We were happy to have two days in Barcelona, because on day two, we were free to "do the town" on our own. At breakfast, some of our buddies who did not attend the special castle dinner wanted a detailed description of what they missed. We were happy to fill them in.
Back in our room, the final delivery of the every two week President's Club amenity arrived a day early. One of us got a lovely bouquet of flowers, and the other received 20 sodas. However, counting the days we have left, we really did not need any more drinks, so we opted for the $50 beverage card with a $10 credit going to our shipboard account.
Since there was no shuttle today, due to the overabundance of cruise ships in port, we walked to La Rambla like we always do. We could have taken a taxi, but we knew the walk would do us good in the fresh air. And the scenery could not be beat taking photos from the overpass bridge from the cruise terminals. The ships were the NCL Breakwater, Volendam and Zuiderdam, Costa Fascinosa, Aida Cosma, and MSC World Europa.
Taking our sweet time, we made it over the bridge, but not before watching the melee of the NCL Breakwater, a huge vessel, having their turn-over morning. There were so many guests coming and going, it was like a bee hive. Many of their guests were families with kids.
Once on the city side, we passed by the Maritime Museum and the World Trade Center where the Ho-Ho buses were taking off. We headed right for the Christopher Columbus Monument, which is located at the bottom of La Rambla, one of the city's most famous pedestrian streets. The first thing we noticed was that the righthand side of the street was completely dug up and under construction. There is an ongoing project to update this area.
Near the start of this wavy-looking tile -paved street were some streets artists, that are usually frozen and not moving, and painted gold or silver. These days the pantomimes are dressed in dark Gothic and scary clothing to look like monsters or unhuman scary birds. Of course, little kids love to pose with them, and their parents take pictures of them for a price. This is one of the places you have to watch your pockets and purses. Pickpockets are everywhere you least expect them.
On the way up, we passed by Palau Guell, the Gran Teatre, and the Museu de l'Erotica. The Mercat de la Boqueria, a bustling food market, is a must-see. Originally designed in 1217, the building we see here today was built in 1853. They sell Catalan and Spanish sausages, cheeses, Iberian ham, seafood, tapas, and colorful produce along with sweet bakery treats. There is also a wide variety of spices, olives, nuts and fruit-type drinks. Around the perimeter are eateries with bars and high chairs for a quick dining venue. It was well before noontime and the locals were drinking wines and beer already. Tapas (small eats) were the main lunch food as well as different types of paella. We also saw Spanish-style burritos and wonderful-looking French bread baguettes with thinly sliced Parma ham and cheese in the center. They sure looked tempting, but it was so crowded and busy in this market, you would never find a place to eat them. We covered every aisle, squeezing through the crowd before going back outside.
Weaving or way up La Rambla, we got to Catalunya Square full of fountains, sculptures, shops, and cultural festivities as well as a whole lot of people. This was also a drop-off pick-up stop for the Ho-Ho buses. One thing we learned many years ago, was that the Ho-Ho experience can work OK if there are not too many people using the buses. Otherwise, you may be in a line of 100 people waiting for a bus that has few seats available. So the wait could be very long to go from point to point. This was the case with this particular stop.
Located across the square was the Hard Rock Café, where we were very lucky to be seated at a table for two inside the restaurant. Our very friendly waiter, Marco from Italy, waited on us. We asked why from here and not Italy? He said he came here 20 years ago, and liked it much better because he had more opportunities for jobs and the [rices were far better than Italy. We ordered two beers and a Messi chicken sandwich with fries to share. Then we added one of their best desserts of an apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream to split. Before leaving, we found two t-shirts to buy. We got extra credit given for wearing a Singapore Hard Rock T as well as using points we had.
We headed back because the all aboard time was 4:30pm. With relaxing for an hour or more, we had plenty of energy to walk back and not use a taxi. Barcelona is a people-friendly city with plenty of nice benches. We took advantage of several of them on the way back.
Hiking over the bridge to the cruise terminals, we laughed as we went from "pole-to-pole", which were really the street light poles on the bridge. But it was amusing to us since the Volendam used the same phrase for their Grand Voyage.
We got back to the ship by 4pm and happy to be back. The ship left close to 4:45pm with the Volendam following close behind. There was a whole lot of horn blasting coming from our two ships and the ones we were passing on the way out of the harbor. From the many banners we saw advertising the Meeting of the Ships, we realized it was a big event for the locals as well….especially the drone show.
At his sail away talk, Captain Frank repeated that we had a most successful meeting with the Volendam, which we already knew. Now we had 230 nautical miles to reach the next port of Alicante, Spain doing a speed of 17 knots. He predicted smooth seas, light winds, and temperatures in the 70's…what more could we ask? We have been most lucky with the Mediterranean weather for sure.
Finally back to our dining room table, we found that our assistant waiter, Yasin, had been requested to deck two, anytime dining. Now we have Francis, a nice fellow from the Philippines. Usually the waiters do not rotate like this, but it seems that anything goes on this particular trip.
We ordered a hot tomato soup, a seafood spring roll, and Caesar salads. One of us enjoyed the sweet and sour shrimp and the other had a small order of prime rib. Both were very good and served hot, unlike our castle dinner. Good news is that everyone we know, including us, that went to the castle dinner survived the cold food. Desserts were our usual vanilla ice cream and strawberry sorbet.
There was a vocalist, Adam Pritchard, singing in the show lounge, but both of us were really tired and called it a night.
One last stop in Alicante, Spain will be tomorrow and a new port for us and many others.
Bill & Mary Ann
