Kelly Trips and Tours

 The first leg of our cruise is from the port of Tarragona, Spain to Cannes, France.  It is such a short distance that we traveled very slowly.  At one point the monitor in our cabin said we were traveling at .05 knots.  So, at a snail's pace we arrived at Cannes.  It was a beautiful day and it looked like someone sprinkled glitter on the ocean. Cannnes is a tender port which is always a challenge, so we did as we were told and waited in the theater for tickets to get on a tender.  Their organization left a lot to be desired and required patience on our part.  Finally, we got on a tender and when arriving at the port we met up with our private tour guide, Edith.  We jumped in her van, and she started driving through Cannes informing us all along the way about Cannes.   Cannes There was a lot of road construction, and we were glad to get past that and enjoy the beauty of the beach road as it left Cannes behind and brought us to the 16th c...

Today's breakfast was at El Fornet a coupe blocks from our hotel. We loved Barcelona but now it's time to leave with a stop in Tarragona before boarding our Oceania ship, the Marina. Yummy apple pastry breakfast is served. Back to our hotel to prepare for departure. Beautiful architecture everywhere. Our ship departs this evening from Tarragona which is a 1 1/2 hrs. drive from our hotel. Scenery along the way looks similar to California. Our first stop was the ancient 2,000-year-old Devil's Bridge Roman Aqueduct, 249m long which brought water from the hills to Tarragona. Viaduct near Tarragona We toured the ancient Roman Coliseum in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain once we reached town. The amphitheater was built in the second century. Measuring 110 by 86 meters, the complex is designed for approximately 14,000 spectators. Tarragona After the tour, off to the port where we'd board our cruise ship. This is a new port since cruise ships are no longer being allowed in Barcelona...

 Another day in beautiful Barcelona - we got going easily enough but some of us have not recovered from jet lag and lost some sleep (Carla) which will play a part later on.  We are perfectly located in Barcelona with many food establishments within walking distance of all varieties, so we walked to a bakery for breakfast and then grabbed a cab from our hotel to Park Guell. Park Guell overlooking Barcelona. The park is located on a hill overlooking the town and we booked an audio tour ahead of time which was a wise thing to do as we saw a lot, learned a lot and moved around easily among the crowds.  The genius of Gaudi is again on display at the park which you will be able to see from a few pictures.  Decorated columns hold up the top of the park. Water from above flows through the columns to an underground cistern.  The only human figurine in the park as Bill leans on her.  Unique formations and walks everywhere you turn. This is the original guard building...

We departed LAX on Sept 25th and arrived in Barcelona last night (Sept 26) around 6pm. As some of you know, Ric and Vicki Green had planned to go on this trip with us but due to some medical issues they had to cancel after nearly a year of planning. Sunday night we decided the four of us would do dinner at Treaver's on the Track in San Juan Capistrano. Kelly's & Green's    Dinner last night was at El Glop Braseria after our long overnight flight in comfortable, lay flat seats in Business Class. We had breakfast today at Zenith Brunch Cafe, a short walk from Hotel Catalonia Passeig de Garcia.  Food was plenty and great way to start our day. In the afternoon we enjoyed a guided tour of the world-famous Basilica Sagrada Familia, designed by Antonio Gaudi in 1852. Construction began in 1882 and is not yet complete. Gaudí devoted the remainder of his life to the project, and he is buried in the church's crypt. At the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of...