Days 26 & 27 – Return Home

On Tuesday we drove from Madrid to our hotel in Castelldefels near the Barcelona airport. We had to return from Barcelona as we got a much better airfare from there as compared to Madrid. The drive was supposed to take 5 hours but it ended up being closer to seven due to miles and miles of road construction between Madrid and Zaragosa. We wanted to see Montserat on the way but all the extra driving put an end to that. We had a nice dinner at a very local Catalan restaurant and flew home the next morning on USAir direct from Barcelona to Philadelphia. The flight was less than half full.

Couple of random final thoughts:

The food in Spain is good but not very highly seasoned. In fact, we were only given salt and pepper at our table at one meal. Even supposed spicy dishes like Papas Bravas were pretty bland.

The Spanish seem to be fond of shirts with American wording on them. We saw almost none with Spanish writing but a lot with “South Cali”, etc. on them. In Barcelona we of course saw a lot of soccer jerseys as they had just won the championship of Spain.

The climate, while not really desert-like, isn’t conducive to growing tall trees. We saw a lot of orange and olive trees but not really many large trees.

One thing I did not like was paying to visit a cathedral. I can't recall another country where you had to pay to get in. It wasn't cheap either. The entrance price was normally 7 or 8 euros.

Day 25 – Day trip to Toledo (Monday, May 23)

Today we drove to Toledo, which is about an hours drive southwest from our hotel. We are in the northeast corner of Madrid out by the airport so we ended up driving around Madrid for the most part. It was autovía (super highway) all the way so it wasn’t a bad drive at all. In fact, most of the driving we have done has been on autovías so it has been pretty easy except for last night when the GPS decided I need to drive through downtown Madrid, I suppose just for the experience.

Toledo is guarded on three sides by the Tajo River and has been a seat of power is
Spain for thousands of years. It is also one of the most picturesque towns in Spain (see picture) with its ancient cathedral and alcazar. We did one of the few touristy things we have done on the trip and took their sightseeing tram. We were crowded in like sardines and it was hot but it gave some great views of the city without doing a lot of walking. We had lunch in town complete with a surly waitress (really the first one we have had), toured the cathedral, and walked around.

Tomorrow we start for home by driving back to the Barcelona airport.

Day 24 – Day trip to Segovia (Sunday, May 22)

We drove to the royal monastery of El Escorial which is about 45 minutes from our hotel. It is at the foothills of a mountain range and in a very tranquil location. It was built by Philip II shortly after he moved the capital to Madrid. It was kind of a summer palace for him and he is buried there. For many years after Philip II, El Escorial was the burial spot for Spanish kings and nobility and there is a crypt with at least a dozen kings buried there.

From there we drove to Segovia which was another 30 minutes or so away. It features the castle where Isabel met Ferdinand and an old Roman aqueduct (see picture) that I believe is one of the largest spans still standing. We mostly just walked around town, did some shopping and I tried a sample of their roast suckling pig. I have had it before and Segovia, along with Madrid, is famous for it.

Day 23 – Good Times in Madrid (Saturday, May 21)

It was a bright, sunny day in Madrid and we headed downtown to the Prado Museum today. The Prado is one of the top museums in the world and their collection is essentially that of the Spanish kings when Spain was the world’s top power. They have good early Italian and Dutch paintings, but mostly their collection centers on Spain’s great painters such as Goya, Velázquez and El Greco.

From the museum we took a stroll through the center of old Madrid. We came across a large protest at Puerta del Sol. There are elections in Spain on Sunday and all protests are banned but that doesn’t stop them. We stopped in at the Museo de Jamon (see picture) for a look. The Ham Museum also doubles as a bar but you can see the hams hanging all around. We then walked through Plaza Mayor. Plaza Mayor is the main plaza in Madrid and famed for bullfights back in the day and of course public executions, especially during the inquisition when many “supposed” heretics were put to death.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool, went out to a very nice dinner at a local restaurant and finished the night with a toast of Cava (the Spanish version of champagne) to “good times.”

