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jukeboxgraduate · 7 years

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Barcelona, Travel Post

Everyone was so generous to me with their Barcelona intel that I wanted to write down all of mine so that I could return the favor.

Airport transport: being someone from New York, my first thought when arriving in a new city is "Can I get into the city center via public transportation?" The answer is yes, but a QUALIFIED yes. You have to take a shuttle bus to the domestic terminal, which is 10 minutes away, and then it is a long, long walk to the station. It did drop me two blocks from my hotel and cost me less than 1 euro but the airport bus was 6 euro, stopped right outside the terminal, and was three blocks from my hotel.

I did not take the train back, but the morning airport bus was a soul-crushing, sardine-packed-anti-tourist experience that I would not recommend to anybody.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is no ATM in the airport. Do yourself a favor and go to AmEx or an international bank so you have like 25 Euro when you arrive.

Lodging: I didn't do an Airbnb because I was traveling solo and Airbnb is great if everything goes well but if it doesn't you are FUCKED. For example: When I went to Scandinavia and missed my connection so my bags didn’t arrive until the next day, I could t just have them dropped at the hotel whenever, I had to waste a whole day waiting for them. When the plane was late I had to rely on the host to be flexible. There were too many things that could have gone wrong.

I chose a location with proximity to the metro going to the festival and the location of the shuttle bus. I have burned out with locations that are "a short walk" because short walks become lengthy on a day-in, day-out basis. It was worth it to me to pay a premium to be central so I could go back to the hotel whenever I wanted.

Honestly, I would have really liked a nice apartment in Eixample where I could have foisted my bad Spanish on the local cafe daily. Next time.

Sights: 99% of what I like to do in a city is walk around and Barcelona is absolutely a city made to walk around and every block is gorgeous. I would walk and get lost and then pull out my phone and figure out where to go next.

[I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR about using my phone. I fucking backpacked through Southeast Asia before there was an internet. I have earned the right to use a goddamn smartphone in Europe. The phone meant I could LOOK at the amazing architecture and not have to be looking at a map all the time, and it makes you less of a target for thieves. (More on this later.)]

El Born/Barrio Gotic: Seriously the best thing you could possibly do here is pick a random street and walk. The most famous streets are clogged with people and I moved away from them as quickly as I could. I stopped by the Cathedral but didn’t get in because it was tourist hell. On the other hand, I stumbled into Stella Maris on Sunday afternoon during Mass and I said I wanted to light a candle for Santa Barbara (which I actually did, I do this for my mom) and it was lovely. But mostly I just walked around and got lost.

My favorite thing in El Born was the Mercat del Born Cultural Center. This is the former location of the old neighborhood market that was going to be torn down and turned into a FNAC and then was going to be a library when they discovered hella ancient ruins underneath. Now you can walk around these ancient ruins. I went back a second time, it was so amazing. There is also a restaurant featuring local foods and a shop with locally made goods and public bathrooms.

By Sunday I had promised myself that I would “go sit in a park or something” and although it had poured rain in the morning/early afternoon (when I was writing in a cafe) I took my computer back to the hotel and started walking through El Born to get away from tourists. I ended up at the Arc de Triomf and the park leftover from the 1888 World’s Fair. And although there was a dude under the Arc singing “Easy Like Sunday Morning” it was mostly locals walking around and it was totally chill until a drum circle popped up (to be fair, it was not a bunch of Burning Man leftovers drumming, but, like, actual immigrants/residents from the African Continent). It is a great park. I recommend it.

Sagrada Familia: You have to go. I went in 2000 when I was there and as my tour guide said, “You haven’t been.” It was not even close to the same building. As a coworker said, “How often do you get to visit a 100-year construction project in progress?” I highly recommend plumping for the guided tour and not just the headsets. My guide was awesome and I learned a lot and you can stay and hang out as long as you want to. I did not pay to go up to the Towers because I AM A GIANT CHICKEN ABOUT HEIGHTS, but that was actually fine because they were closed that day. I think I was there for 3 and a half hours.

Casa Batllo: This is worse from a tourist hell perspective than Sagrada Familia because it’s small. I did the 8:45am “sunrise tour” (hahaha Barcelona you are so cute) and I would advise the 8:30 instead so you have the place to yourself for half an hour before people start walking through with iPads. My advice with Casa Batllo is to spend as much time as you can in the front room, because the rest of it is not nearly as inspiring, and then head to the roof. Ignore advice telling you to go to the roof first and then wind your way down. Keep in mind that you cannot see the entire building because people still live there. So you can’t spend 3 hours like I thought I was going to.

