THREE DAYS IN BARCELONA
We were given the “all clear” to debark the ship around 8:30 am. Exiting the ship was easy. We went to customs, showed our passports, and then were cleared to go find our luggage. That also went smoothly. We exited the building, cabs were readily available and we took a short taxi ride to our hotel, where we stored our bags and started exploring Barcelona.
Our hotel was Le Meridien Barcelona, which is a 5 star hotel that is part of the Marriott Brand. It has a great location, on La Rambla, just a few blocks from multiple Metro stops. Did we really need a 5 star hotel? Not really. We spent very little time in our room. However, the combination of a great location and judicious use of Marriott points, made this the perfect choice. It didn’t cost us anything! The staff spoke great English and went way out of their way to make sure you stayed happy.
Our first stop was the bustling La Ramba, which is filled with people and vendors selling their wares. We toured an enormous outdoor market, whose stalls were full of deliciousness. We grabbed a light breakfast at a café and wandered all over Barcelona, shopping and people watching. We logged many miles on our sneakers that day. Pickpockets are a real concern in any major city and Barcelona is no exception. We both used sling bags to carry our money and IDs, keeping them close to our bodies. We were not victims. After hours of treading all over Barcelona, we grabbed lunch. I had an awesome paella, photo below. We then took a nap and headed back out on the town. We had dinner at a steakhouse. It was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. We then retired to the hotel to rejuvenate for Day 2.
Unbeknownst to us, the next day was the Festival of Saint Jordi (in English, Saint George). It is a very popular festival that combines culture and romanticism, celebrating both World Book Day and Valentine’s Day. On this day, it is custom for couples to exchange gifts: the men receive a book and the women receive a rose. However, this has developed over time, so both men and women can receive books and roses.Book and flower stalls are set up along the streets of Barcelona. The streets fill with people walking around stalls, looking for a gift for their beloved, and for their family and friends too. You will find the latest publications, see well-known artists signing copies of their books, and of course, smell the scent of the roses. The town was packed. Even among the thousands of people, we ran into people we knew from the ship. We listened to some live music and hit the Picasso Museum. What a fantastic collection. We did an audio tour, which helped us put all of the works into context. It is a “don’t miss” attraction. We walked all over, stopping in boutiques, and doing some people watching. By the end of the day, we were exhausted and walked just across the street to Bar Lobo for tapas. We enjoyed it very much and then it was back to the hotel to rest for the next day.
Monday, our final full day in Barcelona, was spent exploring and visiting Sagrada Familia, the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. It has been under construction since 1882 and is the masterpiece of renowned architect, Antoni Gaudi. To say it is massive would be a huge understatement. Yet, not small detail is random. Everything has its place and serves a thoughtful purpose. We could have spent days there and never covered all of the details.
At this point in the blog, I want to give a shout out to an app that is “MUST HAVE!”. It is called Moovit. What does it do? It is like Apple Maps on steroids. You put in your destination, your starting point and the time you want to leave and it gives you all the best options on how to get there. We used it to get to Sagrada Familia. It directed us to the nearest metro stop, to the first train we were to board, how many stops until we got off, to the next train we were to board, how many stops until we got off and then the few blocks to our final destination. It gives updates on how far away the train is and turn by turn walking or driving directions. With this app, we were comfortable traveling anywhere in Barcelona and will certainly be using it next year in Paris.
Before we went into Sagrada Familia, we found an Italian sports bar and grabbed a pizza that was every bit as good as we ate in Italy. The bar wasn’t crowded and we struck up conversations with other patrons. By now, this should surprise no one.
By the time we were finished sight seeing, it was early evening. We headed back to the hotel and ate dinner there. We then packed our suitcases and prepared for our return to the USA that was only a good night’s sleep away. We hope you enjoyed sharing this journey with us. It was a fabulous vacation, one we won’t soon forget!
