SPAIN Oct. 24-Nov 4 2018
Day 1 &2 Wed-Thurs
Every trip we somehow always starts with an adventure or a bit of a scare. Iceland was delayed flights, this time it happened to be a tight connection through Frankfurt. As usual we arrived to the Houston airport with plenty of time to catch our flight (1.5 before takeoff), and made it through terminal D security with not too much hassle. Changed seats on the plane to ensure we got an entire row to ourselves so that we could try and catch a few hours of sleep. Hours is probably a bad phrase to use, I would call them segments of multiple naps, but I digress. The flight left on time and landed on time but we had picked a flight with only 1 hour of layover, which on an international flight is a tad tight. And not because you have to walk through the airport all sleep deprived, it's because you have to clear customs and immigration, and not only that, for some reason they put you back through security. Now we just got off a plane, from the United States nonetheless which probably has some of the tightest security, only to be put back through security again. I'm sure they do they same thing in the US when continuing on to other US cities but this is just silly. We got to the security line about 25 minutes before our flight was to take off (not board) and I kindly asked one of the security people if we could cut line to make our flight and after showing our boarding pass they let us through.
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| Road right out in front of our apartment |
We landed in Madrid around 1245, made our way to our Uber which was a battle in itself. For some reason the Spaniards don't cater as much to foreigners with English signs or actually to anyone because even the signs in Spanish were not clear either. Our Uber dropped us off in front of a church which was next to our apartment and the apartment was still being cleaned but the gentleman cleaning our apartment was kind enough to let us drop off our luggage while he finished cleaning and this way we could meet up with Yeline and Terry (Rebecca's sister and brother in law).
We met up with Yeli and Terry at Plaza Mayor, Madrid's Main Square, though it doesn't feel like the 'main' square of town and set a plan for lunch. Had lunch at a small spot fight off the Plaza Mayor where I had a BLT and croquettas, nothing special but a good start to the food we would be eating this week and also the drinks.
After lunch we headed back to pickup Yeli and Terry's luggage, which had been placed in storage due to the apartment not being ready for when they arrived on their flight from Atlanta in to Madrid. We got to the apartment and decided that the jet lag had gotten the best of us and we should take nap.
Awake from the nap, we did some light grocery shopping... you know the essentials beer, wine, cheese, ham (Iberico) and crackers. Came back to do some pre-gaming before our dinner tour.
The event for the night was a TAPAS Tour. Our tour guide took us to four great and historic places in the city and our tour group consisted of us four, one young lady from NJ, 2 young ladies from Villahermosa, Mexico and a couple from Paris (one French and the other a Brit). The first stop was at La Casa del Abuelo, a REALLY old place so old in fact that one of the workers had been working there 41 years. They served this garlic shrimp that was probably the best shrimp I have had in my life, even Rebe who does not like shrimp liked the shrimp. Super tender and simply amazing, and of course at each of our stops we would receive a free drink. At this stop we were introduced to a sweet red wine and vermouth, usually vermouth is found in a few mixed drinks but the Spanish drink it straight on ice.
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| La Casa del Abuelo - Garlic Shrimp |
Second stop was Casa Gonzalez, where we were escorted to our table in the back and more tapas and wine was served to us. This time we got Iberico ham, manchego cheese, sausage and crackers. Of the places this one might have been the weakest but still worth a visit.
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| Casa Gonzalez |
Next stop was at El Lacón, where we continued with the tapas and wine. At this location they were loading us up, so much let me just list it out for you.
- Pimientos de Padrón (Green Peppers from Padron)
- Lacón (Pork shoulder galician style)
- Morcilla de Sotopalacios (Sotopalacios Black pudding with rice)
- Cazón en adobo (Marinated Shark)
- Berenjena con miel y salmorejo (Eggplant with honey and salmorejo)
- Secreto Ibérico/ pork loin
- Mix of small free tapas including Callos a la Madrileña (chickpeas with cow tripe)
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| El Lacón |
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| Inside El Lacón |
Yep you read that right, shark and cow tripe. I was the only one who was adventurous to try the tripe. I thought it was good, not amazing but definitely worth a try. ;)
Last stop was back in Plaza Mayor at Los Galayos where we were fed even more wine and more tapas. Here we had:
- Torreznos (Iberian Pig Fried Loin
- Calamares a la Andaluza (Squid Andalusia style)
- Spanish Omelette (tortilla de patata)
- Pollo a la tempura (Chicken tempura with Chimichurri sauce)
- Croquetas de Jamon (Ham croquets)
- Torrijas (Bread Pudding)
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| Los Galayos |
This place was so good, we actually visited again one out of convenience and due to the location, but I'll get to that later in the blog. By the end of the night we were good and toasty and still jet lagged and ready for more sleep. Plus the next day had an early start so it would be wise to get to bed.
