Two days in Barcelona
Aug. 26th, 2008 06:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indigo_rose99After a smooth, upgraded plane trip, we boarded the Queen Victoria early. No lines, no pictures, no hassles. Also, no information. We dropped our carry-on luggage and went out to see the city. We took a taxi to a large comic shop, and slowly walked back to the ship. There was a chocolate museum on the way. The next day we got up early and took a taxi to La Sagrada de Familia, one of the most famous landmarks. From there it was two trains to the far end of Las Ramblas, the long tourist trap walkway. I liked the human statues. I tasted the local ice cream and bought overpriced chocolate. We caught one of the last buses to the ship.
And if you know me at all, you realize that the above bare-bones description both is and is not what happened.
Boarding the ship was unusually confusing because no one was prepared for us. Which made it fast, but uninformative. Our checkin person had her English script down, but shared nothing more than our key cards with us. The path to board the ship was still laid out for people exiting. No picture crews for us tired, sweaty people.
Getting off the ship to see the city required persistence. No going back up the gangplank. We ended up taking what I imagine is the crew exit and put us on a pier with.... Well, nothing. No signs, no taxis, no road. People obviously loading supplies on the ship took no notice of us. We followed a actual off-duty crew person (who didn't notice us) through the maze.
If you don't know, I hate taxis. Too much interaction with strangers. In Spanish (which we do not speak), it is worse. T took care of most of that human interaction to get to the comic shop. ....Hate taxis.
The comic shop was fun. Two floors, rambling. We bought our house & cat watcher a thank you gift. *evil snicker* I'm pretty sure he does not read Spanish or this blog.
We actually never got lost and did not argue about our location or direction. Always a challenge with two people on foot with a map in a strange city. T had chosen the comic shop because the route back would include a choc museum, a cool clothing place, and avoid pickpocket hangouts.
The chocolate shop was lovely. However, purchasing choc seemed to involve more of that pesky human interaction. T kept handing me Euros and telling me to get what I want. Yeah, as if. Every time I would approach the counter either (a) all employees would disappear or (b) a crowd of other customers would magically appear in front of me and take the employees' attention. After much teeth grinding, I gave the money back,told him what I wanted and said I would wait for it in the corner. This worked better than it probably sounds.
The clothing store was a flop. Closed.
There was a regular bus back to the ship, which we passed as we walked. But we had no idea (remember, no info as we checked in?) and so had a boring and really long walk to the ship. (LivingDeb: 17K steps)
When I say "The next day we got up early," I mean I woke at 4:30am. *sigh* At 7am my Palm book and sudoku were growing thin, so I tried to wake T. He may forgive me some day.
Breakfast had chocolate rolls! *grin* Priorities.
This time crew told us about the bus as we got off the ship. Not that I'm bitter.
T insisted on another taxi. I watched even patient T grow a bit edge-glittery as the taxi driver took The Longest Slowest Route. Ugh.
La Sagrada de Familia was amazing. The whole idea of the inside being a forest, with the columns as trees and the skylights part of the leafy canopy. I have never seen a more impressive indoor space.
T insisted on a train from there. I don't care that the ticket machines would turn to English, the system was not clear and the changing trains (new ticket, new system) made it worse. I hate unfamiliar train systems. Everyone says "Oh, it is easy!" Sure, for locals who use it regularly or people who have clear how-to directions in their native language. We did not.
The human statues were AMAZING!!! T gave me 2 Euro to tip one for taking a picture with me. "No, no, no, no, no. You can't make me [speak to the blue woman with the amazing angel feathers]! You do it!" *sigh* I hate strangers. And strange places. So, no pictures. It is a shame, really. That 2 Euro could have been local chocolate.
And if you know me at all, you realize that the above bare-bones description both is and is not what happened.
Boarding the ship was unusually confusing because no one was prepared for us. Which made it fast, but uninformative. Our checkin person had her English script down, but shared nothing more than our key cards with us. The path to board the ship was still laid out for people exiting. No picture crews for us tired, sweaty people.
Getting off the ship to see the city required persistence. No going back up the gangplank. We ended up taking what I imagine is the crew exit and put us on a pier with.... Well, nothing. No signs, no taxis, no road. People obviously loading supplies on the ship took no notice of us. We followed a actual off-duty crew person (who didn't notice us) through the maze.
If you don't know, I hate taxis. Too much interaction with strangers. In Spanish (which we do not speak), it is worse. T took care of most of that human interaction to get to the comic shop. ....Hate taxis.
The comic shop was fun. Two floors, rambling. We bought our house & cat watcher a thank you gift. *evil snicker* I'm pretty sure he does not read Spanish or this blog.
We actually never got lost and did not argue about our location or direction. Always a challenge with two people on foot with a map in a strange city. T had chosen the comic shop because the route back would include a choc museum, a cool clothing place, and avoid pickpocket hangouts.
The chocolate shop was lovely. However, purchasing choc seemed to involve more of that pesky human interaction. T kept handing me Euros and telling me to get what I want. Yeah, as if. Every time I would approach the counter either (a) all employees would disappear or (b) a crowd of other customers would magically appear in front of me and take the employees' attention. After much teeth grinding, I gave the money back,told him what I wanted and said I would wait for it in the corner. This worked better than it probably sounds.
The clothing store was a flop. Closed.
There was a regular bus back to the ship, which we passed as we walked. But we had no idea (remember, no info as we checked in?) and so had a boring and really long walk to the ship. (LivingDeb: 17K steps)
When I say "The next day we got up early," I mean I woke at 4:30am. *sigh* At 7am my Palm book and sudoku were growing thin, so I tried to wake T. He may forgive me some day.
Breakfast had chocolate rolls! *grin* Priorities.
This time crew told us about the bus as we got off the ship. Not that I'm bitter.
T insisted on another taxi. I watched even patient T grow a bit edge-glittery as the taxi driver took The Longest Slowest Route. Ugh.
La Sagrada de Familia was amazing. The whole idea of the inside being a forest, with the columns as trees and the skylights part of the leafy canopy. I have never seen a more impressive indoor space.
T insisted on a train from there. I don't care that the ticket machines would turn to English, the system was not clear and the changing trains (new ticket, new system) made it worse. I hate unfamiliar train systems. Everyone says "Oh, it is easy!" Sure, for locals who use it regularly or people who have clear how-to directions in their native language. We did not.
The human statues were AMAZING!!! T gave me 2 Euro to tip one for taking a picture with me. "No, no, no, no, no. You can't make me [speak to the blue woman with the amazing angel feathers]! You do it!" *sigh* I hate strangers. And strange places. So, no pictures. It is a shame, really. That 2 Euro could have been local chocolate.
