I've got a bit of catching up to do...........Part 1

 

You meet some of the most interesting characters when traveling!

My previous blog was posted on March 23.  To say I've got a bit of catching up to do is an understatement.  It's not that we haven't been doing anything blog worthy.  Actually, it's quite the opposite.  We've been on the move so much, coupled with the fact that I haven't been carrying my bulky and heavy laptop that I find myself close to four months behind.

In the interest of time, I will try to keep this blog fairly short.  Quite a few of the places we've enjoyed recently are places that we've visited previously.  If you're interested, more details on these places can be found using the search bar on the web version of the blog.  If it's a place we haven't visited before I'll try to give a little more detail.

On March 24 we headed over to Ft. Lauderdale to start an adventure that would take us to Rome and back.  Our transportation to Rome's port city of Civitavecchia was a fifteen-night cruise on board the Emerald Princess.  There is quite a bit of water between Ft. Lauderdale and Europe, so this particular cruise started with about a week's worth of "sea days" before we reached our first port of call, Funchal, which is on the Portuguese island of Maderia. 

Emerald Princess Itinerary 

As is often the case, the journey was as much of the adventure as the destinations.  The cruise director (Kevin) was a high energy, entertaining young man from Canada.  He, the crew and guest entertainers kept the 3,000 or so passengers entertained and laughing as we made our way across the Atlantic on smooth seas.  It was an exceptionally fun fifteen days!

Funchal, Maderia (Portugal) Funchal happens to be one of our favorite ports from previous cruises.  In our minds any cruise with a stop in Funchal is a good cruise. It's an incredibly beautiful island and city that we never get tired of visiting.  There are several previous blogs on Funchal if you're interested in more information.  

No visit to Funchal would be complete without a stop at our favorite outdoor watering hole, the Barreirinha Cafe Bar.  The Somersby's are cold, and the views are awesome!

One of several parks located near the Funchal City Center

The Church of St. Mary the Great

Our days in Funchal typically end at the botanic garden, which is just a short walk from the cruise dock.

Gibraltar-Our next port was the British territory of Gibraltar, which is located where the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea meet.  We had cruised through this narrow passage a number of times, usually at night when we weren't able to see the Rock of Gibraltar or the African coast, which is located around 10 miles on the other side of the passage.  The city of Gibraltar has a population of around 35,000 residents.  Although it is a British territory, it has a very international feel.  

We hadn't made any plans on the ship but booked a tour with a local guide once we disembarked.  There were about 6-8 of us in a small van, and while I can't remember the exact price I do remember it was very reasonable, especially when compared to the excursion prices the cruises charge.  The tour took us up onto the rock, where we made several stops at overlooks as well as going inside a very small portion of the massive tunnel system within the rock.  Our guide was quite knowledgeable, or at least he convinced us that he was knowledgeable on the history of the area.  The history of the tunnels, going inside one of the tunnels and the overlooks were impressive.  However, the highlight of the tour was the close encounters we had with the Barbary macaques (members of the ape family) that call the rock home.  As you can see from the pictures below, it was a hair-raising experience, especially for Beth, who has a little more hair than me.

I turned around and this fella was riding on Beth's head.  He posed for a few pictures before he climbed over and tried (unsuccessfully) to find hair on my head.

The apes are well cared for by the city.  Their health is monitored, the population is controlled and they are well fed...........although they will gladly take a handout from tourists.  They have been known to steal glasses, purses, cameras, etc. so beware.

The Angel of the Cave of St. Michael.  There are over 34 miles of tunnels throughout the Rock of Gibraltar.  They were excavated by the British army over 200 years ago.  Stalagmites and stalactites have created some unique formations. 

The view from the top.

The city of Gibraltar with the Emerald Princess docked in the harbor.

The road up the rock is a narrow, one way road.  Only licensed taxis are permitted to use the road.  It may look a bit chaotic but they have it organized very well to allow time to take in the sights and keep moving.  As you can see, the taxis attract a few free loaders. 

Main Street is a pedestrian only street with shops and restaurants lining both sides.  We enjoyed a great meal of fish and chips at Roy's Fish and Chips. 

Gibraltar sail away

Malaga, Spain-Like Funchal, another of our favorite ports to visit is Malaga, Spain.  Malaga lies along the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun) region of Spain's Mediterranean coast.  There was plenty of sun as well as plenty or reminiscing as we roamed the narrow streets, parks and along the beautiful beach. 

