Barcelona - Hostal Les Torres Review

The biggest headache I had while planning for the Barcelona trip was naturally, accomodation. Many of the mid-range hotels were competitively priced but when I factored in the exchange rate (€1 = S$1.80), they became rather out of reach. So I searched for budget accomodations on the web and came across a listing of hotels that were within my budget after conversion.

I needed to book 2 duration of hotel stays - 2 nights prior to the Liberty of the Seas cruise, and 4 nights after the cruise. I didn't have much problems finding a place to stay for 30 Apr - 4 May but it was a big challenge to find lodging for the first 2 nights from 23 - 25 Apr as it was the Holy Weekend (Good Friday and Easter Sunday). Confirmation on the price for my parents to sail with me came pretty late from Royal Caribbean's Singapore office so my search for accomodation was held back.

By the time I started, all the budget hotels in Barcelona city was filled, had only 1 night available, or weren't able to accomodate a triple-share. So I was so glad when I finally found Hostal Les Torres. It was cheap and only 30 minutes by car from the city. In my haste, I booked the stay without further research as all the other hotels I checked were unavailable. While the hotel was extremely good value for money, it was a hefty mistake to stay so far away from the city because transport cost was a real killer!

Hostal Les Torres
Address : Camí Can Prats, s/n 08635 Sant Esteve Sesrovires (Barcelona)
Website : http://www.lestorres.net/

How to Get There : Refer to website for directions. Best way is to take a cab from airport as the hotel is quite obscure. Otherwise, take a feeder bus from the airport to the airport train station (5 mins) then take the RENFE line to Martorell (1 hour), then take a cab from Martorell station to the hotel (10 mins).

You know how some travellers like to say how every place they've stayed, everything they've seen or did in a foreign land is fantastic so that it seems like they've gotten the best deals and how very smart they are? Well, they could be. But I'm not one of those who will say I had roses when what I really had was just the thorny stems without the blooms. And such a case was the stay at Hostal Les Torres.

Don't get me wrong, the hotel was a decent stay, the scenery beautiful and the staff very helpful. But when weighing in on the best investment for a tourist dollar, this place is a bear cave (a bear run on the financial markets is a negative return on investment). It's located 30 minutes from Barcelona city by car and about 45 minutes from the airport. In cab meter milege, that cost us €70 (S$126) to get there from the airport. First time in my life I paid so much for a cab ride! The original fare was about €80 but I negotiated since the driver didn't know his way and got lost. I read from Tripadvisor and other online sources that it should cost about €50-60 to get here from the airport.

Visage of Hostel Les Torres with an attempt to structurally merge the classical with the modern.

On hindsight, I think the hotel is great for domestic travellers but not for international tourists. If you're living in Barcelona city and want to get away for some respite, this is a good choice. But if you've flown more than 14 hours to Barcelona and hungry to see the sights, this place is a vacation graveyard.

The room was decent but just barely made it to house 3 persons comfortably. No safe deposit box in the room, a very small TV, only soap for toileteries and breakfast not included. There's free wireless internet connection in the room though and the signal is strong.

I love the chance to breathe in fresh air though. But that's not what we were here for. Beside detoxifying the lungs, this place is as dead as the gloved one. It is located within the township of Martorell, which is a small suburban area outside Barcelona city and home the country's main automobile manufacturer, SEATS. So basically, we were living in a hotel in the midst of factories and storage houses. Something like staying in a hotel built within the industrial estate of Jurong West.

Surrounding scene of Les Torres. Top left pic shows the entrance to the hotel. As you can see, it is pretty much a factory / industrial area with no shops or lifestyle establishments. Bottom left pic shows the farm fields beyond the right fence of the hotel. Top right pic is the back of the hotel taken in the evening and the bottom right pic shows the grassland facing the hotel's rear. If you like peace and quiet with NOTHING to do, this is paradise. Else, it's the boondocks.

There are no shops, attractions or any tourist-friendly establishments within the immediate radius of Les Torres. To get to any convenience stores, we had to take a cab to the nearby town centre of Martorell. Now get this. Booking a taxi to pick us up from Les Torres (because no taxis in their right mind goes there) incurred a fee of about €7 (S$12.60). I'm not kidding. I have photos to prove.

