Keep Calm and Carry On
We awoke with a jolt on Thursday at 3:30 a.m. with a phone call from our daughter, Chauncey. The President had just made an announcement that, due to the coronavirus, no one would be allowed into the United States after midnight Friday. It was not clear if that included U. S. citizens or not. We were scheduled to fly back to the United States on Sunday. Fearing the worst, we started checking on earlier flights back. We were about to purchase tickets for a different flight when the airline's website crashed. So we went back to sleep.
When we rose for the day, clarification had come out from the State Department that U. S. Citizens are exempt from the travel ban. So we decided to stick with our plan of flying back home on Sunday. However, we had heard that Andorra was preparing to close its border. We didn't want to be trapped on the wrong side, unable to leave, so we decided to pack up and leave a day early. We enjoyed a beautiful spring drive to Barcelona with temperatures in the mid-70's in the Spanish valleys, lifting our hopes that our hotel could take us a day early.
We really enjoyed our time in Andorra, but we felt a little isolated because our phones would not work (we could receive calls but not make calls), and neither would our navigation. The hotel was outstanding and luxurious, the skiing infrastructure was amazing, but the snow was on its way out. We had the best ski day we were going to have there on Wednesday, so we felt like we had experienced enough of Andorra. It was time to move on.
We are so glad that we did! After a 2-1/2 hour drive, the King and Queen arrived at El Palace Hotel Barcelona!
It is a grand, 101-year-old building that has been fully restored.
I absolutely love this palm tree chandelier!
And what about this peacock wallpaper?!
We were given a corner room on the top floor with an amazing city view from our balcony.
We have cherubs guarding our balcony!
Our room is comfortable, welcoming, and quiet.
The hotel as a whole is lovely, chandeliers everywhere, with its peacock motif.
There is a pretty sitting area outside our room.
There is a rooftop terrace that is a wonderful place for a drink, to admire the Barcelona skyline.
We could see Gaudi's "La Familia Sagrada" basilica with the cranes and scaffolding around it. Its construction began in 1882 and is expected to be completed in 2026!
There is another iconic building that caught our eyes.
And we saw gondolas arriving at Barcelona's answer to the Eiffel Tower.
Spring has arrived on the terrace!
We enjoyed fondue at the hotel's Swiss-themed rooftop restaurant called "Chalet El Palace".
Doesn't Brock look good in a beret?
As for the coronavirus, both Brock and I are in excellent health. At the places we have visited, we haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary, except zero Chinese tourists. At the last several hotels we have stayed at, there have been fewer tourists in general and about 30% occupancy. We feel very fortunate to have had such an excellent traveling experience on this trip. We do not want anyone to worry about us. We are just fine and expect to make it back to the United States via JFK with no problems.
Coronavirus is threatening worldwide and nationally. Mount Juliet was ripped apart by a tornado. The stock market is crashing. We do not need to be afraid and panic. We need to Keep Calm and Carry On.
In the meantime, we are going to have some fun exploring this last city, and we are glad to be here! We are going broke in style!