Barcelona October2024

Flying to Barcelona

I flew American Airlines. I had to connect in Miami and my memory is that it was relatively easy. It was an easy but long walk to the gate where I would be flying to Barcelona.

However we had a medical emergency on the flight to Barcelona. Cabin crew announced over the intercom that there was a medical emergency and was there a doctor aboard, There was. I could see some activity going on but never knew what was happening. This was over the ocean as we were getting closer to Barcelona. I did see that bags of fluid were being injected but never saw the person having the difficulties although I saw the doctor and crew working around someone.

When we arrived in Barcelona, we were allowed off the plane but had to leave in orderly manner walking down specific aisles.

The person receiving treatment was a woman who was talking Spanish to the doctor who was also talking Spanish. By now she was ok. I have no idea if the was taken to a hospital but I later saw the doctor walking toward baggage with me.

I would hear that the female who had been taken ill had become ashen and faint during the flight. Some one told me the she had looked really bad but it seemed that the fluids that were injected into her really helped.

She was not American but this is a reminder for Americans to get insurance just in case. You never know what might happen while flying. If you had to be hospitalized or if you had died and the body needed to be sent home, I am not certain that airline insurance would cover it.

I arrived in Barcelona very early morning. I bought some euros and went to baggage claim expecting my suitcase to be lost or stolen from what I had read but no, it was there.

It was extremely easy to go though immigration and get the aerobus to Plaça Catalunya which is the last stop. And as said Hotel Continental Barcelona was right around the corner. And they allowed me to have breakfast. I love coffee and the coffee was good. There is a coffee machine which makes decent coffee and froths milk as well.

I stored my luggage at the hotel and started walking to the Christopher Columbus Monument right of the bat. It was important to me to find the bus that would take me to the cruise port so that I could get that out of the way and relax.

PORT VELL

I loved Port Vell. It was pretty and relaxing. There were many places to sit and do just that, relax. But there were also many places to explore and sites to see. I walked around and took some pictures. The American Cup was also taking place so that added to things to do and things to see.

Another day, I walked to Race Village at Port Vell to watch The American Cup races that would be shown on three screens. I waited an hour or so watching a recap from the day before and then walked to information asking when the races would begin for that day.

Would you believe that they were taking a day off. Oh well.

MONTSERRAT

I had discovered Montserrat while researching Barcelona and decided that this was something I wanted to do.

For myself, I felt that I needed to do it by a guided tour and so I began to research companies that offered a half day tour to Montserrat

I chose Spain Day Tours. I had read some good things about them, I have previously written about some negative experiences while trying to get a half day tour to Montserrat through them. Then I allowed them to suggest a whole day tour, half day to Montserrat and half day of Barcelona. I did book it and it was a very bad mistake that I regret.. I can not recommend Spain Day Tours. I will go into more detail next post.

Spain Day Tours

In other posts, I wrote about having some difficulty getting. a half day excursion to Montserrat through Spain Day Tours. It was a warning to me but I did not realize it.

I was beginning to look at a Viator excursion but Spain Day Tours suggested the full day tour that I have previously mentioned and after asking a few questions, I bought the full day. It sounded good but it turned out to be a major disappointment.

My original plans were to do the hop on hop off bus the first full day that I was in Barcelona and a following day do the half day tour to Montserrat but ....... I wish that I had done this

Spain Day Tours

Right from the beginning, there were problems.

There were five persons on this full day excursion. There was a family of three, myself and another elderly woman. Spain Day Tours gave us incorrect information about pick up including the tour guide and there was a lot of confusion. Eventually we found one another but we were 30. minutes late in leaving.

So first was Montserrat. Driving to Montserrat was pleasant. The tour guide was a good driver. The vehicle was comfortable. She talked about the neighborhoods we were going through going us history, etc. etc.

Then we arrive in the Montserrat area. As we approached the church, the tour Gide asked us if we wanted to see The Black Madonna up close and if so, we had to pay extra. Nothing like this was said when I signed up for the excursion. We were told that it would be something like an extra 10 euros to see the Back Madonna uo close.None of us wanted to.

