Koufonissia here I come…right back where I started from…

June 4, 2013 

 

Forza, enroute to Patras

Forza, in the lounge bar

After arriving one and a half hours late in Patras, we disembarked the good ship 'Forza' at around quarterpast midnight. We walked down the gangway to the deserted 'new port' and I asked ( in Greek) a couple who were waiting on the jetty where I could get a taxi…They looked at me in surprise and said.. 'Sorry we are English!' … undaunted we took a punt and headed towards some lights in the distance… and we came to the 'Port Terminal of Patras' as the sign said… I tried to enter thru the big double doors, but they were locked…went around the corner to a small side door and we entered the huge terminal building…totally deserted…no customs, no immigration… no police…they had obviouslly all gone home for the night.

Luckily for us, the taxi drivers hadn't, and there were half a dozen waiting outside. I asked how much it would be to our hotel, but the cab driver gave a Greek shrug of his shoulders and said…'Meter” …which I took correctly to mean he would use the meter…which he did..After about 10 minutes we arrived at the old port and our hotel, the Patras Grand. We received a warm friendly reception, and went to our room on the 5th floor, overlooking the harbour and sea…. I was pleasantly surpised by how nice it was… far beyond my expectations for the price (65 Euro), the room was very large, with a huge balcony/terrace. Pity we were only staying for less than 12 hours. I'd chosen this hotel as it was very close to the KTEL bus station, and we were due to catch the 11:30 express to Athens.
After a very comfortable nights sleep, at 9:30 we had really good breakfast up on the top ( 6th) floor. I then went out looking for a 'Cosmote' telecommunications shop in which to renew my Greek SIM card, and also purchase our tickets on the KTEL coach.

KTEL Bus Station in Patras

 No problems in finding or getting either, (Thanks to Costas Demitriades and his Greek language lessons!) although I could not get the front seats as Yineka-mou had asked me to get… When I asked her she threw her hands up in the air in a gesture of exasperation and said “No, don't 'ave…. you are lucky to get seat… is full “) and so at 11:30 we boarded our bus. it was a new double decker ( not like a London double decker…much more streamlined) and we went to our allotted seats upstairs.

On the KTEL coach to Athens. YM is sitting in front seat on right.

Yineka-mou noticed that the two front seats were unoccupied, 

and like a rat up a drainpipe she quickly moved to them….

I refused to join her, as I was sure that with still 5 minutes left 

before we pulled out of the bus station, some late arriving 

passenger would turf her out of this prime spot. 

As luck would have it, the seats weren't claimed 

(why was the booking clerk so adament that they were not 

available when I booked my tickets? ) and so YM had a 

great view of the scenery, all the way to Athens…

two and half hours non-stop. (but yet again, 

we missed seeing the point where the bus crosses the Corinth Canal !)

The KTEL bus terminal in Athens, (Terminal A at Kifisou 100) is not a good introduction to the city… it is quite squalid….grimy and graffitti covered….and with many touts offering you taxi services…or trying to sell you fake perfume etc.. your best bet is never to try to jump the Taxi Queue by accepting the touts offer of a taxi… you will pay a LOT extra for the privelige!

