*Sept 10th 2011 WB Transatlantic* - From Spain to Space Mountain - Part 5

[Tubbsteruk]

Dennis and I were discussing how much money we should get in Euros and GBPs, and I started wondering aloud about something. He said, "How will you find out about that?" and I said, "I'll ask on the DIS. They'll know." So here it is.

If we have "leftover" Euros and GBPs, is there any real disadvantage to applying them to our on-board account - like, lousy exchange rates?

When I checked with my bank about buying foreign currency, they said they'll only buy it back in units of $250! They also charge a fee to buy it in the first place, which totally sucks b/c I've had accounts there for ages. So I was thinking, if we don't spend it all at the European ports and Barca, and we can't sell it back to the bank, we might as well spend it on the ship. Thoughts?

Pat,

I've thought about this myself but with leftover $'s. Maybe we could set up an exchange between ourselves to avoid rip off exchange rates.

With smaller amounts in the past I've been quoted fees of nearly 50% of the amount to be changed. Needless to say they didn't get my business.

Thoughts?

Paul & Helen

 

[Fontabel]

I think I just finished our magnets. FE are half done. Tshirts are about to be printed to iron-on. And I have no clue what we are going to do in Barcelona. Any suggestions for a family of four??

I think we want to get a T10 and use the metro as we are staying by Placa Catalunya and arriving Thursday morning. I'd like to see the main attractions. I need help. This is the only part of the trip I am still unsure of. I have pulled this from others I have read online. Overkill? Crazy with kids? (And you remember I'm the one who loves hiking and sleeping in tents...)

Day 1 - Thursday - Gaudi
Arrive about 7:30 AM, Aerobus to hotel, hopefully drop off bags
Some sort of food
metro to Sangrada Familia!
Then to a market to get lunch and onto Parc Guell - metro stop Lesseps and bus 24
then bus 24 or metro Diagonal, walk down Passeig de Gracia and see Casa Mila and Casa Batello
My guess is we will be exhausted then, check in, shower, nap.
Dinner: Ciutat Comtal - TripAdvisor top 30 restaurants, great tapas and house wine apparently. Go early since we have kiddos.

Day 2 - Friday
Walk to Las Ramblas
see Palau Guell
shop at the market -Mercat Boqueria
Visit the Placa reial
then Hard Rock 6:30, after dinner up to the magic fountains for 9:30 show, metro Espanya and then walk up the road

Saturday:
Show up at port early to see who the heck chartered the Magic on Sept 3
No seriously... 10:30-11:00 port arrival time is what we have.

Mandi,

While this is all good, just keep in mind that you will be jet lagged from your trip and you might not be able to accomplish all of that in day 1. You did not seem to put in any "nap time" for when the lack of sleep and time change kick in.

Given the distance between the Gaudi stuff, it can be a lot of walking. Most of it is on the metro or near enough, but you need to factor that in with your kids. You might want to consider swapping a few on Thurs to Friday in that you will be less in a daze and it is easier to walk down Las Ramblas and could take less time then you have built in--whereas in Day 1 you might run out of time. We spent 2 hours at Sangrada Familia and about 90 minutes at the La Pedrera, one of the other Gaudi buildings that you don't have on there, but may represent how much time you need. Also the metro is convenient, but some of the stations to switch lines is a LONG walk between the two lines.

By no means am I trying to be discouraging, just know that you need to pace yourself and account for the tiredness you may encounter on day 1 and even into day 2.

Just my two cents. We saw a lot of people on our last cruise do this in Rome, these packed day agendas and they felt like they were stressed the whole time and not really "seeing" anything. My advice is that you sometimes just need to promise that you will come back again to see what you missed.

Amanda

 

[Fontabel]

Dennis and I were discussing how much money we should get in Euros and GBPs, and I started wondering aloud about something. He said, "How will you find out about that?" and I said, "I'll ask on the DIS. They'll know." So here it is.

If we have "leftover" Euros and GBPs, is there any real disadvantage to applying them to our on-board account - like, lousy exchange rates?

When I checked with my bank about buying foreign currency, they said they'll only buy it back in units of $250! They also charge a fee to buy it in the first place, which totally sucks b/c I've had accounts there for ages. So I was thinking, if we don't spend it all at the European ports and Barca, and we can't sell it back to the bank, we might as well spend it on the ship. Thoughts?

