Saturday was our day to go into town and see what we would remember from our last time in Barcelona, which was way back in 2009. We took the train and metro into the city center and started with Starbucks time at one of the locations on La Rambla – a very popular pedestrian walking area in the center. We each did some research and created a walking tour around several sights in the city. Along the way, we stopped at Foot Locker and found some new running shoes for Sandy. I need some also, but they didn’t have any that I liked. In the Gothic Quarter we stopped for lunch at La Taverna del Coure. We enjoyed Estrella beers, a plate of jamon, and asparagus and broccoli paella. There was a newlywed couple from South Korea next to us and we took their picture because it was such a perfect setting. They then offered to take ours, but we said we didn’t have the pretty flowers – they insisted on loaning theirs to us and they took the picture. It was a cute interaction.
We walked La Rambla for a while after lunch. Last time we were here, we loved watching the street performers. They have changed the policy for them now and there aren’t nearly as many. We saw a couple, but it’s certainly not what it used to be.
Later, we snacked at La Boqueria – one of Europe’s great food markets. We shared a small spinach and cheese empanada, some watermelon, and potato chips. After the market, we stopped at a creperie and had Nutella and banana crepes and then headed home via the metro and train.
Sunday and Monday, we stuck around our neighborhood. We had breakfast pastries at the bakery downstairs from our apartment. Sandy did laundry. We enjoyed margaritas, guacamole and chips, and chicken burritos at San Taco Cantina Mexican for lunch on Sunday. That afternoon was the Barcelona versus Real Madrid football match (El Clasico). I watched it at home, and it was fun hearing the parties in town out our windows when goals were scored in the match. The match was in Madrid. Dinner on Sunday was back at Olimpyc for those great burgers and Estrella beers. Monday gave us the chance to hike up around 40 minutes to the top of the hill overlooking our village and the rest of Barcelona. It was a very nice walk.
We had a late lunch, early dinner at El Raco de Can Valentine – we both had Caesar salads, tuna, and fries. We finished with chocolate mousse for dessert. Sandy found a donation bin to deposit her old running shoes, and we picked up some groceries to have for breakfast tomorrow morning.
Tuesday was moving day and this time we were moving from land to sea. We ate our breakfast and then made our way via train, metro, and bus to the Barcelona cruise port and found our home for the next 19 nights – the MSC Seaside. Because we don’t have checked bags, the check-in process was smooth – although they did not give us a group number for checking in. One of the ship officers helped resolve that quickly and we were on the ship, luggage dropped off in our stateroom (11240), and having lunch by 1:30.
We did a weights workout in the gym in the afternoon – the gym has good equipment and lots of cardio machines, although it will fill up during the busy times. Dinner was in the dining room, and we met Leah and Janice who will take care of us there for the next few weeks. The main show tonight was a married couple – the woman danced and the man played violin. It was a good show, but apparently there were some technical problems that interrupted the flow of their performance. We toured the ship after the show and then headed home to watch an episode of Frasier. Our first impressions of MSC (this is our first cruise with them) are that the ship layout is going to take some getting used to – it doesn’t flow as well as other ships we recall being on. We’re also not sure yet of the customer service level – it feels a little different but let’s see how things progress. We left Barcelona at 7:30pm tonight for a short segment that will have us in Valencia, Spain tomorrow.
We woke up on Wednesday morning in Valencia. The pier is a couple of miles from the cruise terminal, so shuttle buses took passengers from the ship to the terminal. We had been in Valencia before and decided not to go to the city center. We took the shuttle to the terminal and then did a four-mile run along the beachfront promenade.
We were back on the ship a little after 11 and learned that we couldn’t find any food until noon. That was odd and is just another thing that we will get used to. Sandy spent the afternoon reading in our stateroom and I read in the Sports Bar. Ships are always so nice and quiet on port days. We had snacks at one of the buffets and then headed to dinner at our assigned time – 5:45pm. We met Olga and Vlada from Moldova (mother and daughter) and enjoyed conversations with them throughout dinner. Dinner seems like it is going to be a slow experience each night, but the food is off to a good start in the places we have been. Tonight’s show was awesome – Patricia Bernier sang eight or nine songs and she was really good.
Yesterday was our first sea day. We spent more time exploring the ship and working on the journal. In the afternoon, we passed by Gibraltar and then out into the Atlantic.
Tonight’s show was the ship’s performers, and they did a classic song and dance type of show.
Today was another port day. We woke up in Casablanca. The port provided buses from the pier to the train station, and we spent some time at Starbucks there. It was fun to be back in Casablanca after spending a couple of days here last year. We had a nice walk through the old medina to the Hassan II Mosque.
We didn’t tour the interior this time. We walked the corniche from the mosque to the southwestern end and then walked back to the train station to get our bus shuttle back to the ship. We went to the sports bar for Friday night beers (John Smith’s from England) and I had wings while Sandy had nachos. Dinner tonight was at the buffet and then the show was Gaston Quieto. He is a magician and mentalist and his show was so good we had to go back and see the later show. Unfortunately, one of his tricks (the big finale) didn’t work and it allowed us to figure out how he did it. Tomorrow, we start our journey across the Atlantic to the Caribbean.
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