At last, we had arrived at our final port of call of the cruise. I’ll admit that I was sad for the trip to come to an end. We woke up early and were off the ship around 7:00 AM, hoping to make the most of our time in Barcelona.
By this point in the trip, after several non-stop days, we were exhausted. We really wanted to explore the city, but we were too tired to walk around all day. We decided to go for the unlimited hop-on/hop-off bus tour. This was a great decision! We were able to ride around on the upper deck of the bus all day and get a glimpse of the highlights.
One of the first things we came across was the stadium for FC Barcelona, being a big soccer family, this was very cool to see. Other highlights that we saw in the morning included La Sagrada Familia and Casa Batllo. We did get off the bus a few times throughout the day, but it was very relaxing to sit down and take in the sights.
We got off for lunch at Placa de Catalunya, often considered the city center of Barcelona. Here we decided to eat at Hard Rock Cafe. I know, not something that necessarily embodies the Spanish culture, but it was a fun experience to eat at an American restaurant in a different country.
If there is one thing that stood out to me about Barcelona, it’s that it was definitely the most American-like city that we went to, it felt very much like we were walking around New York City. Unlike all the other cities that we had seen on the trip.
After lunch, the bus took us around to the coast and along the beaches. Here we passed the Olympic Village from the 1992 Olympics. There was some very intricate architecture in this area of the city, which felt very modern compared to other areas of the city.
We got off the bus at one of the beaches and walked around a little bit. There were lots of interesting playground equipment for the kids on the beaches.
After finishing off the loop of the bus tour, we headed to our hotel just outside the city center where we would be staying for the night.Shortly we were off to bed as we would be up very early for our flight home the next day.
Our trip had come to an end, but I have to say that this was by far the best vacation that I have ever been on. I can’t thank my parents enough for making this possible. Though I know that they had just as much fun as me. I can’t wait to get back to Europe!
It's a Magical Life 