Time Travel

Right around the corner from the cathedral, Barcelona has a wonderful museum of history.

We took an elevator under the streets of the city and saw the ruins of the old Roman city of Barcino. Many of its houses and shops still show faded mosaic floors and paintings on the walls. It is quite far from the current port where we will board the Scenic Eclipse on Saturday. That distance makes me wonder whether the coastline may have moved since Roman sailors unloaded here.

A fifth century Christian church was built in a time when the local bishop ruled not just the church, but every aspect of city life as well. I could still baptize a new believer in its beautiful baptistry. We saw buildings and artifacts made by the Visigoths after they replaced the Romans here, and other ruins made two hundred years later when Muslims made Spain an Islamic Kingdom.

Finally we saw the throne room where Columbus petitioned their Christians majesties, Ferdinand and Isabella, for funds to buy three ships for an expedition to India. Unlike his contemporaries, however, he planned to do it by sailing west. You know the rest of the story.Read more