Barcelona May 2013

Barcelona is where the cruise ended for us. Others went on to a Mediterranean cruise. We were going to stay three nights but the plane trip to Paris was much lower priced on Sunday so we decided to stay four nights.

Wednesday May 15th. No problem getting to our place. The cab guy dropped us off nearby and pointed to the door to our place. There was an elderly doorman who, I believe, called for a young man to show us our place. We had a key to the front door, a key to the hallway and a key for our apartment door. The elevator was nice but our place is one floor higher then the elevator goes so I had to schlep the bags up. 

Quite a nice little place. Three rooms - a bedroom, a kitchen area and a bathroom. The place was pretty small but adequate and nicely located. There was a washing machine but no dryer. We were supposed to hang clothes out the window but unfortunately it was raining so that wasn't going to work. The table in the kitchen sort of folds out to make a larger more useful table.
   We found some travel books left by previous renters, one by Rick Steves was very useful. I had the same book on our Kindles but it's much easier to use in paper form. There were a couple maps which I used but we never had a very good map of Barcelona. We mostly used Rick Steves sort of schematic maps. At least we had a good metro map.
   We had brought along our little netbook and Deb's HD Kindle. The Kindle was very handy for accessing the web. The netbook was good for writing and doing email.
   The TV was good but it was in the bedroom so I only turned it on for a few minutes a day to check the weather and news. There were a few news channels in English including CNN and the BBC. (extras)

We walked out and found a fancy little coffee and chocolate place for lunch. A bit pricy but one of the best sandwiches (bocadillos) of the whole trip. We picked up some wine at a small "supermarket". We then hiked down the Ramblas which is the main walking street and tourist area in Barcelona.(movie) It passes by the front of our building. We hiked down to the Placa Catalunya to the big tourist information place where we bought a Museum Card to save a few bucks getting into the many museums we planned on visiting. I think it's for two days after activation.

We went into a fantastic market, La Boqueria Market, where we mostly gawked (movie) then bought some nuts and chocolate (extras). We went back near our place and had a pitcher of sangria while watching the passing scene. A very enjoyable past time. Apparently we ate cheese and pate for dinner at our place.

Next morning, Thursday, we took the metro to the Sagarada Familia (Sacred Family) Cathedral by Gaudi. We had been told not to pay to go in because the interior is full of scaffolding. We got into what looked like a long line. We met a young couple from Australia and had fun talking with them. The half hour standing in line passed quickly. Finally, after some fooling around getting our audio guides we entered the cathedral. It was amazing! Astounding! No scaffolding inside! It was magnificent! Sure enough it isn't quite completed. Some of the windows have clear glass instead of stained. The floor looked like it needed work. But other then those few quibbles it seemed nearly done.
   Outside it is obviously under construction. I understand the highest spire isn't done yet and much other work was in progress. It's hoped it will be completed in 2026. (extras)(movie)

Back to our neighborhood where we had some drinks and sandwiches.

It was a pretty good hike so we took a taxi to the Picasso museum. We got directly in, skipping the line, because of our museum pass. A very good museum. Many good pieces, but if I remember correctly some major pieces were on loan. No pictures allowed.

We then decided to hike up to the big Catalan Art Museum on Montjuic. We metroed as close as we could get. When we got into the daylight we couldn't figure out where go. Getting off the metro can be disorienting. We could see a stadium and some pillars. I asked a couple guys at a bus stop. They insisted they didn't speak any English and would be no help. I finally asked "fountains?". They recognized what I said and pointed us in the right direction. These fountains turn on and light up certain nights of the week. Today the entire area is closed for some auto show or something. We had to walk around and up a side street. It was grueling and hot. After just about giving up we finally found an escalator and continued our way up. The museum pass got us in. We had a bite to eat then wandered around this rather magnificent museum. World class I'd say plus fantastic views of the city. We then had to hike back down. (extras)(movie)

We took a break. We then went to a very popular tapas place recommended by Rick Steves. It was packed! We got a spot at the bar and began ordering stuff. Wonderful. We talked to other people as we explored the tapas. I had a grilled piece of steak that was amazing. Deb had some cockles. We tried several things. Very good. (extras)(movie)

I assume we went home and played some cards, snacked and had some vino.

