July 4, 2022. Granada to Barcelona Spain.
Granada’s airport was very efficient, as was the disembarkation from our Vueling flight in Barcelona.
It was done five rows at a time, which stopped the mad panic that you usually get.
Why don’t more airlines adopt this approach?
El Gato de Botero in Rambla del Raval
July 5, 2022. Barcelona Spain.
We were staying in Rambla del Raval, at the Abba Rambla Hotel, where we have stayed before.
It’s a great area just off the Rambla, the iconic walking street in Barcelona.
Thea’s health wasn’t improving, so we decided to get a doctor to assess her.
The hotel was fantastic and had an English speaking doctor come to visit us in just under two hours.
The doctor suggested that Thea go straight to the hospital for tests.
She was admitted into the Hospital HM Nou Delfos and after an initial consultation, told she would be there for a few days while more tests were carried out.
This particular hospital had an English speaking ward, with both doctors and nurses being able to communicate with Thea.
This was certainly a help.
The hospital was in Gràcia and about 25 minutes by taxi from our hotel in Rambla del Raval.
This was a real change in our plans and meant that, unfortunately, we would no longer be going to Rome for the wedding.
July 6, 2022. Barcelona Spain.
As we had the Abba Rambla Hotel booked and paid for two nights, we decided that I would stay there and get a taxi to be with Thea during the day.
Then I would find a hotel that was close to the hospital and move there.
So it was another day in the hospital again, while we tried to rearrange our plans.
In the evening, after returning to my hotel from the hospital, I had a guilty pint at OLDGOD. This is a craft beer bar, just near the Rambla del Raval and has 20 beers on tap.
I had a Freddy Fox West Coast IPA, it was excellent and brewed, right there, in Barcelona.
What a strange name for a Spanish beer.
At €7 (A$11.50) for 500ml it wasn’t cheap but then good craft beer never is.
While having dinner, which was in Parc Infantil, the square in front of the restaurant, I was warned by a local not to leave my bag on the ground, as it might get stolen.
Luckily we have learned to strap them to the chair, and the table, so it was pretty safe.
We think we have a diverse culture in Australia. However looking around at the faces in Raval, we have nothing like that at home.
Obviously there are Europeans, from all countries, but also African, Asians, Indians, Pakistanis, Central Asians, North and South Americans, and of course the odd Australian.
July 7, 2022. Barcelona Spain.
Thea was still in the Hospital HM Nou Delfos and undergoing numerous tests.
I moved to a new hotel, Catalonia Park Güell, near the Gràcia area, that was walking distance from the hospital.
It was a very quiet area with not a lot of eating options.
That night I finished up dining at Lascaleta, a restaurant that was just over the road from the hospital.
I got a feeling that they might get to know me there.
Tibidabo at sunset
July 8, 2022. Barcelona Spain.
Thea was still in the Hospital HM Nou Delfos and waiting to get the full analysis of all the tests she had undergone.
These should come though on Saturday.
As expected I returned to Lascaleta, the restaurant over the road, for breakfast. The service was excruciatingly slow and I missed seeing Thea’s doctor.
Today is Brianna’s third birthday and it’s such a shame that we can’t celebrate the event with the rest of the family in Italy.
Now was the time we were meant to be in Lake Bracciano, north of Rome, for Cam and Fran’s wedding.
An event that we started to plan for in 2019.
Then due to COVID it was cancelled in 2020 and here we are, missing it again.
July 9, 2022. Barcelona Spain.
Thea was discharged from hospital, now it’s a matter of what we do next and how do we recover the expenses.
This hasn’t been a cheap experience and we have had to move money around in order to pay the hospital bills.
This was made more difficult by the 8 hour time difference between Barcelona and Melbourne.
And, to make it all the more complicated, Thea was discharged on a weekend, so everything was shut, both in Spain and Australia.
My afternoon task was to find a pharmacy that was open and get Thea’s medication.
Apart from the anxiety and worry of Thea’s hospitalisation, significant world events happened over the time of her stay.
In Britain, Boris Johnston resigned as Prime Minister and in Japan, former Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe was assassinated.
What an eventful time this is.
Hospital HM Nou Delfos from the roof of the hotel
July 10, 2022. Barcelona Spain.
We are in the Catalonia Park Güell Hotel now and, fortunately, back together again.
Thea is still taking it slow and will be for some time.
I think the rest of our trip will be done as ‘Slow Travel’ which is the way I like it anyway.
But not under these circumstances.
We did a bit of a casual meander around the Gràcia area and enjoyed some of the local architecture.
Especially the Art deco buildings.
Afterwards we had an ‘accidental lunch’ at Askadinya a Mediterranean, Palestinian, fusion restaurant in Gràcia.
These accidental meals pop up from time to time and are mainly due to circumstances changing.
