Traveling with the Grobmyers: We are off!!!

 I am combining Tuesday and Wednesday because it's hard to tell where one day ended and the other began. 

It all started Tuesday morning with a suppose to be midday flight out of Huntsville International Airport.  Our flight was scheduled for 12.  We should have known something was up when our plane arrived and they let passengers off but then backed up from the terminal.  Never a good sign.  We were an hour and a half late leaving and it was creeping into our layover time.  I always get a little nervous when there's a delay.  As we were getting closer to that magic time of missing our Dallas flight we started searching for alternative flights if we ever get to Dallas.  One possibility we found was stopping for a 12 hour layover in Dublin, Ireland.  I've never been there before and we just so happen to have some friends there right now.  Hey would you like some company for the day?  This might not be so bad. As much as I would have liked to see Ireland we made our connection in Dallas by the skin of our teeth.  We got to the gate as they were beginning to board. 

Now this trip is Joe's retirement trip.  This is going to check off some big bucket list items for him.  That being said we splurged a little and we booked 2 Business Class seats.  This is what use to be called 1st class. 

Pretty nice digs.  Our seats will lay down so we can sleep on this 9 1/2 hour flight.  I don't care what you call it, it's nice.  And we are now spoiled. 

They fed us pretty well.  We preordered our meal so we wouldn't get stuck with whatever was leftover.  It wasn't bad for plane food.   

This was our breakfast before we landed. 

We landed in Barcelona at 9:30 AM local time.  We made it through customs pretty fast.  Our luggage was already out on the carousel.  It's always a relief when your luggage comes out.  We found a taxi to the hotel.  We stayed at the Hilton Diagonal Mar.  This is a Disney precruise hotel.  Our room was ready which was nice.  We were on a floor with the executive room.  We had access to that for breakfast and snacks.  The first order of business was a short nap.

Across the street from our hotel was a 90's style mall.  Joe forgot his power adaptor for foreign countries so was walked over so he could get one.  The mall had a grocery store so we walked around it as well. 

Lego store

Nice wide aisles in the store.  It was very clean. 

You don't see this every day at a grocery store in the states. 

Views from the balcony of the Executive room. 

The Lounge had these little Coke and Coke Zero bottles.  We went up every afternoon and had one.  These little bottles brought back a lot of memories for me.  My Uncle Ed kept a fridge outside full of these little bottle cokes.  I don't think I have had one in a long time.  

We freshened up because we had tickets to a Flamingo Night at Tablao de Carmen with tasting menu at 6:00.  We took Uber to the location.  

This is the area of the dinner.  There were lots of little artist shops in these buildings.  Some were still open.  

We had a nice view of the stage.

The menu for the evening.

After the dinner it was time for the show.  

The Flamingo dance, at least to us, seems like an angry dance.  It's loud and forceful.  The little girl in her Hello Kitty dress stole the show at the end of the evening. 

As we were leaving there was another couple trying to take their picture here at the umbrellas.  We stopped ask if they would like us to take their picture.  Turns out they are from Georgia.  Joe was expecting a Go Dawgs, instead we got a War Eagle.  We fly halfway around the world to run into Auburn fans.  We talked to them for a while waiting for our Ubers.  They were at the end of their trip and heading home in a day or two and we were just starting.  It was nice hearing someone talk southern on our first night.

Back to the hotel we went.  We were more than ready for bed.  

First observation: The hotel may say they have air conditioning but it's not the same as our AC.  

Swamp Potatoes

I found this recipe the other day. I think it was a video on Facebook.  With a name like swamp potatoes I knew I needed to try this.  Being made in the crockpot makes it even more interesting to me.  I love finding new easy crockpot meals.  There's a few things I would do differently next time but there will be a next time. 

You don't need anything else with this it has everything included.  You might want some crusty bread. 

 I wanted to have fresh green beans, but they did not look good at the store.  Next time I want fresh beans. I have seen recipes that use zesty Italian mix and some Ranch dressing mix.  I think I will try the ranch next time too. 

Quarter your little potatoes and put it in the bottom of the pot. 

Slice an onion.  I like lots of onion so you use the size you want. 

A little salt.  You don't need much with the sausage and seasoning. 

A little pepper. 

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika-either smoked or regular

1 teaspoon onion powder. 

Stir the potatoes and onions around so they are coated in the seasonings. 

Slice your smoked sausage into little rings. 

Add to the top. 

If you are using canned green beans drain them before adding. 

Add to the top of the sausage. 

Sprinkle zesty Italian seasonings on top. 

Add a stick of butter on top.  Cover and turn on low for 6-7 hours.  

It is ready to dive into. 

Stir it up and little. 

And then dive in.  This is a good recipe for those busy night.  I fixed my crock pot the night before and put the removable insides in the fridge until the next morning.  It takes about 5 minutes to put together too. 

Swamp Potatoes Recipe

bag of small potatoes washed and quartered

one onion sliced

one package smoked sausage sliced

2 cans green beans or fresh beans

1 stick butter

1 pkg zesty Italian seasoning mix

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon paprika

Cook on low 6-7 hours.