Our eleven hour non-stop Norwegian Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Barcelona was confirmed for Thursday, May 9, 2019.
This trip would include myself, daughter
Tamie, family friend Heather and daughter-in-law Trista.
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| L to R: Sharon, Daughter Tamie, Friend Heather, Daughter-in-Law Trista |
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| Bradley Terminal Map |
We felt we were traveling light, each with a small backpack plus a roller bag but
unfortunately, Norwegian Air weight allowance for onboard roller bags is 10 kilos (22
pounds). If you
find yourself overweight, pay the fee online at the time of booking or prior to
the flight departure. This will save you
up to 50% on your charges.
- comfortable
seats with plenty of space for your legs
- fresh
air and optimal cabin pressure for less jet lag
- 65%
larger windows than in comparable planes
- smart
mood lighting
Our
787 Dreamliner was not located at the boarding gate and required us to take a shuttle bus
from the gate to the airplane. We departed Los Angeles right on time at 4:35pm and arrived into Terminal 2B at Barcelona at 12:30pm the following day, May 10th.
Contrary to some misinformation given online,
Barcelona has only one international airport located13 km outside of the city
center. The name of the airport is called Aeroport de Barcelona-El Prat. You may also hear it called Aeroport
de Barcelona (Catalan) or Aeropuerto de Barcelona (Spanish). The airport initials are BCN and it is the
main, and only, airport for Barcelona.
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| Barcelona Airport-El Prat |
Note: Some budget airlines have
misleadingly used the word "Barcelona" in the description for Girona Airport
(airport code GRO) and Reus Airport (airport code REU) which are over 100km
outside of Barcelona. Make sure when you book your flight that you are flying
to BCN airport - otherwise you will
be in for a long and expensive transfer to the city center!
Completing immigration forms is not required for US citizens entering Spain. Immigration staff was very approachable and friendly, making the process quick and easy.
Next we headed down to baggage claim to retrieve our roller bags. Sadly, this took a full 30 minutes.
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| Baggage Claim Barcelona Airport |
Online
vouchers need to be exchanged for paper tickets for a number of the tourist sights. I
pre-purchased the Montserrat ToT tickets which required that I exchange the voucher for paper tickets.
Tourist
Information Offices are located at:
Terminal 1: On Level 0 to the left hand side
of the arrivals gate.
Terminal 2B: At the front of the building
towards the left if you are facing the terminal. Next to the large ARS
cafeteria.
The Tourist Information Office can be
distinguished from the Airport Information Office because the Tourist
Information Office displays the logo for Catalan Tourism.
The tourist offices can provide you with information on the following
topics:
- Transport: timetable for the trains
leaving from the airport, transfer details for the main areas in Catalunya
- Maps: maps for both Barcelona
and other areas of Catalunya
- Car Rental: a leaflet providing
contact details for various car rental services in Barcelona city center
- Hotels: they will help you to find
a hotel to suit your needs in the Catalunya area
- Foreign Embassies: contact
details for the national embassies in Barcelona and they can contact them
on your behalf
- Tourist attractions:
addresses, opening times, leaflets and advice on attractions in all of the
major Catalan areas
- Barcelona Card:
If you have ordered your tourist discount card online then you can exchange
your voucher and pickup your Barcelona Card in either Terminal 1 or
Terminal 2.
From
the Tourist Office our next goal was to find the Aerobus for our transportation to downtown Barcelona. These
are blue and white buses located just outside the doors and to the left from
the Airport Information Office.
I
pre-purchased online tickets at a cost of $6.98 per person for the one-way trip. One nice feature is the free wifi
onboard. The transfer takes 30 minutes and
will drop you in downtown Barcelona on the east side of Playa Catalunya, a major interchange station served by several metro and suburban
railway lines.
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| Plaza Catalunya, Barcelona |
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| La Rambla |
Once
we had checked-in, dropped our luggage and changed our clothes, it was off to
locate the Hop On Hop Off bus
to explore this vibrant city.
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| Enjoying the fresh air on the upper deck of the HOHO |
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| Barcelona City Tour HOHO |
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| Barcelona Bus Turistic HOHO |
We
selected the red Barcelona City Tour HOHO bus for our visit. You can purchase your tickets when boarding,
paying with either Euros or credit card. We
purchased the evening pass which would allow us unrestricted travel between the
hours of 4-8pm.
Shortly
after 5pm we hopped off of the Blue Route at stop #9 for a bite to eat.
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| Barcelona City Tour HOHO Route Map |
We were able to locate a great restaurant
named Vapiano. Opening one restaurant in Hamburg, Germany on
October 22, 2002, today there are 200 locations in more than 33 countries on 5
continents.
