Monday, November 30, 2015

Valencia, Spain

The day we spent in Valencia was probably my favorite day of the entire cruise. We started out at the Mercat Central, one of the largest markets in Europe. I've been to a lot of markets and this one was absolutely amazing!

We started off with churros and chocolate at l'Orxateria, which is located just outside one of the main doors. We then spent the next few hours exploring the massive market. The building has beautiful stained glass looking skylights and some walls with impressive tile murals.

Of course it is filled with the normal market wares; butchers with all cuts of meat, fishmongers and strange looking sea creatures, fruits and vegetables galore. This market had some unique stands including one that had all pickled things, an incredible olive seller, another with fresh and dried mushrooms, fresh juice vendors, and a stand with many different kinds of snails!
After browsing the market, as well as picking up some snacks for aperos that night, we asked around for where to go have lunch of the regional specialty- paella. Everyone told us that you have to have paella at the beach so we grabbed a cab and headed to Playa de la Malvarosa. The beach here is beautiful! If I had a few days in this gorgeous city I would happily spend them at the beach!
The beachfront walk is lined with restaurants all advertising delicious paella. We picked a place randomly, well actually we picked it based on their gintonic selection, as everyone told us that most all the places down here would be great, and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying a long lunch. Destino 56 was delicious but it really took forever as the kitchen forgot one of our paella orders! As these dishes are made-to-order they take about 45 minutes each. But we enjoyed our gintonics, delicious mussels, amazing calamari (both sent out on the house) and finally two different paellas; one seafood and one rabbit and artichoke.
That evening we had a very nice dressy dinner at the ship's AmphorA restaurant.

My favorite day was one spent leisurely checking out good food and eating good food in a beautiful setting with good friends. For me it doesn't get much better than that.

Photos here. Next stop Mallorca.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Cartagena, Spain

Our fourth stop on our southern Spain cruise was Cartagena (Spain not Colombia!). The four of us decided to spend the day exploring the port town together, specifically the 2nd century Roman theater.
We had read that Cartagena was the home of the Peral submarine, the first electric submarine built in 1888 with the first fully underwater nav system. We went looking for it and found where it use to be displayed but it has since been moved to the naval museum. At first I thought it might had been stolen!

Once we finally found the Roman museum entrance (we somehow walked past it and were just following the gate perimeter for a while!) we had a great time exploring both the inside exhibits as well as the theater itself.

It always boggles my mind when places like this have survived for so long! I love ruins!

We spent the rest of the morning strolling around the main part of town. There are quite a few beautiful pedestrian only streets lined with stores and cafes.
After a lunch of tapas enjoyed outside in the sun, we decided to head back to the ship for a little sunbathing and hot tubbing, with wine of course!

Next stop Valencia!

Cartagena photos here.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Alhambra Day Trip

We woke up docked in Almeria, Spain. We'd been in this region before but it is large and we were hundreds of miles away from our last destination.

The big draws here are Granada and the famed Alhambra. Both could easily be trips on their own but we only had about 8 hours in port. We decided in advance to book a private group tour of the Alhambra, which would include private transportation, with Top Day Tours.

It was a long 2 1/2 hour drive to Granada from the port for our small group of ten. This drive was made longer and really uncomfortable because the "door open" alarm went off the entire time. Everyone, including the driver and the tour guide, was about ready to go bat-shit crazy but there was nothing to be done.

We drove past very interesting hills with houses built into the sides of them, house/rock caves if you will. It was hard to get a picture since we were on the highway but we noticed they were the very typical housing choice of the area. The heat out here in the summer is intense so this keeps the people cool. And insulated from hearing the non-stop door alarm...

We finally made it to Granada, our heads ringing from the audio abuse, and had a quick walk around. We went into the lovely cathedral, walked to one of the pretty town squares, and then explored the Alcaicera, a Moroccan style market of crafts, clothing, spices, etc.

We then drove up to the Alhambra and met our private guide who led us into the most beautiful gardens and grounds I have ever seen. We spent hours touring the palace, staring wide-eyed at the incredible detail given to its design.

There is nothing I could write to convey the true beauty that is the Alhambra so you will just need to get yourself there. There's even a parador on the grounds that you can stay in!

They only sell a certain number of tickets a day so unless you book a private tour you will need to buy your timed ticked well in advance, I think it's like months.

To make up for the insanity inducing noise of the van alarm, our tour company both got us a replacement van and treated us to a very nice lunch before heading back to the port. There was wine, two types of gazpacho, salads, grilled chicken, and ice cream. A very nice gesture!

After another long drive back (but a quiet one this time) we got cleaned up, enjoyed happy hour, and then joined the crew and passengers for a big BBQ out on the upper deck while we sailed off towards Cartagena!

