expiration date 

the Barcelona’s airport is beautiful! it’s all white, full of glass, and feel very zen. the famous Barcelona’s sun makes it even more pretty.

aina and snowy made friends with a traveling dog, taking a break from his carrier.

 
 

the plane to Barcelona from Heathrow is, surprisingly, full of Asian kids. it looks like there is a bus-full of Chinese highschool kids with their chaperones boarding the plane. i thought, they must have the same holiday as aina… but then i notice that in the Barcelona Airport, there are tons of highschool kids tours… i guess, Barcelona is a popular destination for school trips.

we took the train from the airport to the city… barcelona is famous for pick-pocket, right? so, we took extra precaution of our belongings. all of our money and credit card was stored in the money belt. the handbag is always zipped all the way. even with this, there was a woman who’s been sitting next to us trying her best to get some… on our way out of the crowded train, her hands were all over my pockets. that’s okay, they’re all empty…

anyway, back to the story… we got off at Passeig de Gracia. as soon as we emerged from the metro station, the Block of Discord where Casa Battlo stands greeted us. there was a feeling of excitement and happiness surging in me… finally, we get to see Gaudi stuff in person!

before going crazy with pictures, we decided to go straight to the Hostel and drop our stuff first. Barcelona Central Garden Hostel, the hostel we got from icha’s recommendation, is located only two blocks away from Ps. de Gracia, so it was easy to find.

we were greeted by very friendly Maddy, who went over the map of Barcelona, suggested places to see and visit, and the tips & tricks on how to avoid being pick-pocketed (very important tips for Barcelona!), such as NEVER put valuables in the pocket. leave passport at the hostel’s locker, and bring a different photo ID. use money belt!

after all the anti-theft coaching, she then showed us the room and around the hostel.

we unpacked, changed to a warmer set of clothes and headed out… to find a pair of Camper shoes! hehe, that’s the only thing in the shopping list. we bumped into the Camper boots i wanted at the Passeig de Gracia’s store, and decided to look around the area before buying.

we stopped by Tapas 24, recommended by Cynthia, and it’s basically around the corner from the Hostel. perfect location and we’re VERY hungry… there was a line going into the little shop, though. but the staffs are super friendly and aina even got a drawing kit to use while waiting for our food.

Maddy said that the bill you pay in the restaurants increased by the seat you have: counter seats are the cheapest, tables goes next, table outside on the pavement is the most expensive. so, this time, we’ll try the cheapest option: counter seats.

the food is just amazing. we were soooo full by the time we got out of the restaurant and felt like we needed a long walk.

once we got to Placa de Catalunya, aina didn’t want to leave. all those pigeons were like magnets for her. the more pigeons, the harder for her to leave. but i guess, that works for almost every kid…

today’s photo is in the flickr 10/3/2012 album.

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addresses:

Barcelona Central Garden Hostel
Roger de Lluria 41, Ppl 08009 Barcelona
phone: +34 935 006 999

Tapas 24
Diputació 269, 08007 Barcelona
phone: +34 934 880 977