Besides today being Holland America Line’s 146th birthday, it was also a birthday for one of us – Bill. How nice to have a special day for him we joked. In addition, some VIP’s joined the ship as well. Namely, Arnold Donald, the CEO of Carnival Corporation, Orlando Ashford, the President of HAL, and his wife and youngest son, and at least one executive head chef from Seattle, we heard. But more about that later.
Spain is one of Europe’s most exotic countries, according to some experts, with old traditional ways, but mixed with a tendency towards the future. The capital is Madrid and the total population is about 41 million people. Architecture ranges from Islamic designs to Gothic cathedrals. The food is just as exciting – spicy and tasty. Best time to visit is from May to October, avoiding July and August, their hottest and busiest tourist season.
Things we have seen and done include a trip to the Alhambra to see Andalucia’s Islamic architecture, Barcelona and Gaudi’s art, the islands of Mallorca and Menora for their secluded beaches, or a day trip to Mijas where we saw donkeys as local transport and ate roasted chestnuts that were sold on the streets. Day trips or overnight adventures take you to see Madrid, Seville, and Cordoba….places we have yet to see.
A must to eat in Spain has to be the wafer thin slices of jamon, their cured ham, and their favorite dish of paella, a mixture of seafood and rice in a red sauce. Paella was invented in Valencia, another port where we have never stopped.
Favorite beverages are vino tinto (red) or blanco (white) wines, fine sherry from Jerez la Frontera, or sangria with floating fruit.
Trademarks are the flamenco dance, paella, bullfighting (yes it still happens with a passion), football, fiestas, Costa del Sol, and creative pickpockets in major cities.
A random fact is that Spaniards spend more money on food per capita than any other European country.
So, we arrived on time to the harbor, but due to a flotilla of cruise vessels coming into the port, we were not docked and cleared by officials until 9:30am, an hour and half late. Once again, it had to be announced that everyone on tours should NOT go to the Mainstage until we were ready to debark. With many passengers leaving the ship at the end of their segment, they had priority, especially if they had flights home. The shore excursions were no longer than 5 hours, so they would not be shortened. And to help with the guest’s concerns, the all aboard time had been extended to 6:30pm. Usually, we have a 2 day stay in Barcelona, but not on this cruise.
There were a total of six cruise ships in port today. Besides the Amsterdam, there was the Phoenix Reisen Artania, the RCI Spectrum of the Seas, and the MSC Meravasiglia….the last two were mega-sized. Across the harbor, closer to town, were The World, and Regent’s Explorer, one of their newest ships in the fleet. Since our book only includes ships up to 2014, we have no info on their stats. However, if we had a choice of who we would sail with out of the lot (exception of the Amsterdam), we might lean towards Regent, which is all-inclusive with gorgeous rooms….every single one of them.
We are not totally sure of the reason, but today the folks on the Amsterdam scored with a free shuttle ride to the World Trade Center in the city center. Everyone we know has always complained about paying the 3 euro each way for the shuttle. It could be due to the fact that we were about the last vessel to dock at Terminal E, which is the furthest away. Normally we enjoy walking, but since we only had one day here, we rode the shuttle, giving us more free time in town.
The day began well for two reasons….no leaks in our room overnight, and a slew of birthday cards for the birthday guy. That was followed by more greetings in the dining room. Gan and Feri, our waiters, had found some huge blueberries for our yogurt, and even located catsup for both of us. Gan even sang happy birthday to Bill. By 11am, we were ready to go explore the town. And for this port, we were required to pack our passports with us in case of any surprise identity check by the local authorities while in the city.
Barcelona can be described as a blend of the old and new, reality and fantasy. You can see many objects of art and architecture from Gaudi, the resident artist such as La Sagrada Familia Church, an ongoing project for forever since 1883. Then there is the Picasso Museum with the most extensive collection in the world. Other places to see are Passeig de Gracia, the major thoroughfare with shops, cafes, and some of Gaudi’s masterpieces. The Barri Gothic is full of winding streets with squares, fountains, and palaces. La Rambla is a tree-lined pedestrian walkway, undoubtedly the most lively street in town. Palau Guell and Park Guell are the mansion of Gaudi and a hillside garden with whimsical statues. La Boqueria is their large public market with fresh produce, meats, fish, and deli, and the Hill of Montjuic overlooks the harbor with the remains of a Spanish village.
