Delightful Barcelona

Time is running out so our Barcelona visit was only two full days. This is all it took for us to remember why Spain has always been one of our favourite countries to visit.

Our ferry trips thus far have been super positive. Our overnight Greek ferry journeys, both between Crete and Athens, as well as between Patra and Bari, Italy, were sooo positive. Even with our squashy little cabins everything was clean, the staff was kind, helpful and welcoming, and the prices of food gouged you on the side of reasonable. This was not the case on Grimaldi Lines, the almost 24 hour ferry we took from Rome to Barcelona. The ferry staff huddled in groups actively socializing, not helping anyone and acting annoyed when you did need their assistance, the cabin was dirty (so many gross dustballs, and a not-too-clean bathroom, shiver!), and the food prices were outrageous, gouging us on the side of outrageous. Yes, I doubled the outrageous. Run-of-the-mill pasta dinner with four drinks for 4 people for 100 Euro anyone? We were just in a state of discomfort for the duration. The swell was also quite high so staying in our cabin, which was at the front of the ferry, was a no go unless we wanted to potentially add vomit to the existing cabin dirt. So, we went to the middle of the ferry, sat in a booth and watched downloaded movies, trying to ignore it all. Moral of the story: all Greek ferries are awesome, but Grimaldi Lines (or at least our ferry) is gross and uncomfortable, don't travel with them.

We were grateful to arrive in a city we love so much and feel so comfortable in after our icky journey to get there. It was hard to get a taxi from the ferry port into town though. One hour later we were hanging out on the pavement and had no taxi. One finally did come and a guy stole it even though we were there first, plus another single female traveler that was also there before him, he didn't care. Insert expletive. Anyway, we decided we were going to start to walk in (hotel was just over an hour walk), maybe we'd have better luck. We loaded ourselves up and saw a bus stop. It stated a bus was coming in two minutes. We waited for the bus, jumped on and this is when I was terribly grateful to speak the same language. The driver was so helpful and let me know how far to travel with him before we had to get off and transfer to another bus. When we got off we were wiped, so instead of waiting for the next said bus, I hailed a cab for the final 15 minutes of our journey. Our driver was also awesome, we had a good chat.

You know what else was awesome? Our hotel. It was a little, awesomely located, and very clean (!) hotel called Acta Azul. The employee at reception should record meditation videos, I would follow his YouTube channel. So calm, so peaceful, so relaxed. He's the final nice guy we needed to emotionally regulate us after our long, dirty, nausea-inducing, cab-stealing journey. Ahhhhhhhhh.

I think I mentioned in the Rome blog we're getting tired. This is why we decided we were buying exactly zero entry tickets or walking tours in Barcelona. We dangerously decided to wing it (winging it is not so easy anymore because everything is a pre-purchased, timed entry). However, we knew from previous visits that just walking or busing around the city would be enough, so if something didn't work out, that would be ok.

Let's call our two Barcelona days relaxed sightseeing. We purchased two day passes on the Barcelona Bus Turístic which was quite excellent. It was an easy way to get around for a couple of days, while learning more about the city. On our first day, this is what we did:

La Rambla and the Gothic Quarter

La Rambla wasn't too, too busy, which was great. We got off at the top of the stretch, did some walking around, and ate some tortilla Española, si por favor. So damn yummy and simple, S and B loved it too, and I was so happy for them to be eating something besides pizza and pasta (as delicious as that was). We also went to La Boqueria market along the way, which I think we can all agree is what a market should be. I'd forgotten I had been there before! The food, the wine, the desserts, the colours, the atmosphere. Excellent. B got a delicious lime popsicle as a treat, and S and I got strawberries drizzled with chocolate. We also bought freshly-made juices, like mango coconut. Feast for the eyes, feast for the palate, hooray!

Gaudí's Sagrada Familia

We approached the Sagrada Familia on the bus, and I particularly loved S's reaction. We have seen many a cathedral on this trip, but there was no way for them to understand Gaudí's vision of a cathedral that is still under construction 140 years later. When we rounded the corner and they saw it S exclaimed "Whoa!". Scott and I felt the same way, as we've been fortunate to see it three times now, and each time a little (or a lot) more is built. It's (more) spectacular!! This is where winging it with entrance tickets didn't work out though, as tickets to get inside it weren't available for days on end (I don't recall being able to go in before...). But thank you, internet, we can at least see it this way.

This is when it started to POUND rain. We haven't had rain the entire trip, but noticed Barcelona gets sudden downpours, which dissipate as quickly as they come. We whipped out the umbrellas while S and B ran in it and joyfully drenched themselves :) The benefit of the rain was that the crowds in front of the Sagrada Familia cleared out and I got some crowd-free photo opportunities.

That's it for day 1. It was nice just walking casually and not stressing, except maybe stressing a little when Scott got a bad haircut, despite my instructions on what he wanted.

Day 2 was similar, but we threw in some shopping and entertainment, Spanish-style. First, however, we had waffles. There was an awesome waffle restaurant across the road from our hotel, and we indulged. S and I then went and had very good manicures which were shockingly inexpensive (only 23 Euros for two of us, and our manicurist was Colombian). After this, we took off to continue our Barcelona-ing, including:

Parc Güell

Hello again, Gaudi. We had to take S and B to this park (with timed entry, but tickets weren't difficult to get during our time there). Gaudi's vision wasn't fully completed here, as he was meant to construct 60 luxury homes, not just the two. Can you imagine 60 homes that look like these? At least we are still able to see his marvelous architectural imagination.

The Cleats

No, this is not a tourist destination in Barcelona. I'm talking literally about soccer cleats. I'm giving them an honourable mention on B's behalf. We told him he could get this season's cleats while in Spain, so we went to many a sport store and that's what we did. It was actually a great experience, with lots of variety on display and a friendly sales person I ended up talking to (she's from Paris but moved because she loves Barcelona, is learning Catalan also, etc.). She lent B a ball so he could juggle with the cleats on, and all went well. B got his Spanish cleats and we walked out with a very happy kid, eager to wear them when return home.

Tablao Flamenco

This experience exceeded expectations. I was able to easily book us in to a Flamenco show at Tablao Flamenco Cordobes on La Rambla (Barcelona in September is great!). I thought it would be fabulous to introduce S and B to the world of Flamenco right in Spain. We arrived at 4:30, expecting a few tapas and of course, a show. However, we were pleaseantly surprised when we entered, as I didn't book it through their direct site and hadn't seen pictures. The restaurant area was blue and elegant (Nasrid-inspired, I learned) and the food was outstanding. Because we didn't choose the dinner option, only tapas, we thought it would be a snack and a drink. But no, we were given wine, champagne, juice, multiple individual (and even vegetarian) tapa servings, and dessert, accumulating to a very plentiful meal. Even S and B were full, and they're always hungry. We then entered the enclosed, cave-like venue, were seated at the front with our drinks, and the show began. There was a lot of sweat, intensity and passion. I particularly loved how the performers, all dancers, guitarists and singers interacted and reacted to each other, you could see their love and commitment for what they did, as well as the spontaneity they inserted into the show. I can't say enough, it was fabulous, and I'm glad we were able to give the kids that experience, even if their memory of it fades over time.

So, Spain (or at the least Barcelona) hits a home run yet again. How can we get Spanish citizenship? Heh heh.

Next up is Madrid, where I get a bit of a writing break again, and B contributes to the blog! There's a very specific reason for this, all will be made clear...