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Why do airlines feel that smoked salmon is an option for a meal where the appetizer is not a choice. 

Today we got smoked salmon AND smoked cod. With a bit of lumpfish roe, I guess a caviar?

I was not a fan and I didn’t know how to eat it even if I did want to. Do I put the mayo and apple slaw on the smoked fish?

The braised beef was good though… and I’m always a fan of a lemon tart for dessert.

We are finally coming home. Seems the Barcelona airport is gently air conditioned so I’m happy to be on an Air Canada with the AC pumping. We are flying home Business (J) class which is always nice when returning tired and ready for home. When it is a day flight that always maximizes the experience. So I’m settled in and have already started Scream 7.

We were fortunate enough to be in Spain, Barcelona to be exact, during the FIFA World Cup final. Our hotel also happens to be next to a huge plaza where many fans congregated after the win so we went to check it out.

This place came recommended by a friend and it didn’t disappoint. According to some ranking this was the best pizza in the world but is now second…

We started with burrata and focaccia. Man, that was delicious.

We ordered two pizzas to share:

Award-Winning Margherita: A modern interpretation topped with roasted cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, and a signature basil hollandaise sauce. It received the official title of "Best Margherita in the World" at The Best Pizza award

Sobrasada, Mahón Cheese & Honey: Features house-cured artisan sobrasada, local Mahón cheese, wild fennel, honey, and mozzarella, seamlessly blending Catalan charcuterie traditions with Italian pizza craftsmanship.

Both pizzas were quite delicious… the dough is chewy and oh so good.

What a great way to spend a hot day, the Modern and Contemporary Museum in Barcelona. A beautiful space with lots of fun art to see including Robbie Williams (singer), Banksy, Kaws…

McExtreme which I really liked! There is some bacon under there. And some wedge fries. 

We have disembarked the Valiant Lady after a quickie breakfast at the Indian restaurant. 

Thankfully it is only 30°in Barcelona so it was quite comfortable waiting for a taxi. 

It has been a great trip, we met lots of cool people and had some very interesting conversations . The thing about cruise ships is that you can always strike up a conversation with anyone sitting next to you at dinner, on a tour, or at the craps table. And all you have to say is: Where are you from?

This cruise was a busy itinerary but we made it work. The best decision we could have made was to take a spa day over Rome. I’m definitely looking forward to the more mundane itinerary in September along the west coast.  I will read, I will hopefully end that cruise feeling completely relaxed. 

We finished the trip with a third visit to the Test Kitchen… the third menu variant. 

I did a mix of the vegetarian menu and meat, picking and choosing what I wanted to eat. Overall a pretty good meal! 

Some of the dishes we had tonight were the best on the ship. 

The chicken 65 was fabulous. 

The lamb shank was huge, tender and delicious. 

And the desserts we got even though we were incredibly full… a cheesecake with Gulab Jamun… and a very good chocolate cake. 

Brad.