Battered, bruised, and a little bit intoxicated - a Transatlantic Crossing updated 02/13/18 - Page 7 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I actually slept first until 8 am, and then fell back asleep until 10:45! There was no sign that Mike would be waking up, confirming my fears from last night that this wouldn’t be a good day for him. I let the maid know we wouldn’t need any housekeeping today. I hoped if I just let Mike sleep through it today, he’ll be OK tomorrow. We didn’t have anything planned for today - I had just intended to wander around the Gothic Quarter and La Ramblas. But tomorrow we have tickets for both Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. I did have a 48 hour ticket for the HOHO bus that I’d thought we could use today, but we could also use it tomorrow - it just wouldn’t be as good of a deal, since we’d only use if for 24 hours rather than 48 hours.
First picture, one of our room I knew I had, but forgot to include in the last installment: DSC02029 by Colleen McLain, on Flickr
Mike woke up around 12:30 and almost immediately passed out. I was able to catch him for the most part, so he didn’t hit his head. After getting him back into bed, I decided that was a good window for me to go out for food, as I was STARVING by now. I walked over the the Boqueria off La Ramblas.
The choices there are overwhelming - everything looks so good! They have fresh fruits, cheeses, seafood, really anything you can imagine. There are little tapas restaurants sprinkled throughout, as well as places that will do carry out.
I ended up with paella, and an assortment of croquettes. I also picked up some bananas, a fruit cup, bottled water, and a latte (I hadn’t had my first cup of coffee yet, and it was now after 1 pm!). Just a note on water - I bought a large bottle, maybe 1.5 ltr, and it was less money than 2 small bottles would have been, and more water. We’d packed our stainless steel water bottles, as they keep things cold a long time, so when I got to the room, I just filled both of those. Whenever I could, I opted for the bigger bottle as it was always a better deal. I hate buying plastic water bottles, and never do at home, but this didn’t feel quite as bad to me.
I was able to wake Mike long enough for him to eat but then he was right back to sleep. I thought about doing the HOHO bus on my own, maybe making a loop, but decided I wasn’t comfortable leaving Mike alone that long in a hotel room. So, I decided to head out and must meander through the Gothic Quarter. I managed to find the Disney Store, but it was pretty disappointing. I had hoped to find some Barcelona specific Disney items. They had almost exclusively baby and little kid stuff. They had one tshirt, but it was - guesses anyone - cut in a way that made an XL look like it should be a small, at best. I did find a Pluto ornament for my DD, although since then I also saw it on the Disney shopping app, so it was certainly nothing exclusive to Barcelona.
I ended up coming back out onto La Ramblas, and walked down past the Columbus column to the waterfront. I enjoyed seeing all the “living art” statues on the way, and even saw a few that were there on my last stay in Barcelona, five years ago!
DSC02078 by Colleen McLain, on Flickr
Unfortunately he blocked his face with the tea cup. This was the Mad Hatter, as played by Johnny Depp in the live action Alice in Wonderland.
I thought about doing a boat tour, until I found out they were only going around the inner harbor because the seas were too rough for the boats to leave the harbor! Hopefully the seas calm down before we’re set to sail on Saturday.
It wasn’t too hot, probably in the 70’s, but it was super humid. I walked back to the hotel to cool down, but when I opened the door, found Mike on the floor, unconscious. Worst of all, he seems to have perhaps fractured his cheekbone, or at least badly bruised it. It was swollen and looks like it’s going to end up being pretty colorful. So then I felt bad about leaving him alone - even though I do it multiple times a month to go to work when we’re home. Given the injury was to his cheek, it wasn’t as though they could do much if we sought medical attention (can you imagine him with a cast on his cheek?!), we we just let it be, chalked up to a long list of injuries since he’s first been sick.
