Good thing we got a very good night's sleep, because we started all over again today on day two in Barcelona. Keeping breakfast light, we headed off of the ship mid-morning. This city is slow to wake up, so there was little sense in running off too soon. Once again, it was a beautiful, clear day with the sun out, and a cool breeze blowing.
Sometime during the early morning, the Rotterdam had arrived to the port, and actually docked nose-to-nose to us. We did not even know this ship was there, until we walked up and over the bridge towards town. And there was a huge surprise that we did not know until we got back to the ship at 4pm. We had friends onboard that ship, four former tablemates, Bill and Marianne and Van and Carol. OMG, it wasn't until we got back in the late afternoon, that we found a note on our door from them, trying to arrange a meeting point. The bad news was that it came too late, and their ship left the pier by 4pm, just as we got back. Sure would love to see them come back on another grand voyage, as they were so much fun. So sorry we missed them today.
Yesterday while talking to Eddie and Lee at the Columbus Monument, he told us to go in the direction of the harbor front. Lots to see, he said. So that's what we did….follow the water front on Pg. de Colon past many historical buildings and plazas. This morning there were groups of cyclists riding down this extra wide street, as well as segways, and skateboarders. As long as we stayed out of the bike lane, we were OK.
The Gothic Quarter was to our left as we walked past the small boat harbor. Many cafes and restaurants lined this street. If nothing else, we discovered some nice places to eat pizza with real wood-fired ovens. We passed by what we think was a Consolate complete with guard houses flanking the massive wooden doors.
We came upon a beautiful historic building called Station Ma Mar with Telegrafico over the doorways. Not sure what this building is, but many people were going into the revolving doors. We were searching for the market that was on the map, and we eventually found it. Thinking it was a food and meat market, we discovered that it was the old site of the El Born Market. And we mean old, like ancient. A cast-iron and glass design was used to build a massive structure over the remains of a market from the 1700's. In fact, the remains of about 50 homes were unearthed under the old fruit and vegetable market that was opened in 1876. It operated until 1971, when it was closed for future digs. What we saw today reminded us of going to the Terra Cotta Warriors in China. A viewing balcony surrounded the entire complex with 21 information panels with brief explanations of the site's past.
From here, we walked across the street to stroll through a nice garden called Park Ciuttadella. At the upper end was an Arc de Triomf, and the opposite end was a small city zoo. With so many families here on spring vacation, this place had a line to get inside.
It was getting close to noon, so we decided to head back. On the way, we happened to come across the Estacio de Franca, the train station. It was pretty cool inside, we are sure, dating back many years. Come to think of it, we stopped here while on a tour many years ago.
Across the wide street, there was a whimsical lobster statue at the entrance to the Moll d'Espanya and the Maremagnum. Coming across the bridge over the harbor, we located the restaurant we always go to called Gino's. It was mighty fine to be able to find a nice table with a view of the harbor. Within a ½ hour, the place was full to capacity. We ordered what we always do……a wood-fired margarita pizza, with a side Caesar salad. And two local draft beers. Since we did not want to leave for a while, we had to order dessert. They serve a thin cooked pizza topped with Nutella, chocolate sauce, nuts and vanilla or chocolate ice cream. We shared one, and left happy campers.
Right before we left, a bunch of the street vendors passed by the window, carrying their treasures in a sheet. Slung over their backs, they must have been rousted by the police. We think it is illegal to sell knock-offs here. We had already seen many of these fellows across the harbor, and even at the back end of this mall. They simply move from one place to another it seems.
Walking around the outside near the water, we avoided going through the stores and shops of the mall. A bridge near the Columbus Monument tied us back to the water front road. We toyed with the idea of going back up La Rambla for a few souvenirs, but changed our minds. So from here, we hiked back to the ship, discovering that our friends had already sailed away, although we did not know it. Darn…..
