EQUINOX PHOTO REVIEW - Eastern Mediterranean (Paris, London & Barcelona Pre-Cruise)

[güerejo]

Hi Everyone!

 

I have benefited greatly from all the information on Cruise Critic that I wanted to share our experience with everyone here! This review has been a long time coming; our trip took place October/November 2013. Throughout the trip, I would be sure to take time each night to recap the day’s activities, knowing at some point I would put it all together to recreate this trip of a lifetime. I have quite enjoyed the “live” style of reviews posted on this forum, so I am going to leave my recaps as they were originally written and give you all the opportunity to come along for the ride with us! I hope you enjoy!

 

Pre-Trip:

 

It's hard to believe that roughly six weeks from now we'll be embarking on the vacation of a lifetime. 2013 has been a year of ups and down for us - and on more than one occasion I seriously doubted is trip would really happen. For those who have ever gone on vacation with me, you know I'm a serious vacation planner. This trip was no exception. When we returned from Mexico last November, I immediately started scoping out locations for our next trip. At first it looked like Asia and the Middle East was next up on our 'bucket list' but we ultimately decided to forgo spending our 'pink dollars' in Dubai and crafted a four week European itinerary. Since Angel's dad lives in Barcelona, it's always a great excuse for us to take a vacation and we know Asia will be waiting for us whenever we decide to make that trip a reality. As an aside: with all the ups and downs my stomach has gone through these few months, I must say I'm much more interested in Spanish tapas than Thai street food at the moment.

 

Once we decided on Europe, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to arrange that Mediterranean cruise I'd always dreamed of. I remember our last trip to Barcelona; we took a harbour cruise and were very envious of those leaving the port to explore Italy, Greece and beyond. Back in 2007 when Celebrity cruises launched Solstice class, I followed the ship build religiously on here. You likely remember how everyone was busy speculating on what the ships would look like and which cabins to book because no one really knew what to expect. Fast-forward six years and here I was finally booking a cruise on the third ship in that class called 'Equinox.' After much debating about which itinerary to take, we finally pulled the trigger in January and booked a 12 night cruise leaving Barcelona November 1st with four days 'at sea' and the following ports: Malta, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Ephesus, Rome, Naples. Originally we booked an oceanview cabin. At the time Celebrity had the '123 Go' promotion and we got the free beverage packages and an onboard credit. Now being the savvy trip planner I am (what that really mean is that thanks to hours of reading other cruisers experiences on Cruise critic) I knew to watch for prices drops in the coming months! I could have never anticipated the roller coaster that was about to ensue. Since February we have gone from an oceanview cabin to a regular balcony to a concierge class balcony to an aqua spa class and just this last week to a suite guarantee! I have Celebrity on speed dial. We are now waiting for our final cabin assignment, which we should hopefully get in the next few days. Since we have a suite 'guarantee' we could technically end up with anything from an entry-level sky suite to the penthouse! We'll see how generous the cabin assignment fairies are feeling :)

 

Getting back to the vacation planning - so once we had the cruise booked we had to 'shape the rest of our trip. This process was made all the much easier right before Valentine's Day when KLM announced their 'trips for two' promo. Essentially we got a split airfare outbound Vancouver to Paris and return Barcelona to Vancouver for a ridiculously low price - like $700 each ridiculous! Okay, so we splurged a bit and upgraded ourselves to economy plus for the added legroom (hey I need my sleep on overnight flights). Good thing we did because given the itinerary we have planned for Paris we will need to hit the ground running once we land! So airfare in tow we decided on 4 nights in Paris followed by the Eurostar into London for 4 nights before flying to Barcelona to catch our cruise. We also scheduled in 4 nights on either side of our cruise in Barcelona to meet up with Angel's dad and see the rest of the family. For those who are counting, we're at nearly a month of pure vacation bliss! Like I said I'm a serious vacation planner. I think I'm somewhere near 300 emails in my trip folder right now :) If you thought getting the basic plan in place was tough, I remind you a someone wise once said: 'the devil is in the details.' Oh and let me tell you, somewhere between organizing shore excursions and trying to make reservations in Parisian restaurants who have yet to discover email, I'm pretty sure I met the devil himself!

 

Oct 19 Vancouver – Paris (via Seattle)

Oct 20,21,22,23 Paris

Oct 24 Paris - London (via Eurostar)

Oct 24,25,26,27 London

Oct 28 London - Barcelona

Oct 28,29,30,31 - Barcelona

 

Nov 1-13 Celebrity Equinox

Fri, Nov 01 Barcelona, Spain Depart 5:00PM

Sat, Nov 02 At Sea

Sun, Nov 03 Valletta, Malta 7:00AM-5:00PM

Mon, Nov 04 At Sea

Tue, Nov 05 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 6:00AM-6:00PM

Wed, Nov 06 Mykonos, Greece 7:00AM-6:00PM

Thu, Nov 07 Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey 7:00AM-6:00PM

Fri, Nov 08 Santorini, Greece Arrive 9:00AM-7:00PM

Sat, Nov 09 At Sea

Sun, Nov 10 Naples, Italy 7:00AM-6:30PM

Mon, Nov 11 Rome 7:00AM-7:00PM

Tue, Nov 12 At Sea

Wed, Nov 13 Barcelona, Spain Arrive 6:00AM

 

Nov 13,14,15 Barcelona

Nov 16 Barcelona - Vancouver

 

Unimpressed with the ship's offerings for our ports, I researched tour guides and once again levied Cruise Critic to organize shared tours with fellow travellers. Despite the legwork, we ended up with some pretty fantastic tours for less than what we would have paid through the cruise line. And we've already fostered some great connections with our shipmates. Highlights will include a chauffeured drive along the Amalfi coast, a visit to the last house of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus (Turkey), a water taxi into Oia on Santorini and a guided tour of the Vatican in Rome. We've got something lined up in every city! Similarly, our days in Paris & London are planned with precision (did I tell you when we honeymooned in Disney World I found a site that builds you a ride plan based on the date of your visit to minimize wait times!) And in case you were wondering, I have researched where to get the best croissants in Paris and yes the best plain, almond and chocolate ones do come from different bakeries so we have a lot of ground to cover. Don't worry - ditto on the macarons - Pierre Hermé and La Durée here I come! All kidding aside, I think we will very much enjoy our suite on the cruise - I plan to take full advantage of our 'butler' and indulge in a few white tablecloth meals on our balcony :)

 

So like I said at the beginning, six weeks is all that stands between us and the vacation of a lifetime. We didn't really start out calling it a trip of a lifetime, but with everything that's happened in 2013 we've definitely learned to appreciate the sweet things in life all the more. This trip will be a chance to relax (yes I can hear you laughing), but more importantly a chance to celebrate that despite all odds we are going to make it through the year!