Our tour guide dropped us off at the cafeteria but had to drive back to the roundabout and leave the vehicle, Then she walked back to the cafeteria and walked us up to the church. She took some pictures of us in the entrance before entering the church itself. . She informed us that she could not go inside with us and that she would be waiting for us in the vehicle at the roundabout which she ha pointed at earlier to us,

None of this was made clear when I signed up for this excursion . I had believed that the tour guide was going to be with us the entire time.

She told us that we were to meet back at the vehicle before 11 am because mass was being held at 11 am. It was abut 10:15 am when she told us this so we had about 45 minutes total. Forty five minutes! to see the church, visit the gift shop, walk around, eat at the cafeteria, etc.

You need at least two full hours to see the church, the gift shop, eat, explore, not 45 minutes.

And then she left. The family of three took off. I was left alone with the other elderly woman. She walked around the church. I sat in a pew at the back just looking. around feeling very angry. I was afraid of losing the other elderly woman because I did not want to be alone. I wa afraid of getting lost and not finding the vehicle or the tour guide.

After viewing the church, she and I went outside and looked around and sh took pictures of me.

Then we began to walk back towards the vehicle but she did not understand the instructions and was confused about what we were supposed to do. The tour guide had not been clear. The other woman though that we were supposed to sit at the church for the tour guide to come get us which was not correct. I had to gently persuade this woman to walk with me toward the roundabout but she became angry and agitated because she felt that I was wrong.,

The family of three had gone off on their own and I was left to deal with this woman who was confused abut what we should do.

I did persuade her to walk with me even though she kept wanting to go back to the church and we did find our way back to the vehicle.

She later apologized to me for being angry with me and complimented me on my sense of direction., As everyone know, I am not good with directions. Luckily I was this time.

I am writing this at 2 am and need to stop for a bit. I can no longer see out of my eye and can not even proof anything that I have typed.

To be continued.

And I am back after some much needed sleep.

From Montserrat, we drove back to Barcelona.

And we ate at a nice restaurant in Barcelona that the tour guide was familiar with. I do not know what neighborhood we were in. I do not recall the name of the restaurant but think I did take. business card and maybe I can find it.

I liked the place but it felt good to eat with a group. This was the only sit down meal that I would have in Barcelona.

I believe that we had began with tapas and then I decided on the plate of the day which included black rice and octopus. I did not care of it. Did not like the taste. I shared with the other elderly lady and the tour guide. We sat at one table and the family of three sat at a connected table. The tour guide and elderly lady shared with me and we shared a desert as well.

Lunch was on us. We paid for what we bought.

After maybe over an hour, we moved on going to Park Güell.

The tour guide took us to a gate which I think was the Joseph Gate. She had the tickets but did not go in with us sitting in the vehicle that was outside of and a a little bit away from the gate. At first she dropped us off forgetting to give us the tickets and someone had to go back to get the tickets.

We were told what time it was and that we needed to come back to the vehicle about such and such a time. That gave us about 30 minutes to 45 minutes. Not enough once again. And it turned out that the gate we were entering led to a park, greenbelt and a large open area that looked to be sandy.

The family of three took off leaving myself and the other elderly female on our own. We walked around a bit, sat down a bit and took pictures. We never saw any of the famous publicized spots.

That is what we saw of Park Güell

We had not been told that the tour guide would not be going into Park Güell with us. If she had, she might have kept us together as a tour group of five or at least, she might have continued with myself and the other lady not just leaving the two of us on our own.

So I saw almost nothing of Park Güell. and we paid a reduced entrance fee of 9 euros each.

From Park Güell. we drove to Port Vell. None of the others had seen Port Vell and wanted to get out and walk around for a little bit. I got out and sat down since I had already been to Port Vell a couple of times.

It was here that the tour guide informed me that she had received a notification from Spain Day Tours that I may not be paid up. I told the tour guide that I had a receipt saying Fully Paid and that satisfied her.

