I don't remember noticing any bugs at all, lilaki. I would imagine there were some, but they definitely weren't a problem. However, in most places the time of year makes a difference. So you may encounter different things than we did.

Since it's a real concern for you, you might want to start a thread asking about bugs in Barcelona in September.

Your report brings back a lot of memories. We also rented a flat from Habitat...they give you the instructions of how to work everything when you're incredibly tired from the journey. We had trouble with the "universal" instrutions for the oven and the washing machine. We actually called for help with the TV because the instructions we in neither English nor Spanish.

Another fan of Taller de Tapas. I also loved every olive I ate there.

Hi, missypie

I don't think she gave us instructions for the oven. But you may be right, I may have just been too tired to notice! All the instruction booklets I found in the drawer seemed to be in Spanish. And it doesn't help that I'm illiterate in anything other than fahrenheit!

If I'd planned to do any serious cooking I might have called them. But, for the most part, we stuck with ham, sliced chorizo, cheese, etc. I loved having the kitchen and not having to go out when we didn't feel like it. But as for fixing serious meals, well, there's a point beyond which it's just way more work than I want to do on a vacation!

I could sure go for a Taller de Tapas lunch right about now!

And we also didn't have enough TP for the week. We quickly grabbed what we thought was a multi-pack at the nearby convenience store - only it turned out to be paper towels. Nothing like international travel to make one feel like an idio!

It's funny to stare at the "universal" symbols on appliances and try to figure out what the heck they mean.

Tapas, olives, cava sangria...Barcelona is the city to which I most want to return to just "hang out."

Great report so far! I remember you posting about going to Barcelona after the wedding. I've been enjoying your Ireland wedding report and waiting for the Barcelona part because I'm pretty sure our Spring 2010 trip will be to Barcelona. We too plan to get an apartment for the first time! Glad to hear your feedback on the El Born/ Barri Gotic area -- this is where I'd like to stay and I too was getting a bit nervous about the crime.

Oh wow! Just looked at your son's fabulous photos. I love his photos of Casa Batllo and Sagrada Familia. Yep, I'm definitely going to BCN in 2010. Must see with my own eyes!

Thanks, bniemand! I hope I'm giving you some info that'll be of use to you. If you do decide on Barcelona, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! And if you have any questions you think I might be able to answer, fire away!

We were posting at the same time. Thanks for the compliment on the photos. I'll pass it along!

<b>June 11th: Bus Turistic's Red Route</b>

We might have gotten started a little earlier that morning. But not much!

Again we walked to the Placa de Catalunya and this time caught the red bus on the other side of the plaza. Though, as you can see from the pictures, we had some beautiful weather that day, it wasn't as consistently beautiful as the day before had been. In fact, it was fairly overcast when we started the tour and I think that had a little bit of an impact on my impressions of it. I enjoyed the red tour. And we passed some very interesting areas. But I just wasn't as impressed with it as I had been with the blue route.

This time, instead of staying on for the entire circuit, we decided we'd ride it (past Sagrada Familia) until the Camp Nou stop, get out there and do the tour. As I mentioned earlier, this was a high priority for our son. Not so much for DH and I. But, hey, traveling with family is all about compromises, right?

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/engli...historica.html

And I did enjoy the tour more than I expected. It's self-guided so you can go at your own pace. They have audio guides, but we saw people paying (though it could have been a deposit) and given how expensive the tour is, we didn't feel like spending more. Again we used coupons from Bus Turistic which gave us a 5% discount. They didn't offer student prices. We paid &euro;48,60 for the three of us.

It was kind of fun knowing we were there so soon after they'd won the EUFA Champions League. And interesting to watch the U2 concert stage being built. But I have to admit to boredom by the time we got to the store. Sports apparel places aren't my favorite places to spend time under any circumstances! And this one was quite big, with enough merchandise to keep our son occupied for quite a while!