Going to Martorell town centre is only about a 5-minutes drive but guess what's the average taxi fare we paid? €12 (S$21.60)! That's one way. So to go from Hostal Les Torres to Martorell town centre where everything is and back, it cost us about S$50 each trip lasting a total duration of only 10 minutes.

Back of the accomodation block. Our unit was the one at the leftmost corner with an open window. This photo was taken at about 9 pm but check out how bright the sky is!

So what's at Martorell town centre that we have to go there for? Shops, supermarkets, eateries, and the well-known attraction of the town, Pont del Diable, otherwise known as the Devil's Bridge. I'll share more about it in the next post on Martorell and its famous medieval bridge.

For now, we're still on the topic of how costing only S$239.72 for 2 nights for 3 persons (S$39.95 per pax per night) isn't always necessary the best deal for tourists from faraway.

Being close to nature, the hotel is surrounded by an assortment of colourful flowering plants. If the garden is given better care and landscaping, I'm sure it would be a delight. There are also a lot of these rather bald trees. Dunno their species but their stout branches with few leaves do make decorative logs out of them. There are rows of them in the car park at the back of the hotel.

There is a bar cum restaurant next to Les Torres and it's the only place to eat unless you are a goat, or cow and thrive on eating grass. As you can see from the photos above, the hotel is surrounded by fields in the middle of nowhere.

There is only ONE restaurant there right next to the hotel. But it seems the restaurant does a brisk business in hosting group luncheons and dining events at its function room.

Without any choice, we had our first meal in Barcelona at the Les Torres Hostal Restaurant. The place has the feel of a local coffeeshop with simple country-style decor. As they don't speak much English, ordering was a lot of pointing here and there. We settled on the Spanish national dish, Paella (rice cooked in a pan), since I've been told to try it. We chose the seafood version which came with some pieces of shrimp, squid and mussel which the 3 of us shared.

Restaurant's surrounding and interior. A very classic Spanish country cottage feel. I wanted to take a photo of the staff who mans the place because he's a good looking guy but he hid behind the pillar at the counter. Too bad people, no eye candy for you.

This was the most expensive meal we had in the whole of Barcelona. Just an order of Paella for 3 of us with some bread and olives as appetisers, a coffee and a bottle of water cost €53 (S$95.40)! Felt like we've been robbed in daylight and the Paella wasn't that exquisite in taste. In Barcelona city, we could have a set meal each for about €30+ (S$54+).

With our stomachs half-filled but wallet seriously drained, I would have to say that I won't recommend staying at Hostal Les Torres for non-domestic tourists. I think most of the guests here are folks from who drove up from Barcelona city or Spaniards from neighbouring towns making this place a rest stop en route to somewhere else.

The hotel rate is relatively cheap but the inconvenience and expense of getting around is not worth it. To get anywhere, we had to book a taxi through the hotel. The cabs will come from Martorell town and they start charging the meter from there to the hotel. So by the time we got on the cab, the meter was already at €6-7 on top of a booking fee. And the cab meters here seem to jump every 2 seconds! Not sure if we've been swindled but the meters of the city cabs don't increase as quickly.

The only great thing about staying here is that it is close to the picturesque Devil's Bridge and the mountain monastery, Montserrat. Montserrat is only 5 train stops away (15 mins) from Martorell compared to the hour ride it takes to get there from Barcelona city.

Although this turned out to be an accomodation mistake, I would still like to thank the staff at Hostal Les Torres for being very friendly and helpful.

Barcelona - Getting There From Singapore

From the moment I told my parents I won the My Royal Caribbean Cruise Adventure blog contest in early February 2011, we've been looking forward to the trip. My prize for the contest was a free 7D/5N fly-cruise trip onboard the Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas departing from Barcelona.

The sail date was 25 Apr 2011 but we arrived 2 days earlier in Barcelona on 23 Apr. After we unboarded the cruise on 30 Apr, we extended another 4D/4N finally departing Barcelona on 4 May. The total trip duration was 14 days including time spent on flight.

