Day #2 Of Our 2016 Vacation And Cruise Part 2

As our 2nd day in Barcelona continues so does beauty of the Segrada Familia. We originally had sign up for the "skip the lines" tour of this famous church but if it had been the height of the tourist season I could definitely see the need for such a tour but during the time we visited Barcelona this type of tour was not needed. We ended up ditching the tour and were able to walk right in. The interior of this church was amazing to say the least. 

No commentary that I could add to these photos would do the architectural beauty any justice, so none will be added....

After viewing the interior of the Sagrada Familia Veronica and I hit the streets again to see what we might find. We decided to ride one of those tour bus rides that take you around the city. As the late afternoon and early evening approached it got rather cold and sitting on the top open level of the bus became quite the chilly experience. It was either brave the cold and get some decent photos or go below in the covered and enclosed portion of the bus. Nothing worse than taking photos through bus windows. So we opted to ride it out up top. We saw this hand drawn portrait with the question "Why?" hanging from one of the apartment balconies. Not sure why the "Why" was there but pray that it wasn't questioning the early death of a young family member.

 One of the thousands of little market stores that dot the inner city landscape of Barcelona

 The seemingly endless metal staircase that runs up the side of an apartment building

 This could be any couple that has grown to appreciate the beauty and neon nightlife  of Barcelona. This actually could be Veronica and I returning to Barcelona to visit Barcelona years from now. But then again...I know Veronica could say the same of Paris.  

 The assorted lights of an oncoming night in Barcelona

 A beautifully lit "piazza" that we discovered almost right across the street from our hotel. We did not know it was there until we walked down a short passage that opened up to this scene. I went back the next morning before our driver picked us up at our hotel to take us to the pier where our ship would be sailing from. 

 This brightly lit store carried anything and everything that was sharp except for possibly sharp cheddar cheese. They carried knives, razors and scissors to list just a few items

With the nighttime fully engulfing Barcelona and the hour getting late we headed back to our hotel to close out this our last full day in Barcelona. Tomorrow we will get up early enough to grab a cup of coffee and a donut at the local Dunkin Donuts...yes you read that right...about a 8 minute walk from our hotel and also do some last minute discovering of Barcelona before we check out of our hotel and head to our ship. Tomorrow we will be starting our 11 day cruise on the NCL Epic.

The Start Of Our Next Adventure

Yesterday after picking Dad from his dialysis treatment we said our goodbyes and headed up the road.
We were heading up to the Crowne Plaza hotel which is close to the Dulles International Airport-IAD.
On the way up there we stopped off at an outlet mall in Williamsburg and did a little shopping. We spent about an hour at the mall and then headed to our.
We made a quick pit stop at a Steak N Shake for dinner.
We finally arrived at our hotel only to find it in the midst of a major renovation to its front and lobby area. We had to drive around the back of the hotel to reach the temporary check in area.
First thing I noticed upon entering the hotel was they there was some sort of event going on. There were lines of people all decked in their finest heading in some large room.
Once we got checked and got into our room we went through our suitcases and got everything arranged for our next day's trip to the airport.
We ended up getting to bed around 12:30AM. Unfortunately I did not sleep well at all. We usually sleep with a fan that produces white noise. Unfortunately the ac/heat unit in our room could not be set so that the fan was constantly going. The pillow I was using was one of those fluffy ones with no head and neck support so for me it was very uncomfortable. I finally was able to doze off but I kept getting woke up from parties goers that we're going up and down the hall talking very loudly in their drunken stupor.  I finally fell back to sleep around 3:45AM.
We got up around 7:00 got ourselves together and headed out to the back of the hotel where we got a courtesy van to the airport.
At this Crowne Plaza room book a room their and you can leave your vehicle parked in their covered parking garage for the length of you trip, which would be 14 days. At the airport long term parking area it would have cost us $20 a day but at the Crowne Plaza we got a really big room with a king sized bed along with free parking for the 14 days we would be gone for a good price of $137.00 including all taxes. We ended up saving an easy $280.00 on the parking alone.
And now we are starting our long journey overseas...something that we really enjoy and have grown accustomed to.
Barcelona here we come.