This was a (mostly) leisurely day of exploration in Barcelona. But it wasn’t the day that we planned. Our main objective on this day was visiting the Sagrada Familia basilica which we had failed to get to on Day 15. So after a continental breakfast in our room, we walked to the Metro and traveled to the basilica. We were immediately struck by both the huge number of people who were there and the immense size of the building. We were then surprised to learn, from a sign on the fence surrounding the structure, that tickets could only be purchased online. After enduring a dreadfully slow download of the app, I tried to purchase 2 tickets, only to be shut out for anytime that day (Friday). And Saturday was sold out as well. But Marlene suggested that we try the “information” tent across the road and, surprisingly, they had a few tickets available for 1:45pm Saturday. We snagged them.

But that created a problem… we had very little time between when the tour started and when we had to be on a 5:40pm train to Madrid. Plus when I booked the train I did not see an option for taking large suitcases, which cost an extra 5 euros. We had two train-related problems that we needed to resolve. So we decided to go back to the Sants station to see if we could (1) switch to a later train and (2) add the bags to the ticket. Thus began our Ouigo nightmare.

We took our time walking to the station. We bought some bread and had a leisurely snack on the bread, feeding some to the pigeons. We took another break outside a school for theatrical arts where students had drawn chalk figures of leading ladies from the movies. Marlene found a thrift shop (no surprise there) and I enjoyed watching a window washer very artistically wash the shop’s windows while she shopped (I was amazed by how he could twirl his squeegee). We also got a closer view of Casa Mila and got someone to photograph us there.

We did make it to the train station, only to discover that the trip had been for naught.

“Ouigo” is the brand of train that I booked our travel to Madrid on. I thought it was the same as “Sanfe”, the train service that occupies most of the Sants station. We quickly found out from a disguntled Sanfe customer service agent that Ouigo was a different company and that they had no employees at Sants. Everything Ouigo did was online. We spent an hour at the McDonald’s in the station (which had free WiFi) researching Ouigo and trying to locate a number to call. We learned a lot but found no number.

Back at the hotel I managed to find a way to add the bags to the ticket and learned how to change the time of departure. But when I tried to change the time – something that the app said was possible until 30 minutes prior to departure, the app refused to do it. I spent over an hour trying different ways and none of them worked. The result was we were stuck with a 5:40pm departure and a 1:45pm tour of the basilica. VERY tight timing.

We decided that the best option was to take the large bags to the train station in the morning, go on the tour and then get back to the station by Metro. We figured we would have to leave the basilica by 3:15pm, so the tour would be just 90 minutes. Not much time considering that we spent about $30 each on the tickets. Feasible but very stress-inducing.

As a result of all the researching and frustrating failure to change the train time, we didn’t go out to dinner until 10pm. But people dine late in Spain. We wandered around a bit and discovered the Rambla de Poblenou, very near our hotel. This is a pedestrian street lined with cafes, all with al fresco dining. The area was so popular that we were unable to grab an outdoor table so we settled for an indoor one at a tapas cafe. This was my first tapas meal. We selected spicy potatoes, fried artichokes and cod fritters. They were all very good.

Before going to bed we had a bit of a run-in with hotel staff. We asked for a cup of ice – necessary because the room had no refrigerator and there was no ice machine. We had been given free cups of ice several times previously. But this time we were told that the cup of ice cost 1 euro. Over a dollar for no more than 6 ice cubes! Both Marlene and I were very miffed and refused to pay. I think making a customer angry over a cup of ice is very poor customer service.

It was a wonderful cruise, but all good things must come to an end. We got off the ship around 8:30am, stood in line for a taxi for 30 minutes then rode straight to our hotel, the Travelodge in the Poblenou section of Barcelona. We then stored our baggage and went out to get our bearings. The main goal was to find a money exchange as our cache of euros was very low. We were advised that the best location for money exchange was downtown Barcelona, on La Rambla – “The Ramble”, the main street of Barcelona.

I thought we should take the subway, both because it would be the fastest way to get there and because, as a transportation geek, I wanted to see the subway system. But Marlene wanted to walk. So we walked. It was a nice day. We made it to the Parc de la Ciutadella before we got distracted.

I did not get a single photo of La Rambla, but I am sure you can find many. It is a famous boulevard. I did get some of the old town, the “Gothic Quarter.” I also snapped one of the statue of Columbus that stands at the harbor end of La Rambla.

It was a long day of walking and we were feeling bloated from the cruise, so we went to bed without our supper.

The day in Valencia was a long one – we were off the ship before 10am and didn’t return until 6:30pm. Some of that was getting into the city and back again as we were about 45 minutes away by bus. But we didn’t take the bus all the way into town. Because the line for the shuttle bus to the port gate was long – we estimated that we would be waiting over 30 minutes – and because I thought I had heard the cruise director say that the port gate was 1.5 km from the ship. Well, we can walk 1.5 km (just a bit more than a mile) in under 15 minutes. So we walked. And discovered that the gate was more like 5 km away. Either Joey gave us a bum steer or I didn’t hear right. In any case we started our Valencia adventure with a VERY long walk. But we found a playground along the way and channeled our inner 7-year-olds for a few minutes.

Valencia is a large city that still retains an “old city” feel. There are a lot of buildings that have been around for more than a couple of centuries.

The main destination for our journey into town was the Valencia Cathedral, which was originally constructed in 1268 and has been extensively expanded and renovated several times since. It is HUGE and contains a large museum. It took us over 2 hours to complete the audio walking tour. The number of Renaissance artworks is staggering.

The main altar is not an altar at all, but six painted panels that swing open to reveal the altar. Or where the silver altar used to be – the silver was melted down to finance a war. But the value of the remaining art and artifacts – including what Valencians believe is the Holy Grail – is incalculable. The architecture is impressive, too.

I took over 70 photos inside the cathedral. Here are a few of the better ones.

The museum was interesting, too. It included a section of excavated catacombs under the cathedral, as well as many more works of art.

The chapel where the reputed Holy Grail is stored is worth a visit on its own. The architecture is stunning.

When we finally left the cathedral we wandered around downtown Valencia for a while, both window shopping and figuring out how to get back to the ship.

We made it back to the ship, though only with about 20 minutes to spare. We took a bus to the shuttle – no 5 km walk back! I got some nice photos of Marlene and she did a bit of dancing with the waitstaff.

We had a few moments with the captain and some friends before the evening show which was a soul revue. I broke even at the casino, but remain down.

After 8 days at sea we finally saw land again. We docked in Ponta Delgada in the Azores Islands. This is a modern and fairly large city so we didn’t find any ruins or ancient homes. But we did find a nice harbor and a shopping area where we could buy some trinkets. And a couple of dresses for Marlene.

It was a cool, mostly cloudy day so the photos are not postcard quality. We didn’t eat lunch on shore but did buy a couple of fresh-made pina coladas which were very tasty. And saw a very picturesque carriage. We also got some walking exercise, finally, as we walked into town from the pier, along the harbor and past the 16th-century fortress that guarded the harbor.

I watched A Man Called Otto under the stars at night. It was very chilly – around 60 degrees – but I wore my hoodie and didn’t freeze. Good movie.