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Hi, How are things? When I was in Barcelona a few weeks ago I looked at purchasing some postcards from a few street venders. They were so EXPENSIVE! Over 1 Euro EACH, not including postage. I usually play "the postcard game" with my friends. As we travel we send cards to each other because it's nice to get a bit of snail mail that not a bill every now and again. Do you do this too? When my internet was down last week I amused myself by playing with the apps on my IPAD. I made some cool collages on Diptic and when I hit the save button I found where you could turn your pictures into... drum role please- POSTCARDS??  Did you know?  See? Here are the screen shots from my iPad. It was easy-peasy.  How brilliant is that??  And the fact that they WILL MAIL the cards for YOU. IS.SO.COOL. I don't have to make a trip to a foreign post office, and then pay extra expensive postage to mail from over seas. Or wait and wait for the cards to arrive. Plus I can send any picture I want, not whatever cheesy picture the store has in stock. The price was $1.99 to print and mail the cards in the USA. You do not have to print any certain number of cards so they can all be different designs.  Type in my personal, random message. (Usually about food or shopping, lol)  And just that EASY it's done!
There are many options for the cards from borders to fonts. So you make a card that YOU LIKE not what you are stuck with from some over priced street vender. Ok, I was just so excited about this feature that I thought I would share with you. Gotta go now and make more cards! Catch you later-
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My mission today was to tend to a list of errands a mile long and still do a bit of work on line. See my city shopper bag? It says I mean business...
Errand number 3: Go to Market
What is this Most Magic Stuff?? It looks just like some sort of Fractual Art. There was no name plate or price anywhere. Hmmm, Could it be a hologram? Or some sort of "art" produce? Maybe. This was France after all. Slowly I moved closer to get a better look... And by look I mean I used my iPhone to snap a few quick shots and then moved along before anyone saw me photographing strange alien produce. 
Still have no idea what this is. I was to shy to ask anyone...
 I moved to a safer region of the market, filled with stuff I could ID, like Taco Sauce. Or as it is known in French circles: "Sauce Mexicaine" And Yes, I bought a jar. I still had to go to the Electronics store, Beauty salon, Bakery and it was beginning to look like rain. So I fasterly went to a outdoor cafe for Coffee and a minute to regroup. Or await the rain. 
Here comes the rain.
I then talked myself out of all the other errands for the day. Went home and worked a bit. One of my Dayre readers was kind enough to tell me the Fractal Art veggies (Pictured above) is actually a type of cauliflower! Who knew they even existed?! I'm still not sure what planet they are grown on.. On the walk home I noticed the roses are bursting into bloom. 
These tiny roses just started blooming.
One of the best parts of the rain is all the flowers are starting to bloom again. The air is crisp and the temps are little chilly at night. This must be what Fall is about.
I can't wait to see what October holds. Catch you later- 
Hi All, Hope your weekend is off to a good start. This rather long and picture heavy post is another entry on my recent trip to Barcelona, Spain. You can read about the 1st part of the trip HERE and about another trip (full of sight seeing pictures here and here) if you are so inclined. My son and I sailed to Spain on a cruise ship from Florida, USA. The cruise took 13 days and was a lot of fun. Upon arrival we stayed in a hotel near the beach, but as I had intended to rent a house for a week or so I only booked a 2 night stay at the hotel. Well as you may remb I fell, ill in Texas and everything went out the window, so I was in Barcelona and the hotel was booked up! I used Hotwire again (thank you Lord!) and found another hotel at a great rate. This time it was located more towards the center of city, close to the train and bus stations. 
Hotel was very nice.
View from window.
Right around the corner were MANY, MANY cafes and shops. The bus stopped right there and the Metro wasn't far away. It was an ideal location. 
I took this photo because the balcony's remind me so much of the French Quarter in New Orleans.
The lounge was also open 24 hours a day if you just needed a quick drink or anything. The staff spoke excellent English.
