Last Day in Barcelona....going home tomorrow

Friday....last day in Barcelona

We had one more day in Barcelona and decide to make the most of it going back downtown to see the Gaudi museum.  We caught the 165 bus to Plaza Espanya, the L-1 subway to Catalunya and the northbound L-3 subway to the museum.  My little compass comes in handy to tell what direction is what when your're in a strange place.  We found the museum, bought tickets and went through thiis wonderfully creative architectural creation.  This guy is revered in Spain and especally Barcelona.  You can see his creative genius and imagination in the photos we'll post later..

After the museum we found an empty sidewalk bench and had lunch, ham and cheese sandwiches MA made that were left over from our breakfast buffet.  We then decided to go back to the La Rambla and watch some more "human statues" come to life.  We stopped for a cold drink and went to pay only to find out it was "cash only" and we had no Euros.  Finally convinced the waiter to take dollars. Don't take your ATM card to Europe, doesn't work here that we can tell. Late in the afternoon we reversed our trip; L-1 to Catalunya and 165 bus to the hotel.  We're starting to feel like natives!

This has been a magnificent and memorable trip for us but there's nothing like home, family and dear friends and we look forward to all after our arrive Saturday evening. We want to thank Paul Bice for stepping up to the plate one more time and teaching our Bible Study class for MA.   And thanks for reading the travel blog.  We have a lot of fun doing it but think we'll stay home for a while, except for a long weekend in Chicago late this month to catch up with Jim and Sue and the grandkids.

Later!  WW



Barcelona subway



Stuck in Barcelona Day 2

Stuck in Barcelona: Day 2


MA and I decided to make the most of our delay in Barcelona so we started checking out ways to get to the central part of the city from the Airport Marriott. The hotel has a shuttle that would take us part of the way, but we had missed the morning run. A very helpful concierge here carefully showed us how to get the local bus to the Plaça Espanya and then transfer onto the L-1 subway to the Plaza de Catalunya, the central hub for everything we wanted to do.

So we started our day on the #165 bus made by Mercedes-Benz. It made various stops before getting on the “freeway” to downtown and after 30 minutes we arrived to the transfer point for the Metro station and the L-1 subway. We found a T-10 ticket dispenser (ten rides) and purchased a ticket with enabled both of us to ride for 5 times, bus or subway. Following the signs, we found the L-1 and hopped on. Ten minutes later we arrived at Catalunya and rode the escalator up to street level. This huge plaza is the heart of Barcelona with major streets extending outward from it.

We decided to revisit the fascinating La Rambla, a huge pedestrian street about a mile in length leading to the waterfront. It is lined with cafes, newsstands, artists, flower shops, and performing artists. We had a ball watching the human statues come to life when someone drops a coin in their bucket and the reactions of the people watching them perform. I got some really great photos of these strange performers and I will share them with you at a later date.

Montserrat & a Waltz down the La Rambla



Tram to the Top


Montserrat & a Waltz down the La Rambla


This is Tuesday and we took a trip to Montserrat by train. We had already found out where to catch the train. So after breakfast we grabbed cameras, turned in the hotel key, and headed out the door to flag a taxi to the station. The cab showed up and we were on our way to the Plaza d’ Espanya. MA engaged the cab drive in some high level Spanish and learned that he was staying home on Wednesday in support of the General Strike throughout Spain. More on this later. We arrived in plenty of time to catch the 9:30 am train to Montserrat.

Montserrat, which means “serrated mountain”, is the location of the Monastery of Montserrat. The Monastery is surrounded by hermit caves, chapels, and jagged rocks which give it its name. It has a basilica, a museum, and is home to hundreds of Benedictine monks. It dates back to 9th Century, expanded in the 11th Century, attacked by the French in 1811 and rebuilt in 1844.

Basilica Facade



Interior of the Basilica



After about an hour and ten minutes train ride during which MA and a couple from Brazil engaged in a lively conversation in Portuguese, the train stopped below the Monastery and we boarded a tram which took us high up to the top of the mountain, 4055 ft above sea level. The view was awesome. We stopped in the cafeteria and had coffee and walked into the Basilica. The monks surely built a “one of a kind” place of worship.

Soon it was time to head back to Barcelona so we took the tram down to the train station. It was lunch time so we opened our ham and cheese sandwiches and had a lunch while we waited for the train. The ride back was a little confusing because the train we boarded didn’t go all the way to Barcelona. MA had made friends with a young Spanish woman, Noemí who showed us how to transfer to another train at a designated station. It is sure handy having a quad-linguist wife!

La Rambla




Our plan was to ride the train back to our starting place and use the remaining day on our Touristic Bus ticket and get off at the Old Quarter and go through the city museum. Instead we hopped off and started up the historic and famous “La Rambla”. This pedestrian walkway stretches from the big Plaça de Catalunya to the Mediterranean.

It is filled with souvenir shops, flower stalls, mime artists, musicians, dancers, newsstands, and cafes, tourists, natives, and don’t forget the pickpockets. MA and I sat down at a café and watched a mime dressed as a fruit tree come to life whenever someone dropped a coin in his cup. He would suddenly grab a wreath of artificial fruit and loop it over the payee’s head along with a hat of artificial fruit until someone took a photo.