I can't imagine why applying it to your account would be worse than having money you can't exchange when you get back to U.S. You also may be able to exchange it at the MCO airport--probably not for the best rate--but worst case, they will exchange it. Everyone charges exchange fees, so sometimes you just need to do what gets you the best deal at the time. If our European and British friends want to set up an exchange with us on the ship, that might be the best "rate."

Amanda

 

[auntlynne]

...metro to Sangrada Familia! ...

Had to laugh! I think you have SANGria on your mind.

It's Sagrada.

 

[granmaz]

I think I just finished our magnets. FE are half done. Tshirts are about to be printed to iron-on. And I have no clue what we are going to do in Barcelona. Any suggestions for a family of four??

I think we want to get a T10 and use the metro as we are staying by Placa Catalunya and arriving Thursday morning. I'd like to see the main attractions. I need help. This is the only part of the trip I am still unsure of. I have pulled this from others I have read online. Overkill? Crazy with kids? (And you remember I'm the one who loves hiking and sleeping in tents...)

Day 1 - Thursday - Gaudi
Arrive about 7:30 AM, Aerobus to hotel, hopefully drop off bags
Some sort of food
metro to Sangrada Familia!
Then to a market to get lunch and onto Parc Guell - metro stop Lesseps and bus 24
then bus 24 or metro Diagonal, walk down Passeig de Gracia and see Casa Mila and Casa Batello
My guess is we will be exhausted then, check in, shower, nap.
Dinner: Ciutat Comtal - TripAdvisor top 30 restaurants, great tapas and house wine apparently. Go early since we have kiddos.

Day 2 - Friday
Walk to Las Ramblas
see Palau Guell
shop at the market -Mercat Boqueria
Visit the Placa reial
then Hard Rock 6:30, after dinner up to the magic fountains for 9:30 show, metro Espanya and then walk up the road

Saturday:
Show up at port early to see who the heck chartered the Magic on Sept 3
No seriously... 10:30-11:00 port arrival time is what we have.

Hopefully we will get to say hi at the hotel sometime. We don't arrive till early evening on the Thursday. I want to see the folk getting off the chartered cruise too. Now if it is Brad and Angelina and brood will they be first off or last?

 

[Seraphine]

So.... we don't know what day the Prince and Princess Tea is, do we?

Will it be an afternoon thing, do you think? Is there a large space we could meet up for our "pre princess prepping"? I've never been on the Magic before and don't know where might be suitable. Is there an empty lounge or nightclub or something?

Should we make it for 2 hours before whenever the Tea time is announced, in the pre-decided location? Anyone who wants to help with hair, makeup, nails and general sparkly atmosphere can join us then!


Also, what can we do for the boys so they aren't left out?



** another question ** Do the little girls have to be in specifically Disney princess costumes, or are pretty dresses with lots of sparkles sufficient? Eilidh has a Minnie Mouse theme dress with ears, but I don't think that's right for this event. But she does have tons of pretty dresses. I've got my eye on a few Disney costumes online but haven't got anything yet. But just in case I can't get one, will this be a problem?



Hazel, Goofprincess and Liesbeth, my two are very excited and raring to go. I'm working on finding a crown or something for Calum - my wee prince!

As all the other FGM have been "assigned" a particular child, how about Hazel and Goofprincess escort Eilidh in and Liesbeth can share Calum with me? (we'll all be going in together anyway, and I'll be right there in case Eilidh gets shy... but she'll probably be fine)

 

[granmaz]

So.... we don't know what day the Prince and Princess Tea is, do we?

Will it be an afternoon thing, do you think? Is there a large space we could meet up for our "pre princess prepping"? I've never been on the Magic before and don't know where might be suitable. Is there an empty lounge or nightclub or something?

Should we make it for 2 hours before whenever the Tea time is announced, in the pre-decided location? Anyone who wants to help with hair, makeup, nails and general sparkly atmosphere can join us then!


Also, what can we do for the boys so they aren't left out?



** another question ** Do the little girls have to be in specifically Disney princess costumes, or are pretty dresses with lots of sparkles sufficient? Eilidh has a Minnie Mouse theme dress with ears, but I don't think that's right for this event. But she does have tons of pretty dresses. I've got my eye on a few Disney costumes online but haven't got anything yet. But just in case I can't get one, will this be a problem?



