Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Fat Lady Sang
Oh my god..... it's 5:00 on May 8. The cruise is over. Heading to the airport very soon. Will post more later.
Cannes, France
It is one week prior to the Cannes Film Festival and several mega-yachts have already arrived; we can see them at two of the marinas from where we are anchored. 107 days at sea and this is only our second tender port - you can’t get much luckier than that. Our tenders carry about 100 people comfortably so the ship empties with very little waiting.
We waited until about 10:30 and headed in - a tender ride of about 15 minutes. This put us only a long block from downtown. As this is the center of the French Riviera the beaches stretch in both directions as do the hotels. We walked up the hill to the Muse¢ e de la Castra; a 12th century watchtower and castle ruins. We then walked back down into town and went down the oldest street. Very narrow and lined on both sides with cafes and shops. All of the buildings off the main street (facing the harbor) are very picturesque and everywhere you go there seem to be two types of people - the very rich and then the tourists. We stopped at a couple places and read the menus thinking about having lunch but there is something about spending over $100 Euros for lunch that just doesn’t hit me too well. So we stopped at one and had a drink and then continued on our way. After about 4 hours of walking around we headed back to the ship and had lunch in the buffet just before it closed.
It is only about an hour from here to either Nice or Monte Carlo by train so many of the passengers were heading off to one of them. Cannes is very pretty - built up into the hills that surround the port. It’s easy to see how it became the playground of the rich and famous but I prefer the cities that have some historically significant buildings or ruins to visit or those with more exotic cultures.
We waited until about 10:30 and headed in - a tender ride of about 15 minutes. This put us only a long block from downtown. As this is the center of the French Riviera the beaches stretch in both directions as do the hotels. We walked up the hill to the Muse¢ e de la Castra; a 12th century watchtower and castle ruins. We then walked back down into town and went down the oldest street. Very narrow and lined on both sides with cafes and shops. All of the buildings off the main street (facing the harbor) are very picturesque and everywhere you go there seem to be two types of people - the very rich and then the tourists. We stopped at a couple places and read the menus thinking about having lunch but there is something about spending over $100 Euros for lunch that just doesn’t hit me too well. So we stopped at one and had a drink and then continued on our way. After about 4 hours of walking around we headed back to the ship and had lunch in the buffet just before it closed.
It is only about an hour from here to either Nice or Monte Carlo by train so many of the passengers were heading off to one of them. Cannes is very pretty - built up into the hills that surround the port. It’s easy to see how it became the playground of the rich and famous but I prefer the cities that have some historically significant buildings or ruins to visit or those with more exotic cultures.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona is one of my favorite cities in Europe. We have been here a number of times and have toured, taxied, hopped-on/-off and wandered through many parts of the city. I love the Gaudi houses and apartment buildings, the Sagrada Familia (cathedral) and his Parc Guell. Since I made those the primary stops on other visits, this time we just took the ship shuttle to the Christopher Columbus monument at the bottom of Las Ramblas and walked that area.
Las Ramblas is a pedestrian area lined with shops, restaurants, bars and hotels. It is “the” place to go for tapas and people watching. I didn’t do much picture-taking as it is mostly strolling people (tourists and locals) until we went into the market. As many of you know, I love shooting the stacks of beautiful fruits and vegetables and the fish and meat stalls. Somehow King Soopers just doesn’t have the same atmosphere! I’ve put a few pictures below - you just don’t find this at our local grocery stores and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen pig’s noses for sale anywhere before.
We finally stopped and sat in one of the cafés; I had an ice cream and Jim had a beer and we did about an hour of people watching and then headed slowly back to the shuttle stop and back to the ship.
The final voting for the photo contest was held… Jim took second over all and I didn’t get anything. What’s up with that?? My ego is shattered.
The onboard atmosphere is changing a bit… it’s rather quieter as people realize that the trip is almost over. I’m dreading the packing and the whole disembarkation stuff, but at least we are going home in business so it should be comfortable.
Las Ramblas is a pedestrian area lined with shops, restaurants, bars and hotels. It is “the” place to go for tapas and people watching. I didn’t do much picture-taking as it is mostly strolling people (tourists and locals) until we went into the market. As many of you know, I love shooting the stacks of beautiful fruits and vegetables and the fish and meat stalls. Somehow King Soopers just doesn’t have the same atmosphere! I’ve put a few pictures below - you just don’t find this at our local grocery stores and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen pig’s noses for sale anywhere before.
We finally stopped and sat in one of the cafés; I had an ice cream and Jim had a beer and we did about an hour of people watching and then headed slowly back to the shuttle stop and back to the ship.
The final voting for the photo contest was held… Jim took second over all and I didn’t get anything. What’s up with that?? My ego is shattered.
The onboard atmosphere is changing a bit… it’s rather quieter as people realize that the trip is almost over. I’m dreading the packing and the whole disembarkation stuff, but at least we are going home in business so it should be comfortable.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Messina, Italy
We woke up early enough to watch as we came into the harbor on Sicily. Jim spotted Mt. Etna through the clouds… I think I saw it, but then without my contacts it could have just been another cloud. The harbor has a tall column with a golden Madonna at the top that blesses all that enter the port - quite a lovely site with the sun shining on her. After about a 30 minute delay because a ferry was still in our berth we made it into port.
We had nothing planned here because the trip to Taormina didn’t seem worth it with 3 hours of bus ride and one hour to see the town. Also it is a Sunday so most of the local businesses and stores are closed except the souvenir shops which you can always find in any tourist destination.
We headed into town about 10:30 to see the clock tower at noon when all the mechanical scenes start working. Huge crowd by 11:45... Then again, there isn’t much else to see in Messina. Finally the clock struck 12 noon and then the Lion roared, the cock crowed and the religious scenes started moving.
I’m sure this would be a delightful area on any day other than Sunday because there were many local shops, restaurants and bars but only a couple were open so they were packed with waiting lines. It made a nice relaxing day with beautiful weather and nothing really pressing to do. We got back to the ship about 2:00 and had a buffet lunch and then settled down to read until sail away at 4:30.
Our cruise is coming to an end soon and I have mixed feelings; one part of me is ready to go home, and the other just wants to stay on the ship. More thoughts on this later.
We had nothing planned here because the trip to Taormina didn’t seem worth it with 3 hours of bus ride and one hour to see the town. Also it is a Sunday so most of the local businesses and stores are closed except the souvenir shops which you can always find in any tourist destination.
We headed into town about 10:30 to see the clock tower at noon when all the mechanical scenes start working. Huge crowd by 11:45... Then again, there isn’t much else to see in Messina. Finally the clock struck 12 noon and then the Lion roared, the cock crowed and the religious scenes started moving.I’m sure this would be a delightful area on any day other than Sunday because there were many local shops, restaurants and bars but only a couple were open so they were packed with waiting lines. It made a nice relaxing day with beautiful weather and nothing really pressing to do. We got back to the ship about 2:00 and had a buffet lunch and then settled down to read until sail away at 4:30.
Our cruise is coming to an end soon and I have mixed feelings; one part of me is ready to go home, and the other just wants to stay on the ship. More thoughts on this later.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Special post for Laurie
This is a special post for my sister Laurie. I just found out that you are reading this. I hope all is well and we will see you soon.
Here is a special picture for you... I wasn't going to post it because it looks silly without Jim in the picture, but he had to move to the front of the gondola to take the picture.
Here is a special picture for you... I wasn't going to post it because it looks silly without Jim in the picture, but he had to move to the front of the gondola to take the picture.
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