Barcelona Day tour

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Barcelona (pronounced Barthlona)

Sunday

You know you are on tour, and not on vacation, when your day starts at 6:30 AM so you can eat breakfast by 7 and on the bus by 8.

We slept well and were awoken on time. Cathy and I met the kids at breakfast. Now breakfast was a feast in itself. We had a buffet table set as follows:

Coffee (espresso of course). Many types of bread and jams, and a table of healthy cereals started the table. Next came 5 different juices all cold and all delicious. Now comes the bestpart; A meat table consisting of Salami, Iberia ham, boiled ham, sausages, and 5 different cheeses. Next comes eggs and fresh fruits followed by the all time favorite, chocolate donuts. If you did not eat enough it was your fault!

We dined well and prepared to heat to the bus precisely at 8 AM. Our beautiful brand new bus was parked across the street from the hotel and we quickly loaded our 35 passengers. Our group is a very mixed group of various ages (9 - 72) and nationalities (American, Canadian, Philippine, and of course Australian). Some were family groups and others were just alone. A great mix of folks that mixed together well. We all seemed to get along very well.

We drove directly to the center of town. Our first stop was the famous Sacred Family Cathedral designed by Gaudi in 1882. The building is still under construction and is one of the architects earlier and greatest works. It is scheduled to be completed in 2025. The church is most unusual in design as our photos will show.

We had some time for shopping and a potty break and back to the bus for a drive to the port center were we then headed to the oldest part of town. We took a walking tour and saw the original palace of Ferdinand and Isabella, the patrons of Christopher Columbus. We also saw some churches, the state house and some fine shopping. Our tour guide, Jose gave us some history of the area and finally we met to get back on the bus for our next stop Montserrat and the Black Madonna. (And lunch we hope)

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