Day 1, December 3, 2017 – Spain
We’re up
in the middle of the night, and when we walked out the door of our building
with our luggage at 4:30 a.m., there was our driver to take us to the airport.
The hour and a half flight to Barcelona was uneventful; but once here, now
what? The friends we were to meet
emailed several days ago to not meet them at their hotel because of all the
problems with the transfer company.
Plus, when looking at our transfer voucher, it would take a mastermind
to figure out even where to meet the vehicle. But … as we walk out with our
luggage, there was a wonderful young lady holding a sign … “Oceania, Marina” That’s us!
Since we can’t board the ship until noon, we made the quick decision to
take their three-hour tour of Barcelona even though we were here just 2 years
ago. So it all worked out!
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| Tree lined boulevards in Barcelona |
Barcelona, Spain – Once again I’m so in love with the City
itself with its very wide arbored walkways down the middle of the major avenues. But green, green, green is everywhere, giving
the City a very calming feeling among the tall, ornately decorated stone
buildings. One stop, of course, was at the Sagrada Familia. It was a chilly
walk down those couple blocks to the church; but once again you cannot help but
be awed by the masterpiece in front of you.
And it’s still not completed. The deadline, however, is 2026, the 100th
anniversary of the death of Antoni Gaudi, who is the mastermind behind this tribute
to God. For us, this tour was a reminder
of our previous experience here and a nice way to fill in the time before
boarding the ship!
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| Sagrada Familia Barcelona, Spain |
And … then … we’re on board, meeting three other couples,
friends with whom we will be spending the next two weeks. After a quick nap, unpacking and settling in,
dinner with the gang, we’re both exhausted … so it’s early to bed … and early
to rise tomorrow a.m. as we have a tour scheduled already! Good night!
Day 2 – December 4, 2017 – Spain
Our ship has docked in Alicante, Spain; and we have a tour
scheduled at 8:45 to venture along the Mediterranean coast for stops at two
other cities. Skip and Cheryl and Jerry and Michele joined us, which made for a
very nice time together.
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| Castle of Santa Barbara, Alicante, Spaine |
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| Esplanade in Alicante |
Alicante – Surprisingly, this is a very arid area with
mountains to one side and the Mediterranean on the other. All along the coast,
the cities originally developed closer to the mountains for better protection
against invaders and pirates, while their fishing villages were right on the
coast. Today you can see the ancient Castle
of Santa Barbara on top of the mountain within Alicante. There are crosses along
the main road leading to the Monastery Santa Faz located about 5 kilometers
outside the city, and tradition is that twice every year about 200,000 people
walk The Way of the Cross, to Santa Faz, with their prayer petitions. One very
interesting and unique place we strolled through at the end of our tour was the
Esplanade de Espana. Constructed in
1956, more than six million small square red, black and cream tiles along the Palm-tree-lined
walkway forms a wave pattern for about a quarter of a mile. This is also a rich agricultural area growing
Valencia oranges, pomegranates, artichokes, grapes, etc., which are mostly
exported to other parts of Europe.
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| Colorful buildings in Villajoyosa, Spain |
Villajoyosa – This is another small town along the
Mediterranean where we stopped for their famous chocolate. The chocolate
company Valor not only has delicious chocolate, but had the innovative idea to
have “chocolate houses” all around Spain.
Not coffee … but chocolate drinks … hot chocolate in a variety of
flavors. While others just had the
normal hot chocolate as we think of it, Michele and I had their chocolate,
chocolate drinks. Not really “drinks” …
more like warm, creamy dark chocolate melted in a cup which we ate with a
spoon. Rich and totally decadent!!! Should we open one in the US?? This town also used to have a large fishing
industry, noticeable by the many brightly colored buildings. We continue our
tour down the coast to …
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| Valor Chocolate |
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| The coastline of Altea |
Altea – As we continue our trek along the beautiful
Mediterranean coast line, we see both picturesque beaches and tall buildings
constructed for the increasing population and tourist industry. Our guide tells
us this area produces Spain’s best ice cream, with the ice brought down from
the high nearby mountains, then flavors are added. Sounded more like snow cones to me, but we
didn’t try it. Another item this area is
known for is their nougat simply made from almonds, honey and eggs. We bought
some, but haven’t tried them yet. We’re told they too are delicious.
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| Typical street in Altea |
Altea is a
small town with whitewashed buildings that has maintained its authentic atmosphere.
Its
main economy is tourism, and it is a relaxing place with beautiful beaches,
cobbled narrow and crooked streets, numerous quaint restaurants and a welcoming
climate. We walked to the center where
gorgeous views of the town nestled along the sea can be seen. In this plaza is the church of La Mare de Deu
del Consol, (Our Lady of Solace or Our Lady of Consolation or the Virgin of
Consuelo). The picturesque blue and
white domes are tiled with glazed blue ceramics, a color that is found
naturally in this area. While the outside
of the church is very unassuming, walking through the door you are greeted by
the very beautiful bright interior of whiter walls with a lot of artistically
designed gold gilding. The front altar with the columns of red marble which is
native to this area and the beautiful statue of Our Lady draw you in, and the
many side altars are just as beautiful. It was so nice to have the time to say
the Rosary here. |
| The blue domes of Our Lady of Solace |
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| The Altar of Our Lady of Solace |
When we get back to the ship, it was wonderful to have a
couple hours to wind down before heading up top to the Captains welcoming
reception (free drinks and appetizers!), then down to the Grand Dining Room for
a scrumptious dinner with our friends.
We are enjoying cruising again … because even though we’re busy for a
few days here, I don’t have to cook or clean my room!! Love it.
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