Saturday, July 31, 2021
I didn't leave my Barcelona apartment until 1pm. I took a bus to Montjuic, a 'mountain' (more like a small hill) in Barcelona where the '92 Olympics were held. The bus took a zig-zaggy route which gave me an opportunity to see various neighborhoods of the city.
Once at Montjuic, I hopped the funicular to take me half way up the hill. Then, I switched to the teleferico (aka 'gondola'). It took me to the top of the hill, and made a 90 degree turn along the way...I've never been on one that turns!
The fortress at the top is also known as Montjuic Castle. Originally, its primary role was to defend Barcelona from attacks coming in from the sea. It was reconstructed in the late 1700's after the previous version was destroyed and was equipped with 120 cannons.
Montjuic was involved in several wars and used as a prison and torture center repeatedly for three centuries. In fact, a man named Lluís Companys, who was president of Catalonia (the region where Barcelona lies) in 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War, was executed by firing squad at Montjuic in 1940, an order issued by the President of Spain, Francisco Franco, the dictator who ruled over Spain from 1939 to 1975.
In April 2007, the government transferred the castle to Barcelona City Council and subsequently became a municipal facility.
Another comfortable day, around 78 degrees.
I had heard about Mercat Sant Antoni as being quite the market to visit. So, that's what I decided to do. I love public markets....so full of energy, colorful fruit and vegetable stands, butchers, seafood, and a vast array of other fascinating stalls. MSA had gone through a massive renovation.
I was very disappointed at the result. MSA was more like MEHHH!!! 95% of the vendor stalls were kiosks selling clothes, textiles, handbags, etc. There was no bustle. It was downright boring. Oh well...at least the outside is an architecturally interesting cross-shaped building.
Off to the Aquarium.
Ok, the aquarium is located in a cool spot on the waterfront, so it's gets a bonus point for that. This was the 3rd aquarium I've visited in recent times. One in Coppenhagen, this one, and the one in Palma which is, by bar, the best of all three. I'll give Barcelona a 6.9 out of 10.
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
I was up at 3am for a 4am taxi to the airport and then a 6:30am flight to Amsterdam, the first leg of my trip to Seattle. I arrived to find over 100 people waiting in line to check in! 😱 I joined the line and waited about 30 minutes until I got close enough to read a sign that pointed to SkyPriority...which was where I needed to go since I was flying Business Class. There were 3 people in line ahead of me. 😣
For the Barcelona to Amsterdam segment, I was on an Airbus A320 which didn't have a differently designed section for Biz Class over Economy....they simply didn't sell the middle seat.
With a bad knee, walking long stretches (like down long airport concourses) can be painful. Thank goodness for the moving sidewalks! BUT, in AMS, the moving walkways were only working in the OTHER direction!! 😩
One of the perks of flying Biz Class is free access to the SkyClub...a separate 'exclusive' setting with free food, bevs, cushy seating, etc. I had a few hours to kill, so I headed there. Here's the rundown of their offerings:
- Gumdrops and Wasabi peas from (separate) cereal dispensers
- Coffee and sodas
- Stingy plates of a few slices of cheese and celery
- Hummus
From AMS to Seattle, I flew Delta in an Airbus 330 - 900 with almost 300 seats. In Biz Class there were 30 'closed suites' configured with seats that go down to a full flat bed, 20" monitors, a headset, a kit containing socks, eye mask, and toothbrush/paste, and a sliding door for privacy. Even better, the layout of the seats was 1 - 2 - 1, meaning one seat at the window, aisle, then 2 seats, aisle, then one seat at the window on the other side. I had a single seat which meant no one was next to me. YEA!!!
This is the way to fly, especially when the flight is 9+ hours!! The service was excellent and the food was amazing. Any negative? For some dumb reason, I had to PAY for WiFi....$22.
As I mentioned at the start of this Barcelona blog, I goofed by publishing my Seattle experience blog BEFORE the Barcelona experience...when in fact I went to BCN first, THEN Seattle.
So, if you want to read (if you haven't done so already) what transpired after I got off the above plane in Seattle, here's the link.
Warning....it's not pretty.
http://magicalmallorca.blogspot.com/2021/09/a-trip-to-seattle-little-thing-called.html
By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end. There, you'll see 'Blog History'. You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time. Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.
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