07jul 2010 Oh to be in Spain now that World Cup is here
Spanish immigration cleared and bags retrieved we headed out to get a cab. I should have known this was going to be more of an adventure than bargained for when the cab driver had to call for directions and Carlos, our landlord told us he would be waiting at the apartment and to call him if we couldn’t find it. The cab driver goes about half way up Las Ramblas, pulls over near Placa Reial and tells us this is as far as he can go. Horns honking behind us we grab our bags and head off through the Placa. Seems the street we are on is so quiet because no cars are allowed (read too narrow). Somehow with four choices I pick the right corner, but don’t see the street sign. After walking about 1 ½ block too far Andy asks an elderly gentleman who speaking no English, escorts us to our door. Can I say I love the Catalans?
We ring the bell and are let in through the front door. The lobby is all dark wood and marble tiles, very old school. As is the elevator. Think, “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day “or” That Touch of Mink” or the “Maltese Falcon”. An elevator that has two different doors both of which must be closed, this thing has just enough room for the three of us with two roll on suitcases and a backpack. It smells of old wood and time.
We are on the second floor, so why take the elevator? Well the numbering system here is a little (read lot) funny. First there is the lobby, go up two flights then there is entroado, then another two flights and primo then another two flights and you get to secoundo. After a long day of touring I have come to love the elevator.
We find number 4 and meet Carlos; he shows us the apartment, explains the air conditioning (but not the hot water) asks where our fourth person is and has me sign a contract. Basically, no parties, no illegal activity and keep it quiet between 10 and 9 (12 and 10 on weekends). He hands over the keys, one to the apartment and one to the main door, both of which are locked pretty much 24-7. I hope we don’t have a fire. The apartment is a strange combination of antique and modern. Most of the interior doors are a good 10 feet and the ceiling about 11 or 12, making the rooms seem large and airy. There are two bedrooms with two single beds in each. Lots of closet space in each. The kitchen has a microwave, full frig, gas stove, washer and dryer. The living room is decorated with old movie posters has a TV with DVD player, couch, chair and coffee table along with a dining table and four chairs. The bathroom is as old school as the place itself, with a hand held shower and shower curtains suspended from the ceiling with a bar and chains. There isn’t enough hot water to wash your hands, but we soon figure out the hot water heater.
Andy wants to unpack, I want to sleep, he unpacks (sort of) and I lay down. We all agree on a two-hour nap and we would get up again around 4 to do some shopping and get something to eat. At four we head to the La Bouquetro market to get the essentials. There is a dizzying amount of meat cheese seafood, bread veggies and fruit, not to mention fresh fruit juices like nothing we ever see at home. Think prickly pear cactus juice. We limit this trip to fruit and bread, until Andy spots the olive seller. Good thing I know you don’t have to buy in full kilos and that you can get 100-gram quantities. Three types of olives later we are heading out to find a more mundane grocery store for things like soap, coffee and water. We went much further than we needed to but got everything and headed back to deposit our treasures.
By now, we are hungry and the eateries of the Placa are looking good. We stop at the first, find a waiter who speaks English and order Sangria and Tapas. Seven tapas and a pitcher of Sangria later, and I have the “Wow we really are in Spain” moment. Now the big descion, do we look for a bar to watch the World Cup on head to the apartment and watch on TV.
TV wins but lo and behold, the game is not to be seen anywhere. No matter, the shouts and cheers from the Placa and fireworks they shot off were a pretty good indication of who won. Time to crash and get rested for the first day of the adventure.
08jul2010 Bikes and Beaches
After yet more sleep, it was time to start the adventure. I fulfilled by dream of having coffee on a patio in Spain, after figuring out how the coffee maker worked, and playing with the amount of coffee. We decided to get our bearings and an overview of the city by doing the Fat Tire bike tour. After getting directions to the correct placa we were there with enough time to grab a snack at pana (the Spanish version of subway) I though I was ordering a lemon slushy, completely oblivious to the cervica part of the drink. So what am drinking at 10am, a combo of beer and lemon slushy. Try ordering that at subway. The tour was fun, with a lot more traffic than the last time we took it (on a Sunday) Megan our guide rocked, I can believe it was only her 6th tour, she was such a pro and very entertaining. The tour ended at the beach with lunch at the same seaside bar,(and yet more Sangria) but this time there were a whole lot of people on the beach and not a whole lot of clothes on them. Nudity is perfectly legal in Barcelona. While I didn’t see anyone completely starkers, there were a few young ladies pushing the boundaries. Andy and I made time for a walk on the beach and had a successful sea glass hunt, small pieces but well worn.
