Things I learned in Venice & Barcelona
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Things I learned in Venice & Barcelona
Part 1: VENICE
Prior to embarking on a two week Mediterranean cruise, we decided to arrive four days early and see Venice in more detail than we had been able to do on previous trips and stay in Barcelona an additional four days at the end of our cruise. We booked our stay at the Hotel Plaza in Mestre after a long search of hotels in Venice yielded no results that met my criteria. (Easy access from train or bus station, front desk open after 11 pm for our late arrival, moderately priced, free WiFi, and must have a lift) The Plaza ended up being a good choice as it is located directly across from a bus stop and the train station in Mestre. They have a really nice included buffet breakfast and at around $100 per night, it was well within our budget. The Plaza apparently has a lot of English speaking visitors as all the staff spoke English and the signage was all in English. The standard room was quite spacious and actually had giant thick fluffy towels instead of those thin tablecloth like ones you find in some Italian hotels.
We arrived at Marco Polo airport at 10pm, found the ATVO machine and bought two one way tickets to Mestre (€6 each) arriving at the Hotel Plaza around 11pm. Note that the ATVO provides non-stop direct bus service unlike the ACTV which is a local bus with lots of stops. The next morning I went across the street to the train station to see if the multiday travel cards were available for purchase there as we planned to use them for the bus to Venice and also for the vaporetto. I had a few questions about the travel cards so I went to the information desk instead of the ticket machine and to my surprise I found that the vaporettos and some busses were not operating due to a strike. We decided on the train instead and bought two tickets (€1.20/each) to Venice. An 8 minute ride brought us into the Venice train station on a gorgeous day. I had mapped out our itinerary and we used a Garmin GPS to navigate the streets and alleyways. For those not familiar, you will need a GPS or detailed map of Venice to get around as many streets are not signposted. The GPS worked flawlessly unless we were in the narrowest of alleys where we lost the satellite signal. When I would anticipate a lost signal, I would jump ahead for directions and overall it worked very well. It was really nice not to have to stop every hundred yards or so and pull out a map.
Our first stop was the Basilica del Frari (€3.00). A 14th century church that has a wonderful collection of masterpieces including some by Titian & Bellini. The mausoleum of Doge Giovanni Pesaro is a very unusual work that is not to be missed. We next headed south towards Campo Santa Margherita stopping at any churches & museums that we passed along the way. After touring the sites there, we press onwards towards the Galleria Academia to see about making reservations. I had decided against reserving tickets ahead of time on line and boy was I glad. Half the galleries were closed due to the strike. Although tickets were available, we decided to try again another day as we weren’t sure how long the strike would last. We continue our journey to the Santa Maria Della Salute. It’s the large church you can see across the water from San Marco and we’ve always said we wanted to see the inside. It is closed but would be open in a short while. Next door is the Palazzo Grassi, a museum which was not on our list and we weren’t sure we wanted to spend €10 each to see contemporary art since we are not huge fans. Since we were going to have to wait for the Santa Maria Della Salute to open next door, we decided to spend the €10 and it was a wise decision. The art work is interesting, but there is a lounge area in one room where you can relax on sofas listening to soft music. My wife fell asleep there for 45 minutes. She commented afterwards that it was well worth €10 to have clean toilets and a place to rest after walking all morning. Totally reinvigorated, we go next door to the Santa Maria Della Salute which is now open. Extensive repairs are being done to the interior so about 2/3 is roped off. Entry is free, but to see the art in the sacristy there is a €3 fee.
After exiting the Santa Maria Della Salute, I asked a water taxi driver the cost for a trip back to the train station. I knew they were expensive, but the €60 fare was a bit too much for us so we decided to hoof it. It’s about a 30 minute walk if you don’t stop and shop but we were able to turn it into a 90 minute stroll as we stopped and shopped along the way. Our plans were to find a restaurant not far from the train station that I had previously programmed into my GPS but the battery died in my GPS. Without the water busses running, I had used my GPS much longer than anticipated and it finally gave up. I couldn’t remember the street name so we decided to wander along the Lista di Spagna and pick a restaurant at random. After looking at several, we decided on the Bella Venezia. I had the spaghetti with seafood as a first course and a baked fish for a main. Both were excellent. My wife had a salad followed by fish stew which she said was very good. The total with wine was €81 and that included all the extras. I would definitely eat there again.
