Onwards, Across the Sea!

We woke up to our last day in Ibiza. Today, we needed to cross the Mediterranean from Ibiza to Barcelona, an eight-hour boat ride by ferry. It was a *gorgeous* morning, though, and after our taxi ride I snapped a few quick last pictures of a very photogenic island.

The above picture is looking northeast as we board our boat. I also caught a picture of the old castle as we cruised out of the harbor; very pretty; I ended up using it as the main header photo of this website.

I was initially concerned, given the rough ride we had a few days ago. Turns out, I needn’t have worried. Two things were working in our favor: a much smoother sea, and a *much* bigger, steadier boat. This was closer in size to a cruise ship than the smaller catamaran we took from Denia. Good thing, too, because this ride would be four times as long! Lots of comfortable sleep ahead of us; and you can tell someone came prepared for the experience.

Ironically, that 8 EUR cruise ship blanket Mercy has on her lap would prove to be one of the most memorable (and comfortable) mementos of our travel.

The morning sun off our bow as we headed north was gorgeous. When you’re out on the Mediterranean like this, it’s fun (with maybe a little awe) to imagine thousands of years of Roman ships, Christian apostles, and Phoenician traders struggling across the very same waters. The Mediterranean is a lot bigger than it might look on a map!

Between napping, listening to podcasts, reading a few hundreds pages of an art history textbook, and grabbing the occasional snack, eight hours passed by pretty fast. Before we knew it, you could see Barcelona approaching in the distance. With the evening sun setting just over the hills, the lighting for the approach was spectacular. It was hard to take too many pictures.

Here’s another one, as we got closer to the porch and the sunlight became even more vividly gold in shade.

In Barcelona, we were staying at the Exe Laietana Palace, right on Laietana and nearby the Metro stop Jaume I. I had chosen this location for the great neighborhoods, El Born and Barrio Gothic, to which it was adjacent; both were safer, more casual, and less touristy than options closer to the main drag of Las Ramblas, which is quite possibly the pickpocket capital of the world. We still had great access to transportation, and a number of attractions were within easy walking distance, too.

That night we enjoyed a fantastic meal at Restaurante Senyor Parellada, just around the corner from our hotel. (Note the interesting spelling of “senyor”; we’re definitely in Catalan territory now!) The meal was reasonably priced, but absolutely amazing (my grilled whitefish was to die for; Mercy’s salmon equally tasty). The interior was very charming, too; Barcelona has a unique blend of Modernista, belle epoque, and whimsical (almost surrealist) decoration styles. Instantly recognizable anywhere, and very fun.

We walked back to our hotel after dinner, stopping at a grocery store to grab a little ice cream and to stock our hotel fridge with the usual snacks (jamon, cheese, etc.) that had saved our bacon so many times before. And prepared ourselves for a couple of crazy days in Barcelona!