{"id":4887,"date":"2024-05-07T11:39:30","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T11:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=4887"},"modified":"2025-12-24T21:45:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T21:45:58","slug":"10-barcelona-and-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=4887","title":{"rendered":"10. BARCELONA AND HOME."},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a fair old distance from Gibralter to Barcelona.\u00a0 I seem to remember the captain saying it was 420 nautical miles – but that might have been from C\u00e1diz.\u00a0 \u00a0Or it might have been the distance from Casablanca to C\u00e1diz!\u00a0 Anyway we had a whole day and a half motoring ahead.\u00a0 Plenty of time to catch up on the blog!\u00a0 But somehow, that never happened.\u00a0 And here we are, two weeks later, frantically packing the caravan and getting “organised” to go – yep – back to Spain!\u00a0 (Just arrived this afternoon in real time!) Still writing this last episode of the cruise saga!<\/p>\n

All passengers received a compensatory offer of US$ 1000 off any future cruise.\u00a0 So a good part of the day was spent considering what options were available.\u00a0 However, on reflection, it appears that Regent Seven Seas price their cruises at such a level to make what should have been a “no-brainer” a “brainer”.\u00a0 Glenda really doesn’t enjoy being bounced around on the ocean waves.\u00a0 We prefer river cruises.\u00a0 For a number of reasons including waves and crowds!<\/p>\n

Anyway – back to Gibralter!\u00a0 Breakfast was a relaxed affair for a change.\u00a0 No excursion to catch (or, occasionally, to NOT catch)!\u00a0 It was also less busy than usual.\u00a0 A lot of other people not rushing!\u00a0 And, not only that, but a significant number of passengers had abandoned ship to travel to Barcelona by taxi, train, plane or stage coach so they wouldn’t miss their connecting flights to the States.\u00a0 Actually, I don’t think many deserters took coaches – stage or otherwise!<\/p>\n

During the cruise we had dined three times on table 10 in Chartreuse, the French-style restaurant.\u00a0 Probably our favourite, although the main restaurant, the Compass Rose, was also excellent.\u00a0 At breakfast, we were approached by Zolan, the maitre-d’ of Chartreuse.<\/p>\n

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(Would you buy a used car from this guy?)<\/p>\n

“Where are you dining tonight?”\u00a0 Words that would come back to haunt us!\u00a0 I guess several of his bookings for the evening were on the stage coach!\u00a0 And his restaurant prided itself on always being full!<\/p>\n

So Chartreuse it would be!<\/p>\n

But in the meantime we had a few pieces of jigsaw to put in place on deck 6 (there was always a puzzle on the go.)\u00a0 A bit of practice at shuffleboard (harder than it looks) on deck 11.\u00a0 We had a 22 mile walk to do round the top deck 14 times.\u00a0 To be fair, 20 of those miles were provided by the ship blasting along at top speed.<\/p>\n

Then, of course, there was afternoon tea to be taken at 4 pm in the Horizon Lounge.\u00a0 To the accompaniment of the resident classical guitarist.\u00a0 Scones, cream and jam, plus a full range of sandwiches and pastries.\u00a0 I think by this stage in the cruise we limited ourselves to a coffee \u00e9clair.\u00a0 One between the two of us.\u00a0 Oh, maybe there was a scone involved too!<\/p>\n

And so to Chartreuse…<\/p>\n

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Served as usual by our favourite duo.\u00a0 Angel above (as angels should be) and Mary below:\u00a0 Both from the Philippines.<\/p>\n

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As we sat down to eat, we we treated to a fabulous show of dolphin skill.\u00a0 For what seemed like ages, five dolphins were surfing down the bow wave immediately outside our window.\u00a0 Five of them – equally spaced.\u00a0 Must have been part of a synchronised swimming team.\u00a0 Clever too – staying effectively stationary while swimming down hill facing the ship and moving sideways at 20 knots!\u00a0 It seemed like they were there for ages, but in reality it was probably for less than 20 seconds start to finish.<\/p>\n

And, as we dined on mushroom soup, rack of lamb and cr\u00e8me brul\u00e9e, the sun set beside us over a beautifully calm Mediterranean Sea.\u00a0 As I said, the calm before the storm!<\/p>\n

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In the middle of the night, as we slept, the wind got up and started us rocking and rolling again.\u00a0 And this time, as it had been so calm earlier, no sea-sickness tablets had been swallowed!\u00a0 Suffice it to say, that Glenda spent a lot of time in the bathroom that night and the following morning.<\/p>\n

We were supposed to vacate the cabin by 11 o’clock, preferably earlier, so the crew could clear out the cabins ready for the 700 slightly angry guests on the next cruise.\u00a0 They’d already had to move into hastily arranged accommodation in Barcelona and they had missed best part of two days cruising.\u00a0 They weren’t going to be starting off happy!<\/p>\n

We were given special dispensation to stay in our cabin until we were called to disembark.\u00a0 At this point, we were offered assistance and a wheel chair.\u00a0 Anything to make sure we got off the boat!\u00a0 Of course, both were refused and we staggered off to find ourselves in a 10 mile walkway to the baggage reclaim area.<\/p>\n

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We soon discovered that Uber doesn’t really work well in Barcelona.\u00a0 (We found out later that he city is Cabify territory!)\u00a0 So we took a taxi to the hotel where one of us collapsed into bed which was, fortunately, very close to the bathroom!<\/p>\n

By the middle of the night, I joined Glenda in her sea-sickness, which by then had been reclassified as food poisoning.\u00a0 Thank you Zolan!\u00a0 Or was it the \u00e9clair???<\/p>\n

The next morning we decided that the only thing we were up for was the hop-on-hop-off bus.\u00a0 So we hopped on – and only hopped off to change from the green route to the red route!<\/p>\n

Barcelona is a huge and fabulous city with some magnificent architecture plus some weird and wonderful buildings courtesy of Mr Gaudi.\u00a0 But it is VERY big and VERY busy.\u00a0 Motorbikes and scooters everywhere – partly because parking is hard to find and prohibitively expensive.\u00a0 But bike parking is free and abundant along many streets.\u00a0 This happens to be the view from our balcony.<\/p>\n

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As is this.\u00a0 That’s Casa Battlo, one of Gaudi’s developments, slightly left of centre.\u00a0 And you can’t get many hotel rooms closer!<\/p>\n

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We’ll come back to that building later.\u00a0 Various views of grand buildings as seen from our tour of the city …<\/p>\n

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At the Plaza de Catalonia …<\/p>\n

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Primark – just like their shop in Torquay … NOT!<\/p>\n

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That’s the Arc de Triomf.\u00a0 \u00a0It was designed by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas for the first Spanish World Fair in 1888. It was designed as the main entrance for the fair in Parc Ciutadella beyond the archway..<\/p>\n

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Castell dels Tres Dragons – The Castle of Three Dragons!\u00a0 It was built between 1887 and 1888 as a Caf\u00e9-Restaurant for the 1888 Universal Exposition of Barcelona.<\/p>\n

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Barcelona’s answer to London’s Gherkin – the Torre Glories.\u00a0 Thirty three floors to the top at 144 metres.<\/p>\n

The next significant landmark goes by the snappy name of “The Bas\u00edlica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Fam\u00edlia”, otherwise known as Sagrada Fam\u00edlia, or simply Antoni Gaudi’s Cathedral.\u00a0 It’s a church under construction – the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world!<\/p>\n

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A truly ridiculous edifice.\u00a0 Ridiculous, but fabulous!\u00a0 But not an easy building to work on!\u00a0 Construction started on the project in 1882; 142 years ago!\u00a0 Apparently, the “finished” building will have 18 spires of which 13 or 14 have already been constructed.\u00a0 The final height is planned to be 170 m (540 feet!).<\/p>\n

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A fleeting view of the city from the Jardin del Doctor Pla i Armengol.\u00a0 These gardens are located in the high ground to the NW of the city. First opened in 1930, and, sfter being closed for decades, the park and gardens finally reopened in 2019.\u00a0 A lovely place for a picnic with a view!\u00a0 The Glorious Tower is just visible in the distance.<\/p>\n

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The twin Venetian towers guard the entrance to the Pla\u00e7a d’Espanya.\u00a0 This is one of Barcelona’s most important squares, built on the occasion of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.<\/p>\n

The old bull ring can just be seen on the right side of the square.\u00a0 Now a shopping centre since bull fighting was outlawed in this part of Spain.<\/p>\n

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There was a fairly statuesque statue in the middle of the Pla\u00e7a.\u00a0 Apparently, Gaudi.had some influence in its design!<\/p>\n

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The Venetian Towers lead to the Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, an avenue commonly used to host trade fairs.\u00a0 On this occasion, wedding dresses were being promoted.\u00a0 They were all over the shop.\u00a0 Some being modelled randomly in the street …<\/p>\n

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… and others were whisked around on an overhead gantry …<\/p>\n

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The final landmark of interest was Camp Nou\u00a0 the Barcelona Football club stadium.<\/p>\n

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Opened in 1957, it is now undergoing an extensive renovation.\u00a0 In fact, it looks like there is a whole new stadium being built around and subsuming the original\u00a0 building.<\/p>\n

It had been cold all day in Barcelona. \u00a0Certainly, in relation to everywhere else on this holiday.\u00a0 And after best part of five hours sitting on the open upper deck of the tour bus, we were really ready for a hot cup of tea and an early night.<\/p>\n

The next day, after a late and careful breakfast, we walked the short distance to Gaudi’s Battlo House.<\/p>\n

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A collection of images from within the building showed almost no straight lines or flat surfaces.\u00a0 Quite amazing!<\/p>\n

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Fancy mirrors …<\/p>\n

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… fireplaces …<\/p>\n

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… windows …<\/p>\n

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… and ceilings!<\/p>\n

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A view of our Room Mate Anna Hotel (with white screen on the roof-top terrace).<\/p>\n

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The internal light well.\u00a0 The windows get smaller upwards and the tiles get deeper blue.\u00a0 The idea being to “equalise” the light reaching each floor.<\/p>\n

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Camouflaged chimney stacks …<\/p>\n

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… and general gaudi embellishments!\u00a0 What a house.\u00a0 What a nightmare to maintain!\u00a0 But beautiful, in a weird and wonderful way!\u00a0 Time for a cup.of tea and a rest before an excursion on foot to see the world famous Rambla.<\/p>\n

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Lovely architecture,\u00a0 but as a walk it’s much overrated.\u00a0 \u00a0It’s full of tourist tat stalls and very crowded.\u00a0 Better to nip into one of the hotels to admire their internal patios:<\/p>\n

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Or take to the side streets to discover quieter little squares with caf\u00e9s, fountains and wonderful views.<\/p>\n

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… and this is the entrance to the Ministerio de Cultura.\u00a0 Just like Torquay Town Hall!<\/p>\n

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Barcelona’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch pad hidden in the historic centre!<\/p>\n

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Barcelona Cathedral lurking above the streets of the Gothic Quarter and as viewed from the Placita de La Seu below:<\/p>\n

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Back at base, we explored the eighth floor of the Room Mate Anna hotel – the roof rerrace with pool and tapas bar:<\/p>\n

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In the morning, it was time to head to the airport.\u00a0 \u00a0We got a taxi outside the hotel which was unloading a passenger fresh from the airport.\u00a0 We took the cab straight back and arrived nice and early.\u00a0 First at the departure area … Rather too early …<\/p>\n

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… for our Squeezy Jet flight to Bristol and our last view of Spain as we cross the snow-capped Pyrenees.\u00a0 And that’s the end of this eventful trip!<\/p>\n

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We will.be back in Spain in two weeks.\u00a0 Until then “Hasta la Vista!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s a fair old distance from Gibralter to Barcelona.\u00a0 I seem to remember the captain saying it was 420 nautical miles – but that might have been from C\u00e1diz.\u00a0 \u00a0Or it might have been the distance from Casablanca to C\u00e1diz!\u00a0… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-regent-seven-seas-cruise-travels-in-2024"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4887"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4949,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4887\/revisions\/4949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}