For Eric's 28th birthday, it was my duty to surprise him with something fun and unexpected. I am not very good at keeping surprises underwraps, but I was pretty proud of myself for keeping it a surprise until the week before especially since Eric was trying to plan a work trip that left from "secret birthday place."
Eric is usually the planner when we go away for trips, but this time it was my turn to make all the arrangements (including having a plan for when we got there). As it goes, I bought a guide book and tried to map out a plan including recommendations from colleagues, and friends.
We arrived on Saturday afternoon and easily boarded the train into the center of town. The stop turned out to be a bit of a hike from the hotel in the Eiaxample district only because we got lost - because of me. Good start to the trip. Found the hotel - nice 4 star which was a steal - Acevi Villaroel. Dropped our bags and headed off to explore. As it turns out my plan included very little. And soon enough, we reverted back to our old role of Eric leading/navigating and me just enjoying the surroundings.
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| Las Ramblas |
We made our way to Las Ramblas which is a very hectic pedestrian street filled with street performers/human statue art, poultry for sale (yeah, weird), flower stalls, tourist souvenirs and the usual crap. We walked the entire length of it to the end where the Christopher Columbus welcomes one to the Port. The harbor was lovely in the early evening. It was starting to buzz while we were down there especially along Rambla La Mar which is a wooden walkway leading to a separate part of town along the water with restaurants, a mall, and an IMAX.
Deciding that we were both quite hungry (seeing as now it was pushing 9:30), we set off to find one of the recommended restaurants. We stumbled upon it in the El Born region - El Xampanyet. It is a very local, tapas/wine bar with few seated tables and few high tables. It is run by the same family since 1930 and is apparently truly authentic. It was so crowded, and I was cranky so we decided to find someplace else. After what seemed like a good hour, and after browsing many menus, we stumbled into a place called Con K. It was a small, modern looking place that didn't have any tables available until 10:30. So we put our name in and went to a shady-looking bar next door. It was really big, and really empty and the child behind the bar didn't really speak English. But, luckily her mom did and made us a really great liter of Sangria - complete with a Tang like substance. I was desperate for the snacks that they had in a few glass jars behind the bar, but didn't dare ask. I just stared angrily at the couple sitting next to us who were able to ask for them in Spanish.
Around 10:30, we went back to Con K, and ended up having a fabulous meal that was a really great value. Looking back, we both agree that that was by far the best meal we had, and best of all, we just happened upon it! I think the most surprising thing of all was that throughout the meal, about a dozen "parties" were turned away up until 12:30 when we left. People actually were going to sit down for dinner at 12:30!! Eric and I were ready for bed at that point.
Day 2
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| Nice bike |
One of the other parts of the trip that I actually planned ahead for was the Fat Tire Bike Tour. Eric has an obsession with renting bikes when we travel, and each and every time, I have basically said no. Not sure if it is because I am just being a pain or I am scared to get hit by a car. But, on this occasion because it was his birthday and it was an organized tour, I went for it. The tour, we found out, was actually a spinoff of Mike's Bikes which Eric did in Germany back in the summer of 2002. It was a very informative and fun tour that took us to the major sites of the city. Our guide was a laid back "ex Californian" who screamed "surfer." He came to do a 3 month Spanish intensive in the city, but ended up staying because of how much he fell in love with it. Sam, as our guide was called, made the 4 hour trip entertaining as well as educational. We felt like we really got a taste of the history and larger sites . I definitely recommend it to anyone with a short stay in Barcelona who want to see the main attractions and learn a little bit of their background.
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| Sagrada Familia - still under construction |
After the bike tour, we made our way up to the old Olympic park to see the Stadium, the diving and competition pool, and the surrounding structures that were built specifically for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. It seemed a bit more dilapatated than I expected seeing as it was only 16 years prior, but still just like in Munich, it was really cool just being there and envisioning what it was like to be walk through the facilities while the competitions were taking place.
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| 1992 Olympic Diving Venue. |
We had been out wandering for most of the afternoon following the bike tour and I was a bit tired so we walked back to the hotel and rested for a bit. Around 8:30 we set off for dinner. We had asked Sam what his favorite local restaurant was and decided to check it out. He made sure to point out that it was not fancy, pretty cheap but really good food. To me, that meant - greasy spoon and probably really dirty. Turns out, that is exactly what it was. It was proper Spanish food. I had sole which was pretty good and Eric had a pork leg, which was a proper huge leg that you would see at a fun fair and probably what the cavemen ate. It was an experience and one that I more than fine to see end.
After dinner we headed to the Palau National (national palace) to see the Font Màgica (Magic Fountain) which puts on a spectacular light/sound show with the water moving to the music. The music ran the gamet from classical to the Backstreet Boys. The colors and the movement of the water was cool, but the music left something to be desired. Following the water show, Eric wanted to "get one for the road"so we wandered back towards the hotel, taking a detour to see one of Gaudi's most famous buildings on Passeig de Gracia - Casa Batillo. It is an eerie sight when it is illuminated at night. All Gaudi’s favourite materials are used here, such as ceramic tiles (on the roof) and mosaic (on the façade). In search of ice cream, we ended up a a bar/tapas place. Eric got his beer, and I, the Chocolate Prohibito. Basically the densest, chocolatiest creation ever topped with full on whipping cream. Then off to bed with a brick in the stomach.
Day 3
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| Gaudi's work in Parc Guell |
On the 3rd day, we headed out for a run up to Parc Guell. It was pretty much up hill for 2.5 miles from our hotel. This is one of Barcelona's largest urban parks, originally intended to be an English style garden city. Gaudi's name is written all of this park. It reminded me a little bit of Candyland with the random colorful structures that dotted the interior of the park. It had a great view over the city that extended to the sea.
We made our way back to the hotel, checked out and then headed to the market for our last meal. The market was off of Las Ramblas and it was here that we pieced together a nice haphazard lunch with salami, manchego, fresh fruit, and chocolate covered good-ness. We sat on a planter, enjoyed people watching and buying some kleenex from a lovely middle-aged woman for 50 pence.
Fully stuffed, we made our way back to the hotel using the Metro system (which is very easy and very user-friendly), grabbed our bags and went to to the airport. Eric was flying to Dubai that night so he had to catch an earlier flight than originally planned.
If I had to choose, I would say that this was one of my favorite trips so far. I don't really even feel like we scratched the surface with things to see and do in the city. Next time, I would love to try a good authentic tapas restaurant, spend a little more time at the beach, and continue to drink the amazing Sangria.
Happy Birthday Er, you old 28 year old man.
To see the pictures from our trip. Click here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hj0zhyv.2yl7d0cj&x=0&y=-j183kx&localeid=en_US
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