Barcelona, Spain to Reno, Nevada

We made it home! Sunday morning in Barcelona we went out for our last European breakfast.

Breakfast in Barcelona

Then we packed, checked out of our hotel and took the Metro to Barcelona airport.

On the Metro
In line to check in

A bit over two weeks ago Level Airlines cancelled our original flight and we had to get a flight two days earlier and cut our trip short. When we got to the airport in Barcelona we found out they had overbooked our new flight and bumped us from Premium Economy to seats in Tourist class next to the bathrooms. Although it was a pretty miserable 12 hour flight, the good news is that we are supposed to get a 75% refund.

On the flight

And the best news is that we made it home. We took BART to Lafayette and Allison picked us up. We spent the night, played a bit with the grandkids then drove home to Reno this morning.

Sweet Pea Restaurant in Auburn where we stopped for lunch.
The view from our room at Casa Vermazen where we are tonight

Bucharest, Romania to Barcelona, Spain

I set my alarm for 4:20 this morning because we had a 7:40 flight to Barcelona. All went smoothly and the next thing you know we were on the Metro to central Barcelona.

Bucharest Arc de Triumph from our taxi on the way to the airport
The metro station at Barcelona airport
Barceloba Arc de Triumph near our hotel.

We checked in to our hotel but it was too early to get our room so we had fun wandering around and enjoying the incredible street life of Barcelona.

A brand of women’s clothes, Sorellas, that does a pop up store tour. There was a very long line to get in.
Inside Estació de França
Archealogic site

For dinner we had tapas at a place we ate ate and loved another time we were in Barcelona

Restaurant Llamber
Tuna and tomato salad
Patatas Bravas
For desert we had a omething like a donut with a liguid liquor center

It was so great to enjoy the energy and street vibe of Barcelona as we walked back to the hotel

Walking back to the hotel.

Bucharest Day 2

It was beautiful day today and we had fun exploring Bucharest. We started with a tour of The House of Ceaușescu. It is the mansion where Nicolas Ceaușescu, the communist president of Romania lived. Unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures inside the mansion but it was a very interesting tour of the opulent residence.

House of Ceaușescu
Garden of the mansion

Next we walked through the park to the National Village museum. They have moved old typical building from regions all over Romania to this park. It was well maintained, large and very interesting.

The National Village Museum

We were very lucky that they happened to be filming some kind of a traditional festivity and dance while we were there. The traditional dress was beautiful and it was a lot of fun to watch the dancing.

Some of the dancers

When we had finished exploring the park we took a Uber back to our hotel. For dinner we walked to a nearby restaurant. I think tonight may have been the first time on this trip that it was warm enough to sit outside for dinner.

Eating dinner

Tomorrow we start our trip home. We have a 7:40 flight to Barcelona where we will spend the night.

Fǎgǎraș to Bucharest, Romania

Today we turned in the last of the 8 rental cars that we drove on this trip. We drove for 4 hours back to Bucharest where we turned in the car.

On our drive today

When we got to Bucharest we drove straight to our hotel and checked in. We dropped off our bags and then drove about a mile away to turn in the car. After leaving the car we walked back to our hotel.

Walking back to the hotel

We wanted to find a place to have beers and a snack to celebrate the end of driving. We found a Tex Mex restaurant quite near the hotel!

We are done driving!
Nachos

For dinner we went to a nearby Turkish restaurant

Appetizer plate

Deva to Fǎgǎraș, Romania

Today was an absolutely beautiful day. Part of our route as we head back to Bucharest was over a route we took on our second day driving in Romania. That day the mountains were almost impossible to see in the clouds and haze. Today they stood out against the blue sky.

Not long after we left Deva we made a detour to find a good spot to get some mountain pictures. Eventually we found this church down a side road at the top of a hill.

Church yard where we stopped for mountain pictures
Mountains on the horizon

Fǎgǎraș where we are tonight has a big church with a gold dome and a castle. We are staying at a very nice hotel right on the main square. We went for a walk around the castle and the church.

More mountains along our route
Fǎgǎraș church
Fǎgǎraș castle