To see out of town, you can take tours to the Monserrat Monastery with views from 4000 feet high. We have seen the Black Virgin Mary statue, the patron of Catalonia. But the most memorable experience we recall was hearing the oldest boys’ choir in Europe – the Escolans. Heavenly. All of the above sights could be seen on tours offered by the ship starting from $55 to $190, all short duration of 4 to 5 hours.
It was easy to find our way from the shuttle drop-off point to the Christopher Columbus Monument at the bottom of La Rambla. It was crowded with six ships in port, not to mention the several ferries we saw. Today happened to be Holy Thursday on the Catholic calendar, so many local families were out and about town as well. This was one place that many hop on, hop off double-decker coaches were available for the tourists. The one day ticket was 25 euro ($28.41 USD) and offered two different itineraries. One went west, while the other went east.
La Rambla began with street artists, the ones that are costumed and painted, posing like frozen statues. On previous trips, we had been warned that while mesmerized by these artists, pickpocket artists are working the crowd. One of us watched for that activity, which we have seen in motion unfortunately. There was a continuous row of tents with souvenirs, and street side cafes. We liked the pages of food photos of their entire menus, which one photo says a thousand words. This is what we suggested to add to the ship’s Navigator site so we can figure out what’s for dinner.
Further up the really crowded street, we came across some of the sites like the Grand Theater and some museums. On the left was the entrance to La Boqueria, the local market with food of all kinds. This was hands-down, the busiest place in town….wall-to-wall people. You have to be careful taking photos, which everyone and their brother did, mostly with cell phones. Only one meat and poultry stand objected to cameras, so off-putting that few people bought their products. About the only thing we took was photos, but did purchase 5 euro worth of pistachio nuts. Some of the ready-made food to go sure looked good. Many folks buy sandwiches and meat pies to eat on the spot. Drinks like fruit smoothies are quite popular, as is the fresh produce they sell. Watching the expert butchers slicing the ham right off of the smoked legs was fascinating. They shave it almost paper-thin.
We continued further uphill to the Plaza de Catalunya where the Hard Rock Café is located. Going inside was like going into a furnace…it was very hot. And it was so mobbed with shoppers, we skipped checking out their shop. A few years ago, we purchased a city t-shirt, and it had not changed since then. So that place was out for lunch.
Since we were up here, we decided to check out some of the stores. Most of them were high end department stores. A few we did explore were Desigual, Zara, and a couple of other boutique-like shops. One thing we noticed was that there were no public restrooms to be found. The only option was to go to a café or coffee house, buy something, then use their facilities.
We thought it best to back-track going into the Barri Gothic district with winding streets, hidden squares, fountains, cathedrals , and palaces. This has to be one of the most authentic spots in town as far as history is concerned. The Gothic Cathedral is an impressive sight. Years ago, while on a tour, we watched a group of elderly folks dancing in a circle with the ladies’ purses in the center. They did this after mass was over on Sundays. Today in the square outside the church was a man creating gigantic bubbles with a rope dipped in suds. Kids were chasing them to be popped.
We did not see the famous Gaudi creation of Sagrada Familia Church, but we have toured that historical site many times before. Always a huge crowd there, and not always very safe. We found our way back to La Rambla by going through narrow alleyways lined with tiny shops and cafes. Most of the establishments looked like a night time venue.
Back down to the Columbus Monument, we found the street vendors selling assorted things like designer handbags, shoes, sunglasses and trinkets. The most clever thing we spotted was a vendor with an umbrella covered with hundreds of pairs of earrings.
