Looking back...

It’s time to reflect on our time away – and what better time than when the weather outside is truly vile.  The sun has barely shone here, it’s bitterly cold and the rain just keeps coming.  Now remind me again why I was keen to come home last week?  Ah yes, it’s the ‘time to go home’ blues that hit in the last few days, regardless of how long you’ve been away.

I’m finding that some memories are fading already, especially those from the beginning of the trip, but revisiting the blog and looking over the postcard album I put together yesterday is helping to fill in some of the hazy bits.

The Highlights

Three magic moments

Our Dawn service onboard ship on Anzac Day.   At least 500 people attended the Dawn Service on the pool deck, the bugler played the last post from the highest point of the ship just as dawn broke.  It was a very special moment.

Finding the grave of my grandmother’s second cousin who died towards the end of the Gallipoli campaign.  I’d been given the wrong location, but found the grave anyway- purely  by accident.  That was pretty magic too.

Hearing the ‘shout' at the Baptistry in Pisa - definitely goose bumps time.  Here is the link

The Shout at Pisa Baptistry

Three most memorable meals ashore

Our most memorable meal, hands down, was the Greek style calamari in Corfu.  A whole squid grilled and served on  a platter with lemon and salad is not for the faint hearted.  Once the initial shock wore off, we really enjoyed it – and the tomatoes were delicious.  Almost as good as home grown.

Then there was our Saturday lunch in Cadiz where we were served freshly caught grilled fish and salad – accompanied by a cold beer, some guitar music and a spot of people watching.  Great fun.

We had another delightful seafood experience.  This time it was in Syracuse, Sicily and we tried some Pasta Nero ie black pasta with cuttlefish, in a small, out of the way restaurant with our good friends, John and Jimmy and their wives Rita and Anna.  It was thick and creamy and remarkably tasty.  Yum.

Food on the ship.

OMG.  There was just so much of it.  At first everyone goes a little crazy at the buffet and comes back with plates piled high with a little bit of everything.  But after a while, people settled down, otherwise none of our clothes were ever going to fit again.

 It took us a few days, but we realised that the buffet was not our friend, and we started to go to the a la carte restaurant instead for dinner, where the meals were a standard size (although the bread basket on the table could still get you into trouble).  The quality of the food was always high and Vaughan had one of the nicest desserts he’s ever had – a champagne and grapefruit jelly and sorbet -  there.  They also did a mean surf and turf with lobster tails.  Mmmm.

However the breakfasts were truly standout with hot and cold dishes, cereal and fruit and fresh made pastries constantly being replenished.  We really enjoyed the energiser shots made with freshly squeezed juices and ginger, not to mention the delicious pink grapefruit juice available every day, which made up for the indifferent coffee there  (We learned the only drinkable coffee was made by the barista in the Mosaic Lounge, so that became a popular hangout.)

What we’ll miss

Waking up with a different view every day, especially when sailing into port.  The Mediterranean Sea is as flat as a millpond (except when sailing around the foot of Italy) and it is always blue. 

Having our very own cabin steward, Bengie, who, ably assisted by Julian, looked after our cabin so well.  It was nice not having to make your own bed everyday, not to mention only having to unpack once.

Not having to make any decisions more urgent than where to have lunch or which shipboard activity to attend.

Who we’ll miss

John, Jimmy, Rita and Anna from WA, Jenni from Sydney, Len and Melina, who included us in Melina’s birthday celebrations aboard, Adrian from WA and Josh and Wendy, former expats now back in Tasmania. 

We’ll also miss the Cruise Activities staff/ performers: Austin, Taylor, Sascha and Dimitri and DJ Alex who took turns to run the Trivia competitions we attended most days.  We’ll especially miss Dimmy’s attempts at pronouncing some of the trickier English words.  He certainly increased the level of difficulty of some questions.

We’ll miss the many delightful dinner companions we met along the way.  At first conversation tended to focus on  ‘So what attracted you to this cruise?’, followed by  ‘What’s been your favourite port so far?’ and finally, ‘Where do you go from here?’  About 80 of the 650 passengers had signed on for a further  five week cruise, so they were only half way through their trip when we left them in Nice.  For us ten weeks would have been too long, but if time and money were no object, I can see the appeal.

What we won’t miss:

The coffee.    Nuff said.

Paying for the internet by the minute.    Sometimes a blog would take multiple tries to upload – but the internet minute timer didn’t care about that and counted down anyway. 

