Barcelona, Spain

October 28 – Barcelona, Spain
After two, seven+ hour flights we arrived in Barcelona. Finding the right area to catch the shuttle to the hotel ended up taking more than an hour, then waiting for the shuttle to have room for us was another hour. Once in the hotel we took a nap and then caught a city bus to city center. We had walked this area before, so after hunting for a couple of needed items, we stopped at an outside café for tapas and Sangria. While relaxing and enjoying lunch the sky opened up and poured. We waited about 30 minutes and realized the rain was there to stay so we worked our way back to the bus and headed back to the hotel soaked and happy just to relax the rest of the evening. We had been reminded of just how expensive Europe can be. The six tapas and one drink each came to nearly $90 after factoring in the conversion into Euros.
The next morning we shared a taxi with another couple and went directly to the ship. The rain was still steady and would be for the day. We settled into our cabin, explored the ship and met our eight table mates at dinner that night. The Maître-d and one of the bands were the same as we had for the 49 day trip on the Splendor so we felt right at home.