Blogs from La Rambla, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe

26 mayıs 2022 Perşembe G03 Bugün Sveta nın doğum günü ..aslında bugünü burada kutlamak için çok bekledik veee nihayet gerçekleştiriyoruz galiba .. Sabah derhal kendisini kutladım ..Kahvemizi içtikten sonra yola çıktık ..uzun aramalardan sonra Park Guell otobüsünün yerini saptadık ..Otobüs bizi parkın kapısına kadar götürdü.. Dağlara taşlara kadar bir kuyruk..Nerede benim sorgusuz sualsiz parka daldığım günler? nerede şimdiki hali .. Doğrusu yadırgıyorum ama bu kadar reklamı yapılınca haliyle Dünyanın her yerinden kopup gelen binlerce insanı bu parkı merak ediyor .. Eskiden Hazretin evini ziyaret etmek serbestti şimdi orası için ayrı para istiyorlar ..Mezarlık kısmını da kapatmışlar galiba … İnanmayacaksınız ama terasa bile sayılı adam alıyorlar ..Orada ayrı bir kuyruk bekledik ..sahte gülücüklerle arkamızda Gaudi kuleleri i... read more

Barcelona 9th April Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia and Spains second largest city. Everywhere you’ll see the ornately works of Antonio Gaudi, 20th century Modernism emblematic constructions declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. I make no apology for this Travel Blog turning into a food blog but you cannot come to a city that prides itself on its cuisines, with many different styles including Catalan. So starting out from the statue of Christopher Columbus at the bottom of La Rambla we headed up to the Plaza Catalunya. We were meeting friends for lunch, including 8 other fellow travellers who are travelling with us QM2. But first some sites, including the famous market of La Rambla, Mercat de la Boqueria where all the locals shop in particular for fresh produce including fresh fish, Jamon, meats and all ... read more

After wasting the better part of a day getting out to Gatwick on tubes and trains, then sitting around in the airport for a couple of hours instead of ambling through the English, French and Spanish countryside in high speed trains, all thanks to the French rail strike, it was great to finally touch down in sunny Barcelona. We had a hotel booked in the Gracia district of Barcelona, which is less touristy and getting there was a breeze. We bought a T10 1 zona card at the automat at the airport for a fraction under 10eur and with only one change on the subway and a 5 minute walk we were at the hotel La Casa Del Sol overlooking the Placa del Sol. The hotel was great but we were only in it 5 minutes ... read more

Made it to Barcelona after 24 hours of flying (including a 2 hour layover at the very nice, and very large Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar). Landed in Barcelona in blue sky and sunshine, which was very nice considering it was raining when we left Sydney. Slight difference in temperature though!! Checked into our apartment at 102 La Rambla, and after a short rest, walked to Plaza Catalunya, the "main square" in Barcelona, which has been taken over by tents and protesters wanting independence for Catalonia. Did our usual wander around a foreign supermarket for breakfast supplies, (I always enjoy seeing the different things on sale) - it's very stressful shopping when you can't read the labels. Our plan was to drop the shopping and then do some further exploring - didn't happen, jet lag ... read more

After more than a year of preparation (read my Planning blog at ) and anticipation, my departure date finally arrived. I have to admit I was more than a bit nervous...a lot more than my normal travels. Would the experience live up to my hyper-expectations? Shortly I would begin my walk of 400 kilometers (250 miles) in 28 days. I have never attempted to accomplish such a feat. I had trained for this, but would reality be much more difficult? I planned daily walking distances on the Camino to be shorter at first and then building up to longer distances as my body became use to the routine. But would I be able to accomplish my goal of reaching Santiago by 4 October without damaging my feet, legs, or something else? Many pilgrims experience similar anxiety, ... read more

We spent our final day in Barcelona wandering the streets of the Gothic Quarter and beyond. Finding the Nike store, we both picked up new shirts (woohoo something different to wear). As I stood in the line, four very rude young men butt right in front of me in line. I stood there, simmering. As the guy at the counter called for the next person, one of the young men from the group went right up to him. I tapped him on the arm and said, "I'm next!". The nice cashier asked me if everything was alright. I replied that it was. 'Curtis then came over and I was telling him what happened. Again the nice man at the checkout asked, "Are you in a rush?". I replied that everything was great except that I did ... read more