We'’re out of it! A summer 14 “MAGICal” Med adventure Day 14/Aug 05 updated 05/05

[MEK]

Now THAT's breakfast! Yum! Everything looks so good.

Boo for the rain, but it looks like you still had a great tour of the city. Hey - as long as you didn't get wet, why not. Love the pics.

Looking forward to your lunch stop!

 

[HowieHowie]

What a great day you had. The tram ride looks like fun and the view is amazing.

Scott & I are thinking of visiting Rachel in March. Unfortunately Howie can't because it is is busy season. And where do you think Scott wants to make a side trip....Yes, Disneyland Paris!! He says how can he be in Europe and not go to Paris. If we do make that side trip, I will be asking you for suggestions.

 

[pas130]

Thank you! We really enjoyed taking photos of the view. And we just love sharing those with you all!
So, do you say, your DH would not ride the ferris wheel on Tipidabo?

Yeahhh, DH won't do ANY ferris wheel....

Sorry for the wet bus seats Karin, better to explore in the bus since it was raining though, right?

 

[perfectmatch300]

Summer would be perfect for us too! We will have two full weeks in Orlando, even though we are throwing around the idea of visiting "the dark side" for a few days.

That's fine with us! We have AP's to all the major parks in Central Florida! We'll have to see when you can fit us into your schedule as you get more into planning for that trip.

Nancy

 

[RGirl]

Hi Karin! Wow - I really fell behind. It would be nice if the DIS would put all of my favorite trip reports in one special forum!

Oh my goodness! Another trip!!! What an awesome 50th birthday for Tom!

What a great tour on Day 2! And I’m very impressed with the variety of transportation you employed! The views from the church are spectacular! And, as you may know, I am totally with you on just getting something easy for dinner on those long touring days. I am a BIG fan of being able to eat in the room in the evening when you have spent the whole day touring. Blissful!

Wow - your bakery breakfast looks very tuna-filled and yet very tasty at the same time.

The tour looks great - except for the rain, of course. I’m glad that you got a peek at your post-cruise hotel and that it looked good!

 

[dizneeat]

The city looks so beautiful, but it does not appear to be very Handicapped Accessible. One of the reasons that we love to visit Disney, there is no problem with stairs and long distances that aren't flat. Hopefully we'll get Fran in better shape so that she can climb stairs.

You might be on to something here. But since most of the buildings in the centre are already very old they don't have all that much space to make it more accessible.

Now THAT's breakfast! Yum! Everything looks so good.

Boo for the rain, but it looks like you still had a great tour of the city. Hey - as long as you didn't get wet, why not. Love the pics.

Looking forward to your lunch stop!

We had a good time, even though it had put a damper on our mood in the beginning. But it cleared up later in the day and the day turned out pretty well in the end.

What a great day you had. The tram ride looks like fun and the view is amazing.

Scott & I are thinking of visiting Rachel in March. Unfortunately Howie can't because it is is busy season. And where do you think Scott wants to make a side trip....Yes, Disneyland Paris!! He says how can he be in Europe and not go to Paris. If we do make that side trip, I will be asking you for suggestions.

You definitely have to visit Rachel! And plan enough time, so you can at least hop over to Barcelona.
And if you need "pointers" on DLP, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to help.

Yeahhh, DH won't do ANY ferris wheel....

Sorry for the wet bus seats Karin, better to explore in the bus since it was raining though, right?

At least we didn't get to sit in the wet seats, but I am sure quite a few people got pretty wet bottoms.

 

[dizneeat]

That's fine with us! We have AP's to all the major parks in Central Florida! We'll have to see when you can fit us into your schedule as you get more into planning for that trip.

Nancy

So summer it is then!!
We will stay at WDW (with MAYBE two offsite days), so there should be plenty of time to get together.

Hi Karin! Wow - I really fell behind. It would be nice if the DIS would put all of my favorite trip reports in one special forum!

Oh my goodness! Another trip!!! What an awesome 50th birthday for Tom!

Yes, two big trips planned so far for 2015 - Tom's birthday trip, a 10 day extravaganza and our month long Florida vacation. Just bought airfare for the summer and nearly fell over backwards as the price is super high. Unfortunately prices here don't go down (and we want to fly out of our home town's tiny airport) and Lufthansa now sells emergency exit seats, which have a lot more room, so I went for those as well.

