It's A Small World - A Never-ending Pre-trip Report

[Pinkocto]

I thoroughly enjoyed the videos, thank you for posting them. So many fun things to do, and beautiful restaurants to eat in. You're going to need the long cruise to enjoy it all! It's a beautiful ship.

 

[dolphingirl47]

So many fun things to do, and beautiful restaurants to eat in. You're going to need the long cruise to enjoy it all! It's a beautiful ship.

I am definitely glad that we will have 16 days to explore and I am not even sure that this will be enough.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

Catching up!

Carcasonne is on my bucket list!
Glad that all is well with your ship.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Two weeks from now, our big adventure will have started. I can’t believe that this is getting so close now and I may just be panicking a little. I really don’t know where the time has gone.

For the longest time, I was ahead of the game. I got pretty much everything booked what needs to be booked in advance. What is still outstanding is getting the skip the line tickets for the Vatican and sort out what we are doing in Paris the first night. I had my heart set on the 2CV tour, but Graham’s heart is not really in it. As I am already pretty much having my way in Barcelona and I am well aware that we are going to the Harry Potter Studio Tour for my sake, I kind of feel mean having my way in Paris, too. Graham initially suggested the fountain show at Versailles. I was all over this. Unfortunately in early May, this is only shown during the day. They do have a nighttime show, but that is not shown until mid-June. So this is unfortunately not an option. His second choice would be a dinner cruise on the Seine. I would be happy with that option, too. I asked him to look at this option and we will see what he comes up with.

I did decide in the end to get some custom lanyards for our Sea Pass Card. The jury is still out on whether or not they charge for the WOW Bands as it states on my paperwork that the Wow Bands will be waiting in our cabin for us. Still, I think I prefer just having the Sea Pass Card in the lanyard. The lanyards also make a nice souvenir.



As far as outfits are concerned, I am sorted. I have a bunch of new sundresses that I will wear around the ship on sea days as well as some pretty new dresses and gowns to wear for dinner. Here are some of my favourites:

















I am also going to take the Arabic dresses I bought on the last cruise. I took those to be slightly altered yesterday. I love the dresses, but they are slit quite high and this adds complications being on a ship with a steady breeze. So I asked for the seam to be extended so that they just have a 10 inch slit at the bottom. This will make them a lot more wearable.

When I saw the graphics for magnets that some kind people on the DIS did for me, I spotted two that had our names on them, but are otherwise identical. This just screamed embarkation shirts to me. I am really pleased how they have turned out. I am actually wearing mine today.



Speaking of magnets, this is the biggest job still outstanding. I had hope to do them yesterday, but things did not quite according to plan. I have them all printed and cut to size. Now I just have to put them through my Xyron Creative Station to had the magnet sheet to the back and the laminate to the front and then trim off the excess. I will have to make 33 magnets, so that will take little time. However, I have decided to do this in batches so this should be quite doable.

The Ovation is currently on her first cruise and people that are on the ship at the moment have been very good about providing additional information. The reviews so far have been glowing. One thing I was most interested in was if the Ovation would have the Coca Cola Freestyle machines. There was some suggestion in the past that the Ovation would not get them as she is destined for the Chinese and Australian market. I have now got it on good authority that the Ovation does have Coca Cola Freestyle machines. So I have now booked the soda package. I love my soda, but on the Splendour the choice was really limited. Essentially I had the choice between Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Ginger Ale. If it had been the same on the Ovation, I would not have bothered. I wonder how many of the 100 flavours available in the Coca Cola Freestyle machines I can sample during a 16 night cruise.


To do list:

Sort out some activity for first evening in Paris

Book skip the line ticket for Vatican

Make magnets

Convert earring to pendant

Make photo copies of passports

Print last confirmations

Sort all paperwork in chronological order

Pack

A lot of those tasks should only take 5 to 10 minutes so if I tackle one every day, I should be done by this time next week with the exception of packing, which I will do the day before we leave.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Carcasonne is on my bucket list!

I can't wait to finally get to see Carcassonne.

Glad that all is well with your ship.

So am I. The Ovation of the Seas seams to be a huge success with her first cruisers.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nearly there.

