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.

LIVORNO TO MONTE CARLO

MONTE CARLO (Monaco):  WOW, WOW, WOW!!!  Now this place oozes serious wealth!!  As soon as we got off the ship and looked around the boat harbour, our mouths dropped open and stayed that way for most of the day!!  Apart from the magnificent boats lined up one after the other – one even had a helicopter atop (never quite seen anything like these water toys before), we immediately spotted Porsches, Rollers, Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and a Masserati!! We walked along the shoreline and Colin had a swim in the Med., said it was very salty and didn’t like the gritty beach but the sun was shining and we were in Monte Carlo….  The Monte Carlo Casino was next on our walking trip, but it was ‘closed’ – so we just gazed at this lovely building and imagined how much fun it would have been to have had a little bet!!  We walked all the way back through the fabulous shops to the Royal Palace set high on the hill, home of the Grimaldi family but we just missed Prince Albert and his lovely new bride as they are no doubt on their honeymoon.  The square around the Palace was surrounded by beautiful pastel buildings, some residential, café’s and more souvenir shops. A leisurely walk back to the ship – just dreaming of what it would be like to be this rich…. 

Photos above are:  view from Monte Carlo Yacht Club;  giant swimming pool;  Colin swimming in the Med;  soft top Rollers;  view from the Royal Palace;  the pretty Palace;  square around the Palace;  pic. taken from the steps of the Monte Carlo Casino;  is this my car?;  the Monte Carlo Casino;  just too big!!!

ATHENS TO NAPLES

NAPLES (Italy) – we anchored in the bay of Naples, nestled beneath the dormant Mt. Vesuvius and were fortunate to have a small tour group today with Mariano as our host & guide.  It was not long before we were ogling at the most beautiful scenery along the Amalfi Coast and stopped a couple of times to take the ‘must have’ photos!!  We arrived in Sorrento, a lovely little town with picturesque streets and home of the delightful “Limoncello”.  YES, we also found a lovely little street, full of colourful souvenir shops again and after a quick stroll, had coffee and watched the world go by.  Next stop was Positano and were blown away with the sprawling hillsides, full of wonderful old homes and barely a spare block in sight - & little backyards filled with vegie gardens, olive trees and flowers.  A quaint & narrow, winding shopping walk (with the most beautiful clothes shops I’ve ever seen – just had to buy a dress!!) weaved its way all the way down to a small pebble beach which was filling up quickly with holiday makers.  We had lunch at a great little ristorante, with a view of the sea, and of course devoured pasta, pizza and wine – yum! 

All of this would have been more than enough for the day, but lo & behold, Pompeii was our afternoon destination…..  After being engulfed in ash when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. and consequently preserved in mud, these ruins of an ancient city are gradually seeing the light again.  It’s quite an incredible journey up and down the narrow streets & laneways, with amphitheatres and homes & shops quite distinct from each other, in the most incredible condition – the roofs have gone but the interiors are in very good condition…..  What a great day!!

Photos above are:  our group with Mt. Vesuvius in the background;  rugged Amalfi Coastline;  huge lemons at this little fruit shop in Sorrento;  our view whilst sipping coffee in Sorrennto;  a pretty ‘dress’ tree in Positano;  more beautiful shops;  a timber path over the pebbles leading to the water at Positano;  the beach at Positano;  one of the amphitheatres at Pompeii;  standing in one of the streets lined with shops – the hump in the middle was for stepping across as the water and effluent flowed through the streets;   a bakery with oven and mill for grinding.