Mediterranean - 17 - May 29 2023 - Disembark Viking Star, to visit Barcelona

 We've left our room on Viking 5087, it seemed empty.  Today we'll tour Barcelona on our own.  We had arranged a private car through Vikiing to get to our hotel, but that fell through.  We aren't worried.  There were a lot of taxis outside the terminal yesterday.

Last night we attended a local Catalan show. Energetic, heavy on rhythm and flashy dancing.

We listened to Enrico on the piano one last time.  He had company as one of the Viking singers sang three arias (opera).  We aren't opera people, but her voice was amazing with so much emotion.  We could be converted.

This morning the fishing boats were returning.  There were swarms of birds with each boat.   We guessed that the fisherman were cleaning their boat of unwanted catch.

Having seen the Sagrada up close yesterday, Phil recognized it from a distance - from our ship!

It is 8:30 am. We wait quietly in the Explorer Lounge enjoying a cup of tea.  We packed up last night, the checked luggage was picked up outside the cabin door at 10 pm, and now we only have our overnight bag.  We've already picked up a map of Barcelona from guest services.  The area was deserted.  If you've ever sailed on other cruise lines, you'll know that disembarkation can be a nightmare, with everyone out of rooms by 8am (housekeeping will turn around the space for the next guests) so disembarking guests crowd the public areas.  And announcements are made every few minutes, such as "blue is ready to disembark.'  Viking has a quiet disembark process - no announcements, they just follow the published schedule.  So peaceful.  So are enjoying the lounge for a few minutes before we reenter the active Barcelona city to find a taxi and our hotel.

Good Bye from the Viking Star. 

Taxi ride to the Motel One hotel in Barcelona was short, less than 15 minutes and only $8 euro.  Boy am I glad the Viking private car didn't work out, we were credited the prepayment of $129.  We have another $121 to spend!!!!  We were at the hotel by 9am. Checkin time is 3pm, so we have 6 hrs to walk the town. We started at the park across the street from the hotel.

There is a small zoo at the park. Small children were lined up ready to enter the zoo.  They each had a hat that was a little too big, and a back pack that was much too big.

The fountains all over Barcelona are turned off due to water shortage.  Some like the one in the park have standing water, but no fountain action.

After the park, we headed to the arco de triunfo, built in 1888 as a gate way to a Universal Exhibition.  It now serves as the gateway to modern Barcelona.

Then we wandered the streets.

Time try Nomad coffee/espresso.  What a mistake. The little sign out front said 'coffee, take away, no sugar", and it was full of 20 somethings. First I've never had to select from 7 different varieties of espresso.  I picked Rwanda. It was so bitter, I asked for steamed milk to add to the cup.  It didn't help, I needed sugar and they didn't have any.  They serve their espresso with water, I drank mine and Phil's too, and never finished the coffee.

La Boqueria Market, rows and rows of stalls with food: raw or cooked meats and fish, pasteries, candies, cookies, spices, anything food.  There are warnings about pick pockets throughout the town.  The La Bouqueria Market was so crowded, I carried my purse in front and held on tightly.  I had my passport, money and driver's license, none of which did I want to part with.

La Rambla is the most famous shopping street in Barcelona always full of tourists.  We walked the full length.  I took Phil into Zara's a global store based in Spain.  According to google shoppers will find things 30% less in Spain than in the US at Zara's.  It was a three story store.  I couldn't decide between a couple of items and therefore  didn't get either one.  I'll try to convince Phil to go back again tomorrow.  I'll just get them both.

By 2:30 pm our hotel room was available, at that point we had walked about 6 miles and were both ready to sit or lie down for a while.  So we did.  At 4pm the roof top bar opened up - we went to the bar (8th floor) and soaked in the views, while lounging in the cushy chairs.  The hotel has a gin bar with about 50 different types of gin.  I tried one from Spain.  Phil had a beer.  They only had one choice for beer, dark!

Here are some views from the roof top....Barcelona's twin towers and the golden chariot from the top of the monument in the park across the street.

For dinner we shared a traditional seafood paella at a restaurant, highly recommended by the hotel clerk, it was along the beach. Another lovely setting.

Today I logged 17,973 steps and 6.7 miles.  Phil usually logs less steps but more miles than me.  In any case, this was about double a normal day.  We felt like we earned dessert after dinner. He had a praline custard, I had an apple tart topped with cinnamon ice cream.

Tomorrow, we tour the inside of the Sagrada, and visit the Grueli Park.