I had a conference to attend in Barcelona and was determined to see as much of the city as I could squeeze in. I had not been to Spain before so I needed to make the most of it. My trip starts at my home airport in Atlanta (and also my second home, it seems).

There was no line or hassle getting through security in the International terminal in Atlanta. The Sky Club in the International concourse is nice and that day was sunny and perfect to sit on their deck.
It didn't hurt that there was a live band and a Rose tasting. I must have dome something right because I timed my walk to the gate perfectly. I walked up and they started boarding--love that. Atlanta to Barcelona, was a direct flight on Delta business class - super comfy, great service and I got a few hours of sleep.

No line at passport control in Barcelona and a quick cab ride and I was at my hotel. Hotel Porta Fira is located across the street from the convention center but looks like it should be in a Dr. Seuss book. It's a round, red tower with a kinda random window pattern. I would not want to stay there for a vacation as it's a little far for sight seeing. But, I was in Barcelona for work and an assistance made our hotel reservations. I have no complaints about the hotel. The room was a goos size and was comfortable, quiet and clean. The staff at the hotel is really excellent. They are quite friendly and attentive.

My room was not ready but they had a room that was a bit of an upgrade that was ready. I decided to do the upgrade so I could have a little more room, unpack and get to Sagrada Familia. I had a ticket for 1pm. By 11am, I was in a taxi headed to a little place called Chill that was about a block from the church. I sat outside and enjoyed a glass of Rose, some Iberico ham and pane con tomate.

When I sat down outside and the waiter came up, I thought he was Spanish because I didn't understand him. Nope, I don't speak Spanish. Turns out, he was just from Liverpool! Quite an accent and I only understood about half of what he said to me but he was friendly. I enjoyed my little lunch and headed over to Sagrada Familia and I will pick up there in the next installment. What I know already is that late October in Barcelona boasts wonderful weather. English is widely spoken and the people in Barcelona are very welcoming and friendly.

How is it with the post independence referendum disruption? Did you observe any demonstrations?

That's coming later.

I saw no problems and did end up seeing the unity demonstrations last Sunday. No problems. Lots of people all over the city during the weekend and draped in Spanish flags or the Catalan flag. I saw no disruptions, no fighting - only peaceful demonstrations.

Late Sunday night I did see a man yelling in front of city hall and there were cameras/reporters around but no violence.

LOL! From Liverpool! I know that accent well...anyone not used to it could struggle....looking forward to the next installment. Love that outdoor space at the Delta International lounge....and their chicken salad!

Glad to see this. I was wondering how your trip went.

Sagrada Familia:

I purchased a ticket online for SF and entry was easy. From the outside this place is so unique and kinda looks like a cross between a Dr Seuss inspired church and a wedding cake or something. I don't know. I can't decide how I feel about it. It's a lot but as you get closer, the detail is impressive and you start to appreciate it.

Once you enter SF, you can't miss the color of the windows. The place is just massive but the stone inside is light and the color in the windows is beautiful. I had picture perfect weather and full sun, which never hurts when viewing windows like this. While Sagrada Familia is huge, it somehow has a lightness to it when you compare it to some of the massive gothic cathedrals of Europe. While the symbols of Christianity are there, it seems to me they are expressed in a more friendly, less oppressive and "scary" than many other cathedrals I have visited. More "God is Love" than "God is easy to anger and be careful or you'll end up in hell."

I love the spiral suitcases in the back corners.

The Passion facade is also quite interesting and done in a modern way.

It's amazing that Sagrada Familia is still not complete but expected to be in the 2020s (I think). You can see it from all sorts of vantage points in Barcelona.

Sagrada Familia is one of the most unique buildings I have ever seen. I am so glad to have visited and was very impressed by it. I usually kinda hate anything that has a modern look or feel. I can't believe the imagination for Gaudi.

I took a cab back to my hotel and did a little work. I decided that I would go on a run from the hotel to the Placa de Espanya for a look around which is about 2 miles from Hotel Porta Fira. I love to know what's in the neighborhood and running is a great way to check it all out. And, again, I had that amazing weather to enjoy.

I passed lots of little bars and a place for bread that smelled amazing. I knew I would be making a visit there at some point (I love bread and carbs)!

