Usually, on the first Black Tie Optional night of a cruise we go to the Dining Room because Anne Marie so very much enjoys the Lobster entree. On the remaining formal nights of each cruise, we often dine at either Prego or Silk Road.
We decided the night before that we would pass on dining at the Dining Room as we knew it would be quite busy there. Since we already had a reservation at Silk Road for the night that follows the formal night, we didn't want to dine there two times in a row and since we will be dining at Prego three times during this voyage we ruled out going to Prego. Instead, we decided to go to Tastes which is the first time we dined there on a more formal night on board Serenity but we knew it would be nice and quiet and that was certainly the case.
We decided to pass on a pre-dinner drink at one of the lounges since we didn't wear formal attire. While formal attire is not required and instead gents could wear a sports jacket, since we always dress with formal attire on a Black Tie Optional night we decided to just stay in our room until dinner at Tastes. Even on formal night casual attire is permitted at Tastes.
So, last night market not only the first time we ever went to Tastes on a formal night, but the first time we went to Tastes by ourselves for dinner.
It was very quiet there and we were taken excellent care by the entire Tastes Wait Staff Team. This included Jerrit, the Head Waiter; Lloyd our waiter, assistant waiters Clark, Brian and Alvin, along with Michelle who brought us beverages including, water, wine and beer.
There were about 20 guests in total dining at Tastes at any given time. There were families at two different tables each with a small child and a few other couples by themselves as we did and a couple of solo guests dining separately.
One of the items we shared was a Goat Cheese Dip. To the left of Anne Marie is a Caesar Fondue. This is a relatively new item and the second time we have had it. It's very tasty but a little more rich than we normally have.
Keith enjoyed the Scottish Cured Salmon which is very thinly cut.
One of our favorites is the Alsatian Tarte. We also had the Oven-Roasted Cauliflower.
Michelle took excellent care of us with water, wine and some beer.
This was our final course, other than dessert, which included Chimichurri Steak with Black Beans and Sweet Potatoes along with Gambas.
We shared two desserts.
We had the Dark Chocolate Creme Brûlée which was added back to the Menu on this voyage. Its preparation was similar but not identical to the way it was prepared when it was last on the menu but was equally as good. We also had the Berry Cobbler.
All in all we had a fantastic evening. We dined there for over two hours and we appreciated that the courses were pretty much served two items at a time with time between courses so we could talk and just enjoy the experience. We prefer having the items split over several courses as it gives a lot of time to savor the food.
We slept very well last evening as we were sailing to our next port of call. The seas were relatively calm and in many ways you didn't feel like you were at sea.
Keith was up first and after that big meal he worked hard at the Fitness Center and then went to the Lido Cafe for coffee.
We had an early breakfast so Anne Marie did not walk inside the ship. Instead we got ready to visit Barcelona.
Barcelona is a relatively large city with a population of over 1.6 million people. It is the second largest city in Spain. If you consider its urban area that adds another 4.5 million population to this area of Spain.
Major highlights include:
La Sagrada Familia which is also known as the Church of the Holy Family and was designed by Antoni Gaudi and continues to be a work in progress.
Parc Guell which is a beautiful park that was commissioned by Eusebio Guell.
Museu Picasso which is the most visited museum in Barcelona and has a very extensive collection of Picasso's works.
Las Ramblas which is a tree lined boulevard which we walked today.
We have enjoyed many visits to Barcelona, Spain over the years. Our first visit was in the late 1997 when we took our family on our first Cruise of the Mediterranean with another cruise line. In fact, that cruise was our longest family cruise at that point in time as it was 12 days rather than the typical 7 day cruise we went on. That cruise began in Barcelona so we had a couple of days to explore Barcelona during a pre-cruise stay. Since that time, we have revisited this beautiful city on several Crystal Cruises, some of which included overnights and two day stays. We have taken several tours of the city.
We love the beauty of Barcelona including the architecture of its buildings.
We do use more caution in Barcelona because of its reputation for pickpocketing. While most cities around the world have issues there are some cities which have more severe incidences of these types of thefts and Barcelona is one of them so we are more careful when walking around this city. This includes only carrying one credit card, and placing it in a travel wallet along with local currency that Keith wears under his shirt. We do not take a DSLR Camera with us as we have known people who have had cameras literally yanked out of their hands and we try to be as street smart as we can. By this we mean that we very observant about our surroundings and there are times if we feel that one or more people are directly behind us as we are walking we might stop for a moment and let them get ahead of us. We took this approach today.
There are two major piers for Passenger ships in Barcelona. One is at the entrance to the tourist area of the city and if you are docked at that location you can just walk into the city from there. The other is where we were docked which is across a bridge and about a mile from the downtown area but the bridge and the main road are less conducive for walking. This terminal is called Muelle Adosado. As a result, we took the complimentary shuttle bus provided by Crystal to the drop off point which is right near Las Rambles.
Once we got off the shuttle bus we walked towards the Christopher Columbus Statue.
From there we walked up the main street which is lined with beautiful trees.
Since we were there very early in the morning, the street was not yet busy. Street vendors were starting to open up their shops as were the restaurants that also line the street.
During our walk we went up and down various side streets that are rather narrow so we did not take any photos. On these side streets you will find apartments, some hotels, many restaurants and places serving coffee and baked goods such as pastries and some stores.
One of our missions was to find a Paddle Tennis Racquet for Keith because the selection is far greater in Barcelona than in other places around the world and the prices are better too. In the past, we have gotten Keith's racquets in Buenos Aires, Argentina and in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
We went to two places that are very popular for racquets. One is a sporting goods shop that is muti-storied and the other one is part of a department store chain, El Corte Ingles, that has a few locations in the city that carry mainly clothing. This particular location is also several levels but mainly carries sport equipment and attire.
We ended up purchasing the racquet at the first place called Decathlon. The person shown in the photo with Keith spoke English fairly well and was very knowledgeable. The major challenge purchasing a racquet is not being able to take it on a test drive.
We also purchased another racquet for a family member of one of the members of the crew.
This is the racquet that Keith ended up purchasing.
Afterwards, we continued our walk around the surrounding area, including a visit to the market which sells a wide range of fruit, vegetables, meat and poultry and other items. By this time, the streets were busy with lots of locals and tourists out and about.
After we returned to Serenity we had lunch at the Lido Cafe and made our usual Salad Entrees.
While we were out, as part of the plan to replace all of the Mattresses they replaced all of the mattresses on Decks 10 & 11 including our mattress.
Afterwards, Anne Marie walked for an hour outside the ship on the Promenade Deck while Keith played Paddle Tennis with his new racquet. He was very pleased with the racquet.
This evening we will be dining at Silk Road and will post about that tomorrow.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.......
"A ship in a harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for." - William Shedd.
Keith & Anne Marie
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