Day 22 – Drive to Madrid (Friday, May 20)

We drove to Madrid in a little under six hours today. It was a pretty uneventful drive, but we did pass through the plains of La Mancha and saw a couple of old windmills but no Don Quixote. The Hilton were we are staying in Madrid is first class all the way and we have a corner room on their executive floor. Nothing like using Hilton points. We drove to a shopping mall and had dinner in a Brazilian “Churrascarias.” We took the menu to translate what we were eating and then we decided we shouldn’t have translated it as we ate some strange items.

Day 21 – Flamenco in Seville (Thursday, May 19)

We have decided that the weather in Seville is a lot like in Florida. It is sunny one minute and cloudy the next and then it rains for 5 minutes. It is mild today, probably in the low 80s but I’m sure it gets very hot in the summer.

We are driving around the city using the GPS and that is working well. You can’t park very close to the old part of Seville, so once again we had to do a lot of walking. Today we first toured the Royal Palace (Real Alcázar) which was originally built in 911 by a Moorish caliph. Various kings of Seville (as opposed to the Kings of Leon) ruled from there until Isabel and Ferdinand united Spain and they lived in the palace for a time. One of the trips Columbus made to America was planned in one of the rooms we visited. We then toured the Cathedral of Seville. It is the third largest Cathedral in the world and is where Columbus is buried. We closed the day with a small but excellent Flamenco show. The performers were very good and had a lot of enthusiasm for the performance. I thought the one girl had a resemblance to Jennifer Lopez (see picture).

Day 20 – Roses in Granada (Wednesday, May 18)

What a nice surprise Granada turned out to be. It is definitely old but it has its charm. We started our touring with a visit to the Royal Chapel where Isabel and Ferdinand are buried. They also have a museum in the chapel with a lot of their personal possessions – crown, sword, clothing and art collection. We then did a lengthy visit to the Alhambra Palace. The Alhambra is generally considered the top sight in Spain and we would agree. It was built by the Moors more than 700 years ago and was their last possession before they were finally driven back to Africa in 1492 by Isabel and Ferdinand. They liked the Alhambra so much that they made it their own palace, which is why they are buried in Granada. The Alhambra is really several interconnecting and amazing palaces with intricate carvings of Arabic design, reflecting pools and beautiful gardens. We particularly liked the roses and shaped hedges formed into large walls with huge archways.

After the tour, we drove about 130 miles to Seville. The trip starts out mountainous and then quickly becomes large groves of olive trees which stretch as far you can see, lasting for at least 50 miles. As we got close to Seville, the olive trees disappeared and the landscape became more of a plain.

Day 19 – On the road to Granada (Tuesday, May 17)

This was our long day of driving as we headed south on the A7 down along the Costa Blanca to Granada. It took just a little under nine hours but we saw many different versions of Spain and that kept us somewhat entertained. As we neared Valencia, we saw miles and miles of orange trees that had already been picked. We saw towering beach communities from time to time as we passed along the Mediterranean. We passed through an arid part of Spain south of Valencia that resembled Arizona. From there we went inland and again picked up the A7 near Murcia. South of Murcia we saw a stretch of several miles of cave homes built into the solid stone of the mountain side. We then saw field after field of regularly planted tress that we believe were almond trees. As we entered Andalucía, the landscape changed to a mountainous region complete with the snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains (the original ones) above Granada even though the air temperature was in the upper 70s.

The GPS chip we bought for Spain proved to be invaluable. It took us to our hotel in the most direct manner possible which meant taking twists and turns plus some almost complete loops in “round-abouts.”

The people we met today were all very friendly, including a chatty cabbie who insisted on waiting at no charge while I got my rental car. I’m not sure, but I think it helped that I was at least trying to speak in Spanish to everyone I meet. It has been far from good as my vocabulary and pronunciation are bad but we can still communicate.

Day 18 – Barcelona (Monday, May 16)

Today we saw the crowded side of Barcelona. After all it is three times the size of Philadelphia and crammed into a small area blocked by mountains and the sea on two sides. It was also Monday and the museums were closed, so I suppose everyone was trying to see the non-museum sites like us. The metro and the buses were crowded and the lines seemed extra long. We managed to see two of Gaudí’s major works. The first was La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family, see picture). It is Barcelona’s most famous cathedral and was started in 1909 and is still under construction. The line to get in was 2 blocks long at 11am so we came back at 7pm which was an hour before closing to see the inside. That worked well as there was no line and the stain glass was incredible in the fading light. It doesn't get dark here until well past 9pm. We also visited Park Güell which is up on the hill above Barcelona. It was intended to be a housing development, but today is a public park filled with mosaics by Gaudí.

