Emerald Princess Rome to Barcelona September 26 -October 3 2015 in photos and video

[Bimmer09]

Which hotel did you stay at while in Barcelona? Would be interested in following your footsteps. Was there a favorite restaurant for tapas?

Inquiring mind would like to know.

Not ready to say goodbye to your travel diary yet :).

 

dott, I'll be covering the Hotel Majestic in depth with lots of photos after we get through Sagrada Familia, followed by Parc Guell.

That will be about 160 photos away.

 

Cuidad Condial on la Rambla was our most enjoyable meal and you'll see that eventually too. Both are reviewed on Tripadvisor and I'll be writing my own reviews. I have over 70 reviews on TA and most of them are epics (surprise!) with photos and occasional comedy lines.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris what is that building in the middle that looks like a ummm ummmm ummm a back massager

 

That's Torre Agbar, the HQ of the Agbar group, so it's office space. It looks like the Norman Foster back massager in London. It's 38 floors or 472 ft high.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I'll be taking a lot of pictures this morning, my head on a swivel. There won't be captions on everything that appears. A lot will be self evident anyway. There are coffee table books on La Sagrada Familia if you want to study in depth.

 

Suffice to say it was unlike anything I had seen before-inside and out. The Gaudi style and way of thinking is just unique so it's one surprise after another. As there were only 2 of us with Anna there was no in-ear radio communication, so if you weren't close to her (that's me!) you missed much of what she said. Yes, just like Ercolano and anywhere else we went-I was let loose with the camera.

We first had to cross the road

 

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There will be closer shots later so you can see more detail. For now we are just outside before getting our tickets. Whereas most churches have statues neatly arrayed on the facade Sagrada has hundreds of little ones bursting from the stone

 

 

[Bimmer09]

There were of course lines of people waiting to buy tickets. Anna went to get ours which had been reserved and once she returned we were able to sail on in, bypassing the lines. Now we have access.

 

Looking back at the entrance gate

 

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There's detail you could miss-see that green patch of wall above? Here's a close up. Little insect sculptures here and there among the leaves..

 

 

 

You'll have fun trying to pick out all the animals that appear on the facade....

 

More to follow

[Bimmer09]

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Spot the musicians in this next one...

 

Ok. We're going inside. Prepare yourselves. I will be looking UP a lot....

Edited November 6, 2015 by Bimmer09

[Bimmer09]

HO-LEE-SMOKE !!!!

 

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I love stained glass windows!

 

 



 

[Bimmer09]

You'll see a lot of people wearing rented audio guide headsets as we go along

 

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Every degree I turned my head there was something beautiful to shoot

 

 

[Bimmer09]

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[Bimmer09]

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More to follow

[JEM4205]

Kenrod, thanks for joining us here!

 

Page 14-good man. Even page 1 would have been the right answer!

 

I'm glad you are following along and moreso in that you let me know.

 

If anyone else reading this wants to come forth from the shadows-let me know as I am putting together a charcuterie plate for my guests and need to know how much pate to make.

 

Right, back to the kitchen...

 

Norris

 

Perhaps three, as my two yellow labs will want to dine also. :D I have been hiding in the bushes, reading along, since your attempt at a live from...

[Bimmer09]

Perhaps three, as my two yellow labs will want to dine also. :D I have been hiding in the bushes, reading along, since your attempt at a live from...

 

I knew I heard rustling in the bushes!

 

Welcome JEM! Thanks for coming out with your hands up...

 

I'm not a big believer in "lives" as they tend to degenerate and really the speed of internet on the ships is not designed for someone who likes to write at length.

 

I hope you'll stay until the end. There's more to Barcelona than Gaudi (not that Gaudi isn't magnificent!). By now you'll know that I like walking the streets with a camera. There's plenty of that in store.

 

Hopefully you'll read my Silhouette review once written too.

 

Follow me on Twitter....LOL! I have no time or inclination for that.

 

Nice to see you here!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

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I'm back outside now. My head's still spinning...

 

 



 

[Bimmer09]

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Where else in the World can you find architecture like this?

 

 



 

[jtagphillycruiser]

Antoni Gaudi = Genius. I couldn't get over how long the construction has taken and the enormity of it all. Can't wait for your Park Guell shots. I'm gonna miss this travel adventure Norris.

 

Joanne

[globrcircler]

Norris, I too am following every word. Your comment about the cathedral in Cologne brought back one of my most wonderful memories. A choir assembled and began singing in the most beautiful harmony I have ever heard what sounded like the deep south spiritual Deep River. I still get chills when I bring back the memory. By the way, I am going all the way to the end. Send my new pair of glasses to: Globecircler, General Delivery, Texas. Thanks for these reviews.

