Bye Bye Barcelona.. Hello Island Princess

Though today was the day we were to board the ship, we made great use of the hours before boarding by further exploring the Bari Gothic.
We set out to find the remains of the Roman Walls that still stand. 

We returned to the old cathedral to see the cloisters area which we missed on our previous visit.  This was not disappointing.  The cloisters house a flock of geese in memoriam of an early saint who lived there.

Soon it was time to board the Island Princess.  Boarding was smooth and stress free and in a very short time we were on board and once we had found our very comfortable cabin, our bags arrived soon after. What a joy to unpack and not have to live from the suitcase.

First we had lunch in the ships buffet restaurant. The desserts were wonderful!
We went up on deck and I had my first cocktail on board (a very strong margarita).
We met up with our cruise critic roll call some of whom we are sharing tours with and then enjoyed a Martini each in Crooners Martini Bar.
Dinner followed in the Bordeaux Dining Room.  We were seated with a nice couple from the UK.
I had prawns as an entrees, followed by a pint colada chilled soup (!.. Yes it was not a soup!)  Main Course was Crayfish etoufee with Louisiana Hot Sauce and Rice..  crayfish are tiny lobster like creatures.
dessert was s lovely creme brulee.
By this time it was 10.45 and we were both exhausted so bed called.

All over Barcelona

We started our full day in Barcelona early after waking at 5.30am. We showered and by 7.30 we were heading back to the Barri Gotic, the Gothic Quarter. We found a cafe to eat breakfast in ( chocolate croissant and cappucino..mmmmm) and though we had bought hop on hop off bus tickets, decided to walk to Sagrada Familia to get there when it opened at 9 as we had not bought tickets online for entry ( mistake 1).
Google said it was 45 minutes walk,though google didnt account for us getting lost in the delightful meandering alleyways of the od city, and our having to constantly detour for another photo.

We found ourselves in the midst of living history and it was hard to keep to the plan..the plan took a nosedive when we discovered the old cathedral. we were no longer going to get to Sagrada Familia by 9am!!

The old Cathedral is immensely beautiful and we spent a good hour inside.

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (Catalan: Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia, Spanish: Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia), also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the Gothic cathedral and seat of theArchbishop of Barcelona, Spain.^[1] The cathedral was constructed from the 13th to 15th centuries, with the principal work done in the 14th century.


The present Gothic cathedral was begun on the foundations of the previous churches on 1 May 1298; James II the Just was King of Aragon at the time, and Bernat Pelegri was Bishop of Barcelona. The church was built from the east end towards the west end, with a simple west facade completed in 1417. The cloister was completed in 1448, making the total duration of construction 150 years. In the late 19th century, Miguel Girona i Agrafel offered to complete the neo-Gothic facade and central tower as inspired by the original 15th-century design prepared by master Carlí and rearranged and drawn by the architectJosep O. Mestres. This work was completed in 1913 by Girona's children.^[2]

The church has many incrdible decorative dedication area around the walls as shown by the one in the photo here.
We could have stayed much longer and explored here but we needed oget to Sagrada Familia

We once again got a bit lost but finally made it to Sagrada Familia. The earliest ticket we could get was for entry in 2 hours so wandered the area around, finding the Arc de Triomf and buying a pair of spanish shoes each, and lunching at a fast food place called Pans which sells filled bread rolls.
The Sagrada Familia did not disappoint and really cant be put in words . Its an immense work in progress, and clearly Antony Gaudi was one of the most imaginative men ever to walk the earth. It is still years from being finished but requires hours to view as there is just so much to see. Every time you look you see something you didnt see before .. Visiting inside is a highlight for me

We spent the remainder of the day touring Bacelona on the Hop on Hop Off Bus. We attemped Park Guell but the next available entry to the Monument zone would have made us too late for the last bus and it was a LONG way to the hotel so we just took in the view from the free area and then caught the bus to the another area with a couple of iconic Gaudi houses,  ( very expensive to tour inside so we will save those for next time!

