Feet is starting to hurt quite a bit with so much walking today.
Sagrada Familia
Got there at 9:30am today to beat the crowd, but there was still a 30-min wait for the lift to the top of the church. The wait was more than worth it!!! we got up to height of about 65m and I was glad we did not opt for the walk up.
View from the top
He was a geometry freak:
A Hyperbolic Paraboloid
But he used a lot of inspirations from the nature (e.g. trees).
Writing on the front door
Park Gruell
One of the most wonderful free parks is Park Gruell. Another Gaudi creation. I wonder what Barcelona is like without Gaudi!
Bad lunch
For convenience, we went to a restaurant on the Rambla. Obviously it was very touristy as they have English on the menu. The food was consistent with the touristy location. Very ordinary Paella and Tapas.
Squid ink (black) paella. Very salty
Normal paella. Very bland
Palau de la Musica Catalunya (Music hall)
Arc di Tromph
Unimpressive compared to the one in Paris
Easy dinner
We have decided to have a simple dinner as our feet can't do any more walking today. Bought some very nice Jamon Iberica from La Boqueria, some bread and fruit from a local supermarket.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Day 11 - Barcelona
The cocktail of extreme fatigue, bubble bath, 1 litre of Sangria, nice food and nice bed led to a very good night's sleep. We dragged ourselves out of bed at 10am.
Searching for Churros
But none was to be found for a kilometre. So we settled for some (very thick) Hot Choc and croissant at a corner Cafeteria.
Gaudi
What a spectacular architect!!! very beautiful.
Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's unfinished work)
Absolutely breathe-taking architecture. This church is STILL in construction mode even though it started in the 1800s. Although the new work shows whiter/newer stone work, the continuity remains. We got there at 11am and were swamped by truckloads of tourists. We will come back tonight and tomorrow morning to beat the crowds.
La Pedrera
Casa Batllo
Rambla
This is a stretch of pedestrianised road filled with tourists, performers, flower stalls and fruit stalls.
Lunch at La Boqueria market
This Tapas store we visited was called Pinotxa.
Large prawns - grilled. Like last night, very sweet and tasty.
Mussels
Clams - very juicy and plump
Baby squid and white beans
Another bill shock: 50E! We need to eat cheaper tomorrow.
My Siesta
After lunch we went for a walk in the old town (Barri Gotic). Guitar sounds were heard in a small courtyard surrounded by the back wall of La Catedral, and a few other buildings. That's where I rested for at least 20mins while listening to Spanish guitar playing.
It's so relaxing that I bought his CD as memorabilia.
Afternoon stroll
Hot chocolate - It's so thick that the spoon doesn't even sink.
Near the port
Estacio de Franca train station. Needed to buy tickets for our train ride to Perpignan in 2 days' time.
Dinner - Con Gracia
Tripadvisor rated this as the top restaurant in Barcelona. So we gave this a try and we were not dissapointed. We opted for the 5-course "surprise" menu and ordered 1 serve of matching wine.
Course 1 - Foie gras, balsamic vinegar reduction and onion & ginger compote. Very well balance of flavours
Course 2 - King spider crab - grilled; and sashimi. Very sweet. Favourite dish of the night.
Course 3 - Seared tune with avocado mousse and pan-fried pig trotter meat.
Course 4 - Pan fried duck breast with egg plant puree, apricot and red wine jus.
Course 5 - Choc brownie with home made whipped mascarpone and strawberry soup.
All were nice and definitely worth the 45E+drinks pp. Matching wine got us drunk, worse than last night.
More Gaudi after dinner
Searching for Churros
But none was to be found for a kilometre. So we settled for some (very thick) Hot Choc and croissant at a corner Cafeteria.
Gaudi
What a spectacular architect!!! very beautiful.
Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's unfinished work)
Absolutely breathe-taking architecture. This church is STILL in construction mode even though it started in the 1800s. Although the new work shows whiter/newer stone work, the continuity remains. We got there at 11am and were swamped by truckloads of tourists. We will come back tonight and tomorrow morning to beat the crowds.
