Nov 1 - Barcelona

 Nov 1 - Barcelona

Our last port of call for the Mediterranean part of our cruise is Barcelona. Last night we said good bye to Barb as she heads home to Calgary.

Today Mary and I took a Private tour of the city covering all the main highlights of the city in a half-day. Here is a list of places we saw:

• La Sagrada Familia – world-famous architectural masterpiece
• Passeig de Gràcia – Barcelona’s most luxurious strip
• La Pedrera / Casa Mila – Gaudi’s famous building in Barcelona
• Casa Batllo – Gaudi’s astounding contribution to Modernisimo
• Casa Amatller – part of the famous trio ‘Apple of Discord’
• Casa Morera – part of the famous trio ‘Apple of Discord’
• Plaza Espanya – the most impressive plaza in Barcelona
• National Museum of Art – an impressive site with great views
• The Olympic Ring – see the site of the 1992 Olympic games
• Montjuic – for great city views, history, and a view of the port
• The Columbus Monument – for the world-famous explorer
• Port Olympic – marina, shops, restaurants, galleries, & more
• Plaza Catalunya – the famous plaza at the heart of Barcelona 

 Barcelona is quite a beautiful city.  Joe was our driver guide; he spoke perfect English and gave us lots of information about the city,  its history, the positive impact of having the Olympics here in 1992 etc.   I love the architecture - so different from Italy.  The buildings are more ornate; 5 or 6 storey apartment buildings have cute little balconies.

The highlight was Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia.  It has been under construction for over 140 years and is still not complete!  This is probably the most ornate building in the world!   We stopped to look at it from different vantage points.

 

When we returned to the ship we had to have our passports stamped and there was a long wait for the wheelchair to take us back onboard, so we were ready for a bit of lunch when we got there.

Back to our regular table and servers for dinner.  The menus have started to repeat from the first leg.  I had  Norwegian Salmon and Mary had Short Ribs.

Mary went to the first show in the Arena but Dorothy was so tuckered out she went bck to the room.  I thought if I had a couple of hours sleep I might wake up at 2:00 AM to watch the baseball game (they had special permission to show it on TV)  Alas, I slept right through to 4:30 AM and checked the score! 😢  From the reports it looked like a great game, but with a heartbreaking outcome!

Oct 31 - 🎃 Happy Hallowe’en from Palma de Mallorca! 🎃

 Oct 31 -🎃Happy Hallowe’en from Palma de Mallorca!🎃

It feels strange to be in Spain on Hallowe’en!!  it will be a full day for us as Mary and Barb have a half day tour booked, and this evening we are dining at the Crown Grill.  Sadly, Barb will be leaving us tomorrow so we decided to go out in style!

Palma de Mallorca is a city on the largest of the Balearic Islands off the south coast of Spain.  The tour is called Mallorca Uncorked and we had booked this before my new health issue and strong suggestion by my dr to limit alcohol so I cancelled!  Here is the description…

Soak up the local flavors and colors of Palma on this lovely half-day adventure that begins when you board a motorcoach and set out to see the city's top monuments. A photo stop is made at the very rare, round Bellver Castle and the Gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria. Continue your journey to the historic Village of Santa Maria del Camí, admiring the Mallorcan countryside dotted with farms along the way. As you travel, your driver/guide will share the history of this wine-producing region. Upon arrival, meet the staff at the Bodegas Macià Batle winery, which covers more than 100 hectares of vineyards, distributed around various estates in Mallorca. Noble French grapes, the agreeable sun and the Mediterranean climate guarantee a top-quality wine. Enjoy a tour followed by a tasting of some of these fine wines and consider purchasing some of your favorites before making the scenic return drive to port.

While the two tourists were out touring and sampling wine, I amused myself onboard. After a shower and breakfast I found a comfy chair in the International Cafe and caught up with the blog!

To entertain myself I wrote yesterday’s ‘story’ for your entertainment! 😂  I thought I needed to add more excitement to the blog so I let my imagination run wild for a few minutes!!   LOL. I’m surprised we didn’t receive more comments!  If you believed the tale, sorry to disappoint!

I opted for a very small lunch in anticipation of tonight’s feast! The girls returned from their tour and joined me in the Eatery.

Tonight we are dining in the Crown Grill. The meal was delicious!  Appetizers, steaks and desserts!

Crab cake

                                                                                  Caesar Salad    

         Dorothy had a New York Strip; Mary and Barb had Filet Mignon

And for dessert, Key Lime Pie for Barb and Dorothy, and Baked Alaska for Mary.