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 1 (Vancouver to Paris)

 

Okay, so I'll keep it brief - it's 2AM here and the only sleep we've had was a few hours on the flight over! Flight to Seattle was quick and non eventful... We grabbed a bite to eat in Seattle while waited for our connection. Big lineup to board our flight to Paris but we had premium seats so we got in first before all the storage bins filled up! Our eyes just about lit up when we saw our seats - they rivaled some business class setups! Seriously, the most space I've ever seen in economy.. Literally a good 4 feet in front of us and a wall to the left and the window on the right so we had no one beside us. It was like a private cabin for the two of us and a step from the bathrooms to get up and walk around. The flight flew by! We got our luggage and headed by taxi into Paris, met up with the host for our Air BNB rental and got settled for a few minutes. We headed out to look for something to eat and see the Eiffel Tower. We stumbled across a place that makes the most amazing meringues in all different flavours... To die for!! They even make large cakes all out of meringue. We also found ourselves a chocolate croissant and some canneles. The croissants were so flaky, still warm and tasted like, well... Butter! Incredibly delicious. We went to see the Eiffel Tower, all the way up to the summit level (215m) - not for those afraid of heights! We came back to get changed and then headed out for dinner. Just as we were leaving, thunder lightening and very heavy rain. Umbrellas in hand we made it to the metro station. Now the real fun began.... If the metro map looks complicated the reality is still 100x worse! We literally went around in circles inside the station for 30 minutes until we stumbled into someone who knew where to go. On Sundays they close a lot of the lines so it's extremely challenging to get where you want to go with the limited service. We did eventually make it to dinner with time to spare - good thing we left 2 hours early. We wandered into a very cute music box store. I got one that plays 'La vie en rose' and has paintings of the city on it. We chatted with the owner for a good 20 minutes and when we told her where we were dining she raved about how good it was. She wasn't kidding! Course after course of some of the most amazing food we've ever eaten. We arrived at 8:30 and stumbled out around midnight - yes it was that good!! As an aside, whoever said you can survive on English in Paris obviously has an intriguing definition of 'survive'. On numerous occasions Angel approached people for directions, asked for help in stores etc. and they looked at him with complete blank stares. I stepped in to speak French and we were always welcomed with a smile and a 'bonjour'. So yes, you do need to speak French. Someone was waiting at the restaurant door (guess they lock them in Paris) and said no one was letting him in. I waved inside with a 'bonsoir' and we were immediately asked if we had a reservation (which I confirmed in French with the waiter) and we were seated immediately. I asked about the guy outside and told them his name and they did eventually seat him too. Alas, that's our first day here in Paris. Tomorrow we're off to the Louvre, to eat lots more and hopefully do some shopping on the Champs Élysées. Love to you all!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 2 (Paris)

 

Phew! Another very busy day! We were up at the crack of dawn after only a few hours sleep - the Louvre doesn't wait for anyone! We made out first priority to find an almond croissant – and it didn't disappoint. With coffee and croissant in hand we took the metro to the Louvre. We have been to many great museums before but I think this one easily tops them all - the British museum included. The architecture of the building alone is awe-inspiring. We had a quick two hours to spend so we did the main sites and saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, some superb Roman sculptures and some incredible French paintings. I really did have to pull Angel away when our two hours was up - we'll try to venture back if time allows before we leave for London. We took a quick look through the shops in Carousel du Louvre and I splurged on a few canisters of Mariage Frères tea - even for my standards this tea is expensive! A small container will set you back 50€. We walked to our next stop - lunch at Le Grand Véfour. This place is steeped in history, it was a major meeting place during the French revolution and the likes of Napoleon and Victor Hugo were notable regulars. It goes without saying that the service was impeccable. We're talking a 2:1 waiter to diner ratio - that kind of impeccable. We started with a Kir Royale (nothing less than Ruinart champagne). We were served two amuse bouche: Parmesan mousse and celeriac soup followed by a chilled green tomato consommé. We were already several pieces into our fresh bread and bordier butter. We both chose the foie gras with watermelon and basil for our starter - superb! We selected a bottle of French rosé from Provence to sip during the meal. I had medallions of duck with bok choy and chanterelles for my main; Angel chose a beautifully balanced roast monkfish with quinoa risotto and crispy shaved carrots, equally outstanding. They 'sauce' the plates tableside; an army of silverware and crisp linens came and went during our three-hour lunch. The cheese course was incredible - fresh goat cheese, Brie, Camembert and on and on - too many to choose from and all served with fresh fruit and nut bread. Before dessert we were brought a plate of migardises including a raspberry macaron, a lemon square and even a chocolate adorned with gold leaf! A small glass of sorbet helped us ease into the sweet stuff. For dessert we both indulged in a milk chocolate mousse with hazelnut pastry and caramel ice cream. Next came a selection of house made chocolates, caramels and even marshmallows! The chef had also specially prepared a honey cake today, so we were served a thin slice - both of us on the brink of exploding by this point! Everything we ate was truly incredible - a meal we'll never forget! Okay, barely able to move at this point (partly do to all the walking too), we made our way out into the sunny Parisien afternoon. We walked to Opéra and toured the amazing opera house - words don't do it justice! Tired of our suits at this point, we made a quick stop to change our clothes and put on our walking shoes. Next up was a long - very long - walk along the Champs Élysées. All the way from Place de la Concorde to Arc de Triomphe - literally from end to end. To top it off, when we arrived at Triomphe: Elevator out of service. So several hundred spiral stairs later, I was ready to pass out. Definitely not for the faint of heart (literally) - mine was ready to pop out of my chest! We did get a great view of the city lights before making our way back down (less strenuous but equally terrifying). Next we wandered back along the Champ Élysées and bought more tea (yes that's right) - this time at Kuzmi which is the other notable tea house at the moment. We also made a stop at La Durée for their incredible macarons. Again, everything worth something in life comes with a price. These little babies set us back big time! We made our back to the 7ieme arrondisement and the Eiffel Tower to board a cruise of the Seine. Just as the boat pulled out on the hour, the entire tower lit up in thousands of flashing lights - breathtaking! The next hour was spent taking in the fantastic nighttime scenery and savouring our macarons. We left the dock and wandered through the Paris night before tucking ourselves in at the end of a truly magnificent day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 3 (Paris)

 

We had another busy day - perhaps our busiest yet! We ventured a lot further this morning in hunt of our sugar fix to start the day. I had read an article by David Lebovitz (author of 'My sweet life in Paris') that urged us to try Blé Sucré in the 11th arrondissement - we were not disappointed! We nestled into a small table outside in front of the park as we sampled a chocolate croissant, brioche with raspberries and an almond pinwheel. All were equally delicious. Just before we dug in a table of woman in front of us asked if we had ever eaten here before. They vacation here for a month every year (they live in Idaho/Arizona/North Carolina respectively) and have become addicted to the pastries at Blé Sucré - and they have tried many throughout Paris. We then headed back on the metro to Montmartre and the Sacré Coeur. I had already warned Angel that today we would be going to the more 'eclectic' part of Paris - in other words, take off your jewelry and hold onto your bag! I was right - we witnessed numerous pickpockets display their craft throughout the day. At one point on the metro we saw a group split up and one person got on to each of the trains - essentially assuring that no matter which one you got on, you would get robbed. We declined and waited for the next train! The other trick we realized is there were numerous woman begging for money - what most don't realize is there is someone else waiting nearby to swipe your wallet when you reach in for a few coins to give away! Needless to say after losing Angel's phone last time we were in Barcelona - we are much more careful and aware of our surroundings. Sacré Coeur itself was quite beautiful, with a wonderful view of the city. I was prepared for the steps to reach the top of the hill but never imagined how many more steps there were to climb to the top of the dome! It was like Arc de Triomphe all over again but this time it was a teeny tiny spiral staircase - again not for the faint of heart! The view from the dome was quite impressive and we got some really nice photos. We made the trip back down and then ventured into the crypt to see the resting place of many notable priests and historical figures. Our next stop was quite a bit further out from the centre of Paris. Angel recently got me into collecting Blythe dolls and we has heard about a store that sells clothes and accessories for them - la Boutique Jolie Doll. We picked up a few very nice outfits for our dolls! We then made our way back into the city and visited Notre Dame and the Saint Chapelle. We got many beautiful photos of all the stained glass windows. It was interesting to see that the virgin in Notre Dame is the Virgin Guadalupe from Mexico! We got two prayer candles to take home with us. Next up was my must see during our trip to Paris - La Grande Epicierie at Le Bon Marché. It is truly a foodies dream come true! It's definitely not cheap - as in 30€ for a container of candies - but there are some incredible items that are only found here. I bought these really neat sphere spice containers with a screw cap on the top - can't wait to but them out in the kitchen! They are filled with various fine salts such as blue salt from Brittany and pink Himalayan. I also picked up Christine Ferber jam, caramels, madeleines and a few other goodies. We made a quick stop to drop off our purchases and change before dinner at Astier. We had another spectacular meal. We started with champagne and foie gras pâté - this time with figs and balsamic. Our main was a beautifully cooked steak with red wine, shallots and roasted potatoes and pearl onions. Following a huge cheese plate (more than 25 to choose from), we were served baba au rum - fresh brioche doused in rum sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. We left stuffed once again and a bit tipsy from the bottle of cote du rhone. What a great way to finish another amazing day in this city!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 4 (Paris)