Inside the Kifisou KTEL Bus Station

 No queue at the cab rank, so we quickly jumped into one of the waiting cabs, the cab driver switched on the meter, and we were on our way to the port of Piraeus. He dropped us off at the Cafe/Restaurant in the port, nearby to the Blue Star Ferry jetty, and as we had a few hours to kill before the Blue Star Paros was ready for boarding, we had our first lunch in Greece. Not the most salubrious place, and if we hadn't our luggage with us, we'd probably have chosen somewhere different. I ordered 'Souvlakia ke patates tiganites' (kebab and chips, much nicer when said in Greek) and YM had Yemistes ( Stuffed tomatoes with rice) and Koriatiki Salata ( greek salad)…. a cold Mythos beer and a 'miso kilo' of white wine. The food was not the best I've had, though to be fair, not the worst either. it helped that we were quite hungry!
When I asked for the bill ( 'to logoriasmo parakalo') he promptly came back with the answer ” Trianda pende euvro'…. thirty five euros. Ya gotta be joking, I thought , so I asked him for the 'απόδειξη' … the receipt. 'βεβαίως, αμέσως' … “of course, right away” he replied…. and 10 minutes later we had the bill…. not for 35 euros as asked, but only for 29. I'm sorry he said, I make a mistake. I checked the bill anyway, and could see that he'd included a couple of dishes that we'd not ordered, so queried it with him…. ” very sorry, I change it” and off he went to correct the total again… he soon came back with another bill, this time for just 24 euros…. I dont mind helping the Greek economy, God knows they need all the help they can get, but not this way…. naturally enough, we didnt leave a tip…

Blue Star Paros in Piraeus

We boarded the Blue Star Paros at around 4pm, and settled in to 

our comfortable seats in the Business Class lounge, before sailing 

on time at precisely 5:30pm, bound for the small island of  

Koufonisia, near Naxos,but in the 'little cyclades' group of islands.

 

Pireaus, near to the Blue Star Ferries jetty. Pic taken from the back deck of BSP.

My best mate BL was due to join the ship at midnight, 

when it called into Naxos, enroute to Koufi. 

 Around 30 minutes after midnight, (we were now running late again) 

YM and I went up on deck to see if we could see BL on the jetty…. 

sure enough, he was there, and we met him at the gangway. 

As he'd only purchased a tourist class ticket, YM's task was to 

smuggle him past the guard and into the business class lounge with us,

 without getting caught. She'd already been planning this move 

since leaving Piraeus, and had noticed a 'fire/emergency door' that 

led up to the crew quarters, through to the cabins, and then out on 

the open deck. “Follow me” she ordered BL ( BL's quick quip back

 was to remind her that this usually ended in trouble…for him!) 

and so off we set up and down stairs, along corridors, thru the crew

 quarters, and finally down the stairs to the fire door leading into

 the back of the Business class lounge….We'd made it…thanks to YM

 and her cunning plan.

YM & BL leaving the Business Class lounge at 2:30am, to disembark at Koufonisia Island

We still had over two and a half hours to go till we arrived in Koufonisia, and while YM decided to stretch out on the lounge seats and get some shut-eye, BL and I did the resposible thing to do…. help the Greek Economy by ordering some drinks… a nice bottle of Kokkino Krassi (Red Wine) from Paros, and catch up on all the news since we parted company in Barcelona some 3 weeks ago. On arrival at 2:45 am in the morning, we were met at Koufinisia by Florian, the same Albanian guy who featured in my blog from last year. A quick 2 minute drive from the port, via a shortcut acros the town beach, and we were back again in paradise…. AKA 'Gitonia tis Irinis'. YM and I had the same room, Anna Giorgia, as before, while BL was given a choice of rooms, and settled for the room called Parthenes. It just so happened that I'd called Florian yesterday to remind him to put a couple of cold Mythos beers in the fridge. He went one better than this by leaving me a case of 20 x 750ml bottles…… Thanks mate, I LOVE Albanians! By now, we were all over being tired, so (stupidly?) sat up until after 5am talking, drinking and reminiscing until the sun came up.

Exeis Mythos?

Kali Nichta ( or should that be KaliMera)

I’d like to take you…on a slow boat to Patras. June 3, 2013

I’d like to take you…on a slow boat to Patras

  June 3, 2013

The Grand Canal, Venice.

 

 Monday 3rd June, aboard the Anek Lines ship 'Forza' , somewhere in the Adriatic, en-route to Patras,Greece.

After two nights in Venice, ( and YM has at last had her long-held wish come true…. a gondola ride with a handsome lover…. OK, maybe she didn't get exactly what she wished for, but a ride is a ride!) staying at the 'Taverna San Lio' near to Ponte Rialto, we checked out at 9:30am and noisily made our way to the vaperetto stop at Rialto.

Arrivadicce !

In Venice, the most common sound you hear, at all times of the day and night, is that of suitcases with wheels, being dragged along the cobbled/paved streets. The problem happens when you have to cross one of the numerous bridges, and pick up/schlep your luggage up and down the steps. YM had her own method of doing this, just dragging it up and dragging it down…bang bang bang bang….I hope her wheels don't fall off with the extreme rough treatment. The vaperetto took us northwards along the Grand Canal, towards the Ferrovia Railway station.

On a Vaperetto, at Rialto Bridge.

 

 

 

A Vaperetto on the Grand Canal

Our stop was the next one, Plaza de Roma. We fought our way off the crowded vapo, and walked the 300 metres to the new 'PeopleMover', a monorail that connects old Venice with the port and the new Cruise Terminal.

The 'People Mover' entrance

At the ticket machine ( one euro each) YM stopped to help two elderly ladies from Belgium obtain tickets etc…. and her good deed was nearly her undoing, as one of them knocked over her bag, which contained a couple of bottles of wine….I heard a nasty 'crack' as the bag hit the ground…luckily the vino was intact…phew. No sooner had we got our tickets, we then had to use them to access the facility, through those automatic doors…. these were NOT designed for people with multiple pieces of luggage, as no sooner had I put the ticket in the slot, the doors opened, I turned to pick up my luggage, and they promptly shut again, with me on the wrong side of them. I tried putting the ticket in again, but auto-machine was not having a bar of it… only thing left to do, without buying another ticket, was to push my luggage thru underneath, then get down on my hand and knees and crawl through the gap tween floor and gates. Not at all a cool look….but I was not the only one doing this hand/knee shuffle, most people with luggage, including the Belgium ladies, had to go thru the same routine. YM had no such problem though, she could quite easily squeeze thru the gap between gates!!! After negotiating the gates, we caught the lift up to the 'People-Mover' platform, waited 7 minutes for the monorail to arrive, got on, and less than 200 metres , and about 30 seconds later, we had arrived!

The PM terminus!

What was that all about. After catching the lift back down to ground level, we followed the signs to the port. We were in for a long walk, as we could see out ship quite a long way in the distance, right at the end of the wharf . just then, YM spotted some workers moving hand trolleys around, and had soon sweet-talked them into releasing one for us. Without any signage to guide us in the right direction, we found ourselves on the part of the wharf where the trucks from the ferry were being both unloaded and jostling for position to be unloaded. We were seriously in danger of being run over by any one of dozens of huge articulated trans-continental trucks!!!

Where is the damn ship? Stuck amongst the trucks!!!

 

 

 

A really tight squeeze!

After dodging and weaving our way around them, we found ourselves at the Gate to the terminal, only to be told by the officious guard on duty that we couldn't enter this way, it was the exit only, and we needed to go back to the entrance gate, 300 metres back from where we'd been. So… of we went again, this time negotiating our way thru the Maze of trucks waiting to get onto the ferry. We did have to laugh though as we could see the funny side of it.

The Anek Line Terminal

When we eventually arrived at the correct Terminal ( by the way, nowhere near the directions given on our ticket), we were told we wouldn't be able to board right away, we'd have to wait for the ship to fully unload all the incoming cars and trucks first. Time to crack open a beer, even if it was only 10:45 am… When we did embark, about 11:45, we realised that no way would the ship be sailing on time as scheduled for 12 noon.

Getting ready to board the FORZA

All these trucks had to be loaded onto the ferry before we could depart !

Cars, caravans, motorbikes and trucks... all to be loaded before we can leave.