Changi Airport Terminal 2 : Their smiles seem to be saying, "Now we've got you all to ourselves for the next 2 weeks. We will be your left and right speakers." Nag Nag Nag... What have I gotten myself into?! *Gulp!*

While my fly-cruise trip was sponsored, my parents came along as full-paying pasengers. Adding up all the sums. I spent a lot for this trip. Here's a breakdown of the costs so you have an idea of how much to budget :

Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas Fly-Cruise

1. Fly-Cruise fare for parents : S$5,936.08 (incl. all airfare and cruise package)

2. Shore excursions at Cannes, Pisa and Rome for parents : S$845.50

3. Specialty dining onboard for parents : S$68.58

4. Expenses onboard not covered : S$119.57

Extensions in Barcelona

5. Pre-Cruise : Hostal Les Torres (Triple Share - 2 nights) : S$239.72

6. Post Cruise : Hosteria Grau (Triple Share - 4 nights) : S$1,106.51

7. Expenses (transport, food, attractions' entrance charges) : S$2,000

8. Travel insurance (3 pax) : S$294

TOTAL COST : S$10,609.96

That's the total cost for the 3 of us for this whole trip considering that my air ticket and cruise package was free. I will breakdown further the individual costs of the cruise when I come to the entries about it.

11:05 pm (SG Time) : Take off! First time taking Lufthansa. Pretty good! Service was friendly enough, the onboard meals were tasty (especially this duck with rice), and the seats were comfy. There was no personalised TV on our way there so BYOE - Bring Your Own Entertainment for the overnight flight. There are individual entertainment screens on the way back though and you can enjoy video and music on demand.

So while my wallet is in E.R. and my bank account is undergoing surgery to stitch up the hole, here's a reality check cheque ... being a single child is really no fun when you are the sole person bearing the costs for two parents.

Whoever thinks that only childs are spoilt and have it easy, think again. Perhaps the ones who are born with a silver spoon could have privileged behaviour but not your only childs from an average household. So what's the moral of the story here? If you're planning for a family, HAVE MORE THAN ONE KID, PLEASE! :o)

5:35 am (FKT time) After 12.5 hours, we arrived in Frankfurt Airport for a 2-hour transit. The sky was beginning to light up and the hues were just so beautiful. Maybe it's the effect of the grass is greener on the other side. Heh. Oh, and we got a first taste of the cool weather. Shiok!

Okay, I've done my bit to help Singapore increase birth rate. Now I'll tell you a funny story. My mum 'lost' her pants and had to make a skirt out of a windbreaker when we landed in Frankfurt.

It was hilarious when I saw her coming out of the airport toilet in the 'skirt' that was barely just able to contain the circumstance of those hips that bore me. But the incident that led to it gave me a rude shock.

On board the flight, my mum had 2 or 3 glasses of red wine when we were offered refreshments and during dinner. Shortly after lights out for passengers to snooze, my mum called me to get her a plastic bag. Before I can pass her the puke bag, she had vomitted over herself. I don't know if it's due to the wine or she got 'airsick'.

Thankfully she had a blanket over her and most of the once inside food got caught on it but some still spilt onto her trousers. Mum didn't leave Singapore behind. She brought the Merlion with her because she was puking non-stop throughout the while flight. She soiled 3 blankets and filled at least 5 puke bags. I knew because that was the number of times I went to the toilet to throw the bags as I was seated by the aisle. Poor gal.

Mama lost her pants. Her slacks were soiled with red wine puke stains so she went to the toilet to wash it without first checking if there's a hand dryer in there to dry it! Well, there wasn't any. So she had to wrap a windbreaker around while we attempted to dry her pants with lots of tissue to soak out the moisture. Our adventure began earlier than I expected.

I've really not seen someone who had so much vomit. I was dying inside seeing her suffer then came the shocker. She suddenly slumped back into the seat with her eyes open. She just went limp and no matter how we called her, she had no response. Nothing at all.

And she was breathing funny. I felt a sharp panic. Is she having a stroke? God, please no... We kept calling and slapping her face. She would just stare ahead and not respond to us. Throughout the whole commotion, none of the flight crew came to our assistance. Maybe we weren't loud enough even though I was sure panic doesn't have a small voice.

