Cruisin' Part Two

Craig Writes;

11/09/13.  Today we went to Kusadasi. Home of the old city of Ephesus and the burial place of The Virgin Mary, or so says an old German Nun back in the 17th century.  She woke up one morning and told her neighbour that during the night she had received "a vision from god".  Apparently that's all it took.  A few people told a few more people who told a few more and bingo, perception becomes reality and that's now where The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, is buried.  There is also a rumour that Jesus told John, one of his disciples, while he was on the cross that he was to look after his Mum when he was gone. 

Apparently John went to live and subsequently die in Ephesus and it is assumed, there's that word again, that if John was there then Mary must have been there too. I don't know why he didn't just send a guardian angel down to do the job for him and let John get on with writing scriptures and letters etc.

We decided to give Mary's tomb a miss and just got off to wander around the town and the port.  The water was so amazing, so inviting, I just had to drop my kit and dive in. 

I was so hot and the water looked so cool. I had to no choice.

It was delicious. Cold, salty and so clear you could see the tiny schools of minnows swimming on the bottom. Christina was not impressed because she felt that she couldn't do the same and as such I should not have fun while she couldn't. Also she had to walk through the bazaars and cafes with a man with a large wet patch down the front of his pants looking very much like his colostomy bag needed changing. But hey, I may have been wet, but I was cool and happy.

Kusadasi is a small little town of only 65,000 but that number swells to over 500,000 at the height of the tourist season. 

Kusadasi

It's a very quaint little seaside town where the shopkeepers and merchants spend their days flirting with the tourists.  Everyone who passes by is a potential customer and everyone gets their attention. The sale pitches come thick and fast and while persistent you can't help but feel a lot of it is all tongue in cheek and they're having as much fun as the tourists are. 

And unlike Istanbul, no one threatened to shoot us for not buying.

Although there was one young fella, about fourteen I'd guess, who tried to get our attention by using a different kind of strategy.

As we pass his stall he looks at us and yells, they like to yell a lot here,

"hey you, hey old couple, come see our jackets".

We both looked at each other and then turned to him in disbelief. 

"you talkin to me, are you...talking to me" I say in my best Robert De Niro

We're probably in the youngest percentile of tourists that cruise these places and he's calling us "old couple". 

We had to do the kid a favour and gently informed him that while his strategy of reverse flattery was unique, it wasn't going to get him any business. 

"you might want to rework your sales pitch there kid, that isn't gonna work so well". 

He turned a  nice shade of red and drifted back into his store, we kept laughing and turned away down the street. He got our attention, he just wasn't going to get this "old couples" business.

12/09/13 Only a couple more days to go before we depart this floating Shangri-La. Today we landed in the Port of Piraeus and are going to head into Athens for a look see at the Acropolis and the mighty Parthenon. This amazing White Pentelic marble temple, dedicated to the goddess Athena, was built by the savour of Athens, Perikles, in 447 B.C TO 432 B.C. The city had been overrun by the Persians but the brave Perikles managed to put together a coalition of the willing among his neighbours and regain his city. 

There is a brilliance and an ingenuity here that is reminiscent of so many other ancient civilisations, monuments and works of architecture that we have had the opportunity to see. Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Pompeii, Pont Du Gard, Chartres Cathedral and more.

The CVW'S minus one. Charlie chose the kids club today.

The Temple Of Athena

The only dampener was the 17,000 other people who all happened to land in port on the same day.  There were no less than seven large cruise ships all hitting the same port at the same time. We were like ants on a big marble toffee apple. 

And it was hot. Officially 33C, but where we were, crowded and standing shoulder to shoulder on a massive great outcrop of marble and stone, it would have been much hotter  Our guide, who was no doubt very informed about the history of the place, spoke so softly and had an accent so thick it was like trying to listen to her through ear muffs. If you weren't standing right next to her you missed everything she said. 

The views, over the top of the heads of the tourists, was impressive and on any other day it would have been a real treat. While there is plenty else to see in Athens, a city that goes back over 2500 years, we'll leave this for another time.

