Sorry for the delay - we gave up trying to ...
Trip Start
Apr 01, 2001
1
6
89
Trip End
Ongoing
Catalunya,
Spain and Canary Islands
Friday, April 27, 2001
CATALUNYA
Arriving in Barcelona late and exhausted from a 12 hour train jouney we were tempted to take the first room we found. Hostal Parisienne at 114 the Ramblas. Ok, so the Ramblas is a central location, but this doesn't warrant the extortionate price of 7,000 ptas (more than double what we are accustomed to paying). Tonya being the "tight-arse-accountant" suggested we look for something cheaper - so off we trudged into the night. Everywhere we tried was full. We gave up and retuned to the original place and paid the now inflated price of 7,500 pts.
Paul had his first Paella, which he enjoyed... but he lost the fight with his cray-fish which was almost as large as a lobster.
First thing in the morning we phoned evey hostel and budget hotel listed in "RoughGuide" and in "Europe by Train" - every single one was full. So we decided to look for a place to stay outside of Barcelona - after all, we have train tickets, so can make day trips. The tourist office was completely unhelpful - "You won't find anywhere to stay around here... its the Spanish Grand Prix, Open Tennis Tournament, Trade Show and Long Weekend.... Well at least we know where we stand!
Took a train to Girona (1 hour from Barcelona) and found a decent place to stay - Hostal Perez, which was wonderful other than the aroma of bacalau (dried salted codfish) stewing in the kitchen... let's hope they only eat fish on Fridays!
No such religious traditions for us... Paul had a Catalan meal of:
* Catalan snails - which he took great delight in pulling from their shells with a toothpick
* Catalan Sausage - A lot like a Cumberland sausage but coated in garlic.
* Catalan Creme - a cross between creme caramel, custard and creme brulee.
Tonya had rabbit in garlic sauce which Paul also tasted (his first time eating rabbit). He declared that "it was much like chicken" and he "would eat it again".
FIGUERES
Took a day trip to Figueres (30 mins from Girona) to visit the Dali Museum. This doesn't contain Dali's most famous pieces, however, the atmosphere is clearly Surreal. This is Dali's musuem and his final resting place, designed by Dali himself. From the eggs on the roof, to the car in the Courtyard and the Mae West room, this museum contains so much more that his paintings.
BARCELONA
We had expected to love Barcelona. Everyone we know who has been here raves about it, but it's not a patch on London, Paris, Madrid or even Hamilton!
Stepping of the Metro we witnessed a man have his wallet snatched... this place just keeps getting better!
Did the rounds of the Big Tourist Attractions: Gaudi's Sagrada Familia reminded us of Malaga... lost in a forest of cranes and a haze of cement dust. Park Guell was described as "a hallucianagenic experience" however the reality was a mob of Pentax-toting tourists fighting for a photograph of their offspring climbing on the back of a multicoloured ceramic lizard.
We risked our lives taking the elevator to the top of the Monument to Columbus... it plunged to the ground in 1976. The views of this sprawling metropolis were uninspiring and we spent our time trying in vain to identify some of Barcelona's "Sights".
Spent a while strolling up and down the Ramblas which I had imagined would be lined with traditional spanish Tapas Bars and cafes, but instead is lined with tacky souvenir shops, McDonalds and KFC. We also walked around the Bario Gothic and went inside the cathedral. It was a Sunday and the courtyard was full with well dressed Spanish families posing for official photos with their newly christened children. At least something in Barcelona appeared a little Spanish, or at least "Continental".
On to France...
