Left the states on July 4th for a few days in Paris prior to traveling to Barcelona to embark on a 12 night Med. cruise on Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas. Flew Continental from ATL to Newark and then to CDG.  Smooth flights all the way over. On the way home was a different story.  We were notified about halfway between Barcelona and Newark that we did not have enough fuel and would have to stop in Nova Scotia to refuel.  We were stuck in the plane on the runway for around an hour in Nova Scotia.  This was not fun after already being in a plane for that long.  Several people including us missed our connecting flights in Newark, however we got lucky and were able to catch one a couple hours later.  

Arrived in Paris on July 5 and spent the day walking and just checking out the city. We stayed in the Mercure de Gare (next to the train station).  Was a great mid level hotel, except for the fact a few of our rooms had broke A/C units. Went to the Louvre, but did not go inside due to the long lines.  Rode the ferris wheel next to the Louvre which was neat (kind of cheesy but actually was really neat and you could see a lot things that you cannot see from the ground).  We had a group of 10 and everyone was beat from the overnight flights so most ordered room service, however a couple of us went out and found a nice little cafe that had great food.  Our waitress and the bartender were extremely friendly (not just for Parisian standards, but overall) and we had a great meal. We had eaten lunch earlier in the day and were not greeted as friendly.  There is definitely some animosity towards Americans in Paris.  Spent July 6 on a half day tour of Paris through CityRama.  I thought the tour was a pretty good overview of some of the sights of Paris to include Notre Dame which was really neat.  That night we did a Seine river cruise and Eiffel Tower dinner (58 Tour Eiffel).  The food at the Eiffel Tower was excellent and the service was really good (not the normal attitude we encountered while in Paris).  Did the river cruise after that and it was good also.  What was really interesting was the number of people that had made picnics on the river bank of the Seine, which I would do if I went back to Paris.

Got up on July 7 and boarded a train and headed to Barcelona.  This was our first time on a train and it was really neat to see the French countryside. We arrived in Barcelona around 7 and checked into Hotel Inglaterra, which was only a couple of blocks from La Rambla near Catalunya Place.  A modern styled hotel with Japanese style rooms.  A very nice mid-level hotel with new room features.  The A/C worked great in our room here (as we were without it in the first hotel), however we had a couple of rooms that it went out.  The staff was great and provided fans (even the one they had in their office that they had been using).  The staff was much more friendly here than in Paris.  Ate at a small tapas restaurant (can't remember the name) that was pretty good.  Spent the next day (July 8) exploring Barcelona on the fast track because this was the only day we had.  Went to Caso Battlo (The Dragon House) that was designed by Gaudi and really enjoyed his architecture.  This is a must see.  Walked down La Rambla and enjoyed people watching and looking at the mimes.  Also ventured through La Boqueria (the produce and meat market) off La Rambla and it was an amazing sight.  Saw Sagrada Familia and it is amazing that this church has been being constructed for so long and still has so much more to go.  We went to the Chocolate museum, but was quite disappointed in it with very little to see.  We actually ate lunch at Hard Rock Cafe in Catalunya Place because a few of our members were already craving some American food.  Ate dinner at a Merendero de la Meri on the water that night.  Was neat sitting out overlooking the water.  Food was pretty good, however a couple of our party were surprised when they ordered shrimp and the heads were still on (not what we are used to in the States) and some of the fish were whole also.  Got some sleep so we could board the Brilliance of the Seas the next morning. Read more