Two days in beautiful Barcelona were clearly not enough!! I have to return to visit the museums we did not see and to visit more of Spain, my list is getting very long. And the more I talk with these travelers, the longer the list is getting. There are so very many places on this planet to see and only so many trips we can take. But I am missing family and friends and home right about now.
I booked a private tour with the Cruise Critic group for the first day in Barcelona and it turned out really nicely. Only eight of us in a nice van with a great guide, Marta. First we visited Park Guell which was designed by Gaudi and is amazing. Nothing is straight and everything is very organic looking. He also designed the Sagrada church which is still under construction after 100 years. They plan to finish in 2026!! Then on to Monserrat which is a cragged mountain at the edge of the plain. Here is a monastery and the Black Madonna of miracles. Many make pilgrimages to pray for help, and in return climb back on their knees. The views from the heights were amazing and the cathedral beautiful. The monks here school boys in music and train them to sing in a choir until their voices change.
We made the long drive back to Barcelona and stopped to walk around the Sagrada. Gaudi took over the design of the church and made more of his fantastic designs here. The spires are still under construction. I would love to see the inside but time was out and lines were very long.
For the second day, and the start of the second leg of the cruise, we took a taxi to the top of the hill near the fort and rode the cable car to the beach. Views of Barcelona were beautiful from this height. The beach was lined with sports facilities, large pools and courts for tennis and other sports. The complex was part of the Olympic layout which also included arenas and facilities up on the hill. No swimming for us but there were swimmers doing races which were fun to watch from the beer garden near the beach. What did we eat…Nachos!!
Park Guell mosaic bench
Park Guell 
Monserrat view 
Monserrat jagged mountain
Monserrat cathedral 
Barcelona city view not our ship
Today we slept in, did laundry, worked on the blog, played pickle ball, met Cruise Critic group then lunched together, played cards, sat on the aft deck watching Italy and Sicily pass by as we went through the narrow straight with a pilot boat. Beautiful. Then formal dinner and a show. Tomorrow I will try to catch up more after our visit to Katacolyn and Olympia and the beach! We are hoping for a nice sunny day.
Great photos. There's a Gaudi inspired church in Nagasaki that I saw from a far, but didn't get to visit. Barcelona is very high on my destination list.
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