We are on board Riviera and the internet is working (slowly).  Posting pictures will be impossible.  Way too slow!   I’ll post a host of pics once we get to Miami or I get to an internet cafe on shore somewhere.  Until then, text only.

Saturday morning we arose at the hotel in Barcelona to a beautiful sunny day.  The morning was free, so we did a walkabout.  Barcelona is truly a beautiful city.

At noon we checked out and took a taxi to the designated cruise terminal (there are three in Barcelona).  No Oceania ship to be found.  So we took another cab and found the right terminal.  Boarding was a breeze, and we settled in at the pool bar while we waited the 30 minutes or so until our room was ready.  Gregory from Jamaica will quickly become our go-to bartender!  The ship is gorgeous.  Some pictures will be forthcoming in future blog posts.

We had champagne in the room for sailing time (5:00 PM).  We passed by many other cruise ships docked here and watched Windsong under sail as it left at the same time we did.  Nice picture if I could upload it.  Darn.

Then we adjourned to the Martini Bar for cocktails before dinner.  Lo and behold, Gregory was on duty here now.  Dinner was in the main dining room, and it was delicious.  I’ll spare the details this time as there will be plenty of shipboard meals to describe in more detail.

It’s 7:00 AM now and we arrive shortly in Catagena for the day.  More tomorrow.

Thursday night we ventured out to find a place for dinner.  Our first try was the Gamma Brasserie right across from the hotel.  We got seated, but they were clearly more interested in closing for the night than serving us. So we up and left.  We wandered down Boulevard Diderot toward the place we ate at last night because we had noted a possibility for tonight, L’Arrosoir.  Again we were seated and this time stayed on for a wonderful meal.  Elaine enjoyed Red Kuri Squash Soup served in the squash shell for a starter while I had scrumptious roasted bone marrow served on the bone.  Elaine’s main was salmon carpaccio and mine was goose breast with potatoes au gratin.  We finished up with crème brulee for me and chocolate cake with Berthillion’s ice cream for Elaine.  Naturally dinner was accompanied by an excellent bottle of French red wine.

Friday we were up at 5:00 AM to pack and walk down to the Gare de Lyon for our 7:15 AM TGV to Barcelona.  We boarded and left dead on time.  I started writing this entry as we left the station.  It’s 7:35 AM now and still dark outside.  We can just see the sun starting to rise in the east as we head southwest.  Beautiful sunrise indeed!

After enjoying the bottle of wine we brought on board with some sandwiches purchased in the buffet car, we arrived in Barcelona Sants Station right on schedule at 1:47 PM, walked out the door of the station, and checked in 100 yards away at the Marriot AC Sants Hotel.  AC is a European chain that Marriott bought.  Great room.  After settling in we went across the street and hopped on the hop-on hop-off (HOHO) bus.  We picked the west route as we had the done the east on a previous trip.  We didn’t do any hopping off-and-on, but just did the two-hour circuit.  This trip isn’t about doing Barcelona in depth.

Pictures From the Top of the HOHO Bus.  Click to Enlanrge!

After disembarking the bus at Sants Station, we went into the station to find an ATM as I needed a Euro infusion.  Mission accomplished.  I also found an FC Barcelona Football Club store and bought a hat to replace my aging and dirty Barcelona cap purchased years ago.  And we decided to eat in tonight, so at various stores we purchased water, wine, diet coke, nuts, ham and brie sandwiches, cookies, and chips.  So, sorry, no tales of fine dining tonight.

Tomorrow at noon we board the good ship Riviera (Oceania Cruise Lines).  Only time will tell if shipboard satellite internet is good enough for more postings.  Until I can get on again, I will sign off for now.

AS USUAL, CLICK ON PHOTOS TO OPEN LARGER IMAGE IN NEW WINDOW OR TAB

First off, dinner at L’Aubergeade last night was a triumph.  Elaine had foie gras salade, followed by coquilles st jacques (scallops) with creamy cheesy risotto, followed by a molten chocolate cake.  I had fried whole anchovies with aioli, followed by delicious steak tartare (for you raw beef fans) and frites, followed by French brie de melun.  A total treat in a neighborhood bistro filled with locals, most of them regulars.  The staff and ambiance were great, and a good time was had by all.

Thursday weather was predicted to be like Wednesday – cloudy morning followed by a sunny afternoon.  The meteorologists were on target again.

DOWNER:  We walked to Gare d’Austerlitz and took the RER to the Eiffel Tower.  Elaine had never been up due to her fear of heights.  Having worked to combat the fear with some success, she was determined to go the top on this trip.  We had pre-booked entry tickets for 10:30.  At 10:30, no elevator.  At 10:45, no elevator.  At 11:00 no elevator as the line grew longer and longer.  No info provided.  Finally I asked.  “Ah, it is broken”.  When will it be fixed?  “No idea”.  We waited a few more minutes as people started abandoning the line.  We gave up at 11:15.  (Getting a refund on my on-line purchase will be possible only by sending an official form to the company and wait for a response.  Hah!)  So basically, c’est La France; c’est normale!

