Day 3 - Barcelona: The girl with the yellow hat

Today started with a hearty breakfast at the hotel, and then some shopping at El Cortas Inglas to get disposable cell phones so we could contact each other if we got separated, and some lozenges for Carolina who arrived on Sunday with a sore throat. Sara was in dire need of comfortable shoes, so once cell phones and lozenges were in hand, we headed down the bustling La Ramblas in search of sandals. 





The bustling La Ramblas.

Sara hit the jackpot in a little shop between La Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter.  With the emergency shoe shopping completed, we wandered the labyrinth of narrow, picturesque, cobblestoned streets into and through the Gothic Quarter for a few hours, taking pictures, soaking up the atmosphere, people watching, eating fantastic fruit and ice cream bars, and getting a few fashion finds --- including Carolina’s signature yellow hat, which will come in handy for finding her in a crowd. 

We stopped for a leisurely and delicious lunch outdoors in one of the many plazas in the area. 

 I had grilled baby squid and grilled vegetables – fantastic! 

Sara enjoying our outdoor lunch.

After lunch, Carolina headed to the ship early to see the ship doctor (the young and studly Dr. Willem) about her throat.  Roisin, Sara and I squeezed in a few more hours of wandering the Gothic Quarter and La Ribera neighbourhood, stopping to marvel at the remnants of its 2000-year-old Roman past and some medieval finds.

Muralla Romana

After finding a gem of a jewellery store and making some purchases, we dashed back to the hotel to grab our luggage and board the ship.

Yes, the ship.  It’s huge!  Getting lost is going to be a frequent occurrence I think. Carolina and I are sharing a room on the Lido deck (15^th floor) at the front of the ship. Sara and Roisin are room-mates, also at the front of the ship, a few floors below us.  The rooms are small, but make good use of space,  are clean and comfortable and have a good sized window offering a view of the port.

Once settled into our room, Carolina (now medicated thanks to Dr. W) and I went to the pool area, where the festivities were in full swing in preparation for setting sail.  Sara and Roisin soon joined us to watch as we sailed away from Barcelona.

Some of the ship's crew lead passengers in some dancing by the pool.