Mediterranean Cruise, Nov. 8–23, 2010

MONDAY, November 8, 2010

We began this trip on Monday, Nov. 8, 2010, departing Gilmer about 8 a.m., leaving Isabella at the kennel in Longview and then driving to the Houston Intercontinental Airport.  We arrived at the airport at about 2 p.m. for our flight that departed at 4:35 p.m.  When we checked in at the airport we were told that our flight would be departing 2-3 hours later than scheduled.  That pushed our arrival time at London Heathrow to about 9:00 a.m. the next day so that it became necessary to reschedule our connecting flight to Barcelona to a departure of about noon.  With all those details attended to we sat down to wait and finally did depart from Houston at about 7 p.m. that evening.

TUESDAY, November 9, 2010 (Barcelona, Spain)

The overnight flight (9 hours) to Heathrow, London, was pleasant with lots of empty seats so there was plenty of room to relax if one can relax in a confined area traveling at 625 miles per hour.  Outside in England it was cold and rainy when we arrived the next morning and we were glad that we had our coats with our carry-on luggage.   At Heathrow the transfer from the international terminal to the domestic terminal for our flight to Barcelona required us to walk for 15-20 minutes before we finally arrived at a gate where, after our documents were checked, we boarded a bus.  This bus, much like a subway car with very few seats and lots of places to stand and “hang on”, took us on a 20-30 minute ride that finally ended on the runway where our plane was parked.  We exited the bus and climbed the stairs to board the plane.

The 2-hour flight to Barcelona was crowded.  With the time change of one  hour forward we arrived in Barcelona about 2:45 p.m.  We had pre-arranged our transfer from the airport to our hotel but did not readily locate our driver.  After asking a number of people, most whose English we didn’t understand, we eventually located the office for our transportation and within a half hour we began our ride to the hotel.

I had booked a small hotel named “Evenia Rossello” that was located near the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona.  Once into our room we found a couple of confusing items.  The bathroom was equipped with a bidet which we didn’t know how to use so we just looked it over and then ignored it for the rest of the stay.  The other item was the room safe.  We finally located it in the closet but it was missing the lock as if it had been “drilled” or never fitted with a lock.  When I inquired about it at the hotel desk I was told that a 20 Euro deposit was needed for a lock.  So, I handed over the deposit and obtained the lock even though I wasn’t very comfortable with that situation.  We did use the safe for some of our items, but did not trust it with everything of value we were carrying.

We had made plans with various members of Cruise Critic to use private tour operators while on the cruise.  Because these private tour operators had all requested to be paid in cash, Euros for all tours except the one in Turkey where we paid with US dollars, I had traveled with lots of cash in a money belt.  I continued to wear this money belt until we were onboard the ship and were then able to access the stateroom safe on the ship which I was more comfortable using.

Once settled in the hotel in Barcelona we decided to explore the area around the hotel and departed at about 4:30 p.m. planning to walk some and eventually locate a restaurant where we might eat dinner before we returned to the hotel.  Or, if we did not locate such a restaurant, we thought we might return to the hotel about 6 p.m. for dinner in the hotel restaurant.  We walked for perhaps an hour or so through a very nice area with multiple story buildings that appeared to have small shops on the ground floors and residences on the floors above.  Among these small ground-floor shops were a number of bakeries with lots of delicious looking baked items on display.  It soon became apparent that these bakeries were also neighborhood restaurants offering a array of  nice “light” meals in addition to the wonderful desserts.  So, one of those delightful places with small meat entrees and wonderful desserts of chocolate along with lemon and raspberry flavored tarts, was our choice for dinner that evening.

We returned to the hotel to find that, had we wanted to eat in the hotel restaurant, we would had to wait a few hours.  The restaurant was open for breakfast and lunch 8 a.m.-2p.m.  Then it closed and didn’t reopen for dinner until 9 p.m.  The next day we noticed that those were the standard hours for most of the restaurants of the city.

WEDNESDAY, November 10, 2010 (Barcelona, Spain)

The next morning we departed the hotel at about 8 a.m. allowing time for breakfast at another of the nice neighborhood bakeries and the walk of about 10 blocks to the downtown area of Barcelona to the office of Julia Travel where we were to depart for our tours of the day.

Here is a street scene in the downtown are of Barcelona.  At 9:45 a.m. we departed for our tour, “Classic Barcelona”, a 3 1/2 hour trip that was billed as a “sightseeing tour plus Spanish Village”.  We had an excellent guide who presented the tour in both English and Spanish.  First the English information was given about a stop, then it was followed by the same information in Spanish (I think).

Here is another street scene as we traveled (taken through the window of the bus).

