BARCELONA, SPAIN-VISIT TO LA SAGRADA FAMILIA

A day @ sea ending with a formal night. I won 2 games of Bingo during the day. Yea!!!
Dinner @ Prego with Roseanne and Jerry Levinson (the bridge teachers aboard)
Local show on board-Fantasia Espanola.
Las Ramblas with "living" statue.
Part of the facade of the Church.
La Sagrada Familia.
Nancy and Don in front of the Church.


The Monday after Easter is a holiday in BARCELONA and most everything is closed. We took a cab to see the Church of the Holy Family which is a large Roman Catholic Church designed by architect Antoni Gaudi. At the time of Gaudi's death in 1926, his masterpiece was not nearly finished and is still today a work in progress. 4,000 people a day visit the Sacred Family. (I think they were all there with us!) A ride down Las Ramblas, a tree lined pedestrian boulevard, was fun to see the "local color".
An early show was the local group Fantasia Espanola and was very entertaining with lots of Flamenco dancing.

Nancy and Don on the city sight seeing bus.
Fountain and building in Barcelona.
Building designed by Gaudi.
We took a double decker sight seeing bus and toured Barcelona on Sunday, April 8. This is the city with a park.
Our vice-captain Stefan Vikingsson and his 2 month old son, Emil, leaving in Barcelona for a 3 month time off the ship in Sweden.
Lunch with Karen and Bill Stutzer (the golf profession on board from San Diego).
Chocolate Easter eggs that the chef created for Easter Sunday.
Museum designed by Gaudi.
A living statue.
Las Ramblas.
Our first day in Barcelona- on LAS RAMBLAS (the tree lined pedestrian boulevard which is packed with living statues and salespeople selling everything from lottery tickets to jewelry.
The show on board with the Mamma Mia number which gets a standing ovation.
Captain's farewell party on the last segment of our cruise and formal night.
Our winning Team Trivia-we were 1st in 2 out of 3 sea days. We have a collection of Crystal ball hats!!

DAY @ SEA - APRIL 6, 2012

Our last sea day on the Lisbon to Barcelona part of our cruise. We won 1st place in Team Trivia 2 times and I came in 3rd in the Bridge Tournament.

BARCELONA, SPAIN-APRIL 7, 8 AND 9, 2012

We are docked in Barcelona for 3 days and 2 nights. A new cruise starts on Sunday for 7 days going to Rome. The ship will be full and we will have a whole new table of 8.
BARCELONA is the Catalonian capital of Spain. BARCELONA is closer to the French border than it is to Madrid and is an acient seaport on the Balearic Sea. As a port city, BARCELONA has long been connected to a myriad of cultures and peoples. Northern Africa is within a few days sailing, therefore you will find a hint of Arabic influence. The Romans certainly left their mark on the city. The arts and culture all bear unmistakable marks from this multinational impact creating what many believe to be the rarest gem in the Spanish crown. BARCELONA is an intellectual center that wears the proud patina of time.

Dinner was with Gail and Mike Stoner from Phoenix.
My dinner @ Silk Road (Nobu box) a specialty restaurant on the ship.
Nicholas and Michael (from San Francisco) are on Seabourn and also docked in Malaga and came on board for a visit with us. Roseanne is the bridge teacher on board. They have been on our same cruises in the past.
View of Malaga Harbor from the castle on Gibralfaro Hill.

MALAGA, SPAIN-APRIL 5, 2012

Malaga Bullfighting Ring dating back to 1876 and hold a capacity of 14,000 people.
Dancers.
Flamenco performance.
Streets in Old Quarter in Malaga.
Don.
Nancy and Don in Malaga.
Beautiful fountains in the city.


Prosperous MALAGA lies along the beautiful Costa del Sol, approximately 70 miles inside the Strait of Gibraltar. The port city of MALAGA is located in Andalusia, southern Spain, on the "sunny coast" of the Mediterranean. The inner city of MALAGA is just behind the harbor and it has much revenue from the agricultural sector and from tourism. This modern-looking provincial capital was founded by the Phoenicians and later vecame culturally and economically important as the port of Granada
We arrived @ the port @ 8:00 AM after passing through the Srait of Gibraltar during the middle of the night.
We began our shore excursion with a visit to the Picasso Museum which opened in 2003 with over 200 works of Picasso which were donated by the Picasso Family. We then walked through Malaga's old quarter and a visit to Our Lady of Incarnation Cathedral, a fine example of Renaissance and Baroque architecture. We then experienced a flamenco performance while enjoying a glass of wine and refreshments. Onto a drive up to the 13th century castle that crowns Gibralfaro Hill with impressive views over Malaga and its surroundings. Just below stands a bullring.

CADIZ, SPAIN-APRIL 4, 2012

Mike and Gail Stoner from Phoenix in the Plaza de las Flores. The hats were given to us on the bus.
Nancy in the Plaza de las Flores. (The double decker bus was cold!)
Whimsical street scenes.
Inside the Cathedral of Cadiz which has Baroque, rococo and neo-classical styles of architecture.
Famous gold domed building.
Playa Caleta-the city beach.
Beautiful buildings.
Beautiful fountains throughout the city.
Double decker bus touring Cadiz.


CADIZ, SPAIN is the gateway to Seville and is perched on the tip of a thin isthmus and is near the Rock of Gibraltar. This ancient city is the oldest inhabited city of the Western World at over 3,000 years old. CADIZ is Spain's main Atlantic seaport and has a strategic location which was fought over by many major ruling forces, each trying to establish a foothold on the Spanish mainland. Under the powerful reigh of King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I, Christopher Columbus set sail for the New World from Cadiz.
Don went on a 3 hour shore excursion and I ventured out from the ship and boarded a 2 decker bus and did a tour of the city.
We returned to the ship and had lunch in the dining room and took a nap as we moved our clocks ahead 2 hours last night!