Spanish Spree - April 2009
Day 2: Barcelona
Our plane landed around 10am, and we hustled off the plane to customs. We were pleased to see there was no line and were even more pleased with how efficient the process was - they didn't ask us a single question, so it was awfully quick getting our passports stamped! We thanked our lucky stars that were no delays at this point in the process since we were already "behind schedule" due to our late flight. We would have only two days in Barcelona, and had a lot to fit in during our short visit.
We walked out of the airport looking to find our hotel shuttle. We had chosen to stay at the Renaissance Airport Hotel since we had enough Marriott points for a free stay. Unfortunately, this was the only Marriott in all of the places we would be traveling to, so we had to make do with its inconvenient location. The shuttle (a bright orange van) was remarkably easy to spot and we quickly made it to the hotel. I had made all the reservations for our trip, so I took care of checking us in. It's a good thing, too - my mother didn't understand a single word the receptionist said, even though she was speaking English; it was so heavily accented I felt that it may have been easier for me to simply switch over to Spanish. Our room was ready, surprisingly, so we were able to drop our things off and wash our faces in an attempt to combat jetlag before leaving.
The Barcelona airport (and therefore our airport hotel) is located about 15 minutes from the tourist center of Barcelona, so getting to and from the city would not be a quick walk. Instead, we had to hop back on the hotel shuttle to the airport where we were able to take Barcelona's RENFE Cercania train (their version of a commuter train) into the city, where we then transferred to the metro. For such a short jaunt, it sure was complicated, but the price (0,82 euro) couldn't be beat.
Our first stop was Las Ramblas, a touristy pedestrian walkway and lively street in Barcelona. Our plan was start toward the northern end of Las Ramblas and head south, to Port Vell. We found our way off the metro easily and went straight to La Boqueria.
La Boqueria is Barcelona's version of a public market. There is fresh produce, meats, seafood, baked goods, and so much more. We thought it would be a good place to get some food for lunch. Neither of us was hungry enough for a meal, but we knew we needed to eat something to keep our strength up.
We walked out of the airport looking to find our hotel shuttle. We had chosen to stay at the Renaissance Airport Hotel since we had enough Marriott points for a free stay. Unfortunately, this was the only Marriott in all of the places we would be traveling to, so we had to make do with its inconvenient location. The shuttle (a bright orange van) was remarkably easy to spot and we quickly made it to the hotel. I had made all the reservations for our trip, so I took care of checking us in. It's a good thing, too - my mother didn't understand a single word the receptionist said, even though she was speaking English; it was so heavily accented I felt that it may have been easier for me to simply switch over to Spanish. Our room was ready, surprisingly, so we were able to drop our things off and wash our faces in an attempt to combat jetlag before leaving.
The Barcelona airport (and therefore our airport hotel) is located about 15 minutes from the tourist center of Barcelona, so getting to and from the city would not be a quick walk. Instead, we had to hop back on the hotel shuttle to the airport where we were able to take Barcelona's RENFE Cercania train (their version of a commuter train) into the city, where we then transferred to the metro. For such a short jaunt, it sure was complicated, but the price (0,82 euro) couldn't be beat.
Our first stop was Las Ramblas, a touristy pedestrian walkway and lively street in Barcelona. Our plan was start toward the northern end of Las Ramblas and head south, to Port Vell. We found our way off the metro easily and went straight to La Boqueria.
La Boqueria is Barcelona's version of a public market. There is fresh produce, meats, seafood, baked goods, and so much more. We thought it would be a good place to get some food for lunch. Neither of us was hungry enough for a meal, but we knew we needed to eat something to keep our strength up.
a fruit stand in la boqueria
We walked up and down the aisles of food, stopping to buy some fruit salad and fresh squeezed juice. The guidebooks had really talked up La Boqueria as being an attraction, but we found that we were quickly in and out. Every fruit stand looked the same as the last; each seafood vendor the same as the next. With some snacks in hand, we called it a good start and we left to continue our walk down Las Ramblas.
