Gerry and I have been happily married for 40 years!
In September, 2026 we took a vacation to Spain to celebrate our 40th anniversary. We spent 3 days in Barcelona and then 8 days on the island of Menorca. It was magical,wonderful, and beautiful.
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| Cala Mitjana - our favorite beach and swim! |
We flew from Los Angeles to Barcelona on Tuesday, September 8th.
We arrived in Barcelona on the morning of Wednesday, September 9, my birthday. We stayed three nights at La Casa del Sol three nights. La Casa del Sol is in the Gracia district of Barcelona, more peaceful and quiet than downtown Barcelona, with a village-like atmosphere and several pedestrian streets.
We took a 2 1/2 mile stroll in the Gracia district on Wednesday afternoon. Many interesting architectural buildings.
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| Casa Vicens Gaudi |
Later in the evening we walked seven minutes from La Casa del Sol to Bodega Quimet, a tapas restaurant for my birthday dinner. An excellent choice!
We toasted with beers, and started with an appetizer of a plate of olives and also large tomatoes w anchovies. We then shared Esqueixada, a traditional Catalan salad of shredded salt cod, tomatoes, onions, olive and vinegar, and a plate of fried almonds and bread rubbed in tomato and olive oil. Delicious tiramisu for dessert - perhaps the best tiramisu I ever tasted.
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| Beer and tapas at Bar Bodega Quimet |
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| The grand finale -delicious tiramisu dessert |
Thursday September 10 was a fun and productive day. Sunny and warm and a double-header of events.
Round one was a tour of Park Guell. It was a 1.7 mile walk to Park Guell from La Casa del Sol and we arrived at 9:20 am, 10 minutes before the start of the 9:30 am guided tour. There were 13-15 people in our tour group. Our guide was a young woman named Montse, from Barcelona. The tour lasted 70 minutes and Montse pointed out the artistic wonders of the this public park designed by Antoni Gaudi.
Park Guell became a public park in 1926, one hundred years ago. It was later named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The park features colorful mosaics, whimsical structures and unique architectural elements, and a colonnaded footpath.
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| A beautiful park to explore |
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| Magnificent stone architecture |
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| I'm in front of a colorful mosaic |
After the guided tour we explored the park on our own for about an hour. We took dozens of photos.
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| This Hypo style outdoor room w tiled mosaics on the ceiling |
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| Artistic dragon sculpture near one of the park's entrances |
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| elaborate stone work, once again |
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| A final photo of us in Park Guell, w Barcelona in the distance |
We arrived back at Casa del Sol around noon and rested for an hour and a half before we embarked on round two of this double-header Thursday: La Sagrada Familia Basilica.
A walk in the opposite direction of Park Guell. We booked a guided tour which began at 3:45 pm. There were only 9 of us on this late-afternoon tour. Very interesting to learn the history of this Basilica and Antoni Gaudi.
The Sagrada Familia Basilica soars 50 stories. It is 556 feet high, taller than the Washington Monument in DC. Antoni Gaudi wanted to build a "Bible out of stone". It is the tallest church in the world, with 18 towers.
The Basilica is still in process. It may take another decade or more to complete. It really is a "must see" sight in Barcelona.
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| the Basilica from a distance |
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| the Basilica up closer |
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| the Basilica from as close as we can get outside of it |
We spent more than 90 minutes on this guided tour of the Basilica. It was fascinating and loved seeing both the exterior and the interior of the place.
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| My favorite inside wall |
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| Blue is my favorite color, so I was also in awe of this wall |
We walked more than ten miles on Thursday. Wow!
Bodega Quimet was so wonderful the night before, we returned there for tapas once again on Thursday evening.
Friday, September 11 is a regional holiday in Barcelona: the National Day of Catalonia. It commemorates the last stand of the defense of Barcelona during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714.
Most banks, government buildings, and schools were closed, and there were many people in the streets. At least a dozen museums are free on the National Day of Catalonia. We lucked out!
We stopped by many historic Gaudi houses and buildings.
