Mediterranean 12 day Cruise

October was a month of travel for us.  After visiting Paris with Karyl, we came home for a quick five days and then Jared and I were off on our Mediterranean 12 day Cruise.  The kids were in good hands with Grandma, so all we had left to do was pack and have a great time!  We have been planning this for about 6 months now.  It was amazing and we saw the neatest places. 

      Packing for this cruise was quite a feat. First of all the weather is fickle this time of year and secondly and more importantly, we were flying to Barcelona where our cruise departed on the infamous RYAN AIR. This is the discount European airline that has very strict baggage guidelines. One suitcase weighing no more than 15 kg or less (33 pounds)EACH and only ONE carry on EACH weighing 10 kg or less (22 pounds) was all we were allowed. Most of my carry on weight was taken up by my very heavy, very nice, very new CANON camera, that my very favorite husband gave to me as an early Christmas present for this exact trip!!   

       We left for Frankfurt Hahn Airport at 4:00 am to arrive early enough....the perfect way to start a long vacation...no sleep.  We met Chris and Lisa there and were instantly excited for the upcoming days that awaited us!!!  Thankfully we had the only lenient person that works for Ryan Air and even though we were a little over weight limit, he let it slide.  First stop: Barcelona.  We arrived at our hotel, that Brian our Marriott connection member of the group, had booked for us all.  Also waiting at the counter was matching t-shirts for Jared and I that Brian and Terri had made for the whole group:  "Big Bucks No Whammies" our group's slogan was clearly printed on the front with a map of the Mediterranean on the back.  So cool are our friends I must say! 

The cruise left from Barcelona Spain.  Since most of us had never been there, we flew in a day early so we could check out Barcelona. 

After hooking up with the Breinholts, we walked, took the metro, took the train, took a gondola, and then took a funicular to the top of Montserrat – a beautiful Benedictine monk mountain retreat about one hour North West of Barcelona.

The views were breathtaking.  It was finally sinking in....we are officially on VACATION!!

As we hiked around the hilltop we had a great time checking out the desert terrain, rock formations, and ruins built into the side of the mountain. 

(Once upon a time, there was no mountain. A river flowed here, laying down silt that hardened into sedimentary layers of hard rock. Ten million years ago, the continents shifted, and the land around the rock massif sank, exposing this series of peaks that reach upwards to 4,000 feet. Over time, erosion cut vertical grooves near the top, creating the famous serrated look. – Rick Steves SPAIN book)

The monastery below is nestled in the jagged peaks at 2,400 feet. Montserrat’s monastery is Benedictine and its 30 monks carry on its spiritual tradition. Since 1025 their slogan has been “prayer and work”.

After riding back down into the center of Montserrat, we headed over to check out the Basilica. 

In the middle of this courtyard many visitors stood and raised their arms up to the Basilica.  Some form of Catholic worship? 

The inside had really ornate hanging lanterns everywhere and famous stained glass depicting scenes from Christ's life.  The top ‘attraction’ in the Basilica is the small wood statue of the Black Virgin, discovered in the Sacred Cave in the 12th century. Legend says she was carved by St. Luke, brought to Spain by St. Peter, hidden away in the cave during the Moorish invasions, and miraculously discovered by shepherd children. The statue was originally lighter, but darkened over the centuries from candle smoke, humidity, and the natural grain of its original varnish. The line to see the Black Virgin was seriously L O N G and since we had no desire to wait, we just spent our time enjoying the cathedral itself.

Once down from the mountain, we saw our train just leaving and found out it was going to be another 45 minutes until the next arrived.  The only thing in sight was this lovely restaraunt and I use the term loosely.  We followed Jared (who served in Spain) with thoughts of  "he must know something we don't" running through our heads. 

We were greeted by this lovely dog and his friends who growled and barked at us quite angrily.  Sure he looks friendly and cute here, but I'm telling you he wanted to eat one of us!  Then we sat at this cozy little table where we could still hear the dogs bark and were in ear shot of the 80's classics playing on a radio that always seem to be in style in Spain.   

We let Jared do the ordering in his perfectly fluent Spanish (boy was it nice to be able to communicate with the locals).  He ordered these Spanish "tortillas" that looked a lot like an omelet.  They are made from eggs and potatoes and are awesome going down.  We were just about finished when all the sudden we see our train arrive.  We all had to jump up and run for it (except for Chris who had the where with all to run back for the last bite).  Luckily we made it on the train.  Even the Breinholts' who had a handicap of a healing broken hip and flip flops to contend with!  We laughed hysterically for the next ten minutes about it! 

Spanish Tortilla

When we got back to the city of Barcelona, we went back to our hotel to meet up with the Whites.  We then walked around trying to find the perfect restaraunt and finally ended up at "Tapas Tapas".  Which is the spanish word for snack.  You sit and order several different things off the menu and it all comes out on small plates in small serving sizes.  It was yummy and a good way to try several different Spanish items.  Doug told a story about his recent visit to the Spa and had us all in hysterics as only Doug knows how to do.  Yep its official.......the fun has begun!!