Day 1--Barcelona

 We bounded off the plane at Terminal 1 and headed for customs. The airport looked nice--there were outdoor courtyards that looked like lovely places to wait for a plane. It was a long wait in a hot hall, and our first exposure to European customer service. I don't think the agent said even a "Hola".  Got our suitcase and headed for the Aerobús. 

I had watched a LOT of videos about Barcelona, especially about how to get from the airport to the city. The absolute best was from Roadtrip Spain and Portugal. I wanted to take the Metro (so cheap!) and Rob wanted to take a taxi (so safe!) so we compromised with the Aerobus, which is a private bus service. Of course, we couldn't remember exactly how to get from the luggage area to the exit, but we followed everyone else LOL and I soon saw the doors to the right and the moving ramp.

We paid cash at the machine and somehow did not get change back despite it saying it was giving it. It wasn't much. We joined the long line. There was a family behind us and it got annoying how close they kept getting to us! When finally it was our time to board, the girl from behind us basically squeezed infront of us, and then was blocking the aisle at the luggage rack. This was the type of behaviour I had seen in videos about pick pockets on the subways. Luckily, she was just being annoying and moved. 

The trip in seemed pretty quick. You go on a highway and it's not quite rural at the airport but there is empty space. Lots to see especially as you get closer. 

This is the Hyatt Regency Barcelona Tower Hotel.  The dome on top is a revolving restaurant.

This is the ITC Barcelona by Soho Boutique.  Surprising, it's only 2 stars. Here is its location:

That hotel is the smaller circle on the left of the two circles close together. The other circle is where our hotel was. The Aerobus drops you off alongside the Plaça de le Universitat. I knew we had to head to the far end of the plaza and down either side of that building. The lane in front of our hotel is taxi only.

We were staying 3 nights at the Hotel Jazz. The lobby had dispensers with cold water and a candy bowl. Check in was pretty easy, staff spoke English quite well, and our room was ready even though it was only about 12:30. Remember to keep your card on you as you need it for the elevator! Our room was 604 which is a Superior Double with a king bed. There are 8 floors but I believe the 8th floor is just the patio/pool. 

I had to do quite a bit of editing to get anything but the light from the door to show. The room looked exactly like on their website. You can see it's actually a split mattress but it didn't bother us. 

Bathroom was quite adequate, with a toilet and bidet. We did not like the tub as it had no plug. There was a rainhead with not great pressure and maybe a handheld wand (can't remember). I just remember it was really hard to get the right temperature and it took forever to get warm. 

There also was what seemed like a towel warmer. We asked towards the end of our stay how to turn it on since there was no switch anywhere. They said the housekeeping staff could turn it on if we needed it. Of course, our last morning as we were killing time, Rob was exploring the room and found the breaker panel and figured out how to turn it on LOL.

To be safe, I used Google Translate LOL. So if you're ever in Room 604, it's the third breaker from the left.

The view out of our doors was nice. That's C. de Gravina (the street), and the Hotel Midmost Barcelona. The street between us is Carrer de Pelai. It was a pretty quiet room thankfully.

We showered and got out of our travel clothes and headed out to find food. Our goal was the famous Mercat de la Boqueria.  Before we got to La Rambla, we came across a Sephora store, with a slide that takes you to the basement:

He didn't actually go down. I think he would have been in such a panic to be in Sephora that he would have tried to climb back up it LOL.

The market was more down La Rambla than we were thinking, and the market seemed smaller than we thought it'd be. We had watched videos that said to go towards the back so we did. We tried a few things--a meat and cheese cone, and a couple of meaty/potato pastries. At one booth, I said Oui instead of Sí and told the cashier that we were from Canada and I kept saying oui. She said her sister lives in Nova Scotia! 

We ended up not getting any of the candy or sweets like I thought we might. We thought we'd also be at other markets and could get something there, or we'd be back here. The hours are not great though!

We kept walking down La Rambla. It's bustling and pretty, but also kind of derelict in places too. Empty stores, graffiti. 

Before we knew it, we were at the bottom of La Rambla, and the Monument a Colom.

I didn't really want to look like a tourist, or like I'm supporting Columbus, but whatever. It's a monument, a landmark.

Not sure why he was looking so grumpy!

We could see the water across the street, and boats, so we headed across and started walking. And then realized we were behind a fence (left over from the America's Cup), and kind of stuck walking along the waterfront unless we turned around. So we just kept going forward!  And going....and going...

We actually went left out of the hotel and down the angled street. Sephora is on this street, not the one that's to the top. It's 1.6km (1 mile) from the purple icon at the top of La Rambla to the Monument a Colom (if you just go straight but we also spent time in the market). Then 600m along the waterfront (plus going around the monument and crossing the very wide road).

