That is the most Spanish thing I can think of. I hadn’t eaten black rice paella while sitting at a table on top of a former bullring that has been converted into a shopping mall before today. Check that off the list. Today was our bonus day in Barcelona, and we did it right. Cas and I slept late, but managed to get up early enough to make it to the breakfast buffet in the hotel. When we were all fed, we went to the beach and walked around in the sand. This was our third walk on a beach in this trip, but the one that was closest to my expectations. There were bronze and pink skinned people laying in the sun, attempting to make their bronzes and pinks more striking. There were all kinds of activities and plenty of people out swimming. And it’s totally true what everyone says- the people who go topless at the beach are never the ones who should go topless. It’s probably a little jarring to most Americans when very elderly women try to get some extra sun like that.
We had lunch overlooking the beach, then came back to the hotel for our now standard nap. Having been up a bit late last night, it was utterly necessary to shut our eyes for a little while. After the siesta, we walked toward the part of the city where a fountain we had seen in daylight promised to become a “magic fountain” at night. On the way, we walked up to the former bullfighting ring that had been converted to a shopping mall. I’m no great shopper, and neither is Cas, but I wanted to walk around on top of the structure and see what there was to see. The top was where the restaurants were, and we chose one for its orientation realative to the forthcoming sunset. We had some cava sangria and the black rice paella. The rice is colored with squid ink, making the whole dish a very dark black. It’s a little disorienting, but certainly, if you have that listed on a menu in front of you, give it a try. It’s interesting and tasty.
We stayed long enough to watch the sun go down, and when we went back through the mall to leave, we walked out the side that put us on the path to the magic fountain. It was a proper grand finale to this whole trip. The fountain was lit in multiple colors, and those colors changed throughout the show. The motion of the water was coordinated with music, typically the grand and sweeping kind of songs that usually win academy awards for best film score or something. Cas likened it to the fountain version of a fireworks show on Independence Day. It was big and grand and pretty amazing. We got a little close when the fountain shot water very, very high in the air, and we felt like we were in a light mist of rain for about 15-20 seconds. We loved it.
We have taxi service all arranged for tomorrow morning’s trip to the airport, and tonight is our time to play luggage Jenga with our dirty clothes and clean souvenirs. After that, we have a long plane ride ahead. Hopefully, the very upset infant who flew with us from Dallas to Madrid isn’t headed back that way tomorrow. It would be great to read a little, watch a movie and sleep on the airplane. Our brains have to re-adjust to Dallas time, and at home, it’s seven hours earlier. Nearly midnight here means that drivers are about to tackle rush hour at home.
So, it’s back to reality starting tomorrow, but this has been a great trip. I’ll probably post one more note when I get home- maybe just to recap a few things, but that’s it from Spain. Adios, España.
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