La Pedrera/Casa Mila: I bought a ticket thinking I’d go in the morning and then I didn’t, so I had to go to the nighttime tour and beg to be allowed to pay the difference. The nighttime tour isn’t a tour. It’s a lecture in the courtyard, a climb SEVEN FLOORS UP to the attic with another lecture, and then an audiovisual show on the roof. *bzzt* I was Gaudi-drunk at the time I bought the ticket and honestly I should have just given it a pass. I got more out of doing a Lonely Planet guidebook walking tour than I did out of this experience.

Fundacion Joan Miro: This is lovely and comprehensive, and well-curated. I hate his depiction of women, however, and by the end was done. The gift shop has many cute items as well as jewelry from local Barcelona merchants. The Fundacion is up on Montjuic, which you can get to by bus, cablecar (teleferic) or funicular. The funicular is part of the Metro system so you can transfer to it without paying extra. (Given the GIANT CHICKEN ABOUT HEIGHTS note above you know I did not take the cablecar.) I did not walk around Montjuic because that is also the location of the Palau San Jordi, and I spent a whole lot of fucking time there in 2000 when I came to see Pearl Jam. It is a lovely green space though and I would advocate trading it for the other park noted above, if you find yourself looking for a green space.)

I did this instead of the Picasso Museum because his most important works are not in the museum and I’ve been to (and LOVE) the Musee Picasso in Paris twice, and I have to get to Madrid so I can see Guernica in person anyway.

Things I deliberately did not do: La Boqueria (cutting through it was nightmare enough), any lengthy walk down Las Ramblas, extended beach time

I also saw the traveling version of the V&A Bowie exhibit, which just happened to be in town, and also let’s remember three nights of Primavera Sound that I had to file from, which kept me up late and sleeping in at the end of it.

FOOD IN BARCELONA:

At this point it will be a separate post.

IMPORTANT PROTIPS:

METRO: The Metro is awesome, convenient, clean. I bought the T-10 card, which gives you 10 trips for 9.95 Euro. That includes the RENFE train from the airport BUT NOT THE Metro (I don’t get it either). The T-10 is good on Metro, buses, trams and the funicular to Montjuic.

OVERSEAS SIM CARDS: It’s getting easier to buy a SIM when you arrive somewhere but I opted for an option called KnowRoaming, which is a sticker you put on your US SIM, and it switches over automatically. WhatsApp is free, calls are cheap, you get an alternate number so you can text, and they have unlimited data plans, which in BCN was $6.99 a day. I bought data for the first day to see how much I used. I bought a 7-day data plan. It was FANTASTIC to be able to use my phone the way I normally use my phone, especially when needing to find friends or discover that Arcade Fire is playing a pop-up show. Also? The map was freedom. I could go ANYWHERE. Maybe when you’re a dude you don’t worry about finding your way out.

PICKPOCKETING/THEFT/CRIME IS A REAL THING. I read the stories and I was almost sure they were fake, except 1) a Spanish friend who lives in Barcelona met me for lunch and told me how she was clutching her purse in the Metro and when crossing Las Ramblas and 2) a smart woman who was on my food tour had her purse snatched when in La Boqueria. She grabbed it back and kicked the kid in the face, and then bought another purse to replace the leather purse WITH A VERY STURDY STRAP that got yanked off her arm.

EVERYTHING IS CLOSED ON MONDAY except the Museum of Contemporary Art, which I went to partly because I was over there collecting my festival credentials next door, partly so I could get in some air conditioning and use a bathroom but also because this stuff is my jam, and there were some great exhibits. THEY ARE OPEN ON MONDAY. Go watch the skateboarders on the plaza outside if nothing else.

ALL THE RESTAURANTS ARE CLOSED SUNDAY NIGHT so plan in advance. I was literally [] this close to going to McDonald’s because every.thing.was.closed. Ask your hotel. Plan it in advance. Book at the place I ended up (which was fantastic).

Advance tickets: I booked tickets to Sagrada Familia and Casa Batllo one week in advance. I felt kinda touristy until I turned up at the queue for Sagrada Familia, and the women behind me who had no tickets were told “No, we are totally sold out for the day” at 11:45am. All of the sights will scan your barcode on your phone and most hotels will let you print so I would suggest booking the things you can be sure about and then doing the rest on a case by case basis. THAT SAID, I booked a ticket to La Pedrera that I ended up not getting to use/having to pay up just to get in because I was too ambitious. So, book but be smart.

