After our day in Barcelona we got back to the ship fairly late in the afternoon, and the crush of new passengers queuing up for boarding had dissipated. At dinner that evening we were pleased to find, as requested, the same table and servers we had been assigned on the previous cruise.

First stop, the day after leaving Barcelona was in Valencia. In fact this itinerary only has two sea days, the first not until five days into the cruise. With so many days in port, it is easy to get exhausted! So we compensate by being selective as to where/when we go on organized shore excursions, and where/when we do our own thing. Valencia was a low stress on-our-own day.

We took a long shuttle ride into town and then wandered through the old quarter. We found the fartons recommended by Rick Steve’s, found the El Corte Ingles department store where Meg thought she might find a particular bag she has been looking for (no luck) , and made a couple of beer/wine/farton stops. We did try to stop by the local Mercado but they were closed for the day by the time we got there. So then a short walk and a short wait for the shuttle back to the ship. A very pleasant day. And as with most of this trip since leaving Amsterdam, the weather was perfect.