Getting to Barcelona
We leave Goshen at about 2 pm on Tuesday, May 16. We arrive at the off-site parking at about 4:05 pm as there is traffic with lots of slow downs in the NYC/JFK area. Margi goes in with the keys and our reservation while I transfer luggage from our car to the shuttle. Margi is done inside quickly and we get into the shuttle with just one other passenger to head to Terminal 8 for British Airways.
We have a little trouble finding BA business class check-in. Margi asks someone and we find it in aisle 1 along with American. We get checked in quickly and then proceed to TSA pre-check line where we both wait for a full body machine as we both have replacement parts. Once through security, we head for the Greenwich Lounge which is, as usual, fairly crowded. We find a place to sit that has USB outlets and we have some food and drinks during our 50 minute wait. We walk to the gate and get boarded quickly. Business class if full. We have paid the BA fee to reserve seats in advance (rip-off), so we are across the aisle from each other with a window and aisle seat.
Flight to Heathrow is uneventful and on-time. In Heathrow, we de-plane and make our way to the security check-in where we both get the full body pat-down and hand scan along with removing shoes, etc. Then to the business class lounge, which even at 7:30 am, is crowded. We have 1.5 hour until our flight, but we aren’t very hungry as we got dinner and breakfast on the plane. The annoying common custom in European airports is that the actual departure gate is NOT displayed on the status board until about 1 hour before the flight. Once it is posted, we wait a little and then just head to the gate, which in the giant Heathrow airport takes a little hunting (and an elevator to a lower floor).
Flight from Heathrow to Barcelona is disappointing. Business class is simply standard 3 on a side seating with the middle seat left vacant. Food was crappy and seats were uncomfortable. Cabin is cold and no blankets. There is no entertainment at the seat. Flight is one hour forty minutes and arrives in Barcelona at 1 pm, about 40 minutes late. Even though we are close to the door (row 4) we are delayed by a Long Island woman who has so many bags, it takes her some time to get them all from the overheads and organized. Walk to passport control is long (as usual) and we make a rest stop along the way. Get our passports stamped and then to another screen display to find which carousel for our luggage (lucky #10). Our luggage comes out in the second wave. Then another longish walk to the taxi’s outside which are a little confusing cuz you see all the taxi’s driving by but the pickup point and line are much further down the way. Line is long but as this is mid-day, it moves along giving us just a 10 minute wait.
We show the taxi driver our reservation sheet from the hotel which has the name and address printed on it. There are a number of Catalonia hotels in downtown Barcelona, so we want to be sure we get to the correct place. The trip to hotel takes about 25 minutes and costs 40 Euros.
Hotel
In Barcelona, we stayed at the Hotel Catalonia Placa Catalunya which is located just off Placa de Catalunya, the main square at the edge of the old section. It is a Rick Steves four star place.
The taxi drops at the door of the hotel. Into the front desk where there is no line and check-in is quick. We prepay via credit card for 4 nites as planned. We have an Executive Terrace Room on the fifth floor with breakfast included. They give us vouchers for two free drinks at the bar. Our room is not large (what you might expect in a large city) with a double bed, modern bath (walk-in shower and heated towel bar), 2 closets, locking safe, mini-bar, and a small balcony with two chairs that overlooks the interior pool and garden courtyard.
Overall, this hotel was a bit of a disappointment. Positives were location, friendly staff, great breakfast, and room with terrace. Negatives were no concierge, antique elevator, no heat requiring them to provide a space heater, and somewhat dated interior.
Day 1 – Friday afternoon 5/17
At about 3 pm after unpacking and organizing the room (by Margi), we left to start some exploring. We had 6 pm tickets at the Picasso Museum, which seemed very smart when we booked them but now seemed a long time away. We ask at the front desk and they suggest that we can simply walk to the museum by just going past the square outside the hotel and then looking for Via Laietana (a major street). My plan had been to get a T-Familia card in the Metro and take two Metro lines and two stops to get close. Our philosophy is don’t stand when you can sit and don’t sit when you can lay!!