Friday
The Spanish like to eat late, minimum after 8 and I think this leads to breakfast being less of a priority, not like you're going to walk around Madrid and find a IHOP or Waffle House type of establishment so picking are kind of slim. What you can find at the early hours are pastry shops like La Mallorquina, where you can get croissant type sandwiches with ham, salmon or even chocolate (Yeli) if that's your thing.
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| La Mallorquina |
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| La Mallorquina |
On the agenda this morning was to visit the Prado Museum. The Prado is Madrid's famous art museum which houses many famous works of art from all the famous painters such as Goya, Picasso and Velázquez. Again we did a tour and our tour guide was a young lady who was very knowledgable about the Spanish history and all the art that we were seeing. And as with most art museums you really can't take pictures in there, plus who wants to see pictures of pictures any ways.
After the Prado we had a 30-40 minute break where we walked across the street to see a small church, San Jerónimo el Real.
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| Paseo del Prado (park in front of the Prado Museum) |
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| San Jerónimo el Real exterior |
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| San Jerónimo el Real interior |
From the church we met back up with our tour guide and we walked down Paseo del Prado, a main thoroughfare through the city which has a sort of park in the median, over to the Reina Sofia museum. Because if one giant museum of art was not enough for you, then you'd love to visit another right? This museum is much smaller but houses a lot of Picasso work and other more modern arts. It even houses the Guernica which is Picasso's depiction of the scenes from the World War II era of the Spanish Nationalist party had the Nazi army bomb a town called Guernica in northern Spain. Again no pics allowed inside.
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| La Reina Sofia |
At this point it was lunch time and it was raining. I swear the entire time we were in Spain the weather forecasts were always wrong. We left the apartment and the forecast had no rain on the forecast for the day so we left the apartment without our rain gear. Now we have three dilemmas, first it was raining, second back to the apartment or eat out and three walk or cab. I guess we really could not make a decision on the rain as that was just going to be happening, but eating and choosing a mode of transport and like any big city there are plenty of places to choose from but the key this time was finding a place that was close but also good. We settled on La Bodega de los Secretos, which was this beautiful restaurant down in a cellar, and for some reason they had the excellent collection of gin menu and an interesting menu with a lot of fish. Service was typical european with no one really attending to the table and the food was decent but nothing to remember but this stop was more about killing time out of the rain. And apparently I didn't take any pictures while down there, ok so the blogmaster isn't perfect.
We exited the restaurant to a continuing light rain and huffed it back to the apartment for our afternoon nap. After lounging around until the sun was close to setting, we headed out to do some tapin'. We started our own tapas tour at El Madroño, a small restaurant right out the front door of our apartment. The reason we stopped here was for a drink that you can only get in Madrid, called well... madroño. Madroño is a liqueur made from fruits of the tree of the city of Madrid also called madroño. It was served to us in a cake cup (yeah like the ice cream cone) lined with chocolate. We then walked down the street to another bar that had a front porch patio, if you could call it that. In typical European fashion, tiny tables and smokers galore but more tapas and more drinks.
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| El Madroño |
From here we headed further into La Latin neighborhood with the intentions of now going to do more tapas at a place called Juana La Loca, little did we know that this place was booked up for tonight and the next night. They recommended we come first thing tomorrow if we really wanted to come, and while we were standing outside debating our next move two Americans (US) who were working as teachers in Spain and they recommended a new liquor store that was giving away free wine and another tapas bar, La Perejila right around the corner. Of course we walked down to check out the free wine, why not, and it was so packed people were spilling out into the streets. Found us a small corner to stand and got a few glasses. Then we headed over to La Perejila and the drinks were good, atmosphere was good, food was even better. Found 2 seats at the bar and then two more seats across the small walking path through the bar. Rebe and Yeli ordered food while Terry and I ate whatever showed up. After dinner we headed back to the apartment and called it a night.
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| La Perejila |
Saturday
It was another day where we were up and at 'em early, like I said before the Spanish tend to be late night people so finding breakfast joints is more uncommon that one would imagine. We did find a place that was open at 8am for us to grab a bite. And I swear everyone that was in the restaurant that early was not Spanish. I had Eggs Benedict, always a safe bet for breakfast but not everyone can do it right but I will say it was serviceable.
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| Interior of La Rollerie |
We met the walking tour guide around the corner from the apartment and she first took us to an overlook that viewed the Palace of Madrid and the Cathedral. From there we walked through the streets of Madrid while she told us a lot of history and more sights in the area. We saw the opera house, one of the oldest restaurants in Madrid, the shortest street in Madrid, Plaza Mayor (which we'd been to 3 times already), Mercado del San Miguel and we even stopped by church with a nun convent. This church was actually connected to our apartment, but more interesting is that this was a convent of nuns that sold cookies. Sadly while we were there no cookies were for sale. Also while on the tour, our tour guide stopped to feed us chocolate and churros.
