France and Spain!

The second to last day of the cruise took us to Toulon, France where I took a bus tour to Marsielle! It was a bit surreal to be in this port and driving along the roads because I have seen so many of these places on tv when my family and I would watch the Tour de France- I kept expecting to look out the bus window and see some crazy drunk guy dressed as a water bottle running along side the bus! :) But alas, Bottle Boy did not make an appearance. It did however give me a whole new appreciation for how narrow those roads are and how steep the hills can be (and we weren't even in the mountain areas!) Our bus driver was INDREDIBLE and navigated our giant bus through some of the narrowest roads and sharpest turns!!

One of the stops on our tour was Notre-Dame de la Garde where we could climb to the top and get a gorgeous 360 degree view of the city! We also drove along the coast line and got some amazing views of the Mediterranean Sea and its beautiful bright blue water!

After our bus tour we had about an hour of free time in the shopping district. I used this time to find a quaint little sidewalk café and enjoy a cappuccino (and free wifi) as well as writing a couple postcards to friends and family back home! :) As well as a little bit of shopping at the street market!

That night, for our last night on the ship together, Linda and I went to the Pinnacle Grill (the super fancy restaurant on board) It was Amazing!!! I felt so spoiled eating my 4 course meal that included shrimp cocktail, ceasar salad (that the waiter mixed the dressing AT THE TABLE), filet mignon and 3 different flavors of crème brulee! It was Fantastic and I was soooooo full afterwards! :)

The next morning it was time to say good-bye to Linda and my Holland-America experience... :( I
was able to take my luggage to the Barcelona airport to drop it off there so I would be free to explore the city! :) I had about 12 hours between getting off the ship until my flight left for Copenhagen.
I didn't really have a plan for Barcelona but I decided I would walk down Las Rambles and then figure it out from there... well I got off the "Aerobus" and promptly headed in the WRONGE direction! Oops! After wandering down a very quite street for about half an hour I started to wonder if maybe I wasn't actually on Las Rambles since all I had heard was that it is REALLY crowded.

NOT Las Rambles... but a cute promenade!

Sooo I found a café and ordered a cappuccino and got the wifi password and pulled out my handy-dandy google maps and realized I was no where close to where I thought I was!

Cappuccinos and wifi... the theme of my vacation?

So I finished my drink and headed back in the direction I came from. Past all of the fancy designer stores- Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, Burberry, etc... and then I looked to my left and saw a CROCS store!!! What?!?!

Thinking of you Dad! :)

Once I got back to Plaza de Catalunya I decided that the best option was probably to buy a Hop on Hop Off bus ticket and spend my afternoon visiting the sites that way (so I didn't get lost again!) 

Plaza de Catalunya

Plaza de Catalunya

Ready to do some hopping!

Sagrada Família

FC Barcelona Stadium

Once I completed the loop of the hop on hop off tour I found the REAL Las Rambles and headed down towards the Columbus Monument enjoying the shopping and people watching along the way. :) I had a great time exploring, but I was also exhausted so I headed to the airport a little early and checked in for my flight and relaxed a bit.

Las Rambles

I should have just looked for the signs... oops!

Street Market! :)

It was an amazing trip- one that I will never forget and that I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to go on! But it was also really nice to land in Copenhagen and see Klaus and Tex again!

Thank you Linda for an incredible adventure and I hope to see you again soon! :)
XOXO,
Joy