The must see sights of Barcelona - Monday July 3

Today was the day of must see sights.

We had timed tickets for 1030 for the Sagrada Familia and the nativity facade tower.  The structure is massive and beautiful. The elevator to the tower is tiny..6 people at a time..I should have given Beth a warning about the height..but she powered through..we were really high..and had to walk back down a tiny spiral stone staircase after taking in the amazing views.

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We also had the audio tour which told you about the structure and provided some great information.We found a place close by to have lunch then hopped ina cab to park Güell.  Ken insisted that this was a must see sight,and he was right When we Arrived about 1pm the only tickets being sold were for admission at 730 pm and we decided since it was siesta time we would buy the 730 tickets go home and nap them come back out later.

That was the best decision we would have made.  It was so hot at 1pm and we really were not properly prepared to be walking around in the scorching sun.  When we came back at 730 pm we had a drink that the little cafe outside the entrance then headed in. The weather was perfect and we think made the visit much more enjoyable.  We also think the crowd was also not as bad at that hour.  

We left Park Guell and headed the La Pedera to see if we could go to the rooftop bar that was recommended to Beth by a friend...turns out you can only go out a part of a 90 minutes tour for something..we skipped that..and just had a drink at the cafe outside.  

We decided to head to Barceloneta , the waterfront to find be a place for dinner...where we drank and ate too much..but had a great time enjoying our last night in Barcelona! 

Barcelona is a beautiful city ad we are glad it was part of our first trip to Spain and that Ken and Beth were here to enjoy it with us! 

Wayne and I are looking forward to spending one more day here at the end of our trip...

Now for us it is off to Marbella..Ken will head to Stiges for a night and Beth is headed home..

The Spoonik "experience"- updated And the flamenco show

Before dinner we headed to a flamenco show on the Ramblas.  The show lasted about an hour and included 3 men that sang traditional flamenco songs, 1 woman who sang and danced , 2 women who danced traditional flamenco and one man who  was the headliner who danced flamenco..although I had no idea what they were saying they were very emotional and you could feel that they were putting a lot into their performance.  Their legs moved  extremely fast while they are dancing. We could only  take a few photos at the end so they are not great but here they are.

 

Dinner tonight deserves its own post.  The experience starts at 930.. the doors do not open until 930.. everyone is waiting outside.  At exactly 930 the doors open and every is welcomed in.

 Each group is checked in but e chef and offered champagne and a digestive pear in some sort of alcohol.  Then you are escorted to your table.

You are first greeted by the sommelier who shows you the wine flight options and explains the options by asking what king of experience you want to have..which which range from 45€ to 100 € per person..none of us opted for the 100€ per person option and all enjoyed our choice.

The next part of the experience is to go into the kitchen meet the staff and take a little trip around the world.  The first stop was Ephimeral pizz...it was a small bite made out of I have no idea what...but you put it in your mouth and it dissolved and the taste of pizza was incredible...the next bite was a Columbia bite, the chef was from Columbia, Stilton cheese, with honey foam, amazing! The last bite was from Mexico.  It was Panucho, a duck confit in Pibil, with pickle purple onion avocado and beans, again amazing and delicious.

We headed back to our table and one more snack.  The chef came to the table and introduced us to an electric flower which we ate then we put what look like a green egg in our mouth which exploded! It was filled with tiger milk and it was amazing.  It was great to watch everyone's face as they put it in their mouth.








The whole time you are having dinner it is a sensory experience ..Music, lighting, sounds, at one point it sounds like it is raining then the image of rain the projected in the table.

Ok..time to head out for tonight's activities...to be continued..
Here is the full menu..I won't describe every course..but you can see how different
 and creative it was..my favorite was the corn appetizer course...

Here is the chef in the kitchen making ice cream with liquid nitrogen ..the light dimmed and the music changed and everyone attention was drawn to the chef...

Here are some pictures of a few more of the course..it was an amazing dinner..and I like anything any of us have experienced... 

My favorite dish..

A day of exploring

Wayne and I woke up and were already on our new time zone..Wayne was up bright and early at seven am and I was not far behind at eight.  We went for a walk and ended up at a large mall which used to be a bull ring.  There was an elevator which cost 1€ you could take to the top for a 360 degree view all around Barcelona.  It was pretty cool.  We got some great shots!

The view from the top of the mall which had quite a few restaurants.

