Barcelona Bus Turistic

19th September 2018

Michelle, WT and TC decided to go for a walk before dinner this evening to the Bunkers Del Carmel lookout near our apartment.  Clearly a coveted spot for a fabulous view of sunset over the city.  TC enticed the girls to take the hike up the hill, saying the sunset was beautiful as he had done the trip up the night before.  The girls expected a glorious globe sinking behind the hills but were disappointed on that score. 

However, the magnificent 360 degree panoramic view of the lights of the city was well worth the effort.

I stayed back at the apartment with mum to ensure that beverages were maintained at the right temperature for dinner.

20th September 2018

We start our 2-day Barcelona Bus Turistic tour.  This is a hop on/off bus with an open roof that travels most of Barcelona on 3 routes (Red Green and Blue).

We walked thru Parc Guell to the bus stop there to catch one of those.  We arrived at the location indicated on the map but no bus stop.  Some locals were asked and we were sent in the general direction of the bus.  Eventually we spotted one bus and worked backwards to the bus stop.

Pictures taken from the roof top seats had weird angles.  Most of the significant landmarks were covered by the 3 routes.

This tour is well worth doing if you are new to Barcelona.  It helps to orientate the city when you read location maps later, and the audio guide on-board offers information on the landmarks and advice generally as well.

Interesting sites can be noted for a later visit on foot.  The 2-day pass allows for doing the loops again with more "hop offs" for a closer look.

It was super warm on top, but breezy due to the open roof.  We experienced cognitive dissonance from the conflicts of keeping hats on for shade and the risks of losing them in the wind.  As you can see there were a number of resolutions to this conflict.  The free wifi on board was far superior to that at our Airbnb, so Michelle took the opportunity to conduct business enroute.

It was difficult to pay attention or get good shots of the various Gaudi buildings when the bus was moving - my good shots are limited to those when the bus stopped at the lights.

The start of La Rambla.

Went past Casa Batllo, which will be revisited on foot later today.

And of course THE La Sagrada Familia to which everyone is booked for a 6.30 pm entry this evening except me.  Saw it last time with Marcus.

The bus completed the Blue route, and we hopped off for a closer look at Casa Batllo from the outside.  

Then on to Vodafone, Michelle needed  a local sim and I needed a top-up.  Netflix was left running on my Spain prepaid last night, so the 10GB I had was gone.

Hunger pangs struck and we stopped at Cafe Lola's sidewalk tables (they have in-doors as well) for some lunch of tapas, paella and beer.

I thought Michelle and I could go around the corner to Vodafone while we waited for lunch to be served.  I got up and reached for my satchel hanging off the back of my seat and it was gone!



We were shocked and amazed at the same time.  We could only recall the waiter being around to take our orders, and the satchel was stolen from right under our noses.  A mystery that will puzzle us for 24 hours.

I told the waiter and he unhelpfully suggested I ring 112 and to be careful with our bags.  The next table also said they didn't see anyone take the bag.  I lost a water bottle, my regular glasses and the spare camera battery.

The jug of beer arrived first and helped calm me down.  The second glass followed pretty quickly and calmed me down further and eventually I was very calm.

WT insisted that we replaced the glasses immediately and we followed her into a nearby optician where a pair of Mont Blanc frame was chosen and prescription made for collection next day.  Luckily, I'd had my eyes tested recently so my prescription was up to date.  For a branded and quality frame I thought the cost was a reasonable - 230 euros plus 90 for the lens, 320 all up.

Then it was on to Vodafone where we both bought the 15 euro prepaid plan with 7GB of data and unlimited everything else.  This is valid for 30 days.

After all that excitement and errands, it was time to relax at the bus stop waiting for the Red Loop bus at Placa Catalunya.





The Red Loop route covered the west side of the city including Barca FC stadium and Olympic stadium where Barcelona hosted the summer Olympics in 1992.  After going thru the Barceloneta port, we were back at Placa Catalunya in 1 hour 45 mins.


Michelle and my mum decided that they were tired and had too much sun, and will not be visiting La Sagrada.  We took the 24 bus back to Carmel while WT and TC carried on as planned to La Sagrada.

They hopped back on the Blue Loop bus which took them there (and saved on one regular metro fare).  What to do with the 2 spare tickets?  

TC/WT ticket story here.
We wondered how we could scalp the tickets and make a killing as tickets had to be booked well in advance to guarantee entry.  However, in deference to the spiritual context of this expedition, we decided that face value was fair.  TC approached a couple from Guatemala who had been turned away at the ticket counter after attempting to purchase tickets.  They had flown in yesterday and La Sagrada was top of the list of must-do for them. They were hugely disappointed when told that the next available tickets were for Tuesday - 4 days away - and they were departing on Monday.  Staunch Catholics, they said there was no point visiting Barcalona if they couldn't get in to see the Sagrada. They gave thanks for this Godsend intervention and remarked that God sent us to them. We reckoned that they would have paid any amount for the tickets, in retrospect!

The tickets are for a self-guided tour which can include a 7 euro audio guide.  Aside from the spectacular church itself, there is a museum in the basement that is easy to overlook.  The museum presents the back story of Gaudi's process and challenges in building the church, which is still on-going.  See the cranes?

 And we enjoyed yet another wonderful Michelle dinner. We have been thoroughly spoiled by our residential gourmet chef.  Michelle can whip up a delicious dinner despite a full day of hard work sightseeing.  Soup every night was a real treat.

21st  September 2018

It was a 11 am start today due to laundry, blog editing and a general lack of motivation.  I had to submit my draft for review by TC and WT because apparently there were unintentional typos, grammatical errors and my spelling of somebody's name wrong.  

I won't mention names here, to protect the guilty, but it is more common and correct to spell Teck Teck instead of Teik and also Brian should be spelt Brian instead of Bryan.  From now on, I will insist that I am Jet (the non kung fu model).

We took the metro to Port Olimpica to catch the Green Route bus on our 2nd day on Bus Turistic.  This route is a short one - 35 mins covering Casino side of the beach Mare Bella.

It was the beggar I said to the others on the metro.  She was an Arab type person with long flowing robes.  When she came between WT and I at the table, she must have just smoothly slipped the bag off the chair into her robes.  There was general murmuring of agreement and advice was freely offered on how this could be avoided next time.

We hopped off at the Forum stop where Diagonal Mall was located.  The girls spent about 2 hours in 2 shops in total and we bought lunch from the supermarket.  

M&M and Twix drinks

Then it was back on the bus and TC wanted to look at the beach, and Mediterranean again so we hopped off soon after.

Part of the beach was nude, but you must be between these signs.  Take a close look at the stick figures especially the boys.

JAKIM could send their people here for training.  Lots of haram targets.  And why are these guys smiling?

Then it was time to collect my glasses ordered yesterday, check out the Mt Blanc snow tips.  We then enjoyed another Michelle special meal for dinner.