We did dinner on our own by shopping at the open market called La Boqueria and eating back in our room overlooking Barcelona. Dinner was Manchego cheese, crusty bread, Iberian ham, pineapple and sangria. It is one of our favorite ways to dine when travelling as it is a break from restaurant food.

Day 17 – Barcelona (Sunday, May 15)

Today we toured the Joan Miró museum (see picture) and the Barcelona City History museum. The history museum was very cool as they take you down two floors and back two centuries in time to the old roman part of the city which is now buried. The base of the city wall is still present as are remnants of shops, wineries, baths and churches.

We walked down La Rambla which is the main tourist street in Barcelona. It is of course wall to wall people and lined with shops on either side selling just about anything. Of course there are the obligatory mimes on every corner (did I mention that I hate mimes?). There was one worth describing as I have no idea how they did it. It was a golden Indian elephant god with four moveable arms but the amazing part is that the mime was floating in air with absolutely no visible means of support.

Lunch in Barcelona is generally tapas. Today we went to a bar that had pintxos. Pintxos are basically small tapas with each having the same price and you serve yourself. Each has a large toothpick and at the end of the meal they count your toothpicks and charge you accordingly.

Day 16 – Els 4Gats

We met two friends from the ship for dinner at “Els 4Gats.” The 4Gats opened in 1897 and was a favorite of Picasso when he was a young man. He did a painting of the owner, a replica of which hangs in the bar and his first paying job was designing the menu cover. Jeanne had the “Scarlet Shrimp” and pasta while I had Bacalao (salt cod). Both were wonderful and I would recommend 4Gats for a meal anytime. The scarlet “shrimp” is a misnomer as it was at least 9” (see picture) and nothing like what we have in the gulf.

Day 16 – Barcelona (Saturday, May 14)

We did a walking tour of the Eixample district including a tour of “La Pedrera.” La Pedrera is an apartment building designed by the great architect of Barcelona, Antoni Gaudí. It is one the best examples of the “modernista” architecture that Barcelona is know for. We were able to go upon the roof to see the elaborate chimneys (see picture) and tour the penthouse suite. The building was finished in 1910 and is very stylistically designed with mostly rounded corners.

After a siesta in the hotel, we went back into town for dinner and then our concert at La Palau. The Palau concert hall is very old and beautiful with lots of stained glass and statures everywhere. The concert was enjoyable, the orchestra was great and their featured performer played Spanish guitar for most of the pieces. It is clear that they have a great passion for their Spanish classical music in Barcelona.

Day 15 – Day at Sea (Friday, May 13)

Not too much to report. The weather in the Mediterranean is good with calm seas and a temperature in the low 70s. We finally saw dolphins after hearing about them from others on the ship.

I’m actually publishing this on Saturday morning from the Hilton in Barcelona. We received an email notice today from the hotel in Lorca that they have no running water and they have cancelled our reservation so I rebooked for an Ibis Hotel in Granada. It will make the drive on Tuesday a bit long, but on the positive side we will be in Granada early and can look around more.

Day 14 – Málaga (Thursday, May 12)

We passed the rock of Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean Sea during the night and docked in Málaga early in the morning. Málaga is a good-sized town on the Costa del Sol and is the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. The weather was in the low 80s today and slightly overcast, which was fortunate as it would have been very hot in the full sun. Today we did our own tour by starting with a city bus ride to the see the Castillo de Gibralfaro which is on a mountain with a great view of Málaga and the harbor (see picture). You can see our ship at the left in the photo and it is the largest in port today. Gilbralfaro is an old Moorish castle which protected the city for many years. For more than 700 years Málaga was ruled by the Moors until the Christians took over in the 15th century. We finished our tour by visiting the Cathedral and a smallish Picasso Museum in town and then walking around doing window shopping. Sometimes touring on your own can be a logistical problem, but today everything went well. The busses were well timed and we didn’t have to wait or walk much.

