Arrival in Brrrrcelona
It took us the better part of the day to get to Barcelona, even though it was just a 2.5 hour trip out of Leeds Bradford Airport. We left the house at 10:30 a.m. in order to check in on time for our 1 p.m. flight. The flight left nearly on time and we touched down in Barcelona at 4 p.m. (they are one hour ahead of England time). We hopped on a bus from the airport that left us off close to our hotel, H10 Gravina. While riding into the town center it began to snow!!! This is not what we expected at all! I checked the forecast a few days before leaving and the average highs were mid 50s. Right now as I type this it is a very chilly 39 degrees F. So much for escaping the winter weather of North Yorkshire -- it looks like we brought it with us.
We checked into our rooms around 5:30 p.m. We have a nice cozy room with a balcony. The hotel has free Internet access...but only one computer. After enjoying a complimentary glass of champagne, we braved the elements in search of a bite to eat. Our hotel is located in the old town or "Barri Gotic" near Barcelona's famous pedestrian street, Las Ramblas. We decided to stroll down Las Ramblas in search of a tapas bar. Along the way we passed many interesting buildings -- Barcelona is certainly an architectural delight -- and we've only scratched the surface so far. We ended up in a friendly little tapas bar called Egipte and sampled many tasty treats. My favorites were the garlic mushrooms and the tortilla de patate (potato omelet). Afterwards we popped into a little patisserie called Escriba. One of the guidebooks raved about this patisserie, stating that a trip to Barcelona is not complete without a visit to Escriba. We concur and think maybe a couple more visits are in order. It's a tiny little place, delightfully decorated in the Barcelona Art Nouveau style with colorful tile mosaics and beautiful stained glass. In the front of the shop was a mouthwatering array of pastries and sweets. In the rear is a casual cafe. We were so full from the tapas that we decided to just order some hot chocolate. What a wonderful delectable treat it was!! Very different from the hot chocolate Americans know, it was unbelievably thick and rich. It reminded us of eating chocolate pudding straight from the pan. Scrumptious!
Tomorrow we plan to explore the Barri Gotic in much more detail, but for now I will sign off.
Buenos noches!!
It took us the better part of the day to get to Barcelona, even though it was just a 2.5 hour trip out of Leeds Bradford Airport. We left the house at 10:30 a.m. in order to check in on time for our 1 p.m. flight. The flight left nearly on time and we touched down in Barcelona at 4 p.m. (they are one hour ahead of England time). We hopped on a bus from the airport that left us off close to our hotel, H10 Gravina. While riding into the town center it began to snow!!! This is not what we expected at all! I checked the forecast a few days before leaving and the average highs were mid 50s. Right now as I type this it is a very chilly 39 degrees F. So much for escaping the winter weather of North Yorkshire -- it looks like we brought it with us.
We checked into our rooms around 5:30 p.m. We have a nice cozy room with a balcony. The hotel has free Internet access...but only one computer. After enjoying a complimentary glass of champagne, we braved the elements in search of a bite to eat. Our hotel is located in the old town or "Barri Gotic" near Barcelona's famous pedestrian street, Las Ramblas. We decided to stroll down Las Ramblas in search of a tapas bar. Along the way we passed many interesting buildings -- Barcelona is certainly an architectural delight -- and we've only scratched the surface so far. We ended up in a friendly little tapas bar called Egipte and sampled many tasty treats. My favorites were the garlic mushrooms and the tortilla de patate (potato omelet). Afterwards we popped into a little patisserie called Escriba. One of the guidebooks raved about this patisserie, stating that a trip to Barcelona is not complete without a visit to Escriba. We concur and think maybe a couple more visits are in order. It's a tiny little place, delightfully decorated in the Barcelona Art Nouveau style with colorful tile mosaics and beautiful stained glass. In the front of the shop was a mouthwatering array of pastries and sweets. In the rear is a casual cafe. We were so full from the tapas that we decided to just order some hot chocolate. What a wonderful delectable treat it was!! Very different from the hot chocolate Americans know, it was unbelievably thick and rich. It reminded us of eating chocolate pudding straight from the pan. Scrumptious!
Tomorrow we plan to explore the Barri Gotic in much more detail, but for now I will sign off.
Buenos noches!!
posted by lenora at 3:46 PM
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