Barcelona Cathedral @ Catedral de Barcelona

Location: Plaça de la Seu
Coordinate: N41°23.0791′ E2°10.5464′
Website: http://www.catedralbcn.org/
Operation: Everyday from 8.00am-12.45pm and 5.15pm-7.30pm
Free for the Cathedral not for the museum

The Cathedral is in the center of Gothic area, near to La Rambla. We took our own sweet time to walk over here after our lunch. Though it was our experience here, walking all the way here let us see the nice scenary as well as the old gothic area. When we reached here, we were not allow to enter to the Cathedral as it was over the entrance time. Disappointed we were.

We only manage to take some pictures from outside and enjoying the majestic building in front of us. I always like the Cathedral in Europe, as it always give me a sense of historical value, a soothing feeling as well. The handicraft and workmanship during while building the Cathedral, one will know the efforts and concentration given on making it.

The first stone of the current church was laid in the 13th century, but it would last until the early 20th century before the cathedral was fully completed. The church was named after Barcelona's patron saint Eulalia; its official name - Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia - is Catalan for Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia.

Once we were satisfied with the photos, we walked back to the La Rambla. Since it was Friday evening, we hope to catch more glimpse of the famous street, filled with the street performer as well as the souvenirs and painting.

It is worth to visit the Cathedral, and also enjoying the surroundings of the Gothic area. One just need to be extra careful at this area. For more information about the Cathedral, it could be access from the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona_Cathedral
http://www.aviewoncities.com/barcelona/barcelonacathedral.htm

Las Ramblas Street

After we had our lunch, we continue our walk throughout Las Ramblas, the famous street in Barcelona. It is approximately 1.2 kilometres long, where one could enjoy people watching, street performer, human statue art, painting etc. Besides that, there are lot of restaurants and outdoor cafes to enjoy a cup of drinks in the cooling weather. It's just the start of winter season, so it is not as cold as Andorra and we no need to wear the thick winter clothing.

When we walked towards the end of the of the street, we reached upon the port, Port Vell it is called. Over here, we could see a complex with shops, IMAX theater and a very large aquarium. However, we didn't continue our walk to the shopping center, and make our turn back to the hotel direction where we were staying.

Just besides the Port Vell, there is a huge roundabout with Monument of Colombus in the middle of it. One could go up to the monument, but we didn't take the opportunity as it is getting dark. We just strolling back the street and enjoying the performance there. What amazed me that time was the clear sky and 'line' formed by the plane on the sky.

History:
Referred to both as La Rambla and Las Ramblas, the name derives from an old Arabic word 'ramla' meaning sandy riverbed, and indeed that's how this magnificent boulevard started - as a humble dried-out stream outside the walls of the Gothic Quarter. At the start of the 18th century the first houses were constructed, and only by the end of the 18th century did La Rambla start to appear in something like its present form, a sweeping tree-lined boulevard in the centre of the city. The street also known as Les Rambles in Catalan.

The streets that form the Las Ramblas are:
- Rambla de Canaletes
- Rambla dels Estudis
- Rambla de Sant Josep
- Rambla dels Caputxins
- Rambla de Santa Monica
- Rambla de Mar

There are many human statues on the street, where one could see while strolling down the street. There were many statues, where I only managed to captured some of them. There were alien, 'the mask', painters and many more.

I would recommend to stay at this street, as it is convenience to travel around. Actually we were staying at near to Placa Catalunya. We actually bought our Barcelona City Card over here, for 2 days. This include the unlimited ride of public transport as well as discount for entrance to places like Nou Camp, museums and many more. Besides that, the metro station just besides our walking distance, making our travelling easier.

More information about this street can be found on the following:
http://www.aviewoncities.com/barcelona/rambla.htm

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/ramblas/barcelona-las-ramblas.html

Euskal Restaurant

Location: Ramblas, 87, 08002 Barcelona

We just came from Andorra, and luckily we had a helpful cab driver asking the direction to our hotel. Once we had settled down, we came for this restaurant. This restaurant was recommended by Serene, she just came here few months ago. We came here to try out the paella and sangria.

It's quit easy to find this restaurant. Located at the famous La Rambla street, next to Mercat de Sant Josep, the famous market at La Rambla.

