Europe Trip Part 1: Barcelona, Spain

June 15, Thursday

I was so nervous last night because I didn't think I was going to get the rest of the packing done and I was overwhelmed by the whole concept of this trip and it just didn't seem real. I didn’t need to worry, though, because everything turned out fine. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday doing chores and helping the kids and making sure they had the right shirts and everything on the packing list so I didn't have much time to pack for myself. I stayed up till 2 AM packing and got up by 4 AM to get ready for the day, finish packing, do all my checking, and get out of there. We made it to the airport a little after 7:30 AM. Parking wasn't easy, but we finally found a spot on the roof of garage B in East economy parking. We were surprised that all three boys got pre-check. Unfortunately, Emily didn't, but the regular line was actually faster and she just went in that one and the rest of us went to pre-check. We went to the gate and we had plenty of time. The flight from Phoenix to Chicago O'Hare went by fast and was uneventful. I sat in the middle between Michael and Jonny and Emily and the boys were across from us. 

There were no TVs but everyone was happy to watch their shows on their phones. When we landed in Barcelona, we had about 2 1/2 hours and we walked to our gate and tried to find somewhere to eat. We were bummed that our seats weren't across from each other even though they were in the same row, there was just a little jog between the rows so we were still kind of near each other but not right across. Oh well. I sat with Daniel and Andrew and Michael sat with Emily and Jonny.

June 16, Friday

We made it to Barcelona and I am so grateful! When we got off the plane, I was so happy that we made it and that I was able to bring all the kids to Europe. I think they would've acted more excited if they weren't so tired. Daniel slept quite a bit and so did I. Andrew slept a little and so did Michael but Emily and Jonny hardly slept at all. We got off the flight and made it through customs easily. I was pretty excited that we all got our passports stamped. The customs agent knew we were going on a cruise, which is so weird but I guess they need to know why you're in their country so I understand. We got our bags easily so that was a relief. We have 12 suitcases. We were originally going to bring six carry-ons, one for each of us, and four checked bags. One for me, one for Michael, one for Andrew and Daniel to share and one for Jonny and Emily to share. However, I had so many supplies and extra things to bring we had to take an 11th one. Then in the morning as we were checking the weight, we realized the suitcases were too heavy so Andrew suggested we take an extra carry-on and check it, so that is what we did. That's how we ended up with 12. We tried about four times to get an Uber but every time we tried, it said it wasn't available. We considered trying to figure out the trains but we ended up going to the taxi line instead. That was easy and it went quickly and they found us a van that was big enough to hold us and, miraculously, all of our suitcases. They really packed them in there. It was fun to drive through town on the way to the hotel. Michael thought the cemetery in the mountain was pretty cool, and so did I. We got to our hotel pretty quickly. We were early, but I had called ahead to see if we can check in early and they weren’t sure yet. When we got to the hotel, they checked to see if our rooms were ready and they said they thought it would be another hour so we had them put our bags in their little room by the front desk where they watch luggage.

The hotel lobby was really cool! 

We walked around the block, looking for a place to eat. We ended up going to a bakery called Vivari, because that's what Andrew wanted and nobody else had a strong opinion. I got the carbonara and it was disappointing but the pastries were good. 

We walked the rest of the way around the block and came back at 1 PM because that's when they said the room would be ready but it wasn't. What they weren't telling us is that it was because the third bed wasn't in it. I don't know why they didn't just tell us that from the beginning. There was a new lady helping us and she was apologetic and told us that our breakfast would be free so that is nice. She was apologetic for the delay. We went up to our rooms and they still didn't have the beds in but we waited in the hall a few minutes and they got the beds set up. We were just grateful to get to our rooms and set our stuff down and take a nap. We had to wake Jonny up two different times in the lobby, once to get our bags and then again before we went upstairs because he had fallen asleep again. Anyway, as soon as he got to the room he laid down and fell asleep immediately. I think it was about 2:30 PM that the kids laid down and I got organized and laid down at about 3 PM. I set the alarm for 7 PM and it didn't take me long at all to fall asleep. Emily, Jonny, and I were in one room, and Michael and the boys were down the hall. We were messaging back-and-forth with Michael and the boys to figure out where we should go for dinner. I gave them three options and we ended up just going with the one called Vic Braseria, which is the one the front desk agent had told us about. It was delicious! They had a meat lovers’ menu where we got two kilograms of ribeye. Then they brought us a hot plate that we used to cook it the rest of the way to our liking. He showed us how to do it by rubbing the fat around and that's what we used to heat the meat on. The meat lovers deal also had five different appetizers for us to try. The boys and Michael all got another entrée they wanted to try. The ribeye and the appetizers were kind of family style. Emily was pretty happy that it included French fries. Michael and Daniel both got half a rabbit, Andrew got sausage, and Jonny got pork chops. The waiter forgot the pork chops so he brought us a couple things for free. Apparently, he gave him an extra generous portion of pork chops and brought us a crème brûlée and raspberry sorbet for dessert, in addition to the cheesecake and chocolate pudding that came with the deal. I don't remember what the chocolate pudding was called, but it was so amazing and it tasted like brownie batter. Emily loved it! That cheesecake was wonderful. I was pretty frustrated because it was 11 PM by the time we were done eating so we were there for over two hours but it was a good meal and we had fun. 

Back at the hotel, I asked for some washcloths but I don't think they have them at all. I wish I had known that and brought some for myself but I'm just using hand towels instead. It's taking me a long time to get organized and ready for bed. It's 1 PM and I'm almost done. I'm concerned for Nathaniel and Audrey because their flight out of Salt Lake City tonight is slightly delayed but hopefully all will be well.

 

June 17, Saturday

We had a great day in Barcelona! Everybody but me had the hotel breakfast that we got for free. We left around 10:20 AM to walk over to our tour at Sagrada Familia. It was about eight blocks away. We had trouble finding our guide. Thankfully, there was a message option on the Viator app and I was able to communicate with them and it turns out the guide wasn't even there yet so that's why we were confused but we were in the right spot. 

Soon, other people gathered and the tour guide arrived. We got a couple pictures and then we followed the guide into Sagrada Familia. We had to go through security but it wasn't bad at all. She talked about quite a few things outside first and then we went inside. 

It's so beautiful inside! The stained glass is gorgeous! 

After a little while, Emily started not feeling well. I sat down with her for a few minutes and she improved pretty quickly. We realized we made a big mistake not bringing water for everyone. Michael had one bottle but that was gone quickly, so our guide showed us to the vending machines to buy water. The kids all had some water and we finished the tour. The tour guide showed us the little school area which was cute. 

Then she took us to the line to go up the tower. We went to the Passion tower and took an elevator to the top. We had to put our backpacks in a locker but it was free. There were multiple places where we could get a great view of the city and take pictures. It was amazing! We started descending a little at a time, and then when we were done seeing all the picture spots, we had to finish going down the stairs on a spiral staircase. The only railing was to the outside and so it was kind of treacherous but we made it. 

We took a little break to use the bathroom and try to decide what we wanted to do for lunch. Andrew really wanted to take a train. I was looking at places we could go for lunch and there was a brunch place and Jonny immediately said he wanted to go there because he wanted pancakes. Nobody else had an opinion so I figured that was a good option.

Last view of the beautiful Sagrada Familia before we headed to lunch 

Andrew figured out the best route to go on the metro and led us exactly to where we needed to. I think it was €16 for all of us to take the metro from one stop to the other, but it made Andrew happy. We got off the metro and walked to Billie Brunch. They were pretty busy but they took us to the café which had the same food and we sat at a cute little table in the corner. I had scrambled eggs with cheese and Dulce de Leche pancakes. Emily and Andrew had dark chocolate and strawberry pancakes. They shared a stack of six. Jonny had regular pancakes with no syrup and Michael and Daniel each had the classic English breakfast. 

By then it was almost 4 PM and we were all tired so we walked back to the hotel. I had hoped to see a place where we could go to dinner on the way but we didn't. I looked at the menu for the hotel restaurant and figured that would be a good option if we couldn't find anything else. We all went back to our rooms and took a nap. Before I fell asleep, I was glad to know that Nathaniel and Audrey made their connection in Amsterdam. That was a relief. By the time we woke up, they had arrived. We met them down in the lobby and they got checked in and then they went to get showered and freshened up. Everyone came to our room and we read a chapter in John and had a prayer. Then we went down to dinner. Everyone was tired and hungry but enjoyed their food. We ordered so much food. We got some tapas. All this time I thought that was a particular food but it turns out it's just it's just a category of appetizers. We got croquettes and chicken and baked brie with jam. Nathaniel and I ordered salmon and I also got a bowl of carrot soup. Andrew, Daniel, and Jonny all got ribeye.  Emily and Michael got lamb ribs and Audrey got a goat cheese salad. 

We finished the health questionnaire for everyone on the Royal Caribbean app. I told everyone they need to watch the videos tonight or tomorrow morning. We sat there and tried to figure out the plan for church tomorrow. The link from the church website took us to a different address than if we just looked up the actual address so we were very confused but I think we got it figured out and we will take a taxi to church in the morning. It's after midnight and I'm still not ready for bed. I had to download all my pictures and figure out what I need to tell everyone tomorrow.

 

June 18, Sunday

I woke up a little after 6 AM and couldn't fall back asleep. Our goal was to leave the hotel by 8:30 AM to get to church. I actually ate breakfast today since it was included. It was much harder than we thought to get a taxi to church. One happened to drive by with a green light and I waved it down and we put Nathaniel, Audrey, Emily, and Jonny in it. Then we tried an Uber but it would take 20 minutes. I tried the Freenow app a couple of times and even that didn't work. Finally, another guy with a green light came by and we were able to take that. It was the same guy who had been by before but was occupied so that was nice. When he dropped us off, it was in the right area but we couldn't find the building and I couldn't get in touch with Nathaniel. We followed the directions on Maps and finally found it. It was a beautiful building with lots of marble and it was really nice. It didn't look like a church, more like an office building, but the chapel looked really nice. The kids already had a pew for us in the back. It was funny because you could spot the missionaries quite easily. There was at least one other family there that had luggage in the back so they were probably doing the same thing as us. The mom of one of the visiting families must have volunteered to play the piano. A husband and wife spoke. I couldn't understand much of anything they said. Oh, and they confirmed someone a member so that was really cool. It was really nice to be there and to see members of the church in other countries. I am grateful that we were able to take the Sacrament today. Afterwards, we quickly left and took a picture and walked over to the corner where we saw some taxis. 

