Day 2 in London

 We started our morning with a quick breakfast and then walked to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. We had a perfect spot to stand (thanks Loie!) and the weather was beautiful. The entire thing took about an hour. It was really cool to see.

After the ceremony, we went to Leicester Square to the TKTS booth for a Friday night evening show. Leicester Square is very similar to Times Square (especially at night). They even have a M&M world. 

We then met Tess’s cousin Loie at the national gallery for lunch which was delicious (but I didn’t take pictures because I was starving). 

After lunch Loie took us for a walking tour of London which was amazing and more informative than our bus tour. We got to see a lot of sights and even went into Victoria Station which was VERY brightly lit. 

Loie left us at Fortnum & Mason where we had a very fancy High Tea and did some shopping. We had scones, pastries, as well as sole and beef Wellington. 

After tea, we went to see a show in the west end we hadn’t heard of until that morning called The Choir of Man. It is a 90 min one act show that takes place in a pub and the cast is all men. They sing pop songs and are VERY talented. They also encouraged everyone to sing along and before the show started people were using the on stage bar to get drinks. 

Really fun packed day! 

First Day in London

 We landed in London around 9am local time on Virgin Airlines. This is the first time we flew on that airline and it was a great experience: the seats were comfortable and the food was pretty good. 

When we got to our hotel in the Seven Dials neighborhood our room wasn’t ready yet so we were able to explore the neighborhood. We’re near the theater district and Chinatown so lots of cute shops & restaurants. 

After a brief reset in the hotel, we got on a Big Bus for a tour of the city. We didn’t take the full route, but took the bus from Trafalgar Square to the Tower of London then took a boat back to Westminster. The audio on the bus was a little cheesy and it seemed aimed at kids so heavy on the comedy and lighter on the interesting facts. The staff on the boat choose not to use the recording and instead give their own commentary which was hilarious and way better. 

After the tour, we wandered around the Covent Garden neighborhood which is very cute and still decorated for Christmas and got a Ben’s cookie (thanks Beth W). 

We ended the day with dinner at the Ivy which was VERY good. We had heard they had the best fish & chips and were not disappointed. We started with yellowfin tuna tartare (only picture I took) and great cocktails.

We crashed right after dinner and now we’re waiting outside Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. 

Last Day in Barcelona

For our last morning, we went to see Casa Batlló before it was fully open. It was great to be there when it wasn’t crowded. Casa Batlló was a private home designed by Gaudí. They gave us tablets so we could use virtual reality to see what the rooms looked like when they were furnished. It was really cool. 

After regrouping at the hotel, we made our way back to La Sagrada Familia. Before it was our time to go in, we watched a large gathering of Peruvians in front of the cathedral. They played New Zealand last night in a World Cup qualifier game that was held in Madrid. We don’t fully understand the connection between that and the cathedral but there were A LOT of them. We had tickets to go up in the nativity tower. I didn’t realize what that visit entailed but it sounded like something worth doing. We took the elevator up and got to go onto an observation area where we could see some of the features of the roof up close. We then walked down the stairs. The guide said it was something like 400 stairs. And they were spiral stairs. It was definitely worth doing I just wasn’t prepared to work so hard for it. 

After the cathedral, we took the subway to the beach area. The subway was crowded because it seemed like the whole city had the same idea. We didn’t go to the most popular beach area intentionally but there were still a lot of people around. We had lunch at a Gallician restaurant overlooking the marina and then walked over to check out the beach. We weren’t dressed to hang out but it was good to see the Mediterranean.

After the beach we did a little shopping then relaxed at the hotel. After dinner, we walked back over to La Pedrera for the Night Experience. We got a group tour through the building and then went to the roof for a light show. It was a great way to cap off the trip.

 

Montserrat

 Yesterday morning, we walked back to the tour office to meet our group for our day trip to Montserrat. We were a group of 8 plus our guide/driver so we piled into a van instead of a bus. Montserrat is about an hour from Barcelona. We were able to arrive in the town before it got busy for the day which was nice. Enrique (our tour guide), brought us through town and explained some history. He brought us to the cathedral but not inside because a mass was going on. 

After being released to free time, we took a cable car to the top of the mountain so we could hike down. The cable car looked like it ascended at an unnatural angle from the town square but it was closer to 45 degrees in practice. The trail for the hike was paved most of the way and was more like one long windy ramp than a hiking trail. 

We stopped at a small church that was closed to eat lunch In the shade, then continued back to town. By the time we got back the town was busy. We got a snack and did some shopping. There was a farmers market but it was about 6 tables of the same thing: cheeses, honeys and nuts. Nothing like the farmers markets Lindsay sells at. 

We reunited with our group a little after 2 then went to a winery for a tour. The name of the winery is Parés Balta. It has been active for about 400 years. The current family who runs it is in its 3rd generation of management. The two daughter in laws went back to university to study wine and now are the winemakers, while their husbands manage the vineyard. The tour was really interesting, the vineyard uses organic and biodynamic growing practices. After the tour, we did a wine tasting which was a lot of fun. Most of our group was primarily red wine drinkers, where I primarily drink white. We did order a few bottles to ship home and I found a wine store in Cambridge that sells this label. 

After getting back to Barcelona, we decided to do some shopping before most of the stores close for Sunday. We had a really good dinner near the theater again, then went back to the hotel. 

Barcelona Day 1

 Yesterday morning, we met our tour group about a 25 min walk from our hotel, near the gothic quarter. Our tour guide Gloria took us on a walking tour through the gothic quarter and Jewish quarter. We stopped in front of the Cathedral of Barcelona. We then got on a bus where we got to see more of Barcelona and went to outside the art museum which is on top of the mountain overlooking the city. Up on the mountain are a lot of the facilities that were built for the Olympics and are still used today. 

After the stop on the mountain, we went to La Sagrada Familia. This is a giant cathedral designed by Gaudí that is still under construction. The design is really unique and inspired by the forest. When the cathedral is done, it will be about 10 meters shorter than the mountain next to Barcelona because the cathedral can’t out do God. Gaudí died as a result of an accident so occasionally they have to use reverse engineering techniques to determine some design next steps. We spent a lot of time looking at the Nativity face which had elaborate carvings. The opposite side of the cathedral is significantly less detailed. The inside is what reminds you of a forest. Gaudí liked to be inspired by nature. There are stained glass windows but they are abstract designs, they aren’t bible scenes or saints. 

After a tour of the cathedral, we got a break for lunch. 

After lunch we got back on the bus to go to the Park Guell which was supposed to be a planned community on the side of the mountain. It was the brainchild of Gaudí and Guell. For various reasons the community didn’t work out and only one house was built and eventually they gave up and turned it into a public park. 

After the park, Gloria left us at La Pedrera, a house designed by Gaudí. The roof line is very interesting and there are giant sculptures on top. The 5th floor (of 6), is a preserved apartment from the time of the construction. 

After a quick break at our hotel, we took the subway a few km to meet our group for our market tour and Paella class. This paella did not use saffron because saffron was expensive, so traditional Catalan paella was made with cuddle fish liver as a flavoring agent….it was not gross. If I try to make paella at home not sure what I’ll do though. Apparently Asian markets will sell the liver and maybe help you cut it up appropriately to get the flavoring out, but not sure I’m that brave. The paella was really good, and it was nice to meet other travelers.