Your outfits are going to be stunning, as usual. Look forward to seeing the pictures.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Nearly there.

Indeed. Today was the first day of working 7 days in a row and then I only have to work two days in my final week before the holiday.

Your outfits are going to be stunning, as usual.

Thanks.

Look forward to seeing the pictures.

I am planning to get the photo package again, especially as there are plenty of new characters to makes friends with. I am silly excited about meeting Puss in Boots.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

The dinner cruise on the Seine sounds like a very nice activity.

I like the lanyard.

The dresses are very nice, and the embarkation shirt is very cute.

Great idea to do one thing a day, and before you know it your trip will be tomorrow

 

[dolphingirl47]

The dinner cruise on the Seine sounds like a very nice activity.

I actually need to check if Graham has made any headway with this. In was on a late shift yesterday and on an early today so have barely seen him.

I like the lanyard.

I am really pleased with how that worked out.

The dresses are very nice, and the embarkation shirt is very cute.

Thanks.

Great idea to do one thing a day, and before you know it your trip will be tomorrow

OMG, that would be a disaster. Let's just say the to do list for work is a lot longer and more work intensive. I will need every of the 7 work days I have left.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Perpignan

I can’t really tell what got us onto Perpignan other than one of us casually mentioning that this was one of the stops when we took the train to Barcelona in 2010. I cannot really remember Perpignan from our trip. However, at some stage we both looked at photos and this place looks rather pretty so it went on the to do list. Perpignan is the southernmost point that we will visit in France. For all intents and purposes, Perpignan is supposed to be more Catalan than French. Indeed, up to 1659 it was part of Spain. Like the other places we will visit, Perpignan probably started out as a Roman settlement. However, the town that exists today goes only back to the 10th century.







There are a few points of interest in Perpignan. Perpignan also has a road train that takes people on a 45 minute tour around the city. We are probably going to start with this to get first impressions of the place and will then explore in more depth when we get back from this. The following sights look promising:


Le Castillet


This is a medieval gate house and the only part of the city walls that is left over. The views from the top of Le Castillet are meant to be spectacular. However, this involves 142 steps so we will see how we feel about this on the day. We may just admire it from the outside. Le Castillet also houses the Catalonia History Museum, which may be worth look.



Cathédrale St-Jean


The cathedral is in the Catalan Gothic style. Rather than being impressive due to height like most cathedrals in France, this cathedral stands out due to its width. Originally the cathedral was supposed to have three naves, but building of the cathedral stopped when the Kingdom of Majorca fell. When building recommenced, the plans were revised to a single nave design. One of the standout features is the wrought iron bell cage.





Palais des Rois de Majorque

The opinions on this are divided. Some sources say that the Palace of the Kings of Majorca are well worth a visit and others think this is a waste of time. However, all reviews state that the view is very impressive so this may well be worth a visit for just this. I am also intrigued by the fact that this building is supposed to have hints of Moorish, Arabic and Spanish influences. I will be right in my element there as I love Arabic architecture.







There are some other pretty churches around, which we may or may not visit, but Perpignan looks a nice place to just have a stroll and see what we find.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

OMG, that would be a disaster. Let's just say the to do list for work is a lot longer and more work intensive. I will need every of the 7 work days I have left.

Corinna

It's never fun when there's tons of work that needs to get done before vacation, that's stressful. I'm sorry.

Perpignan looks like a lovely place to stop and see. I like the idea of starting off with the 45 minute ride around the city. That will be nice.

 

[dolphingirl47]

It's never fun when there's tons of work that needs to get done before vacation, that's stressful. I'm sorry.

This too will pass and the pay off will be extremely sweet.

Perpignan looks like a lovely place to stop and see.

I am looking forward to it as it is quite different from the other places we will visit.

I like the idea of starting off with the 45 minute ride around the city. That will be nice.

I think it will give us a great overview.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

Your plans and preparation are really coming together! It won't be long now!

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

Your plans and preparation are really coming together!

I am starting to feel a little more relaxed about it all.

It won't be long now!

