Barcelona & Madrid  -  Xmas 2002

For the last few years we've talked about doing a vacation with the kids "like everyone else does" but it never fill into happening. Another possibility was this Xmas, so we gave that a try. Well, Nathan had already made plans for going to Greece but Sabina was up for considering such things so we pursued it. Began with items such as the Galapagos but she decided too much time on a ship, then it was Pantagonia, and gradually it became some big city with a good metro system. We didn't want it to be too cold and Mexico City was too smoggy; so we settled in on Barcelona and Madrid. We had spent a day or two in Barcelona with Nathan about 8 years ago and agree with "everyone" that it is a neat place and although we avoided Madrid on that prior trip it seemed worth checking out as well. Previously we had been doing a driving tour and thus mainly southern Spain and this time we were going to strictly bum around in the city so why not fly back from Madrid and thus see a second major city. It also has a very advanced Metro system for S to "study." About the only other preface worth noting is that our tickets were on United, which went bankrupt a week or so before we left; but that didn't seem to make any difference.

Tuesday&Wednesday-1: Betty took us to the airport quite smoothly and checkin went likewise; so we were plenty early and read the newspaper. We had an isle seat and one next to it in the middle section, not being able to get a window seat on the flight over; but at least the middle of the 5 seats was empty giving a bit more spread out room. The plane in general was full, left on time, and had good service. But it is still a long flight - guess I forgot to say we had booked quite nice flights, the first one being SFO to Frankfurt. Did the usual attempt to get some sleep after enjoying a few drinks and arrived Frankfurt on time. Had a longer (>3 hours) than desired layover there but Dawna did manage to stretch out on a series of seats and try to relax. Flight to Barcelona went smoothly.

Sabina had gotten flights from NYC (on Air France through Paris) that would get her there a half hour or so before us, but she had a tight connection in Paris. Plan was that she would meet us when we got off the plane; having walked over from her terminal to ours. Reality was, no Sabina. We checked that the next flight from Paris would be arriving in a half-hour or so and went over there to see if she was on it. Waited about an hour and still no Sabina, so took the train into Barcelona without her. At our hotel they said she had called, but it wasn't clear if the call was from the B airport (our assumption), or Paris, or even NYC. I went out and bought some water and a couple of other things (including beer) and when I got back, S was there with Dawna. She had arrived on the flight after the one we waited for, spent too much time trying to see if we were in the airport somewhere, and then took a bus into town. So, everyone relaxed a bit and then we went out and did some walking and finally had some dinner.

A word about our accommodations. Based on information from a fellow at work and then some fax and e-mail exchanges we had selected an apartment-type hotel in the center of the action. It had a bedroom, a sitting room with a sofa that made into a bed, and a small kitchen at the end of the sitting room. Turned out to have been refurbished recently and what with the double pane windows and our windows facing a small green area plaza it was very quiet. Great situation. 

Everyone slept pretty darn well that night.

Thursday-1: This was the first of many days of just generally bumming around; and I'll try not to make things to repetitive as I go day by day. We walked around, had some breakfast, walked some more, explored, bought fruit and cheese at small shops, did more serious grocery shopping at the grocery store across from our "home" where I had gotten a few things the night before, rested, drank, went to dinner; etc.

Great location to walk from in every direction. Oh, yes, while walking we also tried to exchange a sack of pesetas we had brought along but various banks told us to go to different places and nothing worked. That night I slept very little, which seems typical for me the second night out; but I also woke up with a sore throat and the start of a cold which I then infected everyone with eventually.

Friday-1: We settled into the routine of Dawna and I getting up gradually, having a coffee and something in the room, and then going out bumming for a couple hours, returning about when S was getting up, and then doing something together in the afternoon. This day the morning outing involved following a written-up walk that went by a bunch of the modernistic (Gaudi-like) buildings. As with the day before the weather was somewhat overcast but not rainy so we felt lucky. That afternoon we 3 went to the Picasso Museum and were basically disappointed in how modest the collection was and how little of the neat building it is in we got to see. After some inquires I believe we can blame this on the fact that major reconstruction was taking place so people and books who say what a neat place/exhibition it is are probably usually right.  After the museum we took a subway northward and then saw some more interesting stuff as we meandered home. Also had a good and relaxed lunch. The girls did fine but I was experimental and had pigs feet; which turn out to be just fat.

