Messi or Gaudi - who is numero uno?

Barcelona here we come, although Linda was not so positive when the alarm went off at 0230 on Monday morning. However, she managed to push herself out of bed and get ready.  Our flight was the 0650 from Gatwick which meant the early start, but we were there in plenty of tine. The flight was smooth and we landed about 2 hours later in Barcelona. The weather was overcast and our suitcase was wet from the rain. 

We caught the metro into the centre of Barcelona, it took about an hour and we had to change once. We arrived in Placa Catalunya, which is described as the nerve centre of the commercial city.  Until the demolition of the walls in 1854 it was the beginning of a tree-lined promenade to the old town of Gracia, but now it is the beginning of the famous La Rambla promenade. We found a coffee shop which did delicious coffee and flapjacks.

After this we found our hotel The Petite Palace, about 10 minutes from the square. Although we were early, our room was ready so we could check in and leave our bags. We then went for a nice walk around the town. We started at La Rambla which is Spains most famous street. It gets its name from a seasonal stream (Raml in Arabic) that used to run along here. It is a pedestrian street with shops, cafe’s and plenty of architecture. 

 As we strolled along we saw some Christmas markets for Linda to visit, near the La Catedral a relic of the 13^th century.  There were some big glass globes which had images from Christmas inside, including presents, shoes, doves and  the nativity scene. Evidently they are 9 stages of the  poem Ho sap tothom I es proecia (Everyone knows it and it is a prophecy) by Josep Vicenc. There is a good explanation here

 

There is plenty of Gothic architecture here, very interesting...... Barcelona is by the sea and there are several marinas to look at. We saw all the expensive yachts and  there were several foe sale. I would have bought Linda one for her birthday – but she gets sea sick.

Baceloneta was initially the factory workers’ and fishing quarter, but now its filled with restaurants and cafes. We found a nice one and decided to try the paella, it was very nice and filling. After this we wandered back to the hotel and as we were tired and soon fell asleep.

On Tuesday we woke up late and went out for breakfast. There is an excellent café next door, Linda had carrot cake pancakes and I had a bacon and avocado waffle sandwich, both were very nice. We had thought about getting a bus today, but it was warm, the sun was in the sky a lovely day for walking.

The first stop was the Arc de Triomf which had been built in 1888 for the Universal Exhibition. It was as beautiful structure and looked great with the sun shinning behind it. We walked down the park towards the Zoo and then turned towards the sea. We had a stroll along the promenade, watching the windsurfers. The waterfront is about 4.5km long and we walked along most of it. The weather was warm, should have bought my shorts. We saw the Peix (Golden fish stature) and visited the Olympic harbour, now also full of expensive yachts. 

Towards the end, we stopped for a drink and watched the locals playing  beach volleyball, very entertaining. Then it was time to walk back along the beach to the old port. This was several miles, but we saw where the cruise ships come in, the W hotel which is shaped in the form of a sail (like Burj Al Arab in Dubal). After walking all round the harbour and waterfront we found ourselves near the restaurant we visited yesterday, so we stopped for a bite to eat. We then walked back to the hotel via La Rambla which had the Christmas decorations illuminated.

On the way back Linda saw a craft shop which had some different material in, guess what we have in our bag to bring home!  We had walked over 11 miles by the end of the day, although I am not sure it has done my ankle any good as it now aches.

Barcelona were playing Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League, so there were lots of German supports around, singing and drinking. As they were beaten 4-0 by Barcelona they had a subdued trip home. We could have got tickets to the game, but they were slightly expensive and Linda doesn’t like football either.

On Wednesday we got up earlier and went to the café for breakfast. I had the donut with bacon, cheese and fried egg inside, Linda had a waffle with avocado  and fruit. Both were very nice. We then wandered down to the Placa Catalunya to catch the tourist bus. There are two loops and we were going to do the orange one first. 

