Spinelli1107

Hard to see but there she is!

After a continental breakfast it is off to the terminal. This time, no messing around with the app, we asked our concierge to assist with hailing a taxi. Less than 4 minutes later we’re making our way through the quiet early morning? Streets of Barcelona. Everyone must still be sleeping from partying all Saturday night because the streets are empty!

Good morning, It’s cruise day!!!!! Before we get into any shenanigans today, I’ll quickly finish yesterdays tour. Linch was about an hour away from the Monastery of Montserrat and it was through a very quaint area of Spain. We were surrounded by olive trees and vineyards nearly the whole way. Very pretty and peaceful. So much so that the majority of the van fell asleep during this drive, basically everybody but myself ended up passing out. Good for them. when we arrived at the place for lunch we were given the choice beteeen sausage, lamb, cod, or churrasca. I chose the lamb and hubs selected the churrasca. Before the main came however we were treated to some tapas. Spanish olives, tomato bread, variety of meats and cheeses and a goat cheese salad. Everything was very yummy. Our entrees came and while the presentation was not pretty the flavors were spot on! The meats were simply grilled with no sauces or any special add ons and they came out perfectly. Hubs and i shared but our plates were entirely cleaned to the bone. Each piece of meat had some part of bone in it so who had to be careful but oh my was it delicious. Following lunch, it was off to the winery only about 6 minutes away. Here we toured the vineyard, the winery and the cava were the cava is stored. Cava is the champagne of Spain and it is stored in the Cava which is the cellar like cave. We learned all about the fascination production behind cava. The difference between Brut natures (extra Brut or extra dray) all the way to Prosecco (sweetened with sugar) as well as how the dead yeast (the mothers) is removed. It was a wonderful lesson which I thoroughly enjoyed before we got to sample some cava, wine and olive oil After the wine tasting hubs and I bought 2 bottles to bring aboard that will pair lovely with our cheeses. As our friends who are flying in the morning of the cruise will not have an opportunity to explore much or any of Spain, we decided to bring a taste of it to them! Finally we had an hours worth of driving until we would be back in Barcelona. Again, everyone but yours truly took a nap. Once “back home” hubs and I walked back to our hotel to store our wines and cheeses. I’ll be honest although it was only 7:30, I was ready to crash but I pulled myself together and we made our way, by foot, these poor things hate me by now, to the Growler where hubs enjoyed several IPA’s and an ESB and I dipped on 2 different beers. The aforementioned manhocuya as well as Dracarys, a sour from Cierzo brewing company. As we were walking back to our hotel I was feeling slightly peckish so we popped into a quaint cafe for tapas before bed. We shared some Iberico Jam, their version of Patatas Bravas, Grilled eggplant with Burrata and a Pulpo dish with roe (octopus). All 4 were simply splendid and it was the perfect amount of nosh to not go to sleep with fully heavy stomachs. But here we are now, 8:18am locally and I’m ready to face the day! Time to get ready

