Arrival In Barcelona
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Barcelona,
Catalonia,
Spain and Canary Islands
Monday, August 13, 2007
After a tumultuous trip from Philadelphia to Barcelona, we finally trekked out to find our ship SANS luggage...more on that later. Unfortunately, we had not planned well about how to get from the airport to the cruise terminal. So, after wandering around for an hour or so, we elected to catch a taxi and take it to Las Ramblas-the busiest street in Barcelona. In August, many shops and restaurants are closed, especially in the afternoon. So, we walked around and settled on having a traditional dish of paella with some spanish white wine. Then of course, we indulged in some gelato. YUM!
After dessert, we decided to walk to our cruise ship. BIG MISTAKE! I am not sure how far away the ship was from Las Ramblas, but my husband and I are in very good shape, and we were exhausted by the time we reached the bridge that connected the mainland to the cruise ship terminal.
Eventually, we checked into our room-seamless process. We booked a corner balcony on the 7th floor. We loved the room- but our half our balcony was obstructed by the end of the ship. We were assured that there are no obstructed balconies-beware of this. As far as a ship room goes, this one was incredible. One word about the amenities- there is no refrigerator. I was surprised by this, since Norwegian ships have them.
That evening, we ate from the Windjammer buffet, it was pretty good. My husband LOVED it--but he loves buffets. The drinks were reasonably priced. We retired to our room early, since we had not slept in over 24 hours.
The next morning, we arrived in Nice, France on the French Riviera. The views were amazing with colored buildings and rocky hills jutting out over the ocean. We booked a tour through RCI to explore Nice and Cannes on our own. The bulk of our day was dedicated to searching for clothes, since our luggage had yet to arrive. Nice had incredible shopping and beautiful streets. I would love to return. We traveled on to Cannes, and explored on foot- climbing to the top of one hill that overlooked the city. We visited the famous theater, home of the Cannes Film Festival.
That night we tried the pasta cafe- the pasta is simple with 4 different sauces to choose from, and was terrific. That evening, we attended a Broadway musical review show. The dancers and singers were very good. We went to bed early again.
Day 2- we ordered breakfast in bed. Room service was limited, and was not nearly as good as going on to have breakfast in the restaurants. We boarded a bus to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. The city was overrun with street vendors. This was disheartening, and interfered with some pictures. Seeing the tower was amazing, but the town did not offer many other attractions. We went on from there to Florence to explore on our own. We did not feel like we had near enough time in Florence. The city is vast, and has many places to explore. We ate a very expensive, mediocre meal at a street cafe. We learned early on that we could not find very good food in the tourist areas of many of the cities we visited. We saw the famous statue of David, some gorgeous Duomos. We shopped in a couple of department store. My husband had difficulty finding clothes that would fit, because he is tall and broad-shouldered. We spent the remainder of our time there sipping espresso and people watching.
That night we went to the dining room for a long meal. We really like our waiters. We had a wonderful meal. That night, the Beatles entertained us.
Day 3- We went to Naples the next morning, and we had signed up to go to Capri, Italy. This was a heinous trip in a large speedboat, packed full of people without A/C. However, when we finally reached the island, we were very happy. The island is busy with wealthy tourists, so the town has many shops, both local and international. We opted for a tour that included a harrowing drive up a cliff toward Anacapri where my husband took a ski lift to an observation area at the top of the cliff. He took some breath-taking pictures from the top. We had a "stamped" out lunch given to our entire group- pasta and "chicken" which looked just like a piece of honeybaked ham. I bought several necklaces for my family and friends. Then we took a funicular down to the town of Capri-proper. We walked around the beautiful streets, window shopping. We stopped for gelato (coffee-flavored)! After a long and very hot day, we were escorted back to the ship.
That evening, we ate at the Italian specialty restaurant and it was fantastic food! Very worth the extra charge. We saw an incredible acrobatic act that evening. Very similar to Cirque du Soliel. We were absolutely amazed. We found that the upper deck on the side was the most comfortable areas to sit and watch the show. The drink of the day is usually worth it, too--they are much cheaper.
Day 4- Dubrovnik, Croatia. We took a tour to the Glavich family home for some homemade grappa and a meal. They also entertained us while we ate. The meal was very good, and the country was absolutely gorgeous. It was an incredible country, with lots of untouched land. There were rolling hills and large lakes. You could see some of the effects from the war still. We will definitely return to this country. We then drove down to the old town, which is surrounded by city walls. Once inside the walls, we had a couple of hours to explore the city by ourselves. The city was beautiful with very few street vendors (what a relief).
We had dinner in our lovely main dining room. Afterwards we attended the nightly entertainment.
Day 5- Corfu, Greece. We left the ship to join a tour of the Palace of Achilles. Nice palace, but I would not recommend this tour. It was just anti-climatic, and felt like a waste of a beautiful day. From the palace, we went to the town of Corfu to explore ourselves. This was gorgeous! We stopped at Cafe du Chocolate. YUM :) We spent a very long time just taking in the scenery. Then, we decided to quickly climb to the top of a fortress overlooking the ocean. We literally ran to the top, took a few pictures, then ran back, and barely made our bus! The views were worth the trouble!
That evening, we settled in and had dinner, with the nightly entertainment.
Day 6- Venice, Italy. We arrived in Venice to explore by foot on our own. The city was very very crowded! We left from St. Marks Square and winded our way through the little streets, over the Rialto bridge, and were just amazed at every turn of the beauty of this town. Many of the taller buildings were leaning, due to the unsteady base of Venice. The canals were mesmerizing. I could not imagine living with the canals at my back door!
Unfortunately in Venice, getting away from the tourism mess is a tool. We failed to find a restaurant that had high quality meals with reasonable prices. I will have to consult a local the next time we go! We spent a relaxing and very expensive evening sitting at a sidewalk cafe. That evening on ship (we were docked overnight), we watched Casino Royal in the ship theater. Very appropriate!
Day 7- Venice, Italy. We took a tour of a cathedral that included a short gondola ride. Again, I would not have booked a tour now that I have been there. The gondola ride is a must-go!! We reboarded the ship early, and took a long nap. That evening, we had dinner in the Steakhouse. What a fun evening. However, while we were eating, we had a "man-overboard". This was terrifying for me. We were ushered back to our rooms and counted. We were stopped for hours with the coast guard, all of our search boats, helicopters--you name it. Around 2am, the captain restarted the ship, and we went on about our itinerary. No further explanation.
Day 8- Sailing.
Day 9- Rome-
Day 10- Sailing.