The mall that was an old bull ring

We walked back to the apt to see who was awake and plan our day.   Beth was awake and we decided we would go do some shopping/ exploring and let Ken sleep.  I has a list of shops all mapped out in the Barri Gothic neighborhood.  All small shops by local designers. We walked and started exploring and had a nice day.  It was neat to walk through all the small street and see laundry day in full swing.

We found a little place for lunch.  Ordered some tapas and a meat and cheese plate and a pitcher of sangria! Perfect lunch! Then back home to rest before dinner ..ken rested most of the day .  Dinner tonight would not be until 930 pm.

Sign for a local bike shop

Almost bought a pair of the locally made shoes..

Meat

 

Wayne and Beth outside the restaurant where we had lunch

We powered through day one!

We decided it was best just to power through and a nap would probably not be a good idea.  After we finished some snacks and 2 bottle of wine we got ready for dinner and headed out to find a cab.

Tonight would be the first of many very good meal we expect to have while in Spain.  Tonight meal was in the apartment of the chef.  Truly in his apartment.  There were 14 of us at 2 communal tables.  We sat with two coup,es.  One young couple that were locals trying the place for the first time eon a recommendation of friends.  The other couple was an older could also local..I believe also. There first time...Bethany Ken mainly spoke to them. I know she was a 75 year old optometrist who loved what she does Andrea is still working... she looked great!   We spent our time getting some l recommendations from the younger couple and trying to convince them to visit the US...especially Philadelphia.

The chef is Xabi Bonilla.  He has been doing the meal in his home for about 7 years and plans to soon have a different space to give himself a little separation between home and work.  The meal was 6. Course and we had the wine pairing as well.  As the chef prepared each course we all joined him in the kitchen to watch and ask question then sit to enjoy the course and chat with out table mates.  It was a very unique and fun experience.  My favorite course was the gazpacho which was cold ground almond soup with smoked mackerel and fruit..sound odd but it was pretty delicious. We also had, tuna, lamb, a tomato with something I cannot explain..and not to offend yes I did eat it...a mushroom potato pocket...which I tasted but passed off to Wayne..I don't like mushrooms either.   I am not sure I would say the food blew me away but each course was interesting and very good and the whole experience would definitely be worth a visit.  It is called the SantaRita Experience. Once  in
 Ame get the picture from my phone to the IPad I will add them.

All is now right In the world

We have all made it safe and sound to Barcelona .. checked into our Airbnb.. visited the local market and bought some snacks included two bottle of wine which are now both gone... ahhh time to get ready for dinner!

Heineken on tap!

Heinekenon tap in the lounge ... when in Amsterdam!

Delays after delay after delay

Out time at Newark Airport began just fine..and then it quickly started to go south.  The first delay was as they put it not really a delay.  Even thought we would be boarding an hour late because the tail wind were so high the flight time would be an hour shorter and we were planning to get in at the same time..that went on for at least an hour.  By the time we boarded we looked to be getting in about 20 minutes late.

We pulled back from the gate made our way to the tarmac , which felt like forever..then all the sudden all air traffic was stopped because there was a storm in the area.  The pilot turner off the engine and we sat and waited for the storm to pass.   My best guess is that this was about an hour.  It was then announced that we had a new route we could take and we were being cleared for take off.  Engines were restarted..then a valve broke..not an important valve says the captain.  One we could do without but we would have to go back to the gate so maintenance could look at it and tie it off .  Whatever that means..so back to the gate we go..about another hour.  Then again released for take off..now we are about number thirty to take off..about another hour..I am really not sure where the rest of the time went.   I know the last time we checked the time it was nine forty nine..!

Our three hour layover in Amsterdam turned into missing our connection and our perfectly timed arrival in Barcelona with Beth who was arriving from London.

This must happen all the time because they have quite the system here.  You go to a kiosk and scan your boarding pass and a new boarding pass for the new flightyou have already been booked on pro to right out for you.  Our flight is now at two fifteen, and we will get to Barcelona about Four twenty five.  Still not enough time to get out of the airport and see something.the airline gave us a food vouchers so we grabbed a breakfast sandwich and are hanging out in the lounge..patiently waiting for out next flight ...hoping to get a few hours sleep on the next flight.  We have dinner at nine pm tonight in Barcelona!

FYI..I can't get my keyboard to switch over to numbers..which is why I have typed them all out...time for an upgrade..