Busy days in Spain

We've spent a few busy days in our little apartment in Barcelona.  Lorraine and Bill have had a few problems sleeping, as the apartment is directly above a very busy, very noisy tapas bar which opens late and goes all night.  One night we decided, after a drink or two in our room at 2.00am, that if we can't beat'em we would join them, so we toddled downstairs to mingle with all the beautiful young people intent on keeping us awake.  

Well, we tried to get a drink at the bar which was manned by only two people, and after waiting around 20 minutes we gave up.   On our way out, Lorraine gave the doorman a piece of her mind (I think she may have been just a little bit inebriated), then we moved on to the nearby Irish Pub where they were very happy to serve us - we poured ourselves back into our apartment about 3.30am, a little the worse for wear.

When travelling to new places, I love to visit the local food markets to get a snapshot of the 'real' town, where people meet, eat and buy their groceries.  I find it fascinating to see 99 varieties of chillies hanging in bunches in a stall that sells only chillies, or a stall that sells 200 different versions of ham, chorizo, bacon and cheeses.  The Mercat Boqueria in Barcelona was wonderful - food was beautifully presented, if you wanted to buy a freshly squeezed fruit juice, there were so many varieties all lined up and sitting in shaved ice - lovely.  And olives - I really dislike olives, but I'm travelling with 3 people who love them - so of course we had to buy some to go with the beautiful fresh prawns and cheeses that we bought from the market to have for dinner that evening.  

After picking up our car from the railway station on Thursday we went for a drive down to Sitges, about 40mins south of Barcelona, where Trevor and I had stayed on a previous trip to Spain.  We walked around the marina and had a delicious pizza and a couple of Caipirinha cocktails and beers for lunch.  Afterwards we had a swim in the Mediterranean, where Trevor and Bill tried really hard (seriously????) not to look at topless young (and not-so-young) ladies.  The water was very refreshing in the 30 degree heat.  We then drove into the main town, had a look at the beautiful church and the interesting shops before heading back to Barcelona.  A good day out.  Next day we were leaving Barcelona and heading for Valencia for a couple of nights.

Barcelona Architecture

Here is a link to a Picasa Album on Barcelona Architecture
Barcelona Architecture

Walking, walking...

Since arriving in Barcelona on Friday I've walked around 41km, according to the walking app in my phone.... no wonder my calf muscles are aching! 

First days in Barcelona....

Next day we did some more exploration of the area while waiting for Lorraine and Bill to arrive.  We took a walk down to the marina, Port Vell, which was redeveloped as a major recreational area and marina prior to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.  There are lots of activities, shops, restaurants to keep you occupied while viewing the 400-odd yachts and sailing craft in the harbour.  There must have been a race on while we were there, as the bridge was opened to let 20-30 yachts and crew from various countries through to the ocean - very entertaining.

Lorraine and Bill arrived around 4.00pm from Paris and joined us in our apartment.  It was good to catch up with them and hear all about their travels over the last month or so.  We had a 'set menu' dinner at a little tapas restaurant a few streets away, but it was pretty ordinary.

We decided to get a good overview of Barcelona by purchasing a 2-day pass for the 'Hop-on-hop-off' Bus tour for 35Euro.  We spent the next 2 days on the bus, and visited sites such as The Pedrera (Casa Mila), built by Antoni Gaudi, a famous and controversial Spanish architect who built many unusual buildings in Barcelona.  We also visited the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, both built by Gaudi, as well as several churches and the beaches of Barcelona.  

The bus is a great way to get around and get a feel for the city.  I love the architecture here, the old, the new and the downright outrageous!  Most of the buildings are so elegant, with wrought-iron balconies (or balconettes), and not a lot of high-rise.

Chargrilled squid &
grilled pepper puree

Duck carpaccio with mango salsa

We've had some interesting meals here - the best one so far was Shoko, at one of the beaches - we all enjoyed our meal which was 3 courses, a drink and coffee for only 11.50 euro pp.  Really interesting food for a very reasonable price.

Tomorrow we'll probably have a swim at one of the beaches and have a serious think about where to eat next....

Starting our Spanish Sojourn

The next chapter of our travels takes place in Spain and Portugal.  We are travelling to Barcelona, where we will meet up with friends, Lorraine and Bill, before hiring a car and driving a full circuit back to Barcelona.

Our flights from Canberra were with Qantas/Emirates via Adelaide, Dubai then Barcelona. We were lucky enough to bump into Bronnie's friend, Nori, at Canberra Airport, who arranged for us to be bumped up to Business Class for the Canb-Adelaide leg - very nice, thanks Nori!

The Emirates flights were excellent - mostly on time, plenty of room, comfortable seats and well serviced.  No complaints.

We arrived in Barcelona, where we were very happy to reunite with our luggage (haven't seen it since Canberra), then caught a taxi to our home for the next week - a 2 bedroom apartment in the middle of Barrio Gotico, near La Rambla.  The location is excellent, plenty of restaurants, bars, supermarkets around, so I think we'll be OK for a while.  We did a bit of grocery shopping, and wandered the streets for a while before heading home for a rest.  Travelling is soooooo tiring!

Later in the evening we wandered out to find food - plenty available, and we stopped in a little tapas bar a couple of streets away where we had the tapas 'set menu' of three tapas, paella or fish for 11 Euro pp.  Topped off with a half litre of sangria, we are finally in Spain!