We were on the move on Sunday March 15. Our host, José, had ordered a taxi for us and it even came five minutes early. Our 11:15 a.m. train from Valencia to Barcelona was on time and the train was pretty empty. We arrived at 2:00 p.m. and took a taxi to our very funky hotel-- Praktik Garden, located in Eixample, a beautiful part of Barcelona.
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| We passed lots of small towns with forts on the way up the coast to Barcelona |
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| More towers and hills |
Hotels Praktik is a chain of five boutique hotels in Barcelona, each with a theme. They include Praktik Essens (pays tribute to perfume); Praktik Bakery which includes a bakery in the hotel; Praktik Rambla (in a 19th century palace); Praktik Vinoteca (world of wines) and Praktik Garden with a superb outdoor terrace of lush plants. Due to location, price and availability we had picked Praktik Garden for our stay. The chain offers great value for price and came highly recommended by a travel website we follow.
John, at the check in, was extremely helpful. He immediately told us that we would be able to get a refund of the additional six nights we had been planning to spend in Barcelona. He also said that we were one of only two rooms that would be occupied. John told us that with the lock down, hotels can now only serve their guests. Praktik Garden does not have a restaurant, but John said they have an arrangement with a 5-star hotel around the corner (some links in ownership) and that we could eat there. Finally, he offered to unlock their fancy coffee machine (coffee is usually only served in the morning), so that we could have a coffee.
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| Outside of Praktik Garden - great location |
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| John at the check in desk - books for a background of the narrow room |
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| Hallway leading to elevator |
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| Plants in hallway |
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| Wallpaper in area where guests can use computer and printer |
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| Hallway with circus themed wallpaper |
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| Our room, while small is very comfortable with a lovely view of the wide street |
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| Common room on first floor leading to terrace |
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| Allan at the coffee machine- it grinds beans (no pods) |
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| Part of the Terrace with garden-- only other guests in the hotel were there when we had our coffee |
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| Other part of garden where we ate our lunch (sandwiches we had brought from Valencia) |
No one is supposed to be in the streets unless necessary. We went out to go to a pharmacy (still allowed to be open); an ATM and to check out the Hotel where we wanted to have dinner. All were within a block or two.
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| Wonderful modernist building (centre of pic) |
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| More detail in this picture from other side |
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| Everything closed |
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| Very deserted street |
We stopped at the Cotton House, the Five Star Hotel where we were supposed to be allowed to have dinner. At first, the receptionist told us they could not serve any outsiders, but we persisted saying that our Hotel had specifically said there was an arrangement. She called her manager who then made a call. The word came back that we could eat there. The restaurant was going to be closing early, so we made a reservation for 7:00 p.m. We went back to the Hotel to hang for a bit before dinner.
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| Selfie at the Praktik Garden |
At 7:00 p.m. we headed over to the Cotton House. The Hotel is housed in the former headquarters of the Association of Cotton House Manufacturers. When we got there, the entire entrance was dark and the Hotel door was locked! Luckily just as we started to look up the Hotel's phone number, Marc, the manager, came through the darkened vestibule and let us in. He then took us up the marble stairway, giving us time to take pictures of the incredible interior.
The hotel is housed in an 19th century building with 83 elegant rooms. The entrance has a beautiful vestibule with mirrors, and then there are two grand stiarcases. One is marble and the other is a spiral staircase built in the 1950s. There is a library, lounges, a pool and the restaurant, where we ate, called Batuar. It is a Marriott Bonvoy hotel.
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| Outside of the Hotel |
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| Plaque on wall. |
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| Amazing exhibit of haute couture patterns in the vestibule made out of raw cotton by Balenciaga, Balmain, Nina Ricci and Manuel Pertegaz - part of a series of monthly Cotton Evenings that take place in the library |
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| The cotton patterns- in the vestibule |
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| Stairway going up to the restaurant |
Marc, was one of the few staff on duty. He also was our server. We ordered a glass of red wine. He came over with a bottle and said he was upgrading our wine to a very good Rioja. It was a real treat. After our meal, he topped up our glasses with the remainder of the bottle, at no charge.
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| Marc was so great and we chatted with him throughout our meal |
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| Alano and the wine |
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| Excellent appetizer of humus with some herring caviar- nicely spiced |
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| Cheers to the last dinner of our trip |
Our fish was good and well prepared, although it needed a reheat as the kitchen is a bit far from the dining room and clearly they were short staffed. Marc was very apologetic.
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| Hake in a garlic sauce |
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| Sea bass and vegetables |
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| Fruit plate with lemon sorbet- nice ending to the meal along with an espresso |
We were the only people in the restaurant for most of our meal. A couple with a young boy came in while we were still there. They were from Oregon and their son had been at a soccer camp in Barcelona, that had been cancelled part way through the camp. They were the only guests in the Hotel and were heading home on Monday, as we are.
Marc said that the Hotel was closing entirely on Monday for two weeks. It was very eerie eating our meal in such an opulent setting.
If we hadn't stopped by earlier in the day to check with the Hotel and had just gone there at dinner time, we never would have gotten in. Dinner would have been chips, fruits and whatever we could have scrounged from the small convenience stores that were allowed to be open!
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| Looking back at the bar and dining room- Alano at our table (left side) |
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| Outside the restaurant entrance |
We walked back down from the second floor restaurant taking pictures of the amazing interior.
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| Vestibule with cotton patterns display on right |
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| Amazing second stairway |
It was a totally surreal experience being in Barcelona for one day. The dinner, the empty streets, and being in such a beautiful city during a lock down will be a strong memory. When we returned to the hotel, the woman at the desk told us they would be closing for two weeks just after we and the other couple check out.
It is now Monday March 16. We head to the airport at around 11:00 a.m.for our 1:50 p.m. flight to Frankfurt and then on to Toronto where we are due to land at 8:50 p.m. We are keeping our fingers crossed that all goes well. We fly Lufthansa to Frankfurt and then Air Canada to Toronto. We expect that we will have to be in 14 day self-isolation after our return. Ironically, we have not had a day of rain in the entire trip (only one short rainfall overnight) but it is expected to start raining just before we head to the airport.
It has been an amazing trip-so many great experiences in a wonderful country, full of history, great food and sun. We started in Sevilla over five weeks ago when the COVID- 19 issue was hardly on the radar. We end our trip 10 days earlier than planned in full lockdown mode.
Thank you for following our journey. This will be the final post of this blog. We wish everyone good health. Hope to see folks after our isolation period. Please keep in touch.
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