She was out a couple of seconds but it felt like forever. Finally she responded. I've never felt so relieved! She told us she must've fainted. And continued to puke. Thankfully, she recovered by the time we touched down in Frankfurt and she proceeded to wash her slacks in the toilet. Problem was, there was no way to dry it! *gua gua gua*

To get to the immigration, we took this travelator that has got a rather soothing ambience with the sounds of nature softly filling the space while the walls blushed with violet hues. 

With mum feeling better and her pants reinstated abett still wet, we continued on. That split second when mum was out was probably one of my most shocked moments. A thousand thoughts ran through my head. What are we going to do? Is there a doctor on board? Where is the air crew? What if we can't get medical help in time?

I haven't touched my mum in a long time and that night, I held her hand and was massaging the nave of her neck for a long time. My left shoulder was straining after a while but somehow that connection felt good inside. She stopped puking for a while but resumed again. Oh well, I don't have that healing touch.

Anyway, I am just so thankful that ordeal was over and mum didn't feel unwell again during the whole trip. If at any point during the vacation that any one of us felt unwell, we'll just stop and rest because the itinerary was super kiasu (afraid to lose out), it was tightly packed with sights and activities. Thank God that from this point on, it's just fun after fun after fun! I shall leave you with photos and captions to show you the remaining part of our getting to Barcelona. :o)

The German airport has a industrial chic about it. Stylishly metallic with a minimum of colours used made the gate signages and signboards stand out.



No free wifi in the airport. There's a €2 charge for using the internet although I don't know for how long. Here, we got a first taste of how expensive things are going to get in Europe after factoring in the exchange rate. A sandwich starts at around €4.50 (S$8.10) and it's not big or with fanciful fillings.



There are shops and cafes here so if you can't sit still for the transit hours to pass, there is something to do. An experience I found interesting about boarding the plane in Frankfurt and Munich (transit airport on the way back) was an air of casualness. There are no special areas to hoard up the holding area of a gate and no further pre-boarding security checks.

8:00 am : Depart FKT for BCN Our transit aircraft was much smaller. It's like taking a budget airline plane from Singapore to Kuching or Bangkok. The flight duration from Frankfurt to Barcelona was another 1hr 55mins.

Drinks and light snacks were served onboard the transit flight. The raisin was pretty good. I had more wine and tried a local German beer that was advertised on the paper napkins.

That's the beer. It has a full malty taste which may be too bitter for some but I found the flavour satisfying. It's free anyway so grab one onboard and try it out. If there's one thing the Germans are known for, it's their beers.

Yes, feeling good and on top of the world! We survived the long haul flight with red head Merlion. As I took this pic, I mentally prayed for a safe journey throughout, good weather, and meanigful family time.

9:55 am : Hola! We've arrived in Barcelona finally! And there's such a feeling of open space at the airport with hardly any huge support beams in sight. A stretch of floor to ceiling picture windows run the length of the boarding hall and flooded it with natural light. So bright and cheery! There's an information counter to the right after you exit customs and you get your maps here.

Cute illustration of all the surrounding destinations you can link to from Barcelona. Our exploration has officially begun!

An Epic Travel Adventure

What better way to start off this new travel blog than with an epic fly-cruise adventure to Europe?! This could quite possibly be THE travel adventure of my lifetime. The experience was mega because I don't get to go so far away often and for so long. But more than it being a 14-day vacation in the Western Mediterranean, this is the first time I travelled with my mum and stepdad.

This trip came as a result of winning a cruise-n-blog contest held by Royal Caribbean on board the Legend of the Seas. The prize was a 7D/5N fly-cruise on board the Liberty of the Seas to Spain, France and Italy. Since I get to go for free, I thought of taking my parents along. It was a hard decision made pretty easily.

It's hard because I'm paying for both of them. As you can imagine, the trip costs a bomb and I don't make a lot of money. But the decision was easy because they are the people I love. I wanted to spend a very memorable time with them before age or the unpredictables claim either of us.

So here we are, all ready to discover Europe and new frontiers in our relationship! As much as my documentation of this trip will be filled with detailed costings, tips and info, it will also be a record of what we went through as a family.