So this morning, my husbands alarm goes off at 6:15am which we both slept through. At 6:30am, my alarm blared and scared the ***** out of both of us but I silenced it and we rolled over and fell back asleep. At 6:35, my second alarm startled me awake but I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed. I knew we had a tour scheduled today but I was ready to say eff it in the essence of sleep. However 25 minutes later my husband told me it was time to get up so begrudgingly we dragged ourselves out of bed. Luckily by 7:30 we were ready to go! I requested an Uber and they were to arrive in 4 minutes. 4 minutes later, I checked and our driver was 8 minutes away…..uhm what? I watched for another minute or 2 as he continued to drive in the opposite direction. Next thing I know it was 12 minutes away and we couldn’t wait any longer. I cancelled the request and once again we sought out after a local taxi. One great thing about Barcelona is the availability of public transportation. Not too long after cancelling did a local taxi drive up and happily take us to Palau de La Música so we could meet with our tour guide for today. Upon arriving a swarm of people were waiting outside as evidently the office wasn’t even open so why were we told to be there at 8?!? At 8:01 and not a moment sooner did the gate finally lift to let us inside. We checked into our tour and met the 6 other persons we would be traveling with today before we set off for Montserrat. Montserrat is where you will find the Black Madonna. And it is named serated mountain for the imagery it presents from a distant. Montserrat is about an hours drive away from the Palau and away we went. Our guide was phenomenal and pointed out many historical charms to Barcelona including the old bullfighting ring turned shopping mall. Once we got to Montserrat, there was an evident chill in the air and I was regretting, yet again, my outfit of choice. Be that as it may, an Americano con leche warmed me up in no time! We walked the path up the Basilica and along the way, our guide pointed out the funiculars, cogwheel train and sky lift around the facility. We also learned the history of the square, the monk activity that is still present to this day at the site as well as the patron saints. After a brief history lesson, we were given free time before entering the Basilica at 12:05. Well, there was a local market with cheese and honey and I begged the hubs to check it out as I could have easily spent the full almost 2 hours there but he, knowing that, insisted we do something else first so we at least can say we did something. I agreed to the funicular up to St. Joan but said I’m not walking after officially clocking 26,250 steps. He agreed but sure enough, when we got to the top, he insisted we at least do the shortest walk. OooooKkkkkk Ffffffffiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnneeeeeee was my response so walk we did. After the walk we took the funicular back down and off to the market we went. We ended up walking away with a strong sheep’s milk, a rich creamy cheddar and a rosemary infused cheese as well as some local honey. There were plenty of samples to go around so we already knew we like what we got and plan to enjoy it on the cruise. After the market we made our way back to the Basilica for a quick tour inside. I made sure to light a candle and we learned all about the hanging lanterns. The whole group reconnected and it was off to lunch from there. But lunch would not be our last stop. As it’s already after midnight here and we had a couple of drinks we’re calling it a night and I’ll finish a recap of tonight before we get into any activities tomorrow. Till then, goodnight!

While my brother probably dreamed about being a pilot at some point in his life, sadly he was not the pilot this time. We actually got “stuck” in the emergency exit row. But it worked out in our favor and I was certainly not complaining!

Thank you so much for being here! We booked through Viator and it was called “Gothic Quarter Evening Tapas Tour with the Barcelona Taste” I imagine it can be booked directly through Barcelona Taste’s website as well but we preferred Viator’s reserve now pay later feature while we built out our schedule. Or rather while I built it out lol hubs just say back and relaxed. As they say in every relationship there’s the planner, the person that books the vacation, flights, excursions and hotels and the other doesn’t even know where we’re going. Well yeah LOL

Posting from The Growler, a Barcelona Craft Beer bar. I’m sipping on a Mangocuya while hubs enjoys Hoch’s IPA. I know I still owe an update from today but I’m going to leave you all hanging just a little bit longer. For now I’m gunna sit here and enjoy this beer.