Our first stop was in the Gothic quarter at the Basilica de Santa Maria del Pi with its bare Catalan Gothic exterior.   This basilica owes its name (pi means pine) to the pine forest that once stood here and spanned from the walls of the Roman city to the Ramblas. In 1322, work began on the basilica building, which is in typical Barcelona Gothic style, although the main entrance is Romanesque. It is an imposing structure with a 178 ft. tower.  There is also a rosette window, truly impressive for its size and the lighting created by the sun at the different times of the day.

Another side of the same cathedral.

The foundation of the city of Barcelona is subject of two different legends. The first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules 400 years before the building of Rome.   The second legend attributes the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca,  father of Hannibal,  who named the city “Barcino” after his family, in the 3rd century BC.

Column of the Barcino Temple still standing in the area.  Parts of Roman walls have been used in the buildings constructed at a later time.

Some of the beautifully decorated buildings in the area.

Bridge of Sighs — "Eternal Love"
We walked under the medieval Bridge of Sighs--a copy of the one in Venice--located in the streets of the Gothic Quarter.

A short walk brought us to entrance of the Barcelona Cathedral or Cathedral Le Seu.   The elevated site occupied by this cathedral has always been the spiritual center of Barcelona.  First there was a Roman temple here, then a mosque, and then a church.  Construction on the present cathedral began in 1298 and was completed in 1448.  Barcelona Cathedral is a celebrated example of Catalan Gothic architecture dating from the 14th century. Its graceful spires can be seen from throughout the Gothic quarter of Barcelona.

Inside one sees the beautiful Cloisters of this cathedral.

And the gaggle of white geese whose ancestors have lived here for five centuries. How they originally came to be here remains a mystery and they are certainly an unusual feature for a cathedral. Various legends have it that they represent the virginity of St. Eulalia or the former splendor of Rome.

Leaving the Gothic quarter we traveled through a modern city with it tropical palms and statutes.

We climbed above the city on Montjuic Mountain where we could look down on the vast expansion of the city of 1.6 million people.

And arrived at the Spanish Village.  Here is the clock tower “Torre de Utebo” in the Spanish Village.

The Spanish Village was built for the 1929 International Exhibition in Barcelona on the Montiuic  hill. Its aim was to show visitors a representative sample of Spanish architecture.  A team of two architects, an engineer and an artist created the Spanish Village by erecting 116 buildings in different architectural styles representing Spain's many regions. The village features a large square, the Plaza Mayor, and a couple smaller squares connected by picturesque streets, some with stairs. It includes a town hall, a church, a monastery, shops and residential buildings.

The city wall of the Spanish Village.

Scenes inside the Spanish Village.

Showing the different styles of architecture.

Our tour, back at the Julia Travel company, ended at approximately 1:45 p.m. and we proceeded to a restaurant, Cent Focs, recommended by people in the travel company.  It was an excellent choice.  I had the 3 course special of the day which was a very nice salad, followed by a pot roast entrée,  and then a delicious dessert.  Sylvia had Cannelloni  and we shared my dessert.  It was a very nice, but heavy, meal, appropriate to be followed by a nap.  That didn’t happen for us; too far back to the hotel for the time we had.   So, we walked through the Las Ramblas area, enjoying the sights.

Even though these look like statutes they actually are living, breathing people posed, called mimes.

Our next tour, Artistic Barcelona, began at 3:30 p.m. and ended shortly after 7 p.m.  Again, we departed from the area of the Julia Travel in downtown Barcelona and traveled through the city.

Our first stop was at Park Guell where Antonio Gaudi lived in the early 1920’s.  This park was commissioned by Eusebi Güell who wanted to create a stylish park for Barcelona aristocracy.  The park contains amazing stone structures, stunning tiling, and fascinating buildings.

Here you can see a walkway supported by twisting rock pillars that seem to be growing out of the ground like tree trunks. Although these are rather irregular in shape they do feel strangely natural too.  Gaudi was strongly influenced by natural shapes and used them in his work.

Inside Park Guell is a small house which Gaudi lived in at one stage. The house has now been converted into a museum and contains interesting furniture also designed by Gaudi.

Additional creations by Gaudi that appear to be growing from the earth.

Here, with the lovely blooms in the background we posed for the camera…

Other views of this park of Gaudi’s creations and people…

Village created by Gaudi

 

Ascending the staircase which is also designed by Gaudí, one sees the dragon-like lizard which is the best known symbol of the park.

The Grand Plaza Circular was designed by Gaudi as a marketplace.  The view from the plaza is spectacular, you can see as far as the Mediterranean Sea.

Seen below are some of the 86 huge columns supporting the platform and creating a hall beneath the plaza, known as the Sala Hipòstila.

 

The decorated ceiling of the hall below the plaza.

The staircase leading to the huge supporting columns with the plaza above…

 

Interesting roof of a house in the Gaudi village…

“Learning” columns in stone in the park…

Leaving the Gaudi park and village area we traveled to the Sagrada Familia which was our final stop for this tour.