Back to the train station for a ride to our hotel. The ticket machines are quite easy to use as you can get instructions in English, but I didn’t understand the message it kept giving me that I was putting in too much money. Our ticket total for two was €2.40 and I inserted €2.50. The machine kept giving me the money back until I realized that it was apparently out of change. Once I inserted €2.40, it gave us our ticket. (one ticket for 2 persons) We got on the train and as it began to move I realized that I had not validated the ticket before getting on. That was the longest 8 minute train ride ever. We got off without being checked so no fine this time.
We began our second day with a 12 minute bus ride into Venice (travel cards are valid for land busses as well as water busses). To validate the travel card, you simply wave it in front of a little box on the bus. If you get on a crowded bus from the rear as we did, the accepted protocol seems to be that you pass your tickets to other passengers who will continue the process until your tickets are validated and are returned to you.
Fortunately, water busses are running today and we hop on for a ride to San Marco. The square is fairly busy and water is starting to flow in. There is a huge queue at St. Marks so we decide to stroll west stopping at every church that we passed. I can’t emphasize enough the gems you might find in some of the smaller and less known churches. For example, we tour the Santa Maria del Giglio (€3) and find that it has the only Rembrandt in Venice. When we cross the Academia Bridge there is a gondolier standing there and since we had never taken a ride on any of our previous trips, we decided to inquire about a possible excursion. After reading so many tales on Fodors about tourists being ripped off, I knew to negotiate before the trip precisely what we would get for our money. The gondolier was an older fellow and was very clear about his prices that ranged from €80 - €120. He showed me a map with the exact routes that he used. We opted for one that would take us from the Academia Bridge to San Marco, then using back canals, head north to the Rialto and then a return to the Academia along the Grand Canal. The trip took an hour and we got a full narration along the way. The gondolier seemed to know something interesting about nearly every building in Venice. I felt that we definitely got our money’s worth.
We hop on the vaporetto back to Piazza San Marco, tour St. Mark’s and head north towards Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo. We stop for a quick lunch (pizza & pasta) and then we tour the basilica. There were very few visitors and we both agreed that it was more stunning than St. Mark’s. On to the Fondamente Nuove vaporetto stop where we catch the water bus to Murano. It’s a short trip and we spend several hours strolling around this very walkable island. We return to the Fondamente stop and spend the rest of the day wandering the streets of Venice and hopping on and off the vaporetto. We return to the hotel via bus and opt for dinner at Ristorante Orientale, a very good and reasonably priced Asian restaurant just around the corner from our hotel.
The next day it’s off to our cruise ship and with all of our luggage, we opt for a taxi. One advantage of the taxis over the bus or train is that you are taken directly to the luggage drop of point at the ship so there’s no hauling luggage over long distances.
Our final day in Venice ends with our cruise ship sailing around the western side of Venice, by St. Marks and on to open waters. I know that some of you wouldn’t set foot on a cruise ship for any reason, but for the rest I want to say that the view of Venice from the ship was spectacular! For over 30 minutes we moved ever so slowly along the same route that the vaporettos take. Just imagine taking that vaporetto trip, but instead of from water level, you are 12 stories up. I have some of the most beautiful photos of our trip that were taken from this bird’s eye view of Venice. (And yes, I am aware that Venice is severely restricting cruise ships from taking this route in the future.)
I will report separately on the Cruise Forum the 12 day voyage to Barcelona and will continue here with the 4 days we spent in Barcelona after the cruise.
