After arriving in Barcelona, Spain it sprinkled, creating a wonderful photo opportunity.
My husband Danny and I took the subway to our daughter Courtney’s dorm in the Gracia District.
A view from her rooftop.
Courtney joined us for dinner of tapas and paella. We had a hard time finding a restaurant that was serving at 7:00. Most open at 9:00, with the peak of the rush at 10:00! There is no such thing as tipping in this country, so the service was reeeeeeally slooooooooow. She dashed off to join her friends to celebrate the end of the summer semester. Bleary-eyed and jet-lagged, I thought we would drag ourselves to our flat rented through VRBO, but we caught a second wind.
Swept up in the energy of the Spanish people, Danny and I had no problem exploring while rambling on La Rambla. This market was still packed with shoppers at 9:00.
Testing their tomatoes for firmness or showing off…
Just hangin’ out.
I fell in love with the balconies incorporated on almost every building. I spotted Marilyn, but didn’t notice the Erotica Museum 69 until I edited the photograph! That would have been interesting and worthy of a research post. Dang. Next time.
Yes. He is smoking a cigarette.
Catching his breath.
Rehydrating.
Back for more.
We crashed a party in the same hotel. It had just ended.
That didn’t stop us from making some new friends. They introduced us to the “World’s Most Famous DJ.”
DJ Brian Cross wants to contact our son DJ KSmash when he comes through Denver.
Back on the street.
The art mixed with architecture could easily be missed by passersby.
As the night grew older, the streets came to life.
Our new friend summed up our first impressions of Barcelona.
There’s more to come from our first night, so stay tuned!
Did you go exploring this summer?
Click for more adventures on the Wild Ride!
Related posts:
Barcelona – Photographs and Pickpockets (Updated 2017)
Travel Tips and Tricks for Your Next Trip!
Susie Lindau's Wild Ride 
Wonderful photos! Enjoyed traveling with you as there was no summer exploring for me. Thanks Susie
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I am so glad you came along for the ride. There is more to come!
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Great shots, Susie. I love Barcelona.
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Thanks so much Cathy. There was a learning curve with the camera, but it was pretty easy to use!
I would love to go back. Anytime!
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Love it MC Susie!
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Thanks so much for traveling along with me Jim!
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Nice photos, Susie… thanks for sharing. The first one is a stunner and has a lot going on… you are right… quite the photo op. This will be a nice experience for Courtney to live and learn in Barcelona. You guys all look great.
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Thanks Ted! Great to “see” you!
I was exhausted in those photos, but Danny talked me into blogging them! I was so happy to be there and finally see Courtney.
I am still learning how to take photos with this camera. Everywhere I looked there was a photo op! Thank God we don’t have to use expensive film and processing!!!
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Hi! I nominated you for the Shine On Award. If you’d like to accept this award, please check out the nomination post: http://jibberyjab.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/shine-on-award/
If your blog is an award-free blog, please just know that your blog means something to another blogger out there.
Keep writing,
tamera mb
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Awwww! You made my day! I love your blog. It is such a cute space!
Thank you and congratulations to you!
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That is quite the 1st night! There should be a way to patten your energy. The shots are gorgeous. Barcelona looks like a place that should be on the bucket list.
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Oh definitely go if you ever get the chance. I have to start editing photos for the latter part of the night!
Thank you so much and for taking the ride with me!
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Looks like a great time! I’m bummed that you didn’t get to check out the erotique museum, too! Would’ve loved to have heard all about that…LOL!
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Oh my God. Can you imagine what was in there????
I checked out the link and it looks pretty HOT!!
Thanks so much Kitt!
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Love the photo’s, Susie. If I can’t go, myself, then this is pretty damn awesome. You are a great photographer. Thank you for taking us all along for the ride. 😀 Did you run up the stairs and knock on that fella’s door? You should have. You should have asked to interview him for the blog. 😀
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Thanks for coming with us!
I don’t think he would have answered… I think he was ocupado!!!!!!! Lots of smoldering going on in Spain!!!!
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:O
Damn!
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Oh my goodness, where do I even begin? The first shot is stunning and the rest are just amazing. I love balconies too! They add such character and of course make great after sex smoking spots as well….that is a blog post in itself. You all look wonderful and once again I’m very happy you are sharing your journey with all of us.
