We ended our cruise today by disembarking in Barcelona, Spain. After getting off the ship we took a taxi to our hotel, called the Andante Hotel. It was too early in the day to get into our room, so we put our luggage in locked lockers and headed into town. Barcelona is a huge city. It has a population of 1.6 million within city limits, and its urban area extends to numerous neighboring municipalities within the Province of Barcelona and is home to around 4.8 million people. We figured the best way to see a huge city is to ride a "hop on/hop off" bus. There is both a red line and a green line that winds throughout the city. We rode both lines and it took almost the entire day. The only time we got off the bus was for lunch. I didn't take too many pictures today since we were in a moving bus, but I plan on taking more tomorrow.
Picture of Barcelona from the rooftop of our hotel
A monument of Columbus
We did see a wedding in front of a church, complete with a Mariachi band.
I asked the front desk clerk who she would recommend for dinner. We wanted something close so that we could walk. She recommended a restaurant called Elche. They specialized in Paella, a rice dish originally from Valencia. It is one of the best-known dishes in Spanish cuisine. The dish takes its name from the wide, shallow traditional pan used to cook the dish on an open fire. Paella being the word for a frying pan in Valencian/Catalan language. We ordered Chicken and Seafood Paella and it was delicious.
The Paolino's had Cervezas (beer) for dinner. It was less expensive than the bottled water I ordered.
Well, we rented a car today and drove 90 miles from Glasgow to Oban. Oban is northwest of Glasgow and basically sits next to water from the North Atlantic Ocean. It was a very scenic drive as we drove next to Loch Lomond and through the Trossach National Park. RoxAnne volunteered to drive the car, which was quite a challenge. The driver sits on the right hand side of the car, they shift with their left arm (all cars have manual clutches), and they drive in the left lane of the road. Roundabouts are everywhere and you drive clockwise thru them, instead of counterclockwise as we do in the USA. We are staying at the Oyster Inn which is located right next to Loch Linnhe. We saw seals swimming in the water. The internet is not very good here at the inn, so not many pictures today.
We visited the countryside today and ended up in Glen Coe. It is located in the Highlands of Scotland. It was formed from volcanos, then shaped by glaciers during the ice age. Glen Coe is regarded as the home of Scottish mountaineering and is popular with hikers and mountain climbers. We learned that in 1692, in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprising of 1689, an incident known as the Massacre of Glencoe took place in the glen. Thirty-eight men, women and children from Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were slaughtered by government forces on the grounds that they had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the King William. After visiting Glen Coe, we decided to track down some castles. Castle Dunstaffnage Monty Python and the Holy Grail was shot at this castle (Castle Stalker) and made an appearance as Castle of Aaaaarrrrrggghhh! Castle Barcaldine The roads can be quite narrow when looking for castles. This guy was nice enough to back up till he found a pull off.
We are currently in Glasgow. It is the most populous city in Scotland with an estimated population of 635,640. It is located on the banks of the River Clyde, in West Central Scotland. Another important river is the Kelvin, a tributary of the River Clyde, and was named after Baron Kelvin, the renowned physicist for whom the SI unit of temperature, Kelvin, is named. One of the most significant differences between Edinburgh and Glasgow is that Edinburgh is beautiful to walk around and soak in the beauty of the ancient, big city. Glasgow is more about culture and the vibe. There are so many bars, clubs and gig venues with daily shows. Glasgow is full of art – conventional and unconventional. Most of the museums and galleries are free. Glasgow is full of street art and murals can be found all across the city. It was raining this morning, but a local told us that "Today's rain makes tomorrow's whiskey". We rode a hop-on/hop-off bus around the city and visite...
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