Prior to embarking on a two week Mediterranean cruise, we decided to arrive four days early and see Venice in more detail than we had been able to do on previous trips and stay in Barcelona an additional four days at the end of our cruise. We booked our stay at the Hotel Plaza in Mestre after a long search of hotels in Venice yielded no results that met my criteria. (Easy access from train or bus station, front desk open after 11 pm for our late arrival, moderately priced, free WiFi, and must have a lift) The Plaza ended up being a good choice as it is located directly across from a bus stop and the train station in Mestre. They have a really nice included buffet breakfast and at around $100 per night, it was well within our budget. The Plaza apparently has a lot of English speaking visitors as all the staff spoke English and the signage was all in English. The standard room was quite spacious and actually had giant thick fluffy towels instead of those thin tablecloth like ones you find in some Italian hotels.
We arrived at Marco Polo airport at 10pm, found the ATVO machine and bought two one way tickets to Mestre (€6 each) arriving at the Hotel Plaza around 11pm. Note that the ATVO provides non-stop direct bus service unlike the ACTV which is a local bus with lots of stops. The next morning I went across the street to the train station to see if the multiday travel cards were available for purchase there as we planned to use them for the bus to Venice and also for the vaporetto. I had a few questions about the travel cards so I went to the information desk instead of the ticket machine and to my surprise I found that the vaporettos and some busses were not operating due to a strike. We decided on the train instead and bought two tickets (€1.20/each) to Venice. An 8 minute ride brought us into the Venice train station on a gorgeous day. I had mapped out our itinerary and we used a Garmin GPS to navigate the streets and alleyways. For those not familiar, you will need a GPS or detailed map of Venice to get around as many streets are not signposted. The GPS worked flawlessly unless we were in the narrowest of alleys where we lost the satellite signal. When I would anticipate a lost signal, I would jump ahead for directions and overall it worked very well. It was really nice not to have to stop every hundred yards or so and pull out a map.
Our first stop was the Basilica del Frari (€3.00). A 14th century church that has a wonderful collection of masterpieces including some by Titian & Bellini. The mausoleum of Doge Giovanni Pesaro is a very unusual work that is not to be missed. We next headed south towards Campo Santa Margherita stopping at any churches & museums that we passed along the way. After touring the sites there, we press onwards towards the Galleria Academia to see about making reservations. I had decided against reserving tickets ahead of time on line and boy was I glad. Half the galleries were closed due to the strike. Although tickets were available, we decided to try again another day as we weren’t sure how long the strike would last. We continue our journey to the Santa Maria Della Salute. It’s the large church you can see across the water from San Marco and we’ve always said we wanted to see the inside. It is closed but would be open in a short while. Next door is the Palazzo Grassi, a museum which was not on our list and we weren’t sure we wanted to spend €10 each to see contemporary art since we are not huge fans. Since we were going to have to wait for the Santa Maria Della Salute to open next door, we decided to spend the €10 and it was a wise decision. The art work is interesting, but there is a lounge area in one room where you can relax on sofas listening to soft music. My wife fell asleep there for 45 minutes. She commented afterwards that it was well worth €10 to have clean toilets and a place to rest after walking all morning. Totally reinvigorated, we go next door to the Santa Maria Della Salute which is now open. Extensive repairs are being done to the interior so about 2/3 is roped off. Entry is free, but to see the art in the sacristy there is a €3 fee.
After exiting the Santa Maria Della Salute, I asked a water taxi driver the cost for a trip back to the train station. I knew they were expensive, but the €60 fare was a bit too much for us so we decided to hoof it. It’s about a 30 minute walk if you don’t stop and shop but we were able to turn it into a 90 minute stroll as we stopped and shopped along the way. Our plans were to find a restaurant not far from the train station that I had previously programmed into my GPS but the battery died in my GPS. Without the water busses running, I had used my GPS much longer than anticipated and it finally gave up. I couldn’t remember the street name so we decided to wander along the Lista di Spagna and pick a restaurant at random. After looking at several, we decided on the Bella Venezia. I had the spaghetti with seafood as a first course and a baked fish for a main. Both were excellent. My wife had a salad followed by fish stew which she said was very good. The total with wine was €81 and that included all the extras. I would definitely eat there again.
