Day #1 Of Our 2016 Vacation And Cruise Part 1

Our Delta flight started off out of Dulles International Airport with a connection flight out of JFK into Barcelona, Spain. Veronica and I had one of the best burgers we have ever had. While at JFK we had plenty of time before our flight left for Barcelona and we had heard some really good reviews about a Marc Samuelsson restaurant in Terminal #4 called Uptown Brasserie. If you ever get the chance to try out this restaurant and don't mind paying a higher than normal price for a burger platter then give this restaurant a try. The burger here was really gooood. I was feeling just a bit under the weather so I decided to have some chicken noodle soup and Veronica and I split a burger. Besides a great burger and fries the soup hit the spot and I starting feeling better really quick.

Here I am before the soup arrived

 And here I am after the soup was brought to the table. It is amazing what a bowl of chicken noodle soup can do to ones outlook on life 

Here we are on our flight

The flight out of JFK to Barcelona was long and not very comfortable. We tried to get some sleep on the plane but we weren't very successful. So we landed in Barcelona fairly well tired out.
We had arranged a shuttle to take us to our hotel which was on one of the major vehicle and pedestrian streets in Barcelona...La Ramblas.
Our hotel was the Oriente Atiram Hotel . We had a deluxe room on the 4th floor facing Las Ramblas. We found the room to have a minimalist look and feel to it but it was very comfortable and had everything we needed. Our floor to ceiling windows opened up so that you could look out over the very busy Las Ramblas below. Even though this area is very busy with tourist and assorted hawkers and pickpockets, our room was very quiet due to the type of windows that were in our room.
Here are some photos of our room:

Here are some of the views of Las Ramblas

If you get out early enough this area can be quiet and somewhat relaxing. The time of year makes a big difference as far as the crowds go but it does not matter what time it might be...you still have to be on guard for the pick pockets. Always keep your bags...camera or pocketbook or whatever you carry...carry it in front of you

 Barcelona has some really interesting architecture, outside lighting and fountains throughout the city

 Still views of Las Ramblas

The Erotic Museum was up the road and across the street from our hotel

La Bouqueria is a large outdoor market that was very close to our hotel

 We stumbled upon some sort of different type of museum. Never did figure out what it was all about

 We ended up heading in the direction of a couple of buildings that Antoni Gaudi has become so well known for his unique approach to the Art Nouveau movement led to some of the most amazing pieces of architectural artwork. 

I can't say enough about the architecture that can be seen throughout Barcelona...it is truly amazing  

 Did I mention the interesting light fixtures

 Here we are in front of one of Gaudis famous architectural pieces..Casa Batllo. This is one of many beautiful buildings in Barcelona

 Below is Casa Mila more commonly known as La Pedrera...another Gaudi masterpiece

 Below are photos of the interior of Casa Batllo

 This is a viewpoint taken from the stairs inside Casa Batllo looking up

Another cool looking building in Barcelona

This concludes part #1 of our 1st day in Barcelona. Due to the large number of photos, I decided it would be best to divide the day into 2 parts so that the photos would load up quicker. For a better look just click on each photo to enlarge it.

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.

Getting Prepared For Our Next Adventure

In 5 days Veronica and I will begin our next adventure. We will be flying out of JFK en-route to Barcelona, Spain for 3 days prior to boarding the NCL Epic.
We have never been on the Epic so we are very excited about checking out a new and different ship for us. We are also excited about our cabin location. We have a balcony cabin that is location on the aft of the ship. We are as far back on the ship as possible and our cabin and balcony face where the ship has been. These types of cabin are prime real estate for many cruisers. Our last truly aft cabin was on our very first cruise back in 2010 I believe it was. We went on the NCL Pearl to Alaska in a aft mini suite with balcony. We sure got spoiled on that cruise which lead to many cruises to follow. Back in those days a mini suite came with so many amenities...concierge service, a special restaurant for lunch, special seating area for shows, personal invites to visit the bridge to name just a few. Nowadays the biggest thing you get for a mini suite is the "location" which usually ends up being no big deal at all.  We had our chance at a mini suite for this cruise but decided to stick with our beloved aft cabin.
We are also excited about itinerary that will take us to many locations that we have never been to. Besides going to new locations we have also booked several really exciting excursions.
I will be writing journal style entries in my notebook so that when we return I can share each days activities along with hopefully some really good photos.
By doing this it is like keeping those memories alive when Veronica and I return to this blog to visit and remember things and places that we have done and been to.
Here is our upcoming cruise itinerary:

Day	Land Tours And Cruise Ports	Arrive	Depart	Activities
Wed	Barcelona, Spain	----	5:00 pm	0
Thu	At Sea	----	----	2
Fri	Cagliari, Sardinia	8:00 am	6:00 pm	0
Sat	At Sea	----	----	1
Sun	Palermo, Sicily	8:00 am	5:00 pm	2
Mon	At Sea	----	----	1
Tue	Naples, Italy	8:00 am	6:00 pm	0
Wed	Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy	6:00 am	7:00 pm	0
Thu	Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy	7:00 am	7:00 pm	2
Fri	At Sea	----	----	1
Sat	Palma, Majorca, Spain	8:00 am	5:00 pm	1
Sun	Barcelona, Spain	5:00 am	----	0