Spain trip reloaded: Barcelona hotels

        Got back from Spain a day ago and am still overcoming the jet lag.  I swear it hits me harder from Europe with just it’s nine-hour time change than it does with 16 hours in Asia.  I’m falling asleep standing up at this point.  Need caffiene – stat!

          So now it’s time for a trip recap, picking up where I left off:

         It’s the giant “tour every possible hotel and then, when you think it’s done, tour another one” walking tour day.  Starting off at 8am, we hit the Sunotel Central, Century Park, Aston, Junior, Evenia Rosello and the Barcelona Centre.  I would book clients into any of these, the rooms were nice, clean, and the properties were more modern than I had expected for a European city centre.  The Barcelona Center was particularly impressive, all beautiful black and white marble mixed with super-luxurious furnishings (and this is not swayed at all by the free glass of champagne they gave us, because, as a non-drinker, it turned my cheeks embarassing flaming red and everyone asked me if I was okay).  It would be the perfect place for a wedding reception, it would photograph so well.

           By now our feet were starting to feel the mileage, so we stopped for a classic Spanish tapas lunch at the Cervesceria Catalana.  The ambiance was cool, with wine and olive oil bottles lining the walls library-style, but tapas is not my thing.  I don’t eat seafood and am not a huge meat fan in general, so I took one look at the menu and knew I was relegated to eating the smallest sandwich known to man while my coworkers passed around these giant bowls of octopus parts and deep fried heads-on shrimp.  Can you say bill, please?

             Then we were back pounding the pavement, seeing the incredible Casa Fuster (OMG, this hotel is spectacular.  Seriously.  Google it, it’s worth it), right on the Passage de Gracia.  The Gods then intervened and brought a bus to take us to the beachfront to see the Front Maratim and H10 Marina, then finally Catalonia Princessa and Citidines Las Ramblas.  Dinner was an interesting appitizer spread (seafood on sticks, deep fried veggie chips and gummy bears were amongst the options) at the H10 – this was designed as a snack, but I was ready to gnaw off a limb at this point, so I took advantage of the free food and went for it.  I love gummy bears

              The work ended at 830, and I took one look at Las Ramblas and found a second wind.  It was the lure of shopping.  Finally crashed at midnight, exhausted, but with some great souvenirs!

Tags: Barcelona, BlogSherpa, hotels, Jet lag, seafood, shopping, tapas

Naked Bike People!

Okay, so if anyone knows what the hell they were protesting Saturday night at teh Placa de Catalonya in Barcelona, please let me know, because all I know about it is there were Naked Bike People.  From our hotel room just off the Placa we hear a bullhorn and run to the balcony, just in time to see about thirty naked people on bikes waving pool noodles and signs riding past, shortly followed by police cars and tourists with cameras.  Totally got pictures (and we’ve blown them up… yep, they really at nekked), and hope to have some of those posed here soon.  But I can’t help but wonder what was so important a cause that people had to get naked and deal with banana seats up their yoo hoos and police?  My luck, it was national naked bike day or the traditional wave your schlong around day!  Whatever it was, no one else in my whole group saw any of this, and if my Roomie and I didn’t have those pics, I don’t think anyone would believe us.

Welcome to Barcelona!!!

See? Told you they had pool noodles!

Tags: Barcelona, BlogSherpa, Naked Bike People, pool noodles

Hola from Barcelona!

Wow, it’s hard not to make the title sound like a ‘wish you were here’ postcard  

So, it’s day three here in Spain (or four, it’s all running together), and this is the best work week I think I’ve ever had.   Landed at 7am on Saturday and got to our hotel to find it wasn’t ready, so we all ditched our stuff and, because this was really our only free time in Barcelona, (screw the jet lag!) hopped on the hop on hop off bus touristic for an overview of the city.  Saw all the main sights, Montjuic, the Port Olympic, Colom, Barri Gotic, etc, but honestly it will be easier to remember once I’ve had the pics developed because i’d been up for more than 24 hours at that point.  The goal was to stay awake to get onto local time and, with the help of caffine and lots of aimless walks down the Ramblas, I made it until 11pm before I crashed. 

So far I’m really loving this city.  Staying at the beautiful Catalonia Duques du Bergara hotel beside the Placa Catalonya, it’s a perfect location with great ambiance and an incredible amount of marble.  Barcelona is a city for wandering, and eventhough I’m a total Spanish newbie, I feel totally comfortable here.   The first vibe you get from a city makes a huge impact, and this one is great. 

Yesterday we started the working part, touring the Norwegian Gem and Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas cruise ships.  Really impressed with the Voyager, if I sailed that’s the one personally I would choose.  Loved the central shopping promenade, it looked just like a mall.  The Gem was good, but most people found the gaudy coulour scheme jarring.  I loved it, but then again I am twenty years younger than most of my co workers and I my tastes are a bit out there on a normal day!

Got finished with work about dinner time and wandered back up Las Ramblas,  finding the coolest bar on the planet along the way, right by the wax museum.  I think it was called el bosc de les fades, or the magical forest, but I’ll double check my Spanish later.  It was filled with trees, even coming out from the table centers, the bar was all carved out of fake rock and there was a blue grotto waterfall/fountain in one area.  I have never been in a more family-friendly bar in my life.  It was so funny watching everyone’s faces as they walked in,  looked around in wonder and then started taking pictures.

The metro here, and in any city, is a thing of beauty and for 1.35 Euro we were at the incredible La Sagrada Famillia cathedral in less than ten minutes.  Grabbed a nice German tapas (meatballs, beer rings, wurst and pizza, I don’t get it either, but it was good) dinner on the Place du Gaudi, seated at one of the sidewalk people-watching tables.  It was a great location for under $12 a person, drinks included.  Saw the lights of the cathedral go on at 10pm, and it was cooler than I could have imagined.  I mean, really, what was that guy on when he designed it?  There amongst the prerequisite saints and  angels there are carved frogs and a christmas tree covered in doves and a pile of oranges.  WTF ?  But most importantly, now I feel I’m truly in Barcelona, now that I have seen the one place more than any other that differentiates this city from any other.

Loving this city so far.  I’m not actually going to see any of it today as I have 12 hotels to tour (oh my god! This one has a sink too!), but a job is a job.  I wanted to get a bit of an overview posted, but hopefully I’ll get to blog tonight about all the cool little things that have happened, like the naked bike people with the pool noodles….

Tags: Barcelona, BlogSherpa, cathedral, city tour, cruise, hop on hop off bus, hotels, public transportation

Off to Spain!

Woo-hoo!  I’m leaving Friday for a business trip to Barcelona and the Costa Dorada in Spain (I know, I’m working sooo hard!)  It’ll be a lot of busy days, but who cares, I’ll be in Spain!  This is when I love my job (travel agent – or, as I like to call it, facilitator of all things good and wonderful) more than anything.  I can stand getting up at five am daily and touring thirty hotels in exchange for a few days shopping on Las Ramblas and sunning on the Costa.  Maybe I’ll even get a tan and people will stop asking me if I feel all right (I swear, I really am that pale.  I live in Vancouver, what can I say? Think great white north).  Still in the frantic packing stage, with visions of Gaudi architecture, flamenco and tapas dancing in my head, but I’m totally counting down the seconds until takeoff.  How do they expect me to focus on work tomorrow?  The camera’s charging as we speak, and I’ll have details up soon

Tags: BlogSherpa, Spain, travel agent