Barcelona, Spain - Day 2

Friday - We decided to try out a new to us tourist option. The hop-on-hop-off bus. It was €28 (senior fare) and we ca use it for 24 hours. And there is an English audio to plug into. The only negative is that not many people get off. 

I’m not sure what to think of our first stop. Pretty weird in a Dr Seuss way. It is the Basílica de la Sagrada Família and it looks like it’s still under construction. 

We got back on the bus on the upper level and stayed there for the remainder of the loop. It was a nice tour of the city. 

Lunch today was a burger w/sweet potato fries. I know, not from the area but for us, an occasional burger is a nice change. My burger had goat cheese. Not feta but something with a stronger flavor. It was good as have all three of the burgers I’ve had in Europe (Florence, Rome, and Barcelona).

Last night we tried a couple of tapas. One was olives stuffed with anchovies. I already knew I’d like that one. The other was a waiter recommendation. Patatas Bravas. Basically fried potatoes with a sauce made from mayo and spicy tomatoes. Not a favorite even though it is supposedly the most ordered tapas according to the internet. 

Leaving Rome to Barcelona

Thursday - We took the hotel recommended car to the airport this morning. It was €10 more than a cab, which was close enough. It was a very pleasant ride though the ridiculous traffic that is Rome. Everyone cutting in front of everyone else with scooters cutting in front of and around everyone. We arrived with plenty of time, which was fortunate, as the check-in line was over an hour long. Security was trivial though you weren’t even allowed to carry your passport through. And like everywhere else, lots of pushing as the trays of stuff didn’t necessarily go through in the same order as people. 

We had lunch while waiting for the gate assignment. I guess the airline we picked, Vueling Airlines, must not have permanent gate assigned. The Rome airport is huge with tons of shopping. I keep wondering who buys all this high-end stuff. The flight itself was fine, no issues. We initially had concerns about Bridget’s carryon being slightly oversized for under the seat but it turns out that our ticket included a bag in the overhead compartment. 

Arriving in Barcelona was a new experience. It took a long time for our checked bags to show up. Then trying to negotiate the taxi system. Yelp has a fixed rate to/from the airport but we just joined the regular taxi queue. The price ended up being about the same. And the cars are the same.

 

For dinner, I had one of the classic dishes of Barcelona. Seafood paella. I must admit that I was a little disappointed. No socarrat, the scorched rice on the bottom. Both DaveS version as well as my own attempts have more vegetables and more flavor. But then again, this is a tourist version made in single serving. 

Rome, IT - Day 4

Wednesday - Today was a rest & relaxation day plus some chores. We dropped off laundry a couple of blocks away and it was €12/load. Much cheaper than on the ship. We then walked to a shop that Bridget wanted to see. While she shopped, I had a cappuccino and ricotta cornetto (pastry). We then walked around a bit more ending up back at the hotel around 12:30. Our laundry still wasn’t done nor was the room cleaned so we just waited in the lobby. 

At a tourist shop down the street, I picked up a MagSafe charger as my phone charge usually runs out by mid-afternoon on this trip. A lot of gps use and taking pictures. 

While walking, we passed a 2-door Jeep Wrangler and it looked huge compared to the other vehicles. In Italy, even a Smart car is not as small as they get. Numerous two passenger and a few one passenger cars are much smaller. Scooters too numerous to count. We’ve seen a couple Harleys and BMW GS bikes and they seem huge compared to the majority of the local bikes. We’ve even seen a couple of sidecars all attached to scooters. 

We think that Italy may be a one-and-done for us. There are still many places in the world to see and, at least for me, walking isn’t as easy as it used to be. Travel with suitcases is a lot of work.

Rome, IT - Day 3

Tuesday - A city bus ride through Rome traffic, followed by a never ending queue. Bridget purchased a timed-entry ticket for the basilica but the line was still over an hour.

Multiple ticket checks and a metal detector before entering. Pushy tour guides cutting in front of others seems to be the Italian way.

Swiss guards are a real thing not just something I’ve read about in school.

The over-the-top grandeur of these places is somewhat upsetting to me given the conditions most of the commoners lived in. This is our tour of St Peter’s Basilica.

The first marble statue of many. I remember having a plastic replica of this that I won in some sort of school contest. I think I was in 3rd grade. 

After a while, all the pictures start to look alike. I’m not really a historic church or cathedral person.

I did find this bit of technology interesting. Instead of votive candles that you light, after making a donation, you use Apple Pay and switch on a led candle.

After lunch, we went into the Vatican museum. Room after room with these painted domes. And lots of typical museum stuff but housed in these ornate domed rooms. 

We finally ended in the Sistine Chapel but no photos allowed in that room.

We finally headed back to the hotel exhausted. Enough that we took a taxi instead of a standing room only public transit bus. I think that I have reached my fill of cathedrals and museums. All of these locations have so many people.