DC → Barcelona

Flying through timezones is weird

Our first flight from Dulles to Amsterdam was actually terrible. They didn't turn off the lights for a long time and it took them forever to serve food. Mary and I both couldn't find a comfortable sleeping position. We couldn't lean back far enough and I was too tall to lay on my tray table.

Once we made it to Amsterdam, we had to rush across the airport and were some of the last people to board the Amsterdam to Barcelona flight.

Mary booked our Amsterdam → Barcelona flight with extra leg room (it was an accident) since that flight was only going to be like 2 hours and our other was much longer. We definitely tried taking advantage by sleeping on that flight. We were partially successful. But at least we were nearly there.

April 6th

We made it!

Once we arrived, we bought sim cards to use data on our phones, exchanged our cash, and picked up our luggage. Too bad our luggage was still in Amsterdam! So said the information person anyway, so we had them send it to our hotel, which they did for free.

We left the airport with just our carry ons, checked in to our hotel, Citadines Rambla Barcelona at La Rambla, 122, Barcelona, took an hour nap, and went out to La Rambla to walk around for a while. We explored La Boqueria and got some snacks there, then came back to pick up our luggage and get ready for an early dinner (we had to leave around 6pm to eat before the game).

Time for Fútbol

FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid at 8:45pm

We met up with Michelle and Mike at 6pm to go eat before the fútbol game. We planned to eat at a nice restaurant close to the fútbol stadium, but couldn't find it, so we ended up at a sandwich place, which seemed to be a part of the stadium grounds. We ate and had some beer and wine there before going in.

We went to the stadium and wouldn't ya know it, some people were sitting in our seats, but we weren't positive, so we ended up calling security to help us and they kicked people out of our seats for us.

The game was AWESOME. Messi scored a one goal with five minutes left, then there was another goal by someone who was definitely not Messi. We also got Barcelona flags for free! They handed them out as we walked in the stadium and after each goal we waved them around. The feeling of being something that's so much bigger than yourself was unreal!

We went out after the game to go back to our neighborhood. Leaving the stadium was packed and riding the metro with all those people was not ideal. We went straight to a bar called Boadara Barcelona that's supposed to be the oldest bar in Spain that was really nice. The bartenders had a fancy way of pouring their specialty drink, which tasted like a delicious, alcoholic throat lozenge.

Since we were still hungry, we went out to a different bar to get some tapas. Turned out it was a complete college bar – there were frat bros everywhere. We tried some appetizers, left to go back to the hotel, and went to sleep.

April 7th

Exploring the City

We got up around 9am and had breakfast at the hotel.

We made our way to Casa Mila, a house that was created by Antoni Gaudi and commissioned by the Mila family. We got in line to buy tickets and waited for about 20 minutes. Eventually, Mary got on her phone and bought tickets for a half hour later. Turns out that we were in line to buy tickets, but they only let people in at set times, so we were waiting for that set time, which was the same time we bought tickets for. We grabbed a snack from a few blocks down, looked at a fancy candy store, and came back for their self guided tour. The roof and attic were really cool looking. I wonder what they kept in the attic before they moved all the museum stuff in there?

We left and took the metro to La Sagrada Familia because it was in a different area of town. We ended up grabbing a sandwich and waters and taking pictures of the outside of the building before going in for our 2:15pm trip up into one of the spires. After that, we went back down and took pictures of the rest of the inside area. It. Was. AMAZING. I actually walked in and couldn't help but murmur, "Holy crap" It was another time where you looked around and felt so small in comparison.

We left and went for a proper lunch – essentially an open faced sandwich with white bull meat that has a particular name in Spanish, of which I obviously can't remember, along with a cheese plate and meat plate.

We left and went back to our room because at that point we were all exhausted. We took another great nap. It was super tough getting back up after an hour long nap. My nap really lasted an extra 20 minutes.

Dinner with a view

We got back up and out the door for dinner at Terraza Martinez. It was at the top of a giant hill. We took the metro to right next to the hill, then planned on walking. After seeing how tall it was, we changed our minds and looked for the funicular (small train that goes sideways up hills andmountains) because we kept seeing signs. Turns out it was closed for maintenance, so we took a taxi instead because nobody wanted to walk. That REALLY stressed me out because I didn't think they would take credit cards and I had NO idea how we would pay this guy. Turns out he took cards, just like everybody else in Europe. We made it to the restaurant and got settled. The meal was really good! It was lobster and some kind of meaty fish that was on top of some sauce with potatoes. After we finished the lobster, they took the dish back and tossed in some poached eggs that really kicked it up a notch. I loved the idea of them taking back our plate and adding something to it. The dessert was also really good. I got a chocolate cane thing with a little bit of ice cream. It was basically like a really thick chocolate. I lovedddd it!

