Barcelona in 24h

June 27, 2013

Sunbathing the day before leaving

My cheeks were wet with tears of sadness and joy as we drove out of Calpe; the beginning of life on the road. 

Courage Mobile Home...aka Kangoo

Ross and Uncle Ralph have spent the past few days outfitting the Renault Grand Kangoo; making it as comfortable as possible for us to live in for the next six months.  It is tight inside but luckily we are slim and organized individuals because we fit everything.  As we adjust I'm sure we will figure out better ways to situate things for convenience and comfort. 

Our first destination in our new mobile home: Barcelona which also happens to be the last Spanish city we will visit. As we arrived in Barcelona we stopped at Ikea to grab blankets & pillows for sleeping. We took advantage of the public bathrooms for a quick wash up before enjoying an ice cream cone garnished with a Kit-Kat bar for .80 cent on our way out.

Las Ramblas 

We drove toward the center of the city to stroll down the Ramblas, a popular street for walking, cafes, and impromptu artist performances.  We quickly learned how challenging parking would be, therefore we headed for any parking we could find even if it costs 3.50 euro per hour. 

Go-Kart Audio Tour Guide
Smart way to fight the traffic

This street performer scared me,
After dropping a coin the statue came to life.
 Bowing to me in gratitude.

Christopher Columbus ladies & gents
acting out the first sighting of America. 

                                  

A beautiful tapas buffet

With no time constraints we casually roamed the streets of Barcelona, peeked inside a few eye catching restaurants, café’s, and the lavish fresh market located just off the Ramblas. 

Market Entrance 

                         

The biggest fresh market we've seen yet

Tempted by the smell of ripe melons, ruby red strawberries, and citrus we indulged our taste buds with two fresh squeezed fruit juices: orange/mango & peach/orange.  It quenched our thirst while enticing us to get some vodka for mixing with it; which we did!

 

Ramblas del Mar 

 The Ramblas extends over the sea turning into Ramblas del Mar which led us to Maremagnum (a mall and restaurant venue at the end).  Paella de Mar (seafood), tapas, and big city priced beer- 5.50 euro per-was the meal enjoyed for dinner .

Soaking it all in

Harbor beside the Ramblas del Mar

11:30pm we wandered back to the Kangoo, paid 15 euro for 5 hours of parking, and headed 15 minutes out of the city to set up camp at a Holiday Inn Express…..or so we thought….

It took us 45 minutes to arrange our things so we could make a bed for two, cover the windows, and change clothes.  At 2:50am…tap tap…it was the front desk employee on the driver side window. In good English she asked Ross, “What are you doing here?” Odd we thought because we are driving a car with French plates and we have no American identifiers, she only had his appearance to go off of.  “My wife and I are driving through, we pulled over in a safe spot to rest for a bit” “You do know this is a hotel,” she smirked back.  Re-rearranging the Kangoo again we left looking for a different spot.

 

June 28, 2013

Nervous that we would get woke up again, which didn't happen, we slept surprisingly well.  Until 8:00 am when sweat rolled down our backs from the morning sun. Then nature called and a bucket answered; we taking turns we relieved ourselves allowing us to fall back asleep for two hours. 

Barcelona Metro Map

Familiarity, free parking, bathrooms, and refillable coffee made Ikea a quick choice when deciding where to get dressed for the day.  Learning from previous experience with parking in downtown Barcelona, we took on the challenge of public transportation; using the metro and busses to sightseeing. 

With our deadline for exiting the schengen zone approaching we had to leave Spain today, drive through France, and make it to the United Kingdom by July 1^st;  leaving us only a few hours to sightsee in Barcelona.  We were able comb over the city, viewing the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Camp Nou Stadium, the Port Building, and  the Casa de Batllon- Gaudi’s house.

Sagrada Familia Cathedral 

 Gaudi's masterpiece still in construction since 1882 

Camp Nou, in the background,
 Barcelona's football stadium

Barcelona Port Authority

 

     

Casa de Batllon 

Gaudi's House

Cable Car offering a one of a kind view

As we left the city we took notice of a cable car passing through the sky on their way to Montjuich Mountain view point. Next point of interest the Pyrenees Mountains and entering France!!