Wifi strength was patchy around the ship.  I made it my business to find the strongest locations and must have looked a sight standing  next to a particular lamp waiting to upload a blog,  or prowling up and down the stairwell trying to zero in on the best signal.

Lining up for the laundry.  There were only three washing machines for passengers on the whole ship.  Thank heavens I brought our Scrubba bag which was brilliant for washing underwear and t shirts, which we hung out on the balcony.  Best buy ever.

Three coincidences - or it’s a small world after all.

The best was when Vaughan realised that our guide in Turkey was the same guide who’d assisted his friend who’d had a very bad accident in Turkey five years ago while on a motorcycling tour, and spent three weeks in hospital over there.  It was hard to say who was more shocked: Vaughan, the guide Baresh, or the friend back home, Chris when he saw the photo on Facebook.

Two of Vaughan’s bank customers were also on the cruise, who exclaimed when he greeted them. 'What are you doing here? You’re our emergency contact person if we have money trouble!’

The third was on our last day in France, while Vaughan was sitting on a bench  eating an icecream in St Paul de Vence in the shade of the church tower, avoiding the heat of the day, when one of his old Commonwealth Bank colleagues walked past with his wife.  Again it was hard to tell who was more shocked. Vaughan or David 

Three most beautiful places.

Santorini is famous for iconic views over white buildings with  blue domed rooves into the crater lake.  The island has no historical or strategic importance.  It is simply lovely.

Kotor in Montenegro is a walled town tucked away at the end of a fjord, fronted by a protected bay and backed by a range of limestone mountains.    The village is full of winding narrow streets inside the walls and the sailaway from the bay is simply beautiful.

Tourette sur Loup is the tiny medieval village in the Provence hinterland.  Not only were the stone houses with interesting windows and doors beautifully enhanced with pot plants, but the views out over the valley were breathtaking.  Then there was the scent of violets from the gorgeous soaps made there (with violet petals) pervading the whole village.  A special place indeed.

Corsica earns an honorable mention.  It is full of vivid contrasts: mountains and beaches,  palm trees and pine trees side by side, hairpin bends in mountain roads and flat roads in the wetlands.  It has a wildness that really appealed.  They make the best lemon juice drink there too.  Served freshly squeezed with no sugar and a dash of water.  It was really refreshing - after you stopped shuddering.

Three best tours/most interesting places

If I had any doubts that having a good guide can make or break a visit, Mathilde, our guide in Pompeii put them to rest.  Her efforts more than made up for a lousy guided tour there 5 years ago.

   

I also have to give credit to Baresh from Istanbul; our very knowledgeable guide in Ephesus; the ex-pat Brit, Adrian in Jerusalem, whose knowledge of the area and comparative religion was second to none; and Andrea, our dryly humorous guide in Korkula (Croatia) who managed the leaven the facts with a few laughs

. 

Some of our other guides could heave learned a thing or two from them.  I’m looking at you, guides from  Athens, Amalfi Coast,  Tangiers, Marseille and Syracuse!

Three places NOT suited to visiting by ship – and not on a weekend either, thanks.

Athens, Rome and Florence are quite some distance from their ports so it takes time to get into these cities – and when it’s a weekend and the crowds are thick, all of the major tourist sites have long, long queues.   It’s not the best way to see these historical cities.  We’d happily go back there but we’d do it differently.

Three places we’d revisit in a flash

I don’t think we would necessarily go back to the most picturesque towns, the cities with the most interesting histories or the places we felt short changed by.  I don’t think we would even try to revisit the places that wowed us, because you can’t recapture magic like that.

The three places that spring into my mind are Malta, Corsica and Corfu.  I don’t think it’s any coincidence that they’re all islands, and that they have long, complex histories and beautiful architecture.  I’d be happy to go back to any of these places to explore them in more detail, perhaps even hire a car – only not at peak tourist time! 

Vaughan would add Sorrento to that list, mainly because our time was cut short there.

So what’s next?  Plans are well underway for a Baltic cruise in August 2016 with a side trip to Ireland and London. 