Nathaniel and Audrey wanted to go tour Sagrada Familia so they got in a cab with Michael and Jonny and the driver dropped them off at Sagrada Familia and then took Michael and Jonny to the hotel. The rest of us were able to get a taxi pretty easily. We got all packed and ready. We gathered in the lobby of the hotel at noon. We had everything in our suitcases. When I got there, I looked outside and there was a big taxi van and it seemed like it would be perfect for us and I remember thinking, oh I wish that was for us. Andrew already thought of that and was out there talking to the guy. It turned out that somebody from the hotel had called for a taxi but made a mistake and said they needed a ride from the hotel to the airport, but actually they were already at the hotel from the airport so they must've made a mistake in the reservation. Andrew told him we needed a ride and he came into the hotel and we showed him how many people and how many bags we had and he thought he could hold us all and he could so that worked out perfectly! As he was loading the van, we saw a parade a block away with big giant floats. That was kind of cool. 

I was in complete shock that we were able to get a taxi that easily.  It was truly a tender mercy. I told the kids we are blessed by the Lord and blessed for going to church today. We made it to the port at about 12:40 PM. We gathered all the bags and put the luggage tags on and dropped them off and got in line. The line moved pretty quickly. We showed our passports and then went through security. Then we went up to the ship and showed them our set sail passes and got right in. 

I was thrilled to be there! There was music playing and I was dancing and so happy. We went to the muster station and then Andrew wanted to walk in Central Park so we went there. I had read that we should make reservations for laser tag in the Aqua Nation show when we got on board, but neither of those were available to make reservations so that was a bust. And the laser tag was only available for ages 18 to 25. I'm still confused about that. Sometimes I get bad information. Next, we headed to lunch at the Windjammer. As we were riding the elevator up, they said our rooms were already ready but we went to lunch first. We were able to find a table to fit all of us pretty quickly so that was nice. We headed to our staterooms and there were already a couple pieces of luggage delivered. We got all of our luggage before we went to dinner so that was nice. The stateroom is very nice, but the closet area is way smaller than it was on Freedom of the Seas. I don't know if that was because it was a balcony room before, but there's barely any room to hang our stuff and very small drawers to put our things. We took a little break and then we went over to the escape room. Nathaniel and Audrey were asleep so Michael and I went there and took their place. There was another family with two girls and their two grandparents that worked with us. Emily was a superstar and really knew what to do. I don't know how we figured it out. I helped a little bit. I helped figure out how to turn the light on the table so you could see the clues and I also helped to figure out a code with symbols. I think we had about five minutes to spare or something like that, so we did pretty well. 

We headed back to the room and got ready to go to dinner. Dinner was very nice. Everyone was tired, though. Andrew couldn't even make it through dessert. He wanted to go back to the room and rest. We all took a little break and Michael and I took a nap. Jonny went to sleep and wouldn't wake up so he didn't go to the Hiro show with us. Audrey and Nathaniel were watching Audrey's brother give his homecoming talk on Zoom and then they joined us. The show was amazing! I looked over at Andrew and he gave me this sheepish smile that told me he was basically admitting that it was really cool and that I was right but he didn't want me to say I told you so. It was a water show and they had people diving from really high up and they had tight rope walkers and they had an aerialist who was swinging around on wires. It was so cool! 

As we were leaving the theater, Emily said, do you want to go do something like zip line or mini golf? I was so tired! We decided to head back to the room to check on Jonny but I wanted to stop at guest services. The line was kind of long but it moved pretty quickly and they gave us a key for Michael and Daniel since they switched rooms from their reservation and we also had them help us figure out why Andrew and Jonathan couldn't use the messaging feature on the app. It was nice to get all that straightened out. Emily and Andrew tried to go play shuffleboard but they never found it, I guess, and Emily was tired anyway. Jonny eventually woke up for a few minutes but I told him he should just brush his teeth and go back to sleep.  Andrew wanted to go wander a little bit. We saw Nathaniel and Audrey going to get a late-night snack at Café Promenade. Michael and I were so tired we came back to our room and spent quite a bit of time getting unpacked and moved in and went to bed.

Here is the hotel we stayed at:

https://www.sercotelhoteles.com/en/hotel-sercotel-caspe 

Here is a link to the Sagrada Familia tour we took:

https://www.viator.com/tours/Barcelona/Sagrada-Familia-Fast-Track-Guided-Tour-with-Towers-Access/d562-56823P23?mcid=56757

This is the Royal Caribbean cruise ship we sailed on:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/symphony-of-the-seas