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We are returning again!!!!

So after much drama and debate, we are heading overseas again this fall for an amazing 7 day Mediterranean cruise. We are cruising with MSC cruise line on the brand new Splendida ship. Our itinerary starts in Barcelona, where we arrive 1 day early. After boarding the ship in Barcelona, we start an adventure of stopping in 7 different ports spanning 5 different countries. I am so excited! http://www.msccruisesusa.com/fleet/splendida-cruise-ship.htm

Day 7 Departure Day

We awoke early to be ready to catch our Aerobus at 8am. We stopped for coffee on the way as we hiked by foot with our luggage to Plaça de Catalunya. We managed to figure out where we needed to be to catch the bus (it is a very big square). As stated in our guide book, the Aerobus comes every 15-20 minutes and costs only 4.05 euros to get to the airport. Upon arriving at the airport, we noticed that the line for check-in was very, very, very long. We were there a good 2.5 hours early but that time dwindled down fast. With about an hour left, we started heading to our gate. Not thinking about customs, I decided to stop in a gift shop to spend my last little bit of euros. With just 30 minutes left, Philip started heading to the gate when we noticed very, very, very long lines to wait in to get through customs. My anxiety immediately escalated as I was standing in line because the line wasn't moving. There was probably 30 people in front of me and time was moving faster than that line. With just 10 minutes left before take-off and we are still standing in pretty much the same spot in the line, we notice the ticket agent who checked us in walking by. We grabbed him and explained our situation. He let us follow him to the front of the line where we were able to get through customs and on the plane with just minutes to spare. It was a very stressful time, I just wanted to get home to my family and did not want have to deal with finding another flight or staying another day. I am very thankful to that ticketing agent! Flight was smooth and we were able to enjoy beautiful views of the mountains as we flew over Spain. We had an uneventful flight home and I was reunited with mi familia!

Points to keep in mind about Barcelona:
Barcelona has an awesome metro system! I've read it is the one of the best in Europe. It is very clean and there are escalators and elevatores. Barcelona also has lots of pharmacies- you can purchase baby food, feminine products, and medications if needed. If you want to hear some good live music, hang out in Plaça de Catalunya! Live bands play there and sell their cd's. Lastly, I didn't feel as safe at night in Barcelona as I did in Paris/Rome. I don't know what the crime rate is, but probably best not to go out at night by yourself.

To see more of my photos, visit my flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nyonnetti

Day 6 Barcelona

Ok, this post is way overdue but I couldn't leave my trip blog unfinished. (Luckily I took notes.)

October 8th 2008: Our last full day in Barcelona. We slept in today because we were at the end of our trip and completely exhausted. It felt good to get a good nights sleep. I tell you, I get some of the best night's sleep when traveling! We started our day off with breakfast on the Ramblas. We ate a delicious english breakfast at Dibar cafe- located at the top of the Ramblas. After getting some much needed nourishment, we set out to find the Picasso Museum and do some shopping on the way. We found a really awesome knife shop on Carrer Ferran, where my brother and I bought some really cool knives. I got one for my hubby, not for me! After shopping, we made it to the Picasso Museum, which is located in the Barri Gotic. The Picasso Museum is composed of five palaces on the street carrer de Montcada. The museum takes you on a journey through Picasso's life, starting with his early work and ending with his later, the cubism style which he is so often known by. It cost 10 Euros to get in but only 6 Euros for students under 25. We had lunch at the museum because we had read in our guide book that the museum's cafe was quite good and cheap. Rick Steves' was right! I got a delicious ricotta and salmon salad with raspberry dressing for under 10 euros. After leaving the museum, we decided to explore more of Barcelona, while trying to find the nearest metro as well. We walked past the Museu de Zoologia, a natural history museum in Barcelona. Near this is the Arc de Triumph, which we walked through and was quite impressive, but not as impressive as Paris' Arc de Triumph! Finally we found the metro and took this to the Sagrada Familia again for a tour of the inside of the cathedral. This is one incredible building but a bit of a disappointment to tour. The cathedral is unfinished and probably will not be completed for another 50 years. However, you have to pay 10 Euros to enter and for the most part, you are viewing constructions workers, supplies, and dust. The ceilings are amazing and you can take an elevator ride to the top of the towers, but again this cost more money- another 2 euros. There is a small museum area (in the basement?) that you can tour and see some cool art and models of the cathedral. It started to rain so we took the metro back to our hotel to relax for a while. We wanted to save money -we were running out fast- so we ate at the McDonald's in Plaça de Catalunya- crazy right?! Here we could have been eating tapas or something cool and we chose McDonald's. However, sometimes you need comfort food to remind you of home.
After the rain subsided, we walked over to an outdoor market on Avinguda del Portal de l'Àngel, located just off Plaça de Catalunya. We didn't find too much, it wasn't a big market, but that is a cool street b/c it is a pedestrian-only . We ended the night by listening to a live band playing in Plaça de Catalunya- they were awesome and Philip and I are kicking ourselves that we didn't buy the cd.
We crashed for the night, wanting a goods night rest before a long day of traveling ahead.