Majorca to Barcelona, Spain

We happily checked out and headed to the airport today. This time we caught the bus, and the bus drivers were nice telling us to catch on the otherside of the street and which stop to get off. We took the 106 and got off at the port stop where the cruise ships are. Then caught the 1 to the airport from there. Very easy. We met a nice couple from Scotland on the bus. They were heading back to their cruise ship and felt the need to apologize for Magaluf upon hearing where we came from. They were nice, and further restored our faith in the UK. Maybe we'll just visit Scotland...

The flight was great, Vueling again. Very fast, and they gave us the bulkead (emergency exit seats) so lots of extra legroom. It was definitely making up for the hellish flight we experienced on the way to Paris.

The Majorca airport was simple enough to maneuver in, bigger than I had expected. Barcelona airport was decent. We got our bags followed the bus signs downstairs and hopped on the A1 bus which goes to Placa Catalonya. 

On the bus in Barcelona!

Very easy. Got off and walked using google to make sure we were on the right track. Many of Barcelona's roads are for pedestrians only, and are windy and cobblestone, and all look the same. Very easy to get lost. Google maps saved us a number of times! The trick we learned was to load the map with directions when you had wifi. It then stayed on your phone when you didn't have wifi, as long as you didn't close the app or turn off your phone. Even with cellular and data turned off, a little blue GPS locator dot showed up and updated pretty frequently to help us find our way. It was definitely free, as we checked our bills when we returned home.

We walked down pee alley, and Leslie appeared in a window above. She was listening for English. She let us in and showed us around. This alley had a horrendous smell of urine, all the time, as well as mysterious water droplets from above. Ick.

The place was ok. The main floor bedroom was nice and big and light, and the kitchen/living room were smaller and a little dingier than they appeared on the website. The bathroom was pretty gross. Tiles were coming up and there was an orange dinginess to the shower, despite it having been cleaned before we arrived.

Dingy bathroom...ick

Pee Alley...where Spider-man lives?

When Leslie arrived she said the cleaning lady showed up and stayed two hours “cleaning” the apartment while she attempted to nap.

It was good to see a familiar face.

The upstairs bedroom had a comfy bed but very low ceilings. Shay and I could not stand upright. The window was small and there was no circulation so it was pretty stuffy.

We hung out for a bit and walked around the narrow winding streets, that by night and siesta hour are surrounded by graffiti locked garage doors making the alleys look abandoned and foreboding, and by day, are bustling storefronts. We found a restaurant on Yelp called: Sensi (I think)  that had good reviews so we ate there. We were skeptical when they posted their tripadvisor rating in the window, and had the English menu posted, but the food was really quite good. It was a little over priced for tapas and drinks (6 tapas and 4 drinks cost nearly 70 euros) but the food was very good. A little salty, but nice variety of flavours.

A nearby church

Dinner at Sensi...our first taste of tapas

Leslie, enjoying some tasty mussels.

We walked down to the port to check out the waterfront. There were little vendors along the water, so we stopped for crepes, and passed a giant pirate ship that you could pay to tour. 

Yeah...we couldn't help ourselves.

We headed back to the flat and went to sleep…or at least attempted to. I could not sleep and did not sleep the entire night. Frustrating. Barcelona is hot and humid.