8th - 13th September : Company trip a.k.a. gathering in Barcelona

My 3rd gathering with my company and the destination is Barcelona.

Itineraries planned by the travel agent hired by company:

 Day 1:
06:55 - 09:55           KL1665 Amsterdam - Barcelona

Since we are the first batch to arrive, after check-in and the day is still early, we head directly to the town center for sightseeing and some shopping. We went by Metro line towards station: Catalunya.

Casa Mila

at the roof top of Casa Mila

 La Pedrera (Casa Mila), Hosts a large exposition of Gaudi works, covering Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlio, not only La Pedrera itself. The exposition is a good place to start your exploration of Gaudi; it reveals many hidden details for the art novice. Entrance: approximately €10

After a long walk around the city, we headed back to the hotel and get ready for our dinner.

19:30:     Transfer to restaurant
20:00:     Dinner at Costa Gallega
              Passeig de Gracia, 71
              08008 Barcelona
              Tel: +34 932 153 141

This fancy, 400-seat restaurant is famous with locals for its fresh seafood. Step in and tast their wide range of tapas or the even wider array of dried hams from the slick snack bar. A drink from the well-stocked wine racks, or a good ol' mug of beer goes well with anything on the menu here. Most patrons seem to take to the glossy interiors and the super-fast service—the place is full on any given day!

 

Day 2:

09:30 Full day meeting with collegues from other locations - Groningen, Stavanger, Houston, Aberdeen, Trondheim

Since the meeting ends at around 4pm and we still have plenty of time before the dinner, we decided to walk to the harbour nearby

The lunch served on that day in the hotel

Port De Barcelona

there is a flea market next to the harbour

Ticket to go sailing

The only shopping mall in Catalunya that opens in weekend and PH

From the back of the mall

19:30:   Transfer to dinner
20:00:   Dinner at Restaurant Mont juic El Xalet

 The restaurant Montjuïc El Xalet, unique in Barcelona, is placed on the emblematic mountain of Montjuïc, called the ‘Jewish Mount’, at the 31 of Miramar Avenue. With its spectacular views of Barcelona, the restaurant, which was inaugurated in 2004, is located next to the swimming pools of the 1992 Olympic Games, and in front of the funicular and the singular telepheric that carries to the top of the mountain and to Montjuïc’s castle.

Ramone - the driver who sent us to this restaurant

the interior of the restaurant

The view from the restaurant

the swimming pool of 1992 Olympic Games - next to the restaurant

Day 3:

We were given  3 options for this day.

Option 1: City sightseeing Barcelona

Option 2: Tour to Torres

Option 3: Cycle sightseeing in Barcelona

Since we will have plenty of times to go sightseeing on our own, we decided to choose Option 2- Tour to Torres.

Torres is one of the biggest and most modern winery in the Penedès area. They are well known in Norway for the Torres Coronas wine with the ox hanging on the bottle neck. In addition to this, they produce many other good wines.
It takes approx. 1 hours driveing from Barcelona to get to the Torres Winery

 

Next we go back hotel, and upon arrival few of us continues our tour to the most famous spot - The Sagrada Familia.

Sagrada Família. Getting up to the tower by elevator costs €2.5, and believe the signs that tell you that the wait could be 120 minutes to ascend. Previously, it was possible to go up the spiral stairs, but now, they allow you only to get back down. The most impressive thing is to see Sagrada Família at night with lights on, this is the time when you understand why people say that it is built of bones. Entrance costs €12. Get the audio commentary for €4 as it is well worth it. You will gain a much better appreciation of the Sagrada Família. Sagrada Família metro station. At busy times, you would be well-advised to take snacks, refreshments and maybe even a personal music player to pass the time in the queue. As of August 2010, there will be a new service of fast entering. Visitors can buy their tickets at any Servicaixa ATM (part of 'La Caixa' bank, easily recognizable by their blue logo and also because there is one just across the street from the entrance) or servicaixa.com 

(info: http://wikitravel.org/en/Barcelona)

OK. Here comes the most exciting part of the entire tour. We were given free VIP seatings ticket to watch FC Barcelona club playing in FC Barcelona stadium!

A ticket worth €90!!

We were sitting so so close to the field!

OK game ended with a disappointing result: FC Barcelona 0 and the opponent - Hercules CF won by entering 2 goals!

20:00:     Transfer to dinner

20:30:     Dinner at Restaurant Can Travi Nou

The restaurant is situated in an old beautiful farmhouse from the 17th century. Outside you will find an attractive garden.

 Day 4:   We were supposed to leave to the airport today and since we are extending our trip to Lisbon and Madrid we can still stay till evening for the last minute visit in Barcelona! We headed to La Ramblas.

Las Ramblas, a gorgeous tree-lined pedestrian walkway, the busiest and most lively street of the city. Mostly occupied by tourists, expect to pay higher prices for food and drink. Avoid the groups of people supposedly betting on a game played on a cardboard table, they are thieves. Head off into some of the side streets for a cheaper, more local, and authentic experience of Barcelona.  

Last meal in Barcelona. We finally tasted Paella as it was not in any menu in the entire trip.