Rain in Spain

Finally time for vacation!

KMJ and I took off for Barcelona this past weekend and following a long but uneventful flight we arrived in Paris. I could be wrong, but I think we taxied for about 20 minutes before finally getting to the gate and moving off the plane. A few more hours of waiting and we got on a flight to Barcelona where I promptly fell asleep.

Arriving in Barcelona we took a few minutes to admire the airport; it's a really interesting building in that it's essentially one big room that's sub-divided by half height walls, like a really stylish version of the 747 plant in Everett. A quick cab ride later and we were at our hotel which is about 3-4 blocks from Plaza Catlunya and the Ramblas. I was hitting the wall from all the travel and essentially having been up for 24 hours but a shower does amazing things and we were soon changed and on our way to explore.

We walked down towards the Ramblas to have a look at the Cathederal of Barcelona and the surrounding area which dates back to the Romans. Lots of narrow alleyways with balconies full of hanging plants and small t-shirt shops all selling the same 10 shirts.

Heading back towards the hotel we stopped a few blocks away to look at the Gaudi apartment buildings and grab some tapas. All together I think we had about twelve different tapas but the stand outs were the croquettes, Jamon Iberico and one I don't remember the name of but had sardines with some gr.een onion and citrus. We actually went to another bar near the hotel for several more tapas and vino tinto on the way back. Again the jamon and croquettes were the stars but a sweet cheese dish was excellent. For desert there was gelato from the shop next door and a crazy lemonade beer mixture that tastes better than it sounds.

Finally headed back upstairs and despite best efforts to stay awake I'm told that I fell asleep within minutes of sitting down on the bed and didn't awake until this morning.

Barcelona day 2

Rain!! There was rain of all sorts today, from light mist to heavy dripping rain the soaks you to the skin. The only consistent thing was that it didn't stop all day. Fortunately we're from Seattle so a little rain is hardly going to get in our way. We started the day out walking down the Ramblas to the Boqueria which is a large public market. We were there early and many of the vendors weren't there yet however we did get a couple of excellent fresh juices (raspberry pineapple and strawberry pineapple) for only a euro each. This was chased with a sandwich and coffee.

The next stop after figuring out the in's and outs of the subway was the Sagreda Familia that was designed by Gaudi and has been under construction since 1883. They are projecting that the work will be complete within the next 15 years but this year they should have the interior completed after several years of work to repair damage caused by vibration from the subways that run beneath the building. Next we hopped in a cab in went to the Parc Guell which is another Gaudi project that would have been a planned community but instead is a fantastic park with amazing mosaic work with tile and stone.

Lunch today was good, typical ham, olives, croquettes but for dessert there was hot chocolate with churros. The chocolate was like a hot pudding and really hit the spot. I was finally able to convince KMJ that a siesta would be a great idea and turns out I was right since we both passed out for several hours before heading back out for dinner. Aside from what's become the usual tapas for us tonight we got some razor clams and octopus both of which were ok, but not my favorites. More gelato and off to bed. Tomorrow is the Picasso museum and then off to Pamplona and beyond.