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| Plaza de la Villa - We walked by this beautiful square on the way to the tour | |
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Today we had a walking tour planned coincidentally for the area where we were staying.
- On a side note, I really have to give it to Rebe for her efforts in the locations she selects for these trips. They are always so central and convenient. Also with thoughts on this, we've had timeshare presentations from Hilton and Holiday (yeah, we gluttons for torture but always offer us free stuff so who can refuse). These worldwide timeshares always sound like a good idea but being able to stay close to the action and not on the outskirts really helps with the true city experience (which sometimes isn't all good).
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| Cathedral of Madrid |
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| Nunnery where the cookies were not available |
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| Inside the nunnery |
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| Shortest Street in Madrid |
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| San Miguel Market |
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| San Miguel Market |
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| Oldest Restaurant in Madrid |
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| Opera house of Madrid |
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| Garden below the Royal Palace of Madrid |
Right before our tour guide dropped us off for our next tour, she spotted this couple that was eyeballing others in a park. They were pickpockets and she said it all nonchalantly, "those two are pickpockets, and the girl behind them is with them too." Everyone in the group is like, "REALLY?" So now we have a group of 7 or 8 just staring at these people who then literally walked up behind us and came to scope us out and then the lead pickpocket guy gave our tour guide a dirty look as if to say 'why you rattin' me out?' Interesting experience.
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| Royal Palace of Madrid |
Our tour guide then dropped us off in front of the Palace of Madrid, where she handed us off to her coworker who was going to give us the tour of the Palace. I previously visited Windsor Castle outside London and the Prague Palace and this was a similar experience. Giant palace, but they only show you a few rooms. Granted I'm sure it would take a few days to see the entire building but I'm always curious about the condition of the rest of the building. Is it in equal condition or is it stripped bare... The Palace of Madrid is definitely an impressive building, textile wall trimmings instead of wallpaper and many lavishly decorated estate rooms. While we were in the palace our tour guide then says, "next we will go to the church." I was thinking this is cool, I did not know the tour included a visit to the cathedral across the courtyard. We then walk down a hall, hang a right and straight into a church. Of course they didn't allow pictures taken in the church, not sure why but geez this was probably the most beautful room in the palace, hell maybe in all of Spain.
I did find an image online for you to view:
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| Royal Palace of Madrid |
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| Lower entry into the Palace |
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| Central courtyard of the Palace |
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| Ceiling in the Royal receiving room |
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| Portrait of the Royal Family (who does not live in the Palace) |
When the Palace tour was over, we stayed on the grounds and visited the armory museum where they had displays full of armor from over the centuries. And then visited the Cathedral across the courtyard.
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| Opposite Facade of the Cathedral |
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| Right wing of the church |
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| Central Nave of the church |
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| Ceiling looking rearward in the church |
As with the day before and the country we were in, after the tour it was nap time. I dunno why but it really recharges you for the late night dinners. I could get used to this.
After the nap, we walked past the Palace and up a hill that overlooks a section of Madrid to visit the Templo de Debod, which is a Egyptian temple that was built long ago (over 2200 years ago), forgotten, rediscovered and then gifted to Spain and reconstructed in Madrid. Sadly it was under repair while we were there.
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| View of the Palace while walking to the Temple of Debod |
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| Templo de Debod |
On the other side of town behind the Prado Museum is El Retiro Park, the 'Central Park' of Madrid, so we began our walk across town this time cutting through different areas with the intent to see more of they city. Being a nice Saturday, the tourist and locals were out in full force as the streets were packed with walkers. It's so interesting how European cities are much more dense than American cities and how you see thousands of people walking around like the city is alive. You'd never see that many people in Houston unless there was a parade going on.
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| Protest Parade |
While crossing town, we made it back to the Prado Museum and there was a protest parade going on. I think the protest may have been about the Catalonia independence since it was near the anniversary of the vote from the previous year, again just my guess because we weren't even in Catalonia. Got past the parade and made it to the park.
Just as we're about to enter the park, Yeli as usual was neck deep into her phone still researching the protest we had to cross one more street. And with her struggling behind she got on the good foot in order to make it across a crosswalk before the light turned green. Though midway through the crosswalk we all hear Yeli behind us go, "OW, oh $*#%." Now we thought this exclamation was because the light was changing, but we all turn around and Yeli is one-legged hopping through the crosswalk, all while asking the drivers at the red light for patience (you know the 1 finger, please give me a second gesture).
Now with Yeli unable to walk our walking tour of Madrid, and the rest of Spain for that matter, was now in question. Terry and Yeli took a seat at the entrance to the park while Rebe and I with the little light that was left hustled through the park to see a few of it's highlights.
