25 Days on the Disney Magic to Europe
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Disneynutinlondon · 05-25-2007, 02:58 AM

You arrival in Barca sounds fantastic, how cool that must have been. Can't wait to hear the gen on the next part of your extended cruise as this is the one we'll be doing in 63 days !!!!

**DrDolphin** · 05-25-2007, 02:40 PM

OOOOHHHHH Now I can not wait - less than 55 days for me!!!

JenAQueen37 · 05-26-2007, 02:27 AM

I love the trip including the planning. It's always amazing when on my 10th trip to Disney I wasn't expecting to get stopped as I was about to board the Disney transportation back to the airport when I was stopped by a women named Judy. She said she worked at Walt Disney World and awarded me a free ride in a stretch limo to the airport. I was so SHOCKED!!!! and speechless. LOL It was already a great trip before that. After I got to the airport I ended up getting a free upgrade to first class. That Disney magic just wouldn't quit. : >

Lori_BriarRose · 05-26-2007, 12:42 PM

Sorry I got to the party late, Bruce! I'm really excited to be able to share the trip vicariously here. Happy Belated Birthday, M!

I had a "Dory moment" or three when I realized why I had to leave voice mail for you. Delete, delete, delete when you get home to save me some embarrassment.

If I had won the lottery, I would have been happy to share your table (and the wine!) with you and SWMBO. I am enjoying the food reports, as well. (Yeah, big surprise!)

Zazu · 05-27-2007, 06:14 PM

Pulling into the dock at the crack of dawn, we readied ourselves for a day of touring.

First up (after a quick breakfast) was a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter. This starts with a bus ride. Huh?

You see, while there's a nice cruise terminal for ships traveling to other Mediterranean ports, there's a separate port for transatlantic cruises. It's about a 20-minute drive to the point where the authorities will let you start walking. A minor inconvenience, and Disney ran a shuttle bus all day for those exploring on their own.

Our guide was a native, and reasonably knowledgeable, but not terribly fluent in English. She had a nice little PA system hung around her neck, but it wasn't up to the task of addressing 25 guests at once, especially against the noise of a busy city, which Barcelona clearly is.

We did see a number of interesting sights, including the (old) cathedral, the Jewish Quarter, and La Rambla -- Barcelona's "Main Street (or maybe its South OBT). From there the tour attempted to enter one of the large markets in town.

This market is sort of a permanent farmer's market, with perhaps a hundred or two booths selling fruit, vegetables, bread, meat, fish, and even prepared meals. A fascinating study, especially as it and several others of similar size are the primary source of foodstuffs in town -- supermarkets don't appear to exist here.

While the tour had been minimally adequate up to this point, it rapidly got worse. Our guide crossed the street at a signal that wasn't long enough to get all of us across, and she just kept on going. I'm not sure if the last of the group ever found us again. Then she waded into the thronged market which had a human density that appeared to exceed the laws of cubic geometry!

SWMBO was worried about pickpockets in such a crush. I was worried about having an attack of ochlophobia (look it up if you care), and both of us needed a bathroom much more urgently than we needed to look at mounds of fruit!

Facilities were located, but we found we had no interest in seeing the rest of the tour under such conditions, so we took our leave and walked back to the shuttle bus and repaired to the ship.

Hoping to catch a quick lunch before our afternoon tour, we found the ship quite thoroughly infested with Spanish media. Apparently, last night's fireworks just whetted their appetite, and they filled large tables in all three dining rooms addressing said appetites. Cast members managed to find us a quiet table and get us fed in time for our tour, but it was a bit of a circus. Let's hope it pays off in full ships so more of us can go next time!

The afternoon tour was quite the opposite of the morning, it was a bus tour to Montserrat. A jagged mountain that looks a bit like Vasquez Rocks on steroids, it's also the name of a monastery near the top. It can be reached by a very long and winding mountain road that does a complete circuit of the mountain on the way up, or by a cog railway. It will surprise no one who knows me that we took the train.

The view from the train and from the top is not short of majestic, despite a bit of haze. It also gives a view of a funicular railway that extends to the peak at a 72 degree angle. It will surprise no one who knows SWMBO that we did not take the funicular.

This is a working monastery with 80 monks who also run a boarding school that's renowned for musical instruction. They count Pablo Casals among their alumni. The boy's choir gives daily performances in the basilica, and other cruisers report them to be excellent (we arrived too late). The many caves and tunnels in the mountain also house one of the largest libraries in Europe with over 3 million volumes, many over a millenium in age. This is partly due to the monastery being originally a scriptorium where books were copied, and to the simple difficulty in getting to the monastery, which allowed wars to swarm around it.

In addition to the monastery and church, there is also a hostel for pilgrims who come (up the hill on foot) to touch the hand of a statue of the Black Madonna. There are also several hotels, the inevitable gift shop, a cafeteria and a restaurant, a market, and a free tram ride, as it's all perched on a pretty steep hill.

The other significant location here is an art museum. Not large, but it contains a wonderful assortment of paintings and sculptures, including works by Picasso, Miro, Le Corbusier, Monet, Renoir, Sargent, and many Spanish artists unfamiliar to this American. We spent quite a while in here, and could easily have gone through it all again had we the time.