Thank you so much! I appreciate your kind words 🙃

After our Uber driver dropped us off 4 blocks from our meeting place “Placa de Ramon” I kept trying to pull up the exact meeting spot on my phone which was right in front of the statue but my phone died right on time so we struggled to meet our tour but luckily some gentleman who saw us looking very lost and confused asked if we were meeting the tour and I started to say yes the “gothic quarter walking food tour” and he announced we were in the right place! Well thank goodness for that as he was our guide and he found us rather than us finding him. And as par for the course, it was about 1 minute to tour start time when we connected. Almost immediately after, we took off on our tour. we stopped at our first of three places and enjoyed some delicious tapas including Papas Bravas, potatoes with a tomato sauce and aioli, Tomato Bread, toasted bread with warmed tomatoes sliced and rubbed on to the bread with a drizzle of olive oil and salt, Aubergine, a delicious fried eggplant with sugar and cinnamon, Pimientos Padron, a blistered shishito pepper, Jamon, Iberico Ham, Beef Cheek, almost like a short rib on a bed of mashed potatoes that cut with a spoon and melted like butter in my mouth, Churrasca, Argentinian Barbecued steak and a glass of vermouth. Next up, our second stop served a Lamb dish, fresh grilled Calamri, croquettes, potato omelette and onion omelette with cheese and honey on top and vinegar potato chips with a glass of white wine. Thirdly, our last stop was strictly dessert. Here we enjoyed some fig ice cream with fig jam, a chestnut cake with white and black chocolates that had the consistency of a cheesecake and a Crema Catalana which is similar to a crème brûlée and washed it all down with a glass of Cava. Between all 3 places, one thing was better than the next and we certainly ended the tour feeling contented hunger wise. As I mentioned, sadly my phone had died and I did not take any pictures, but trust me when I say a walking food tour in Barcelona is a MUST! After our tour ended our guide so graciously pointed us in the direction of La Ramblas because we were walking to Casa Mila or La Pedrera for the nighttime experience. The walk was about 30 minutes but with 32 minutes until our tour started at 10:40pm we walked with haste. However after clocking nearly 20,000 steps at this point, my legs and feet were hurting! Needless to say though we made it and yup JUST IN TIME! But the walking didn’t quite end there, after entering Casa Mila and learning of its history we were to walk up 7 flights of stairs to the attic. After finally making it to the top I thought I was going to pass out. But we made it, and we enjoyed the light show projected onto the rooftop towers called Origins. I don’t want to spoil too much of it but the idea behind Guadi’s design is to go back to the beginning and utilize nature to form the structures. After the tour we were treated to yet another glass of Cava. What a wonderful nightcap. As I already mapped out our day and tour to tour to tour to tour, I knew Casa Mila was about 6 blocks from our hotel so before my legs officially fell off, we decided to hoof it back to the hotel. Having been running all day a shower was very much needed and then having been running on fumes all day at 1:05am local Barcelona time we knocked out but not without setting our alarms for 6:30am I’ll let you know how that worked out shortly!

It absolutely was a jam packed day and it wasn’t even over after the food tour!!!!! Idk what I was thinking when I booked all these tours. But I got exhausted just from writing that so had a to take a break. Yes, the gothic quarter was very quaint and we appreciated all the small “hole in the wall” eateries with the variety of tapas it was absolutely lovely and wished we had more time to explore the maze but we had to run! Almost literally.