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| Entry Garden into El Retiro |
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| Recreational Pond in the Park |
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| The Palacio de Velázquez Art Museum |
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| The Crystal Palace |
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| Entry Garden viewed from the opposite end as the sun sets |
As the sun went down, we gathered the gimp and hailed an Uber back to our apartment. Rebe, Terry and I all went to the San Miguel Market to grab some food to eat at the apartment, we also stopped by one of the tapas restaurants (Restaurante Los Galayos) we ate at on our first night to supplement the food we picked up at the market. Back to the apartment for dinner, rest and hoping that Yeli could walk for the rest of the trip.
Sunday
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| Our chariot |
The night before we had packed our bags and called for a taxi to take us to the bus station first thing in the morning. Originally when planning this trip we had talked about renting a car or even flying to Granada but flights were either expensive or just too time consuming and getting a car and dropping it off in a new city is always a hassle. And even the train didn't really line up, but Rebe being the expert travel planner that she is she found us a first class direct bus to Granada. It was a bus with a meal service, reclining chairs and even wifi. And after our 4 hour bus ride, we made it into Granada. From the bus station we caught a taxi into the heart of the city and to our apartment.
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| Street in front of our apartment |
The apartment owner met us quickly at the apartment, got us setup, gave us some tips and left us to our things. Being that we left Madrid so early it was now lunch time and of course we were hungry, Granada being in the southern part of Spain has a lot of influences from northern Africa and the muslim culture that had been in the area of the country long ago still exists. Our plan was to hit up this Moroccan joint but apparently it's too popular and the wait was over an hour at one in the afternoon. I should also note that the city of Granada is built like a maze this was by design with the intent to confuse attackers of the city, apparently even the locals still get lost in the streets. After our original plan was shut down we stumbled over to a eatery called Puerta de Syria which seemed to be run by a family and they served us some unique and tasty food.
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| Streets of Granada |
From lunch we walked back toward the center of town and stumbled upon the Cathedral of Granada. A large multi-building complex with multiple chapels surrounded by other buildings as the city has grown. The church rents headsets that give a numbered self guided tour through each of the interior areas of the church.
After the church it was siesta time, you didn't really think we were not going to continue with our naps.
After our nap but before dinner we came down to bar right downstairs from the apartment to watch the Barcelona vs Madrid soccer match with some locals, we had slept through most of the game but had a few tapas and some vermouth to kill some time.
The plan for dinner was to see a Flamenco show at El Templo del Flamenco. You would think that the Temple of Flemenco would be this big theater looking building worthy of the name Temple of Flamenco but we would found after walking up and down the maze covered hill behind the city was much better than a temple, it was indeed a cave. Literally a cave in the side of a mountain, yes a freaking cave. You always read the descriptions to places and are like "oh yeah, in a X" but this time it really was an amazing venue. The cave had a main corridor with corridors that turned off from it and at the end of the main corridor was a stage for the Flamenco dancers. Not enough can be said as to how cool this venue was. Dinner was fed to us before the show and just as we finished, more people had arrived for the start of the show.
Now I am sure most people have heard of Flamenco dancing, usually you have this idea of a lady spinning around in a fluffy dress but what you probably don't have a clue about is the singing and singing might be a nice way of describing the wailing that was going on, it wasn't bad now knowing it was normal but our first impression was like what's up with this guy singing. It truly reminding us of the call for prayer you hear coming from mosques in the middle east. All in all it was a great show in a very cool venue.
We then made our way back down through the maze to the apartment, and big shout out to Google Maps because it really gave us the shortest path through the maze and had us going down the right streets at the right time.
Monday
Another day and another early tour, I think this might be the best plan for doing tours in Spain. Getting up early you suffer but it allows you to beat the crowds and come back after lunch and take a snooze. Today we had scheduled a SEGWAY TOUR, yep we were those corny tourist flying down the streets on segways and before you knock it trust me its the best way to cover a city and honestly Segways are just cool and fun. Plus in hilly city like Granada it really makes seeing the hilly portions much nicer and less tiresome. And with Yeli's bum calf it was easier for her to get around, though over the day before she made it around pretty well and much better than we had imagined.
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| Alhambra as seen from the streets of Granada |
The tour led us through the Albaicín which is the area where the original muslims settled next to the Alhambra. It consists of maze like streets and a large population of white houses which help to reflect the heat in the summer time. Granada gets quite hot in the summer time, 100+ is normal. The tour led us to the top of a section of the hill high above the neighborhood where we could view down and still look up at the Alhambra.
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| View from the hilltop, Alhambra to the left and Granada to the right |
While on our way to a second view point we were navigating the maze, up and down a few hills and around corners. Since I was the only veteran of Segway usage I was pulling up the rear and got to watch everyone. Luckily no one went down, but we did have one funny bit. Just to make sure everyone knows how a Segway works, you lean forward to go forward and lean back to slow down or go in reverse. When going down a hill, there is a tendency to lean forward which can make the Segway accelerate and it also makes it a little difficult to lean back because it's makes you feel like you're gonna fall back. Anyway, we were going down a small hill and there was a stop sign... and Rebe just rolled right by it and took a sharp left up the hill right past the tour guide who was leading. And to make it funnier of course she made a slight scream as she turned up the road and then the tour guide had to go chase Rebe down while the rest of us waited patiently at the stop sign.
