Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 9 hours ago, Jax said: I totally missed the fact that you were flying in the daytime. Yikes, that makes for a hard adjustment. The original flight I had booked didn’t leave until 9 pm ish making sleep a bit more likely. 6 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: I always do international night flights. It seems to work better for the subsequent jetlag. There were two flights from JFK-BCN. One was at 4:15pm, the other was at 9pm. We went with our rule to take the earlier flight (in case of cancellations) but that meant that we landed in Barcelona just before 6am, making it a pretty full day yesterday. Just woke up from sleeping a solid 9.5 hours. Hopefully that’s enough to reset! MaryS, Ampurp85, Sweety and 6 others 9 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 Blogging while travelling Europe is also not for the tired and weary, which is pretty much a given whether you are recovering from jet lag, or wiped out from a full day excursion. That sums up me on both those fronts Anyhow, we all feel a bit more like humans (instead of walking zombies) today after we all went to bed early last night. Our day began with breakfast at the hotel. This can be included with your stay, or you can skip it. I don’t remember the exact cost, but it was not a big difference like the crazy cost some hotels choose so we chose to have it included. It was so worth it! This was no Holiday Inn Express breakfast. The food quality was excellent, everything was so fresh, even the juices, and they had Cava included if you wanted to make yourself a mimosa! All the continental items were buffet style, they had hot items like crepes, waffles, pancakes, omelettes, eggs, etc. that you can order (also included) and they cook and bring out. We were in a hurry to meet our LivTours guide so we did not order hot items today. D15 and I will try to go earlier tomorrow so we have time to try the hot items. JohnK6404, Sweety, bellemiche and 11 others 12 2 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 We met our guide near Barcelona Cathedral and from there we toured the Gothic Quarter and the cathedral. Some really great views from up top! PPPJJ-GCVAB, twangster, Sweety and 13 others 10 5 1 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 After that, we took a break for lunch at a pintxos tapas bar that was recommended by our guide. You pick whatever you want and save the little sticks and at the end, they count them up when you are done. SweetPea, Neesa, Cactus527 and 11 others 11 3 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 Following lunch, we headed to Park Güell. It was pretty hot and crowded here by this point. The tour was supposed to end here but they flipped and ended with Sagrada Familia instead. We really enjoyed this park. Gaudi’s style is so unique. Cactus527, Ampurp85, WAAAYTOOO and 11 others 9 3 2 Quote
CravingaCruise Posted July 6 Report Posted July 6 I FINALLY got all caught up! It took our entire train ride from Orlando to Ft Lauderdale to do it but I was determined!! Your pics are great! I hope you enjoy every moment! Before you know it you’ll be doing your trips without the freeloaders and wishing they were there! Fill the mom heart while you can!! Neesa, Sweety, Cactus527 and 1 other 3 1 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 From here our guide took us to Sagrada Familia. This church was so breathtaking. Hubby and the girls were fascinated by the inside, but I loved the outside facades. One side shows the nativity (the life of Christ) the other side was called the passion (the crucifixion and ascension of Christ). The detail from scriptures in the art and sculptures were just amazing! Apologies for the photo dump. PPPJJ-GCVAB, JustMeJoe, SweetPea and 13 others 6 6 4 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 Our tour included a trip up the passion tower. An elevator takes you up, but you have to go down on foot, 400 winding steps. I did not love this part. Also Gaudi is buried in the lower level of Sagrada Familia. MaryS, Sweety, JohnK6404 and 8 others 8 3 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 By the time this was done, we were wiped out! Truly. We all told Hubby we were done. He was the only one with energy still. Our guide recommended good authentic paella place to us and this is where we said goodbye to her. Dinner was house salad, cannelloni, and chicken & vegetable paella. All yummy after a long day. Last pic is us calling it quits and catching a cab back to the hotel. Off to bed now for another busy day tomorrow! SweetPea, Ampurp85, Jax and 14 others 13 4 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 6 Author Report Posted July 6 14 minutes ago, CravingaCruise said: I FINALLY got all caught up! It took our entire train ride from Orlando to Ft Lauderdale to do it but I was determined!! Your pics are great! I hope you enjoy every moment! Before you know it you’ll be doing your trips without the freeloaders and wishing they were there! Fill the mom heart while you can!! Thank you! We are trying to soak it all in! Have a great cruise! CravingaCruise 1 Quote
