This
morning we walked for several hours along Las Ramblas and lovely medieval
passage ways with a stop at the Market. This vast market is such a sensory
experience, with fresh produce, beef, veal, lamb, chicken, fish and other
seafood, eggs of all sizes (even emu), the spices, the nuts, mushrooms (43
different kinds in one booth), candies, pastries, Brian’s olives (this time I counted
and there were 30 different kinds-stuffed with various things or marinated in
various oils, etc.), and things I can never unsee again. I won’t explain in this brief blog, and I saw
many items at market when I lived in France a year, but today I saw some things
that could turn me into a vegetarian.
We
returned to the Hotel Pulitzer (a hotel I recommended on Trip Advisor) about
12:30, retrieved our luggage, and took a taxi to the Ruby Princess. Boarding the ship was very smooth—TK thinks
of everything (charge cards & passports registered, location of ship’s
areas studied ahead of time).
Our
balcony stateroom is such a bonus, with ample closet space, a desk, lots of
drawers and shelves, and a regular bathroom. Our stateroom experience last year
on the NCL Epic when we cruised the Med really jolted us (translucent toilet
capsule, translucent shower capsule, sink in the bed area) but we are very
pleased with the Ruby.
We
toured the ship thanks to a scavenger hunt. It is about 50 F today, so we won’t
be swimming soon. The captain warned of heavy seas to come tonight, so we will
take Bonine before going to bed.
Tomorrow
we arrive in the port of Toulon, France where we have arranged a bus ride to
Aix, the city I love. We are meeting with the Alumni Director of the school
that I attended in the late 60s for lunch at La Rotonde, the restaurant where I
had my first “hamburger sandwiche and pommes frites (real French fries)”, and
two of my favorite desserts, Poire Helene (pears, vanilla ice cream, and
chocolate sauce) and Peche Melba (peaches, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry
sauce).
TK’s takes: He is starting
to remember more about Barcelona when he was in the Navy, e.g. chickens roasted
on a spit on open fires and sold in alleys, the friendly people. Easiest embarkation ever, we walked right on,
great stateroom.
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