After the Segway tour we stayed in the area and we walked along the Darro River seeing other sights. As we were walking down the street we walked passed an open door with a hand written note that said "we sell cookies." Yes, we had found another convent and this time the nuns were up and selling cookies. Of course we walked in, it was a large room easily 20 feet by 20 feet square, maybe larger. And it was an empty room, not a thing in the room, no furniture nothing except for a doorbell and a turnstile-lazy Susan device mounted into the wall but with dividers so when turned you can't see the person on the other side. There was also a small sign saying what was available today. Our fearless leader, Yeli, pressed the doorbell and waited, and after a minute or so a nun on the other side of the turnstile said, "Ave Maria." Yeli in a bit of panic looks at Rebe and says, "Ave Maria! We would like some almond cookies please." Then Rebe and Yeli put the money in the turnstile and the nun turns it around and then spins it back with cookies. SCORE!
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| Patiently waiting for cookies |
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| Cookies! |
We continued up the street and found a few more interesting sites, two being old houses that had been turned historic places for viewing and a small bath house.
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| Outer Spa of El Bañuelo |
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| Inner Room of El Bañuelo |
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| Intricate ceiling in Casa de Horno |
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| Typical street in the area |
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| Interior courtyard of Casa Horno de Oro |
After all the history of the morning it was time for lunch, we ventured over to La Botillería for lunch and wine and then back to our apartment for another nap.
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| Lunch stop |
When we woke up, we really did not have anything planned for the afternoon but there was more to see at the Granada Cathedral, as there was a 2nd church on the same site of the Cathedral grounds AND the Royal Chapel which houses the mortal remains of the "Catholic Kings" Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon whose marriage united Spain.
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| Another church on the same grounds as the main Cathedral and Royal Chapel |
After seeing enough church history for a week, we headed across town to find food. Of course, the place we wanted to go was not open at 730 and we had to wait or stand around. As a second plan we headed across the street to a small tapas place that was open and nice looking and moderately busy it was called El Conde. So small in fact that there were no tables for us, so the four of us sat at the bar which is always good because it gives you direct access to the bar staff so you can ask good questions about the food and the drinks that they have on hand.
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| El Conde storefront |
From dinner we headed back to the apartment in order to prep for another early morning.
Tuesday
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Main entrance to Alhambra
(it seems like you can actually get on the grounds for free but not in to all areas) |
As with any vacation, you're usually due to have at least one day of bad weather or at least a half day of bad weather. Well today was the day where the rain would really get us in the morning but luckily it faded after our outdoor tour of the Alhambra started.
The Alhambra is the Muslim multipurpose residence and fortress built on Roman ruins in the 9th century. The very front or lower section was the army fortress with it's steep walls high up on the cliff and as time moved on and the fortress was less used it was left alone until the the Emirate of Granada built his residence right behind the fortress up on the hill. It was his palace and why not build your palace right next to the army barricade, seemed sensible and safe right?
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| Fortress section of the Alhambra |
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| View of Albacin |
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| Inside one of the residences |
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| Interior courtyard of a residence |
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| Large meeting room in Alhambra, meant to show power of the owners |
Towards the back of the Alhambra is the Generalife (pronounce Hen-er-ral-lee-fay) and it was like the summer residence of the residents of the Alhambra.
But right smack dab in the middle of the Alhambra is the palace of Charles the V. Like any King, he wanted to put his stamp on history and build his palace right in the middle of the Alhambra and so he did. In contrast to the rest of the Moorish Muslim inspired structures he built his palace in a renaissance style, it really sticks out like a sore thumb but it is a beautiful structure... on the outside. Sometime monarchs bite off more than they could chew and the townsfolk were not really keen on the castle and didn't really want to pay for it so it is kinda sparse on the inside. It's literally an open arena on the inside.
All in all a beautiful historic place and well worth a visit with a tour guide to tell you all the history.
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| Exterior of Palace of Charles V |
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| Interior of Palace of Charles V |
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| Garden on the way to El Generalife |
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| Backside of Alhambra seen from gardens |
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| Courtyard of Generalife |
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| Main road up to Alhambra |
As I mentioned earlier, the Alhambra is up on a hill above Granada and this morning it was raining so instead of walking in the rain we grabbed a taxi to the front of Alhambra. But the afternoon was getting nice, sunny and it was a walk down hill back into town so that's what we did. The road up the Alhambra was lined with trees and greenery and then we got to cut through some of the maze of Granada and back into town. For lunch we headed back into the area we ate the previous night at a bar named Taberna La Tana. La Tana was a small bar with tapas, it really had that old pub feel. There were only maybe 16 seats in the place so it was cozy but the bar staff was such a local and really didn't try to speak english to us, but she obviously spoke it as we didn't really speak Spanish (though the ladies could). After La Tana we went to the place next door, Rosario Varela, well because who can turn down more drinks but more so that tapas aren't always the most filling. This place was I would say more, I dunno it felt like a chain and not really a truly historic Spanish tapas bar like the previous place.