After dinner we went to the Arena for the Farewell show, and said our goodbyes.

 

Oct 30 - At sea

 Oct 30 - At sea

Not so sunny and warm today!  There is a bit of movement out there as we begin crossing the Mediterranean from Sicily to Spain.

Another day to relax!  

We had breakfast in the dining room a little later than usual!   We all seem to be dragging a bit and appreciate a slow start in the morning.

From there, Barb went back to nap and Mary and I went to a meeting for all the passengers remaining on the ship until Ft Lauderdale - all 1042 of us!  There was not very much that was new from other In Transit meetings we have attended, but we did ask to confirm our same table with Jaydeep and David for the second leg.  Jaydeep is a bit hard for me to understand - he has a fairly strong accent and soft voice, and combine that with the noise in the room, I often have to ask him to repeat (or ask Mary for help!). David always has a big smile and knows our preferences without having to ask so we wanted to stay with them.

In the afternoon Mary and I went to the port talk on Palma de Mallorca. Kez was, once again, an interesting, knowledgeable and lively speaker.  It looks like a really nice port.

Nap time for Dorothy in the afternoon!  Mary and Barb went to see the Magician in the Arena

Now for today’s story….

Just for some excitement we decided to each throw in $20 and have our own ‘slot pull’ in the casino!  We didn’t want to be there too long because it is the only indoor venue on the ship that allows smoking! UGH!

Well, our investment kept us there longer than we had anticipated; we’d be up a bit, then down a bit, and finally we were getting down to our last few credits and decided to leave.  Just one more spin!

Suddenly bells started ringing!  The screen started flashing!  People were staring at us!  What was happening?  Oh my God!  Can it be?

                                             $1584 !!!!  

If I could have jumped up and down I would have!!!  We were all so excited!  Should we leave now?  We agreed to give it one more spin on another machine….

Lo and behold -

Another $577 making a total of over $2000 USD!!

Now that was a great story to tell!  LOL

Dinner was good as usual!  This time I remembered to take the photos!

Starters were Cocoanut Crusted Pork Meatballs and Carrot Ginger Soup.

The main course was Weiner Schnitzel for Barb and Dorothy and Roast Pork for Mary!  Servings were huge!

And then Dessert!!  A repeat performance of Caramel Pecan Turtle Cheesecake for Mary, Princess Loveboat Dream for Barb and Blackberry Sorbet for Dorothy!

We waddled off to a performance in the Piazza, Raphael Loopro, and then off to bed.

Oct 29 - Messina

 Oct 29 - Messina

Today we are in Messina, Sicily.

Another sunny day with temps around 21°

We have a bus tour described here…

Step through the "door of Sicily" and explore Messina's magnificent historic highlights. This bustling town has a complex history with roots in Greek mythology. You'll begin your four-hour narrated tour city orientation drive passing major sights & venues of city. You'll motor along northern coast to reach Cape Peloro. Continue through villages of Ganzirri & Faro & small salt water lakes used for growing mussels. After a short stop for photos return to Messina, stopping at Cristo Re to take in the breath-taking city views before heading to the Piazza del Duomo. Once at the Piazza, be sure to see Montorsoli's 16th century and stroll over to the Fontana di Orione in the, toss in a coin and make a wish. Then there's the Cathedral itself. It's façade features three 16th-century entry doors and a 180-foot high bell tower that holds the world's largest astronomical clock. Inside, you can see the spectacular church treasury filled with the centuries worth of the gifts donated as tokens of faith by kings and peasants alike. Among the many spectacular art pieces is a superb golden mantle in honor of the Madonna.

The astronomical clock is an amazing mechanism!  Be sure and click this link to find out more!

A collection of photos from around the city…  

The Mussel Farm

After the tour we were all pretty tired so had a quick bit of lunch before a nap!

French Onion Soup was the popular choice of appetizer!  Barb and Mary had Roast Chicken and I had Salmon.  they had a chocolate extravaganza for dessert and I passed!  ( unbelievable that I would pass up a dessert, but true!)

The show in the Arena was cancelled due to technical problems, so we went back to our cabins for another early night.  I slept from just after 9:00 PM until 3:30 AM when nature called!  After checking the score on the Jays game, and seeing they were ahead 5-1 at the end of the 7th, I was able to go back to sleep feeling hopeful!

Oct 28 - At sea

 Oct 28 - At sea

Rolling along!  A welcome day to catch our breath on this busy itinerary!

