Barcelona

First time to fly across the big pond on American. Unimpressed. Hour wait for Pam’s luggage. Found our way on the metro from airport to apartment we rented. Telling you—wheeled carry on is the way to travel.

Barcelona is a clean, cosmopolitan city full of whimsical creativity and history. Architecture runs the gamut from gothic to modern/contemporary. Temps in November were perfect and the crowds limited. Got a taxi to the Hop On Hop Off terminus in Plaza Catalunya and began our trek. Peeked at the cathedral in Gothic Quarter. Tooled around Port Vell spotting Columbus Statue and La Ramblas shopping district in the distance. Got off at Sagrada Familia and gawked at the exterior of a modern cathedral still in process. Slowed down for a bite, decided to get tickets on-line and return the next morning rather than wait in the ridiculously long line (for November) and then back on HOHO. My other “must do” was Park Güell and was not disappointed.

Güell is located high above the city and was originally designed by Antoni Gaudi as a suburban neighborhood for the upper class. Only two of sixty planned homes were ever built/sold so as a commercial enterprise it was a bust. Today the central park area with its meandering mosaic bench and tiered gardens are delightful to wander in and among, and the view of the city to the harbor is lovely.

Met up with Debye and Jody and searched for a place that would seat us for dinner before 8. Feted with local appetizers, entrees and wine we made our way back to the apartment. Debye purchased our Sagrada Familia tickets on line and we turned in.

Thursday morning we took a taxi to Sagrada Familia. Besides beating the crowds we got the benefit of early morning light pouring through the perfectly gorgeous stained glass windows. Gaudi used nature throughout his design—an artist after my own heart. We chose to ascend the Nativity tower and walked our way down. Up close views to the work in progress on this magnificent structure.

Next stop wandering the main thoroughfare of La Ramblas to the Columbus Statue. Paused along the waterfront. Trekked to the Gothic Quarter before returning to our apartment to gather belongings to head to our ship for boarding.