March 6, 2019 – Barcelona

March 6, 2019 – Barcelona
Once again OAT has picked a hotel with a great breakfast buffet. I had 4 cups of strong coffee au lait with my breakfast so that I would be able to stay awake.
We had our orientation talk at 9am. They explained the plans for the next 3 days as well as the usual OAT talk on being on time.
At 10am, we boarded a bus to go to Park Guell. I had been there last September but this time it had 80% less people and was 25°F cooler. It is a large park which was supposed to be a complex of 60 homes and gardens. Gaudi was hired to build public areas. After 14 years and only 3 tracts sold and work was stopped. We spent an hour in the park.
We were given “on your own” time after we got back at 1pm. I decided to go see Casa Batllo. Gaudi was commissioned to renovate the house. It is amazing. They are currently restoring some parts of the house. They give you a tablet and it shows you what each room looks like with furniture and tells you about the features. I hope my pictures show how beautiful it is even with scaffolding and workmen. I took the Gold tour which allowed me into rooms normally blocked off.
After I had lunch and a glass of wine at an outdoor cafe. I got back to the hotel at 3pm and fell asleep for 1 1/2 hours.
At 7:15pm we boarded a bus to a restaurant for our Welcome dinner. They bbn gave us bottles of Spanish white and red wines to share. We started with toasted bread with olive oil and rubbed with tomato. Next was eggplant rolls stuffed with goat cheese. The entree was chicken breast stuffed with brie and covered in a foie gras sauce. Dessert was a chocolate mousse cake with lemon sauce. Yum, yum, yum. So much for losing weight on this trip!
Tomorrow we go to Figueres, the home of Salvador Dali.