13/09/13 A day at sea today.  We do love our days at sea. No where to go and nothing to see except endless miles off ocean.  No beckoning ancient monuments, cathedrals, churches or bazaars. It's ping pong, eating, target shooting, eating, lying around the pool and yes, more eating. 

14/09/13 Today we find ourselves gliding gracefully down the Grand Canal towards our final port,Venice. 

Entering the Grand Canal

What an entrance this magnificent ship would make to those lucky enough to be watching her as she slips silently through the wide waters. It is early afternoon on a beautiful balmy day.  There are no clouds, just a gentle sun leaving a warm glow on your skin. We're in Mike and Eleanora's room, on the balcony peering down from 11 storeys high into and over the top of this beautiful old city.

Venice, here's lookin up your canal

No caption needed

As though to ease us gently from our cruising cocoon, the ship is here for two nights, so there was no hurry to disembark. Many of the passengers get off early, eager to throw themselves into the crowds but we waited till mid afternoon when the gangways and shuttle boats are less crowded. It makes absolutely no difference of course to the crowds that were to greet us when the shuttle boat dropped us at St Marks Square. Unsurprisingly, it was like bees around the honey pot. 

It's like someone shouted,"Free Beer"

We did the obligatory walk through St Marks Square, which is charming and ancient but also in need of a little of work. A lot of the facades are just plain grimey and grey. We turned down one of the many small arteries that take you away from the maddening throng.  The further in you went and the more tiny bridges you crossed the thinner the crowds became. 

The back streets were the place to be.

It would be good to have a couple of days to spend getting lost among the back alleys and canals.  The gondolas were doing a great business. In some of the bigger canals they were literally "bumper to bumper," waiting in line to go under a bridge. 

What did John Cleese say, Gondolas here , Gondolas there Gondolas every ....

And where is the singing and the accordion playing? We saw a hundred of them but only heard one fella carrying a tune. 

The price was $100 euro for a boat for about 30 -35 minutes but I'm not sure if they take into account the time your stuck in a line waiting to get under a bridge. I liked the idea and if I had bought more $$ we would have done it but alas they don't take cards, only cash. So our turn to be sitting camera fodder for the herds of happy snapping tourist leaning over the sides of bridges will have to wait till next we are in Venice.

Unfortunately I have got Christina's bug and have been laid low the last couple of days so our last night on board was not a big one.  She is still recovering herself so there were no party frocks and dancing pants tonight.  It was more a case of throw the last of our stuff into our cases and get it out into the hallway before 11pm to be collected and taken dock side tomorrow morning for us to pick up and be on our way. 

15/09/13 One last dig at the breakfast buffet before we finally disembark and head off to Slovenia. We wipe a tear from the corner of our eye and some bacon grease from the side of our mouth as we bid a fond farewell and clunk our way down the gangplank for the final time. 

I LOVE This BOAT!

Craig Writes; 

Yo ho ho and a bottle of red. We have finally set sail on the magnificent Royal Princess, all 141,000 tonne of her and all 3560 of us, plus crew of course. She was only launched in June 2013, so she should just about have all the bugs ironed out by now. Rather than be boring and spend 1000 words describing the ship, here's a link so you can see for yourself, if you're interested. Royal Princess

Our boat

Our first port of call today was Toulon, Provence. Now we've just spent a few days in this beautiful part of France so our big adventure was not going ashore but taking the opportunity of practically having the whole ship to ourselves to go exploring and use the facilities without any crowds. A leisurely workout in the gym, which even on a sea day is never overcrowded, unlimited shooting at the target range, shootin some hoops and generally just wandering.

Shootin' hoops with da boys

Even on our last day at sea we were still blown away by the sheer magnitude of this thing.

4-6/09/13 Even as early as the second day you could see certain habits starting to form. Free food is everywhere you turn. And I mean good stuff, freshly baked roast beef rolls with mustard and cheese, seafood salads, great pizza and fresh pastries that just keep appearing. So, with the novelty still very new you do what you do. We ate, then we ate some more. 