I just spotted on one of my tickers that it is 3 weeks until we get on the Ovation. That kind of passed me by.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Barcelona

Apart from Paris, Barcelona is the only city that I have been to before. Like Paris, I have not been too impressed with this in the past. Barcelona is one of only two places that I have visited where I felt decidedly uneasy, the second one being Nassau. However, this may be a question of perception as statistically Barcelona seems to be one of the safest cities in Europe. I have to say part of this may also have to do with the fact that the circumstances of my previous visits have been less than ideal. The first time round rather than having two full days in Barcelona before our cruise, we ended up with half a day after our last minute train journey across Europe and were utterly exhausted. Last time round, we had pretty much a full day, but it was raining very heavily for most of the day. Let’s hope that the third time will be a charm.

For all my dislike of Barcelona, the city has its redeeming features. As you probably have realized by now, I have a big passion for history and architecture. Barcelona has plenty of both. One thing that Barcelona stands out for is the wealth of architecture by Antoni Gaudi. I love his work and can’t wait to see more of this. We have actually decided to travel on an earlier train from Narbonne to Barcelona to maximize our time for sightseeing.

Saturday

Park Guell

The work on Park Guell started in 1900. This was the first partnership between the entrepreneur Eusebi Guell and Antoni Gaudi. Originally what is now Park Guell was supposed to be a state of the art housing development. Unfortunately this never got off the ground. Only two houses were ever built. When one of them was put on the market, there were no takers. Gaudi eventually bought this and lived in it with his family. This is now known as Gaudi House and is a museum. It is kind of ironic that he did not actually design the house.

Park Guell is now a park that is open to the public. Much of it can be visited for free. However, there is a small admission charge and timed access to the monumental zone with strictly limited numbers. Gaudi House may not have been designed by Gaudi, but a lot of the decorations and structures in the park have. Most of those structures are contained within the monumental zone, although some of them are outside this area. I can look forward to seeing the two porter’s lodge pavilions, the famous dragon staircase, an outdoor theatre, a structure that was intended as a market, a serpentine bench plus walls, statues and viaducts. I can’t wait to see all of this myself. Apart from all the Gaudi architecture, there are a number of other tempting features. Two of those have to do with the fact that the park is located on top of a mountain. One of the access routes from the Metro is via a series of escalators, which appeals to me as it is so quirky. The views over Barcelona from the park are also meant to be spectacular. The last feature is that they have wild parrots in the park. I hope to get to see some of those.











Gaudi House Museum

Although the Gaudi House museum is located in Park Guell, it is a separate entirety and requires separate admission. It is owned by the same trust that owns Sagrada Familia. Gaudi lived in this house from 1906 to 1925. It has been a museum since 1963 showcasing furniture and other objects designed by Gaudi. The house has 4 floors, but only two of them are open to the public.



Magic Fountain

This is something that we had planned to do on both of our previous visits, but it never happened. The first time we were too tired and were actually back in the hotel and in bed by the time the first show happened and on the second visit we decided against it as it was raining so heavily. The Magic Fountain is in the Montjuic neighbourhood in front of the Palau Nacional building. The fountains have been there since the 1920 Barcelona International Exposition, which is pretty amazing. Since 1980, music and a lightshow have also been incorporated. I love the Dubai Fountain so I am very excited to get to see this. The fountain performs to a variety of music. I particularly love this Disney medley.

Sunday

Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia is the only item on the to do list that I have seen previously. I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of this church. When I visited in September 2010, there was still heavy building equipment inside the church. As far as I understand, the inside is now completed, but the they are still building one of the facades and the towers. Sagrada Familia was consecrated as a church in November 2010. Construction on Sagrada Familia started in 1882 and it is anticipated that construction will be completed in 2026, which also marks the centenary of Gaudí's death. Still, even in its unfinished state, Sagrada Familia is utterly stunning combining breath-taking architecture with bright colours. This time round Graham will come with me. In 2010, I had not pre-booked my ticket and the line was once around the block. He was not keen to wait and headed for a nearby park instead. This time I have pre-booked timed tickets so we can go straight inside. I can’t wait to share this experience with Graham.







La Pedrera

Sticking with the Gaudi theme, our next stop will be La Pedrera. The official name of this building is Casa Milà, but it is more commonly known as ‘La Pedrera’ (the stone quarry). La Pedrera was built between 1906 and 1912 and has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1984. La Pedrera was designed as an apartment building, but is now a museum and home to the headquarters of Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation. There are 5 areas that can be visited.