We had one job to do, and that was return our passports to the front desk, and also return our completed Morocco Immigration forms. The actual location of the Casablanca inspection will not be disclosed until after the ship arrives on Sunday for security reasons. We are advised that all passports will be retained on board, and we do not need to carry them while in this country. With all of the warnings about safety or the lack of, we are not even sure we will leave the ship. This will be the third time we have the chance to see some of Casablanca, since twice in the past this port was cancelled at the last minute, also due to security reasons.
All aboard was 5:30pm with another "hidden" sail away in the Crow's Nest. With such nice weather, why on earth would we want to be inside a stuffy lounge? Many other folks felt the same way, as they joined us at the aft pool.
Captain Jonathon came on with his pm talk, and mentioned we were leaving at 5:45pm. We saw the ropes being dropped, then the fellows stopped, jumped in their truck, and left. Something was up. Turned out that a ferry was entering the channel we needed to use to get out to sea. Somehow, we had missed our chance to escape. We were delayed for almost an hour. Once we did leave, we noticed that the ferry that delayed us was a car, bus, and truck carrier, and they were already unloading them as we passed by.
We have a most welcomed day at sea tomorrow as we sail towards Cadiz, our final port in Spain. Too bad we will be passing the Straits of Gibraltar when we will not be able to see it. Sure wish we could have stopped there, but it only happened once for us.
Dinner time was shared with one of our travel agency's host Tom M. We have known him since 2002, and have always been fortunate to have him host our group on every world cruise as well as some other trips during the year. He gets along with absolutely everyone, and tonight was no exception. Carol, or watercolor teacher, also joined us at the last minute. We all scooted over to make room for her, as we consider her family. And even better….we had mud pie for dessert. It was disguised as frozen Jamaican Calypso torte. Can't fool us……
No show tonight in the Queen's Lounge. The movie, Hacksaw Ridge, was shown at one time only….8pm. Guess our late seating dinner crowd is chopped liver once again.
Bill & Mary Ann
A classic boat
A working pier below the bridge
The Amsterdam at 62,735 gross tons, and the Rotterdam at 59,855 gross tons, smaller
Where are the rest of the ferries?
Back to the Olympic rings
Few cars and no people this morning
Port Building
Street faire with collectable aniques
Interesting items
Things people clear out of the attics
We have these Johnson Brothers dishes (each one was 28 euro, negotiable)
Impressive building not on the map
A government building
Rental bikes
Very wide avenue, Ronda del Litoral
Statuary everywhere you look
Good place for walking, biking, skating, and rollerboarding
These signs are a huge help
Going the right way
Palm-lined avenue
Good marker for La Rambla
Government building
Here comes the bikers
Grand doors with side guard houses
Labeled Capitana General
Looking for the market
Many cafes and restaurants line this street
Hostels above the shops
The lobster monument
Station Ma Mar (Telegrafico?)
A very busy place today
Just not sure what this building is
Another icon across the plaza
A plaza….one of many
Baroque architecture
Different tower
A Pig Restaurant – all pork items
Condos or hostels
A serious door knocker
Balcony gardens
Tree-lined avenue
Cafes and shops
The train station
Elaborate fountain
Early morning coffee drinkers
Cyclamen bloom nicely in Barcelona
No room for parking
Park Ciutadella in the distance
So many old sites
A city of motorbikes and small cars
An outdoor shopping mall
Finally found the Mercat del Born
El Born CCM, not exactly what we expected
Surrounding buildings
Finding the entrance to the Born Market
Massive flagpole
Memories of a market
A museum of ruins
Former remains of homes in La Ribera neighborhood
Dates back to the 1700's
A fort was built over these remains
A covered food market was re-built over these remains in 1876
Today this cast-iron and glass structure was built to protect the ruins
Viewed from a balcony surrounding the site
Side streets out of the museum
This is modern art? A fountain, no less
Fountains and canals line the street
Entrance on the side street to the gardens
A much nicer place to stroll
This fountain attracted pigeons and even parrots
Trees hid a community of green parrots
Strutting pigeon – must be spring time
Local strollers
Spacious park
This path led to the Arc de Triomf of Barcelona
Horse and rider statue
Arc de Triomf, entrance to the park
Monuments in the park
The City Zoo
Unidentified rider