Hola Barcelona

Now the room the hotel had given us had to be see to be believed. It looked like a hostel room with four single beds setup side by side....we did have a room with a window...however, it opened up into the airconditioning service shaft....no natural daylight to be found anywhere.

Choose A Bed, Any Bed!

A/C Duct Reflecting Through Window

After a few quick emails to the booking agency we got moved the next day to a great room (only 3 single beds this time) with a balcony and street views, so we just had to spend one night in the "dungeon"...have to admit that we did sleep well...no noise, and no light coming through the window...lol.

A Room With A View

Looking Out To La Ramblas

It was early afternoon, so we still had plenty of time to explore around our local area of Barcelona. One place we really wanted to visit and that was only 100 metres from our hotel front door was the famous food market, Mercat St. Josep La Boqueria.

La Boqueria Market

What a fantastic market!! Full of great sights, colours, smells, sounds...you can get all types of foods here, and all beautifully fresh. There are also a number of Tapas Bars throughout and around the market, we just loved it here!

Some Of The Great Sights Of La Boqueria

One stall, a butchers stall, was my least favourite...too many memories of the entrail sausage from Lyon...they were selling every left over imaginable...heads, tails, tripe, liver, kidneys

Not Wasting Anything!

On the other side of the stall the list of giblets and entrails continued....now in the photo below, look carefully in the bottom right hand corner....is that, or is that not a pile of penises for sale......that's it, I am checking the menus here very, very closely!!!!!!!

The List Of Giblets Continues

Now to get around this area easily you have to use the locals promenade...the world famous La Ramlas...the locals just go for walks up and down here at different times of the day, drop in for drinks and tapas..what a great way to live.

Views Up and Down La Ramblas

There are heaps of shops, cafes, bars up and down La Ramblas...you can find everything here...Lesley even noticed an Erotic Museum!!!

The Erotic Museum

Look At Her..Pretending She Has Not Noticed the Erotic Museum Entrance!!!

Our hotel is in the best location for walking around the best bits of Barcelona, we are right on the edge of the lovely, old Gothic area with all of its narrow lanes and great shops.

The Lanes and Shops In The Gothic Area

By the time darkness was falling, which is quite early here (around 5-6 o'clock), so we decided to go out, see a few sights close by, and find somewhere to eat...

Everyone Is Out Promenading On La Ramblas

Christmas Lights In The Gothic Area

Brilliant Buskers...Archipelago Style

We eventually settled into a little Tapas Bar very close to the hotel. We chose a few tapas, some local wine (which is very good here), and chilled out for a while.....some more tapas and wine...and we were ready for bed.

Just a quick note about the tapas bar.....as we sat enjoying our food and wine we looked around and noticed heaps and heaps of Australiana......we had to laugh, we had wondered into Hogan's Bar, an Australian themed tapas bar!!!!!!

Hogan's Tapas Bar

So we come to the end of a very big day, Barcelona is looking fantastic, we cannot wait to see more.

 

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