Arrivederci  for now.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Coming home Saturday to Monday

View from the 9th floor at the Park Royal Hotel, overlooking Tullamarine

Almost sunset on the road to West Launceston. I missed this view

It's Monday morning, the first day of Winter in Australia, and I'm sitting in our 9th floor room at the Park Royal Hotel at Melbourne Airport overlooking the airport activity.   It's surprisingly quiet up here, despite the busyness of the airport. I can see clear over the terminus to the runways from here and am surprised how flat the area surrounding Tullamarine is from this perspective. 
Looking directly down at the road,  it seems that every other vehicle is a yellow taxi, dropping off passengers. People are rugged up in winter hats and coats, which is a very marked contrast to the skimpy outfits we encountered in the South of France.  Was it only two days ago?  And whatever happened to Sunday? 
Our trip home started on Saturday morning when we were collected from the Radisson Blu at midday.  We were at the airport in no time as it was just down the road.  Naturally check in didn't open until 1pm, so we queued until we could lodge our bags and have our seating taken care of.  My last job was to find the VAT refund kiosk and set off with another lady from the ship. Though it was ultimately successful, it didn't go smoothly.  We had trouble finding it in the first place as it was at the other end of the terminal, the automatic kiosk scanner didn't work, so we had to have our paperwork processed manually.  We'd been warned we had to have the articles purchased on our person, but the official who stamped our forms didn't even ask. Of course, if I'd NOT had it on me he'd have asked to see it.  Then we had to find the letter box to post it.  Naturally it was hidden around a corner.   I felt very pleased with myself once that was finally out of the way.  Next, all we had to do was kill the next three hours.

On the suggestion of our Travel Agent, we'd booked ourselves into the Riviera VIP Lounge at Nice aiport  to ease our waiting time to wait for our flight.  The seats were marginally more comfortable than the regular gate seats and there was access to light snacks and drinks, so it was probably worth it.
Our return home was broken into three flights:  Nice to Dubai, which was 6.5 hours, then two hours on the ground,   Dubai to Kuala Lumpur, another 6 hours then one hour on the ground, then reboarded the same plane for the last leg: KL to Melbourne - another 6.5 hours.  Strangely, we arrived around midnight at two of our ports:  Dubai and Melbourne, so our entire Sunday flying over the Middle East and Asia.

Three standout memories from the trip:
1 I accidentally left my Kindle behind on a gate seat in Nice. Thankfully I realised this as soon as I took my seat in the aircraft so I notified the cabin crew - who pulled a few strings and managed to retrieve it for me!  Boy was I lucky.  This is my Kindle's second narrow escape.  The first was in Germany two years ago-when I left it on a seat at a fountain and someone in our party found it and returned it to me.
2  When we arrived in Dubai, we had to be taken by bus to the terminus  The drive seemed to go on and on.  It was quite strange standing at the top of the steps of the aircraft and wondering who had  turned on the blast heating.   The temperature was probably still in the mid 30s  - even at midnight.  All I can say is that we were glad the bus had really powerful AC.
3 The aircraft for our first and last legs had spare seats so we had a row of four seats to ourselves.  Bliss!  The middle leg: the one where we really wanted to sleep, was full though, and it was nearly impossible to make ourselves comfortable.  I slept best of all on the last leg, not even bothering with the inflight movies available, used my eye mask and slept on and off the entire flight.

We arrived in Melbourne shortly after midnight last night - far too late to fly onto Tasmania.  We had booked ourselves into the Park Royal which is literally across the street from the airport.   It was great to be able to push our luggage trolley across the elevated pedestrian walkway straight into the hotel and be checked in in no time at all.

We were almost too tired to sleep, but the combination of a long hot shower and a wonderfully soft bed, sorted that out very quickly.
Our flight to Launceston doesn't leave until the early afternoon, so we have some time here to have some breakfast - or whatever meal seems appropriate for our body clocks right now - read a local paper, put our local SIM cards back in our phones - and repack our bags for the trip back across Bass Strait.  Even though we have obtained an additional luggage allowance, we still have to reduce our carry on baggage by one piece.  The airline is a bit funny about that. 

Monday night.
We lodged our luggage with the airline with only a mild rebuke for not having it evenly distributed across the  three bags, but our trip home was short and sweet (compared with what we'd just endured).  A taxi ride home had us at home by half past two and Nick was already home from work.  I was really pleased when he told us he'd made a big pot of spag bol for our tea tonight. 

We spent the next few hours unpacking and dividing the spoils, as it were - before I checked that my car was still working and took Vaughan to his place. 
It's now 10.30pm and I'm in my favourite chair watching TV,  and it feels great to be home.   The TV is on but so is the heater.  Brrr.  Most of our baggage has been unpacked and a load of laundry put through the washer.   I've opened all the mail ( but not read it)  and tossed out the junk.  I've quailed at the sight of the newspapers piled up for me to read, but I shall tackle them over the next few days.  What I'm really looking forward to integrating my purchases into the house - and seeing how they look, that and giving folk their gifts.