This afternoon was a bit nasty, just constant rain and clouds and not very inviting to walking around the city and seeing more. But rain wouldn't stop us, so we put on our rain gear and got to trekking back across the city. We were heading to a new area of town to see the Monastery of San Jeronimo, this a convent where nuns are worshiping and it's just a nice small hidden gem in the town. While walking around the monastery we heard some singing, and it was the NUNS!!! We snuck in the back door and sat in the back row to listen to the nuns sing some catholic hymns. There was this one old nun, I mean old, so old that I think she was sleeping when we walked in. After sitting this nun starred at us the entire time we were in there, she actually stopped singing and just starred. Maybe she doesn't see outside people often, or maybe we weren't actually supposed to be in there... well they should have locked the door then. While we were at the monastery Terry and Yeli visited the Royal Chapel.
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| Central courtyard of the Monestary |
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| Church of the Monestary |
Rebe and I met back up with with Terry and Yeli in the center of town and then went over to Pastelería López-Mezquita where we had breakfast a few days prior. So we stopped, out of the continuing rain, to enjoy some tapas of course and to further discuss the plan for the night. Rebe and Yeli were off to a spa treatment, which left me and Terry on a hunt for good beer. Most of drinks thus far in the trip had been of a Spanish flair, mainly wine and vermouth. Well if you know Terry and me, you know beer is the way to go and I found a spot on other side of town that had a lot of craft beer. Even stuff from some of the smaller breweries in the US, like Reformation (ATL) and more midsize breweries like Founders (MI). We trudged over there in the rain, enjoy the impressive selection for such a sleepy town like Granada, had some mediocre pub food and then made our way back to the apartment for the night.
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| Image from the spa website (Hammam Al Ándalus) |
Wednesday
Another early morning, another early move. This time we found the best way to Barcelona was to take a short flight, instead of the 8+ hours a bus or car would take. Originally we wanted to make this an all out road trip but so much time would be lost on the transfer days and 8 hours of driving would zap this day, even more because we would want to see all the little towns along the way. We booked a flight with Veuwling, of course this was a budget airline but this took budget to an entire new level for me. Got on the usual tightly cramped plane where after the safety briefing the flight attendant disappeared, no drinks, no snacks, nada. I'm not even sure I saw her when we exited the plane, hell the pilot probably came out and opened the door for us.
We got a cab to our apartment, again in the heart of the city, and settled in on the 5th floor. Luckily there was tiny elevator that we could put our luggage in and send it up to remove on our floor. It was a huge apartment, 4 bedrooms, living room, kitchen and 3 bathrooms, and I would even call it spacious especially for the heart of the city. Since we left Granada at 6am, there was nothing to do for breakfast and with the flight, cab ride and stair climbing we were ready for lunch. The apartment owner recommended a pub around the corner which looked like a cool and trendy spot from the decor but the food and service was sub par from the previous meals we had had on the trip.
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| Cool basement at the lunch restaurant |
After lunch we went back to the apartment to continue unpacking for the 3rd and final time, and to discuss our plan for the evening. Our original plan was to do a evening bike tour of Barcelona but the weather was looking ugly, we thought they might cancel the bike tour but the tour agency was willing to do the tour in the rain if we were willing. Riding in the rain is doable, but on slick stoney sidewalks we thought better and the tour company was willing to allow us to reschedule for tomorrow.
Of course as soon as we cancel the rain lets up a little and the sun comes out. We still needed to figure out what the plan would be for the day, so again we were pretty central to the city and within walking distance to the city's Gothic Quarter and the Cathedral of Madrid. The Cathedral has a unique history as it was a very basic church but in order to make it famous the front facade was rebuilt to make it more classical. Our tour guide from the bike tour informed us that the locals don't like this 'fake' (facade) church for it's fake facade and then that they actually charge tourist to visit.
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| Cathedral of Barcelona |
While in the plaza in front of the church we were trying to figure out what to do next, and on the street in front of the church there was the hop-on-hop-off buses that circle the city. Since it was still light out, we decided to hop on the bus and see more of the city than we otherwise would have. As cheesy as these buses are, they are really a great way to see a city and to learn about other areas that you might not have heard of. The bus took us to all of Barcelona, past a few famous Gaudi (the architect) houses, Sagarada Familia, Olympic Stadium, Port Vell and the National Art Museum. We didn't actually get to visit the National Art Museum but we did get off at the bus stop because it is just an amazing location up on a hill over looking the city.