Back to the train station for a ride to our hotel. The ticket machines are quite easy to use as you can get instructions in English, but I didn’t understand the message it kept giving me that I was putting in too much money. Our ticket total for two was €2.40 and I inserted €2.50. The machine kept giving me the money back until I realized that it was apparently out of change. Once I inserted €2.40, it gave us our ticket. (one ticket for 2 persons) We got on the train and as it began to move I realized that I had not validated the ticket before getting on. That was the longest 8 minute train ride ever. We got off without being checked so no fine this time.
We began our second day with a 12 minute bus ride into Venice (travel cards are valid for land busses as well as water busses). To validate the travel card, you simply wave it in front of a little box on the bus. If you get on a crowded bus from the rear as we did, the accepted protocol seems to be that you pass your tickets to other passengers who will continue the process until your tickets are validated and are returned to you.
Fortunately, water busses are running today and we hop on for a ride to San Marco. The square is fairly busy and water is starting to flow in. There is a huge queue at St. Marks so we decide to stroll west stopping at every church that we passed. I can’t emphasize enough the gems you might find in some of the smaller and less known churches. For example, we tour the Santa Maria del Giglio (€3) and find that it has the only Rembrandt in Venice. When we cross the Academia Bridge there is a gondolier standing there and since we had never taken a ride on any of our previous trips, we decided to inquire about a possible excursion. After reading so many tales on Fodors about tourists being ripped off, I knew to negotiate before the trip precisely what we would get for our money. The gondolier was an older fellow and was very clear about his prices that ranged from €80 - €120. He showed me a map with the exact routes that he used. We opted for one that would take us from the Academia Bridge to San Marco, then using back canals, head north to the Rialto and then a return to the Academia along the Grand Canal. The trip took an hour and we got a full narration along the way. The gondolier seemed to know something interesting about nearly every building in Venice. I felt that we definitely got our money’s worth.
We hop on the vaporetto back to Piazza San Marco, tour St. Mark’s and head north towards Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo. We stop for a quick lunch (pizza & pasta) and then we tour the basilica. There were very few visitors and we both agreed that it was more stunning than St. Mark’s. On to the Fondamente Nuove vaporetto stop where we catch the water bus to Murano. It’s a short trip and we spend several hours strolling around this very walkable island. We return to the Fondamente stop and spend the rest of the day wandering the streets of Venice and hopping on and off the vaporetto. We return to the hotel via bus and opt for dinner at Ristorante Orientale, a very good and reasonably priced Asian restaurant just around the corner from our hotel.
The next day it’s off to our cruise ship and with all of our luggage, we opt for a taxi. One advantage of the taxis over the bus or train is that you are taken directly to the luggage drop of point at the ship so there’s no hauling luggage over long distances.
Our final day in Venice ends with our cruise ship sailing around the western side of Venice, by St. Marks and on to open waters. I know that some of you wouldn’t set foot on a cruise ship for any reason, but for the rest I want to say that the view of Venice from the ship was spectacular! For over 30 minutes we moved ever so slowly along the same route that the vaporettos take. Just imagine taking that vaporetto trip, but instead of from water level, you are 12 stories up. I have some of the most beautiful photos of our trip that were taken from this bird’s eye view of Venice. (And yes, I am aware that Venice is severely restricting cruise ships from taking this route in the future.)
I will report separately on the Cruise Forum the 12 day voyage to Barcelona and will continue here with the 4 days we spent in Barcelona after the cruise.
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Part 2: BARCELONA
The taxi ride from the cruise port to the Hotel Continental Barcelona was €20, €11 of which was added fees. On arrival we are told that there is a problem with our room and we are being transferred to their sister hotel, Continental Palacete, just a few blocks away at Rambla de Catalunya, 30. They provide the taxi transportation to the Continental Palacete and I am thinking that we have been scammed with some bait & switch or overbooking ploy. The 2nd hotel is a 20 room facility in an old palace that looks much nicer that the one we had booked. Our room is not ready and we are invited to the buffet and while relaxing in their dining room, I get on the internet and to my surprise, this 2nd hotel has rooms very similar to the first one. We are shown our room and it is lovely, larger than the one I booked, and even includes a microwave and fridge. We are brought a bottle of champagne with apologies for our inconvenience. The buffet is available 24/7 and includes sodas, beer and wine on tap. Yes, unlimited beer & wine on tap! The employee at the front desk (Peter) is an Englishman who proved to be quite a concierge. Peter helped with all of our questions and concerns and even printed our tickets for Sagrada Familia.