Hope and I did some clothes shopping on the way back to the apartment. I love a good sale and there were lots of them to be had. Europe fashions at Target prices, so who cares if I am a large on extra large over here! A quick trip to the market for more fruit, bread and olives, and some cactus juice and it was home for a rest.
After a siesta we headed back out around nine to experience something I haven’t done in two trips, Las Ramblas at night. First impression was Placa Reial was crowded with not a table to be had at any of the many restaurants and a rather sizable waiting line at one. The Ramblas was Much cooler, both temperature and people watching wise. The only real annoyance was the guys selling these light up toys that you launch into the sky. We stopped for gelato (ok) and walked up to Placa Catalunya to see the fountain and scope out where we would pick up Taylor tomorrow. One the way back we stopped at the sandwich shop next to our apartment. The food was inexpensive but far and away the worst meal so far. Dinner over at midnight. Didn’t take us long to adjust to Catalan ways did it?
09jul2010 It’s Gaudi not Gaudy
Today we spent the morning wondering why we haven’t heard from Taylor. Did he miss the plane, was it late, why no call or text? So we decided to head to Placa Catalunya were the Aeorbus discharges it passengers in the vain hope that we find him.
Fate, timing, the Hand of God, and karma, were all on our side. There was Taylor, with no cell service. The plane was indeed late. So the reunited family goes back down Las Ramblas, with a stop at the market for olives bread and fruit (the figs are to die for here).
After devouring the market haul, T decided he was more tired than he thought, so he headed to bed and the rest of the family headed out for the planned adventure, a tour of Gaudi houses. Since it is hot and humid the subway seems the logical choice. The metro is fast clean and about 1/3 the price of the HOHO bus not to mention much more direct. Three stops up on the green line we are at la Perrera. Here you can tour an apartment, the roof and the attic. The apartment is set out, as it would be for a middle class family, with period furnishing. The attic is homage to Gaudi, with models of his buildings and reproductions of furniture and fixtures. The roof is by far the most amazing space; the chimneys all seem to have faces and the view (and breeze) were refreshing.
From here it was a three-block walk with a stop for some overprices baguettes and water, to Casa Batio. I’ve toured many houses in my life, but this is by far my favorite. I find this house endlessly fascinating, from the stained glass windows that evoke being under the sea, to the ergonomic handles for the windows to the complete lack of straight lines. I am so glad that this privately owned place is open to the public and happily forked over the 17.6 euros each grabbed the audio tour (included) and spent a wonderful two hours snapping pictures. We did notice this time that there were plants on the third floor and that the windows were covered with shades. We also noticed inside, that there were mats outside both the rooms on the third floor. I’d like to think that the family who owns this house actually gets to live in it. For my foolish friends reading this, they have added a VIP lounge (VIP being anyone who paid admission), here they sell snacks and drinks, and you can sit on reproductions of Gaudi chairs while you enjoy them. I had cappuccino while the others had ice cream, again, a little steep, but happy to know that they money goes to help restore and maintain the building.
A quick subway ride back to Las Ramblas and short walk to our “home” off Placa Reial where everyone else is napping while I write this and sip a glass of Spanish wine that would have cost about 12 a bottle at home here 1 euro 50.
Once everyone was up we took a walk around, the cathedral was closed for the day. A trip to the Paleau de Musica shows that it opens at 10. So the plan for tomorrow, hit the market early, go tour the Music hall then the cathedral then up to Parc Guell. For tonight there is dinner to consider, we head back to the Placa to try the place people have been standing in line for, Les Quines Nits. Reasonable prices and OK food, Taylor and I split a mixed pallea. Dessert for me was dark cocoa ice cream with almond cream, YUM.
10jul 2010 Art, religion and a Disney show at the Fountain
We hit the market around 9am; this is when the serious shoppers arrive. The older folks with wheeled shopping bags. The market is just coming to life with stalls alive with people setting out produce, fish meat and cheeses. Today we add some ham and cheese to the normal fare. Take our goodies back to the apartment and head out to the Plau du Musica. We buy our tickets (Taylor and Hope being students is a savings) and head inside. The place is hard to describe. Ceramic rose medallions seem to hang at regular intervals on every ceiling. Stained glass windows with more flower motifs on three sides of the building. The skylight on the ceiling is just amazing and has to be seen for oneself. Even the stage is over the top with permanent sculptures of women of the world playing different instruments their head shoulders made of stone, the rest of the body made of ceramic. I don’t think words can do this building justice. It really has to be seen to appreciate the amount of work and detail that can be put into three years construction with private funds. Andy said he felt like he was walking through a set in fantasia, the organ oddly enough was playing the appropriate music.
We headed back to the apartment, as the kids were both hungry and tired. We passed and antique car show in the government plaza. There were some great old cars including a Hispano Suiza. After our homemade tapas, Andy and I went to visit the cathedral while the kids napped. After all the light and air of the plaeu, the cathedral was dark, there were beautiful alters with lots of carved and guilded wood, but the seemed to have needed a good dusting. I did go below and pay homage to Saint Joan, a young girl of 13 who experienced horrible torture and death.
In the afternoon we used the Metro to make it up to Parc Guell. The breeze and the view are just wonderful. Gaudi would be happy to know that at least his marketplace is being used as he designed it. There were all kinds of craft people selling things, at least until the police showed up.
Then we took the Metro Plaza Espanya and up the Plaau Naticional to get seats for the Magic Fountain show. The show was amazing and strangely enough, all the tunes were Disney (I guess this was the early kids show). Hunger called and Taylor wanted to eat near Port Olympic, so we hopped another metro and checked out places till we found La Fitora. The food was better than last night and the service was stellar. The seafood was very fresh. Stuffed and tired we opted for a cab to get us back. Hope and Andy headed up to the apartment while Taylor and I stayed in the Placa and split a pitcher of Sangria and got caught up with each other’s lives.
11 July 2010 The amazing disappearing yard sale Ole Ole Ole
Since we devoured all the groceries, we decided on one last meal in the Placa Reial before heading off to the ship. Sunday must be craft sale day as there was a number of stalls set up outside on the square. Out numbering the stalls about two to one were folks with their stuff set out on sheets on the ground pretty much anything and everything you would fine at a yard sale. These folks magically disappeared every time the police arrived. They melted away and reappeared several times during the course of our breakfast. It really was amazing to watch.
We decided to walk to the ship (mostly because by the time we decided to get a cab we were too close). Big points to RCL for having cold water and lemonade in their lobby. Check in was quick and painless and embarkation was easy. They do embed your picture into your room key. Thank heavens the photo doesn’t show, after the long hot walk down Las Ramblas and over the bridge none of us was looking our best. Luckily, since we had planned on one last walk on the beach, we had swimsuits on so it was a quick lunch then directly up to the pools to cool off.
Rooms were ready promptly at one, and our bags were waiting for us. Our rooms overlook the interior shopping area of the ship (right now there is a parade going on down there much like a sail away party on DCL) two bottles of wine were waiting for us (thanks All Seas). The room is a good size the bathroom very similar to NCL but the lay out and materials make it feel better than NCL. No jackets needed for the lifeboat drill; which was as hot and crowded as every lifeboat drill for the past 10 years.
We went to welcome aboard show and got our first taste of Spanish immersion. The cruise director can speak about five languages, but every (and I mean every) thing he says, is in both English and Spanish, sometime English first and sometimes Spanish. Day one and I am now to the point that I could figure out some of his speech by the Spanish alone. Hope, with more years of high school Spanish is already sick of hearing everything twice.
Directly after the show they started showing the World Cup final on the big screen. We left during the first period and returned after dinner to find the score the same 0-0 just the number of people yellow carded had increased. It was very entertaining to watch the match with a few hundred Spaniards and a half dozen Dutch. As Hope observed, “Mom you have found your people, they scream at TV during sports just like you.” Predictable, the crowd went nuts when the winning goal was scored. The chanting went on a good 30 minutes. Ole.
