Barcelona and Frankfurt

May 4, 2025 8:33 pm Paula

Barcelona – April 29 to May 3 2025

Barcelona is known for the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The population is 1.8 million.

We were last in Barcelona in 2008 when we boarded a cruise ship for the Mediterranean with Joe’s side of our family. We had very little time here so definitely somewhere that called us back. And it was amazing to be back in Spain again!

After a quick flight to Barcelona, we had a suspicious altercation in the Metro station; on a small escalator with all of our luggage. Joe stepped on first and two men immediately cut in front of me, purposely to separate us. Only a few steps in, the man in front of me reached beside me and hit the STOP button. The escalator halted, and at the same time the other man reached towards Joe’s pant pocket where his wallet was stored! Luckily Joe felt him and pushed his hand away – the man said he was just trying to pass, ya right! The man in front of me asked if I needed help with my bags (they would have disappeared!) but I said no! All the while he was looking behind him, then they quickly left. We stood there wondering what the hell had just happened and counted our lucky stars!

Hotel and Rooftop Bar

Lovely hotel with a great buffet breakfast

Neighbourhood 

Pier

Check out this video!

We returned to the pier to see if it looked familiar but there was nothing recognizable. Such a massive area and we still couldn’t see any cruise ships

Las Ramblas is a 1.2 kilometre-long stretch of boulevard that runs through the heart of the Barcelona city centre with historic sites, hotels, shops and dining.

Basilica La Sagrada Familia

Construction on La Sagrada Familia begun in 1882, and a year later 31 year old Antoni Gaudi took over the project with a bolder vision on the church. His fusion of art nouveau and Gothic styles and natural motifs, resulted a new style of architecture. Critics called it ‘grotesque’ and ‘over the top’, but it has fascinated generations ever since. Sagrada Familia is now expected to be completed in 2026, a whole century after Gaudi’s death, when it was less than a quarter complete. Once the spires are finished, Sagrada Familia will be the tallest cathedral in the world!

Another Gaudi masterpiece, the Casa Batllo; built in 1877 but remodelled by Gaudi between 1904 to 1906. Nicknamed ‘The House of Bones’ because of the dragon shaped roof, the bright coral-coloured façade, and the shark skull balconies. We were unable to secure tickets to tour the inside, as they sold out months ago.

Gothic Quarter

We loved exploring the Gothic Quarter with its winding, narrow streets and beautiful balconies. These would be incredible during the summer! Restaurants, tapas bars and boutiques are everywhere…

Mercator de la Boqueria

The markets in Spain always draw as in, even if only to enjoy the sites and bright colours

Speak Easy

One evening after dinner, Joe surprised me with a cool Speak Easy he found online! The barbershop certainly looked realistic but alas, it was a front! Once down the dark steps, we sat at the bar for cocktails. The bartender put on quite the dazzling show!

 

Japanese Dinner

Check out the lamp shades, they appear to be fish skins! Recycle, reuse! Lol

This delivery of 7 cases of artichokes, will be passed in that tiny basement window!

Barcelona was amazing and we really jammed a lot into four days! But, time to fly to Frankfurt!

Frankfurt May 3 – 7 2025

The city is traditionally known for its production of high-quality sausages (frankfurters)! Population 735,000

When we landed in Frankfurt, there were 4 police officers waiting outside the plane door. For what/who? We do not know but we passed 3 or 4 more on route to the plane, once we stepped inside the airport. Still monitoring the news!

Apartment Hotel

We had lovely and central hotel here and we were able to get caught up on laundry. I got to learn yet another app, but worked like a charm.

We discovered you really need a reservation for dinner in this neighbourhood. However, they will still seat you without one, but you feel chastised. Here’s some of the amazing food we had in Frankfurt!

Like Spain and Portugal, the Germans learn English beginning in elementary school, and then must add an additional language in high school. We like to point out we are from Canada of course, and anyone we met that visited Canada, said they went to Niagara Falls.

It was quite cold here so we mostly wore layers, but felt fleeting bouts of warmth throughout the day.

 

Stores closed Sunday

We found this surprising but we made the best of our first day by just exploring and plotting where to come back the next day. We saw another demonstration but were unable to determine the cause. The old town was beautiful.

MyZeil Mall

The outside of this building was very unique! We could see the ‘hole’ in it from down the street. The transparent outer shell is used to bring natural light into all the levels of the mall.

The escalator takes you directly from the ground level to level 4 in 120 seconds. At 42 metres (138 ft), this Expressway is the longest unsupported (wait, what…?) indoor escalator in Europe. Part way up I decided I wanted off, but since that was not an option, I relied on looking towards my feet. There were plenty of ads running along the floor of that escalator so I knew I wasn’t the only one!

River Cruise

A river cruise on the Main was a cool way to enjoy the view of Frankfurt’s impressive skyline. The 100-minute panoramic cruise took us past the skyline to the West Harbour or the Gerbermühle, with a detour to Frankfurt’s East Harbour. All while enjoying a glass of wine!

Made in Germany

Besides Germany’s well built cars like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen, there’s household appliances from Siemens and Bosch, and kitchenware from brands like Wüsthof and Zwilling. Don’t forget Adidas, Puma and Birkenstocks! And wow, some impressive turntables and of course high quality records like Deutsche Grammophon, the world’s oldest surviving established record company!

Food Market

Observation Tower

We visited the observation deck in the Main Tower, located at 200 meters or the 54th floor. It was an amazing view and there was even some blue sky surrounding the black clouds haha.

Last Night in Frankfurt

Joe found a great restaurant that we got in without a reservation; but we were allowed just 90 minutes. It was a huge space and group after group of 20 businessmen at a time arrived, probably 6-10 groups. Oddly, there were hardly any women. Once I realized that, I headed to the loo where just as I suspected, there was no one there! I loaded up with soap but the sink taps were confusing. I grabbed those puppies by the horns only to active the hand dryer which wisked the soap foam all over me and the wall! Oppss. No harm done and back I went to enjoy our dinner. Mine turned out to be fish and chips and Joe said his sea bream was the best he’d ever had!

On the way home we stopped at a secret old bar, 200 years old and enjoyed a last cocktail.

May 7 we head by train to Mainz, Germany for the start of our guided tour. We look forward to being in someone else’s hands for a few days. Stay tuned and hope you are enjoying our adventures! Thanks for following!

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