I arrived at Placa d'Espanya and found the fountain in the center not running (bummer). The Arena there used to be used for bull fighting (and while I would not go to a bull fight, it's sad that it is a mall). I made my way over to the Magic Fountain. Not magic as it was not running! i climbed on up to the Palau Nacional. It's a beautiful building and there is all the typical trinket guys around. I looked at some of the views but knew I had to also use my legs to get back. As I turned to head back, the magic fountain was running (apparently it comes on at the start of the hour and it was a few minutes past four). It is beautiful and there was a group getting wedding pictures made there.

I cleaned up and met my boss for a quick dinner near the hotel (not my fav choice but he was exhausted). We did have some awesome octopus at a nearby place. It was tender, sliced horizontally and served on top of potato slices with some olive oil. I got cod for dinner and that was good. We stayed up until 11pm, I think and headed back.

So far, so good and loving Barcelona.

Glad you liked SF. Light is a great way to describe it. I also felt like the line was blurred between indoors and outdoors; so much nature inside. Funny, I kept saying I felt like Alice in Wonderland, but Dr. Seuss covers it too!

Thanks for posting - looking forward to more.

Friday was a work day. We had to be at a meeting at 8am and I was in a deep sleep when the alarm went off. There were demonstrations not far from the hotel where the meeting took place but we were not impacted by them at all. We didn't get back to our hotel until 7pm and had a call to be on, so dinner was another restaurant in the area of our hotel. The food was good but not that memorable (although we did stay until they closed for the night).

Saturday would be a free day to see some things and we had dinner reservations with a client at Baritimo (located at Maremagnum, on the water/port).

I hate to admit that I slept until 11:15am but I did. I wish I hadn't, but I did. I rarely sleep past 7am at home but I think because we had to get going so early the day before, I carried over some sleep debt from the flight. I just decided to so for a run back to the Spanish Plaza to get out. I stopped by the bakery that I had sniffed out the day before for lunch and got a croissant thing that had chorizo inside and a little cheese on the outside. It was quite good!

We had a meeting at our hotel that night with a potential partner so I just didn't have time to go too far. The meeting went well and I continue to really be impressed with the staff at the hotel bar. very friendly and helpful.

We took a cab from that meeting over to Maremagnum. The nicer restaurants are on the top floor of the buildng and we sat outside. There were several cruise ships in port and again the weather was just perfect.

We got a bottle of Tempranillo and it was terrific. We gad some grilled octopus that was dusted with paprika and also dried brie - both quite good. Our guest had paella and loved it. I had grilled prawns - good but a few were over done. I can't go over how reasonable the food prices are in Barcelona. The dinner for 3 with wine, appetizers, a dessert and a coffee was 136 euros.

Great night and still loving Barcelona!

Tomorrow - I am getting up early to see more of the city!!

Denisea, enjoying your experience in Barcelona. We spent six days there a few years ago, and are possibly returning for a few days in the fall. Will stay tuned for your next installment.

What do you do, if you don't mind me asking? I love the trip report.

I work for a company that develops lab testing to screen for colorectal cancer and also to monitor for recurrence after treatment. There was a Gastroenterology conference in Barcelona.

Nice, denisea!

Sunday morning.

I decided to check out the breakfast in the hotel. That is not as simple as it sounds. When I checked in they asked if I wanted breakfast and I said I didn’t. Didn't want to commit to that every day. They told me if I changed my mind to stop by and they would take care of it. They made it sound like the reason was that they would charge less if I let them know at the desk.

I didn’t really care if breakfast was 2 euros less if I stopped by the front desk and there were several people at the desk and I didn’t want to wait, so I went on the restaurant.

The poor girl at the desk in the restaurant doesn’t handle it well if you aren’t on the list. At first it seemed like it was an issue because I didn’t have a reservation. After much hand wringing, she finally told me to go in but they I would have to sign something for breakfast. No problem.

It was really kind of comical and no one ever checked on me to tell them, you need to bring me a bill, so I can sign for it. Looking back, they don’t really have a mechanism for billing breakfast on demand. They want you to buy in advance, so you are on the list as having already paid. Otherwise, the servers aren’t really looking after bringing a bill. This continued to be a comical theme, even if you did stop by the front desk before going to the restaurant. The hotel did have great variety at the breakfast buffet. I was glad I don’t drink coffee as they only have machines for you to make your own and there was always a line in front of them. Anyway…enough breakfast and more Barcelona.

