,
Reading about the life and works of Gaudi opened my eyes to
the splendour of Barcelona. I now had to add sightseeing to my “to do” list,
which had previously consisted of shopping, acquiring small leather goods,
savouring the local cuisine and indulging in vino tinto! I vowed never again to
sleep in until 11:00am and henceforth rise early with the chirping of the
birds.
Luckily for me, I still had 12 more days to explore this
magnificent seaside city and I vowed to set my pink sneakered feet not only in
every shop but also in every tourist attraction out there. I just had to figure
out on how to combine sightseeing, shopping, eating and enjoying vino tinto
into a 24 hour day.
I require at least 8 hours of sleep a night in order to
function as a human being and so that left me with 16 hours to play with. Perhaps I should scrawl a prospective schedule
in my brand new pink leather agenda. Purple pen in hand (see how nicely it
matches), several glasses of sangria later, my new “pink sneakers on the go”
timetable was complete.
5:00am – wait for the birds to chirp and get out of bed by
7:00am, at the very latest.
7:00am – make coffee (provided the coffee maker doesn’t
explode) have breakfast, shower, find a chic ensemble to wear and head out by
8:00am.
8:00am – walk to the tourist destination of my choice. I don’t take public transit or taxis when I’m
on holidays and so my pink sneakers and I walk everywhere. Does majorly suck in
the rain, though...
8:30 – 9:00am – arrive at the desired tourist
attraction.
9:00am to about 12:00 noon – tour, walk around the structure,
sightsee, take pictures, locate the gift shop and find where the loo is.
12:00 noon – start
searching for somewhere to eat. It has
to be someplace that serves local cuisine, has ambiance, is budget friendly (10
to 15 Euros, including vino) and has outdoor seating so that I can watch the
world go by.
3:00pm – Like what? 3 hours for lunch? Well, I am in Espana,
where life is more slowly paced and where they enjoy something that is called a
“siesta”. I’m fitting right in! Just one more glass of vino tinto, por vavor...
3:00pm or so – it’s time to head out for some serious
shopping. My strategy is to look for the sale signs (las rebajas) and aim for
the stores that are located off the beaten track, focusing primarily on the
shops that are tucked away around the corner from the mucho expensive designer
boutiques.
8:00pm - 5 hours for shopping? Like really? Well, it takes
time to find that perfect handbag, so sprinting around town in pink keds
requires an extra couple of hours. One
also has to factor in the waiting period for an available dressing room as well
as having to navigate the long line ups at the cash register. The wait can be especially long if there is a
huge sale going on.
8:00pm to 8:30pm – My poor, exhausted pink sneakers, weighed
down by numerous carrier and shopping bags, slowly march home. The only thing that keeps them trudging along
is the highly anticipated Epsom salt warm water feet soak renewal reward.
8:30pm – 9:00pm – Thank goodness I’m back in my Spanish
rental apartment. Yikes!! Shopping really works up an appetite!! Gotta pour
myself some vino, set the table with some olives, salmon, cheese, jamon, an
assortment of tapas and just chill out and relax.
9:00pm – According to the new schedule, bedtime should be at
9:00pm but I’m nowhere near tired. I am exhilarated with the adventures of the
day. I partook in a little bit of sightseeing, culture, savoured local cuisine,
shopped for the current fashion trends and walked all over Barcelona! I deserve
to stay up late, indulge in some vino, listen to Spanish guitar music and fawn over
my new purchases. Plus, I still have to
plan tomorrow’s sightseeing adventures. ..
11:00pm – Still enjoying that vino...more please...
12:00am – Yikes!! It’s getting late. The jazz music
serenading us from somewhere in our apartment complex is so mesmerising and
intoxicating....
1:00am – Really should get to sleep as tomorrow is another
long day of sightseeing, shopping , eating and indulging.
2:00am – 3 more hours until the birds start chirping. Well,
really, maybe on vacation I can make do with 3 hours of sleep instead of my
required 8 hours? After all, I didn’t
jet half-way across the world to spend my entire time sleeping.
3:00am – It’s only 9:00pm back in my neck of the woods and I
suddenly feel the urge to use up all of
the minutes on my Spanish SIM card and call all of my friends and relatives and
yak.
5:00am – Really tired now.
Should get to bed and enjoy some shut-eye.
Can’t believe that
the birds are already starting to chirp!! Like, really? Don’t they ever sleep?
I guess that the saying “the early bird
gets the worm” really means something or other...Yikes...it’s getting light out
there...
Come enjoy planning the day’s activities with me...come
travel with me...
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