We left and went home in the taxi. We had talked about going out after, but there was no way I was feeling up to it after eating so much, so we went home to sleep.

April 8th

Tapas Tour 🍹🍻 🥩🥓

We met our tapas tour guide on La Rambla, right outside of La Boqueria. She took us inside La Boqueria to sample several different snacks. Our tour guide lived in Barcelona for most of her life, so she knew all the good spots to go to.

Here are some pictures and videos of things we ate:

We ended up going to four different restaurants after La Boqueria, and ended up trying a local version of some vermouth too!

After the tour ended, we walked to the beach and stuck our feet in the water, then headed to a brewery, called Black Lab.

We left the brewery and went back to our hotel. At that point, we were hitting a wall and we wanted to make sure we were ready for our suckling pig dinner later that night!

Suckling pig dinner

We went to El Yantar de La Ribera for dinner. Michelle and I got steak, and Mike and Mary got the pig. While it was really good, the skin was pretty tough, and it may have been overhyped a little. We also all agreed that last night's seafood meal was better.

Dr. Stravinsky: the science bar

After dinner, we went to a science bar called Dr. Stravinsky. The bar was decorated with lots of fun beakers and chemistry stuff. The drinks were good, too.

April 9th

Parc Guell

We got up early to go to Parc Guell today. We had breakfast at the hotel so we could leave around 9:30am.

The trip after the metro ride there was SUPER uphill. Turns out we could have taken a longer path with an incline that was not as steep, as opposed to what we did, which was a short walk but steep incline. By the time we got to park Guell, it was around 10:30 and the tickets had sold out. Too bad we didn't know there were tickets! We ended up walking around the area a little bit, but ultimately left early. We planned to come back Saturday when Michelle and Mike come back from San Sebastian.

Las Bambas

We took the metro back to the harbor where we walked around looking for Las Bambas. We spent some time at a brunch place brunch and cake and got drinks to pass the time until La Bambeta opened up and we got some REAL authentic food there. The people didn't even speak English! We ate bombas and some escargot.

Sky Trolley

We left and went to the lift where we got hoisted up in the air and took a trolley thing through the sky to mount monjiuc where we had the fancy seafood dinner. Too bad it literally took us 1.5 hours to make it through the lift line and get across. We really took it just for the experience, and it was overall just okay because it took forever. We ended up walking down the side of the mountain/hill and went home for a snooze. We had done a lot of moving and had been out in the sun for a while

Tickets

We left for Tickets in a taxi, even though it was pretty close to where we were staying. It was pouring rain, and nobody wanted to mess up their hair 🤷‍♂️.

Tickets is supposed to be one of the best restaurants in the WORLD. We had countless tapas that were mostly amazing. After like 10 different tapas, a guy walked over to us and invited us into The Dessert Room. The ceiling was covered with fake, giant, fruit. They had TVs on the walls that were all playing old movies. It was crazy. I will also say that I never want to pay that much for food. Like, ever again.

We metro'ed home since it stopped raining and passed out once we got back to the hotel. I've never been more exhausted from eating.

April 10th

Mich and Mike left for San Sebastian

Mary and I were on our own, starting today. We had a late breakfast and ate at a local café that was in a row home. The cafe had a really local vibe, mostly because the server didn't even know English. I had something that resembled a bacon, egg, and cheese, while Mary had a ham crepe. It was definitley delicious.

The Picasso Museum

We spent a good portion of the day walking around, exploring the area. We stopped to go check out the Picasso museum, which was enjoyable, but I was really annoyed that they were missing all of his works from 1933-1957. I'm assuming another museum has them, but it really leaves you feeling tricked. Here I am going to THE Picasso Museum, and they can't even give me a fully enriching Picasso experience.

Mary started to feel sick at some point, so we had our first drugstore experience in Barcleona! They have some form of a medical professional at all the drug stores who are there to help you or fulfill prescriptions. This guy was a lot more willing to help than doctors we've experienced in the US.

We stopped mid afternoon for some food, and we ended up going to this restaurant called Llamber. They had surprisingly delicous food for a place that we just randomly discovered. One of our favorites was fingerling potatoes with creamy blue cheese and hazelnut cream topped with chives. Here's a picture that someone took of it.

