My Travel Blog
I have a lot to catch up on! This will be a double post because yesterday got away from me; I didn't have the energy to do justice to all that we'd experienced. I am happy to report that I am now fully rested and refuelled - so grab a drink, get comfortable, get your reading glasses on (mom!), and here we go...
First I need to return to Saturday (Aug 3) night, when we had dinner with Noah and Lindsay. Jeff coaches Noah and neither of us had met his wife Lindsay before, yet we all hit it off and had a great evening. Noah had a specific restaurant in mind that he had read about it a guide which happened to be very close to our apartment. Off we went, but being that restaurants generally don't open until 8 we had to wait about 45 minutes in a little bar next door having a drink. That wasn't the toughest thing we've ever had to do, and we managed quite well. ;)
When we went to the restaurant at 8 it was completely empty, and it felt as though we were the old ladies getting the 4 pm early bird special at a steak house. Well, I can assure you, this food was no early bird special! We had fantastic wine, excellent food, and great conversation. The kids were so patient and played nicely while we adults took our time with the food. The restaurant even made them special little 'children's platters' which was cute and I wish I would've taken a picture. It was a mini kid-friendly tapas platter in essence, and much appreciated as neither of them wanted a whole fish (head and all), or any of the other things on the menu.
We ended with a stroll to a gelateria and then went back to our apartment for a nightcap and more conversation while the kids went to bed. Time got a little away from us (as it tends to in Spain where restaurants don't open until 8 pm!) and when we eventually made it to bed we all fell asleep very quickly!
We woke up Sunday morning and caught a train out to Caldes de Malavella - the station closest to the town where my friend Mónica is staying with her sister for the summer. After a little confusion at the Barcelona train station (they were doing some construction so for awhile it felt like we were walking in a maze!) we eventually made it onto the right train and took the very easy 1 hour ride up the coast. Mónica's brother-in-law picked us up at the train station and whisked us away to the cute town of Sant Feliu where the rest of the bunch was waiting for us. Chloë and Julia were excited to spend another day with their friends, and it was fun to see where they are staying for the summer. Mónica's sister, Maria, had a baby 4 months ago so it was really nice to see her again and meet the new addition to their family - the last time I saw her she was living in Calgary and it's quite the contrast to her new home!
We had a long and leisurely lunch then went to the beach. (I can see why Maria likes living there!) The beach was busy and it was the final night of a big festival which had lots of games and rides set up along the beach boardwalk. The girls were all dying to try the reverse bungie jumping trampoline, and they all had the chance to jump before we had to clean up and get ready to head back to Barcelona. We caught the 8 pm train, and it was much more crowded than the one we had gone out on. We hadn't considered the fact that it was a Sunday evening and many people were heading back to the city after the weekend. When we got on the train we actually had to stand for awhile, and the thought of a one hour train ride while standing was less than desirable. Thankfully about 10 minutes into the ride we came to a town and a few people got off and we managed to grab their deserted seats. We had counted on buying some snacks in the little shop in the train station but it was closed, so by the time we got to Barcelona we were starving. We ended up having a really nice dinner close to our apartment and then all collapsed into bed when we got home. Lots of fun and sun makes tired people!
We had a great sleep last night and then went for a walk to the beach to hunt for crepes. Barcelona has been great for having little fruit stands all over the place where you can buy cut up fresh fruit, so to tide us over we bought a cup of coconut (Julia's choice) and a cup with half mango half strawberries (Chloë's choice). We strolled along the boardwalk breathing in the warm, salty air and trying to lock it into our memory. Well, Jeff and I were doing that, but the kids were so focused on finding a crepe stand that I don't think they were paying attention to anything else. We did eventually get those crepes, but all they did was make me want a coffee! Next destination was a little café where we had fresh squeezed juice and coffee and felt complete. (It's our last day in Spain, I needed some of their strong brew!)
After a little rest (it's a vacation after all) we walked back to the area that we had dinner the other night so that we could watch the boats and ferries coming in to port while we ate lunch. The restaurant looked nice, but unfortunately the food did not live up to it's surroundings. Definitely mediocre - we ate just enough to not be hungry and left slightly disappointed with the experience. For anyone coming to Barcelona it's called Tapa Tapa and is on the end of the pier of Port Vell. Blech. But, if you only want a drink it's a really nice spot to sit!
We've now been sitting at the rooftop pool of our apartment for the last two hours just trying to suck the last bit of Mediterranean sun into our vacation. After this it's packing up, eating dinner, and a final Spanish sleep. I always feel a bit torn on the last day; I want to absorb absolutely everything around me, and yet I'm also excited by the thought of sleeping in my own bed.