Dinner that night was at a place from the book (Lonely Planet of course) named El Cafeti and quite good - especially my Champaign (actually cava) chicken dish and the home made cheese-flavored ice cream. After dinner we did more walking (down to the water and back), somewhat just to kill time as Sabina was going to a tango place at 11:30 and even though dinner was late (as is the case in Spain) we still had time to kill and the weather was getting ever nicer. Then off to the tango place/club we 3 went, S assuring us it was fine for us to tag along. Drank a bottle of wine, watched the action which started up very very slowly, but eventually she got involved dancing and a bit after that we took off (2 AM ..... way past our bed time but Dawna had already declared she'd give up tomorrow's daytime activities to enjoy this night out with our tango person). And we did enjoy it. Sabina came home an hour or so later but we were of course asleep by then. Before going to sleep, however, I put my T-shirt and regular shirt on top of a floor lamp (to keep them from being wrinkled too much) and didn't realize the lamp was on, and managed to burn them. What a dope.

Saturday-1: Everyone slept in more this day both because of staying up so late and because of the cold that had now spread from me to Sabina. D and I did get up before S, however, and our late morning activity was to walk over to the Musica Catalana and take their tour of this neat ("one of the high points of Modernista architecture") building. Quite enjoyable, including listening to a group practicing for a performance in a day or two. Also, stopped by a bank to try the money exchange thing but again it was the wrong one and in theory we now knew the right one. On the way back from our outing we hit the grocery store again, picking up a broasted chicken for our  (D&I that is) lunch. Had lunch with Sabina and then went out to see one of the Gaudi items (La Pedrera) where you can go into the building and up onto the roof. Quite nice and especially so since it was a blue-sky day so that in addition to seeing the bazaar roof one had nice views of the city. In the building itself there was a very nice exhibition about Gaudi's work with many explanation, models, etc. Again, good, as well as a furnished (in the original style) apartment and various items having to do with the growth of Barcelona. A good outing.

After the usual rest and drinks we headed out for a 9 PM or so dinner. Walked to a place with Catalan food, got in a line outside since the inside was full, and after awhile decided this place wasn't going to work for our vegetarian. So, off we headed with various other ideas the main one being a Moroccan place down in old town The walk there took awhile and in retrospect we should have used the Metro because when we got there they were no longer taking new people for the evening - yet it was only about 10:30 PM and we thought basically restaurants had a 9 PM and an 11 PM sitting. Oh, yes, on the way down there we went by a couple of possible (pizzeria) places to eat but they were jammed with long lines onto the street. So, next we checked various other places near the Moroccan one and they all said they were full for the evening. Gosh, seemed like a no-room-at-the-inn situation. Eventually one cafe/dump let us in and we had a meal. Actually, our fish soup was excellent, probably from the bottom of the pt and thus flavorful, but the rest of the meal was quite poor. Another post midnight bed time; probably setting a record for the old folks and routine for the young one.

Sunday-1: Usual routine in the late AM, this time with D&I walking over to the main cathedral to see the dancers that are supposed to be there every Sunday. They weren't, but we did wander around the enormous number of stalls placed in the open area (leaving no room for the dancers I guess) and selling Xmas-related stuff. Thoroughly enjoyed the posers (folks who paint their clothes to look like statues and then assume rigid poses until you give them some money upon which they do some limited motion and then go back to posing). Eventually we got tired of seeing so many posers around town, but initially it was quite interesting and we even contributed to this first one. Back to our apartment and nibbled on things for lunch - sure was nice to have cold beer in the refrigerator all the time.