 

Can't believe today was our full last day in Paris - how time flies! We have had very little rest since we arrived, so this morning we decided to sleep in slightly. We skipped breakfast (having over indulged last night) and made our way to the Musée d'Orsay. Today was the warmest day we've had so far (around 20C) and it was nice to take in the sunshine. We were very fortunate to see the temporary exhibition 'Le Masculin' which brings together masculine art from various collections around the world. We also took some time to view their vast collection of French paintings. The unexpected highlight was a beautiful terrace off the top floor where we took some time to rest our weary feet. After some photos outside along the Seine, we made our way to Centre Pompidou and their collection of modern art. Being one of Angel's favourite art genres, we took our time to soak in all the galleries and take lots of photos. Not only do they have paintings on display, but all kinds of modern creation including furniture, technology and sculpture. The buildings itself is a work of art, constructed with all its “utilities” including escalators, air vents and wiring on the outside to maximize the inside space. As we wandered back out into the street we came across a busy café serving crepes and decided to indulge. We both went for the Nutella, banana and shredded coconut. It was as fantastic as it sounds! There is something very different about the crepe batter in France; it's almost heavy like a waffle batter and has a real 'weight' when you bite into it. I'll have to attempt to recreate it at home. We managed to squeeze in one last museum today - a return to the Louvre. We were so impressed by our first visit that we decided to take advantage of their extended hours tonight until 9:45pm. We viewed their collection of French paintings and also wandered through some of the Egyptian gallery. The night lighting made for some great photos of La Pyramide entrance. Knowing we had to be at dinner for 10pm, we made our way back to change clothes and refresh before heading out again. Tonight's dinner also came as an online recommendation and we enlisted the help of our Paris landlady to secure a spot while still in Canada. We were greeted by a glass of white wine on the house as we chose from their wonderful menu. We started with a generous helping of foie gras with croutons. We shared mains of duck confit with garlic roasted potatoes and beef bourgonnone with tagliatelle pasta. Both dishes were very well made and classic French fare we just couldn't leave Paris without trying. For dessert we split an enormous grand marnier soufflé. Okay, I've made this before and can now admit mine was nothing like the real thing. Theirs was just barely cooked and very reminiscent of uncooked homemade marshmallows. It's a weird comparison but that's really what it reminded me of; the full flavour of egg whites and sugar cut by the strong taste of grand marnier. Slightly more comfortable than after last night's feast (we opted for a half bottle of Bordeaux tonight), we took our last journey along the metro back to our apartment. Tomorrow morning we will attempt to pack away all our goodies, as we take the train to London in the afternoon. For those of you have been to Paris, I now understand your delight with this magical city. For those who haven't been, we both agree it's a city you simply can't miss seeing in your lifetime. Even if you can only spare a few days like we did, you won't regret it!

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 6 (Paris to London)

 

We made it out of Paris and arrived safely in London! We took the morning to repack our suitcases, cramming in all the goodies we purchased in Paris. We took advantage of the duffle bag we brought empty from Vancouver. We booked a taxi online and received a text message from our driver shortly after confirming our pickup time and destination. Our taxi ride to Gare du Nord took us along the Seine for one last look at the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Musée d'Orsay. As we arrived at the train station, our taxi was immediately surrounded by gypsies asking for money. We exited the taxi with hands on each of our seven bags and made a quick escape into the train station to prevent any mishaps! The train station was clearly marked with directions to the London hall, where we scanned our preprinted tickets before passing through UK immigration and customs. Once inside the waiting hall, we had two hours to spare before our train departed and used the time to enjoy one last pain au chocolate and a café crème. Shortly before 3pm boarding began and we made our way onto the platform - just like you see in the movies! We found our carriage and began hauling our bags up the two steps and into the train - not an easy feat with heavy bags! We settled into our seats and waited for the train to pull out of the station shortly after3pm. The train ride to London is two and half hours with most of that time spent traversing the French countryside that extends from Paris to the English Channel. The passage through the chunnel takes only twenty minutes at a depth of 150 meters, with the train reaching speeds of 300 km/hr. We arrived at St. Pancras station and boarded a taxi to our apartment in Belgravia. Our accommodations in London are very nice; the apartment is located in a Georgian townhouse five minutes from Victoria Station and ten minutes from Buckingham Palace. We unpacked our suitcases and changed clothes for dinner. Next we walked to the tube station and joined the crowd of commuters; thankfully our trip to Knightsbridge was only a few stops on a very crowded train. We had made reservations from Vancouver to dine at 'Dinner' by Heston Blumenthal (creator of the Fat Duck) located at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The exterior gardens were beautifully planted with hot pink cyclamens and the lobby was finished in pink marble accented with arrangements of white orchids. We made our way towards the restaurant and entered into one of the most breathtaking, modern spaces we have ever seen. A glass hallway displays the hundreds of bottle of wine in their cellar, leading into the main dining room where white Murano glass fills the walls in shapes of jellyfish. A large black and gold light fixture gives the room a soft glow, with accents of the classic Mandarin Oriental orange arriving via the tapestries and arrangements of anthuriums. Following a glass of champagne we partook in the restaurant's signature appetizer of 'meat fruit.' All the dishes are representative of historical English cuisine and the menu took several years to develop through research of historical archives. The meat fruit is a foie gras pâté in the shape of a sphere which is then dipped in orange scented gel. It is presented as if it were an orange, complete with dimpled skin and leaf and stem. The soft orange flavour compliments the foie gras wonderfully and we took our waiter up on his offering of a second order of buttered brioche! For mains, I had the rib eye with triple cooked chips and mushroom ketchup. Angel had the roast sea bass with kale and mashed potatoes. Both dishes were perfectly cooked; my steak was a delicious medium rare and the fish was flaky and moist. We both commented on how the team of ten or so staff were like a well rehearsed orchestra, bringing plate after plate of food from the kitchen, arranging the individual components on silver platters and whisking it away to the correct tables before presenting each diner their plate in unison. Quite an experience indeed! For dessert we indulged in Tipsy Cake: brioche cooked in a cast iron ramekin and infused with cream, sugar and rum. A piece of spit-roasted pineapple is served alongside. Heston is one of the creators of molecular gastronomy so when we heard that tonight's feature was the ice cream cart we couldn't resist! Crème anglaise is mixed in a hand turned ice cream maker along with liquid nitrogen at -170C that supercools the mixture. Scooped into homemade cones, you can choose from toppings such as Indian anise candy, dried raspberries and apple pop rocks. I had never actually tried pop rocks before and was amused at how it literally 'pops' as you eat it. We declined the offer of tea; although we did see a Chinese green on the menu for £60 a cup! There were also champagnes on the menu for £10.000 a bottle; our cheque was slightly smaller but we still could have eaten out for a week in a Vancouver for the same money. It was definitely an experience to remember and we can see why it is ranked in the top ten restaurants in the world. As we departed the hotel, we took a short stroll past Harrod's and then took the tube back to our apartment to tuck in for the night. Tomorrow we have tickets to see Matilda after tea at the Savoy Hotel - yes life is

rough!

