The Giving Up/ Cutting Down alcohol support thread - number 13

shaggydoo

Morning :hello:

2 more AFDs for Wednesday & yesterday.



Shaggyx

shaggydoo

Honey_Bear wrote: »

apart from a Camp Neu tour (he's a footie type) and the chocolate shops, does anyone else have any suggestions about what shouldn't be missed? And any ideas about which areas of the city are not too pulsatingly loud at night but have a lot of choice of independent, or family run, little restaurants that still feel Spanish?

So much to do in Barcelona.

Neu Camp definitely.

Plus an open top bus tour (all off which you can get on and off) at a variety of places.

A walk down La Rambla, a visit to the Gothic quarter, Barcelona Cathedral, etc, etc

Oh and the beaches - which are actually in the city.

If you want to stay longer - easy access by train to Costa Brava - train journey is beautiful - goes along the beach. Also beautiful beaches to the south - though I haven't visited them.

shaggydoo

ManPants wrote: »

I have no idea what crime is now like but first time with the GF in 1993 - for New Year - she had her handbag stolen from our table at an outside restaurant.

We were warned about crime too but nothing untoward happened to anyone in our party (this was 2013). Leave your Rolex at home is probably a good tip :-D

shaggydoo

June

= 7 Days AF

= 14 days AF

= 21 days AF
= 28 days AF

= 31 days AF

= target achieved


Alcohol Free Days

Arkers 13/20
Barny1979 7/22
CathyBird 9/15
CuppaTea 7/15

DebJay 6/10
DizzyImp 7/30
ElusiveLucy 8/20
Honey Bear 15/30

LotsToGain 6/TF

Maman 6/TF
Manpants 15/28

Pricey 5/22

Sandy 5/15
Shaggy 10/17

Smiley_77 /30
StopLurking 9/20

WBF 4/10


Everyone Welcome! It's never too late to join....

Please highlight your AFDs in Red

Don't hesitate to let me know if I've made a mistake!

Honey_Bear

Thank you so much, ManPants and Shaggy. I now have way more suggestions than we're likely to have time, so if I research all of them that should work beautifully. The Rough Guide (1p) is on it's way from Am@z0n and I owned up to OH yesterday about it all because I suddenly realised that while I thought I knew what he might enjoy, I could get it so almost perfect but catastrophically wrong that it would ruin it - and I was right. He's thrilled to bits, loves it, wants to throw a chunk of his pension at it and agrees with the idea of the group of people I've suggested, so no alterations there. Dates-wise I was completely wrong about his team's home matches he wants to go to which restricts us, but most importantly of all, he wants to do it in January or early February so that changes everything. And we now have to wait for Barcelona's match dates before he can choose which ones he might be interested in seeing, or more importantly, which ones to avoid such as v. Madrid. I'd already decided we should go for a self-catering apartment in Las Ramblas which is what we did in Venice, just off St Mark's Square, scruffy, cheap considering the area and fab for us - just not necessarily anyone else.

Dizzy, we're spoilt really. We both work at home on stuff that we mostly generate ourselves, so other than when we're working to a deadline our time is completely our own. No kids, no responsibilities other than a cat and a dog and that makes a huge difference about going away. We started with 24 hour trips to Brittany on the peerless Brittany Ferries over 20 years ago, the terminal for which which is about a mile away, and have built from there. (Plus which, we both got paid to travel a lot when we were younger before we met, so it's not exactly new for us.) I'd have to add - the UK is stunning and if you haven't dipped your toe in, and don't forget, you're hearing about all of our trips - each of us on this thread only has has one or two. OH and I hadn't been away for a proper holiday for a decade before Portugal. Sorry about the 'words' with your OH, and I hope things are all sweetness and light again.

17/30 please, Shaggy.

ElusiveLucy

9/20 for last night please Shaggy. Yet again Wednesday night was my downfall...argh!

PriceySOS

12 please, Shaggy, ta

cathybird

Honey Bear, it's years since I've been to Barcelona (in fact I must try to get there again soon!) and I know you have had loads of excellent suggestions from Shaggy and ManPants already but will just add that I would go and see the Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's cathedral) if you are at all interested in magnificent buildings - it is astonishing, and wonderfully eccentric. Also, on the negative side, we saw two women whose handbags were snatched - one at an outdoors restaurant, where we shouted at the guy doing it and he put the bag back and pretended he hadn't been doing anything, and one by a guy on a motorbike in the street. So it does pay to be a bit careful probably.

Sandypan

Morning all, 8/15 please Shaggy, note to self must do better!!

Honey_Bear

Thanks Cathybird, and also, thanks everyone for ramming home the message that Barcelona's Europe's petty street crime capital. It's easy enough to forget and it would ruin everyone's trip if one of us got caught out so we'll be especially vigilant.

When I mentioned the trip to OH he suggested we take an internal flight to Madrid (I've never been) to visit his cousin so I could finally meet him. The cousin is in his 90s with a massive family so this could be our last chance. I'd already thought of Peter and checked out trains, and rather spiffingly there's a very high speed one so I'm rooting for that. Adds a bit of variety and texture to the whole thing, I think.

Off to London today for a 40th Annivesary Reunion for something a bunch of us did back in 1976. Champagne cream tea at a posh hotel, no less. My glass of champagne is going to the person who stepped in and took over the organistion of the event after the death of the person who'd done the 10th, 20th, 30th and a special one in 2000 just because it was ... 2000. Well, sort of, actually it was because of something else but saying what it was would identify us as a group, so I can't. It was Jane's funeral that I went to about two months ago, who basically drank herself to death, so there's no temptation to quaff the celebratory pop just a huge gap where she used to be.

Has anyone heard from Satchmo?

18/30 please, Shaggy.