View from our hotel rooftop!
Today started early, as we woke up at 4am to watch the last
game of the Thunder-Warriors series. Results were disappointing, so we grumbled
up to the breakfast buffet, grabbed coffee and pastries, and then left the ship
by 7:30 am. We were glad to be back on terra firma, even though we would still
feel as if we were on a moving ship for a few days. We had serious sea legs and
kept bumping into each other (more than usual).
H10 Montcada lobby
We took a cab to our hotel (there was no taxi line at all at
the port, so don’t let the ship scare you into buying a transfer), and had them
store our bags. I fell in love with the hotel at first sight. If you are in
Barcelona, please stay at the H10 Montcada. The location is perfect, the décor
is freaking gorgeous, and the rooftop bar is the ultimate topper.
We saw a Starbucks one block away, so headed there for my
first chai latte in 14 days. We always try to patronize local places, but I
also do like to buy those Starbucks city-specific mugs from places I visit, so
we went to check them out.
Then we met Adam’s friend Julio, who came all the way from
Geneva to see us. Do we have great friends, or what?! He is originally from
Spain, so he would spend the morning with us walking around Barcelona.
I had been to Barcelona once before, and was super excited
to show Adam the Sagrada Familia. I was explaining that it is so different from
traditional gothic cathedrals, and he mentioned he had never been in one of
those either. Neither of us is religious at all, but I told him churches are my
absolute FAVORITE thing in Europe, if only for the grandiosity and the artwork.
So we immediately had to visit a gothic cathedral so he would have a point of
reference. We went to both the Santa Maria Del Mar and the Cathedral of
Barcelona. I hadn’t been in either and gasped when I walked into both. Adam had
the same reaction. It’s not often I see him walk around agape while taking it
all in. Mission accomplished.
We walked through the Gothic Quarter over to the Ramblas and
into the Escriba Patisserie. It is the Laduree of Barcelona, a “luxury bakery”
full of artisan pastries.
Then it was off to La Boqueria Market. I am obsessed
with the color and order of markets in Europe. We sat at a counter and had a
cup of coffee while Adam and Julio caught up.
At the bottom of Ramblas, we found the Christopher Columbus monument and kept asking him silly USA questions like, "where is McDonald's?" "Where is the White House?" He was always correct....
We wound our way back though the Gothic Quarter to our
hotel, stopping every 20 minutes or so at a different patisserie so that Julio
could buy us something to taste. “Try these fresh churros!” “Try this ham and
cheese croissant!” “Try this glazed flat dough pine nut encrusted thing!” He
told us that is how the Spanish do it – dipping into different places as they
walk, grabbing a drink and a small snack.
With enough sustenance to make it back, we checked into the
hotel, put our bags in the room and went up to the roof. WOW. Who needs to
climb the towers of the Sagrada Familia when your hotel offers a rooftop
overlook of the entire city?!
Speaking of the Sagrada Familia, it was time to head there
for our 2pm pre-purchased tickets. We walked all the way there, stopping to
snack along the route. Good thing we bought them online in advance because the
wait was four hours! We said goodbye to Julio, and went inside. This place
never gets old. It is a true architectural masterpiece. Adam was silent the
whole time. I thought something was wrong with him. But he was just in complete
and total awe. He said it was THE most amazing interior of any building he had
ever seen.
We were exhausted, so we took a cab back to the hotel and
rested for a bit. We got a recommendation for dinner in the Santa Caterina
market --the city’s other big market. We sat at a table and tried to order some
food, but we were told the kitchen doesn’t open until 8pm. It was 7:30. We said
we would just have sangria. The owner told us we couldn’t occupy a table if we
were just having drinks, so he picked up our stuff and moved us to the bar. I
still don’t understand why we couldn’t sit at a table in an empty restaurant
whose kitchen wasn’t yet open. But whatever.
We left to eat somewhere else and stumbled upon Lonja de
Tapas, which was EXCELLENT. We had sangria, manchego with quince, salad with
walnuts and parmesan, potato meatballs with garlic sauce, bread rubbed with
tomato and olive oil and a few other amazing tapas.
We went back to the hotel to see the city at night from the
rooftop. And then I could no longer resist – I took a bath. I am a bath person
and after being on a cruise ship for 12 days, I nearly cried tears of joy when I
saw a bathtub. According to my iphone heart app, we had walked 9.89 miles today. My legs needed that bath! It was heaven, just like the rest of Barcelona.
Tomorrow: all Gaudi, all the time.
xoxo
Hi. We've never met; you don't know me, but I really want you to know that you're now my favourite reason to get out of bed in the morning (to read your blog). I've enjoyed every single word of your Equinox blog (which I stumbled onto because good friends were boarding in Barcelona when you exited) and now am taking notes about Barcelona as you continue to entertain anyone who reads this. Thanks, "Madelyn", from a big fan. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
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