Park benches..............

churros and chocolate............

a walk along the beachfront promenade............it was a nice day in the beautiful city of Malaga.

Ajaccio, Corsica-Our final port of call on this cruise was the city of Ajaccio on the French Island of Corsica.  This was our first visit to this Mediterranean island which lies just a little over 100 miles from the French mainland.  We enjoyed walking around the city and along the waterfront.  Corsica is where Napolean was both born and is buried.  There are numerous historical sites related to him throughout the city.  It was a fun place to spend a day and a place that we would see again in a few days on the second cruise of this adventure.

Docking in Ajaccio

Ajaccio has a great walking promenade.............

and a nice pedestrian only shopping street.  We stopped at Ajaccio on the next cruise so there will be more pictures and information to come.

We disembarked the Emerald Princess in Civitavecchia, which is located about one hour from Rome.  We had originally planned to stay in Civitavecchia for the three days before our return cruise, however we changed our minds and ended up staying in Rome.  

We stayed in the Trastevere area of Rome, which is an area we had enjoyed on previous visits.  There are plenty of good restaurants in the Trastevere area.  Also, it is conveniently located near Romes major historical tourist sites and the Vatican.  We put in a lot of miles walking during our time in Rome which allowed us to enjoy plenty of good food and gelato guilt free!  

One of the highlights of our time in Rome was visiting Villa Borghese, which is one of Rome's largest parks. It is located near the Spanish Steps and sits high up on a hilltop.  The park is huge, so we didn't see nearly all there is to see. We did enjoy the lake which was filled with young and old alike enjoying the small rowboats which were available to rent.  The park also has very scenic views overlooking the city.

Roaming around Rome..............

St Peter's Square

If you're near St. Peters and looking for a quick bite try to find Scialla.  It's a small, unassuming (but popular) place on a side street just blocks away.

The Pieta by Michelangelo can be found inside St. Peter's Basilica.  It is one of many priceless works of art located there.

Piazza Navona

The Gardens of Villa Borghese

A view of Rome from the Gardens of Villa Borghese

We also ventured out of Rome for a day.  We took the train to the small city of Orvieto, which is located about a 2-hour train ride from Rome.  The city has been around since the 3rd century BC.  It sits high on a small hill that provided excellent defense from would be attackers.  It was an interesting place to visit and certainly a change from the hustle and bustle of Rome.

From high above Orvieto

Orvieto Cathedral is known as the "Golden Lilly" because of its incredible mosaic facades.

In addition to it's strategic location high on a hill, Orvieto has an underground series of tunnels that were used for housing and defense.

Monastery turned hotel in the Orvieto Valley

We worked up a good appetite exploring Orvieto. This charcuterie board satisfied our hunger.

On April 11 we made our way back to Civitavecchia to start our journey back to Ft. Lauderdale.  Our return voyage was a 21-day cruise on board the Island Princess.  The Island Princess maiden voyage was in 2003, making it a few years older than the Emerald Princess, whose maiden voyage was in 2007.  Additionally, with a capacity of approximately 2,200 passengers, it is slightly smaller than the Emerald Princess which accommodates around 3,000.  Both ships were quite comfortable, we liked a few things better on each of them but it's fair to say that we enjoyed both ships a lot. 

Our Island Princess cruise did have quite a few more ports of call (10) than we had on the Emerald Princess (4).  The ports of call were Ajaccio, France, Livorno, Italy, Genoa, Italy, Villefranche, France, Marseille, France, Barcelona, Spain, Cadiz, Spain, Casablanca, Morocco, Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Las Palmas, Gran Canarias.  The ports that are in bold font are ones that we have visited previously either on other cruises or by land tours.

Island Princess Itinerary 

One thing we noticed early on the Island Princess was that the passengers were far more laid back than those on the Emerald Princess.   It was pretty easy to figure out the reason.  Many of our fellow passengers on the Island Princess were on the last leg of a world cruise that had started in early January.  They had been on the ship for over 100 days and were pretty settled into a routine!

Ajaccio, France-Ajaccio was our last stop on our cruise to Rome.  It was our first stop on our cruise from Rome back to Ft. Lauderdale.  The cruise terminal is located just a short 3-5 walk from the city center.  Our first visit was on a Sunday and the City Market was closed.  This time we were there on a Saturday, the market, plaza and pedestrian shopping streets were bustling from the time we arrived until we departed.  There is a small, inexpensive bus that offers a narrated tour of the city.  It was an easy and inexpensive way to see a bit more of the city and left us plenty of time to roam around the city and enjoy a nice charcuterie board at the market. 