We start walking and everything is fine until we can’t find Via Laietana. We pass a major street that we think is it, but the street markings are not always obvious so we push on for a few more streets until we find a SMALL alleyway with a Via Laietana sign. Following directions mindlessly, we turn down and get to the end, having to go right or left. We turn right onto a major street which turns out to be the correct Via!! God protects fools and idiots.
Along the way, we stop at an Ali Express store which sells a variety of inexpensive everyday household items and gadgets. We will see these stores all over Barcelona as they have a distinctive cow at the doorway. What we are in the market for is a cheap watch. I have left my expensive watch at home and could not find an operational alternative. So, feeling naked without a watch on my wrist, I purchase a 4 Euro watch and they set the correct time!! Best deal ever!!
Continuing the search for the Picasso Museum, we are now looking to turn left on Carrier de la Princesa which of course we miss because the intersection is under construction!! So we wander about the El Born, bumping into buildings until Margi goes into a store and appeals to another female for directions. Straight down to the Jeans store and turn left!! SUCCESS!!
At the museum, we ask if we can enter early (it is now about 4 pm) and are told that the earliest we can get in for our 6 pm reservation is 5:45. We decide to find a restaurant where we can sit, have a drink, and maybe a small bite to eat. We have gone by hundreds of cafes with outside dining but now we walk up and down the street by the museum and there is NOTHING!! We find a place with an inside courtyard where Margi has cava and french fries and I have a beer and a small tapas plate. We kill about an hour. Then we find a small plaza with seats and people watch until about 5:35 when we stroll back to the museum (WITHOUT getting lost!!).
At the museum, I have to store our backpacks (with camera as no pics allowed) in provided lockers as Margi shows the tickets at the entrance. We enter at about 5:45. We have been to this museum on our first visit to Barcelona but it was so great we want a second look. This museum traces Picasso from his early realistic works as an art student through all of his “periods”. We love it!! After 1.5 hours, Margi does a tour of the gift shop while I retrieve our backpacks. Strangely, she buys nothing so I know something is wrong!! With all the extra walking due to getting lost, we are both pretty beat but Margi’s back is really acting up. So, while we do successfully (and pretty efficiently) walk back to the hotel, we stop and sit a number of times just to let Margi rest her aching back. We also make a stop at a market to get some wine and snacks. Back at the hotel, we crash as dinner does not seem as important as REST. Getting old with jetlag, SUCKS!!
Steps – 13,882
Day 2 – Saturday 5/18
We rise around 8 am. We successfully remained awake all day on Friday, our arrival day, and so got a good nights sleep. Down to breakfast (in lower level) at about 8:30 am. Breakfast is included in the price of the room and is very good. There is self-serve coffee (espresso, cappuccino, cafe au lait, etc), fresh orange juice from real oranges, omelette station, pancake machine, breads, yogurt, fruit, meats, cheeses, jellies, bacon, nutella, etc. So after a good breakfast we go back up to the room to get our backpacks and stuff and then go to lobby to wait for our guide, Montse.
At 9:30 am we sit in the lobby and notice a woman standing there. I ask her name and it is Montse. We sit in the lobby and Montse reviews a map of the city and some of the history. I tell Montse about Margi’s back problem (which is somewhat better) and we decide to use taxis for our travel today. We head outside to the taxi stand in front of the hotel and we are off on our 1/2 day tour.
First, Montse gets the driver to stop outside the two famous Gaudi houses, La Pedrera and Casa Batllo. We just view from the outside as we visited the interior of La Pedrera on our previous visit. It is raining a little and crowds have already started to form. We then proceed to Sagrada Familia which is one of the two main sites on our agenda today.
The driver drops us at the back of the church and we walk through a flea market of booths up to the constantly under construction church. Rain has stopped, thankfully.
We walk onto the actual site to a model on an outside patio. Montse uses the model to explain the phases of construction, starting with the first Church which is now below the main floor of the current structure. She explains the parts that are yet to be completed in the next few years, with 2026 as the projected final completion date, 100 years after Gaudi’s death.