Inside the restaurant, it has 2 floors. However, we were sitting at the ground floor, as only 2 of us (my colleague & myself). The decoration is nice inside it, with multiple countries feeling like United Nation. However, I found the waiter quite slow when response to our request.

I've ordered a seafood (paella marinera) and beer as my lunch. It came in hot plate, which is meaning of paella, means "pan" in old French word. There are 2 shrimp in it, which I accidentally injured by tongue (bleeding) while eating it. Besides that, it also consists of mussels etc.


My colleague ordered mixed paella (paella mixta). It has chicken and mussels.

Overall, the food here taste nice, but I guess it's quite pricy. Based on the feedback from tripadvisor, the review for this restaurant wasn't good (based on the address of this restaurant). However, I just couldn't bother other people's review, but to try it myself first. It would be good to ask the price before ordering the food at this restaurant, just to make sure you won't get a surprise later on when the bill come.

Hotel Plaza Andorra

Location: C. Maria Plà, 19-21. AD500 Andorra la Vella (Andorra)
Coordinate: N42°30.4441′ E1°31.9724′
Contact: (+376) 879 444
Website: http://www.plazandorra.com/
Operation: Check in: 14 hrs / Check out: 12 hrs

Once we reached Andorra, we check-in to the hotel. By the time, I started to feels tired. Not able to sleep well during the flight, and we continue our journey straight away to Andorra from Barcelona. When we entered the hotel, it was a nice hotel, having sunray coming in from the rooftop of the hotel. The hotel is located in the midst of the shopping and business area.

In the middle of the lobby, there is a piano. However, during my stay here, I remember I never see someone playing the piano. Not sure if someone playing it while I'm away for work during the normal hour.

When entering my room, for me it's quite a nice decoration in the room. Guess there was no king size bed, they only combined 2 bed to become a single bed. Besides the bed, it was window facing the car park and a nice mountain view.

The hotel is equipped with basic thing. TV, water boiler etc. There is no iron and board for me to ironning my clothes. However, there is a machine attached to the wall, meant for ironning the pants. Not sure whether this is normal, but it was the first time I see the equipment.

The washroom was nicely decorated. It is very English-style, and 2 basins and mirrors. Very clean indeed.

Everyday the staff will replenish the shampoo and body shampoo. The hotel also provided hand cream to apply. The weather was cold, and hence our skin easily dry. Very thoughtful for the hotel to include the cream as well.

This is the view I see from my room everyday. At the mountain top, there was ice spotted. I was told by the local people here that the mountain will be covered by ice at the end of the year, and it looks more beautiful that time. I really enjoy the view over here.

However, the heater is always on, and I guess there is no controller for it. The same was told by another colleague. So I open the windows to let the cold wind comes in to neutralize the heat inside the room. Though facing car park, by night the area is very quite as by the shop closed quite early. Overall, I like the location and services provided by the hotel here.

Journey from Barcelona to Andorra

I was assigned for a business trip to Andorra for 3 days. Together with another colleague, both of us travelled to Barcelona via Singapore. Upon reaching the airport, we were waiting for our counterpart whom flew in from Madrid. Before starting our journey, we bought some waters. The journey took about 2.5 hours by cab from Barcelona to Andorra.

Andorra has less than 100,000 population with area about 467.63 km² (based on the information I've found in Wikipedia before my trip to Andorra). This is smaller than Singapore in term of population and the geographical size. Andorra is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France where the official language is Catalan.

Though we were tired after 13 hours flight, we were excited to travel here. It was our first time to Andorra anyway, and hopefully it won't be the last as well. The weather wasn't good at the beginning, but turning to a better later on. I was captivated by the landscape while on the way there. Even though feels sleepy, I still make myself awake in order not to miss such a beautiful scenery.

The highway journey only about half the journey, then we turned into coastal road before reaching Andorra. We passed by a small city called "Guardiola"... familiar with the name? Current Barcelona FC coach is Josep Guardiola or better known as Pep Guardiola, we were not sure whether there is any relationship between these 2 names... Haha.... Since the name came out, the rest of the journey was associated with football.

Along the way, we also passed by a beautiful water dam. Since this is mountainous area, it should be a good area to have the water catchment area. Hence, this make our journey more pleasant. Besides that, we also passed by a small medieval town. However, we continue on with our journey hence not able to capture any photo with my iPhone. The nature beauty along the way captivated my heart, such a peaceful area without those rat race life in city.

