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After eleven incredible nights aboard the Disney Dream, we disembarked for the last time of the trip in Barcelona. This would be our first time in Barcelona (my second time in Spain) and we had nearly two days of time in the city to explore. There would be food, culture, and of course, at least one theme park thrown in the mix while we were there. It was hard to say goodbye after such an amazing cruise (even before this, the Disney Dream is the ship I've spent the most time on out of any cruise ship) but we knew we'd be sailing again in the future. We'd heard that the LEGO Store in Barcelona was worth a visit... And it was. La Boqueria was our first meal stop in Barcelona... There was no shortage of ham to choose from... It felt like the appropriate time and place to indulge in some iberico ham and manchengo cheese. As excited as I was for the charcuterie, I was more excited for the prospects of fresh, raw seafood. And I was not disappointed with my choices! Just incredible. La Boqueria is an experience and you'd need many, many visits to try all of the unique flavors found within. We roamed the city for a bit before resting at the hotel. We planned an early dinner at a hot dinner spot that we'd been pointed to by social media... Tapeo was marketed as one of THE places to go for tapas in Barcelona. The classic patatas bravas did not disappoint. I had a rock shrimp, squid ink pasta served paella style (though this did not qualify as a paella) and my world was rocked. The next day we woke up bright an early for our reservation to visit Basílica de la Sagrada Família. I've been to many cathedrals, but this is easily one of the most unique. Simply unlike any others I'd visited before. The stone work is incredibly detailed and very much not in the traditional style of other houses of worship anywhere. But where its real magic lies is inside, where the stained glass windows animate the inside with light and color. I'd never seen anything like this in a church before. Stunning. And as the morning drew on, the experience evolved as the sun moved the interior lighting in different ways. This view reminded me of the one I had from Notre Dame during our trip to Paris years ago. After our time touring the inside of Basílica de la Sagrada Família as well as climbing the steps (which I highly recommend), we spent a significant amount of time exploring the incredible museum attached to the complex. Next up was Park Guell. I'll admit, this was an attraction that felt a little overhyped for me. The park featured some really nice views of Barcelona... And some unique outdoor spaces... It is all very impressive. But I also felt like, between the cost of admission, and the sheer overcrowding, plus the significant portions of "regular" park space, that this wasn't as special as everyone makes it out to be. While there was another church nearby, it was but a mere stepping off point to something I was far more excited to visit... Any guesses? How about now? If you guessed Tibidabo, you were right! While I would have loved to have had time to finally visit PortAventura, we didn't have enough time on this trip, and only had a few hours at Tibidabo because our visit to Park Guell was done sooner than expected. Sadly Avió was not operating during our visit due to high winds. A ride car from the former Montaña Rusa was on display in one of the central areas of the park. The park's unique location gives it the advantage of many incredible views. The park had a neat automated model museum (including a working model of Montaña Rusa) that could be explored. Because of its mountainside location, the park splits its sections across multiple levels. Forgive me while I begin to fanboy over Muntanya Russa for a bit. I don't know why, but for some reason, ever since this coaster opened, I've been curious to ride it. Despite it being a family coaster, the layout is modern Vekoma-smooth and features some really punchy helixes. There are no major, straight drops but it does have lots of curvy, terrain-ish maneuvers. I shouldn't enjoy this one as much as I do. But two rides on this awesome little coaster made my entire trip to the park worth it. Hard to explain why this was so much fun... But it was. The park does have one other coaster, a powered coaster called Tibidabo Express but it had one train in operation and a 60 minute wait, so I passed. If I had had more time, I would have totally checked out the park's knock-off haunt house, Hotel 666 (formerly known as Hotel Krueger for unlicensed reasons you can only guess). Embruixabruixes felt like a must ride and this bizarre scenic overhead monorail was definitely worth it for the views alone. The ride circles much of the park and even has an indoor section... Where some strange things happen. I wasn't prepared for the live actor to jump out and scare our car with a flashlight from complete darkness. I love a good old fashioned house of mirrors and Miramiralls was no exception. The park's new drop tower was preparing to begin ride testing during our visit. Maybe someday I'll return, but I'm glad I had the time in the park that I did. While we took an Uber to get to the park, I made it a priority to at least ride the Cuca de Llum funicular in one direction during our visit. It was a neat experience. The Cuca de Llum replaced the park's storied funicular in 2021 and the new trains look incredibly sleek. I do highly recommend trying this at least one way if you're visiting Tibidabo Amusement Park. Still delicious and refreshing. As we wound down for the final night of our trip, we went to a local mall within walking distance of our hotel to grab some final bites. While there, we happened to pass this neat store within an indoor ferris wheel. It was at this very late stage in the game that I realized I hadn't had a single paella on this entire trip. So food court paella had to be the move, and it was still delicious. Healthy Greens (that's the name) offered this incredible platter of steak and veggies that we were in love with. And this was my first time seeing a miniature IKEA in a mall. The next morning we left Barcelona to head back to London for a brief stop before flying home to Orlando... But we weren't going to miss our chance to have more Nando's while here! Halloumi fries for the win! Nando's Wild Garlic sauce for their chicken is incredible and I need it bottled stateside. And just like that, our 16 day vacation across Europe had finally come to a close.

