Hello patrons and welcome to another week in the life of yours truly. I don’t think I can say it enough but thank you so much for your support, both financially and through your watching and interacting with the channel.
When the “Around The World” adventure was in the planning stages two things happened. Nikki got to pick the first locations and my input was “I want to be in Barcelona for my birthday”. Which, for the record, I wasn’t. I escaped to Andorra, but more on that in a minute.
Let’s stay with Barcelona for a bit though. It hasn’t been anything like I expected. A lot of that has to do with where we’re staying. A solid hour plus walk from here to the edge of the “real city”. In a loud and uncomfortable tiny room way up in the hills.
We’ve been down in the old city a few times, and while it’s been fun to relive memories, it’s also been bittersweet in that it’s not the same Barcelona. Or perhaps I’m not the same Rick in Barcelona.
(What happens when you order a “grande” … one liter of beer!)
All of my videos from here (despite the joy this giant glass of beer brought me) have been very negative, and I wanted to give you some behind the scenes on that. (Next week’s video for Patrons is also going to go into this, but here’s a taste).
I expected a lot from this city. I expected a lot from myself. And nothing meshed. The city’s Anti-AirBnb battle has left us in a horrible location. And I’ve been spending all of my time trying to remember my glory years instead of finding new things to absorb. Yes, I get this is mostly a “Me Problem”, but the point is that it has been enlightening. What was supposed to be my Crown Jewel has been anything but.
So, what can I learn from that?
Skip to the previous continent. I wasn’t expecting much (mostly because I knew next to nothing about the locations) but it turns out that was the key. Well, part of the key. I just happened to find cool things. Imagine what might have happened if I had done some real research, LOL!
When we escaped to Andorra for some much needed sleep it occurred to me that there were indeed lessons to be learned from the first 3 months of this trip. One is that looking forward is crucial. Yes, memories are great but new things on the horizon are what make exploration enjoyable. The other is that I got so fixated “on a place” that I was missing culture, people, regions, and the beauty of the forest (as opposed to a tree).
And so we’re about to start our 4th month traveling. What to expect, you ask?
We’ve got the next two legs planned and booked. Granada, which is down in Andalusia Spain. We were there for precisely two hours, three years ago. So it’s worth a wander. And even though (despite my earlier misgivings) I’m going to repeat a thing, it’s a thing worth repeating. When you see the “hike” I’m going to do … well, it’s gunna make for great video! LOL!
Then we’re heading to the far north of Spain to Galicia. Nikki’s grandfather was from there so while I’m exploring the greenness of the north, Nikki is going to be exploring her roots. After that, no one knows yet. 🙂
So why am I showing you a negative covid test? Because Nikki wasn’t so lucky. Hers had two lines. We didn’t make it public on social media but she was down for about a week. Heavy cold symptoms this time (but that covid cough!). Our flat is basically the size of a walk in closet and we were sure I’d catch it too. But somehow I remained unscathed.
Spain has recently followed along with the rest of the world in unmasking. It had to happen sometime, but if what we went through is an indicator of the new world norm, there is going to be lots of virus passing forever more. We’re still (mostly) masking when indoors, but this is a part of travel we’re just going to have to deal with. No one knows how yet, so I suppose this too will be a learning journey.
More next Saturday, and again THANK YOU for your support!
RICK
🎬 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfX3c8A5hKPHuoKJZQMi0u9AZfpODdTy4
OUR CURRENT SITUATION: LIVING THE SPANISH LIFE! (AND EUROPE TOO!)