It initially took us past the Arc de Triomf and the Zoo before heading back to the Old Port area and the World Trade centre, built in the shape of a ship. At the end of the road is the Colombus monument looking out into the Med. The next stop was the mountain area of Monjuic which was quite steep driving up but  you can go by cable car if you prefer. At the top of the mountain is the Olympic stadium, other stadiums, several monuments and a museum. There is a commentary on the bus and Linda said she had been listening to it, but when I asked her some questions, she obviously hasn’t been listening too carefully. The Olympics was held here in 1992. The next stop was the Museu Nacional D’Art de Catalunya which has lots of painting by famous artist, none I had heard of. Some bloke called Gaudi seems popular around here. 

We got off the bus here and had a walk around, Linda took some photos and the views of the city were good. We then walked down towards the Bull ring area, which is now shops. The bus was soon there and we took our seats upstairs. We saw some more of Barcelona and ended up at the Camp Nou stadium. We alighted the bus here for a look around, it was built in 1957, the third stadium Barcelona had. The football team was started in 1899 by a German national, bet he wasn’t too popular last night! We had a look round the outside, if you are really interested you can go on a tour. We visited the shop and then as a birthday treat I bought Linda a coffee so she could sit and drink it with the stadium in the background – she was thrilled. No work by Gaudi here – only Messi. I did buy a reversible Nike woolly hat to keep my head warm when I go walking with Mara.

As we came out of the complex the bus arrived and so we got on and enjoyed the rest of the tour back to the Square, we saw some more work by Guadi and people queuing to go in his museum. Once back at the square we changed to the green route which goes east. It started to get a bit cold on the upper deck. The tour lasted two hours and we saw the Barcelona equivalent of the Gerkin – the Glories-Torre Agbar, looked hideous to me.  The next stop was The Temple of La Sagrada Familia the most popular of Gaudi’s works (can’t be that popular as I had never heard of it). He started in 19^th century and did not finish it before he died and they are still working on it – looked like a building site to me rather than a work of art. We saw the hospital de Sant Pau before visiting Barcelona’s other mountain Tibidabo and it has a monument designed by Sir Norman Foster (who I had heard of). It was now just before 5 and getting slightly cold as it was windy. 

When the bus reached the old town we got off and went and had a cup of coffee to warm up. We did try Starbucks but it was too slow and crowded and went elsewhere. There are also a couple of Costas we have seen here as well. We then wandered back to the hotel to rest for a little while.

In the evening we went for a walk around La Rambla and stopped for dinner in a café on the pavement. It has warmed up a little so we can sit outside. After that we walked down to the seafront and along the promenade, all the Christmas lights were on. Most of the shops are open till 10pm here.  It was an opportunity to identify what Linda had learn on the tour, all I can say is she must have been listening to a different commentary to me!

We have only walked 9.3 miles today – so an easy day.

Linda’s birthday was a busy day. We had breakfast at her favourite café- Alsur, next door to the hotel. We then came back and finished our packing before leaving the bag and going out for the day. We walked down the main street, it was very crowded with people pushing and shoving everywhere,  so we went down some side alleys. We had a look around the Jewish Quarter which had plenty of antique shops. The Caelum café is within the medieval walls of the city and is quaint. It also does good cakes and I bought Linda her birthday cake to eat with her tea. We then wandered back down to the seafront and the Columbus column, World Trade Centre (in the shape of a ship) and the cruise terminal. Linda is improving with her knowledge. We had a wander around the east of the city ending at the old bull ring. We went to the top and had great views of the city as we walked around the edge.

It was then a walk back to the hotel, with a last stop for coffee before collecting our bags. Next stop the airport bus and the journey home. Another 7 miles walked today.

You can see some photos here.

