Week Five - Barcelona

Lizard boys at Parc Guell 

Day 27, Thursday, December 30th.  At 6:45 in the morning Timur’s driver took us to the airport.  It was so kind of Timur to arrange this transportation.  We had used his driver several times in Istanbul.  When he dropped us off at the airport, he kissed Izzy’s hand.  It was so touching.  I’m not sure if it was because he was glad to get rid of us or because he really liked Izzy.  We flew Turkish Air from Istanbul to Barcelona.  It was a 3 ½ flight covering 1400 miles. We were thrilled to see Ian waiting for us at the airport.  It had been almost two years since we had seen him.  He looked very fit and happy.  We took a taxi to the Catalonia Princesa Hotel, which we thought would be our home for the next 7 nights.  After checking in, we walked towards Ian’s new apartment.  Since Ian and Alex had just moved last week our hotel was now about a half an hour walk from his apartment.  We had lunch at the same beautiful restaurant where Ian and Alex had their wedding reception.  Ian took us to their new apartment.  It is a charming old apartment in a great barrio with high ceilings and quaint  wooden shutters that lead to a long balcony.  We noticed that they could use a new couch and we offered to buy one as their house warming gift.  After finding us another hotel which was minutes away from their new apartment, we started on a mad dash to the nearby furniture stores.  We met Alex on a street corner after he got off work.  After looking at two stores, we arrived at Ikea. The Barcelona Ikea looks almost exactly like the Ikea in San Diego and is just as crazy.  We finally found a great sofa, but of course it needed to be delivered and assembled.  It was already 9:30 in the evening by then!  This was not a problem because there were many South American men hanging on the edges of Ikea with vans waiting to take your purchase home. We found Ernesto who was willing to deliver the sofa and assemble it for only 80 euros.  Alex rode with Ernesto and Ian took us back to the Princesa Hotel on the Metro.  Around midnight the sofa was completely assembled.

Restaurant where Ian and Alex had wedding recepition

Izzy, Alex and Ian getting sofa at Ikea

Day 28, Friday, December 31st.  Ian met us for breakfast and then we took a taxi to our new hotel. The Casa Nova would be our home for the next 6 days.  Our room on the sixth floor has a balcony that faces Gran Via, one of the major avenues in Barcelona.  It is a beautiful view.   After lunch, we found a lavendoria (laundromat) to wash 3 weeks’ worth of dirty clothes.  Ian and Alex had the New Year’s Eve celebration at their new apartment.  Alex’s parents, Antonio and Mari, and his sister Lourdes and her boyfriend, Dennis, were also there.  Alex and his sister made all the food.  We had some wonderful appetizers.  My favorite was a brochetta with roasted bell pepper and anchovies.  Lourdes made a tasty chicken dish.  We finished dinner around 11.  Dinner never starts until around 10 in Barcelona.  A New Year’s Eve tradition in Spain is to eat 12 grapes at the 12 strikes of midnight.  We watched the celebration in Madrid and ate our grapes when the hosts on the TV show did. It was one of the best New Year’s Eves we have had.  It was very interesting because none of Alex’s relatives speak any English.  Alex himself is fluent in five languages.  He works as an English teacher and an interpreter.  We were amazed at Ian’s Spanish.  He did a great job of interpreting for us.  Izzy and I left shortly after midnight and collapsed into bed.

Lourdes, Alex and Ian in their kitchen

New Year's Eve Celebration at Ian's and Alex's new apartment

Ian and Alex

Alex and his mom at New Year's

Santa in Barcelona

Day 30, Saturday, January 1, 2011.  We had a late breakfast at a café across the street from our hotel.  We met Ian for a walk around Barcelona.  Barcelona is a lovely old city as you can see from our photos.  We walked through the Las Ramblas section of the city to the port.  It seemed like everyone in the city was out walking and enjoying the beautiful day. In the afternoon, we were treated to a special paella lunch at Alex’s parents’ home.  It was one of the most delicious meals we have had.  Alex, who is 26, lived with his parents until he and Ian started living together.  This is typical in Spain.  His parents kept his childhood room exactly the same.  His parents were very gracious, but we had to rely on Alex and Ian to interpret for us.  In the early evening, Alex, who is a former tour guide, gave us a private tour of the gothic quarter of Barcelona at night.  Alex is very knowledgeable in the history and art of Barcelona. We saw the cathedral and associated buildings, which were built in the 10th century. The area seemed enchanted at night with the Christmas lights shining.  The mood was enhanced by the many street musicians whose music echoed on the stone walls. We also visited the place where Ian and Alex got their marriage license and the bar where they had their first drink together. By 10 o’clock we were sound asleep.

