Barcelona

Monday, April 25, 2016

Up at 5 AM to do our final activities including our last breakfast on board, then we were off the ship by 7:30 and in line for passport inspections, long line even this early.  Caught a cab to our Hotel Brummell, too early to check in but they stored our bags and we walked around the neighborhood a bit, returned to the hotel to find they were ready for us to get into our room.  At 10:30 we caught a cab to the Placa Reial where we met our tour guide, Jessica, from Australia who has been living in Barcelon several years.  This was billed as a 2.5 hour Free Walking Tour, the guide gets tips for her efforts.  So we visited the Placa Reial, Placa del Pi, Old Jewish Quarter, Placa Sant Jaume, Cathedral cloister, Placa Sant Felip Neri, Roman City, Medieval City & Placa del Rei and ended at Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral.  Jessica was full of facts and history of the city and we truly enjoyed our tour except for getting really tired by the end.  We managed to find a taxi back to the hotel and after a fresh up we walked to a recommended restaurant for a bottle of really cold, crisp, dry white wine and some grilled octopus, roast pork shoulder with orange and pumpkin with some tasty bread and local extra virgin olive oil that was fresh and peppery.  Walking was required back to the hotel where we collapsed for a nap.  At 7:30 PM we walked a few blocks to the pedestrian street where we found lots of “tapas” bars.  We enjoyed two of them, where at each place we had three tapas each and a glass of wine.  We were stuffed.  Total $20.  Then a stroll back to the hotel and to bed.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Early again at 6 AM getting ready for our tour today.  Bob went to a near-by bakery for croissants  and a bar for coffee to go as our hotel does not serve anything until 7:30 and even then there is no decaf.  Downstairs at 7:40 as we were told we would be picked up between 7:55 and 8:05.  Sitting waiting for us was Martha so away we went in a 12 passenger Sprinter van for our “Barcelona and Montserrat Tour”.  Several stops in Barcelona to see Gaudi’s works as well as the cathedral still under construction (expected completion is 2026 but that will not be the final).  Case Batilo is a marvel but La Familia Cathedral is so busy even photos don’t tell the whole story.  Drives along some of the glitzy shopping streets were before our one hour drive out of the city toward France to Montserrat, the craggy mountain containing Santa Maria de Montserrat, the beautiful Benedictine abbey and basilica where thousands of pilgrims have journeyed over the centuries.  We arrived in time to see the Black Madonna (from a great distance viewed through Bob’s 42 zoom lens)” and to hear the oldest boy’s choir in Europe.  We had our lunch stop here as they had places to eat to meet the demands of the thousands of folks in attendance.  After driving back into Barcelona we stopped at Park Guell, easily one of the most impressive public spaces in the world.  The gardens encapsulate Gaudi’s creative genius with an abundance of colorful mosaics and intriguing gatehouses.  The serpentine benches are amazing to see and rest on.  Our last stop was Montjuic, Barcelona’s 755 foot tall hill with over 800 acres overlooking all of Barcelona and the port and the site of the 1992 Olympic Games.  Then two tired folks were dropped of at their hotel.  After a short rest it was tapas again at the same bars before having authentic gelato before bedtime.  Home to France tomorrow.