Hazel, Goofprincess and Liesbeth, my two are very excited and raring to go. I'm working on finding a crown or something for Calum - my wee prince!

As all the other FGM have been "assigned" a particular child, how about Hazel and Goofprincess escort Eilidh in and Liesbeth can share Calum with me? (we'll all be going in together anyway, and I'll be right there in case Eilidh gets shy... but she'll probably be fine)

So this is PPP(Pre Princess Prepping) instead of BBB. Or should it be PPPP and pop those little princes in there too? So pleased you are going to do this for the little ones. I am sure you can all do a great job between you and also have some fun too. I hope I get to see your little princesses, and princes of course.

I think any outfit would be great, no need to take a specifically princess dress. I have seen little girls in just shorts and tees go into the tea so it doesn't matter.

 

[Seraphine]

So this is PPP(Pre Princess Prepping) instead of BBB. Or should it be PPPP and pop those little princes in there too?


I love it! PPPP! Our own version of BBB. With just as much glitter!

I think any outfit would be great, no need to take a specifically princess dress. I have seen little girls in just shorts and tees go into the tea so it doesn't matter.

Good to hear!

 

[Pinky166]

I think I just finished our magnets. FE are half done. Tshirts are about to be printed to iron-on. And I have no clue what we are going to do in Barcelona. Any suggestions for a family of four??

I think we want to get a T10 and use the metro as we are staying by Placa Catalunya and arriving Thursday morning. I'd like to see the main attractions. I need help. This is the only part of the trip I am still unsure of. I have pulled this from others I have read online. Overkill? Crazy with kids? (And you remember I'm the one who loves hiking and sleeping in tents...)

Day 1 - Thursday - Gaudi
Arrive about 7:30 AM, Aerobus to hotel, hopefully drop off bags
Some sort of food
metro to Sangrada Familia!
Then to a market to get lunch and onto Parc Guell - metro stop Lesseps and bus 24
then bus 24 or metro Diagonal, walk down Passeig de Gracia and see Casa Mila and Casa Batello
My guess is we will be exhausted then, check in, shower, nap.
Dinner: Ciutat Comtal - TripAdvisor top 30 restaurants, great tapas and house wine apparently. Go early since we have kiddos.

Day 2 - Friday
Walk to Las Ramblas
see Palau Guell
shop at the market -Mercat Boqueria
Visit the Placa reial
then Hard Rock 6:30, after dinner up to the magic fountains for 9:30 show, metro Espanya and then walk up the road

Saturday:
Show up at port early to see who the heck chartered the Magic on Sept 3
No seriously... 10:30-11:00 port arrival time is what we have.

Mandy, just a suggestion for you & any others that are planning on doing a tour inside Sagrada Familia. You can buy your tickets online in advance which is highly recommended as the queue quickly gets to 2+ hours each day!

I ordered mine yesterday from here - http://www.servicaixa.com/nav/landi...afamilia.cat&utm_medium=link&CODIUSU=P001SF10

BTW we have a port arrival time of 10.30-11am so see you there!

 

[CruisingSwedes]

So this is PPP(Pre Princess Prepping) instead of BBB. Or should it be PPPP and pop those little princes in there too?


I love it! PPPP! Our own version of BBB. With just as much glitter!






Good to hear!

PPPP is so cute! I went on youtube to see if there were any videos of BBB as I hadn't heard of it before. What a cute idea! The little princesses were all so adorable!

 

[CruisingSwedes]

I'm joining this thread, bear with me, I'm new to this posts and all.

Welcome Monica! Exciting that you're joining the trip! This is my 3rd Disney cruise on the Magic and I'm traveling with my 4 year old. My husband and older daughter can't miss work/school so it's just the two of us.

Did you just book or just find these boards? I booked very late - I think end of July. Have you cruised before?

Looking forward to meeting you!

 

[liesbeth1012]

The plannings of Barcelona looks pretty good.
We arrive thursday in the evening. We are planning on friday to do the Sagrada Familia first. And we will buy our tickets in advance, at least that is what my son has decide, whit a friend who is also in Barcelona that time. We also want to Parc Guell. I am not sure of it, but if we go by metro there is a street where they have escalators close to a entrance of the parc.
And then we will see how much time we have left over. (Ramblas, Boqueria, etc.)
At 6.30 pm the Hard Rock Cafe and then the magic fountains.
Saterday is our port arrival also between 10.30 - 11.00 pm.
We are not planning to do the HOHO bus, but if you have 2 days it is a good alternative. You get to all the interesting places and can see them without getting of the bus.

