Barcelona, Spain

Asleep in the lobby waiting for our rooms

The fountain and light show



Gaudi's House of Masks

Some columns in the Park Guell

La Sagrada Familia... It is SOOO large we couldn't get a shot of the whole thing

Gaudi's interpretation of the Nativity Scene

Mom and I decided to go a day earlier than the cruise began so that we could have a tour of Barcelona. The day we got to Barcelona was a very interesting one. We arrived in the early morning but the hotel wouldn't allow us to check into our rooms until 4pm. Mom and I were EXHAUSTED after our 12 hour flight to Barcelona and we couldn't keep our eyes open. A lot of the group that came a day early with us went out sightseeing but mom and I were WAY too tired. We crashed in the hotel lobby until our rooms were ready :) Once they were ready we went straight upstairs and fell asleep. When we woke up we weren't sure how long we had slept. We knew it was 6:00 but we didn't know if it was 6 that night or 6 the next morning because it was slightly dark outside. We finally figured out that it was only 6 that night so we decided to go out on the town. We really wanted to call home and let our husbands know that we had made it but finding a phone was an adventure in and of itself! We spent two hours trying to find an international phone card. First, we went into a little convenience store and asked a man if he sold phone cards, he didn't speak very good English but he seemed to understand what we wanted. He handed us a phone card and told us we could call home with it. Then, we told him that we wanted to buy food and all of a sudden he could speak perfect English! We thought this was slightly odd but realized later that we had been ripped off. After searching for an hour for a phone that would let us use the card he sold us we found out that the card he gave us wouldn't allow us to call to the U.S. What a slime ball! So we found someone who did speak English (which was nearly impossible) and he showed us the card we needed and what phone we needed to use for it. I finally got to talk to Rick! That was wonderful. Mom called Dad and got the update from home and then we headed over to the famous light and fountain show that Barcelona has. The next morning we went on a tour of the city and saw some incredible architecture done by Antoni Gaudi. We saw his House of Masks, his Park Guell and the famous Sagrada Familia. I cannot believe what an amazing architect he was, his taste is not exactly my style, but I can definitely appreciate his style. After our tour of Barcelona we boarded the ship and were off!