Greek Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona to Athens

The Alleyway to our Hotel

Our infamous number 8 Graffiti door.

Gelato of every flavor.

Finally the time has come after much planning. Our 2 week Mediterannean cruise with 3 days in Barcelona pre cruise. Excursions booked, hotels booked and money exchanged to euros we have packed our bags but left plenty of room for all our souvenirs to bring home. We have a 10 hr. flight to Madrid on Iberia airlines changing planes after a  2 1/2 hour connection. Madrids airport is beautiful and wish we could visit but on to Barcelona. After a lot of looking on line for hotels we chose Ciutat de Vella which looked authentic, reasonable prices, great reviews and great location.

 The concierge desk is only open from 8:30-2:30 every day so  we need to check into another hotel which is open 24 hours and he gives us our key. Our taxi driver drops us off and directs us where to go and turn because the cars can't go down the narrow alleyways where our apartment waits. So off we go (the 4 of us, husband and 2 teens) to our next adventure. To say we were a little worried is an understatement as we are hauling suitcases (1 large and 1 carry one each)  to last us almost 3 weeks we turn down a literally extremely narrow alleyway where a homeless person is sleeping with his dog and find our number 8 next to a grafitti marked door and think this is a cruel joke. We get to a small elevator which only holds 2 people and a couple suitcases and takes us 3 trips to get to the 4th floor. But once we enter it is exactly as the pictures on the website and know all is good. Exhausted, tired and hungry we put everything away and head out to La Rambla which is right where we were dropped off from the taxi.

 Can I say "restaurant heaven"? There is so much to choose from we really don't know which one to pick. Tapas, pizza, paella and more. We all agree on Moka restaruant and get a table towards the back. I had a vegan salad w/quinoa because after eating the airline food that tasted like frozen dinners I really needed something healthy. But first we ordered the cod filet w/honey as an appetizer which was amazing. I only had one as I looked down at my phone to do something and by the time I looked up they were all gone. Wow, thanks for asking if I wanted the last one. The teens had pizza and DH had paella which takes 20 minutes to make the rice so his came last. After dinner we decided to get gelato (and yes there are no shortage of gelato eateries here with every flavor you can imagine,even a Red Bull Flavor with the can on top for decoration) and walk down La Rambla. After about an hour of walking there was a lightening/rain down pour and laughed as everyone screamed and ran for cover. We decided then it was time to go back to our secret hideaway hotel and catch up on some much needed rest for tomorrows tour at Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia.

Notice the Green Gelato with the Red Bull can flavor.

Connecting flight in Madrid

We flew from L.A. to Madrid for a 2 hour layover. Such a beautiful airport but not enough time to go explore Madrid. Just got some water and snacks and free wifi.

 

 

Breakfast

Breakfast most mornings around the corner. Fresh squeezed orange juice for only 2 euros!

La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and La Ramblas

We pre booked a "Skip the Line Guided tour of Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia" as we are going in the height of tourist season. After a quick stop at the corner La Pan we get fresh squeezed orange juice, some cafe latte's and croissants for a quick brreakfast and grab a taxi to Park Guell to start our tour. Because it was a hot day we thought we would be smart and buy some waters ( for about 3 € each) at the little store before you enter the park. But little did we know that all over the park are people selling water for only 1€ each after you enter. Who knew it would be cheaper inside. It's a beautiful park with great history and wonderful photo ops everywhere you turn. We were there for about a couple hours and then hopped on their tour bus to La Sagrada Familia where we turned in our vouchers for tickets and our tour guide took us all around the block to describe the outside before we entered the inside. If you don't pre buy your tickets you will face long lines. I'm not sure if they sell out or not but I thought I heard someone say that. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. 

When you walk in it will take your breath away. Even though you can take amazing pictures pictures it can't capture what you actually see in person all around you. It is enormous, wondrous, captivating and I can't even think of all the adjectives to describe it. We also went to the evolution of creating it underneath. After 4/12 hrs. we were worn out. We decided to be brave and take the Metro back to the hotel as we were spending a little too much money on taxis and it was an easy 3 stops. The teens decided to sleep and we decided to go to a pub for tapas and beers. My DH always wanted to try anchovies and here was his chance, soaked in olive oil and all. The salmon tapas were great and that gave us a much needed break to continue our souvinier shopping. Since I forgot magnets for the cabins walls ( I can't use them on my stainless steel refrigerator at home) I bought a few Barcelona themed magnets to hang up the Princess patters and notes.