First on our agenda is Parc Güell. We didn’t realize it was a public holiday and it seemed half of Barcelona had the same idea to visit the park. We take the metro to the Lesseps stop and with the assistance of half a dozen escalators on the street; we arrive at an entrance on the western side of the park. I mistakenly thought we could stroll across the park from West to East but I hadn’t figured on the topography and how massive the park is. After touring the park (you could easily spend all day) we return to our hotel and stroll around the Plaça de Catalunya finding a few more of the places on our agenda closed due to the holiday. We eat dinner at Santa Anna which is located at Santa Anna, 8, just off Plaça de Catalunya. My wife had the seafood paella and I had lamb, both of which were good. After a desert of the largest serving of Catalan custard cream I’ve ever seen we return to the hotel for the evening.
On day two we decide to do the hop on hop off bus tour to get an overall view of the city. There are two companies offering similar services for the same price (€26 one day, €34 two days) and both originate at Plaça de Catalunya. We opt for the Barcelona City Tour (red busses) which offers a green route (eastern) and orange route (western) each of which takes about 2 hours. We take the western route first and it stops at all the major attractions on that side of the city. We begin the eastern route around noon as it stops at Sagrada Familia and we have tickets for one of the towers at 2pm. (€17.30 each which includes the tower) We arrive at Sagrada Familia around 1pm and the queue for tickets is enormous, snaking around the corner and disappearing out of sight. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting your tickets ahead of time on line. We walked right in and after touring the facilities, found the particular tower we booked (there are two). Our reserved time for the tower was 2pm but we found no one waiting at 1:30pm and were allowed up. There is an elevator ride up but you must walk the 25 stories down. Spend the extra for the tower visit as it is well worth it. We get back on the hop on bus for the remainder of the eastern route. The last stop on both routes is directly behind our hotel which proves to be quite convenient. After a short respite at our hotel, we get back on the western route bus for the MNAC art museum. Saturday after 3pm is free (surprisingly not crowded) and the museum is a delight especially the sections on gothic art. Views of the city from the front entrance are worthy of a Kodak moment. We return via the bus to the stop near our hotel. It should be noted that the hop on busses in Barcelona run very frequently, unlike those we encountered in Naples & Messina which had waits of up to an hour. We never waited more than 5 minutes and it was not unusual for a second bus to arrive at a stop before the previous one had moved on. For dinner we picked a restaurant that looked quite busy and enjoyed dinner before retiring for the day.
We begin day three with a plan to start at the Museu D'Història De Catalunya and work our way back to the Basilica. It’s the first Sunday of the month so admission to the museum is free. This gem of a museum was one of the best we encountered. The history of Catalunya is presented chronologically over three floors and every exhibit is explained in English. If you want to better understand the repressive Franco years, spend some time in this museum. I have a new understanding of what the people of this area endured during that time. We walk a couple of blocks to the Santa Maria del Mar, a beautiful 14th century church with some interesting stained glass. A few minutes’ walk to the East brings us to the Mercat del Born, an old market that now displays archaeological ruins. We next arrive at the Basilica around noon and there is a small orchestra performing with hundreds of people dancing the Sardana in the square. There are six different circular groups dancing, one of which is composed of young people dressed similarly. After touring the Basilica, we head towards La Rambla passing a market with artists displaying their wares. After purchasing a beautiful painting of La Rambla (€35) we join the droves strolling La Rambla on a Sunday afternoon.
We’re hungry so we take Peter’s recommendation for tapas and go to Cerveseria Catalana at 236 Mallorca, a short walk from our hotel. Peter says it gets very busy in the evenings so we decide to go early. Although it’s very early (4pm), the place is already packed and there is a 30 minute wait for a table. Once seated, we try a salad sampler, tapas sampler, several additional plates and a desert sampler. I can see why this is Peter’s favorite restaurant in Barcelona. We spend the rest of the day wandering around the area north of Plaça de Catalunya, enjoying the fountains and lights of the evening.
