"ARRIVEDERCI"

"Arrivederci",the Italian word in the last newsletter on our cruise, was a farewell greeting from the captain. The Fantasia docked in Barcelona, Spain at 8:45 am and disembarking procedures began at 9:15. All passengers from decks 10 and 11 were given lilac luggage tags and our suitcases were to be outside our doors the night before. We met at the Casina delle Palme, pictured above on the right, until we were allowed to exit. We had had such a great time on board and it was with mixed feeling that we left the ship for the last time.

We lined up to wait for a taxi to the hotel that Kristy had booked through a travel agent in Kristiansund. Soon we were off and quite impressed by the wide streets and modern buildings that greeted us on our way. We were excited to find that our hotel was close to the beach and downtown area. We were able to check in early so that was great. The hotel also had free internet so we made use of that to contact our family and let them know we were on dry land once again. Then we set out to explore this exciting city on another "Hop on, hop off" city bus tour. We learned about Goudi, a famous architect who had designed many buildings in Barcelona. The picture above is of a huge cathedral that is still being completed.

As we toured the city, we came upon a Good Friday parade with people

waving palm branches and shouting Hosanna.

We didn't expect to find stores open but a mall close by is open every day of the year! Kristy and I visited an interesting store with very colorful clothes! Most items had several different patterns and colors of fabric in them. Kristy picked out a top forLaurel.

We stopped to buy hotdogs from a sidewalk vendor and just enjoyed seeing all the families out enjoying this holiday together.

The receptionist at the hotel suggested a good

place to eat that was close by. She was right and we enjoyed an Italian dish called paellla. Here's a picture of this rice dish with seafood.

We enjoyed a walk by the sandy seashore on our way back to the hotel. We fell in love with this city of Barcelona, a place to come back to some day.