Belfast

It is 2 am and I head to the airport in Muscat. Everywhere says arrive three hours before your flight but I arrive 2.5 hours before my flight and I feel like I am waiting around forever, especially trying to stay awake the early hours of the morning. My first flight is a short 1.5 hours to Doha and then around 7.5 hours to Dublin.

Immigration at Dublin isn’t too bad. The line could be shorter but it also isn’t the longest I’ve waited in. I actually got a stamp in my passport. It’s a nice memory that seems to be slowly going away in some countries.

I am heading straight to Belfast. I don’t stop at the Atm this time because I brought British pounds from home from a previous trip (that I find out are obsolete when I try to use them). I also converted the excess Omani money to euros (I got confused with conversion rates/cost of traveling and took out way too much money in Oman). Northern Ireland is still technically part of the UK so they use British pounds as their currency. Basically in Belfast it is pounds and when I am back in Dublin I will use Euros.

I bought my bus ticket to Belfast in advance but not knowing how long it would take for immigration or flight delays my bus is not scheduled for many hours. There is a bus coming soon, it is cold, raining and I am not yet prepared for it the weather so I ask to board an earlier bus. It is a space available situation after the correct ticket holders are seated first. Luckily there are a few seats available so I get an earlier start to Belfast. It is a two hour ride. I can’t see anything because rain and aisle seat so I do some reading. My hotel is a seven minute walk from the bus stop. I brave the cold (again I have not really taken my winter clothes out yet) and walk to my hotel. I can see snow covered hills in the distance. I love the cold so I don’t want to complain about the weather. I am staying at a Hilton property so I am happy to have a comfortable consistent hotel experience for a change.

I change and head out to do laundry because I am very close to having zero clean undergarments. On the way I am getting wet because I decide to wear my winter coat instead of my rain jacket. I go buy an umbrella because I figure it is a good investment here since it never seems to stop raining. This is when I find my British pounds are old. I try to use them to pay for my umbrella. I guess they really are souvenirs now. I can convert them at a bank but it is the weekend so I’ll probably just end up keeping them.

While doing laundry I look for places to eat dinner while I watch group after group on the pub crawler pedal parties blasting their loud music down the street every 5 minutes. It is Saturday night so probably a big party night. When I do try to eat after laundry is done every pub I want to eat at is already full, including a few restaurants I try. I finally find a restaurant with tables available across from my hotel but that gets very busy as I eat. It is a nice comfort food dish for the cold rainy weather. I also try to have a cocktail or two. I have to get in practice for upcoming St Patricks day. I haven’t really been drinking alcohol for a couple weeks due to illness and conservative alcohol policies. I am really out of practice.

I keep seeing adorable bearded Irish men everywhere I go. They are all so nice and kind. I could get used to this.

I go back to my room originally planning to do trip research and other things but I struggle to stay awake. I give up and sleep. Of course I wake up at 2 am because I fall asleep too early plus jet lag. I am not getting back to sleep so I guess I play catch up now.

I head out early in the morning to sightsee. I have a mid-day titanic reservation but since I’m up early it is good time to start a self paced walking tour. It is still raining on and off so I make good use of my umbrella, it just doesn’t seem to be a good match for the wind though.

I stop at the chain Tim Horton for a coffee and a doughnut. I know its a Canadian chain but it is my first time trying it. It seems like a fancier Dunkin Doughnuts.

I walk by some churches and street art.

Park Güell

One of the appeals of returning to Barcelona once again is to finally make a visit to Park Güell, another place I missed during my last visit to the city.

I schedule my visit at the opening so I can maybe have a visit that isn’t uncomfortably crowded.

My travel instructions have me exit at the metro stop at the bottom of the hill. I am not excited about a morning sweat.

Once at the top of the hill, I am still early and I have views of the city.

Once inside the park you can stay inside as long as you want but to see some of the more fabulous features of the park you must visit in one direction only. I start my visit by heading to the most popular spots. I am not completely alone but I have photos mostly void of people that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Like anything these days it gets more busy as the day goes on so I visit all the highlights, sometimes multiple times, and then leave. I imagine at one time this might have been a great place for a picnic, when perhaps the crowds were not as bad.

After my visit to Parc Guell I decide to walk back towards my hotel since I want to explore the artsy neighborhood of Gràcia.

I still have half a day left so on the walk back I detour over to another of Gaudì’s works – Casa Vicens. This house is the first important commission he received, said to even begin Modernisme movement in Catalonia and Europe. I am just pleased to view the interesting tile choices and wild ceilings that are in almost all the rooms. Its current layout is different than its original configuration since it is now used as an event and exhibit space.

The classy gal I am, I decided to try a local delicacy. (Well not really since it is worldwide chain and I might have fallen to peer pressure to take a picture “for the gram”.)

Finished the evening at wandering around Las Ramblas. I head back to my hotel with the most confusing lobby. You can only tell the elevator is there because I catch the door partially open in a photo. Tomorrow I visit the inside of another of Gaudì’s great works, La Sagrada Familia.

