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Barcelona Sat June 13

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Ate lunch at the snack bar in the hotel.  Wasn’t too shabby.  Grabbed two cabs and drove to the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia.  The Pope was here last week to bless the facility, and we are glad we didn’t have to fight those crowds!  The exterior of the facility is finally complete, like after 200 years or something.  The cranes and scaffold can still be seen, but they are being removed.  Next remodel is an addition and then interior work.  Very tall, very massive building! Walking up to the Basilica Standing in front of the building.  Tickets to enter are not available until Fri, Jun 26! Plan ahead if you’re ever wishing to see it from the inside! Next we took a taxi to the Castillo de Montjuic (built in 1640) - a beacon of Barcelona’s rich history standing like a sentinel atop Montjuic hill.  To get there, we took a single cable car up, but broke ourselves into two cable cars coming back down just for more room. One side of the “crew” as ...
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Mediterranean Cruise - Day 1 = Travel

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 We left Mulberry at 8:30 this morning, Friday, June 12, 2026.  We met Andy, Michelle, Austin, and Bill at the airport.  Check-in and Security were simple and easy.  We were awaiting our flight to New York by 10:30.  Good thing we were not heading to Chicago as everything was delayed due to severe weather (tornados!). We fly overnight to Barcelona and spend the day there before embarking our ship on Sunday.  Out for the next ten days.  Sure to be an adventure! Will keep this blog updated for family and friends who wish to “travel” along with us. The kids stayed home to watch the house and feed the pets and run the puppy whilst we are away - much to their dismay, I’m sure. Me, Sandy, Grandma Barb and Grandpa Bill at gate in Indy airport Austin and Michelle (Andy is in the potty!) Flight out of Indy was delayed by 30 mins or so due to congestion in NY.  Then as we pushed back from the gate in JFK, there was a mechanical issue.  We got that fixe...
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Spring Break Day Last Fri Mar 20

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We got up early today and were at the pool by 8 - even after having breakfast.  Gorgeous morning with zero clouds.  Lunch on pool deck.  Then cornhole championships - Kathy and I beat Andy and Austin 2-1 for the World Title! Pool was warmer today.  Drank a lot and swam more than yesterday.  Showers and then to the steak house for our reservations at 5:45.   Watched some of the Purdue men’s bb team win their first game of March Madness, aka college tourney. Started the process of packing.  We leave here at 0700 in the morning.  Leaving nice weather but also returning to nice weather at home. Be back in a short 8 months! Adam taking a group photo at lunch. Note how impressed his bride is! The actual photo of our crew having lunch today The cornhole world championship underway Is that Moto-Moto? Nope, just Andy The finished art work as painted by Andy (fish), Michelle (cat w/ plate), and Austin (Purdue train)
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Spring Break Day 6 - Thursday Mar 19

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It’s Groundhog Day!  Same thing as yesterday… To the pool by 0900.  Pool had been filled up to normal levels and the rain added some coolness.  Pool water was chilly today.  The sun?  It was hot.  Hit near 80F (27C).  But we didn’t complain. Lunch was next door at the pool deck restaurant.  But after lunch, as Alex was walking back up to the room, he missed the very last step, stumbled, and fell.  He poured his drink all over himself and cracked the screen protector on his phone.  He was angry and threw his now empty cup.  Nothing was hurt but his pride.  Sadly, there were no witnesses and no video.  We did enjoy his retelling of the events tho! More cornhole games in the afternoon.  Sandy and I tied Andy and Alex 1-1.  But the game Andy and Alex won had our team going back 3 times and them going back twice.  So technically we should have won 42-35 because that’s how many points we each scored!  Alas, t...
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Spring Break Day 5 - Wed Mar 18

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It was a day like any other day… Up and at pool by 9 after Sandy, Andy, Michelle and I had breakfast.  It was a mix of weather today with sun and clouds.  We sat at the lap pool.  Ate lunch at the pool restaurant.   Played loads of cornhole.  I do not recall all the scores but I can tell you that Austin won maybe two games and the same for Adam.  I think he won two games, maybe three???  But we ended the afternoon with Andy and I playing against Austin and Adam.  They beat us, finally, 21-20 after Andy missed the board Twice!  However, they celebrated like they had just won the Super Bowl.  I think maybe Andy threw the game on purpose so they could get a sense of what it’s like to be a winner! Andy, Michelle, and Austin all decided since it was cloudy that they should paint some ceramic artwork.  Sandy decided it was a good idea to anger a honey bee and she ended up getting stung on the back of her right arm.  Ouch! After showe...
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Spring Break Day 4 Tuesday March 17

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Happy St. Paddy’s Day everyone! Well it rained off and on all day today.  We started at the pool about 0900.  We got some cornhole games in.  Adam and I beat Austin and Andy.  Andy and I beat Adam and Austin.  Austin and I were up when we took a rain delay.   Lunch was on the pool deck, out of the rain.  Back to the room to play Euchre.  Poor Austin can’t catch a break.  Andy and I beat Sandy and Austin 2-1.  In those three games Austin may have gotten one single ace to go through. The rains came again, but since Andy, Austin, and I were in the pool, we didn’t care!  The other room?  They were at the Rotunda bar playing cards as well.  Seems that Adam needs to learn how to play cards same as Austin needs help.  Sandy decided a walk was in order and took laps around the resort, logging a couple of miles. Dinner was International night cuisine.  Probably our best meal to date.  Back to our respective rooms. ...
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Spring Break - Day 3 Monday Mar 16 2026

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Slept in a little later this morning.  Up about 8 o’clock-ish.  Some went for breakfast and others to the sun deck.  We chose this option as it gave us more wind to keep us cool.  It reached 86 F (30 C) with scattered clouds which beats the heck out of the weather in Indiana right now.  At home they had to push snow to clear off the sidewalks for school!  We are winning for sure. We stayed at the pool until a bit after 11 and then headed next door for lunch again.  After lunch, Andy beat Austin 21-1 in corn hole before Alex an I made it back from reapplying sunscreen.  Then Austin and I beat those other losers 2-1.  We finally got Austin a “win.”  He just needed me as a partner. We got in the pool to cool down and stayed until about 3 when the basketball goal was put up.  There was some March Madness basketball in the pool with announcers.  Then it went into movie trivia.  We all bailed by 4 to go take showers. Dinner was ...
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