Holiday in Catalunya
Well we got off to a good start, taxi was early, arriving at 4.20am, and off we go, on our way. arrived at Manchester airport at 5.30. we had checked in on-line so just a case of dropping off the bags, through security and into departures with plenty of time for breackfast before our flight at 8am, but what`s this, there is a bloody great queue to get into the terminal! I make my way to the Monarch Airlines info desk to find out where we drop our bags, only to be told, the check in computor system is down and you will have to check in as normal. there were about 12 positions operating so we joined what appeared to be the shortest one and started to wait, and wait and wait as the line gradualy shrinking, they were taking at least 5 minutes to process each passenger. We were now getting close to the front of the queue, only 4 or 5 people in front of us,the time is now 6.50am breakfast is starting to look like a rush job, and then the guy manning the position gets up and leave via a small door behind him, after about 5 or 6 minutes he has not returned, one of the passengers in front of us goes to the next check in position to see what is happening, comes back and and informs everyone that the guy has finished his shift and gone home, someone will be taking over at 7.45, bloody hell our flight is at 8 !!. I go off to the info desk and start sounding off and waving my walking stick/monopod in the air and we are directed to the "fast lane/disabled check in" so I shut up and we join the short queue there, processing is taking a bit longer but nonetheless we are soon called up to check in, it is 7.20, as we get there we are told that the baggage conveyer has now gone futu and we will have to carry bags to the other end of the hall to get the bags transported to the plane and then go up the stairs to pass through security, hhmmmm time is getting tight, breakfast is now just a pleasant hope and memory. As we are being processed the baggage conveyer spings magicaly back to life, so we quickly run, yes run up the stairs to security, BUGGRITT & CRIVENS !! THERE IS A QUEUE ABOUT A MILE LONG MEANDERING ALL AROUND THE BUILDING, so we tag onto the end me thinking "ah well, at least we are now checked in, at least if we do not make the flight, the airline will have to sort it it out and maybe some compo at the end of it eventualy" we get through security at 8.30 flight long gone methinks, but no! it is delayed and now due for take off at 9 am, just time to grab a meal deal from Boots, Sandwich, bag of crisps and a drink, and we are called for the flight. We get airborn at 9,30 in a long line of aircraft taking off at the rate of one every 30seconds, The flight to Barcelona was not too bad, a bit lumpy crossing the French coast. We land at Barcelona at 12.30 local time , collect our bags with no problems and head of out of the terminal and across the carpark to the railway station, (quicker than the official route with its raised walkways and moving floors, but a bloney long way around). So we get to the otherside of the carpark and Feck it !! some bugger has put a fence around it since we were last here, so we have to walk back and go the "official" way, and the bloney moving walkway is not moving, so we have to actually walk to the station. We arrive at the station and there is a long queue at the ticket window, there is only one as there are several automatic ticket machines, fine if you know the score, but not a lot of help to strangers, there is a buffet at the station and boy does it look inviting,
We go into the buffet and get ourselves a lovely cold, refreshing Estrella the next best beer to San Miguel and sit and chill out for half an hour, then I go to the ticket office, where the queue has gone and purchase 2 "Tarjeta Doradas" (over 60`s discount cards) and puchase our tickets to Malgrat de Mar at a cost totaling €15.20, the normal cost for the tickets to Malgrat is €11.40 each, WOW what a saving, I can see we will be using the train service a lot ! We get on the train to Barcelona Sans and change trains there for Malgrat arrive there and get a taxi to the hotel, we could have walked, it is only 10 minutes away, but buggritt we were both knackered, checked into the hotel where the receptionist remembered us from last year and asked after Steve, who is not with us this year, it is nice to be remembered, made our day. Up to the room, unpacked, showered and then out to the local supermarket for essential supplies, water, soap, mugs and bisquits etc. and then dinner and early to bed. more tommorrow
Day 2.