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Last day in Nice. 29th May

Bottling perfume in Grasse

Gourdon

Gourdon

Tourettes sur Loup

Tourette sur Loup

waterfall between villages

St Paul de Vence

Where we saw David and Fiona

just outside St Paul de Vence

The theatre in Cannes sans red carpet today

Shop in Antibe

Lovely Art Deco building in Antibe (for Pearl)

First nun spotted ANYwhere this trip. In Antibe

Posh yachts in Antibe

Amazing Marriot hotel facade in Nice

Local Friday night talent in Nice. See the blue chairs- trademark of the Cote d'Azur

A day in Provence.
Frank, our tour guide and chauffeur picked us up from the hotel bright and early this morning in a mini van for our full day excursion around the towns and villages of Provence.

There were six others on board initially but after lunch they were returned to Nice and Frank collected two new people for the afternoon section.  It appears we were the only ones doing the full day version.

We had quite a full day with a visit to Grasse and the Fragonard perfume factory there; Gourdon, one of France's most beautiful villages; Tourettes sur Loup where violets are harvested and the views over the mountains are stunning; and St Paul de Vence, which is a walled village and now an artist colony.
After lunch we visited the resort towns of the rich and famous:  Cannes and Antibes and were then returned to the hotel.

Although it was interesting to see how perfume is made in Grasse, to see the famous beaches and the theatre where the Cannes Film Festival is held each year, and to see the luxury yachts at the marina in Antibe, it was the medieval villages in the hills that were the standout attraction for me.  I loved their quaint architecture and each's love affair with flowers.  I confess I went a little snap happy in the three mountain villages when every turn in the narrow laneways revealed something breathtakingly beautiful, naturally framed for a photograph or simply artfully positioned.

While Frank was rearranging passengers, we were able to enjoy two hours in St Paul de Vence.  That allowed us plenty of time to stroll around and find some lunch.  We ate in a tiny restaurant with oodles of character, then wandered around until we found a place selling gelati.  While we were enjoying that in the shade of the village church tower, one of Vaughan's old CBA workmates, David Hickman and his wife Fiona, walked by. He and Vaughan were equally astonished at seeing one another, even though Vaughan had known David was somewhere in Europe at the moment.  Photos were duly taken, stories exchanged and bon voyages shared.

Back at the hotel we decided to avoid a high priced restaurant as a cost saving measure, caught a bus part way into the city and slummed it with a MacDonalds meal.  That would have been fine but the last bus on the route back to the hotel failed to showed up despite the fact that people were still hitting the nightspots and restaurants in droves.  We finally gave up at around 9:30 and agreed to share a cab with a young woman equally stranded and heading in the same direction.   Our next trick was to find a free cab, and that proved challenging in itself.  Once the cab was secured, it was a simple four km drive down the road, but  even with sharing the fare, we ended up spending more on our transport than we did on the entire meal!

As I write this, we're finishing off the bottle of  a very delicious Vinsanto dessert wine that I bought in Santorini with some thought of taking home with us. Restrictions on carrying liquids onboard aircraft meant that it would have had to be packed in our suitcases - and basically, I chickened out.  Although I would have loved to drink it at home, it has met its end here in Nice and it sweetened an otherwise sour note on our last day,

We will check out of the hotel at midday Saturday ( tomorrow ) local time and that will be the beginning of our return home.  We don't reach Tullamarine until the wee hours of Monday morning and won't actually cross Bass Strait until Monday afternoon -also local time.  Fingers crossed we don't run into any problems.

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Disembarkation: Nice 28th May

This is Bengie. What a treasure he was

The Promenade des Anglais

Nice

The beach at Nice

Everything went smoothly for disembarkation this morning, except we had not read the memo about breakfast finishing at 8am and that we were supposed to have vacated our cabins by 8:30.  The dining room was completely empty when we rocked up at 8:30 but with a bit of fancy footwork we were able to grab a coffee and pastry from the Mosaic lounge then go and quickly finish our packing.

Our baggage had been tagged then collected the night before so all we had to put together was our hand luggage and toothbrushes then wait for our bus to our hotel. We said our farewells to Bengie our steward and to two of the security guards who always greeted Vaughan and his braces with such good humour, then waited for our bus.