The thing with this whole cruising thing seems to be that you have to get yourself involved or you end up doing nothing but eating and lying around the pool baking like a fresh croissant. Not necessarily in the karaoke contest or the movie trivia nights but get out and get a slice of some of the great entertainment they have on board.

Thought we'd get the early seats

So far we have seen a comedian,who was pretty good, certainly better than Tim Allen who we saw in Vegas and each day they have really interesting talks on the next days port. It's history, best things to see, places to avoid etc. Todays was on Napoli. They have a giant movie screen in the centre of deck 17 which is where the main pool and eating areas are. Here they show movies and live concerts through the day and late into the night. We've seen two movies under the stars so far. You lie on your poolside recliner and they bring you drinks, pizza, cookies and milk and popcorn. Even a little rug if the night air is a bit chilly. Talk about pampered. Last night when the others were settling in for the night I went to see the Ian Bacon Jazz trio. I had a sampler of three very nice aged Scotches while sitting back and taking in some very good late night jazz. With the omnipresent buffets and snack venues I have devised a morning routine of yoga on the top deck followed by a work out in their oh so excellent gym. It's that or a new wardrobe. Callum and I decided to enter a ping pong tournament today, coz we're both such hot ping pong players, and blow me down I made the semi finals. There were only six people in it though. 

Warming up for the Big Tournament

Damn those tricky Asians and their sizzling spinning return shots

Tell me why do the Asians always win those things? They have the most amazing simulated shooting range here. Turns out I'm a pretty good shot so I'll go in the shooting comp when they have that. You have to be 18 and over to use it but a little of the old aussie charm and they let Callum have a go. Even Charlie had a turn. It turns out Callum is also a bit of a sharpshooter.

Christina and I decided that we should make the investment and bought ourselves a pass to the Lotus Spa Enclave for the duration of the cruise. It is an amazing spa including three different steam saunas, a huge spa pool, heated ergonomic curved seats, four different showers ranging from a soft mist to a tropical rain and then a relaxation room with teas, water, fruit and some soothing music to relax in. 

We've been on board for the last three days but tomorrow we start to play tourist again with a trip to Pompeii. It has been great having Eleanora and Mike on board with us. We're all pretty well much doing our own thing during the day and catching up for a show or dinner in the evening. Fantastic show tonight, A pianist for Frank Sinatra for over thirteen years, Ray Coussins also happens to have a bit of a rat pack thing goin on with his own singing style. I think he was channelling a bit of his old boss and some of the many pals who Ray got to play with over the years. Sammy Davis jnr, Dean Martin, Tony Bennet and so many more. It was exactly what you'd expect from an old Vegas showman. Some great music punctuated by some A grade name dropping stories. Like the time Liz Taylor came sat next to him on the piano to make Richard Burton jealous. Then he'd turn back to the keys and bang out Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue like it was the last song he'd ever play. He had some great stories and played some mean piano. 

7/09/13 Today was time to get off the boat and go for a walk through the ancient ruins of Pompeii and The Museum of Archeology in Napoli.

This guy likely had no idea what hit him

I was hoping that was just my stomach rumbling

There has been much fuss made about Napoli being the birthplace of pizza and how good the traditional pizza of mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil, the colours of the Italian flag, was. Sorry Napoli, not even in my top 10, not even close. And this from a place recommended by our taxi driver, you'd think he'd know. Soft undercooked crust, very little cheese and one scraggly bit of basil. Pompeii was interesting. It is a massive place to walk through and we didn't do the place justice. One member of our travelling troupe did not want to be there and it made it all a bit to much like hard work.

