Day 2 - Sunday in Barcelona

Day 2 - Sunday in Barcelona - Self Guided Walking Tour

Today started a bit late as our bodies are still about 6 hours behind.  We woke up around 10 AM and scrambled to get ready for breakfast which ends every morning at 11 AM.  The breakfast room was beautiful and we were very happy with the buffet selection.  After breakfast we headed out on the town for a self-guided walking tour.  We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked.  From 11 AM until about 5 PM, we walked all over.  During the walking we ran in to a mother and her two daughters that sat in front of us on the flight over.  We shared a few stories and went on our way.  There are so many neat little sections of town with TONs of great shops.  Being Sunday, a surprisingly large number of stores were closed but there were enough open, ready and willing to take our money.

As breakfast wore off and our hunger set in we decided to find some lunch.  Our guide from the night before had suggested a few places so we picked one on the beach and headed that way.  It took us a little over an hour to work our way there but the walk was pleasant.  We walked from the west side of town and we got to tour the marina as we made our way to the restaurant.  When we got there the line was WAY too long so we decided to eat at a nice looking place across the street called Santa Marta.  Bad move.  Katie ordered the ham and cheese which was good,,, I ordered the chef's surprise.  It was a surprise.  They slapped a dead pig on a roll and almost melted some cheese on it.  Furthermore, they forgot it and Katie was done eating before I finally received it.  If that's the worst thing to happen to us then we're doing pretty good.

In my blog from our first honeymoon I wrote about the differences in cultures from country to county.  We are starting to notice a few things about Spain that sets its culture apart from anything we saw in Asia.  At lunch I ordered a diet coke (Coke Light) and they delivered it with a glass which had only one ice cube in it.  It seems ice is not something they typically offer.  Barcelona is relatively clean but nothing like Tokyo.  The people here are nice but nobody is in a hurry to serve you.  Every restaurant we've been to has had a "we'll get to you when we get to you" attitude towards service.  Knowing that's their culture we have come to accept it,,,, kind of like being on "island time."  Another observation, EVERYONE here smokes.  You can't go anywhere without walking through someone's smoke plume.

After lunch we walked back to the hotel for some down time.  Katie took her siesta and I, trying to keep up with my training for the Aspen 1/2 marathon, went for an 8 mile run.  Running through the city was interesting.  I just turned left or right depending on the lights, traffic, etc.  I saw a lot of neat things that I wish I could have stopped to investigate further.  Because of my random path, I'm not sure I could find those places again (it's a big city).

A couple hours later we were ready for the nightlife.  We got cleaned up and headed off to dinner.  A few people had suggested to us that we eat at Siete Puertas (7 doors).   We showed up around 9 PM and they told us the wait would be about 20 minutes.  They didn't have a bar so we strolled down 1/2 a block to a little bar called Casa Tomaso which ended up being a lot of fun.  We grabbed a drink and headed back to Siete Puertas,,, they seated us right away.   The food and service were amazing.  Sieta Puertas is a beautiful restaurant with white glove service so we expected to spend a lot of money.  I ordered what I thought was a glass of wine for 14 Euros and Katie ordered what she thought was a glass of Champagne for 12.  It turns out we ordered the entire bottles.  We ordered salads and split the Paella - it was awesome.  I agree with everyone who recommended this place.  For desert we split some ice-cream concoction and then headed out.  The bill was surprisingly cheap.  Just before leaving we ran in to the same mother and her daughters that we met earlier in the day.  I guess they received recommendations to eat there as well.

After dinner we headed to the casino, this time we were armed with our passports.  The walk to the casino was a bit further then we really cared to walk so we hopped on a pedi-cab.  Our "driver" spoke five different languages and worked from home as a translator during the day.  He does the bike taxi at night to meet people and stay in shape.  Go him.  At the casino they welcomed us in and we made it to the poker / blackjack room.  The folks at our table were a lot of fun.  No one at the table spoke english but we all knew how to play the game.  We knew when to yell and when to complain.  The rules here are a little different then in the US (or the Bahamas).  You are not allowed to double unless you have a 9,10 or 11.  The dealer doesn't take his second card until all the play is finished (they don't check for blackjack before you play your hand).  Another interesting aspect is that it's common practice to play on anyone else's hand.  Even people without a seat will stand behind you and play on your hand without even saying a word.  We had a ton of fun and ended up leaving down just a few Euros.  After that we headed home and called it a night.  I uploaded pictures from the day to the Barcelona folder (see link below).

More to come,,,,, stay tuned!