MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE 2015 - BARCELONA, SPAIN

MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2015

Spanish architecture

We were up and going by 7am in preparation for disembarkation.  We had breakfast at Raffles and then had to spend some time trying to straighten out some issues with our on-board account, which were definitely not resolved to our satisfaction.  We have been on many cruises and discovered that Norwegian does a few things very differently than the rest of the industry and it cost us some extra money and some frustration.  After that, we went back to our cabin to collect our luggage and took advantage of the walk-off disembarkation where you could leave by the gangway, with your luggage, whenever you chose to do so.

We disembarked around 9am and located the bus that would take us to the metro stop near the Columbus monument.  The bus fare was €2 per person.  Once at the metro, we bought three T-10 transportation passes from the automated vending machine for €9,95 per ticket.   The T-10 passes give you ten metro or bus trips per ticket and allows you to share those trips with others in your group.  There is the ability to switch from one mode of transport to the other within a certain period of time but there are details that you need to inform yourself on so you know all of the restrictions before you buy. Check out  http://www.tmb.cat/en/preguntes-frequents/-/categoria/BITLLETS-ABONAMENTS-DE-TRANSPORT for more details.
 

We caught the metro to Sants Train Station and found the luggage lockers where we could store our luggage for the day.  We rented a large locker for €5,20 which stored three smaller suitcases and a couple of backpacks as well as a couple of other lockers that fit the rest of the luggage.  

Our Dad was having issues with his knees and did not want to do much walking so we got him settled in a quieter area of the station and then the rest of us headed back downstairs to catch the metro to the Diagonal stop, near La Pedrera.  La Pedrera is a building designed by Antoni Gaudi and is a very unique sight to see.  We did not want to pay the €16,50pp entrance fee but paid €3pp to access the exhibition in the gallery on the second floor that we accessed through the atrium of the building, which is a work of art unto itself!  We really enjoyed the exhibition and found out all about Gaudi’s influences and saw many of his other creations.

 

The atrium

Next we decided to walk to La Sagrada Familia, the famous ornate church designed by Gaudi.  It took about 15-20 minutes of leisurely walking to get to the lovely park near to the church.  It really was the craziest church I had ever seen.  At first it just looked like something that came out of someone’s crazy dream but the more we looked at the details, the more it grew on us.  Construction of the church began in 1882 and is still ongoing to this day.  Cranes are an ever present sight around the tall spires of the church.  Word is that they plan to be finished within five years in time for some particular anniversary but time will tell if this happens.  We did not go inside the church proper but did climb up the inside of one of the spires and crossed over and descended from another.

It was Fiesta Nacional de Espana, a national holiday, so the streets were quite full of people with their faces painted yellow and red and waving flags.  We heard that there was a big football (ie: soccer) game going on as well.

We caught the metro back to the train station to pick up Dad and then took the metro to Plaza Catalunya (a central hub in Barcelona) with a goal to find a place to eat.  My sister and our friend went to a tapas restaurant while Mom, Dad, Dave and I kept looking for a restaurant that served something that was within the restrictions of Dave’s diet.  It was almost mid-afternoon and we found a small restaurant on a side street off Las Ramblas (main boulevard) and got refueled, as we were all quite hungry by that time.

The Metro

After lunch, we wandered down Las Ramblas and got some sorbet for dessert at Amorino Gelato el Naturale.  They made artisanal gelato and sorbet and the flavors were bold and refreshing, as it was a warm day.  We savored our tasty treats as we strolled down the boulevard taking in all of the people and goings on.  We walked until we came to a metro stop near to the end of Las Ramblas and caught the metro back to the train station to pick up our luggage.

Delicious gelato treats

Strolling along Las Ramblas

La Boqueria Market

Gorgeous architecture

We needed to take the train to El Prat airport, instead of the metro.  We waited about a half hour for the train and it took another 20-25 minutes to get to the airport where we then began a long saga of trying to catch the hotel shuttle to Frontair Congress Aeropuerto.  Suffice it to say that it took several phone calls and close to an hour before the shuttle arrived and then it only had space for two of our six people and they would not agree to come right back to get the other four, so they had to pay for a cab to the hotel (€40).

The hotel itself was basic and clean but on the worn side.  The front desk staff were rather surly and unfriendly, but mercifully efficient.  Eventually, we got checked into our rooms which were a great deal at €69 each.  The hotel was very conveniently located next to a shopping plaza that also included a very large grocery store where we had fun exploring all of the foreign foods and picking up the makings of a picnic supper along with some snacks for our flight the following day.  I would recommend the hotel based on the price and convenience but with full knowledge that the free airport shuttle may not be a real selling feature.  We were able to book spots on an early shuttle to the airport the next morning and had no issues with that trip.  