The tour took us out of town along a coastal road.  We didn't have long, but there were some amazing looking trails that would have been fun to explore.

Napolean Statue

Cathedrale de l' Assomption-Where Napolean was baptized  

The City Market had an outdoor open area as well as an indoor food hall.

From the Food Hall..........it was excellent!

Livorno (Florence and Pisa)-Livorno is one of Italy's biggest ports.  However, there isn't a whole lot to do in or around the city.  Most cruise passengers head for either Florence or Pisa.  We have enjoyed visiting both Florence and Pisa before and we had even spent a day in Livorno recently.  We opted to book a local tour that took us to Pisa so we could check on the progress of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  We were pleased to see that it was still standing...........and still leaning.  As an added treat, the tour included a visit to the small village of San Gimignano.  The drive through the Tuscan countryside, the village, the gelato and wine tasting were all amazing.

Still standing........still leaning

The World's Most Famous Gelato.........it says so right there on the sign!

The Tuscan Countryside

Genoa, Italy-This was our first visit to Genoa.  The ship docked just a short walk from the City Center and the Aquarium which is Europe's largest.  We, along with a couple of billion school children enjoyed our visit to the aquarium.  We actually enjoyed seeing the children's eyes light up and the joy on their faces with every new discovery.  In addition to the aquarium, the city center is a great place to spend a couple of hours.

Europe's Largest

Not a Florida Manatee.......maybe an Italian Manatee!

The Jellyfish are always interesting

A few photos of the City Center area

City Center was clean and bustling.

Villefranche, France-Villefranche is a small city on the French Riveria.  It is conveniently located between Nice and Monaco.  It was the only port on the cruise that required the ship to use tenders to shuttle us to shore and back.  It was a smooth operation both ways.

We had spent some time in Villefranche several years back and really enjoyed it and the surrounding area.  There is regular train service running both to Nice and Monaco.  Although it's a fairly long walk, we actually walked from our Airbnb apartment to Nice, however we were younger then!  For this one-day visit we opted to simply stay in Villefranche and enjoy it's incredible scenery.

Villefranche has crystal clear water..........

interesting narrow streets..........

and crepes with a view!

Marseille, France-Marseille is located in Southern France.  It is the second largest city in the country (Paris is the largest).   The port is located about 4 miles from the city center.  The cruise ship was offering roundtrip transportation to the city center for $16.95.  What they fail to tell you is that just a short walk from where the ship docks there is a free shuttle bus that will take to the same location.  

Marseille has a great marina surrounded on three sides by shops, restaurants, and an open air market.  It's a great place to enjoy roaming around for a few hours.  From the marina area there is also a small, inexpensive tourist train that has a couple of different routes.  We opted for the route that took us up to the Notre Dame Basilica which sits high above the city.  The train tours operate continually throughout the day.  The basilica is a "hop off-hop on" stop so you can spend as much time there as you want.

I felt the same way at the end of some workdays!

Cathedrale La Major.  The shuttle bus from the port will drop you off close to here.

The sprawling city of Marseille as seen from the Notre Dame Basilica 

Chateau d'lf is a 16th century castle, former prison and setting for the Count of Monte Cristo.

A great way to see Marseille is the tourist train(s)!

Sunset sail away!

  

Barcelona-One day we may get tired of visiting Barcelona, but it hasn't happened yet.  Like so many places we've visited previously, we simply enjoy roaming around, finding good benches and of course good food and drink.  Needless to say, there is plenty of all of this and much more in the fascinating city of Barcelona!

Christopher Columbus monument.  He's looking out towards the ocean in the direction of America.

There is plenty of artwork to be enjoyed along the waterfront.

Energy boost!

There were a number of huge yachts in the Barcelona marina.  This was by far the largest.  I looked it up and it's owned by Stephen Spielberg.  Estimated purchase price was $250 million and annual operating cost is around 25 million, give or take a few million.

Perfect ending to a great day in Barcelona!

Cadiz, Spain-We first visited Cadiz on a cruise a few years ago.  We were really impressed with it then and were excited to have the opportunity to spend some more time here.  One reason for our excitement was the chocolate and churros that we discovered at a small place near the city market.

If you're going to Cadiz on a cruise you may have to make a choice.  Either stay in Cadiz or visit Seville, which is an hour and a half away.  We've done both and, in our opinion, you can't go wrong with either option.  This time we chose to stay in Cadiz.

