“Live From” Z and TB’s Tapas and Sangria Tour

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

4 hours ago, BNguy said:

Thank you to Z and TB for starting this thread, like many others here we will be on a later cruise (Dec. 8th) but really are looking forward to your reports.  This will be our first, (of several, I hope) on Regent.

 

See you on December 8th🤞👍
Sheila and Herb

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Bellaggio Cruisers

[chuckw]

Z, I shared a few beers with you, at the pool bar, on the last completed cruise by the Explorer.  We did a quick Celebrity cruise out of Seattle a couple of weeks ago just to see if our sea legs still worked, good but not Regent.  Looking forward to your exploits.  Hope to see you again at the pool bar.

[boblerm]

Z, thank you for ending the long drought of trip reports on this forum!

Looking forward to following along with you.

Bob

[briar14]

4 hours ago, Sheltieluv said:

Hope you and TB have a wonderful cruise!  Please let us know if there are any familiar faces among the crew.  I recommended Mario to you, oh my goodness it must be over 2 years ago now, and I've wondered if he returned to Regent.   

We don't cruise until next summer,  so I'll be following your reports with great interest.  Enjoy!  

 

3 hours ago, Zqueeze1 said:

We know Mario and love him!  He is a wonderful dude. 

Z and TB

Mario is on Splendor, been on since July. He said he would be on the Mariner for the World Cruise. We enjoyed our time with him in September and October. “Super Mario!”

[Thundery]

So looking forward to your posts and hearing who all the officers and crew are. We join on Nov. 15 - Jan 19 and cant wait. will be interesting to hear what all the new rules and regs are. So excited you are doing this thanks so much

[hockeyken]

It's "Buffoon" you baboon. Have a great time , mi amigo.

 

For those of you who do not personally KNOW Z and TB, that photo of the ginormous luggage pile, was NOT photo shopped. I can attest to that.

The  Z  man with my wife, on Brilliance OTS, doing what he does best. Hide your liquor and your pets.

 

K&N

[Zqueeze1]

4 hours ago, hockeyken said:

It's "Buffoon" you baboon. Have a great time , mi amigo.

 

For those of you who do not personally KNOW Z and TB, that photo of the ginormous luggage pile, was NOT photo shopped. I can attest to that.

The  Z  man with my wife, on Brilliance OTS, doing what he does best. Hide your liquor and your pets.

 

K&N

I wish I still looked like that!

[Zqueeze1]

We made it to Barcelona!  

 

I actually did something I can never do on an airliner: I slept four hours. I am now at our hotel having some strong Spanish coffee and figuring out what to do. 
AA business class was very comfortable and the food was actually pretty good although everything was served at once and no glassware.  All drinks were served in plastic cups. 

 

Upon landing in BCN you first go through customs and then proceed to another floor where you need to show you QR code to the authorities prior to collecting your luggage. The process went smoothly. 
time for chow. 
Z and TB

[Mudhen]

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is..." to find out what kind of champers they're pouring in the bars on the Explorer....hahaha! I'm so hoping it's NOT that one that starts with a "J"...Jacquart or something like that. Not a favorite of mine. If that's it, I may have to resort to the dreaded Prosecco....A true first world problem if there ever was one...!!! giggle!

Enjoy Barcelona!

[Zqueeze1]

Hi, everyone.  We are on auto pilot trying hard to stay awake. After walking 15000 steps, we looked like zombies. The Boss called it quits and went upstairs for a nap.  I’m having a nice San Miguel beer and trying my best to stay awake. 
We left the hotel around 1030 this morning and walked about an hour to El Merkat where we had lunch.

 It was a beautiful walk that allowed us to see the Plaza Española

and a former bull fighting ring turned into a commercial center.

 Bull fighting is illegal in Catalonia although it is almost a religion in other parts of Spain. 
After a lunch of spicy potatoes, Iberian ham, and bread with tomatoes and olive oil 

we continued walking through this impressive market.

Afterwards, we hit the road and walked through the gothic quarter

down to the coast and back up las Ramblas where we stopped for coffee and the famously thick Barcelonan hot chocolate. 

