We disembarked our cruise ship in Barcelona, Spain and spent the day there before heading home the next morning. This is how I got 20,000 steps! Check out our Explora II Cruise post.
Barcelona, Spain
It’s always sad to get off a cruise ship! It feels like your home during the day you are at the sea, and suddenly it isn’t! My mother and I both find the cruise ships comfortable about them and I am always looking forward to riding! It’s a bit sad for me to get off.
We had one last breakfast on the balcony before departing at 9am (room service is always free, but especially convenient on the last day!).
Cotton House Hotel
We took our luggage to the Cotton House Hotel via Uber and dropped them in the bullet as our room wasn’t ready. I actually booked this room at Marriott Point, but I wouldn’t have known it was part of a large company. It was gorgeous!
Urban Hiking
We set out to explore Barcelona without much itinerary.
Morning snack!
We walked a few miles to Park Gül, and unfortunately we weren’t prepared for the day that tickets were sold out.
So we walked the boundary line and then headed down the hill.
At this point we were ready for lunch so we returned to the cotton house to check our rooms and enjoy lunch at their restaurant. It was too hot to sit outside, but the inside was just as attractive. I was seriously engrossed in this hotel!
We fried oysters, croquets and some really delicious hummus.
After that we went to the rooftop pool for a nap!
By 3pm our room was ready so we went for a bit of a break, unpacked for the evening and was fresh. I love our room!
We returned to walk further and explore, but we went south to the Gothic district. The Sagrada Familia was in the opposite direction from dinner, but now I don’t regret it! We were able to see the cathedral.
I loved this part of the city – the building was beautiful and there was a lot of shopping!
Happy Hour
We sat for a drink around 5pm and chatted with another couple next to us from Germany. The cocktail was 14 euros and the wine was 4 euros!
Looking for a good tapas, we played at El Chigre and sat in the bar window (this was recommended by the lunch waiter).
We had the best sparkling water with Spanish wine and lemon (it was a thing and I loved it!)
I didn’t take all the photos but I’ll admit that this meal was a bit disappointing. Thomas didn’t love stuffed animals or tomato toast. I was so full from the cruise week that I didn’t have the biggest appetite, but the food still seemed good. We ended up having a light dinner and continued our walk.
Our tour de Barcelona ended at Las Ramblas, the famous pedestrian street. There were a lot of people!
We only ended our trip with more gelato.
The next morning, I was up to visit Paris at 5:30am to go home. It was a long trip, but we were very fortunate as there was a partially empty flight from Paris to Raleigh and no one was sitting between us.
I couldn’t wait to hug my boy when we arrived!!!
They had the best time at Grammys and Pee, and I will share more about their adventures next week!
