We started the day with a sit down breakfast in the main dining room. Marika always wants to eat there with us, but we tend to want to sleep in and it often closes too early. However, since the ship was not docking until 10:00, they kept the dining room open a little later.
After breakfast, we stopped by Schooners Bar for Morning Trivia, and by then i twas almost time to go.
The Legend was docked at the exact same terminal that we were docked on the Liberty and just one berth ahead of where we have always docked with the Disney Magic. So, we knew our way around pretty well.
There is a public bus which picks up from the parking lot (not open to the public, only buses and taxis) right in front of the terminal building (as in less than a one minute walk). This bus costs 2.50 Euro each way, and drops off near the Columbus statue at the base of Las Ramblas. If you are exploring Barcelona on your own, I highly recommend this option over the pricier RCI run bus which picks up and drops off at more or less the same places and seems to run less frequently.
If it had been hot out, or if we had been trying to do or see a lot, instead of just meandering around soaking up the atmosphere, we would have opted for this public bus. As it was, it was very pleasant out and we all wanted some exercise, so we walked along the sidewalk, over the harbor bridge and out of the port. It is about a 2 kilometer walk, but there are sidewalks the entire way and we are odd enough to think it is sort of fun to feel the bridge sway as large buses and trucks move over it.
You know you have "made it" when you see the Columbus Statue pointing out to see from in front of the historic Barcelona port building:
There was a full camera crew set up getting ready to film something in front of the old port building--which caught our attention and we hung around for a few minutes watching them set up:
Then we walked out over the water to the "new-ish Las Ramblas Del Mar mall. Rio wanted to look in a Disigual store (a brand he currently loves) that carries men's clothes (and the brand is based out of Barcelona, so the stores in that city tend to be bigger, nicer and have the full selection). The decor was kind of interesting, and the walkway out to the mall is pretty and provides some interesting views:
(view of the harbor from the walkway)
(Disigual decor)
(curved walkway over the water)
(old port building as seen from out on the water by the mall)
By the time we wandered back out, filming had commenced with the crew we'd seen earlier. The crew and actors were all speaking German. We think it was an episode of a German TV show called "Dreamcruise" -- sort of a modern day Love Boat, but we are not entirely sure. We were, of course, looky loos for a bit:
and here is a photo of the old port building they were using as their backdrop for this scene:
It was about noon, which (if it isn't July or August) is a really pleasant time to wander Las Ramblas while it is not too crowded to be enjoyable, so we did that for a while:
After we had our fill of Las Ramblas, we wandered around and poked our heads in some shops (pottery, wine, etc) in The Gothic Quarter:
Once the restaurants started opening up, we headed over to Dave's favourite one, The Grill Room:
Where we enjoyed some Sangria and Papas Bravas (and fed the ever ravenous teenage boy a plate of pasta):
By the time we left The Grill Room, it was clouding up and threatening rain. We stopped by a little store to pick up a couple of bottles of Spanish wine, and then meandered slowly back to the ship.
We timed it well, arriving back to the Legend right about as the first few drops fell. The rain did not last long though, and those who had not left the ship left seemed to all head out within the next few minutes, leaving us a nice, empty pool deck to enjoy (the Solarium is covered with a glass roof, so it is nice in all weather):
We had a relaxing late afternoon by the pool and playing Logo trivia. Then we dressed for dinner and stopped by our table just to say hi and have a drink before heading up to our dinner at the specialty steakhouse, Chops Grill.
We had a really nice time at Chops. The ship was still docked and it was nice to look out of the floor to ceiling windows into the harbor and enjoy the quiet, serene meal. Rio and Dave say their filet minion was the best they have ever had (I am not a steak eater, so I can't compare, but my chicken was good). I loved the sides, served family style: really GOOD, non greasy onion rings (and there are really not many good onion rings to be had in Germany so this is a real treat for us), fabulous brocolinni in a buttery sauce, great mashed potatoes and Marika loved their asparagus. Oh, and the warm roasted onion bread was very, very good as well. We all liked the desserts a lot as well. I had Red Velvet Cake, Rio had Creme Brulee and Marika and Dave had a very rich Mud Pie.
Rio ducked out of dinner between courses to go participate in the Michael Jackson trivia (he loves Michael). Apparently he recognized every song from the snippet that were played and he must have danced at some point because people kept calling him Michael the rest of the cruise.
After dinner, the kids ran off to Optix (the teen club) to have some fun, and Dave and I went to the Love and Marriage Game show--which is always fun to watch. Oddly, in this case (and we have never seen this before on ANY line) it took Gio (the activities director) about 10 minutes (maybe even more) to cajole three couples into participating. This was a VERY laid back, non participatory kind of crowd. The next week we had much more of a get out there and party group. It was amazing how the "feel" of the sip varied from one week to the next.
We danced a bit after the show, then headed to bed around midnight.
Up next, Palma de Mallorca.
See you soon,
--Hadley
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