Then, upon Sabina's suggestion, she and D went to a major shopping center while I went to the Maritime Museum I had wanted to go to. Their shopping center was a joke but they did shopping elsewhere and had a good outing. My museum was excellent. An enormous (18,000 sq meters) ship building facility in the old days (could have 30 galley ships in it at once) and now a fine museum (and contains one full-scale galley ship) both in terms of the building itself, all the maritime displays, videos, etc. Plus an English language audio guide to carry around. And I did the museum as slowly as I desired. Great. Walked home, stopping at a superb internet spot for a half hour or so to see what was going on with the world back home. Beat the girls home by 10 minutes - they arrived at the planned 6 PM. The reason for the planned time was that S might go to a tango thing at 7 PM.

With help from the desk we made reservations for D&I to eat at a place (La Barbacaa Gracia) up near her tango spot (by coincidence) that had been highly recommended by a co-worker. So, we all subwayed up there, we checked out her tango scene (more of a studio than a club), and then the two of us went to dinner. Oh, yes, Sabina had had a good vegetarian dinner when she and D were out bumming around. This place was much more local (less fancy) than we had thought but good fun. Had quite a time getting an order in but managed and had some good and some not so good food. The latter was actually pig's feet again by mistake. They didn't speak any English but had one English menu. But it didn't correspond to the Catalan one so ordering from it was tricky and involved much pointing to body parts; and in the process, I/Dawna goofed. But we had enough good things to make the meal fine (like my sausages were excellent) and it was a fun place so we thoroughly enjoyed it. Dawna loved her bbq'ed artichokes and when Sabina showed up after we had paid our bill and were about to leave, D convinced S to have a serving of those, plus we got another bottle of wine - so the evening extended in a most enjoyable way even if the folks who ran the restaurant thought we were a bit crazy ordering another meal after paying the bill for the first one. Seems like there were some extra deserts (lemon muse that D figured S should try) in the happening as well. We then walked to another spot where she might tango the late night away but she decided not to so we all went home to another late bedtime. A fun outing for everyone.

Monday-1: Our activity this morning was to go to the right bank and try to turn in those pesetas that I've had in the drawer for at least 8 years. The bank was open and full of people and we learned we needed to take a number (like at a bakery), which turned out to be 909 and a couple hundred away from when the electronic board said they were servicing. So, we went back to the apartment stopping at the grocery store for a refill shopping spree. After some breakfast, we went back to the bank just before it was to close at 12:30 PM and were still a hundred or so numbers away. Figured out most of the system in terms of filling out forms and putting money in individual plastic bags for each denomination. Lots of people were doing this. Of course, we then began to realize this was 24 December and on the 31st one can no longer exchange pesetas for Euros so all the procrastinators and ourselves were there. Our number came up, we went to the window, turned over our money, and got a piece of paper saying we were now owed 66 euros AND we had to wait somewhere else to get it. The somewhere else had lots of folks with again about a hundred numbers ahead of us. And this time they only announced the numbers verbally not electronically making it harder for us to know what was happening and when our turn would come up. But by figuring out when a few other folks were getting their number called and by Dawna understanding a bit of Spanish we were successful and walked out of there around 1:30 PM with 66 euros to blow and maybe no smarter than when we had come in.

The afternoon-with-Sabina activity was to go to Parc Guell, the very fun Gaudi place we had enjoyed in a hurry 8 years earlier. Very whimsical. We enjoyed it again, probably more than S did, and had perfect weather for the enjoyment.

Tuesday-2: D and I got up at a reasonable time and walked to a train stop where we got the train to Figueres, the town where Dalli built his own museum. Got there, had a coffee and then did the museum at our own slow pace. Quite enjoyable. Eight years earlier we had stopped by with Nathan too late in the day to go in and always said it would be fun to go back. It was. After doing the regular museum we had some lunch and then did the new museum that houses some Dalli jewelry. Again, enjoyable. Train to home and after the usual rest and drinks probably went out for dinner but I've somewhat lost track.