Next day, Friday, we started with coffee and pastry in a small coffee place near us. We went there probably three times.
   We decided to take a look at Gaudi's Casa Batllo, which was an apartment building for a wealthy client. It was about a block from our place. We hiked over to take a look. It wasn't busy so we went in (extras). Brilliant move because every time we went by it again it was packed. We took our time and looked the place over. Interesting. Turns out our nearest metro stop is right in front of it so we saw it several times.
   That area has several "modern" design buildings so it is called the "block of discord" because of the conflicting styles. (Add pictures)

We then metroed (movie) over to the area Gotic (or Gothic area) where the big cathedral is. We visited "The Decan's house" and walked around as advised by RS. We could not get into the church. So we went around and took a look at the "cloisters". (movie) It was packed with tour groups because they couldn't get into the church either. They were working on the doors! After walking completely around the cathedral we finally got in. It was packed. We were not allowed to go into the main area because a mass was going on. Pretty frustrating. We went out to the plaza and had lunch. Deb was fed up and wouldn't attempt entering the cathedral again.
    We decided to hike over through Barri Gotic to find Gaudi's first building "Palau Guell". We didn't go in or even get a good look. It appeared be under renovation.
   It's an interesting area to walk around in. Here is a condom store.

We hiked over to the MACBA or Modern Art Museum of Barcelona. It was pretty hot and out of the way. It is huge. A part of the attraction is the architecture. We saw quite a bit of interesting art here. (extras)

We ate at La Tramoia for dinner where we bumped into the Australian couple we had seen at the Gaudi cathedral. After several moves we ended up eating in the dining room upstairs. Then home to play gin and drink some wine.

Saturday May 19th. Rain this morning. We had coffee at "our" coffee shop. We metroed up to near "Parc Guell". We followed the signs to the park. We should have taken a short cut which has escalators to take you up. Instead we climbed the hills. This place was designed by Gaudi for his mentor and supporter Guell. It was supposed to be like a gated community. He built a market area (movie), public areas, trails and gardens to hike around. Unfortunately it was too far from the city and too high up on the hill so it didn't sell. Gaudi did live here for many years until his death. On the way down we stopped at a pharmacy for some ibuprofen. The sky fell for a few minutes. (extras)

We then metroed over to the funicular that takes you up onto Mount Montjuic (Mount of the Jews) near the Joan Miro' museum. We really enjoyed the art, the museum and the nice lunch we had there.  Unfortunately Deb dropped her nice new Panasonic camera and it never worked again. We took the funicular back down and metroed back to Placa de Catalunya. or did we go to our place then take a break? (extras)

We hiked down to Placa de Catalunya and to a large department store to buy a new camera. It was interesting dealing with the sales people who spoke little English. We bought a nice Samsung camera with a European plugged charger. We got the paperwork to claim a tax break but never followed up.

We went back to our neighborhood. I didn't feel like hassling the crowds at the tapas place but they had some tables in the street so we sat there. We ordered some tapas but it was quite cold and windy so we didn't last long. (movie) Back to home to play some gin and go to bed early so we can get up at 6am and get to the airport.

Sunday we got up, hiked over to the taxi stand and got a ride to the airport for €31 plus a €3 tip which thrilled the driver. We were later then recommended. The airline is EasyJet. While getting near the front of the line they came by and told us they had opened a special security line for us Paris passengers. We jumped out of line and followed, like lemmings, to the special security line. We had not yet checked in our rather large suitcases (I'd paid €20 each to check them). When we got to the gate they charged us €50 in cash each for our two suitcases. I was pissed as were a few other passengers. Oh well. We got on the plane for an uneventful trip to Paris.

  Paris is next...