Barcelona

After disembarking the ferry, some travelers chose to take the metro into the heart of the city with our tour director. They walked along Las Ramblas, the city's main shopping avenue. The rest of the group chose to remain in the vicinity of the hotel where they visited a large department store, El Corte Inglese.

We began a bus tour the next morning starting out in Park Guell. Here we viewed works by Barcelona's famous architect, Antonio Gaudi. He tried to infuse elements of nature in his architectural designs so there are many curved surfaces and few straight lines. After a stroll through the park, we drove to another Gaudi masterpiece, Sagrada Familia. This unfinished basilica has been under construction since 1889. In the end it will contain 12 spires, the largest of which has yet to be built. The church is designed to hold over 5,000 people, a choir of 1,500, and seven organs. Our bus tour concluded with a trip to the top of Montjuic, the highest hill in the city. The view from here was spectacular.

After the tour we split up for free time activities. Some travelers chose to hang out on the beach and swim in the Mediterranean Sea. Others visited the Picasso museum, Las Ramblas, and the Barcelona cathedral.

We met back up for a buffet dinner that included pasta and paella. A group of us chose to view a fabulous Flamenco show after dining while others remained in the city to shop and stroll.

We ended the day tired, and with an early wake up call to follow. We had to be sure we wouldn't miss our ride on the 185 mph train to Madrid.

By the way, I added a few more photos to the Pisa slide show, so you might want to check that out again.

JVH