About 45 minutes after leaving the castle, we seamlessly navigate to the parking lot I’ve identified in Figueres and park in spot #83 (the picture is so we will remember where the car is parked, and just in case we need it to pay for the parking).
It is getting close to lunch time, so we wander into town, passing one restaurant I had chosen, which appears to be closed. Uh oh. We pass the gaily decorated Hotel Plaza Inn, with it’s painted cows and and other assorted animals affixed to the balconies – fits right in with a wacky Dali theme.
We make our way to La Rambla and walk along the street crowded with cafes and restaurants. Our goal is El Dynamic Cerveseria, which gets great reviews an opens at noon (which is a few minutes away). You know what’s coming right? We arrive and El Dynamic is closed – and obviously not opening anytime soon. Darn it! This food thing is not going well – at all. So, back to the street, where we peruse the menus and finally choose La Mossegada, which is maybe German? Except the food is pure Spanish, just the name “ceveseria Franfurt” is German. Who knows?
The waiter speaks very little English, so we have to get by on our pidgin Spanish, but somehow we get by. Except I wanted the Goat Cheese shown on the menu board, and it doesn’t appear to be listed in the menu. There are goat cheese fritters, but when I point to them, he says they are done. Pooh. I try to say queso de cabra, but he doesn’t really understand. Then he points to something else, and explains it is goat cheese ratatouille – ok, I’m game. Ed orders calamari – so that’s simple enough. Turns out what the waiter pointed to – and brought – was exactly what I wanted – Goat cheese melted atop roasted peppers and onions with a little bit of tomato and drizzled with balsamic. Mission successful.
After lunch, we visit the toy museum, which contains a huge collection of old toys. It’s really amazing. From Teddy bears to hundreds of die cast car miniatures to a display of old scooters and tricycles, including these great photos of children riding the trikes….
…and everything in between. We’re the only people here, so it’s easy to just wander around and gaze at all the familiar – and unfamiliar toys here. There is also this great miniature railroad that the volunteers turn on for us when we walk in the room. There are 2 sets of trains running over all sorts of terrain, and a round house for the train storage yard. Really cool.
I’m fascinated by the best dollhouse ever. Sadly I didn’t take any pictures of the entire house, just the individual rooms, but wow – the time and effort – I absolutely adore the library.
And then there is the collection of miniature sewing machines….
…It just boggles the mind what is here.
We spend a pleasant hour or so wandering through the different displays, then head back to the car park. Our last stop is the Castell de Sant Ferran, which is a 20 minute walk from town (uphill), or a quick 8 minute drive. Since I know there is parking up there, we’re driving! Our billy goat hikes are taking a sabbatical today.
Turns out it is a quick drive up to the castle – up being the operative word! It is straight uphill, on this narrow little road that is impossible for two cars to pass in opposite directions without one pulling over somewhere. Crazy! But at the top we are rewarded with stunning views and a little gravel lot into which we stuff our little Renault. We buy our tickets and head inside, not realizing just how huge this place really is.
There are tons of massive buildings, some in use for military purposes and residences, others open as museums.
You can walk up the battlements and wander around the old horse stables (which are all underground and completely made of stone).
Then there are the viewpoints from atop the massive, fortified walls. Incredible. You can completely understand how the site was chosen for protection.
We end up wandering about for a while, but it’s getting late, and we’re both a little weary of wandering, so we head back toward the entrance and the raucous cafe. We should have come here for lunch. I mean it is packed with all sorts of folks, military, families, couples. Next time – this is the place to eat – and if we come here first, we can give the castle exploration the time and attention it truly needs.
Back on the road, TIM gets us all mixed up in the town of Figueres. For some reason he sends us through the town, past the Dali museum and then out to the Autostrada a completely different way. Ah, the vagaries of TIM.
After that first little kerfuffle, though, we have no issues making it back to Barcelona straight away. We pay our 20 Euro tolls along with our 1 Euro 61 toll (sigh) and end up back at Sixt way a little before 5. Our intention was to walk up through St. Antoni to find Garage Beer, a cool looking craft beer joint that is only open during the day on Saturday and Sunday. But, with all the protests going on (there are hundreds of thousands of people in Barcelona protesting for unity with Spain – we were watching it on TV at the restaurant where we ate lunch, and the place is jam packed, particularly La Rambla and Placa Catalunya), we figure it is probably a better bet to go back to the ship for the evening. As we are walking to the shuttle stop, you can see the crowds dispersing and swarming out of La Rambla, so probably a good decision, just from a crowded, won’t be able to move or get a seat at a bar or restaurant perspective.
The shuttle deposits us back at our ship, and we spend the rest of the evening aboard going about our nightly rituals.
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