From Madrid to Barcelona

On the Train

Shopping

Typical narrow street in Gothic Quarter

Soupy Paella with Lobster and Shrimp

Today was one of those weird days that only happens on vacation and you just need to go with the flow.

 

We checked out of our hotel in Madrid and taxied to the train station. We our tickets pre-printed for the ride on the bullet train to Barcelona. We went through security and two different scanning’s of the QR code on our tickets and walked down to the train. Our ticket said we were in car 16. Strange because as we walked along the platform, we realized there were only 8 cars on this train. We were confused to say the least.

There were no agents on the platform who I could ask for assistance. I was at the last car, which was where the train engineer sat. I asked him and he looked at the ticket and said “there must be a mistake – go to car 6". We did that and there were no seat tickets on our ticket that we could find (actually there were, we found out later). We said screw it, and just sat down. Two guys came up and were very nice but said we were in their seats, they checked with someone and said we should go check with another person in a different car. To shorten this tale, we eventually again said screw it and took 2 seats in 1^st class.

 

On arriving in Barcelona, we took a taxi to the Mercer Hotel. It is in the Gothic Quarter, which is composed on narrow, winding twisting streets out of the Middle Ages. The hotel is stylish beyond belief. It is built into the old Roman Walls of Barcelona yet looks like something out of Architectural Digest. The service however sucks!

 

We are amazed at how the tourists have overrun Barcelona. We have been here before and it was beautiful and charming. We didn’t feel that today. It is like tourists outnumber the people who live here. The architecture is still beautiful but the buildings house lots of gift stores, McDonalds etc.

 

We had dinner by the sea and had a new dish for us: Soupy Paella. Apparently, they make the Paella with fish broth and when it is completed add additional broth to make it almost a soup. We had the Paella with Lobster and Shrimp. The restaurant, Can Fisher is located along the seafront. It was a warm night with a full moon overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It was a beautiful setting watching the people stroll and ride by enjoying the night. We only wish that Barcelona hadn’t lost it charm for us.