Upon arrival at The Hotel Arts (a Ritz Carlton property), we headed straight to the pool and before noon we were basking in the sun with cold beers in our hands. Lunch was delivered to us poolside and I ate an amazing, almost raw, salmon sandwich. (I've since dreamt about this sandwich!) Just when we thought life couldn't get better, we received a call informing us we had been upgraded to the 2-story penthouse apartment on the 40th floor! (This was thanks to Pete's business contacts.)
The apartment was unbelievable (and bigger than our house) with marble bathrooms, a spiral staircase, and a fantastic corner balcony that overlooked the city, harbor, and beach. Once we settled down from the excitement of our windfall, we changed and took a walk through the city.
It was a little breezy walking down the oceanfront, but we enjoyed the walk. Dave especially like the topless sunbathers! We took a short break at a boat restaurant, and then continued through the city center where we paid $7 for a street artist to make a painting of Camlin's name. (It will likely cost 10 times that to frame it, but it's not like we'll ever find anything pre-printed with Camlin's name.)
Our first day concluded with dinner at a restaurant on the beach and drinks back at the apartment.
Day two was awesome. Along with the apartment came a convertible mini for use, so we took it out for a spin around Barcelona. We went to the soccer stadium (Nou Camp), toured the museum, and sat in the stands watching the stage being set for the opening of the U2 concert tour. Then we took the scenic route back through the Olympic areas, before relaxing by the pool for the rest of the day. Did I mention that the pool attendants regularly spritzed us down and brought around frozen treats?!
That evening we salivated through an amazing dinner at the restaurant Arola, which is headed by an award-winning chef. After a slight altercation with some local muggers, we relaxed for some drinks and Dave and Pete collected some winnings in the casino.
We started out our final day with the expensive hotel breakfast and a few hours soaking up some last rays of sun, and then packed up in preparation to leave. Our flight wasn't until late so we got to enjoy some local cuisine in the harbor and savor the remaining few hours of relaxation.
When we landed in Liverpool it was almost midnight. We had a somber drive home after an amazing few days. We knew it would be a long time before we had another trip like that, but as soon as saw our beautiful girl sleeping soundly, we were glad to be back.
