Atlantic Cruise — 2012

November 6, 2012 — The ship docked in Barcelona around 4 pm.  We got off immediately, as we wanted to find a small cafe named Cal Pep that Bobby Flay recommended in a Cooking Light magazine.  We found it, then had a gelato in a tiny shop with wifi (pronounced wee-fee in Spain) and caught up with our emails.  We went back to the restaurant at 7:00, as we read a line formed for its opening at 7:30.  We were not disappointed.  They didn't show us a menu, just asked what we wanted to try, and we said mainly fish and vegetables.  We had the green peppers again, also some mushrooms, artichokes, calamari, fish croquettes, sausage and beans, more fish and a bottle of red wine.  The tapas came out one right after another, and we were sitting at the bar so could see the whole efficient operation.  When you were finished you told them "enough" and they brought you a bill.  There was always a line at Cal Pep, although the other nearby restaurants didn't seem busy at all.

November 7, 2012 — The ship stayed in Barcelona until 5:30 so we had time to do some sightseeing. We went out at 8:00 am and found a small cafe where we had coffee and delicious croissants.  We heard the news about 3 am local time this morning (trouble sleeping) that Obama had defeated Romney.  When someone on the cafe staff said “good morning”  I replied that it was a “very good morning”.  Like us, they had all been hoping Obama would win.  Later we walked down the famous pedestrian street, Las Ramblas, and found an amazing food market. The displays of fish, vegetables and meat were beautiful and we took many pictures. It's such a fun experience just to wander around looking at the old buildings and finding a nice place for coffee or food. We explored the city until mid-afternoon when our feet were getting tired.

November 8, 2012 — We were in Palma De Mallorca in 2010 with a group from Grant Park.  We cruised for 20 days in the Mediterranean in October.  We saw the highlights of the city then so today we walked around taking pictures with Jim and Lynn.  Many firemen were demonstrating.  Jay and Jim bought new leather belts.  Other than that, there wasn’t a lot of excitement.

© JAY DEITCH 2020