NOOB LEGEND (wait for it) -ary Trans Atlantic Review

[Gingee]

Those street vendors? We saw them in NYC selling movies. Probably knockoff movies. They may have been selling other things too. I remember them on the walkway over to where the Twin Towers use to be. This was a few years back but they carried their stuff in a bag also.

[Crusin Karen]

Phew! Looks like you needed a vacation from your vacation. :eek:NOT FUN to have to go back to work so fast, but it's $$ for the next one! ;) YOu went back to work on my birthday! Hope you have many more happy adventures and thanks for sharing this with us!

[JohnTRN]

Phew! Looks like you needed a vacation from your vacation. :eek:NOT FUN to have to go back to work so fast, but it's $$ for the next one! ;) YOu went back to work on my birthday! Hope you have many more happy adventures and thanks for sharing this with us!

 

Happy Belated Birthday! I'm not going to have to remember that date, am I? :p

 

Glad you enjoyed it. Sure looking forward to January.

 

John

[pghsteelerfan]

John, thanks so much for doing this review. It was VERY good and your pictures were spectacular. Would love to see this part of Europe someday. I can't believe the beauty of some of the older buildings and cathedrals and all the detail in them, which you really captured with your pictures. Your Valor cruise will be here before you know it. Thanks again!

[buddylover]

Wonderful, wonderful review. I lived vicariously through you....what a wonderful trip. You will love the Valor too.....a very different kind of trip in the Caribbean, but gorgeous water and sunrises/sunsets. Looking forward to reading that review as well!

[MommaBear55]

Thank you so much for this. In between trips I live vicariously through others adventures. This is an amazing itinerary. Gotta go online and see if I can find one comparable.

 

The problem is now you know how wonderful cruising is and you will be searching for your next great adventure.

[JohnTRN]

Thank you so much for this. In between trips I live vicariously through others adventures. This is an amazing itinerary. Gotta go online and see if I can find one comparable.

 

The problem is now you know how wonderful cruising is and you will be searching for your next great adventure.

 

Glad you enjoyed it!

 

We did enjoy cruising and the next adventure is planned, it just has big shoes to follow! :D

 

John

[Yulesong]

Palau de la Música Catalana - the Palace of Catalan Music

 

 

 

Book sellers along Paseig de Gracia

 

 

 

The enclosed balcony is attached to our room, with a narrow little walkway/balcony this side of it

 

This about brings an end to our 15 day trip on the Legend and our visit to Barcelona.

 

The next day ended up being, 'interesting'. We had not kept up with a lot of news on this trip and had no idea how the Great Budget Sequestration of 2013 was affecting the world at large.

 

We had packed the night before so we could get an early start in the morning. Anna had arranged for a driver (owner of a private car, kind of like a taxi service) that she uses, to take us to the airport. We didn't get going early enough and had a rushed breakfast and the driver was there. We grabbed our bags, thanked Anna and hit the street.

 

The Barcelona Airport is a little confusing in its set up, until you figure it out. It's more like a market, with 'stalls' around the 'right', 'rear' and 'left' edges, with rows and rows of more stalls running from front to back of the building. We thought American would have a significant presence here and were having a hard time finding their counter. I finally found a signboard up front that gave me the number of their space. With one bag to check, we got in the line for ticketed passengers and it was moving at a snails pace! We were getting to the point of being very concerned about missing our flight. Finally word starts trickling back through people leaving the counter. Budget sequestration has affected flights and ours has been cancelled. People are getting shunted to other flights and set up in hotels for flights the next day. Amazingly, nobody at the American desk ever makes any kind of announcement to all the people in line.

 

Here's the rub. It's April 24. We're both going to be back to work the next day, April 25. Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't say it. We maxed out our fun time and will be paying for it!

 

We've seen a lot of angry people leaving the line. Some head to yet another American booth, to work on arrangement. We finally get to the counter where the harried American staff are. Knowing it's easier to catch flys with sugar, than with vinegar, we bid the agent, 'Good Morning' in our limited Spanish and sympathize about the crazy morning. We are fortunate enough to be placed on a flight leaving about 4.00P (instead of our 10.00A flight). This will get us into Miami with about 45 minutes to spare. 45 minutes to go through customs, immigration and get to the gate! We also get coupons worth about 20 Euros each, for lunch. I think we bought about 21 Euros worth of food.

 

The short story: After a long day in the terminal, we boarded, made Miami, were expedited through customs/immigration with the assistance of American and made our flight with 20 minutes or so to spare. We got into St. Louis around 11.00P to get luggage, our car from parking and make the two hour trip home. I'm getting up again around 4.00A to go to my 24 Hour shift and Jody after 6.00A for her day. Lucky me, I get to nap at work!

 

This is the end of my tale. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it, learned something new and enjoyed the pictures!

 

Cheers!

 

John

 

John,

 

This was a fantastic trip review. I enjoyed every word and even learned a few things (even though I have been on 40+ cruises)! Hopefully, Victor & I will have another opportunity to sail with you and Jody again. Take care.

 

Carol

[JohnTRN]

Hi Carol!

 

Just happened to come by here and found your last message. We enjoyed you guys too and hope to see you again. We had a great bunch of folks!

 

John

 

 

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