Check out the chariot ruts worn into the stone

We were there for two hours but you're going to need half a day to do it justice, a litre and a half of water and some snacks. You can't buy anything once you're inside the city ruins. We also found it very poorly set out for the tourist in respect to finding your way around. It is not well signposted. You are given a numbered map but you have to do a bit of detective work to find the numbers. They're tiny and in some cases hidden behind other information boards. You definitely want to get yourself a tour guide here. Having said all that, it has been amazingly excavated and you get a very real feel for life in the city prior to 79AD when Mt Vesuvius exploded in all her glory. She sits just behind the city, a benign looking hill, hardly capable of causing such destruction. But looks are not always what they seem and even today she remains still very much alive and capable of causing havoc. 

8/09/13 Today was is what we in the cruising world call a "sea day". Effectively we're that far away from our next port we have to "put the foot down" for a full day and night to reach the next stop which means everyone on board for the day. This is not as bad as it sounds. There are enough places for people to disappear to that it never seems crowded. And, they are very organised here, there's lots to do. I spent the morning on the simulated rifle range and in the batting cages then some swimming with the kids and then a relaxing afternoon in the spa with Christina.

Just one of the many distractions

Tonight was the first "Formal" night and time to break out the rented Tux. My my, it's been a while, close to 20 years maybe, since I wore a tux. It was fun. Pretty well most of the guests get in the swing of things and dress up. What a fine looking bunch we were.

The things you do for a free champagne. It was great fun

Beautiful new ship, everyone dressed to the max, a band playing, all we needed was an iceberg.

9/09/13. Today we landed at Mykonos in Greece. It was a short stay. On the island at 9.30am and back for lunch around 12 as the boat sails at 1.30pm. It was just as you had seen it in the movie Shirley Valentine and perhaps you glimpsed it briefly at the end of the Matt Damon movie, The Bourne Identity. All white washed buildings, pale blue shutters and clear pristine beaches. And tourists, lots of em. It's a small town and there isn't a lot of places to hide a sudden influx of 3,500 people.

Aarrr Mykonos, you beguiling jewel of the Mediterranean

Who knew the Greeks invented the first vertical Hills Hoist

A rare deserted street, isn't it just perfect?

What a picture, The Med, Mykonos and The Royal Princess

It would have been good to have the luxury of spending a full day there and maybe catching a bus to one of the more sheltered beaches. The wind was really up today and when we got back to the boat the towels we took were as dry as what they were when I packed them. An excuse to come back I suppose. Got to say the coffee in Greece comes in a poor third behind France and Italy but still miles ahead of the US.

10/09/13. Istanbul, a massive city of over 13 million people and a history that goes back to the Byzantines in 685 B.C. A city of magnificent palaces, majestic monuments and amazing museums that has been home to the Roman, Byzantine and finally the Ottoman Empire. It is also the only city in the world that straddles two continents, Asia and Europe Our time was limited here, as it tends to be when your doing the whole cruising thing.

It is, without doubt, one of the most intriguing places we've been to

We picked the couple of sites that most interested us. 

Point of interest: The tulip did not originate in the Netherlands. It came from Turkey and was introduced to the Netherlands several hundred years ago. 

Our first stop was Hagia Sophia.

The Hagia Sophia

A magnificent example of Byzantine architecture and Istanbul's first and oldest mosque. A place full of mystery and contradiction, a lot of which was revealed to us by our guide Selahattin. We don't normally go the route of the private guide and I think that it cost us in Pompeii. So this time we paid the 30 Euro and got our own guide for about an hour. He was amazing, a real student of ancient religion, architecture and history. He absolutely boggled my mind with revelation after revelation of the history of religion, the real discoverers of our solar system and so much more. We will be taking guides whereever we can from here on in. Hagia Sophia first started it's life as The Church of Holy Wisdom, built by the Roman emperor Constantine The Great in 325 A.D. When the Ottomans took over in 1453 they gave it a facelift, plastered over the amazing mosaics and it became a muslim mosque. There is a 9th century mosaic of ArchAngel Gabriel holding a globe of the world in his left hand. A "globe of the world", in the 9th century, think about that.

A 9th century mosaic showing Gabriel with a Globe of the world, Columbus wasn't around until the 15th Century. I love a good mystery.