Wednesday-2: Xmas day and we three went over to the cathedral square and all the stalls were gone and the folks were doing their "Sunday" dance out in the open area with a dozen or more "old" folks having formed an orchestra and playing there on the church steps. About this day or the day before we also paid some visits to local pharmacies to obtain some drugs to fight the colds - D being the one who was in the worst shape now but no one was fully healthy. Felt stupid that we hadn't brought enough of our own cold medicine ---- and in fact when packing to come home a week later Dawna found that she did have some. That (Xmas) night we gave another try for the Moroccan restaurant but it wasn't open. Several others nearby weren't either but a pizzeria place that was nearby and had been packed on our first adventure in this area was open and we ate there. No one actually had pizza, and what we did have was "interesting"/OK.  Earlier that day when the girls were resting I took the subway to the main train station to see if I could learn a bit about tickets to Madrid but the information line was long and I gave up on it and just metroed back.

Thursday-2: D&I took the metro to a location in the northwest from which we then walked through a length of town checking out 4 different Gaudi buildings. Again great weather, nice sights, relaxing time. Finally metroed homed. We all had some lunch trying to eat up odds and ends and then went over to the train station, We took a number (about 100 ahead of us!) for buying tickets to Madrid and also waited out the modest line to get some information. From the information line we got a train schedule and agreed on taking the 10:30 AM train (8-hour trip) and to go first class for the hell of it. When our time came to buy tickets and we told the lady what we wanted she said "no way" the first available train was at 3:30 PM. Holy cow ... but no choice really so we took it. Then instead of taking the metro back to our apartment we set off on foot and did it slowly, looking at new things as we went. These included a large sculpture by Miro which although we didn't think a lot of it, it was fun since it was the item on the cover of the Lonely Planet book I was carrying everywhere. We also walked down a very long pedestrian only street, saw the exterior of the Barcelona Bull Ring which is of quite nice architecture, and a variety of other things.

After the usual resting and drinking we went to a restaurant (El Gran Café) from the book that had Catalan/French food. It was in a very nice building and somewhat upscale and a quite enjoyable meal once we got by the pain-in-the-neck maitre-de. I had absolutely excellent hake cooked in a sauce (Galacian style). The bottle of wine we split was better than some we had been having and we all had desert. A nice last-day meal. After it we stopped by the Internet cafe for a bit to check on things and then wandered home. Another late night but since we had such a late train the next day, what the heck. Upon arriving home we read the literature and found out that checkout time was to be 11 AM. Ugg. Dawna went down to the desk to ask for a latter checkout but they said they were totally full of guests so couldn't make any promises but we should check/ask again in the morning when the main staff was on duty.

Friday-2: Got up and asked the folks at the desk if we could stay in our room well past 11 AM since our train wasn't until 3:30 - they said we could stay until noon. Not a great improvement, but an extra hour for folks to relax was better than nothing. Gradually got up, packed, had some breakfast and by noon we were out the door, leaving our bags at the hotel. Walked down the Ramblas a bit and into the market that we'd walked by so many times when it was closed late at night. Large, open-air, good produce/fish/meat/flowers/vegetables/etc etc. Fun to wander around in. Eventually ended up with some cheese and bread for the train trip and with D&S wishing they had made more of a effort to come here before when it was open since the produce was so much better looking than what they had been finding and buying, By now it was slightly drizzling but, by the way, and we had all left our umbrellas in our stored suitcases. Had some tapas for lunch (some good and some OK), back to the hotel for the bags and off to the train station. I goofed and walked folks further than needed by going to where D&I had caught the train to Figures the prior day rather than to where we had gotten a local train the day before. And the damp/cool hike with luggage didn't do Dawna's lungs any good - darnit. But we got there, took a short ride (on a large train that S got a kick out of) over to the main station and were there with plenty of time. After a bit, we boarded our train. Lots of space in first class and not very crowded. It left on time.

First it went south along the coast and there was seaside and tunnels to look at; albeit in dreary weather. Then it turned inland through the foothills and the weather cleared up so we had sunshine on the olive groves and villages. But a lot of reflections from the interior onto the window made viewing less than perfect. Then it got dark. The trip began to drag on. The train car was warm so drowsy. Seemed to take forever but eventually we were in Madrid about a half-hour late. During the trip, Sabina and I did some exploring, we all did some snacking, everyone did some reading, and at least D and I did some resting. She needed it for was not feeling great. At the Madrid station we caught a subway quite easily, made one transfer, and surfaced a half block from our hotel (Hotel Paris). Checked in with a single room for S and a double for us. An old hotel (reminds me of old movies, said S) so a bit worn out but with various attempts at fixing things up - like nicely remodeled bathrooms and double pained windows. Neither of our rooms were on the street (oh, yes, the hotel is right in the middle of downtown on purpose), so quite quiet in terms of outside noise but very noisy inside in terms of people roaming around and talking and Sabina being near an elevator shaft. I slept fine; the two ladies had a hard time due to the interior noise

