From Brittany to Barcelona!

The church bells rang out across the town this morning in Dinan, but outside the rain was falling.  It was raining so hard a tour group took shelter under a cafe awning with barely any room to spare, but surprisingly it cleared up enough for a final walk around town. It's Sunday so not all the shops were open, but by noon artists were setting up their market stalls.

































French roads have many roundabouts in this area, but they are well marked and we found our way to the airport in Rennes without a map. Our flight to Barcelona on Vueling was packed, so much so that people were boarding through the front door just as passengers were disembarking from the rear of the plane.  My experience on Spanish airlines in recent years including this flight has been the plane taxis out of the stand,  zips across the airport, whirls onto the runway, and takes off at full speed without missing a beat. Our European neighbor from back home says, "They take off with a bit of a flamenco flair," and he's right. I noticed on the plane you can even order a pizza.






Our hotel in Barcelona, Hotel Granvia is gorgeous. We are stunned at how inexpensive it is for this city. It's been a hotel since 1935 and was renovated this year in Art Deco style with huge vintage black and white photos and a library with ladders to reach the tall shelves, They have an outside terrace with a bar, fountain, and spa.

















Dinner was at QuQu where we had tapas. The streets are alive with people and we checked out Gaudi's Casa Batilo. It was beautifully lit and looks like a sea fantasy. I can't wait to see it all tomorrow.