Because the cruise was very active (many long nights in the many bars) I intended to use this as a recovery day – intended.
Sine we needed to be out of the room by 0800 I had set my alarm for 0645. I was already packed for the most part. I packed most everything in my suitcase last night and the ship took it away in the evening.
I went to O’Sheehans pub for breakfast at 0745. A little later a few of my new friends were seated at tables right next to me. I had scrambled eggs, white toast, bacon and Pepsi.
At about 0900 I left the ship and walked all the way from the ship to the hotel – Hotel Neuvo Triunfo – which was very close to the entrance of the port. My room wasn’t ready yet, but I dropped off my back and went directly to Palau Guell.
I don’t remember visiting this Gaudi building before (although I’ve been to Barcelona a few times before). It was definitely worth the price of admission. This was the first job that Guell gave Gaudi and it was quite spectacular. The first thing I noticed in the building was the floor. The first room was the coach house and the floor was actually wood, but it looked like bricks. The audio guide explained that it helped keep the sound from the horses down).
I spent a few hours at Palau Guell. During the visit I remembered I needed to check in for my flight. Since I was redirected to Lufthansa to check in (I was scheduled to fly to Frankfurt on Lufthansa then United to Houston), but I decided to check on the other flight option I was stalking. To my surprise the flight I wanted (1040 to Newark) was available. Even better was that because I wasn’t flying through Germany it saved me $24 in taxes. Now I don’t have to worry about Lufthansa giving me a hard time about my hand baggage.
Towards the end of the tour of Palau Guell when I was visiting the roof (which had a great view of much of the city) there were two helicopters in the air (most likely due to a protest).
After Palau Guell I walked to the Colombus monument and paid 6 euros to go to the observation deck in the crown. I don’t remember doing this before either. Luckily this had a lift to go up and down.
I walked back to the hotel to get my key card – I wasn’t sure there would be someone at reception all the time and wanted to make sure I could get in.
I took the metro to La Sagrada Familia. The metro station was very close to my hotel. I was able to get a few pictures during the magic hour.
After taking a few photos I grabbed a quick meal at Burger King and took a few more pictures at night.
I took the metro to Palaca Catalunya and walked down Las Rambles to my hotel.
Photos below are from my hotel room in Barcelona:
