As we head towards the end of our stay in Barcelona, we have noticed we wake up later and later... on Wednesday we headed towards the famous Sagrada Familia where we saw the amazing building designed by A. Gaudi. Aftwerwards we decided to take a nice trip north out of downtown to the Park Guell. The air was fresh and the walk was very relaxing as we took in the views of the ocean and downtown Barcelona. Jen was afraid of heights so we didn´t climb to the top of the Three Crosses but instead we sat and listened to a guitar and saxaphone player who created a nice mood on top of the mountain. As usual we took plenty of pictures (we will post them soon, there are just too many).
After Park Guell, we headed towards the Passieg de Gracia to window shop along the designer boutiques and stores. Jason noticed the Burberry store and took a picture for his mom who likes that stuff. As we walked along Passieg de Gracia, Jason noticed he had not eaten the entire day and Jen only had a cup of coffee and croissant in the morning. It was today that Jason had noticed that Jennifer must have had at least 1 croissant for everyday we were in Europe and have decided to keep a croissant count. After scouring the passage for about 4 blocks we caved in and dove into an inviting McDonalds for some much needed comida. Jason ordered a Big Mac with french fries (patatas..) and Jen had the six piece chicken McNuggets.
After a wonderful late lunch we met up with our friends from L.A., Birava and Sandeep who were also visiting Spain and Europe. There was another couple as well from the Bay Area and the six of us strolled down the Passieg de Gracia and continued down the Ramblas again. The girls stopped for some Sangria and then we took a walk along the marina until we reached Salmanca Restaurant again and all of us had dinner on the beach overlooking the Mediterranean. We had such a good time we planned to all do a bike tour the next day.
Croissant Count as of today: Jason-2 Jennifer-7.5
The next morning Jen and Jason met up with their friends downtown and they decided to do the bike tour of Barcelona. It was much more laid back than the one in Paris and we rode through the Gothic Quarter downtown, saw another Arc de Triumphe, and rode by the Barcelona zoo as well. It was a fun bike tour and to end the tour we all went to a bar along the beach and had some claros (beer + limon) and some sandwiches. By now Jen and Jason were getting pretty tired and bid farewell to their friends. But before heading back to the hotel, Jen had to look at some purses and wallets she liked and Jason was trying to find some new shoes. We didn´t buy anything and went back to the hotel to pack for our train ride to Madrid the next morning. After getting ready and packing, we got hungry again and went around the corner to our friends at the local chino restaurant. We decided to celebrate our last night in Barcelona with won ton soup, egg drop soup, shrimp fried rice, beef noodles, cantonese style pork, and chicken with bamboo. This was all finished off with some flan.
Croissants: Jason-2 Jennifer-8.5
Wake up call at 6 in the morning.. and then off to the train and Madrid.. farewell Barca!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Fun and Sun in Barcelona!
We arrived in Barcelona to great weather, lots of sunshine and the big blue Mediterranean Sea. Jen was happy because she could now wear her summer clothes that she brought and Jason was happy to switch from sneakers to flip flops. So many things to see and so many things to eat. Right away we checked into our hotel which we both loved.. its modern, new, and much more spacious compared to the ones in London.
After checking in we headed straight for the infamous Las Ramblas, the main shopping and tourist boulevard that leads straight to the ocean. Of course we dined on tapas right away as we headed towards the sea. To Jen´s delight, there were all kinds of food for us to try and Jason enjoyed the Gothic Architecture which he read so much about prior to the trip. Dinner was had at a little cafe run by someone from China, a ¨chino¨... at first communication was a bit ill, but then we noticed his chinese writing and finally we were able to communicate in broken Mandarin. We had the typical ¨menu del dia¨ which is usually a 3 course meal had in the mid to late afternoon. After our 3 hour siesta, we decided to head to the Restaurante Salimanca, which Jen´s brother suggested, where we feasted on razor clams and seafood paella. With our bellies full, we decided to trek back to the hotel since the metros by now were shut down. We walked from Barceloneta back to our hotel which Jason estimated to be about 3 miles or 5km for those readers accustomed to the metric system.
Our second day was filled with more siteseeing as we checked out our local area and went to the Park Montjuic where the 1992 Olympic games were held. The view was incredible as we could see all the city. We then toured the Ramblas again and had another ¨menu del dia¨ where Jason ordered the only thing he could pronounce which ended up being steak, potatoes and grean peas so he was happy. Jen ended up with a Spanish potato salad and some nice fish. We then headed to the Picasso museum and walked to the beach to soak in some sun. We finally ended the day with some tapas and being hungry for Asian food, we went to the local chino restaurant and had some of the best fried rice and beef noodles we´ve ever had. More to come from Barca!