Day four begins with our packing everything into four pieces of luggage, distributing weight so that checked items aren’t more than 50 pounds. My trusty luggage scales indicate that we’re near the limit on our two items to be checked at 49.5 pounds each. Following breakfast at the hotel, my wife decides there is still room in her carry on so we head over to El Corte Inglés for a few more souvenirs. We go by the Església Santa Ana, a small church dating to the 12th century that reportedly is the oldest in Barcelona. Despite the published opening hours, we have found it locked every day. Today, the door is open and as we enter, we are met by a man who rudely ushers us out. This one will have to wait for our next trip. We next visit La Boqueria market where I could spend hours. If you have limited time in Barcelona, make sure you visit this market and take in the sights, smells, and sounds of this market that dates to the 13th century.
It’s afternoon already and we decide to take another of Peter’s recommendations for tapas and try Taller Tapas which is just a minutes’ walk from our hotel at Rambla Catalunya, 49. It’s very good, but we still prefer Cerveseria Catalana. We again wander about the streets in this area, exploring streets and shops we have previously missed. We return to our hotel to pick up our luggage that Peter has stored for us and catch a taxi at the stand directly in front of the hotel. Most of the taxis at the stand have a sign in the window that says fare to the airport from central Barcelona is approximately €27. With our 4 pieces of luggage the total with added fees is just €25.
Our trip home is fairly uneventful except for some price gouging by the taxis at Heathrow airport. If you have any questions, you can post here or email me at [email protected].
The taxi ride from the cruise port to the Hotel Continental Barcelona was €20, €11 of which was added fees. On arrival we are told that there is a problem with our room and we are being transferred to their sister hotel, Continental Palacete, just a few blocks away at Rambla de Catalunya, 30. They provide the taxi transportation to the Continental Palacete and I am thinking that we have been scammed with some bait & switch or overbooking ploy. The 2nd hotel is a 20 room facility in an old palace that looks much nicer that the one we had booked. Our room is not ready and we are invited to the buffet and while relaxing in their dining room, I get on the internet and to my surprise, this 2nd hotel has rooms very similar to the first one. We are shown our room and it is lovely, larger than the one I booked, and even includes a microwave and fridge. We are brought a bottle of champagne with apologies for our inconvenience. The buffet is available 24/7 and includes sodas, beer and wine on tap. Yes, unlimited beer & wine on tap! The employee at the front desk (Peter) is an Englishman who proved to be quite a concierge. Peter helped with all of our questions and concerns and even printed our tickets for Sagrada Familia.
First on our agenda is Parc Güell. We didn’t realize it was a public holiday and it seemed half of Barcelona had the same idea to visit the park. We take the metro to the Lesseps stop and with the assistance of half a dozen escalators on the street; we arrive at an entrance on the western side of the park. I mistakenly thought we could stroll across the park from West to East but I hadn’t figured on the topography and how massive the park is. After touring the park (you could easily spend all day) we return to our hotel and stroll around the Plaça de Catalunya finding a few more of the places on our agenda closed due to the holiday. We eat dinner at Santa Anna which is located at Santa Anna, 8, just off Plaça de Catalunya. My wife had the seafood paella and I had lamb, both of which were good. After a desert of the largest serving of Catalan custard cream I’ve ever seen we return to the hotel for the evening.
