Barcelona

We arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday, May 30 around 11:30pm. We checked in to the hotel and grabbed a quick snack at the bar before crashing!

When we arrived at the airport, there were scraps of paper everywhere. Apparently the cleaning staff went on strike and this was part of their protest!

We had to leave the hotel at 8:15am to be on the free "crew" shuttle to the ship, so we got up around 7:00am and had breakfast. When we got to the ship, we realized the ship had just come out of dry dock and only had guests for one week since the last inspection, so our work was pretty easy. We were back at the hotel before 11:00am, just in time for another nap! We slept/relaxed until 5:00 and then went into the city. We only had a few hours in the city because the shuttle back to the hotel left at 8:15pm, but we made the best of our time! We had a snack at our favorite Irish pub and then did some shopping! My husband spoiled me and bought me 2 new skirts from Desigual! I love them! We went back to the hotel at 8:15pm and watched a movie before crashing.

Kevin on Las Ramblas

Trying to be artsy. Not too bad, if I do say so myself!

One of the many Desigual shops, but this is where Kevin bought me my new skirts!

So excited and HOT!

We woke up around 8am on Friday morning, but went back to sleep until almost 1pm! We got into town around 2:30 and ate lunch on Las Ramblas before heading up to the Sagrada Familia. This is a cathedral that has been under construction since the late 1800's and is still not complete. We visited the cathedral in December 2008, but I was really interested to go back and see the progress. I must say I was very pleasantly surprised! The exterior was still under construction, but it seemed to me that the interior was pretty much complete. The last time we went inside, most of the interior area was roped off and covered in dust and plastic. This time it was all open and was pretty spectacular! When we were done at the Sagrada Familia, we went back to Las Ramblas to do some more shopping. While we were walking around, we literally bumped into one of the Sports Supervisors from Royal Caribbean, who was on vacation and signing on as a guest to the ship we were inspecting the following day! It was so crazy to see him in such a populated spot in Barcelona! We ended up spending the remainder of our time that night with Sam. Our evening was unfortunately cut short when I had a run in with a nasty Swedish drunkard, and had an emotional breakdown. We took a taxi to the hotel and after I calmed down, I passed out!

Drinking a delicious Sangria on Las Ramblas.

One of many street performers. I can't even imagine how hot they get!

The finished interior of the Sagrada Familia.

The picture of the left is from 2008 and the one on the right is from 2012. It was incredible to see the transformation! 

Beautiful stained glass! There was stained glass surrounding the cathedral. 

Breathtaking!

LOVE him!

More stained glass :)

The exterior of the Sagrada Familia. 

Our friend, that we literally bumped into, Sam! 

On Saturday, we went to the ship.  We got back to the hotel around 3:00pm and went back into the city around 6:00. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then spent some time at the Magic Fountain. This fountain is turned off during the day, but at night it is turned on and they city puts on a beautiful light show. We stayed until about 10:00pm and then went back to the hotel to pack our things. We flew home back home on Sunday. 

There were ponds outside our hotel with tons of frogs. We enjoyed listening to them "sing" in the evenings. 

Waiting for the Magic Fountain show to begin. Do yo like the new skirt!?!

The beginning of the show. 

The show lasted longer than we expected, so we went for a walk to get a better/different view. 

It was beautiful!

I am glad we finally got to see this. Apparently the show only takes place Thursdays through Sundays in the summer and only Fridays and Saturdays in the winter. 

This is the National Museum of Art (Catalunya). It was a beautiful building just behind the fountain.

I loved the colors of this fountain!