 

[güerejo]

Day 7 (London)

 

We headed out on foot this morning down Buckingham Palace Road; we're very fortunate the weather seems to be cooperating with clear skies again today. As we approached Buckingham Palace we began to see the crowds already lined up to see the changing of the guard. We made our way in front of the palace and onto the Queen Victoria monument whose elevation above the road gives the best views of the palace and motorway used for the guard ceremony. Shorting after 11:00AM we began to hear the Royal marching band approach along from either side of the mall before entering through the palace gates. We had a great view of the guards and the Union Jack was up indicating the Queen was in fact at home today! Following the ceremony we wandered into the Royal gallery stores to see the new china commemorating the birth of Prince George, as well as many other beautiful pieces for sale. I only picked up some royal tea and biscuits to bring home, but the tea sets were in fact quite beautiful; there was also a range of soaps and other products that are said to be favorites of the monarch. We wandered out along the road and noticed a store selling Cornish pasties (essentially a puff pastry pocket with different fillings made famous in Cornwall). We tried the “traditional” stuffed with steak and potatoes; it was in fact very delicious! We took the tube back to Knightsbridge as we had yesterday evening and made our way into our favourite store: Harrod's. We made a stop to the shopping Mecca three years ago on our first visit, but we didn't have a lot of time then to fully take in the store so we were looking forward to a repeat visit. We passed through the luxury handbags boutiques on the main floor with rows of Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Chanel and on and on, quite impressive. Next we passed into the famous food halls: I was in heaven. Everything you can find and love in Paris has made its way to London! They now even have La Durée selling their famous macarons. People relax at the seafood and steak bars sipping on fine wine as shoppers pick up fresh fish and meat from the stalls, it's all very sophisticated. I took my time sorting through the beautiful tins of a Harrod's biscuits, jellies, teas, chocolates etc before making our way into the Egyptian staircase to the second floor and the kitchen and housewares department. I don't remember visiting this section on our first visit and both Angel and I were blown away! Room upon room of Villeroy and Bosh china, Lalique crystal, Lladró statuettes, Hermes home, Murano glass, Baccarat crystal. The place settings were absolutely breathtaking with styles of plates, cutlery and linens unlike anything I've ever seen. We found a salt and pepper set that perfectly matches the colors of our apartment; the shakers are silver and adorned with crystals in soft pale blue and white. Unfortunately they were out of our price range at £615 - hopefully that's for the set of two! Angel now knows what to buy me when he hits big on the lottery (well either that or the Lalique peacock I saw for £15.000). It really is worth a trip here just to take it all in, they even sell the worlds first curved TV (this one will set you back £35.000). Next we made our way into the Toy Room, which I wasn't expecting to visit but was really blown away by. Literally hundred of stuffed animals; every bird, reptile, mammal you can imagine! We saw the cutest Siamese cat and they even had a Peter Rabbit hand crank music box playing Mulberry bush so that he literally jumps out when 'pop goes the weasel!' There were also many dollhouses, new and old-fashioned toys and books; quite literally heaven on earth for children (and the young at heart). I wish we had more time stay and browse the store but we needed to be at the Savoy for high tea by 3pm so we parted way with Harrod's and made our way onto the tube. We arrived slightly early for tea and were whisked away to a lovely table for two with a view of the foyer dome and gazebo where a pianist was indulging everyone in a mix of musical standards from Cats, Phantom of the Opera and the Beatles amongst others. The table was set with lovely pale green and blue china made especially for the Savoy. For tea, I chose English earl grey and Angel selected lemon verbena. We were brought silver teapots with loose-leaf tea that our waiter poured through a beautiful silver tea strainer. We hade a selection of white and dark sugar as well as cream and soymilk to accompany our tea. The food began to arrive: our first course consisting of a variety of tea sandwiches such as smoked salmon, curried chicken, deviled egg with tamago. Our waiter brought us a second plate when we finished the first. Our second course was traditional and raisin scones with clotted cream, strawberry preserves and lemon cured. These were truly unlike any scones I've had before, so light and fluffy and went perfectly with the clotted cream and preserves. We continued to sip warm tea and relax in the beautiful setting, seemingly a world away from the hustle and bustle of London. Our third course was a choice of french pastries such as strawberry tart, apple tart tatin and pineapple cheesecake. We were also brought a trolley of special desserts and selected slices of Scottish fruitcake and banana cake. Completely stuffed by this point, we stumbled out into the lobby to take some pictures of the impressive arrangements of pink and green orchids. We also stopped into the tea shoppe to pickup some of the lemon verbena tea that Angel had really enjoyed. My earl grey was fabulously floral, but I had already seriously indulged at Mariage Frères in Paris. We took some pictures of the hotel entrance before making our way to Leicester square, where we went into the M&M store and Angel had his favourite drink in London - carrot juice! Not a cheap treat in this city at £6 for a tiny cup. We stopped into TK Max (like a high end winners) and I found a great deal on a wool sweater and Angel got a nice down winter jacket. Walking along through Chinatown towards the Cambridge Theatre, we stopped to browse in many little shops along the way. The West End is full of musicals, we passed Lion King, Bodyguard, Stomp and Jersey Boys among others. We made our way into the theatre and had a drink at the bar (Miss Honey's punch - a tribute to the teacher in Matilda). The play was fantastic; we thought that after seeing Wicked on our last trip we might be in for a letdown, but this show was definitely on par. The music, set, acting and way of bringing the story to life was incredible. A standing ovation from the crowd. We took the tube back home to drop off our shopping before heading out for a bite to eat. We found a fantastic Indian restaurant still open at midnight - got to love London! We enjoyed chicken tikka masala curry, lamb with spinach, rice and garlic naan. It was excellent and on par with the Indian food we eat in Vancouver. Tired and full, we retired back to our flat for good nights sleep!

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 8 (London)

 

On Saturday we departed the flat early to make our way into Notting Hill and the Portobello market. Our friend Katherine from Vancouver moved to London a few years back, so we always get together for a meal when we're in town. We made our way from the tube station to the hustle and bustle of the tiny streets and markets of Portobello. There were some fantastic vintage stores with everything from consignment fashion and antique jewelry to furniture, tableware and cutlery. If we had more time to wander I'm sure we would have found some great bargains. The weather was barely cooperating for us, often changing from dull and grey to full bouts of rain within minutes and then back again. Unlike Vancouver, where when it rains it rains, London's weather is more much subtle and you often open up an umbrella only to stow it away again. We had lunch at an organic cafe near the market. I had a shepherds pie (perfect on a dreary day) and Angel had a mushroom risotto with grilled chicken. We realized we were literally a block away from the 'blue door' in the movie 'Notting Hill' so we went to take a few obligatory photos. We also stumbled past the bookstore, which still looks much like it did in the movie. We took a little while to meander through some of the stores and produce stalls (some great pomegranate and pears to be had). We parted ways with Katherine and descended back into the underground to Westminster station, where we had a tour of the House of Parliament booked. We queued for security, which is quite the process and a definite step above what even the airport puts you through. Once cleared you are given a lanyard with a clearance card permitting you inside the building. We were early for our 4:30pm tour so they put is into the 4:00pm group which was nice since there isn't much inside other than what the tour takes you to see. We started in the Queen's robing room, where she gets ready once a year to open parliament. The murals are frescos (painted on wet plaster) and the design throughout the parliament is quite ornate. The house was bombed severely in World War I, but much has survived expect the original glass windows which were blown out and later replaced. We next moved into the House of Lords, with its red benches, and were given some insight into how the parliament works and that the lords are not elected, but instead appointed and can serve for life! The Queen is only allowed in the House of Lords and cannot go beyond the corridor that connects to the House of Commons. As you move through into the House of Commons you find two chambers, one on each side. The left is called the 'aye' chamber and the right the 'no' chamber. When the house holds a formal vote, they sound a bell that rings in all the local pubs and restaurants alerting the politicians that they have eight minutes to arrive for the vote. They position themselves in the correct chamber according to how they wish to vote and then the doors are locked; if you don't make it in time then you don't get to vote! As the group of 'aye's' pass through their door into the House of Commons and as the 'no's' through theirs, the votes are counted! We got to walk through the whole process, in addition to seeing the speakers chair and sitting on the MP benches. We also got to see the post office inside the house that sends and receives all the government mail. The tour ends in the assembly hall which is hundreds of years old and was host to historic events including the trial of Braveheart and the public farewells to late royalty including most recently the Queen mum. Departing the hall we made our way to Westminster Bridge for photos of Big Ben and the London Eye. The sun had just set and the twilight made for a beautiful view of the parliament buildings all lit up. We walked from the Thames up to Regent Street and Piccadilly Circus to do some shopping. I picked up more tea (at Whittard's this time), including a lovely summer white tea scented with rose and peach. We made our way into Soho next, whose bars and restaurants were starting to come alive. We queued for a table at Banana Tree and chowed down on stir-fry noodles and sipped back fruity cocktails of lychee and grenadine. We took some more time to window shop along Soho and along Oxford Street. Most of the stores were closed by this point but we did get some nice photos of the Christmas windows at Selfridges. Yes, Christmas windows in October! We returned back to our flat, tired from another day full if walking and fresh air, but feeling so alive from all the great energy in this city.