I think I just finished our magnets. FE are half done. Tshirts are about to be printed to iron-on. And I have no clue what we are going to do in Barcelona. Any suggestions for a family of four??

I think we want to get a T10 and use the metro as we are staying by Placa Catalunya and arriving Thursday morning. I'd like to see the main attractions. I need help. This is the only part of the trip I am still unsure of. I have pulled this from others I have read online. Overkill? Crazy with kids? (And you remember I'm the one who loves hiking and sleeping in tents...)

Day 1 - Thursday - Gaudi
Arrive about 7:30 AM, Aerobus to hotel, hopefully drop off bags
Some sort of food
metro to Sangrada Familia!
Then to a market to get lunch and onto Parc Guell - metro stop Lesseps and bus 24
then bus 24 or metro Diagonal, walk down Passeig de Gracia and see Casa Mila and Casa Batello
My guess is we will be exhausted then, check in, shower, nap.
Dinner: Ciutat Comtal - TripAdvisor top 30 restaurants, great tapas and house wine apparently. Go early since we have kiddos.

Day 2 - Friday
Walk to Las Ramblas
see Palau Guell
shop at the market -Mercat Boqueria
Visit the Placa reial
then Hard Rock 6:30, after dinner up to the magic fountains for 9:30 show, metro Espanya and then walk up the road

Saturday:
Show up at port early to see who the heck chartered the Magic on Sept 3
No seriously... 10:30-11:00 port arrival time is what we have.

For Barcelona, this is roughly what Matt has planned for us, family of 5, to try to do on Friday. I don't know how it will turn out until we try it! It might look sort of odd, I copied it from a spreadsheet.

Breakfast at hotel
Sagrada Familia
Placa de Catalunya (L2 from Sagrada Familia to Catalunya )
La Rambla
La Rambla (Granja Viader)
La Rambla/Mercat
La Rambla/Mercat
Barri Gotic (Carrer de Ferran from La Rambla)
Barri Gotic (end at Jaume I)
Travel to Montjuic(Metro L4, L1, L2/Funicular)
Montjuic
Travel to Parc Guell (L2/L3). Stop Lesseps, then Bus 24 to Parc entrance
Travel L3 from Lesseps to Diagonal
See Gaudi homes in area
Head back to hotel (L4, L1 to Glories)
Eat
Font Magica at Palau Nacionale (every 30 minutes from 9pm to 11pm)
Head back to hotel (L1 from Espanya to Glories)

Hope that might help!

Mandy, just a suggestion for you & any others that are planning on doing a tour inside Sagrada Familia. You can buy your tickets online in advance which is highly recommended as the queue quickly gets to 2+ hours each day!

I ordered mine yesterday from here - http://www.servicaixa.com/nav/landi...afamilia.cat&utm_medium=link&CODIUSU=P001SF10

BTW we have a port arrival time of 10.30-11am so see you there!

So.... we don't know what day the Prince and Princess Tea is, do we?

Will it be an afternoon thing, do you think? Is there a large space we could meet up for our "pre princess prepping"? I've never been on the Magic before and don't know where might be suitable. Is there an empty lounge or nightclub or something?

Should we make it for 2 hours before whenever the Tea time is announced, in the pre-decided location? Anyone who wants to help with hair, makeup, nails and general sparkly atmosphere can join us then!


Also, what can we do for the boys so they aren't left out?



** another question ** Do the little girls have to be in specifically Disney princess costumes, or are pretty dresses with lots of sparkles sufficient? Eilidh has a Minnie Mouse theme dress with ears, but I don't think that's right for this event. But she does have tons of pretty dresses. I've got my eye on a few Disney costumes online but haven't got anything yet. But just in case I can't get one, will this be a problem?



Hazel, Goofprincess and Liesbeth, my two are very excited and raring to go. I'm working on finding a crown or something for Calum - my wee prince!

As all the other FGM have been "assigned" a particular child, how about Hazel and Goofprincess escort Eilidh in and Liesbeth can share Calum with me? (we'll all be going in together anyway, and I'll be right there in case Eilidh gets shy... but she'll probably be fine)

We are not forgetting the boys. The will also be nice dressed. And I love to share your prince with you. I wish I had this could done with my son when he was on that age. We went for the first time to Disneyland Paris when he was 7 years old. And since then the disney virius has got us. So now I can do it a little bit over with your son.

