We got up around 8 and went back for round two of breakfast. I had a similar selection, though added some chocolate cake to it, because I just had to try it. I was sorry to not have a third chance. There were no Rackers in evidence.
After packing up, and leaving our luggage with the concierge for the day, we headed out, taking a couple of photos outside the hotel, and then walking north to La Sagrada Familia. My imagination hadn't been wonderfully captured by the idea, but actually seeing it close up was much more impressive than I thought it would be. The sheer bulk of it, and the exquisite detail on the face were amazing. Unfortunately, the queue was horrendous, so we walked around the outside, but regretfully gave up on going inside.
We went into the nearby metro and took it south all the way to Parallel, and then took the linked funicular up part of the mountain to the bottom of Montjuic, an old military fortress begun in 1640, but demolished and rebuilt in 1751. We then took the cablecar to the top of Montjuic. The view of the whole city was brilliant - Christian took a video. At the top, we wandered around a little, taking in the view, and then went up onto the castle battlements. There wasn't a lot to see, apart from a memorial to a French astronomer, and a very large flag. We went below and sat to eat lunch. I bought it from the cafe, which was a little strange. I had lasagne, and Christian had chicken and chips.
We'd decided to walk back down the mountain, and so took our time, stopping for photos at fountains, and having a wander through some gardens. We got the funicular back to the metro, and then a metro diagonally across most of the city to Lesseps, from where we walked a fair way, mostly uphill, to find Parc Güell, the huge garden designed by Gaudi. We went to buy tickets, and discovered that they had timed entries, and that if we waited for the next opportunity, we would probably miss our coach pick up from the hotel. This was quite disappointing, after our Sagrada Familia experience, but it couldn't be helped.
We explored the vastness of the free section of the park, which was quite dry and dusty, but with some interesting design elements. There was a good view of the city. Near the top, we went out of the park for an ice cream, then realised we had to go back inside in order to get back down. We went a different way, seeing an interesting green parrot on the way. We exited the park via the main entrance, which we had failed to find on the way up, and saw much of the sculpture inside the the park that we would have to have paid for anyway, including the ornate front gates. It was interesting, but nothing amazing.
We made our way back down, stopping in a shop to buy some nice mosaic Christmas presents, taking the metro back to Passeig de Gracia, which was a fairly short walk back to the hotel. Inside, we found a few people in the lounge area, and soon after Steve and Kathrine arrived. Steve insisted on buying us all a drink, and the staff brought us some snacks to have with them. Kathrine and I had bubbly, and the boys had gin. We swapped stories of our day. It was a very civilised way to pass half an hour.
The other rackers gradually materialised, and we collected our luggage and went out to the coach for the last time. We drove back through the city to the airport, disembarked, and went to check in. We managed this with minimum fuss, and went through security to the shops and restaurants beyond. Christian and I had a wander to where our gate was going to be, and found the area devoid of any people, or anything interesting, and so went back to the central area, met up with Steve and Kathrine again, and sat in a cafe to get some food and drinks. The food selection was quite poor, but I got Christian a chicken pasta dish, and I had a baguette.
It was eventually time to go to the gate, and we weren't there long before they changed the gate on us, and the queue formed. We waited for the queue to dissipate, and then got on the plane. For some reason, I was feeling a bit anxious before even getting on the plane, and after a significant delay, we were finally on our way. There was a reasonable amount of turbulence, and so I continued to feel uneasy. We landed at Gatwick OK, though, got off the plane, and everyone went their separate ways.
Christian called the valet parking people, and we waited a ridiculous length of time for them to bring the car. It was frosty, and they said they had to defrost it, but they could have started the process before we called, knowing when our flight was due to arrive. Anyway, it was highly tedious, and Christian was rightly moved to complain about it. Finally on the road, we made a quick stop in Horsham to collect the laptop that Christian had managed to leave at Heather's, then heading north again, discovered that the house keys and some other bits were missing off his keyring. He called the parking people, who said that they often take off extraneous bits and leave them in the glove box. We couldn't find them while driving, so decided to chase it the next day and kept driving. It was enough to spoil the evening, though.
We got home near midnight (I think), and found the lost keys lurking down the side of the driver's seat. Helpful, that. We dragged our gear upstairs and fell into bed. There were a good few things that we didn't manage to see in Barcelona, and so intend to go back at some point. But it was a fantastic, and well organised trip (bravo, Emma!).