This one, like so many we have had, turn out to be a pleasant surprise.
The beach at Badalona
July 11, 2022. Barcelona Spain.
After breakfast, again at Lascaleta, we crossed the road to the hospital and settled the bill.
Hopefully this is the last time we have to go there.
This has been a very expensive exercise and now we have to go through the laborious task of claiming it all on the travel insurance.
This won’t be easy, as most insurance companies are very reluctant to honour their commitments.
We then caught the underground to Badalona, one of our favourite spots from the time we lived there in 2012.
Lunch was on the waterfront, next to the train line.
We then walked up and down Carrer de La Mar, the main shopping strip in Badalona and eventually caught the overground back to our hotel.
That night we discovered the fresh fruit platter at the hotel, was a great dish to end the day, especially after a long Spanish lunch.
Interestingly the medication Thea was on meant that she had developed a voracious appetite.
There was no way I could keep up with her.
July 12, 2022. Barcelona Spain.
It was a slow and quiet day in the city, then another long Spanish lunch.
Unfortunately there was no siesta to follow.
After a drink and nibbles back at the hotel, we returned to our room to pack.
Tomorrow was going to be an early start and a long day.
We had talked my mate Denis into letting us stay at his place in Arnex-Sur-Orb in Switzerland.
After everything we had been through, a few restful days in the Swiss countryside would do us all good.
Denis was due to be in Rome for the wedding as well but unfortunately he also had to miss out, as he can no longer tolerate the heat.
Summer of 2022.
Monday, April 29th, 2024Part 3: Granada with the family.
June 29, 2022. Lisbon, Portugal to Granada, Spain.
We arrived into Granada late in the day and got settled into our apartment.
Then we all went out for dinner with the family.
It was great to get everyone together, especially our two young granddaughters.
The plan was to get the cousins, Aida and Brianna, together, before the wedding in Rome, so they could get to know each other.
June 30, 2022. Granada, Spain.
We were in another Airbnb, which was yet another example of how poor the system has become.
I believe that these places are never tested, by real people, to see if they are usable.
There was one huge pot to boil water, no dishwasher and no tea towels, a washing machine but no pegs.
Also there was nowhere to hang bath towels to dry and there was a bathroom door that couldn’t be shut, let alone locked.
And this was a three bedroomed apartment, so more than likely the facilities would need to be shared.
After breakfast and discovering all the foibles of our Airbnb, we went off in search of a playground.
An essential activity when there are kids travelling with you.
It was then was back to our rooms to tend to washing and a bit of ‘housekeeping’ like onward bookings and reconciling the last week’s family expenses in Portugal with Ev and Steph.
That night it was another dinner with the family.
This time it was at Capitán Amargo (Captain Bitter) a craft brewery. This wasn’t Hayden and Andrea’s first choice, as that was booked out.
It certainly would have been mine.
The local craft beer was excellent, as was the food.
Capitán Amargo (Captain Bitter) Craft Brewery
July 1, 2022. Granada, Spain.
As the big event on the upcoming calendar was the wedding in Rome the ‘girls’ needed haircuts.
Granada is Andrea’s home town, so it was left to her to select and book the salon.
That night it was another dinner with the family. We were sitting outside the restaurant and looking up at the Alhambra.
What a unique Granada experience to have while eating.
After dinner we all had an ice cream at a Heladeria los Italianos. This Italian gelateria has become an institution in Granada.
It certainly pays to have local knowledge.
Everything operates on a different time zone in this part of Spain.
At 2pm, sharp, the city shuts down for lunch and then siesta. Dinner doesn’t really get going until at least 9pm, however 10pm seems to be a very popular time to start.
At 11:30 the streets are still full of people.
Alhambra in the background
July 2, 2022. Granada, Spain.
Another consequence of the upcoming wedding was that we needed to get congratulatory cards for Cam and Fran.
It wasn’t that easy, however, as usual, El Corte Inglés came to the rescue.
In Spain we have always found this department store to have ‘whatever’ we needed.
We then found more playgrounds, to entertain the little girls, and afterwards spent more time just wandering the streets of Granada.
That night it was Brianna’s early third birthday celebrations at Sonia and Toni’s. It was a warm night and the little girls and their dads all went for a dip in the pool.
Brianna’s birthday celebration was about a week early as she was going to be in Rome for the wedding on her actual birthday.
July 3, 2022. Granada, Spain.
This was our last day in Granada, as we were headed to Barcelona tomorrow.
Our flight was at midday, so there wouldn’t be much time to do anything more than pack and get the to airport.
I have always enjoyed Spanish coffee but after the last few weeks I feel that it isn’t as good as what we had in Portugal.
It was the size of serve and the strength that made the Portuguese coffee more enjoyable.
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