70° and mostly sunny!  We’ve been so lucky with the weather.

Unfortunately Barb wasn’t 100% today so she decided to take the day off!  in her cabin!  with movies and Room Service!

Mary and I had a nice leisurely start to the day with breakfast at The Eatery.  It wasn’t really busy at 8:30 AM so it was easy to find a table.  After breakfast we went to the Arena for the port talk on Messina.  Kez James is our Destination Expert and she was excellent.  On her resumé it showed she was once a teacher - and that was obvious.  She was organized in her presentation, had great ‘visual aids’, and had an engaging style.  She might be one of the best Destination Experts I have seen!

We were about to leave when she finished, but noticed Cole, the Cruise Director, had just come into the theatre so we decided to stay for his talk on Life at Sea…. And we are so glad we did!  It was hilarious! Cole is a New Zealander who started out his career as a dancer.   He is a high energy guy with a great sense of humour and his timing of one liners in his presentation was so entertaining. 

Off to lunch and then my nap!  💤  while Mary went back to the Arena for a couple of presentations.

It’s dress up night tonight!  So I had my shower this afternoon to try and look ‘appropriate’!  

It was just a table for two tonight!  Hopefully Barb will be feeling better by tomorrow.  Dinner was good - Mary had Quinoa and Pomegranate salad and I had Cream of Tomato Soup to start.  The main course was steak for Mary and I had Truffle Infused Risotto with Prawns and Vegetables.  I found 5 green peas, four tiny slices of celery and one miniscule cube of carrot in the risotto!!!

Desserts were nice - Lemon Meringue Cheesecake for Mary and Chocolate Mint Cake for me!

We then made our way to the Piazza to wait for the Silken Skies Aerial performance. Tonight is White Night, so many people are dressed in white!  Most of the evening activities don't appeal that much - the magician from last night, a lot of dancing in the Piazza etc  

I wanted to see Silken Skies Aerial performance but just realized it’s a 10 min performance!!!  So do we wait for 2 hrs of pounding music to see a 10 min show? 😵‍💫.  I think not!

We’re going to head back to the peace and quiet of our cabin!  Am I sounding like an old fuddy duddy?  

⚾️ Time to dream about a win for the Jays!! They are going to show the game starting about 1:00 AM, but that’s way past my bedtime!!! 

⚾️Hopefully I'll wake up to a positive outcome!

Until tomorrow…..

Oct 27 - Chania

 Oct 27 - Chania 

Sunny and hot!  28°  Make that 35°+!

Chania is a city on the northwest coast of Crete.

The two tourists went out on an excursion…

Journey to a treasured landmark and explore an aristocratic old town on a fascinating 5.5-hour adventure. An approximately one-hour drive takes you up a steep and windy road to the edge of the Psilorítis Mountain, where the Monastery of Arkadi dominates the landscape, one of the most exceptional churches on Crete. Its magnificent golden facade with the intricate details that you see today was built in 1587, although its origins date to the 5th century. The monastery played a significant role in the Cretan resistance to Ottoman rule, and your guide will provide details of its history and the functions of this multipurpose monastery with extensive grounds. Next, enjoy free time to explore romantic Rethymnon, which delights with preserved medieval architecture and a lovely harbor area presided over by an impressive fortress. Wander its maze of alleyways, peer into artisan shops and refresh in one of the tiny cafes. Relax on your return to port.

For Dorothy, another day to relax onboard. This morning I moved from comfy chair to comfy chair, ending up in the Lido for a burger for lunch!  Yum.  I have an ebook that I can keep for 7 days, so thought I should get busy with that.  It was lovely sitting outdoors in the shade taking advantage of the fresh air.  

At 2 PM I went down to Princess Live for a Trivia game and to wait for the others to return.  We had arranged to meet at the Gelato shop!  Sadly, it doesn’t open until 4!   So when the girls returned we headed up to the Lido where they make those gigantic ice cream extravaganzas!  Barb had one of those, and Mary and I settled for a soft serve ice cream ( not real ice cream!!)

My dinner was disappointing!  Coq au Vin.  The chicken was overcooked, not like on our last cruise where it was yummy! Mary and Barb had Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding; I wish I had done that.   

Barb and Mary continue to outdo me in the drink department!  (Note the empty wine glasses in the background!)

After dinner we went to the Dome for a short acrobatic performance and a Magician.  It was ok.  

Then we headed to the Piazza for Ron Alton, a  54 yr old BMX acrobat!  

We turn the clocks back tonight so an extra hour of sleep!  Yay!