August 10, 2016- Checking Out of the Grand Hotel Central Barcelona, Private Car Service from the Hotel to BCN, Duty Free, Air Canada Rouge Premium BCN to YYZ, Air Canada Premium YYZ to YYJ

This morning we woke up exhausted after not enough of a sleep. We packed.

When we checked out of the Grand Central Hotel Barcelona, we asked about their private car which was advertised in our room. They said that it could take us to the airport for 30 EU (a taxi is 35 to 40 EU normally the front desk woman said). We hired it and were whisked out the door with our bags by several staff.

As we drove to BCN, the lovely driver, Alex, told us about his time in the Spanish Navy and the many countries that he had lived in. At the airport, he took us to the right terminal and then left his vehicle and carried April’s bags and took us to a screen, determined where we had to check in, and then took us to the check in place. We’ve never had service like this before. The hotel may have rough spots like its room service, mattresses (at least in our room), the weird perfume, and street noise, but the service and location make it probably almost impossible to beat.

We had checked into our Air Canada flight online the night before, but we had to show our passports for verification and hand over our two checked bags to an agent. The lineup was not long. The woman took our two bags and put a priority tag on them (we think it’s because we ended up in Air Canada Rouge Premium, either through some upgrade because of Bill’s status, or because that was what was left).

We went to the VAT office to get the receipt for the scarf that April bought stamped to get the tax back (it was put on her credit card at the department store in their duty free office, but if you don’t get the receipt stamped at the airport and then send that to them, they reverse the credit card refund). There was quite a long lineup to get this stamp and we contemplated whether or not it was worth it in the future. We think that unless you're spending a lot of money or you don't mind standing in long lineups, it's probably not really worth it. We didn't spend that much money, so we don't really think that it was worth it. After the form from the department store which resembled a receipt was stamped, we were directed to put it, in the envelope provided, in the box at the end of the line.

We then had to go through the exit visa line. We asked the airport employee directing the lineups which would be faster, EU or non-EU, since sometimes non-EU moves faster. She said it was a gamble, but probably EU, so we took that lineup with April’s Irish passport. The lineup moved quickly and after we were out we went to the duty free shop to spend our last few Euros.

We then found the area where our gate was located, had a late breakfast at a café, and then went straight into the priority boarding lineup for zones 1 and 2 (there is no zone 1 on this flight and we were in zone 2 at the front- shi shi shi baby).

Only two seats side by side in the premium section of Air Canada Rouge. And the seats are bigger with more leg room.

Neither of us has ever been in priority before. In Air Canada Rouge Priority premium it is only two seats at each window and two seats in the middle. They are larger seats and have more legroom. You are given a welcome bottle of water and a drink before take off. We also were given a pack that contained an eye shade, earplugs, and socks.

We left almost 30 minutes late from Barcelona, heading for Toronto first (almost a 9 hour flight). We would have a layover of about four hours, before catching our second flight to Victoria in Air Canada Premium seats (so since it's Air Canada and not Rouge, there would be a business class in front of us, then the premium section, then coach). The second flight, YYZ to YYJ, is about 5 hours.

After takeoff, for the first snack with a drink, we were given a drink in a real glass or mug. The meal was served on porcelain with metal cutlery and a drink in a real glass. The food seems somewhat fancier, though still an airline meal.

The view out the window leaving Barcelona.

Real glass and porcelain.

Our main meal.

Silverware with the Air Canada logo on it.

We were given an iPad each for entertainment. April watched a couple of episodes of a TV show. Bill played some video games on the iPad.

For the duration of the flight, Bill and April fought to stay awake to try to get back on Pacific Standard Time. Bill dozed once for about 20 minutes, while April worked on the blog on Bill's laptop. We worked on choosing pictures for the blog to post later. We listened to a Harry Potter audiobook on Bill's computer, sharing a set of microphones.

Towards the end of the flight, we ate a "sandwich" which was more like a burrito in a cardboard box heated up. All in all the food on this flight wasn't that bad (certainly better than Delta last year).

The flight was actually quite rough at many points and we were both glad that we're not nervous flyers. The seat belt sign kept going on as turbulence made the plane bounce through the air high in the sky. But we arrived safely.

In YYZ (Toronto's Pearson International Airport), we did not have to meet our bags, as they would go through to Victoria themselves, but we did have to clear customs (paper forms still). At  one of the kiosks, April's passport would scan (N.B. her Canadian passport- Canadians are supposed to enter and exit Canada on their Canadian passport even if they are dual citizen of some other country), but Bill's brand new 10 year one wouldn't.  We tried again. And again. We asked for an airport employee. She tried it at several other self serve kiosks. It didn't work. We were not impressed as Bill's passport is one of the new 10 year passports that cost more, while April's is an older five year passport. The airport employee finally routed us into the Nexus lineup (Bill has a Nexus card). An agent said it was fine that Bill's passport didn't scan (it seems to be not unheard of). He marked up our customs form and sent us on our way. We then had to clear another lineup to hand in our marked customs form.