There were still hundreds of cars, trucks, caravans, motorbikes etc on the wharf waiting to drive on. An announcement was made that the ship would now sail at 3:30 pm….but who cares….we are now in our cabin, number 6001, right at the bow of the ship, with a large window (porthole?) looking out for'ward…we are VERY happy. We spend a little while exploring the ship, then go down to dining room for a light lunch…a drink or two, then it's up on deck to watch our departure from Venice. The ships crew have managed to get us away at 2:30 instead of 3:30…. Even though the weather today is overcast, and it's quite cold, it's really a very picturesque and even romantic way to leave Venice….

Leaving Venice...the romantic way?

 As soon as we cleared the heads we were off to our cabin to catch up on some much needed sleep…we've only had chance for an afternoon nap once since leaving home…
Dinner last night, at the same 'self-service' restaurant, was surprisingly good…. if we'd had the same served up at a fancy restaurant, we'd still have been very happy… We both had the fresh baked artichokes with fresh tomatoes and vegetables…. very tasty indeed….with a bottle of wine it came to just 29 euro…
Not much to do after dinner, except watch greek TV or watch the fellow passengers…a motley lot…lots of truck drivers of course, some backpackers, some caravanners, bikers, tourists etc… not everyone has opted for a cabin, as you can sleep in an aircraft-type seat for a lot less than price of a cabin. We have paid 316 euros for our cabin, which included 10% discount for over 60's…. YM was happy with discount, but not with having to admit her age… Put the clocks forward one hour to Greek time, and went to bed at about midnight…

In the Lounge Bar

Fully loaded ferry!

AT LAST the sun is shining… woke up at 9am by announcement over the tannoy system that breakfast was to finish in 30 minutes… pulled up the blinds, and looked out at a flat calm blue sea and a sunny blue sky…. summer is here at last…. this is more like it!
It's now 4:30 in the afternoon, and we are just pulling in to our first, and only stop, at Igoumenitsa, a port town on the west coast of Greece, opposite Corfu. We are still about an hour late, and are now rescheduled to arrive at our destination in Patras at 11:30 pm…. this is Greece…expect some time after midnight.

Unloading some trucks at Igoumenitsa in Greece, our first and only stop.

On the train to Venezia

31st May, 2013

Vernazza, the view from our terrace.

 

 

 

Vernazza, the most beautiful village in the Cinque Terra.

Yineka-Mou and I now left Vernazza, one of the five towns of the Cinque Terra, this morning at 10:30. ( 31st May 2013) We first caught a local train to Monterosso, one station along the line, and at 11:05 ( the train was 10 minutes late) caught the Inter-City express to Milan, via Genoa. We're hoping that they make up the time, or at the very least not lose any more time, as our connection at the huge Milan Centro Stazione is only 15 minutes, before we catch the Express Train to Venice. We were lucky enough to have the 6 seat compartment to ourselves until Genoa, when we were joined by an Italian lady and her little daughter ( Allesandra). Despite our initial misgivings ( I'm thinking now about our flight on AirAsia to KL, where we seated in Kindergarden Class!) little Allesandra was a delight…. well behaved, charming and pretty.

The author...

I'm writing this blog on the Venice train, so we obviously did make it in time. Our train to Milan arrived in 11 minutes late, which gave us just 4 minutes to get off ( with our far too much luggage!) and find which platform the Venice train left from….luck was with us today, as our train had arrived on platform 10, and the Venice bound train was waiting just 10 metres away on Platform 11, right opposite. So it was a very quick off/on, and by the time we'd found our reserved seats ( First Class, window seats 10 and 11A), argued with the fat italian guy eating a Big Mac sitting in my seat, the train was pulling out of the station….Phew!
Poor Yineka-Mou… I'd already told her before we left Oz, that she could take as much luggage as she wished, but she'd be responsible for lugging it around….well she limited herself to 16 kilos when we left, but already this has increased due to her inability to pass by any clothes shop without buying something… so far this trip she has bought a new red coat in Italy, and in Barcelona ( from H&M) two pairs of trousers and a knitted top, for just 35 euro… but then she found a very exclusive little store, 'Custo Barcelona' ( AnnaM, you should go there!), which left more than a bit of a dent in my VisaCard. Two dresses, a cardigan and a handbag. I wish she'd stick to H&M, I like their prices better.