Saturday-2: Breakfast came with the room and D&I got to it about 10 AM. Coffee and rolls, but refill on coffee so adequate if not exciting. Checked in with S who was about to get up. D rested and I made a venture out into the city walking to the tourist information spot and picking up some stuff. Came back and we all did some eating and exploring after which D rested some more and S&I went walking and more exploring. Covered a fair amount of territory, fun plazas, buildings, shops, etc. Lot of statutes with giant ones on top of buildings. Usual combination of rest, cleanup, drinks, and then off to dinner. We had decided we'd got to a vegetarian place that had a few non- vegetarian items on the menu as well. First choice not yet open (it was about 8 PM) but would open at 9 PM. Second choice closed on Saturday. So, off to a cafe/bar place for drinks to kill some time. VERY crowded but did get a spot and some drinks. Their cafe portion only started serving at 9 PM also, and about 8:55 folks began to line up and I'll swear that by 9:05 nearly every table was taken. Looked like a nothing special place by the way. Went over to our place and it was open and a few tables taken. But when we said we didn't have reservations they almost laughed at us and sent us away. Amazing. People really do eat out in this town! Went back to a restaurant that had been a candidate, got in, and had a good meal. My oxtail stew was excellent. Back to the room, D rested a bit while S and I made a short exterior run to (a) make a reservation at the veggie place for Sunday night and (b) get a bottle of wine. Nightcap and then to bed.

Sunday-2: Typical late breakfast with Sabina joining us. After breakfast we walked to the Prado where D and I spend a few hours and S spent much less time than that. Impressive. We got the audio guides (in English) which always makes such museums more enjoyable for us and especially in one where the paintings are all labeled in a non-English language. Walked back a different way to see a few different things. Then we took off by subway to the City Museum (Museo de la Ciudad). Partially motivated by our Urban Planner and partially because we like such local museums. Very elaborate with many topographical maps, maps at different periods in the past, sequences of how the water system and fuel system, and metro system, etc developed over the years; etc. Very elaborate models of the city and of buildings within it. Not just a small local museum at all. Fun, even if all the descriptors were in Spanish. After that we did some walking/exploring, eventually metroing back to our place with a good coffee stop prior to resting a bit. Then it was out exploring some more - down to the enormous and decorated Post Office but it was not open and back via a loop walk that ended up including a mile or so of a covered pathway with quite nice crafts being sold on both sides of the walk.

After the usual rest and drinks we did go to the Vegetarian Restaurant. "Enjoyed" watching them turn away folks without reservations.... Must say, however, that the meals were only so so. Sabina figures they have a long way to go to learn how to cook vegetarian food well. Like they used little to no spices. And I figure they could learn a lot from KFC on how to deep fry a piece of chicken. But at least we had tried and, hey, given the business they seem to be doing they are likely to improve, I suspect. Said our good nights and good byes and hit the hay. Slept fine. Oh, yes, both S and D had slept much better the second night both because they were now more used to the interior noise and because there was less of it than the first night.