omgomgomg..... that's the"Plane On A Stick!" Too bad it wasn't operating, during your visit there. Great shot of it, 'parked', lol. Great TRing of your entire cruise and land adventures, Adam.

Those trains could probably be used on Millennium Force or any other similar Intamin just as much as ROS

Our final sea day was a day for relaxation and food, as we made our way to our final port of call, Palma de Mallorca. During the sea day we took the chance to indulge in some of the ship's food and fun before our more active, and final day of the cruise. What better way is there to start a day than with churro Mickey waffles? Long had I been interested in trying the Remy Dessert Experience, but it had been quite some time since I had had a chance to be able to pull it off. I'd had dinner at Remy years ago and for this reason I was eager to give this offering a try. I opted for the wine pairing with the experience (because when you're here, you're here) and it started with this awesome riesling. Darker than I expected but the flavor was amazing. First up was the Creme Brulee, which was classic in taste and texture, but unique in that it was served and prepared outside of the traditional ramekin and had a slight pie crust. We had a chance to preview the Pithivier course in its full cake form before it would be sliced and served to us later in the experience. Next was the Macaron Framboise (raspberry macaron) and it was one of my favorite courses of the experience. Next up was a nice chianti (not served with a fava beans)... It too was delicious. The Choux Pistache Cherise was a traditional Pâte à Choux, this one served with an incredible pistachio filling, cherry jam and whole cherries. The Pithivier was filled with almond paste, not unlike marzipan. It was one of my favorite dishes of the experience. Finding out that Taittinger Champagne was among the three wines paired with the experience, I was sold. I love trying their different champagnes onboard Disney cruises and I was pleased to have this chance to try one. Well worth the entire pairing. Remy's take on a Chocolate Croquant was very indulgent--despite being light and airy due to the thin chocolate layers, it was very rich for its deep chocolate flavors. The Citron was the final item of the experience. While this looks like a lemon (and tastes like one), this is actually an entirely composed dessert meant to look on the outside like an actual lemon. Each layer, from the chocolate shell down to the citrus filling in the center is house made and the dish takes close to a day to prepare. It was an insane ending to a wonderful experience. A certain "little chef" can be found in the restaurant if you know where to look for him. That night we enjoyed Mickey's Color Spin Dance Party on the upper deck. The show features a great mix of music and characters and I really loved every bit of it. It was my first time seeing this Wall-e towel animal! One of my favorite pieces of enchanted art on the ship has a fun tie in to Gran Fiesta Tour at EPCOT. The next morning we woke up in the port of Palma de Mallorca for our final day of the cruise. It also happened to be the Fourth of July on this day and the ship would celebrate the holiday in multiple ways. The Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca looked incredible from afar. And even more so up close. Alternate modes of transportation. Our first taste of Gaudi-inspired architecture came from our visit to Can Forteza Rey. A little taste of Madrid in Palma... My one artistic photo allotted per update. Art and culture collide in Palma... Very cool things inside. Back on the ship for our final evening aboard, it was time for a special Fourth of July celebration in the atrium. Mickey and the gang hosted a dance party to celebrate! One final towel animal for the trip! Our final dinner was in Animator's Palate, participating in my favorite experience there, Animation Magic. Clearly I'm not very artistic. In addition to the normal Animation Magic menu, we were offered a special Fourth of July menu. What a great meal to finish out the cruise! Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes for the win! I went with the Slow-Braised Beef Short Rib from the Fourth of July menu and I was not disappointed. My art came to life alongside others'. One more Mickey Bar for good measure. One of my favorite historical ship details found in the 687 pub. One final adults only game show in Evolution... It was neat to see a Planet of the Apes film being shown onboard. I wish I had time to experience the film in the Buena Vista Theatre onboard but maybe next time. Mickey, Minnie and the gang came out for one final farewell...