There is a mosaic pictorial, over 1,500 years old, surrounding the sacred spot where the Emperors were corornated. It shows the nine planets of our solar system plus the sun, the moon and Orion. All in varying shapes according to their respective sizes.

This is about 1000 years before it's time

I say again, a map of our solar system over 1,500 years old. There was so many other amazing things bit's of information this guy kept throwing at us. I wish I had written them all down. Next stop before a very traditional Turkish lunch was The Blue Mosque. Built fairly recently in the early 17th century, this place takes it's name from the breathtaking interior. Over 20,000 blue and green Iznik tiles adorn the walls and floors cast an ethereal glow throughout.

Blue skies, Blue mosque, Blue shirt, so nice to be at one with your surroundings

Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was closed for prayers but we got to enter the massive paved court yard where thousands come to pray. One of the staff on board the ship said the interior was indeed beautiful but with thousands of people removing their shoes every day to pray and Johnson and Johnson foot powder not being in big supply, there was a really bad pong of bad cheese in the air that made it hard to stay for too long. After a brief look around the exterior we headed back to the restaurant strip and allowed ourselves to be sweet talked into walking up four floors to a look-out restaurant. Glad we did. The view over the Hagia Sophia out to the ocean was great, the beer was cold and the Haloumi was fresh and salty. The eggplant dips, the yogurt dips and the tomato and eggplant stew were unbelievable. I even had a couple of dolmades that I normally would not go within a mile of and they were delicious.

The Turkish food was brilliant

The jury is still out on the coffee

The Grand Bazaar was our final stop before heading back. With over 4,000 shops under cover and 18 different entrances we were warned not so much about pick pockets but more about getting lost and missing the last bus back to the boat. It was quite an experience. We even had one crusty old guy who obviously wasn't having a great day whisper to us as we left the bustling markets, "hey you, you buy something or I shoot you". 

It's like Alladin's cave in there

We kept walking and I turned to Christina to make sure I had heard right. Yep, he said he would shoot us if we didn't buy something. I looked back after a few metres and I could see the old bastard was still looking our way. Very interesting. Old men threatening to shoot you aside, we loved Istanbul and would love to go back but for a few days or even a few weeks. It is an enormous city so rich in history and diversity. A place to return to.

It's Alright, He Comes From Barcelona

Craig Writes;
26/08/13

After having driven around the South of France for the last few days then having spent eight hours on the road driving through to Spain I can say with a certain amount of authority that drivers in the South of France are the most arrogant, inconsiderate, dangerous and rude sons of bitches I have ever come across. And I've got about 6000 miles of driving through several different countries under my belt to compare.  While the maniacs in South East Asia are outright crazy, they're ALL crazy so they're predictable.  And, there's no malice or rudeness. In the South of France you don't know whether it's the little VW shopping carts with motors or the big BMW's or Audis that are going to pull a crazy manoeuvre on you. They're highly unpredictable and bad mannered with it. Screw you you crazy froggie maniacs. Now where was I.

27/08/13 Finally,we arrive in Etxarri, a small village about 45 minutes out of San Sebastian Spain, to meet up with our friends Tracey and Tony and their kids Emma and Hamish.  Great for us to finally catch up with some friends from back in the old country and good for the kids to have someone else to play with.

Some high stakes chess action, don't let the innocent faces fool you, they're good

Callum cutting the cheese, look at the anticipation on their faces

Bonus for me was I had some motivation to push my lazy arse out of bed for a half decent run and someone to push me up a few hills.  Thanks Tony. 

No big plans today.  Lunch in the little village, a couple of wines and a catch up day for journaling and blogging.

28/08/13 We all headed into San Sebastián today.  A gorgeous and very popular seaside town of about 190,000 people. It sits in the belly of the Urgull, Ulia and Adarra Mountains in the Basque country that lies in the North of Spain. We went to ride the Igeldo Mountain Funicular and check out the Funfair.  It was a grey, overcast and drizzly day and the crowds were down.  Lonely sideshow stall holders sat reading newspapers and called desperately to anyone within ears reach that looked like they had a euro to spend.  We shouted the kids  to a "river boat" ride but that was it. 