Because of the timing, we decided to eat lunch there. They had an outdoor stand that sold, I think, the same type of food they serve in the stadium. It was quite pleasant. By that time, the weather had improved and it was nice and sunny (we were at a table with an umbrella). And the food was very good for what it was, much better than the food at Wrigley Field IMHO! We each had fries and a sandwich on a baguette. Mine was pork and cheese, DH had sausage and DS had ham and cheese. Mine didn't have a lot of meat on it. But what was there was very good lean pork tenderloin. The cheese was good and the bread was fantastic! We each had a drink; Coke or water. I paid cash and apparently didn't get a receipt so I don't know how much it was. But I remember thinking it was less expensive than most sports stadium food in the US.

We got back on the bus, took it through the rest of the circuit and then stayed on until we got back to Sagrada Familia. There were Bus Turistic coupons for a Euro off but I somehow managed to miss them. We did, however, get the student rate for DS. I think the admission was &euro;22 for DH and me and &euro9 for DS. And I kind of think they didn't take credit cards, though I don't remember for sure.

http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/

We walked around the outside for a while taking pictures. It was very crowded! We often had to wait a while to get a clear shot. When we decided we were ready to go in, the first door we entered led to a very long line! There was a sign saying how long the wait was, we can't remember for sure but think it was around 90 minutes! We were very disheartened at first, thinking this was the only way to the inside. And then relieved when we learned it was the line for the elevator to the top of the cathedral. I'm sure it would have been an amazing view! But there was no way we were going to wait that long.

After walking around the outside a bit and going through an exhibit on the lower level, we finally figured out how to get in to the interior. I'd of course seen the scaffolding and workmen on the exterior of the church. But I was amazed to see how much construction is still going on inside. It's nowhere near usable yet! But when you look at all the incredible detail, inside and out, it's no wonder it's taking so long to build
this amazing cathedral.

We spent quite a while there, I'm guessing a couple of hours, including the time we spent in the gift shop. It was after 5:00 by the time we left. We were all tired and kept going back and forth about what we wanted to do next. But, pretty much as we were getting back on the bus, DH and DS decided they'd like to go to Park Guell. The last bus leaves Placa de Catalunya around 8:00 or 8:30 so they knew we had time. But I just didn't have the energy! We'd passed the stop for Park Guell that morning and knew that it was a bit of a walk, up hill, to the park itself. So we decided they'd get off at the Park Guell stop and I'd do the rest of the circuit, get off at the Placa de Catalunya and walk back to the apartment. I'm very glad they went because they enjoyed it <i>so</i> much. But I think I made the right decision for myself. Besides being tired, I'd twisted my knee while we were in Ireland and all of the walking we'd been doing was definitely aggravating it.

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...ark-guell.html

Had we not had so much food in the fridge that we needed to eat, we might have gone out that evening. That's the down side of having a fridge! But it really wasn't that big of a deal. As I said, we <i>were</i> all tired. So we had another late, light meal and enjoyed our last evening of sitting on the terrace sipping wine.

Glad to hear you enjoyed Barcelona. Apartments are definitely the way to go, although you could have done a bit better location wise. And given the price of taxis, it's usually worth taking one from the airport to your place. Yes, Taller de Tapas is a great introduction to the food. We like the calamari, too. If you like to swim, the Olympic pools on Montjuic are public, for euro9 per day. And I agree, the washing machine and oven are mystifying at first! But that's part of the enjoyment when adapting to another culture.

"although you could have done a bit better location wise."

Actually, we were very happy with the location!

Yep, we definitely enjoyed Barcelona!

Hi CAPH52 -- have enjoyed reading your TR. We are looking at apts in Barcelona and the Sots 3 is one being recommended. From what u have written about it in this TR, it sounds like u were very pleased with your choice...both the apt itself and the location. Is there anything else u could share about it or is what u've written pretty much cover it? thanks!

I was going to get to this in my final notes but the only other negative thing I have to say, yestravel, is that there were a few, mostly very minor, things in the apartment that needed to be fixed.