La Pedrera
Casa Batllo
Rambla
This is a stretch of pedestrianised road filled with tourists, performers, flower stalls and fruit stalls.
Lunch at La Boqueria market
This Tapas store we visited was called Pinotxa.
Large prawns - grilled. Like last night, very sweet and tasty.
Mussels
Clams - very juicy and plump
Baby squid and white beans
Another bill shock: 50E! We need to eat cheaper tomorrow.
My Siesta
After lunch we went for a walk in the old town (Barri Gotic). Guitar sounds were heard in a small courtyard surrounded by the back wall of La Catedral, and a few other buildings. That's where I rested for at least 20mins while listening to Spanish guitar playing.
It's so relaxing that I bought his CD as memorabilia.
Afternoon stroll
Hot chocolate - It's so thick that the spoon doesn't even sink.
Near the port
Estacio de Franca train station. Needed to buy tickets for our train ride to Perpignan in 2 days' time.
Dinner - Con Gracia
Tripadvisor rated this as the top restaurant in Barcelona. So we gave this a try and we were not dissapointed. We opted for the 5-course "surprise" menu and ordered 1 serve of matching wine.
Course 1 - Foie gras, balsamic vinegar reduction and onion & ginger compote. Very well balance of flavours
Course 2 - King spider crab - grilled; and sashimi. Very sweet. Favourite dish of the night.
Course 3 - Seared tune with avocado mousse and pan-fried pig trotter meat.
Course 4 - Pan fried duck breast with egg plant puree, apricot and red wine jus.
Course 5 - Choc brownie with home made whipped mascarpone and strawberry soup.
All were nice and definitely worth the 45E+drinks pp. Matching wine got us drunk, worse than last night.
More Gaudi after dinner
Day 10 - Longggg Paris transit to Barcelona
Longest ever transit (for me)
Our flight to Paris arrived on time at 10am. After a very long walk from T2 to T1, we found that there were no left luggage facilities in CDG and our flight couldn't be checked in until 2 hours before our scheduled departure at 4:25pm.
Rabbit-tunnels in T1
So we spent about 4 hours sitting in quite uncomfy chairs in T1. There's no free wi-fi, but 2 episodes of "24" helped me kill a good chunk of time while Mrs Chan slept through most of that.
We were flying Vueling Airlines, so I was very careful to make sure that my suitcases were kept within the 20kg per piece weight limit. As you know, budget airlines are vultures when it comes to surcharges and fees.
The scale read 20.0kg and 19.8kg :)
Grabbed a bite and then went through a slow security check point, followed by more waiting in the gate area.
At 4pm, an announcement said that our flight was delayed by 1 hour due to late incoming flight.... and by that time by stomach and back were so sick of sitting and waiting.
Flight 5: CDG-BCN
Our plane
It's "back to normal" (or "back to Cattle Class") big time for us after being spoilt by the previous flights in the J cabin.
Seat pitch looked like 28-29inches only. And I was stuck in that position for the duration of the flight. I nearly passed out due to:
1) almost no food during the day
2) too much sitting down
3) fatigue
Cold sweat appeared and Mrs Chan wanted to buy some sugar (Choc) for me, but it was too late as the flight only had 30mins to go and the "shop" was closed.
I survived the flight and grabbed a panini with Jamon Iberica at the arrivals area of BCN :) 3Euros and it was very high quality Jamon (Spanish ham). Energy regained slowly.
Quite funny that there were a few very angry passengers (or would-be passengers) at the Vueling check-in area. They were yelling, crying, banging on the counter/window.... probably they missed their flight or a sign of Spanish behaviour.
Barcelona Metro
The metro system in Barcelona looked very efficient and extensive. Very cheap too (0.70E per person per ride using the Carnet 10-ticket). The optimissm was shattered when we had to change metro lines. There were NO elevator/lift and we had to walk UP and DOWN through at least 5 flights of stairs and very long walkways. Bear in mind we had 2 X 20kg suitcases, plus 2 backpacks and that Mrs Chan was not strong enough to carry the suitcases.
We were fuming, but nothing could be done.
After the change of metro line, we couldn't dare to try the 2nd line change. So we got out to ground level and walked the remaining 1.2km.