#barcelona

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plogan721 · 4 years

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I want to do something fun…My favorites so far 2020

Please note: I am doing this topic for several reasons, including that I would love to collaborate with someone both in video and or blogging. I am also available for freelance work. You can contact me through my email address [email protected]. I take serious people as I had a scammer back in November for my graphic work. This caused a major shift in how I accept writing and graphic gigs. I am not bitter about the experience and I caught it in time, or my identity could have been compromised. Sorry, I am mentioning this on such a fun topic as the one you are about to read. With that being said, on with today’s topic.

Disclaimer(s): P. Lynne Designs is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

P. Lynne Designs is also a participant partner in the Erin Condren affiliate program which is designed to provide a

means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Erin Condren.

Ok, that last topic took something out of me. I am not going to lie when I say that that the blog post was the fourth one I had written and the first one I am proud of since Corona broke out, landed in the United States, and showed herself out.

Now I am done. I have said my piece for now about her. I am ready to have some fun writing topics. I am ready for the doom and gloom to go away for a while. I was reminded of that last week by my pastor.

I attend an online bible study via Facebook Live. This is how I have been attended church worship services too, and except for a few times when my computer has not quite cooperated in either task or the two weeks I had to deal with my cat, Gizmo going through heat issues. Yes, Gizmo is a girl, my girly girl, and she was named after the Mogwai Gizmo from the movie, Gremlins, who is a boy. Yes, you can feed her after midnight, although I do not suggest dealing with her during heat because she turns into a little Gremlin, LOL. Anyway, she is my little gremlin,

Anyway, My pastor said of African Americans who have been killed in the last few months because of the continued hatred from certain types of white folks, that you can post all you want to about how much you hate what is happening from Trevon to Breanna, the RN who was killed because someone reported to police about some drug activity going on in her apartment, and she was sleeping after a grueling shift, and it was the wrong apartment. If you do not act on how much you hate it, and make people aware of the problem in this country, then you are part of the problem.

What does that have to do with the coronavirus? Same thing and the best thing to do at this point is to stay at home, wash your hands, and stay 6 feet apart.

Okay, enough of that.

Just making a list of my favorites. (photo by Pixabay.com)

What is today’s topic?

I want to give all my writers and journal writers a task this week. Yes, this week. This will break you out of your mode of “normal” writing, and if this is not your thing, then try it once. You may like it.

I normally write about lifestyle things on my other blog, Home Prep and those topics are on organization, decorating on a budget, and anything that is home-related. Every once in awhile, you would see something about travel, and the reason was I had a travel portion on the blog. I found after writing about my plans for a family Disney trip in December 2019 (see the previous post on THIS BLOG) about the problems leading to me canceling the trip. I decided it would be best if I had a separate trip blog.

Anyway (count how many times I write, “anyway”), I want to write on this blog my favorite writing things or products of 2020 SO FAR. So in no particular order, I will have my list, and I will reference them with a link if I find the product on Amazon, Erin Condren, Walmart (which I do not get a commission on, but I love) or information I think you can use. Again, you are not obligated to make a purchase.

Favorite item to use while writing:

These are routines, products, or tips that help me get into the mood of write. Note: Lately, I have not felt like writing much. My mind had been scattered all over the place in terms of what topics to write. Remember, I have chosen to write 3 blogs (soon to be 4), and it was not the number of blogs I write in, but how I write them. So, the first thing I did was a little soul searching. I turned to the very thing that got me started writing in the first place, which I mentioned that is was my friend, Lois, and writing in a personal journal. In that journal, which is now an OneNote Notebook on my computer, it has allowed me to really think about what I am supposed to do. It is the one thing that connects me to her, even though Lois died in 2002 to advanced breast cancer.

Another thing is surprising, my pastor also journals. He came to my congregation last year, and he has been a blessing. He is younger than me, but I find him very relatable. He is also an accomplished author, and has written a couple books and has a blog himself. Personally, I felt that in the year since he has presided over the congregation (along with our “sister”, Westley United Methodist Church), my pastor has given me some insight on how a “woman of God”, “God’s child”, a Christian should govern over herself.

Next, My favorite tea, which has to be decaf. I do drink caffeinated coffee and tea, but I need something to calm me down, especially if I write at night. I started writing at night because it was the only time that I did not have the noise of the day. Up until February 25, 2020, my nephew and his girlfriend stayed here with me until they found an apartment. Well, my great-niece came, and they are staying with my parents until they were able to save a little money for an apartment, which they had found, but corona reared up her head, and since he had been working double shifts at a shipping company (due to everyone online ordering and PPE stuff shipping in), they have not been able to move in. since they have been gone, I still write at night, along with my tea, which is nothing more than Celeste Seasons fruit tea bags-assorted. I used to drink Chamomile tea or CS Sleepytime tea, but I love these teas better. I think it helps Gizmo calm down that I am not moving around so much.

What I use to write with? That is simple, MS Word. I will write down as much as I could, edit later. Tip: it helps to write it all down, then come back later to edit for clarity. You may not have the same thoughts as you did when you first write it down. This is why it takes me a long time for one blog post. My blog post writing routine is:

· Write for the thought process

· Edit for clarity (this is where I add and take away)

· Add bullet points, bold and italic and other ideas I want to emphasize.

· Decide my font (which will go away once I start writing this blog in WordPress format)

· Paste to Blogger (or WordPress when I start writing in that format)

· Edit for Grammarly

· Finally, add my title (which is already written in MS. Word), scheduled to publish, add Keywords/SEO, summarize, hook up my links, and add photos and capture points.

It sounds like a lot, but it really is not. I did not mention the hard part (yes, there is), which is promotion. I post a link to Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Favorite ways to write.

What is that? I have several ways to write, and some I like because most of the time, it is for continuity, a flow, while others have to be for the style.

· Narrative. Most of the time, I will write in a narrative-style or first person. I am given you an account of my day, a routine, or even a place that I have visited.

· Ghost-writing. I am writing in the style of the author or blog writer. Yes, it is my work, but I cannot put my name in the by-line. The byline has to be the person who publishes it on their blog. I cannot offer my bio either. It has to look like the blog poster wrote it themselves.

· Guest-writing. I offer to write a blog post or article for a magazine or blog to name a few, and my name goes in the by-line, as well as my bio at the end of the article.

· Lists. This is still fairly new to me, but I like it just the same as the other styles of writing. For example, I can write, “20 reasons to visit Walt Disney World”, or “20 reasons not to visit Walt Disney World”. The trick is to do your homework or research before attempting to create lists. I usually research to see if what I have to say is the truth.

· SEO/Keyword. Okay, I will admit it, I like it and I hate it. It all depends on the post. I have done some ghost-writing that required me to mention “body-building” 5 times in six 1000-word articles back in 2011. I found that the subject was very boring, and I had to stomach through all 6 articles that I needed to write by the end of the week. Three weeks later, I had to write 8 articles mentioning the words, “organize” and “cabinets” 8 times in 500-word articles and I wanted to write more. So, it all depends.

· Journaling. Yeah, you knew this was going to come up soon or later. I have mentioned how many times I have enjoyed the art of journaling, decorating journals, and now I can add planners to the mix. You can now journal in your planners, and visa versa. You know I am here for that. This is the reason I have the horizontal version of the Erin Condren Life Planner. I am a detailed person, and the more detail I can get, the better. In addition, I get to put what date I want in this planner. In addition to the Life Planner, I love using the Duo-tip markers, stickers (even though I make my own as well- coming soon to my shop and website), and petite books, which are perfect for sermon notes, goal setting, and project planning.

Well, that is it for this round. I will update later in the year with new things. Oh, I love to write in loungewear, and the pants I love are from Target, which is the Women’s perfectly cozy wide-leg lounge pants by Stars Above™. I use any top that is comfy to me. Right now as I write, I have on a tank top. In the wintertime, I have on my Laura Ashley fluffy robe that I bought for Christmas. I now have to find one that is perfect for summer.

Finally, I love writing in the dark. Let me explain….

At night, when it is nice and quiet, and it is past midnight, I may get into the mood of a nice fluffy robe, my sock, loungewear on, and I turn off the overhead light in my office and have on only the lamps illuminating my screen. It gives me the sense of a warm blanket, and this is one way that I cocoon. The other way of cocooning is having 3-4 blankets on my bed and turning off the heat in the wintertime or turning on the air conditioner in the summertime, and snuggle. Another conversation for a different day.

Anyway, I also have a sense that I am in some sort of secret cave and it is just me and the computer, then Gizmo wants something and ruins the moment, LOL. But between the time I settle in and Gizmo’s wanting, I can get a lot done with my writing.

Fact: Dealing with an almost 3-year-old cat (who is still a kitten) is like dealing with a human toddler, but I like human toddlers better, LOL. I do not have to dress this one or listen to it say, “Mommy, mommy, mommy”. Oh, wait, constant meowing is the same as “mommy, mommy, mommy”. Never mind, LOL.

Have a good day.

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