After, we walked towards the connecting flights signs, branching off from those meeting baggage. We followed the confusing signs to find our gate area (others were lost and asking for directions, not  good signage). When we left an elevator, in our gate area, we discovered that we had to clear security again (we did this in Barcelona already and had been stuck inside two airports and a plane ever since).The airport employee told us that the next floor up had more doors so it was better, so we went up another level. We were able to use the Nexus lineup (Bill has a Nexus card, but April doesn't, nonetheless they allowed it). The Nexus lineup took quite a while (not as long as non-Nexus though, those lineups were massive). April went through screening first and of course set off the alarm that indicates that extra screening is needed. The agent ran off to grab the special paper to rub on April's hands and her belly to check for explosive making trace residue (ah is good to be back in Canada where April is targeted at almost every single airport screening she goes goes through). Not unsurprisingly, no traces of explosive making were found and we moved on to find our gate.

By the time we found our gate, we were feeling sick. It was far past bedtime back in Spain and we had been up a long time already. There wasn't much to choose from to eat in the area, so we had sandwiches from Tim Horton's and a couple of huge cups of steeped tea (stay awake!!!!!!!). We also had some chips (the salt is so much more pronounced in Canada than Europe. We really do have a love of salt here). We worked on the blog and fought to stay awake.

We boarded our flight from YYZ to YYJ (Victoria, BC). We were a little late leaving. When the plane took off the noise was very strange and Bill and April cast several nervous glances at each other, wondering if the plane was going to make it (when we had boarded the flight, the technician was telling the flight attendant that it was an old plane that was very fragile, great).

Let's get this flight over with. We're tired.

This flight was about five hours. We were in the first row of the premium economy section, behind the poorly drawn mini curtain over the top of the business seats in front of us. We were assigned to aisle and middle. No one showed up for the window seat which we were pleased about. It's three people across in the premium economy section on an Air Canada flight. In the first row of premium where we were seated, the middle person has no pocket in front of them (there are only two seats in the business class rows, but three in premium) and their screen is a pull out one from the seat arm. We don't really understand how Air Canada can charge more for these seats. Yes you get a free sandwich and snack, yes there's a bit more leg room, yes you're almost first on and first off, but for the amount more that they charge (when you're not assigned or upgraded for free), it seems kind of disappointing (or at least it is especially for the person in the middle of the first premium row who doesn't get a normal tray table, entertainment screen, or seat pocket).

Plus, there were only two bathrooms at the back and one at the front of the plane. We were screened off from business class by a curtain, so we had to walk all the way to the very back of the plane from almost the front to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, the flight attendants were blocking the aisle most of the time on the flight, so eventually they just sent April up to business class, where the flight attendant there warned her that the seat belt sign was on and she would have to use the bathroom at her own risk. Don't worry about it, buddy, I can handle myself in a bucking airplane toilet. Better that than having an "accident." And it was a very rough flight. One of the roughest we've ever felt in a bigger plane (besides that previous flight, which was also really turbulent).

We fought to stay awake, listening to Harry Potter for a while, but then both drifting out and missing most of the chapter, drool dripping out of our slacked jaws. We tried to drink more caffeinated beverages and lots of water, but it was no good. It was nearing our normal wake up time in Spain and we had still not slept. We had almost been up 24 hours by the time we neared home (other than Bill's 20 minute nap and the few stolen moments on that flight).

The views coming into Victoria were gorgeous and we were relieved that we would be in bed soon with our kitty, Lamont.

Mount Baker was visible above the clouds.

Mt. Baker with the faint outline of Ranier in the background

North Saanich at sunset.

We met our bags at the Victoria Airport (they were priority tagged, so they were some of the first out). Both of our bags arrived, which we were very happy about (better than our honeymoon night where we arrived at our destination, but neither of our suitcases did. Funnily enough, the exact same thing happened to April's sister on her honeymoon night).

We took a taxi home, then took our car and drove to April's cousin's place to pick up Lamont. Lamont was very pleased to see us and we drove home with him yowling his displeasure at the car ride.

Lamont knows how to show his displeasure.

We were home, with our kitty, and the trip had all in all been good. Success. Oh, and we won't be taking a cruise ever again.

And now we sleep. . . . 