What a great tour on Day 2! And I’m very impressed with the variety of transportation you employed! The views from the church are spectacular! And, as you may know, I am totally with you on just getting something easy for dinner on those long touring days. I am a BIG fan of being able to eat in the room in the evening when you have spent the whole day touring. Blissful!

It was fun using all those different means of transport. We could even have gone up a hill in a gondola - now I guess that would be something Willow would love.
The views from the Tipidabo were absolutely stunning - especially from up on the church. You could see all around for miles.

Wow - your bakery breakfast looks very tuna-filled and yet very tasty at the same time.

The tour looks great - except for the rain, of course. I’m glad that you got a peek at your post-cruise hotel and that it looked good!

Yes, our breakfast was a bit "fishy". But every one of those tasted completely different, so it was okay.
And not to get ahead of myself, but the Novotel we stayed at at the end of the cruise was great. You will wait and see why, but it was amazing.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 3, July 25

Finding Biarritz 1881 …. Part 2

We went up to the top floor, headed for the restaurant and were seated immediately.
We were quickly handed a menu and placed our drinks order. Tom went for a beer, while I ordered the usual Diet Coke.



It didn’t take long for the drinks to arrive and our order to be taken. We were then brought a basket with some small



Baguettes and butter and an





Amuse Bouche, a quarter of a slice of white bread topped with goat’s cheese and some caramelized onions. The combination was really tasty and we both enjoyed them very much.
We were so happy with our decision to eat there, as the view from this restaurant was awesome. And while we ate and enjoyed we vowed that once we were done we would go and get some pics of that view. But there was no time to do that as our lunch had arrived. Tom had ordered the





Seafood rice, which came in its own little pan and the server spooned it out onto his plate, while I had



some kind of Fish, I believe it was bass, over grilled vegetables. Both dishes were rather generous portions and really tasty. Once we had finished our lunch we paid our bill, then headed to the big window to take some photos of the area















before heading down. This time we took the elevator down instead of the lift and suddenly we found ourselves in the luggage area. On our first day, while walking around before we could get into our room we had passed a luggage shop and seen a carry on that did not have a zipper to close it, but was like a small Samsonite oyster suitcase. I had had one of those for a long time, but it was showing that it needed replacement. The shop had been closed, so when we ended up in the luggage department we started to look around. I did not see a carry on without a zipper, but low and behold, Tom did spot it. It was the same one as in the small shop and it was on sale. We opened it up and it was well made, easy to open and close, spinner wheels and not too heavy either. Done deal, we bought it. After that purchase we headed down to the grocery department, to get some drinks to take on the cruise. Plus we now did not have to carry our drinks, we could transport them in our new suitcase. We got back to our room around 2.30pm and the skies had not really changed much, so we took some time to chill in the room and to repack our stuff. We usually travel with an extra bag and this time we had brought a collapsible Disneyland Paris bag, which we stabilized with some cardstock that we had brought to protect our magnets, but still was sturdy enough to function as a “bottom” for the suitcase. Now the “old carry on” went on top of that and was then filled with other goodies out of our “heavy” bag. The drinks went into the new carry on. It had taken quite some time to repack and it was now late afternoon and we thought about what to do with the rest of the day. The skies had cleared up and we decided that we would make the best of it and walk around the city again, but there was still the Tapas bar, Biarritz 1881, we had wanted to try and never found. So we used Tom’s cell as our GPS and once we had figured out where it was we were determined to give it another go. So around 6pm we finally left our room again and headed down to La Rambla.

To be continued ..........​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 3, July 25

Finding Biarritz 1881 …. Part 3

So around 6pm we finally left our room again and headed down to La Rambla.
It was packed again to say the least and we just strolled down slowly, always looking for the side street where we had to make a left. And then we had finally made it there. It was the same street we had taken the first day we had been there. But then we had to go down some very narrow streets, which we would never have gone through had we not been on a search for the Tapas bar.
We crossed a huge square and ducked out through a doorway and started walking down another narrow street. And nearly walked right past “Biarritz 1881” the Tapas bar we had been looking for.
Now to say it was a tiny restaurant would be an understatement.



It was just one narrow room with about 4 “half” tables fixed to the wall and some chairs and a long row of bar stools along the bar, which was full with Tapas. There was one empty table at the side, so we decided to give it a try – and thank god, we did.
We had just sat down when a server came round to greet us and asked if we just wanted some drinks or if we would like some food as well. We were definitely interested in some food as I had read that they had awesome Tapas. Since we were not sure on what to try we left it to the server to pick four tapas for us and Tom ordered a beer, while I wanted to try some Sangria.



