Barcelona 1
Sunday January 9, 2022
Barcelona is amazing, beautiful, quirky and delicious as I remember it from 2017. It helps that Toronto went back into lockdown this week, and that makes my gallivanting around these magnificent sights and restaurants that much sweeter. However, the looming deadline of having to return home to frigid no fun wasteland is fast approaching and is definitely unappealing.
My first day here was on Tuesday, and in the morning I went up to the bunkers and Parc Guell. The view from the bunkers was stunning, but in the morning, the sun is right in your eyes so I vowed to come back another afternoon. Parc Guell was smaller than I thought it was, but still incredibly interesting. Even though it’s quiet season, there were still quite a few Instagrammers posing for that perfect picture, so I didn’t stay too long. I spent the afternoon walking around Montjuic, then saw the Christmas lights around the Gothic Quarter and Passeig de Gracia with Marc. We finished up at Sagrada Familia, which has had a new star addition since 2017, and then a big tapas meal to end the night.
On Wednesday, I met up with Kevin who took me to some of his favourite places while he was living here. We ended up back at the bunkers and just chilled out for a while, admiring the view in the perfect weather. We parted ways at Sagrada Familia, and I went to - of all things - a Malaysian restaurant for dinner, at the recommendation of Owen. Not bad at all, and better than most of the places in Toronto!
Thursday was a public holiday and absolutely perfect weather, so Marc took me to Montserrat, where we hiked around the gorgeous rock formations for four hours, going to Sant Jeroni, Creu de Sant Miquel and of course, the monastery. The last time I was there, I was very strapped for time as I was part of a bus tour, so it was awesome to explore the mountain a bit more and see the most beautiful lookout points around. For dinner, we went to an excellent Italian place close to Marc’s home back in Barcelona.
On Friday, I took it easy. I had a bad blister from all walking I’d done in the week so I tried to walk less. I ended up down by the beach and had lunch at Barceloneta. In the afternoon, I went looking for Amorino, my favourite gelato chain which crafts their ice creams into the shape of a rose. That took me to Plaça de Catalunya, and it was a quick subway ride home for some very average takeout pizza. It was a snap decision, but we ended up driving to Marc’s home town of Manresa to see if we could head up to Mont Rebei Gorge the next day, pending the state of my blister. We had several options based on whether I’d be able to hike or not, but I really wanted to make the gorge happen, the tourism pictures looked stunning.
The next day, we were up as early as we could be. My toe was feeling really good and the weather forecast looked equally as good, so we did the two hour drive to the gorge. Straddling the border between Aragon and Catalonia, the Mont Rebei Gorge is a massive canyon with a vibrant green river running through some massive rock formations. The scenery was hands down the most beautiful I’d seen on this trip, and everything was absolutely perfect about the day. The first section of the hike led us through some frosty landscapes, the area still sheltered from the sun by the rock mountains. After crossing the first suspension bridge, the path continues onto the cliff side, carved into the side of the mountain, and no barrier to prevent you from falling into the river below. After crossing the second suspension bridge, the path continues up a rock hill until you reach the most precarious wooden stairs leading straight down the vertical cliff face. Truly one of the most exciting hikes I’ve ever been on, and unparalleled views. We ended up near the carpark with some super cute, friendly Catalan donkeys!
With only a couple of days left, I’m cramming in some last moment sightseeing and eating. Hopefully the PCR test comes back negative, but honestly, staying here for another few days wouldn’t be that bad.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:22am on Sunday January 9, 2022 :: 0 comments :: 
Easter in Atlanta
Tuesday April 23, 2019
The weather has finally been warming up. I can leave my heavy winter jackets at home and walk out with a hoodie - today I even wore shorts. The grass is regaining its full green hue and the trees are beginning to grow their leaves back, and in a few weeks time, we'll start getting some cherry blossoms in High Park.
I spent Easter in Atlanta for a friend's wedding. When they first sent the invitation out, it said "Athens" and I thought to myself what an awesome holiday it would be to go to Greece, especially since I missed that part of Europe in 2017. But no, it was actually Athens, Georgia, which is about an hour and a half outside of Atlanta. The more I researched the sights and sounds (and food) of Atlanta, the more excited I got about going. I booked accommodation, I sorted out a rental car to drive to Athens, and I planned a basic itinerary.