Day 1 : 22 Apr 2011 This is our FIRST EVER family trip!! Frankly, I have doubts about spending 14 days together, sleeping in the same room, constantly in close contact for so long. My parents and I get along superbly well but this trip was still a test on each other's patience.

Our virgin family vacation helped me see and accept some aspects of them I haven't previously realised and I'm sure they've made many consessions and pardons for me as well. Sometimes, we wish that our family should be like this or like that before we can love them. Well, things can always be better if we fail to see the best that they already are.

We all have our goodness and shortcomings. Through this trip, I'm closer to stop wishing them to be something else and start appreciating them for who they are. I think my family is as good as it can get... hiong goong geok (athlete's foot) and all!

Day 2 : 23 Apr 2011We arrived at the Frankfurt airport after a 12.5 hours flight from Singapore. There was a huge drama on flight featuring my mom! Will share about it in an upcoming post. I had a pretty huge shock.

Day 2 : 23 Apr 2011 The first hotel we stayed at in Barcelona was Hostal Les Torres. As I got the trip arrangements confirmed pretty late from the cruise side, all the cheaper hotels in Barcelona city area was already fully booked due to the Holy Weekend (Good Friday and Easter). Thankfully, I managed to find Les Torres which was cheap because it's 30 minutes from the city. But it turned out to be a pricey mistake.

Day 2 : 23 Apr 2011 Les Torres is located in a suburban town known as Martorell. This charming place is famous for the picturesque Pont del Diable (Devil's Bridge). It took us quite some getting lost but we finally found the medieval bridge.

Day 2 : 23 Apr 2011 On our way back from Devil’s Bridge, we came across a street procession in the old part of Martorell town.

23 April is marked as the death date of St. George (Sant Jordi), the patron saint of the Catalonians (people in Barcelona are of the Catalonia community). This important festival is known as La Diada de Sant Jordi.

Day 3 : 24 Apr 2011 The other place that is not too far from the small town of Martorell is the mountain monastery called Montserrat. If you take a train from the Plaça d’Espanaya station in Barcelona city, it takes about 1 hour to get there. From Martorell, it takes only 15 minutes. Montserrat is definitely a must-go!

Day 4 : 25 Apr 2011 The start of our 6D/5N cruise onboard Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas! The ship is a monster! Weighing in at 200 tonnes with 15 decks of everything, it’s a sailing island!

Day 4 : 25 Apr 2011 On the first night, we were welcomed by a parade of Dreamworks’ characters from the animated movies Shrek, Magadascar, and Kungfu Panda. Imagine watching a parade onboard a ship!

Day 5 : 26 Apr 2011 Our first port of call was at Cannes, France. Took the half day French Riveria shore excursion from Royal Caribbean and got a glimpse of the home ground for the Cannes Film Festival. Also got to see the beachfront or cliff top villas of the rich and famous. What a red carpet experience!

Day 5 : 26 Apr 2011 There are many spectacular shows onboard Liberty of the Seas that are of very high standards. There’s a musical remake of Saturday Night Fever, ice skating show, movies, and a lot more. Nights are filled with great entertainment onboard the cruiseliner.

Day 6 : 27 Apr 2011 Lean on me. What I meant is really I want lean muscles on me rather that the fats I'm accumulating from all that feasting onboard. Our next stop was in Pisa, Italy, and I dropped by the Leaning Tower for a quick photo before zipping off to Florence.

Day 6 : 27 Apr 2011 Fall in love at the Uffizi. In love with art that is. The art cupid stuck an arrow in my heart for European paintings here after I understood & saw the evolution of artists' styles in the different periods of the middle ages. No photography is allowed in the gallery so all I had was this street artist dressed as cupid... or do I?

I'm not very law abiding sometimes. heh heh... If you would like a brief glimpse of what the gallery looked like (brief because I am respectful of the rules after all), leave a comment here saying "sì" & I shall post up some shots I sneaked during the tour & share the lessons I learnt in art appreciation such as the famous Birth of Venus painting by Botticeli.