After getting him back in bed and giving him some Tylenol, I took a shower to cool off. After getting dressed and drying my hair, I went downstairs to the free wine and cheese they had in the lobby at 5 each day. Sadly I found out that only went until 5:30, and it was now about 5:37. . So I bought a glass of wine at the bar and took it upstairs along with the little pixto they gave me as I think it was salmon, so I gave it to Mike.
IMG_1380 by Colleen McLain, on Flickr
The area at the hotel where they served breakfast. We didn’t eat breakfast there - it was pretty pricey.
Mike was insistent that he could go out to dinner. (I’d thought we should do room service, or that I would look for take away again). We had the wheelchair, so that did make it easier. We found a sidewalk cafe that looked OK and at there. Of course every guide book says to skip the cafes on La Ramblas as they’re overpriced and not as good as what you could find elsewhere, but we were pleased, and given the situation with Mike, we didn’t have a lot of options. The weather was perfect for sitting at a cafe, the humidity seemed lower and there was a really nice breeze. I had grilled hake, a fish I’d never heard of but it is apparently in the same family as cod and haddock. According to Wikipedia (!) Spain has the highest consumption of hake in Europe, and Europe in general has the highest demand for it. Well, it was delicious! One of the best pieces of fish I’ve had. It came with a salad and fries. Mike had a meat paella, as he decided that would be easier to eat than a seafood one - since the seafood ones have shells, typically. We also started with tomato bread, something I wish they had more here in the US. I also had a small bottle of wine. It was nice to just sit and enjoy the evening and people watch - something easy to do on La Ramblas.
After eating we made our way back to the hotel, stopping off next door to our hotel at the Chocolate Box for gelato. Mike had After 8 Mint and pistachio while I had Bonbon de Rocher, and a scoop of marscapone and chocolate. I’d hoped the marscapone and chocolate would be like a flavor I had in Italy called Delirium that was marscapone and Nutella. It wasn’t, sadly. It was good, but not like Delirium, which by now, has reached mythological heights in my memory.
All in all, it was an OK day. We didn’t get to see or do as much as I’d hoped, but we were at least glad to be staying in the Gothic Quarter so we could see as much as we did. Going in to the trip we knew Mike would have bad days, and just hoped it wouldn’t be on a travel day, so even that was more or less expected, and not as bad as it could have been.
NEXT: You look like you were attacked by a machete!
Certainly a tough day for you and more so for Mike and not what you planned! So sorry to hear what Mike has been going through with his condition. If I remember correctly on your last cruise TR that there has been no diagnosis of what Mike may be suffering from or have? You said it they couldn't pinpoint what it was!
I hope things change, Mike gets better and find out what he is exactly suffering from.
Other than this you made the best of it by getting out, exploring the markets and getting some of the local food. Taking the glass of wine back to your room was a good thing as you needed it after today. Dinner looked good and seems Mike was a bit better.
I'm not a doctor but is it a medication issue with Mike? Or perhaps something he is allergic to as times he is good and others so bad as he passes out? Is there something that he is allergic too or something he needs that causes this or a condition. Wish I knew and could help you, but much worse for you! Just wondering if it may be food related? But probably something much more severe unfortunately!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
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Certainly a tough day for you and more so for Mike and not what you planned! So sorry to hear what Mike has been going through with his condition. If I remember correctly on your last cruise TR that there has been no diagnosis of what Mike may be suffering from or have? You said it they couldn't pinpoint what it was!
I hope things change, Mike gets better and find out what he is exactly suffering from.
Other than this you made the best of it by getting out, exploring the markets and getting some of the local food. Taking the glass of wine back to your room was a good thing as you needed it after today. Dinner looked good and seems Mike was a bit better.
I'm not a doctor but is it a medication issue with Mike? Or perhaps something he is allergic to as times he is good and others so bad as he passes out? Is there something that he is allergic too or something he needs that causes this or a condition. Wish I knew and could help you, but much worse for you! Just wondering if it may be food related? But probably something much more severe unfortunately!
Still no concrete diagnosis, but it is an autonomic disorder of some kind.