On day two we decide to do the hop on hop off bus tour to get an overall view of the city. There are two companies offering similar services for the same price (€26 one day, €34 two days) and both originate at Plaça de Catalunya. We opt for the Barcelona City Tour (red busses) which offers a green route (eastern) and orange route (western) each of which takes about 2 hours. We take the western route first and it stops at all the major attractions on that side of the city. We begin the eastern route around noon as it stops at Sagrada Familia and we have tickets for one of the towers at 2pm. (€17.30 each which includes the tower) We arrive at Sagrada Familia around 1pm and the queue for tickets is enormous, snaking around the corner and disappearing out of sight. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting your tickets ahead of time on line. We walked right in and after touring the facilities, found the particular tower we booked (there are two). Our reserved time for the tower was 2pm but we found no one waiting at 1:30pm and were allowed up. There is an elevator ride up but you must walk the 25 stories down. Spend the extra for the tower visit as it is well worth it. We get back on the hop on bus for the remainder of the eastern route. The last stop on both routes is directly behind our hotel which proves to be quite convenient. After a short respite at our hotel, we get back on the western route bus for the MNAC art museum. Saturday after 3pm is free (surprisingly not crowded) and the museum is a delight especially the sections on gothic art. Views of the city from the front entrance are worthy of a Kodak moment. We return via the bus to the stop near our hotel. It should be noted that the hop on busses in Barcelona run very frequently, unlike those we encountered in Naples & Messina which had waits of up to an hour. We never waited more than 5 minutes and it was not unusual for a second bus to arrive at a stop before the previous one had moved on. For dinner we picked a restaurant that looked quite busy and enjoyed dinner before retiring for the day.
We begin day three with a plan to start at the Museu D'Història De Catalunya and work our way back to the Basilica. It’s the first Sunday of the month so admission to the museum is free. This gem of a museum was one of the best we encountered. The history of Catalunya is presented chronologically over three floors and every exhibit is explained in English. If you want to better understand the repressive Franco years, spend some time in this museum. I have a new understanding of what the people of this area endured during that time. We walk a couple of blocks to the Santa Maria del Mar, a beautiful 14th century church with some interesting stained glass. A few minutes’ walk to the East brings us to the Mercat del Born, an old market that now displays archaeological ruins. We next arrive at the Basilica around noon and there is a small orchestra performing with hundreds of people dancing the Sardana in the square. There are six different circular groups dancing, one of which is composed of young people dressed similarly. After touring the Basilica, we head towards La Rambla passing a market with artists displaying their wares. After purchasing a beautiful painting of La Rambla (€35) we join the droves strolling La Rambla on a Sunday afternoon.
We’re hungry so we take Peter’s recommendation for tapas and go to Cerveseria Catalana at 236 Mallorca, a short walk from our hotel. Peter says it gets very busy in the evenings so we decide to go early. Although it’s very early (4pm), the place is already packed and there is a 30 minute wait for a table. Once seated, we try a salad sampler, tapas sampler, several additional plates and a desert sampler. I can see why this is Peter’s favorite restaurant in Barcelona. We spend the rest of the day wandering around the area north of Plaça de Catalunya, enjoying the fountains and lights of the evening.
Day four begins with our packing everything into four pieces of luggage, distributing weight so that checked items aren’t more than 50 pounds. My trusty luggage scales indicate that we’re near the limit on our two items to be checked at 49.5 pounds each. Following breakfast at the hotel, my wife decides there is still room in her carry on so we head over to El Corte Inglés for a few more souvenirs. We go by the Església Santa Ana, a small church dating to the 12th century that reportedly is the oldest in Barcelona. Despite the published opening hours, we have found it locked every day. Today, the door is open and as we enter, we are met by a man who rudely ushers us out. This one will have to wait for our next trip. We next visit La Boqueria market where I could spend hours. If you have limited time in Barcelona, make sure you visit this market and take in the sights, smells, and sounds of this market that dates to the 13th century.
It’s afternoon already and we decide to take another of Peter’s recommendations for tapas and try Taller Tapas which is just a minutes’ walk from our hotel at Rambla Catalunya, 49. It’s very good, but we still prefer Cerveseria Catalana. We again wander about the streets in this area, exploring streets and shops we have previously missed. We return to our hotel to pick up our luggage that Peter has stored for us and catch a taxi at the stand directly in front of the hotel. Most of the taxis at the stand have a sign in the window that says fare to the airport from central Barcelona is approximately €27. With our 4 pieces of luggage the total with added fees is just €25.
Our trip home is fairly uneventful except for some price gouging by the taxis at Heathrow airport. If you have any questions, you can post here or email me at [email protected].
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Thanks for the report. I have not read all yet but your experience with Gondola ride makes me think, if I ever take a gondola ride ( have not done it yet in my about 20 visits), a good (experienced, maybe "old") gondolier would be important who gives lots of comments like a guide, not just row the boat.
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Thank you for sharing your story. I loved Parc Guell and was amazed to see how far La Sagrada Familia had been completed in the 5 years between my visits.
I thought of the same thing about how magnifint the sight of Venice from the top deck of our cruise ship and , while I respect their decision, I'm so glad I got to experience that awsome view!
I thought of the same thing about how magnifint the sight of Venice from the top deck of our cruise ship and , while I respect their decision, I'm so glad I got to experience that awsome view!
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Kappa1,
That was my thinking exactly. An older gondolier must know more history and did we ever get a gem. He narrated almost nonstop. I don’t think I could have gotten a tour guide that was chattier.
That was my thinking exactly. An older gondolier must know more history and did we ever get a gem. He narrated almost nonstop. I don’t think I could have gotten a tour guide that was chattier.
#7
yes, thanks, Jeff. great reporting, and very good ideas for what to do on short stays in both places.
one v small point, in Venice there are no road signs as such, but there are signs to "San Marco", "Rialto", "Ferrovia" etc written on large white letters on the corner of most buildings at or above eye level.
so whilst i agree that a decent map is required for exploring the little "calle" of the city, if you find yourself without, or lost, you can re-orient yourself by following the big signs.
one v small point, in Venice there are no road signs as such, but there are signs to "San Marco", "Rialto", "Ferrovia" etc written on large white letters on the corner of most buildings at or above eye level.
so whilst i agree that a decent map is required for exploring the little "calle" of the city, if you find yourself without, or lost, you can re-orient yourself by following the big signs.
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Thanks for a great report! We are visiting Italy in May but may do a Venice to Barcelona cruise in the future, so I am heading over to read about your cruise.
This may be a silly question but I have assumed the gondola ride is NOT per person. Is that correct? If another couple shares the ride, can the cost be shared?
I am curious about how long the battery life on your Garmin GPS is. We have considered using one but have been warned that the battery life is short when not in the car. (I assume this is the same kind you use for driving.) Are there separate Europe walking maps that you download or are they loaded when you buy the device? (I am embarrassed to say that we don't even have one for our car!)
This may be a silly question but I have assumed the gondola ride is NOT per person. Is that correct? If another couple shares the ride, can the cost be shared?
I am curious about how long the battery life on your Garmin GPS is. We have considered using one but have been warned that the battery life is short when not in the car. (I assume this is the same kind you use for driving.) Are there separate Europe walking maps that you download or are they loaded when you buy the device? (I am embarrassed to say that we don't even have one for our car!)
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The cruise report is almost ready and will be posted within the next 24 hours. I'm still trying to find the names of some of the restaurants where we ate great meals.
DrChris,
I used a Garmin Nuvi 2350 which has a sim slot for adding additional maps. I purchased a sim with European maps that included Venice and it offers the option of walking or driving in each city. (I have used it previously in England) I preloaded the addresses of all the major attractions so that I could quickly get us going without having to type in unfamiliar addresses standing on the street. The battery lasted about 3 hours. Because we wouldn't be driving, I purchased an AC adapter (less than $15) so I could charge it at night. The AC adapter came with US, UK, and European plugs and works with 120V and 240V.
Annhig is absolutely correct. It's hard to get totally lost with the signs to Rialto & San Marco, but the GPS kept us on track when trying to find some of the out of the way places.
DrChris,
I used a Garmin Nuvi 2350 which has a sim slot for adding additional maps. I purchased a sim with European maps that included Venice and it offers the option of walking or driving in each city. (I have used it previously in England) I preloaded the addresses of all the major attractions so that I could quickly get us going without having to type in unfamiliar addresses standing on the street. The battery lasted about 3 hours. Because we wouldn't be driving, I purchased an AC adapter (less than $15) so I could charge it at night. The AC adapter came with US, UK, and European plugs and works with 120V and 240V.
Annhig is absolutely correct. It's hard to get totally lost with the signs to Rialto & San Marco, but the GPS kept us on track when trying to find some of the out of the way places.