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| Venice like towers, on the way to the National Art Museum |
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| In front of the National Art Museum |
We stayed on the bus for a complete loop and then switched routes to catch a little more of the city. It then got dark and then the rain started back up and it was some angry rain. The group decided to split up, and Rebe and I hopped on the subway to get back close to the apartment to decide on dinner plans. For dinner we ate at a spot near the apartment named Racó Bonsuccés where we split a full seafood paella that was great. Then back to the apartment for the night.
Thursday
Thursday was going to be our day to do some real exploring around Barcelona, but with the rain from the day before our bike tour was added to the agenda for the day. But with no real plan and no where to be at a certain time, Rebe and I took an opportunity to sleep in a little bit and with the late start we took our time to take a stroll through the city. On our walk we did a self-guided tour of a few most famous Antoni Gaudí houses.
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| Gaudi house is the one on the right, tough to get a good pic of it |
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| Rebe in front of the Gaudi House across the street |
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| A lesser known, off the main street Gaudi House |
If you've never heard of Gaudí, you really should do some research on the guy as he was really a genius way ahead of his time. Imagine these buildings being built between 1900-1910, heck I cannot even imagine these being built today and even today people would balk at such individual designs.
From the Gaudí houses, we grabbed a bus over to meet Terry and Yeli at Port Vell because it looked very cool from our bus ride and plenty of things to do and see in the area. We enjoyed the waterfront and the sights before starting our hunt for lunch. This hunt was a bit more challenging than we were expecting, we had a list of potential spots that we wanted to try but November 1st is All Saints Day and of course all these cool lunch spots were not open yet or not opening on this day. Luckily Los Pergaminos was open and fed us some good tapas.
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| Port Vell |
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| Backstreets while looking for lunch |
Rebe's parents were coming into town on this day and they were arriving after our lunch, we headed back across town to meet them but of course we took the scenic route back. Stopping by plazas, churches, even a church barring scars from the Spanish Civil War.
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| A plaza we found walking about across town |
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| Church that was bombed during the Spanish Civil War |
After letting Rebe's parents into the apartment, we headed over to our bike tour. The bike tour was on electric bikes, so you just pedal lightly and the bike was greatly assist in moving the bike. The bike tour took us to Barcelona Cathedral, El Born neighborhood and the El Born Cultural Memorial Center, Ciutadella Park, Olympic Village (not the stadium), the Barcelona Beach (tourist area) and to the Cathedral of the people (Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar). The most interesting stops were the Cultural Memorial of where the old neighborhood was leveled by King Philip V to build his armory and fortress on this side of town. Also interesting was the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, the history of this church is that it was built by the people of local neighborhood without the help of the government and church clergy and is open to the public for free.
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| Entrance to El Born Cultural Memorial Center (BCM) |
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| Ruins in BCM, this area was basically bulldozed by the king to build a citadel |
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| Fountain in Parc de la Ciutadella |
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| Barcelona pier and beach |
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| Barcelona pier and beach |
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| Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar |
The bike tour ended at Four Cats, a tapas bar where Picasso himself used to hang out. Really cool spot, interesting Barcelona type tapas along with wonderful wine and history from our tour guide. We then met Rebe's parents for drinks, tapas and dessert at La Priciapal before calling it a night.
Friday
Friday was another early start, this time we took the subway to our tour of Park Güell. Park Güell was to be a masterplanned community created by Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí was going to design all the houses of the neighborhood but only 2 house were ever built, one currently owned by the park/city and the other privately owned by a family. The attention to detail in the park and layout was amazing, the park was to be self sustaining and it would need to be on the outskirts of the town. It is located towards the edge of the city today, and imagining living in this area 100 years ago before the city was really built up to the level it is today, and that is why the project never really took off.... Gaudí once again way ahead of his time.
Pics from Park Güell
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| Clubhouse 1 at the front (not a residence) |
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| Clubhouse 2 at the front (not a residence) |
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| Aqueducts |
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| 1st Gaudi House in the park, where Gaudi actually lived |
After the tour of the monumental area (front portion) of the park, we walked around to explore the rest of the park. The park monumental area is at the entrance of the park and then the rest of the park goes up a couple of hills, trails meander through the park and for your efforts of walking through the park you are rewarded with differing views of the park and the city below.
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| Sagrada Familia seen from Park Güell |
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| 2nd Gaudi designed house in the park, still privately owned |
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| 2nd home up close |
When we exited the park we were quite walk from the city, so we hopped a bus back to the area near the Cathedral of Barcelona and we were on the hunt for a snack/dessert. We found a store right around the corner from the Cathedral that was selling it all named Pastisseria La Comena. Nothing like a good pastry to hold you over. They had the best merengue's according to Rebe.
We then trekked over to El Nacional which is like an indoor food court but of nice places and not fast food. It was a beautiful setting for lunch, really modern and new feeling in a European city where all the buildings are relatively old (especially in comparison to places the US). After lunch we went back to the apartment to rest up for the evening tour.
