Posted on: 17-08-15 17:46:28
Hi Friends,
We are taking a 7 night cruise from Barcelona, Spain in the last week of October, 2015 which will go to a couple of places in Italy, Malta and then would come back to Barcelona, Spain. Then we have our flight to India much later on the same night. We are reaching Barcelona a day and half in advance to our cruise. So, basically we have 2 full days in Barcelona, 1 full day before the cruise and 1 full day after the cruise and I am looking advice and guidance from those who have been to Barcelona, Spain so that we can take maximum benefit from our stay there.
1. Best area and at least 3 star safe, nice, clean hotel to stay and place/s to visit / explore as per our time frame. We have 1 full day before cruise and 1 full day after cruise.
2. Any pointers about the places to avoid in Barcelona as I was reading some adverse comments about the petty crimes such as pick pocketing and or mugging in certain areas, specially during the night.
3. Any must see places or areas to visit?
4. Do we get vegetarian food easily? If yes, then any place to have lunch or dinner as we both are vegetarian.
5. Where to keep our luggage during the time we are visiting places. Do we get any locker service etc.?
6. Best mode of transport for seeing the city? Considering the low value of Canadian Dollar, we need to see where we can save on unnecessary costs.
7. How is the weather during that time of year? What type of clothes to carry?
8. Any other Dos and Dont's.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
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Pramod Chopra
Senior Mortgage Consultant
Mortgage Alliance Company of Canada
Barcelona for only a day and a half? You are doing gross injustice to both you and Barcelona. Change your flights to spend more time there - it is such a wonderful place.
Ramblas is the the place to stay - the tourist area which is live till almost 2am every night and reasonably priced and safe.
Depends on what you like to visit. Even just walking in those small lanes around Ramblas is so much fun. The architecture is beautiful. Sagrada Familia - the ever being built cathedral is the most famous, but there can be line ups for an hour or more. The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc, Casa Batlló by Antoni Gaudí, a beautiful building by their most famous architect (the same guy who built the Sagrada Familia), Plaça Espanya which is more than just a central transport communication hub in Barcelona. It's also the starting point for visits to The Magic Fountain of Montjuïc, Museu Nacional d' Art Catalunya de Montjuïc (MNAC) and the Olympic Stadium all of which are attractive and interesting places to visit. Park Güell by Antoni Gaudí is a must see. Then there is one more place whose name I have forgotten - it is like a mini Spain where they have different kinds of buildings found in Spain.
Vegetarian food is plentiful - and you will find lots of Bangladeshis and Sindhis operating shops and road side kiosks and they can help.
Luggage - take it to your hotel - if you stay on the Ramblas, it has subway right underneath and the road above has huge pedestrian walk ways to you will see many people pulling their luggage from hotel to subway.
Transport - buy a stored value card for 10 trips. The same card can be used for more than one person at the same time if need be. Taxis from airport to city are expensive, but cheaper alternative is either shuttle or the best is train - where you can use the same stored value card which I think works out to 1 euro per trip. Each trip is valid for about 2 hrs, so if you change buses and or subway, any journey within the two hour period will be counted as one trip.
Be safe with your carry ons while on the road. A typical thing in Spain is - someone will walk up to you and tell you that he is a govt official and wants to see your identity papers. Never ever give that, and be careful while he is talking to you. His associate will pick pocket you while you are dealing with him, while most probably you are a bit scared since he is asking for your legal papers.
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Chandresh
Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!
Quote:
Originally posted by Pramod Chopra
Hi Friends,
We are taking a 7 night cruise from Barcelona, Spain in the last week of October, 2015 which will go to a couple of places in Italy, Malta and then would come back to Barcelona, Spain. Then we have our flight to India much later on the same night. We are reaching Barcelona a day and half in advance to our cruise. So, basically we have 2 full days in Barcelona, 1 full day before the cruise and 1 full day after the cruise and I am looking advice and guidance from those who have been to Barcelona, Spain so that we can take maximum benefit from our stay there.
1. Best area and at least 3 star safe, nice, clean hotel to stay and place/s to visit / explore as per our time frame. We have 1 full day before cruise and 1 full day after cruise.
2. Any pointers about the places to avoid in Barcelona as I was reading some adverse comments about the petty crimes such as pick pocketing and or mugging in certain areas, specially during the night.
3. Any must see places or areas to visit?
4. Do we get vegetarian food easily? If yes, then any place to have lunch or dinner as we both are vegetarian.
5. Where to keep our luggage during the time we are visiting places. Do we get any locker service etc.?
6. Best mode of transport for seeing the city? Considering the low value of Canadian Dollar, we need to see where we can save on unnecessary costs.
7. How is the weather during that time of year? What type of clothes to carry?
8. Any other Dos and Dont's.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
---
This is seeing Spain through my eyes and my musical mind. So, you go about your own way seeing the best of Barcelona the way a tourist will do. Enjoy it with the better half.
First priority is food and hence the top item is the restaurants and the menus.
Carry what you think you want to spend, and may be a credit card to back you up. If perchance you lose the amount have a back up plan. Don't carry more than what you want to spend or lose that day.
There are Three topless bus services that take you through three different zones. They are in three different colours. They all have their terminii at each end and they overlap and you will never lose your way.
