DAY 14 - VICKY, CRISTINA, BARCELONA

So have you been wondering where we  have been the past 4 days? 

ANDORRA/SPAIN

DAY 14

From:           Andorra 

To:                Barcelona - Spain

Distance:       207km / 128 miles

Climate:        7C - 18C = 45 -65F

VICKY, CRISTINA, BARCELONA

What a great movie that was with Penelope Cruz and her now husband Javier Bardem! And what a great time we had crossing over the Pyrenees from Andorra  back to Spain.

CUSTOMS

In my last post you may remember that Andorra is not a part of the EU therefore we had to pass through border control which was mostly comprised of checking the car for too many tax free items - cigarettes etc. 

We filled our gas tank up in Andorra because of the lower gas prices. With gas being about $9.00 a gallon now in Europe (thanks Kadafhi), the $1.00 per gallon less in Andorra felt the same as winning the lottery.

TRIP PROBLEMS

Now you may be asking yourself, "Why are we going back to Spain". Well this morning, Bob did not ask me if I wanted "beach or mountains". We had no choice but to head back to Spain because of a slight hiccup in our trip.

An employee at our bank in Spain cancelled, ( yes I said cancelled) my Spanish credit cards. Which meant that we had no credit cards to use on our trip. And anything urgent in Spain amounts to about a week or so of delay!! With limited cash on hand, and no cards to use we had to come back to Spanish land to get some money and wait for our cards!! After screaming and shouting to the bank manager, all I did was waste my time and energy on something which was not going to go any quicker. 

So, back to Spain we came! And where else to go but to the beautiful and magical city of Barcelona - rich with Gaudi, history, architecture and great food!

ROAD BACK TO SPAIN VIA ANDORRA

Small narrow tunnels to pass thru.... The  next 2.5 hours consisted of so many curves and turns that I got car sick. It was an exhausting road.

Instead of taking the highway back to Spain, we decided to cut through the mountains along a small off track road. For the next 2.5 hours, we were the only car on this road. No one else!

No- this is not a view form an airplane. The small road we took was soooooooo high up in the mountains and cold. It went as low as 41 degrees.

Because of all the EU money Spain has received over the years - even the unused small back roads of Spain are paved!!

BEAUTIFUL and WORTH IT!

BACK TO CIVILIZATION- 

 BARCELONA

Ah.... back to a city!

 El Corte Ingles (Hence - the small English) is the largest and most known Department store in Spain. It is a privately owned company. Corte Ingles is one of the greatest stores I have been in. It has everything. And I mean everything! From furniture, to food, to car washing - in fact, there isn't anything they do not have!

CORTE INGLES 
BARCELONA! 

TAX FREE - as a non EU resident ( as an American) you can get back all your taxes (@16%) at the airport when you leave. All you have to do is at each store you make a purchase ( over E90) is fill out a form and have it stamped at the airport by customs.

BUS TOUR

Well how could we come to Barcelona and not be a tourist! Yes... we took the tour!

 Cataluyna Plaza

• CATALUYNA -         Community
• BARCELONA-           Provence
• BARCELONA CITY - Capital and 2nd largest city in Spain

• Population                 1.6 million people ( but feels like 10million)
• Origins:                     Roman city

The growth of Barcelona happened within the past 100 years.

Follow us on the Barcelona City Tour!

Port Vell - where the cruise ships come in

Area of - Barceloneta

Near to Las Ramblas and Port

Frank Gehry - Architect of the Fish Sculpture  and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

ICE TOWER 

The Diagonal Buildings -

Agbar Building. Built in 1999-2005 has 16 millions lights and 40 thousand different colors.

All the streets in the city are unusually wide!

Guadi - Casa Bitio

Catalunya Square.... one of the busiest places.

Las Ramblas - the famous walking street

The Musuem

UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS JUST IN!

Unfortunately the unemployment numbers just came out while we were there. Over 5,000,000 people are unemployed. 21% out of work!

Numbers were up! 43% of them are youth. And 1.6 million of them are couples with both being unemployed. It is the worst statistics ever!

TRANSPORTATION:
We took everything - bus, cabs, trains, subway and walked a lot... this city put our cardio in shape

LUNCH-
As you now know - Catalan - is the language of Barcelona and used more often than Spanish. Most signs are in both languages - and sometimes not. When we sat down to eat, Bob thought the menu was huge - why? Because he didn't realize it was written in two languages!!!

If you want the best Seafood Paella in Spain - then visit Oasis - ( see card)
Mathias has been making this homemade speciality for over 30 years in his family restaurant.  It was one of the best we have ever had in Spain! Price 20E ($30usd).

The streets of Barcelona are filled with street entertainment. Here 17 guys showed off their breakdancing acrobatic tricks. Over 300 people were watching, but not too many pulled out any change at the end.

We tried to rent these bikes - but they are for locals only!

The World Trade Center

The Museum - closed only 3 days a year - and of course the day we went!

Gorgeous view from above... you can see Monserrat in the distance 

This photo is taken especially for all my dog lover friends. 

He wanted to cool off!

Palau Sant Jordi
 Ah... this building brings back some great memories.... A year ago Bob and I travelled to Barcelona to see Eros Ramazottii in concert - it's part of the Olympic Stadium.

Local Barcelona Police - SEAT - the national Spanish car. ( one of our cars as well)

LUNCH!

Remember in a prior post one of the 5 other languages spoken in Spain is Catalan. That is the language of Barcelona. People were speaking with me in Catalan and I had no clue what they were saying. It was as if we were not in Spain. Even the signs were all in Catalan. So a bit confusing if you are used to Spanish.

PASTA

Bob ordered a coffee and dessert. When it was time to pay the guy said - in Spanish " "Ok, 1 coffee and 1 pasta.". We answered, no we didn't have any pasta. Just a dessert and coffee. He insisted - no you had Pasta. We kept this up for a bit until he explained in Catalan - Pasta is the same as dessert. Ah... and Pasta in Spanish is also slang for money and also Pasta for Spaghetti. So watch out for the Pasta!!

We had one of our best meals at XOPDOR restaurant just near the Museum My risotto was to die for!! And Bob swears it was the best Bacalo he ever had. Prices E12& E15

The most important bull ring in Spain. ( Not the oldest)

 GAUDI

 La Sagrada Familia - is Spains' most visited monument and Anton Guadi's masterpiece. Unfortunately he was unable to complete it. When he was 73 years old he was hit by a local tram, taken to the hospital for 3 days where he later died. His plans were carried on but other architects but this still remains as his " work of art".

He started this Cathedral when he was 31 years old and obsessed over it for more than 40 years until he died an accidental death ( read on). He even lived in the Church. It was his masterpiece but he was only able to see one side finished prior to dying.

 This church was built by Gaudi's teacher.

 Arc de triomphe

 ( Park de la Ciudadella )

Yes, kids in Spain still climb trees and play in parks - without their parents.

And yes, Barcelona is not only a tourists city - but a romantic city for locals in love - after so many years!!

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