Ampurp85 Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 That church was breathtaking in pictures, I can only imagine the beauty in person. Also, the best breakfasts I have ever had came from European hotels. The juice always tastes better in Europe. Cactus527, Lovetocruise2002, Sweety and 1 other 4 Quote
CravingaCruise Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 6 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: From here our guide took us to Sagrada Familia. Wow! That is a magnificently beautiful church! What an experience that must have been!! 6 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Thank you! We are trying to soak it all in! Have a great cruise! Thank you! Lovetocruise2002 and Sweety 2 Quote
Sweety Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 What a graduation cruise for your daughter! The smiles and awe on your faces. Lovetocruise2002 and CravingaCruise 1 1 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 4 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: That church was breathtaking in pictures, I can only imagine the beauty in person. It’s so true. I watched one or two YouTube videos before but when you are there in person, the colours are nothing like the images. 4 hours ago, CravingaCruise said: Wow! That is a magnificently beautiful church! What an experience that must have been!! In the words of D15, “Best day ever!” lol 20 minutes ago, Sweety said: What a graduation cruise for your daughter! The smiles and awe on your faces. The girls are definitely getting a chance to experience something out of the ordinary here! CravingaCruise, Cactus527, ScottD and 3 others 3 3 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 For breakfast this morning, Hubby and D15 ordered some of the hot items. They said it was really good, just like the rest of the food here for breakfast. Cactus527, asquared17, Sweety and 6 others 9 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 Went to Casa Mila this morning. Will post about it later. Current situation: This delicious! This looks crazy! Jax, Ampurp85, Cactus527 and 6 others 1 3 5 Quote
Ampurp85 Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 I will admit in every country I go I have to try something from their Mcdonalds. In Egypt they had falafel and chicken big macs......but triple chicken mayo sounds horrible. Neesa, Lovetocruise2002, Cactus527 and 4 others 4 2 1 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 43 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said: I will admit in every country I go I have to try something from their Mcdonalds. In Egypt they had falafel and chicken big macs......but triple chicken mayo sounds horrible. Yes, that is us too! The intention was never to have a full meal, just to see what different menu items they have. WAAAYTOOO, CravingaCruise, Ampurp85 and 4 others 5 2 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 So going backwards today. Before we ended up at McDonald’s, we had lunch. After Casa Mila (Hubby still sorting through those photos), we were pretty hungry. Casa Mila is located on Passeig de Gràcia, which is basically the 5th Ave. of Barcelona. It was a much more pleasant walk than 5th Avenue though because it is much wider. Anyhow, after leaving Casa Mila, we just decided to stop by another Tapas place to grab some lunch. Hubby really likes Tapas, and while the girls and I don’t hate it, it is feeling a bit repetitive at this point, so we just ordered a few things to share, and ended up a block down at McDonald’s afterwards. Some more different menu items from McDonald’s. I could never eat this. I would feel terrible afterwards. This is what we ended up with Coffee with Ice cream and super satisfying fries lol WAAAYTOOO, TessFromFlorida, Neesa and 7 others 7 3 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 Now back at the hotel to take a short break and we plan to head back to the gothic quarter later for some shopping, dinner, and gelato! Sweety, Ampurp85, Jax and 5 others 8 Quote
ScottD Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said: I will admit in every country I go I have to try something from their Mcdonalds. In Egypt they had falafel and chicken big macs......but triple chicken mayo sounds horrible. Chicken mayo is just what other countries call the McChicken... but a triple seems a bit much, oof. Cactus527, Lovetocruise2002, Ampurp85 and 2 others 3 2 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 10 minutes ago, ScottD said: Chicken mayo is just what other countries call the McChicken... but a triple seems a bit much, oof. Yeah, at first I couldn’t figure out why a McChicken was called Chicken Mayo lol. FWIW, it’s called McChicken in Canada too. ScottD, Neesa and OCSC Mike 3 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 Ok so this morning after breakfast, we had a 10am tour of Casa Mila booked again with LivTours. We got a really good guide today. She gave us a ton of info and we were really able to appreciate the history and work of Gaudi more because of her. It’s about a 15 min walk from our hotel to Casa Mila so we decided to walk it. Most of the walk is down Passeig de Gràcia. Along the way, we passed by another Gaudi creation, Casa Batlló so of course, Hubby needed some pics. MaryS, WAAAYTOOO, Neesa and 5 others 8 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 We met our