Thus ended our incredible Mediterranean adventure!  We were already talking about a return trip to Europe before we were even finished this trip.  The cruise allowed us to experience five countries and ten different stops which gave us a small taste of each place so we could determine which places we wanted to return to someday.  I hope you have enjoyed your virtual trip along with us and that you have gained some knowledge so if you are travelling to these same spots, you will not feel so unprepared for what you will encounter.  Bon voyage!!

MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE 2015 - TOULON, FRANCE (AIX-EN-PROVENCE & CASSIS)

The beautiful countryside of Provence

Between the ship being quite late getting cleared at the port of Toulon and some difficulty finding the gentleman that we were sharing the tour with, we did not get going as early as we had wanted for our day in France.   We finally located our fellow traveler and Véronique, our tour guide for the day, and set out on the drive to Aix-en-Provence at 9:45am.

There are some sights to be seen in Toulon but we were most interested in experiencing Provence and were all looking forward to seeing the countryside and the city of Aix-en-Provence.  It took about an hour to drive to Aix and we passed by Mont Sainte Victoire, which was the subject of many of Paul Cézanne’s paintings. 

  

Once we had found a parking garage, we were able to start our walk at La Rotonde.  La Rotande is a very large round-about at the beginning of Aix’s main boulevard, Cours Mirabeau.  It sports a beautiful fountain, the first of four fountains to be found along the Cours.  There are not really any ‘touristy’ attractions in Aix except perhaps Cezanne’s last painting studio.  The city itself is the main attraction and Véronique was full of information on its history and sights.

 

The Cours Mirabeau is designed for strolling.  On each side of the street, there are wide promenades with a small street in the middle for vehicle traffic.  It is not a wide street and there were not a lot of vehicles as the road ends at a turn-around area and goes right back the way it came.  You can’t park and leave your car so anyone travelling up the street is just doing so to see and be seen and then turn around again.

Cours Mirabeau

Strolling along the boulevard

A brocante (flea market) set up along the Cours

The upper class lived on the right side of the street in beautiful mansions (hôtels particuliers), all built in a similar manner:  three stories - the first story was for the kitchen and public rooms, the second for the private family rooms and the third for servants.  The windows on the first two levels are generally large but the third level windows are small in comparison.  The left side of the street is where all of the cafés, restaurants and shops are located.

A stunning hôtel particulier

What is more typically French than a lady reading a paper in a café on a beautiful, sunny morning?

When we reached the ‘mossy’ fountain (which is literally a fountain covered in green moss), we were able to put our hand in the water to find that it was quite warm as it is fed from a thermal spa underground.  These hot springs were part of the appeal for the original settlers in the area and the fountains were to show off the abundance of its waters.

The 'mossy' fountain

We walked almost to the end of the boulevard absorbing the quality of the light, the little side streets, the colour of the buildings and the relaxed pace of the residents as they went about their Sunday morning routine.  Nobody was in a real rush to get anywhere!

Véronique then led us into the warren of narrow streets off to the left of Cours Mirabeau and into the Old Town area.  It was so picturesque!!  The streets were narrow and the buildings were generally a warm gold coloured stone or cream stucco.  There was lots of wrought iron Juliet balconies and shutters painted in subdued earthy tones.  We enjoyed the simple pleasure of wandering through sun-speckled streets on a quiet Sunday morning in the south of France.  A dream come true!

We learned about the town’s history with the plague and the background behind all of the effigies found high up on the corner of many buildings.  When the plague broke out, it spread very quickly.  To help quell the spread, it was not permitted for any large gatherings to be held and that included church services.  People started to put up statues on street corners so they could worship out in the streets whenever they walked by one of those spots. 

  

Our next stop was at Place Richelme to visit the market.  This was quintessentially French right down to the red and white checked tablecloths and baskets of fruits, vegetable, breads, and cheeses.  There were lots of free samples and we tasted our way around the market.  We all picked up some bits and pieces to contribute to our picnic lunch that we planned to enjoy in Cassis.

 

We made a final quick stop at Monoprix to see what a French department store would have to offer.  It was good we did not have much time to browse as I could have done some damage with all of the French skincare products!!

I made a stop for some sorbet at a gelateria that looked just too quaint to pass by.  I chose raspberry, mojito and lemon and they were deliciously tart and smooth.  Nothing I have found at home has come close to the taste of the sorbet we enjoyed while in Europe.

Mmmmm...sorbet!

We walked back to the large fountain where we started our day and Véronique picked us up and headed to Cassis.  Cassis is a small fishing village located on the coast.  Our first stop was way up at the top of a huge cliff called Cap Canaille where there was a scenic overlook.  Cap Canaille is the highest Maritime cliff in Europe and people come from far and wide to climb the rock face of the cliff.  We spotted a couple of climbers during our visit.  We had a bird’s eye view of the beautiful azure water, the craggy coastline and the town of Cassis below.  It looked very small from our very high perch.  Definitely not for the faint of heart!