Once we crossed back to the Gothic Quarter, I have no idea where we went. I think we saw the Barcelona Cathedral but I learned today there is also another cathedral near by. We didn't want to get out Google Maps or the printed map I took. So my green line is not exactly accurate.

Google Lens tells me this is the Barcelona Cathedral, apparently also called The Gothic Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia. I had wanted to tour it but we weren't sure about the weather, how we'd be feeling, etc. 

We meandered back to the hotel, checking out a chocolate shop on La Rambla but not buying anything. I didn't take any pictures on the street because, well, the internet is already full of pictures and videos. It really is a beautiful street, but we're not much for shopping and so many stores and restaurants were American ones anyway! 

We decided to go up to the rooftop and check out the view and pool. To our dismay, the pool--though totally  full and looking lovely--said "Temporarily Closed."

Looking towards the Mediterranean Sea, the curved building is the W Barcelona hotel, way out of our price range. You can see two of the cable car towers. We never did get to do that cable car!

Above and below are Mont Montjuïc, just below is zoomed in.

The spires is the Barcelona Cathedral, and the glass ball is the Pulitzer Barcelona hotel. It is fairly close to our hotel. I'm not sure what the glass ball is. I took a look at their website and didn't see anything with just a quick search. There is a lot of interesting architecture here!

At the hotel we decided to go to La Flauta for dinner. It had been highly recommended on Google, and it said to go on the earlier side (before 6:30) as Spaniards eat later. We got there around 6 I think and only had a short wait. We're not too adventurous when it comes to trying food but knew it would be good. 

We had a tomato/burrata salad. The tomatoes were a little hard, but it was delicious and fresh. I had a lemon beer which was quite nice! There is also pan a tomate there which Rob really loved. 

We got these giant shrimp!

They were good and fresh. We didn't suck out the heads, in case you're wondering. 

We also ordered beef short ribs. We were tired and weren't thinking straight. We were thinking it was a rib steak cause it was in the bbq section. They were really fatty, but the meat tasted good. I don't think we got a dessert. We thought we'd get ice cream across the street but then changed our minds. We were full and knew we'd be getting lots of ice cream on the ship. When we left, there was a line up. 

Knowing we needed some exercise after all the bread, I directed us over to the Passeig de Gràcia to see Gaudi houses--the restaurant was VERY quick and it was still daylight. 

They are all truly incredible and if we were to ever go back, I would do the tours.

We got slightly turned around in our attempt to get back to the hotel, and even Google Map didn't help because we couldn't tell which way was which until we started walking enough to see where the blue dot went. It's a lovely area though, I love how the buildings are along the street and there's a courtyard in the middle of the block for the residents. Also at many intersections, the corners are cut back on an angle. There are some cool YouTube videos and other articles on this area of the city. It's really fascinating.

The other big thing we noticed is that crosswalks are not right at the corner. They are a car length or so inwards. This allows cars to turn onto that street when they have the green light and not block the intersection. It was a little shocking to have the pedestrian signal but have a car drive right up to the crosswalk!

Back at the hotel, looking out our little balcony. We went up to the roof again. It was lovely! We were just relaxing but at 9:15 staff came up to tell us and a couple of ladies that the rooftop was now closed. Why?! It was so lovely! However, this could have actually happened on the next night. I have no pictures so...

It was a very long day, although to us it was like, late afternoon. With no sleep the night before, we headed to bed. 

Day 0--Travel Day

 I can't count this as Day 1 because it's not exactly a vacation LOL. 

We had our pick up set for 3:30pm. Originally I thought I would be able to work that day, or at least the morning, but decided not to. However, I was READY TO GO by 1pm and was going crazy. The weather was so beautiful for here (22C!). I was sitting on my deck getting work done, then Rob and I went for a good walk. 

Our driver from Mr Limo arrived promptly at 3:30. Also named Rob, he and my Rob had a lot in common. The drive in was quick and smooth considering how bad it could be. We could have left a bit later but then we would have gotten traffic. Or we could have taken the 407 and paid the hefty toll. One tip--pay with cash and get a discount. They hadn't told us that. 

We were at Lester Pearson International Airport Terminal 1, for Air Canada. We paid so much but yet had to do most of the check in work ourselves! Pay  for the bag, print the tag, weigh it, send it on its way. Our checked bag weighed 40lb. I do wish I had packed a couple other clothing items but while we had weight room, unless we unzipped the expander zip, the bag was full! We wanted to make sure we had room for any souvenirs--though we really didn't end up buying much.

We went through security super fast. Did not have to take shoes off, didn't take liquids bag out of the carry on. It was just after 5 and we still had 2+ hours until boarding started!

There aren't a lot of food options in Terminal 1 where we were. More shocking, there were no bottle fillers! Get with the times, Pearson!

