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My 1st Trip to Spain - Madrid & Barcelona

My 1st Trip to Spain - Madrid & Barcelona

Old Jun 16th, 2010, 02:18 PM
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OMG, I should have not read this just before dinner! Now the only thing I want to eat are churros!!
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Old Jun 16th, 2010, 02:19 PM
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cruiseluv-
not sure what you mean by the shared service but when I've not reserved in advance sometimes there is no other riders at that time and other times we pick up more riders. It's all the same price either way - just how "lucky" I am. The price for a single person is around 23 euros if I remember correctly.

jerseysusan-
Sorry to jump in on your thread. This is a great trip report! Funny about your daughter's bottom "patting" - one thing I've always thought is how reserved the Spanish men are - they may stare but are usually always courteous. Before I fell in love with Spain I traveled several times to Italy where the bottom "patting" was quite the norm. Churros twice in one day - good for you! You're on vacation.....
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Old Jun 16th, 2010, 09:13 PM
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BELEN LOPEZ WOW. So glad you saw her. What did your kids think? And did you get good seats in the show room?
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Old Jun 17th, 2010, 03:13 AM
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amsdon - my kids had a great time. My daughter took dance lessons for many years so had an interest beforehand because of it. Our seats were near the back. We couldn't move up as there were several large groups there.
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Old Jun 17th, 2010, 04:16 AM
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Day 5

We were up very early as we were leaving for Barcelona. I was extremely proud of myself when I had obtained our Renfe tickets and got the web fare. I had chosen the 720 departure as I wanted to arrive early in Barcelona. This meant that we checked out of the hotel at 6am and headed on foot to the metro which was only a few blocks away. Naturally the streets were deserted. This was the only time in Madrid that I was nervous and concerned for my safety, I guess I was a little spooked. However we quickly got to the metro and made our way downstairs to the platform. There were all escalators in the Sol station so it wasn't bad. The Atocha Renfe station was only a few stops away. We grabbed a bite to eat and waited for our train.

I recommend using Renfe. The train itself was clean and comfortable. We got some sleep and arrived at the Sants station at 945, before our scheduled arrival.We took the metro to Placa Catalunya. As there were less escalators than in the Sol station, it was more of a hassle to deal with our luggage.

We found the Hotel Inglaterra but of course our room wasn't ready as it was so early. We left our luggage there and headed down the Rambla where street performers were out even in the morning. Our first stop was the Mercat de la Baqueria. I immediately located Bar Pinotxo where I was happy to find 3 bar stools. We had some very delicious chick peas, roast chicken and a ham & cheese sandwich.

The market itself is amazing. You hardly know where to look first - seafood, meat, gorgeous produce, candy, spices, fresh eggs, cheese and on and on. The colors were vibrant. Of course there are as many tourists taking pictures as there are actual customers.

From there we headed to the Barri Gotic where we spent the afternoon. Our first stop was the Santa Maria del Pi, which has a beautiful rose window. I am always so impressed with the vaulted ceilings and the accomplishment they represent.

We next saw the nearby Cathedral which my daughter was not allowed to enter because she was wearing a sundress. Unfortunately we hadn't grabbed something for her to cover up with when we left our luggage. The Cathedral is very beautiful. We took the elevator up to the roof, what a view! As the Cathedral is under restoration, it was interesting to see what is being done up close. There are lots of staircases winding round and round on the way down, but they weren't bad to navigate. Back on the ground we enjoyed seeing the famous geese by the cloistery.

Back outside we found my daughter who had spent the time listening to musicians and chatting up her neighbors on the steps. What did we do next? Why shop of course. We wandered around the area and stopped at various stores. My daughter bought a beautiful hand painted wallet, the designs were meant to be reminiscent of Gaudi. I found some more food items to take home at Caelum.

We headed back to the hotel at 3 to officially check in and to nap. Feeling refreshed we walked back down the Rambla. My kids saw a completely naked man walking as nonchalantly as could be. I only saw his back view as I was busy taking a photo at the time.

