LISBON TO LE HAVRE

LE HAVRE (France) – Well after being blessed with the most amazing weather for most of the trip, our last port of call before disembarking was grey and rainy. Many of the ship's passengers were doing trips into Paris today but as we will be spending time there in a few weeks time, we again just mozied around on foot. Not a great deal to see in town as it was Saturday afternoon and many of the shops were closed but we did find a luggage shop open and were able to buy 'another' bag despite the language barrier. We then ventured into a café and bought coffees and cakes (oh it's going to be fun dealing the French lingo when we get there!!!) We did our final pack and began farewelling so many friends we met whilst we were on board, lots of lovely friendships made and so many good memories… Before we knew it, we were enjoying our last supper with our great dinner mates and wonderful waiters – we'll miss them all so much.
Photos above are: General de Gaulle Place; the War Memorial there; just walking in the rain.

GIBRALTAR TO LISBON

LISBON (Portugal) – After a great farewell deck party, we cruised through the night through the Straits of Gibraltar and turned the corner leaving the beautiful royal blue water of the Mediterranean behind us and entering the Atlantic and unfortunately the temperature has dropped dramatically. Time to pack the swimmers away and think about how we are going to sort out our luggage, with all the extras, after we arrive in Dover for the next instalment of our journey in England and France….
We loved Lisbon from the moment we arrived, with its colourful old buildings decorated with beautiful tiles of various patterns and colours. Again we hopped on a city bus tour and saw the sights, then walked and walked and walked around several 'Squares' with imposing monuments everywhere and surrounded by wonderful architecture and enjoying all the nooks and crannies, ending up in a street café in the Alfama Quarter, the old part of the city, where we devoured delightful Portugese tarts and coffee….. so good!!
Photos above are: Ultimate Deck Party and some of the crew having fun; amazing desserts; and more amazing desserts; our last 'deck dance' with Jo & Garry; I'm sure someone will remind me of the name of this lovely monument; Discovery Monument honouring 15th/16th century writers, artists, mathematicians and explorers; no, we are not in San Fran or Rio, it is Lisbon's beautiful monument; enjoying Ros' birthday (whilst she & Arnold spend a few days in Paris) – we had a very good party!!

BARCELONA TO GIBRALTAR

GIBRALTAR:  What a great big Rock!!! Very impressive and so British - flags, red telephone boxes and letter boxes everywhere and of course all the British shops!! As there was another huge cruise ship in port, this little town was buzzing with tourists taking advantage of the duty free shopping and stocking up with souvenirs. We made our way up to the Cable Car but sadly the queue was so long that we would not have had the time and there were very few cable cars to ride as well, so sadly we missed out on seeing the Barbary Apes (we did see a million stuffed ones in the shops tho'?!!). Our sail away was a lot of fun with the Independence of the Seas (berthed next to us) which was full of Brits touring the Med for 10 days, providing the music and frivolity. Their top deck was full of passengers 3 deep by the time they departed, looking down on us on our top deck and giving us a lot of cheek!! A very pretty sail away with the Rock of Gibraltar and its lovely little town fading into the distance.

Photos above are:  the closest we got to seeing Barbary Apes;  a popular shop with the passengers;  too few cable cars for 6,000 passengers;  shoppers everywhere;  our ship in the foreground with the Independence of the Seas;  and last of the warm weather with the Rock of Gibraltar in background.

MONTE CARLO TO BARCELONA

BARCELONA (Spain) – As it was Sunday, most of the city was closed but we enjoyed a city bus tour with the wildly different architecture of Goudi very noticeable and fascinating. We got off half way and walked down La Rambla which was filled with market stalls, street gamblers (which pea is under the pod), and buskers etc….. had lunch al fresco and watched the locals stroll by as we were continually being reminded by café staff about thieves and to keep an eye on our bags!! Hopped on the bus again and got off at the Museum where we had a great view of the city before returning back to the port where we strolled around more markets.
Photos above are: the start of Las Ramblas; McDonalds sign showing what you can buy for 1Euro (AUD 1.5); sweet treats in La Rambla; Colin looking like a real tourist; quaint architecture; the Palace Museum; view from the Palace Museum; more views of the city; and may not look exciting but these mobile gangways are great – move along on runners.