Sunday October 7

It was like we were leaving home. The ship had become so familiar and comfortable that it felt like home. Where ever we had been, it was good to come back to it.

Disembarkation was very smooth. We had tagged our bags Saturday night and placed them outside our door, and when we got off the ship, they were waiting for us. We had arranged a private Barcelona tour with some people we had met on Cruisecritic.com. so the six of us had a four hour tour through the highlights of the city. The main road is called Las Ramblas, and is mostly cut off from traffic. It is a wide street with one lane going each way at the edge, and then the middle part for people. No matter when we went out, it was very busy. So many people that it was hard to walk at a reasonable pace. Side streets going off from it were always busy as well. This was for over 2km. We had read about the dangers of pickpockets, so were prepared with money belts and no exposed bags etc.

One of the main things that the guide showed us was work by an architect named Gaudi in the late 1800's to early 1900's. His style was very unique and way ahead of its time. His main accomplishment was a cathedral that has been under construction since 1886. They expect to have it done in the next 20-30 years. things happen at a different rate here.

Our hotel, the Pulitzer is good. A place that Carl and Amanda would really like. Very modern, in blacks and whites, square type design. Low lighting - what some might call dim.

We had a bit of scare today. We asked at the desk about lunch and they recommended a tapas bar a few blocks away. We found it and hesitantly went in. The menu was indecipherable until they brought us an English one. All of the things I was looking at were deadly. Cuttlefish, shrimp and other delights. I got a ham baguette and Wendy had something similar. Nothing else was shell fish free. We stopped at Starbucks, had a coffee and muffin and then Wendy slept for an hour. We checked Rick Steves book and found a pizza place that worked out fine.

We enjoyed watching people as we walked in the evening. There are lots of buskers who play statues with some kind of twist. fun to watch