We got an early start this morning. Our bodies told us to get up pretty early so we decided to make the most of it and get the day started. We decided to check out and leave our bags checked at the front desk of our hotel so we could tour Barcelona and then come back around 3:00, grab our bags and a taxi, then head to the port to board the cruise ship. Here’s a pic of our hotel we stayed at:
We took the train to downtown Barcelona where we decide we would grab a quick bite before we started our heavy touring. We stopped at this little authentic deli where we grabbed some meat & cheese sandwich and a Pepsi Light. Yes they call Diet Pepsi, “Pepsi Light” in Europe!
I even got to meet tthe REAL LIFE Super Mario!
We then walked down to one of the most famous attractions in all of Barcelona, the Segrada Familia Temple which is a giant Temple designed by the master architect Antonio Gaudi. This building has been under construction since 1882 and they’ve still got another 30 to 80 years (depending on funding and resources) to go before it will be finished. It’s one of the most historic places in Barcelona, and WOW, this place was amazing!
Next we hopped back on the Subway to go towards the south end of the city and take a walk near the Zoo and a beautiful park close by. It was so hot and muggy, if not for our huge bottle of water, we would have died.
Here we are on the Subway:
Here’s Janine next to a car that’s just her size! Literally!
Something cool we saw, but I didn’t know the name of it.
Lots of walking and sightseeing later, we hopped back on the subway and over to the famous Gothic district in downtown Barcelona.
This was our favorite part of the day. Janine had mentioned these small alley ways going in and out that had tons of little shops and authentic places and she wasn’t kidding. This little part of town is just absolutely incredible. Just how you would imagine yourself touring through a gorgeous authentic part of Barcelona. We grabbed something to eat and drink and did lots of walking. The streets were overcrowded with people and the street performers were out in force. It was a really cool cultural experience to be in the heart of downtown Barcelona and experience the everyday happenings of the city.
Lots of little deli’s like this one all over the place.
Next we had to find a way back to the hotel, and after lots of walking, getting a bit lost, hopping on the wrong train, we finally were able to make it back to the hotel where are taxi was waiting for us with our luggage. We jumped into our taxi, then 30 short minutes later we arrived at the port where the Princess Cruise Bellman were waiting to get our bags.
The Ruby Princess was freakin HUGE. Just disembarked 8 months ago. This was only its second trip!
There were our cruise cards. You couldn’t go anywhere without these. IT was our room key, our credit card and our ID on the ship.
The main area in the middle of the ship called the “Piazza”. Shopping, eating and entertainment. Plus the central area for passenger services.
The Hallway to our room on Deck 10, called “Caribe”
Our room, small but cozy!
A view from our balcony looking towards the back of the ship.
Our Balcony. Which was huge!
Once we got on board, OMG! It was the most beautiful amazing thing, we were so overwhelmed! We didn’t know where to start! All we wanted to do is get to our room, relax and take a shower. We were so exhausted from the long day of walking and touring in Barcelona.
After a short meeting about safety, called the “Muster Drill”, we got back to the room, relaxed, showered and took a nap before heading down for dinner. Dinner time was nice, we decided to hit the buffet first, and we were taking it all in. We couldn’t believe we were finally here on the boat about to embark on the Mediterranean!
We tried to hit all parts of the boat just to get to know where everything is. We were successful in doing that. We also watched a really good welcome show that at the big main theatre which was quite nice. We had drinks through this whole process and were getting a bit tipsy. After the show and a lot of walking around the ship, a little blackjack in the casino, we were back in the room exhausted. The first day on the boat was done, we decided to crash for the night. We were on our way to the French Riviera (Monte Carlo)!
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That’s a nice big room as far as cruises go! Didn’t you guys just love the ship? You guys look like you are having so much fun!