Well Barcelona has been a blast!
We have not stayed out as late as we would have liked on most nights and now as we get to the end of our trip we are finally getting into the swing of this Spanish way of life!
Lots of walking in old neighborhoods and my feet are feeling the effects. But it has been all worth it. I have only once walked into a moving car *the steets are narrow and people,dogs,mopeds and cars all share the same 4 foot wide space. The guy driving his beamer gave me a dirty look since my elbow hit his side mirror and I gave just as dirty a look back!*
The artwork has been plentiful along with gaudi's influence of architecture on the rest of the city. We have seen lots of his standing work from la sagrida familia to the parc guell and a few current residences in use.
The metro has béen mastered and we are old pros by now. Only once did we get separated trying to board and I knew where I was going so I just took the next train. We got separated because this is the first city I have seen where people actually wait to let others get off and there is not enough time to get on.
We have been to el quim *a tapas bar* twice in the boquateria and the food has been out of this world. Also had a great seafood dinner last night near the port and we were lucky to get in without reservations. Can Rose has been around for 5 generations and it shows. The fiedos was so yuMmy!
Picasso was on our list today as well as parc guell and we had the same idea as the rest of Barcelona as most things are not open on Sundays.
Before that we went to the main Cathedral and did some people watching and got to see some local music played. It seems like a tradition for the locals to come out and dance in the main square after noon mass and it was fun to watch.
Cafes and people watching have become apie early evening routine as we write postcards.
Off to get some dinner and tomorrow go to Montsarret in the morning.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Madrid to Barcelona
After getting up early again and getting ready, we realize our mistake in ordering a taxi too early as our flight leaves a lot later than we think.
So off for another walk around the aRea where Madrid is just starting to wake up and shops are not yet open at 9. The crisp air starts to make me hungry and a small breakfast of tea, juice and sweetbread for €2.50 fills us up. We talk to this older man* a little old NYC man traveling alone who doesn't speak any Spanish and I'd say was close to 70* who has just come from barcelona. We offer him some Madrid places to go and do while he tells us about some places there. We say our goodbyes as it is time to get back to the hotel and check out.
A harrowing ride to the airport 25 minutes later and we are both left a little quesy.
Ryanair is our carriEr and we both check luggage with no charges.
The rest of the trip is pretty uneventful as my stomach is a little nauseous and her head is bothering her. A bus ride follows that will take is into Barcelona as we flew in from a town about an hour outside of it called gerona. From the bus station, we call the woman who is to meet is at our flat and a little coMedy ensues as my phone tells me I need to be patched through to an operator for help but the call does go through to her and I mistakenly think she is the operator and try to tell her I want to make a call to Spain and she says you are calling Spain and Did I rent a flat?
We get instructions on how to get there which requires a metro ride, lots of stairs which make me wish I had packed less and I did this time too.!
We land in the middle of chaos in the catalunyan plaza. There is some BIG football match between Barcelona and the Rangers. And the steets are packed with drunken loud tailgaters who are heading toward us as we try to navigate to the flat. A long wait for the woman to show leads to lots of people watching and we finally get in.
Both of us by now are ready for a nap and i decide to go get is some sandwiches and drinks that will tide is over until a later dinner. But naps get the best of us and it is 11:30 when we wake up. Plans for tomOrrow require early waking to get to the market so we call it a night. But the revelers are still going and I am wide awake as I type this as it is close to 1 am now.
So off for another walk around the aRea where Madrid is just starting to wake up and shops are not yet open at 9. The crisp air starts to make me hungry and a small breakfast of tea, juice and sweetbread for €2.50 fills us up. We talk to this older man* a little old NYC man traveling alone who doesn't speak any Spanish and I'd say was close to 70* who has just come from barcelona. We offer him some Madrid places to go and do while he tells us about some places there. We say our goodbyes as it is time to get back to the hotel and check out.
A harrowing ride to the airport 25 minutes later and we are both left a little quesy.
Ryanair is our carriEr and we both check luggage with no charges.
The rest of the trip is pretty uneventful as my stomach is a little nauseous and her head is bothering her. A bus ride follows that will take is into Barcelona as we flew in from a town about an hour outside of it called gerona. From the bus station, we call the woman who is to meet is at our flat and a little coMedy ensues as my phone tells me I need to be patched through to an operator for help but the call does go through to her and I mistakenly think she is the operator and try to tell her I want to make a call to Spain and she says you are calling Spain and Did I rent a flat?
We get instructions on how to get there which requires a metro ride, lots of stairs which make me wish I had packed less and I did this time too.!
We land in the middle of chaos in the catalunyan plaza. There is some BIG football match between Barcelona and the Rangers. And the steets are packed with drunken loud tailgaters who are heading toward us as we try to navigate to the flat. A long wait for the woman to show leads to lots of people watching and we finally get in.
Both of us by now are ready for a nap and i decide to go get is some sandwiches and drinks that will tide is over until a later dinner. But naps get the best of us and it is 11:30 when we wake up. Plans for tomOrrow require early waking to get to the market so we call it a night. But the revelers are still going and I am wide awake as I type this as it is close to 1 am now.
it is all about the food and walking
Woke up at a respectable 9 am Tuesday after a few US phone calls rang through about 6 am.
Had great cheap breakfast at Madrid Madrid where we say in the bar area and watched workers come in for their cafe con leches, morning beers and bocadillas. Evetthing is served with some cut of jamon and I am surprisingly doing well. But our choice was a Spanish omelet or tortilla, sort of like a quiche but way better, filled with cheese and potatoes.
Back on the metro to the Sol area where the seat of Madrid starts and all steets are counted from.
We decided to do a walk through royal Madrid from a map in one of annals guidebooks. A few hits and misses at turning on to the right steets but we did make it through, seeing some of the oldest churches in the area, oldest restaurant and where the Muslims (or Moors) would have lived back then which is not a quaint area of trompe l'oeill painted apartments.
The tour ended at this convent where a group of clostered nuns run a cookie making operation. The whole fun part is trying to get in and buy the cookies where you ring the buzzer, figure out how to open the heavy wooden door and put your money in this lazy Susan and all of your contact is by voice and you never see the nuns. We missed the morning hours by 10 minutes but would later go back after lunch and it was well worth it. The orange flavored cookies are a cross between a delicate lady finger and shortbread and Anna and I have already eaten many of them throuGhout the day.
On to lunch., where we are the only ones at first in the dining rOom because at 1:30 it is still considered too early for lunch in Madrid. Anna found the best place for paella through a cooking show and they were right. We go with the paella mixto, some ham croquettes and the aqua con gas. All of which was more than enough and left us ready for a siesta. And yes the dining room by now is buzzing with activity at 3.
But we decide to walk it off and head over to one of the best art museums in the world - the Prado.
Many Goyas, some Miros and lots of 19th century historical paintings along with sculpture take up a few hours so that we are exhausted and head back to get those cookies, shop at a local artisans store and get me more clairitin which was a comedy into itself as I decided to go to into the farmacia by myself and with my limited Spanish get some more mostly by showing her the package.
A short siesta turns into a way too long one and our plan to go do tapas befor our flamenco show is scraped as we hurredly get ready and book over to the bar.
The show is amazing with dancers, singers and gUitarists and 2 glasses of sangria, some raccionnes *which I know know are larger plates of tapas and we ordered too many* and we both are content but still have one more stop: the chocaltier.
Open late and considered one of the best - the hot chocolate is so thick a spoon rests on it and the churros are greasy and light for dunking. The place stays open late and it is a mixture of locals and tourists at this late hour. By now I am glad we walked around so much of the city and mastered the
Metro as I have eaten my weight and had 3 meals in one day for the first time in who knows when.
Sleep comes quick after as we're leaving for Barcelona the next day.
Had great cheap breakfast at Madrid Madrid where we say in the bar area and watched workers come in for their cafe con leches, morning beers and bocadillas. Evetthing is served with some cut of jamon and I am surprisingly doing well. But our choice was a Spanish omelet or tortilla, sort of like a quiche but way better, filled with cheese and potatoes.
Back on the metro to the Sol area where the seat of Madrid starts and all steets are counted from.
We decided to do a walk through royal Madrid from a map in one of annals guidebooks. A few hits and misses at turning on to the right steets but we did make it through, seeing some of the oldest churches in the area, oldest restaurant and where the Muslims (or Moors) would have lived back then which is not a quaint area of trompe l'oeill painted apartments.
The tour ended at this convent where a group of clostered nuns run a cookie making operation. The whole fun part is trying to get in and buy the cookies where you ring the buzzer, figure out how to open the heavy wooden door and put your money in this lazy Susan and all of your contact is by voice and you never see the nuns. We missed the morning hours by 10 minutes but would later go back after lunch and it was well worth it. The orange flavored cookies are a cross between a delicate lady finger and shortbread and Anna and I have already eaten many of them throuGhout the day.
On to lunch., where we are the only ones at first in the dining rOom because at 1:30 it is still considered too early for lunch in Madrid. Anna found the best place for paella through a cooking show and they were right. We go with the paella mixto, some ham croquettes and the aqua con gas. All of which was more than enough and left us ready for a siesta. And yes the dining room by now is buzzing with activity at 3.