Montse points out details on the outside structure of the rear of the Church, including details about the doors. We go inside and the place is pretty full of people. Entry is via time-entry tickets which Montse has obtained for us. As we are with a guide, we are allowed in quickly. On the inside, we see blue on one side (sun rise) and pink on the other (sun set). Montse describes the towers and the huge bronze doors that will be the formal front entrance (still incomplete). The doors were designed by a Japanese artist who studied with Gaudi and have the Our Father in multiple languages. Above the alter is a hanging figure of Christ on the cross. We go behind the alter (Montse is not allowed as it is a quiet area) and we look down through windows to a mass underway in the original church. We also see Gaudi’s tomb. Then outside to the front where Montse points out more details.
See Sagrada Familia picture with comments here.
Our next stop is Sant Pau, an Art Nouveau series of buildings that was a hospital between 1916 and 2009. The free standing buildings are connected by a network of tunnels. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.
The design was meant to aid healing. The vegetation helped purify the air , the north/south orientation aided ventilation, each bed was near a window, and hygiene was emphasized. The hospital became a teaching and research facility with Nobel winners and leading surgeons from across the world. The doctors here developed bone marrow and open heart surgery procedures.
See Sant Pau pictures with comments.
It is now close to 1:30 pm and our tour is done. With Montse, we get a cab to the lunch reservation that Sonia (Montse’s boss) made for us at El Nationale. We stop across the street from the restaurant and say goodbye to Montse. We have pre-paid for this tour, so we give her a tip, hugs, and thank you’s. She has been great.
We cross the street and go down an entry corridor to the doors of El Nationale. Is is a very large place with many different restaurants within it. We have asked for seafood, but can’t see where that is so we ask a hostess in one of the front restaurants and show her our reservation from Sonia. She directs us to the back where I spy with my eye a fish above one area. Hostess sees our reservation and we are seated immediately. We order wine and cava. Margi gets a cold scallop dish and I get fish stew. Both good but filling so no dessert!!
Back out to the street and hail a taxi back to our hotel for 30 minute rest before we hail another taxi to get to our 4:15 pm reservation at Palau Guell. And here we experience our first of two taxi screw-ups. In Barcelona, there is Palau Guell, which is an apartment interior designed by Gaudi, and then there is Park Guell, which is an outdoor space designed by Gaudi. We saw Park Guell on our previous visit, so we SHOWED the taxi driver our TICKETS to Palau Guell and he nodded knowingly. So, you KNOW where this is going. He delivered us to PARK GUELL!! We, of course, being dumb tourists, paid him and got out and walked up to the entrance & showed our tickets to be informed that we are idiots and are at the wrong place!!
After considerable pissing and moaning our our part, we got in another taxi and for a mere 20 Euros headed to the correct location. We arrive about 15 minutes late but we get in with no problem. BTW – Palau Guell is about 5 minutes from our hotel, off the Ramblas!! (We actually contacted the credit card company and disputed the taxi charge to the wrong location.)
Palau Guell is a little disappointing. With our pre-paid tickets we get free audio guides that were designed by idiots. We had to listen to the discussion of the basement (first on the tour) about 10 times before we figured out how to proceed to the second (and subsequent) discussions. Compounding the problem is that the rooms are poorly marked and the sequence was not clear. We did tumble our way through it all, seeing every room and hearing every discussion, just not always at the same time!! Could have used Montse on this one!! Below are the tops of the chimneys from the rooftop of Palau Guell.
As I mentioned, Palau Guell is right off the Ramblas, a pedestrian walking street in Barcelona. As it goes straight to Placa de Catalunya and our hotel, we decide to walk back. Along the way, I make a purchase for something I forgot to bring. We stop at Shades World and I buy a 19 Euro pair of sunglasses. For one Euro more, I could have had a second pair but we pass on that offer. Get back to the hotel with no issues.
We called the front desk to see if they could make a reservation at some place close by. They got us 8:30 reservations at Tagliatel, an Italian place around the corner from our hotel. OK decor but lousy food. Margi got sick and left early. I waited to pay and got takeaway boxes for our leftovers. Interestingly, they CHARGE for takeaway boxes EVERYWHERE. I gave our leftovers to a couple of homeless guys with a dog I passed walking back to the hotel. They seem appreciative.
