what we have seen since last time

wow.. it is a lot! i think it may be time for another bulleted list.

the rest of barcelona:

• we explored a huge city park and the beach areas in barcelona
• had a fabulous lunch with amazing sangira and gaspacho
• we took a taxi that dropped us off right in front of the ship
• we settled in, explored the ship and bit and had a great dinner in the fancy dining room

the next day:

• we slept in a bit and made sure not to eat breakfast... we wanted room for crepes and croissants!
• we took a quick shuttle from our ship into Marseille
• we found a cute cafe and used the phrase book to translate the menu and to figure out what we wanted to say to order. after all of that, they were no longer serving breakfast! not to worry, we found a fantastic bakery around the corner!
• for the next few hours, we just wandered the streets and got pretty wet and cold - it rained all day
• we came back to the ship and had another great dinner.

don´t get used to this!

i am back again! so soon, i know.
getting on the internet at the hotel is easy... i doubt it will be so easy on the ship. which we get on tomorrow.

it was a long and eventful day. we are all impressed by how nice the people are here - even the locals. while we were mapping out a game plan on a metro (subway) map, a man told us he was from Barcelona and asked us if we needed any help. and we weren´t even confused! all over, people have been welcoming and friendly. good place.
here is what we did today:

• breakfast outside at a cafe on the street in the Placa Catalunya
• metro ride (a sort of big deal for some in the party!) to La Sagrada Familia, lift to the top of the church for some stunning views
• back on the metro to Parc Guell - the Gaudi park, totally amazing and beautiful. we had lunch on the way at our fist place where no one spoke any english. we had no idea what were ordering, but it ended up being great.
• a cathedral and a really cool church (Cathedral de Barcelona and St. Maria del Mar)
• snack at the waterfront
• walk up the bottom part of La Rambla - the part we didn´t get to yesterday.

tomorrow, we will check out and store our luggage. then off to breakfast and seeing some more sights. then we will go back to our hotel to collect our luggage, take a taxi to the ship, and go to our rooms. then, we will have a coupld more hours to play in Barcelona before the ship leaves at 9pm. looking forward to another great day!

buenas noches,

sheila

arrival in barcelona!

we arrived in spain without a hitch! all is very well. we spent one fantastic day already in barcelona and all of us have quickly fallen in amor (love!) with this place!
we did get switched to a different hotel, though. they messed up our reservation. it was no big deal... we actually got a huge upgrade! this hotel is 4 stars instead of 3 and it is much more centrally located. the rooms are huge, as are the beds. and the showers are fantastic.
so, here is our new contact info at our new hotel!
Catalonia Ramblas
Pelai, 28
Barcelona
phone: 34 93 316 84 00

today, we went to see some of the crazy architecture on the block of discord. we toured the La Pedrera (click on title "arrival in barcelona" to see a picture) and learned about the genious/madman, Gaudi. then we ate some much needed lunch at a cafe on the Passeig de Gracia (reminded wendy and i of the Champs d´Elysses (sp?)). after a short rest (none of us slept very well on the plane), we hit Las Ramblas, a pedestrian marketplace street with a different theme on each block (pets, flowers). we had gelato, fruit, and then had tapas and paella for dinner. now we are back at our hotel and are about to get all caught up on our sleep so we are ready for tomorrow!
i guess that´s it for now.
except that i have to tell you how impressive it is that i am not making too many mistakes while typing. the "qwerty" part of the keyboard is the same, but the little extras are all different!

the suitcase, as promised

here she is. ugh.

getting closer!

so, we leave in just a couple of days!
i am having for force myself to think about the trip now after taking the past week to think about the wedding! i need to get back into trip planning mode.
i guess this is more of a reminder to me than anything else.

not super related

well, i have to find a way to relate this to the cruise... because i am having a hard time thinking of anything else right now.

so, jason and i are engaged now!

here is how i am relating it to the cruise:
i figure he needed to snap me up before i met some charming italian who convinced me to stay in roma forever.

that's it for now!

Sachin's guest blog

My friend Sachin is funny. At least I think so...
Here is what he wrote to me in an e-mail after my post with the link to the ship:


By the way, I think that's the "Love Boat." Tell Isaac, Gopher and the gang that I say "Hi." Everyone, except the Doc--that curmudgeon wouldn't let me sit at his table. I'm kidding. I was never on the Love Boat. I don't think I could handle a cruise ship for more than one hour. I do have interest in the Love Plane though.

the ship!!

our sort of repulsively large floating hotel/city.
check it out! (hint: click on the words "the ship!!")
wendy and i will be in room a740 - that is on the "aloha" deck - just in case you want to visit us.

pre-trip blog 2, may 2008

i have surmounted my two biggest obstacles - swimsuit and formal dress. i even found two of each. this is a very good omen.
now i must be ready for the trip. so why is it, then, that i am having a hard time resisting the urge to start typing a to-do list?
hold on...

ok. sorry, i just had to make an appointment with my doctor to get some motion sickness patches.
check that off the mental to-do list (mental, you see, because i have successfully resisted that urge to type it here...).

we have all of our excursions booked and i think it will be a great way to see a lot in our short time in each city. we are going to get to see a lot. yea!!

the map!!

here is the map (hint: click on the words "the map!!") of all the cities we are traveling to - with comments!
coming soon - a picture of my ridiculous suitcase. i swear it was the only color they had left. it will be very easy to spot, though. must find the silver lining. i think i will name it Barbie. i can't imagine why that name comes to mind when i look at it. i guess i am just really creative.