We made it to the airport without too much bother, except we are getting used to being taken for a ride, longer than needs be, by taxi drivers in Europe!!! The driver yesterday morning went the long way round to the train station, and we knew it because we had travelled those roads on the tourist bus. There was a lift and escalators at the station which was great because of our bags - 19 and 15kgs!! We missed the first train to the airport because we weren´t pushy enough, but caught the next one 5 mins later.
While we were waiting for our flight, one Chinese man, sitting beside us, dropped his trou to tuck himself in, and if that wasn´t bad enough, then he took his trousers off completely!! Not nice, and not what you expect. Suddenly the departure board was very interestng to look at!! Then, another one (Chinese one) started hawking and coughing and spitting up his lungs, not just once or twice but at 5 minute intervals for ages!! Yuck yuck!!!!!!!!
To make matters worse, when we got onto the plane, he was sitting just a few seats away, and continued to rid himself of the insides of his lungs. Hannah and I have decided that we really miss the clean air of NZ and all our clothes smell like smoke. Everyone smokes here and the air is very foggy in all restaurants and enclosed places.
We caught a airport bus into Barcelona and then a taxi to get to our hotel. Once again the taxi driver took a very roundabout way to our hotel. Our room is very nice, no tiles coming off the floor, a big bathroom with full size bath , airconditioning and a balcony that looks into La Rambla which is the main tourist avenue, pedestrian street. We wandered round the first afternoon and evening just getting a feel for the place, and stopped at a tapas bar for a drink and a snack. We managed to forgo the snails, which seem to be everywhere in Spain too, for a salad.
While we were sitting at the bar (cheaper than sitting at a table) a guy came in with some roses and starts telling Hannah how lovely she is and what was her name, ah, Hannah what a beautiful name and gives her a rose and one for me too. O f course it cost me $4!!!! Even the compliments cost money in Europe!!!!!!!!!!!!
We were checking out the tourist shops in the evening, which seem to all be run by Indians. One gentleman said to us ¨good morning¨ after trying to get us to look at all sorts of stuff, he said ¨morning is a good time to buy¨ (can´t type with an indian accent) We had to get out of the shop before we burst out laughing. Another Indian in a souvenir shop had a Borat accent, so we had to leave there too.
Today, our second day here, we had breakfast in the hotel and then caught the tourist bus to Sagrada Familia. What an amazing place. We went up one of the towers in the lift and walked up the stairs and across a small bridge thing (enclosed mostly) to the decending stairs and back to the lift. The guy in the lift said there were 10.000 people on the 31st Dec at the church. We are so pleased we didn´t come here then. We have been able to see lots without having to queue. Our next stop was the Gaudi Parc, another masterpiece. Barcelona has a totally different feel to Madrid and is all browns and oranges. The building are amazing and we have tons of photos.
We have just booked train tickets to Valencia for tomorrow and I have found a hotel that Hannah says will have tiles off the floor as there was no photo to look at on the net!! I will let you know. For now, we are off back to the hotel for a rest before this evening.
Hasta luego
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You are lucky that your windows look into La Rambla. Undoubtedly it is one of my favorite areas in the world! La Rambla has that unique quality; the closest you can describe it is- cosmopolitan. Las Ramblas is full of life. It's a place that attracts all different types of people.....there is so much to experience here. I actually before leaving hotels in Barcelona went in my last night on Rambla like saying good bye and see you soon. On the left and right you will find streets, mostly on the left (coming from Placa Catalunya) where the Barri Gothic quarter is located. A lot of food stalls and markets. Food price is ok, you won't go hungry on Rambla, so don't be afraid to stop on the sides. Terraces on the middle of Rambla are though a little expensive, but you pay the luxury to stay and eat on the Rambla.
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