A Full Accounting of Our Trip to Barcelona

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Not my usual multi-entry travelogue, but here's what we did in Barcelona....This was a spur-of-the-moment trip that was easy to plan thanks to Travelocity. We flew Iberia, which is newly flying out of Boston, and stayed in the Hotel Inglaterra, a very friendly modern hotel near the Plaza Catalunya - very well-located.

Thursday
Arrived, checked into our hotel and after a nap, wandered down Las Ramblas and through the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter). Saw ancient Roman aqueducts that had been incorporated into the cathedral. Wandered around aimlessly, having lunch at El Gran Cafe. Took naps again, and then ventured out at night to wander around aimlessly and jet-laggedly. We weren't hungry yet because we had been on a plane all night and slept so much during the day, so we just went back and slept. I think gelato was involved. Flan-flavored gelato.

Friday

Breakfast - Went to La Boqueria, a magical and amazing market full of the freshest seafood, beautiful little suckling pigs and lamb's heads and Iberian ham and fresh fruits and veggies and chocolates and cheese!!!!! For a foodie, it was heaven. We had breakfast at a bar there called Kiosko Universal. I ended up ordering by mistake 2 fried eggs on top of fries. I thought I was getting a Spanish omelette. Oops! Alli had the Iberian ham. Delicious. Their coffee put us in a good mood for the rest of the day.

Bought a Barcelona card for three days, giving us free public transportation. I don't remember where we had breakfast, but we ended up going to the City Museum of Barcelonan History in the morning. This was pretty interesting, learning about its settlement by the Laetani people, then the Romans (Barcino), then the Visigoths, briefly the Arabs, and finally the Catalans. We were able to see the remains of the Roman city, underground, much like the one I saw in Limerick.

I also went back to a little boutique we had seen, where a designer was busy making his own clothes, which were very unique. When I tried on one of his fleece tops (which reminded me of Laura's stuff! can't wait to show it to her) - he was showing me all the different ways to wear it. his clothes were very unique. And he didn't do sizes - just 3 of them - 1, 2, 3 for small, medium, and large. he felt my hips and told me I was a 2! Nice to be a 2 for once, heh. :-) He reminded me of Project Runway. I bought his really unique fleece top, with a cowl neck that can also become a hood, and external serging stitches on it in a spiral pattern and an assymetrical bottom.

For lunch, we walked up to the Passeig De Gracia, and turned left after the Manzana De Discordia, and found Cinc Sentits, a restaurant I had read enthusiastically about. The 5 Senses. The meal was indeed an experince of the 5 senses, with 8 mini-courses paired with a bottle of cava. The meal lasted at least 2 hours, and each course was a delight. My favorite was the fois gras. Alli's favorite was the scallop. We both loved the Iberian pork. I do not have the words to describe how beautiful these little plates were, or how tasty.

Then we visited the famous Casa Batllo, the Gaudi house that looks like a dragon. It was very magical. Unfortunately the first floor was closed, but we could see the attic and the roof. Even these quarters, meant for servants, were beautifully designed, far ahead of their time. Then we walked to La Pedrera, his apartment complex. I loved visiting the reproduction of a middle-class apartment. I would live there today if I could! The roof had chimneys on it that reminded me of storm troopers.

We didn't have time to go to Park Guell at that point, as it was getting dark by the time we left the Pedrera. We took the train to La Sagrada Familia, but it wasn't lit up at night. The subway ride was very stressful - this was Friday at rush hour. So, we ended up going back and taking a nap. I think that evening we had a very light meal. I can't really remember where we ate at this point. Oh yes, it was quite good - we had it very late at a place called the Xarcuterie, in the Gothic Quarter, with Iberian ham on melted brie on a piece of bread, ham croquettes, and other delicious tapas.

Saturday

Breakfast was a disaster and we ended up in Starbucks.

Sagrada Familia - surprisingly not as amazing as I expected, packed with people, and a 60 minute wait to go to the top (no more walking up), so we didn't go up. I enjoyed the outside more than the inside. A. was disappointed by the amount of construction - she feels it isn't as true to Gaudi's intentions.

Parc Guell - located in the northern part of the city in the neighborhood of Gracia. We got off one stop before the park to find food in this neighborhood, which is rather bohemian and cool. Lots of neat little squares, like the Plaza de la Revolucion, and the Plaza John Lennon. We also found another market that was easily the equal of La Boqueria, without the tourists. Lots of cute boutiques, rather like the South End in Boston. Ended up eating at a very friendly Nepalese restaurant, Himali.