It was a great day with beautiful weather full of new sights and friendly people like this dude who pointed the way for me to get a San Miguel beer

 

Tomorrow: Sagrada Familia cathedral and some paella. 

Z and TB

 

[Mudhen]

I have now wiped the drool off my totally green (jealous much?) face.......mmmm! All looked so very good!

[Ladys Mom]

You certainly are taking advantage of everything Barcelona has to offer.  Stay safe.  Rest well.  Can't wait to read your postings from the Explorer.

[Vandyv]

Hi Z and TB.  Glad to hear you two are getting back in the swing of cruising, and look forward to your thread.  Crisi and I boarded a non-Regent ship yesterday in San Diego, heading through the canal to Fort Lauderdale.  Finally able to do that trip we had to cancel last minute on Regent in 2018.  Anyway, hope you two have a wonderful time and please say hi to the boss for us.  Your bud, Vandy

[2012_Alaska_bound]

So glad to have you back "Live"! Your title caught my immediate attention, as I was just verifying which day I booked our Tappas and Sangria tour in Barcelona in April after our Miami-Barcelona TA on Splendor! Obviously, I will be following along on this thread even more closely than usual.

 

Have a wonderful time!

[crusin7]

Z and TB, I’m so happy to be reading a Live Blog.  We are extremely lucky to be have it coming from one of our best reporters!  I was laughing out loud through most of it.  Tell us everything about the Explorer.  No detail is too minor.  I will be boarding November 15. Have a fantastic time.

[HonTri]

Thank you Z & TB we board the 15th Nov. Looking forward to your on board info.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Hi Z and TB…. This is fabulous….

So glad you have returned to Regent. My mouth is watering from your day in Barcelona. 
Your posts are simply the best. We had the pleasure of meeting on a TA on the inauguration year of Explorer. 
Our next sail on Explorer is in January through the Panama Canal to San Diego. We are on the Splendor this December. 
Be safe and I will continue to read every word. Keep it coming. It’s ever enough. 
sheila

[Zqueeze1]

15 hours ago, Vandyv said:

Hi Z and TB.  Glad to hear you two are getting back in the swing of cruising, and look forward to your thread.  Crisi and I boarded a non-Regent ship yesterday in San Diego, heading through the canal to Fort Lauderdale.  Finally able to do that trip we had to cancel last minute on Regent in 2018.  Anyway, hope you two have a wonderful time and please say hi to the boss for us.  Your bud, Vandy

When do you arrive in Ft Lauderdale?  If we are home, maybe we can meet. Have a great cruise and we really miss you guys. 
Z and TB

[Zqueeze1]

9 hours ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Hi Z and TB…. This is fabulous….

So glad you have returned to Regent. My mouth is watering from your day in Barcelona. 
Your posts are simply the best. We had the pleasure of meeting on a TA on the inauguration year of Explorer. 
Our next sail on Explorer is in January through the Panama Canal to San Diego. We are on the Splendor this December. 
Be safe and I will continue to read every word. Keep it coming. It’s ever enough. 
sheila

I remember meeting you very well. That was the cruise that I caught bronchitis and missed most of the ports.  Regardless, we still had a great time. have a great cruise!

Z and TB

[Zqueeze1]

Good Morning everyone!  It’s a little past 0800 and the sun is finally peeking out. It looks a bit cloudy but it’s not going to stop us. We slept twelve hours last night!  Morpheus grabbed me and would not let me wake up until 0730. I think the tapas and beer we had for dinner was also a factor in our sleeping so much.  
When in Spain, try the patatas bravas, which are spicy potatoes with an aioli sauce. We also had calamari, bread, Iberian ham, shrimp in garlic sauce, and the star of the show, Galician octopus. This was when I heard the angels sing, my head spun a little, and felt as if Sophia Loren had the hots for me. I will be back for more. 

 

We are staying busy while here in BCN for a couple of reasons: 

1.  We love this city

2. We love traveling

3. Killing time to board the Explorer. 
Number three should actually be number one. We are getting excited to get onboard and see some old friends. Tomorrow, Karen and John arrive and will be staying at our hotel.  They are a hoot. 
We really enjoyed walking through the gothic quarter yesterday.