The view from the top of Cap Canaille

Rock climbers

We then made our way down the very twisted road to Cassis.  Due to our late start that morning, we did not have much more than an hour and a quarter to spend otherwise, we would have loved to take a boat tour to the nearby calanques.  They are large inlets found along the rocky coastline and are mostly only reachable by boat or after a long hike.

We wandered through the town to the beautiful sandy beach and found some spots on the stone bleachers to lay out our picnic offerings.  It was windy but the sun was warm and the salty air just made us feel at home.

Enjoying our picnic at the beach

The harbour at Cassis

We devoured our picnic and then those that had not had any gelato or sorbet in Aix went on the hunt for a gelato shop.  As soon as the treats were finished, we all climbed in the van for the drive back to Toulon.  We arrived back at the pier around 4:15pm with about 15 minutes to spare before all-aboard was called.

We had a delightful time exploring Provence and it was a beautiful day with perfect weather and a very relaxed pace.  Véronique Flayol, from Made in Provence Tours, was so very pleasant and accommodating and she certainly added much to our wonderful day in Provence.  She has won several tourism awards and we can highly recommend her services for an excellent tour experience!!

MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE 2015 - LIVORNO, ITALY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20TH, 2015

Mountains filled with granite.  This is where much of the granite tiles and countertops come from!

We awoke to a chilly and rainy morning.  We had been having such great weather all cruise so we were not going to complain.  We met our driver, Guilia, right around 8:30am.  We had arranged for a private tour through Papillon Service (www.papillonservice.com) and the cost was 540€ for the six of us (90€ per person).  We selected the ‘Cinque Terre & Pisa’ private tour and were able to custom tailor the stops we preferred to make to fit with our timing and preferences.

We headed out of the port of Livorno and through the Tuscan countryside to Portovenere, where we were hoping to catch the ferry to Cinque Terre (pronounced ‘chinkwa-terray’).  Cinque Terre (or Five Lands) is located to the north of Livorno, not far from La Spezia, in the Liguria region of Italy.  They are five small fishing villages (Monterosso el Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia,  Manarola and Riomaggiore) that are all part of Cinque Terre National Park and have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  They are precariously perched on the rugged coastline and are some of the most picturesque spots you could ever hope to see.  Most are only reachable by ferry…or by train, if the water is too rough and the ferries are not running.

I had come across Cinque Terre while reading a travel blog several years ago and it had stuck in my mind as a place that I would love to see but was never sure I would get to.  When we booked this cruise and my sister and I found out that Cinque Terre was an available tour from this port, we did not hesitate to lobby the rest of the group to splurge on this excursion.

Lovely Portovenere

Portovenere was our first stop and even though it was not part of Cinque Terre, it was an incredibly beautiful village with very tall, colourful buildings (La Palazzata or Fortress Houses) along the waterfront with a maze of narrow streets and stairways behind them.  You could spend a lot of time wandering up and down stairs and through stone-lined streets.  Doria Castle is found at the top of the hill (5€ entry). 

Wandering the narrow streets

Up to another street level

We wandered the streets for a while but wanted to see the Church of San Pietro which was located up on a rocky outcropping guarding the harbour entrance.  It was a grey and white striped stone church and we climbed up the outside stairs to be met with an incredible view of the rocky coastline.

The Church of San Pietro

What a view!!

We came back down the stairs and walked along the stone wall until we found the entrance to Byron’s  Grotto, in honour of Lord Byron, the poet who used to spend time there searching for inspiration.  We carefully made our way down the ‘stairs’ hewn out of the dark rocks.

The view from inside the Grotto

We made our way back along the waterfront to meet up with Guilia, who was scouting out whether the ferries were running as it was windy and rainy and they often will not run if waves could be a factor.  She gave us the good news that the ferry was a go and escorted us to the ticket booth to buy our ferry tickets (20€ per person).  She also gave us a tip about ensuring that we sat on the right side of the ferry so we could have a prime view on our way up the coast.  We decided to be brave and hardy (as we Canadians like to think ourselves to be) and actually chose to sit on the open deck at the aft end of the ferry.  We left Portovenere around 11am and secured our hoods and firmly wrapped our scarves around us as it got quite windy and splashy very quickly.  

The view of San Pietro as we were leaving the harbour

Hardy Canadians (and one Brit)....represent!!

The first stop was Riomaggiore where we took some incredible photos as the ferry was pulling in and out of the village but we did not get off at that stop.  Most of the stops did not have a pier as we would normally expect to see.  They would pull up as close to the rocks as they could get, slide the gangway off the front of the ferry unto the rocks and everyone would carefully make their way along the gangway while the boat continued to rise and fall with the waves.  It was kind of like a theme park thrill ride bonus to the ferry trip.

Stunning view of Riomaggiore

Making our way up the gangway

 

No pier....just a bunch of rocks!

We waited until the second stop at Manarola and disembarked to explore the town.  None of the towns are very large so we wandered around for a bit and found a delicious little gelateria near the post office where we were able to grab a treat.  Who cares if it was a chilly day??  It would be crazy to miss an opportunity to enjoy some gelato and sorbet!!

Exploring Manarola

A great place for a treat!!

We caught the 12:45pm ferry to Vernazza, where we had decided that we were going to spend the most time and eat lunch.  We spent quite a bit of time searching for a spot that had gluten-free pizza and walked all of the way up to the parking lot at the top of the town.  

Down by the waterfront in Vernazza

There was a restaurant right beside the parking lot that said they had gluten-free offerings but no tables.  We waited around for a bit and eventually got a table but then started to get the runaround about the menu.  It actually was a frustrating experience with an owner who, after telling us he had gluten free pasta, started changing his story and telling us his gluten free menu was not fully developed and that we should have a particular dish that he recommended.  Needless to say, we ended up with a platter with eight thin slices of raw fish and a few olives and tomatoes.  Now, I am sure there are people who would have enjoyed this dish however…we were not one of them.  We forced ourselves to eat it because we had to get something into our stomachs but it was not very pleasing to our taste buds.

When we returned home, I read some reviews of the restaurant on TripAdvisor and it turns out that this owner quite frequently decides what he wants to serve certain customers and that is what they get.  I guess the sign we saw as we were paying for our food should have been an indication to us to look farther afield for another option.  The sign said: “We do not serve eggs.  Do not ask us for them.  You are in Italy.  Eat our food” or very close to that wording.  One reviewer found his bossiness charming but we were left with a rather different feeling.  Regardless, we had some protein in our tummies and some snacks in the van so all was not lost.  Our biggest disappointment was that so much time was taken up at the restaurant that we did not get to see much of the town and Vernazza is supposed to be the prettiest of them all.

Guilia was at the parking lot a few minutes early so we decided to start the drive to Pisa and take the opportunity to make a few stops along the route to get some photos.  The road wound along the coast quite a distance up in the mountains.  At various spots, it gave us an absolutely incredible overhead view of some of the Cinque Terre villages as well as an up close look at the terraced vineyards, olive groves and gardens. 

I believe the history was that the ancestors had chosen these locations for their villages because they were not easily accessible and this made them less appealing to being attacked.  They had ready access to lots of fish however the steep inclines presented a challenge for growing fruits and vegetables.  They created terraced gardens that would allow them to take advantage of agricultural opportunities as well.  At one of our stops we were able to examine one of the contraptions that they invented to get up and down the terraced hillsides.  It looked like a very small (and slow) roller coaster!  We also were able to see people harvesting olives along the side of the road.  Everything was picked by hand and dropped into nets that were strung between the trees.    It was really quite ingenious how inventive the residents were to enable them to go about their daily lives in such an inhospitable location.

Terraced vineyard with Manarola in the distance

This creation is what they use to get up and down the terraced areas.  The motor is located at the very back (or front - depending on if it is going up or down) with a seat inside a cage in front of it.  There are then some flat sections to carry the harvest or other supplies.  It runs on the rail that you see below it.

It took us about an hour’s drive to get to Pisa.  This was the number one spot that Mom wanted to see and the smile on her face when she finally got a look at the Leaning Tower of Pisa was well worth the drive.  It was just so incredible to us that we were standing there looking at a monument that we had only ever seen in photos.  It was much more beautiful than I expected it to be.  There were so many colour variations in the marble and even though it was a grey and rainy day, the tower seemed to put out a soft, white glow.  Just gorgeous!!  FYI – bathroom charge was 0,80€ each.

The tower (right) and the Duomo (left)

 

The Baptistery

We made it back to the port of Livorno and onto the ship by 6pm.  We had a full day and were ravenous so we took no time heading to the Garden Room for supper.  Everything tasted divine after all of the fresh air and exercise.

I was so glad we that took the opportunity to see Cinque Terre.  Rumour has it that there are so many tourists now that they are starting to talk about limiting the amount of people that can access the area on any one day.  Who knows if they will ever institute these restrictions but we were happy to take the chance to see the villages when we had the chance.  Pisa was just an added bonus that ended up being so much more enjoyable than we expected.  What an adventure we were blessed to have!!  

We highly recommend Papillon Service tours if you are looking for a reliable, trustworthy and professional tour company.  Guilia was an informative and very helpful guide and all of our dealings with Sharon (office) from booking to payment were professional and friendly!