All of the Cathedrals and the Gothic Structures are in the OLD section and you can say on either side of a street or close to it. So when you take the Topless buses you will get to see them all or most of them. Pick one or two or all of them if you have the time to see such beautiful buildings.
I will provide you with the METRO and the associated bus routes here and the Zones with their names. Also all of the restaurants. Only a couple are close to the Vegetarian ones we all look for.
VEGIWORLD. : http://www.vegworldindiabarcelona.es/
Their menu. Prices are similar but in euros. : http://www.vegworldindiabarcelona.es/menu/
Another opinion. : http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d1100395-Reviews-Veg_World_India-Barcelona_Catalonia.html
Maharajas. : http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d2002188-Reviews-Maharaja-Barcelona_Catalonia.html
Asian Curry Lounge.: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d5524809-Reviews-Asian_Curry_Lounge-Barcelona_Catalonia.html
The List.: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurants-g187497-c24-Barcelona_Catalonia.html
Then there are other veggie restaurants. but they are not. This one is in the Garcia District.
The list goes on.. : http://www.barcelonayellow.com/barcelona/restaurants/indian
FH.
You will be landing at the Terminal #1 and there is a section called CONSIGNAS on the overhead sign. It will take you to the left luggage lockers. They charge $10 per 24 hours per piece per day. Please check the charges and how they go about with their clocks. Any part of a day is also charged as $10 per baggage. You be the one to decide how many you want to store. They are OPEN 24 HOURS of a Day 365 days. Link to it. : http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/airport/facilities-t1/left-luggage-barcelona-airport-t1.html
You have evrything that you need to know in this link. : http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/
LINK. : http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/products/barcelona-card.html
Link, . : http://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/barcelona
Link.. : http://www.trivago.ca/?iPathId=31965&bDispMoreFilter=false&aDateRange%5Barr%5D=2015-08-31&aDateRange%5Bdep%5D=2015-09-01&aCategoryRange=3&iRoomType=7&sOrderBy=distance%20asc&aPartner=&aOverallLiking=4&iOffset=0&iLimit=25&iIncludeAll=0&bTopDealsOnly=false&iViewType=0&aPriceRange%5Bfrom%5D=5476&aPriceRange%5Bto%5D=7601&iGeoDistanceItem=0&bIsSeoPage=false&mgo=false&bHotelTestContext=false&th=false&aHotelTestClassifier=&bSharedRooms=false&bIsTotalPrice=false&bIsSitemap=false&rp=&sSemKeywordInfo=trip+barcelona&tgs=3196503%2C131800%2C132600&bRecommendedItem=false&iFilterTab=0&
Curiosity got the best part of me and I delved deeper to find out more. Here is to the Pearls and you. :
The six main standards used to evaluate pearl quality are: luster, shape, size, color, and the presence of blemishes, nacre thickness. As a general rule, the overall balance is more important than any single attribute, and it may be helpful to keep this in mind. Come check our quality pearls with exclusive designs at affordable prices at http://www.samrose.com/Pearls. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0Ts97S1r8ghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0Ts97S1r8g
I was told that it all got started with the Gypsies and by their clapping hands, movements of their wrists and the palms and the fingers. They brought in a few of the clappers and the shoes that they called Zapatidas. The tempo, they called the TIEMPO and Contra Tiempo evolved to provide the body movements, then the flirt, the body movements etc., I have seen the street performers going about in full swing and I have paid a few Pesetas to see the street dancers who perform their local favorites. But my interest was in a few who perform extemporaneously for extended periods as if they got possessed by some spirits and the show never seemed to end. It is mesmerizing to these acts and always wanted to know from where it is that they get their stamina and the endless energy to do such performances. I was only trying to grasp the salient features of their classical dances. There are still a few shows in the Theatre Arts section and an after noon is well worth it if that is your cup of Chai. There are sections of Spain where you sit down to enjoy the show. Some usually run for an hour or so. This is for those who have tonnes of time at their disposal. A day is not enough for such research and enjoyment. It is for those who are dead serious about the dances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGHd9Q79ACUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ONCE5aGfaQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbaNGU1CrXIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWwyaZohxzE&list=PL998899BA6077AEA9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yng0n_-_UV0
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http://subway.umka.org/map-barcelona/line-1/rambla-just-oliveras.html
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/hotels/hotelmaps/barcelona-hotel-map.html
Have a safe trip up and down, both ways. What you missed one way you can wait to see on the way back. That break will let you stretch your limbs and will get the blood circulation back in your feet.
I am pouring my heart and my musical mind into this. Hope you also enjoy reading it.
FH.
Thanks Chandresh ji and our in house Wikipedia aka Full House,
I wish I had asked this question before booking the flights and cruise (booked more than 4 months ago) and then I would have benefited much more. However, I would still try to take advantage of the time I have on our disposal by taking cues from the detailed pointers given by you both.
Once again, thanks a lot as some body else might take advantage of the advice given by you both.
Regards,
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Pramod Chopra
Senior Mortgage Consultant
Mortgage Alliance Company of Canada
Quote:
Originally posted by Pramod Chopra
Thanks Chandresh ji and our in house Wikipedia aka Full House,
Regards,
Lol
... Very True !!Have a great trip !
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Fido.