Dinner was at Irati Taverna Basca where the bar is loaded with platters of Basque style tapas. They were all on little slices of bread. I found it hard to choose as so many off them looked good. My son and I thought they were quite tasty. My daughter the picky eater not so much (I got her a sandwich next door). You have to save the toothpicks holding the tapas together as they count them up at the end and this is how you are charged.

We did a little more wandering and shopping after dinner. The three of us loved the Barri Gotic. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel. Another great day! more to follow...
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Old Jun 17th, 2010, 03:56 PM
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I'm really enjoying reading your report, since I'll be in Spain in early September. I'm taking notes on your report for my trip.
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Old Jun 17th, 2010, 09:26 PM
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Me too great report.

I am sorry you had to sit behind a group. Casa Patas supposedly does not take groups. HA! Now we know. Hope you could still see well as ypu know it's a smaller place. For any other Fosorites reading I highly suggest to mention more than omce when you reserve for dinner and again later that you really prefer a seat near the front. I am glad you enjoyed it though she is a top dancer and you were very lucky to see her there.
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Old Jun 18th, 2010, 04:06 AM
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I'm so glad everyone is enjoying my report.

lyb - after all the reports I read in preparation of my trip and all the questions i asked I'm so pleased that my report could help future travelers.

amsdon - sorry I didn't mean to imply the 3 or 4 large tables of diners were part of an official group. I meant large groups of people - maybe family or friends. Regardly it seemed these tables had better seats, maybe they reserved earlier than I did. We did love the show, even from the back.
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Old Jun 18th, 2010, 06:27 PM
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Day 6

Before I left I had read that there might be a general strike on June 8th so I was glad when that wasn't the case. We had our breakfast at Cuitat Comtel which was a few blocks from our hotel. I had a tasty toasted jamon and cheese sandwich. Of course all my son has to see is jamon on the menu and I know he will order it. My daughter opted for am omelet.

Today was our Gaudi day. We made the short walk over to Casa Batllo. I had preordered tickets, but as we got there when it opened at 9 it turned out to be unnecessary. The 3 of us were super impressed with this amazing building. The shades of blue are beautiful, the wonderful creativity of Gaudi is evident everywhere. I recommend the informative audioguide. I think we all felt Casa Batllo was our favorite stop of the day.

Another short walk brought us to La Pedrera. The rooftop is wild. However the apartment itself was not nearly as interesting to look at after having seen Casa Batllo.

We next walked to Sagrada Familia arriving around noon. I was concerned that the line to buy tickets would be very long at this time but it wasn't too bad. I think we waited no longer than 10 minutes. To us it was well worth going inside. Yes it is a construction site so there is the noise and dust, but we thought there was so much to see inside that it was worth putting up with.

Having heard that the line for the elevator in the back of the building usually had a short line we headed for it. We were not willing to wait the 60 plus minutes to use the elevator by the front facade. It seems that the difference between the 2 lines, aside from the different facades, is that you have to walk down the stairs if you use the back elevator. We waited for 10-15 minutes, not bad at all. The view on top is great. The staircase going down was no problem, as long as you don't mind winding round and round.

We spent more time admiring the exterior, it really is magnificent. There is so much detail that it is hard to take it all in. The sheer scope of this project is just so impressive.

By now we were all starving and walked towards lunch. On the way my daughter couldn't resisted buying a churro filled with dulce de leche. I took a taste, what decadence! We had lunch at Restaurant Sant Joan, which is a Catalan diner. The menu is posted on the wall, of course not in English. The staff only speaks a little English so we did our best to interpret. I had a very tasty gazpacho and chicken croquettes. For dessert I had a yummy coconut flan. Some of the other diners found us to be quite interesting, I guess they don't have too many tourists eating there.