August 9, 2016- We celebrate our 8th Wedding Anniversary, Picasso Museum, More Spanish Food, Las Ramblas, La Ribera, Rooftop Infinity Pool at Our Hotel, Dinner at City Bar & Restaurant at Our Hotel, the Warmth of the Spanish

This morning we prepared to go out at a leisurely pace, feeling very tired. The mattress in our room is more comfortable than the Costa mattresses that we had for the past week, but still not very comfortable. Also, it is quite loud in the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter) any time of day or night. However, you can’t beat the location of the Grand Hotel Central Barcelona for sightseeing and for really feeling the old part of Barcelona. It puts you within walking distance of most of the main sights (at least the ones that we wanted to see) unlike the W Barcelona, which while heavenly, is more geared towards relaxing by the pool or on the beach, as it is more out of the way.

We left the hotel and found a café to have a late breakfast/early lunch (we had something to eat earlier in the room from the organic grocer across the street, but not enough for a lasting sightseeing meal).

We then walked about five minutes to reach the Picasso Museum (it's very near to the hotel). As we approached the Picasso Museum, we saw long, long, long lineups (it was about 11:45 AM). We were so relieved that we had booked our tickets online the day before (they tell you what times are available and you book a time that you will show up at the museum) and therefore didn’t have to wait (there’s a separate entrance for online tickets). We sailed right into the museum without a wait (there wasn't even a lineup of people with reservations).

Outside of the Picasso Museum (no photos are allowed inside of the museum).

The museum apparently has about 3,000 works by Picasso (we did not see that many on display, so no doubt a lot of it lives in storage just like the artwork at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria). There was a special exhibit of engravings and prints by the artist. It’s easy to see why his paintings are so powerful when one sees how well he could draw and convey a potent meaning or feeling with just black and white and sometimes with just a few lines (like his charming doodle of his Dachshund, Lump). It has a lot of his earlier works, but a very good selection. It was wonderful for April and Bill to be able to see this museum one year after they visited the Paris Picasso Museum, which holds a lot of his other works. We both very much like his work and his style, so it was an enjoyable couple of hours.

After leaving the Picasso Museum, we wandered through the Gothic Quarter and then towards the very, very touristy boulevard of La Rambla or Las Ramblas (depending on if you consider it to be one boulevard or a series of shorter streets) in search of a late lunch (or on time if you’re a local).

The doors here are jaw droppingly beautiful.

Street art on the streets of the Gothic Quarter.

We settled on a restaurant on Las Ramblas that had paella, as Bill had not tried it before. We had gazpacho, fries with aioli, and seafood paella.

A misunderstanding over whether we wanted two small Coca Colas or a large one (we thought a bottle and two glasses) led to this giant mug of Coke with two straws.We thought it was kind of weird, but it was our anniversary.

Seafood paella.

They really know how to cook seafood in Barcelona.

We then wandered down Las Ramblas to the Mirador de Colom or Columbus Monument (built to celebrate Christopher Columbus for the Universal Exhibition in 1888). It is a circular column jutting towards the sky with Columbus at the top (reportedly pointing towards the New World or as our driver to the airport would tell us the next day, showing anyone who didn't like Barcelona where they could damn well go instead), surrounded by many mighty lions. The beautiful lions had many people climbing onto them to pose (we didn’t think the lions would have appreciated being ridden, so we just stood beside them. This monument is at the seaside end of Las Ramblas.

Follow the crowd down Las Ramblas to the Columbus Monument.

Columbus monument at the bottom of Las Ramblas.

The lions around the monument are awesome.

Fear me, little humans.

We walked up Las Ramblas, looking in a few of the touristy shops until we tired of being jostled or stuck behind slow pokes. In Canada, we have a big "personal space" bubble, but in Europe being right up against someone or shoving them seems to be acceptable. After three weeks away, we were tiring of this.

Beautiful buildings at the bottom of Las Ramblas.

Las Ramblas would be much more beautiful as a boulevard lined with trees if it wasn't brimming with tourists.

We turned off Las Ramblas and lost ourselves in La Ribera (or "The Shore," this area used to be seaside until construction built up land in front of it, it is part of the old part of the city), looking in increasingly less touristy shops, as we went further into the maze of narrow little streets. We had a very strange yoghurt/ice milk concoction with topping mashed into it in the late afternoon (it took the woman 10 minutes to create just one of our ice milk things).

We wandered back towards the hotel in Barri Gotic around 6:00 PM, while church bells chimed around the city.

