I took this cruise, along with pre and post days visit to Barcelona for R&R from my job in Afghanistan. It was originally intended as a cruise with my daughter for her high school graduation present; however she is more ambitious than I was at that age, so she decided to take additional college classes over the summer, and we will try again for the Epic during her winter break, when I will be back home.

I arrived in Barcelona on June 19th. The protesters were still camped out in force on the Placa Catalunya. I learned later that there had been a huge rally that day with 100,000 people. (That number seems exaggerated.) In any event, I saw no evidence of anything approaching that number of people during my time there. I stayed at a hotel called Amrey Diagonal, which is on the east side of the city. I was pleasantly surprised to find this hotel was at the end of what appeared to be another Ramblas, with a pedestrian walkway between the lanes of traffic and numerous restaurants on both sides. The only things missing were the street performers and those guys selling those irritating whistles.

While in Barcelona, I highly recommend using the hop-on hop-off buses. There are two different lines though, and the buses are nearly identical, so make sure you are at the correct bus stop for the line you use. I would also get a T-10 metro ticket if you'll be in town for more than a few days. It is easy to use and can save you a lot of walking if, like me, you tend to wander around aimlessly. Finally, again if you'll be in town for a few days, take a tour outside the city. I took a trip to Tarragona and Sitges, both interesting places. Read more