A somewhat calmer, quieter start to a port day because the ship had stayed docked in Barcelona overnight and our excursion wasn’t until 1pm. So we spent most of the morning sitting in The Living Room, a casual space with a bar where we can get “specialty coffees” while we sit and relax or, in my case, remember where I’ve put my blog and start updating it for this cruise!
Our excursion today was titled “Iconic Barcelona” and had the following description:
Discover Barcelona’s most iconic landmarks on a relaxing drive and a leisurely walk around this impressive city. You will pass the Columbus Monument and Port Vell, the seaside cultural and shopping complex. Admire the Arc de Triomf, a stately remnant from the 1888 World’s Fair. Take in the breathtaking Parc de la Ciutadella, once home to the garrison that protected the city. Next, yu will alight from your motor coach and walk into the historic centre, stopping to view the stunning neo-Gothic Barcelona Cathedral. The facade of this 14th-century marvel is adorned with many sculptures, including a wide range of animals and mythical gargoyles on its roof. After enjoying free time and an opportunity to take a short walk through the Gothic Quarter, you will return to the ship.
Most Viking included excursions last around 1.5 - 2 hours and are either mostly a coach drive or mostly a guided walk. This excursion was 4.5 hours long and had two significant walking segments.
One thing I’ve realised while being on excursions that include at least a portion on a coach with a guide speaking is that it is tricky to connect what is being discussed/explained with what you are looking at. This is partly caused by the fact that the guide sits at the front of the coach so they typically start talking about something as the coach approaches it, which means that by the time you pass what was being talked about, the guide has moved onto a different topic.
Walking tours, however, generally don’t suffer from that drawback because the pace is much slower so what is being discussed is immediately visible. That said, I do struggle to retain much of the knowledge that was given out.
Walking to, and seeing, La Sagrada Familia was an amazing experience. Apologies for the “squiggles” in the route. The GPS data was captured by my Pixel Watch 2 and I suspect the tall buildings sometimes threw the GPS data off a bit.
I took a lot of photos, mainly because the exterior is so detailed, it felt like whereever you turned, there was just more and more to see! Our guide was very knowledgeable. The church has an amazing history, not least of which because it has taken so long to finish but, according to our guide, it should be finished within the next ten years, by 2034. But the path to getting the church completed has not been a smooth one. For example, Antoni Gaudi (the original architect) made models of how he envisaged the finished church to look so that others could complete it after his death, only for his work area to be broken into and the models smashed. Thankfully, his students had taken photos of the models.
After we returned to the coach and travelled a little bit further, we got off again and walked around the Gothic Quarter.
The Gothic Quarter, for me at least, turned into a fascinating lesson in history, particularly the influence of the Roman’s on Barcelona’s history and its name.
For dinner, we ate at the ship’s main restaurant, where we both had Three Onion Soup (Lyonnaise style with provolone and Gruyere) as a starter then, for the main course, my wife had Lamb Shank, Bonne Femme Style (braised in red wine with root vegetables and couscous) while I had Traditional Beef Wellington (with pomme macaire, and romanesco & green bean medley). For dessert, we both had Maple Pecan Bread & Butter Pudding (made with croissant and maple syrup, served with hazelnut ice cream).
My wife chose De Martino Estate Cabernet Sauvignon for her wine tonight.
After dinner, we went to the Star Theatre to listen to songs performed by the ship’s singing group, as well as music played by the ship’s band, and an introduction to the ship’s officers.