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Thanks Lisa!
My camera is wondrous! There were photo ops everywhere I looked. Thank God for digital!
The balconies all over Spain and France invited all kinds of decor and the occasional onlooker…I loved how all the windows on side swinging hinges. No need for screens!
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One of my favourite cities, I’ve been 7 times, your daughter is so lucky staying there. And the Boqueria market is one of my favourite places to amble around
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Courtney still wanted to tour us through the Gracia district, so there will be more to explore next time! I love that city. As long as you watch your stuff! Pick pockets abound like flies….
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I was just watching a program about Barcelona’s pickpockets last night., I always thought no one would ever be able to pick pocket me but they had some very sneaky ways. it’s one of the things that riles me is theft like that, obviously stealing anything is wrong but these people could have saved for ages for a trip, it could cripple them to be robbed. In my pub I go to, a barman off duty found someones contactless bank card and was buying drinks with it all night, he was rightly fired.
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This December I may have the chance to go to Barcelona for the first time. I don’t know if that trip is going to work out (part of a friend’s work conference) but after seeing your photos I really hope so! You’ve given me some great inspiration. Is there any particular can’t-miss site or restaurant I should know about?
Can’t wait to see part 2.
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Definitely. I will be blogging about a few of the restaurants. You will love it. I hope you get the chance to go.
Thank you!
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I have visited several European countries, but not Spain. Looks like I’m missing out! What a great time you had. I love the photos of the guy on the balcony–too funny!
My big explore was Texas in July for a family reunion. A lot of fun, and would you believe it was cooler in TX the week I went than it was in NH where they were experiencing a heat wave. Great timing!
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That is fantastic timing especially since my Texas friends complained about the heat this summer.
I loved Spain. Barcelona had so much to offer. It would take weeks to see everything!
The guy on the balcony cracked us up.
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Lovely photos! I should make a trip to Barca some time soon 🙂
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Thank you. It is so close in comparison to how far we traveled. You would love it!
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Definitely! 😉
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Lovely photos of Barcelona. Thank you for sharing these!
PS- I read your comment on my blog and realized we were speaking of two VERY different girls. My comment was in reference to Kourtney- as in Kardashian. I didn’t realize you were talking about your Courtney. Apologies forthwith.
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It’s been years since I’ve been to Barcelona.. and my memories (as are my old cheap camera photos) are fading. I’d love to go back there one day! Lucky you, susie!!
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I felt like I deserved the break after all I’d been through. I absolutely loved it. The culture was so different and art was everywhere. You’ll have to go back!
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I’ve wanted to go to Barcelona ever since I took Spanish in junior high school. It looks even more amazing than I imagined, especially that market!
Thanks for the wonderful post and great photographs, Susie. I hope Courtney has an incredible experience there.
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Thanks so much Charles!
She had a great time and traveled with us through Europe before heading home.
I fell in love with the culture, the art integrated into the city-scape and landscape and the people. I would go back in a heartbeat!
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Hey mama,
I’m passing this along today.To friends and loved ones whose spirit guides us. You know a thing or two about that. So, let’s roll with it.
Love and peace.
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Thanks Cayman and back atcha.
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Great shots all, but I was wondering if the guy smoking on the balcony might have been doing so sans trousers? Were his pants hanging over the railing? I’ve never left the continental US for a variety of reasons, mostly related to being a lowly paid member of the 47%, but one of my closest friends is a Spaniard directly from Spain. She was born in Madrid and visits family in Barcelona a few times a year. Sorry I’m so late to this one.
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I guess I wasn’t obvious enough about my captions with the smoking guy, but that was why I took the pictures. Pants hanging over the railing, smoking… I figured he was pantless and so did a few other photographers! 🙂
It is expensive to travel to Europe. It took us 12 years before we could go back. Spain is one of the cheapest. One euro goes a long way! In the meantime, you can arm chair travel with us!
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Love your photos, Susie!
Hope you are safe and have avoided property due to flooding.
Take care,
Rich
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“Smoking man on balcony” is my favorite, I think. Though the final thumbs up is something else. The market photos are gorgeous!
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