Barcelona Short Break - our 1st Anniversary, January 2008

[Mike]

Eventually the stall holders pack up and leave, and so do we.

Passing through the Old Town at 9.00ish we (alright, ‘I’) profess to still being hungry, and we buy a couple of steak sandwiches from a ‘Bocetta’ outlet (bit like a Subway or Pret place).

It’s around 10pm as we land back at the hotel, somewhat the worse for wear. I have to empty the mini-bar now, it’s a legal requirement, but Amanda’s had enough and goes to bed. It’s probably about 1100pm when I join her gently-snoring person.

Goodnight…..


Day 3 – Monday 28th January 2008

Sadly the day doesn’t start too well… Amanda is violently sick at around 2am and then more or less constantly in the bathroom until daylight. It eases somewhat at 800ish and we both doze for an hour or so.

I’m fine, and hungry, so I leave her in bed while I go to Starbucks downstairs for coffee and a bun. The weather’s perfect again and I head south along the Via towards the nearest Starbucks where I grab a pastry and a coffee. There’s an organic supermarket nearby where I stock up on bottled water for Amanda.

When I return, Amanda is feeling delicate but stable, and we take our showers and pack before checking out at 10.30. The hotel offers a left-luggage service which we take advantage of.

Today we’d hoped to visit Park Guell in the northern suburbs, but it’s clear that Amanda won’t be up to long hikes and should probably stay near to restrooms, so we stroll slowly into and across the Old Town, passing the cathedral and a hotel that amuses me for some reason..



We continue along the Carrer De Portaferrissa to the Ramblas and walk down in warm sunshine towards the port area.



We divert briefly to wander around the vibrant, 19th century food market (Mercat St Josep la Boqueria)…





…makes you think - we have Tescos instead!

We carry on down the Ramblas..




It would have been pleasant to take the boardwalk (‘Rambla de Mar’) over to the modern shopping complex there, but unfortunately it’s closed for maintenance.

Sitting on the harbour for a while, watching the boats, it’s clearly a lot quieter today than over the weekend.



We continue east, towards Barcelonetta, taking photos of the port-side road and the views back to the hills of Montjuic.



There are some whacky sculptures scattered around the place, including a 30’ lobster!

[Mike]

The theme continues as we wander gently back into the old town,



sitting for a while in a pleasant square before finding ourselves in the Passeig el Born, a popular nightlife area and attractive by day too.



Carrying on, we stroll northwards …



..passing a shop we could probably all use on occasion..



…up to Pl. de Catalunya where we avail ourselves of the restrooms under the Triangle shopping complex.

We complete our circuit of the old town part of the city centre by returning to the Ramblas in search of somewhere sunny to sit, ending up at the southern end at Casa Joan.





A couple of Americans are entertaining visitors with a traditional magician’s routine and a quirkier juggling performance.

We spend the next hour here, nursing a coffee, allowing Amanda time to recharge her batteries (she actually dozes off in the sun for a while!).



When the sun slips away behind the buildings opposite, we pay up and head off into the warren of streets nearby for the last time.





Amanda plays it safe but I’m peckish and stop at a pannini joint in Pl. St. Jaume for a steak sarnie.

It’s around 5pm when we arrive back at the hotel where we recover our bags, use the restrooms and then sit around in the lounge until 545 or so. It’s then an easy stroll across to the bus station for the 18.15 transfer to Gerona airport.

As the coach is full they set off at 6.05pm (they seem to run plenty of vehicles on this route and there’ll be another one along soon)

We both nod off along the route, before arriving at 7.10.

Our check-in desk doesn’t open until 8.15, so we sit on chairs nearby rather than join the floor dwellers already in line. This means that eventually we do have to queue for around 40 minutes, so perhaps our tactics need reviewing next time!

Security is brief and non-eventful. There’s time for a drink and a snack before we board at 10pm. Although pretty full, we manage to retain a row of three seats for our sole use again, and the flight is soon underway.

We land at 11.15 UK time and are walking out to our pick up point less than 30 minutes later. The roads are empty on our 40 mile drive back home, and we are tucked up in bed by 1.00am.

Conclusion

We’ve had a lovely time, marred only by Amanda’s upset tum on the 2nd night. We really love Barcelona and were blessed this time with superb weather for the time of year. There is much more that we want to do in the area, including visiting the mediaeval walled city of Gerona itself, the Roman remains at Tarragona, the monastery at Montserrat and a return trip to Universal’s Port Aventura theme park, so I think we’ll be back soon.

Thanks for reading – we hope you enjoyed sharing our anniversary.

Mike & Amanda
February 2008

P.S. – I’M ON WITH ANOTHER REPORT, A 6 DAY TRIP TO ROME LAST OCTOBER – SORRY FOR THE DELAY!)

[Guest]

I thought you were going to try Madrid!

(we discussed it on one of your earlier threads.)

It looks like a wonderful trip, and what fantastic photos! Brings back memories, we went to Barcelona for DH's 40th a few years ago, and went to almost all the same places that you did. (Then a few years after that we did Madrid for my 40th!)

The weather looked great too, you were really lucky at that time of year.

One of your last photos, of the Passeig el Born reminds me of the guide book I took to Barcelona. There was a similar photo with the caption "Born, yesterday" !

Thanks for sharing your trippie. And Happy Belated Anniversary!

[Mike]

Originally Posted by freckles

I thought you were going to try Madrid!


Thanks for sharing your trippie. And Happy Belated Anniversary!

See more...

... we are! I posted
that question after we'd done this trip...

Thanks for your kind words.

Mike

[voddygirl]

Wow you`s know how to pack a lot into a short space of time... thoroughly enjoyed reading about your trip and looking at your pics ...deffo think married life suits you both !
Heres to your next anniversary

[Guest]

Sounds like a great way to spend your anniversary. Poor Amanda being sick in the morning - is there something you are trying to tell us?

[alysond]

Well what a co-incindence... I was in Barcelona this time last week for my other half`s birthday! Isn`t it a fabulous place? Your pictures are all exactly the same as ours. We used the wonderful Bus Touristic for 2 days, 26 euros each for 2 days unlimited travel and money off vouchers for all the attractions we wanted to visit so we recon we made our money back. The weather was just wonderful for us too. Must be something in the water though because I was violently sick the last night too! Hasn`t put us going off though... BMI Baby have a fab seat sale at the moment and we could both go for just over £25 in total... watch this space!

[Mike]

Originally Posted by SusieK

Poor Amanda being sick in the morning - is there something you are trying to tell us?

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... absolutely not! My fertile days ended longgg ago, Sue! I worked out what was causing it after 2 kids and got myself fixed!

[Princess Ploppy]

What a lovely report - really enjoyed reading it. You packed so much into such a short space of time. I haven't been to barcelona in a few years now but your report has certainly made we want to go back - so much I never even knew existed!

Thanks for sharing and happy belated anniversary!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Mike

... absolutely not! My fertile days ended longgg ago, Sue! I worked out what was causing it after 2 kids and got myself fixed!

See more...

Just thought there was a subtle message in there. Great photos as always.