Anyway, back to Vernazza and the Cinque Terre. We'd arrived there by train from the South of France, where we'd been staying for a few nights with our friends, ( the ones we met up with in Barcelona-see my blog 'Who's the guy on the left' ) who live in a village called Lauzerte, near Toulouse. They had driven us to the train station at Montauban, 35 minutes away from their house, about 9pm in the evening on Sunday (26th May) . Our overnight train to Nice wasn't due to leave until 11:40 pm, and as we didn't want to keep them hanging about, we said our goodbyes then. Montauban on a Sunday evening, especially around the train station, is not exactly an exciting place to be ( unless the excitement you seek is the thrill you'd get wandering around the seedier part of Gaza Strip, wearing a kippah.!) Where are the Europeans I wondered… as we made our way down a side street, carting all our luggage behind us ( The guy, or quite possibly the girl, who invented wheels on suitcases should be given a Nobel peace Prize…no argument about it! ) to what looked like the only place open.

In Montauban at the Cafe NaZar

 It was a very small Kebab Shop, with two tables and chairs outside, under the street lamp, and two females and a guy sitting at them. A drink would be in order, so in mangled french I asked the if they served wine or beer… I may as well have been speaking Greek…in fact, they possibly would have understood better, as they were Turkish. ( They told me this in english, so I asked them the same question in Greek and they understood!!!) . So there we both were, sitting outside this Turkish greasy spoon (greasy kebab?) joint, and killing time until our train was due, by drinking cheap wine and watching the local muslim population arrive to buy their daily fix of a kebab. I have to say though, that the proprietor was extremely friendly and helpful…and fast on his feet…. you only had to ask him for something ( another glass of plonque?) and he literally ran to get it…. we asked him for some wine to take on the train ( we are not sure if there'll be a buffet car on the train…and there wasn't) and he obliged with an empty plastic water bottle which he filled from a carafe, some plastic cups and a block of frozen icecubes wrapped in plastic…Great service…thank you Mustapha… at 11:30 we headed back to the Station, and by now it was quite dark…. and a little unnerving….. what is it about railway stations that they attract a certain type of lowlife…they obviously weren't waiting for a train …. but ennobled by half a litre of finest Turkish Vino, we jostled our way past the Taliban to the train platform!

Gare de Montauban

 After the briefest of arguments disagreements with Yineka-Mou regarding which platform the train would arrive on, ( she was correct!) the midnight express arrived right on time.

Our 'Private' Compartment !

 

 

We found our reserved and private, sleeping compartment, and proceeded to get ready for a good nights sleep. TGV-France provided us each with a sleeping bag, a pillow a bottle of water and an amenity pack . 

YM makes herself comfortable for the night!

Very comfortable it was too, and it wasn't until after we'd left Toulouse, by which time we were fully undressed and asleep, that I heard someone trying to open the door and get in. I told them to 'get lost' , politely of course, and tried to get back to sleep…. a short while later there was a banging on the door, and it was the train inspector ( Inspector Clouseau I called him, or was it the Fat Controller from Thomas Tank Engine?) telling me to over and over again to “Open Zee duur Mezzuurre' I 'ave to zee yuur Teeket' As I wasn't dressed for visitors, I slid the door open just a little, and peaked around it…. but no, he wanted to come right in. OK Clouseau, your problem. Behind him was a young women who said we were in her compartment. I showed them both the ticket ( and showed them even more than that!) and Clouseau scratched his 'ead and admitted that “Zo Zorry, Zer 'as been a meestake, pardon meezuure, bon nuit” yeah, and Bon Nuit to you as well mate….. though to be truthful, I did momentarily think that we could have made room for the young, very attractive lady…it would have been the Christian thing to do…. and could have been a VERY Bon Nuit !!!!