Monday-2: Sabina went home; we didn't get up to see her off at 7:15 AM or so. We got up slowly and then walked down to the Royal Palace. Along the way I showed Dawna some neat things S&I had seen two days earlier. It was drizzling out! Up until this day we had seen nothing but blue sky in Madrid which we think was very very lucky given that how both S&I had been looking at weather reports for the last month or so and it was almost always raining. Long line to get into the palace but we waited it out - probably 30-40 minutes. The museums are almost all closed on Mondays, which may explain the long line at the palace; or maybe it is typical. But once inside the crowds weren't bad at all. Slowly wandered through many rooms. Quite nice. In very good shape; not really being very old compared to many palaces we've been in probably helped. Also checked out the large cathedral next door. Then back to the hotel with a stop for lunch at the Museo Jamon. When S and I had first seen this place we thought it truly was a Pig/pork Museum but then discovered it is a cafe and a chain of such actually. Crowded and had an OK lunch but not the assortment of interesting pork choices I had hopped would be there. More wanderings mixed with relaxing at the hotel. Dawna was doing much better today but we were also not trying to push her back into a relapse. I might mention that quite often when D was resting a bit I was reading. I had brought various reading materials but after S finished a huge book on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge I borrowed it and was thoroughly enjoying my quiet times by reading this intriguing tale. Such extensive reading is one of the nice pleasures of vacations imho. That night we went to dinner at a place that specializes in pallela and had a seafood one that was excellent. D could only sort of taste it unfortunately as she typically loses her taste with a cold and it was just coming back; but it was still a nice outing. And gosh, were the streets full of people yet again. It is really amazing how many people were "always" on the streets of Barcelona and Madrid. Of course, in both cases we were staying right at the center of the action.

Tuesday-2: Up at 6, out by 6:45, metroed to the airport and were there by 7:30. Boy is it a great metro system. Checked in, had some coffee, and boarded our plane around 9:15. Flew on time, arrived on time, and our plane changing in Frankfurt went relatively smoothly. That plane also left on time and arrived SFO on time.  It is an 11 hour flight which is darn long but the service was fine and I did type the draft of this trip letter into my Palm Pilot, read lots more of the Bridge book, had plenty to eat and drink, and rested a bit. The plane was basically full but we had a two seat (window/isle) arrangement so that was nice. I had even brought the binoculars with me on the plane so I could see the icebergs, etc well but had forgotten it was the middle of the winter. Turns out for quite a bit of the trip one is so far north that it is nighttime even though one left Frankfurt at 2 PM (local) in the daylight (and slight snow) and arrived SFO at 4:30 PM (local) again in the daylight. Kinda neat watching the day/night curve on the map that shows where the airplane is at your seat. A half year earlier I had enjoyed just the opposite effect when going to Berlin near the Summer Equinox, it always being daylight.

Dick Weaver picked us up at the airport an we were home and pulling out the dirty clothes and looking at the piled up mail by 6 PM.

Summary: A good fun outing with the highlight being just hanging out with Sabina. Both Barcelona and Madrid are fine cities. Probably wouldn't say that in the hot summer. They are filled with activity and people milling around and surely must have one of the highest percentages of population to places to eat and drink of any city in the world. In fact it was even rather a pain getting food and drink due to the crowds and I guess one might learn to make dinner reservations if one lived there.

Let's see, the weather - well we had just enough rain the day we went to the Palace that I got out my umbrella (Dawna didn't) but for the most part we were amazingly lucky in Madrid as we had been in Barcelona. And after we left Madrid we saw by the papers they had some good rainstorms there.

It was a very different sort of trip for us. To begin with Sabina was with us. Then we were in a pair of large cities rather than the countryside and not trying to see many tourist items. We usually rent a car and tour around; this time we didn't. In fact I think the only times we haven't rented a car have been in India and Sri Lanka and in those places we hired a car and driver. So, this was unique. Come to think of it, since we didn't take a cab anywhere we went two weeks without sitting in a car - wonder if that has ever happened in our life before - I doubt it. On second thought, maybe Japan would almost qualify but probably not for a whole two weeks. Another unusual aspect was having three folks selecting dinner places one of whom is a vegetarian. But she's a great sport about it. Oh, yes, and the fact that we all had colds off and on combined with the late dinner hour made our daily routine different from what is typical.

What's next? Nothing planned! But something will be I'm sure. We might go to NYC in early February to see the co-ops that S&R have been looking at to purchase in combination with an major indoor track meet (Mellrose Games) at Madison Square Gardens. I might go East for work stuff in February and/or March. And, Dawna has started asking me what I want to do for my 65th Birthday with the translation of that question being "where would I like to go." Humm, have to think about that it being a little early for Alaska and too late for Patagonia, but there are many other interesting options on our "list."