Hotel Comfortel Auditori Barcelona
Hotel is modern and comfy. A soothing bath helped to relax the poor muscles and body.
Supper at 11pm
I was surprised that we both had an ounce of energy left to go for some Tapas at 11pm.
Taxi reached our destination (Tapas 24) fine at only 4.5Euros. The trip was more than worth it as evident by the following.
Prawns, grilled and seasoned with sea salt flakes and olive oil. Some of the sweetest and freshest prawns I've ever eaten.
Black rice with squid - full of natural flavours
Bread with tomato, garlic and olive oil
All washed down with Sangria. I think I had at least 4 glasses
The Bill shocked us a little: 40E, but extremely good seafood. We were both quite drunk as we (barely) managed to find the metro and headed back to the hotel.
Our flight to Paris arrived on time at 10am. After a very long walk from T2 to T1, we found that there were no left luggage facilities in CDG and our flight couldn't be checked in until 2 hours before our scheduled departure at 4:25pm.
Rabbit-tunnels in T1
So we spent about 4 hours sitting in quite uncomfy chairs in T1. There's no free wi-fi, but 2 episodes of "24" helped me kill a good chunk of time while Mrs Chan slept through most of that.
We were flying Vueling Airlines, so I was very careful to make sure that my suitcases were kept within the 20kg per piece weight limit. As you know, budget airlines are vultures when it comes to surcharges and fees.
The scale read 20.0kg and 19.8kg :)
Grabbed a bite and then went through a slow security check point, followed by more waiting in the gate area.
At 4pm, an announcement said that our flight was delayed by 1 hour due to late incoming flight.... and by that time by stomach and back were so sick of sitting and waiting.
Flight 5: CDG-BCN
- Airline: Vueling
- Flight #: VY5077
- Plane: Airbus 320
- Departure Time: 28/4/09, 17:25
- Duration: 1.5 hrs
- Seats: 6D and 6E
Our plane
It's "back to normal" (or "back to Cattle Class") big time for us after being spoilt by the previous flights in the J cabin.
Seat pitch looked like 28-29inches only. And I was stuck in that position for the duration of the flight. I nearly passed out due to:
1) almost no food during the day
2) too much sitting down
3) fatigue
Cold sweat appeared and Mrs Chan wanted to buy some sugar (Choc) for me, but it was too late as the flight only had 30mins to go and the "shop" was closed.
I survived the flight and grabbed a panini with Jamon Iberica at the arrivals area of BCN :) 3Euros and it was very high quality Jamon (Spanish ham). Energy regained slowly.
Quite funny that there were a few very angry passengers (or would-be passengers) at the Vueling check-in area. They were yelling, crying, banging on the counter/window.... probably they missed their flight or a sign of Spanish behaviour.
Barcelona Metro
The metro system in Barcelona looked very efficient and extensive. Very cheap too (0.70E per person per ride using the Carnet 10-ticket). The optimissm was shattered when we had to change metro lines. There were NO elevator/lift and we had to walk UP and DOWN through at least 5 flights of stairs and very long walkways. Bear in mind we had 2 X 20kg suitcases, plus 2 backpacks and that Mrs Chan was not strong enough to carry the suitcases.
We were fuming, but nothing could be done.
After the change of metro line, we couldn't dare to try the 2nd line change. So we got out to ground level and walked the remaining 1.2km.
Hotel Comfortel Auditori Barcelona
Hotel is modern and comfy. A soothing bath helped to relax the poor muscles and body.
Supper at 11pm
I was surprised that we both had an ounce of energy left to go for some Tapas at 11pm.
Taxi reached our destination (Tapas 24) fine at only 4.5Euros. The trip was more than worth it as evident by the following.
Prawns, grilled and seasoned with sea salt flakes and olive oil. Some of the sweetest and freshest prawns I've ever eaten.
Black rice with squid - full of natural flavours
Bread with tomato, garlic and olive oil
All washed down with Sangria. I think I had at least 4 glasses
The Bill shocked us a little: 40E, but extremely good seafood. We were both quite drunk as we (barely) managed to find the metro and headed back to the hotel.
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