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| Casa Battlo, redesigned by Gaudi in 1904 |
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| Font dels Sis Putti |
We took a free tour of the Palace of the Government of Catalonia. Interesting to see the interior of this Palace. The tour guide spoke Spanish so I was clueless to what he was explaining. Interesting to see the interior of this building.
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| Gerry in his blue shirt after we exit the building |
Our final museum stop was the Palau Guell, an urban mansion and early masterpiece built by Guell, 1886-1890. We had to wait more than 30 minutes in line for this free tour. It was well worth the wait to walk through this mansion. We were given an app with an audio guide in English so we could learn about what was in front of us in all of the rooms - and the rooftop!
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| Love the beautiful wood and design all around me |
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| The domed ceilings were a sight to behold |
This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The roof is an iconic, sculptural terrace with 20 chimneys. Brickwork is covered in tile mosaic glass, marble, porcelain and sandstone.
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| On the rooftop of of Palau Guell amongst many distinctive chimneys |
An amazing final day in Barcelona! We went out to dinner on Friday night at La Pepita, less than a half-mile walk from Casa del Sol. We shared various tapas and saved room for gelato on our walk back to the Casa.
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| Final dinner in Barbados at La Pepita |
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| The Clock tower in the plaza where we finished our gelato |
Saturday morning September 12 we had a 11:20 am flight from Barcelona to Menorca and touched down in Mahon, Menorca at 12:15 pm. We took a taxi to the Artiem Capri, a 4-star hotel where we stayed Saturday and Sunday night. The complimentary breakfast buffets were amazing!
We took a short stroll toward the harbor on Saturday afternoon and stopped at Mercat des Peix for lunch. Mercat des Peix is a historic fish market, now including vendors serving traditional tapas, sandwiches, wine and more. We shared some tapas.
Our "guide" Javier met us in the lobby at the Artiem at 5:30 pm to discuss in detail the upcoming six days of hiking on the Cami de Cavalls. This Cami is a historic, circular long-distance coastal trail spanning 115 miles around the island of Menorca. It is divided into 20 official sections. We would be hiking about 50 miles on this six-day Cami.
Day one of the Cami on Sunday September 13 was a 9.5 mile hike from Favaritx to the beach at Sa Mesquida. Javier picked us up at the Artiem Capri at 9:00 am and drove us to Favaritx for the start of the hike and then picked us up at Sa Mesquida at 4:30 pm at the end and drove us back to the Artiem Capri.
It was a mile walk to the Favaritx lighthouse
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| Gerry on the walk up to Favaritx lighthouse |
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| Arriving at Favaritx lighthouse under sunny skies |
We headed south after the excursion to the lighthouse and were thrilled to stop and swim at three different beaches!
First beach stop and swim was at Playa d'en Tortuga late morning. We were hot and sweaty, and eager to swim.
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| Heading down to Playa d'en Torguga |
We continued our hike, and loved looking back at this beautiful beach and the bright blue waters.Onward to the second beach stop and swim (and also lunch break) at Playa del Grau.
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| Playa del Grau - another beauty |
We continued on, and spotted three flamingos in the water.
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| They seem content, as are we ! |
We had an uphill climb and then a descent to approach the third beach at Cala Mesquida.
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| Keep on trekking! |
Enjoyed the third and final swim of the day at Cala Mesquida, though didn't take any photos. A wonderful day one on the Cami!
Monday, September 14, the second day on the Cami, was the hike from Calle en Porter to Sant Tomas, a 10.5 mile hike. Highlights included visiting the Torre d'en Galmes Prehistoric Site and stopping at two beaches to swim.
Torre d'en Galmes is the largest prehistoric Talayotic settlement on the island of Menorca, Spain, spanning over 6 hectares on a hilltop.
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| At one of the Talayotic settlements |
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| At another fascinating Talayotic site |
There were dozens of Talayotic sites to see here. I'm glad they are preserved.
Onward to our first beach stop at Cala de Llucalari. We arrived shortly after noon and were ready for a swim.
