travelgourmet

So my wife has to do some travel for work in August. As part of a longer trip, she will leave Cairo on a Thursday and has to get to Cork by the following Monday. I will be in Switzerland for work while she is in Cairo, will meet her somewhere Thursday, and then will take the following week off and join her in Cork.

The question is what to do with the time between Cairo and Cork. Basically, we are trying to find some place to go that is relatively easy to get to from Cairo and from there on to Cork. Our first thought was Barcelona, as there are nonstops both ways and it is easy to have a good time there. We were eyeing the W and making it a city/beach break. Has anyone stayed at the W that can comment?

Any other ideas? We don't think we want to go back to London,Paris, or Amsterdam, which are the obvious choices logistically. We thought about Athens for a similar beach/city thin, but we've done that before and would prefer Barcelona. We also thought about Istanbul, but nixed it in favor of Barcelona.

The one other outside shot might be Malta. There are no nonstops, but the connections actually line up pretty well, putting us in just after noon on Thursday and allowing us to leave in mid-afternoon on Sunday. I've always had some vague interest in going, but would appreciate any input as to how it rates as a destination.

kja

Other than being able to meet up with one another, what are your interests?

RM67

It's right next to the container port if I remember correctly so depending on where your room is the view may be not all that.

Personally I'd go for a boutique hotel or apartment in an area like the Born for a bit more character.

travelgourmet

<i>Other than being able to meet up with one another, what are your interests?</i>

Food and dining especially. It is a short trip, so mostly looking to relax a bit, have some good food and take in a few sights. Would probably like some place with nice weather. But no real agenda.

<i>It's right next to the container port if I remember correctly so depending on where your room is the view may be not all that.</i>

We are okay with the location - we've been down by it before. We like the fact that it is right on the beach and has a couple of nice pools. Plus, my wife is a Platinum, so we should get a good view and probably an upgrade.

danon

As you probably know, Barcelona does not have a shortage of good restaurants
( and interesting sights.)
The hotel looks like a great place to relax by the pool.

sandralist

Not being a big fan of Barcelona, I would look to see where else planes fly from Cairo that also offer an easy non-stop to onward to Cork.

Cowboy1968

All things considered, Barcelona looks like the best option.
Though some people find the city in August a bit too hot/humid.

Lisbon could be an interesting alternative - though you'd have to stay outside the city if you wanted a hotel on the beach.

Flight connections to Mallorca are excellent from anywhere in Europe - but maybe not from Cairo. While you have a good choice of excellent places to stay and eat along the coast, the setting would probably be more rural / resort / finca-style - unless you stayed in Palma proper. But also there you would lack the urban vibe of Barcelona.

kimhe

Barcelona is perfect for some fabulous food and relaxing.

Have come here more and more often the past ten years, and this March was a three days food adventure plus, plus.

For cutting edge tapas from heaven, Tickets, now ranked #42 on the S.Pellegrino World's best restaurant list. We had a 13 different tapas lunch here with some beers for some 70€ pp. Normally fully booked two months ahead, but call to see if they have any cancelations. http://www.barcelonabook.com/tickets...estaurant.html

Just plain fabulous tapas at Tapeo in El Born. The Coca de Sardina was one of the top three food highlights on our last trip here. http://www.tapeoborn.cat/
Coca de sardina: http://www.tapeoborn.cat/tapas-menu/...ardina-en.html

Had one of the best meals of my life in Xemei on the same trip. The Bigoli en salsa Veneciana is something completely different from anything I've tasted before (from about 1.35 in this video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lvcjtoh0tU

For a genuine Barcelona lunch, go to no fuss La Perla, almost vis a vis Xemei: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Catalonia.html

And of course, 7 Portes from 1836, an institution in town. Tons of history in the walls, and I never leave Barcelona without having had the wonderfool seafood Arroz caldoso here. http://www.7portes.com/angles/index.php
The arroz caldoso: http://www.foodspotting.com/places/1...73-arroz-caldo

W would be excellent, close to the local feel Barceloneta district just inland from the beach. Plenty of cool bars and small restaurants: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...taurants-spain

travelgourmet

<i>All things considered, Barcelona looks like the best option.</i>

Yeah, it does seem like the kind of obvious choice. The only reason I haven't simply settled on it is that we've been there before, so wondering if we should go some place like Malta, where we have never been.

I've also started to toss around the idea of just going to Ireland early as well and maybe heading to Kerry for a long weekend.

kimhe - Thanks for the detailed recommendations. Tickets was actually the first place that came to mind... Unfortunately, they are closed for vacation the last couple of weeks in August. I'll have to look around, because if too many of the restaurants we'd want to go to are closed, it might make Barcelona less attractive.

Christina

oh, DK anything about Malta but I love Barcelona. Haven't been tehre in August, though, but a lot of the better restaurants are closed in August in lots of European countries due to vacation.

The only other obvious cities that I think you can get nonstops from Cairo and to Cork are Madrid and Brussels and Nice, France (other than Paris).

YOu might try Nice since you want to be near a beach.

kimhe

Three "soles" restaurant Dos cielos will be open (Guia Repsol, the Spanish counterpart to the Michelin guide. Arzak, Akelarre, Mugaritz, Martin Berasategui, Celler de Can Roca, Etxebarri etc etc also with this highest award, 37 restaurants in total): http://www.doscielos.com/

Also check out these three soles restaurants in Barcelona:
ABaC: http://www.abacbarcelona.com/en/restaurant
Can Jubany: http://www.canjubany.com/
Via Veneto: http://www.viaveneto.es/

And Cañete will be open, here the chefs go to eat: http://www.barcanete.com/en

And remember Xemei and Tapeo.