First Day in Barcelona & Camp Nou

We arrived in Barcelona and found our Air BNB with no problem. We couldn’t check in until 5pm so we dropped off our bags and took a stroll.
We found an outside cafe to sit at and ordered a couple mojitos and some tapas; stuffed green olives and Iberian Jamon. It was a really great way to pass the time and soak in the fact that we were finally here.

We sat for about an hour and a half and in that time, about 4 beggars approached us asking for money.
We weren’t in a particularly poor part of town or anything, and found later that Spain apparently just has a beggar problem. They were not too aggressive, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Our Air BNB is a 2 bedroom, 2 story apartment located in the El Poble-Sec area of town which appears to somewhat of a theatre district. It’s the perfect distance away from the busy La Ramblas street; walking distance but not so close that the noise, crime and drunk people are any kind of a problem. Our place also has a washer/dryer and a kitchen, which is why we prefer Airbnb over hotels (also cheaper).

Our first full day here we found a little place to get breakfast. This is when it became evident that we were in the theatre district. We found a place a few blocks away called El Rincón del Artista that appeared to be the kind of place where all the actors gathered after their shows for late night shenanigans. Judging by the clientele at 6:30am and the fact that they were even open at that hour (there was a bar tender on duty) we guessed that they probably never close. Pictures of the owner posing with unrecognizable (to us) stage actors adorned the walls.

The breakfast was simple, but cheap and tasty and we got a kick out of the fact that is was right next to what appeared to be some kind of middle eastern strip club.

Our goal for the day was to visit Camp Nou, Home to FC Barcelona and the third largest futbol stadium in the world.
Anyone who knows Helmut knows his love of soccer, and for him this is like visiting Mecca.
We navigated the subway with ease and were there within 20 minutes.

The Camp Nou complex was huge and the club has clearly capitalized on soccer fans desire to learn all about it. Tour tickets ranged from about 26-149 euro...this place must make BANK!

I must say, the tour was impressive. The club has been around for over 100 years and all the cup trophies player Jerseys  and other awards were on display.

Helmut was like a kid in a candy store!

The stadium itself is massive...holding like 98,000 people. The entire population of Kauai could fit in it with room to spare!

We went down on the field and were in awe with the perfectly manicured grass. They had a virtual reality portion of the tour where you put on Occulus goggles to experience the stadium during a game. It was pretty cool even though I’m sure we looked super dorky.

We hopped back on the metro and got off at the Sagrada Familia exit. We were starving so we stopped for lunch at a little outside cafe and had sangria, jamon tapas, and black paella. I don’t know if you can get any more of a Spanish lunch than that! It was all delicious and we took our time enjoying the refreshing sangria as we watched the world go by.

We must have watched the world go by just a little too long because when we finally went over to see Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, tickets were sold out. Bummer! We admired it from the outside though and figured we would get tickets for tomorrow.

On our walk back home, we took in the bustle of the city as it seemed to come alive after 6pm.

We accidentally stumbled on the most beautiful market I’ve ever seen! It was full of meats and candy and nuts and fresh fruit...so tempting!

We ended the evening meeting a new friend who does hula here in Barcelona. A perfect ending to a perfect day!

Making The Most of a 17 hour Layover in Chicago!

When you fly using frequent flier points, you’ve gotta be willing to take the most convoluted route to your destination. Helmet had racked up a significant amount of points through Alaska Airlines, but most of the routes to Spain involved flying to 2 or more U.S. cities before the long haul to Barcelona. I assume they do this to discourage people to use points as it can sometimes take 2 or 3 days to get anywhere. We found one going through San Diego, then to Chicago but with a 17 hour layover in the Windy City. We opted for this route because some of the flights were in business class and hey....who can’t find something to do in Chicago for 17 hours??

Thankfully, there was a Cubs day-game on the day of our layover, and since we’re both baseball fans, this was a no-brainer. A couple weeks before we left, Helmut texted me, “Thinking of taking a tour of Wrigley field while we are in Chicago, can I twist your arm?”
Twist my arm....funny!

We arrived at O’hare airport at 4:45 AM and neither of us had slept much on either flight. Myself, not at all. We were exhausted to say the least and after a brief panic after discovering that the place we planned to leave our bags wasn’t open for another 5 hours, we settled on trying to leave with the  bellhop at the Hilton hotel that was connected to the airport.
Thankfully, this went off without a hitch. It’s amazing how few questions they ask after you slip them some cash!

With our bags stashed, we hopped on the blue line into town, got lost trying to connect trains, and then grabbed a Lyft to the ballpark. At this point we had been up for about 22 hours.

We took a tour of Wrigley at 9am, and I have to say that even though I loved the tour of Fenway in Boston we took a year ago, Wrigley was way more interesting. Very informative and we both felt like we came away learning a lot about the team, the ballpark, and baseball in general.

Rooftop bleachers outside the ballpark.

Wrigley uses white “W” or blue “L” flags to signal wins and losses and then keeps a live tally of the standings with team flags flying behind the outfield seats, hence the term “pennant races”.

With some time to kill between the tour and the game, we walked around and found a place called Lucky Strike. To be honest, we initially went inside to get out of the sun, but then realized that the place had pinball and a bunch of amusement and video games. Funny how we always manage to find the places that have pinball when we travel. It’s becoming a thing!

And a giant Galaga machine!!

Back at Wrigley, we watched as the Cubs beat the Mariners. We left a little early because to be honest, the game wasn’t that exciting even though the Cubs are in the race for the wildcard.

We were both tired, hungry, and wanted to find some legit Chicago style deep dish pizza.
We found a place called Pequod’s that had been recommended by some locals and man...that place DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!! Best...pizza...EVER!

After eating our weight in deep dish, we started to walk to the train to make our way back to the airport. We had plenty of time, but got lost because whaddya know....navigating an unfamiliar city isn’t easy when you’ve been up for 30 hours straight!
We gave in and called Lyft.

All in all,  we felt like we made the most of our short time in Chicago. The whole day felt like a vacation in and of itself!
We got on the 8 and a half hour flight to Barcelona and it didn’t take long before we were deep asleep. Great way to pass the time on a long flight! ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz