Saturday and Sunday 1 -2 October 2016
I arrived at the airport by 7:30pm for my 9:30pm flight to Barcelona via Dubai. It was a long flight – first leg was just over 14 hours. Fortunately I had a spare seat beside me so that was a bonus. After a 3 hour layover in Dubai (and this included exiting one flight and boarding another, the time went very quickly) I had another 7 hour flight to Barcelona.
The journey to my hotel by taxi was interesting. My taxi driver looked about 12 years old and drove like a demon. The speed limit on the freeway was 120kph and he was taking the corners exiting the airport taxi rank at about 90kph. And the music was LOUD. The good news for me was that I arrived (before time, not that I had a schedule) at the hotel. I settled into my room and took a long bubble bath and then proceeded to break the No. 1 rule in regard to jet lag, I laid down and had a sleep for an hour at 4pm. When I woke, I still felt really tired however I took myself out for a walk and found a great restaurant for dinner. My restaurant selection was based purely on looks, not something I would normally do, however I was tired. It had a great spot on the footpath near a busy intersection and was able to watch Barcelona in action on a Sunday evening. The restaurant offered a Japanese and Brazilan Fusion menu – whatever that could possibly be. However they served up the most delicious creole wagyu beef, that I finished cooking myself on the hot stone provided, accompanied by mashed potato and finely diced peppers, all eaten using chopsticks.
The eating method defies logic, but by the time I was finished there was not a skerrick of food left on the platter. After I finished by glass of tempranillo I wandered back and fell into bed for a luxurious night’s sleep.