UPPER:  We trekked by foot to the Arc de Triomphe and then decided to head to the Grand Palais where there a three day exhibition of photography (Paris Photo) from famous photographers all over the world. 30 euro to get in and a long line.  Ugh.  We braved the line (which moved quickly) and paid our fees.  The exhibition was HUGE.  It was worth the money and the wait.  There were exhibits by photographers from everywhere including Robert Mapplethorpe and Annie Leibovitz.  We wandered around for quite awhile enjoying the exhibits and stopped for a quick lunch inside:  ham & cheese sandwich (on delicious French bread!) and chips .

Then it was back on the metro back to our hotel for a well deserved nap.  Dinner tonight will be on the fly in the neighborhood with a report tomorrow.  Our train to Barcelona leaves at 7:15 AM, so we’ll be early risers.

Dinner last night at the Parcel Yard Pub was just fine.  Elaine had Artichoke Soup followed by Chicken, Ham, & Leek Pie..  For me, Pork Terrine with Rhubarb Compote followed by Steak and London Pride Pie.  All yummy.  We tucked in quickly after dinner.

Just minutes after checking out of the Great Northern Hotel we were across the street in St Pancras International Station to board the 10:25 AM Eurostar for the trip to Paris.  Back in 2008 we took the Eurostar, now celebrating its 25^th birthday, through the Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) from St Pancras to Brussels.  The train is ultra modern and very nice.  The trip through the tunnel sounds exciting but is, in fact, pretty boring —  for twenty minutes or so you can’t see anything while in the tunnel..  On Eurostar, so they say, everything is first class, so the various seating options are standard, standard premier, and business premier.  With our standard premier tickets, we were served a continental breakfast that was pretty mundane but tasty none the less.  The ride was nice, and the train was spot on time arriving at Gare du Nord at 1:47.  With the hour time change, it’s only two hours and twenty minutes to Paris.

It was cloudy and rainy when we left London, but it was a beautiful sunny afternoon in Paris.  On arrival we used our pre-purchased Paris Visite Metro passes to ride the two stops on the RER train from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, the station where will board the TGV to Barcelona on Friday morning. We checked in at the Mercure Hotel Gare de Lyon located right at the station.

Once settled in the room, we went for a walkabout along the Seine and then stopped at La Verre a Vin for glasses of French red from the Rhone.  Delicious.  Back at the hotel I called l’Aubergeade to reserve a table at 7:30 PM.  It’s about a 20 minute walk and gets rave reviews on TripAdvisior.  Reports on the restaurant in tomorrow’s blog.

We arrived at London Heathrow aboard Virgin Atlantic on-time at 9:25 AM.  Since we just here in July, it seems a bit of deja vu.  After clearing immigration and collecting our luggage, we searched for and quickly located our driver for the ride into town.  He took us directly to our hotel, the Great Northern Hotel which is located directly across the street from St Pancras (and Kings Cross) Station.  Despite being early, our room was ready, so we freshened up before heading out on the town.

We first went to see Blood Swept Lands And Seas Of Red by ceramic artist Paul Cummins at the Tower of London.  One ceramic poppy has been “planted” for each British war death during World War I – a total of 888,246 poppies in all.  We visited the sight in progress back in late July when we were here for our last trip.  It was quite impressive then and even more so now.  The first ceramic poppy was planted on July 17^th.  The last day to view the completed site is today, November 11^th, variously noted as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day in the UK and as Veteran’s Day in the USA.  Tomorrow the dismantling of the display will begin.  Each of the poppies will then be delivered to its buyer.  All the poppies have been sold to raise money for six charities providing support to service personnel, veterans and their families.  The British government has waived collection of VAT on the sales, a gesture that will increase the amount to be received by the charities by more than £1.1 million.

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One of the best web sites for other pictures of the exhibition is here.

Then it was lunch at the nearby Hung, Drawn and Quartered Pub.  Nothing like a good pie and a pint of beer for lunch for weary travelers.  And we had a nice chat with a Brit who was enjoyed a glass of wine (or two).

Then we returned to our room at the Great Northern.  Dinner tonight will be at nearby Kings Cross Railway Station in the Parcel Yard Pub located right within the station.  It gets good reviews.  See our review tomorrow.

In no time we will be in London for one night en route to Paris, Barcelona, a cruise to Miami, and some time in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. We may go see the Poppies again in London on their last day. Read story here. But maybe not if the crowds are going to be as huge as expected.

The blog will kick off on Tuesday, November 11th. That’s our only night in London before boarding the Eurostar for the train journey through the Chunnel to Paris. Check back starting Tuesday.

A word of warning. Blog posts may be short to non-existent (and with few if any pictures) while we are aboard ship. Maritime internet (provided via satellite) is notoriously expensive and unreliable (even to the point of not working at all).

Be back at ya on Tuesday.