Only a Few Hours in Barcelona

Barcelona had already made it to my - want to visit again list. Even though we would overnight in port, we didn’t have much time to see the city.

We would be disembarking the next morning.

Part of the process for disembarking was to have your luggage packed and out in the hall for pickup. And, we would be taking a six-hour train trip to Paris. So, we wanted to get an early night.

Barcelona has fantastic variety of foods and drink. When we get back there, I want have much more time and go on a tapas pub crawl.

Arrived at noon, we were among the first to leave the ship.

The cruise lines all run a shuttle bus taking you to the Moll de Barcelona. The Christopher Columbus Monument is about half a block to the east, at the foot of La Rambla. La Rambla is a wide street that forms the boundary between the quarters of Barri Gòtic, to the east, and El Raval.

We headed east.

The Barri Gòtic ( Gothic Quarter ) is the oldest section of Barcelona. Some sections dating back to Roman times. Without a good map, we found ourselves wandering around down streets and alleyways.

Shops lined many of the streets . Others, like the narrow alleyways, were lined with apartments. Some apartment blocks formed a square around an inner courtyard.

After wandering around for a while we started looking for a place to eat. Quite by chance we started walking through ‘La Boquería’ at large marketplace. The market was full of stalls with all types of produce. There were several fish stalls. The fish was ‘just off the boat’ and varieties I had never seen before. 

 Plus there were food stalls.

The food stalls was very busy. We waited for a couple to leave and immediately took their seats. 

We decided on a mixed plate. With a bit of pointing we ordered a mixed plate of squid, octopus and sardines. And, of course, two beer, a word that seems to be universally understood. 

After looking around La-Boquería a bit more. Picking up a very small vial of saffron we headed back to the ship. Passing the Museu de l'Eròtica where Marilyn Monroe was blowing kisses to the passers-by. (We didn’t go in)

With so much more to see, we reluctantly started back to the ship only stopping to exploring part of the marina along the way.