The buses gathered on the dock to take people to their various hotels, the airport and the railway station, and ours was ready to leave at around 9:30. In the meantime the main lounge had been converted to a waiting area for us and a check in area for the embarking passengers.   It felt a little bitter-sweet leaving the ship for the last time, knowing that someone else will be in our cabin tonight and that the ship will depart for the first time in over a month without us on board.

We were taken to our hotel, the Radisson Blu hotel, which is WAY down the Promenade des Anglais (the famously long stretch of beach and palm trees here in Nice) at around 10am and were told that our room would not be ready until 3pm.  We were offered shower facilities, which would have been very welcome had we just arrived by plane, but was unnecessary for our circumstances.

We decided to walk into the city in order to find a bag for our excess luggage and were rather surprised by the lack of choice locally.  It was a LONG walk and there was hardly any shade  to be had at this hour of the morning, Then, unfortunately we only found three shops which sold travel goods.  The first was at Gallerie Lafayette (think David Jones) where, not even a small suitcase was under 120 Euro.    We got out of there fast.   We checked out a store called the Travel Hut  (think a small version of Paddy Pallin) a few blocks further on and found two things there  that pretty much made our day: an English speaking sales assistant AND a duffel bag with back pack straps. It was relatively expensive 68E, so we decided to check out the final store (which the sales assistant directed us to -bless her) and could have bought a wheeled duffel for 40 E or a small case for 50 E.

The more I thought about it, the more sense I could see in having a duffel that could be packed flat in our luggage and only used as required, take at least 10kg and be carried multiple ways, rather than buying something that would always have to be carried as an extra piece of luggage.  So after a Croque Monsieur with frites at a local bar, (which Vaughan declares was his favourite meal of the entire trip) we made our way back the Travel Hut, where, bless her twice, the sales assistant sold the bag to us for 45E.

She also directed us to the local HoHo bus.  Even though we would have liked to return to Monaco today, the logistics simply weren't going our way.   We did a circuit of the local route instead, duly admiring the ornate architecture, the parks and green areas, then when the bus reached the Promenade des Anglais, tried to catch a bus back to our hotel.  We encountered some other folk from the ship also aiming to catch the bus but they were having even less luck than we were, so we shared a cab instead for 7E a couple.  We were tired and footsore and basically were past caring.

We finally checked into our room at around 6pm and were thrilled to find there was enough room for two people in the bathroom at the one time AND a bath.  Frankly we were too tired to venture out again so we went to the rooftop restaurant for a meal where we tried counting all  lost the jets taking off from the airport down the road, admired the beautiful colour and glassy stillness of the sea as the sun set from behind us, and wondered if we would see the Quest sail tonight.  It did but we didn't see it go.

Nice. May 27

Arriving in Nice this morning

view over Nice

View of Monte Carlo, snapped from the Middle corniche

Near the village of Eze

Dimi, one of the dancers onboard, who helps run the Trivia contests. We cashed in our participation stamps today for some Azamara goodies

Nice
I can understand why this part of France is so popular with holiday makers and the jetset alike.  It is extraordinarily pretty: with fabulously blue water, green belts, multiple restaurants and bars filling the quaint streets of the old town.  The newer parts spread out as far as the eye can see.  The city has a population of around 350,000 even though it looks far larger.  The reason for this is that many of the houses are not occupied during the winter months.  In summer, the population swells to around half a million.
Many of those who have their second home here, are celebrities.  Some, like Elton John, Julian Lennon and Bono are attracted to the mild seaside climate and others, who can afford to buy a place in Monaco are attracted to its tax free status.  Apparently Monaco has the highest life expectancy AND the most expensive cost of living.  As a rule, the people who work in Monaco, cannot afford to work there. Not surprisingly the train service in and out of France and Italy is very efficient
We went out by bus early this morning and traveled along the coast road, past Villefranche and Beausoleil as far as the Italian border, just past Monaco.  In fact we were in three different countries within about 10 minutes, which was quite hard to process.  Although we were able to get some glorious shots of the coastline in France and Italy we weren't able to stop in Monaco, which was a little disappointing, even though we understood that space is at such a premium, there is actually nowhere for the buses TO stop.  Since we have another two days in the area, we might be able to go back there before we leave, perhaps by boat or train this time.  The cathedral, casino and the palace all appear to be worth a visit on foot.  Of course, the Monaco Grand Prix was only on last weekend, so there might be some remnants of that lying around too.
Our bus' main stop was at Eze, which is a tiny village perched on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Perfumes are made in the area and we bought some beautifully scented soaps to bring home.
On the way back to the port, the bus took us around the old town of Nice and along the Promenade des Anglais while our guide called out recommendations for meals, which may prove to be useful tomorrow after disembarkation.
One of the best things about cruising is the fact that you only have to unpack once.  The flipside of the same coin is that you have to do a really big pack right at the end - and it can lead to some nasty shocks.  'I'm sure we didn't buy THAT many t-shirts...'  And yet, there they are.

