20220423 Gaudi: This has been a strange day with ups and downs. Slept until about 8:00, which was very good for a first night in different time zone. Went down to the restaurant for the usual over-the-top buffet. You could even order eggs in any style. Nice, though, for sure.

We had thought we had contracted just for us to get PCR tests, but, it seemed, that Regent had booked a room with a nurse for the tests. So, we got in line and got tested. (And tonight, we got the paperwork back and we’re clear). Up to the room to get our gear for the day and met Marcella Gonzales, our guide, in the lobby.

It is Sant Jordi (Saint George) Day. It’s huge. The streets are wall-to-wall people. Men buy roses for the women and women buy books for men. Marcella told us six million roses are sold this day along with 1.5 million books. There are pop-up tents lining blocks with roses and books to sell. There were people standing in line for at least a block long to go to a particular booth. And, since many of the streets were blocked off for the festival, traffic on the other streets was standstill.

We walked up past La Pedrera (Casa Mila) into the Gracia neighborhood. Lots of beautiful old buildings interspersed with newer ones. Balconies and doors and adornment all wonderful Art Nouveau. Went past a big market and to Casa Vicens Gaudi, Gaudi’s first house. As with all the Gaudi buildings, it’s hard to try to explain the intricacies, colors, materials, style of Casa Vicens. Fascinating and it has the original house plus an addition with a modern interior.

From there we were supposed to walk through the neighborhood and go to various squares. However, it started to rain, then heavy rain, then hail…big hail! When it was just raining again, we walked quickly a few hundred yards to Bodega Quimet, which was quite crowded with people getting out the rain. Marcella had a reservation, thank goodness, and we had a very nice lunch in this local spot.

Was still raining, but not as much. We were supposed to go to Sant Pau, but it was getting late. We walked quite a bit to a subway stop that took us to the stop for Sagrada Familia. When we got on the crowded train, a man got out of his seat and insisted I sit down. Oh, I’m at the age where people get up and offer me a seat! Yow. With the rain and the holiday, it was more crowded than ever. Mind blowing. Gorgeous. Unbelievably unique. Colors, Reflected colors. Light coming in all over the place. Pictures can only whet your appetite for the place.

While there, got call from Sabrina’s vet. She’s been sick and they are not sure what it going on. More tests Monday.

Starting before we got there and really getting worse for me once we were there was my back. It was out! I really could not stand up or walk without tilting way to the left. I was fine, not tired, just really sore. Some of this was exacerbated by my twisting to take images of the ceiling or columns. We were there a little over and hour. Did not see some of the facades since it was really raining hard. By the time we left, I was in pain and physically unable to walk in any balanced way. I used railings and Jeff supported me.

Got back to the subway and took it to a few blocks from the hotel where Marcella left us. Walked very slowly to the hotel. Jeff then called and got me an appointment in about an hour at the hotel spa for an hour massage. Also, he gave me a strong Ibuprofen, which really helped. Had a lovely massage. First one I’ve had since beginning of Covid! Felt much better and could walk upright again!!

Marcella had made us a reservation at Can Majo, right on the waterfront, for tapas. This is a full restaurant, not just a tapas bar. We sat in a heated tent by the water and shared some excellent tapas. However, getting there was hard given the celebration and streets being blocked off. The taxi could only creep along. Bet it took at least 20 minutes. But the wait was worth it. Got there about 8:15 and ate at an appropriate Spain supper time. Back to the hotel to write this, do some image tagging, and then it’s a shower, shave, and bedtime.

20220425 Embarkation: Got up about 7:00, washed, dressed, did final packing of our suitcases, tagged them, and put them outside our door by 7:45. I have to say I was none too neat in packing. Just stuffed things in knowing I would fully unpack in the ship.

After breakfast, we went outside with our cameras and did about an hour of street photography. Just sat or stood still and watched the world go by around us. About 10:00 we went back to the hotel, collected up our hand luggage, went to the lobby and checked out and sat and relaxed. We were to go on a bus to the dock. Our boarding time was supposed to be 11:30, but, given heavy traffic, we got there closer to Noon. The boarding process is quite thorough. In the big dock terminal, as we entered, we had to show our PCR test. Then we waited in line for an agent. She needed to see passport, vaccination record, PCR test results, and boarding pass. We got a yellow bracelet and sticker and were sent to another bank of agents. Here we showed the same stuff as at the previous station, had our passports copied, had our picture taken to match against the ID picture we had sent in to Regent. Then we got our key cards for our suite and went through the terminal’s gift shop, up an escalator, down a walkway and onto the ship. Before going aboard, they took our pictures to again match against images from us.

Suites were not to be ready until about 2:00, so we checked our carryon gear in the casino and went up to the Pool Grill on Deck 11. Sat by the pool and had lunch. Then we went up a level to where there is a balcony/track around the ship and walked a full circle, so to speak. Retrieved our hand luggage, sat in a lounge until the suites were ready, and then went up to Deck 9 for our suite, 929. It’s very big with two rooms. One is a living room/dining room and the other a bedroom. There is both a full bathroom and a half one as well. So, we each can have our own space. Also, a very large walk-in closet and dressers so that we could fully unpack everything. Our butler, Anbu, came in and let us know stuff about the room and services.

Upon entering the suite, there were some envelopes with our shore excursion tickets. And two letters telling us that two of the excursions we were supposed to be on were not going to be held. One was a small group tour of Nice, St. Paul de Vance, and Eze. The other was no Cinque Terre at all. I went down to the Destination Desk, waited in line with lots of other folks in my same predicament. I looked over the current list of excursions and knew what changes I wanted to make. I was an easy customer when it came to my turn since I just had to tell the agent for the first change that we’d do about the same itinerary in a regular-sized group. For Cinque Terre, there was no option of going there at all. I opted for a trip to Sienna and San Gimignano instead.