After quickly throwing the bags down we had a snack & off we went to explore this new neighborhood. Surprisingly this area has many shops, a vet clinic (didn't bring my animals, sorry) and lots of families shopping. Oh and there are bars too. The 1st trip in 2011, I rented an apartment for 10 days and we stayed in a "hip" location (I think maybe warehouse area?) it was umm, how to say - so hip that nothing was there? I really like to have at least a cafe or pub within walking distances. 
Meanwhile it seems all the tourists were roaming around here. 
Arenas de Barcelona, a bullring - It was built in 1900 & now is a shopping area.
"Plaza de España is one of Barcelona's most important squares, built on the occasion of the 1929 International Exhibition, held at the foot of Montjuïc, in the Sants-Montjuïc district. The square was built on a site that had been previously used for public hangings, until the creation of the now demolished Ciutadella fortress in 1715, where the gallows were moved. Currently 1.6 million people live in Barcelona" --according to Wiki. 
Junk food splurge from a small shop.
This place was only a few steps from our hotel.
(Inside of Cafe)
Birds watching us eat.
This picture is of actually of yet MORE exotic water, lol.
Took this while sitting outside eating. It wasn't as loud or hot as you would expect eating out on the sidewalk area. Most of the cafes have at least marginal seating outside, do be brave and try it. The food was quite good here. We ate twice or three times at this cafe. Oh and I picked up Coffee too. It was amazing! 
Tapas...mmmmm
My Salad :D
One night I picked up a pizza to go for my son. That is fresh basil all over it. He said it was wonderful and he is rather picky about pizza. #ImJustGladHeAteIt 
Took this while sitting at the cafe. When I say right around the corner I mean the wifi from the hotel still worked!
About a block and a half away were 2 fruit markets.
I loaded up on fruit for us (ok me) and we were off. Please to enjoy more random street shots as we walked around exploring. 
Window shopping :D 
And I have about 500 more pictures, but you get the idea. We actually had a nice visit in Barcelona this go round. (Being able to find food easily does really help.) :o
We left Barcelona by train and went to Perpignan, France. You can read about our over night stay at a funky cool hotel HERE And from there went further into #France for an extended stay. So more travel post to follow shortly. Catch you later- 
Hello ~ How are things? Hope all is well with you. *WARNING - HEAVY PICTURE POST* This post is yet another in a series of cruise pictures. Spending 13 days on the ship I took a HUGE amount of pictures, which I shall spam you with. (Is ok, your welcome, lol.). The Oasis of the Sea was such an awesome ship with so many different features that is was easy to forget you were on a boat. We were spoiled for things to do everyday. This series was taken along the Boardwalk area. To read more about our adventures on this lovely ship click here and the stops we made in Spain click here and here for more Malaga pictures. 
Smooth water at sea, are we really on a ship?
Did I tell you the sea was so calm? it was if we were just gliding through the water, no movement at all. I confess to being a bit worried about it. Aug and September are the most active hurricane months in the Atlantic for the US. I booked this cruise at the start of the year, and inquired what would happen if there was a hurricane at the time of sailing. They told me the ship would just sail around the storm. The atlantic is huge, after all. Gulp, ok. But thankfully no storms. 
Ship or hotel?
During one of our forays on the 1st day on board we got off the lift on the wrong floor and attempted to go into what we thought was our state room. As we tried the key card over and over the people who were actually in that room came out. As I realized we were on the wrong floor I was so embarrassed, but the attendant for the floor, who was walking by, just laughed and said it happens all the time. Day 9 and the people 1 floor below us tried to do the same thing with us, lol. I guess he was right. Too funny! 
Now where am I again?
Ever changing view from the balcony.
Thats the Boardwalk down there.
View of the Boardwalk from our balcony. :D
Enough of that, lets go down there.
Shops, cafes and rides.
