Our boarding of the Regent Seven Seas Voyager was delayed by two days, for the ship had some technical problems, but never really explained.   Barcelona  itself is a fine spot for culture and cuisine, known to be Beautiful, Artistic, Historical, Convenient and Fun.  The Sagrada Familia, the life-work of Antoni Gaudi, in particular, is a sight to remember.  Construction began in 1882, and might well actually be completed a century after his death in 2026.  That this church ever got this far is a miracle in itself, for no religious organization is paying for it, nor any governmental agency.  Ticket sales and private donations have kept it going. We showed up at the ship port site and were shunted off to a remote hotel for two days, which was actually not all that bad, for we were sent to a part of Spain we'll never see again, the lunches were great and the hotel, Eurostars, excellent.  One lunch was beef, and the other was fish. Finally, arra...

  The cruise port closest to Rome is Civitavecchia, 44 miles away, and a bus ride of an hour and a half away. Rome: Is the capital of Italy, largest populated comune in the country with 2.9 million residents and fourth-most populated city in the European Union.  Interestingly enough, Rome became the capital of the Italian Republic only in 1946 after World War II, but 1871 has also been mentioned.  Turin and Florence were capitals before Rome. Founded in 753 BC, and some say this is the birthplace of Western Civilization. The Pope has lived here since the first century AD. I've been here several times, Here is a summary of my stay in 2010: My Best Lunch Ever , just off the Spanish Steps, in the Eden Hotel. La Terrazza dell'Eden. I had a  Roman Holiday . Went to all the traditional tourist attractions:  Trevi Fountain. So after lunch walked down the Spanish Steps.  Why so-called?  The Spanish Ambassador to the Vatican lives near here. Walked around St. P...