I am usually not drinking red wine as it makes my throat close up, but it looked yummy, so I wanted to give it a try. It did not disappoint and since there were ice cubes and other juices mixed in it was nice to drink. And the server only brought out one of the tapas as the table was so small so we would have room to move. The first one was a



Vegetarian Tart which was light and airy in the middle and topped with goat’s cheese. Next one was a



Puff Pastry slice filled with veggies and different cheeses. And it just tasted wonderful. And just as we finished it off two seats at the bar opened up and our server asked us to sit over there as there was much more space. Good idea, very good idea. Especially since he now brought out two more tapas. The next one was a



Tapas Burger, sitting on a polenta cake and served with some kind of Ratatouille and it was absolutely delicious. We had a fourth plate coming and this time it was another



Ham and Cheese parcel. They warm them up and they were out of this world good. We had finished our drinks by then and definitely needed another one, so Tom got another beer while I, to my own astonishment, ordered another Sangria.



We felt quite full, but sitting in front of those wonderful goodies,









we had to give in and order some more. My choice was again a



puff pastry parcel, Spinach and goat’s cheese and it was wonderful. We both had decided on kind of a



Vegetable Quiche and Tom’s choice was fried



Churizo served with Patatas Bravas. We were so stuffed and Tom had to finish the Churizo on his own as I was just too full.
When we were finally stuffed to the gills we paid, left them a nice tip and rolled out of the restaurant. And only then did we notice that there was a line to get into the restaurant. It was nice to slowly stroll through the still buzzing streets at night and we thought about stopping at a hotel nearby and check if some friends of ours had already arrived, but then threw out the idea as it was already pretty late and they had just flown across the Atlantic. So we headed back to our room, finished packing and after watching a little TV and a nightcup we finally went to bed.

To be continued ..........​

 

[jedijill]

Those tapas look amazing. I'm so glad you found it and didn't have to wait in line!

Jill in CO

 

[KatMark]

Karin, first off, I am sorry again about all of your house problems.

Secondly, as always, your updates make me hungry. But, alas, it is bedtime now so we can get up and go to breakfast before driving to the airport for our flight home.

I am too far behind to comment on everything. But knowing that it is highly unlikely that I will ever get to Europe, I am thoroughly enjoying touring it with you. Just fabulous.

 

[perfectmatch300]

Great update, Karin!

I'm glad you found the suitcase you had been looking to buy. Did you post a picture of it, or did I miss that somehow?

I think I gained at least 5 pounds just looking at the food in this round of updates! It looked delicious!

 

[pas130]

More tapas...DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL

I am glad no wet bottoms for you or Tom

 

[Linda67]

Oh Karin, the tapas looks delicious
It's absolutely our favourite thing to do in Spain (DHs especially) drinks and tapas and then move to another bar for more drinks and tapas!

 

[LuvEeyore]

The Tapas Bar looked great. Your days in Barcelona look great.

 

[eandesmom]

what a gorgeous update!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Makes me really want to go back to Barcelona, though I am hot and tired, and hungry reading about your afternoon!

I thought I would NEVER EVER say that, but they definitely outprized us when it comes to Europe. And while we LOVED the ports, the Magic was no value for money.

I did feel the Southern was a decent value for the money but then again we've paid through the nose to cruise the summer previously so by comparison it seemed good.

However when I got a quote for a 5 day SoCal/Mexico itinerary I about had a heart attack.

specifically it was. We had small links, quickly resolved and any of other issues were port related and luckily for us, also a non issue.

I think we had our expectations set far too high when it comes to the Magic. There were no huge issues, but they just added up and then even the tiny things started to annoy me big time. Like doors that would not stay shut, a balcony door that you had to latch because otherwise it would not lock. The need to get an air freshener for the toilet and the list goes on and on.

I am so sorry. We did have a few small issues on the first day. The ships "system" definitely has some issues. Thankfully we never had any smell issues (though I had packed air freshener) but they were definitely struggling with a black residue that would ring the toilet. I swear it looked like beard shavings!. It was demonstrated to me that it was a ship issue and I was able to see that it was in fact clean and was able to get past it. Our fridge didn't work at first. The worst, and my fault, was I dropped an earring down the sink! All 3 issues were dealt with so incredibly fast, with so much follow up to make sure we were happy, we were VERY impressed. The only other room issue we had was one of the closet doors, IF not fully shut till it latched, would slide when the ship moved. But that really was our fault when we wouldn't quite close it. I admit, I looked for signs of wear and dings but really didn't see much at least in our room or overall on the ship.