We had dinner in a remarkable deli type restaurant   complete with aobout a hundred hanging hams . Paella was a must  for our last dinner in Barcelona.
Our big adventure on the high seas awaits us tomorrow but in the morning we plan to visit the Bouqueria Market and further explore the  Gothic area

Arriving in Barcelona

The flight from Auckland was long and tiring but not as bad as i had feared. I didnt sleep at all but watched several movies and watched a huge electrical/storm out the windoww. Lightening lit up the clouds multiple times a minute. After a short stop in Dubai to change planes we were off again for the las 6.5 hoursto Barcelona. This was a dytime fllight with quite a lot to see out the window as we trcked across Saudi Arabia and over the Mediterranean.

This was one of the many man made islands being created off the Dubai Coast

I believe this is the Suez Canal

And finally, over 28 hiurs after we left here was our first view of Barcelona.

After a short trip in one of the cleanest taxis Ive had we arrived at our Hotel Arc La Rambla ,situated near the port end of the famous a Ramblas. This tree lined street is filled with restaurants, market stalls , entertainers, and loads of tourists of course but is lively and fun.
Ourroom was typically European, small but very functional, but with a balcony looking out to the street below .

La Ramblas is famous for its human statues.

We changed and went out wandering and came acrss one of the many sqaures. This one Placa Reial or the Royal Square , we stopped for a drink. I had my first Spanish Sangria and Steve had a Spanish beer

We wandered further into the Gothic Quarter, probably my favourite area of this amazing city. This little church was so old ( 1391) and peaceful.
Here is some info regarding this church



This primarily Gothic-style church, begun in 1394, is located in the heart of the “Call”, Barcelona’s Medieval Jewish ghetto, and in this respect there is always a hint of something melancholy about it. A synagogue originally stood on this site, but was later torn down to make way for the present church. 
According to pious belief and long tradition, the Apostle St. James worked as a missionary in what was then known as Hispania, modern-day Spain, one of the largest and wealthiest of the Roman colonies. His shrine at Santiago de Compostela is of course well known, but it is believed that he preached in many cities, including Barcelona and Tarragona. Whether or not this is the case we do not know. We know that St. Paul specifically wrote in Romans 15:23-28 that he was planning to visit Spain, to preach there, so it is not outside the realm of possibility.

Whatever the truth of the stories, the very old church dedicated to Sant Jaume (St. James), first mentioned in a document of 985 A.D., was torn down in 1823. Part of the building reportedly dated from the arrival of Christianity in Barcelona, and it had been expanded over the centuries until it occupied the site of the ancient Roman Forum, where supposedly St. James had preached. The building was torn down to make way for the Plaça de Sant Jaume, or St. James Square. This new square roughly corresponds to the dimensions of the old Forum, and is dominated by the Generalitat (Catalan government) headquarters on the north side, and Barcelona city hall on the south. The parish community was moved temporarily to Santa Monica, a convent along the Ramblas, but was later moved to Holy Trinity church, which was renamed for St. James.

Originally, Holy Trinity was the parish church of Jews who had converted to Christianity but chose to remain living in the Call. It was built on top of the remains of the Lesser Synagogue, of the two that existed in Barcelona during the Middle Ages. After the expulsion of the Jews and suspected Jews in 1492, the Church of the Holy Trinity, as it was known then, was turned over to a group of nuns – from which order I have been unable to discover – who built a convent next to the church.

The beautifully decorated buildings along with the narrow alleys which we meandered through really were captivating . Its a pity but Barcelona has a huge issue with graffiti in this, and most parts of the city.. Probably not helped by the massive youth unemployment problem with 53% of youth unemployed 

We rounded off our first hours in Barcelona with Tapas for dinner and a wander down to Port Vell passing the Columbus Monument . We were in bed early at 9pm and out like a light!!