guide in front of Casa Mila and before going in, she gave us a brief backstory of how this building came to be. She was fantastic at setting up the scene for us. SweetPea, Cactus527, WAAAYTOOO and 6 others 6 3 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 Casa Mila was basically commissioned by the Mila family but the building received a lot of criticism and ridicule back in the day for its eccentric design. The entire upper floor is set up as the apartments were back in the day. This is the main entryway: Cactus527, Jax, Ampurp85 and 5 others 2 1 5 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 An apartment set up for viewing. It was explained to us that Gaudi was not just artistic, but also wanted functionality in his designs. We saw this with the benches in the park yesterday, and the details in his ergonomic designs went right down to the furniture, door handle, and knobs in these apartments. Ampurp85, Jax, Neesa and 5 others 8 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 The tour then takes you through the attic, which is set up as a museum to Gaudi’s work. Lots of interesting detail here from our guide as well as from the pieces. WAAAYTOOO, Cactus527, Sweety and 5 others 8 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 30 minutes ago, ScottD said: a triple seems a bit much Sounds awesome! NOTE: I haven't been to McDonald's in over a decade, I just like the "triple" part. Cactus527, Lovetocruise2002, ScottD and 3 others 6 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 The tour ends on the rooftop. Apparently, Gaudi thought this would be a great gathering place for tenants, but society at the time didn’t agree. It was never used by them. Such a shame. But now, in 2024, it is used for outdoor concerts on the weekend (that is what our guide told us). This rooftop was Hubby’s favourite part. Can you all guess why? In fact, we stayed here so long that our guide left us here because her time was up TessFromFlorida, Neesa, Traveler and 10 others 10 3 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 3 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said: Sounds awesome! NOTE: I haven't been to McDonald's in over a decade, I just like the "triple" part. You know, while I was there I thought of you and wondered if Mike could eat a triple. I should have known… Neesa, PPPJJ-GCVAB, OCSC Mike and 1 other 1 3 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 7 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: You know, while I was there I thought of you and wondered if Mike could eat a triple. I should have known… You should see the burger challenge at a local place by us I’ve been meaning to try. It’s much more than 3 patties & I am very confident I would complete it. Jax, Neesa, Lovetocruise2002 and 1 other 4 Quote
Ampurp85 Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 @ScottD I knew it was just a Mcchicken but I loathe mayo . Hence why a triple chicken mayo sounds horrible. OCSC Mike, ScottD, Neesa and 4 others 7 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 21 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: This rooftop was Hubby’s favourite part. Can you all guess why? No. I cannot. I don't see a flow rider up there anywhere... PPPJJ-GCVAB, Poolside, Neesa and 10 others 1 12 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 20 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: No. I cannot. I don't see a flow rider up there anywhere... Think of his other love/obsession… Ampurp85 1 Quote
Sweety Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 Glad to know I am not the only one who visits McDonald in other countries. Your pictures are awesome. Please frame some of them. Ampurp85, OCSC Mike and Lovetocruise2002 2 1 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 10 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Think of his other love/obsession… SW ! TessFromFlorida and Lovetocruise2002 1 1 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 Some pics while wandering down Passeig de Gràcia. Sweety, Neesa, Cactus527 and 3 others 6 Quote
Lovetocruise2002 Posted July 7 Author Report Posted July 7 3 minutes ago, Sweety said: Glad to know I am not the only one who visits McDonald in other countries. Your pictures are awesome. Please frame some of them. Thank you! I will let Hubby know. All his photos. 2 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: SW ! Winner! Winner! Rumour has it that George Lucas was inspired by Gaudi WAAAYTOOO, Neesa, DDaley and 3 others 1 3 2 Quote
OCSC Mike Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 4 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Thank you! I will let Hubby know. All his photos. Winner! Winner! Rumour has it that George Lucas was inspired by Gaudi Searching out Lucas’ architectural inspiration in a foreign country is next level SW fandom! I’m not a huge fan but I appreciate it, lol. Lovetocruise2002, TessFromFlorida, Neesa and 1 other 3 1 Quote
asquared17 Posted July 7 Report Posted July 7 the mcextreme….. GOODBYE FOREVER!!!!!! i am loving the pics and also the history and lessons we are getting through osmosis of this liveblog WAAAYTOOO, Neesa, TessFromFlorida and 3 others 6 Quote
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