Enjoying God's creation

“Oh look there is a running shop there” Linda said as I drove into a shopping mall, “oh is there” I replied “might as well stop and have a look as we are here”. We had a look around and it was interesting, but for a change I did not buy anything. We then went to another shopping area and there was a craft shop there for Linda to look round, while I sat in the car and read the paper. After this we went for a scenic drive.  The idea was to drive to the Alan Bible visitor centre near the Hoover Dam and then walk along the trail to the Dam underneath some caves, but on arrival found it was closed till Friday due to ongoing construction work.

Instead we went for a drive around Lake Mead and towards the Valley of Fore State park. It was a scenic route of about 60 miles of hills, desert, rock formations and more desert, with the lake in the middle. It is still hot today mid 70’s but we have plenty of water. The drive took over an hour and then we arrived at the state park and you have to pay $10 to use the road, and being a national part of course it is not part of the federal annual scheme we belong to  - typical.

We had a drive around the area and it had some very nice rocks and scenery which David Bailey in the passenger seat captured in numerous photographs there was no conversation  just click, click.... The road goes on for about 25 miles and I stopped occasionally for more photos. There are Rattlesnakes and Scorpions in the desert here so Linda was not too keen to get out of the car to take photos, despite my encouragement.... Disappointingly we did not see any animals, not even a desert tortoise. The road finishes and joins the I15 back to Vegas. You can see the city from about 20 miles out and the dust and mist that was overhanging it. We got caught in the rush hour traffic so took about 20 mins to do 3 miles from  Downtown junction back to our hotel.

During the 1/2 or full marathon you could get married as you were running, might interfere with your time I suppose, but there were quite a few couples doing it - only in Vegas. 

In the evening we went for a walk down the Strip after having a nice pizza.  

Tuesday was an eventful day, we went out for a drive and I found Linda another craft shop, she managed to buy up half of the shop this time, just about enough room in the boot, good thing I have a SUV. We then went to the Red Rock Canyon for a drive round, we were going to run a trail, but it was closed, not our lucky day (or maybe it is Linda’s). We then drove around the 13 miles of the scenic loop and Linda took some more photos, how did she even manage without a digital camera. We left the canyon area and a few miles down the road was Calico Basin. There was a car park there and it seemed a shame with us having our running gear with us not to go for a trail run – so we did. We did a couple of miles on the rocks, before I managed to twist my ankle quite badly running down hill, I did manage to limp the .05 I needed to make up the 2 mile distance, but my time was ruined. I couldn’t walk very well, had gone white and was sick. The ankle had swollen up like a balloon and was painful to move. We had no ice so put cold water on it, it started to go down slowly. I am the only one insured to drive the hire car so once it has gone down a bit I struggled into the car and could drive. It was my right ankle, if it had been my left no problem with an automatic but I could drive a bit.

We started back towards our hotel and I saw a Starbucks, so we stopped for a coffee and cake as we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and the lack of food wasn’t helping. There was also a drugs store there so we managed to get some bandages so I could at least hobble. We eventually made it back to the hotel and then I put a cold press on it and hobbled around all evening. I would hop but I haven’t quite got the balance right and tend to fall over. 

On Wednesday morning we went for a walk, or in my case a hobble down The Strip, I managed to make Starbucks and then had to rest. Linda went off on her own. After that it was back to the hotel and finish packing. It was then to the airport to hand the lovely Jeep over.  We had driven over 875 miles in that vehicle and then off to check in.

Last time we flew from here we queued for ages at passport control and security, but today as we have plenty of time, no queues. We will just have to sit in the business lounge and eat and drink coffee - we're on our way home....

I have updated the photos here.

You either like him or you don't

President-elect Trump is a bit like Marmite, you either like him  or you don’t. The follow up to the election has been interesting to watch and read about. The good news is the pound has gone up, which reduces very slightly the cost of our holiday and increases Linda’s purchasing power.

Friday was hot and sunny, not a cloud in the sky over Vegas. It was the day that we needed to pick up our packets for the Vegas 10k. We arrived around 1040 and had to join the queue.  We waited for about half an hour and then we were in and could collect our race numbers. I am in corral 1, Linda is at the back in corral 8 . The expo was at the same location, so we wandered around seeing what freebies we could get (not many!) and trying a few bits to eat.

