Let me start by saying there is one thing I really like about the business center at this hotel… they provide disinfectant wet wipes to clean the key board and mouse prior to using the computer equipment. How smart is that. Now, if I could only get the question mark punctuation to work, it would be even better.
Our day… in summary, rain. Lots and lots of rain. We barely got a break all day. The day was fantastic overall, despite the rain, but it was a very, very wet day. We started early. I started at 4 a.m. That is when I woke up. I rested off and on until it was finally 7 a.m. Amazingly, the kids slept the entire night and woke up in good spirits. We walked down Las Ramblas, the main drag, and intended to get breakfast at La Boccaria, the outdoor market. The fruit, meat, and flowers were beautiful. When we hit the open air seafood market section, Josh, Max and I had to turn back. Scott was not very impressed with our lack of adventure, but there was raw seafood everywhere and it really turned my stomach. I feel a little bad that we could not be more adventurous, but that is really not my thing. We found a little café for breakfast, had café con leche, orange juice, scrambled eggs for the kids, and tortilla Espanola for Scott and I. We sat at the tapas bar area and admired all of the interesting foods, like small octopus with tentacles and salami with garbanzo beans sitting out in bowls.
At 10 a.m. the hop on hop off buses opened. There are three routes. You can follow one route all the way around or transfer from route to route. Red route is the newer part of the city and covers the port side and Montjuic. Blue is the older, more gothic part of town with La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Green is beaches and Parc Diagonal Mar. When boarding the bus at the Plaza de Catalunya, which is a block from the hotel, you receive headphones. You are able to listen to a narrated tour in the language of your choice as you ride the bus. Unfortunately, with the rain, we were not able to sit in the upper deck of the bus. Hopefully, tomorrow. We purchased two day passes and decided on the red route. We were able to see a few Gaudi homes and architecturally interesting designs. While driving from location to location, the headphones play elevator music, which quickly led to Josh dozing off into a nap. We decided on three main locations we wanted to see today. One location for each part of the family. For Scott, we got off at the Olympic Stadium. We were able to see the swimming, diving, and track arena. For me, the Juan Miro art museum. I loved it. The first section of the museum was a temporary exhibit with wall murals from different artists. Very cool. I took a few photos and got in trouble. The kids liked a mural which was 30 feet high and about 20 feet wide, wall to wall dart boards floor to ceiling. There were two big boxes of darts for visitors to throw against the boards. It was a quick walk through the Miro exhibit, but enough to satisfy. For the boys, we went on to the cable car ride to the top of Montjuic. Awesome view of Barcelona and the burbs. There is a castle at the top. I can”t express how much the kids really enjoyed this ride. There are a few other cable car rides in the city and we are going to try one more tomorrow. After these three stops off the bus, we were soaked to the bone. We rode the bus back to the Plaza, bought pita sandwiches, and went back to the room for siesta.
After three hours sleep the kids were off the wall hyper. We had to quickly mobilize to save our sanity and get out of the hotel room. Back to the rain. I had to do some emergency towel and hair drying on the kids” shoes before we left. We walked through the main shopping store in Spain, El Corte Ingles. This completely reminded me of my time studying abroad in Spain. The store was beautiful, but we could not shop. There are so many nice stores along Las Ramblas and the red route. The rain and having the kids has prohibited shopping. I guess it is for the best. Even in the rain, Las Ramblas had vendors and a few street performers. The kids posed with one man on a stationary bike covered in a green metallic paint. I am not sure if they noticed, but when he moved, there was a skeleton that would also peddle a bike attached to him. Kind of creepy in that strange Euro way. There are also so many bird vendors on Las Ramblas. When we walked to the market this morning, a rooster crowed from behind a locked storefront. There are lots of parakeets and small, furry animals for sale. I don”t see any buyers and I am not sure if that is really the type of thing that tourists or locals buy on impulse. We went to the tourist center under the plaza to see how late the cable cars stay open. Bad news was that they only stay open until 7 p.m. and it was already 8 p.m. We tried to get back on the hop on hop off bus to try for an evening view of the red line, but missed the last bus. They advertise that they stay open until 10 p.m., but really appear to shut down at 8 p.m. sharp.