Adios from the land of tapas, underage smokers, topless bathers and cheap wine… fresh seafood, lively banter, extremely late dinners, and a very relaxed and easy going lifestyle.
Vacations are great, but home is pretty nice too.
Well, Friday night is party night, and we definitely heard it. There are many benefits to the location that we're staying, but one of the negatives is the proximity to many bars… and it sounds like people were taking their parties to the streets last night. We were all woken up multiple times by loud singing/yelling and general merrymaking, and the occasional car alarm. I have a hard time being annoyed because I (may have been) one of those loud 'youngsters' a few decades ago, but a few more hours of uninterrupted sleep sure would've been appreciated.
We had a great dinner last night after deciding to walk out to what I believe is called the Mirador del Port Vell. It's a combination peninsula/pier which has a small marina on it as well as the Aquarium, an IMAX, and a (bigger than expected) shopping mall. We had dinner at a restaurant that overlooked both the marina and the port for the huge cruise ships that seem to come in daily. We had a great view of a very interesting 'drawbridge' that actually swivelled instead, and we were able to watch it do that twice for some sailboats that were returning to the marina. We also watched a huge ferry come in to dock and the amount of large trucks that left it was astounding. They just get coming out like little ants in a row, and how they fit them all in there is a mystery.
After dinner the nightly gelato hunt began, and we ended up returning to a place we had tried a few days ago. It had the craziest flavours (wasabi, curry, manchego cheese, cannabis, mojito) as well as 'regular' ones. A few nights ago Jeff and I shared a mojito cone (we were told the kids were not allowed to have it as it is very authentic!) and last night I asked for a taste of the curry gelato. Well, it tasted like curry! Sort of like a sweet and frozen butter chicken - and no, I did not get a scoop of it. Jeff tried the wasabi but also decided against going for it, and so we walked out with a scoop of lemon and a scoop of dulce de leche. Much better choices!
This morning we actually roused ourselves out of our pyjamas much earlier than usual (if you call 9:30 early) and walked a few blocks to a little café for a cappuccino and croissant. All my talk about coffee yesterday securely planted it in my mind, and when I woke up that was all I could think of. I cajoled the rest of the family into joining me (Julia was up for it, but the other two had wanted room service - a.k.a. Kira service instead). We all ordered a different pastry and each had a hot beverage and a bottle of water and the total came to 10 euros, which I felt was very reasonable for what we got. Everything was fresh and homemade, and on the way back to our apartment we stopped at a fruit and veggie stand and bought fresh squeezed orange juice (which is better than a vitamin any day!).
Our goal today was the Arc de Triomf. Barcelona's version is similar in shape, yet completely different than the one in Paris. It is much smaller, made of red brick, and built for a completely different reason. While Paris' arc was built to honour the soldiers of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, this one was built as a gateway for the Universal Exhibition in 1888. It is still an impressive structure with a majestic promenade coming away from it into the Parc de la Ciutadella. The park is quite nice and very calm with the Barcelona Zoo at one end of it. We walked through the park and the kids were hoping to find a playground to burn off a little energy; we did find one, but it didn't entice them at all. The thing we've noticed about Barcelona is that they have playgrounds all over the place, but each one is tiny and has very little in it. It's as though a law was passed mandating a certain number of playgrounds per square kilometre, but nothing was said about actually putting something interesting into them. (For instance, one had a single swing and a teeter totter, another had two rotating tires and a tiny slide, and some just have a few random springy animal things. Pretty boring, but at least they thought about the neighbourhood kids.)
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We then went in search of lunch, which you would think should be an easy task yet took us much longer than anticipated. Every place we came across was on the corner of a loud and busy road, or else had pictures of deep fried everything. Not wanting to settle, we kept walking until the kids came close to forming a mutiny against the adults. We stopped for a plate of fries and iced tea then kept going in search of the perfect place. We somehow got ourselves a bit turned around, yet ended up in a nice shopping area and had some great tapas. We walked through the other side of the majestic Cathedral we visited yesterday and saw some really interesting old architecture which made the walk very worthwhile for me. I never get tired of tiny alleyways and interesting balconies!
Thankfully today was overcast and we even had the odd sprinkle now and then, and not one of us complained as it's been very hot and sunny and this was a very welcome reprieve. Not to say that it was chilly by any means, but a very nice 26C/79F. Pool time in the afternoon has become our norm before an afternoon siesta. This is a life you can get used to!
I will again do a pre-dinner post because tonight we're having dinner with a San Francisco chiropractor that Jeff coaches. He's here vacationing with his wife, so who can miss the opportunity to meet up with someone you know in a foreign city? The kids are fine with extended adult conversations as long as they end with gelato afterwards - a fee we are willing to pay! :)
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