Day 3 - At Sea, Friday, August 19th

Just to back up a bit about Barcelona.  When we visited the church down from the hotel, I noticed a sign that said "lift to roof".  Deb was game so for 3 euro we took the tiny lift up to the top of the church.  Here were some of the views.

Today is our first full day at sea.  Our first port of call will be Kotor, Montenegro but  that is .  So for now we are getting to explore the ship and starting our classes with Bonnie.  We were supposed to be sewing her Razzle Dazzle quilt, but sewing machines couldn't be secured for the trip.  So instead Bonnie gave a lesson on paper piecing and then a lesson on back basting applique with her Spanish Rose pattern.

There were 50 quilters along for classes, some husbands and some children.  Our conference room had 3 large windows looking out on Deck 5 so we often had many people curiously looking on.
We had quilters from allover the US, New Zealand, Germany and I think maybe Australia.

Day 4 would be much the same as this.  Realized that I forgot to mentioned some of the Gaudi architecture we saw in Barcelona.  Maybe some pics of that next.

Day 2 - Barcelona

Today is the day we board the Brilliance of the Seas for our 12 day cruise.  Very anxious.  The bus would not be picking our group up until 11 am so we had some time to kill.  We had been told that in order to visit many of the churches we will see you can not have on shorts that come above the knee and shoulders cannot be bare.  Deb had on a sleeveless top so we went looking for somewhere she could buy a pashmina or shawl.  We hadn't seen anything in the shopping area we visited last night so we headed out from the hotel going in the other direction.

This building had been pointed out the day before as a farmer's market.  We quilters were attracted to it for it's hexagon patterned roof.  So we headed there. Great market with fresh fruit, fish, meat and a couple of souvenir shops.  So Deb found her shawl and we were off to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.  The evening before there had been live music outside the cathedral.

There was a courtyard in this cathedral where there were fountains and, surprisingly, a flock of white geese.

A view of one of the towers from the courtyard in the cathedral.

Brilliance of the Seas, Royal Caribbean, not the largest of cruise ships, about 2,500 passengers, but plenty big enough for me.

This was our room, cozy huh!  Fortunately, for me anyway we had a large window, I don't think Deb enjoyed such a wide open view.

Before I go much further I guess I should introduce my roommate/fellow quilter, Deborah Mandrell.
Here with Bonnie Hunter. I think we got along very well.  We didn't do many excursions together so we always had lots to talk about at the end of the day.

This was outside of the spa.  Peacocks hold a special meaning for Deb.

This was the center of the ship. Deck 5 was the main floor.  Casino, shopping, our conference room for our class, the theatre.  This center area had a stage and every night before dinner there would be violin music.  After dinner pop music, sometimes big band and we had a Beattle's reunion band as well.

The 2 pools, top was where the most people hung out.  The 2nd was the salt water pool and was a much more tranquil place. There also a kids pool, basketball court, minature golf, gym, running track, pub and 3 additional restaurants that were seperate from the formal dining room and the windjammer buffet.

Well, that's enough for now.  The first two days are days at sea, sailing from Barcelona, Spain to Kotor, Montenegro.  These two days are when our classes are with Bonnie Hunter.

See if this helps

Sorry for the big gap but my old laptop was giving up the ghost.  It lasted 10 years so I guess that was pretty good.  Should get back to posting pictures from my mediterranean trip soon.

Day 1 - Barcelona

So this is the trip I gave myself as a retirement gift.  A 12 day cruise of the Mediterranean.  We arrived in Barcelona the day before the cruise left.  I flew from Detroit to JFK and then 2 hours later flew from JFK to Barcelona.  We arrived at 5:30 am on 8/17 in Barcelona.

Part of the pre-cruise package was transportation from the airport to the hotel and then in the morning from the hotel to the ship.  Craftours threw in a bus excursion of Barcelona to help us get over our jet lag. And because our rooms wouldn't be ready until 3 pm.

Barcelona would well be worth another visit some time.  Lots of interesting architecture.  All the wrought iron balconies reminded me a lot of Paris.

We drove through lots of the city, but a lot didn't soak in because by then I had been up 20+ hours.  We went up to an old fortified part of the city that gave us a great view. I liked some of the items they added to decorate the paving in this area.  Here are some photos.

The views of Barcelona.  A bit hazy, probably because it was almost 100 degrees.

View toward the port.

 

 

 

After my roommate for the cruise arrived from Germany we went out and walked around a bit. Deborah and I were matched up through the tour company.  Months ago we began exchanging emails to see if we would be compatible.  She was an absolute delight to have as a companion on this trip.

The Barcelonans do a lot of strolling, especially after it cools off.  I realized that my fitbit couldn't be changed to European time and my phone couldn't be changed either, so I needed a watch in order to be sure I would be back to the ship on time from any excursions I went on.  So Deb and I took a stroll, past the Bassilica a block from the hotel and around to the next street where we found lots of shopping opportunities.

 

                                                     Tile floor in a dress shop.

 

                                           Where have these been all my working life!

More to follow about our morning before we left to board the ship.

 

The other June trip

I have a friend from high school, Christine Hubbard, who lives in Columbus Ohio.  She is always asking me to come for a visit, but the last time had to have been at least 8 years ago.

Now with no vacation leave or work schedule to worry about, I decided to pay her a visit.  She always finds the most interesting things to do.  We have quilting in common and one of our favorite areas to visit in the Amish area on south eastern Ohio.  We went down to Charm and Berlin on a day trip.  Fabric, Amish cheese factory, farmer's market, flea markets etc.

 

This piece, made from an old sewing machine was at one of the antique malls.  Very original, but maybe a waste of a good old machine.



 

 

At one of the shops in Berlin they had this sewing machine by the front door.  This is a hard to find National Two Spool machine.  I have heard of these but had never seen one.  You use one spool on the top and another whole spool fits in instead of a bobbin.  Think of the hours of sewing without a bobbin running out.  Why can't they do that with modern machines??

 

 

We also visited the botanical gardens in Columbus.  They had Chihuli (sp) glass and a wonderful bonsai exhibit.

 

 

 

They also had sculptures based on origami designs.

 That's enough for now.  More pictures later

 





 

 

The other June trip

I have a friend from high school, Christine Hubbard, who lives in Columbus Ohio.  She is always asking me to come for a visit, but the last time had to have been at least 8 years ago.

Now with no vacation leave or work schedule to worry about, I decided to pay her a visit.  She always finds the most interesting things to do.  We have quilting in common and one of our favorite areas to visit in the Amish area on south eastern Ohio.  We went down to Charm and Berlin on a day trip.  Fabric, Amish cheese factory, farmer's market, flea markets etc.

 

This piece, made from an old sewing machine was at one of the antique malls.  Very original, but maybe a waste of a good old machine.



 

 

At one of the shops in Berlin they had this sewing machine by the front door.  This is a hard to find National Two Spool machine.  I have heard of these but had never seen one.  You use one spool on the top and another whole spool fits in instead of a bobbin.  Think of the hours of sewing without a bobbin running out.  Why can't they do that with modern machines??

 

 

We also visited the botanical gardens in Columbus.  They had Chihuli (sp) glass and a wonderful bonsai exhibit.

 

 

 

They also had sculptures based on origami designs.

 That's enough for now.  More pictures later