Along the way, we passed flower shops, souvenir sellers galore, and more street entertainers than I've ever seen all in one place before. To be frank, we were unimpressed since neither of us are "shoppers". We enjoyed watching some of the street performers but made it to the far end of Las Ramblas quickly.
The far end of Las Ramblas leads directly to Port Vell, a beautiful area on the Mediterranean sea. We walked halfway down the big bridge and sat right on the bridge, like many other people were doing. Leaning back and closing our eyes in that wonderful Spanish sun was immediately relaxing and I could've easily sat there all afternoon. After twenty minutes of just resting, we decided to take a short boat ride on the sea.
The far end of Las Ramblas leads directly to Port Vell, a beautiful area on the Mediterranean sea. We walked halfway down the big bridge and sat right on the bridge, like many other people were doing. Leaning back and closing our eyes in that wonderful Spanish sun was immediately relaxing and I could've easily sat there all afternoon. After twenty minutes of just resting, we decided to take a short boat ride on the sea.
There are two main Las Golondrinas cruises and we opted to take the shorter cruise, which would take us just around the immediate area. With the warm sun still on us, it was a relaxing start to our afternoon. We had hoped we would learn a little about the port of Barcelona on our trip, but there was no commentary so we didn't know very much about the things we passed on our trip.
Our next stop was in the Barri Gotic (Gothic Neighborhood), which is a very old part of Barcelona. It was an easy walk from the port to this area and we enjoyed looking at the old buildings along the way. But, despite having three maps, written directions, and a guidebook with us, we managed to get lost on the way to our next destination - The Museum of the City of Barcelona.
This museum is different from most museums in that it has been built over the original Roman ruins in the city of Barcelona. The main floor of the museum had some interesting exhibits and an informative film telling the story of Barcelona's past, leading you to an elevator that takes you several floors down to walk through the ruins. We both really enjoyed our visit since neither of us had seen anything quite like it before.
Our next stop was in the Barri Gotic (Gothic Neighborhood), which is a very old part of Barcelona. It was an easy walk from the port to this area and we enjoyed looking at the old buildings along the way. But, despite having three maps, written directions, and a guidebook with us, we managed to get lost on the way to our next destination - The Museum of the City of Barcelona.
This museum is different from most museums in that it has been built over the original Roman ruins in the city of Barcelona. The main floor of the museum had some interesting exhibits and an informative film telling the story of Barcelona's past, leading you to an elevator that takes you several floors down to walk through the ruins. We both really enjoyed our visit since neither of us had seen anything quite like it before.
Our final stop for the day would be at the Magic Fountains near Placa Espanya. On weekend evenings in spring (or most nights in summer), the fountains are "choreagraphed" to music and after reading how beautiful it was, we went out of our way to see them. There were many more fountains than I expected, and all were spectacularly beautiful. Our only disappointment was that the shows were not held late enough (as they are in the summer) for them to be lit up with colors to add to the display.
Since we had not eaten a very big lunch, we were ready for a big dinner after the display ended. We couldn't find any restaurants anywhere near the fountains, so instead of wandering around in search of a restaurant, we chose to hop back on the easy-to-use metro and get off at Placa Catalunya, where we knew there would be restaurants.
We found an assortment of restaurants quickly and spent little time examining menus before picking one - we were too hungry to care! In celebration of the beginning of what was already a great trip, we ordered a pitcher of sangria to split. It ended up being much larger than we expected, which was a great way to start a conversation with a woman seated near us. She was from Cypress and we loved meeting her and sharing stories. Before we knew it, we had spent two hours at dinner and it was time to head back to the hotel.
We found an assortment of restaurants quickly and spent little time examining menus before picking one - we were too hungry to care! In celebration of the beginning of what was already a great trip, we ordered a pitcher of sangria to split. It ended up being much larger than we expected, which was a great way to start a conversation with a woman seated near us. She was from Cypress and we loved meeting her and sharing stories. Before we knew it, we had spent two hours at dinner and it was time to head back to the hotel.
the ultra cozy beds at the barcelona airport renaissance hotel
At 11:30pm, we finally made it back to our room. We were both proud of ourselves for making it through such a long day after our overnight flight, but both of us were ready to crash!
Continue to Day 3: Barcelona