But we decide to walk it off and head over to one of the best art museums in the world - the Prado.
Many Goyas, some Miros and lots of 19th century historical paintings along with sculpture take up a few hours so that we are exhausted and head back to get those cookies, shop at a local artisans store and get me more clairitin which was a comedy into itself as I decided to go to into the farmacia by myself and with my limited Spanish get some more mostly by showing her the package.
A short siesta turns into a way too long one and our plan to go do tapas befor our flamenco show is scraped as we hurredly get ready and book over to the bar.
The show is amazing with dancers, singers and gUitarists and 2 glasses of sangria, some raccionnes *which I know know are larger plates of tapas and we ordered too many* and we both are content but still have one more stop: the chocaltier.
Open late and considered one of the best - the hot chocolate is so thick a spoon rests on it and the churros are greasy and light for dunking. The place stays open late and it is a mixture of locals and tourists at this late hour. By now I am glad we walked around so much of the city and mastered the
Metro as I have eaten my weight and had 3 meals in one day for the first time in who knows when.
Sleep comes quick after as we're leaving for Barcelona the next day.
Monday, November 5, 2007
the good but chaotic life
Since I last left off, I was somewhere in Nepal...well in those past few months lots has changed.
I left Dallas, moved to Tacoma,WA and have started working for the News tribune as their lead sports designer.
I am in the extremely long process of buying a townhouse (more on that later... That is a very long post)
Things have been pretty crazed the past few months with the job search *more on that later also because there is so much drama leading up to why I decided to move and what ultimately brougt me to the SeaTac area* but again later as I write this on my blackbert from halfway around the world.
Oh yes. I have gone and left the country again. This time it is Spain, in particular, Madrid and Barcelona. I met my friend Anna here as we had started to plan this trip before I left Dallas.
Some of these entries may be a little cryptic becuse of the typing and time restraints but I want to keep people posted and updated since I have tons of emails to catch up on from the past 30 days.
Left Seattle at 6 am Sunday morning after working long tiring sports shift where it was the first Saturday that I was in charge.
Delayed arrival from Miami, long taxi line, problem getting money out of ATM since I forgot to call bank and let them know I was going to Spain.
But made it to hotel - cute and cheap. Anna was delayed also so she thought she would wait for me at airport, then missed me. Both of us were hungry so we set off out our door after I took a quick shower to wash off all the stink of 24 hours of travel.
Walked around Plaza mayor. Beautiful day. Lunch of jamon, queso and calamari and bread. Long leisurly lunch to catch up with Anna on all that has happened in last month. Great people watching.
Walked down calle Atocha to museum reina to see Picasso's guernica and other modern art pieces (some Miros, Dal other Picasso).
Most shops are closed as it is siesta time. Go back to hotel for short nap that turns into long one. Both of us are not hungry and after an hour of planning our day we call it a night and plan to get up early tomorrow.
I left Dallas, moved to Tacoma,WA and have started working for the News tribune as their lead sports designer.
I am in the extremely long process of buying a townhouse (more on that later... That is a very long post)
Things have been pretty crazed the past few months with the job search *more on that later also because there is so much drama leading up to why I decided to move and what ultimately brougt me to the SeaTac area* but again later as I write this on my blackbert from halfway around the world.
Oh yes. I have gone and left the country again. This time it is Spain, in particular, Madrid and Barcelona. I met my friend Anna here as we had started to plan this trip before I left Dallas.
Some of these entries may be a little cryptic becuse of the typing and time restraints but I want to keep people posted and updated since I have tons of emails to catch up on from the past 30 days.
Left Seattle at 6 am Sunday morning after working long tiring sports shift where it was the first Saturday that I was in charge.
Delayed arrival from Miami, long taxi line, problem getting money out of ATM since I forgot to call bank and let them know I was going to Spain.
But made it to hotel - cute and cheap. Anna was delayed also so she thought she would wait for me at airport, then missed me. Both of us were hungry so we set off out our door after I took a quick shower to wash off all the stink of 24 hours of travel.
Walked around Plaza mayor. Beautiful day. Lunch of jamon, queso and calamari and bread. Long leisurly lunch to catch up with Anna on all that has happened in last month. Great people watching.
Walked down calle Atocha to museum reina to see Picasso's guernica and other modern art pieces (some Miros, Dal other Picasso).
Most shops are closed as it is siesta time. Go back to hotel for short nap that turns into long one. Both of us are not hungry and after an hour of planning our day we call it a night and plan to get up early tomorrow.
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