Clean and Fine

Not much going on today. We didn’t even wake up until 8:30, then lazed about a bit and went down to the breakfast buffet at the hotel. It was pretty disappointing – lots of prepared food and some sad looking smoked salmon. I had a bowl of Kellogs muesli, and Dave had special K – is this Barcelona or Corvallis? They did have some nice looking goat cheese on the table, but we weren’t in the mood.

The big task for today was to do laundry, so we packed up the dirties in my suitcase and trundled off to LavaXpres. It’s a lundromat, so there’s not much to say about it, except for the one really cool feature where there’s just one place to pay, so you don’t need a lot of coins. We timed it just right and didn’t have to wait for washers or dryers to become available. The walk there and back was kind of fun; it went through a pedestrian walkway and some very un-touristy places. That’s the thing about having to do laundry – it really gets you among the local populace. While we were there I got an e-mail saying our bag had cleared customs. I suspect it’s too little, too late.

Once the laundry was done we came back to the room to put it away. I forgot to mention we’re in the same massive suite we were in the first time we stayed here, with the same small step up into the bedroom that we’re afraid will to lead to one of us going on the cruise with a broken toe, and the world’s best shower. By then it was 1:30 and we were getting hungry. We’d seen an interesting Indian place on the way to the Laundromat-that-wasn’t last night, so we googled around and found a couple likely candidates. We found the one we remembered without much trouble and it still seemed appealing, so we went in.

It had something on the menu that we think all places should have – a set menu that had 4 small bites for the appetizer and 5 slightly larger bites for the main, so you got to try a lot of things without being stuffed. The scallop was overcooked and the samosa dough a little pasty, but other than that the food was very good and the flavors very interesting. It also had a comfortable atmosphere and was a good time.

We figured we should do some sightseeing, because tomorrow will probably be given over to trying to buy new clothes for formal nights on the cruise. Sr. C had mentioned the Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic neighborhood, so we thought we’d go there. When we got there we saw lots of tents set up – there was a wonderful street market selling all sorts of cheese, sausages, and prepared food. It was lots of fun to wander through even though we were too full to buy anything, even the enticing and lovely dry salami slices on a stick.

The cathedral is free after 17:00, but it was before then, so we decided to walk around for a while and come back later. But then Dave read in the guidebook that you can’t wear shorts or a tank top, both of which I was wearing because it was hot, so we decided to walk around for a while and not come back. Maybe tomorrow after the shopping. Our next touristic destination was La Rambla, and it was horrible. I’d been commenting to Dave how odd it was that I hadn’t seen any shops selling tourist stuff. It seems that in Barcelona they’re only allowed within a certain distance of La Rambla, because every third store was a schlocky tourist junk shop. It was super crowded and unpleasant, so we stayed for a couple of blocks and then headed back to our hotel, which is on the other side of the Plaza Catalunya from there and is in a very nice calm part of the city. We did walk back through an area that had lots of clothing shops, so we’ll be back there tomorrow.

One thing we’ve noticed is that right turns are permitted on red lights for drivers, but they don’t have to stop first, so crossing the streets even with the green walking man is a little frightening. We try to stay in the center of the pack to use the other walkers as buffers. We carefully crossed many streets and got safely back to the hotel, and then took a long nap. When we woke up Dave was so excited to do the BodyFit class that I had to indulge him. Then we showered and headed out to dinner at a little after 8, which is a tad early for Barcelona but not too early.

We decided to go to Casa Alfonso, which has pretty good reviews and which we had scoped out earlier in the day. It has an impressive number of jamon Ibericos hanging up near the doorway. Because we didn’t have a reservation we ended up eating outside, which was kind of fun – we sat next to each other at a 4-top and watched Barcelona go by. Also at the next table were the King and Queen and King of Barcelona – everyone had to stop by and say hello, including an ambulance that went by with its lights and siren going, but then had to back up to come talk to them (maybe they weren’t the same ambulance, but it could have been). We again had three tapas and a salad, which is just the right amount of food. We also had a bottle of the Café Alfonso Priorat DOQ wine, NV, labeled just for them. It was a fine wine, which was good because we need to get used to wines that are just fine, as opposed to the really good wines we’ve been drinking, because on the ship it’s all fine wines, which is fine. The restaurant was very busy the whole time we were there.

Eventually the Barcelonian royalty left, so we finished up our café descafinado and headed back to our sitting room. Even though we are in Barcelona and not Macon, it is still good to be us. 

Bonus photo of the controls in the elevator. we call it Schindler's Lift.