We have been busy since Rome…
So, Dad and I returned to France from Rome via train…brief stop in Genoa to change trains and then straight through to Cannes. The South of France has become very familiar to us. However, its time to move on. We leave behind new friends and many wonderful sites and sounds...new language. So..packing up. Deciding what to take and what to leave behind. Dad shipped a large duffle bag of clothes back to his friend Paul so we wont be lugging both a duffel bag AND a backpack…but it does cut back on what we take with us. And, laundry will be a challenge over the next few weeks…and food for me! Our last two days was focused on laundry, packing and spending time with friends.
We had dinner with Kathy, an American friend in the village…Kathy’s daughter, her husband and children also live in Mougins. I think that Kathy is weighing her options on where to settle down…possibly In the south of Spain near the beach. Dad is leaving several things for Kathy that he purchased but no longer needs…wine, some food, a Britta water pitcher, and dishes…and his beloved coffee maker with plenty of capsules. The coffee maker has been a Godsend to Dad who NEEDS his morning coffee. On our last full day, we had lunch at the Royal Mougins Golf Club with Susan, a wonderful woman and friend. Susan’s husband is an invalid…but it is a great love for both of them. Susan goes to the home every night and feeds her husband dinner. She is a realtor who lives on the premises of the Golf Club. Lunch was (as usual) wonderful…and the conversation was buoyant. Dad took an Uber to the Club since he no longer has the use of a rental car. Our last dinner in Mougins was a lovely home cooked meal with Indie and her parents, Betty and Joost…they are dear, wonderful people and Dad (and I) have enjoyed spending time with them…walking in the forest and talking. They introduced Dad to his favorite Patisserie, Olivier, where he bought many coffees, baguettes, sandwiches, salads…and sweets. Dad had pasta and delicacies from the area along with warm conversation with wonderful, simple, brilliant people…Dutch transplants to Mougins. We quietly walked home down the mountain and finished packing up the flat, preparing to travel south into Spain.
Since we turned in our rental car before leaving for Rome, Dad arranged for us to take an Uber to Nice…a little more difficult because of me. When we returned from Italy, several of the Uber drivers we connected with in Cannes refused to allow me in their cars…something about dogs and Mercedes that I just don’t understand. We were finally picked up by Roberta, a lovely lady with dogs who also agreed to pick us up early and transport us to the Nice train station. And there she was, waiting for us, when it came time to depart.
See if THIS sounds familiar! Per usual, the train ride to Barcelona was eventful. Dad thought he had purchased tickets for the 15th but, alas, our reservations were for the next day. The train out of Nice did not check our tickets…but they did in Marseilles…and refused to let us on the train to Barcelona through Nimes. So, back in the line at the ticket counter. We exchanged our tickets but, unfortunately, we had 1 ½ hour layover in Marseilles and 3 hours in Nimes. Dad was grumpy (again) and in pain carrying his backpack, small pack and a shopping bag with my stuff…food, bowls, harnesses…and a couple of bottles of wine. We finally got on the train to NImes and Dad found a hotel outside of the Nimes train station that would store our bags while we walked around. Nimes was a cute French border town with a lovely old downtown built around a large arena that looked similar to the Roman colleseum. We (Dad) had a bite of lunch and a coffee…I was not hungry so I didn’t eat. We strolled through the old village and retrieved our bags at the hotel.headed back to the station and boarded the train for Barcelona. Dad was in obvious pain carrying his baggage…I did my best to keep him calm…after all, that is my job and I do not think he would survive this journey without me.
And, my world changed as we crossed the border into Spain. Dad got lulled to sleep traveling in Amsterdam, France and Italy. However, Spain is NOT dog friendly and my mere existence caused much stress for Dad throughout our time in this beautiful country. But, as usual ,he figured out solutions as I knew he would. He is actually getting much better with flexibility…and knows to arrive early because there WILL BE problems…such is our life. Spain caused me much stress.
The first sign of the change was with the Taxis. Dad could not find one taxi to take us to our hotel on Las Rambas…and he must have approached a dozen cabs. “NO!!!” Finally he coerced a taxi driver to take us with a little extra cash…I rode in the back of a small SUV with our bags. The drive wasn’t long and I was able to stick my head over the back seat to look outside. Spain looked much like Italy except the language was different. Dad speaks a little Spanish so he was a bit more comfortable in the new environment. We finally found and checked into our hotel…again, not well marked but very welcoming. Lovely room with a balcony overlooking Las Rambas. After checking, Dad took me out for a walk…we had a nice, grassy plaza half a block from the hotel. Ahhhh! The hotel recommended a restaurant about a block away…so we walked over. I thought the man at the door was going to faint when I walked in…he came running over and started speaking fast Spanish to Dad…all I heard was No Perros…which I learned meant No Dogs. Dad said ok…and planned to return but, on the way back to the hotel, we passed a FiveGuys. Enough of this…Dads first meal in Spain was a 5Guys burger with fries, coke, peanuts and wine. But as we waited for our order, the manager and another man came up to Dad waiving their arms and pointing at me…yes, we were thrown out of 5Guys…we had to wait for our order outside. Dad took the food back to the hotel and enjoyed the hotel sitting area with dinner. Just the beginning of my travails in Spain!