From here, we made our way to Port Vell and Maremagnum or the La Rambla de Mar. There is a two story complex there with a mall-like atmosphere with restaurants and an aquarium. There is a wooden slat bridge to cross, which happened to be opening up for a boat to pass through to the sea from the marina. Always fun to watch the action when the bells ring, and the walkers have to scramble across. Also the best place to find an empty bench and relax for a few minutes. Extra-large seagulls begging scraps and fish in the waters below kept us occupied.
Usually, we dine at a place called Gino’s, but today the place was jammed full of families with very young kids and no room for a table for two. So we went back to the entrance to check out some nicer places up on the second floor overlooking the harbor. We found just the perfect place at El Chipiron with a view of the harbor ferries and the swing span bridge. And they had more to offer besides seafood. The menu had cheese pizza with ham and mushrooms, which we ordered, and it came with four slices of tomato-topped bread (assumed complimentary, but was not). We had two ½ liter Gerra tap beers, and followed up with a shared dessert of carrot cake with ice cream. Most diners on the balcony were getting huge pans of steaming hot paella to share among themselves at tables for two or four.
What’s nice about eating in countries like Italy or Spain, they never rush you. The bill will not arrive until you summon them. Since it was nearly 4pm, we thought it best to head back to the shuttle bus. On the way, we passed by several tables set with hundreds of antique items for sale. From housewares to jewelry and keepsakes from the past, many folks were seriously looking for bargains. Checking out the last of the street vendors, we ended up buying nothing today, but going back to the ship with many photos and full from a delicious lunch.
After the short bus ride, we found that after we went through the local xray check, there were a few stores in the terminal selling souvenirs and liquor. Curious about the purchase of alcohol, and the policy of having to pay the corkage fee on wine, we wondered if anyone could buy bottles here, and take it onboard. Will ask tomorrow if anyone did just that. There was a collection table set up inside the ship, but the table was empty of bottles.
Back in our room, we found a birthday card from the Captain and crew along with a chocolate candy bar. Nice touch. Then at 5pm, there was a complimentary Tapas Sail Away Party held in the Lido pool area. This included free champagne, sangria, wine, beers, or sodas. The tapas, we never did see, because we went at 5:20pm, mainly to take some pictures. The Station Band played music for the folks that like to dance. This would be the start of several Mariner Appreciation Days to honor the loyal guests. With the dome completely shut, it was really noisy and most people could not talk let alone think.
We did welcome Bob, Martha’s husband, who joined the ship today for the next 18 days. Leta and Bill stopped on their way out after enjoying a few beers, like us, then exited when the party was over. Most of the heavy party-goers begged the band to carry on for at least one more song. They knew the free drinks would stop when the band did. One man had some kind of problem, since the medical team had to get a wheelchair to take him away. Hope it was nothing more than too much wine, and nothing more serious.
By 6:30pm, we were underway, and we braved the cold and wind with Eddie and Susie to take some photos of the real sail away. None of us lasted long since the wind almost blew us all off the deck. Back in our room, we were surprised to find two plush fleece blankets, gifts for the 2019 world cruise. Now these will be useful, even on this cruise when we head further north.
Dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill, and we ordered our usual items, but added the bacon on a clothesline this time, highly recommended by Heo and Greg. The clothesline was a metal frame with hooks on a wire. Three of those hooks held a piece of thick smoked bacon, cooked with herbs on the side and maple syrup and peppered. It was delicious, but rich. It also came with a slice of pickle and a lemon wedge to squeeze over the top. We shared one order. Then for dessert, one of us had the Key lime pie, and the other tried the new cheesecake pops – three small balls rolled in chocolate or strawberry icing. Tina called them fun food. Besides us, the big wigs happened to pick tonight to dine here as well. Each couple had their own table for a cozy dinner. It is their private time, as it was for us as well, but Orlando took the time to stop by our table, shake hands, and say hello. He laughed when we welcomed him onboard along with his wife and son.
It had been a fun but exhausting day, but the good news was that our room was still dry….no floods. And the best saying of the day was: birthdays are nature’s way of telling one to eat more cake!
Bill & Mary Ann
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Report # 90 Barcelona, Spain April 18, 2019 Thursday Cloudy & 64 degrees
