Day 7 -- Barcelona

Its Sunday morning and a bit quieter outside then normal, and I'm blogging in the morning because jenny is really under the weather today. =(
Fever and nausea has left us in the room for the morning. The medicine seems to be helping and perhaps we can go out this afternoon. Im going to get some reading done and maybe watch some 'office' dvd's while Jenny rests.

No new pics as of now...perhaps this afternoon

Day 6 -- Barcelona walking tour #1 part 2

As promised. . . some more pictures from Day 6 in 'Barsa'.

I really like the new lens. This is from the botanical gardens.


On our way to the climbing spot you overlook the rugby field. There was a game going so I snapped a few.




If you walk around and follow the correct streets you end up right next to the rugby field, but more importantly you end up at the local climbing spot. I don't want to call it a gym, bucause there are no fees, no rentals, but it is plastic holds. A completely user driven climbing area in this tunnel. There are established routes and user made holds all over this place. The interesting part is that there is this weird combination of real and fake rock down the way...This tunnel seems to be the workout/warm up beginners area, and then behind where I am standing for this picture there are some real rock faces but the last 15 feet or so is shaped textured concrete with more plastic on them. Kinda cool as it adds an additional 15 feet of climbing, but kinda weird as it takes the natural lines you find in nature out of the equation.
Needless to say I really wished I had my gear with me so I could 'have a go'.




Here is the real rock topped with concrete




Couldn't resist...had to do a few moves in the tunnel!

Day 6 -- Barcelona walking tour #1

Today is a walking tour of the area know as montejuc. On the hit list is The Mies Van Der Roe Pavilion, the bonatical garden, the Olympic park and the local climbing area.
6.3 miles later we are resting our legs and writing this blog. Thanks for tuning in!






View from our room. I trying out my new 'Lensbaby' selective focus lens



This is actually from last night on our way out to dinner



Some crazy guys riding seat-less bikes doing some freestyle










There was a whole tree full of these guys eating the nuts



Can't seem to upload photos anymore, I'll put the rest up tomorrow

Day 5 -- Off to Barcelona

Traveled to Barcelona today, not too exciting, Although I was pleasantly surprised on how easy the car return was.
Its only a 45 min flight and was only 0 mins to our hotel via taxi. I can't tell you how happy I am not to be driving, but even more happy to be in Barcelona where I have been before and feel a little more familiar. The hotel is nice and in a residential area close to the University. A bit smaller, i mean quite a bit smaller rooms than Son Julia, but a really cool contemporary style. Hotel Villa Emilia will be our home base for the next 3.5 days. Were making our plan for the week and off to dinner at L'Olive for some authentic Catalan cuisine.

More pics tomorrow

Day 4 -- The drive to Soller

This morning there is either 90% chance of rain or clear all day, it really depends on what weather report you believe. weather.com says rain..bbc.com says clear. Im betting on clear as there are almost no clouds in the sky. So today we are driving the south and east coast to Soller, stopping at all the small towns along the way.

First stop is Santa Ponca a fishing village with some beaches and nice views:






The next few towns are connected by a supper windy mountain road that is full and rightly so of bikers pedaling their asses off...or coasting down s curves with amazing views. We get to drive it which is good because it is less tyring on the legs. Here are some vistas of that road










Eventually you arrive at the mountain set town of Deia where the real Mediterranean style can be seen. Set against the amazing mountains and cliffs, Deia is a beautiful spot on the island:



Last stop in Soller, a larger city with a port counter part (we did not go) but Soller is nice and has an interesting mixture of old and new.








So the drive was long but beautiful, although after a few hours of windy road some straight highways were a relief. Having not driven a manual in years and now doing so in the hillside I am proud to say my stall count is only at like 4 or 5.





We are off to Barcelona tomorrow morning and probably won't have any pictures until the next day. so please enjoy some photos from our Wedding that our amazing photographer Jerry Frazier has kindly posted on his blog: Link to his blog.

stay tuned!

Day -- 3 time to relax

Morning of day 3! The bag was supposed to arrive at 8, but finally made it by 10am...so Yay! We can officially start the relaxation process. So we did...Its raining really hard today so were taking some picutres of the hotel, going to have a swim and have some massages before heading into Palma for dinner at Kodo Royo.













Here is Gran Hotel Son Julia















Some pictures of the Hotel.

So tonight is our nice Dinner at Koldo Royo, a 1 star Michelin restaurant that Jenny's cousin Brian used to be a chef for. Wow...It was sooooooo good, Jenny had Skate fish with a red wine risotto, and I had the Sirloin with grilled foie gras and sweet red wine sauce. Probably one of the best meals I have ever had. The Restaurant itself was pretty small, maybe 8 or 9 tables. So far we get 3 waiters at each meal...the most senoir/experienced will take your order and answer any questions, then there is one who just does the beverages, and a third to just deliver the food. We had a few glasses of a local Mallorcan white and a few glasses of a rioja red. So delicious.

Tomorrow we are taking a day trip to Deia via a drive up along the south and west coast.

more pics tomorrow!

Sad bear. . .will we see her luggage again?