Royal Princess in the Med - 19 / 31 July 2007 - Itinerary review (part 3 - end)

[Jacques O]

Hello again,

 

Here is the third and last section of the 1st part review of the cruise.

 

It deals with the two last days of our itinerary : Barcelona day 13 & 14.

We spent an extra day in Barcelona after the end of the cruise.

 

Enjoy!

 

PS : I thought I could post my review in just one post. I had actually to slice it in 3 sections. This 3rd post is not the first to be read of course! I should have posted it in the first instance.... Sorry for this mistake.

 

Jacques Olivier, Paris.

 

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D13 – Barcelona (Tuesday 31st July)

 

 

Royal Princess had arrived early. Weather was outcast. We were the only cruise ship docked…that’s odd for such a busy place! I had expected several. The Costa Serena was due there that day, but only in the afternoon. Given that, I actually felt a bit lonely…the situation was a bit anti climax !

 

After breakfast on the terrace of the cafeteria, we went back to the cabin to get ready. We said farewell to some of the people we had met or befriended on board. They called our colours tags. We got off the ship – very reluctantly. It was 8:45 am

 

Once on the back side of the new terminal, we walked on a balcony facing the ship – it was a good spot for the last photos opportunities. Went down (by escalator) to the lower level of the building. Picked up our belongings. Luggage was on a carousel like at the airport.

 

Getting off a medium sized ship, there was no crowd, and we just waited a few minutes before boarding a taxi. It had been one of the smoothest disembarkation process we ever went through (well, the size of the ship helped I know!). I must also ad that I was impressed with the new terminal and its facilities.

 

In Barcelona, the harbour authorities do their best to accommodate cruise companies by providing excellent facilities.

 

We were driven to the Expo Hotel, were I had booked a room (via the internet) for one night. I had tried this hotel the previous year, when I was travelling with a group of ship buffs (from the Ocean Liner Society of London) – we were on a cruise on Pullmantur Oceanic (former 1965-Oceanic from Home Line). This hotel, which I found satisfactory, is very conveniently located. It stands very close to San train Estaçion, where you also have a very frequent bus for the airport, and a metro and bus lines. It’s up Tarragona Road, up Plaza d’Espana not too far from Montjuic Parc.

 

At the hotel, I had planned to leave the luggage in a trunk room and go back in early afternoon to go to the room. Well, they told me (after a while only) at the check-in that there was a problem with the booking…. I had to insist to know what it was all about…. It had been cancelled! How possible? I yet had a receipt (stating that my credit card had been debited!). I just couldn’t believe it. There was definitely no room booked for us! I was not happy. And they were not too helpful. They told me to ring the reservation centre I had dealt with! Argh…

 

So we went to the train station nearby to get a phone card (my mobile doesn’t work outside France) and it took ages to find out a public telephone that worked. Phoned the reservation centre. Well, it turned out that I should have “double-confirmed” the booking! We were lucky in the end to be able to get a room at the same hotel for the same price (99 euros for the two of us, including breakfast…) What a relief (good job the hotel wasn’t full!). All in all, we wasted two hours…. And my mother was getting impatient, understandably! Came back to the hotel to inform we would be definitely checking-in later – as we now had a proper reservation number…

 

We had lost precious time…. We decided to walk towards Plaza Espanya and to the Museum of the Catalan Arts (MNAC Museo Nacional d’art de Catalunya). We had been there before but never had the chance to visit it. It’s located on the verge of Montjuic parc - you reach the building by an impressive flight of stairs. From atop the view is quite dramatic over town – you can spot some of the city’s landmarks, such as the Sagrada Familia, the Guel Park, etc…

 

The museum, a building built for the Barcelona International Exhibition of 1929, is a fine example of Moresque art deco style. The museum as such opened in 1934, but was refurbished a few years ago. It proudly exhibits Catalan art from the year 1000 to 1940.

 

There are several sections well laid out. Certainly, the best one is that of the Romanesque era, which features an exceptional series of mural paintings and wood carving – that’s the one we saw. The other sections are dedicated to the Gothic art, together with a section on the renaissance and baroque art, as well as 19th and early 20th century artwork ensembles.

 

The museum is a must visit! Although there are no “captions” written in Spanish (I mean Castilian) or English – the language there is Catalan – something I found ludicrous, you can get audio guide in the language of your choice, which gives you information on the main art works on display. Since the ticket is valid two days, you can go back the following day to complete your visit. Senior citizens do not pay – I paid 8 euros, and there is an audio guide included in the ticket.

 

As we were on a tight schedule, our visit was unfortunately not too long because we had said we would be back to the hotel for 2:30 pm. So, back there, we were relieved to have a room in the end! It was on the top floor, and the view towards the Montjuic Park was nice.

 

We had a little rest. Then we decided to go to town (by metro) to the Temple of the Sagrada Famillia. I has seen it a couple of times in the past, but never bothered to visit it. That is was we did that afternoon, we visited it. It was surely worth the ticket (8 euros adult; 5 euros senior citizens). It’s just an amazing construction. Impressive, grandiose. We did not go to the top of one of the towers because there was a long queue -45 min- and there’s a fee too. There’s an exhibition on the basement of the cathedral, which is really interesting, as it shows a lot on the evolution of the construction, the various plans and sketches by Gaudy, as well as the various mock models.

 

It is estimated that the construction is only 50% complete today. As it started in 1882, it’s most unlikely we’ll see it completed in our life time! Since the building process has been carried out over more than a century, you can spot the difference in style (it’s quite amusing!) They are also using a very traditional way of building it, as if each piece had to be specially and carefully crafted and arranged… hence the lengthy construction process time (I saw no data regarding a potential cost). Part of the nave vault is built, as some of the sides, and there are even very attractive stain glasses. It had been a most enjoyable visit.

 

Later, it was time for dinner. We wandered into the old town and eventually found a sort of brasserie. We enjoyed a plate of grilled sardines and a very tasty paella, together with a lovely bottle of local white wine, for a very reasonable price.

 

Now, it was running quite late. We walked around the cathedral, then to Place de Catalunta to find a bus to go back to our hotel, but couldn’t find one. So, we walked down the Ramblas – the famous historic thoroughfare. It was quite crowed, but nevertheless lively (with cafés, shop stalls, and entertainers); and there was certainly no feeling of insecurity. At the end of the Ramblas (near the harbour) there’s a metro station - at “Plaça del portal de la Pau” to be precise. That’s how se got back to the Expo Hotel. It surely had been a great day, in spite of the ‘hotel booking mishap’!

 

 

D14 –Barcelona (Wednesday 1st August)

 

 

That morning, yet again, we woke up rather early but did not manage to hurry! We even enjoyed a huge breakfast – buffet style- in the pleasant dining room of the hotel. There is a lot of food at hand! And the staff is very helpful.

 

Then, we went back to the room to get ready. We left our luggage in the trunk room, to be collected later in late afternoon, before going by taxi to the airport.

 

The idea was to go to Montserrat the famous monastery, situated about 60 km west of Barcelona. Although we had worked out the time table, we missed the 9:36 am train… We therefore had a bit of time to kill before the next train, so we decided to go for a walk on the sea front. We went there by metro –direct line from our hotel – to Drassanes stop. It’s located at the bottom of the Ramblas, in “Plaça del portal de la Pau”: “Square of the Portal of Peace”. Interestingly, there is a tall column with a statue of Christopher Columbus on top in the middle of the square -Mirador de Colom. Weather was fine. Warm, but not hot. Civilized! So we walked on the sea front, by the marinas.

 

Later, back to Plaza d’Espana, we took the train to Montserrat, the 10h36 am one. Now, about the fare, be careful, because it includes a train and aéreo (cable car) or a cremalla (rack train) journey. I paid no real attention at the ticket machine, as the prices were the same and got one ticket with train and cable car and another one with train and rack train! Tickets got checked during the journey by a tricky staff and I got a nasty remark! Make sure you have the right ticket !