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 9 (London)

 

We decided to venture back to Oxford Street today, as many of the shops were closed during our walk last night. Angel had seen a nice jacket at a store here called 'Superdry' so he decided to buy it and return the one he had purchased at TK Max. We wandered in and out of the stores as we sipped on hot tea - what a lovely way to spend an afternoon in London! I really wanted to checkout the store Liberty as I had read it has a great homeware department. It's set in an old Tudor building complete with original staircases and wood paneling. The highlight departments were their sewing room (fabric, needlepoint and knitting galore!), as well as the entire top floor currently dedicated as a Christmas gallery. They had old-fashioned ornaments, trees, garlands and snow globes among many other treasures. It's truly incredible what you can find here, from whole rooms full of cool wallpaper and paint to another full of silk and wool scarves from all over the world. Nothing else quite compares to London when it comes to variety. Getting tired from all the walking, we tucked into a little cafe for a bite to eat and a sweet pastry. Recharged and ready to go, we decided to head back towards Piccadilly Circus to see if we could find some cheap show tickets for our final evening. Okay, I apologize in advance for those whom I am about to make jealous... We found £35 tickets in the 12th row to Jersey Boys! We didn't have a lot of time to spare for the 5pm Sunday curtain so we hoofed it past Trafalgar Square (in the midst of a huge Diwali celebration) and over to the theatre. The show did not disappoint! The music was fabulous and the story was equally interesting; we both didn't realize how much history there is behind Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon indeed. As we came out of the theatre, we could begin to feel the beginnings of Hurricane St. Jude. It was now raining and the wind was picking up quickly. We decided to head back to our apartment to drop off our purchases before heading out to dinner. Earlier in the day we had passed by an Argentinean steakhouse (called Gaucho) that Angel said he could smell two blocks away! We went online and were able to get reservations so we headed over on the tube. We experienced without a doubt the best steak we have ever had - bare none. The meat was so tender and full of flavour, accompanied by chimichurri sauce, coarse salt and black pepper. Our waiter helped us select a fantastic bottle of Malbec that had us smiling with delight throughout the meal. I forgot to mention we started off with a sampler of ceviche (tuna and shrimp) and we also tucked into a dessert platter of caramel cheesecake, chocolate torte and fruit clafoutis. The restaurant itself is laid out over four floors, all decorated in black and gold with real cowhide wallpaper! Once again full to the brim and tuckered out, we dragged ourselves out (caught the last tube of the night) and headed off to bed!

 

We're over a week into our trip now and everything has been truly delightful so far! I still pinch myself daily that this is actually happening and that we're not dreaming. I thought it would be a nice time to do a list of the highs and lows of life in Paris & London. So here is our top 10 list:

 

Cassidy & Angel

 

We love...

 

1. Fruit juice that tastes like real fruit. Mango anything is particular tasty in both Paris & London.

2. Private stalls in public washrooms. Public stalls are individual rooms with a locking door that goes floor to ceiling.

3. Metro and tube service that goes everywhere.

4. Restaurants were you have to ask for the bill. You can wait as long as you like after the meal without being rushed to leave your table.

5. The diverse mix of people, restaurants and shops. No Joey, Cactus Club on every corner.

6. Access to top-notch theatre and musicals.

7. Harrod's and Galleries Lafayette. Enough said.

8. The energy of Leicester square at night. A mix of casinos, street performers and lights make for some electrifying nightlife.

9. Chic french restaurants with meals lasting over three hours and wine lists that look more like classic novels than a 'carte des vins'.

10. Autumn weather that includes sunshine, crisp blue skies and temperatures above 18C.

 

Not so crazy about...

 

1. Shared toilets. It's common in Paris & London for two or more flats to share a single washroom.

2. Paying in pounds and euros. High prices become even more shocking once you convert them into dollars.

3. Confusing metro stations. London has been substantially better, but Paris' metro was incredibly confusing and quite literally a labyrinth of never-ending tunnels and escalators. Sometimes connecting between metro lines can take upwards of ten minutes walking through the underground network.

5. Sore aching feet at the end of every day. The combination of walking and stone streets makes for very tired feet.

6. Searching for internet access out and about. Thankfully our flats have had access, but it can be challenging in the city to find free wifi.

7. Feeling bloated at the end of every meal in Paris. Our stomachs never quite got used to several courses including cheese and dessert on a daily basis.

8. Steep spiral staircases and very few elevators.

9. Throngs of tourists at the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Portobello Market.

10. Coming home!!! ... At least we still have three weeks left!

 

[güerejo]

Day 10 (London to Barcelona)

 

I woke up in the middle of the night with a sinking feeling that today would be our last day in London, so I was up shortly before 7AM ready to hit the ground running! We had made arrangements to have our luggage stored until later in the afternoon so we could take advantage of our late flight to Barcelona. We made our way over to Oxford Street and wandered through Selfridges, House of Fraser and a few other boutiques. I wanted to make another stop at Harrods so we walked from Oxford Street to Knightsbridge along the edge of Hyde Park. The damage from the wind was evident, as there were branches and leaves all over the place. Good news was there were already work crews cleaning everything up. What looked like a short walk on the map was more like half an hour - which with blistered feet does not a fun trip make! We did finally make our way back to Harrods to see a few of the rooms we had missed out on during our first visit. I wanted to take a better look at the tea sets as I now had a lot of tea but needed some nice cups to drink from. I ended up finding a Wedgwood set on sale that they are shipping directly to Canada so we save the taxes (which in turn works out to essentially free shipping). It is a beautiful modern pattern; we got six teacups and saucers along with the cream and sugar. I already have a silver teapot that I think it will look really nice with. We made another trip to the food halls and sampled a couple of their cupcakes; we also checked out their cool display of Halloween goodies. We headed over to Covent Garden next and had lunch at the Battersea Pie Shop, which serves a fantastic meat and onion pie! We poked around in the myriad of shops (you guess it, I bought more tea) and killed some more time before we needed to head home. We arrived back at the apartment around 4pm and hauled our very heavy cases up the spiral staircase and into the street towards Victoria station. This proved to Angel why I refused to take metro with our cases in London and Paris! Even the short few blocks to the Gatwick Express was agonizing over all the cobblestones. We did finally make it with minutes to spare and ran for the train just in time. We were exhausted by the time we reached the airport and Angel slept most of the flight (hence my free time to write). We arrived if Barcelona close to midnight and made our way to the hotel (which turned out to be very nice after the last week and a bit in small apartments). There is something to be said about hotels!

 

Okay, well that should bring you up to date! Here goes the next leg of our trip... It was 28C in Barcelona today, so we should be in for a good time!!

[güerejo]

Day 11-13 (Barcelona)

 

We've had a busy few days here in Barcelona! Angel's dad has been staying at the same hotel as us so we've been gone at 9am out and about exploring the city. We've already had a few of our favourite meals! We have been taking the metro all over, which is surprisingly easy here and far less complicated than London and Paris. On Tuesday we spent the morning browsing El Corté Ingles, which worked out well as we avoided a couple of hours of heavy rain. I found a beautiful scarf for myself, they make them of the softest wool in all kinds of wonderful colours and patterns. We headed over to Barceloneta after, which is right along the water, and enjoyed a massive arroz negro (like a paella but made with squid ink), as well as croquetas de bacalao (salted cod croquettes) and a big pitcher of sangria. We finished it off with a couple of cremas catelanas (their version of crème brûlée) and a lovely cafe cortado (espresso with milk and sugar). It was all delightful! We came back to the hotel for a siesta before heading out again to enjoy the evening. We found a great bar with excellent mojitos to pass the night away. Today we headed back towards the city centre. The original plan was to go to Las Ramblas, but Angel has been wanting to look into what's required to get his Spanish citizenship. After being redirected to a few different government offices, we finally found the right place but there were no more appointments left. So tomorrow, we will be leaving bright and early to find out what he needs to do for the application. After all our work going from office to office we headed back to our favourite spot for lunch at Rey de la Gamba. This time we enjoyed a traditional paella full of mussels, langoustines, chicken, squid and clams. It was excellent! We started with an order of shrimp cooked in garlic and loads of olive oil, which we soaked up with fresh bread. Dessert and coffee followed shortly after and we were all ready for another afternoon nap. We made it an early night since we will be up early tomorrow. We can't believe how the time is flying by! Our cruise is coming up in a few more days - we're looking forward to all the wonderful places we're going to see!

 

 

Edited July 6, 2014 by güerejo

[güerejo]

Day 14 (Barcelona)

 

We were up slightly after sunrise this morning, as we had been warned to arrive as early as possible at the Civil Registry to avoid a long line up. Thankfully there is a bus walking distance from the hotel that takes us directly there. When we arrived shortly before 8am (it doesn't even open until 9am) there was already a line up down the block! Angel's dad waited while we went to grab a coffee and a bite to eat; we came back and switched places so that he could do the same. We were let in shortly after 9am and sat for our number to be called. Angel's dad has a saying that goes 'las cosas del palacio se van muy despacio' - which literally translates to 'things to do with the palace move very slowly'. We were given a list of documents that are required for Angel to get Spanish citizenship, including official copies of his and his dad's birth certificates. Rather than try to hunt for Angel's dad's birth certificate, we decided that since we were already at the Civil Registry it would be far easier to request a copy (which will be ready in several days). The part that gets interesting is that they require you to apply from your place of current residence. So in Angel's case, that would be from Canada; this wouldn't be a problem except that the closest Spanish consulate is in Edmonton! So we got creative and asked what the process would be if he planned to stay in Spain instead; in that case they would process the application here because he planned to reside here. Talk about bureaucracy at its finest - granted it exists everywhere! Spain has a bit of a different system however; wherever you chose to reside, you need to go to the local government office and complete an 'empadronamiento' - which is essentially a way of registering yourself as a resident. It's kind of similar to the census process, except here they accept it as proof of residence (and oddly enough your drivers license and other ID here therefore does not have your address on it). Since Angel's dad lives outside Barcelona, in order to register Angel we would have to go to the local government office there. Another part of the bureaucracy here is that government offices are open only from 9am-2pm, so we had to rush if we wanted to make it in time, given our cruise leaves tomorrow. We quickly headed to the train station and thankfully met some people headed to the same place as us so they helped us navigate where to go. The train takes about 45 minutes and from there a quick taxi ride to Angel's dad's house - because in order to register yourself you have to prove ownership of your home (in this case Angel's dad has to do it because he is taking responsibility for Angel). We did finally arrive on time and the process was actually very straightforward. Angel is now officially registered in Spain, which will allow him to apply for citizenship when we return from our cruise. The next tricky part is getting an official copy of his birth certificate, as they are very particular as to what they will accept. Angel's uncle is going tomorrow to start the process of getting an official copy, which knowing Mexico could be quite the process. Hopefully he can get it to us while we are on our cruise so we can complete the application when we get back. The beauty of Spanish citizenship (same as any citizenship in the EU) is that you can legally work in any EU country without needing to take out any work permits etc. So essentially, we could come and go as we please and work where we like anywhere within the union - a pretty nice perk! Needless to say, we were very ready to relax with a big pitcher of Sangria when it came time for our main meal today! I had a lovely plate of cannelons followed by a wild boar stew (not as intimidating as it sounds!), followed by a slice of almond cake and a coffee. What a nice way to relax on a beautiful sunny day! We were also able to visit with Angel's sister for a while after lunch and headed into Sitges to walk through the streets towards the water. It was quite warm here today and lots of people were sunbathing and swimming in the ocean. We put our feet in the water - boy was it warm still! Apparently it's been nearly 30C for the last few weeks, although it has been much cooler since we got here (low 20C's) - we're not complaining at all! We took the train back to Barcelona this evening and took some time to relax after a long, but productive day! Tomorrow morning we will pack our bags, as it's time to head out onto the Mediterranean for the next 12 nights!

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 15 (Embarkation)

 

