Spain

Barcelona

Praddy's flight from London Stansted landed late on Friday 18 March, and we had the weekend together. On Saturday afternoon we went inside the Sagrada Família. Its columns branch like trees toward the ceiling, and the stained glass throws red, orange, green and blue light across the stone. A canopy strung with lamps hangs over the altar, and the Lord's Prayer is cast in Catalan across the bronze doors. That evening we found a pastry shop window piled with giant meringues in pink, white and mint green.

On Sunday we had crema catalana topped with fresh berries, then went back to see the Sagrada Família from outside. From the park on one side, its spires rose behind a pond and trees in pink blossom. On the other side, the Passion façade stood in full sun, with construction cranes above its towers.

Then we went to Passeig de Gràcia, where Gaudí's Casa Batlló stands beside the stepped gable of Casa Amatller. Along the pavement, the wrought-iron street lamps double as benches. We ended the day on the beach at Barceloneta, beside the tall glass sail of the W hotel.

Puerto Rico and the coast

Our balcony at Marina Suites looked straight down on Puerto Rico's marina, with yachts moored in long rows and white apartments climbing the hill beyond. We checked in on Saturday 29 April and watched the lights come on across the hill that night.

On Sunday morning we joined a cruise on a catamaran. It followed a coast of brown cliffs, past white villages tucked in beneath them and the dark mouth of a sea cave, and came in close to a pebble cove where the water turned turquoise. Meenu sat out on deck in a yellow sarong.

Back on the balcony that evening, we stood out in white bathrobes as the sun went down behind the headland. On Monday we swam in an infinity pool on the edge of the ocean, looking across the water to a cliff topped with white houses.

The Maspalomas dunes

On our last evening we went out to the dunes at Maspalomas. Ridges of soft sand roll down to the sea. We posed for photos on the ridges, and as the light went, the clouds over the dunes turned pink.

After dark, the town lights glowed orange along the horizon and lit the clouds from below. We finished on a promenade lined with palms and lamps.

Marbella

In August 2019 we came back to Spain for a long weekend on the Costa del Sol. Norwegian's afternoon flight from London Gatwick landed in Málaga at 20:05 on Friday 9 August. We had three nights in a studio at Romana Playa, in Marbella, which we'd booked in January, seven months ahead. The flight home left Málaga at 21:00 on the Monday.