Kris and Sheri » Travel http://krisandsheri.com Our home on the Web Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:33:49 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Barcelona http://krisandsheri.com/2011/12/13/barcelona/ http://krisandsheri.com/2011/12/13/barcelona/#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:03:04 +0000 sherzy http://krisandsheri.com/?p=1114 On Thursday, November 24th 2011 we flew to Barcelona (via JFK in New York). We spent 7 sunny days and 6 fun nights seeing the city and enjoying the culture.

Here are a few highlights (or click here to view all the photos):

Walking Around

We spent a lot of time walking around the city, taking in the sights, sounds and atmosphere of Barcelona. One day we walked about 7 miles, another about 6. The weather was mild (for Minnesotans – the locals were bundled up with winter coats, scarves and boots) – mid 60s during the day 50s at night.

We stayed in what is called the Gothic Quarter part of the “Old City” – the streets are very narrow and winding – in the evenings automobiles are not permitted – pedestrian traffic only. Each street was unique, so many shops, restaurants and pubs to discover!

The Food

A highlight of many vacations is the food – and Barcelona did not disappoint. Nearly every meal we had was outstanding or unique, and we remembered to photograph several of them. One thing we discovered when walking about in the more local, downtown areas – the “plate of the day” – which was the lunch specials all the small, local restaurants featured.

On Tuesday of our visit we finally realized that lunch starts anywhere between 1:30-2:30 PM (though often not until 3:00 PM) and lasts until 4 or 5PM. Many shops close during this time while the workers go to lunch (but not in the more touristy areas – thus why it took us several days to figure out proper lunch times). “Lunch of the day” typically was a 3-course meal plus beverage for a fixed price – we saw many between 6.5 and 10 Euros. 3 courses included: soup or salad, large entree, and dessert; beverage is soda, beer, wine or water. Coffee was also included.

The Hotel

We stayed at 2 different hotels during our visit: NH Duc de la Victoria and H10 Montcada. Both were nice, we stayed 4 nights at H10 Montcada – which was a great hotel – it has a nice rooftop patio with a jacuzzi – which was not hot enough to use in November. The views from the roof were great – one morning Sheri woke up early and took a bunch of photos.

The Port

Barcelona is located on the Mediterranean sea, and has a very busy port with a large entertainment area – sailboats, barges and cruise ships. On our first day in the city we walked down to the water, and discovered the large monument dedicated to Columbus (slightly ironic since it was the day after Thanksgiving). We enjoyed walking by the water, had severl meal in the port area (one on the beach) and took a cable car across the port to Montjuïc.

The Montjuïc

The Montjuïc is a hill over looking Barcelona … we walked around the Castell de Montjuïc – a fortress from the 17th/18th centuries.

The Market

On our first day we also discovered the la Boqueria Market, which Sheri especially enjoyed. It is a large, open air-market selling almost any food you can imagine – meat, seafood, bread, fruits, vegetables, chocolate, cheese and much more. There are several restaurants serving food as well. It was amazing to walk around in the crowds and see all the food.

La Sagrada Familia Basilica

La Sagrada Familia is one of Gaudi’s most famous works in Barcelona. It’s a giant Basilica that has been under construction since 1882 and it’s not expected to be completed for between 30 to 80 years (time for completion varies depending on different sources of information). We first walked to it on Tuesday of our visit, but it was late in the day and we were rather tired, so we decide to return the next day to see it. We took advantage of the audio tour to learn more about La Sagrada Familia- it was very interesting.

Summary

Barcelona was a lot of fun! It was a great place to visit in November – off-season for tourism but still warm (for MN natives). There is lots to see, do and eat!

 

]]> http://krisandsheri.com/2011/12/13/barcelona/feed/ 0 Cancun 2010 http://krisandsheri.com/2010/04/15/cancun-2010/ http://krisandsheri.com/2010/04/15/cancun-2010/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:44:07 +0000 sheri http://krisandsheri.com/?p=72 We had fun in the sun, we snorkeled in the rain, we danced the night away, Sheri got stung by a sting ray.

]]> http://krisandsheri.com/2010/04/15/cancun-2010/feed/ 0 New Jersey 2009 http://krisandsheri.com/2009/07/01/bailey/ http://krisandsheri.com/2009/07/01/bailey/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:33:22 +0000 kris http://krisandsheri.com/?p=20 We traveled to New Jersey to visit Sara and Jason over the 4th of July weekend. We had a great time!

]]> http://krisandsheri.com/2009/07/01/bailey/feed/ 0 Cancun 2009 http://krisandsheri.com/2009/05/09/cancun/ http://krisandsheri.com/2009/05/09/cancun/#comments Sun, 10 May 2009 04:10:38 +0000 sheri http://krisandsheri.com/?p=33 Feb 17th – Feb 23rd we enjoyed a warm vacation in Cancun, Mexico. We stayed at the Terracaribe Hotel, it was nice, basic hotel in an interesting neighborhood. We were not in the hotel zone, nor were we downtown, we were just north of the downtown, and about a mile from the ferry to Isla Mujers.

]]> http://krisandsheri.com/2009/05/09/cancun/feed/ 0 Florida 2008 http://krisandsheri.com/2008/04/10/florida-2008/ http://krisandsheri.com/2008/04/10/florida-2008/#comments Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:11:39 +0000 sheri http://krisandsheri.com/?p=65 The last 2 weeks of March 2008 Kris and Sheri spent camping at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds (owned by Disney) in Kissimmee Florida. It was fun. Weather was great – mid 70s most days, low 60s most nights. One day was upper 70’s – we went to Typhoon Lagoon. Camping was good. The campgrounds are really nice, we went rollerblading several mornings. Saw lots of deer, ducks, and a few alligators at the campgrounds. Disney transportation can be slow. Monorails rock, buses are boring. Food was awesome – from grilled burgers at campsite to English pub at Epcot we ate well. Memorial was huge – 8 congregations met together at a convention center, attendance over 2500.

Quick Overview:

Favorite ride: Rock-n-Rollin’ Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios (MGM) just slightly beat out Everest at Animal Kingdom
Favorite park:Epcot, but I really enjoyed all of them.
Latest night: We made it until 2:30 AM at Magic Kingdom.
Earliest morning: got to Hollywood studios before they opened (early day for Disney guests)
Favorite Dinner: Tamarind Chicken at Yak and Yeti in Animal Kingdom
Best dessert: Mickey ice cream cones at the park (I think I had 3 of them)
Best souvenir: 4 small dinosaurs I won in a carnival game at Animal Kingdom.
Best thing about camping: saving money! and fresh air.
Worst thing about camping: having to walk a couple hundred yards in the middle of the night when you have to go to the bathroom.

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