After a few hours of rest in Rome, we went back to the airport to grab our bus to the port of Civitavecchia where we would be greeted by a familiar and exciting sight! I have sailed on all of the current Disney Cruise Line ships, and out of all of them, the Disney Dream is the one I've sailed upon most frequently. Captain Mickey greeted us as we first embarked on the ship. Much time would be spent here over the next 11 nights... I have always loved the atrium on the Disney Dream. First stop? Cabanas for some fantastic food including all you care to enjoy snow crab! We took advantage of the open house time on the first day of the cruise to explore all of the youth activity spaces onboard. The Disney Infinity room is inspired by the console game. If you tapped a Oceaneer Band on your game's RFID reader/pad, you could unlock an exclusive Disney Cruise Line ship toy in the game. I do wish the game series had lasted longer... Star Wars: Millennium Falcon in the Oceaneer Club features a revolving loop of sequences from Star Tours (including the original attraction's ride film) and it is hard not to geek out when I see it. One of my favorite spaces on the entire ship... Echoes of EPCOT history. Vibe is an exclusive youth activities space for teens. They even have their own outdoor sun deck and pool area. Our awesome verandah stateroom for the cruise! I've seen this Sailing Away party many, many times and it never gets old. Let the towel animal fun commence! I love how 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea continues to be a property that finds life and acknowledgement at Disney Cruise Line. Disney Victrophonics was a newer act performing on the ship for our cruise. Hi Goofy! I treated myself to a "World of Old Fashioned" tasting to kick off the cruise... And it was a heavenly experience. The experience is a little non-traditional in that not all of the alcohols used are strictly whiskey or bourbon. But the four unique takes on the drink were all worth consuming. So cute! After a relaxing day at sea, we awoke the following morning as we pulled into the port of Chania, Greece. But before we could go ashore, we needed fuel for the day. Due to it being an early-afternoon arrival in port, we opted to do a champagne tasting in Pink before our time on land. We were treated to five champagnes plus two macarons, all explained and curated by an expert sommelier who guided us through the experience. I highly recommend taking advantage of one of these tastings if you have the chance. Chania, Greece was a fairly straightforward port. We opted for an excursion (also known as a Port Adventure) that brought us on a tour of Scenic Crete... Starting at Ancient Aptera. Our first archeological ruins of the trip... This amphitheater was a neat stop along our journey. Next up was a brief visit to Kournas Lake, a picturesque body of water nestled in the mountains of Crete. Our port adventure concluded with a meal in the town of Argyroupolis... Fresh Greek food never disappoints! This was a fantastic way to kick off our time in Greece! Isn't she lovely? It was a lovely touch to be treated to spa waters upon our return to the port--it was exceptionally hot out in Chania and this hit the spot! Someone else loves John Carter like me? That's so cool! The Golden Mickeys is a classic show performed in the Walt Disney Theatre. Dinner that night was served in Animator's Palate which means we had a chance to hang out with Crush and the gang from Finding Nemo... But most importantly, it meant we could eat as many Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes as possible! Our door would become progressively more covered in decor throughout the course of our cruise... I also treated myself to a Premium Whiskey Reserve tasting while onboard. This ship is my happy place. Another cute towel animal to cap off our day!