Not exactly class four rapids but the kids loved it and the view was awesome

One thing the weather could not dampen was the stunning view of the town and it's surroundings. The old city sits nestled in the arms of the surrounding mountains while the fortified hill of Mount Urgull, with it's famed twelve metre high statue of Christ, stands guard,looking out to the distant aqua blue horizon of the Bay Of Biscay, the view was incomparable.

Looking out over the Bay of Biscay

A wonderful memory

Small boats bobbed at their moorings and squadrons of manoeuvring kayakers could be seen negotiating the little inlets of the island that lies in the Bay Of La Concha.  

From here we ventured into the city in search for the famous Spanish tapas, we were not disappointed. 

Searching the streets for that perfect tapas bar

Suddenly they're everywhere, but very crowded

There is bar after bar after restaurant all serving up the most delicious little morsels. The hard part was deciding where to go. Oddly enough the place we finally settled in was probably the only place that didn't do tapas. HAHAHA. But, with a party of eight and everyone now seated and hungry we decided to stay and made our own tapas plates by ordering heaps of entrees. Same thing really.  It was all superb.

Afterwards we did a slow trawl around the city and ended up on the shores of the Bay watching schools of fish swim amongst the rocks and locals jump from a nearby jetty. 

Everywhere you turned there were calories, calories and more calories

It was a stunning sunny day. The slow long arch of beach was  surprisingly quiet. I leaned against the warm railing pondering what the chances would be of jumping from the quay into the school of fish and grabbing one with my bare hands. Just a thought.

29/08/13 We had plans to go into Pamplona to see where the running of the bulls happened and grab some lunch while the Metcalf's headed back to San Sebastian to take in some of that beautiful beachyness from yesterday. Unfortunately, after they had headed off, we discovered that the house key had been misplaced and we couldn't leave without locking the place up. So, we googled running of the bulls and had a look at a very impressive map of where they ran.  Not quite the same but what can you do.  They got back from the beach around four pm and Tracey finds the key in the one spot of the entire house I didn't look. Aaarrgghh. 

Christina and I headed in anyway.  It was our last day here, the sun doesn't go down till late and the restaurants don't even open till eight so, why not. We were told most of Spain is on holiday till September and I think that is more the case in Pamplona than anywhere else we have been.  The place was deserted. Still we found a really nice park to walk around. It was built over the Bastion of Taconera.  The gardens here are quite famous but it was the menagerie of animals that were kept in the grassed area between the two walls of the old fortress that were fascinating. Geese and deer and partridges, swans and ducks and chickens. I'm guessing they're there for when the city council has a formal dinner.

The larder for the local council

Still, it was nice to have a walk around by ourselves. The boys stayed backed with Tony and Tracey, Emma and Hamish. 

Last night tonight before we pack and head to Barcelona. A very big thank you to our wonderful friends, The Metcalfes,for sharing their beautiful farmhouse with us and allowing us to be part time intruders. It was a real treat.

Da girls

BARCELONA

30/08/13. Another six hours in the car today. You pay through the nose for the privilege of driving on the roads in France and Spain and while the continual gouging of the toll booths gets a little monotonous, when you can average 150km an hour and it feels like your still in third gear, thats kinda worth it.

You don't see a ten story bull everyday

We have landed in Barcelona for a few days before we head to our cruise ship and twelve magical days sailing the seas, not driving, not catching trains and not lugging suitcases. Oh Bliss.

Barcelona is quite the city.  Established in the 3rd century BC by Hannibals dad, Hamical Barca, it is now the second biggest city in Spain with a population of over 1.6 million and is one of the worlds leading tourist, science, media, fashion and cultural/sport mecas.

The name Antoni Gaudi is stamped all over the place.  From his magnum opus, The Sagrada Familia, The Church of the Holy Family, to the totally surreal Casa Batllo and the bizarre 17 hectare Park Guell which is now a UNESCO World Heritage listed site.

Born in 1852, he died in 1926 with the Sagrada Familia only 20% finished. Building was interrupted over the 20th century by wars, wars and more wars. Namely, WW1 and Two and the Spanish Civil War, 1936 to 1939. It is now back on track and due to be finished in 2026.  The centenary of his death. 

Christina has once again excelled at apartment locationism.  We are literally two minutes walk from the Sagrada Familia and a throng of restaurants but enough off the tourist track to not be bothered by crowds.

The local Paella is ok,  but nothing on The Smedleys or Janet S's back in Perth

Finally, the family together, fittingly in the shadow of Gaudi's, Sagrada Familia

The detail is extraordinary, he must be a very happy Gaudi

1/09/13

We headed off early to see Casa Batllo, one of the many Gaudi masterpieces. The pictures on the internet while intriguing and magnetic, were nothing compared to the real thing.  It was like walking into the architectural love child of Tim Burton and Salvador Dali. It was gothic meets curvaceous modernism, from the smooth melting walls to the curved oak doors, from the irregular oval windows with stained glass and the flowing sculptured stone work to the golden oranges and greenish blues of the scaly dragons back that decorated the external facade. 

From the very first step, it's like walking into a dream

The famous Mushroom shape courting area, couple to the right, chaperone to the left

This place had the boys full attention

The central light shaft was a work of genius

Just a simple Gaudi door

Even the chimney stacks got the full Gaudi treatment

The man did not like straight lines

Unfortunately the  true colour is a little lost here

It is like walking through a dream. Outside, the massive turret and cross dominate the facade. It is supposed to represent the lance of the patron saint of Catalonia, Saint George, plunged into the back of the dragon. The balconies could be anything from the Mardi Gra masks of Carnivale to the skull of some mythical creature. Only Gaudi and his small team really knew. The house is the proverbial enigma cloaked by intrigue and wrapped up in mystery.

It was truly one of the man made highlights of our trip.

From here I was desperate for a coffee and the nearest thing was McDonalds.  I remember in the US that as a back up they were passable so I thought why not.  I have obviously been spoilt since being in Europe. Absolute dishwater.

It was a beautiful day so we thought lets head to the beach. I must say there is something endearing about a people who embrace the culture of topless bathing as heartily as the Spanish do. The sun was warm, there was a puff of a cool sea breeze and with the seagulls and the bobbing boats there was plenty to look.  We took our time and meandered down the boardwalk before jumping in a cab and heading back home. 

I apologise for the lack of nudity, I was not in control of the camera

There was a seafood place around the corner from our apartment that served up seafood that was still swimming that morning.  You buy it by the kilo and they cook it up and serve it with a salad.  I am happy to go record as saying it is the best seafood I have ever had in my life.  Oysters, Tiger Prawns, Calamari, Squid and Razor Clams, some fried, most grilled. It was the best Jerry, the best!

You buy it by the pound here and...

.... they serve it up freshly cooked here.

2/9/13 Last day in Barcelona. Christina's folks, Mike and Eleanora are joining us today to sail off into twelve sunsets on the newest liner in the Princess fleet, The Princess Royal.

Mike giving me some tips on what it takes to be a successful cruiser

OMG. We arrived at the port today to be met by this massive floating palace, The Royal Princess.  The scale of this thing is enormous. It is the newest in the Princess fleet having only been christened by Employee Of The Month, Kate Middelton, in June of this year. At a whopping 141,000 tonnes, it is by all accounts the jewel in the crown. 

I don't want to rave here about all the "stuff" this behemoth has. Needless to say, we won't be going hungry and we wont be getting bored.

The rooms are very generous in size with a queens size bed, very clever use of space and  a decent size balcony to swan around on when the mood strikes.  The gym is bloody fantastic. Huge range of equipment, tonnes of weights and the best view in the world.

I look forward to sharing more about this floating Club Med in our next post.