We walked around and shopped for a bit, then went home for another nap.

That evening

For dinner that night, we went to Sensi Gourmet Tapas, which was a place Amanda recommended to us. There are three or four similarly named restaurants, all owned by the same person, so I got the feeling that we would have had fun at any of the retaurants we went to there. We had a bunch of delicious tapas and some mojitos. Because I am me, I decided that I wanted gelato when we were walking home. This is another city that has a bunch of random gelato restaurants. I got half stratiacella and half kinder bueno bar. It was DELICIOUS.

I'm super into fútbol for the time being, so I wanted to watch the FCB game against Manchester but didn't make it home in time. I can't wait to keep up with fútbol once we get home (spoiler alert: i'm doing a really bad job at it)!

April 11th

Happy Birthday Mary!

What a day for a great birthday. Mary is spewing snot as I type this 😷.

Montserrat

Today on our agenta is Montserrat.

We got up around 9am and managed to rush to Placa Catalunya where we met our tour group. We really cut it close in terms of actually getting there on time, because once we got there, we realized we hadn't eaten anything and we were about to be on a bus for about an hour. We didn't quite manage to adhere to the "no food on the bus" policy *cue an image of us trying to sneakily shove a ham and cheese croissant the size of my hand in our mouths*, but on the bright side, we were full by the time we arrived at the foot of the mountain!

Instead of driving up the mountain, we took the cremallera, which is Spanish for "zipper." It was essentially a funicular, aka a train that goes up the side of a mountain. My stomach has gotten really weak in my old age, because I got nauseous even after taking some dramamine.

We made it to the top and took a guided tour of the area, then took a 20 minute hike up to Creu De Sant Miquel (The observation deck with the cross, pictured below).

The view was breathtaking. You could see for so many miles.

We went back and picked up some samples of wine and cheese that the monks of the monastery had made. I bought some sweet nuts too, that had been made by the local farmers in the region that participate in the farmers' market. Apparently I love sweet nuts now. They were very handy to help settle my stomach during all the bus rides around.

Oller Del Mas

We left Montserrat to go have tapas and wine at one of the local castles of the region, named Oller Del Mas. We made friends with some of the other people on the tour, mostly older, retired, couples.

Fun fact: One of the bottles of wine we had at Tickets was from this winery, so that means that this winery has high quality wine.

Birthday dinner at La Vinateria del Call

We took a nap on the way back to Barcelona, as well as when we actually got back to the hotel. Hiking and drinking wine really takes it out of you.

Our dinner restaurant wasn't our best pick, unfortunately. It was called La Vinateria del Call. The food was good, but we made the mistake of showing up really early (8pm is early to these crazy people), so the five tapas we ordered that we expected to come out one at a time ended up coming out all at the same time. It actually took about five minutes to get all our tapas. We left after crushing some dessert and some cava and headed home for the day so Mary could get some extra sleep to recover from her cold.

April 12th

Girona

Today was planned on doing a day trip to Girona.

We took the train station, built into one of the metro stops, to get to Girona. Turns out it's super difficult to find the right place to buy tickets. We missed the 10:20am train and ended up questioning and waiting until the 11:20am train.

We didn't have much of a plan, just a few places to check out. We had lunch at a random place and ended up wandering around for four hours or so. The town wasn't particularly busy, so we mostly walked around.

We didn't have any trouble leaving after we decided to take the train back to Barcelona, thank goodness. The ride one way was 1.5hrs long, so we didn't make it back to our room until about 8pm.

An evening of okay-ness

We went to a restaurant called Restaurant Embat that was mildly okay at best. The service was so bad, we thought about leaving after 15 minutes of sitting and waiting without being acknowledged, even though only one other table was full. But the decor was really nice 😅. The dinner was fine and non-tapas style.

We wanted to stop by another bar after we left, but basically walked in and walked out because none of the drinks were fun, original, or ~signature~. For example, their two most popular drinks were a mojito and an old fashioned. Boring. We weren't even there for two minutes!

We gave up and just went home to go to bed.

April 13th

Mary and Matt become smugglers

We were walking to La Boqueria after breakfast when Michelle texted and said they had arrived at our hotel from San Sebastian. We went back and grabbed them.

We all picked up souvenirs there, since it's a simple, place to grab souvenirs from and I like to pick up cheesy souvenirs from every place I visit. Of course, as we were shopping for these and buying snacks to take home, we completely forgot that one technically isn't allowed to bring in vacuum-sealed pork. So we decided to smuggle it in...

After we finished souvenir shopping, we took a rest at the hotel, then went for our second attempt at Parc Guell.

Parc Guell

We had learned a few things from our time spent at Parc Guell the first time around (and being told we couldn't go in because tickets were sold out). We figured out that you could take the metro to a stop that was about a mile walk to Parc Guell, where they provided a bus between the two locations.

Once we got inside the park, we realized that there wasn't much to do besides look around and take pictures. It would have been nice if it was a more casual place to hang out where we could bring our lunch or something, but instead, it was surrounded by tourists.

After wandering around for a bit, we took the bus and metro back home, and gave Mich and Mike back, since they had left most of their stuff in our hotel while they went to San Sebastian.

Happy birthday, Carlos!

On our way to dinner, we walked through a crowded plaza. At this point, we had walked through the same plaza a few times and it definitely wasn't as packed and loud as it was this time. We made our way through the crowd to find a group of people dancing in a circle. After some quick Googling, we discovered the Sardana dance. Here's a video of the dance on Mary's Instagram page. We never found out why they were doing it, but it was a fun experience to be a part of!

We spent a good chunk of time wandering around the city. We made it to Santa Maria Del Mar and the beach.

Our reservation was at Can Solé, where we had originally all planned to have our last Catalan meal before flying back to the US tomorrow, but Mich and Mike had a much earlier flight than we did, so they ended up skipping to go to sleep early. We also wanted to get up early to leave, just not as early as them.

Our reservation was around 7pm, which was right about the time that they opened back up for the evening crowd. We were actually the first people in the restaurant. We of course ordered paella, which was a meal that was made for four people. Mary and I both ended up getting at least three or four plates full of rice and seafood. It was delicious and I honestly don't know how we managed to eat so much. This paella was spread a bit thinner than I've seen before, but that makes sense because that has to help the food cook quicker. When we first put in our order, they actually asked, "Are you sure you want this big meal for just the two of you?" "Duh."

We had ordered a bottle of wine, which was already a lot. But after our meal, our server gave us a shot of Orujo, a pomace brandy. We thanked them and gladly took them. Luckily they were delicous. After a few minutes, the same server came back around and refilled our shot glasses. We laughed and thought, "Hey, we have to be good sports." Down the hatch again. Right after we take those shots, the server comes back over and pours another round. He said, "It's Carlos' birthday!" We didn't know who Carlos was, but who am I to say that he shouldn't have an enjoyable birthday with two goofy Americans? We cheers'ed to Carlos and thanked our server, thanked Carlos for being born, and ran off into the night.

After Can Solé, we headed back for the night with two more appreciations in life: Carlos' birthday, and Orujo.

Barcelona → DC

Travel nightmares

We had to be up by 6:15am to get ready. Good thing I woke up at 5:45am from nightmares. It helped me be wide awake while getting ready!

We had our hotel call us a taxi to take us to the airport. At one point, I definitely caught him doing 140kmph in a 100kmph zone. I assume that's really fast? Okay it's like going 87 in a 62mph zone.

We checked in and went through security about two hours early. Our flight from Barcelona to Paris didn't leave until 10am and we got through security by 8am. At 9:35am, we noticed the time and booked it to our gate, which was on the other end of the airport. Why weren't we over there in the first place? Not sure 🤷‍♂️. We were the last people to board the flight, but hey, at least we made it!

Our flight landed at the right time, but what we weren't prepared for was the insane line in Paris for passport checking. We stood in line for over an hour and kept bugging the airport staff to see if we could skip the line because our flight was about to leave (They literally waited 15 minutes before our flight was supposed to depart). We eventually got the priority pass to go ahead, then had to wait in two different lines, take a bus, and run a quarter mile to get to the other side of the airport.

After our wild journey through the airport (who know it was so hard to run with a bookbag on? And of course we looked awkward and ridiculous doing it), we showed up to our gate 15 minutes after our flight was supposed to leave. Fortunately they still accepted us because there were at least 10 more people who had to take the same crazy way to the gate that we did. They did show up a solid three minutes after we did, so I feel like that speaks to how ~fit~ we are.

We finally left Paris to head home. It would have been better without the terrible screaming toddler behind us. I would bet that the kid actually screamed for half the flight.

Once we made it back home, we waited in line for another 90 minutes, but at this point we weren't worried about making any connecting flights. We made it through and DIPPED.

On our way home, we got our usual Chipotle for dinner (basically after every trip, because it works for dinner and also the following day's lunch), got home, said hello to our cats, and chowed down. It was a nice way to come back.