12july 2010
Nice Ship
Today is a sea day. Smart move as most folks arrived the night before and are still suffering various stages of jet lag. We eat breakfast, the typical cruise fare with some interesting additions for the locals. I’ve never seen baked beans on the breakfast menu before.
We decide to try out the climbing wall. Hope and I have limited success. Got to start working on my forearms if I ever want to try this again, they were shaking after three minutes. Andy, makes it to the top on his second attempt (show off) but is panting as hard as the rest of us.
The ship has two pools one adult one family. Both have hot tubs. They seem very good about keeping the adult area’s adult. I like hanging at the adult pool it is a good size and cooler than the family pool.
Dinner tonight is formal night an we opted for the additional charge venue to celebrate 30 years of marriage. The food was wonderful and the service stellar. We took a walk on deck post dinner, but soon needed to retire. Tomorrow starts commando touring!
13july 2010
Felix felisis.
I think I know how Harry Potter felt when he drank this potion. A single perfect day. We met Carmine who upgraded us to a mini wan and were at Pompeii just as it opened. Tour guide spoke excellent English and had a wonderful way of making the streets and houses come alive. We learned about the political system, where bribes or gifts to city were common. By the time we left two hours later the place was packed with people. Our guide showed us some of the local flora and fauna, including a pepper tree. I never knew black pepper came from a tree.
Then it was on the Amalfi Coast Drive. Carmine was enthusiac about sharing his world with us. The further we drove the lovelier the scenery. The mountain with the village tucked in close to the sea. The houses looking like they cling to the rocks, covered with bougainvillea were simply charming. Carmine broke up the drive with a number of photo ops along side of the road. We passed a fruit seller that could have been a photo op in itself. The lemons were huge. Carmine explained that these were eating lemons. My husband remembered eating such lemons in Cyprus as a boy. Every mile the scenery just got better and better. In the town of Positono we were given 45 minutes free time, so we walked down to the beach. Although Carmine got us quite close, the walk to the beach is a series of steps down a hill. At the bottom is the bay. The beach itself is quite rocky; so I despaired of adding Italian see glass to the collection. Wow was I wrong. Sea glass was everywhere. Feet didn’t even have to get into the water. Against the black rocks it was easy to spot. Brown, green white and some blue. In ten minutes I had a pocketful. Back up the hill shopping on the way, the clothes were very temping, such pretty colors and styles.
Lunch was to be up the mountain at a place were mama cooks the food, puts out whatever is fresh that day. No menu, no matter. You arrive and you don’t have time to put your napkin down before they put bottles of still and sparkling water on the table also bottles of red and white wine, no labels, local grown stuff. The come the starters. Home made mozzarella and ricotta that melts in your mouth, eggplant, peas spinach, tomatoes that were out of this world broccoli, fresh made bread, and chickpeas. I thought this was the whole meal, and I would have been happy. No, next was the pasta course, gnocchi to die for, ravioli, mama’s pastas and pasta with mushrooms. A small pizza was next. Next, dessert a pear ricotta cake that was heavenly, chocolate pastry puffs stuffed with cream and covered in chocolate a chocolate cake layers with gnosh. Then there was the fruit, huge cherries, yellow and red plums and a fig so good it melted in you mouth. To end a shot of lemoncello and since Taylor is a cook a trip for him back to the kitchen to visit momma and another round of “apple juice”. Carmine presented us with an eating lemon that my husband enjoyed very much. Too soon we were back on the ship. A trip up to the adult pool and a nap before dinner was in order. After dinner we took some time to look at the pictures taken last night. They were very good and it was a hard choice.
14 July 2010 Rome
Yet another early morning call with bagels and coffee and we are off the ship by 8am to meet Onofrio, our driver for the day. Since they are closing the Sistine chapel this afternoon to hang tapestry our itinerary has to be changed. We go to the Vatican first. Our driver explains the difference between the Holy Sea and Rome itself.