Wow ok so it’s been a while since I’ve checked in! I’m so sorry for abandoning you all but so much to provide details on. So first, the flight. Let me start by saying, our seats were fine and the extra leg room was nice. But that’s about where the niceties end. It should be illegal to keep your window shade open on an eastbound red eye especially when the pilot makes 2 separate announcements about this. Well needless to say some people just don’t listen and about 2.5-3 hours into the flight it went from a nice darkness to brighter than the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The entire cabin was lit up and it was nearly impossible to catch some zzzz’s but according to my Fitbit I did steal about 3 hours of shuteye on this over 8 hour flight. That said, I was quite exhausted. Dinner was nice enough. We had a choice between butter chicken or mozzarella pasta. Both DH and I opted for the butter chicken. It was nicely flavored but nothing overly exciting. The morning offerings were an omelette calzone or a Nutella stuffed calzone. Again hubs and I chose similarly and selected the Nutella. It was ok. But anywho I’m on vacation so I remain in good spirits. Upon arrival to BCN as previously mentioned the immigrations line was long. Jokingly almost as long as the flight. The waiting hall had no moving air and with seemingly 3 agents working it was a very slow moving line. Once through, we quickly collected our bags and made our way to catch our Uber to the hotel. Luckily our rooms were available upon arrival and we were able to drop or luggage and freshen up. We called another Uber to take us to Park Guell, about 20 minutes or so from the hotel. However I noticed the timing would get us there later than our time slot (1:30-2) so I was really anxious. When we got to the gate however at 2:11, we scanned our tickets with no issue at all. We spent a little over an hour on walking through the Park and taking in all it has to offer. The work and ideas of Anthony Guadi are truly remarkable and we oohed and aahed our way around. As my phone was nearing battery death I was unable to take many pictures because I wanted to save it for the Segrada. At 3:15 we left the park to grab a cold water and fresh fruit bars before hailing another Uber to take us to La Segrada. However we hit a snafu and were unable to locate a driver so we set off on foot. Thank goodness we left when we did because the walk was about 40 minutes. Granted it’s primarily flat, not before long did my knees start acting up. I was not in the ideal attire or footwear for this walk and having already had knee issues I know this will impact me for the duration of our trip because it’s a very active itinerary. But again, I’m on vacation so in good spirits I shall remain. We literally arrived at La Segrada Familia at 3:59 for our 4:00 tour. Talk about impressive timing. This will be the theme for the next few days. La Segrada, another impressive work of art and architecture by Guadi is a sight to behold. The inside and outside both are amazing and truly worth the visit. After exploring the exterior facade and taking in the interior full of stained glass, that when hit just right provides a unique lighting, we had the opportunity to visit the passions tower. The waiting for the elevator was a bit lengthy and it was at about this time that I started crashing. On no sleep, coffee or food I was definitely cranky. But after taking the elevator rode up and being graced with the views of the city from such a vantage point I had a wee bit of energy restored. That was until we took the 400 step steep spiral staircase allllll the way back down. I turned to the hubs and said I’m ready to go, I need food he agreed and shared his similar need for coffee. After walking out of Sagrada, we walked into the first place we saw “coffee time” and sat down for a sangria, beer and double shot to go. So I know you’re probably wondering why no food when I just said I needed food, well our jam packed day was far from over. At 7pm we had a walking tapas tour scheduled and I didn’t want to snack before snacking so it was just a sangria for me. Well after some difficulty with Uber, yet again, we walked 2 blocks and stumbled upon a taxi stand where several taxis were available for service. We hopped in the first one and made our way to the gothic quarter to meet up with our tour. I was sooo excited for food that when the cab dropped us off 4 blocks from where we needed to be, I didn’t even mind the walk. But it was 6:58 and I felt lost….

Safely arrived in Barcelona and made it through immigrations. The line was LONG took over an hour but all the travel stresses are behind us and now it’s time to let loose in Barcelona. First up, Hotel Astoria. This is where we’ll be staying pre-cruise for 2 nights. It’s about 20 minutes walk from Segrada Familia, but the price was very good and it has a rooftop pool. Not that we’ll have time to use it, but it’s there. Now sit back and relax for the 30 minute drive to our hotel. I doubt our rooms will be ready but at least we can drop off our luggage and use the facilities to freshen up. Random in flight thoughts: Wow I love clouds, I wonder what they taste like OMG look!!! It’s the Segrada Eekkkk I see cruise ships! Be back soon enough to let you know my thoughts on the hotel and my flight experience

Thank you! And thanks for joining us

Look at all that extra leg room. Even my 6’6” husband is happy! What a thought, falling asleep in NewYork and waking up in Barcelona. Goodnight See ya on the flip side.

Through security and waiting to board our flight.

Literally my motto for this entire trip!

After a very stressful past 2 hours and meetings and appointments running late and over time, we are finally airport bound. Thank goodness for TSA Pre ✔️JFK here we come!!!

Absolutely better to be ready than scrambling. Typical though, my husband was still packing last night and hoping he didn't forget anything, where as I had packed unpacked and repacked at least 5 times over the last week. Yes, it is a redeye, I'm hoping I can just sleep the entire time, but we'll see. We're flying standard economy so it'll be a less than ideal 8 hours sleep, but when we land it's go-go-go!

Happy to have you join!

Well here it is, travel day is officially upon us! Our flights out of JFK are not for another 12 hours, but the car is packed, we're all checked in to the flights and now just have to get through the final 8 hour work day before we take the arduous drive to the airport in pure rush hour traffic. Oh what joy! Hopefully that will be the worst and most stressful part of the trip. I mean it can only go up from there, right? Between the both of us, we have 2 standard suitcases which we'll be checking, 1 carry on and 2 personal items. Not bad for 17 days. Weight wise, we could've fit everything into 2 bags but space wise, and not to mention all the souvenirs we'll be sure to get, the third bag was necessary. I downloaded several shows and movies to my phone as I've learned the hard way one too many times, that in flight entertainment isn't always great and on occasion the screens don't work. I also have several books downloaded through audible which will help pass the flight time. In the essence of space and weight, I only packed one book, a birthday gift from my sister in law, The Song of Achilles. How fitting for a Greek setting. Here's to hoping the day goes by quickly!