I remember the plane coming into Atlanta. Everything was so green. The trees looked so lush and vibrant, and outside of the city centre it looked like a forest. I found it really pretty. After checking into my AirBnB, I walked around downtown; it was sunny and 25C. Centennial Park was unfortunately closed because of a 4/20 Festival, but there were plenty of other things to see. I had dinner at Sweet Georgia's Juke Joint, where the food was kinda average, but the entertainment was fantastic.
Overnight, a massive thunderstorm hit the city, waking up me and shaking the house. I got an amazing slow-mo capture of one lightning strike over downtown. Another hit so close to my AirBnB that it sounded like an explosion. All this brought heavy rain on Friday morning, so I ended up taking a Lyft to the World of Coca Cola instead of walking there. It was interesting to see all the old Coca Cola memorabilia and advertising from so long ago, as well as learn about how it started and how far they've come. I got to try lots of different drinks from around the world, and I spotted an L&P bottle among the collection of global products, but I was a little bit over the propaganda. As I left, the rain had cleared, so I had lunch at the nearby Waffle House (at the suggestion of my American friends) and walked an hour to Piedmont Park. I walked around the greenery for a bit, catching the regional Pokemon Carnivine (I swear the whole trip wasn't just for Carnivine) but as it rolled around to 3pm, it started to rain again, so I sought shelter from underneath a bridge. When the rain stopped, I continued my explorations to the south, following the beltline trail to the Ponce City Market.
Ponce City Market is a massive food hall, with cuisines from India, South Africa, Japan and China, as well as local flavours. I had a honey and lavender gelato from Honeysuckle Gelato, then for some reason the police showed up and we were told to evacuate the building. It didn't last long though, so I was back inside trying to decide what to have for dinner. I settled on trying some catfish, with a Vietnamese inspired salad, that was really light and refreshing, and I finished it off with a key lime tart and a cashew fudge donut for breakfast on Saturday.
I was up early to get to the airport on Saturday so I could collect my rental car. I was pretty excited about this, it's been a while since I've driven and my first time driving alone on the right side of the road, but I was confident and had no problems. My first stop was to the northern parts of the city for lunch at this Malaysian restaurant that had piqued my interest. I ordered yong tao foo curry laksa, and it was, put simply, absolutely delicious. Afterwards, I drove to Stone Mountain, a massive...stone mountain... to the east of Atlanta, and hiked up for some fantastic views of the city. Just like I had seen on the way in, the whole area was covered in green trees of every shade. The clouds began to darken and the rain that had been far off had begun to creep closer, but thankfully it was only passing, and it wasn't too heavy. I made my way down the mountain and started the hour-long drive to Athens.
I arrived in good time, and after scrubbing up, I drove to the wedding venue. It was cold and a little bit rainy, and for some reason, it never occurred to me that it was going to be an outdoor wedding. I joked to the groom's brother that neither of them were good at choosing the weather for their weddings (his had torrential rain in Auckland). But despite the chilly wind, the rain held out mostly and my friends were married successfully. I didn't really know many people at the wedding, apart from the groom's family, but it was good to see the people I knew and catch up with them. The reception was really nice too, and I was quite impressed by the display of seven cakes at the end, each of them a particular aspect of their heritage, their place of belonging and their home. From Colombia, there was a tres leche (three milk) cake and a negra torta (wine-soaked cake with fruit and nut), from Malaysia there was a pandan cake, from the US there was a ridiculously sweet Georgian pecan pie and a New York cheesecake, and from New Zealand, there was a lamington cake and a pavlova.
It was relatively early to bed and early to rise the next morning as I had to drive back to Atlanta airport and catch my flight. For some reason, it had not crossed my mind that I needed to apply for a visa waiver to get back into Canada, especially since I had just renewed my passport, so there was mild panic as I hurriedly filled out an electronic application for it. Thankfully it was approved within minutes.
The coming few weeks will be busy as we finish everything for E3, and I'm desperate to get back to work to help the team out. I'm also looking forward to the Avengers: Endgame movie, and of course, summer!
Posted by Jeremy at 2:30am on Tuesday April 23, 2019 :: 0 comments ::