Actually that "Zurich" was a cafe at the head of La Rambla where we stopped for a continental breakfast and "Egipte" is the name of the Egyptian restaurant at which we ate lunch late this afternoon...
Otherwise our only transportation surprise came well before we left Cleveland. Having forgotten (or never known) that the Red Line to the airport was undergoing major restoration and repair, we blythely allowed just an hour or so to reach Hopkins by train, only to find we had to, first, alight at West 98th Street and transfer to a shuttle bus to reach West 117th, then get off the train again at Brookpark to take a second bus the remainder of the way -- all this, plus the usual transfer between the Blue Line and the Red Line at Tower CIty downtown, took us fully an additional sixty minutes.
We arrived at the checkin counter with a scant forty-five minutes to spare rather than the two hours anticipated, only to find a stranded serviceman tryiing to change his reservation so he could get home to Houston, an alteration that took WAY too many minutes for the already harried ticket agent to accomplish. Kind folks in the TSA line eventually allowed us to cut in ahead of them, and we made a mad dash for the gate - only to find (of course) that the plane departure had been delayed. Isn't that always the way?
At least, in the end, we didn't have to waste much time cooling our heels at the airport, and the pilot made up all the time lost so we arrived in Barcelona right on time.
Since then all has gone well indeed. The airport bus deposited us on Placa de Catalunya in the center of the city where we had breakfast at the Zurich Cafe, a venerable institution dating back to the nineteenth century at least. A quick taxi ride took us to our apartment on Rambla del Raval where our host, German Garcia, met us with the key.
The Raval was the earliest industrial neighborhood within the old walled city. Tenements housed workers nearby, and ultimately, centuries later, the area turned into a rather doggy neighborhood. At the time of the 1992 Olympic Games, the city began an extensive program to rehabilitate the area. Among the "improvements" the city in 2000 bulldozed the worst blocks and replaced them with a wide boulevard and lots of new buildings, one of which houses the apartment we are renting.
We have a view of the wide avenue out our wondows, lots of light and find ourselves well equipped to handle all our daily needs as well. Best of all, we have highspeed Wi-Fi!
After a brief nap and a bit of unpacking, we set out to explore our new surroundings. The city is truely fascinating, full of lots and lots of tourists and overun with great restaurants and cafes. We ate lunch back on La Rambla, the Barcelona landmark street EVERYONE walks along while here (just as all tourists visit Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and Times Square in NYC). However, we did so in an establishment founded back in the sixteenth century and enjoyed a hearty three course meal for 11.40 Euro -- not bad for our first Spansih restaurant foray!
The rest of the afternoon (lunch lasted two hours!) we followed a suggested walking tour of the Born area, the medieval heart of the city. The streetscapes here -- and elsewhere -- are full of intricate architectural detail: lots of balconies, sculpted stonework, iron railings, wonderfully carved wooden doors, garden-filled interior courtyards.
Most importantly, while Lee wore Heidi out with all our walking, we stayed awake! That should make our jetlag easier to overcome. Then we'll get down to the real business of exploring the city in all its dimensions. But for now that's all on tomorrow's agenda (and sure to be easier to face after a good night's sleep).
Otherwise our only transportation surprise came well before we left Cleveland. Having forgotten (or never known) that the Red Line to the airport was undergoing major restoration and repair, we blythely allowed just an hour or so to reach Hopkins by train, only to find we had to, first, alight at West 98th Street and transfer to a shuttle bus to reach West 117th, then get off the train again at Brookpark to take a second bus the remainder of the way -- all this, plus the usual transfer between the Blue Line and the Red Line at Tower CIty downtown, took us fully an additional sixty minutes.
We arrived at the checkin counter with a scant forty-five minutes to spare rather than the two hours anticipated, only to find a stranded serviceman tryiing to change his reservation so he could get home to Houston, an alteration that took WAY too many minutes for the already harried ticket agent to accomplish. Kind folks in the TSA line eventually allowed us to cut in ahead of them, and we made a mad dash for the gate - only to find (of course) that the plane departure had been delayed. Isn't that always the way?
At least, in the end, we didn't have to waste much time cooling our heels at the airport, and the pilot made up all the time lost so we arrived in Barcelona right on time.
Since then all has gone well indeed. The airport bus deposited us on Placa de Catalunya in the center of the city where we had breakfast at the Zurich Cafe, a venerable institution dating back to the nineteenth century at least. A quick taxi ride took us to our apartment on Rambla del Raval where our host, German Garcia, met us with the key.
The Raval was the earliest industrial neighborhood within the old walled city. Tenements housed workers nearby, and ultimately, centuries later, the area turned into a rather doggy neighborhood. At the time of the 1992 Olympic Games, the city began an extensive program to rehabilitate the area. Among the "improvements" the city in 2000 bulldozed the worst blocks and replaced them with a wide boulevard and lots of new buildings, one of which houses the apartment we are renting.
We have a view of the wide avenue out our wondows, lots of light and find ourselves well equipped to handle all our daily needs as well. Best of all, we have highspeed Wi-Fi!
After a brief nap and a bit of unpacking, we set out to explore our new surroundings. The city is truely fascinating, full of lots and lots of tourists and overun with great restaurants and cafes. We ate lunch back on La Rambla, the Barcelona landmark street EVERYONE walks along while here (just as all tourists visit Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and Times Square in NYC). However, we did so in an establishment founded back in the sixteenth century and enjoyed a hearty three course meal for 11.40 Euro -- not bad for our first Spansih restaurant foray!
The rest of the afternoon (lunch lasted two hours!) we followed a suggested walking tour of the Born area, the medieval heart of the city. The streetscapes here -- and elsewhere -- are full of intricate architectural detail: lots of balconies, sculpted stonework, iron railings, wonderfully carved wooden doors, garden-filled interior courtyards.
Most importantly, while Lee wore Heidi out with all our walking, we stayed awake! That should make our jetlag easier to overcome. Then we'll get down to the real business of exploring the city in all its dimensions. But for now that's all on tomorrow's agenda (and sure to be easier to face after a good night's sleep).
No comments:
Post a Comment