Barcelona, Spain (need suggestions: favorite things to do/see)

Originally Posted by SailinSand

Ended up not going on he bus. Slept until nearly noon. Had an awesome breakfast at the hotel...Attachment 359596

Then we decided to walk from the hotel to the park Gueli. Attachment 359597
View of the water from the park

Attachment 359599
At the park

Then we walked around some more. Found a good spot to have a few glasses of wine before dinner (at 9pm) at a tapas place. We've been using TripAdisor to find good spots, and all have been a hit so far. Dinner was at ceveceria catalon...awesome!!! Then after dinner we wandered the streets some more. So much fun to walk around and people watch!!

Oh. Re the language. I speak little if any decent Spanish. My husband speaks a tiny bit. None of mastered and Cantalonian. No issues yet!!

I love that park! So cool. And yeah, I think you're OK speaking Spanish as an American. They just pick on the people from other parts of Spain - who they sometimes resent. So they'll ask something in Spanish and will get a response in Catalon. Totally ticked my Spanish friend off, but I thoughtt it was kind of funny.

When I was younger (like 15 years ago) and used to partake in the nightlife there, I learned people don't go out until REALLY late. Dinner at 10 or 11, then the bars are empty until about midnight or 1 after people finish dinner, and then the bars empty when everyone heads to the clubs at 2 or 3 until dawn! It's crazy. Can't do that anymore. ha! No wonder they all need a siesta in the afternoon.

Originally Posted by SailinSand

...just for you! @park Gueli...

Originally Posted by mdsbuc

Sandy, Sounds like your body clock is now adjusted for those post 8pm dinners. Tell me how the two story bus tour works out. Is it the type where you can get on and off, stay at a stop as long as you like and then pick up the next available? Also, do you know any Spanish, and if so, does it work at all in the Catalonian region? Enjoy your stay!

The plan for today is to hit up the bus. Yeah, you can get on/off and there are three lines that take you all over! (So it appears at least ).
We were going to walk to mount juit but somebody got blisters after walking 10miles+ yesterday. (So the bus it is) I generally don't care for any form of transportation other than walking, bicycle, or if I'm driving. Taking Dramamine now...hopefully that will do the trick!

Originally Posted by mdsbuc

Sandy, Sounds like your body clock is now adjusted for those post 8pm dinners. Tell me how the two story bus tour works out. Is it the type where you can get on and off, stay at a stop as long as you like and then pick up the next available? Also, do you know any Spanish, and if so, does it work at all in the Catalonian region? Enjoy your stay!

The bus is a must. Was a great way to see everything and get on/off.


(Sorry upside down)


This may look familiar!


Had some of the best seak tartar here. Also, amazing gin n tonic!

Ummmm. The restaurant we went to for dinner was amazing too. Saved the card for you. Will have to compile the info later, don't know it off hand. ... But worth a visit!

Another bar we ended up going to two times now, schillings. Great drinks. Off of las ramblas. (A few streets back, worth looking up )



It's beautiful here!

Wow, Sagrada Familia is a trip!

Originally Posted by MatWiz

Local food and local wine. Walk to the center of the city and ask around who serves the best paella (pronounced pa-eh-ah).
...

And be prepared that their "schedule" is not in any way similar to our "schedule".

Great choice of a country and city, BTW. Say hi to my ancestors in Barcelona.

Originally Posted by SailinSand

So far so good. I'm normally up at 5-6am. My body is so confused. Oh, and eat dinner at 430-6pm and bed 8 ish. The restaurants are open until 4sih for lunch. Then they close until 8 for dinner!!!! Good grief. That's when I like to go to bed. We'll see if we we can nap and make their dinner time. Definitely a couple restaurants we want to go to (probably will be for lunch- lol).

None of the places recommended to us for dinner were open....more touristy places along las ramblas were open though. We decided to just go back to the hotel and have dinner there- good choice. It wasn't outrageously expensive, great service, food was good too!

Today....we somehow managed to sleep until 11am. Ordering some breakfast now. Probably go on the two story tourist bus....I think it's a good way to get our bearings straight and get a better idea of what we want to do/see!

Now you see what I meant? lol

Originally Posted by MatWiz

Now you see what I meant? lol

Yes. You ate right. Their schedule soooo does not work w our lifestyle. ....but since we're on vacation, we've pretty much been trying to stick to their schedule! We even had espresso at 9p last night in an (unsuccessful) effort to stay up past 0100! I start ironman training when we get back, so this is like my "last hurrah". Lol.

I do love how they eat. Smaller portions, more frequent. Lots of "good" fats...great meat, olive oil sparingly, avocado, etc. not a lot of sauces or extra crap in the food. And omg decent wine is wayyyy less expensive here!

Last day...boo.

Originally Posted by GarySL

Rock Pigeon is what they're called. And any gull in the Mediterranean would be new so that would be special for sure! #2 on your trip list.

This pigeon was lucky enough to be on montjuiic. I heard and saw quite a few birds up there, but couldn't get any pictures. A for effort!

The view from montjuiic that we heard so much about...




Heading back down...view from museum.

Of museum


Great Honeymoon. Glad to be home. ...Get the puppies back today. Our doggie daycare texted us pictures while we were gone!


We didn't make it to the Picasso museum. Walked by it- was closed.
Some good food. I tried to save the cards from every place we liked. The two story bus tour was worth its weight in gold. It was a great way to see the down, get some history- walk around and get on-off as you please. If you don't have the time to get from point a-b-c. This is the way to do it.
The place we stayed was really nice and quiet, far enough removed that we could sleep w windows open and still sleep! ...and right at the end of las ramblas, it was really easy to walk to every place we wanted to check out (walked to montjuiic and to the park guell)

Thanks for all your two cents- it helped.

Originally Posted by SailinSand

The bus is a must. Was a great way to see everything and get on/off.

Attachment 359760
(Sorry upside down)

Attachment 359761
This may look familiar!

Attachment 359762
Had some of the best seak tartar here. Also, amazing gin n tonic!

Ummmm. The restaurant we went to for dinner was amazing too. Saved the card for you. Will have to compile the info later, don't know it off hand. ... But worth a visit!

Another bar we ended up going to two times now, schillings. Great drinks. Off of las ramblas. (A few streets back, worth looking up )



It's beautiful here!
Attachment 359763

Cool! Great info!

Great trip report (was this a Bimmerfest first, on-site honeymoon vacation reporting?)!

A for effort for sure & welcome home (you clearly were missed).