Barcelona

I have a love/hate relationship with Barcelona.

I love the Spanish and I love Barcelona - we drive through it each year as we go to and fro to Mallorca - but I hate the driving through it!

After 21 years of travelling to Mallorca each year we finally decided 2 years ago to stop flying and drive instead. With all the changes at airports and the fact that you can't smoke anywhere at all while having to hang around for longer and longer we thought we would give driving a go.

Well Mick is used to driving on the continent (I'm not!!!!) so off we went. Going down through France is easy and the roads are brilliant - as are the facilities. But getting to the ferry at Barcelona is the problem. The first year we had problems finding where to go; the second year getting onto the ferry was easy; but on both occasions our problem is that main roundabout and getting off the ferry and heading back to France. We always seem to get lost.....

The main roundabout (forgive my ignorance I really will look at the name of it this year, if I can open my eyes) is quite frightening to me. There is traffic coming from all directions and they are all impatient and eager to get on their way - ready to toot their horns at you for the slightest reason.
Then we always seem to take the wrong road supposedly heading for France but undoubtedly always ending up back where we started.

I've started to get a phobia about that roundabout and I just say "keep me away from the roundabout" as we go round it for the umpteenth time!

Well another problem last year was when we got sent out from a different exit from the port. We headed towards the direction we felt we should be taking but I'm not too sure if we should have gone across that flashing amber light!!!!!!!! When the police car came up behind us I thought we were going to get booked but he just looked; shrugged his shoulders and carried on chasing a car that he was after.

So today I've purchased a book "Motoring in Spain" so that I can read up on all the laws and traffic signs etc. Maybe if I know what we should be doing I won't panic so much.

Of course we did make it home - or else I wouldn't be writing this now :-)