After spending much of the afternoon packing, we came to the realisation that even though we should squeak in with our international baggage allowance (30kg), but because we are using a different domestic carrier, we only have an allowance of 23 kg to use between Melbourne and Launceston. ( If we had stayed with the codeshare airline, we'd have been OK - Rookie error that. Won't do that again.)
Even so, we spent a lovely evening with friends onboard and have exchanged email addresses with them all.  Living in such close proximity to others has forged some terrific friendships- and I hope they will continue when we are all back in our own homes and back into our routines.
So, it's 11at night, the bags are packed and put outside our door, Vaughan is zzing peacefully.  I've got one more blog to write before we relocate to the Radisson Blue hotel on the Promenade des Anglais tomorrow morning, so I'm down in the Mosaic coffee lounge where the internet signal is good and strong.  I still have a few more internet minutes left on my onboard account tonight.  Maybe there will be enough to post this post from the Cote d'Azur.

Marseille May 26th

Arriving in Marseille in the early afternoon

Notre Dame de la Garde above Marseille

See the model boats suspended from the ceiling of the Basilica

Parc Longchamps

One of these vicious carved lions and its prey - an antelope, I think. Remember, this is to commemorate a water supply....

View of the Basilica at night over Marseille

Tuesday 26th May Marseille
We spent the morning sailing along the Spanish and French coast and didn't reach Marseille until around 1pm.  Vaughan's knee has been painful so he opted to remain onboard while I took a  tour into the city this afternoon.   I could have used the shuttle bus service but we were out of town by a good 40 minutes and I didn't want to chance it.
If I was in any doubt that he's done the right thing, our first stop  put that to rest.  Our first stop was at the Basilica, Notre Dame du Garde- and it had over 200 steps just to reach the main body of it, plus it was also blowing a gale out there.

Our guide, Dominic, escorted us from the far reaches of the port complex, where we were berthed opposite a cruise ship at least four times our size, through the section where ferries leave for Corsica or Northern Africa, another section where the petrochemical tankers are berthed, yet another where the container ships arrive and a site where luxury yachts are refitted.  Marseille has one of the largest ports in Europe and it took over half an hour to reach the city from our berth.
It's a very old city with roots going back centuries to ancient Greek and Roman times.  It has always been a port though.  The older parts are marked by narrow and winding roads that climb high into the hills behind the port, especially towards the basilica.  We saw mostly 19th and 20th Century architecture as we drove.  Marseille took a lot of damage during WWII, mainly due to its port's strategic importance.  I saw clear evidence of shrapnel damage on the outer walls of the Basilica at the time of Marseille's strategic capture  by allied forces in August 1944 during operation Dragoon. (from the south rather than Normandy)
It's impossible to mention Marseille without mentioning its links to the French Revolution and the French National Anthem.  Marseille was the only Southern French port which was aligned with the revolutionary forces and perhaps explains why the anthem sounds so bloodthirsty.

It's always a bit of a lottery with the tour guides we have on our buses.  Sometimes they are wonderful and can make even a dreary subject come alive.  Others are not so good - and I've been known to nod off at times.
Now Dominic, who was clearly a very clever and thoughtful man, was also quite distractible and often would not finish his explanation, thereby leaving me (and others, hanging somewhat).  Then there were the subjects about which he felt very strongly, but lacked the English to communicate it to a busload of Aussie tourists, who weren't necessarily as interested in the subject as he was.
 
He'd actually described the basilica quite well, including how people prayed to the 'Good Mother' for salvation from dangerous situations.  When people were delivered from their ordeal, they would offer a marble tile with their name, the date and the inscription Merci on it and these cover entire walls, inside and out.  Some would take things a little further and would offer models of boats and planes that had been in danger- and there is a wall that is covered with military medals.  The basilica celebrated its 800th Anniversary last year with an amazing sound and light show I would have loved to see.

