Playing with Pictures Barcelona 2008

This picture brings back memories.  This is from our 2008 Mediterranean cruise.  Here you see us on Las Ramblas in Barcelona eating our very first lunch with huge glasses of Sangria and a tapas platter.  Lunch was almost $100 and we were quite flabbergasted.  But we soon learned where the natives go and had a 10 Euro buffet that night that included a beer.  It was delicious and much softer on the budget.

March 31, 2013

Dear Friends and Family,

I have certainly left figuring out my blog to the last minute.  Bill and I are leaving for our 3-month Grand Tour of Europe the day after tomorrow on April 2.  We got confirmation of our reservations from the hotel today.  Hotel Plaza Mayor is in a 200-year-old building with no elevators. It seems to have lots of old world charm, and it's very close to cava-baja where we hope to do a Tapas crawl.  If you've never had tapas, they are  yummy appetizer-sized morsels in many shapes, sizes, and flavors.  Since we arrive in Madrid early Wednesday morning, I hope we can take a nap and then go out at night to explore Cava Baja.  Madrilenos don't even get started until 10 pm, so I think a nap will be a good idea.  We don't want to wimp out completely on our first night in Europe.   A little red wine and a few tapas sound like a great introduction to our Grand Tour and to Spain.

http://www.h-plazamayor.com/hotel-madrid-2-estrellas/

http://guidepal.com/madrid/restaurants/cava-baja-in-la-latina

Twenty-four days and counting until we embark on our big adventure.