From Port Vell, we drove to Sagrada Família so that the other elderly man could get out because she had bought an optional ticket to go inside from Spain Day Tours.

I think that we were supposed to get an outside walk but the family of three had been the day before and I was going the next day s the tour guide blew it off.

This was the end of the excursion. The family of three decided to walk back to their hotel. The other lady had gone inside and so there was just me. The tour guide drove me back to our meeting place which was right around the corner from my hotel.

According to the information, we were supposed to go to Montjuic Mountain but there was no time and the tour guide said nothing. Either did I. This was a real disappointment to me because this was somewhere I had really wanted to go to/

I think that I felt relieved that this excursion was over.

Day Excursions

Some notes.

If you are going to sign up for one, be certain that you know what you are going to get.

Is the tour guide going to stay with you and go inside with you or are you own your own?

Montserrat

You need two full hours to even begin to see and experience Montserrat. It is magnificent. If seeing the Black Virgin is important to you, be certain that it is part of the excursion.

Park Guel

Again, is the tour guide going inside with you? What door are you going in? How much time do you have? What for you go in is very important and you should have. minimum of one full hour.

Information given to me by Spain Day Tours before I bought the excursion was very misleading and even deceitful.

It was a very bad excursion and based on this ne experience, I can not recommend Spain Day Tours.

I later wrote them about feeling dissatisfied with the excursion and asked for some money back. I outlined my grievances. Spain Day Tours apologized and asked me what I felt was a fair amount for a refund.I thought about it and said 30 euros. I wanted the 9 euros back that we had paid to enter Park Guel and a little more for what I felt I should have gotten but dd not.

I still enjoyed the company of the others and I saw some things that I might not have but it was not a good excursion

Spain Day Tours wrote me back that 30 euros was going to be refunded to my card. I have not yet checked but will look when I get my statements. If I have not received the 30 euros back, I am going to lt it go. I am just going to eat it. Check it up to experience.

This excursion cost me 106 euros plus 9 extra to enter Park Guel and I did tip the tour Gide. I liked her bt do not know how us and up she was. She led tours almost daily. Maybe she was the problem. Maybe Spain Day Tours was the problem. Maybe it was just a sloppy operation.

But I wish that I had gone with my original plan and booked the hop on hop off bus for my first full day in Barcelona and looked at another company for a half day tour of Montserrat another day.

The day after this excursion, I was going to visit La Familia Sagrada. I had bought a ticket with and aid extra for an inside tour.

This was my first and only time taking the metro. I did have to ask for help going and later coming back to my hotel. There was staff inside the metro who assisted me.

So there was very little difficulty getting to La Familia Sagrada .

I got there way too early and walked around a little bit but it was very hot and very crowded. I sat and people watched. I walked around the outside of the cathedral.

La Familia Sagrada was magnificent. And glad that I paid extra for a guided tour although there was a problem with the gadget that you wear around your neck and the earpiece in your ear.

It was well worth it.

On the way back to my hotel, I got off at Passeig de Gràcia metro stop and walked back to my hotel. I saw a different neighborhood and found La Rambla was around this stop and I was able to walk down La Rambla all the way back to my hotel. Saw a little more of Barcelona. Discovered that La Rambla is a very long street, much longer than I realized.

And the next day, it was time to leave. I loved Barcelona although the heat was a bad problem for me more so than the crowds.

Because I had walked to Port Vell more than one time and knew where the cruise port bus stop was, it was easy to get to the the stop. I left early and walked slowly.

I am trying to focus on what I did see and not what I did not see but I planned on seeing this, this, this and that and I only saw this and that.

I had wonderful gelato and tried a sample of amazing fudge. Because of my diabetes, I resisted buying fudge but could not resist the gelato. These were shops right on La Rambla next door to one another and close to my hotel. My hotel was close to everything and anything

This sounds like you really went out of your comfort zone to do this on your own. Sorry it did not work out well. Many times guides can not guide inside of a site. We just had that happen on a Rick Steves tour. Our guide actually got spoken to for guiding us. He said he was talking to himself. Lol
Wondering if you looked in Rick’s books for one day tour suggestions or asked on Trip advisor?
Too bad you didn’t try any of the food. They do have food tours that you would be in a group if being alone is difficult.
Thanks for posting.