Waiting for the train to Italy at Nice Railway Station

OK, we have just passed the station before our destination at Venezia Santa Lucia railway station, so must end this now, and get ready to disembark….. so call this post part one… look for part 2 in a couple of days…. to be continued.

Sign on the sea wall at Vernazza

 

Obviously they ignored the sign!

Who was the guy on the left? Tuesday May 21st

Who was the guy on the left?

Tuesday May 21st; Barcelona Up quite early, around 7:45, and went out for a long walk from our Hotel in Provenza, down the Rambla de Catalunya, into Ramblas and eventually to the waterfront. The day looks as though it'll turn out fine….at least it's not raining. The street-sweepers and cleaners are out in force, preparing the city for another day. I'm quite surprised at how clean this city is, hardly any graffiti, very little litter, clean pavements…. such a change from Athens!

YM in Las Ramblas

After walking for about an hour and half, we head back to our hotel for breakfast, before a planned shopping expedition later in the morning. Our good friends from home, PM and GP, the ones now living in the South of France, were in Bilbao visiting the Guggenheim Museum there, and are driving to Barcelona today to meet us for lunch. They have planned to stay at same hotel as us, and at 1:30 they arrive…. we havent seen them since last December so have lots of news to catch up on.

YM, PM & GP.... off to lunch!

After a few drinks in our Hotel lounge, we gave the keys to the receptionist, and we headed out to look for somewhere good for a light lunch. I take them around the corner to a small outdoor cafe in the middle of Rambas de Catalunya, but dont stay very long. The waiter is quite offhand, even rude, so instead of staying for lunch we have one drink and move on. I suggest we go to the same restaurant that YM, BL and I ate at on our first night in Barcelona, Costa Gallega at 71 Gracia Street. ( tip for GJ, you ought to try the Jamon here, but choose the best quality one, it's sensational!!! )

 

The service at Costa Gallega was first class, and the food delicious. (The wine was pretty damn good too!).
After an hour or so of eating and drinking it looked like were in for a long session, and so a quick phone call to my old mate BL, and he came and joined us.

As the long lunch extended into a very noisy dinner we all had a great time with lots of laughs….especially when a handwritten note appeared on the table, written by one of the (handsome?) Spanish waiters. It appeared he was enamoured of GP, as you can see from the note below….

THE NOTE

She was ecstatic that she had a secret admirer, who wouldn't be….although the 'old bloke' on her left, BL, wasn't so pleased to be described as such. An argument then developed as to who the note was actually meant for… with BL claiming that the waiter really meant him for him, as the 'guy' to his left was me…the oldest person in our group!
Well we eventually staggered out of the Restaurant around 10:30pm…. quite a Lonnnggg lunch…and the two 'girls' disappeared…. we just lost them, but presumed they'd headed back to the hotel. The three of us 'boys' then had to stop for a nightcap or two at the little basement wine bar on the corner of our street. It must have been about 11:30 or so when we left the bar, and weaved our way back to our Hotel.

We stood outside, and then realised that neither of us had brought a key with us, and the massive front doors were locked. ( the hotel was on the 1st floor of a large old apartment building) When we'd left the hotel earlier that afternoon and handed our keys in, the receptionist had warned us that if we were expecting to be out later than 11pm (as that was the time he locked up the front doors and went home) we should take our keys with us…. ' No way, we said, we will only be gone a few hours'. So there we both were, wondering how to get in….neither of us had a phone on us either… As luck would have it, both of our balcony rooms were at the front of the building, on the 1st floor, and PM and I discussed the possibility of climbing up onto the balcony somehow…possibly by shinning up one of the street trees…. or climbing up a drainpipe. Just then, a light appeared in one of our rooms, so we began shouting out our wives names…we certainly gained the attention of other residents, but certainly not the two our calls for help were intended for… after more shouting and calling out, at last a figure ( in a glamourous nightie) appeared on the balcony ..” what the hell are you two doing down there” she wanted to know…. after a short discussion about keys etc, GP told us to wait a minute….and sure enough, a few minutes later she arrived to unbolt the massive front doors to the apartment building…. I could have kissed her…indeed I may have…I can't remember! I'd had visions of PM and I spending the night on a park bench… or else going back to BL's hotel and sleeping in his room…..Mmmmm, I think the park bench would be a better option!
Buenos Noches.

