All good things to an end. It was finally time to say goodbye Barcelona. Goodbye to everything Gaudi, the Barri Gotic, Sobremeso (sit and relax, order some Pipas (sunflower seeds) with a nice glass of Rioja and watch the world go by). Farewell to my favorite Boquerones (White Anchovies cured in OVO & vinegar), and the amazing Crema Catalonia. Muchas Gracias!
It was wonderful to walk in the footsteps of Fermin and Daniel (from The Shadow of the Wind) in the historic areas, including the wonderful Cathedral of the Sea, and to revisit this city, now transformed from its smokey and dirty caterpillar stage into the beautiful butterfly it is with Paris for Europes best city. Port Vell, with its harbor full of yachts and tourists, has a vibrant and upscale destination, a far cry from when I was there in 1970.
Sagrada Familia is still but a long way towards that end. I only hope I will be able to return to see it again after it is in its full glory. When I do return I will definitely book some concerts and choral events
It would also be nice to spend some time walking the nature parks of Park Guell and walking all of Avenue Diagonal, peering into the charming shops and cafes. And of course I hope to spend a very long time in Cortes Ingles buying specialty foods and wine, jewelry and other tempting items. And since I missed all the local markets I will need to explore those as well!
But for now, I will keep those memories tucked away in this blog, in a movie I hope to soon make, and my many photographs so that I might never forget the wonderful times weve had in this culturally unique city.
On this day, Dave and I were about to embark on the last leg of this adventure. We had booked our return passage from Barcelona, Spain to Tampa, Florida on the Royal Caribbean Cruise line. The transfer from our hotel to the ship was around 11am so we had our last mainland breakfast, packed up for the last time and prepared to meet our fellow passengers on this, our first
This cruise followed the coast of Spain stopping in Cartagena, Malaga, Cadiz, Spain and then on to Lisbon, Portugal for two days, and last but not least, a long stop in the Azores before our remaining week at sea. And this time we wont have to unpack at each destination, a plus for our tired bodies.
Dave is a retired nautical engineer, having designed ships for the US Navy, so he was very interested in this ship and its seaworthiness. I was interested in the bed. We arrived on board shortly after noon, in time to unpack, and get to our respective stations for the mandatory ships drill. After the drill we could wander and explore, grab a snack and settle in for our first dinner onboard.
The ships main dining room was spacious and lovely but our late seating partners were less than hospitable so we asked the maitre d if we could change our dining time for the remainder of the trip. We were glad we did.
