As mentioned in the previous post, we disembarked from the Liberty of the Seas by 9 am. The Port Bus dropped us off at Columbus Monument. From there, my friend and I walked up La Rambla to visit the market again. My friend snapped these photos of the fish mongers and fruit stands:
At this fish monger's stand, we watched a Russian mother pay for two oysters. They were shucked and prepared with lemon by the shop staff. The mother's son (with some prodding) gulped down the raw, fresh oyster. His reaction? "Good" and he gave the shop owners a thumbs up. ^_^ My friend and I commented that the mother was pretty cool, for I have never seen a mother introduce oysters on holiday before.
The corner of one fruit stand....
...and the view around the other corner:
Unfortunately, our final day in Spain was marked by poor weather -- we got trapped in the rain and decided to jump on the Tourist Bus (info HERE) to escape the downpour. I wasn't really happy doing such a touristy thing, but my friend and I both agreed -- it was the best way to see the city without getting wet.
We boarded the bus near Plaça de Catalunya (wiki page HERE). These tourist buses provide tour commentary via headsets onboard and are offered in many languages -- including Japanese! The buses have different routes, denoted by colors. While on the cruise, we met a British couple who strongly suggested the Red Route to be the best. So off we went! Below are some highlights from the Red Route:
Near Plaça de Catalunya, I spied this sign in a building's window. It reads: "Love Coaching". (laugh)
Our bus passed by this huge tower. According to the recorded dialogue on the bus, this was a communications tower, inspired by the design of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic torch:
The only thing I wanted to see in Barcelona on my final day was the Olympic Stadium. My brother and I watched in awe as the the archer shot his flaming arrow towards this -- the stadium's torch -- to ignite the Olympic flame.
Info about the stadium is HERE.
You can watch a video of the torch being lit HERE. (skip to the 4:35 mark)
You can watch a video of the torch being lit HERE. (skip to the 4:35 mark)
Paella with crab!
The surgical tools for the above crab's dissection:
The next morning, we had to catch an early flight via Frankfurt. Once in Germany, we transferred to the behemoth A380 double decker plane, which I nicknamed "the flying bus":
(advance warning of critical comments coming....)
The Airbus A380 = I hate it. The seats are jammed together in what had to have been the worst economy section I have ever experienced. Tiny leg room that only small children would feel comfortable in. Argh.
Also very bad: getting your luggage from the baggage retrieval area. Due to holding over 500 passengers onboard, there will be a lot of luggage. Narita airport (for some insane reason) only used two baggage carousels -- one for business class and the other for economy. Sorry Narita, but one carousel for economy is crazy. My friend and I waited over 40 minutes for our bags. Many passengers around us were complaining; which is justifiable considering Japanese service usually prides itself on speed and efficiency. The A380 baggage handling was an embarrassment.
The good points? Large overhead bulkheads which gave passengers plenty of room to store their luggage.
Also good: the flight crew and staff on board -- everyone was friendly and funny.
Pretty good: Lufthansa food. I enjoyed cookies, cakes and all kinds of yummy things.
The really cool point of flying on the Airbus A380 with Lufthansa? These cameras in the tail of the plane. While taxiing out to the runway, passengers could enjoy the outside view:
I returned to Japan after a long, sixteen hours (including the train ride home). The following day, despite my jet lag, I returned to work, earning money again for my next adventure. My stomach has become so full from all the European tastes tried on this Spanish holiday, I suspect I won't feel hungry again until next year. I hope you enjoyed tapas tasting with me. Muchas gracias! ^_^/
No comments:
Post a Comment