Photos here


Monday, November 16, 2015

Malaga, Spain

First off it is Mal-a-ga. We spent a lot of time figuring out how to pronounce it so... Mal-a-ga! And it's lovely.

Jenn & Matt set out on their own while we boarded a bus for an excursion to the tiny hill town of Mijas. Wow, this little place, even riddled with tour groups, is a charmer!

Our guide walked about 20 of us around the town, pointing out the fantastic views of the neighboring hills and the sea, the donkeys which have been used as taxis for years, and the independent shops and restaurants that created the town's economy.

We entered into the small yet beautiful cathedral, and saw the tiny bullring from the outside before heading to a wine shop for a tasting and some education on the area's wine.

Since we had some time on our own after we wandered around just taking in the charm of this little villa! Then we found a nice cafe with only locals inside, for a bocadillo and a beer.

When the bus took us back to Mal-a-ga we opted to have the driver drop us in the center of town. After strolling around for a bit we stopped at La Espanola for a fantastic tapas lunch which included a dish of hardboiled eggs tossed in house-made mayonnaise as well as a cone containing a mix of delicious fried seafood, both specialties of the area.

We met Jenn and Matt back on board and exchanged stories of the day on the deck out in the sun.

That night after our wine tasting session and stateroom happy hour we did a Bridge visit before heading to dinner.

Photos here. Next up Granada, and the Alhambra.


Friday, November 13, 2015

Cadiz, Spain

When we docked in Cadiz everyone had a choice to go on a full day drive and excursion to Seville or a shorter excursion to Jerez for some sherry tasting. Since we had done both the previous year we elected to stay and explore the pretty old city of Cadiz.

Upon disembarking we found a tourist map which showed us four optional walking tours of the town. You hardly needed a map however as the streets were painted with various colored lines which you just followed depending on which type of things you were interested in exploring. This is so brilliant, I think every city should do this!

After our lovely walking tour (with a tad bit of rain) we stopped into the fantastic cathedral right in the old town center. The risers outside were still in place from the big Easter Sunday Mass the day before. And inside there was an incredible and huge silver alter as well as an impressive crypt.

We had lunch in what looked to be quite a touristy outdoor cafe but when I saw some elderly local looking diners eating things I had never seen I just asked the waiter to bring the same. We ended up with these really interesting little pan fried "pancakes" which had tiny shrimp in them. Awesome.

We made a quick trip to the town mercado, which was small and sadly closing, for some Iberico jamon and then into the grocery store for some Iberico jamon flavored Pringles. There would be a serious taste test that night!

The sun was out so we stopped for an al fresco drink before returning to the ship and meeting up with Matt and Jen to hear about their day in Jerez.

Photos here. Next stop Malaga, Spain.



Thursday, November 12, 2015

Windstar WindSurf at Sea

The last time I went on a cruise it had been on this same ship, we sailed from Rome to Nice and our friends Lauren and Paul were traveling with us. This time we sailed from Lisbon to Barcelona with Jennifer and Matt, although Lauren and Paul were scheduled to come they sadly had to cancel at the last minute. We were all very excited for the cruise but it was bittersweet also.

The ship was just how I remembered it. Roomy staterooms (for a ship) and wonderful decks with lots of seating to enjoy the views. And of course 5 masts which unfurled huge white canvas sails. We had the sails up over 90% of our sailing time which was fantastic as they can cut the engines and it is super peaceful.

Our first day on ship was also our only at sea day. Unfortunately it was cold and rainy so there was no sunbathing to be had. But it was nice to have breakfast in bed, get a chance to unpack, and just hang out reading.


The ship hosted a trivia contest, which we came in 2nd on (giraffes have purple tongues...). While playing we had a little bird visitor, the crew said it sailed with them often. I'm sure he got a much better deal than I did! Matt also entered the poker tournament that the casino held.

This cruise was specifically a Spanish wine cruise so each afternoon they held a tasting with about 8 different wines. Those wines were then available at dinner and throughout the next day until the next wine tasting. It took us a while to figure this out since we missed the tasting when they were docked in Lisbon. If you kept to these wines they were included in the price we paid. None of the wines were that exciting but we attended the tastings daily and found a white and a red that we liked ok. Also the tastings were fantastic for people watching; imagine folks who drink just a glass or two a week now having 8 glasses before dinner!

After the daily tasting we got cleaned up for dinner and continued the tradition from the first cruise with a nightly happy hour in one of the rooms. Gin, vermouth, and whiskey brought on board as well as an apero of snacks purchased from each port or delivered from room service.

There was a special dinner that night with wine pairings matched to courses which was quite good. And unlike the first night of the last cruise I was conscious to enjoy it!

We ended our leisurely day in the casino playing blackjack. Although our ship would pass through the Strait of Gerbralter at around 3am, no one stayed up to watch as the captain had said we'd be pretty far from land without much to see.

Next port, Cadiz Spain. Photos here.



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