After checking in we headed straight for the infamous Las Ramblas, the main shopping and tourist boulevard that leads straight to the ocean. Of course we dined on tapas right away as we headed towards the sea. To Jen´s delight, there were all kinds of food for us to try and Jason enjoyed the Gothic Architecture which he read so much about prior to the trip. Dinner was had at a little cafe run by someone from China, a ¨chino¨... at first communication was a bit ill, but then we noticed his chinese writing and finally we were able to communicate in broken Mandarin. We had the typical ¨menu del dia¨ which is usually a 3 course meal had in the mid to late afternoon. After our 3 hour siesta, we decided to head to the Restaurante Salimanca, which Jen´s brother suggested, where we feasted on razor clams and seafood paella. With our bellies full, we decided to trek back to the hotel since the metros by now were shut down. We walked from Barceloneta back to our hotel which Jason estimated to be about 3 miles or 5km for those readers accustomed to the metric system.
Our second day was filled with more siteseeing as we checked out our local area and went to the Park Montjuic where the 1992 Olympic games were held. The view was incredible as we could see all the city. We then toured the Ramblas again and had another ¨menu del dia¨ where Jason ordered the only thing he could pronounce which ended up being steak, potatoes and grean peas so he was happy. Jen ended up with a Spanish potato salad and some nice fish. We then headed to the Picasso museum and walked to the beach to soak in some sun. We finally ended the day with some tapas and being hungry for Asian food, we went to the local chino restaurant and had some of the best fried rice and beef noodles we´ve ever had. More to come from Barca!
Monday, July 9, 2007
Farewell Paris, Hola Barcelona
We have arrived in Barcelona after our overnight train ride from Paris. Jason still feels like he is on the train and Jen can't decide which sandals she wants to wear.
Paris was a blast, the weather was perfect except for our last day when it rained. We did a fantastic fat tire bike tour of Paris at night and we had such a good time we plan to do the same here in Barcelona. Riding at night in Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up was simply breathtaking. The tour also included a stop at the famous sorbet/ice cream shop Berthillion on the Ile St. Louis. Jason had a double scoop of banana and vanille and Jen had a single scoop of praline. We finished the tour with a boat ride on the River Seine and we got to view Paris at sunset and at night.
Our second day in Paris consisted of much walking and site seeing as we went to the Notre Dame, the Louvre, and we even waited outside to try to catch a glimpse of Tony Parker and Eva Longoria's wedding ceremony. We got to see the Mona Lisa, did some shopping, and mingled with the infamous flying ants of Paris. For dinner we returned to a bistro near our hotel where we dined on duck confit, mussels, roast chicken, and of course french fries. After dinner we returned to the hotel to pass out only to wake up later in the night to go hunting for crepes and a diet coke for Jason.
All in all, Paris was amazing, Jen's favourite so far while Jason is still making up his mind... we left Paris after picking up some baguettes, petit fours, and foie gras for our overnight train ride and as we welcome the ciudad of Barcelona.
Paris was a blast, the weather was perfect except for our last day when it rained. We did a fantastic fat tire bike tour of Paris at night and we had such a good time we plan to do the same here in Barcelona. Riding at night in Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up was simply breathtaking. The tour also included a stop at the famous sorbet/ice cream shop Berthillion on the Ile St. Louis. Jason had a double scoop of banana and vanille and Jen had a single scoop of praline. We finished the tour with a boat ride on the River Seine and we got to view Paris at sunset and at night.
Our second day in Paris consisted of much walking and site seeing as we went to the Notre Dame, the Louvre, and we even waited outside to try to catch a glimpse of Tony Parker and Eva Longoria's wedding ceremony. We got to see the Mona Lisa, did some shopping, and mingled with the infamous flying ants of Paris. For dinner we returned to a bistro near our hotel where we dined on duck confit, mussels, roast chicken, and of course french fries. After dinner we returned to the hotel to pass out only to wake up later in the night to go hunting for crepes and a diet coke for Jason.
All in all, Paris was amazing, Jen's favourite so far while Jason is still making up his mind... we left Paris after picking up some baguettes, petit fours, and foie gras for our overnight train ride and as we welcome the ciudad of Barcelona.
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