 

 

 

It is an architect’s dream world. BCN is a very walkable city and we found that folks are more than happy to help us out to point us in the right direction. I’ve had many conversations with locals concerning how Covid has decimated the tourist industry in BCN and in Spain. As I wait for TB to make a grand entrance, I had a great conversation with Javier, the hotel’s restaurant waiter, about the science of making the famous Spanish potato omelette.  He spoke eloquently and passionately about whether or not onions should be included and the blasphemy of asking for hot sauce (me) to put on it. 

BTW, while walking in Las Ramblas, I ran into this little gem of a place

 

We are going there today and do our best to help out the local economy. 
Have a great day!

Z and TB

Edited October 29, 2021 by Zqueeze1

[Zqueeze1]

On 10/28/2021 at 1:01 AM, chuckw said:

Z, I shared a few beers with you, at the pool bar, on the last completed cruise by the Explorer.  We did a quick Celebrity cruise out of Seattle a couple of weeks ago just to see if our sea legs still worked, good but not Regent.  Looking forward to your exploits.  Hope to see you again at the pool bar.

Chuck: I never forget a fellow pool bar member. That was a hell of a cruise. Stay safe. 
Z and TB

[1teach53]

 “1.  We love this city

2. We love traveling

3. Killing time to board the Explorer. 
Number three should actually be number one. We are getting excited to get onboard and see some old friends. Tomorrow, Karen and John arrive and will be staying at our hotel.  They are a hoot.” 
 

Oh Z, we can’t wait ! I’m up now at 3 AM, can’t sleep , too excited. 🚢💓🚢💕 Glad you got some sleep last night. 
Love you guys & counting the hours till we see “yous”! 

How is the hotel? We’ll be checking in soon!!!

Big hugs 😻😻

Karen & John 
 

[UUNetBill]

Z, your photos almost brought tears to my eyes (okay, maybe not 'almost') seeing Barcelona again.  I could smell, hear, and feel the city.  It made me realize how overdue I am to travel again.  

 

We had been trying to get to Europe with our eldest daughter throughout this whole Covid mess - that was the one thing she wanted to do when she returned from Afghanistan.  Couldn't put it together last year, and next year's vacation budget will be going for a trip to see her in Guam rather than taking another cruise.  Funny how the military conspires with global pandemics to wreak havoc on our vacation plans!

 

Anyhow, keep the photos and commentary coming - it might just be enough to keep me going until January when we finally - FINALLY - get to sail again...

 

Thanks!!!

[2012_Alaska_bound]

OK, Z, questions for my upcoming stay in Barcelona:

What hotel are you staying at?

Where did you have those lovely tapas?

 

Thanks.

[Zqueeze1]

30 minutes ago, 2012_Alaska_bound said:

OK, Z, questions for my upcoming stay in Barcelona:

What hotel are you staying at?

Where did you have those lovely tapas?

 

Thanks.

We are staying at the AC Marriott Sants. Friendly staff and clean rooms, but the rooms are tiny and the location is a little too far away from the sights. The toilet is a little hard to find since it is in a small cubby hole built a five year old. 
We had our first tapas at el Quim inside the Merkat de la Boqueria market in Las Ramblas. 
Last night we ate tapas at Birras y Tapas adjacent to the hotel. 
However, the ones we had as apps for lunch today was in Los Caracoles restaurant also near Las Ramblas.  These were the best so far and I almost died a little when we ate them.  
We first spent the morning at La Sagrada  Familia Basilica which is stunningly beautiful in its intricate exterior. 

 

 

The architecture was matched by the incredible variety of high quality and authentic food in the area:

 

 

Afterwards, we walked about two miles to the Caracoles restaurant for some chow:

 

 

it was a long walk, so we stopped for some refreshments enroute:

 

Before making it to the restaurant. 
 

 

 

 

 

Z and TB

Edited October 29, 2021 by Zqueeze1