Paella at Alex's parents

Ian's Spanish School

Famous statue of Christopher Columbus

Buying flowers for Alex's mom

Alex's first communion photo

Lunch at Mari and Antonio's house

Day 31, Sunday, January 2, 2011.  We met Alex and Ian for breakfast and then dashed to Ikea to be there at 10 when it opened.  During the New Year’s Eve celebration, one of the legs from their table fell off so we bought them another table as a second house warming gift.  We couldn't find Ernesto to take the table and chairs home so we found Pablo.  We worked up an appetite watching Pablo work so hard on assembling the table and chairs (there were hundreds of screws).  We had a wonderful tapas lunch with sangria in Las Ramblas.   Our personal tour guide, Alex, continued to show us some of the best parts of Barcelona.  We took the funicula and sky cars to visit the Castle of Montjuic which stands on a hill overlooking Barcelona.  The views were fabulous  - you could see from the port to the mountains. We then walked through the amazing 1992 Olympic Park. We took a long walk in the early evening past the largest museum in Barcelona to the Plaza de Espania. Barcelona is in Catalonia and the first language is in Catalan.  There is always talk of separating from Spain.  All the signs are first in Catalan and second in Spanish and sometimes in English.  I thought Catalan would be very similar to Spanish, but it really isn’t.

Alex and Ian on Metro

Izzy buying Metro ticket all my himself

View from castle Montjuic

Cable car to Montjuic

Olympic clocktower

Sunset by Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium

Day 32, Monday, January 3rd.  Since Alex was working, Ian was our tour guide and interpreter this morning.  We strolled through Parc Guell, one of the showcases of the genius of Antonio Gaudi.  A highlight was Casa Museu Gaudi, where Gaudi lived between 1906 and 1925.  The house was filled with furniture created by Gaudi.  Our next stop was La Sagrada Familia.  This church was designed by Gaudi and construction started in 1883. Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 it was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI.  The anticipated completion date is 2016.  Unfortunately, the line to enter was way too long, so we had to settle for the spectacular exterior views.  We met Alex for lunch and sangria in La Rambla.  Alex took over the duties of el guia in the afternoon and we toured the Gothic Quarter, the medieval Jewish section of Barcelona, and the opera house. The subway system in Barcelona, the Metro, is very efficient and with help from Ian and Alex, we are becoming very proficient using it.

Ian's street

Gaudi House

Gaudi 

La Familia

Gothic Quarters

Gothic Quarters

Gothic Quarters

Gothic Quarters

Barcelona Building

Gaudi designed building

Day 33, Tuesday, January 5, 2011.  In the morning, Ian took us by train to Sitges, a picturesque beach village a half hour from the city. In the afternoon, we took a tour to Montserrat Monastery, a spectacularly beautiful Benedictine monk mountain retreat about one hour from Barcelona. Not only is the monastery of significant religious importance but the natural beauty surrounding the monastery is simply breathtaking. The monastery houses the famous Black Virgin, a magnet for tourists and pilgrims the world over. We had tapas and sangria for dinner in La Rambla.

Sitges

Montserrat Monastery

Black Madonna

Montserrat Monastery

Christmas lights still all around the city on January 5

New dining room table

New sofa

Plaza Espania

Three Kings Cake

Bike sharing

Day 33, Wednesday, January 5, 2011.  This was our last full day in Barcelona and Ian took us to the main art museum which is housed in a beautiful old palace and then to the Picasso museum which is housed in an old villa.  We enjoyed a delicious tapa lunch complete with sangria.   But, the highlight was when all three of us went to the beauty salon together.  Izzy and Ian had haircuts and I had a conditioning treatment.  John was the hairdresser and Ian was our interpreter.  We loved just wondering the streets of Barcelona with Ian.  In the evening, Alex treated us to a delicious homemade meal.  His pasta with mushrooms was just amazing – the flavors were perfecto!!  We were the first dinner guests at their new table.  Their apartment looks great and we know they will have a wonderful life there.  Ian claims they will never move – only time will tell. It was the Night of the Three Kings in Spain – a traditional time for giving gifts.  Alex surprised Izzy with a fine new wallet and me with a beautiful bag from Desigual – My favorite shop in Spain

Gruesome art in museum

Three Kings Day

Day 34, Thursday, January 6th.  We spent our last morning with Ian wondering the streets of Barcelona again.  Everything was closed because of the Three Kings holiday. All of the bakeries made a delicious looking dessert in the shape of a crown.  This holiday is more important in Spain than our Christmas Day.  All of the beautiful Barcelona Christmas lights are kept up until after this holiday.  We had such a wonderful visit with Ian and Alex it was very hard to say goodbye, but we hope to return later this year to spend more time in this remarkable city.  At 2:30, we took the four hour flight to Cairo on Egyptair.  At the Cairo airport, we were met by our travel agency and taken to the Four Seasons Hotel for 3 nights.  This is a spectacular hotel that is rumored to be the best hotel in Cairo.  We had snacks and drinks in the lobby bar before collapsing into our luxurious beds.