Local Food in Ghana

During my stay in Ghana, I didn't go out to restaurant for lunch, or even for dinner. For my lunch, usually the local partner will bought the food from outside and usually I ordered the normal food which I take in Malaysia. And for dinner, I also did the same, ordered the normal food.

After few days, the local partner said I must tried the Ghanaian cuisine and they bought me this food. The food is made up of plantain, bean and underneath the bean was fish. It was nice, but for me the bean is too much and creamy. I thought with the size, I could finish my lunch but at the end I couldn't even though it tastes nice.

Paloma Hotel

Location:
Coordinate: N05°34.3762′ W0°12.3159′
Contact:
Website: http://www.palomahotel.com/

I was assigned to Ghana to conduct training for a local partner in Accra. The hotel was booked by the partner for me, though I didn't expect much for the hotel. However, upon checking in to the hotel, the perception changed to better.

The hotel has lot of mural reflecting the joy in the country. One could see it on the walls, either on the pathway to my room or even at the restaurant. It can be seen trumpet, drum etc rejoicing on their daily life. At least seeing this everyday could make our life happier.

The restaurant looks a bit classic for me. It gives me the natural feeling. I would say the food in the restaurant not bad, however the portion is quite big for me. Most of the time I couldn't finish the food that I've ordered, what a waste even though I tried very hard to finish it. I also like the coffee served here every morning.

This is the guard house at the main gate.

Generally, the staff here is friendly. During the stay, just has a little comment on the wifi services where the signal wasn't very strong when inside the room.

When heading to airport on Friday, the jam was quite terrible. By the time reached airport, the person told the counter was closed for check-in. Wow, what a surprise to me even though it's 1 hour before the flight (at least on my watch). The jam was terrible on the way to airport, due to Friday. If I missed the flight, I need to wait for another 2 days to catch for the next flight, not knowing whether there was any available seat or not. But when confront again the counter and reasoning with them, luckily they allow me to check-in. Actually I've done my online check-in the night before. Once I'm at the departure hall, I need to wait for another 30 minutes before allow to boarding the plane.

It's a quite a adventurous experience for me for my first trip to Ghana. The memory of almost missing my flight will always stay in my mind forever.

Levain Boulangerie & Patisserie

Location: No. 7, Jalan Delima, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Coordinate: N03°08.7553′ E101°43.2357′
Website: http://www.levain.com.my/
Contact: +603-2142 6611
Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday 7.30am - 9.00pm

This was the second visit for Serene but this is the first time I came here. We reached here about 4.00pm after did some visiting with my sister and brother-in-law. Together 4 of us came here for a late tea time. We just want to come here to try out some of the bread and relaxing ourselves during the weekend. Since we came here late, the crowd is considered ok. There is a car jockey available, to my surprise.

By the time we reached here, I like the place as it is located at quiet street in city center, furthermore at colonial style bungalows with classic and cosy environment gave further umpphh... The breads and pastries offered here are baked in a specially imported stone oven. Averagely, 4 new items are introduced every month.

Inside Levain, it is a 2 storey-bungalow decorated in neo-classical environment and has high ceiling, give us a spacious feeling (not those normal rat race of city life). Once we found an empty table, we went to order our own foods.

There weren't much choice of breads available for us. Guess fresh and popular breads were sold in short period of time once placed on the shelves. We ordered a maple log bread to be shared.

Since I liked durian so much, I just couldn't resists the tempatation when seeing durian cheesecake. The durian taste is strong enough, but I guess is a bit sweet for me.

I also ordered a bolognese spaghetti to share with Serene. Nothing much special for us. For other foods ordered, I couldn't have enough time to take photos before the foods end up in my sister and brother-in-law's stomach.

Another famous thing in Levain is their macaroons and cookies. I just loved too see those colorful macaroons on the display, though we didn't order any on our trip this time. We do hope to taste some in next visit.

Also famous for their cakes, this could be a good afternoon hang out place with friends to catch up or relaxing through out the weekend. No wonder lot of my friends told me this place is packed during weekend.

Recommend to come over here to try out the food, those English style evening tea and the environment here. At least this is something different, and unique enough that this is located in bustling city center yet at a quite corner of city life.