 

[smootenloopers]

If we have "leftover" Euros and GBPs, is there any real disadvantage to applying them to our on-board account - like, lousy exchange rates?

From reports I've read on the DIS, it seems the exchange rate on the ship is competitive with land-based exchange locations.

 

[3canadianslovedisney]

Yes, excellent idea! I've been working all day (12 hours doing a wedding... a LOT of nails!) so I haven't been on the board today. I would love to help.

I'll bring a bunch of polish and glitter with me to sparkle up our princesses (I can do happy faces on the boys nails if they like?) I even have some Mickey Mouse nail stickers to share

I am not bringing my princess but I would be more than happy, even crazy excited, to do the little princesses makeup. I will have my stuff with me. I could maybe even bring little lip glosses or something for each girl if people tell me a head of time.

So.... we don't know what day the Prince and Princess Tea is, do we?

Will it be an afternoon thing, do you think? Is there a large space we could meet up for our "pre princess prepping"? I've never been on the Magic before and don't know where might be suitable. Is there an empty lounge or nightclub or something?

Should we make it for 2 hours before whenever the Tea time is announced, in the pre-decided location? Anyone who wants to help with hair, makeup, nails and general sparkly atmosphere can join us then!


Also, what can we do for the boys so they aren't left out?



** another question ** Do the little girls have to be in specifically Disney princess costumes, or are pretty dresses with lots of sparkles sufficient? Eilidh has a Minnie Mouse theme dress with ears, but I don't think that's right for this event. But she does have tons of pretty dresses. I've got my eye on a few Disney costumes online but haven't got anything yet. But just in case I can't get one, will this be a problem?



Hazel, Goofprincess and Liesbeth, my two are very excited and raring to go. I'm working on finding a crown or something for Calum - my wee prince!

As all the other FGM have been "assigned" a particular child, how about Hazel and Goofprincess escort Eilidh in and Liesbeth can share Calum with me? (we'll all be going in together anyway, and I'll be right there in case Eilidh gets shy... but she'll probably be fine)

The PPPP sounds great!! I'll bring some glitter hairspray and extra glitter. I told Morgan and she was soooo excited!

You rock! I am also packing a tutu for Em - a onesie with a tutu is appropriate for evenings onboard, right? And we just went by a little store where I could pick up a small tiara for formal night. Her hair is just so tight/curly that I am usually clueless how to fix it.

She'll be perfect in that!

 

[emmah16]

Hi everyone

Hope you are all well?

I have been catching up on all the post as I have been very busy with one thing and another. I am sorry if this has already been answered but I must of missed it if it has. Does the invitation for the Princess and Prince tea party get delivered to your state room? I know that the RSVP needs to returned to the gift shop but I was just curious to how we got the invite.

Hope you all have a good day

 

[karentan]

Only got net access on my phone at mo so it'll take way too long to send PMs to everyone concerned so will just repeat it here.

Event organisers - if you haven't already please post your placeholder on the new thread as we are very close to running out of pages on this one.

Also, still got two places left on the airport transfer. PM me if you're interested

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Does anyone know how long it takes to see Sagrada Familia? We have a very short time to sightsee and are only planning on looking at a couple places. Not even sure if we will get out and go inside Sagrada Familia, but if we do, we definitely don't have time to wait in line. Sometimes if you are with a tour guide, as we will be, they can skip the lines....

Mandy, just a suggestion for you & any others that are planning on doing a tour inside Sagrada Familia. You can buy your tickets online in advance which is highly recommended as the queue quickly gets to 2+ hours each day!

I ordered mine yesterday from here - http://www.servicaixa.com/nav/landi...afamilia.cat&utm_medium=link&CODIUSU=P001SF10

BTW we have a port arrival time of 10.30-11am so see you there!

 

[squitty]

I have updated Page One for Jost VanDyke for the 74 of us CONFIRMED catamaran folks! I will be sending each of you a PM to please let me know your full names and cabin # after I clear out my inbox LOL later this evening.