I opted for a green curry bowl. The worker said the green part was the spicy part. So when I got it, I dug in, avoiding two green blobs. It was spicier than I thought it should be considering I was avoiding the green parts. Well. Turns out those green parts were broccoli LOL! Most of the bowl was rice which I left. I don't remember what Rob got. 

The waiting area near our gate was quite nice. Dimly lit, windows to the planes. We got there early and relaxed. Put on our new compression socks LOL. Boarding started on time, though I thought it was strange they called for groupsthe last 3 groups at the same time and then, while we were in a long line waiting, they called final boarding call. It still took 15 min to actual board.

We got on, Rob joked with the attendants and then nearly whacked someone in the face in the premium section with his backpack. The lady thought it was funny though.

Got back to our section and it seemed really empty. We had the window and the aisle seat on the left side, and no one showed up for the middle seat. Turns out the economy section was only about 50% full--if that! In the centre section of 4 seats, many rows had only one person. There were rows on either side with no one. As soon as the door was closed, many couples spread out. The attendant said their return flight back from Barcelona was oversold by 60 seats though!

Look at the empty seats in the middle!! Crazy!

My window seat didn't exactly line up with a window. 

Our ticket said we were getting breakfast so we were surprised when they came around with dinner. It was decent. 

I was able to capture this picture of the Oshawa Harbour (bottom right) and most of Whitby, Brooklin and Oshawa. It's the first time I'd flown this direction, but I could immediately recognize Highway 12, and the angle it takes before getting to Brooklin. Uxbridge is in the centre top.

We settled in and tried to sleep. I'd get comfy, thought it was perfect, but in 10 min something would have a kink or fall asleep. I laid down with my head sort of on Rob's leg and that was good, but then he got up and left. I thought he might be coming back so I sat up but after awhile I gave up. He had gone to the back and found an empty row on one side and laid down. I never really fell asleep, but at least my eyes were closed. The sound of the plane was louder than I expected. I had actually hoped our flight path would be considerably more northern (like Rob's was when he went to Europe in the summer), so that we might see Northern Lights from the plane. But we stayed much further south. 

As we got over Europe, I watched the sunrise and viewed the new landscape. 

Wind turbines galore! Everywhere! It seemed much drier looking than I expected. We swooped around for landing, and could see the Mediterranean Sea! I was so excited. Like, SO EXCITED. 

They did bring us a small breakfast, I can't even remember what it was. A pastry type thing.

I'll leave off here because even though we were feeling like it was 4:30AM, it was morning in Spain and the official start of the trip!!

Cruise Planning

Our last cruise was September 2019, on Symphony of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). We weren't as thrilled with that cruise as we had on earlier ones, and Rob had no interest in cruising for a long time (especially during the first year of Covid). He started getting interested again in the last couple years but wanted to upscale from Royal. Unfortunately, our bank accounts hadn't upscaled, so it never turned into anything.

In April, my teaching job ended 3 months early. At first we considered a big trip in May or June but then Rob realized it would be hot in the places we were looking. Plus, he had a work trip to Europe in the plans, but they couldn't finalize the date until much closer--the possible dates varied from June to September. We don't like to travel to touristy places in the summer.

Rob started looking at cruise options and we had also examined a number of all-inclusives. We were really close to booking a few times, but then one more video would spoil it. Then he saw a 14 day trans-Atlantic cruise on Virgin Voyages' Resilient Lady, from Barcelona to Miami, late October. 

100% different than any cruise we've done. He went from "I'm never cruising again" to "lets try a new company, a new continent, and the longest cruise we've ever done, with 8 sea days in a row!" I wasn't about to say no!

We booked their Insider Lock It In rate--basically, an inside guarantee which means you pay a cheap fare and they choose your cabin within that category. Usually there'll also be an option to bid on an upgrade closer to the sail date. 

Next up was choosing flights. We were going to go to Barcelona 2 nights in advance, but his co-worker said we needed 3 nights there. So, Wed. Oct 23. There was only one direct flight available from Toronto so we chose it. Air Canada, 8:35pm, arriving about 10:35am Barcelona time. It was about $966 each. 

We couldn't find a return flight from Miami that we liked, so we waited on that one.

Choosing a hotel in Barcelona was just as much of a struggle as choosing the vacation. It is a tourist city (though that is changing!). There are hotels everywhere!  At the airport, downtown, uptown, beach. We wanted to walk everywhere and get an authentic experience, so no Holiday Inns! At first, we thought $250Cdn a night. There were lots of options but they were small rooms, and either a double bed or two twins (that get pushed together). Almost none had an included breakfast, or free cancellation. Very quickly we raised our budget. I think it was about $400+ per night. Seems absolutely crazy but we went with the Hotel Jazz. More on that later.