Steps – 10,720
Day 3 – Sunday 5/19
We rise a little later, around 8:30 am. Down to good breakfast and then out to Metro stop right next to our hotel. Our agenda this morning is Montjuic via green L3 line to Paral-lel stop and then funicular to Montjuic.
Per a recommendation from Rick Steves, we try a machine to obtain a T-Familia card, which can be loaded with money and then shared by family members. We tried two different machines and kept getting an error when we got to the payment part but the machine, responding in English, isn’t clear about what is wrong. A scruffy local guy tries to help us but he also fails. I tip him for his efforts as we head to a booth with a person in it. Later, Margi is convinced that he was a scammer and actually stole from us but a check of the credit card charges proved this to be false.
The first booth we go to is for the rail lines, not the Metro. He points to another booth across the station but when we get there is it lit up but no one is inside. After waiting a few minutes, we decide to take the brute force method. We go back to the machine and purchase a 48 hour pass for both of us, costing us like $40 in total. Much more expensive than T-Familia but it gets the job done.
Next we hunt for the green L3 line. We head toward it but take a wrong turn and end up getting on and going one stop in the WRONG direction. So, out and make our way to the correct side and luckily, the metro comes along quickly. We are 5 stops from our destination. Got off at Paral-lel station and signs for the funicular are prominent. About a 5 minute walk to the funicular as we pass markers in the corridor which indicate 15 minutes wait, 10 minute wait if the line is back to each point. It is relatively early on Sunday morning so there is NO line. We can see the funicular in the station but we have to wait for the gates to open so that we can enter. There are only two real seats in each car, so we stand for the short trip up. At the top, we get off and exit the station. Following Rick Steves guide book, which we brought, we turn left and head down to the Joan Miro museum (Fundacio Joan Miro). On our previous visit, we took a taxi up here on a Monday, a day the museum is CLOSED!!
Into the museum and pay old fogey entry fee (over 65). Margi gets the audio guide and we begin our visit. The rooms are sequentially numbers and logically arranged and there are multi-language signage that explains each work and its history. From the outside garden, you get a view of the city.
Overall, I like much of his work, especially the sculpture. But some, like 3 large white paintings each with a single curved line on each, just leave me shaking my head.
See Miro pictures by clicking here.
After we tour the sculptures on the roof, I retrieve our backpacks and wait as Margi attacks the gift shop. As I am sitting waiting, a man gets me to answer a “short” survey on my experience at the museum which turns out to take about 10 minutes. Margi joins and waits. We finally leave at about 11 am.
Rick Steves claimed that his route on Montjuic is all downhill but Margi astutely notices that is a lie. Actually the uphill is short and we are back on a downhill path heading along the edge of some gardens that Margi notices has jasmine along the edge. We come to a fork in the road and following Yogi’s advice, we take it and of course, pick the wrong one. So, down a few hundred yards and then back up again. We took the right fork which turned out to be the wrong fork as we should have taken the left fork which would have been the right fork. See, pretty confusing!!
We come to the MNAC (Catalan Art Museum). We are’t interested in the art, but it is a little after noon and Rick Steves has mentioned the top floor Oleum restaurant as “chic and pricey” so we decided to give it a try. Asking for directions a few times, we make our way to the back of the museum and up an elevator to the restaurant front door. It opens at 12:30 so we have to wait a bit. We are first in line and even without reservations, we get a table although not along the windows. Margi has pork ribs and I have steak tartar. Food is excellent.
After paying, we are shown to the stairs to the rooftop which has great views of the city and area below MNAC. It is a bit of a climb (no elevator) but worth it. Weather is great. We can see our complete path down to the Metro by the Magic Fountain (not operational) to Placa d’Espanya and Las Arenas Mall (round bldg that is a former bullring). We leave the roof and exit through the restaurant in order to take advantage of the elevator!!
