Some days we pack a lunch before we get on the road, other days we just plan to stop along the way to find food. USUALLY, either approach works out well.

On our way from Valencia to Barcelona, we drove along the coast, expecting to find a pleasant spot to stop for lunch by the beach. On our first try, we drove down sandy paths to a beachside restaurant, but were turned away as we did not have a reservation for this private beach club.

We drove and drove, not finding access to any other restaurants along the water. Captain Kenton was unwilling to admit defeat, and finally we pulled down a pretty street by a stretch of beach, miraculously found a parking spot, and walked to a small restaurant. The waiter first said “No,” since we did not have a reservation, but the manager of the restaurant took pity on the hungry American tourists and she gave us a table. Then a charming young waitress told us what we should order. It turned out to be a delicious seafood platter and we were so grateful!

Newly fortified by good food and the kindness of strangers, we headed into Barcelona, another gorgeous Spanish city.

We checked into our hotel and then watched the sunset from a nearby rooftop bar.

Another city, another food tour! Ricardo led our small group through the streets of Barcelona, and his love of his city and its diverse neighborhoods, delicious foods, and complex history was obvious.

We had so much fun exploring the streets, shops, markets and listening to Ricardo’s stories.

We saw working-class neighborhoods, and homes of the wealthy.

We were introduced to Spanish Vermouth – and instantly fell in love!

We had already walked a lot, but after the tour we walked past the Arc de Triomf and searched for the famous Sagrada Familia, the giant basilica designed by Antoni Gaudi. It was so very cool to see, and in spite of sore feet, we continued to walk to find other structures by this designer, including Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, and Casa Calvet.

Barcelona was enjoyable, whether we were having drinks (and a huge cheese platter!) on the hotel terrace or walking along the pedestrian avenue, La Rambla, stopping for lovely meals along the way.

We walked up hills to elevated views of the city. We saw pretty neighborhoods, plenty of art, and impressive buildings.

Another day we found one of the many large markets and did some hunting and gathering of olives, black ham, cheeses, and of course Spanish Vermouth! We sat at a counter in the middle of the hustle and bustle and had a lovely lunch and fun conversation with our server and some tourists from Australia.

Spain had been so much fun, we hated to leave, but needed to keep this adventure going toward France. Our thoughts from Spain include:

Really beautiful, bright, sparkly cities. Clean and lovely with amazing architecture. We were warned about pickpockets but didn’t have trouble.

Fewer laid-back seaside towns than we had expected. The coast was lined with crowded, private beach clubs.

Eating very late dinners was different, and now we were sleeping later in the mornings. This was fine, because even coffee shops didn’t open until 10am. Days started more slowly than our usual routine and we eventually adjusted to it.

As with Portugal, there was fresh, delicious seafood in abundance! Spain seemed, however, to offer more variety of foods at dinners, at least in the large cities.

Art was absolutely everywhere, even disguised as graffiti on shop doors.

The people of Spain were happy, fun and kind to tourists!