Park Guell

Antonio Gaudi is the famous artist, architect and genius who created Park Guell.   

K

The great thing is no lines when you book a tour or pre-buy your tickets online. This is an amazing, beautiful park with unbelievable designs. He intention was to design this with nature and you will see as you stroll through the park. We had a great guide who explained to us things I would of never known had I wandered around by myself.

La Sagrada Familia

Next stop of the day is the famous La Sagrada Familia. We had about 20 or 30 minutes before our tour so we stopped by a little café on the street and had drinks and snacks. We had the best almonds which were in a clear plastic bag and tasted different than any almonds I've ever had here for about a couple euros. On to the church where our guide walked us around the outside explaining everything and then a short line in.
I saw someone asking a few people to take their hats off in the church and being that  it was a hot day,  quite a few people had caps and hats on. When you walked into this church it took your breath away. It is so amazing and everywhere you look you are taking pictures but you just can't capture what you are seeing. We didn't take the stairs to the top so maybe if I ever go back I might have to conquer that.  A tour down below to see the timelines of this creation and it is pretty amazing to see how he designed it with weights. After we were done we took the Metro which was right by the church to get back to our hotel . Here are some photos of the church.

Dinner in Barcelona

Back to get the teens for dinner and we discovered Placa Reial "the square" lined with restaurants all the way around. We picked Ocana's and had Mexican/Spanish styled food. Guacamole w/pomegranate and chips for appetizers and Cheese quesadillas with cheese and some sort of mushroom I can't prounouce but was actually really good. Of course because it's half indoors and half outdoors people will try to come by and sell you roses, flashing sunglasses and toys that fly in the air. Note to self....do not pick the outside table facing the square.

Another night of a short quick rainfall/thundershowers and we headed back for some much needed rest.

Me with the infamous hostess.

Electric Bike Tour, Picasso Musuem and La Boqueria Market

I had pre-booked an electric bike riding tour for 2 1/2 hours, and luck would have it, the meeting place was less than 5 minutes away. I thought I could cover a lot of ground, and not get tired pedaling if I had a little help. 

Since we just did the "La Familia" and "Park Guell" we skipped those 2 places and rode through neighborhoods, the park, the beach , the landmarks, Gaudi's other houses and plenty of stops for some history about Barcelona. You have to be a little adventurous and aggressive getting through a few tight places and traffic, but overall was a great way to see the city. We covered such a large area and I really didn't use the motor too much because it was mostly level, all though it was fun to get that extra fast power every now and then. 

The park was beautiful off the beaten path and the huge landmark fountain was amazing. The beach was scenic and easy and I would definitely do that again. Taking the teens back to let them rest as usual we impromptu decided to check out the Picasso museum. Luck would have it this was also only about 15 minute walk from our hotel. We didn't get there till about 4:00 but they said they were sold out for that time, but we could buy our tickets and come back at 4:45 . So we browsed a few stores, came back to pick up our "audio guides" and laughed about the old school way we would have to use them. It looked like an old big land line phone that you hold up to your ear to listen to. It was a little awkward as it looked like you were talking on the phone, but actually you were listening to it. So instead of ear buds or head sets, you had to hold up to your ear the whole time.  Not only that but it wasn't always in order. There were 1-53 numbers and you would go from room to room. Sometimes they were missing some because they would be somewhere else and sometimes it would be 5-10 in one room but you couldn't find #8 only to find out it would be in the next room of 11-15. We were constantly asking the people there, where was this or that? They could really use some improvement on that. Otherwise it was very interesting to learn about the history of this famous painter and actually see his original paintings.

 On the way back we went to the famous food market and bought fresh fruit and juices, but just gagged at the stinky, disgusting animal parts everywhere. It's almost like you know it's going to be gross and you want to be shocked, so I will skip the part where I tell you what I actually saw. I picked out a few fudge pieces (asking for the ones underneath that the flies did not land on) and have to tell you it's not like the American fudge that melts in your mouth. But I will tell you the fresh fruit that is only 1.5 € is so ripe and sweet I could eat it all day.