I wondered where to begin, and finally figured it should be from the beginning. Our cruise began on July 16 in Barcelona. We were with friends and decided to spend a few days prior in Barcelona to see the sights. We were not disappointed. Barcelona is a wonderful, beautiful city full of friendly people. Except for the one who stole my camera from my bag while I was being pushed through a turnstile in the Metro. You can say you are aware, you can say you are prepared, but if they are targeting you, they usually win. Not more that an hour later, again on the Metro, a group came into the car and jostled our friends. My husband noticed the man had a newspaper over his hands and was attempting to get into my friend's bag. My husband yelled at the man, who in turn got upset that he had been caught and starting cursing at him. It was a very interesting day. So if I was going to give any advice about Barcelona, I would say avoid the Metro altogether. There is a hop-on hop-off bus available and we wished we would have done that...hindsight and all that.

Back to the good stuff about Barcelona: We were booked at the H10 Montcada in the Gothic quarter. When our friends arrived before us, they found water problems at the hotel so the H10 moved us a little down the street to the Laietana Palace Hotel where we would receive free breakfast daily for our "trouble." The Laietana Palace was a wonderful hotel with lovely rooms and even lovelier bathrooms. Our room faced the rear of the hotel which overlooked the ancient Roman walls. These were softly lit at night and provided a beautiful view. The breakfast buffet was wonderful with a coffee machine that provided lattes, regular coffee, cappuccino and espresso. Wonderful!

I won't go into all there is to see in Barcelona, but if your trip begins or ends here, make it a point to spend at least a day. You won't be disappointed. The Gothic Quarter is a great area, so full of things to see and some very nice hotels. The Picasso museum was very near as well as the Cathedral of Barcelona, Las Ramblas and other sights. Read more