random Kraken sightings

Much to Kelly's delight, the Kraken (also know as Pulpo or Octopus) is quite a popular character around Baracelona. In one small block, we saw several Kraken drawings on sandwich boards

Time to Call it a Night.... What, wait nope... Not quite yet

After sitting at Le Bouchon for a bit we all agreed that we should call it a night and walk back to our apartment. And we were doing a good job of that until Kelly and Duane heard a woman singing at a small bar and that bar had a sign that listed Paella as one of it's Tapas items. We paused, we stopped, we started walking, stopped again and ended up walling into one of the most memorable nights we have had on any of our vacations.

The bar is called La Quinta Cuerda and is a very small bar with about 10 seats. When the evening starts getting late it turns into a live music venue where various musicians will gather to play, sing, and dance.

This had all the ingredients for a Duane perfect night. Duane has been known to bust into song and guitar. Many a fun has been spent with our group of friends signing along while Duane and others play. Some people brought their own instruments and others would grab a guitar off the wall. Some stayed a long time while others played a few songs and then left. Either way, you could tell that as the night went on, the vibe only got stronger as the regulars continued to appear.

The group collected tonight was from all different walks of life. There was a young woman from London, a couple of people from Italy, us 4 Americans, and the Maestro. The Maestro sat in the corner and everyone around us treated him with the utmost respect. Once he started to play we realized why.... he knew so much about music, guitars and loved it when the whole room was engaged in the song being played.

One person sat and listened to others play for quite awhile and then suddenly jumped in and played a few songs. We started asking him to play Hotel California, but no one knew how to play that song. Over time one regular showed up, sat and listened to everyone for a bit and then suddenly started to play Hotel California! The 4 of us lead the room in singing. The thing that happened next is what makes music what it is... a man who only spoke Spanish sang along word for word in English and did not miss a word. The ability for all walks of life to come together with a common goal and speak one language is what makes music great.

Duane always travels with his guitar, even in past trips when we had gone to Italy. This is the first time he actually could have had it and did not bring it. The group offered Duane one of their's and he sang "Hurt" by Johnny Cash...along with the rest of the room.

Yep, no one at home is going to believe this. Good thing we all got pics!

Bueno Noches Bracelona!

Finally after several hours and several glasses of wine we finally called it a night and headed back to our apartment. On the way home we walked by the Cathedral of Barcelona again. By the time we headed home a light rain had started to fall, it made Barcelona's quiet streets seem a little more romantic and made for a beautiful walk home.