Barcelona - The Beautiful City by the Sea
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| Taking a break from the beach to enjoy the lovely boardwalk! |
Barcelona was a roller-coaster ride! We were thrown off when we first arrived and didn't even have to have our passports stamped. (It was a little disappointing to be honest - and the ease of traveling from country to country in Europe was a little alarming!) We had arranged to stay at a little B&B and a lady met us at the train station to show us the way. She offered to go on the metro, or, if we didn't mind, a little walk. Johnny volunteered for us to walk (I didn't object - it sounded close,) so off we went. All I have to say is that little old Russian lady can book it, AND she didn't have a big backpack. Just saying. It was a hike, but we did get to see lots of cool areas and get a feel for finding our way around. Anyhow, we got there and it was a little hot and there was no A.C. but hey, it really seemed like we were backpacking this portion of the journey. Plus I don't think we'd ever been so excited about getting to wash our clothes.
We went for gelato the first night and grabbed a quick bite at a chicken joint. Not the best idea....I wound up getting sick. :( We got a SIM card and some rest.
The next day we went out for tapas and headed off to Barcelonetta Beach. No tapas pictures because I was still feeling pretty queezy....actually there aren't tons of pics from Spain yet we were there for quite a while. We were so busy and taking in so much, plus me getting sick, plus we didn't want to be those obnoxious tourists taking pictures in places where it clearly wasn't appropriate to photograph (although that doesn't stop some people - sheish!) Really, it was just nice to take it all in and enjoy it! :)
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| Streets of Spain |
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| Headed to Barcelonetta! |
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| Johnny coming up on the boardwalk. |
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| We made it! |
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| Barcelonetta Beach |
Barcelonetta Beach
There are so many reasons why this beach is so popular; it's wonderful and has everything you need!
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Cool jungle gyms and work out equipment right on the beach!
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| Strange entertainment |
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| Busy but beautiful! |
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| Neat architecture |
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| Simply lovely. |
Buildings
We saw some cool architecture....many buildings have slats built into the design....interesting.
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| More of the slat style |
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"Peix" I know it's supposed to be a fish, but I really thought it looked more like an airplane....
Cool sculpture nonetheless! |
Seeing Some Sites!
Placa dels Voluntaris
Johnny Feeds My Fountain Fetish!
After a little siesta we went to see "The Magical Fountain Show" at Montjuic! It's situated below Palau Nacional, right after you walk through the Venetian Towers, off the Plaza de Espana, so it's quite a site to see!
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| To give you an idea of the scale, those are The Four Columns off to the side there! |
Enjoying the spectacular show!!
It was pretty cool seeing water that looked like fire!
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| Crowded with good cause :) |
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| Handsome Hubby <3 |
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| The Four Columns |
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| I <3 Fountains :) |
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| Especially giant ones with light and music shows! |
It was such a fun evening! Totally delightful. :)
We held hands and watched the show. We sat so close that we could feel the mist of the fountains. We sat on the edge of the grand fountain - as in so close that if our shoes were to have fallen off, they would of fallen in the fountain! (We discussed this very real possibility.) We enjoyed drinks in the grass and then decided to to make the hike up to the top. (We absolutely understand why this place was chosen for the Olympics!)
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| To The Top!! |
We had a little fun with the camera....yes, we're dorks.
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Johnny likes this one...I think I look kind of goofy,
but whatever makes him smile :) |
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| Starting out.... |
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| I think we played chase around the columns....a bit tipsy :) |
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| Getting Higher.... |
These shoes did a lot of trekking! What....us....take an escalator up....we wouldn't do that....at least not all the way ;)
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| We made it! |
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| Beautiful view of the city |
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| Johnny likes to take pictures of me |
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| We could see all the way out to the mountains |
Beach Bound!
There's Johnny using his compass to figure out which way we want to go. :) I love how reasonable and easy public transport is!
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| Beautiful day at the beach! |
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| Found a spot |
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| Getting settled in for some rest and relaxation! |
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On the Boardwalk :)
Of course we stopped and mailed Mom a postcard. Her collection must be getting pretty big now! |
Tapas Time!
Life at the beach makes you hungry!
The next day we went out to Nova Mar Bella....it was interesting. We'll just say it was one of those no pictures kind of days. We went home and cooked - I think the most delicious thing I had the whole time we were in Spain was toast with warm goat cheese and sweet white wine! And oh man - the prices were glorious! So inexpensive and so tasty!!
Out and about....
The Venetian Towers during the day!
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| Chillin' with my lover :) |
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| We stayed out so late one night that we were locked out of the subway! |
Another Day at the Beach!
So our B&B was a little bit of a bust, but like I mentioned, there were some upsides. Not bad for our first time using AirB'nB. There was a lovely balcony we got to hang out and enjoy the breeze over drinks. We did laundry, we cooked in the small kitchen (They have the most delicious goat cheese in Spain! I had glamorous breakfasts every morning! I want to go back!) Nonetheless, things got pretty heated (literally and figuratively) when another couple arrived. Johnny and I got along well with them, they were quite pleasant. The little old Russian lady seemed to take issue with having the other couple (2 guys) staying there together though....so between a booking mistake and everything else, Johnny and I decided to venture on and discover another area of Barcelona. (And we made sure to book a place with AC!)
We got a little lost trekking to the new place my amazing hubby is a pretty good navigator and we found our way. He really loves that trusty compass I poked fun at him for bringing; it turns out it was a great call on his part!
We found a new bigger, quieter beach. It was nice, and we had some decent tapas for dinner. We found tapas to be kind of hit or miss. But we also didn't drink all the time like many tourists do, so I could see why we were a bit more critical than some.
That sun was hot and the water was a welcome cool down!
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| Enjoying another late evening on the balcony :) |
Oh, one last thing - check out the trashcans they have in Barcelona! It's pretty cool - you step on the bar on the bottom to open it - so people aren't hesitant to use them. They're also gigantic, easily accessible and frequently found. Not a bad idea....it was a pretty clean place!
Barcelona embodied a fun, lively, beautiful city; it was a great stop! We had some ups and downs, but it was a fun ride! I made an analogy....Florida : NY : : Spain : Russia. (The same way retired people in NY move to Florida to escape the cold, retired Russians head south to Spain. At least that's what the old lady said.) Our only means of communication with the little old Russian lady was both hers and our broken Spanish, so it was amusing at times, but she was helpful. (If you ask us in person some of the stories promise to be much more amusing!) We caught up on some much needed sleep. The first night here we slept almost as long in one night as all of our nights in Paris! (Granted, we were up at 6a.m. and out till 2a.m. in Paris most of the time.)
We enjoyed a pleasant last night in a super cool room Johnny booked us into. Then, we set off on our pilgrimage! It was two-fold, both for the Italian heritage of our family name, as well as for our Catholic faith. We were Italy bound!
Stay tuned for more late updates :) Thanks to everyone that keeps up with us on our adventures!
Love,
J