The metal door/grate that was supposed to come down over the door to the terrace was stuck and the lock on that door didn't work. But it wasn't a huge deal because we were so high up. While it certainly wouldn't have been impossible for someone to climb over the terrace from the floor above and break in, it seemed pretty unlikely. And that's something that may well have been fixed by now.

The handle on the sliding/pocket door between the bedroom and kitchen/living room area came off a couple of times. But was easily popped back in.

The most annoying of the things that needed to be fixed was the handle on the washing machine door. And the woman from Habitat mentioned it to me when she was there. She said they've been trying, so far unsucessfully, to get the owner to take care of it. I didn't have any trouble whatsoever figuring out how to use the washer. The instructions on it were very self explanatory. (And I'd used my daughter's MIL's washer in Ireland so I already knew how slooow European washers are. Why is that?) But there was definitely a trick to opening the door because part of the handle was missing. And it was a pain for me because I did a lot of laundry while we were there. (There hadn't been time to do very much in Ireland and I knew we wouldn't have another opportunty during the 8 days of the trip we had left after Barcelona.)

The upside of the laundry situation was that there's a small folding clothesline attached to the building out on the terrace. It was a godsend! And, because I saw laundry hanging on several nearby terraces, I had no qualms about the esthetics.

As you said, we definitely were pleased with both the apartment and the location and would have no hesitation about renting it again. Offhand, I can't think of anything else to add, but if you have any questions or concerns, I'll be glad to try to answer.

Thanks so much for all the details. I did have a couple other specific questions, but didn't want to disrupt your great TR. I could start a new thread on Apts in BCN?

Thanks for the compliment on my TR, yestravel!

I'll be more than happy to answer any questions that I can. But it might not be a bad idea to start a new thread anyway as it'd catch the attention of the many other Fodorites who've rented apartments in Barcelona, many of them more than once. I know how helpful they were to me when I was trying to decide!

And I know how difficult it is to decide. Good luck,yestravel!

<b>June 12th: Leaving Barcelona</b>

I was really hoping that on that last morning we'd be able to have the hot chocolate and pastry breakfast that I'd read so much about. But it was not to be! We <i>still</i> had food to be eaten. But the real problem was that we just didn't have the time. We had to be out of the apartment by 11:00 and DS and I needed to be on our way to the airport shortly thereafter. We had a 2:40 flight to London.

The same woman who'd met us at the apartment the first morning came back that day with the two people who were to take our place. Unfortunately, they came a bit early and we weren't ready! But it was fine. They knew they were early and didn't mind waiting. And we were out by 11:00.

We decided that trying to call a taxi might be a problem because of our language deficiencies. So we just walked to Placa de Catalunya. DH came along and pulled my luggage so all I had to deal with was my huge "purse" that I was going to carry on. It was another beautiful sunny morning so it wasn't a bad walk. And we had no problems catching the bus back to the airport.

However, at the airport, I had the misfortune of dealing with the only rude person we encountered in Barcelona. And she was working at the information desk! We were having some trouble finding the Easy Jet desk so, though my son didn't want me to, when I noticed the information desk, I went to ask. The two women working were chatting away and clearly resented being interrupted! But one finally turned to me. When I asked my question, she looked very annoyed and responded "terminal B". But I didn't quite catch it so had to ask her to repeat it. At which point she rolled her eyes and said it again, very curtly. Judging by the tone of voice and attitude, I strongly suspect that the comment she then made to her coworker was critical of either tourists or Americans. And she was "representing" the airport! Clearly she was in the wrong line of work!

As I said, she was our only bad experience so, while annoyed, I didn't let her attitude color my perceptions. And, a while later, when we again needed help and I decided to take my chances with another information desk employee, she proved to be very pleasant and helpful.

And thus ended DS's and my time in Barcelona.

Meanwhile, DH still had several hours left. His flight was to leave well into the evening, and in fact, wound up being delayed. So I think it was after midnight by the time he left!