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| Inside El Nacional |
We could only save the best for last and when in Barcelona the biggest draw is La Sagrada Familia. I posted a picture from earlier on this day that showed La Sagrada Familia from Park Güell. In case you have not figured it out by now, La Sagrada Familia is the large church designed by Antoni Gaudí and if you know your Catholic church history, these things aren't built in years but rather decades if not centuries. The church in the Vactican took 120 years to build for example. La Sagrada was started by Gaudí in 1882, this was even before Park Güell and today it is still not completed.
Gaudí had a grand idea for his church, and in order to ensure that his vision was fulfilled he knew that he had complete at least a section of his vision so that others couldn't deviate from his idea. Before Gaudí's death in 1926, only one of the eighteen to be completed spires was finished. For a long time the church was literally just a facade (and a side facade at that), the facade that made it through WW2 and the Spanish civil war and during the Spanish Civil War Gaudí's plans for the church were destroyed, and apparently it took them 16 years to put plaster models back together. I won't bother you with more history, I know you read this stuff for the images.
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| Original Gaudi Nativity Facade |
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| Across the center of the church looking west |
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| Above the east door |
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| Looking from the central nave towards the alter |
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| West windows, note the red tint to highlight the sunsets |
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| Central nave ceiling |
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| East window, again note the tint for the 'cool' sunrises |
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| Us at the Passion Facade |
We then had dinner at a place called Arume. It was down this back alley and had rave reviews, it was so popular that we needed to make a reservation. We arrived at the restaurant about 20 minutes before opening and there was no one really around. We come back in 15 minutes and there is a crowd fighting to get into this small restaurant and after jockeying for position we get to the front and get our table. Duck paella was on the menu, so of course that was ordered and then it was back to the apartment for the night.
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| Duck Paella |
Saturday
Saturday was to be our last full day in Spain, Terry and Yeli got up at the crack of dawn to head to the airport, Rebe and I got up to eat a quick breakfast before we got on the road. The destination for today was Monserrat, 35 miles away by train. Monserrat is a mountain in the Catalonia region of Spain, notable for the mountainous region and the famous Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey (monastery) with 80 monks in residence.
First we had to get to Monserrat from Barcelona, we looked at the train schedule and it appeared a train left every hour and if we missed the train that meant we would have to wait an hour for the next one. We got fortunate that we arrived to the train station about 20 minutes before the train was to depart. Got our tickets and sat down on the empty train but the train didn't stay empty for long as it got closer and closer to departure time, all the seats filled, EVERY SINGLE SEAT. And not many people got off the train before Monserrat.
There's two main ways visitors get to the monastery at atop the mountains at Monserrat, a train that winds up and around the mountain and the cablecar (tram) that goes directly up the mountain. Leaving the train station we took our time and enjoyed the view while others lined up for the tram. HUGE MISTAKE on our part as the tram could only take ~15 people at a time and with over 100 people in line and 15 minutes between trams it took a while for us to finally reach the top. But the views from the bottom were nice enough that it wasn't too bad a wait.
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| View from the tram station, if you look closely you can see the monastery near the vee in the mountain |
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| Monastary courtyard out front |
Once we arrived at the top we stopped by the visitors center to get the lay of the land and to figure out what we wanted to do. Really not a lot to do other than see the monastery museum, the church that is also on site with the rare Black Madonna or go for a hike on the many trails along the mountain. We decided on hike the main trail, which led to the top of the mountain and it was a haul. 2 hours worth of hiking up to the top, and by the time we got back down to the monastery even my legs were shaking, Rebe is a champ that's all I can say.
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| View of the monastery from the 2nd tram to assist with climbing the mountain |
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| Another view on the monastery, this time from above |
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| Mountains along the hike |
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| More mountains along the hike |
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| Hiker taking a rest at the top |
Now with shaky legs, we headed to the store to recharge with some snacks (chips, cookies, grapes and a 1.5L Fanta). Yep, that's right the Texans were walking around the monastery with a 1.5L Fanta no cup just sipping. No ***** were given this day. We then headed over to the church to get a viewing, we skipped the line for the Madonna as the line was wrapped around the courtyard. As usual another beautiful church.
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| Front of the church |
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| Interior of the church |
We didn't want to catch the last train down the mountain, as we fear it would be super crowded in addition the last train back to Barcelona would be super crowded too and who wants to stand for an entire hour train ride after 3.5 hours worth of hiking... not us. Of course, we were not the only people with this idea and people were lining up for the train already. Long story short, we got a seat going the mountain and another seat on the way back to Barcelona.
Upon our arrival in Barcelona, we grab some local street food (gyro plates) and combined with our leftovers from the night before we ate good with Rebe's parents.
Our flight on Sunday was early again through Frankfurt but this time with much less drama than the flight over.
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