We are staying at the President-elects hotel in Las Vegas, although disappointingly he was not there to greet us. In fact he has not even phoned me to see if everything is fine with the room. We were offered the 59^th floor, which was a bit high, so we are on the 52^nd floor, which is not my choice but the only other option was to wait ages for a lower floor to be available. All the rooms here are  suites, with a living area and kitchenette. However, you have to ring up housekeeping for a kettle and crockery, which we did. The room is very nice and has a good view over Vegas, as you would expect from so high up, the helicopters fly past our room quite often.

On Friday evening and on Saturday we wandered around Vegas and The Strip, nothing has really changed in Sin City, no new buildings but it was very busy and crowded. Friday was Veterans day which is like a bank holiday in America, so a lot of people were off work and having a long weekend, most of them seem to have come to Vegas! As the hotels are full. There are police outside the Trump Hotel, but we haven’t seen any demonstrations like they have had in Portland or New York.

On Sunday we went to the Spring Valley Baptist Church, which was about five miles away from The Strip. There were no churches within walking distances and therefore we needed an early service because of the marathon and other races so a lot of the roads around our hotel would be closed. The service was at 9am, which as we get up early anyway suited us. There is a microwave in the room so we can have porridge for breakfast. The church was quite large and had lots of parking, no waiting for people to leave first! There were about a hundred people in the congregation, but the 1030 service is more popular. They were very friendly and as we filled in the guest book, we got a free mug, shame they didnt fill it  with coffee! The service lasted about 75 minutes and was good, this week they were singing old hymns, so we actually knew them. The sermon lasted about 40 minutes and was on Exodus 7 and the plagues. It was a good exposition of the word and I learnt some new facts. The gospel message was clear and a challenge issued at the end.  We also picked up some new ideas perhaps to try at Eastwood.

After church we drove back to our hotel, there are some protestors outside today, not sure if they are for or against Trump, but just standing there with some placards. It appears that on Saturday evening there was a demonstration and friction, resulting in 7 arrests, but being on the 52^nd floor we missed it all and the only noise we hear is the helicopters flying around.

We went for a walk and sat outside Starbucks with a coffee and watched the world go by. It is very hot today, sunny, no clouds and mid 70s, just the weather you need for a run.  The 10k race started at 4pm so we went back to the hotel and started to get our gear ready. It was Linda’s first 10k, she was in corral 8, I was in corral 1. It was a 2 mile walk to the start line and we were there early.  We sat on the grass and enjoyed the weather. 

Soon we went to our corrals and I managed to get right at the front, on the start line, Mo Farah’s normal place (not that he was there!). Soon we were off, it was quite a straight route,  initially towards downtown Las Vegas, the old part, round a block and then back the way we had come, towards The Strip. The roads were all closed and it was still hot, which slowed us down. The last mile runs into the strip past the Wynn, Treasure Island and finishes at the Mirage, I finished in 49.07, slightly disappointing as I have run faster in the past. The medal is great, it spins and glows in the dark. Linda was still running, I then discovered that it was another ½ mile walk to exit the finishers enclosure and then I had a 1 ½ mile walk back to the hotel. I had walked about halfway back and checked on my phone where Linda was, she was not far from me, so I stopped and then saw her, she was starting to flag, so I shouted at her (words of encouragement of course) and she picked up, I then ran alongside her on the pavement to the finish line. Linda finished in 1:28:30, a great time for her first 10k.  I then had to walk the ½ mile again  to meet her at the exit of the finishers enclosure. We watched the ½ and full marathon runners running up the strip for a while before walking  back to the hotel as it was still warm.  According to my app we ended up walking more than we ran!

I finished 101 out of 5497 running, 9^th in my age group,  Linda finished 3785 out of 5497 and 227 in her age group – so she has done very well. 

I have added some photos to the album