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| Cala Llucalari waters are inviting us |
We walked a few miles along Son Bou beach with several stops available for swimming. Loved swimming in the turquoise colored waters.
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| Son Bou beach - our 2:00 pm swim stop |
We enjoyed the view of Playa de Talis thirty minutes later, though it wasn't accessible for swimming.
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| Playa de Talis |
At the end of the beach, we walked a 1/2 mile up hill to the town of Santo Tomas, which has a handful of large, posh hotels. We were staying at the Hotel Seth 55 Santo Tomas The Seth 55 has 165 rooms on three levels. It features a 60 meter outdoor pool, and a huge restaurant with a complimentary buffet breakfast.
We ate dinner at the gourmet restaurant in the Seth 55. A very pleasant evening; musicians were playing jazz music out on the patio.
The third day on the Cami, Tuesday September 15, was our nine mile hike from Santo Tomas to Cala Galdana,
Day three hike begins with a few miles inland, away from the coast.
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| Surrounded by trees and shade |
We stopped at two beaches along the way to swim in the beautiful turquoise waters. The first beach stop was Cala Mitjana. It features crystal-clear, shallow water enclosed by dramatic limestone cliffs with soft white sand.
Cala Mitjana was very popular, with teenagers diving off the cliffs into the water. We swam out to the limestone rock cavities, which are to the right of the cliffs. We didn't have to swim very far to reach these caves.
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| Cala Mitjana |
The second beach stop was Cala Galdana, very near the end of our hike. This beach is best known for its stunning horseshoe-shaped bay and shallow, crystal-clear turquoise waters.
Once again the beach was soft and sandy, and the waters crystal-clear.
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| Approaching Cala Galdana |
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| 20 minutes later we arrive at the sandy beach and take a swim |
We checked into our room at Comitas Floramar, a very nice hotel up the hill in Galdana. We relaxed by the pool. We ate dinner Tuesday evening a the Alaska Restaurante & Tapas Bar, located a seven minute walk down the hill from our hotel, near the marina.
We shared grilled octopus, four croquettes, and Padron peppers, warm bread and cold beer.
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| Happy dining at the Alaska! |
The fourth day on the cami, Wednesday September 16, was a 6.25 mile hike from Cala Galdana to Son Saura. It was a triple-header beach-stop / swimming day.
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| Starting up the trail around 9:00 am |
Our first beach stop was within less than an hour at Cala Macarella, considered one of Menorca's beautiful beaches.
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| On the trail approaching Cala Macarella |
We went swimming here. It would be foolish not to do so. It's been hot hiking weather on this Cami, temps in the 80s most days, which is why we welcome the wonderful swimming opportunities.
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| Cala Macarella, where we splashed about in the turquoise waters |
Our second beach stop was at Cala Turqueta, another fine sandy beach. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos at this beach. Upward and onward we go!
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| Along the rocky coastline as we walk toward the third beach stop, Cala des Talaier |
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| Cala des Talaier - the finale of today's hike |
Our guide Javier picked us up at Son Saura at 2:00 pm and drove us to Hotel Alfons in Ciutadella, one of the two primary cities on Menorca, along with Mao.
Ciutadlla is quite an historic city with beautiful buildings in the town square. The Cathedral in Ciutadella was built in 1362. The neoclassical facade was added in 1813.
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| Here I am, standing in front of the Cathedral in Ciutadella |
It was fascinating to see some other historic landmarks and buildings.
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| The Obelisk of Ciutadella, a 72 foot monument |
We ate dinner Wednesday evening at Restaurant Aurora, established in 1893. It is a Tapas restaurant in the center of Ciutadella with outdoor seating.
Gerry and I shared Padron peppers, a salad with lettuce hearts and anchovies and tomatoes and cuttlefish. The grilled cuttlefish was delicious, and the portion of Padron peppers was excellent - a huge portion of more than 30 peppers.
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| First course - Padron peppers and salad |
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| Grilled Cuttlefish, delicious, and our main course |
