Barcelona, the Doctor, and a Week on the Ground

Barcelona took a turn I wasn’t expecting. I ended up at a clinic run by a British doctor something like “English Doctor in Barcelona.” Original. He hooked me up to a nebulizer right away, and it felt like someone finally pried my airways open. For the first time in days I could breathe properly. He sent me for X‑rays, checked my oxygen, and told me things were borderline. What started as bronchitis had slipped into pneumonia, and he explained that at 35,000 feet your O₂ drops even more. “That’s when things get real fast,” he said. Then he hit me with the line no traveller wants to hear: “Hate to do this, man, but you’re grounded for a week.”

I was already on antibiotics, and this was the third visit by now to try to get ahead of it this thing .The whole thing reminded me of a similar mess I’d had in the Canary Islands a few years earlier — fighting a bad one for weeks, thinking it would sort itself out. Same feeling here: your body tapping you on the shoulder and saying, “Not today.” And for the first time ever while travelling, I actually felt like I wanted to be home. Not a great feeling when you’re still days away from being cleared to fly.

Even so, we tried to make the best of it. We saw the Picasso Museum, caught a flamenco show one night, and wandered around at half‑speed. The big cathedral was a no‑go — just too busy, and I didn’t have the energy. I bought myself a little O₂ meter and checked it way more often than any sane person would, just trying to reassure myself things were moving in the right direction.

After about six days I went back for the final check. He listened, looked at the numbers, and finally gave me the all‑clear. Relief doesn’t even begin to cover it. Barcelona didn’t unfold the way we planned, but it’s part of the story — the culture, the worry, the slow climb back to normal, and that huge breath of gratitude when things finally turned the corner.

Practical Tips for Barcelona

1. Book the big stuff ahead

Sagrada Família and Park Güell are basically impossible to just walk into. If you don’t book ahead, you’re not getting in — simple as that.

2. Stay central so you can walk everywhere

Barcelona is a great walking city, and being close to the old town or the waterfront saves a ton of time and hassle.

3. Eat on the side streets, not the main ones

The big boulevards are pricey and touristy. Step one or two blocks over and the food gets better and the prices drop fast.

Our Take on Barcelona

Looking back, Barcelona was a mix of good days and rough ones. Getting sick on the road isn’t fun, but I will say this: seeing a doctor in Spain or Portugal is surprisingly

reasonable, and the people are genuinely helpful. After the British doctor gave me the prescription, the pharmacist wouldn’t fill it because his number wasn’t registered in Spain yet. They felt bad about it and sent me to another doctor who was absolutely slammed, but once they explained the situation, he just sat down, wrote a new script, and charged me twenty euros. No exam, no fuss — just helping someone out.

Outside of the medical circus, the trip itself was still solid. The parks were beautiful, the city was warming up nicely by then — a bit too late for me, but that’s how it goes. Even with everything going on, we still managed to see a lot, and the people we dealt with along the way made the whole thing easier than it could’ve been.

Heres a few more pictures which speak for themselves...