Well after a good nights sleep, we decided to take it easy today and just wandered around Malgrat reneweing our aquaintances and old haunts. First visit to Movistar shop to buy a sim for my MiFi and get online, which you can see is now up and running. More tommorrow and some photos hopefully
Day 3
A glorious warm and sunny day temps reached 30c chilled most of the day relaxing by the pool, but went for a stoll up the coast to Santa Susanna in the morning walked along the beach then inland to the large shopping mall, shopped a while and made a few purchases, sat by the fountains and goldfish pond and watched the dragonflies (Libélula in Spanish) flitting around but trying to get photo of them wasn`t easy as the buggers would not keep still, but out of about 100 shots I was happy with 5 or 6 of them. In the afternoon we took a stroll around the old town of Malgrat and got some very funny looks as I was taking pictures of the many varied and different sizes of knockers to be seen on the old doors. lots of grand and elegant old Spanish houses, many built by retuning "Indios" the Catalans that made fortunes in Cuba and Latin America in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Day 4
Had a lie in today,up late and just made it own in time for breakfast, not a lot left, just a selection of cereals, cold meats bacon and the usualt collection of little cakes and biscuits, so loved by the Spaniards, I am sorry but a couple of sticky little pastries andd a bowl of thick hot chocolate doesn`t o it for me in the mornings, so I had to settle for a couple of bacon rolls and a cup of what they jokingly call tea, thank goodness we have our own kettle an supply of teabags that we brought with us from home in our room !
In the morning we walked to the busy local weekly market, we were looking to purchase undies for the both of us, we buy a lot every year as the are much better quality (and cheaper) than those supplied by St. Michea or George ! the market has grown and was much larger and busier than last year with crowds of visitors and costermongers shouting things like "Allo ! Allo ! uno Euro ! dos Euro ! Liquidacion !" we were ther for a couple of hours pushing and being shove, quite hectick but great fun, when we left we carrie on into the old town and came accross the local fruit and veg market, not as busy this time as it was mainly locals stocking up with their weekly supplies, but the size of the veg, peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, huge boxes of apples and pears and oranges, such a colourful sight we walke on and took the "Assensor" (Lift or venicular) up to the ancient Castel de Malgrat, not really a castle but more of a look-out tower on a high hill over looking the old town, it is surrounded by informal gardens with various themes, forest, desert and meditereanian, very quiet and peaceful. Many visitors are disapointed when they get there as there is nothing there other than the peace and quiet, the do not understand the Catalan mentality, they need little to entertain them, the peace and tranquility are enough, as with us, we love it up there, magnificent views and panoramas of the surrounding hills and coast, just to sit on a bench and watch the elderly locals and their grandchildren enjoying themselves. there were hundreds of little lizaeds (lagartos) scurrying around, if you were patient enough to wait for them to venture onto the rocks and steps around the place, and many butterflies, large white ones not unlike cabbge whites, but twice the size of those that we are used to, and I saw one enormous swallow tail, at first I thought it was a leaf falling from a nearby maple tree,it was huge ! we left the park by the other side and walked down some very narrow and winding streets and came accross a house that the front was painted blue and covered with scallop and cockle shells with a couple of Huge whelk shells that had been converted to lamps, at first sight we thought that the house was painted in that manner, but on closer inspection found that they were real shells.
In the afternoon we took the train to Calella, about 20km further along the coast. More to come later.
In the afternoon we took the train to Calella, about 20km along the coast, it is a busy thriving seaside resort with lots of shopping we spent a couple of hours wandering around the town, but it was far too busy, a bit like Blackpool on the Costa Brava, but not quite so tacky, we found a couple of out of the way bays mainly frequente by locals and sat a while in them and people watched, nice an relaxing then heaed back to Malgrat for dinner at the hotel, and what a pleasant suprise, all traditional Catalan food, not a chip or roast chicken in site, it was just a tapas meal, Pa Tomate (slightly stale bread soake in olive oil and sprea with chopped over-ripe tomato, grilled sardine on top, Potatas Bravas, fried cubes of potato with a hot spicy sauce, Jamon Iberica, Spanish ham, salads with mayonaise, (not the thick mayo that we are used to, but more runny not unlike salad cream) and deep fried squid, prawns and other sea foods all in all a superb meal, and thus another enjoyable day, tomorrow Blanes and LLoret de Mar, maybe.