I was all agitated not having prepared, not having planned out the next several days. I managed to print maps of the Metro of both Barcelona and Madrid. Apart from that and printing all my tickets, I had nil preparation. This thoroughly scared me and I hated this. I like making itineraries!
The view of Barcelona from the Plane was just fantastic. You could see the Barrios, this Garden near the Olympic compound, and the coast line. Beautiful -- I lived near Torre Agbar, its quite a 'posh' area in my opinion at least. But that wasn't the best part. It was Mimi! She is the best host in the world. She had a really cool flat. I wanted to take the hop-on hop-off bus so I didnt have to disturb her but she hated them - Bus Turisticos!
Hahaha
It was so much better to go with a local anyhow. She knew which ice cream store sold real ice cream! Nutella was the best flavor.
So indeed, I didn't need all the preparations. Mimi showed me the best of Barcelona - the beach, Columbus statue, Ramblas, Sagrada Familia, Park Qüell, Picasso's house, Barrio Gotika, Barrio x, Cathedral, Plaza Catalunya, Plaza Espanya, Olympic Park, and of course the Fontana Majika. We had mojitoes, tapas, and coffee. She has the loveliest friends.
My next stop was - Sitges - its where all the bayot go.. Its absolutely beautiful, like Viareggio in Italy. Its a small town 1 hour from Barcelona. I saw a small parade of vintage cars pass by on the way to the Hotel. Well.. I didn't see much of Sitges to be honest since I had to work. So far, it was pretty and the weather was nice enough the group was able to have lunch outside to enjoy the sunshine. We stayed there for four days. 
From Sitges, I went to eat Tapas in Barcelona and then took a night bus to Madrid. It wasn't bad at all. To think I saved a night's Hostel cost and the bus ride was not expensive. I met up with Gustavo in the Main Bus station of Madrid the morning after and we headed off to ROA!!!
ROA--- We arrive and was welcomed by this very formal looking person, Jose Maria. Like Mimi, he was more than excellent host. Really got lucky. He drives us to the Ayuntamiento and we meet the people there. The Mayor was not in his office so we decided to just hang around and then we went to see the town's Church in - plaza xxx. We saw the view on top of Roa. Jose Maria said there are around 18 vineyards surrounding Roa. The landscape of Spain is different from Tuscany. Tuscany was more hilly and schrubs. I think there are definitely more wine making areas in Spain. Of course, now I still have to justify why its Spain now and not Italy. Hahaha. Do I? They are both pretty and I still intend to see France!!! Hayup!
So, we see the town and we meet went to see his friend, Miguel. Miguel is the son of one of the smaller owners of a Bodega. He was really cool. I wish I knew more about wine. He talked about wine being too heavy, how it needs to breathe, how after awhile it becomes lighter, all in Spanish of course. His wines won 94% or really good scores. Aha, Iforget. We also went to the wine regulatory department. Thankfully enough the guy spoke english and I managed to at least interact and got some freebies - Gustavo and I were given two bottles of wine! :)
We then proceeded to meet the Mayor. I really wish I had that book we have of the list of all the Roas in the Philippines. I need to find that book once I get back. I need to send them a copy of this. Then we met the only Roa in Roa. Mr. Jesus Roa. I was really surprised to find out there was only one of him. He said only six in the entire Spain!!!
Important things:
1. We ate Lechazo - its a baby lamb, less than 20 days old. The restaurant only served this dish and some salad. They carry all the wines of all the vineyards in the area. They want to make sure not to offend those who eat and happen to be owners or guests of the bodega owners.
2. We saw 3 bodega's -
Sr. Majete's, Miguel's Dad, and the Solorca one. The last one was the biggest one. He has 70acres of land and intends to buy 440 more. He's a self made guy. Really cool. He had 500 or more barrels of wine stored. Each barrel made 300 bottles of wine. I only found out after the tour of the bodega that he was the owner. Really simple man.
3. We went to see a castle! - this was really nice. It was maybe twenty minutes drive out of Roa.
After our wonderful time in Roa, we headed to Madrid - saw the Royal Palace, the Cathedral, the Prado Museum, the Park, Puerto del Sol, the Bear, etcetera.
-------- I would like to thank the weather - it was without the beautiful weather - pointless. 10 perfectly sunny 22 degree days...!!! the sun set at 7pm when we were in Roa. Just perfect!
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