Barcelona Saturday 10/4/14

I'll start with the funniest story:

Last night as we were going to bed (10:30pm) there were a gaggle of local women having a "hall" party.  The Commodore put on his pants and went out to ask them to move the party into a room and get out of the hallway, nicely!  They were all dressed to the nines and obviously on their way out to dinner (yes, they eat very late in Barcelona!) and they gave him the "no comprende" meaning we don't speak your language!  Fast forward to breakfast this morning and the Commodore is getting his coffee when the "no comprende" chick appears next to him so he greets her with a very friendly observation "nice mustache"!  Well, her head snapped around so fast that she obviously "comprende'd" that!!!  He's lucky she didn't deck him!

Good way to start the day with a big, fat laugh!  We had a late start since everyone really needed a good night's sleep.  We met Betty and Don on the patio about 8:30 and figured that "early risers" Michele and Tom were off doing a power walk and a stop at Starbucks!  Come to find out they slept till 9:30!  No one was more surprised than Michele and Tom!!

We had planned to do the HOHO bus but once we got to the meeting point and saw the huge lines for the buses we went to Plan B and headed out on a nice long walk to see the Gaudi Cathedral, Sagrada Familia.  It was about a four mile roundtrip walk but the weather was magnificent and it's fun to see the shops, people, traffic and local neighborhoods.  The next minor disappointment was that the tickets to get in to the cathedral were all sold out for the day so we had to enjoy it from the outside! We decided looking at postcard pictures of the inside would have to do!

We found another yummy sidewalk restaurant just up the street from the one we liked so much the first night and had a great lunch.
Then after the sangria and the long walk everyone decided to head back to the hotel for some "time out" and many of us really crashed....I know I did and so did the Commodore!
Betty and Don decided to go to Mass at the "real" Cathedral and they met us afterward for a nice dinner in the same place we loved our lunch!  We have found the food here good but interesting! The best way to order is to watch what comes out of the kitchen!
All day today the streets were massively crowded.  Everywhere we walked there were thousands of people out and about.  I'm not sure if this is typical for a Saturday in October or the great weather has driven everyone to the streets.  You feel quite safe everywhere and everyone you meet is very friendly.  A very nice city.
Tomorrow is our day to board the ship and we've decided to leave the hotel about 11:30 to head off to the pier.  The big discussion today was whether to check our bags with the porters at the ship or just roll them on with us!  We are all carrying a bottle of wine aboard to that will increase the bulk of the hand luggage.  Can't board without wine for heaven's sake!

More tomorrow from the ship!  I may not be posting too many pictures since the ship's wifi is prehistoric and very slow.
XOXOXO
M

As you can see, there's not a cloud in the sky!