CRYSTAL SERENITY 08 NOV 2013 to 15 NOV 2013
Departing: Barcelona 09 Nov
Arriving: Lisbon 14 Nov
Part 2.
It’s time to wake up! We’re in Barcelona on board Crystal Serenity and it’s time for breakfast! Today is the day we get to see the ship for the first time but not on an empty stomach. Boy was I looking forward to breakfast!
Typical me though I woke up at 10am and missed all the breakfast timings but still managed to grab some great French toast and coffee in The Bistro restaurant. I can highly recommend this restaurant especially owing to my consistent late rising I spent every other morning there for the next week. So much French toast!
Today we are in Barcelona and departure to the next port will be 1700. It’s 09 November and having left a cold and rainy London I am now in shorts and a tee-shirt and it’s 24 degrees celsius. It has been decided that we walk from the ship to Las Ramblas. It is 2 kilometres away but it feels like 15 by the time we get there and I am almost dead!!
Las Ramblas if you’ve not yet been there is the “Oxford St” of Barcelona. It is very busy with lots of street artist and a vagabond or two lurking on every street corner. It is wise to keep your valuables very safely out of eyeshot! There are many cafes and bar for beers and tapas and it is a very vibrant and exciting place to be. It’s not the only thing in Barcelona to see but it was enough for me and my aching back from the long walk.
We took the complimentary bus back to the ship!
Back on Serenity and you are back in a wonderful private little world. The all-inclusive service is perfectly tailored to my temperament. To be able to relax with a glass of chilled champagne before deciding what the evening holds is just the job! The Avenue Saloon is the best starting point and if I was alone on this cruise then you wouldn’t be without friends for long in this bar!
This evening’s entertainment will be provided by virtuoso violinist Clare Gobin whom I am reliably informed is rather good. However I can’t tell the difference between a virtuoso and two cats fighting so I will give it a miss. It’s just one of those things.
Main dining in the Crystal Dining Room is a must. It is a magnificent spectacle and the food along with the attention from the waiting staff is superb.
Retiring for the night, at least for me, was enjoying a night-cap at the Crystal Cove bar. It is here you get to hear from various people about what and where they’ve been this evening! I smiled and nodded politely to some of the stories and I was glad to hear that the violinist did a better job than two cats’ fighting.