We meet our guide, and he brings a whole new perspective to religion, the art with its different periods and styles and the history of how the together these things expressed the power of the church. The Sistine chapel is simply breath taking and our guide gave us ample time and a great explanation of who and how it was painted as well as some specifics of exactly were Michelangelo painted himself into the picture. As I stated earlier, they are starting to return some tapestries that were once in the chapel, back to their homes, so even our guide had not seen this addition.
After the museum he took us on to St. Peters. It is very impressive and powerful structure. Out into the square we looked up to see the Pope’s apartments. The square itself is quite beautiful, but marred in my opinion by two giant “billboards” from a gas company proclaiming their good deed of cleaning the statues at the top of the walls of the square. Two hours flew by in what felt like a heartbeat.
We then headed to the Parthenon once a roman temple, is now a church. Onofrio then took us to his favorite square, the home of Brazilian embassy, which has three beautiful fountains. Our time at the Trevi fountain was marred by protesters (there seemed to be a lot of protestors in Rome that day.) It seemed a little strange that the local police were whistling down people who put their feet in the fountain while completely ignoring the five people in the middle holding a large sign saying in English Rome is not for Sale. The irony of folks throwing coins into the fountain while this was going on was not lost on my family. The protestors did leave allowing us to take pictures. As we were returning to the car we passed the Stazi (local military) headed to the fountain.
New York traffic pales in comparison to Rome, where streets seemed to be shut down at a moments notice. Lunch was an overpriced disappointment, we should have gone with sandwiches, but live and learn. There was only time for a drive by of the Spanish Steps; with a drive past all the high priced shopping areas. After lunch we saw the forum and the coliseum, but did not have the time or energy to actually go in. One more government square and then it was time to drive back to the ship. Onofrion made a couple of side trips, one to pull off to show us were the circus maximus once was and another to show us the “statue” used in the Movie Roman Holiday which he explained was actually probably a sewer grate.
Since were not driving the people watching was fun. It seemed everyone was dressed quite smartly. Even the vespa-riding women sported three inch heels. Once back on the ship Hope headed for the rock-climbing wall while the rest of us showered. We met at the crown bar at the top of the ship for a drink, then off to dinner.
15 July 2010 Florence
A third early morning of bagels and coffee and it was off the ship by 8am to meet Alberto our driver for Pisa/Florence. We have reservations to climb the Leaning Tower at 9am. By 8:45 we have given over our vouchers and with tickets in hand. There are 300 some steps to the top, each with a different rise the steps having been worn down over the centuries. The experience of climbing up while pitched down is a little unnerving. On the bell level you come out and then walk around the tower for the final flight up to the top. The view is your reward for the effort. The surrounding countryside is very beautiful. Unfortunately there is little time to linger. Tours are every 30 minutes and you must be up and down the tower in that time. As we were headed down, the bells sounded. It was not as loud as I expected. Once on the ground we took time for some pictures then headed off to Florence.
On the way we passed some beautiful fields of sunflowers, vineyards and olive groves. We started out with a drive up through a park, land that used to belong to the Medici family to a Monastery that has the most amazing view of the city. The church itself was quite beautiful and peaceful the alabaster windows behind the alter give off a red glow, simpler and in some way more beautiful than the many stained glass windows we have seen. As is the norm, there are people buried in the floor of the church. Since I really don’t want to walk over these final resting places I try to walk around them. I was told “ don’t worry about walking over them, they are only 200 years old. I have thing for graveyards and the one behind this church was a treat. I just wish there was more time to explore. From here we drove into the city, passing along the way the house were Galleo spent is last few years under house arrest.
Another church bigger and more ornate where we pay our final respects the likes of Donte and Marconi. The Medici chapel was amazing.
We made our way to another square where we had lunch. The restaurant catered to tourist but the food and wine were authentic, my pasta carbonara was wonderful as was everyone else’s entries (we all sampled each others). After lunch we headed off to the cathedral but time was growing short, Taylor headed off to the market while I headed to the doromo. A tourist group was huddled around the famous doors so I couldn’t get pictures. The inside had a large and very ornate mosaic and lots of gold leaf. We opted to pas on the plaza del vechio in favor of a gelato store of Alberto’s choosing. Too soon it was time to leave Florence and head back to the ship. I headed to the pool (did I mention it was hot and humid) hope to the climbing wall and the guys to a nap. We met for drink before dinner and headed off to bed after dinner. Tomorrow we take a break from each other and have an unscheduled day in France. Right now I think we are all churched out, arted out and ready for a break from history.