Carolyn in Texas

[Bimmer09]

Antoni Gaudi = Genius. I couldn't get over how long the construction has taken and the enormity of it all. Can't wait for your Park Guell shots. I'm gonna miss this travel adventure Norris.

 

Joanne

 

Joanne, the word genius is bandied about freely these days- a hairdresser can be a genius, a basketball player, a chef.

 

It should be reserved for people like Antoni Gaudi and his ilk. In his case his achievements were literally monumental. It would have been one thing to come up with fanciful dream-like shapes...but to have them stand up for all these years and be inspiring to those who walk through them? That was a singular mind. I believe his haircuts, jump shots and soufflés were rubbish though. Can't win 'em all.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Norris, I too am following every word. Your comment about the cathedral in Cologne brought back one of my most wonderful memories. A choir assembled and began singing in the most beautiful harmony I have ever heard what sounded like the deep south spiritual Deep River. I still get chills when I bring back the memory. By the way, I am going all the way to the end. Send my new pair of glasses to: Globecircler, General Delivery, Texas. Thanks for these reviews.

Carolyn in Texas

 

Carolyn, thanks for joining us here!

 

A new pair of glasses are on their way.

 

You meant beer glasses, right?

 

Norris

 

 

[Bimmer09]

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The flow of visitors doesn't stop

 

 

Those doors again

 

 



 



 

[PrincessDano]

Norris, your pictures bring back so many memories. I stood inside Sagrada with my jaw dropped as it was just so beautiful and Ho-lee smoke as you say. Looking forward to more pictures around Barcelona.

 

Diane

[Bimmer09]

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The horse's head

[jerseyridgearts]

We loved our brief stop in Barcelona in 2010 - I had a permanent neck problem trying to see every beautiful inch. Again your LSF photos are stunning. What a wonderful cruise journal this has been. Thanks so much Norris.

[Bimmer09]

Norris, your pictures bring back so many memories. I stood inside Sagrada with my jaw dropped as it was just so beautiful and Ho-lee smoke as you say. Looking forward to more pictures around Barcelona.

 

Diane

 

Diane- I am dying to show you the everyday, non-Gaudi Barcelona.

After SF we will be touring Parc Guell.

Although it can be tiring going at a Guide's pace rather than your own, it's a great way to see and learn a lot in a short space of time and without having to use public transportation or worry about parking. Pepito Tours were first class.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

We loved our brief stop in Barcelona in 2010 - I had a permanent neck problem trying to see every beautiful inch. Again your LSF photos are stunning. What a wonderful cruise journal this has been. Thanks so much Norris.

 

Oh, I see this is post #3002 for me on CC. This calls for a beer!

 

Thanks for following all this way along. My head swims everyday thinking of what's still to come: I can remember it all and still have Carol's notes if in doubt.

 

The beauty of cruising is that even if all the ports are dire you still have a life on the sea for a week in comfort, eating better than one might normally be used to.

Someone cleans up after you, someone else entertains you by swallowing swords or something. You meet new fun people who are leaving their issues on the back burner for a week. There are bars everywhere you look and sunsets and sunrises without buildings in the way.

 

When the ports are this interesting though-look at where we've been on this cruise and then we get off in Barcelona...we normally are like everyone else, we hate when the cruise ends. Our antidote to the Post Cruise Blues is to stay an extra day in Ft. Lauderdale, which in January beats Chicago.

But F.L isn't Barcelona, isn't Spain. I love it but let's keep it real!

 

When I am in the streets I can maybe find better words to describe how it felt to me and to Carol. She'll be free to chime in along the way. She was the impetus to do the 4 hour Gaudi tour vs my 4 hours sitting at a cafe option.

 

We'll find out as this winds along...

 

Norris

Edited November 6, 2015 by Bimmer09

[Bimmer09]

That's it for la Sagrada Familia. Our time is up and will never be forgotten.

Unilke this poor church nearby who's wondering why people don't come to see him anymore...

 

 

We are going next to Parc Guell for some more Gaudi. Next time we are in Barcelona we will ride the elevator to the top of one of the towers for some different perspectives.

 

I didn't use the camcorder inside the church. The camera was enough to contend with and changing lenses involved sitting on the floor with hundreds of feet passing by. I did want to capture the hubbub around it though-the local color as I call it, so here's a brief video before we move on....

 

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Got the energy to follow us to Parc Guell today? If so-let's go!

[Bimmer09]

Back in the car and on the way to Parc Guell. I took photos through the window as we drove the 20 minutes or so. everything I saw through the lens filled me with anticipation for walking the streets with no time constraints.

 

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