 As you first enter the Boardwalk area you are met with a set of carousel horses. Each is in a different stage of being carved from solid chunks of wood. 
Amazing, right? I think they are so pretty. 
And of course there is a good size carousel. It goes until 11:00 pm each night and it is free to ride as much as you like. Because of the date of this cruise, (Sept 1-13), there were very few children on board. So mostly adults were riding. 
Did you see the movie BIG?
There were in prompt to singing waiters, too! 
This is also where the Aqua Theater is located. There were movies shown nightly and also live performances. The most amazing act was the high diving. See they can fill the theater/stage area with water! Quite a cool show! Also there are dancing water fountains that shoot water to music themed performances- watched that more than a few times, pictures did not come out well, but trust me it was cool. 
Aqua Theater
And beside it was the rock climbing wall.
Yep, this still a ship.
And another bar with friendly staff. 
Pretty at night too.
There were a couple of clothing stores, sorry I forgot I had a camera and a candy shop. I think more? I become too busy looking around and end up forgetting the camera. 
And more stuff.
Johnny Rockets~
Donut shop.
Seafood place.
This ship has so many balconies! They are lining both sides of the Boardwalk.
Representing
From one end to the other.
And whats behind the Aqua?
Shuffle Board and
Still so smooth and calm. Do you know where we are now?
The very back of the boat.
And another awesome sunsets at sea.
We really, really enjoyed the entire cruise. It was relaxing, smooth and there was plenty to do. Oh and the food! Did I mention the food was amazing? There was so much fruit! Plus lots of healthy choices for everyone. I had no problem eating healthy everyday.
If you get a chance don't hesitate to book on Oasis of the Sea, you will be so happy you did. I am looking forward to out next cruise already! Catch you later- Hi all, How are things? Looks like we made the weekend! I’ve been traveling so much lately I have to check the date on the computer and still am not sure with the time differences if it is even close correct to. (If it’s not the weekend where you are I apologize.) As you know, I don’t usually stay at hotels. I prefer to stay in holiday houses or vacation condos when I travel. Sadly the way this last trip worked out that really wasn’t possible, so in the last 3 weeks I have been in the Hyatt, on a ship for 13 days, (which counts as a hotel), a Eurohotel, another hotel in Barcelona and a Comfort/Quality Inn. I will review/post and spam you with pictures on all of them, one day. Really, but for now let me just say they were all different and cool in each hotels own unique way. Today's post is about the last hotel we stayed in. It is located in Perpignan, France. The Comfort Hotel Centre Del Mon.  I picked it because it was located around the train station and it was affordable. We were only going to be staying one night, so I wasn’t expecting much. I have been to Perpignan, hmm maybe 4 times? I spent 10 days there in 2011, so I’ve seen a good amount of the city. Please to enjoy a map~ Perpignan is a old place, the settlement dates back to the Roman times, but the medieval town is believed to have been founded around the 10th century or so. It's sorta made famous by Salvador Dali (whom we all adore) -  You know Dali, right?  And they are the home of JOB rolling papers. #FunFact   Crappy iPhone shot out the window of hotel. “Following a visit in 1963, the Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí declared the city's railway station the centre of the Universe, saying that he always got his best ideas sitting in the waiting room. He followed that up some years later by declaring that the Iberian Peninsula rotated precisely at Perpignan station 132 million years ago – an event the artist invoked in his 1983 painting Topological Abduction of Europe – Homage to René Thom. Above the station is a monument in Dali's honor, and across the surface of one of the main platforms is painted, in big letters, «Perpignan centre du monde» (Translates to "Perpignan centre of the world").” From wiki Here is the wiki link if you want to read more about the town. The city has been working on modernizing the station and attempting to live up to the title. :D  Ok, enough about Dali & the train station. Here is my unsolicited opinion review of the hotel. I paid for the hotel and will stay there again.  