So I am sitting on a bar stool, sipping my pina colada. My giant pina colada. A. told the bartender to prepare one with real pineapple. He misunderstood, ended up with a carved pineapple shell filled to the brim with it, which he kept topping up with the remains in the blender. Almost finished. Feeling slightly self conscious. It is so not me sitting in a bikini at the pool bar, but they called for me, my son and his dad. Wanted to have their pictures taken sipping their cocktails. So I did, and decided to join them.

Must go to the bathroom. Slowly get up and swim to the edge of the pool. Try to get out of it as graciously as I can. All eyes on me, or so I think. This drink is strong. A bit buzzed. A bit dizzy. Luckily no need to walk a lot, just behind the bar. As I am about to leave it, I catch a glimpse of a woman in the mirror.

Dark hair tied on top, huge shades, pink bikini. Wow, that’s me, realise slowly.

I look good. Could it be the mirror or the lighting? Don’t really care, look good!

Ever since my teenage years when in one summer I went from a slender 48kg to an overweight 73 kg girl , I’ve been feeling fat. Even though that I’ve been slim for a long long time, even after my pregnancy, I still see that fat girl in the mirror most of the time.

So now I know why they say that I look good for my age.

By the way, I really hate it when people say that. I should just look good, period.

Soo happy with my pina colada. The first ever I truly like other than the one at Lake Velence.

Tried one 2 nights ago at our hotel bar in Barcelona…shouldn’t have. Why did they have to put in it pink peppercorns and mint leaves coated in powder sugar, beats me. Our waitress had a tough time with us, poor thing , a cork that wouldn’t come out of the wine bottle, asking for extra toast that was not on the menu, and then the returned drink. She reminded me of a colibri, so tiny and delicate , fluttering around us nervously.

Our visit to Barcelona was brief.

Been to Sagrada Familia, and it was a wow experience. The size, the colours, the light, the atmosphere. Even with the constant loud noise of the construction going on , it was magical. Imagine Gaudi being so “obsessed” with it, that in the end spending everything he had on it, ending up living there. They are planning to complete his work by 2026. Fingers crossed.

The Park Guell was our next stop. It was such a hot day. By 10.30 -our time of entry – the sun was really strong, making us sweat as we were just getting ready to start. A. stayed behind of course, hoping to catch up with us later on. Wandered around with M , admiring the colums , the tiles, the agapanthuses and the view of the city from the top. Every single time I wanted to go further, was told to turn back , because it was an exit point. Were warned that once we get out, even by mistake, we will not be let in.

Other than these 2 sights, we basically kept walking endless hours in Ramblas, Barcelonata ,sipping cappuccinos, and eating.

Delicious oysters, squids, grilled shrimps, ceviche, crema catalana, tapas of all sorts, name it, we ate it.

Our last day was spent in Girona. Took the fast train, which took us only 38 mins. Walked around the old jewish area, saw the cathedral, took lots of pics, mostly of all sorts of plants growing in the cracks of the old walls, till we realised that we had enough. Quick search on the net, then A. came up with the idea of going to the lake Banyoles .

The downside, which we realised only in the taxi, that it is not even in Girona. The taxi driver kept telling us only 5 minutes, every 5 minutes.

Beautiful lake, with gorgeous sycamore trees around it, water lilies, ducks.
750 m wide, 2.1 km long, the average depth is about 15 m, the deepest part is over 60m. Not quite our lake Velence.

Our taxi driver told us that they twice a year they have a swimming race across the lake. In 1992 during the Barcelona Olympics games they held the rowing games here.

Would have loved cycling around it, but sadly we had no time. After a quick but delicious lunch of open faced toasted sandwiches with grilled eggplant, tuna and anchovies, was time to catch our train back to Barcelona.

One more thing left on A.’s to do list.

El Celler de Can Roca in Girona. The restaurant that has been named the best restaurant in the world again in 2015.
Tried to book a table. 6 months waiting list.

Is it worth the wait? We shall see.