We too were comparing it to the Wonder. We actually like O'Gills much more than it's counterpart on the Wonder (can't even think what it is called) but honestly a lot of the magic for us may simply have been being there without the kids.

I got really annoyed with Brent the CD, who sounded so fake and his spanish sidekick was the worst.

That is no fun. We had Natalie, who we've had before and we quite like her though honestly for the most part we didn't pay a ton of attention to her, or the Captain. Sad huh. LOL!

Food quality lacked ......... you need me to go on?

Aw, that is NOT good. Overall I actually think ours might have been a bit better than on our previous Disney cruises. It may have just been better ordering though.

Or too many rum drinks made in the room.

We did have one meh service experience (in Palo) and I was NOT overwhelmed with my spa services. I will say our dining room servers may well have been the best we have ever had on our 3 cruises and definitely our favorite stateroom hostess. I also thought the excursions were generally "ok" but had room for improvement. Our best one was a non DCL one and I will remember that in the future even if the idea makes me nervous.

 

[Teri1]

Thank you, Teresa! Summer would be perfect for us too! We will have two full weeks in Orlando, even though we are throwing around the idea of visiting "the dark side" for a few days.

We were wanting to visit the dark side next summer too. Our daughter and son-in-law just went and loved the new additions.

 

[dizneeat]

Those tapas look amazing. I'm so glad you found it and didn't have to wait in line!

Jill in CO

Jill, those tapas were incredible! And the feel of that little tapas bar was just great.
This bar is one of the reasons we want to go back to Barcelona!

Karin, first off, I am sorry again about all of your house problems.

Most of the problems are solved. Thank god! All I am still missing is a new fridge.

Secondly, as always, your updates make me hungry. But, alas, it is bedtime now so we can get up and go to breakfast before driving to the airport for our flight home.

I guess, I am guilty in the food pics department. Hope you had a really nice breakfast before flying back to reality - can't believe your trip is already over.

I am too far behind to comment on everything. But knowing that it is highly unlikely that I will ever get to Europe, I am thoroughly enjoying touring it with you. Just fabulous.

I am glad you enjoy our little tour around the Med. The best pics are yet to come and there are quite a few of them. We visited a lot of great places.

Great update, Karin!

I'm glad you found the suitcase you had been looking to buy. Did you post a picture of it, or did I miss that somehow?

No, I actually never posted a picture of it. It is just a red carry on - think Samsonite Oyster.
I had one like this, which is not closed by a zipper, but is all plastic like the old Oyster suitcases. My old one is showing some real wear and so we were looking for a new one like it. It was amazing to find it in Spain and we HAD TO buy it.

I think I gained at least 5 pounds just looking at the food in this round of updates! It looked delicious!

It helps to do some serious walking around Barcelona in the boiling heat to not gain to much weight.
I actually didn't gain any weight on the cruise/first part of our trip, but did gain some during the Paris part of our vacation!!!!!!

More tapas...DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL

I am glad no wet bottoms for you or Tom

Those tapas were sooooooooooooo good! I am really craving some right now.
Yeah, we were lucky not to get too wet - the people sitting in the seats on the outside did get wet - and quite a bit.

 

[Flossbolna]

Loved all your Spanish food pictures! It is funny how different those tapas look from the ones you can get in a "Spanish tapas bar" here in Germany!

Oh, and the overabundance of tuna in your breakfast pastries? How interesting how popular tuna is there! But I had my first ever tuna steak during our visit to Barcelona in the 80s, so I even have a personal tuna connection.

It's such a shame that the not so stellar experience with the Magic tainted the whole trip for you. But I totally understand! And if anything similar happens to you again - be sure to speak up more and hopefully they will correct things. At least to how far they can do something. It seems like the Magic does has some basic infrastructure issues.

 

[RGirl]

Karin, you are killing me with all the delicious-looking food!!! I want to try everything!

Wow - the views from the one restaurant were amazing.

The tapas places looks AMAZING! I am a huge fan of tapas. Ugh - so jealous!!!