Barcelona

Woke up this AM to a wonderful sunrise and a glorious day.  Temperatures in the high 60s, skies sunny and clear until mid-afternoon.  We ate a leisurely breakfast and took the shuttle bus to the Columbus monument at the bottom of Las Ramblas, one of our favorite areas of Barcelona.  We walked uphill the full length of the street – it was 9:30 AM and many of the street vendors were still putting out their wares; there were few people; this very busy area was quiet and we enjoyed taking pictures, the flower vendors, and seeing the many caged birds and small animals.  By the time we headed back down the street, the mimes had put on there costumes and were like colorful statues along the way.  On previous trips, we were delighted by their creativity and we found this time, that the fun was as engaging as the first time.  We walked through the amazing food market again – this time took lots of pictures of the amazing variety of fruits, veggies, candies,  fish, meat, etc.  I will add them when I get home since Internet time is so expensive that loading the many pictures would be prohibitive.  We stopped for coffee in one of our favorite squares, sitting in the sun and enjoying the atmosphere.  Amazingly, Art noticed that the man at the next table was addressing a post card to someone in High Point, NC….of course, a conversation ensued and we found out that his wife’s family lived there and his assignment for the morning was to write the postcards.  Since they are staying in Barcelona until next Monday, we suggested that they be sure to see the folk dancers near the cathedral on Sunday and also visit our favorite museum – the Museum of the City of Barcelona with the archeological dig in the basement.  Then we were off to do some shopping from the vendors on the lower end of Las Ramblas (bought a few gifts and a glass pendant for me) and headed back to the ship’s shuttle bus with a stop at the antique booths nearby. 

We had a quick lunch at the Mast Grill when back onboard and spend an hour or so in the AquaSpa’s Persian Garden, then off to the 4-6 PM Elite Lounge for a few free Martinis and conversation with friends. 

We dressed for dinner and decided to switch from Select Dining to Early Dining so that we could more easily enjoy some of the evening entertainment (our select dining time meant we missed the early shows and we don’t seem to be able to stay up for the late ones any more :)).  The Maitre D’ was very accommodating and assigned us to a table for 6.  Much to our chagrin, we were the only ones at the table – hopefully the others chose to go to a Specialty restaurant tonight and will return tomorrow.  Our waiter, sommelier, and Assistant Waiter were terrific and we did enjoy our dinner and a terrific magician’s show afterwards.  On the way back to our cabin, we met 2 stewards that we knew from our Mercury cruise last year.  It was fun to chat with them and catch up on their news. 

Tomorrow the ship docks in Palma, Majorca, but since it’s a short stop and since we spent a week there with Marilyn and Bob a few years ago, we’ve decided not to go ashore.  it will be a good day for relaxing, reading and, hopefully, organizing pictures – a chore that I haven’t been doing very well this trip.