The roof terrace is completely different in style from anything that was built during the same period of time. It features stairwells, ventilation towers and chimneys, some of which are covered with ceramic fragments.



The Espai Gaudí is the attic and houses an exhibition about the life and works of Gaudi featuring scale models, plans as well as various objects, photos and videos. I am sure that this will be worth a look, but what attracts me most to this is the architecture as the attic is made up of 270 arches of varying heights that support the roof terrace. This must look stunning.



The Pedreira Apartment is on the 4th floor and actually consists of two separate apartments. One has an audio visual exhibition about the history of Barcelona between 1909 and 1029, while the other has been recreated as the apartment of bourgeois family in the first third of the twentieth century, entirely re-fitted with the original elements that made up an apartment of La Pedrera (door handles, doorknobs, mouldings, doors and tiling). Apart from the attic, this is the part I am most excited about.





I have seen photos of the courtyards that are absolutely stunning. I cannot wait to see this for myself.



The last element that can be visited is the Exhibition Hall, which was the residence of the Mila family. This can only be visited if there is an exhibition in progress. There is an exhibition while we are there. There is a small extra charge for this and the exhibition itself does not interest me, but depending on how the day is going, we may pay this to get a look at the apartment.

Casa Batllo

This is another of Gaudi’s apartment buildings, but very different in style from La Pedrera. Casa Batllo was originally built by Gaudi in 1877, but then was extensively refurbished between 1904 and 1906. This is another Unesco World Heritage Site and has been listed as such in 2005. Nowadays Casa Batllo is used as an event space, but parts of it can be visited by the public. Areas that are open to the public include the Noble Floor, which was the original residence of the Batlló family , the attic, the roof terrace with its mythical chimneys, the stairwell, the entrance hall and main staircase. The building has an underwater theme, which does really appeal to me. I have the feeling that this will be my second favourite building that we will visit after Sagrada Familia.







Bari Gothic

The Gothic Quarter or Bari Gothic is the centre of Barcelona’s old town. Many of the buildings date from Medieval times with some of them dating as far back as the Roman settlement of Barcelona. The Bari Gothic consists of a maze of small streets that open up onto several squares. There are a number of interesting buildings and this area lends itself to a good wander. Hopefully we will get to do some people watching while having some tapas in the area. Apart from just strolling around the area, I really want to see the cathedral of Barcelona.



Barcelona Cathedral

Barcelona Cathedral is very different from Sagrada Familia. However, what they both have in common is the wow factor. Barcelona Cathedral was built from the 13th to 15th century. The roof features a number of gargoyles, featuring a wide range of animals, both domestic and mythical.It is ahall church, vaulted over five aisles, with the outer two being divided into chapels.The cathedral has a Gothic cloister where 13 white geese are kept.





Gaudí’s Pedrera: The Origins

After our day time visit earlier that day, we will return to La Pedrera in the evening for Gaudí’s Pedrera: The Origins. This is a night-time tour through the building featuring videomapping, multiple projections, special lighting and a soundtrack that will accompany it all. This looks amazing from the photos and I am sure this will be even more stunning in person. This also includes a glass of Cava, which I am not going to turn down.



Monday

For most of this trip, we will do our own thing. This is one of two occasions where we will actually have an organized tour booked. I suppose we could have visited both of those places on our own as well, but as they are both a way outside Barcelona and the fact that the excursion is pretty good value, it just seemed to be a smarter way of doing things.

Colonia Guell

Colonia Guell is one of the most pioneering purpose-built industrial villages of the 19th century is located in the town of Santa Coloma de Cervelló, 23 Km to the south-west of Barcelona. The project involved the creation of an industrial village with amenities which would improve the workers' quality of life: terraced houses, an athenaeum, theatre, school, shops, gardens and church. Some of the leading modernista architects of the day were involved in the construction of the village, resulting in highly beautiful spacious buildings. Antoni Gaudi was commissioned to design the church and his project consisted of an upper and lower nave, towers at the sides and a belfry measuring 40 m in height. In 1914, when the lower nave had been completed, the Güell family withdrew funding for the project. The church remains unfinished. The only part of this that has been finished is the crypt. It is widely believed that Gaudi tried the techniques that would later be used for Sagrada Familia at the church of Colonia Guell.







Montserrat

The mountain Montserrat with the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat lies about 45 km northwest of Barcelona. Apart from the monastery, it is well known for its famous boy choir as well for the Black Madonna. The views are mean to be pretty spectacular and I am looking forward to seeing the basilica.












As part of the tour, we travel by coach to Colonia Guell where we will get a tour of the Gaudi crypt. We have a total of 90 minutes at Colonia Guell so I am hoping that we will have some free time to just wander around. Then it is back on the bus for the trip to Montserrat. We will take a ride on the rack railway and once we will get there, we will have an introductory tour of Montserrat. We will then have some free time before during the choir school. Then we will have some more free time before returning to Barcelona. This should be a fantastic tour.


Tuesday

Transbordador Aeri del Port

This part of our stay in Barcelona has a huge “IF” attached to it. This may or may not happen and my money is on that it will not. Transbordador Aeri del Port is a cable car that goes across the harbour from Barceloneta to Montjuic. The ride begins with a lift ride to the top of the cable car tower. The cable car cabins have room for 19 persons and travel at a height of between 70m and 90m above the port. As both of us are not too good with heights, this does not seem like a clever thing to do, but this is something that Graham would quite like to try. Originally we were going to do this on the Sunday, but then the day filled up and I did point out that it would be nice to see the Ovation of the Seas if we do decide to be brave. Our plan is to be at the port to check in at 12:00. By that time we should be able to board once we are done checking in. The idea is then to grab some lunch and take our carry ons to the cabin before heading out again. I am kind of hoping that the ship will be too tempting once we are on her and that Graham would rather explore this instead. I have the distinct feeling that we actually do make it on the cable car, I will end up cancelling our reservation for North Star as I cannot imagine us facing our fears twice on the same trip.

 

[Pinkocto]

Oh my, your Barcelona plans look fabulous! All that beautiful architecture, the Gaudi buildings and the cathedrals, just gorgeous. It sounds like a very busy day though.

Your tours sound great too. I imagine that the lure of the ship will win out over the cable car.

Your mentioning that the cruise starts in three weeks gave me a bit of a panic attack on a personal level. I've been offered a new job and if I say yes I must give this job my three week notice. I'm leaning towards yes but am both excited and terrified at the same time.

 

[jedijill]

I need to go back to Barcelona. I had jet lag so bad I didn't do the city justice. Your plans look amazing! Lots of great Gaudi architecture.

@Pinkocto Good luck deciding on the new job! I took my last job with three weeks notice too! I had to find an apartment in Colorado and pack and move from Missouri within those 3 weeks!

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

Oh my, your Barcelona plans look fabulous!

I am really looking forward to this.

It sounds like a very busy day though.

It will be. The first part of the trip will be very much like this as we want to see a lot during a relatively short time. However, I figure we can relax on the ship.

I imagine that the lure of the ship will win out over the cable car.

I am hoping that this will be the case.

I've been offered a new job and if I say yes I must give this job my three week notice. I'm leaning towards yes but am both excited and terrified at the same time.

Congratulations. Where would this job be?

I had jet lag so bad I didn't do the city justice.

Sounds like you were in a similar position we were in on our first visit.

Your plans look amazing! Lots of great Gaudi architecture.

Thanks. I told Graham that if I had not got Gaudi out of my system by the end of our stay, I had done something wrong. I don't think he believed me.

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

Congratulations. Where would this job be?
Corinna

Thank you I have to make a decision by tomorrow and my stomach has been in knots. The job is in Spring Hill Florida which is on the gulf side. About an hour north of Tampa, and two hours west of Orlando, but right next to the gulf.

 

[Pinkocto]

@Pinkocto Good luck deciding on the new job! I took my last job with three weeks notice too! I had to find an apartment in Colorado and pack and move from Missouri within those 3 weeks!

Jill in CO

Thank you Jill that's exactly what I'd have to do as well. I'm glad to know it's possible. It's an amazing opportunity and I'd be a fool not to take it. I'm just scared.