So here we are in Barcelona! It is hard to believe, in 2 days time we will be boarding the Sojourn for out long awaited for cruise. You could say I am mildly excited. Well, let’s get that right, I am over the moon with excitement!

3 of our suitcases have been sent in advance to meet us on the ship, so we only now have 2 bags to contend with on our flights.

We spent a couple of days with our family in Portland so we could have an early Thanksgiving and spend a little time with them. We are going to be away for 3 months – that’s a long time!

We also were responsible and went to our scheduled doctors’ appointments before heading out on the high sea.

All went well except for the annual visit to the dermatologist where he found a couple of excessively small spots on my face which he didn’t like, and despite protests from me that he should wait, he got out his liquid nitrogen gun and blew them away. Great, now I am going to have to board the ship with large red blotches on my face looking like I have some dreaded lurgy. He said I could hide it with makeup.  Well, I was not happy, but I suppose he knows best.

So the day to fly to Barcelona arrived. At 4:20 AM our Lyft driver arrived to take us to Portland airport. This is really happening. Blotchy face or not, Sojourn here I come!

There are no direct flights from Portland to Barcelona, and I had originally had us booked on a more convenient flight, but with the cancellation of our original booking, we were now no longer going first class, but at least we were booked to Barcelona.

I was excited that we may see the therapy llamas in the new and improved Portland airport, but apparently, they are still asleep at 5:00 AM, which is the time we passed through. No llamas today.

Our first stop was Chicago. This was not looking very exciting in the dawn’s early light,

But when we took off for our flight to Newark, it definitely looked more interesting. No one was staring at my blotchy face, so I was happy.

Next stop was Newark. It was nighttime by the time we got there.

Then, with what seemed like a cast of thousands, we got to board our plane to Barcelona. An end was in sight!

We arrived in Barcelona in brilliant sunshine, and in no time, we had collected our luggage, found our driver, and we were off to the Majestic hotel. We are here! Yay!

I love Barcelona, even if they didn’t have Gaudi’s stunning architecture, the art nouveau buildings are stunning. It is such a beautiful city.

We had planned to spend the day sightseeing. When we arrived at the hotel  we discovered that our room was waiting for us. Then somehow or ever instead of having a quick shower and heading out with our guide book, we fell into a deep sleep, only to be aroused when our friends texted to ask what time we should meet for dinner.

No sightseeing today. Just the Christmas decorations in the hotel

We decided to eat at a nearby tapas restaurant, Vivo. The food wasn’t amazing, but it was good enough and we had a lovely evening until a singer arrived, and as she was belting out the hits of yesteryear there was no way to keep up a reasonable conversation, so we beat a hasty retreat back to the Majestic. We could catch up tomorrow.

The city Christmas lights had been turned on for the first time tonight, and there were crowds of folks out there enjoying the spectacle. It looked like a fairyland. It was the perfect way to start our holiday.

Even our hotel was all lit up.

There is always something magical about Barcelona, I was so happy to be here.