After seeing us on to the bus, he set out to do some solo exploring. As I mentioned in my Ireland report, we'd been able to send some of our luggage back to the US with our daughter and other members of the wedding party, leaving us with only two suitcases. DS and I split the little bit of clothing DH needed for Barcelona into those two bags and each took one, leaving DH "free" for his solo sightseeing in Dublin and again in Barcelona. Well, free except for a messenger bag that he carried on. And which, unfortunately, was quite overstuffed for his afternoon in Barcelona. Unlike his afternoon in Dublin, this time he needed a change of clothes for his flight home the next day. And he'd insisted on taking the souvenirs we'd picked up for his mother, our daughter and SIL, etc.

I thought he'd spend the time checking out some of the museums we'd missed. But instead he just basically wandered! He strolled Las Ramblas, which we hadn't previously gotten to and which he thoroughly enjoyed. I'm so glad I didn't know about it at the time as I would've been very nervous about him and that overstuffed messenger bag! But he had no problems.

Which leads me to mention the crime issue again. As I said early on, we were very cautious. Before we left, DS found two pairs of shorts (one at Kohl's, one at REI) that had a zippered front pocket. He carried his student ID and a credit card and cash for me in that zipped pocket. I didn't carry a purse at all in Barcelona (except for my carry on coming in and leaving). As I mentioned before, thank goodness it was warm enough for shorts because those were the only pants I had with me that have front pockets. And they're big and deep enough for me to have carried my camera (sans case), my reading glasses and some tissues. DS attached his camera case to his belt and DH carried his (small one) around his neck. DH kept his wallet (with basically just his drivers license, two credit cards and a small amount of cash) in a front pocket.

The only incident we had, and it was a very minor one, was when I was walking back to the apartment from Placa de Catalunya the evening before (when DH and DS had stopped at Park Guell). A woman asked me a question in Spanish. I think she asked me what time it was but I don't remember for sure. I just know it was one of the questions I'd seen associated with scams. I ignored her and kept on walking. I was a little nervous knowing that, once I got near our apartment, Sots Tinent Navarro would be pretty deserted. But I checked back as surreptitiously as I could and could see that I wasn't being followed.

Back to DH...He had a tapas lunch that he also thoroughly enjoyed. But I'm going to have to post back with the details on that later. He's at work and I'd really like to get this wrapped up today. All I remember for sure is that he had anchovies that he really liked!

Though he's not usually one for going in to great details (he leaves that to me, obviously!) it was very clear that he <i>really</i> enjoyed those last hours in Barcelona. It's an afternoon that will stay with him for a long time to come, I'm sure.

All three of us carry very fond memories of Barcelona. I don't think there's any doubt that we greatly underestimated how emotionally exhausting the wedding would be. And that clearly had an impact on the trip to Barcelona. Had we done this trip under other circumstances, our list of things we didn't get to might not be so much longer than the list of things we did! But that's okay. It leaves us that much more to look forward to when we return! And, while a trip when we weren't starting out so tired might have been a <i>different</i> trip, I don't think it could possibly have been a <i>better</i> trip than the one we had!

I'm SO enjoying this with all the detail because we had an opportunity to go to Madrid and Barcelona a couple of years ago and just couldn't work it in. [Had already commmited to trip to Costa Rica and there's only so many of these trips we can take each year]. So I'm visiting vicariously via your report - and having such a good time!

I'm glad you're enjoying it, dfr! Maybe it'll inspire you to add Barcelona back on your wish list!

Caph--It sounds like this was the perfect way to unwind from all the wedding festivities I hope you are able to relax a bit now after all that. What a great time you all had though!

Thanks, mms. Can't really "relax" until I've finished the UK trip reports. But, as you know, writing them really is a nice way of reliving the trip. I just hope I can manage to get it done before school starts so I can get to some of the other things I'd hoped to accomplish this summer!