Our return was too late for us to see the Farewell show, but no matter, as we aren't exactly done yet. Exhausted, we fell asleep earlier than normal (despite having napped on the bus back from Montserrat). But we're not at all ready for it to end; we're excited to know that tomorrow, we'll be starting another cruise!

Zazu · 05-27-2007, 06:17 PM

Today's report is going to be a bit short. As most of you know, I'm a cast member at Walt Disney World. Over my years there, my supervision has been very tolerant of my online activities (with one notable exception), and all they've asked of me is that I not say things that put the Company in a bad light.

As a result, I cannot report on the transition from one cruise to the next. I can say that Disney will be making some changes in procedure before the next Transatlantic trip and the likely back-to-back cruisers there. They'll *have* to. In the mean time, I just have to make sure that SWMBO and Tom McAlpin (who's aboard) never meet. It could get ugly.

Finally escaping the ship at 1:30, our first goal was lunch, and SWMBO had her heart (or at least her mouth) set on Paella. Our first discovery was that Disney wasn't running a shuttle to town and as one is not permitted to walk down the half-mile pier, we had to take a taxi. Fortunately, they were available, cheap (under 5 Euros), and sufficiently conversant with English to get us where we wanted to go.

A stroll along the waterfront brought us shortly to a commercial complex or three that was fairly rotten with both sidewalk and inside cafes, almost all of which listed Paella on their outside menus, many of which were printed in several languages. Reaching the end of the lot, we reversed and had a very nice lunch -- of Paella -- at the one we fancied. As one might expect from a tourist zone, it wasn't cheap -- 68 Euros for Paella and a liter of Sangria (at $1.40/Euro -- you do the math, I don't want to know).

Sending a postcard purchased earlier was our next task, and as we recalled having seen the post office from one of the buses, we set out to find it. No choice, as Spain appears not to believe in mailboxes. Contrary to my fears, we found it almost immediately. Closed on a Saturday, we circumnavigated the imposing structure and on the last corner found a series of mail slots.

We then took a leisurely walk through the Gothic Quarter, observing the architecture, the construction, the *many* shoe stores, the strange human statuary on La Rambla, the open air flower markets and pet stores, the complete and utter lack of public restrooms, and generally killing enough time that we would return to the ship after the lifeboat drill (which SWMBO detests).

Our return was thus just in time for the evening show, ventriloquist Michael Harrison. "Why do they always fold the toilet paper into a point? I never had to be that accurate." 'Nuff said.

Dinner was at a full table for a change. Our five friends have now joined us, three from the US and two from the UK. We're all talkers, so speaking to someone at the far end of the table wasn't really possible, but we all vowed to play musical chairs during the cruise so we could all chat with one another eventually.

Overall, not the best day ever spent afloat, but still much better than going to work.

Jillybean · 05-27-2007, 06:50 PM

Sorry that your transition was not the best (to say the least), but your trip has been so amazing. Your description of your travels and your meals - - not to mention your and SWMBO's quick wit - - has been a true gift.

Jill

**DrDolphin** · 05-27-2007, 07:46 PM

Sorry to hear the transition from one cruise to the next was not as "Disney" as hoped.

Cheriemek · 05-27-2007, 08:24 PM

Thanks for another update !

**Disneybine** · 05-28-2007, 08:11 AM

Great update! Too bad you can't tell us about the transition. It's pretty cool that you share a table with Cheryl now, though!

Zazu · 05-28-2007, 11:26 AM

What to do? There's no more Christine, thus no more potato munchies and wine to start the day. I know! We'll have brunch at Palo!

So we slept in, arising in time to head up to deck 10 for a leisurely brunch as we watched the mini-waves (the Med. is ever so much calmer than the Atlantic). Two others were with us; they had dined at Palo before, but never brunched.

For those who haven't yet enjoyed a Palo brunch, know that it's listed in the Encyclopedia Disneyana under "Exceeding Guest Expectations". One could easily make a full meal out of either the antipasto, the cheese and bread, the sweet breads (by which I mean cinnamon rolls, not calf's brains), the main courses, the pizzas, or most especially the desserts!

Unable to make such a spartan choice in the presence of such abundance, we resorted to sampling all of them.

We managed to make one circuit of the deck after, then all four retreated to our staterooms for a nap after our exhausting meal.

Now our friends had just flown in from Florida yesterday, so they had six hours of jet lag to sleep off. I had no such excuse, but managed to sleep through the whole afternoon and the show, arising just in time to go eat again. Yes, life is good!

I understand that SWMBO got up and left me to do something or other for a few hours, but so far she hasn't deigned to share the specifics with me. Whenever I broach the topic, she launches into a spiel about how it's impossible to wake me and that some day she'll just leave me to sleep until I die, etc., etc. You're gonna have to ask her directly.

After a day like this, what's to do in the evening? Why, go to bed early, of course. We've got an early tour tomorrow, and I need to be well rested so I can sleep on the bus!