PS: The next morning over breakfast the four of us discussed the previous days events, and all agreed we'd had lots of laughs, though maybe overdone it a bit! GP was still very excited about her note from the waiter of course, and told us she was going to have it framed!!! I rang BL at his hotel to find out if he'd got home safely, to be told that he'd arrived safely at someones home anyway, and by the look of it this morning they were probably Germans…” Why's that?” I asked….” Coz it looks like it's been bombed” says BL..( Witty Bastard!)
I then told him about GP bragging about her note from the waiter, and that we were arguing over whether or not it had been meant for GP or him… ” Just a sec” says BL, ” I'll wake him up and ask him!!!!!”
Buenos Dias.

One of Gaudi's 'houses'

Barcelona….Barcelona…

  May 23, 2013

Barcelona…. and why, every time I hear that word do I think of Freddy Mercury and Montserrat Caballé, singing their hearts out….What a great city! All that our friends told us about this place was true…. except for how cold (and wet) it could be…in late May too!
We have now left Barcelona after a fantastic four nights. Apart from catching up with my old ( as in long time) best mate BL, we also met up with our two really good friends from home, PM and his wife GP. ( We are now in their car with them both, on the way to spend a few nights with them at their second home in a village in the South of France, near Toulouse.)

21st May 2013

YM about to board the Tourist Bus

 It has stopped raining…yeahh. But why is it so quiet outside….well, it seems it's a public holiday in Spain…. to celebrate Whitsun ( whatever that is?) After a very nice civilized continental breakfast at the Circa 1905, and on the advice of friends who'd been here before, and despite my aversion to looking, or acting, like a typical tourist, we decided that our best bet would be to catch one of the red double-decker hop-on/hop-off tourist sightseeing buses.
We were told it would help us get our bearings around the city, and enable us go back and explore in detail those spots that appealed. Also, as it was a public holiday, all the shops, markets etc were again closed, so what else were we to do. We walked about 50 metres to the Tourist Bus Stop, just opposite Gaudi's 'Casa Mila' …. it might have stopped raining but the skies were grey, the wind was blowing and it was COLD. We weren't prepared for this as we'd brought no warm clothing with us….. we also couldn't go and buy anything more suitable for a winters day, as shops were shut. We woke up the lady on the bus who collects the money…paid 26 euro each, and was given a set of ear-buds to plug in to listen to the commentary, along with some maps of the bus route…and a booklet of discount vouchers (which we never used, as no wish to get a discount at a Flamenco Dinner with 4 courses and all you can drink, nor the 2 for price of one offer at the Water-Fun Park….The Water-Fun Park…you'd need to hire a wet-suit first!)
The top deck was, not surprisingly, empty of any passengers, so YM had the choice of where to sit… which was anywhere you liked except for somewhere warm …she only lasted about 2 blocks down the 'de Gracia' when she decided to go downstairs and find a seat in the comparative warmth of the lower deck. About 2 minutes later, I also decided that enough was enough, and bugger the better view, I just wanted to de-freeze, so I joined her. YM's favourite seat on any bus ( or train, or plane) is the very front seat opposite the driver, and as luck would have it, at the next hop-on/off stop, two people vacated these front row seats, and YM, on the mark as usual, quickly took up this prime viewing pozzi. We stayed in these seats for almost the whole round trip journey, about three and a half hours…. but I desperately needed a toilet stop, so at the Sagrida Familia we had to disembark, on the look-out for a toilet..or a bar with a toilet. ( didn't even have time to take a look at this beautiful building) Having found one, and a seat inside the bar in the warm, we thought a bite to eat would be a good idea….but the food on offer was pretty awful, and if the kitchen was only half as dirty as the toilet was, then that was a wise decision.

