Destination Barcelona!

The last week has been just spectacular - Barcelona with new friends, Florence with my cousin, and a little bit of Strep throat (?) thrown in for good measure.

Obviously, I am not going to be able to recount everything in one post, so I'm just going to chip away at things bit by bit. Here's the first installation from Barcelona...

When I booked all of my plane tickets, I strategically chose the times for my flights because Philippe said he could drop me off and pick me up at the airport if he wasn't working. But, isn't there something about the best laid plans not always working out? That was the case with me. Unfortunately, Philippe has been really sick for a little over a week (some type of vertigo, I think) and was unable to drive me. So, I took public transportation to Orly on Sunday. Though it took a while, it was pretty easy and didn't cost me any extra, since Orly is in zone 4 and my NaviGo (metro pass) covers travel in zones 1 - 4.

Arriving at the airport, I made my way through security with my trusty backpack - here you only have to take off your shoes if you are wearing boots, go figure - and met up with Maureen at our gate. We grabbed a quick coffee before boarding. The flight was uneventful and Vueling was a pretty good airline. We left a bit late, but landed on time (it feels like they build more extra time into the schedule here than in the U.S. so they can be on time) and made our way to the other terminal to meet Reagan, our third companion for the trip.

Armed with Barcelona city maps from the tourism kiosk, we hopped in a cab for the W Hotel (I still can't figure out how to say "W" in Spanish - the way the cab drivers said it, it sounded like "oo-ble doo-ble"). Can I just say a.m.a.z.i.n.g.!?! I feel like I've used that word more times since I've been in Europe than in the rest of my life combined, but it is just how I feel about every new experience and thing that I see.

A view of our hotel from the Harbor.

Our hotel was right on a beach, in an area called Barceloneta. During the summer I think this is tourist central, but being February, it was pretty quiet.  The Mediterranean Sea was just beautiful and I am so glad we stayed here because I'm not sure it is an area of the city we would have explored otherwise since it is out-of-season.

The view out our window!

After seeing pictures, I'm sure you're asking how the heck did little old Kerry afford a place like this. Did she just splurge? Nope - we got an amazing - there's that word again - deal on the room because Reagan's uncle (or for the duration of our stay, dad - remind anyone of Pretty Woman?) works for another hotel in the US owned by Starwood Hotels, the parent company that owns the W.

We spent some time walking the beach during the course of our stay and I took a little jog on Tuesday morning along the beach and stuck my feet in the water. Honestly, it wasn't that much colder than the ocean in Maine during the summer, but I didn't have my bathing suit with me, so I didn't go in.  I also saw two naked men on the beach (nudity isn't illegal in Barcelona unless it is considered disturbing) - don't get excited, they were both old and shrively.

Yes, on the beach in February. I'm one happy girl!

As part of our sweet deal with Reagan's uncle/dad, we were also given a 50% off food and beverage card to use in the hotel restaurant and bar. So, we had two great meals in the hotel restaurant for a steal price-wise. I don't know why I didn't get any food pictures in Barcelona (there will be plenty from Florence), but at the Wave (the hotel restaurant), I had a salad with green apples and shrimp the first time and then lobster fresh spring rolls and sea bass with scallop and other seafood the second time. Barcelona's seafood definitely didn't disappoint.

We arrived in Barcelona without much of an agenda, just a few things we wanted to see - Park Guell, the markets, Las Ramblas, La Sagrada Familia. And, during our time in Barcelona we did just that, we walked, we shopped, we explored, we enjoyed food and drink (coffee, wine, cocktails).

Sunday afternoon we took off on foot in search of food because we were starving! I enjoyed some octopus (I believe it was boiled and served with paprika and olive oil - it was scrumptious) and seafood paella in a little restaurant along the beachfront. I need to learn to make me some paella! We also stopped at some little market stalls on our way into town where we got some jams and almonds for snacks later on.

Our wandering brought us through the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) and past La Seu, the Barcelona Cathedral.

We then made our way to Placa del Catalunya, Placa Reial, and Las Ramblas before heading back to the W for dinner around 10 pm.

It was a relatively early night (in bed by midnight) since we had a big day planned for Monday that included lots of walking and sightseeing, eating at Artisa (a cute cafe we found during our Sunday stroll) and going out to enjoy the nightlife!