Hello SA

Come to think of it, I have been told in the past that guides are often not allowed to go inside but the tour company should make that clear from the beginning and let the visitor know that.

It seems like we were given transportation to a famous site and then on free time to explore.

In any case, 45 minutes total to explore Montserrat is ridiculous. at best.

That is the same for Park Güell but we also should have been brought to a better door. We never saw any of the famous structures. We only saw a park, greenbelt and a large sandy area

I'm sorry this happened to you on your tour. You had high expectations on how the tour should have been and it wasn't.

A day tour of Monserrat and Barcelona doesn't leave much time to see 5 or 6 sites in one day. So an hour at Monserrat is probably standard. You only had 45 minutes, because Mass started at 11. (When we visited Monserrat, we were there for half a day)
From the tour company's advertisement on their website, the cost to see the Black Madonna should have been included and the lack of a guided tour at Parc Guell to see the monumental area should have been made clear. You have every right to be angry and disappointed.

My only comment is that if didn't like the guide or the tour, then why tip?

Tipping isn't expected in most places in Europe. So by tipping, you are acknowledging that the service provided was acceptable.

If you are culturally programmed to tip (as most Americans are) then I get it, but you are complaining to us about bad service and yet you tip.

Also, I'm sympathetic that you didn't get to eat at sit-down restaurants and enjoy the wonderful food in Barcelona. When I'm traveling alone, I also don't do restaurant dinners that take 2 hours. But I do take a food tour. And as a single person on tour, I get to talk to the other group members and eat wonderful new food that I am not familiar with. I didn't think I would like pulpo (octopus) but it was pretty good.

See this as a teachable moment and don't make these mistakes again on your next trip. Paris?

Information given to me by Spain Day Tours before I bought the
excursion was very misleading and even deceitful.

Your experience reminded me of my first European adventure in 2014. We were on a cruise stopping in Naples and I was looking for a tour that included Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. I had found two similar tours but one was significantly more costly than the other. I asked several questions of the cheaper tour about what was included. The tour rep finally got tired of my questions and said, "Everything is included, unless it's not." I went with the more expensive tour, but I unfortunately learned that it also included everything, unless it didn't.

Hi derek

Traveling is learning and vice versa. Sometimes the bad experiences are the most valuable.

Whatever, I did see Montserrat and how beautiful it was.

Park Guell was a waste of time and money. Remember I paid 9 euros to go in and see a greenbelt and park. So you live, you learn as the saying goes.

I know that one does not tip in restaurants but I thought that it was sort of expected to tip the tour guide. .

She did not do the best job but I think that she did her best but maybe not . Maybe she was sloppy and lazy. But what is done is done. And now i remember that after leaving Park Guell, she tells us that she forget tp tell us to see this or that while inside the door at Park Guell

I smart that I paid 106 euros for this excursion plus the 9 euros to get into Park Guell

As I have said, I can not recommend Spain Day Tours.

And I will keep a food tour in mind when I next travel wherever it might be. Paris would be a must.

Thank you for your. feedback

Hi Alan

It sounds like you went on a cruise similar to the one that I was just on. From Naples, I did the Amalfi Coast and was very happy with my excursion.

I have now been on nine cruises and when I was researching my first cruise, I remember coming across this very helpful information

"The cruise consultant will tell you all that is included in your cruise but what you will not be given is what you do NOT get.. You have to ask what is not included. That might be more valuable than what is included".

While it sounds like you already know this when choosing an excursion, there was stiill some disappointments with the Amalfi Coast.

Still when it is all said and done, I saw Montserrat , I had a nice lunch with a nice group at a nice restaurant and I saw some neighborhoods that I might not have seen as we drove through.