Friday morning we got off the ship in Barcelona at 9:00am and were at the Renaissance Hotel by 9:30. We checked in and again we were given a blessing of a room upgrade to the Elite Section were breakfast and dinner was served at no extra charge. That is a good thing when you consider the when you exchange $100 US Dollars they gave you $70 Euros. Eating out can become quite expensive. We decided to lazy around the hotel and see Barcelona on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday Morning we got up about 10-am, ate breakfast and caught a shuttle at 1pm to “THE LA RAMBLA”. Barcelona is to Spain what New York City is to the USA. Barcelona is a city that is attempting to be more modern and progressive than Madrid. Sometimes it works – sometimes it struggles. LA RAMBLA is to Barcelona what Time Square is to New York City. It is a hub of activity 24/7 and is crowded with both tourist and Spaniards. Barcelona is known for its pickpockets and bag snatchers, but we prepared ourselves and were very aware very of our surrounding. We had no problems at all. Once you get off the main street and back into the side streets, it is very pleasant. There were many small shops and cafes to enjoy at a leisurely pace. The architecture was beautiful and a joy to appreciate and photograph. It was Interesting to notice that this part of Barcelona was primarily a younger crowd, mostly between 18 and 30. What this is all about I am not sure, but it was evident. I did not bring my camera with me on Saturday because so many people had warned us about the theft problem. I did not want to lose my camera! I wished I had since at least for us the thiefs were not a problem. But there is tomorrow. We got back to the hotel at about 7pm and relaxed the rest of the evening.
Sunday morning we got up at about 10am, ate breakfast and took a cab at about 1:30 to the LA RAMBLA for another day of Barcelona – but this time with my camera. Over all we loved just hanging out in this part of Barcelona. There were some historical sites to see in greater Barcelona, but after 19+ days we had seen enough sites for one trip and now it was the time to relax and enjoy this part of the city. The highlights of Barcelona were the street performers, the cafes and shops, the architecture, the marina and the perfect weather. It was one of the most relaxing days of the entire trip. It was the perfect day to end the perfect trip. We got back to the hotel about 8pm, ate dinner and got packed to leave Monday morning for home.
