It’s pronounced pen-NIECE-cola

On the way to Barcelona, our tour took us to a town that sounded awfully familiar.  Cas and I have been to Pensacola Beach, Florida to visit with his dad and stepmom, but this trip took us to a seaside fortress town called Peñíscola.  Everyone in our tour group who I bothered to ask said they had trepidation about pronouncing that out loud until our tour director said it first.  It really does look like a middle school boy’s joke.  While we were there, we climbed up to The high point and toured the castle.  It was the home to some of the Knights Templar, then a few popes when the Catholic church split and decided to have more than one pope.  I didn’t get a full history lesson in the museum displays, because my Spanish is weak at best.  The views were spectacular, though, and the weather was just about perfect.  

We spent so much time walking around the castle and looking at the other stuff in town (the maritime museum, the house covered in seashells...) that we had only an hour left for lunch and our return to the bus.  In the US, that wouldn’t be a problem.  Spain eats at a different pace.  When we sat at a table for 15 minutes without so much as a hello, we realized we were in trouble.  We moved to another restaurant where the waiter seemed to know the meaning of the word hustle, and we told him we had 45 minutes to eat, pay and make it to a bus.  He suggested a sandwich.  Cas and I actually split one so we could eat it fast enough to meet our goal.  We stepped onto the bus with a minute to spare, and no one was mad at us.  Mission accomplished.  

We’ve arrived in Barcelona, now, and we are all checked into our hotel.  We got here, settled in for a few moments, then went with most of the people from our tour group to check out the subway.  We took it together two stops from our most convenient station and found the main downtown area.  With that, we walked around just a little and saw a legendary Barcelona drinking fountain.  It is said that, if you drink from this fountain, you will come back to Barcelona some day.  I drank, and so did Cas, though he hadn’t heard that it meant we would return before indulging.  He feigned frustration and said I guess we have to return someday.  I mean, we’re contractually obligated, having consumed the water.  I actually splashed a fair amount on my shirt, so when I do come back, I think I have to wear the same thing.  I’ll try to remember- the pink one with the stripes...  

We have a guided tour tomorrow followed by an excursion to see Park Güell and La Padrera, described as the magnificent works of Antonio Gaudí.  It’s a four hour excursion, and I suspect we will want it to last longer once we see what we’re there to see.  After that, we have a farewell dinner with our tour group, and then, we have a bonus day on our own.  After that, we’re done, and it’s back to life in Dallas.  This has been a great trip so far.

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/pfA2563myHYwVp6U7