The famous 'Sagrida Familia'

We headed back to the de Gracia street, as I knew there were lots of good tapas bars there. By now, the weather had improved, the sun was out and it was, comparatively, quite a bit warmer. We found a good little place at the corner of deGracia and Carrera Arago, called Txapela, sat outside and ordered from a menu with lots of pictures of the food. (yet again I'm breaking one of my prime rules of travel here…never eat at a place that has pictures of the food on the menu… or if the menu is in multi-languages…. and this place had both!)

 

I have to concede though, that the bite size tapas selection was great, so we ordered half a dozen and they were really TASTY. I sent SMS text message to BL and told him where we were, and he texted back that he'd be there in 10 minutes. After he had turned up we had some more tapas and soaked up the atmosphere ( and the Vino) sitting in the sunshine watching the passing parade of people. The one thing I didn't like about the place though, was the short squat glasses they served the wine in… weird.

 

YM & BL grinning at the back of TXAPELA

 We left Tapas Bar Txapela and walked back toward our hotel, and on the corner of Ramblas de la Catalunya and Calle Provenca, we found a great little wine bar and shop. I bought a bottle of Rioja for 8 euros, and we took it back to the lounge/sitting room of our hotel . We ordered another bottle of White for YM, Agricola Sant Josep, then sat back with YM, and BL and relaxed in the very comfortable and elegant surrounds of Circa 1905. The plan was to have a few drinks, shower, change and go out for dinner. Now I'm not sure if you are aware, but the Spanish just don't eat dinner very early….. so what's the rush. We finished off the two bottles of wine, and by this stage Jet-Lag caught up with YM ( at least that's her excuse!) and she decided to have an early night, and call it a day. So BL and I found ourselves stood-up ( again!) , but still hungry ( if not thirsty), and so we caught a cab to Plaza Real, just off Ramblas, where BL knew of a really good restaurant that served charcoal grilled chicken, amongst other specialities. ( look it up, http://www.loscaracoles.es ) The restaurant, Los Caracoles was BUSY… we had to wait at the bar while a table could be found… but it was no problemo…

 

 

…. after a short while we were led through the kitchen…yes, that's not a mistake, through the middle of the kitchen, to our table for two upstairs… really really romantic ….. if only YM had been my dining companion instead of BL! We both ordered the house speciality, the famous grilled chicken, but the waiter told us it was 'finito'. So instead we ordered fish… Hake, from the lake, the waiter said…but in a strong spanish accent.
I heard the sound of flamenco music, and a minute later we had three hombres in Spanish national costume in front of our table, playing guitars and singing ” …sweet, Spanish eyes….” to us….. I just knew what the waiter was thinking, the smarmy spaniard. BL quickly pulled out a 5 euro note from his wallet, handed it to them, and said he had a request. 'Si Señor, no problemo….what you like” “Just play 'far away' please!” says BL….
So that's another of my Golden Rules broken in one day…the rule that says ' never eat at a restaurant that has singers to serenade you while you eat' …
I could have forgiven BL for bringing me here if the food was good, but it wasn't… my fish quite obviously hadn't been anywhere near a lake…. nor river, or ocean…. for a good few months…. but the chips were good and the bread was good, so it wasn't a complete failure.
We had one more drink, at the Restaurant/Bar Lobo, on the way back to our hotels, and I made a note to come to Bar Lobo again…a modern classic sort of place, the complete opposite of Los Caracoles….. and no singing waiters.

Buenos Noches YM …or should that be Buenos Dias….I'm back at Circa 1905 and it's now only 1:30 am, another early night…. I must be getting old!!!