We find the Espanya metro stop and use our 48 hour passes to get back to Placa de Catalunya and our hotel. Back at the hotel, we crash. While Margi is sleeping, I realize that we had not heard from the front desk about our request for reservations for dinner tonight (Sunday) at Fonde Espana (recommended by Montse). (One of the negatives about this hotel is no concierge). A search of the internet shows it is closed on Sundays. So, I start through a list of restaurants I had collected from Facebook but all are either closed or are tapas places. As a last ditch option, I find Maccina which is basically behind our hotel and is Italian (which fits well into my happy wife, happy life philosophy). I can’t book a reservation online, so we will just go early and hope to get a table. As a side benefit, I found that I could make a reservation for Monday at 8:15 pm for Restaurant Tragaluz which we had eaten at on our previous trip.
So, somewhere after 7 pm, we head out for Maccina which turns out to be rather interesting (but not that good). It is on a corner with a few tables outside. You order your pasta and toppings (and drinks) at the counter and pay. You then sit and they bring you your food. Margi gets pasta with a red sauce and I get gnochi with gorgonzola and chicken. We find a table outside and people watch until our food is delivered. After eating, we stroll around a bit before going back for the night.
Steps – 11,389
Day 4 – Monday 5/20
We rise again a little later, around 8:30 am. Down to good breakfast and then decide to do a bus tour today. Out to Placa de Catalunya at about 10 am and immediately see the Red Bus company and giant lines of people. We are looking for the Barcelona City Tour company and spotted one of their buses passing but can’t see the kiosk to by tickets. We walk almost 3/4 of the way around the square and finally tap on the window of one of their buses and the driver points us in the correct direction. We get into a short line but find that the young person at the front of the line is apparently scheduling trips for the next 5 years as he takes forever (10 minutes). We get two 24 hour tickets for 58 Euros and cross the Placa to where the line we want is boarding. We meet a couple from Houston along the way (they had just completed a Mediterranean cruise) and together find the correct line. We got on the first bus and find two seats together on the open top deck. We plug in our ear phones and select English and we are off.
In our 2 hour tour, we see things we had already seen but also some places we had not, like Olympic Stadium (on Montjuic), harbor area with cruise ships, prison where last execution by garrote was performed, and general view of streets and avenues of Barcelona. Completed the circuit back to Placa de Catalunya where we got off .
Click here for pics from bus tour
We started to hunt for an outdoor restaurant. We walk away from the Placa to find something less touristy but it seems now at around 1:30 ish, we are in prime lunch time. A few blocks away, we luck out and find a table on the street as some people are leaving. Food is MEH but waitress is Cuban which starts us thinking about our next trip. The restaurant has a robot to bring food out from the kitchen and dirty dishes back. Kind of fun to watch.
We pay and leave to find some gelato for dessert. After our dessert, we return to hotel and begin re-packing our bags as we leave tomorrow. Packing complete, we decide to go to the bar and have our free drinks using the voucher we got at check-in. We go to the bar by the pool and sit. Margi has cava (had to reject the first glass offered as it had no bubbles) and I get a white wine. Under the shade of the bar canopy, we enjoy our drinks and discuss our stay in Barcelona. We have enjoyed ourselves.
At about 7:45 pm, we head to the taxi stand outside. I show the driver the restaurant web site on my phone which shows the address. And so begins our second bad experience with a taxi in Barcelona. The trip is only about 10 minutes but because of some street maintenance by the city, the driver stops before reaching the restaurant and says it is just 100 meters up the street. So, we pay and exit at about 8 pm and blissfully and moronically head up the street to NOT find the restaurant. We end up walking around trying Google maps for about 20 minutes until we find the restaurant on a pedestrian only small side street!! There is actually an oriental restaurant on the ground floor so you have to take stairs to the second floor to Restaurant Tragaluz. We are seated quickly and elect to sit up one more level. The food and wine are excellent with Margi having tagliatelle arrabiata and I had steak tartar. After paying, we go out to the street and find a taxi back to our hotel where we finish re-packing.
Steps – 7,234
Press back button and select The Algarve