We've had the pleasure of traveling with Mikey & Vicky on three such exotic adventures. In 2005 we took a Baltic cruise (the highlight for me was visiting Red Square in Moscow). In 2007 we took a Southeast Asian Cruise (the highlight here - next to visiting the Busaths, of course - was standing on the Great Wall of China). Our most recent adventure was a "repositioning" cruise from Brazil to Barcelona. (A repositioning cruise is where the cruiseline has to move their ship from one area to another for the demands of different seasons. Our ship spent the winter doing South American tours & was headed to the Mediterranian for the Summer. These repositioning cruises are not as popular as most because there are more sea days than most & the ports aren't always that exciting, but the price is pretty cheap & they usually start & end at very popular ports.) Someday, we hope our other "camping" buddies will join us?
We started in Rio de Janeiro. It was fun to visit some of the same places that we saw with Ty last year when we went with him. Here's a great pic of us, but not so great of the Christ Redeemer Statue.
It was a beautiful day to see the scenic views at the top of Corcovado & Sugar Loaf.
We enjoyed walks along the Copacabana & Ipanema beaches, & the FOOD was awesome. We found a great churrascaria (a Brazilian steakhouse that keeps bringing different meats to your table until you tell them to stop coming!). Then we were off to Salvador & Recife, two smaller Brazilian ports rich in Bahian culture. Here I am posing with a native in traditional dress...I'm the one on the left.
We spent 12 of the 16 day cruise at sea - it was actually very relaxing! I read 4 books, Paul read 6. We brought lots of projects to work on, we basked in the sun, we played games with Mikey & Vicky, & the ship had so many activities on board that we didn't want to miss; lectures, classes, special fitness programs, etc. Team Trivia was a big hit with us - you gather into teams & answer 20 questions. The winners get "Big O" points that you can redeem for prizes at the end of the cruise. We teamed up with a couple from the UK & a handful of Canadians & we were a solid team. Here we are on our final day of Team Trivia.
We signed up for a "Beautiful Body Bootcamp" to help burn the calories from all the wonderful cruise food (Captain Claire, the instructor, kicked my trash!) & I took a Palates class that I L-O-V-E, LOVED! But my favorite class was our Spanish Class with Professor Roy. He taught 6 different classes of practical Spanish that we could use when we got to Barcelona - how to ask for directions, order from a menu, find a bathroom, the usual tourist type questions. He was hillarious & I now know me some Spanish - poquito. Muy Bien!
In crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Brazil to Barcelona, we had to cross the equator...this was quite the ceremony! The cruise ship has adapted the Royal Navy's ritual in crossing the equator. Part of this ritual is that all Pollywogs (1st timers) must "kiss a fish" in order to become a "trusty shellback." I am proud to say that "I am a Shellback!" (Notice the pain? I held my breath, closed my eyes, clinched my lips, & kissed a slimey fish!)
I think Barcelona is my new favorite city. It is so clean & tourist friendly - full of history & culture. Everything is easy to get to by foot in the city center or by bus in the outlying areas. La Rambla is a pleasant 1.2 kilometer stroll from Port Vell near the Columbus statue to Placa Catalunya, surrounded by Gothic architecture that is famous in Barcelona. This draws lots of tourist & locals alike, with street vendors for entertainment & shopping, & outdoor restaurants serving "tapas."
La Rambla...deciding where to go first. I saw this a lot...but I was confident that they knew where I was going.
Much like San Francisco's Warf, street artists are everywhere...I couldn't resist Don Quijote, The Man of La Mancha! (2005 was the 400th anniversary of the 1st edition of the book.)
One of the unexpected highlights of the trip for Paul was meeting these two gentlemen from Australia. What? might you ask is so exciting about running into these two "mates from down under?" Paul had just finished reading a book called The Fatal Storm: The Inside Story of the Tragic Sydney-Hobart Race. He was so excited about the book, that I heard about it as he read each chapter & even had part of the book read to me as he went along. He was so fascinated by the story & I have to admit that it made the movie, The Guardian, sound like a cake walk! Well, we took a gondola up to this fort overlooking all of Barcelona - a gorgeous view! We asked these two guys passing by to snap a photo of the 4 of us. I noticed their accents & ask them where they were from. Well as we chit-chatted, they mentioned they had just sailed in across the Mediterranian & Paul's ears & interest peaks...long story short - he tells them about the book he just finished & asked them if they had heard of it? Low & behold, one of them was Peter Carter & the other was Peter Bains - both featured in Chapter 11: The Midnight Special, of The Fatal Storm. They were so impressed that Paul knew their story & Paul was as giddy as a little kid in a candy store. You would have thought they were "rock stars!" So bummed that we didn't have the book with us so they could autograph it, but this picture will have to do!
Did I mention that I LOVED Barcelona? We walked La Rambla many times - we toured the Picaso Museum, found the Hard Rock (I'm a collector), & made our way through St Josep's Mercat (an open air market place).
We hopped onto the city bus & toured the entire city...like all good tourists, we sat up top to get a better view & better pictures. When you buy your ticket to this bus, you get a set of earphones to plug into their sound-system. Just select your language & you get a guided tour of all the sights that you are passing by - it was a great way to get an overview of the city & to see what you might want to go back & learn about in greater detail...
...like La Sagrada Familia! This is the magnum-opus of the famous architect, Antoni Gaudi, who began construction in 1882. He worked on it for 40 years until his death in 1926 & they are STILL working on it! They expect the work to continue for another 20 years! Seriously? I've decided that this is where the term "gaudy" comes from, the works of Antoni Gaudi. His buildings are popular attractions all over Barcelona.
Easter Sunday we went to Montserrat, a monestary high in the mountains near Barcelona, along with a few thousands other tourists. We listened to a little bit of the boys choir during Easter Mass. We took a cable car all the way up & down - the views were spectacular!
Next, we flew to Saville & rented a car. We had hoped to go into Cadiz to see the replicas of the Nina, the Pinta, & the Santa Maria & honor Columbus' historic voyage; however, it was Monday & the museum was closed (which we found out ahead of time) so we headed to our next stop on the tour - Gibralter. Mikey was an excellent chauffer & Vicky is a top-notch co-pilot...ROAD TRIP in Southern Spain!
Since we skipped Cadiz, we ended up in Gibralter a 1/2 day early. We could see Morocco across the bay & heard it calling us - the cruise was not able to get us into Agadir, Morocco due to a storm - so "WE" decided that we should take the Tangiers Express Ferry over to Morocco. We picked up a local guide on the pier & he gave us a unique tour of this fascinating city; local sites, the marketplace, the Kasbah, a rug factory, etc. Check us out - Me, Vicky, & Hassan, our Tangiers guide sampling a variety of olives, YUMMMMM!
The next day we toured the "ROCK" - Gibralter is a British Colony on a small isthmas attached to Spain - it is literally separated by an airport runway. It is one mile wide by three miles long & we easily saw the entire island before noon. Here we are at the top - it is a one way road that you can stand in the middle & see Spain to one side & Africa across the Mediterranian on the other - another beautiful day!
Our last stop before heading home was the Alhambra in Granada. We stayed at the Alhambra Palace Hotel (definately a 5 star!) & walked out the front door into the Alhambra grounds - a 13th century palace complex with beautifully arched Moorish architecture, again with breathtaking views of the surrounding city of Granada.
It was a wonderful trip with wonderful sites & wonderful friends. I'm tired just reliving this experience on the blog...as fascinating as the world is...there really is "no place like home!" With the economy like it is, who knows when/where our next adventure will take us - maybe we'll go camping! :)
6 comments:
let me know when you go camping. I'll bring the kids up and join you! They'd love it!
fun trip, mom! you are spoiled.
That sounds like SO MUCH FUN! Steve just got transferred to Barcelona to be the Pres. secretary. He's pretty excited.
I'm so jealous of your many adventures. It all looks amazing!
what a great trip! and washi eggs are blown out eggs, covered in washi paper (Japanese paper) covered with 10 coats of lacquor to make them shiny. they are beautiful! I love them so much I can't stop making them. I have bowls of them in every room in the house. it's time for me to share! so congratulations. and here's the link if you'd like to see a picture. from a blog I did last Easter.
http://angellsintokyo.blogspot.com/2008/05/one-of-best-stores-in-tokyo.html
Jenny, your not spoiled! You guys deserve it!! I just wish that I could of been on the trip with you. But at least our name was mention in the post.
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