Along the Cadiz waterfront 

It was the day before Easter.  During Holy Week there are daily processionals through the streets.  Local churches bring their alters to the main cathedral to be blessed.  It's quite a site to see.  We had enjoyed seeing this previously in Seville.  

Cadiz has plenty of places to simply sit and enjoy the views......

another nice view!

Chocolate and churros.  We got so excited we both ordered churros.  One order is plenty.

A little sangria to wash down the churros (much later in the day)!

Casablanca, Morocco-We left the mainland of Europe for the short journey across to Casablanca in Northern Africa.  This was our second visit to this huge city which has a population of over 4 million.  We debated for a long time but finally decided on booking a long excursion that would take us from Casablanca to Marrakesh.  The bus ride between the two cities was a little over four hours each way.  Our day started early and didn't end until late, but both the journey and the destination were very interesting.

The Island Princess was nicely decorated for Easter

We didn't see a lot of Casablanca on this trip, but what we did see from the bus looked very clean and orderly.  This is one of the many small villages we passed on the drive from Casablanca to Marrakesh.

A rest area we stopped at that had a taco food truck!

The market (Souk) in Marrakesh is huge.  Visiting the market is a "must" if you happen to be in or near Marrakesh.  According to our guide it is several square miles in size and there are over 17,000 stalls.  She jokingly said that to visit every stall it would take several months........maybe she wasn't joking? 

We enjoyed a traditional Moroccan lunch complete with a belly dancer.  Winston Churchill and Alfred Hitchcock had dined there in the past.  Scenes from Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much" were filmed inside.

The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the largest mosque in Africa.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife-Our original port of call for this day was the Spanish island of Lanzarote, however because of high winds we were diverted to Santa Cruz de Tenerife.  Both islands are part of the Canary Islands which are considered autonomous communities of Spain.  From what I understand, this means they are governed locally but with the support and protection of Spain.  I guess this makes them somewhat similar to what Puerto Rico is to the United States.

We took an organized ship tour to the other side of the island.  It is a dedicated tourist destination frequented by many Brits who escape the cold wet winter in Great Britian by visiting here.

While the winds were kicking up at Lanzarote, it was a beautiful day on Tenerife.

Nice pizza..........island style.

One of many beautiful gardens in the area.

Near the city center, heading back to the ship.

Gran Canaria, Las Palmas-Our final stop before we started our voyage across the open waters of the Atlantic was Gran Canaria.  It was just a short five-minute walk from the cruise terminal to the city center.  By walking just a few more minutes through the city center there is a nice beach with a long waterfront promenade.  We had enjoyed spending time here before and knowing that we had eight consecutive sea days ahead of us, we enjoyed strolling the promenade and city center until it was close to time to cast off.

 

Along the beachfront promenade.  It stretches for several miles. 

There are plenty of benches along the way.

This small, cool looking waterfront house has withstood many a storm.  It had been spiffed up with a new paint job since our last visit.

Not sure of the name of this piece of artwork in the City Center.  Possibly "The Crazy Cat Lady of Gran Canaria!

Our eight days crossing the Atlantic were "smooth sailing".  It had been a busy itinerary up until this point and we enjoyed relaxing as well as great food and entertainment on the Island Princess.

We arrived back in Ft. Lauderdale on Friday, May 2, but not for long.  After a few days of visiting Beth's mom, other family and some very special friends we were back in Ft. Lauderdale embarking on our next adventures.  This time we wouldn't be crossing the Atlantic Ocean.  We would be cruising up the east coast of the US and Canada.  Not once, but twice!

About those special friends..............

We met Mary Kay and Tom in Lisbon, Portugal several years ago.  Coincidentally, after meeting them while sitting by the Tagus River, they were on the same Transatlantic cruise with us two days later.  We have been fortunate to keep in touch over the years, and we were able to meet up once again in Lake Placid, Florida.  We (Debbie, Beth and I) drove over from Port Charlotte and Mary Kay and Tom drove over from Sebastian.  It was the perfect halfway spot to meet.

 

Beth and Mary Kay in front of one of the 47 murals painted on buildings around Lake Placid.  Mary Kay and Beth stay in touch often through text messaging.  

Two rays of sunshine in front of a bunch of sunflowers!

There aren't many gators this size in Wisconsin.

A few more photos of some of the murals we enjoyed during our Lake Placid visit.

There is still a lot of catching up to do!  Hopefully I can make some more progress over the next few days!