Here is the area referred to as the Façade of the Nativity.  Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic church designed by Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi.   Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,  and shortly before our visit here was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI.

Though construction of Sagrada Familia had commenced in 1882, , Gaudi took over in 1883, transforming the project with his architectural and engineering style — combining Gothic and curvilinear, Art Nouveau forms with ambitious structural columns and arches.

Gaudi devoted his last years to the project and at the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete. Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly as it relied on private donations and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Construction passed the mid-point in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challenges remaining and an anticipated completion date of 2026 — the centennial of Gaudí's death.

This second of our tours for the day ended at approximately 7 p.m. and we walked the 10 or so blocks back to our hotel, stopping along the way at another neighborhood bakery for a delicious light dinner.

THURSDAY, November 11, 2010 (Barcelona, Spain)

The ending of our tour yesterday with an outside view of the Sagrada Familia left us wanting to see more.  Since this was our scheduled day to board the ship and our check-out time for the hotel was 12 noon, we decided that we might make another trip to the Sagrada Familia.  I inquired at the hotel front desk about the possibility of our walking to this lovely unfinished church so that we might be able to visit the interior but was advised that it would be better if we used the subway.  So, we departed about 8 a.m. walking the 2-3 blocks to the closest subway station.  Once inside we could not locate any information in English about the stops, fares, or directions for using the machines that held the subway passes.  After about 10 minutes we decided to continue on with our first impulse and walk to the site.  We did find it was a “healthy” walk--I think about 3 miles each way with multiple crossings of very busy streets—but there were crosswalks with lights.  We made the trip in less than an hour and began our tour inside the Sagrada Familia.  It was certainly worth the walk!

Again, the self-guided tour was well worth the walk and the time spent.  We ended this very enjoyable tour about 10:30 a.m. leaving enough time to walk back to our hotel and not be late checking out at 12 noon.

A 20-minute cab ride took us to the cruise port where we boarded Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas.  Check-in was fairly easy and the lines were not too long.  The most memorable event of the check in process was that they ship took possession of our passports.  We learned that this was so that the passports could be examined by the Turkish authorities prior to our arrival at the port for the Ephesus, Turkey stop.

We always carry multiple photo copies of our passports.   When we were in Russia we had to give a copy to the Russian authorities each morning that we were there.  We’ve only had to turn in our passports on one other cruise.  When we were sailing from Australia to New Zealand we had to take them to the ship’s customer service desk and turn them in before sailing into New Zealand’s waters.   In both that situation and the one on this cruise,  the passports were returned to us in a few days.

Friday, Sept. 3, 2010–London (Southamption, England– Salisbury, Stonehenge, Bath, etc.

Disembarkation from a cruise is always a busy, hectic time, even in the best of circumstances.  There’s the “checked” luggage to get packed and placed in the hallway the evening prior so it can be transported off the ship by ships’ personnel.   And then the next morning there is the final packing of the carry-on bags and what to do with those items that I kept out of the big suitcase that won’t fit in the carry-on, along with the settling of the final on-board expenses bill, clearing the in-room safe, and making certain to take all personal items along.   Then there is waiting; waiting  either in the stateroom or a lounge (depending on what is allowed by that cruise line).  As we wait we listen attentively for our disembarkation assigned color to be called so that we can proceed off the ship and collect the “checked” luggage and then pass through customs exams or directly to transportation for a departing flight.

This day was no different except that we chose to use a special class of disembarkation called “Express Walk Off”.  Express Walk Off allows the passengers to depart the ship at 8 a.m. carrying all their luggage—“checked” and carry-on.  It’s not easy.  That means that each person can possibly be handling one or two large suitcases along with their carry-on piece or pieces.  In our situation, Sylvia had one large suitcase which was damaged by the airlines on the trip from Houston to London so that the handle that was to used to roll it would only extend about 6 inches.  That meant that she couldn’t stand upright when pulling or pushing the suitcase.   She also had a rolling carry-on piece and her purse to contend with.  I had a large “checked” piece, a rolling carry-on, and a backpack.

With all that at about 7:00 a.m. we proceed through the hallways—hoping not to meet anyone because the narrowness of the hallways made passage very limited—to a lounge that was on the same deck as the gangway and we waited.  As we waited our group of 10 Cruise Critic friends all gathered with their respective belongings, some with more than we, a few with less.  As we waited, out of boredom, the laptop computers were taken out of carry-ons and people began “surfing” trying to see what was happening online.

Promptly at 8 a.m. the announcement was made that all people using the Express Walk Off could proceed to the gangway and we made our way off the ship in a group.  Once outside we gathered waiting for our transportation of the day, a mini-bus from the company of International Friends of England.  Within about a half hour we spotted our bus and the driver moved to an area where we could load our luggage.  The bus probably would accommodate 16-18 people but  the luggage the 10 of us had filled the back luggage area and also the extra 6-8 seats. So we began our wonderful day-tour of the English countryside and small villages with our driver/guide Tony.  Tony, a British native had spent a number of years, in his early adult life, living in San Diego, CA.   He was very witty and his knowledge of the American lifestyle made him a very warm, comfortable member of our group.