We saw some strange people on this walk but the biggest surprise was finding a huge open-air market with all kinds of fruit, nuts, meats, spices, flowers, etc along the walk. I can’t wait to edit those photos. At the end of the walk we boarded our open air bus and made our way back to the hotel.

Stuck in Barcelona

The Spanish are going on a “General Strike” tomorrow, 29 September and we were holding our breath hoping our flight would not be affected. It is.  We were notified by Continental that our flight was cancelled and they rescheduled us for Saturday. No problem. MA got on the computer and got us a room at an airport hotel so we won’t be sleeping on waiting chairs. We are just going to make the best of it and fly home Saturday. We stopped at the local mini-market and loaded up on bottled water and snacks and checked our trip interruption insurance to see what they are going to pay! This means we will regrettably miss our Bible Study class for one more Saturday and MA sent out an SOS to the ladies that Friday night Bible Study is also cancelled.

So, hasta la vista you-all! Later! WW

Some more pictures:

Barcelona by Bus (2 Days in the Catalonian Capitol)

Barcelona-Day 1


Barcelona by Tour Bus from the Ship

The Ruby Princess docked for the last time (Sunday) here in Barcelona, Spain. We decided to spend three additional days here so we could see some of the city without rushing. We had arranged to go on a tour from the ship to get an idea of how the city was laid out. Our luggage was carried off last night and it was waiting for us as we departed the ship. We grabbed our bags, rolled them to the bus and hopped aboard.

Our tour would take us through some of the highlights of Barcelona; Sagrada Familia church, Old Gothic Quarter, Barcelona cathedral, and other sites. This was Sunday and there were hundreds of people around the cathedral watching Spanish folk dances. The tour ended at a square where we caught a cab to the Hotel Antibes, located in the center of the city. We unpacked, had a pizza for dinner and called it a night.

Day-2 (Monday)

Barcelona by Open-Air Bus; Hop-on-Hop-off

MA and I had decided to see Barcelona by the open air buses that weave through the city stopping at all the highlights. The run about every twenty minutes and you “hop on, hop off” at whatever stop suits your fancy. We were up early, and out the hotel door at 8:00. We walked the four blocks to the huge Gaudi church called La Sagrada Familia and found the Bus stop. We purchased two-day tickets.

We took a little time for more photographs of this huge church that truly is THE landmark of Barcelona. It was begun in 1883 by architect Antoni Gaudi and it’s still under construction. It would take me much longer to describe everything to you but just let me say it is unbelievable, awesome, symbolic in Christian faith, and will still not be completed for another 30-40 years. The towers are over 400 feet high. The interior is so massive it you can’t believe human beings could build something like this. The photos don’t do it justice. I took plenty and will dedicate an entire gallery to just this church.


It was finally time to start the bus ride so we hopped aboard the Blue Line which serves the north and west part of Barcelona. After touring the northern part of the city we headed by to the central district. Our first bus transfer was at the Plaza de Catalunya, the central plaza of Barcelona. We jumped aboard the Red Line for two stops and got off to walk into the old Gothic Barri (Quarter). It was lunch time so we got two cold drinks at a café and opened our “sack lunch” and had our ham and cheese sandwiches which we had made at the hotel breakfast.

After lunch we walked around the old quarter, tried to get in a museum but most were closed on Monday. We hopped back on the Red Line bus, found some empty seats on the top and enjoyed the view from the upper deck. We hopped off again at the Plaza d Espanha to purchase two rail tickets for a trip to Montserrat Tuesday and check out the rail station where we need to be on Tuesday.

Back on the bus and rode it to the top of the hill of Montjuic which rises to 700 feet above the streets. The National Palace, which is now a museum, dominates the architecture of the district. From this landmark you can see the whole skyline of Barcelona. I took some photos and we hopped back on to back to the Sagrada Familia church where we hopped off. We decided to have dinner and it was a choice between McDonald’s and the Luctuca Restaurant-Buffet. We chose the buffet. The food was good, kind of like Sweet Tomato and topped off with a small ice cream cup and decaf espresso.

Back at the hotel, the prayers for our return kicked in when the hotel clerk offered to hook us up with his cousin who works the night shift and would probably be interested in driving us to the airport Wednesday. Given that the local transportation will be on strike, it was a welcomed suggestion. I later met up with Alex and we’re all set to at least get to the Continental counter tomorrow. We’re watching the flights and if our inbound aircraft takes off from New York for Barcelona we might be OK after all.

I then decided to walk back to the church and take some night photos. On the way back about a block from the front door, I was approached by a stranger wanting to know directions to the subway. I immediately recognized him as a “thief” and held my tripod up pointing it at him. He then asked me if I had a map and I replied no and told him to take a hike. About that time two plainclothes police officers walked up, identified themselves and asked the guy for his ID and asked me for my passport. I pulled out my police ID and showed it to the cops and they smiled. I thought the crook was going to choke. The cops him to take a hike and not to be accosting tourists He quickly walked off. The cops had a big laugh and told me to be careful.

Off to Montserrat on the train (Tuesday). Thanks for all the comments and the prayers! WW & MA



Christopher Columbus Monument