Arrived in Barcelona, land of dance

I’ve been to Barcelona once before: the trip started off well but my then husband and I soon developed some kind of gastrointestinal illness and were hotel bound the rest of our visit. I always vowed to someday return and explore all that I had missed. Therefore this visit is a little bit of a make-up trip. My immune system feels good so far so looking forward to the next couple days in Barcelona.

I arrive in town late enough to check into my hotel to freshen up. I really have nothing on the agenda today except go watch the Sardana dance and maybe try to visit la boqueria, one of my favorite places.

I am staying once more in a nicer hotel. I like this chain, Room Mate Pau.

I wander around my hotel.

During my last visit to Barcelona I fondly remember catching the Sardana, the traditional Catalan dance. My current visit is timed just right for me to catch the dance again.

Now I head to La Boqueria via some of the Gothic Quarter.

First I stop for a pizza and a beer. I cannot resist the pizza with mortadella on it, a topping rarely seen on pizza.

Stopped by La Boqueria but most of the stalls are closed but nearby is a street party called Bulla ‘N ‘Barna put on by four local dance schools. They are doing the traditional dance of Ball de Bot. I stay here for a while to watch and buy my first vermouth in Barcelona. It is so much fun to watch all the dances.

I end the afternoon with a stroll down Las Ramblas. It is nice to just stroll with no destination in mind. Tomorrow I finally get to see the famous Park Güell.

Last hours in Girona

I am leaving Girona today to head to Barcelona. It is a quick train ride – less than an hour. Barcelona hotel check-in is later so I have some free time in Girona this morning. I take a morning walk and order a breakfast and a coffee. There is a flower market down the main shopping district. It seems like this market might have had more vendors in the past, perhaps another covid casualty?

There is a laundromat close to the hotel. This is a great opportunity to clean all my clothes one last time this trip. There is a nice view out the back window. I drop my bag with clean clothes back at the hotel to hold while I go out.

The Cinema Museum or Museu de Cinema has caught my eye so I decide to visit.

The museum starts with an introductory movie then you follow a series of interactive exhibits that build chronologically with the technical advancements.

The first exhibits are about the use of shadows.

I learn how they discover how to take images and make movement appear.

There are so many different cameras and projectors on display.

After the museum I walk around the city and notice a foam party in the park. Kids are digging it (no pictures out of respect).

I couldn’t resist one more stop at the Rocambolesc. I later discover this is an international chain so I have a feeling I’ll see this place again.

I stroll back to my hotel to grab my bag and head off to Barcelona. I will miss Girona. I like this quiet non-crowded town.

Day trip to Figueres

Today I am taking a day trip to figueres. The draw in this small city is the El Teatro-Museo Dalí, an interactive art museum created by Salvador Dali. The museum contains traditional art pieces and some interactive pieces are coin activated or that you have to view at different angles to see the “trick” (for lack of a better word). It really is a sight to see. I spend most of today exploring the museum.

During this trip to Spain I have been booking tickets for major attractions in advance because I have feared things would sell out, but I didn’t really need to pre-book the Dali – Museum since there are tickets still available when I arrive and I end up waiting around a while for my start time – in this case I wish I would have waited until last minute.

While I am waiting I step into a nearby church and wander around the Teatro building.

Finally its time for my entry. I get to begin the wonderful Dali playhouse.

Very colorful outside of the El Teatro-Museo Dalí

When you first enter the directions take you straight out to a courtyard where there is the first interactive exhibit. The museum quite busy inside but if you are patient enough you may get some alone time with certain exhibits. There is an order to the museum but no one really stops me when I decide to backtrack to revisit exhibits that were super crowded earlier. This exhibit, the rainy Cadillac starts a rain shower inside a Cadillac filled with mannequins when one puts a coin in the exhibit.

In the corridor circling the courtyard there are a number of sketches I found interesting.

In the large hall there is a picture off in the distance. When viewed up close it looks like a ladies behind from far away it looks like President Lincoln. The effect is hard to see with photos so I included a video.

There are a number of small galleries with other works of art.

Also Dali is entombed on site. You can find him in a darkened room.

One of the highlights of the museum is the Mae West room. From certain angles the room looks full of mismatched nonsense. If you climb up a set of stairs and look in just the right spot, all this nonsense forms a Mae West likeness. Initially I waited in a long line to see this effect. I later returned to the room almost empty. It pays to wander back and forth through this museum slowly.

Also in the Mae West room and other interactive rooms …

Example of artwork looking differently when reflected in metal

Like I mentioned earlier there is no time limit so I walked through the entire museum a few times. Eventually I am tired and hungry so I find a place nearby and order an enchilada like dish.

I head back toward the train station. I’ve seen all I really want to see today in Figures.

Example of the reflection of a painting in the metal

Its been a long day. When I arrive back to Girona I don’t have it in me to walk back to my hotel from the train station. I decide this is a good time to rent a bike for the trip. It is easy enough to rent the bike and I take the same path that I walked previously. The only problem is finding a place to return the bike. The return station isn’t quite as close to my hotel as I would like.

At little later I grab a quick meal nearby. I head back to my room and enjoy the free champagne and try to figure out the room lighting system one last time. Tomorrow I make my last hotel change for this trip when I travel to Barcelona in the afternoon.