Bergen to Barcelona

10/20 On our own in Barcelona We had to vacate our stateroom by 8 AM and be off the ship by 9:30   AM. Our luggage was picked up the night before after leaving it outside the cabin so we took our carry ons and went to breakfast then sat in one of the lounges until time to disembark. We told Barry and Sharon good bye as we all left to get taxis....theirs to the airport, ours to our hotel in Barcelona in the Barri Gotic neighborhood.   As expected, we couldn’t check in so early but they stored our luggage so we could explore the area around the hotel. We went back to the cathedral area where the market was still going on but there were no lines for the cathedral and we spent a lot of time enjoying the art and sculptures.  It's a beautiful cathedral that was begun in the 13th century. A copy of the black madonna of Montserrat is in the cathedral. There is also a cloister where a group of very vocal white geese are kept. The cathedral took up a lot of time and we wer...

10/19 Barcelona We arrived in Barcelona around 1PM after a bouncy night at sea. We had a tour of Barcelona after arrival beginning as a brief bus tour then getting out and walking to the area of the cathedral in the Barri Gotic neighborhood of Barcelona where we had some free time.  First view of Barcelona from ship A large weekend market was in the cathedral square and a ridiculous line waiting to go into the cathedral.  We opted for wandering the market and walking in the neighborhood since we would have another opportunity to visit the cathedral while we were there. Back at the ship we packed and had our last dinner aboard ship. 

Murcia and Cartagena 10/18 We awoke in Cartagena this AM to another beautiful, sunny day. We took a bus tour into the region of  Murcia, the rival city to Cartagena. It was quite a long drive though desert appearing countryside that is actually a well irrigated and very important source of agricultural products for all of Spain. We stopped near an area along the Mediterranean that is a popular resort area. Our stop was at a picturesque lighthouse.           Then we went through an area of Murcia that historically was important for mines of zinc, lead and silver. The mines are now inactive but their effluents have damaged the bay below and there is a government project to try and repair the damage.  After winding through the mining area we arrived back in the town of Cartagena for a walking tour and a visit to the archaeology museum that leads to a large Roman theater. The inventor of the submarine is from Cartagena and a mod...

At Sea Again then SPAIN! 10/16 Another sea day with continued bumpy seas and day of boredom except I again played bridge with Bernie, the British national master, and the two women who are terrible players. Overnight we sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar. We happened to wake up at 2 AM and got up to look out and could see there were lots of lights and that we were fairly close to shore but there wasn't much to see at that hour. 10/17 We woke up in Malaga, Spain to a beautiful sunrise and the promise of a clear day. 10/17 Malaga is a narrow town along the coast that rapidly rises into surrounding mountains. We began with a bus tour up onto the surrounding hills above the town where we walked further up the hill for a spectacular view.   Bull ring and port Back down to sea level we had a walking tour of the town which has Roman ruins found during a construction project. Malaga is where Picasso was born and a bronze sculpture of th...

Rough Seas, Boredom and....FINALLY, Porto 10/13 Day one at sea. I took prophylactic meclizine because of the dire weather predictions. Actually, it wasn't as rough as the day we left Bergen but it was a significantly bouncy, rocky ride, especially in our cabin in the bow but I slept like the dead thanks to meclizine. The day was BORING and spent almost entirely in the 2nd floor lounge reading and playing Words with Friends. Meals were definitely not missed despite the rough seas. There was a nap involved, again, thanks to meclizine. 10/14 Day 2 at sea and more boredom. Somehow managed to sleep until 9:30 AM. For me, I'm sure it was meclizine related. In the afternoon I saw some people playing bridge. When I expressed interest, one of the players said she wanted to stop and invited me to take her place. It was perhaps the worst group of bridge players EVER! They were pre beginning level. I extricated myself after an hour or so. 10/15 We arrived in Porto af...

Honfleur and Portsmouth 10/11 We awoke this morning in Le Havre, a huge, busy port.  Le Havre as viewed from the ship Our neighbors at the dock Our tour is in Honfleur, a medieval town nearby. Our guide was excellent. She gave us some history of Honfleur on the bus en route to Honfleur then took us on a tour of the beautiful town with it's incredibly well preserved medieval buildings.           Erik Satie was born here We had time on our own after the tour and Patty and I annoyed Dick and Ira enough with our shopping that they left us on our own. We had a great time checking out the shops and even tasted some Calvados which is a specialty of the Normandy region.    Lots of Calvados We were back on the ship for dinner and on our way to Portsmouth England where the time change gave us an extra hour to sleep. 10/12 ...