Barcelona

Overnight, we steamed from France to Spain and the port of Barcelona.

The weather is still hot but not quite furnace-like. After Rome and the heat, we cancelled our tours in Barcelona and opted instead to wander through the gothic quarter for a long or short time as we felt comfortable. Barcelona is another port we have previously visited and seen all the major attractions so we were comfortable with just a casual visit.

It was also a long day for the ship in port so we did not rush to disembark immediately but did a slow saunter around noon. Now Barcelona is Europe's biggest cruise port and there are usually a number of ships docked there on any given day, either visiting or leaving from that port. On this day we were the only cruise ship in port. Yet we still ended up at terminal E, some kilometres from the port gate?

Anyway, there was a shuttle from the terminal to the city centre so no drama. Until we disembarked. We had received a note the night before explaining quite clearly that there was a shuttle available, the cost for single rides or round trips and where the bus terminated. All good. Until a poor Spanish bus driver was confronted by a confused queue of passengers.

At the head of the queue, an elderly couple had difficulty with the concepts of the single ride fare and the return cost. They also had problems understanding where the bus was going. Eventually, they retreated off the bus to see if they had any Euros when the bus driver pointed to his sign saying how much the bus fare was. At this point, we jumped on the Bus and paid for our two return tickets before things ground to a halt. Two more couples boarded the bus and went through the same series of questions and discussions before buying their tickets. The Bus driver was reduced to saying he had limited English and pointing to the sign with the single and return fares marked in answer to each question. At this point, the queue to board the bus was growing faster than people were buying tickets and boarding the bus. After a few more passengers the bus driver was then faced with a series of crew members asking similar questions in a variety of languages all of which he was unfamiliar with. The end result of every interaction was that people purchased return tickets but each group ran the driver through the same process. Eventualy the bus was close enough to full and a second shuttle bus pulled up behind us so the driver shut the door and we were off. It was fortunate that the route to the drop off point was flat as I am convinced the driver would have driven the bus off a cliff if one had been available rather than return to the ship for a repeat of what he must have been dealing with for several hours.

Anyway, we arrived safely in town and then had a reasonably short walk around some roadworks to reach Las Ramblas. Clutching our bags we moved into the Gothic Quarter and onto the Placa Reial where we sat down for a rest, some Sangria and Tapas.

Once well rested we returned along Las Ramblas, stopping only to purchase some Fridge Magnets in bulk before heading back to the bus and then the ship. Much less drama boarding the bus for the return.