Yes, I felt I’d earned each drop of wine today!
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Still no concrete diagnosis, but it is an autonomic disorder of some kind. Yes, I felt I’d earned each drop of wine today!
That's a vast understatement what you endured today!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Oh my goodness, I didn't realise from your Facebook updates that happened to Mike while he was in the hotel room - I thought it was while you were out exploring. Good grief, that must've been terrifying to return to the room and find him like that.
You covered a fair bit of ground on your tour of Barcelona. Great memories and interesting about the "si" signs for Catalonian independence - that's stepped up a gear since your visit....
Oh Colleen, how scary about Mike and thank goodness he was okay!
Your tour of Barcelona looks amazing and you are bringing back some warm memories! We must get back there!! All of your food looks delicious and your hotel is beautiful!!
Love the food shots from the market, glad you were able to go out and do a little exploring. Sorry Mike was not having a good day, but glad it was while you were in your hotel room.
Oh my goodness, I didn't realise from your Facebook updates that happened to Mike while he was in the hotel room - I thought it was while you were out exploring. Good grief, that must've been terrifying to return to the room and find him like that.
You covered a fair bit of ground on your tour of Barcelona. Great memories and interesting about the "si" signs for Catalonian independence - that's stepped up a gear since your visit....
No, Mike wasn’t the one to have an incident out exploring......
There were some big demonstrations around the vote right before we arrived and right after we left (and obviously now things are on a whole new level). We were surprised not to see more demonstrators while we were there. But those “si” banners were EVERY.WHERE! If you could hang a banner off it, they had one.
Oh Colleen, how scary about Mike and thank goodness he was okay!
Your tour of Barcelona looks amazing and you are bringing back some warm memories! We must get back there!! All of your food looks delicious and your hotel is beautiful!!
I just Barcelona. It really is an amazingly beautiful city. And bonus that it also has great food! We’ve said we need to go back, again, as Mike doesn’t recall a lot of Barcelona.....
Love the food shots from the market, glad you were able to go out and do a little exploring. Sorry Mike was not having a good day, but glad it was while you were in your hotel room.
We long ago realized that if we were to wait for there to be a diagnosis, and dare I say, a cure (or at least viable treatment), we’d have stopped living our lives years ago. So, we roll with it as best we can, and try not to let it slow us down too much. But some days that’s easier to do than others!
No, Mike wasn’t the one to have an incident out exploring......
I remember that one, but I won't spoil it...
Quote:
There were some big demonstrations around the vote right before we arrived and right after we left (and obviously now things are on a whole new level). We were surprised not to see more demonstrators while we were there. But those “si” banners were EVERY.WHERE! If you could hang a banner off it, they had one.
Wow. I didn't realise there were demonstrations when you were there, as it's only really come into our news arena in the last couple of weeks. I bet it's completely different there at the moment.
I'm so sorry Mike had such a bad day, especially his fall. I hope his cheek wasn't too badly hurt. As you said, though, it was not unexpected and it is good that it happened on this particular day and not the day before with all the travel. I admire both of you for continuing to pursue life and not let his illness hold you back. I'm glad you did get out a bit and get to do some sightseeing, and that the two of you could go out for dinner and enjoy Las Ramblas a bit. I hope Mike improved enough for you to enjoy the rest of the trip.
Wow. I didn't realise there were demonstrations when you were there, as it's only really come into our news arena in the last couple of weeks. I bet it's completely different there at the moment.
Our news here has had pretty good coverage, surprisingly. Plus I have a neighbor from Catalonia and her family is still there. And Ryan’s minor is Spanish, and we tend to hear a fair amount of political news from him as he reads it all in Spanish.
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Hopefully the seas calm down before we’re set to sail on Saturday. 
. So I bought a glass of wine at the bar and took it upstairs along with the little pixto they gave me as I think it was salmon, so I gave it to Mike.
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You said it they couldn't pinpoint what it was! 
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