A Day in Barcelona (2019)
September 18, 2019
We landed in Barcelona around 1 pm their time, but it was not a quick process to get out of the airport. Immigration lines took forever, and then we were looking for a particular bus to take us to our hotel. And had to find a sim card. No sign of the bus, so we (and all our bags) decided to shuttle over to the other terminal for more options. There, we waited in line to get a sim card at the one and only shop. A good thing to get out of the way, I reasoned (not to mention 30+ gigs to share between the 2 of us)! And then, we were off to look for the bus again (was supposed to come every 40 minutes or something). Eventually, we found it, and we rejoiced. But by this time, we were very hungry and very sweaty.
Note for next time: I liked the sound of “airport hotel” with “airport shuttle,” for our ONE DAY in BCN, before flying back out to Sevilla. But, it ended up being kind of a pain in the butt…& the hotel was just alright (Travelocity for ya).
After taking (necessary) showers, we got on another airport shuttle to the city center (this one was not free). The shuttle bus dropped us off at Las Ramblas (now 5 p.m.), and we were instantly happy! We made it! We were so happy that we plopped down under some trees, on the grass, and breathed in the (not so fresh) city air...to choose our dinner destination. The timing was unfortunate, as nothing opened til at least 6 or 7. But, we would make the best of it! So, we pinned the earliest-opening spots on the map and headed toward Poble-Sec (a neighborhood we had yet to explore).
Our food destination was a spot called “Blai 9” for tapas y pintxos (we had never done the pintxo thing before, so were a bit unsure of how it worked). Keeping it simple, we requested a few made-to-order tapas plates (patatas bravas, y croquetas de brandada de bacalao), a bottle of water, and got a table outside in the street. We were told multiple times to keep hold of our belongings...apparently not the best section of town. This made for a less-than-optimal dining experience. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great.
After this, we went to Federal Cafe which was so much better! The cutest 3-story coffee shop in an awesome, family-friendly square! And they had good food! We got a chicken curry plate to share, which was really good, and some coffee (not quite up to standard). Also, refilled our water bottles here, while exploring the building! With our bellies finally full and caffeinated, we were ready to take on the night! Next stop, La Donuteria. I want to say the flavor we got was raspberry-pistachio. I had high expectations for these donuts, and sadly, they did not deliver. To be fair, it was the end of the day; they were probably significantly better when they were fresh. Also, I didn’t realize they were vegan, so that may have been part of the letdown. (Don't @me vegans.) Anyway…
Our eventual destination was the Magic Fountain show (at 9:30 pm). In the meantime, we would explore nearby sites. One new thing we saw was Placa d’Espanya, with Arenas de Barcelona (a shopping mall, which looks like a stadium), a huge roundabout, and towers leading up the fountain & Montjuic Hill. Amazing the amount of *significant* landmarks we saw in BCN for the FIRST TIME this trip. The city contains endless possibilities for exploration…
We took bus 150 from Placa d’Espanya to Monjuic Castle, catching glimpses of massive Olympic sights along the way (v. cool)! There wasn’t much to see of the castle (especially as it was almost dark), but we looked out the side to see the port all lit up #views! Our hike down was really nice too, through the trees and gardens.
We eventually made it to the fountain area. Rather than sitting on the steps (should have done this), we stood and waited for the show to start. And my feet started crying. And my eyes started closing.
The show was long. And while water and lights and music are cool, they also get old after about 15 min. So we left a little early (by 10 pm we were definitely ready for sleep after a long travel day)! So, we walked to the nearest metro station and found our way back home: Barcelona Airport Hotel, a good 45 minutes away.
Will return to BCN for 3 more days at the end of this trip :)
