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Barcelona the hot!
We were warned this morning that the temperature in Barcelona might reach in excess of 32 degrees today. It actually reached 35! That is hotter than places David and I have visited in the Caribbean.
We docked at 8am and all of us were off the ship by about 08:15. We then took a shuttle bus to the city centre and it was only then that we learned Barcelona does not open until at LEAST 10:30 am. The city was like a ghost town and we wondered what on earth was going on.
The four of us then wandered down a few of the highly shaded side streets....The buildings so high on each side that you could barely see a sliver of blue sky peaking through. At around 0900 hrs it was already incredibly warm!
We found an open top bus tour and decided that this would be a good idea to pass a few hours, saving Barbara's legs for walking later on. (she was already telling us that she was wiliting and her legs hurt!) The bus tour was really very very good. It is not the kind of thing that David and I would normally go for but we both really enjoyed it. We took in a lot of the sights including the New Camp, Barcelona's football ground.
One of the incredible buildings we saw was a triangular style church which was still in the process of being renovated/built. It was called Sagrada Familia. The building works on this church are and have always been, funded purely by donations from the public. You need to google it because me trying to describe it will not do it justice!!
The bus tour took us through the main part of the city and out to the north where the wind blowing over our heads made it slightly more bearable. The mountain which overlooks the city of Barcelona was clearly visible at this point. It is called Tibidabo Mountain and it also has a stunning church on its peak. A group (is group the right word?) a gaggle...of nuns still live there. On special occasions, government ministers visit the nuns and take them a dozen eggs. This is meant to be a good luck omen for the weather and a way of ensuring that the sun continues to shine.
The sun did not stop shining all day! Once our tour was finished, we hit the shops and searched for our usual, football shirts and flags. David managed to find a Catalan football shirt.....this is a regional team, not one in the la league. He is very very pleased with it. (I helped find it!) I found a Barcelona shirt with Messi on the back and little little had a Barcelona shirt with Neymar on the back. Gary visited a different shop and picked up a very nice Catalan t-shirt. The Spanish and Catalan flag were very easy to find and we did not have to hunt for long. By the time we had finished shopping, all of us were struggling with the heat but Barbara was really flagging.
We had stopped earlier for ice cream but now, it was time for a beer..... and what a beer! The man placed down four of the biggest goblets of beer I have ever seen in my life. I am pretty sure the containers were bigger than Barbara's head! The beer was the most welcome part of the day thus far and rejuvenated us for the walk back to the shuttle and then on to the ship again.
David and I hit the Sanctuary pool whilst Gary and Barbara chilled in their room. Now, at the time of writing, we are just pulling out of the port of Barcelona. All three of us our sat on the balcony enjoying a lager and the cooler, late afternoon, air. It is still hot but more bearable at the moment!
Tomorrow we will dock in Corsica at around 12 noon. We are all looking forward to it!
I dropped my iphone 6 and smashed the screen :-( gutted but I know that someone at work can fix it for me.....right Helen Gilbert?? Find out who it is for me!!
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