Day 6 : 27 Apr 2011 The great thing about guided tours is that you get to see a bit of everything. Problem for me was, I've already been to Leaning Tower of Pisa, seen the visage of the Florence Catheral & taken tons of pics (back then with a film camera so you can imagine the cost to develop the photos) so seeing them again didn't excite me. My preference was to see the inside of the cathedral but there's no time for a long queue was snaking at the entrance. Next time perhaps.

Day 7 : 28 Apr 2011 I'm always awed by St Peter's Square whether I'm watching it on TV or in my previous visit. Despite the glorification of reverance for its architectural marvel, this second time didn't have the impact of the first.

I had very, very much wanted to see the Sistine Chapel but unfortnately, the Imperial Rome shore excursion package doesn't cover it. Well, perhaps it's something that I will go back to Italy again for a future visit. That is if I can still stomach a long haul flight.

Day 7 : 28 Apr 2011 The most famous fountain in the world, Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)! It is said that if you toss 1 coin in it, you'll come back to Rome. I'm not superstitious but when I was here 1997, I tossed a coin in & here I am 14 years later! If you toss 2 coins, you'll find your true love, & 3 coins gets you a divorce. Guess how many coins I threw in this time? Heh heh... Hope it works!

Day 7 : 28 Apr 2011 Can't quite recall the actual name of this place but it is the ruins of the Roman centre of politics. Important decisions were made here including the death sentencing of criminals. Even in shambles, I could still feel the air of authority it commands in its glory days. There's always this feeling whenever I visit ancient ruins... it's like the formless concept of time has become solid. And I could touch it, wrap my arms around it, hold it.

Day 7 : 28 Apr 2011 The imposing Colosseum was out final stop of the Rome excursion & even though I've been here before, I didn't have an explained tour of the interior the last time. After this visit, I appreciated the role & symbolism of the massive arena as an early form of political propaganda and the fact that gladiators were ugly men! Nothing like what Russell Crowe would have you believe they look like.

Day 8 : 29 Apr 2011 Yup, you saw it right, I was surfing for the first time in my life and it’s on a ship! That’s two firsts at one go. I didn’t stand upright for very long though because it's very hard to keep balance. But falling down is the part that is most fun!

Day 9 : 30 Apr 2011 Ciao Liberty of the Seas! It's been an amazing experience onboard & all the shore excursions were superb with knowledgeable guides expounding on art history and their significance to the progress of European civilisation. Service was top-notch on the cruiseliner and truly, what the ship has to offer in terms of cuisines, entertainment & activities made getting to the various port-of-call all the more fun! I even told my parents it's a sin to leave the ship for the land tours.

Day 9 : 30 Apr 2011 Checked into Hosteria Grau after unboarding Liberty of the Seas & I was very pleasured to find that it is just near door to the 'Orchard Road' of Barcelona, La Rambla. It is a great value for money place to stay but it sits at the junction of a network of small streets that is home to a faculty of the city's university & what seem like an alley popular with punk rock culture.

On our last night, there was a scuffle between over zealous football fans & riot police just below our hotel room's balcony! I took a video. Will post later.

Day 9 : 30 Apr 2011 After we dumped our lugguages at the hotel, we wasted no time in exploring the surrouding area & seek out the Picasso Museum. Our search brought us to one of the main arterial roads in Barcelona, Via Laietana, which is parallel to the famous La Rambla road.

I lost count of the beautiful neo-classical buildings with heavily friezed balconies & wrought iron doors lining this long stretch of scenic built landscape. Tucked in a little street just off Via Laietana is this cultural gem, the Palau Musica Catalana. We didn't go in but the facade was interesting enough for attract me to snap a few pics.

I didn't even know it is one of the tourist stops until I encountered groups blocking my view for nice clean shots. I think that showed how extraordinary the building decor is that it can draw people without them knowing it's a registered sight in Barcelona city.

Day 9 : 30 Apr 2011 The Picasso Museum was hidden in a small alley within the labyrinth of Barcelona’s streets. Perhaps it was due to the lack of a guide to explain the artistic genius of Picasso to me for I really didn’t know how to appreciate his work. To me, most of them look like they have been drawn or painted by the elephants in Chiang Mai.