After packing up, and leaving our luggage with the concierge for the day, we headed out, taking a couple of photos outside the hotel, and then walking north to La Sagrada Familia. My imagination hadn't been wonderfully captured by the idea, but actually seeing it close up was much more impressive than I thought it would be. The sheer bulk of it, and the exquisite detail on the face were amazing. Unfortunately, the queue was horrendous, so we walked around the outside, but regretfully gave up on going inside.
We went into the nearby metro and took it south all the way to Parallel, and then took the linked funicular up part of the mountain to the bottom of Montjuic, an old military fortress begun in 1640, but demolished and rebuilt in 1751. We then took the cablecar to the top of Montjuic. The view of the whole city was brilliant - Christian took a video. At the top, we wandered around a little, taking in the view, and then went up onto the castle battlements. There wasn't a lot to see, apart from a memorial to a French astronomer, and a very large flag. We went below and sat to eat lunch. I bought it from the cafe, which was a little strange. I had lasagne, and Christian had chicken and chips.
We'd decided to walk back down the mountain, and so took our time, stopping for photos at fountains, and having a wander through some gardens. We got the funicular back to the metro, and then a metro diagonally across most of the city to Lesseps, from where we walked a fair way, mostly uphill, to find Parc Güell, the huge garden designed by Gaudi. We went to buy tickets, and discovered that they had timed entries, and that if we waited for the next opportunity, we would probably miss our coach pick up from the hotel. This was quite disappointing, after our Sagrada Familia experience, but it couldn't be helped.
We explored the vastness of the free section of the park, which was quite dry and dusty, but with some interesting design elements. There was a good view of the city. Near the top, we went out of the park for an ice cream, then realised we had to go back inside in order to get back down. We went a different way, seeing an interesting green parrot on the way. We exited the park via the main entrance, which we had failed to find on the way up, and saw much of the sculpture inside the the park that we would have to have paid for anyway, including the ornate front gates. It was interesting, but nothing amazing.
We made our way back down, stopping in a shop to buy some nice mosaic Christmas presents, taking the metro back to Passeig de Gracia, which was a fairly short walk back to the hotel. Inside, we found a few people in the lounge area, and soon after Steve and Kathrine arrived. Steve insisted on buying us all a drink, and the staff brought us some snacks to have with them. Kathrine and I had bubbly, and the boys had gin. We swapped stories of our day. It was a very civilised way to pass half an hour.
The other rackers gradually materialised, and we collected our luggage and went out to the coach for the last time. We drove back through the city to the airport, disembarked, and went to check in. We managed this with minimum fuss, and went through security to the shops and restaurants beyond. Christian and I had a wander to where our gate was going to be, and found the area devoid of any people, or anything interesting, and so went back to the central area, met up with Steve and Kathrine again, and sat in a cafe to get some food and drinks. The food selection was quite poor, but I got Christian a chicken pasta dish, and I had a baguette.
It was eventually time to go to the gate, and we weren't there long before they changed the gate on us, and the queue formed. We waited for the queue to dissipate, and then got on the plane. For some reason, I was feeling a bit anxious before even getting on the plane, and after a significant delay, we were finally on our way. There was a reasonable amount of turbulence, and so I continued to feel uneasy. We landed at Gatwick OK, though, got off the plane, and everyone went their separate ways.
Christian called the valet parking people, and we waited a ridiculous length of time for them to bring the car. It was frosty, and they said they had to defrost it, but they could have started the process before we called, knowing when our flight was due to arrive. Anyway, it was highly tedious, and Christian was rightly moved to complain about it. Finally on the road, we made a quick stop in Horsham to collect the laptop that Christian had managed to leave at Heather's, then heading north again, discovered that the house keys and some other bits were missing off his keyring. He called the parking people, who said that they often take off extraneous bits and leave them in the glove box. We couldn't find them while driving, so decided to chase it the next day and kept driving. It was enough to spoil the evening, though.
We got home near midnight (I think), and found the lost keys lurking down the side of the driver's seat. Helpful, that. We dragged our gear upstairs and fell into bed. There were a good few things that we didn't manage to see in Barcelona, and so intend to go back at some point. But it was a fantastic, and well organised trip (bravo, Emma!).
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