Parc Guell was really cool, very fantastical. Spent the rest of the day there. More of an experience than something I can write about. Packed with tourists, but only at the entrance. Most people just come, get their picture taken by the lizard, and go. It was like the Taj at the entrance, everyone waiting in line to get their picture taken! Huge numbers of tour groups here from all different nationalities, even more than Sagrada Familia. But those didn't go far into the park to explore it like we did. Though there wasn't much solitude, the park was just filled with people of all stripes. Beautiful place. I'll post pictures.

Saturday night is a big night in Barcelona. There are night markets everywhere, and tons of people on the streets shopping. We wandered around the Gothic Quarter some more, stopping for chocolate croissants and cafe con leche. We got thoroughly lost for fun and had to wind our way back out again. Our leg muscles were killing us so we'd occasionally have to take a break on a bench and sit for a while. But it was chilly.

We ended up at the dock end of Las Ramblas and stopped at a wine bar for a mini-bottle of cava, and to kill time. We sat outside, drinking it, and saw some Moroccan acrobats do a show. I gave them 2 Euro for it and said "Shoukrane".

We had to kill more time before the Flamenco performance at Los Tarantos (very disappointing, the dancing was uninspired and the show was far too short - wish we had gone to one of the bigger, expensive shows)...and then had dinner at La Taxidermista, which was okay. Too much wine! We drank the Coto again. Had a hangover the next day as a result


Sunday

Breakfast - Cafe Moka sucks and their "orange juice" upset our stomachs for the rest of the day.

The morning was spent in Mont Juic. This is a park atop the mountain, a huge park filled with museums and gardens, and empty spac eand cemetaries. We had to take a funicular from Diagonal station, and then we took this suspended cable car to the fortress at the top. Then we walked down, getting lost all the way in gardens and on paths. It was meant more for cars than walkers, I think. Finally, we visited the Museum of Ethnology, an odd experience as there were 5 over-eager guards at the entrance who gave us their full attention, directing us where to go for our visit. Then lunch was odd too at the Font De Gat cafe in one of the gardens. I can't describe it - I just felt like we were being watched in our whole time in Montjuic. It was good when we finally got out! The place wasn't what we expected.

Then we went to the Aquarium, which was really cool. They had a section where you could walk under the big tank and see the bellies of sharks. I found out how to tell the difference between a male and female shark and then couldn't stop staring! It was a way better aquarium than Boston's. The penguins were also adorable. We had a good time here.

Spent the evening looking for wierd little thigns I hadn't seen yet, like in the Raval looking for the old hospital of Sant Pau. Found lots of litte treasures but ended up in a Pakistani and Arabic neighborhood that also had a large proportion of African prostitutes. Found our way out, and ended up having dinner at a little place in the neighborhood of San Pere - Mosquito. Exotic tapas, supposely. It was small dishes of thai and Indian food. They also had sushi. a nice place, where we also got a bottle of cava. A nice way to end the trip.


Overall Impressions:
Awesome city, great architecture and design everywhere you look, good food like Italy in that they pay attention to the source and quality of their food, cafe con leche is no match for an Italian capucchino but i'ts better than Starbucks. I felt very comfortable here and would certainly go back, and could even imagine living there. Great quality of life! Not so good for vegetarians and I hope my little story here wasn't difficult to read! But I do believe that they treat their farm animals well there and to me, that's important.

It brought up some odd feelings for me, as it's got quite a big alternative scene, but I don't feel like I fit into that group anymore. I wasn't motivated to go out to clubs or to go into the alternative/punk stores. So it was a strange feeling, like I know I would have enjoyed those things, but now I have this sense of being in a different place in my life. Desiring a different type of clothing (still stylish I hope!) and evening (more chilled out, preferring a lounge to a club, preferring one glass of cava to getting drunk). So I had this acceptance occur, with a little bit of anguish, of being older now, into the next stage of my life, definitely out of my twenties. And I also saw so many beautiful children and I wished I was there with my child, which of course I don't have yet. So it was like a sign to me that it is time for me to have children. I know that I have some friends that have chosen to peter-pan it for a while longer and I salute you....and there were some worries that I was "giving up" by accepting the changes in my feelings and mindset. But there is also some peace in it as well.

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Photos

me with an icon
The lizard, an icon of Barcelona, and a long wait to get your picture with him!

She loves the pig...
She really really does. And as the Vatican is for Catholics, Barcelona is for pig lovers!

Sagrada Familia - Alli
Alli and her little stuffed bear at the Sagrada Familia

Self-Portrait
Taken at a Gaudi house..