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Chill day

We had breakfast at McDonald’s.  The traditional local breakfast is minced tomatoes on toast; the McDonald’s version failed on both parts:  the minced tomato didn’t have much colour or flavour while the toast wasn’t nice.  Our other choice, the potato tortilla in a bun which much better. There wasn’t much we specifically wanted to see […]

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Two free tours

Free Walking Tour I had booked a free walking tour departing from Plaza Mayor at 1000.  Kim took an instant dislike to the guide based on his body language when interacting with the guide’s colleagues.  He kept suggesting that we switch to another walking tour. Ignoring him, we continued with our booked tour and the […]

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Last of Barcelona before meeting in Malta

I was given a new room overlooking Placa Catalunya yesterday so it was a nice view to wake up late to 🙂 With a night flight to Malta, I had time to kill before going to the airport.  I thought I’d make the most of my stay by visiting Gaudi’s Park Guell (pronounce Park Way).  […]

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Gaudi’s Barcelona

I had the Gaudi free walking tour booked for 1100 which gave me enough time for some exploration beforehand.  First up was Basilica Santa Maria del Mar which was stunning with its very leaping Gothic architecture despite being very stark (not ornate). Text continues after this gallery.     As the market was closed during […]

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Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter

Having purchased a 48 hour metro/bus pass, I needed to go to the station to redeem it. I went bright and early to find hot air coming out from the underground station’s opening. I thought the ground and also stone buildings keep things cool (like cellars), but there must be a limit to this. Perhaps […]

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Back on the mainland

I had set the alarm for 0645.  After a quick wash I left the hotel.  It was cloudy.  The north side of Gran Canaria is often cloudy, windy and a bit cooler than the south.  But it’s not all bad as it does make a pleasant change in summer. There was a short wait for […]

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Visit to the centre of the island

I had looked into doing a trip to Tejeda in the central highlands of the island.  It proved too difficult by bus from Playa del Ingles and it was only marginally easier from Las Palmas.  Apart from the long travel time (about 2h), frequences were limited. After breakfast on the roof at 0900 (when it […]

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Changing sides

Yesterday was a non-event day by the pool of another hotel which I had paid to go to.  I had skipped lunch but treated myself to a chop-suey at a Chinese resto.  But today would be a day on the move.  Firstly changing to the other side of Gran Canaria followed by going to an […]

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Beach day

I woke around 0630 and was planning my stay by 0700.  Ii worked through options for doing excursions by bus to see if it was feasible, otherwise I’d look at renting a car.  I had hoped to make a trip to the centre of the island, Tejeda.  This proved too difficult with infrequent buses. Stuffing […]

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Island time

I had trouble getting to sleep last night. With only some natural light and a one hour time change to the east, I woke up relatively late around 0800. I wasn’t hungry and delayed breakfast till around 1000 popping down to Pans & Company for a sandwich and coffee. Check-out for Hotel Pelayo was 1100 […]

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