Our first stop in rural England was the city of Salisbury c.1220, built as a walled city with 5 gates, one of which is shown here. 

The shopping area, both inside & outside of the walls, looks very much up-to-date as any other English shopping area we visited.  Once parked, we proceed on foot through this area of the city to the Salisbury Cathedral.

There simply was no way with my inexpensive camera to get the entire tower of this steeple in one picture.

So I tried with two photos.  Construction on the Salisbury Cathedral began in 1220.  The main body of the building was completed in only 38 years and is a masterpiece of  Early English architecture.  The 404 ft tall spire was built later and is the tallest spire in the UK.   The cathedral contains the best preserved of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta and a large mechanical clock installed in the cathedral in 1386 - the oldest surviving mechanical clock in Britain.  (The Cathedral was not open to visitors on that day so we were unable to view the Magna Carta).

Leaving the cathedral we passed by another of the gates of the city.

Lovely flowering plantings in city of Salisbury.

Next, we traveled through the English countryside…(taken through window of bus) to Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire 8 miles north of Salisbury.  One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of  earthworks  surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones.  It is at the center of the most dense complex of  Neolithic and  Bronze Age  monuments in England, including several hundred  burial mounds.  Archaeologists believe that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC.   The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC.

From Stonehenge as we traveled through Wiltshire, Tony pointed out that the ground is made of white chalk rather than the typical brown dirt.   This is evident along hiking trails, where the treaded pathway is white.  This means that you can create large lines and pattern them in recognizable figures. It was not rocket science to figure out that chalked figures were visible for miles, and three thousand years ago, the outlines of a horse were set in a hillside in Uffington.  Thousands of years later, people decided to continue a tradition of creating white horses on hillsides even as recent as this century. The difference between the ancient horse and the modern ones is how they were created. The ancient horse's lines were dug as a trench and then chalk was used to fill in the trench. The modern ones are worn from the surface of the land.

In this same area we passed many houses with thatched roofs.

Here, I photographed a roof where the thatch was being renewed.  (Taken through the window of the bus). Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge, rushes, and heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof.   The tradition of thatching has been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.  There are more thatched roofs in the England and Ireland  than in any other European country. Good quality thatching straw can last for more than 45–50 years when applied by a skilled thatcher.

Thatch has become much more popular in the UK over the past 30 years, and is now a symbol of wealth rather than poverty. There are now approximately 1,000 full time thatchers at work in the UK, and thatching is becoming popular again because of the renewed interest in preserving historic buildings and using more sustainable building materials.  We were told that if a house has a thatched roof  the roof can never be changed to any other roofing surface.

 

along the way we passed an unidentified castle…

We stopped at the village of Lacock c.1232 “a village lost in time” and proceeded to The George Inn, a pub that dates back to the year 1361.  The pub has had a continuous license dating back to the Cromwell days.  One can muse about the swash buckling ironsides visiting The Inn, as The George was known in those days.

On visiting the George these days, one is captivated by the old English character which pervades.  Original exposed beams and very low ceilings give it a private and cozy atmosphere.

Lovely flowers in the village of Lacock…

From Lacock we continued on to the city of Bath.  Here is shown the entrance to the Cathedral of Bath.

 

The city was first established as a spa resort by the Romans  in AD 43 although verbal tradition suggests that Bath was known before then.   The Romans built baths and a temple on the surrounding hills and in the valley of the River Avon around hot springs.

Later, in Georgian times  in response to the increasing number of visitors to the spa and resort town who required accommodation, several areas of the city underwent development.  The city was laid out with new quarters in streets and squares, the identical façades of which gave an impression of palatial scale and classical decorum.

At this point my camera battery (2nd of the day) was exhausted and I have no additional photos.  In France on the next trip I purchased a 3rd battery.

We spent 2-2 1/2 hours in downtown Bath where there were street performers that Sylvia and I both enjoyed watching and wanted to photograph.  We also enjoyed gelato and simply “bathed” in the sunshine of the day.

Our excursions for this day ended with this city and at about 5 p.m. we started the trek back toward London.  At a hotel near Heathrow airport, at about 7 p.m. Tony dropped off 4 of us, David & Debbie from Ohio and Sylvia and me where we had reservations for the night.

The following morning, Saturday, we departed Heathrow Airport at 11:40 a.m. on a flight to Houston, arriving there about 3:50 p.m. (10-hour flight) and then drove home, stopping in Nacogdoches for Mexican food at one of our favorite restaurants.