Ok...this is going to be a looooong post. I know blogger 101 says...do not go on and on in a post...as no one, not even your mother, wants the three day version. Well settle back in your chair and get comfy cause I'm ready to tell the story of our visit to Barcelona; first I have to set the scene for the crime...so to speak. We are on day seven of our vacation. We've already spent two and a half days seeing everything possible in Rome. On the cruise we've been to Genoa, Italy and Villefranche, France (Monaco). When I woke up that morning and stood on our balcony with Barcelona spread out before me I just kept thinking...there's nothing here I want to see. I was tired and really would have preferred a day of doing nothing...but we had already purchased the excursion tickets (something I always do before leaving home), so off the ship we went!!
Excursions are the double-edged sword of cruise life. The tours take you to the most historic or exotic or adventurous places that location has to offer, all you have to do is show up with your sea pass and excursion ticket, but there are negative aspects to them (maybe the main one being that someone else is in control of where you go and what you do)! After years of doing guided tours (both with my family and when I headed school trips to NYC and Boston) I have learned that what goes on inside the bus and within the group while trekking around is as entertaining and educational as the cathedral, ancestral home, or museum that we actually paid to see! All kinds of people go on tours...there are families much like mine in which mama is excited about the upcoming day and all the picture taking opportunities and maybe some interesting shopping...dad is studying something off in the distance over his left shoulder as if he has been put in charge of the escape route...and the kids, no matter what the nationality, all have a similar body language (I'll leave it at that). There are newlyweds with the aura of total bliss around them. They could be looking at a backed-up sewer and they would smile and look at each other as if to say "Isn't this wonderful." They take pictures of each other on their cell phones and don't even bother to stand in front of the subject of interest...people tend to volunteer to take their picture together (for the scrapbooks sake)! One such couple wandered into a Louis Vuitton store in Monte Carlo and showed back up at the bus with a very large bag (and big smiles on the bride's face). Which then brings me to the unmarried young couple...they tend to be much more subdued, especially if the girl has zoomed in on Mr. and Mrs. "just married" (I could give some advice here...but whatever). Next there is the elderly couple who come prepared to have a good time but they bring provisions because...well...they never know what might happen during their time away from the ship. They tend to sit at the front of the bus...use the overhead bin first thing in the morning (BEFORE shopping) and they always ask how to use the headsets before the guide has done the headcount and introduced the trusty bus driver! There are also those seasoned travelers, such as my father-in-law, who bring a bottle of water, a snack, a rain poncho (folded neatly in a one-inch square), a map of the area, a camera, and some money (maybe a credit card) all of which neatly fits into a pickpocket-proof bag!! Last on the bus is the multi-generational family...great grandparents down to toddler...they have all sorts of good stuff including the stroller that no longer closes properly (they are planning on throwing it out at the end of the trip) and the cooler of food because the great grandparents and the toddlers are on the same diet...so the bus driver has to open the luggage compartment underneath the bus at each and every stop. Chelsea took a picture of one very worn out grandpa (or probably a great grandpa) who was sitting in the stroller outside of the casino at Monte Carlo...while great grandma followed the toddler down the hill!!
Okay...so the bus is loaded and we are off for several hours of cathedrals..city gates...cobble stone piazzas...etc. I am a travel guide at heart so I enjoy a bit of poking around and hearing a good story about the history of a place...but even I get overloaded... just imagine my husband and children!!! Rich is constantly MIA on a tour. He likes about 2 minutes of explanation and that's really only if he's actually interested in the subject (often times he can be seen with the earphones to his headset dangling along beside him)... then he's off exploring. So of course I am always looking around to make certain that he notices when we move on...once a teacher, always a teacher. The girls stick together AND have been sufficiently warned by me of the downside of going missing in a foreign country (this lecture was so much easier after the movie Taken came out)...so I can easily locate them, earphones in place and coma-like expressions on their faces (I have pictures). And so here we are traveling through the crowded city streets of Barcelona while the tour guide first explains how to use the headsets and then repeats several times to turn them off and save the batteries for when we aren't on the bus (and she isn't droning on with a microphone)!
I am tired and barely listening...I keep thinking random things like...how did my best friend's daughter traverse through Barcelona a mere two weeks ago with her friends from the air force academy?...do we have transportation from the cruise ship to the airport on Sunday?...how long is this tour?...does it involve getting off the bus?....