I had the whole day to be a tourist and one of the disadvantages about visiting a city when not vacationing is that you don't do the research you should.

OK - so I am thinking I will hop on the Metro at Europa Fira and head in to La Boqueria. And, I did, after a shaky start on the metro and definitely not taking the easiest train route. I really just showed up at the metro station and sorting out the right sequence of trains on the fly wasn't the best option.

But, I made it to to famous market. I noticed a familiar smell in the air and then realized two things:

1. La Boqueria isn't open on Sunday (duh, can't believe I didn't fact check that).
2. That smell was coming from the only thing at the market that was open....a Dunkin Donuts. Really? Jeez. So, not OK.

Well, plan B. I didn't actually have a plan B but just started walking around and found a sign that pointed to the Cathedral and off I went.

The market might not be open on Sunday but it's a great time to walk around with little traffic. I made my way to the cathedral and while a service was taking place inside, I enjoyed listening a woman singing Opera outside the church. I made my way around the corner and into the cloister which was ancient and had a courtyard inside. there was actually a fountain with geese swimming in it.

Back outside, a gentlemen set up a harp and was playing so I was treated to lots of free music.

I walked on and scouted tapas bars and wandered past city hall and St Catherine's market (also closed). Lots of stuff in the area to come back to later. As I wandered, I noticed a helicopter overhead and somehow as I looked down the street...there was one of the large protest gatherings that my US State department warning had urged me to stay away from. This was a unity rally and it was peaceful (but I did resist the urge to get a closer look just in case).

I found a little spot to get an Iberico ham sandwich on a baguette (and a bathroom).

A quick ride up the metro line to Lesseps station and then up hill and up more hills to Parc Guell.

The timed entry was about 30 minutes away so I wandered and watched all the trinket guys pack up their souvenirs just ahead of the cops coming by.

The views from Parc Guell are incredible and if you don’t/can’t climb stairs, Barcelona is great about having escalators. I took the stairs as I ate a number of mini croissants and bread at breakfast.

This was a bit a crowded in the monuments area but it is very unique. I believe this was supposed to be some kind of housing area that didn’t really work. The tile work was really wonderful and the Austrian garden and the huge tiled serpentine bench are also worth the climb. It was sunny and a bit hot but great for being outside. Parc Guell is unique and I can’t imagine anything like it anywhere else. That’s two Gaudi designs and two UNESCO world heritage sites checked off my list.

It was until I was leaving Barcelona that I realized that I had really meant to go to Casa Batllo but sh*^ happens! I mentioned to someone earlier in the week that I was going to a Gaudi something or another and they said “Parc Guell?” and from then on, that was in my head!

I covered a lot of ground. Went back to the hotel, cleaned up and met by boss for a glass of wine. He was not sleeping well and travels a lot (lives in LA, travels to Sydney and NJ a lot…no wonder he can’t sleep). He was planning to stay in the hotel for dinner. Uh, no way. I went on my own to dinner. I had to get out and see as much as I could and in almost any city, I don’t want dinner in the hotel.

I decided to head to La Alcoba Azul (I think in the Gothic Quarter).. I got the only seat at the bar (sometimes being alone works out well). A glass of Rose, some blue cheese, olives and pan con tomate was I needed (and more than I could finish). The bartender was very friendly, the food was excellent and I thought very reasonably priced. My cab ride back was like being in the car with a crazy person but I made it back in one piece and I had a wonderful day.

Sounded like a great touristy day, even with the breakfast debacle. How strange.

I do the same thing on work trips, i.e. don't research. It typically doesn't matter, but when it does, I have been known to kick myself.

Enjoying the report!

Great report, Denisea. I have a feeling you'll be returning to Barcelona in a not too distant future.

I am having trouble posting to Fodors...hope to finish the report soon

Monday

This was just a full work day. Some story with the breakfast chick at the hotel but I got fed.

I’ll fast forward past the conference and all the related stuff.

I found a place for dinner that would be closer to our hotel than but would get us away from the hotel and conference center area.

L’Amfora is a small place that focuses on seafood. We did not book a table and had to turn on the charm to get a table. Amazingly, the restaurant owner or manager looks like one of the members of Il Volo.