It was becoming overcast, but after the hot day and given how humid it was, we were overheated. We wanted to cool off and try out the hotel’s rooftop infinity pool. We donned our swimsuits and put on one of the two sets of robes in our room (this type of robe was comically small and way too short for both of us and it reminded us of our anniversary in Noboribetsu in Japan where we had been openly laughed at by a hotel employee who pointed out that we needed the “extra big size” robes. It’s true that we’re not the size of people here and we regularly tower a head over others. Bill discovered that his size M in Canada is XL in Spain). We went for a swim, admiring the sweeping views over Barcelona towards the sea. It is a gorgeous view, but the pool is a lot smaller than we thought it would be from the photos. Nonetheless, few people were in the pool because it was cloudy and cool out. We used the free drink tokens given to us on check in to have a soft drink/sparkling water.

The rooftop infinity pool at the Grand Hotel Central Barcelona.

8 years of marriage and we're still smiling.

Back in our room, we warmed up again with a shower and dressed for dinner. We decided to just have our anniversary dinner at the excellent downstairs restaurant in the hotel, City Bar & Restaurant, where we had had lunch the day of our check in.

We had no trouble getting in for dinner at 9:00 PM without a reservation. The dining room was subdued. Quiet music lulled dead tired tourists into an almost comatose state. Fine by us, we were grateful it wasn't the deafening dining room on the Costa Fascinosa (oh and the food was edible!).

We wait for our first dish to come.

We had some bread, while we waited for our pre-appetizers. A pre-pre appetizer that we hadn’t ordered arrived, a sort of goat cheese ball. We had fresh anchovies and chicken croquettes for pre-appetizers. For an appetizer, April had Caesar Salad with chicken breast (excellent with bits of crisp chicken skin as garnish), while Bill had lobster and avocado cannelloni (very inventive and fresh). For mains, April had over roasted prawns (so fresh you could practically taste their last moments in the ocean) and a side of excellent French fries and Bill had sirloin steak (he said that this was one of the top three steaks in his life).

Pre-pre appetizers.

Fresh anchovies, one of the pre-appetizers.

Chicken croquettes, another pre-appetizer.

Lobster and avocado cannelloni, an appetizer.

Caesar salad with crisp chicken skin and chicken breast. Yum!

Baked prawns so fresh April felt like a sea otter.

A perfect sirloin steak.

While we had dinner, we again admired the fine olive oil provided for dipping the bread in (we devoured the bread, hungry from sightseeing all day and then swimming). April asked the host or restaurant manager if we could buy a bottle of this oil from the restaurant. He said that it was made from Catalonian olives (this explains why April’s search for Spanish olive oil that reminds her of Barcelona has been fruitless, we must get the stuff made with other olives in Victoria). He said that we could buy it at many shops in town. April explained that we were leaving the next day and asked if we could buy it from the restaurant. He agreed that we could. April asked how much and he didn’t answer and disappeared as if he were going to check. We were confused, but continued with our gorgeous meal.

Before we asked for our cheque, the host dropped off olive oil in a tote bag to April. She didn’t look inside, presuming that that was what was in the bag. Free drinks arrived for us, but they were alcoholic, so we politely refused. When we asked for our cheque and received it, we couldn’t see a charge for olive oil on it (even though the host or restaurant manager was there when the bill was prepared). We were puzzled, as we walked up to our room. There was a clink from within the bag that April carried and she then realized that there was more than one bottle of olive oil. The kind host or manager had given us two bottles of their fine olive oil to take home with us with the sweet parting words that he hoped that we would “think of them when we used it.” What a warm people. And so different from our experience in other parts of Europe. We were genuinely touched. We will definitely think of our wonderful time in Barcelona and the warmth and kindness of the Spanish people every time we cook with that delicious olive oil.

Before bed, we organized a bit for packing the next day, April wrote in her travel journal, and we both wrote on a Picasso postcard each that we had bought at the Picasso Museum earlier and gave it to each other as an anniversary card. We had both chosen cards to have an iteration of Picasso’s dog, Lump, on them- we are missing our little kitty.

"El Piano (1940)" by Pablo Picasso- April gave this postcard to Bill.

Las Meninas (afterVelazquez, 1948) by Pablo Picasso- Bill gave this postcard to April.

We were about to settle down for sleep, when there was a blinding flash (through our black mesh drapes) and then suddenly, almost immediately, a boom like a canon firing. We both practically hit the ground, expecting the worst in troubled Europe. April had forgotten how suddenly and without warming thunderstorms come on in Europe. Bill had only ever experienced the sudden drenching rainstorms (not the deafening thunderstorms). We peered out our window, behind our mesh drape, low to the ground, and saw that no one on the street was running or screaming. They all seemed calm. Then it happened again and with the observation of now swiftly falling rain, we determined that it was a storm. Evidently it was time for us to go home. We’re done.

It was loud on the street that night (even though it was a Tuesday) as revelers walked down the street, outside our hotel carousing until almost dawn. Even through double-paned glass, they were loud.