Our next stop was Parc Guell. I had wanted to take a bus there but my son prefers the metro. I had read of the long walk facing you after exiting the metro so I was prepared. Unfortunately it was a muggy afternoon and the hill you walk up at the end was indeed steep. We all loved the park. Once again so imaginative and colorful. The downside was the crowds. We all enjoyed sitting on the famous benches which were unexpectantly comfortable. The only thing we did there which I wouldn't recommend was pay to go into Gaudi's house. While sitting outside we overheard a woman raving about the beauty of it so we decided to go inside, even though it wasn't my original intention. We were not impressed. No matter the park was wonderful. The walk back to the metro was not nearly as bad.

We had an early dinner at Taller de Tapas in the Barri Gotic. You pay an extra 10% to sit outside but it was worth it to us to sit right by the Santa Maria del Pi. They have a big menu which is in English. We ordered several very tasty tapas. By now my daughter ordered the tomato bread wherever she saw it - so good to soak up juices with.

We had ice cream for dessert at Farggi where we had stopped the day before. My daughter seemed to think the guy behind the counter was worth a second visit.

Heading back to the hotel we watched the street performers on La Ramblas. There was a pretty good male flamenco dancer and a man painting clocks. My kids liked hanging out there.

Once again another super day. More to follow...
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Old Jun 18th, 2010, 07:34 PM
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Great job in fitting all the Gaudi sights in one day!
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Old Jun 18th, 2010, 09:39 PM
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Really enjoying your report!
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Old Jun 20th, 2010, 05:17 AM
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yk - I was concerned we were trying to fit in too much in one day but it worked out great. We didn't have to rush through any of the sights.

Day 7

We woke up to a very cloudy day which was bad news as we planned on spending the afternoon on the beach. Of course this was our last full day. Ever hopeful we put on our bathing suits under our clothes and headed out for breakfast at the Boqueria market. At Bar Pinotxo we ate delicious doughnuts and drank fresh fruit juice from one of the vendors who have all sorts of refreshing concoctions.

We headed into the Barri Gotic to see the Santa Maria del Mar. This is another beautiful gothic church. It seemed darker inside but maybe this was because of the weather.

There were several food shops in this area that I wanted to visit. The first one was Tot Fromage. As it started to rain we quickly headed in this direction. Unfortunately it never opened. There was a sign posted on the door but I don't know what it said. Oh well no free cheese samples.

Next on the list was Casa Gispert. This is a wonderful store that sells roasted nuts, coffee, spices, chocolate and lots of gourmet items. The man inside was kind enough to show us the machine used to roast the nuts and gave us a sample. I purchased several items.

By now it was raining hard and my daughter was quite angry as she was really looking foward to going to the beach. It was frustrating knowing this was our last full day.

I had been looking foward to our next stop which was Fromageria de la Seu. This small cheese shop is owned by the indomnitable Katherine who hails from Scotland. We had 3 cheese samplers served with a small glass of wine. While savoring these, Katherine chatted away about her work world. She is some character. At one point my son took a few pictures and she didn't like that one bit saying he should ask her permission first. My son quickly apologized and Katherine continued chatting. I had been anxious to try the cheese ice cream. Not being able to decide between the 3 flavors Katherine gave me a little of each. There was one mild one, one which I think was goat cheese and the last was blue cheese. This was a great treat I highly recommend. My son thought it was weird and my daughter wouldn't try it. After buying some manchego we left the shop.

Our next stop was to please my daughter. My kids had ice cream at Farggi - again. Visiting the cute guy behind the counter was one of her favorite parts of the trip.

We continued to wander around the Barri Gotic somewhat depressed with the weather. At points it poured and then let up just enough to give you hope but the sky remained grey.

We decided to take the metro over to Barcelonetta and go with our original plan of having a seafood lunch at Kaiku. When we emerged from the station it was pouring. We gamely tried to find the restaurant which shouldn't have been too far away. However the rain just got to be too much and I decided we would eat at the first spot that looked appetizing and had local diners in it. That ended up beeing Toc de Mar. We still got to eat outside under the umbrellas facing the port. I had a delicious black rice which was really loaded with seafood. My kids enjoyed their paella and we all loved the tomato bread.

