Barcelona, Spain

On our first day, we took it slow. We had breakfast at Crepes Barcelona and walked around the Sagrada Familia neighborhood. Norm changed money so all is well, but I remain sheepish about my missing cards. We are walking everywhere so I can break in my trail runners and my Iniji toe socks with compression sleeves. This is my best plan to manage my foot troubles Before leaving home, I had bought tickets to see La Perdrera by Gaudi. That’s a giant stone apartment building built around 1912 by a wealthy couple. La Perdrera was the nickname given by the community because the building site was such a noisy mess during its construction. The stonework was all done on site. It housed 16 families in its heyday, but now there are only four tenants left. Since they have lifetime leases, they will live there until they die. We had reservations to see this building twice, once in the afternoon with audio sets exploring on our own, and a second time for the night tour with a guide, light show and champagne in the foyer. We had a nap between visits and dined at a local bar. The night tour was wonderful, especially the light show finale on the roof which was projected on the chimneys. Also spectacular was the view of the city lights. We sipped our champagne in the company of some other tourists from the British Isles. We walked home around 11, feeling sparkly from the effects of the champagne and the romance of travel.