Then we made our perilous way back down the hill to go through the old city to visit  the Parc Longchamp with its four aggressive stone lions at the front.    This is where things went a bit awry.  After we took our photos of this impressive building commemorating the bringing of reticulated water to Marseille, Dominic tried to explain the lions' significance in terms of Darwinism, the French revolution and Positivism - with reference to other, milder,  lion statues in Trafalgar Square.  Frankly, I'm still trying to work out what he was going on about.

We had a little spare time after this so I went off in search of our usual touristy fare: postcard, magnet, a sticker and a badge.  That done, I was able to find the Hard Rock Cafe for our pin collector and meet the bus before the required time.  One of the ship's entertainment team was also waiting and it was interesting to hear what life is like on board for months at a time as a dancer.  Sascha is a from the Ukraine and told me she enjoyed getting to know the passengers on this  long cruise of ours.

About 80 of our fellow passengers are staying on for the next leg of the Cruiseco charter.  They will be traveling up the western coast of Spain, Portugal and France (including the Channel Isles),  touching down in Dublin and Edinburgh then sailing around the Baltic ports before disembarking in Southampton.  It's another very long and busy itinerary, which though tempting, is simply too long for most of us.   Everyone who is disembarking in Nice is saying the same thing: they're  exhausted and are ready to go home.  Not so the others.  They only seem to be hitting their stride now.    I guess it's psychological.

Barcelona 25th May

Statue of Columbus seen through a forest of masts in the marina

The Spanish village - built in 1929 to showcase Spanish culture

The fresco from the relocated church at the Spanish Village

A model of the Pedrada house on display in its attic

the amazing dragon like chimneys and vents on the roof of La Pedrada

Strolling along Las Ramblas

Columbus' statue at the end of Las Ramblas

Leaving Barcelona - from our balcony

Last year we saw Barcelona's most iconic sights but in such a way as that most of the pleasure was sucked right out of them.  We'd done two back to back city walks in 35 degree heat and covered at least 13km to include Guell Park, Sagrada Familia and Montjuic all in one day.  Not surprisingly we were exhausted.
Today's visit was nothing like that.  We took a more leisurely approach and gained a far greater enjoyment of the city.
I think being on the water today made a difference for us too.  We felt we were so close to everything.  Barcelona's port area is clean and modern and there are attractions nearby such as the aquarium, several museums and of course, Las Ramblas. 

What we like about Barcelona today is that it is a liveable city underneath it all.  A solid infrastructure is well in place for the tourist, but it doesn't dominate the city or its people.  There are some cities we have visited who could learn from Barcelona, where the hunger for the tourist dollar comes across as desperation such as Tangiers, or is not as well organised as in Cadiz or Malta.

We took the HOHO bus today, choosing to do only get off three times.  The highlights were:
1 Revisiting the Poble Espanol.  This was the model village created for the Expo in 1929 and showcased the best of Spanish architecture, food, and arts and crafts.  It was so successful it was never demolished and remains a major tourist attraction.  We visited it briefly at the beginning of our Spanish trip last year, but it definitely warranted a second visit.  There is a beautiful medieval chapel that has been relocated to this site and its frescoes are quite lovely.
2 Finally being able to go inside the Gaudi house, La Pedrada, which was built in the first decade of the 20th Century.  It is still a most remarkable looking building, still way ahead of its time.  It was undergoing refurbishment last year and was closed to visitors.   It is still a functioning apartment block but parts have been set aside as a museum: the foyer, the rooftop, the attics and one apartment.
An hour's visit provided a fascinating insight to his use of the shapes of nature, use of fractals and geometry to produce the most amazing structures.
3 Strolling down Las Ramblas on our way back to the ship.  Block after block of stalls, restaurants and street entertainers made it a very easy walk back.  It finishes at the Statue of Columbus, which is incredibly elaborate.

We left Barcelona at around 10pm after being advised by Capt. Jose that sailing conditions tonight and docking in Marseille would be quite rough.    We had swells of 4.5metres through the night, but the ship's stabilisers meant that things never became too uncomfortable.  Unfortunately though, we were not going to be able to dock in the old port in Marseille - and will be a  forty minutes drive from the city centre.  Since we only have the afternoon here, they are arranging shuttle buses to help people get in and out of town.