Day 10 : 1 May 2011 Rambling along the famous La Rambla street in Barcelona and admiring the many freeze artists along this very busy avenue.

This artist dressed up as the creature from the cult classic, Aliens, is a hot favourite amongst tourist. Toss a coin and he’ll come ‘alive’ to pose for a photo with you. He’s so cool!

Day 10 : 1 May 2011 A visit to the famous musical fountain wasn't planned in my itinerary but since we had time & the fountain was only a less than half hour walk from our hotel, we decided to visit the Font Mágica de Montjuïc. Best spontansoue decision we ever made! It was like an avenue of cascading waters running down from the hill to the stretch of street below with a massive fountain in the middle. Love the grandeur & atmosphere here!

Day 11 : 2 May 2011 We've been blessed with blue skies & cotton clouds for our trip so far but today was grey & rainy. Planned to make this a Antoni Gaudi day by visiting his great architectural works - Casa Batllo, Casa Mila & Sagrada Familia. Unfortunately, the dull weather will make the photos colourless & flat so we decided to not waste the expensive entrance charges to these monuments & come back again the next day. This photo represented the key to open up heaven for light to pour through. And thank God, bright skies returned the next day!

Day 12 : 2 May 2011 Skipping entrance the day before was a gamble that paid off. The weather was great for photos of this very beautiful but rather eccentric creation by Antoni Gaudi.

Called Casa Milà, it is known locally as Le Pedrera, which means ‘The Quarry’. This is also where the most photographed roof in the world is found. More pics and a detailed post to come…

Day 12 : 2 May 2011 Renowned for being the masterpiece that never got completed, the Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family) is the definitive icon of Barcelona.

Building works started for the Roman Catholic church started in 1882 and is slated for completion only in 2030!

4 May 2011 : Day 13 Last day in Barcelona & a perfect end to the trip at the Park Guell, Gaudi's masterpiece of an outdoor park with his trademark organic forms fused with bold imagination.

Day 13 : 4 May 2011 Park Guell was the last stop of our epic family vacation before taking the flight back to Singapore, reaching on Day 14, 5 May. After spending 2 weeks together, our uncoordinated wardrobe is beginning to sync with each other in colour. A sign that we're more united as a family and in tune with each other perhaps?

So, that’s a quick summary of all that my family has seen. The photos and short quips are just a prelude to the full fledged blog posts that will follow in the coming weeks, or even months!

I brought back 35.5 GB of photos and videos from this trip so it’s going to take me a while to sort through and organize the materials, as well as do supplementary research to ensure that the information I provide is accurate at the time of post.

I hope this will pique your interest to follow what’s to come on this travel blog about Barcelona and Liberty of the Seas. More importantly, I would be very gratified if the information provided at this site could help you visualize what to expect and make it easier for you to plan your itinerary.

Thanks for reading!

Birth of Explore Life Lah!

Hello / 你好 / Lei Hou / Li Hoh / Selamat / Vanakkam / Namaste / Sawasdee Khrup / Sin Djow / Ahn Nyeong Ha Se Yo / Sua S'dei / Kumusta Ka / Guten Tag / Hola / Salut / Ciao!

English | Chinese | Cantonese | Hokkien | Malay | Indian | Hindi | Thai | Vietnamese | Korean | Cambodian | Filipino | German | Spanish | French | Italian

Welcome to my travel blog!

My name is Darren and this site documents the adventures during my explorations overseas. Here, you will find travel stories, reviews, tips and information about transportation, accomodation and attractions of the places I've been to.

While the main aim of this blog is to provide useful advice and guides to the desinations, it is also a diary of self-discovery in these foreign lands. Something like going out there to find myself... to arrive at those signposts in life that point to a more enriching living experience. So, some of the stuff I share may be rather personal but I hope that though those accounts, a vioce may resonate with you and perhaps be a signpost pointing the way forward in a life situation.

The spirit of this blog is basically a call to explore out of our comfort zones and expand the territory of our experiences. Only with more room can we grow. While travelling is not the only way to broaden our horizon, what it brings is a direct personal encounter and inspiration beyond what books, pictorials, videos or this blog can fully capture. So get out there and Explore Life Lah!