Back in Barcelona

After a 9 hour flight we arrived,  sleeping a little on the plane speaks to how tired I actually was as I usually never can sleep on a plane. What was intersting was arriving at Barcelona airport there was no customs and immigration.  We went directly to the luggage carrusel and waited for our bags. They were easy to spot. As when we travel long distances, we always pay to get them travel wrapped in plastic, which in this case was bright blue. The guy who wrapped them proceeded to write in script on the front of the each of our wrapped bags Tango and Tango 2 in black magic marker. Talk about visibility!!!

As we arrived early at Miami airport, we knew our bags would be off last. And yes, there they were, standing out prominently and easy to identify.  I always breathe a sigh of relief, too. [Yes we now use trackers too].

Upon loading the luggage into the cart, we decided it was time for a good coffee. Yes in Europe at the airports it is possible to get a good coffee. Here the selection is more than Starbucks. We sat at the coffee shop in azure blue cracked leather tub chairs. Maximo went to the coffee and I got the chairs. We sat. We did it. We arrived. Whew.

Next, we had to find the express bus into the city. Finding information at Jorge Prat airport Barcelona is fairly easy, as it is a very well marked airport.

Found the bus, got the bags on the bus, and then took the drive into the city, chatting about the last time we were here. Last year for two weeks, now we will live in the city for two months.

I rented us a serviced apartment in the El Born, Port Vell section of town. When we arrived I realized this is a great section of town as we are centrally located between Barceloneta and Gothic Quarter yet have a small view of the boat harbor.
We stopped 3 cabs before we found the one who knew the location our apartment.

We are on a small cobblestone street called Caller del la Reina Christina.
The building is very old on the outside and totally new on the inside.

As we received our security admittance codes via email, we opened doors and found our new home for the next two months..a small one bedroom apartment complete with full kitchen.
The part I am loving is that this morning, I am sitting on the couch being warmed by rays of sunlight while watching the activity on the street. People are running, walking their dogs, carrying their groceries, going off to work, and, of course, the tourists. 

Barcelona is a huge tourist town, where when walking down the street you will hear not only Spanish, but Catalan, English, German, French, Italian and Portuguese, at least those are the ones I can identify.

There are so many choices  for food in a 5 block radious, from Indian, Mexican, Italian to tapas and wine bars and a couple of ice cream shops.
We have our taste buds looking forward to all the new flavors.

We did find a supermarket 3 blocks away, and we know from experience that on the La Rambla, beyond monument Colum, there is a fantastic fresh foods market,Mercat de La Boqueria.

We know for tango, that there are many milongas to attend. There is Milonga de Angels on Sundays [ unfortunately this milonga is suspended for a while; Thursdays Milonga Casa Valencia; Friday Milonga La Morocha; and Saturday – La Yumba, these are the ones we have visited in the past.

There are a few more according to the website tango in Barcelona http://tangoenbarcelona.es/milongas-en-barcelona

On Friday we danced at La Yumba, a medium sized tango club run by Graciela and Osvaldo. It’s a very friendly place with a variety of dancers both locals and visiting.

Reminded me of Buenos Aires a bit as the organizers are originally from Buenos Aires too. A good friend of ours had reserved seats for us, so it was a good perspective to enjoy the tango. Lots of different styles but mostly close embrace. The music was good and the floor was wood, we thoroughly had a great evening and made it home by bus at 2 am. We were starving after dancing for 3 hours.

Then of course finding food at 2 am was a bit difficult. We are living close to Barceloneta and found a Turkish restaurant open until 4. Fantastic find as the quality of food was good and the price was inexpensive too.

We are loving our time living in this beautiful cultural, architecturel and gastronomícal city.

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