2004.10.12 in Barcelona
Today's weather in Barcelona: overcast with chance of light rain. That ends our streak of crap-free weather for some time. But we checked out Placa de Catalunya (this public square is nothing great IMHO) and again cruised down La Rambla. We had tapas for lunch in the fantastic fresh food market, Mercat de la Boquería, located near Liceu Station (Metro Line 3). The assorted dishes were good; I asked for a 'menu' which isn't a listing but an actual 3-course meal and drink.
We killed some time at easyInternetcafe again and later went to L'Aquarium de Barcelona where I bought a cute stuffed penguin souvenir for my niece. From there we walked back up La Rambla looking for a place to eat for a cheap supper - decided on a pita place, since it's been over 72 hours since we last had one. We ordered, ate, and were walking out and away when one of the employees chased us down - we somehow forgot to pay since they never asked for money while we were in there. If we just walked faster and crossed La Rambla and blended into the crowd- nah, it's wrong not to contribute tourist spending to the local economy!
After that near-theft, we picked up our packs from the hostel and made our way to the Barcelona/Gerona Airport bus provided by Ryanair. Okay so now we know why Ryanair is a low fare airline: to get to the damn "Barcelona" airport we paid 11 euros each for this one-way shuttle (and would end up paying another 10 euros at the "Brussels" airport for the shuttle to the main train station). The Gerona airport was really small and filled with annoying smokers ignoring the posted no smoking signs. Our flight was at 06:30 and I tried to sleep on the uncomfortable chairs near the arrivals area (check-in was 30 minutes before departure so we couldn't go to the departures lounge). I couldn't sleep at all with arrivals coming in after midnight still and the only highlight was this young British boy who asked his mother (in that Harry Potter-ish accent) why the people here don't speak English and then stated everyone should speak English. Couldn't agree more :-)
We killed some time at easyInternetcafe again and later went to L'Aquarium de Barcelona where I bought a cute stuffed penguin souvenir for my niece. From there we walked back up La Rambla looking for a place to eat for a cheap supper - decided on a pita place, since it's been over 72 hours since we last had one. We ordered, ate, and were walking out and away when one of the employees chased us down - we somehow forgot to pay since they never asked for money while we were in there. If we just walked faster and crossed La Rambla and blended into the crowd- nah, it's wrong not to contribute tourist spending to the local economy!
After that near-theft, we picked up our packs from the hostel and made our way to the Barcelona/Gerona Airport bus provided by Ryanair. Okay so now we know why Ryanair is a low fare airline: to get to the damn "Barcelona" airport we paid 11 euros each for this one-way shuttle (and would end up paying another 10 euros at the "Brussels" airport for the shuttle to the main train station). The Gerona airport was really small and filled with annoying smokers ignoring the posted no smoking signs. Our flight was at 06:30 and I tried to sleep on the uncomfortable chairs near the arrivals area (check-in was 30 minutes before departure so we couldn't go to the departures lounge). I couldn't sleep at all with arrivals coming in after midnight still and the only highlight was this young British boy who asked his mother (in that Harry Potter-ish accent) why the people here don't speak English and then stated everyone should speak English. Couldn't agree more :-)
posted by ET at 22:49
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