--------

Name- Adults- Children(ages3-11) - Infants(under 3 free) - Total $ owed in USD cash or traveler's check
binkytell 2 1 1 140
Birkner 2 0 0 100
Chirpee 2 0 0 100
Chris&Jeremy 2 0 0 100
Col1 4 0 0 200
Dgentrysim 2 0 0 100
DISNEYFAN_SD 2 0 0 100
Fontabel 2 0 0 100
GA-yaya 2 0 0 100
Goofy Adpi 1 0 0 50
Grumpy1234 2 0 0 100
jjb52 2 0 0 100
Julie2009 1 0 0 50
Just love Eeyore 2 1 0 140
KiwiMatt 2 1 0 140
LindaBabe 3 0 0 150
m_kasch 1 0 0 50
MandyGirl 2 1 1 140
melonz 3 1 0 190
njmom23grls 1 0 0 50 (added Aug 1 when Pinky166 and Poohluv2u both cxl)
PFlamingo 2 0 0 100
Pixie Dust for Me! 2 0 0 100
pkicinski@yahoo.com 2 0 0 100 (moved from standby 6/9)
squitty 2 0 0 100
susie2 2 0 0 100
Tod&Copper 2 0 0 100
TotallyAngelic 2 0 0 100
we're aliens 2 0 0 100


Standby List cleared and confirmed on August 19 - cannot accept any further standby passengers:

hazelandannie - 2 adults (added to waitlist June 27) $100
kentgirl - 4 adults - PM on 17-Jul $200
cliffy97 - 2 adults - PM on 26-Jul $100
CruisingSwedes - 1 adult 1 child - PM on 08-Aug $90
giraffe104 - 1 adult $50

TOTAL = 74 DIS onboard


Directions:
Summarized from their webpage:
From cruise ship dock, turn right as you leave the cruise pier gate. Go through the old gravel parking lot down to the docks at Village Cay. There are several weekly charters in this area, and we are looking for TORTOLA CHARTERS with Bill.
*** I would plan to arrive early since we have so many of us ***

Thank you Mandy

I'm joining this thread, bear with me, I'm new to this posts and all.

Welcome to you

We are Michelle & Neil


I have been a bit quiet as I have had a poorly MacBook, however today I got her back and she is as good as new, hopefully I will be a bit more active now..

Can't believe we'll be on the Magic (or waiting to board her) in 3 weeks

 

[LindaBabe]

Mandi,

While this is all good, just keep in mind that you will be jet lagged from your trip and you might not be able to accomplish all of that in day 1. You did not seem to put in any "nap time" for when the lack of sleep and time change kick in.

Given the distance between the Gaudi stuff, it can be a lot of walking. Most of it is on the metro or near enough, but you need to factor that in with your kids. You might want to consider swapping a few on Thurs to Friday in that you will be less in a daze and it is easier to walk down Las Ramblas and could take less time then you have built in--whereas in Day 1 you might run out of time. We spent 2 hours at Sangrada Familia and about 90 minutes at the La Pedrera, one of the other Gaudi buildings that you don't have on there, but may represent how much time you need. Also the metro is convenient, but some of the stations to switch lines is a LONG walk between the two lines.

By no means am I trying to be discouraging, just know that you need to pace yourself and account for the tiredness you may encounter on day 1 and even into day 2.

Just my two cents. We saw a lot of people on our last cruise do this in Rome, these packed day agendas and they felt like they were stressed the whole time and not really "seeing" anything. My advice is that you sometimes just need to promise that you will come back again to see what you missed.

Amanda

That's one big reason why we're doing the hoho bus - so if we don't have the energy to HO, it won't matter. But my OTHER goal is to keep us awake until bedtime.

 

[sinnika]

Good Morning All!
Exciting to hear all the plans for Barcelona! It is a beautiful city and so much to explore! Regarding the weather, we had temps in the 80's in the end of June and in July after the cruise, and it was hot! The sun is very strong there! Its a more dry heat than what I am used to in Houston. The evenings were lovely!
For those with limited time, you can visit the outside of Sagrada Familia and spend 20 to 30 min just seeing all the work! Its amazing! And free if you don't go in. Park Guell is also another free and relaxing place to visit. The castle at the top of Montjuic is a nice area to also explore, though the hike up there was referred to as the "death march" by DH! We discovered the cable once we got up there and rode it down! The Gothic Quarter is another beautiful area to visit, and the cathedral is free before 12:45pm.
And don't forget a stop at the Boqueria on the Ramblas!