Blogs from Catalonia, Spain, Europe - page 7

As some of you are aware, we were robbed...on a toll road north of Barcelona....very cleverly done. We had stopped at a service area and we were probably identified as tourists because we spoke English. We got back into our car, Bill removed his wallet from his hip pocket and I slid the toll ticket into it, laying it on the console between us. A car pulled up beside us, flashing lights, and the driver gestured to the rear of our car and indicated that something was wrong, and we should pull over...which we did. He LEAPED out of his car, and got us to look up under the fender of the passenger back tire. Apparently, during this ruckus, his accomplice entered our car via the driver side, took Bill’s wallet, my purse, and the day ... read more

Another Great Escape from miserable early winter weather at home. First to Munich, Germany for a very brief look then on to Barcelona (which we had not visited in our 6 weeks in Spain 2 years ago.) Then the Transatlantic repositioning cruise to Puerto Rico, 16 days. Stops included Palma de Majorca, Malaga, Cadiz, Funchal Madeira, Santa Cruz & Arreciffe Canary Islands, 5 days to cross the Atlantic, then Tortola BVIs, St. Thomas US Virgin Islands and finally Puerto Rico. Enjoy as we relive it here. The panoramas at the beginning scroll through at a leisurely pace. 1. Barcelona waterfront and marinas. 2. Funchal Botanic Gardens, Madeira. 3. Tenerife, Canary Islands. Norwegian Epic, our ship, is to the right. 4. View off the stern. 5. The picturesque harbour of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas 6. View from ... read more

Barcelona, Barcelona and Barcelona. That’s right 3 tours in a day. Sure doesn’t pay to stuff your schedule up here and try and cram 3 days touristicity into 1! That’s a word I made up but it sounds like it should be a word. I did the hop on hop off bus on routes red and green and then did the walking tour of the old city. That’s seven hours of my life I won’t get back. No. I love tours, really. I didn’t hop off the hop on hop bus as that would have make the 2 hours (red) or 2.5 hours (green) tour even longer and I wouldn’t have had time for the 2.5 hour walk. I find the facts and figures interesting, informative and educative (who would have thought that?). The hop on ... read more

Hola amigos!! We arrived in Barcelona after a smooth flight on Georgian Airways, a nice fight with plenty of legroom on the Embraer 190 (minus in flight safety demonstration – I hazard a guess they forgot!) After a short train and metro ride we were at La Rambla, Barcelona’s pedestrian street filled with shops and cafe's. It had been 9 years since we were in Barcelona, and this time we booked a nice, central hotel just off La Rambla – well priced and well located. Our room wasn't ready so we left our bags at the hotel and wandered around La Rambla, and had lunch at a cafe at one of the central squares on the Gothic District. We feel right at home in Spain, possibly my favourite country in Europe (sorry Greece, you have a ... read more

Oui, je suis toujours en vie! Mais je n’ai pas vraiment rien à dire de mes journées ici qui serait différent de tous les autres blogs ou sites web. Mes photos ne sont pas bonnes pour 2 raisons, la réalité d’ici : les endroits magnifiques sont soient trop grands, ou trop près des buildings voisins. Ville pas du tout photogénique quand nous ne sommes pas équipés des meilleurs matériels. Les couleurs des tuiles sont magnifiques et à couper le souffle. Mais avec le soleil, on ne voit pas bien sur pellicule. Bref, allez sur le net! Côté bouffe: parmi une rue de 30 bars à tapas offrant une variété impressionnante, le SEUL végé est l’omelette aux patates SANS goût. Ils ne semblent même pas avoir encore découvert le sel et poivre. Bref, je mange très bien ... read more