 

We took the train to Monistrol and then changed for the rack train, after a 60 minutes or so journey. Then the rack train took about 20 min to reach Montserrat. It’s a new line, with new railing stock. Frankly, this must have been a massive investment. It looks very modern and clean. I was most impressed. The journey, on a steep track, right on the rugged hill side, is truly dramatic. Interestingly, the name "Montserrat" literally means "jagged mountain".

 

In Montserrat, unfortunately, we didn’t stay long enough to visit much. You have to allow a whole day if you want to make the most of the site – because once there, you can go even higher by funicular to visit other places. In Barcelona, you can actually buy a ticket that covers the whole site visits and transports (museum, funiculars, extra exhibitions, and lunch too at the cafeteria). It’s not what we bought - we just took the ’standard’ journey (about 13,20euros return – senior citizen only get less than a euro off !)

 

The Benedict monastery dates back from the 16th century, but the mountain of Montserrat was already a religious and pilgrimage centre thousand years ago. In the 10th century there were already four Catholic Hermitages in the mountain. Sadly, the monastery was destroyed by Napoleon Bonaparte’s army in 1811 and had to be rebuilt. The basilica houses a fine negra virga, a black virgin dating from the 12th century, the saint patron of Catalonia. Regrettably, because there was a very long queue, we did not approach it – but saw it in the distance

 

The site was busy, but it was bearable. The view over the mountain and the valley is beautiful, although you can spot in the distance signs of recent urbanisation. Amusingly, we meet some people we had befriended on the ship (they were doing a tour-excursion there). Our plan did not allow time to stay more. We therefore took the 2 pm train to go back to Barcelona, with regrets.

 

Back there, the aim was to go back to the MNAC (Museo Nacional d’Art de Catalunya) …to complete our visit from yesterday. But on the way there, I noticed that there was a free exhibition featuring works by William Hogarth, the famous English painter, taking place at ‘Fundaçion la Caixa’. In fact, the building, located at the foot of the Montjuic, dates from 1910, and used to be a factory producing carpets. It’s mainly done in bricks in a beautiful style. The conversion into a museum dates from a few years ago. It displays a collection of modern art, but also hosts temporary exhibitions.

 

It’s a very interesting place not only because of the building, but because it’s free and also not too busy (and air conditioned too!). We only had time to focus on the works by Hogarth, featuring mainly “eau fortes” and other similar pieces together with a few paintings. I certainly enjoyed this collection pretty much as Hogarth depicts English society and the lives of his contemporaries of mid 18th century in a sarcastic manner…

 

Later, we walked back to our museum. Unfortunately, we lost precious time there because although our ticket was valid for 2 days, we had to queue to get a new one! We just managed within less than an hour and a half, to see the collection of 19th and 20th century art. I paid special attention to the very attractive collection of furniture and decorative items of Catalan art nouveau. We also quickly visited the beautiful renaissance and baroque sections.

 

Then, we walked back to the hotel, under quite intense heat! We picked up our luggage and made ourselves ready. We got out of the building, and took a cab just outside for the airport – it was just 7 pm. It didn’t take too much time to get there (nor too much money). We were at the check-in counter ahead of time. Wait was tolerable – we paid a visit to the well stocked duty free shops (I bought a 1 L. bottle of Gin – Bombay Sapphire for 16 euros) – and had a drink. We took the last Air France flight for Paris, leaving at 22h30. It was on time and went OK. At Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport it was no problem to get a taxi, and furthermore, not too expensive to go back home! What a good surprise for once! It was well past 1 am when we reached my place. And for once, the elevator was not out of order!

 

We now were back home, in Paris. The holidays were over. It had been a wonderful cruise, on a lovely, friendly and human sized ship, which made us visit wonderful places and meet easy going and open passengers.

 

 

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End of part 1 “the Itinerary”.

To follow (soon): “the ship”.

[DedeM]

Gracias and Grazie! Fantastic reports!