April 29th – Barcelona - Our Final Day

If this fantastic cruise had to end anywhere, then I suppose that a wonderful city like Barcelona is a fitting place to leave it on a high. No matter how many times I've been to Barcelona, it's always a place I look forward to coming back to, and experiencing its world-beating mix of history, architecture, culture, holiday atmosphere, shopping, food and drink.

We explored the atmospheric Gothic Quarter, before heading into the Eixample area to see some of the Modernist masterpieces that the city's famous for. Unfortunately, by the time we'd got to Barcelona's most iconic sight, the Sagrada Familia, it appeared that most of the city's tourists had already got there before us. A broken down ticket machine ensured that the long line of people waiting to get in hardly progressed in the 20 minutes we joined it, so we decided that standing in a non-moving queue was not the best use of our short time here.

So, we had to satisfy ourselves with just the outside view of one of the most remarkable buildings of our age, and then do a bit more shopping. In the early evening, we joined up with a few of our onboard friends for one last meal – meeting in the wonderful El Xampanyet in La Ribera. It may be a bit on the touristy side, but there's a great atmosphere to enjoy in there, which ensured that the cruise ended much as it's been throughout – with plenty of good food, good drink, and most of all, lots of laughter.

Pics to come...