We booked the cheap flights on Ryan Air, leaving Ciampino Aeroporto in Rome directly to Barcelona. Ciampino is the city airport in Rome which was close to defunct before Ryan Air and EasyJet breathed new life into it. Now it is pretty busy but still a small airport compared to Rome's Fuimicino Leonardo da Vinci Aeroporto across town.
We neglected to figure in the traffic in Napoli and spent almost an hour in the city just to reach the Autostrade. Once on the Autostrade we made good time and arrived in time to catch our flight. The only questionable part of the trip was parking in the airport parking lot. Because we were starting to be pressed for time, we just parked without really deciphering which lot was which, or figuring out what the cheaper long term rates are. Sure hope we don't have a nasty surprise when we return! Ha!
Ryan Air
The plane was a 737-800 with winglets, so a relatively new and reliable aircraft. The pitch of the seats was tight, in the 3 x 3 configuration. No problem there. It was definitely a no frills flight though; no assigned seats and packed, everything was for sale including all manner of drinks or snacks (and expensive too), lottery tickets, cigarettes (for smoking later), and perfume. Basically the flight attendants were selling stuff the entire 1 1/4 hr. flight. It was pretty amazing!
We bought a sandwich before we got on board, so we only paid 4,50 Euro for coffee and a coke! We will do it again for another short flight but for longer flights, we'll opt for a few more amenities. After it is all tallied in the end, we may just fly from Naples. The cost of the fuel to drive to Rome (probably will be 60 Euro), the 12,50 Euro Autostrade toll each way, and the yet to be determined long term parking fee could make up the difference n the price of the tickets. We'll see.
The Lights of Barcelona
We are immediately impressed by the beautiful lights of Christmas throughout the city. Some are very unusual and the city fountains spread throughout the city are coordinated in colors with the Christmas decor. It is very nice!
 |
| El Corte Ingles Department Store at Placa Catalunya |
 |
| Avenida Portal de L'Angel - pedestrian only |
 |
| In the Placa Catalunya |
Christmas Eve
We headed out for our Christmas Dinner to the Mandarin Hotel restaurant Blanc. It is an Asian Fusion menu and quite delicious. Mo Angok met us there. He is another of the Boeing people in Italy who just happened to be in Barcelona for the holiday too.
 |
| In the lobby of Hotel Denit heading out for Christmas dinner |
 |
| Johnnie and Mo at the Blanc restaurant |
Christmas Day
We keep pinching ourselves asking "are we really in Barcelona on Christmas Day?" It seems a bit unreal. The streets were pretty quiet this morning when we went out to wander. Later more people came out. We have no specific itinerary for today -- just to explore on our own. We found several places we will go back tomorrow when they are open. Lots of restaurants open today and some souvenir shops but most stores are closed.
 |
| Huge flock of pigeons at Placa de Catalunya |
 |
| Fountains of Placa de Catalunya in the daytime |
We did find a Starbucks and had to stop in and have coffee just to say we have been to Starbucks in Barcelona!
 |
| Starbucks on Las Ramblas |
 |
| Capuccino Starbucks style |
 |
| Carmel Macchiato with Soy Milk |
Then of course we ran into Burger King and had to stop in there for a burger. It was actually pretty good and took care of our burger fix for a while.
 |
| Have it Your Way at Burger King |
 |
| Along Las Ramblas |
People watching is extraordinary here. We see and hear people from all over the world. This is pretty much the tourist center and we have paid too much for meals a couple times but we will wander further as the week goes on and find the places where the local people eat and play.
Alabama Gospel Choir at the Gran Teatre de Liceu
At the last minute we deduced to get tickets to hear the Alabama Gospel Choir and a beautiful old theatre on La Rambla. The concert was great and this theater is spectacular. Built in 1847, it is in perfect condition updated yet in the original style. The acoustics are beautiful and seating is very comfortable. We paid a little extra for a box seat, but there is not a single bad seat in the entire theatre.
 |
| Johnnie in the Box seat at the Gran Teatre de Liceu |
 |
| Jenny sharing the Box |
 |
| Grand entrance hall to the Gran Teatre de Liceu |
 |
| Panorama from stage right |
 |
| Ceiling |
Basilica of Santa Maria Del Pi
Gothic style church built in the 14th and 15h centuries, it is sandwiched in the middle of the city though it takes up what might be almost a city block -- hard to say since the streets run at angles. It has many shrines ringing the main sanctuary and one very nice stained glass rose window.
 |
| Early Gothic style |
 |
| Rose stained glass in the rear of the church |
Walking, Tapas and Wine
With so many plazas (placas in Catalan) to explore, and dozens of ancient buildings and monuments scattered through the city, we simply took the approach to just keep walking. So on Monday, we probably walked 5 miles or more exploring the city. In the evening we had a Food and Wine guided tour which took us to four different places throughout the city, having tapas and a different wine at each place. Now of course I wish that I would have taken photos of each and made a list of all the foods we tried but, alas, I did not. Once you get into the fun of the evening, you forget to take notes. We were in a small group with another family of 6 from the US. It was a good time and our guide was also a man from the US who lives in Barcelona now, and he had a very good knowledge of the history of Barcelona as well as the great places to eat.
Our first stop was Comte Cuitat where we tried a Spanish Chardonnay and a couple tapas. The Chardonnay was acceptable but truly Washington State has better. Then we went onto a place called La Fragia to try a dry Rose (or Rosado) which was quite good.
Some of the tapas we tried here included a delicious white sauce with crumb topping on a clam in the shell, meatballs, little sausages, tiny marinated mushrooms, fried tiny green peppers (but not hot), fried tiny squid, and roasted potatoes with a spicy sauce.
 |
| De Casta Rosado |
From here we went to a place called Andou which is a made-up word from the English Undo. The owner is Canadian and when he purchased the restaurant, he removed all the updates that previous owner had made in the 1970s, and went back to the basic bare bones of the restaurant, hence the name Andou. It has a very rustic atmosphere, benches and wooden plank tables, the "old smokey" atmosphere (although there is no smoking there), low lights and all you expect from an inn two hundred years old. There we drank an excellent dry red wine, and the tapas were more hearty and spicy: platter full of Iberian ham, olives, various Manchego cheeses and goat cheese, and tomato bread. We learned that the best Jamon Iberico is not exported into the US because the USDA does not approve the part salt/part air cure process that is used. So, we sampled several grades of the Iberico and could definitely tell the difference, although all were good. The Manchego cheese was awesome, our favorite being the variety that was marinated in olive oil and a bit more sharp than the other.
 |
| Bold Spanish Red Wine |
Our last stop was a very out of the way place in the maze of streets of Born district at a small place that serves the delicious sparkling white wine of the region called Cava. It was standing room only in this place and not tapas, just some toasts to the evening and new acquaintances we made. Altogether, a lovely evening was had by all!
 |
| Finish the evening with a nice Cava |
No comments:
Post a Comment