We took the metro back to the Barri Gotic and considered going to the Picasso Museum but the line was tremendous. Instead we did more browsing and shopping.

Eventually we walked down the length of the Rambla. By now the rain had stopped. We saw the statue of Christopher Columbus and Port Veull. We sat down and enjoyed the view. We walked back up the Rambla and watched the street performers.

I let my kids pick a restaurant for dinner and we ended up at an "Italian" place on the Ramblas. We had pizza and pasta and our last sangria of the trip.

I went back to the hotel to do the dreaded packing. Fitting in our purchases is never fun. As we had packed lighter this time space was not as big a problem as in the past. Knowing we had to leave in the morning was sad.

Day 8

I had originally planned on taking the bus to the airport from Placa Catalunya but we decided on a taxi. When we woke up to more rain I was glad of this decision. We quickly got to the airport as our driver went way too fast. Check in was a breeze. Somehow I expected much more security. While waiting at the gate we all got a kick out of a nearby couple who did all kinds of stretching and lots of yoga. You just never know what you will see.

To wrap up I must say that I loved my time in Spain. The sights and food were great. Spending a week with my kids in such a wonderful setting was a blast!
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Old Jun 21st, 2010, 08:42 AM
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jerseysusan

I am planning a trip to Madrid for some friends in early October. Did you book your restaurant meals ahead or did you just show up and if the latter, how long did you have to wait?

Thanks for the info, really enjoyed your trip report!
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Old Jun 21st, 2010, 02:06 PM
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T4TX - so glad you enjoyed my report. One meal I booked in advance was our 1 pm Sunday lunch at Botin. I did it because many restaurants are closed on Sunday. As it turned out there were a lot of tables available. I have no idea if this is typical for Botin. kThe other meal I booked in advance was dinner at Casa Patas as we were staying to see their flamenco show. The restaurant seemed to be full. A reservation was definately not needed for our meals at El Arrozal Restaurante, we didn't wait at all. If your friends prefer to do tapas crawls that is very casual, just show up and order at the bar or at the small tables.

I intentionally picked mostly casual dining situations as I felt my kids would prefef it. I'm sure the fancier restaurants require more planning. Hope this helps.
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Old Jun 21st, 2010, 05:06 PM
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Reading Day 8 got me so hungry. I copied your report into a word document and will be taking it with me, since it seems we like to do the same thing and great ideas for food.

Thank you
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Old Jun 21st, 2010, 05:47 PM
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Thanks agaih for the report!
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Old Jun 22nd, 2010, 07:52 AM
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Yes it does help Jerseysusan, thank you!
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Old Jun 22nd, 2010, 07:43 PM
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jerseysusan, thanks for this report. I will be in Barcelona soon also staying at Inglaterra. Can you tell me about how long it was to walk to each of the Gaudi sites. I am thinking we should go to Sagrada Familia first and then perhaps work our way back. How long did you spend at Sagrada Familia? I see that you enjoyed Casa Batllo more than La Pedrera. I was thinking about only going inside one of these sites since we have limited time in Barcelona. What day did you try to go to the Picasso Museum. I am hoping to do this on Sunday afternoon as it will be the only time we have for this since it is closed on Monday (our only other day in Barcelona).
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Old Jun 23rd, 2010, 04:30 AM
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mimipsm- My kids and I are relatively quick walkers. Casa Batllo is very close to the Inglaterra so it shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes to walk. La Pedrera is about 4 blocks from there, if I'm remembering right. Sagrada Familia took us about 20 minutes to walk from La Pedrara. We were in Sagrada for about an hour, maybe a little longer, although one could stay there much longer. We too were trying to fit in what we could each day. We tried to go to the Picasso Museum on a Wednesday. I am sure the line was so long because of the rain. Have fun planning!
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Old Jun 23rd, 2010, 04:38 AM
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This is a map with sights and indicates walking time
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...elona-map.html
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