Quest Day 8 -- Barcelona, Spain

It poured in Barcelona the day that we were there -- and I was about as watery as the weather. I slept really well until 5:30 a.m. but then wasn't able to go back to sleep. I got hungry and finally got up to read to distract myself. Finally I got ready and went to breakfast by myself -- it was 9 a.m. Derek was still recovering from an awful cold and I hadn't wanted to wake him -- but I hadn't wanted to eat by myself again either. Sigh. I was thankful for the man who handed out the trays and bowls. He was very nice. I don't know his name -- I just called him "the man who is always fine". He is from Bahli and has a wife and an 18 month old son who he doesn't get to see for months at a time. Cruise ship workers usually work 7 months and stay home 5. He always seemed happy to see me and so it was like having a friend in the dining room.

Unfortunately the water works started after breakfast (mine -- Barcelona already was experiencing rain). Derek was very patient and we ended up walking into Barcelona after lunch. And I don't know what that crab creature in the picture above is all about. It was just interesting because someone took the time to make it.

With my usual amount of knowledge I'll tell you that this was an old castle like building that I took a picture of because it was an old castle like building and it wasn't raining so hard at that moment that I was having to try to keep the camera dry.

While seeing if our stamina would hold out long enough for us to find a famous cathedral, we found the "Arc de Triumf" or the Arch of Triumph for those of us who only speak English. It was built as a welcome post or door to the Universal Exposition of 1888. I just learned that from the internet and didn't really know it at the time. It was just another big gate (whose name we did know from the map) that was cool so we took a picture.

This is what we spent a lot of time doing -- looking at maps. I don't think it really ever helped. In this picture what you cannot tell is how soggy that map was. We had one umbrella with us and so my right side and Derek's left were soaked. The building behind Derek had signs about a zoo but I don't remember what the building itself is.

We never made it to the magnificent church that we had heard about. That's what we get for not braving the subway. The longer we walked the more my neck and feet hurt and we headed back. This statue that you can't see as clearly as I wish you could is of Columbus. Our bus dropped us off by it and picked us up there. The bus was a courtesy to get us from the dock to the "shopping area of Barcelona". We did see one church that was under renovation. It was pouring at the time so I didn't take a picture. We still managed to walk a few miles I think. It's easy to get a little off course in the not so straight streets.

I did hear some people say that Barcelona was their favorite. I would undoubtably have liked it better had I been feeling more relaxed and happy. On this day I believe I said "I just want to go home". I am a bit of a home body and I missed my kids.