Not on my check list, but printed and in holders ready to go!

With a shortened work week, I've been scrambling to ensure everything is set to go in my absence while simultaneously trying to not get distracted with this trip. But let's be honest, who could ignore such travel thoughts. Surely, not I! So I keep going through my packing list as these are the thoughts that keep me up at night and realized I almost didn't have my European converter Queue me waking my husband up in the middle of the night to locate it. Only to find out, it only has B ports so I bought a new one anyways with A and C ports. As my job is entirely remote, I plan on staying on top of my emails so as to not come back to over 2 weeks of backlogged work. With that said, we upgraded to the Free At Sea Premium Plus package. This entitles us to unlimited internet each on one device. Which will not only allow me to check in on work but also stay connected to the boarding facility where my precious pup will be while we're away. We take him tomorrow morning which will be a very hard moment for me. Working from home has allowed the pup and I to be attached 24/7 so this will be as much a struggle for us as it will be for him. With that, I've also been going through my check list: Dog Boarding ✔️ Pre-Cruise Appointments ✔️ Packed ✔️ Transportation to Airport ✔️ Flights to BCN ✔️ Transportation to Hotel - Uber or Public Transport day of task Pre Cruise Accommodations ✔️ Transfer to Cruise Terminal - Uber or Public Transport day of task Cruise E-Docs ✔️ Passports ✔️ Dining Reservations ✔️ Show Reserved ✔️ Excursions ✔️ Transportation to ATH ✔️ Post cruise Flights to Crete ✔️ Crete Transportation ✔️ Crete Accommodations ✔️ Flights Crete to Athens ✔️ Flights Home ✔️ Transportation Home ✔️ So why do I feel like I'm forgetting something....

Thank you! Thanks for coming on board great to have you following along!

I have a crossbody shoulder bag that's RFID protected and purportedly slash resistance. I have not personally tested this though so don't know how true those claims are. But it's similar to this in a light gray to go with just about anything. My favorite feature is it has Zippers that lock.

Friday night I started packing. I'm trying to pack light(er than I usually do) as I made platinum status on my last sailing and will be eligible for a complimentary bag of laundry. Despite that, with toiletries I will still have to check my luggage and with the weight of the toiletries, I will end up needing 2 bags. I guess for 17 days, that's not terrible? I'll plan on wearing 2 outfits per day as this is a very active cruise and the current temps range from high 80's to low 100's (Fahrenheit) It'll be a sweaty one and I cant imagine staying in the same clothes all day and night so I planned for a daytime outfit (romper) and a nighttime outfit (jumpsuit) each day. With that said, I've packed 9 rompers and 7 jumpsuits. I haven't tackled shoes yet but thinking wedges and flat sandals should work quite nicely with each outfit and I'll be wearing sneakers on the plane so will have that obligatory "closed toe shoe" for any excursion or activity that requires it. Although I want to take advantage of the pools and/or hot tubs, with how port intensive this itinerary is, we'll see if that happens. We have a couple of beach opportunities though so bathing suits are still a must and I plan on packing 4 swim outfits. With pajamas and plane outfit rounding out the clothing needs all of that will fit in a small carry on along with the allowed liquids for a carry on to offset the weight of my checked luggage. With that complete, I'm almost fully ready for this trip. I still have 4 more work days to ensure all loose ends are tied up and my four legged baby boy will be boarded on Wednesday through a recommended board and train facility that my cousins have used. Other than pre-travel appointments like mani/pedi etc., The rest of my check list is green. Now all I have to do is countdown the days (4.5) or hours (106) until take off! But who's counting....