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| Vapiano Barcelona |
As
you enter the restaurant you are cordially greeted and handed a small Vapiano
charge card.
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| Vapiano card / front |
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| Vapiano card / back |
Pasta, pizzas, antipasti and salads are ordered
directly from the chefs at individual stations.
The chefs prepare all of the dishes to order in front of you and you can
have your meal prepared to your own personal preference. Favorite dishes can be
created and then individually prepared. The herb garden and the fresh herbs on
the tables are not for decoration but used to offer a special taste to every
dish.
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| Inside Vapiano |
As you make your way around the bar and restaurant you simply order, tap
your card on the card reader and the amount of your purchase is added
to your card. We arrived during happy hour and took advantage of the 2 for 1 drink
special. When you are ready to leave you
simply take your card to the cashier for check-out.
After
dinner we completed the Blue Route, making a stop at the famous Bascilica de la Sagrada Familia.
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| Sagrada Familia |
My last visit to the Sagrada Familia was May, 2016. Click here for a complete review of that visit.
As we arrived back at Plaza Catalunya it began to sprinkle so we opted
to take a taxi instead of walking down La Rambla back to our room. By the time the taxi dropped us off it was close to 8pm. We had been on the go for just
over 28 hours. The following day would include a full day trip to Montserrat with a 7am wake up. We decided to call it a night.
My
last visit to Montserrat was May, 2016 which I documented on my travel blog. With
little difference between my May 2016 and May 2018 visit, I will simply refer
you to my travel blog to learn more about this stunning Benedictine Monk
retreat. For further information on how
to further organize your visit to Montserrat click here.
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| Montserrat |
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| Buffet Lunch included |
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| Buffet Lunch area |
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| Tracks to the top of San Juan - steepest in Spain |
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| View from Sant Joan, the highest point |
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| First level of Montserrat |
Dinners
are typically eaten in the late evening in Spain and we found ourselves
following that same tradition. After a
long day of sightseeing at Montserrat, followed by a walk up and down La Rambla, it was time to relax and enjoy a drink before dinner. Taverna
1900 became our Happy Hour stop.
Taverna
1900 is newly opened and located where the now closed Gran Rambla Restaurant used
to be. Google Earth does not recognize Taverna
1900 but it does list Gran Rambla at 1840 La Rambla should you need
directions. Our room was conveniently
located a short 150 yards from Taverna 1900.
Located in the plaza are a large number of
restaurants and some of the city's most famous nightclubs, including Sidecar, Jamboree, and Karma. The square
is also home to Hotel Roma Reial and is known for its many outdoor venues. Our evening entertainment was an acrobatic troupe.
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| Outdoor performing acrobatic troupe |
What
better way to start the evening than with a pitcher of Sangria. We selected Can Reixes Restaurant for dinner and drinks. Our appetizers
included an order of the “Bruchetta” mozzarella with rocket, Iberian ham and
parmesan accompanied by an order of the Assorted Cheese Plate.
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| Can Reixes Restaurant |
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| Can Reixes Menu |
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| Appetizers |
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| Sangria and drinks |
When in Spain one must try Paella. Holding the distinction of being the national dish of Spain, this yummy rice
dish comes in many varieties including Valencian, vegetable,
seafood and mixed paella to name a few. Our
choice for the evening was chicken paella.
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| Traditional prepration of Paella |
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| Chicken Paella |
We
seemed to fit right in with the Spanish culture spending close to three hours eating,
drinking, people watching and socializing with the locals. After all we consumed it was fortunate that we
only had a couple hundred yards of maneuvering to make our way back to our room and fall
into bed. The following morning would be
our last precious few hours in Barcelona before we boarding the 4,100 passenger Norwegian Epic for a three-night cruise to Naples and Rome. But for now, sleep was calling.
Our
last morning in Barcelona we focused on a FREE 2.5 hour walking tour of the Gothic Quarters. Although FREE, reservations are required.
Our reservation was for the 10am departure which starts at the northeast
corner of Plaza Cataluyna where you will see the purple t-shirts and purple umbrella.
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| Starting Point for Walking Tour / Plaza Catalunya | |
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| Sights on Gothic Quarters walk |
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| Sights on Gothic Quarters walk |
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| Sights on Gothic Quarters walk |
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| Sights on Gothic Quarters walk |
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| Sights on Gothic Quarters walk |
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| Sights on Gothic Quarters walk |
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The clock was displaying 1:00pm, our indication it was time to put our Barcelona experience behind us and head to the ship. We opted to take a taxi to the
port, a cost of $28.15 USD for the four of us. We would set sail at 6pm.
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ReplyDeleteGreat blog of interesting and valuable information. Passing through BCN in 2020. Can't believe the extent of your constant travels. Keep trucking!
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