I'm writing you as we sail only a few hundred kilometers from the coast of Africa. We passed Sardinia this morning on our way to Valleta, Malta tomorrow morning. Currently Angel is in the pool (yes, 25C today and not a cloud in the sky!). Feels more like a Caribbean cruise at the moment than November! But let me go back to the beginning so you can experience everything we've enjoyed the past two days. We took a taxi to the pier just before 1pm yesterday. The cruises leave near the Barcelonetta area, but the terminal itself is actually built out on the water so you take a bridge out from the mainland to get to the terminal. We had a wonderful cab driver and he was able to drop Angel's dad off at the train station on the way to the cruise terminal, as he will return home until we come back to Barcelona at the end of our cruise. As we approached the terminal, we could see the Equinox waiting for us, it's blue funnel standing out in the distance with Celebrity's trademark 'X' logo. The terminal itself is very well organized; a porter quickly tagged our bags with our room number (because of all our cabin upgrades I was not able to print off luggage tags before we left home). Next we passed through the security checkpoint and into the actual terminal. As you walk inside the terminal they have cold water and fruit punch waiting before you head into check-in - a very nice touch to start out your vacation. There were already lots of people queuing for checking, but they have a special line for suite guests so we were able to bypass the queue with no wait at all! Our attendant was from the Netherlands and very friendly; he got us setup with 'black' seapass cards (for suite guests only) - which you use to pay for any extras on board. They also take your photo so they can recognize you when they swipe your card. As we made our way towards the ship, we stopped to make reservations in each of the specialty restaurants (Tuscan Grill, Murano & Silk Harvest). Next we headed up the escalators to the gangway; where again we had a social entrance complete with red carpet and mimosas! We were informed our cabin was already ready and waiting for us and that luggage would be arriving after our muster drill at 4pm. Before I tell you about our amazing accommodations, I must say that Angel and I did cruise before on our honeymoon, which was a great trip. That said, so far our experience has really been a step up on a Celebrity. The service is incredible, the ship is beautiful, and there are all kinds of unexpected touches - as we have been told numerous times already when we ask for something: everything is possible. From smiles and hellos every time we pass a crewmember, to the music, food and drinks, it's an experience of a lifetime. Especially after the past two weeks running around on our own, it's nice to be looked after and not have to think a lot about what to do. This is truly a vacation within our vacation and we're loving every minute of it. Okay, now about our cabin. So much for small accommodations - this one is bigger than any of our apartments or hotels we stayed in so far this trip. There was a bottle of champagne, fresh fruit and flowers already waiting for us. We have a lovely sitting room with a table and chairs, the main bedroom with TV, iPod dock and a desk, plus a bathroom with full tub and shower. We also have huge closets and lots of cupboard space - we ended up unpacking all our clothes once our suitcase arrived and it's just like living at home! Now for the balcony - it is truly incredible! We have a wraparound view of the entire aft and then all the way up the side towards the front of the ship. We have already spent hours sitting out on our lounge chairs sipping champagne! It was a really joy to wake up this morning to the glisten of sunshine off the water and the mesmerizing view of the wake. Our butler stopped by shortly after we arrived to introduce himself. We think he pretty much lives outside our room - every time we leave he is there to make sure all is well. I think he changed the ice for our champagne at least three times last night. Every time we use a glass we come back an hour later to see it's been replaced with a new one - he even put fresh soap and fruit in the room again this morning! Our housekeeper also came by to checking and make sure we had everything we need. The service really is top notch! We went to the Oceanview Cafe for lunch, which is the buffet space on board. It is huge - different stations for pasta, salads, grilled meats, Indian, Chinese, desserts and drinks. We tried out the Indian food, which we're big fans of at home, and we very pleased! It was excellent, a nice spicy lamb curry with rice, samosas, lentils and poppadum. All with a glass of cold white wine, sitting al fresco on the back of the boat. Doesn't get much better than that! After lunch, we attended the muster drill, which has really come a long way from how it used to be done (back when I cruised Alaska in the mid nineties) - you used to put on your life vest, stand around outside for an hour while they did roll call - it was a real drag. This time we were taken to the Blu restaurant and given a table to sit at while they put on a video presentation with all the safety information. No life vests required! It was all done in thirty minutes and we were set free to go get ready for sail away. Angel and I went to have a drink from the Molecular Bar, which specializes in gourmet cocktails. The creator - Junior Merino - has created drinks for the likes of Oprah! I had his signature drink called 'coming up roses' which includes meddled rose petals, rose foam and grey goose vodka - a real treat! Angel had a smoky lime margarita rimmed with sea salt and chile pepper. We will definitely be trying out the full menu - which even includes drinks that are topped with liquid nitrogen and others that include a spray mist to add to the ambience as you enjoy your cocktail! We headed back to the cabin to enjoy the sail away from our balcony. We sipped cold champagne as the boat pulled away from the dock shortly before5pm. We couldn't believe the number of seagulls- hundreds of the. - that followed the boat for hours after we left. It was truly beautiful to sail away with the sun setting above Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia in the background, and the calm blue water of the Mediterranean in front of us. We had dinner reservations at 8pm, so we got ourselves changed and ready to head out for dinner. We stopped by the bar on our way for a Bellini to pass the time before our dinner reservation. Dinner was at a Silk Harvest, which specializes in modern Japanese, Indian, Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. The restaurant itself is beautiful, decorated in gold, black and red with little live bonsai trees on each table. We had a lovely spot by the window for two. We drank rosé wine while we enjoyed sushi, satays, fried rice, shrimp curry and roast duck. The dessert was the best part - a wonderful orange crème brûlée. We were truly stuffed by the end of the meal and headed back to relax in our cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 16 (Day at Sea)

 

This morning we were up early for the Cruise Critic gathering at 9:30. So we're got ourselves dressed and headed over to Blu for breakfast around 8:30. We had fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, a whole selection of croissants and sweets (all baked on board), before our omelette with asparagus, mushrooms and potatoes, along with bacon and sausage. Needless to say - we will be gaining more than a few pounds by the end of this voyage. We need to learn to say no, because the food keeps coming without end! The cruise critic party followed breakfast and it was nice to meet everyone that I had spent months messaging back and forth about price drops, tours and cabin assignments! Angel will attest to the fact that there were many claps and waves when I introduced myself - as I had organized a whole slew of tours and also shared information about many price reductions and cabin upgrades that fellow cruisers also took advantage of! We chatted with everyone for about an hour, but wanted to take the galley tour of the restaurant so we departed just before 10:30. We went down into the dining room and were introduced to the sous chef, head chef, head sommelier and headwaiter. The cruise director is actually from Toronto and his wife works on the ship also. Quite a few Canadians on board - but people from all over too! We can tell we're going to make a few friendships with all the folks on our tours. We were escorted through the kitchen - the statistics on the amount of food consumed on this cruise is incredible! The food budget is upwards of $450,000 - of which 70,000 pounds is fresh produce! They source the ingredients from all over and make their own breads, ice cream etc. - no MSG here and they have dedicated kitchens for passengers with special diets! They even have a special garbage processing plant that uses bacteria to turn waste into liquid that can be safely disposed of in the ocean. They took questions from the guests and encouraged us to give them as much feedback about the food as possible as they are always looking for ways to improve. They have different menus for all 12 nights and nothing is repeated! We had steak for lunch today, with carrot gazpacho to start and a maple pecan pie for dessert. As if that wasn't enough, we had iced tea and coconut cake afterwards while we listened to live Spanish guitar. The iced tea is great, they brew it fresh and pour it over ice to cool it. I will be making it at home with all the tea I bought in London.

This afternoon, we spent some time at the pool; Angel joined in the zumba class on the deck that was lots of fun. We met a nice couple for Wisconsin; Cheryl just had her 65th birthday and their kids surprised them with this lovely cruise - how wonderful! The sun was shining down and it really did feel like a Caribbean cruise; the summer weather is supposed to holdup all the way into Greece. We headed back to the cabin to clean up for dinner to find our butler had left some canapés for us to nibble on. We took them out to our deck and enjoyed them with the champagne. The sun was starting to set and we got some lovely photos of the sky lit up in all sorts of colours. It's amazing how many birds come visit us on our balcony; you wouldn't think there would be so many this far out at sea. I relaxed in the sun while Angel rinsed off after the pool. We got dressed up as tonight was the first formal evening. We got our pictures taken by the staircase and with a backdrop of the ship. We made our way back to Blu for dinner (Angel wanted to try the main dining room, but I insisted we go to Blu instead based on everything I had read here). Blu is a restaurant that only suite and aqua spa passengers have access to. Unlike the main dining room that makes meals for hundreds at a time and food is sent from the galley in warming trays, Blu has a smaller kitchen and only serves around 100 passengers at a time. Our meal tonight was heavenly! The restaurant is mainly white and “blu” in colour, with lots of crystal and soft lighting. Most of the tables are for two and we were given a nice one with a banquet on one side and chair on the other. We both a started with the sea scallops crusted with macadamia nuts - which were delish! For my second I had a cold tomato gazpacho which they pour over an olive oil sorbet and frozen basil. Angel had a pear and balsamic salad. Both were very good. For our main, we both went for the crusted Colorado rack of lamb (shoulder meat wrapped in phyllo and a chop cooked medium rare), which came with fresh peas and carrots. We were given a generous portion of mint jelly that went so nicely with the lamb. We were both in heaven! I had a glass of cab sauvignon and Angel went for his standby rosé. Very full by this point, we shared an apple crisp with Tahitian vanilla ice cream and sipped a couple of espressos, as we wanted to be awake for the show. We headed over to the theatre and got seats in the second row for tonight's performance, which was a tribute to Broadway and West End musicals. We were treated to hits from Chicago, Les Miserables, Rent and the like. One of the gals had a really incredible voice - she could be on Broadway, no problem. I was getting very sleepy by this point and decided to turn in for the night. Angel wanted to check out the karaoke bar first, but I warned him we do need to be up at 6am tomorrow for our excursion! The beauty of cruising is that you can do things together or separate and everyone is entertained. We both agree this is really the way to go. You get so much for your money and you meet so many wonderful people and see all kinds of cities that would be impossible to do yourself on a land trip. It's off to Valetta tomorrow!!

