View from the Kimpton rooftop terrace - had some snacks and our free drink up here.

Red and white sangria

Ham and cheese croquets and potatoes bravo. I liked the at sauce on top 😋

The hotel hangout area

View from our balcony onto a quiet street

Me and my wise face

We wandered around for a bit checking out the area and waiting for the night time Christmas lights. Loved the way they do them here - most streets had the lights strung across them which gives it a rather festive feel.

Animated window display - cute penguins

And cute polar bears - see the baby lying down - so cute

Went up onto this terrace for more tapas and spritzes until dark

Hugo and Aperol

And then the lights! Hard to catch the beauty of them!

Catalonia Park was well done!

This fountain changed colors

Many streets had those white triangle lights strung across them

Had to call it done as we were very tired. Slept 11 hours, got up and had our free breakfast and headed out to meander around again and find Barcelona cathedral and the Christmas market.

In front of the cathedral and market in front of it

Heading into the market. Many of the vendors sold these little wooden Yule logs. We realized that they were all different because each vendor painted the faces themselves. Of course we bought one and named it Lona

One very tall tree

The tree in front of the food market. That place was amazing and I can see if you lived in the city you would shop there frequently. Of course we were full when we wandered through there.

Bought a few souvenirs here including a bull, a coffee mug, and Tee got a hat.

Lunch beer before heading back to the hotel to grab our luggage and check into the ship.

Spent just a little bit of time on the ship, grabbed lunch and headed back out to see the lights just one more time. Met a nice young man who learned English from TV.

Near the pier

Walking toward the Main Street and Columbus statue

More street lights

And more

And more

The Cathedral at night

For our last day in the city, we took the included bus tour, which drove us around the city with a stop at La Sagrada Familia and the quarter. Barcelona itself is a very crowded city with 1.7 million people living within 6 miles. Las Rambles was all torn up for some construction project which was a little disappointing so we spent most of our time on the side streets.

Sculpture of a face by a “newer” artist

Typical style of buildings on this drive

This is Casa Mila. Those stars are a new addition from the last time we saw it. Not sure if it is a holiday thing or permanently added.

And of course La Sagrada Familia - no one could ever take pictures that will do this place justice. It is exhausting to even look at because it is so intricate.

Diane posing from one angle

One of many entrances

Another building

Posing in the Quarter

And one more Gaudi property. \240

And our final picture of the old city.

We made it back and went to the tea in the Wintergarden and then dinner at Manfreddies - one of the specialty restaurants.

Yes, we did try all those desserts and we both liked the peach tea best

That was a lot of bread for two people

Osso bucco for me and lasagna for Diane. Mine was good hers was meh. \240

And Carmel for desssert.

Called it a night and headed back to our room.

At the top of the castle

Up and at it early for our 1 hour bus tour to Tossa de Mar. Being a coastal city that many people from Barcelona vacation in over the summer, most businesses were closed. We walked through the city with our guide and visited the only wall still standing in Spain that was used to protect a city against intruders in the past. Stepped foot on the beach and stopped for coffee and tea.

Sign at the top of the castle

Liked the flower pots behind me

Diane on the street

Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra - apparently she made a movie here. This picture is for my momma.

Nice sculpture on the path up to the castle

An old church alter. Loved that you could see through that archway to the beach and city.

Part of the walled fort - in the past everyone would hide behind the walls when being invaded. The rest of the time the farmers and families stayed outside of the wall in their houses.

Lovely beach - the Mediterranean Sea is such a lovely color of blue. They say this beach is wall to wall people in the summer.

Views from up high were great.

After returning from our bus drive, Diane and I had lunch on the ship and then headed back out to Palomas the city. Of course, most things were closed, but we did find a place for a drink spot with a view of the sea and then a little walk to find a church.

Homemade vermouth is apparently a thing here in Spain. We did try some in Barcelona and it was herb based, but it made me nervous because nobody can actually tell us what’s in it.

I had the Aperol Spritz and Diane had a house wine.

Lovely number one

And lovely number two.

Up and down - the city is set on a hill of course. This was the church…

We went back to ship and hung out at the pool deck and then grabbed some dinner at the cafe. Our room was cold and the pool deck is nice and toasty. There is not a lot of things to do on the ship at night so we spent the night in our room.

Pool deck views

Marseille France

And just like that, we are in a new country.

We took an included bus tour that was a disappointment- this city is the second largest city in France and the first and largest port city. A lot of our trip was stuck on the bus in traffic so our \240pictures are from the bus. Didn’t like the vibe - to much like Paris. Did wander through the Christmas markets - their big thing they make and sell here are bar soap and dry cookies.

The largest cathedral here with seven domes.

Lighthouse and view of one of the three islands off the coast

Replica front

And back

Love the water :-)

They do have a seawall with bench seating - made from tiles it went on for awhile but I liked this seahorse

Front of the market

The city and old harbor

Doing the pose - street art.

Our lunch and a beer - think it was a German beer. It was an Italian restaurant- we had gnocchi and short ribs. No English was spoken :-)

We returned to the shop via our tour shuttle, hung out at the pool deck again and then had a little nap and dinner. This was our dessert tray :-).

The pear dessert was yummy

Strolling along the promenade

Looking back at the city

Some of the architecture

Nice decorations as we have seen in all the villages

One of the churches and a nice bonsai tree

Name spelled correctly but not open 😥

On the promenade

. Landlocked. 38,000 inhabitants. Millionaire to live here. Streets and parking are underground to save \240space for condos

Lunch at Pasta Roca - cheese and Pizza

Grand Prix

No taxes here

Three sides are France and one side water