We arrived on-time into Barcelona- or so I've been told. I was pretty much unconscious throughout the flight - in spite of yet another screaming baby on board.
The cab ride from the airport to middle of Barcelona took about 30 min or so at around 30 Euro. Chris-san was carrying on some conversation with the cab driver in Spanish - which I guess pleased the driver. He was explaining us about this cliff-side cemetery, about Barcelona port- how Barcelona has wonderful mild weather in winter- and it only snowed once in his (40-ish) life time.
Our tiny hotel is at Placa del Pi in Barri Gotic - with cafes, bars, and a church surrounding the Square. It is very lively but by 10:30pm, all you hear is garbage trucks. The room is simple - almost clinical. Everything you need is there with no frills. The best part is the room has 3 twin beds.. 2 balconies (it is a corner "suite") and 1 window- great to have fresh air flowing all the time. Normally the room is 105 euro (which in itself is a bargain) a but since I booked the reservation 10 months ago, the price went down to 85 euro. I get to spend 60 extra Euro on shopping!
The reality of Barcelona hit us, when we check-in at the hotel-- first "chat" with the staff after filling out paperwork was..."please be careful of pick-pockets on the street and Metros". I think this is the first time I was "officially" forewarned about almost inevitable crime! I already had my passport stolen from my purse in Paris (at Louvre..in front of Mona Lisa....oh so tourist...). GI Chris never likes to be in the crowd- but he is even more alert since my last incident.... Whenever we watch, say a street performer, Karina and I are watching...when Chris is being our CIA agent, watching everybody around us, whispering, "remember Louvre".
With the warning still fresh in my mind- we strolled along Las Ramblas and actually did see some "shady" street card-game going on. I know they were shady because they did not want us taking pictures!- and later Agent Chris saw them quickly wrapping up their stuff and disappeared...just like fake Chanel bag vendors on Canal Street! Other than that, we saw a lot of X'mas lights, similar to the ones we saw in Rome (and did not see in Paris).
We had dinner reservation at Rias de Galicia near Place de Espanya. Lobster tartar and Iberian jamon were to die for. Their "glass" of wine is half of American "glass". So I only had a glass of wine. This is the only time I miss our Super-size culture! Even though I was determined to dine in Spanish way...Karina and Chris were too tired... Karina almost fell asleep during dinner hence we only stayed there for about 1 1/2 hrs.
As I write this at 11:06pm- wide awake... Chris and Karina are sound asleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment