Barcelona Part 2

 

Park Guell, the jewel of the instagramable crown of Barcelona.

On Sunday morning I actually found myself at a loose end. Liam sleeps a lot on holiday (no anxiety) so after making a Nespresso and eating a pastry, I rediscovered the lost art of reading in bed.After getting caught out with holiday closures in Sintra (will be a future blog) I had googled what might be closed on a Sunday and saved Gaudi's theme park for today. So when Liam did open his eyes and have his coffee, I sent him a message with this "choice" as our first activity for the day. 

Looking at Google Maps I could see it was within our 3 km radius but uphill, so I decided on a cab to get there. (I also learned that one in Sintra)

Having breakfasted, bathed and dressed in flexible, discardable layers (the temperature climbs abruptly from 11 onwards) we hailed a cab outside the hotel and told the driver, Park Guell. 

It was quite a drive as Barcelona is planned in grids (Melbournians would love it) and grids have many intersections where pedestrians have the right of way so there are a lot of chances to take in the sights. But is was quite a climb so I was glad of our decision to cab it. Driver dropped us off within a short walk as there were a LOT of people walking up the one way street to the top. And this both impressed and alarmed me because as usual we had not booked, deciding to wing it with our charm and Liam's sunflower lanyard and Social welfare travel card. 

People actually book an arrival time and ticket in advance for these places as they are very careful about overcrowding. However, charm and the lanyard not only got us past the very long queue but when we got to the ticket office, we got our tickets free. Honestly, people can be so kind. So off we walked into Gaudi's psilocybin landscaping adventure. 

The park is mostly gravel, so I am very very glad that we were there in winter and on a sunny day with no wind. You can move in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction upwards on a spiral path. (Toilets are limited so take advantage before you head off if you have a tea-cup bladder like mine) 

There are a lot of those people who make stuff and sell it on blankets but also some very welcome sellers of bottled water. Guell Park is not very commercialised with regard to catering and we were thirsty. 

Oh, and I told Liam we were going to "Whoville" from Dr Suess. 

Not pictured are the huge number of people who had queued to get to these famous tiled seats and the view. Again I used the sunflower lanyard to get access via the "special" entry and we kind of nudged our way to a view point. I actually got Liam to move quickly and sit down before another couple of guys could take a seat. They began to protest in voluable Spanish but I pointed to the lanyard and said softly "specialista" and they nodded and apologised and smiled.

You can actually see the previous person leaving as we snuck in to take our photo. 

It was, even with the crowd control measures SUPER BUSY and I was very glad to move out of there and let the lovely lads get their pic. Instagram has a lot to answer for. Everywhere you go in Europe there are people taking selfies rather than just standing and absorbing the view. (Including me) 

We wandered our way back down stopping to look at weird things but avoiding the queues for indoor museums in the Gaudi buildings. Once out of the park we walked down a very steep and interesting residential street until we reached the main drag where I managed to hail a cab again. Another lovely drive stopping at every single traffic light back to our hotel where we went upstairs to freshen up before our next adventure.

I had left the closest activities to the end of the day. And our hotel was in a perfectly situated for this.

Experience has taught me to leave lunch as late as possible because I find it very hard to get moving again! So after short break to use the loo we headed back out for the promised walk to the gardens which were around the corner from the hotel.

Parc de la Ciutadella 19th century monument.

Outdoor Sunday Salsa dancing as you do.

Being a sunny Sunday in winter the vibe was glorious and all the locals were out enjoying themselves. We chanced upon this gorgeous fountain where people were Salsa dancing in the open air. 

Manny the mammoth from Ice Age.

We also met Manny the Mammoth from Ice Age where an enterprising young man was using a step ladder then charging parents for placing their child on the mammoth's trunk for a photo op. After observing him I realised this was an "unofficial" service so Liam and I moved in for our own photo.

I really recommend the gardens. Beautifully laid out and surrounded by more architecture worth learning more about. (which I did not do until I got back and looked at Google maps)

A Parlament of Catalunya, a University campus, some indoor gardens and a metro station. 

We however, found ourselves at the zoo. Again, a show of our card got us the concession entry and the attendant kindly warned us that they were closing in an hour, and the zoo really needed at least 2 1/2 hours to get around. HA HA I thought as we moved through the turnstile, you have never done the turbo zoo visit, where you exclusively visit only the animals that have been anthropomorphised into loveable characters from movies made by Disney Pixar, Dreamworks and 20th Century Fox. The following are captioned by Liam:

Bridget from "The Wild"

Colonel Haithi from The Jungle Book

A vicious vulture from Ice Age. 

We also saw Kazar the bad Wilderbeest from "The Wild" and Marty, Alex and Gloria from "Madagascar." Gloria the Hippo was actually having an argument with a mate over the submerged fence in their enclosure.

There are hippos in there I promise. 

View from the top of the Sheep mountain. I think they are called Ibex.

Most handsome Boo and his new sleeping buddy Brigitte. 

We finished our tour in an hour and headed for the exit which took us through the gift shop of course where Liam once again managed to get a stuffed animal. The zoo will always make up for letting this guy in cheap. 

On the way out we passed this "Castle of The Dragons" (Komodo dragon House) 

But I do not like large lizards on any continent so we gave this a miss and headed for lunch. 

You can see our landmark of the Arc De Triomf there in the background as Liam crosses the street.

You can see we were really in the centre of everything. 

More groovy architecture. 

Getting chilly in the early evening. Puffa jackets back on!

Told Liam this was the Conquistador from Road to Eldorado.

We walked down these amazing streets just enjoying the vibe of a living city where people work AND live. Most shops were closed as you can see but there are plenty of bakeries and little grocery shops which only exist if you have people living nearby. 

And this local neighbourhood Tapas Bar called Casa Lolea

Full of people enjoying their late lunch or early dinner. So full in fact we had to wait outside.

 No bother to Liam.

Anxiously watching the next table to be cleared. We were also scoping out what people were eating.

Seated! and we took off those puffa jackets. 

Order taken. Waiting for the Tomato Bread

Patatas Brava, Olives and a nice Cava for Mummy.

 

More Day Drinking

Getting my exercise lifting that glass

Finished with a Cafe Cortado.

I also had the amazing sliders (teeny burgers) and all food and drink were lovely. Service very swift, and kind. The bill was super reasonable for such great quality. (LOVE SPAIN) 

I always expect Liam to say thank you in Spanish and the wait staff all waited patiently for him to get the words out. A very good experience thank you Casa Lolea. 

After that we wandered back to our hotel for long baths and relaxation watching Disney plus. 

I did my discreet packing and then took Liam out to get a last drink with some fat olives

and to collect a takeaway from the highly rated "Lady Dumpling" around the corner.

The menu says you can have 6 dumplings for €6 or TWELVE FOR €8!!

(It would have been rude not to get 12 of each of the pork and prawn steamed gyoza.) 

They were delicious, we had a lovely night in eating dumplings and watching Wakanda again. 

 I finished off the packing without Liam noticing and made sure everything that needed charging was being charged.

In the morning it was a case of coffee, pastry and a discreet trip down to reception to finalise the bill and check out. Hotel staff also super efficient and kind. No tricky surprises on the bill, it was exactly what I had booked and all hotel services were excellent. Look up NH hotels for your next trip folks!

 After settling the bill I go back up to the room and get Liam ready and we head down to get our pre-booked taxi.

Got to the airport early and checked our bag full of goodies (eg moisturiser)  and then went through security without fuss. More super helpful airport staff. I then brought Liam to the lounge where he could relax and have another cortado. 

Quiet, safe and relaxing. 

When it was flight time we walked to our gate and once again, were able to do laps while waiting for the priority call. The Aer Lingus ground staff then let us board first and it was a very comfortable flight home. 

What about what to bring, and Shopping? 

Liam absolutely hates shopping. So I avoid it as much as possible, and that includes duty free.

However, if you are in a country that has Uniqlo then please duck in and pick up one of their packable puffer jackets. Super light, super warm when you need it and super cute. If you are planning to be out all day you are going to need layers that can be removed and added as needed. These are great whether you are wearing a jumper or just a teeshirt underneath.

My other must go is Ale Hop. They sell the best lanyard cases for phones and are super cheap for anything else you might have forgotten. I got a really good umbrella in Sintra. When you pay they will sell you a string back pack as a carry bag and pay the extra €1 and get it. This is where we put our packable puffers when it gets warm. 

How about personal safety? How do we carry valuables etc?

I learned many years ago after a pretty disastrous trip to London to always carry a spare phone. Top up a sim and leave that phone in your hotel room when you go out. If you are using google maps to get around, AND taking lots of photos you will probably need to swap the phones over at some stage to charge anyway.

I used to do the same with a debit card. A Spanish ATM ate my card and I had to go inside the bank to get it back. This involved waiting for a very laissez-faire bank employee to get off his butt and open the back of the machine and it was no fun with Liam. 

However, in 2023 I have all my cards on my Apple Watch, my phone, Liam's phone and the spare. I can access and block any of my cards via bank apps and reinstall the new one. If there is one thing we got out of the pandemic it is contactless payment. 

The other advantage to pulling your sleeve back to pay with your Apple Watch is it is much safer than opening a bag, pulling out a wallet and getting a card or cash out. A clever pick pocket is going to watch that whole thing, and the fact that you are focused on keeping your companion safe and know exactly where to strike. 

I will always have some cash in a small coin purse to pay for a taxi in an emergency (taxis are all contactless too usually) and to tip the wait staff. (they get taxed 15% on tips given on a card) 

As far as our personal safety generally; we are not wandering the streets late at night. When we do go out I stick to busy areas and avoid anywhere that looks a bit sketchy. 

When we were in rather crowded areas that pickpockets might target, there were always super hot Police around. Seriously fit and cute AF. 

My other security tip is to wear a fanny pack. Not around the waist but across the chest like the Gen Z kids do. We got ours in Nerja from one of the many moroccan-made leather goods shops. They hold a phone, lip balm, tissues, sunnies and the tiny purse I mentioned. Liam is excellent at putting his phone away and he also carries headphones to use when we dine out. He also has a habit of holding the bag while walking which is another deterrent I guess.