Climbed the stairs from Deck 5 to Deck 9 and back to the suite for some champagne that was in our room in an ice bucket and some sweets as well. Did some work on my computer. About 6:30 we went onto our balcony as the ship pulled away from the dock. At 7:00, we went to Chartreuse, the French specialty restaurant (had to make reservation about three-months in advance) for a wonderful meal. The maitre’d recognized me and knew who I was since he had seen me during boarding in my red hat! The Man in the Red Hat strikes again. Then another climb from Deck 5 to 9 and we’re in for the night.

Tomorrow it’s Menorca, an island of Spain. Filled in our breakfast order to hang on our door. Might even go to bed before midnight!

Oh, and we got $150 each in shipboard credit from Virtuoso. Used part of it tonight on some nice wine.

20220424 More Gaudi: Got up about 7:30, went down for breakfast, came back up and left with our gear about 9:00. We walked down the street to the front of Casa Batllo, which was covered with roses. Took images of the exterior. And on the main street there was a huge race or marathon or something like that. Thousands of folks running and walking. So, another day where some streets were blocked off and traffic affected. Walked up to a nearby bank for its ATM then got a taxi to take us way up the mountain to Bellesguard, a Gaudi castle/house. Very early in his career, interesting in parts buy not breathtaking like others we’ve been to or then saw today. We met our guide, Charo, there. She had been one of the guides on my 2017 Strabo trip here.

After going through the house, to its roof, and its basement, we headed downhill in a taxi to Palau Guell Gaudi – a real masterpiece built for Gaudi’s benefactor. As with any of this, it’s hard to describe. There are the arches, ceilings, doors, furnishings, rooftop sculptures. We left and walked over to Placa Reial, a huge plaza jam-packed with people and restaurants. Had a lovely lunch there.

Walked to and through the Jewish quarterand then to and into the Cathedral of Barcelonawith its grandeur and structure. Beautiful place. Went to the roof area for a good view of the city. Charo left us at this point, but she made us a dinner reservation. Jeff and I stayed up there a bit and then went down, out on the street, and took a taxi to La Pedrera (Casa Mila). The rooftop sculptures and structures are outstanding. Like Sagrada Familia, you could stay there for hours. Then down a floor to the Attic where there are models of most of Gaudi’s work and furniture he designed all beneath brick arches.

Walked the two blocks back to the hotel to freshen up, download images, and left for dinner a bit after 7:00, taxi to the waterfront and Can Pinxo, an outdoor restaurant in a bustling area. Lots and lots of young people walked up and down the sidewalk along the harbour by the restaurant. Very nice supper.

After we ate, we went on a futile search for taxis. Many whizzed by, but occupied. We walked to one street after another and then just headed in the direction of the hotel. Finally, about the time we thought of just walking the whole way, Jeff spotted a taxi and we went back to our room

We are preparing our gear for tomorrow since it has to be outside our room by 8:00 for Regent to pick it up. Will have between then and 11:15, when we meet in the lobby to be transported to the ship, to have breakfast and wander around a bit.

20220426 Menorca: Got up at 7:00, dressed, and went out on the balcony to take images of our moving into port at Mahon (Menorca). Our butler brought our breakfast to the suite about 7:45. Nice meal. Put our laundry outside the suite for the free service…and it will be (and was) delivered to our suite in the afternoon.

Went down to the Constellation Auditorium where we handed in our tickets for today’s shore excursion, got a bus number, and went out to the parking lot through the terminal when our number was called. Face-recognition picture and then we boarded the bus and met Inga, our guide, and pulled out about 9:00.

We were in a “Small Group” tour of 10 people. Others on the same route were in buses with at least 30 people each. Our tour today took is pretty much all over this small island. First stop was a Museo Binissues, which consists of an historic house which contains a whole museum of birds, butterflies, bugs, rocks, sea shells…. And so on. And an historic farm with its implements…still working, but the way. Saw cattle there. From there it was to Cala Galdanafor great views over the water to small towns, farms.

Onward to Ferrerias where there is a huge shoe store. FYI, many high-end shoes, like Manolo Blahnik, are made here. BIG shoe store. Hope the guides get a commission! I know Marian would have loved the variety of shoes available. After we got the shoppers back in the bus, we went to the top of a mountain, Monte Toro, where there is an old church that still houses nuns. And, given how high it is, there are super views of farms, other hills, the sea in the distance (even could glimpse, barely, our ship). There is a wonderful juxtaposition there. Pretty close by the huge statue of Jesus way up on a pedestal are four taller cell towers covered with dishes and antennae.

Now it was time for lunch, which we had in Fornells, a lovely town on the water. Jeff and I went directly to the restaurant Inga said was good and had a super lunch. Then, with our guide, we walked along the waterfront, by an old English fort, and through the town. Back on the bus, we went for a view of the northern beaches at Arenal d’en Castell with its white sand and summer vacation houses.

Back to the ship about 4:30, tired after a long day. Had a cookie at the Coffee Bar a few decks down. Our butler then delivered a cheese tray and was surprised we did not want some free wine to go with it. Not too much later, our laundry was delivered. We snacked on cheese, put our clean garments away, and went down to the main restaurant, Compass Rose, for another great meal. Then upstairs (yes, we use the stairs) from Deck 5 to 9, worked on images from today, email, etc.

Tomorrow is about the same drill on time, but I think we have a longer day. Going to Avignon, Pope’s Palace, and Les Baux. Time for a shower and shave and bed. Might be first evening I’ve gotten under the sheets before about 1:00. But we shall see.