Day #1 Of Our 2016 Vacation And Cruise Part 1

Our Delta flight started off out of Dulles International Airport with a connection flight out of JFK into Barcelona, Spain. Veronica and I had one of the best burgers we have ever had. While at JFK we had plenty of time before our flight left for Barcelona and we had heard some really good reviews about a Marc Samuelsson restaurant in Terminal #4 called Uptown Brasserie. If you ever get the chance to try out this restaurant and don't mind paying a higher than normal price for a burger platter then give this restaurant a try. The burger here was really gooood. I was feeling just a bit under the weather so I decided to have some chicken noodle soup and Veronica and I split a burger. Besides a great burger and fries the soup hit the spot and I starting feeling better really quick.

Here I am before the soup arrived

 And here I am after the soup was brought to the table. It is amazing what a bowl of chicken noodle soup can do to ones outlook on life 

Here we are on our flight

The flight out of JFK to Barcelona was long and not very comfortable. We tried to get some sleep on the plane but we weren't very successful. So we landed in Barcelona fairly well tired out.
We had arranged a shuttle to take us to our hotel which was on one of the major vehicle and pedestrian streets in Barcelona...La Ramblas.
Our hotel was the Oriente Atiram Hotel . We had a deluxe room on the 4th floor facing Las Ramblas. We found the room to have a minimalist look and feel to it but it was very comfortable and had everything we needed. Our floor to ceiling windows opened up so that you could look out over the very busy Las Ramblas below. Even though this area is very busy with tourist and assorted hawkers and pickpockets, our room was very quiet due to the type of windows that were in our room.
Here are some photos of our room:

Here are some of the views of Las Ramblas

If you get out early enough this area can be quiet and somewhat relaxing. The time of year makes a big difference as far as the crowds go but it does not matter what time it might be...you still have to be on guard for the pick pockets. Always keep your bags...camera or pocketbook or whatever you carry...carry it in front of you

 Barcelona has some really interesting architecture, outside lighting and fountains throughout the city

 Still views of Las Ramblas

The Erotic Museum was up the road and across the street from our hotel

La Bouqueria is a large outdoor market that was very close to our hotel

 We stumbled upon some sort of different type of museum. Never did figure out what it was all about

 We ended up heading in the direction of a couple of buildings that Antoni Gaudi has become so well known for his unique approach to the Art Nouveau movement led to some of the most amazing pieces of architectural artwork. 

I can't say enough about the architecture that can be seen throughout Barcelona...it is truly amazing  

 Did I mention the interesting light fixtures

 Here we are in front of one of Gaudis famous architectural pieces..Casa Batllo. This is one of many beautiful buildings in Barcelona

 Below is Casa Mila more commonly known as La Pedrera...another Gaudi masterpiece

 Below are photos of the interior of Casa Batllo

 This is a viewpoint taken from the stairs inside Casa Batllo looking up

Another cool looking building in Barcelona

This concludes part #1 of our 1st day in Barcelona. Due to the large number of photos, I decided it would be best to divide the day into 2 parts so that the photos would load up quicker. For a better look just click on each photo to enlarge it.