First off, if you have ever book hotels on line then you know the picture you see on the website of the hotel rooms is usually not the room you end up with. Usually what is pictured is a deluxe suite and you end up with a smaller, older room. So when I saw the pictures of this hotels rooms I truthfully thought the same. (See website here) But as I said it was only for 1 night, so I thought "Whatever, we can make do." The above picture was our room. Just like the picture shown on the website!  The carpet kinda glowed. It was cool.  Taken in the lobby.  I've been in so many rooms lately I have to take a pict of the number with my cell to find it again. #FML  Excuse my junk...   The Moon Man lamp.  Scattered around the room were these stencils.  Very modern. Very clean. Very Funky Cool :D  I love the different textures used through out the room. I was so tired from the day in Barcelona that I did not take photos until after I had showered and completely messed up the room. (It did look nice before I came in & threw my junk around.)  White on white. Even TV was white. :o  There was a nice size shower and of course a toilet.  In the shower.  View out the window and I crashed.  My Subway breakfast- Love the fact that the Subway is next door. The hotel offers a breakfast, but we had to leave at 9:30 so no time to enjoy. Also a few feet behind the hotel was a bank with a lovely outside ATM for impacting money. Right there! No hunting all over town. Easy-peasy! Can you say PERFECT? The train station and the bus station are also beside the hotel. The hotel actually has its own entrance to the train station. So the locate was excellent for breezing in and picking up a train or bus to continue exploring southern France. And did I mention the helpful staff spoke excellent English too?  Quick morning view out the window. And then we were off on the next adventure..  Next was a 2 hour road trip to a new destination in France. But, thats another story for later.
I would definitely stay at this hotel again. It was so easy to get to and we didn't even have to take a cab! Plus the area was very clean (not what you think of around a train/bus station in America) with lots of cafes scattered around the hotel, besides Subway, lol. Perfect to pop in get a good nights sleep and head out again. Do check it out if you are in Perpignan. Must run now, more posts of the cruise coming soon, And eating in Barcelona, And sightseeing in the south of France- Hi All- This was taken a little while ago, leaving Barcelona, Spain crossing into France. We were going almost 200 mph 😱 and I used my iphone. (No edit of course). 
Random photos from along the way- 
(opps sorry about the reflection)
Off to take a shower & sleep now. Another full day of travel ahead. More & better tomorrow, I promise! See you @ the train station- 
*This is actually port in Malaga, but the post is on Barcelona. (Read on to understand.)
*WARNING* This is a picture heavy post. Now that I have warned you there are a ton of blurry ass pictures ahead, we can settle down with a nice cuppa coffee and visit. How are things? I've been quite busy here lately, you know- its been a packed schedule of eating tapas and lying on the beach, lol. But before we get to far into those stories, as you may remember I was sailing into Europe from Florida. So lets start there. Also if you want to see my Tourist pictures of Barcelona from my 1st trip click here for part 1 and here part 2. This trip is a much more laid back, mellow experience. The 1st time we crammed too much into 10 days and I had to get back to France to rest afterwards. :( Ok, back to THIS adventure.. 
I will do a full post later on the last full day on the ship, it was busy and long.
Everyone was feeling sad to leave.
Packing it up.
Early morning and we are docked in Barcelona.
Leaving the ship, it is still hard to imagine just how huge this boat is. I understand that its the largest sailing right now, but WOW. Its amazing BIG. 0 __ 0 I snapped these pictures as we left with my iPhone. Not the best quality, but it does give you some idea the size of the ship. I read it holds 7,000 passengers + 1,500 crew. So thats Giant BIG. :O 
Spanish hills and calm water as we leave :D
And customs ahead...
Made it through customs and are picking up the bags.
 Also New Passport - 1st stamp. :D People started getting off the ship at 6:00 a.m. we didn't leave until 9:30 a.m. So I was already tired. I'm not a big fan of hurry up and wait, but the disembarking went really smooth. 
Bags collected, next we must hire a taxi.
Crowd outside showing size of ship again. Yes, thats the ship, not a building.
Crowd outside terminal showing size of taxi line. In all honestly the taxi's were not prepared for so many people. We waited in line over 45 minutes. I'm hiring a car next time. 
And waited. And finally we are in a taxi headed to our hotel. 
This time we are staying near the beach. Last trip we stayed more in the center of the city. But this is a "been there, done that" kinda trip, so I wanted to try something new. Out hotel was Euro Hotel Diagonal Port. It was a great deal on Hotwire. The hotel was not fancy by American standards, but was clean, safe and in a great location and did I mention they spoke good english. I need to leave a review on Hotwire soon. 
Inside lobby
The lobby.
In bar for a drink and a snack.
Art in bar.
The bar itself was made into a map of the beach area, it was really pretty.
Back in room.
EXCITED TO HAVE A BATHTUB AGAIN! YEAH!
Also one of those things..
View of park from hotel room window.
Nice :D
Preparing for the next adventure..
And I went down to the park to explore. 
Pretty Palm trees!
The area is surrounded by apartments and buildings. People are strolling around, walking dogs and skating. Notice there is no trash. 
This building forms one of the walls of the park area. This is from the park side and below is the road side. 
Sadly I could find not Burritos. :(
Sunset soon.
Strolled around ate and had a nice day.
Up and out early for juice and coffee.
 There are a ton of cafes, bars and restaurants in this area. I was really spoiled for choice. #Score It was Sunday morning and people were jogging, riding bikes and roller blading happily by. There were a few tourists, but mostly locals and they seemed really happy to just be outside and hang out. 
Sorry time stamp is still wrong on the camera.
Later it was time to eat a hearty lunch. 
They do not speak Spanish in Barcelona, but it is close. See? Between the merchants speaking a little bit of English, my little bit of Spanish and French we had no problems eating or getting around.
The tapas are the way to go. You order a little of this and a little of that and WOW. So many good things! 
Oh and did I mention the weather was great too? 
Went to the beach then, but no pictures. Its rude to take pictures at a nude beach. Hell I'm shy to take pictures in cafes!
Quick picture taken when staff left me alone at bar, lol
Time to eat Tapas again!
Yes, Time to eat again!
Ready, set, eat.
Catalunya is really a nice, laid back place. :D 
We have a few more day in Barcelona and then we are off to Perpignan, France via the train.
Can't wait! Have a great week and happy traveling! 
Good morning, How are things? Pretty good here. We just checked in to the room in Barcelona and thankfully have fast 'net speed. Stand back, as now I'm gonna spam cruise pictures from the last 2 weeks non stop! :O But really the ship was AMAZING and I took so many pictures. #WatchOut A few days ago on September 11th the cruise ship, (the one I'm raving about), docked in Malaga, Spain for the day. I did not disembark, because I have been there before and also I am watching the dates closely. The day my passport is stamped the clock starts ticking, so must pay attention. Anyway, please to enjoy a few pretty pictures I took from the deck of the ship of the Port of Malaga. 
#Spain :D
Another ship.
New neighbor. :D
We arrived early, but after being on the ship for 11 days without stopping, most people were ready to see dry land again. Don't get me wrong, the weather could not have been better and the sea was very calm, it's just nice to be on land again. Since most people were in line to go a shore, I had the ship almost to myself and enjoyed breakfast outside. #win 
Time to fruit up!
Breakfast alone on the deck. #FruitUp Sorry/not sorry. More boring fruit pictures, lol. 
"Action shot" ;0
All those chairs were full the 13 days of the cruise.
Video. Sorry I never edit these things- watch if you dare. 
View from other side of the ship.
Malaga is actually a really pretty place. One just has to get passed the industrial part to see it. 
And then we were sailing away...
And it was time to "move it, move it" on to the next adventure.
Catch you later-
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Ms One~🌍 Welcome to My Adventures! 🌱 
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