Barcelona in the sun

Originally advertised as a tender port, it was pretty obvious we would come alongside here, but another gorgeous mooring right next to the LNG terminal in a row of 4 cruise ships! Barcelona has built a huge modern facility here for cruising, far better than when we were here last, even if our last arrival was seen from the flightdeck of a Qantas 747 from Heathrow in 1999!

The shuttle dropped us more or less at the Columbus monument so it made sense to stroll up La Rambla and watch the street artists over a cappuccino en route to explore the open market with its amazing and colourful displays of fresh fruit, fish (some still wriggling) and Iberian sausages – everything you could imagine in a market and we wondered why we don’t see this sort of thing more commonly in the UK.

Last time we were here we went over to the Gaudi Sagrada Familia cathedral, so this time we headed into the Gothic quarter and looked around the shops, alleyways and squares there, walking through the Santa Eulalia cathedral with its lovely cloisters and flock of cackling geese in their excellent stone goose-house

Another sunny lunch on a Spanish timescale took up rather more time than strictly necessary but last the shuttle was quite late so there was still time for a wander around the marina and its enormous leisure park – the curved bridge had simply no edge protection on a public walkway with a 6’ drop into the water! How do they get away with it?

All the other ships left before us, giving the Commodore plenty of room to reverse off the dockside and do a neat 180 to slip out of the harbour into the sunset. The days are longer now and daylight lasts through dinner, so it was lovely to see Spain silhouetted against the sun through the restaurant window.

Writing this on Saturday morning it was great to see Norwegian Jade headed into the Mediterranean for Barcelona tomorrow but just too far away for a photo – her bow decorations making her distinctive even from 3 or 4 miles off.

Through the Straits of Gibraltar later today and Northwards toward Southampton – packing the sunscreen and breaking out the jeans! There’s a Force 7 Easterly today bringing up the white horses and the Commodore seems worried about the forecast, but that should make Biscay a weather shore (but we are on a LINER!)

LNG & port Control

Columbus

Street artists

La Rambla

Cafe culture

Home strip

Market

Hotel Colona

Light lunch

Cathedral geese

Constitution Square

No edge protection!

Ship sandwich

Back to Europe

Passing HMS Monmouth and a Greek frigate en route, we made landfall on the toe of Italy, to pass between Sicily and the mainland through the Straits of Messina in daylight, accompanied at a discreet distance by our sister ship Queen Elizabeth - also on her way to Civitavecchia. A lovely bright day saw us take on board the pilot from his launch, driven in Italian style at great speed and with much bow-wave from the shore. It’s a narrow channel for a big ship but there seemed plenty of room for everyone despite lots of ferries. These will soon be redundant as the suspension bridge takes shape - although there isn’t much sign of the construction work today.

Queen Elizabeth took a line nearer the shore than Queen Mary and the two ships straddled Stromboli, with ourselves on the up-sun side having a fantastic view of the volcano only a mile to starboard. Just as we circled the volcano there was a little puff of dust and fall of ash into the sea – it couldn’t have been more spectacular without being dangerous! The restaurant on the volcano seems just a little bit close for comfort.

An Egyptian Ball passed the night and gave us a chance to put on the fancy dress for the first time – amazing what people will do for a laugh!

Wednesday dawned overcast and very windy – you could have been in Scarborough in April, never mind the Mediterranean. Due to dock at 07:00 the ship seemed to be vibrating uncomfortably at 06:30 and we were stationary in the water – are we aground? No such luck, just holding a position in a huge squall at 60 knots with the wind on the beam and spume everywhere– it almost spilt the tea! Queen Elizabeth had entered the port just in time, but our windage made it impossible to enter until the wind dropped. Other ships were having the same problem and it looked like a late morning gilling around off Civitavecchia. Eventually the wind moderated and we were off to Rome for the day – or 5 hours anyway!.

Arriving later than planned we had to make the most of the day, which had turned out perfectly with a clear blue sky. A walk across the Tiber and then a taxi to the Colosseum – why is it so busy? Thousands everywhere. Free entry to the Museums today and the schools on Easter holiday must be the answer, but we got in with an Italian guide and spent an hour exploring this astonishing construction. No time to waste and feeling hungry, into a pizzeria for lunch. Oops! Ordered a litre of red in the rush, so decanted into the water bottle and off to the Trevi Fountain with friends found at the pitstop. Only 2 hours to departure, must dash!

Done the Constantine Arch, past the Forum, Trevi Fountain, thrown the coin, walked to the Spanish Steps – took the photo, admired the flowers through the melee and down the Metro with 10 minutes to pick-up time. Missed the gelato and the shopping – hardly time to admire the scenery but managed a few pictures, phew! Our friends managed the Pope’s Wednesday address too!

Home in time for the sailaway and to rest the feet. What a day!

Greek frigate

Messina

Italian pilot

Bridge site

Stromboli

QE in the distance

A little puff

Restaurant a bit close

Beam wind

Don't do it!

Keats Shelly

Babingtons

A right pair of sheikhs