Barcelona - Segway Tour and Marine Museum

Well we set off for our Segway adventure with some trepidation. The woman who booked it said that anyone could ride a Segway and they have people from 10 to 80 years old with no problem. When we thought about it we decided 10 year olds can do a lot of things we can't (manage cell phones, play video games) and the 80 year old was probably a masters marathon runner. Anyway we got their early, sat in the office and watched all the young folks arrive. Not a grey hair in the bunch.

Sitting in the office looking at our rides getting charged up. According to our guide
one charge will last 6 hours or 40km.

They went over the rules with us and had us sign that we understood them. Things like going in single file, watching out for pedestrians, crossing at cross walks, basic common sense. What they didn't have us sign was more surprising: no waiver.
We were outfitted with helmets, given a water bottle in the carry pack on the front and we each pushed our Segway down a little incline from the office to a small square to learn how to ride.

Aimee, very focused on the technique with Julia, our guide.

They really are a breeze. You step on, staying central. Lean forward to go forward. Lean back a little to stop, further back to go back. They don't steer like a bike, rather the post bends to left or right and you go that way. We had a few minutes with the instructor to learn and then a few to practice.

and we were off, through the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter. As it was 10am on
Sunday morning it was not as crowded as usual which gave the 6 of us a chance to gain
confidence.

Quick shot of one of the Barcelona 2 man race boats. We went from the Gothic Quarter into the wide
open spaces of the port area and then the beach areas. Pedestrians could be a bit of an issue but usually
it was pretty easy to move around and through them.

Cruising along the waterfront towards the W Hotel (that's what it's called).
From there there are some great views of the commercial harbour, cruise port
and the beaches.

Sunday morning dinghy sailing class heads out in front of a cargo ship.
There were 6 cargo ships anchored outside of the commercial port, which
is huge. The cruise port is also the largest in the Mediterranean and they are
expanding both sections.

By this point we were pretty comfortable on the Segways, zipping along, weaving between
pedestrians, going up and down ramps.

After 2 hours we returned, through the narrow streets. It was great fun. Not particularly informative, no history lesson or much info but fun, relaxing and allowed us to see a lot of real-estate in a short time with little expenditure of energy. We had 3 breaks in the 2 hours to get off and rest our feet. Oddly enough they get sore, just standing on them and shifting your weight.

Next stop lunch and yes, we did have a Sangria

and yes, I had grilled squid. Aimee had tuna pie, also good.

We walked past Christopher

across La Rambla with its human statues

and into the Maritime Museum which is located in the old shipbuilding yards.

Its a beautiful old industrial building with displays on the various ports of Barcelona,
the maritime history of the area, the 2015 2 handed sailboat race, pirates, sea travel for
 leisure and commercially through the ages

but the most interesting for me was the actual boats of Catalan heritage. This is the royal galley
(a replica of one built here) and its massive.

One side was cut away so you could see the hold, complete with a rat.

Beautiful wood, carving, painting, gold leaf.

Aimee thought the stern looked like a bum.

There was a video, elsewhere in the museum, of what it would be like to be a galley
slave/oarsman on one of these things. Not fun, but a beautiful piece of equipment.

Poseidon on the prow. 

There were also fishing boats, leisure boats and a lighthouse.