Dinner was paella, one seafood and one veggie, and another liter of sangria. The paella warmed our bellies and we went off to find Spanish style hot chocolate for the kids and me. Scott got a small tiramisu gelato. The hot chocolate, which is like drinking a melted Hershey bar, is very thick and rich and the kids did not like it. Everyone wanted Scott”s gelato. Waiting for our meals is a bit challenging. European style service is casual and unrushed, which is a great change of pace for us. But, this is hard with little ones. We are doing some family bonding during these meals. We play rock, paper, scissors and charades. We have not broken any glasses or knocked drinks over yet.
The other popular form of entertainment has been laughing at the bidet in the bathroom at the hotel. Of course, they discovered it right away when we checked in. Yes, they tried it out before we could even explain what it was. Water everywhere. Not sure I really understand how it works and we were peppered with questions. It is the source of major entertainment for Josh and Max. Scott and I cannot even go into the bathroom without the kids making jokes and asking if we are going to try it out. So silly.
Disney Cruise Lines did set up their booth today in the hotel lobby. Although we booked the hotel reservation on our own, this is also one of the hotels Disney works with for accommodations. We chose not to book through Disney because the identical room was several hundred more each night. That is what you call the Disney way. Such a premium. Still, we are hoping to be able to check our bags in the lobby tomorrow with Disney to send directly to the ship. Since we did not book the hotel through them, we are not sure if they will accept the bags. It would be great to ditch the bags, tour the blue line, take a cable car ride, and head right to the ship. Maybe. We have time. The ship leaves at 9 p.m. We do not intend to get on too late, but would like to see more of Barcelona, especially if the rain lets up.
FYI, it was a great decision to come early and experience Barcelona before the cruise. I have a feeling that the ship is going to be very American and of course, so commercial. This was a great way to have a mini, non US adventure before the next phase of the journey. They are both special in their own way, but very different.
Some of you have sent me emails that you are not able to post messages to us on the blogs. I am not sure why. You may need to have a sign in or be a blog follower. I hate creating new log ins, so no worries. Thanks for the messages. Next posting will be from the ship.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Barcelona
We made it. Here are the highlights of the trip thus far… We departed our home with four pieces of luggage and four carry on bags. Leaving the airport was pretty smooth. The British Airways flight was not overcrowded, although sitting in coach class on an international flight leaves something to be desired. We sat in the middle section with four across and it worked out well. We sat parent, child, parent, child to minimize bickering. The on board entertainment system was not working correctly and they rebooted the system in the first ten minutes of the flight. I was a little nervous to say the least, since we did not pack DVD players and planned to use the entertainment on demand on the plane. Yikes. Luckily, everything rebooted fine and we were off. The flight up the east cost and up to Canada was bumpy for the first two to three hours and I was queasy with nerves. Thumbs up to BA on the kids” dinner menu. For others taking this trip later in the summer, the kids meal was chicken tenders, potato wedges, grapes, carrots and celery, a bag of Sun chips, rice pudding, and a mini Kit Kat candy bar. They ate well and watched the movie “Tooth Fairy.” It is apropos since Josh”s tooth is loose and he believes that in Europe, he will get a Euro under his pillow instead of a US money. We had a plan with the kids that we would watch one move, eat dinner, then sleep. We tried to listen to music after the movie and it became apparent that sleep was going to be difficult. We resituated our seats so that the kids could lay out more across the middle seats and we really struggled to get comfortable. The kids watched movie #2, Toy Story, and eventually slept. Bottom line is that Scott and the kids probably only slept 1.5 to 2 hours. I rested, but don”t think I was really able to sleep. Of course, when it was time to land in London, the boys were sleeping and it was hard to get them up to get off the plan.
London and transferring planes was probably the worst part of the day. The walk to the bus transfer was very long, then a bus to a new terminal. We had to go through a new security checkpoint when we arrived in the new terminal. I had to trash all of my water I had brought from the plane. Then, Josh was randomly selected for a security screening. Seriously…. he went through the metal detector and the buzzer went off. I stood with him while they patted him down. Imagine a five year old on two hours sleep being dragged through the airport then having to have a pat down. Give me a break. We were exhausted and getting irritated. We found our new gate and it was a mob scene. Three buses transported our fellow travelers to a tarmac and we entered the plane the old fashion way by walking up the steps to the plane. We were the only family on board and there was no priority seating or anyone helping give extra time. It was cold and windy outside the plane. We were so slow getting on the bus to the tarmac that we were on the last bus and one of the last to board the plane. I was pretty upset. Luckily, the flight was fast and we were able to rest, so it worked out, but a non stop to Barcelona would have been better. The funny comment was that Max thought Hethrow Airport was the city of London since we were on so many buses and it took so long to get around. There was one couple on our flight who had the same itinerary from DC and will be on the cruise. They don”t have kids, but seemed very friendly.
Ah, por fin, Barcelona. We made it here and as expected, it was raining. Taxi to the hotel was easy and the cost was what we expected at 38 Euro. I was able to speak in Spanish to our taxi driver and I love the feeling of being back in Spain. Our room was not ready, so we walked around the corner to a tapas and pizzeria. Everyone had a snack and then back to the hotel. Everyone bathed and changed clothes. We took a 3 hour nap. The hotel is Le Meridien. The location on Las Ramblas is outstanding. The rain is a damper, but we love the cafes and laid back atmosphere. We followed Frommer”s advice on a tapas bar and took a 10 minute drive to another area of town for dinner. We could not go to the restaurant we had desired, since it was tiny and not kid friendly. We loved the neighborhood and found another tapas restaurant. We had one liter of the most amazing sangria, bread with tomatoes, bread with spinach, a cooked apple with ground meat in it, a lamb dish, and the kids had a chocolate trifecta of chocolate pudding in a little container. We went to another café and had real café con leche. Amazing. It beats Starbucks any day. Speaking of… there are ten thousand Starbucks here. One on every corner.
After dinner, we bought the kids Barcelona “football” soccer jerseys. Tomorrow is a home game. Our taxi driver mentioned it and how they are playing a team who is second from the bottom, so it will be a win. They were thrilled to have authentic soccer jersies and both got number 10, Messa, who is the most popular player. The kids are holding up well, but a little weapy, meaning they are crying easily at the littlest things. At some points of the day, they were holding up better than us because they were so excited.
We are semi acclimated since we did not sleep the entire day away. Tomorrow is rain, but we are still going to tour. We are missing friends and family at home.
Free internet at the hotel. Yeah. I will post some photos tomorrow. Sorry for some of the strange punctuation. They Spanish style key board is a bit off for me and spell check will not work right for English.
London and transferring planes was probably the worst part of the day. The walk to the bus transfer was very long, then a bus to a new terminal. We had to go through a new security checkpoint when we arrived in the new terminal. I had to trash all of my water I had brought from the plane. Then, Josh was randomly selected for a security screening. Seriously…. he went through the metal detector and the buzzer went off. I stood with him while they patted him down. Imagine a five year old on two hours sleep being dragged through the airport then having to have a pat down. Give me a break. We were exhausted and getting irritated. We found our new gate and it was a mob scene. Three buses transported our fellow travelers to a tarmac and we entered the plane the old fashion way by walking up the steps to the plane. We were the only family on board and there was no priority seating or anyone helping give extra time. It was cold and windy outside the plane. We were so slow getting on the bus to the tarmac that we were on the last bus and one of the last to board the plane. I was pretty upset. Luckily, the flight was fast and we were able to rest, so it worked out, but a non stop to Barcelona would have been better. The funny comment was that Max thought Hethrow Airport was the city of London since we were on so many buses and it took so long to get around. There was one couple on our flight who had the same itinerary from DC and will be on the cruise. They don”t have kids, but seemed very friendly.
Ah, por fin, Barcelona. We made it here and as expected, it was raining. Taxi to the hotel was easy and the cost was what we expected at 38 Euro. I was able to speak in Spanish to our taxi driver and I love the feeling of being back in Spain. Our room was not ready, so we walked around the corner to a tapas and pizzeria. Everyone had a snack and then back to the hotel. Everyone bathed and changed clothes. We took a 3 hour nap. The hotel is Le Meridien. The location on Las Ramblas is outstanding. The rain is a damper, but we love the cafes and laid back atmosphere. We followed Frommer”s advice on a tapas bar and took a 10 minute drive to another area of town for dinner. We could not go to the restaurant we had desired, since it was tiny and not kid friendly. We loved the neighborhood and found another tapas restaurant. We had one liter of the most amazing sangria, bread with tomatoes, bread with spinach, a cooked apple with ground meat in it, a lamb dish, and the kids had a chocolate trifecta of chocolate pudding in a little container. We went to another café and had real café con leche. Amazing. It beats Starbucks any day. Speaking of… there are ten thousand Starbucks here. One on every corner.
After dinner, we bought the kids Barcelona “football” soccer jerseys. Tomorrow is a home game. Our taxi driver mentioned it and how they are playing a team who is second from the bottom, so it will be a win. They were thrilled to have authentic soccer jersies and both got number 10, Messa, who is the most popular player. The kids are holding up well, but a little weapy, meaning they are crying easily at the littlest things. At some points of the day, they were holding up better than us because they were so excited.
We are semi acclimated since we did not sleep the entire day away. Tomorrow is rain, but we are still going to tour. We are missing friends and family at home.
Free internet at the hotel. Yeah. I will post some photos tomorrow. Sorry for some of the strange punctuation. They Spanish style key board is a bit off for me and spell check will not work right for English.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Tomorrow!
The trip is finally here!!! We leave tomorrow evening. Packing was not as bad as I originally thought. I still need to finish carry on items tomorrow. They are in organized piles around the house. The only issue tonight is that everyone is so excited that our entire family is awake. We can't sleep. We will be SO tired when we arrive in Barcelona.
The weather reports are looking very rainy for the first half of the trip. Looks like rain is going to be the story in Barcelona and may start to clear up as we head South to Malta and Tunis. Can't let rain spoil our adventure.
Here is the itinerary...
May 2-5th - touring in Barcelona
May 5th - sail from Barcelona
May 6th - Day at Sea
May 7th - Malta
May 8th - Tunis
May 9th - Naples
May 10th - Rome
May 11th - La Spezia (Pisa and Florence)
May 12th - Villefranche
May 13th - Ajaccio
May 14th - Day at Sea
May 15th - Barcelona
The weather reports are looking very rainy for the first half of the trip. Looks like rain is going to be the story in Barcelona and may start to clear up as we head South to Malta and Tunis. Can't let rain spoil our adventure.
Here is the itinerary...
May 2-5th - touring in Barcelona
May 5th - sail from Barcelona
May 6th - Day at Sea
May 7th - Malta
May 8th - Tunis
May 9th - Naples
May 10th - Rome
May 11th - La Spezia (Pisa and Florence)
May 12th - Villefranche
May 13th - Ajaccio
May 14th - Day at Sea
May 15th - Barcelona
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Cruise Critic Video Blog
Some of my blog followers who are taking this same trip later in the summer are probably already aware that the Editor in Chief of cruisecritic.com is on the Disney Magic Mediterranean this week. She is creating a video blog. Here is the link... http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1107
My observations from her posting today - looks a little chilly, so I will be making sure we have enough sweatshirts. I am going to add rain jackets for the boys and swapping some of the shorts for pants.
Preparing to be away from work for two weeks is challenging for both Scott and I. Too much to do this week.
Here are other bloggers from the April 24th DCL Magic Med sailing... (some are better at updating than others).
http://garnerfamilycruise.blogspot.com/
http://deliriouslydemented.blogspot.com/
http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Dicecatt/
http://teamskoi.wordpress.com/
My observations from her posting today - looks a little chilly, so I will be making sure we have enough sweatshirts. I am going to add rain jackets for the boys and swapping some of the shorts for pants.
Preparing to be away from work for two weeks is challenging for both Scott and I. Too much to do this week.
Here are other bloggers from the April 24th DCL Magic Med sailing... (some are better at updating than others).
http://garnerfamilycruise.blogspot.com/
http://deliriouslydemented.blogspot.com/
http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Dicecatt/
http://teamskoi.wordpress.com/
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Packing
A big shout out to the in-laws for taking the little guys out for lunch so I could pack this afternoon. My blood pressure (which I am supposed to be monitoring) is rising. I am listening to classical music and making piles of clothes. I guess, instead of packing, I am really blogging... so you can see how anxious I am about this process.
The boys did help this morning by collecting all of their pirate and Buzz Lightyear paraphernalia. Half of one bag is going to be costumes and Mickey Mouse stuff.
As for my recent purchases... add two white pillowcases and two Sharpie pens to the list for autographs. Someone on the disboards mentioned that you can drop off pillowcases or tshirts at the desk and let them know which characters should "sign" your items. Makes me wonder how you get the job on the ship to "sign" for Mickey, Donald, Minnie, and Pluto? Is there an official template they have to follow for each signature? Why do we buy-in to this stuff? Is it our job as parents?
Add to the list... TootsieRoll Pops, glow in the dark swords, a small magnetic white board for our door for messages, magnetic clips to hang things on our door,and Washington, DC items to show spirit for our locale.
Mission accomplished with finding a replacement battery charger for our camcorder.
Received our Euros yesterday. The buy rate was 1.41 and a $15 flat fee from Wacchovia Bank.
You will all be intersted to know that the boys completely understand the concept of flying red eye. Max has announced that he will not be sleeping on our flight to Hethrow. He plans to stay up all night and watch the TV on the plane. Say a special prayer for me on this one. How do they think of these things?
The boys did help this morning by collecting all of their pirate and Buzz Lightyear paraphernalia. Half of one bag is going to be costumes and Mickey Mouse stuff.
As for my recent purchases... add two white pillowcases and two Sharpie pens to the list for autographs. Someone on the disboards mentioned that you can drop off pillowcases or tshirts at the desk and let them know which characters should "sign" your items. Makes me wonder how you get the job on the ship to "sign" for Mickey, Donald, Minnie, and Pluto? Is there an official template they have to follow for each signature? Why do we buy-in to this stuff? Is it our job as parents?
Add to the list... TootsieRoll Pops, glow in the dark swords, a small magnetic white board for our door for messages, magnetic clips to hang things on our door,and Washington, DC items to show spirit for our locale.
Mission accomplished with finding a replacement battery charger for our camcorder.
Received our Euros yesterday. The buy rate was 1.41 and a $15 flat fee from Wacchovia Bank.
You will all be intersted to know that the boys completely understand the concept of flying red eye. Max has announced that he will not be sleeping on our flight to Hethrow. He plans to stay up all night and watch the TV on the plane. Say a special prayer for me on this one. How do they think of these things?
Friday, April 23, 2010
Moment of Truth - Packing
We watched anxiously this week as volcanic ash closed down most European airports. We considered our alternate routes and the number of airline transfers we could endure. We were thrilled when things simmered down. With nine days to go, we have a bit of work to do. Looks like the trip is a go.
You won't be surprised to hear that Scott had emergency hearings with his client at court this week. This is turning up the heat on me to pack for the entire Mirsky crew. I have two large piles accumulating in the dining room and extra bedroom. I am going to work this weekend to get things organized in bags and try a first attempt at a weigh in (for the bags, of course...).
We have one more item to buy for our fish extender gifts. Mirskys are gifting on sailing day #8.
You won't be surprised to hear that Scott had emergency hearings with his client at court this week. This is turning up the heat on me to pack for the entire Mirsky crew. I have two large piles accumulating in the dining room and extra bedroom. I am going to work this weekend to get things organized in bags and try a first attempt at a weigh in (for the bags, of course...).
We have one more item to buy for our fish extender gifts. Mirskys are gifting on sailing day #8.
Monday, April 12, 2010
To Blog or Not To Blog
The decision was made Sunday evening to blog. It was one of those married couple moments... can't sleep Sunday night thinking about work and all of the things on our to do list. What would be the best way to keep in touch with family and friends while away for two weeks? International cell phone calls - ouch - and how can we truly capture the special moments of this trip we have been planning for nearly a year? Let's share the great moments of this wonderful trip and capture our memories as we travel. How hard can it be to set one of these things up? So, here we are. We hope you enjoy. Please send us messages and comments as we travel. Let the fun begin.
First order of business... make sure I know how to run spell check. Love to write, but can't spell. I apologize in advance.
Next - fill you in on our current activities planning and preparing for our upcoming voyage...
On our cruise to do list this week...
1) Estimate a budget for spending money and private excursions so we can order Euros at the bank
2) Buy over the counter US medications to bring with us. Inevitably, someone will get sick with something. Keep your fingers crossed and antibacterial lotion at hand. This weekend I did a major drive by of CVS. Here is the list of purchases... Adult and Children's Motrin, Adult and Children's Mucinex, Immodium, TSA Compliant size of contact solution, Day and Night Sudafed, cough drops, vitamins, hand sanitizing spray, and detoxifying cleansing towelettes.
3) Find charging cable for video camera.
4) Cancel newspaper and mail service
Other random to dos for the upcoming weeks
-Pack - I started a bit this weekend, but have a long way to go. For some reason, packing has also turned in to cleaning out the closet and switching from winter to summer clothes.
-Find gifts for Fish Extenders (I will have a blog dedicated to FEs at some point)
-Erin to find comfortable, yet stylish shoes for our trip. I spent some time on this over the last few weekends (online and in the stores). I am three new pairs of shoes richer for the trip (and a new over the shoulder Tumi travel bag - love it), but have not found the perfect, comfortable - euro-stylish, wedge walking shoe. Does this shoe exist outside of my imagination? Plan B is to wear the stylish shoe and pack an extra bag to bring on the buses with my tennis shoes when things go bad. Major accomplishment for the trip would be to NOT break my ankle while walking cobblestone streets in Rome.
More to come.
First order of business... make sure I know how to run spell check. Love to write, but can't spell. I apologize in advance.
Next - fill you in on our current activities planning and preparing for our upcoming voyage...
On our cruise to do list this week...
1) Estimate a budget for spending money and private excursions so we can order Euros at the bank
2) Buy over the counter US medications to bring with us. Inevitably, someone will get sick with something. Keep your fingers crossed and antibacterial lotion at hand. This weekend I did a major drive by of CVS. Here is the list of purchases... Adult and Children's Motrin, Adult and Children's Mucinex, Immodium, TSA Compliant size of contact solution, Day and Night Sudafed, cough drops, vitamins, hand sanitizing spray, and detoxifying cleansing towelettes.
3) Find charging cable for video camera.
4) Cancel newspaper and mail service
Other random to dos for the upcoming weeks
-Pack - I started a bit this weekend, but have a long way to go. For some reason, packing has also turned in to cleaning out the closet and switching from winter to summer clothes.
-Find gifts for Fish Extenders (I will have a blog dedicated to FEs at some point)
-Erin to find comfortable, yet stylish shoes for our trip. I spent some time on this over the last few weekends (online and in the stores). I am three new pairs of shoes richer for the trip (and a new over the shoulder Tumi travel bag - love it), but have not found the perfect, comfortable - euro-stylish, wedge walking shoe. Does this shoe exist outside of my imagination? Plan B is to wear the stylish shoe and pack an extra bag to bring on the buses with my tennis shoes when things go bad. Major accomplishment for the trip would be to NOT break my ankle while walking cobblestone streets in Rome.
More to come.
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