We did get one bit of bad news. There were two bad earthquakes yesterday in Lorca, Spain, which killed at least 8 people. This was the first fatal earthquake in Spain in 55 years. Lorca is a very small town that almost no one outside of Spain knows of, but it is a problem for us as Lorca is where we have a room booked on Tuesday and we don’t know if the hotel is still standing. Most of the town is shut down and sleeping outside so we are going to have to find another hotel elsewhere.

Day 13 – Cádiz (Wednesday, May 11)

Today was a wonderful day. We landed in Cádiz around noon and we were signed up for a tour of Jerez de la Frontera, the town in Spain which is most famous for sherry production. The word sherry, in fact, is derived from the Spanish word Jerez. We first saw the sights in Cádiz, which is on the Atlantic coast of Spain and is the oldest existing city in Europe. Columbus made two of his voyages to America from Cádiz. We then drove about 20 miles inland to the town of Jerez where we took the tour of the González-Byass sherry plant. It was interesting to learn about the process of making sherry and afterwards we were taken to their hospitality room where we got to sample a couple of varieties of their sherry – their top brand which is called Tio Pepe and some Croft crème sherry. To be honest, neither one was a hit but I suppose it is an acquired taste.

The best part of the trip was a quick stop at the Feria de Caballos (horse fair). It was almost like going back 200 or more years in time. The feria (fair) is held for only 5 days in May and our tour took us there even though it wasn’t on the itinerary. There is a large park in the center of town where the fair is held. The townspeople all come out and make a paseo (stroll) around the middle of the park and some ride in elegant horse drawn carriages (see picture). This is definitely the place to see and be seen. All the señoritas, young and old, are dressed in elegant “feria” dresses with large ruffles, bright colors and most with a polka-dot design. We would think of the dress as a “flamenco” dress. The outside of the walking area is ringed by restaurants and private tents for parties.

Day 12 – Lisbon (Tuesday, May 10)

After spotting land, we sailed six miles up the Tagus River and docked in Lisbon. On the way in, we passed under the 25th of April Bridge (Cassie, take note). It is the third longest suspension bridge in the world. The weather could not be better. It is a beautiful sunny day with a temperature of 82.

Lisbon is a mixture of both old and new, with an earthquake destroying much of the city in 1755. Our tour took covered a lot of Lisbon, including the monument of discovery with is a tribute to Henry the Navigator (see picture), the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos where Vasco de Gama is buried and the old section of the city called the Alfama. The Alfama district reminds me a little of Naples with the narrow streets and the laundry hanging out between.

Word of the Day – Obrigado (thank you in Portuguese).

Day 11 – Whales (Monday, May 9)

There is always someone who sees them first. We were having afternoon tea in the dining area when someone stood up and pointed at the sea. There were at least 10 whales about 100 yards off the starboard side of the ship, having a great time in the sun and blowing huge water spouts into the air. What an amazing sight!

Today was a very nice day with a lot of sun, calm seas and little just a little wind. It was still a bit cool with a high of about 62. We are still about 300 miles from Lisbon and we will land there at 11am on Tuesday.

Day 10 – Ponta Delgado, Azores (Sunday, May 8 – Mother’s Day)

We finally reached land in the Azores, although we are still 780 miles off the coast of Portugal. It is kind of the Hawaii of the Atlantic, even being known for their pineapples. We docked in Ponta Delgado, which is a cute, small town and pretty sleepy on a Sunday morning. We didn’t take a tour today as there wasn’t anything very interesting so we just walked around the town to see the city gates (see picture) and some of their quaint churches. We did find the town had one nice thing - FREE WIFI! Now I can get caught up on emails and blog postings without spending a small fortune on the ship’s slow Internet.

We discovered an interesting coincidence last night. We found that the British couple who share our dinner table not only have the room next to ours, but their last name is also Napier. He is Chris and she is Maureen and they are from Northumberland.

Day 9 – At Sea (May 7)

We had clouds in the morning but that gave way to a good amount of sunshine in the afternoon. As we are getting further into the North Atlantic, the temperature has been getting cooler every day. Today the high was about 62, but in the sun it was fine with a light jacket. We attended a very interesting talk about the ship by the captain and the engineer. Here are the high points: the ship is propelled by dual “azipods” which rotate 360 degrees, hence we have no need for a rudder or anchor. The pods are powered by electric motors which are in turn powered by diesel turbines. The tipping point of the ship is 50 degrees and I thought it was rough a couple of nights ago but the captain said we only listed by 2 degrees at the worst point. That is hard to believe. Most of the ship movements are computer controlled, including self-adjusting stabilizers to make the ride smoother.

