Barcelona!

OK, so I have been slacking lately on keeping up with my blog, but life just seems to get increasingly more crazy each day. I thought after my trip to Barcelona things would slow down a little - boy, was I wrong!!

A few weeks ago, I spent a very long and busy week in Barcelona, Spain. I was asked to accompany my project manager to a kick-off meeting at our client's office that is conveniently located in the beautiful and historic city of Barcelona. I recently began working on a new COPD study and the sponsor's are located in New Jersey and Barcelona. For weeks weeks the sponsors were trying to decide if the meeting would be held in New Jersey or Barcelona - I was ecstatic to find out that I would be going to Barcelona!

On March 9th, 2009, I left for Barcelona. I do not have a fear of flying, but being 6' tall I do have a fear of being cramped for 10 hours! I was very excited to find out that it is company policy for employees to fly business class if the flight exceeds 8 hours. I just have to share with you my new found favorite way to travel...

...I have told my Husband that I will never fly coach again...:)

I arrived in Barcelona the morning of March 10th after a very long night and very little sleep. If you know me even a little you will now my obsession with cleaning. When traveling I always dread opening the hotel room door, for you never quite know what you are going to find. I was very happy to find this...



After a nap and a hot shower, we headed out as a team to downtown Barcelona. We ate at Cafe Mussol.

I was quite pleased with my daring choices during my first meal in Spain. We started with tapas and I am very proud to say that I tried everything at least once! As they say - when in Rome (or in this case, Barcelona)! I even tried this weird potato-chip concoction that was topped with olive oil, hot sauce and sardine-like fish.

After dinner we went for a short stroll around the city. I was very pleased that I got to see at least one Gaudi building during my brief trip!



This is the point at which the fun stopped and the work began. For the next three days we were in all-day meetings. I spent all day Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in offices listening to people talk :(

On Thursday night we went out to dinner with our client. The client organized the dinner and we went to the most beautiful restaurant (if I could do it all over again, this is where I would have my wedding). We went to a restaurant set into the side of Montjuic. The restaurant had the most amazing panoramic views of Barcelona. The food was wonderful and the wine was just fantastic! I had such a wonderful time! All week I had been looking forward to Friday night, for it was my one night free from work. Also, I was especially looking forward to Friday night because I was finally going to have time to get together with family that I had not seen in almost 10 years! My Uncle, his wife and my cousin moved to Spain from Scotland almost 6 years ago, but I had not seen them since I left Scotland in 1999. On Friday evening, my family and I went to downtown Barcelona and wandered down La Rambla. La Rambla is the main shopping street in Barcelona. The street is lined with stalls and street performers.




Our walk down La Rambla was simply breathtaking! I also wanted to share with you some of the beautiful architecture and the amazing stalls that lined La Rambla...










Last, but not least...(l-r) Auntie Susan, Me, Cousin Jennifer, Uncle Richard.



It is almost impossible to describe how beautiful Barcelona is! Of course, Barcelona has the typical urban drawbacks. The city is incredibly busy and noisy, but I am already planning another trip. Anyone want to go?