We had good service and the squid was fantastic and they were nice enough to serve us a half portion as an appetizer. I wanted paella but they only prepare it for two, so I got a Catalan style cod served with cannellini beans. It was quite good as was the Crèma Catalan. We enjoyed the meal. The Tempranillo was also excellent. The staff here was very friendly and called us a cab to get us back to the hotel.

The next day, I had plans to go to La Bocqueria. I felt like I had to go there while in Barcelona. I set my alarm to make it to market.

Tuesday – Halloween

I did a better job of negotiating the metro and got to La Boqueria by 10am….and swept right past Dunkin Donuts. I decided to do several laps before commiting to breakfast. I wanted to want seafood and wine but it was too early for that in my book. I do love all the counters serving up great food.. I also love any place that sells salami, sausage, Iberico ham, etc…in paper cones. All the juice stalls looked good and the pineapple coconut juice I got did not disappoint!

I ended up getting a version of pain au chocolat that was covered in seeds. The chocolat was more fluid than a pain au chocolat. It was quite good but Paris patisseries are safe.

Lots of vendors wore Halloween costumes and makeup (I had forgotten until then that it was Halloween). It is a nice market and I would love to go at lunch time to sample more but I still had some work to do.

I bought a few small things to take home and headed back to clean up and get to “work”.

Fast forward to being late for dinner. I made a reservation at 7 Portes because I wanted paella before I left Barcelona. We had a number of things to do after the conference and everything took longer than it should have. And, traffic was bad, And, it was further away than I thought. We finally got here and it was all decorated with squash and pumpkins. It is large and while every table was not occupied we got chastised for being late.
I was completely entertained by a teenaged girl with her family who was not having it! Not happy to be there and determined to have a terrible time. Her brother caught my eye and I could tell he knew I knew that she would have preferred to have been anywhere but there!

Well, a little Rose was in order and the BEST tiny little olives. So good! I finally got my paella (meat and vegetable) and it was excellent! I had flan for dessert and it was good but I couldn’t finish it. It was also fun to read all the plaques throughout the restaurant where celebrity guests have been seated (sadly I was right by Woody Allen).

Tomorrow is the trip home and I haven’t packed a thing!

Denisea, glad you were able to work in some enjoyment of Barcelona along with your business agenda. I'm taking note of a couple of your restaurant evals. We're working on our travel itinerary for Northern Spain, ending with a few days in Barcelona. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Thanks tomarkot..best of luck for your trip. Barcelona was lovely!

The trip home was uneventful. Barcelona’s airport is easy to negotiate and once I checked my bag (Air France/KLM counter—not helpful but it is what it is), i found the security line for Business class and it was a breeze.

I got some fresh OJ and a croissant before boarding for Amsterdam. KLM business class to AMS was OK but not great . It’s weird that the seating is just regular coach layout and they just put something in the middle seat and no one is seated there. So there is no one next to you but there is no additional room. Worse was my seat mate crawled over me 4 times without giving me a chance to get uo so she wouldn’t be crawling on me. I finally told her I would prefer to step out (but honestly woukd have preferred that she not keep going in and out to visit someone on the plane).

The passport control was automated and took less than 3 minutes to get through. Thumbs up! AMS is awesome, clean, has great shopping and the KLM club was huge and quite nice. I bought some stroopwaffles, speculoos butter and a Taittinger 2 pack of Champagne (great price).

We boarded on time. It was odd that many rows in business ckass were empty. I guess KLM doesn’t upgrade people. I just wish they had asigned seats so you would have the row to yourself since so many seats were empty. KLM biz class is nice (get rid of the cloth seats) but Delta One is much nicer. Service was lacking late into the flight and they did not bring water often enough. They were stingy with bottled water!! They actually ran out of sparkling water which is odd. They do give these little Amsterdam house figurines as you are landing. They are numbered and actually are filled with gin. It’s a nice touch. It was a good flight. Someone at the top of the gate in Atlanta forgot to unlock the door so we were all stuck in the jetway for quite awhile. Global entry was a breeze as usual and worth the money! I was through in just a few minutes.

It was a great trip. The weather was great and it wasn’t crowded so it’s a great time to visit Barcelona and I hope to go back.