The next morning, Dad had a coffee and took me out to the plaza. I returned to the hotel and enjoyed a nice breakfast while Dad went down and ate his breakfast. It was ok…not nearly as good as the hotel breakfasts in France and Italy. The pastries were purchased outside…but the fruit was good and the ladies working were nice according to Dad. By now you must realize that I had to stay in the room while Dad ate.
Fortunately, our hotel was close to a large plaza with lots of grass…and a jillion pigeons. The birds were unfazed by my presence and they left me alone unless we approached them. Dad was able to get a photo of the pigeons with me on our last day in Barcelona.
So, I did not get to see a lot of Barcelona. Dad and I had a nice walk and did a little shopping on our first full day in Barcelona. It is a beautiful, vibrant city and I enjoyed walking around and looking at the sites. Yes, everything is old, just like the rest of the cities we have visited in Europe. And yes, they have several majestic cathedrals that we walked past. After a nice walk, Dad took me back to the hotel and headed out to the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. It mostly featured early Picasso history with his early childhood paintings and sketches and photographs of Picasso as a child and young man. Dad said that you got a good sense of his development as an artist…Dad loves Picasso…but prefers the Blue and Rose periods along with his development of cubism techniques. The museum featured a nice selection of the Blue period, some paintings from the Rose period but very few from his cubism periods. Quite a bit of the museum was centered around Picasso’s relationships…Dad found his relationship with the poet, Andre Breton and his dedication to the Communist party interesting and certainly impactful on his life and his relationship with the Spanish government. After leaving the museum, Dad happened into a wonderful Spanish/Moroccan restaurant called Ziryab. Dad had a beautiful plate of Spanish meats and cheeses and a plate of Spanish sausage on a mixture of artichokes and white beans. Dad love his beans…which means my life with him will be a bit taxing…the air just smells a little different. Dad enjoyed a couple of Gin cocktails…lots of Gin in Spain…along with a couple of glasses of Spanish Red Wine. Dessert was a coffee gourmand…a plate of small desserts along with coffee. Dad loved them all, particularly the baklava cookie. He made it home ok…and we watched a little TV and went to sleep.
On the next day, we were joined by Dad’s friend Kecia. Kecia is a flight attendant for American Airlines so she can travel to Europe easily. Kecia had purchased tickets to the Sagada Familia designed by the famous artist and architect Antoni Gaudi. I had two strikes against my going along. 1...its a museum and 2…its in Spain. However, after a nice lunch at a dog friendly restaurant…barely (they really did not want me there), Dad and Kecia headed to the cathedral. It was just amazing…grand, elegant, and somewhat modern amidst the sea of ancient buildings. Dad was enthralled with the entire structure, particularly the arched columns that provided the foundation and the beautiful stained glass windows. Dad and Kecia returned and then headed back to the Moroccan restaurant for dinner. The next day, we all took a train to a park designed by Gaudi that was dog friendly…and I was able to go along. We took the Barcelona metro and I was welcome as long as I wore my muzzle…and no, I don’t like it. I keep trying to pry it off…but Dad just puts it back on, a little tighter each time. By the time he did the final adjustment, I could barely see. The train was uneventful on the way out…but the walk to the park was quite a hike…up hill. In a few places, they had an outdoor escalator…but mostly it was walking up stairs…and listening to Dad complain about his knees. The park was beautiful but we were unable to get tickets into the little Gaudi-designed village. I was just glad to be out and about. The walk back to the train was easier…mostly down hill…sometime severely downhill. We made it back to the hotel and Dad and Kecia left me to find dinner. They went to the Tapas restaurant that was recommended the first night and had a lovely dinner with several invigorating people/couples sitting at the bar. The rest of the evening was packing in preparation for our journey by train to Seville…and the dog wars. I’m a little tired of dictating so we will take you through Seville, Ronda and Granada on our next post.
By the way, of the many things Dad has seen on our adventure, the most impressive were in Spain. The Sagada Familia in Barcelona, the beautiful cliffs and gorges in Ronda and the magnificent Alhambra Palace in Granada…more on the later two later.
So, thanks for reading…I am enjoying telling the story of my travels and hope you are enjoying reading about our adventures. Dads food and wine are Great…my food and water suck! Ah well…
Maggie (and Doug)
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