The day was finally here. After a year-and-a-half of planning, we were on our way to Europe. We headed to Charlotte where we met up with Mark and Jess and my parents. We spent a good four hours of our layover at 1897 Market - a great restaurant in the Charlotte Airport.
Our flight to Barcelona left a little late, but the seats were comfortable and we love being able to watch all the movies. Arriving in Barcelona was not the best. We encountered a two-and-a-half-hour long Immigration and Customs line. Our prepaid private transfer did not wait for us. Luckily, taxis are really easy to get at the Barcelona Airport and we were on our way to the Four Points Barcelona Diagonal. It took about an hour to get our room. We were all very tired and smelly so we didn't want to just check our bags and head out to explore.
After we got a room, we headed down Rambla Del Poblaneu. It is a great street filled with all types of restaurants. We picked a Spanish restaurant. We had a wonderful meal of ham, Manchego cheese, and paella. And the sangria was fantastic. Glenn and I headed down to the beach to have a glass of wine there. Then, we called it an early night.
The hotel was perfect. It was in a good location with lots of dining options nearby and close to the beach. The room were adequate. The staff was friendly. The breakfast buffet was fantastic according to my parents. We went to a coffee shop next door. It was interesting to note that "to go" was not an option for the coffee. I had the best muffin of my life - cranberry filled with cold yogurt.
In the morning, we walked to Sagrada Familia. We joined the group tour. It's an incredible structure. It's been under construction for about a hundred years. It's incredible to see how this style has changed over time. After the tour, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed the taxi, and headed to the port.
Traffic getting into the port was quite busy. Check in was pretty smooth. And then we were on the Carnival Vista. We had lunch at the buffet. It was really good. We spent the afternoon resting and packing. The deck party at sail away was awesome. We enjoyed watching sail away from our balcony. And then we headed to dinner. We ended up with an incredible table in the Horizons Restaurant right on the window. This is the first cruise we have taken where it's still light when we go to dinner at 8 p.m. so that is a real treat. After dinner we went to the Happy Cole comedy show. Mark wanted to sit in the front row so we all became part of the show. Then it was time for my signature late-night BLT. A wonderful beginning to the trip.
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