16 July2010 Getting the most or your euro.
We tendered in Villiefrache sur mer and blessedly were able to sleep in. I headed to breakfast and a beautiful view of the harbor. Taylor decided to explore on his own while Andy Hope and I tried to decide, the bus to Nice or to Monaco. We decided that as hot as it was 20 minutes to Nice was better than 40 minutes to Monaco. The bus cost 1 euro each. Once in nice we headed toward the old part of the city and the sea. We found a market with beautiful fruits, veggies and spices. The peaches were as dead ripe juicy and wonderful. We headed to the sea. The shore was rocky. Who needs a hot stone massage when you can lie on the beach at Nice? It was hot enough and I had a swimsuit on, so I braved the rocks and headed into the water to cool off and hunt for sea glass. The water was cool and refreshing and the sea glass plentiful. We strolled and shopped our way through the old town till it got too hot and we headed for the bus station for the ride back to Villiefranche. We took the tender back to the ship for a shower and a blessed afternoon on nothing more strenuous than reading a book. Andy and I headed out to Villiefrache once again to find a cash machine. The tender seemed to take forever and it was hot hot hot by the time we got back to the ship. We again met for a drink before dinner. Tomorrow we port in Toulon and tour once more.
17July2010
It was nice to have some others along today as we were sharing this tour with some folks met on the Internet. We met Frank from revelation tours and planned our day. The traffic to Aux au Provance was already heavy, and all of the wineries contacted didn’t want to open for tasting on a holiday weekend (July 14th is there independence day) so we opted for visits to some little villages it the mountains were it was cool, quiet, and uncrowded. The first village was tiny with a small church where the monk has put on a recording of Gregorian Chants. Our second village was bigger and slightly more charming. Here Taylor found a liquor store that sold absinthe. The owner gave us a sample. The stuff taste vile. One swallow was enough to convince me to never touch the stuff. What were more appealing were his homemade liquors. I can’t wait to get home and try lavender liquor (the owner said to pour it over white wine or to use it on fresh fruit). Now the funny part was he said all of this in French. My last French lesson was sometime in high school. I was getting about every tenth word, but still we were communicating.
Our next stop was up a mountain. I thought of my friend Steve and his son Emmitt and how they would find the mountain a great bike ride (as did the 20 of so bikers we passed on the series of hairpin turns). The view at the top was spectacular. Below us was the city of Casis. It’s the French version of a very small resort town. The beach was about three blocks long, the rocks smaller than Nice. We wandered around for a while and asked a shopkeeper where she would eat for lunch. We looked at the menu and it was a little to heavy on fish, so we went down the street to find Frank and another place. The menu was simple and the prices reasonable. Even I could read and understand the menu and interperate it to Hope. Frank was very helpful in explaining dishes that have never shown up in any cookbook I’ve seen. Lunch seated outside a café in France, this is surreal.
The strangest thing happened while we were at lunch. All of a sudden we hear a goat’s horn behind blow. Along comes this guy with what looks like four wicker laundry baskets strapped to him. He looks like an illustration from a child storybook. He comes into the restaurant and proceeds to sell them the goat cheese. Seems he is the mobile grocery store, since he proceeded up the street, touting the horn and selling his wares.
After a leisurely lunch we took the mountain pass further up for some wonderful views before headed back to the ship. It was a wonderful relaxing day.
At the ship we did the mile walk to make raise funds and awareness for the make a wish foundation. The donation was $10 and you got a tee shirt and a chance to walk around the jogging track with the captain. It was fun and the money goes to a good cause. The rest of the afternoon was consumed with the usual last day things. One last swim, packing, dividing up the tip money, the evaluation survey. The captain is expecting 8-9 foot seas and the boat is already rocking. It has been an amazing journey with some unexpected experiences along with more history, culture and sights then one should experience in a month much less 10 days.