We won the afternoon trivia again. It really helps to have a good international mix as we are teamed with some Brits who live in Canada.

Day 8 – At Sea (May 6)

Today it is not very pleasant outside. The air temperature is around 65 but with the breeze it is quite cool. No one is in the pool or sunning outside on the decks. There is just a bunch of people in sweaters and jackets.

In the afternoons we have been playing a group trivia game with two other couples and today, after being quite bad the first two days we played, we finally won. The prized is a glass vase (see picture) which you get to keep overnight and then return.

Days 7 – At Sea (May 5)

At midnight last night we reached the halfway point on our transatlantic crossing. At about the same time last night the winds picked up and the sea became very rough again and the ship tossed and turned all night and then calmed again as the sun rose. The high reached around 70 during the day.

We are maintaining a speed of about 440 nautical miles a day and the captain says the ship is getting about 17 inches per gallon of fuel (probably diesel).

We are in a routine of sleeping late, mainly because we are losing an hour about every day. With the late dinner we are getting to bed well after midnight. In the long run, this is probably good at it matches up with the late dining habits in Spain where the dinner hour is 10pm.

Day 6 – At Sea (May 4)

The winds were strong in the morning and the sea still a bit rough but things died down somewhat as afternoon came. The ship isn’t pitching as much and the sea is much calmer. We passed through a brief shower and then a period of pure sun today, but mostly the ride had has been partly cloudy since we left Florida. The temperature has been in the mid to upper 70s.

We like spending part of the afternoon in the solarium (see picture), which is off limits to children and is blocked from the weather by a roof. We met a doctor and his wife yesterday who were from Peubla, Mexico. We were able to communicate partly in English and partly in Spanish.

The prohibition of children is not very restrictive as there are hardly any on the ship. It is a much older crowd than we have seen on other cruises, but I was warned before that the longer the cruise, the older the passengers would be and that seems to be true. We don’t see much of the older crowd as they are at the first dining and we are at the second.

Day 5 – At Sea (May 3)

By noon today we were about 800 miles from Ft. Lauderdale with about 2000 miles to go to the first port. The air temperature is 73F and the water temperature is 77F with a wind of 35 mph. The seas are up to 10-12 feet waves and the ride is getting a little bumpy, with the ship pitching back and forth as well as up and down. It made the dance lesson we took a little tricky as the upper deck where it was held is most affected by the pitching. In the afternoon the pools were closed with the water drained to prevent it sloshing onto the decks. Jeanne has been a little seasick, but so far I am fine.

Days 3 and 4 – At Sea (May 1 and 2)

We left Port Everglades at 5:30pm on Sunday, May 1, about an hour late as the Navy decided to launch one of their submarines at the time we were scheduled and they get priority. Port Everglades, to the best of my knowledge, is not a naval base so it is pretty unusual that a submarine was docked there in the first place.

Our ship, the Celebrity Solstice, is less than 3 years old so everything is very shiny and new. It is our first time on Celebrity and we were very impressed with their details. Staterooms don’t vary much from ship to ship, but this one has a large bathroom and well-planned storage spaces.

High temperatures have been in the low 80s and it is quite pleasant on-deck and on our balcony. The sea has been very calm so far.

And yes, we caught the news about Bin Laden on TV and watched the President’s speech live on Sunday night.

Days 1 and 2 – Ft. Lauderdale

After an uneventful flight to Ft. Lauderdale Friday evening, we spent Saturday and Sunday with cousins Sue, Mark, Natalie and Julia. I went to Natalie’s lacrosse game Saturday morning (she won) and Pat and Fazal came up from Miami for dinner. Fazal made some great Pakistani food (see picture of my plate) – seasoned rice, some very spicy chicken, saag with potatoes, a great chickpea dish, salad and two types of naan. We also had samosas as an appetizer, which were wonderful. That was a fantastic meal to say the least!

Sue and family did their normal great job of hosting us, including picking us up at the airport and dropping us off at the cruise terminal. This is our third cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale and the transport and a place to stay makes the trip so easy to do for us.