One thing we quickly learned with Virgin Voyages was that information they gave was often contradictory, and often hard to find. We called about when we could bid on an upgrade. Multiple calls gave different info, from we had to pay in full first, to we can't bid because we got a Lock It In rate. Yet, they sent the email with the upgrade options! We did bid, but then cancelled for a few reasons. 

Air Canada's pilots had been without a contract for awhile. As the summer progressed, they threatened to strike. They announced a date in mid-September. You can imagine the panic this was causing. People were buying refundable tickets on other airlines, just in case. Rob called customer service and asked what will happen since our tickets were fully NON-refundable. The agent said she couldn't confirm or deny there'll be a strike, but since our travel date was a month after their potential strike week (they were giving a week they'd stop service), we "would be fine."  But how would she know?! We really thought they wouldn't strike that long (or would be forced back to work by the government), but then if the plans (and pilots) hadn't been flying that ups the fear level! We waited patiently and indeed, it was settled quickly.

We were getting notifications still on prices for the flight and noticed that it had dropped by 50%. WTF. We did a pretend booking and noticed we had been charged a 'carrier surcharge' of $769 on top of our two fares that were (a total) of $966. WHAT?! The link provided in the invoice had no info on what exactly this surcharge was, except that airlines can add a surcharge. The same flight in September no longer had that surcharge! Why?! 

Another call to Air Canada and they could only explain that when we bought the tickets, there was a higher demand for the flight so there's a surcharge. We were basically penalized for buying our tickets 5 months in advance, hoping to avoid price increases closer to the date. We were not happy with Air Canada after all this. They refused any sort of refund or compensation. 

It took awhile to figure out the return trip from Miami. Flights were expensive and not at good times (just morning flights which would have meant staying a night). We looked at Ft. Lauderdale, but it wasn't much better. Suddenly, mid-summer, Porter Airlines started flying to Florida! We got a flight with a great departure time from Miami for half of what other lines were charging.

Last to plan was transportation to the Pearson International Airport. We went with Mr Limo from Bowmanville as Rob's parents use them a lot (we had before too). 

I started re-learning Spanish after we booked. We 3 nights in Barcelona and two days in the Canary Islands, so I thought it would be a good idea. It was, but also learning some Catalan really helped!

Next up--the departure and flight to Barcelona!

Lovevook Backpack

 In May, we booked a 14 day trans-Atlantic cruise. I've never been totally happy with the bags I've used for carry on, and really wanted a backpack this time. I also thought it might be good for my work (substitute teacher). I started watching videos on long haul flights (this was my first!), and saw this backpack recommended a few times. When I first looked, there were all sorts of fun colours and striped patterns and I really wanted a pink and grey one. But I knew that was impractical! I opted for plum and black, in the 17" size.

Two days after I got it, I was working at a school and there was another sub there with the same backpack. She told me that she loves it for work. I haven't used it for work yet. I also saw several other people with it during the trip. One woman I talked to loved it but regretted getting a light colour.

I was a little worried because it's actually a bit thicker than what the airlines list as a personal item. As long as you don't overstuff the outer pockets, it's okay. Remember, with a backpack, everything goes to the bottom, and that's where the outer pockets are. If needing to put it in a sizer, shake it up a bit and make sure everything is spread out inside. It did end up being a tad too long for under the seat in front but it didn't bother me. I did also use it as a foot rest. The top handle was good for going up the plane aisle. Previously I had duffle bags and they were a pain, and my husband nearly hit someone in the face with his backpack when he turned around to talk to me in the aisle. I only used the sleeve for attaching to a suitcase a bit, I felt the handle on my suitcase was too flimsy.

I really liked the light inside colour. 

I did struggle with trying to stay organized because there are so many pockets! That's a me thing. 

Keep in mind, the pocket on one side is designed for tissues. That would have been great, since Rob got a cold, but it was also raining so not logical to expose tissues through the slot. It also means you have to be mindful of what else you put in the pocket because of the slit. It was fine for water bottles but I worried my little container of wipes or mini fan would slide out. 

To secure the top zipper, I used a mini locking double carabiner (bought at Sail, a Canadian outdoor equipment store). For the other zippers, I used a large, vintage, metal diaper pin and pinned the zipper to the fabric next to it. Don't count on the backside zipper to be hidden when worn, so secure it too. 

My husband didn't mind wearing it a few times, which was very helpful (especially since he's always asking for stuff I have in it, or wanting to add his stuff). 

I do wish the zippers had storm flaps and were a bit more substantial though. In the airport security coming back, I yanked on the top zipper (it can require two hands to go from the flap to the top), and the zipper pull flew off, the pin and loop going down into the conveyor. I can't fit my carabiner on it now, but I'm sure there's other options. 

So, I would recommend this backpack for work or travel. I've used it for overnight visits to my mom, and it easily held a change of clothes. Just be mindful of the lack of storm flaps and security.