tucsonjayce
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Hey one and all! Came across the pond for a special birthday and decided I was going to see if slim was up for some company. The answer was a resounding Yes! Anyhow we made arrangements for a brief overnight and day stay at Slim's in Palma de Mallorca. Well, I couldn't book any tickets on the airlines that fly out of the nearest airport to where I was going to be. Default was to fly to Barcelona. Cool. Hadn't been there before. So I proceeded to check fares. The two airlines that flew out of Leeds-Bradford to Barcelona were Jet2 and RyanAir. Now for us Americans, these are discount airlines based on the Southwest model. However, they are substantially different - more like Southwest Minus. To book you get a fare then you get your taxes (in this case more than the fare), then a fee for either online check in or counter check in, a fee (per person/per leg) if you want to reserve your seats, hold baggage fees, in flight meal fee (everything else is SOLD of of the trolley including water and drinks), a fee for using your credit card AND to add insult to injury a discount of GBP2.00. Yippee!!!!!
Now we're on our way to jolly ole England and it is COLD and there is SNOW and a hard frost every morning. Oh but Barcelona is soooo much better and will be warmer.
Get to the airport for a 2PM flight and the jet is late arriving and then experiences the same mechanical fault that caused the delay. Now Jet2 brings in a new plane from Belfast. So we're off, only 2.5 hours late. Get to our hotel (very nice) and planned on some touristy kinda things today. Our hotel is very nice but the shower cannot hold a temperature that is not either freezing or scalding. Breakkie was good and check the weather, cold and raining. Ok, Mikey and I are drip dry. We like to use the local transport and Barcelona has a pretty good metro system. Took that to the Mercat de Boqueria (I'm probably mangle spelling as I don't speak catalan).
Then we walked to the old Cathedral. Very beautiful. Being restored. On the way saw remnants of the Roman fortifications. We get out of the Cathedral and IT'S SNOWING! Yes snowing. Forst little flakes then those big flakes that latch onto you and build up. We ducked into Barrio Gotico and Cuitat Viexa to get out of the wind and snow. Had a nice lunch at a local deli...... damn that coffee was nice! Decided to go to the Castel de Montjuic. The Asians and us were the only people there. Took the cable car up but couldn't see a thing! Used te Metro to come back to the hotel where we are thawing out. Snow is coming down fairly heavily at the moment and it is sticking! Have attached a couple of pics from the Castel. Tomorrow we're of to Palma to see the redoubtable Slimvintage.......
P.S. Left my flannel lined jeans in the UK. Could used them here!
Now we're on our way to jolly ole England and it is COLD and there is SNOW and a hard frost every morning. Oh but Barcelona is soooo much better and will be warmer.
Get to the airport for a 2PM flight and the jet is late arriving and then experiences the same mechanical fault that caused the delay. Now Jet2 brings in a new plane from Belfast. So we're off, only 2.5 hours late. Get to our hotel (very nice) and planned on some touristy kinda things today. Our hotel is very nice but the shower cannot hold a temperature that is not either freezing or scalding. Breakkie was good and check the weather, cold and raining. Ok, Mikey and I are drip dry. We like to use the local transport and Barcelona has a pretty good metro system. Took that to the Mercat de Boqueria (I'm probably mangle spelling as I don't speak catalan).
Then we walked to the old Cathedral. Very beautiful. Being restored. On the way saw remnants of the Roman fortifications. We get out of the Cathedral and IT'S SNOWING! Yes snowing. Forst little flakes then those big flakes that latch onto you and build up. We ducked into Barrio Gotico and Cuitat Viexa to get out of the wind and snow. Had a nice lunch at a local deli...... damn that coffee was nice! Decided to go to the Castel de Montjuic. The Asians and us were the only people there. Took the cable car up but couldn't see a thing! Used te Metro to come back to the hotel where we are thawing out. Snow is coming down fairly heavily at the moment and it is sticking! Have attached a couple of pics from the Castel. Tomorrow we're of to Palma to see the redoubtable Slimvintage.......
P.S. Left my flannel lined jeans in the UK. Could used them here!