Our stops that morning were at two cathedrals...the Barcelona Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Holy Family...and I think the Olympic Park built back in the early 90's. Here's the thing, I actually like going into cathedrals...they are architectural amazements to say the least. I just wasn't feeling it...I totally zoned out on the story about the 13 year-old girl and the reason why there are always 13 geese in the courtyard of the cathedral???? I tried and tried to find a picture to take....but other than birdseed spelling
Barcelona on the steps leading to the cathedral and the actual geese...nothing. I would take a picture and delete it. Same thing at the second cathedral that has been under construction forever and isn't slated to be finished for 30 more years (I do remember the guide saying something about the pope visiting this September to bless the church and maybe they would start having mass...but don't quote me on that). We were inside a gift shop (a scheduled 8 minute shopping stop) after which we would be walking to the back side of the cathedral to continue the narration when I looked at Rich and the girls and said "Isn't there a Starbucks across the street?" I told the tour guide we were going to get coffee and we would meet up with them at the bus...she looked at me as if...well let's just leave it at she looked at me. We unplugged from the headsets, went to Starbucks got some caffeine, and happily stood waiting for our group and our bus to happen along. We were actually right across the street from the cathedral so we did look at it a bit more and nicknamed it the "fruit basket church."
Last stop was the park which actually had some great overlooks to the harbor and the huge city and yes the spires of the cathedrals were easily seen. We took some pictures and ate some Pringles (our go-to snack on this trip...bought at the roadside vendor). I was very happy when we boarded the bus to go back to the ship. I sat looking at...and deleting most of the pictures I had taken that morning. Oh well, I thought, I don't have to fall in love with every place I visit!! I put my camera in my bag and realized...no wallet...this can't be...I say something to Rich at the same time pulling stuff out of my bag and tossing it on his lap...Katelyn's bag of popcorn (bought at the park for the movie that night)...camera...water bottle...post card of one of the cathedrals bought by Rich to send to his parents...reading glasses...journal...pens...chewing gum...NO PINK AND BLACK WITH ELEPHANTS VERA BRADLEY WALLET...okay maybe it fell out of the bag and is on the floor of the bus...everyone look....yes I mean everyone. The tour guide gets on the microphone and explains that I've lost my wallet and can everyone look under their seat (it could have slid...) to which someone asks "what does it look like?" I don't know why but Rich couldn't let go of this comment and still has witty comebacks to that question!! Still no wallet and then the advice begins...call the ship immediately someone could use your sea pass and get on the ship (and do what...eat at the buffet?)...you better call the states first and cancel everything...you should carry a bag with a zipper next time (I know this...I am always super careful...ask my children). So I sit quietly (shedding a few tears) and think about at which church did someone notice me and decide I was an easy target and then distracted me somehow and deftly lifted my wallet out of the bottom of my very large bag? It doesn't matter, it's gone. I had three credit cards, one driver's license (yes...the same driver's license I wrote about in a post last spring), and probably $75.00 in American money...no euros. Back at the port I had to fill out a police report with a young policeman speaking only Spanish (he said he knew a little English but I don't remember hearing any). Why am I doing this...he can't even operate the copy machine to give me a copy of the report...but oh yea...I am doing this in case someone charges like a bajillion dollars on my AX , I will have proof that it wasn't me...I am starting to get a migraine...
Finally we are back on the ship...after getting a new sea pass I go to the room to take something for the headache that is threatening...Rich stays down at the reception desk on deck 5 where they have placed the call for him back to one of the credit card companies...An hour later, I feel better; all cards are cancelled. Fortunately, our AX cards have different numbers so we still had his card to use and my smart husband had cash in the safe...and so he looked at me and said "It's done...it's not important...we still have 4 days of a great vacation to enjoy...let's go beat the girls at ping pong!"
We did enjoy the rest of the day and watched the World Cup match that night (which ironically was Spain against Germany and I ended up cheering for Spain in their win)!! So, while I have no great desire to visit Spain in the future I figure that is okay...there are places I've never been yet and places I absolutely have to go back and experience again. I will leave Spain to those that are passionate about it. Back at home for a little over a week I have already received replacement credit cards (yep, those companies are smart...they don't want me to be without for very long)! I was also able to order a replacement license (of course it hasn't come in yet...and suddenly everyone wants to see my license when I write a check or use my new credit cards...). Don't you know...this is my life : )
