2004.10.10 in Barcelona
Enroute to Barcelona our rail tickets weren't checked either. WTF. The Spanish countryside was beautiful as we were following the eastern coast from Port Bou on. Unfortunately we passed the Pyrenees mountains overnight... The train stopped at Barcelona's Passeig de Gracia station but we decided to go to the next stop at Sants. Turns out de Gracia is closer to where we wanted to go but no worries.
Our potential hostels are all along La Rambla (or is it Las Ramblas?) and we were being cautious with our bags - we've heard too many pickpocket stories occurring on this street. So many tourists were here shopping and eating that you couldn't tell you were in Barcelona until you saw something with Gaudi's designs or restaurants serving tapas and paella. We tried a couple of hostels but seemed overpriced and settled on the #4 choice on my list - Arco Youth Hostel (note: they close at 13:00 for cleaning and re-open after 15:00 - we checked-in right before 13:00 luckily). The receptionish dude warned us to watch out for kids and don't play football with anyone that asks you to; along with not to bring our daypack or passports. Apparently he's tired of telling visitors where their consulates are - thanks for the tips we told him, but we still carried our daypacks anyway. We normally switch into 'combat mode' when paranoia sets in.
Headed over to the very close Placa Reial to eat our gourmet lunch: mystery meat deli sausage and the most soft, buttery, fattening loaf of bread we've ever had (all brought from Paris). This bread was amazing and reminded me of eating really soft Filipino ensaymada or sweet brioche. This market square is also where the Europe's Famous Kabul hostel is located. We didn't bother checking in there since they were expensive and all booked.
Walked south along La Rambla past all the human statues, street artists, souvenir vendors, and restaurant patios with their overpriced tapas and paella dishes towards the Columbus monument. Walked further south to the Rambla de Mar boardwalk/bridge and saw all the recreational/leisure space that's been developed along the city's amazing waterfront. There's movies, malls, an expensive aquarium, and lots of parks. The actual boardwalk is made of some plastic composite material (not wood) and lots of people were sunbathing or just chilling as it's situated right over the harbour water (and no railings). While I worked on catching up on this travel log, it's an awesome 28C temperature here!
Ate dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant that our hostel's receptionist recommended - good value and satisfying to have some naan bread and chicken tikka. Afterwards we walked for over half an hour to Vila Olimpica. Here we found Casino Barcelona - unfortunately we couldn't go past the check-in desk while wearing shorts & sandals & no passports. We'll be back tomorrow night...
Our potential hostels are all along La Rambla (or is it Las Ramblas?) and we were being cautious with our bags - we've heard too many pickpocket stories occurring on this street. So many tourists were here shopping and eating that you couldn't tell you were in Barcelona until you saw something with Gaudi's designs or restaurants serving tapas and paella. We tried a couple of hostels but seemed overpriced and settled on the #4 choice on my list - Arco Youth Hostel (note: they close at 13:00 for cleaning and re-open after 15:00 - we checked-in right before 13:00 luckily). The receptionish dude warned us to watch out for kids and don't play football with anyone that asks you to; along with not to bring our daypack or passports. Apparently he's tired of telling visitors where their consulates are - thanks for the tips we told him, but we still carried our daypacks anyway. We normally switch into 'combat mode' when paranoia sets in.
Headed over to the very close Placa Reial to eat our gourmet lunch: mystery meat deli sausage and the most soft, buttery, fattening loaf of bread we've ever had (all brought from Paris). This bread was amazing and reminded me of eating really soft Filipino ensaymada or sweet brioche. This market square is also where the Europe's Famous Kabul hostel is located. We didn't bother checking in there since they were expensive and all booked.
Walked south along La Rambla past all the human statues, street artists, souvenir vendors, and restaurant patios with their overpriced tapas and paella dishes towards the Columbus monument. Walked further south to the Rambla de Mar boardwalk/bridge and saw all the recreational/leisure space that's been developed along the city's amazing waterfront. There's movies, malls, an expensive aquarium, and lots of parks. The actual boardwalk is made of some plastic composite material (not wood) and lots of people were sunbathing or just chilling as it's situated right over the harbour water (and no railings). While I worked on catching up on this travel log, it's an awesome 28C temperature here!
Ate dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant that our hostel's receptionist recommended - good value and satisfying to have some naan bread and chicken tikka. Afterwards we walked for over half an hour to Vila Olimpica. Here we found Casino Barcelona - unfortunately we couldn't go past the check-in desk while wearing shorts & sandals & no passports. We'll be back tomorrow night...
posted by ET at 15:57
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