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 17 (Malta)

 

Greetings for the Celebrity Equinox!

 

I have benefited so much from all the information on Cruise Critic that I wanted to share our experience so far aboard this magnificent ship! I will start by saying that we do enjoy some of the finer things in life (we like to stay at 4-5 start hotels and I completed culinary school so I would consider myself a fairly critical eater). We have been blow away by the quality on Celebrity! The service has been incredible (there will always be the odd mistake or something lost in translation) and the food quality has been much better than anticipated! The fresh baked goods are better than a lot of what we have readily available at home and the savory items have been fresh, full of flavour and very well presented. We have been dining in Blu and our experience has been that it's a step above the main dining room. I was worried after reading some conflicting posts about Blu, but for our tastes Blu is worth every extra penny! It's à la minute food that's on par with very good restaurants on land.

 

Embarkation in Barcelona was very efficient. We did not have printed luggage tags due to all our cabin reassignments (price drops etc), but a porter marked our bags right away. We proceeded into the terminal, where fruit punch and water was available. They did have a separate line for suite passengers and we did not have to wait at all for check-in. We had our sea passes printed and photos taken and were on our way to board the ship. We had heard about the spot to make dining reservations for the specialty venues, so we did this right away (we had two included as part of our suite). Again, they did have red carpet and separate gangway for suite passengers but there was no lineup when we boarded (around 1:30pm). We did receive a glass of champagne (or a mimosa if you preferred). We were told our cabin was already ready to go, so we made our way to drop off our carry on. We have cabin 1663 (S1) and are over the moon happy with it! We have a wonderful view of the aft and up the side of the ship. We have already had several glasses of champagne and afternoon sweets enjoying the magnificent view! There is an incredible amount of space in our cabin; we have a large closet plus several rows of drawers and flat cupboards to place folded clothes. We brought a lot of stuff with us (2 full cases each) and still have extra storage space that we haven't used. Our butler has been a great help - fulfilling any special requests and even surprising us by shining our shoes for the other night! My husband's birthday is tomorrow so he helped me arrange for champagne and canopies on our verandah for our sail away from Athens.

 

Concerning the lack of aft elevators, again I had read lots on the forums. The walk from the very aft of the ship to the mid ship elevators is 1-2 minutes max. In fact we have often walked the entire length in 5 or so minutes. Compared to all the walking we did in London & Paris, this really is a short stroll for anyone that is used to walking a decent amount.

 

We have had no soot on our balcony and it has been washed off every day for us as well. Our butler has been brining us a full selection of tea sandwiches, sweets and the standard hummus/chips etc. that the other cabins normally receive. If we are not here, he leaves it on the coffee table for us. The butler/attendant service has been incredible! I will literally use a glass in the morning for a drink of water and when I come back to the room and hour later it will have been changed for a clean one. Quite a few times we leave our cabin and our butler is waiting in the hall to ensure everything is to our liking - nothing is too much for the staff on this ship. Their favourite line is 'everything is possible.' The senior staff has been very vocal about wanting feedback from the guests so that they can improve anything that needs to be worked on. We did have a couple of subpar experiences in the Molecular Bar with borderline rude service. We also overheard a few other guests being spoken down to by the bartenders. When we commented about this on our tour yesterday, several other people also confirmed they have similar experiences. We decided to pass along this feedback to the cruise director; as a premium bar on the ship, the service should be equal or superior to the other venues. He was disappointed to hear about our experience and when he saw us again this afternoon, he came over to confirm that he had already spoken to the staff about this. So even when it comes to the minor items, the onboard staff seems very open and committed to improvement! One of the best pieces of advice I think I ever read on here was not to wait to complain until after your cruise is over! It’s a much better idea to pass along your constructive feedback while you’re still onboard – you never know, they might even surprise you by making some changes right away!

 

We upgraded to the premium alcoholic package. I must say the drinks have been very strong (and I like a strong drink!). Not a complaint, just a heads up that you may find you drink less than expected. After wine at dinner and two martinis at the bar, I wasn't feeling any pain last night :)

 

Okay, now a big kudos to our fellow cruisers! We have met so many wonderful people already and we're only a few days into our cruise. We had a lovely cruise critic party at Michaels Club on the first sea day (although 9:30AM was a bit early!) Damian came by to kick off the party and everyone introduced them self; it was nice to faces to names! We already did one excursion with a group setup on here and it turned out great.

 

We had another eventful day today. We were awake shortly before 6AM, as we had preordered room service for breakfast. Our butler called right at 6AM to say that he was on his way. He setup our dining table with white linen, coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice etc. we had planned to dine on the verandah, but a cloudburst overnight had left the furniture rather wet. As we began to dig in to hot pancakes, bacon and sausage, we enjoyed a great view of the sailing into Malta. The island itself is sounded by a fortress wall and is raised up on a bit of a hill. In order for the ship to enter, pilot boats have to guide it through a narrow entrance that then winds its way into the harbour. We had been told it was a sight not to miss and we're glad we got up early to enjoy it. By 7:00AM we were on our way to pickup a coffee for the road and meet our tour mates in the passport bar so we could all walk off together. We disembarked onto the pier, which gave us another view of how massive this ship is! We walked out to the main arrivals area and met our guide Eric who would be taking us around for the day. We really hit the jackpot with our guide - he had so much insight into the history of this gorgeous island and we got a great overview of the knights of Malta and the fortress walls as we drove towards the blue grotto. As we got close to the grotto, we stopped to take some photos from above down at the huge cliffs and could see how beautifully blue the water was. The climate here used to be quite damp thousands of years ago, but now it is very arid and the landscape is similar to northern Mexico, with agave, cactus pear, fig and lime trees, and even the carob plant! We were told how the Arabs used to cut the carob pods open to reveal the seeds and this is how the term 'karat' for diamond sizes was invented! We then proceeded down to the blue grotto entrance and waited for our guide to see if the boats were running. Unfortunately due to impending high winds they decided not to run today - which was a bit of a let down... But we also didn't want to risk not being able to return back to land if we got out onto the ocean in a small boat and the winds really picked up! Next our guide gave us a great history lesson about the ancient temples which were built in the period between 2500-3500 BC. They are incredibly important, as they represent the first attempt at buildings; prior to these temples, structures were merely shelters made using animal hides. The first examples of a staircase also come from these temples. We had a lovely view of the ocean; weather here was very mild with temperatures in the mid 20's and the sun quite intense at mid day! We proceeded next to the Tarxien temples where we got to see an up close oracle temple where they used to do animal sacrifices. It's not known how exactly they moved the massive limestone into place and some of the carvings are quite impressive given that they would have been carved using hard stones as tools. We were all hungry by this point and made our next stop at the restaurant for lunch. We dined on fresh Dorado with salad, roasted potatoes and a glass of white wine. We also tried the most amazingly tender calamari, which must have come from the fresh fish market across the street. We ended our meal and made our final stop at the historic town of Mdina, which blends the old Arabic architecture with the newer gothic style (due to an earthquake in the 1700's which partially destroyed the city). We wandered the shady streets; a nice respite from the hot sun - I even got a bit of a suntan today! Our guide explained in detail the significance of the gothic carvings, which are like little paragraphs made of symbols instead of words. We enjoyed a lovely view from the top of the fortress, seeing all the way out to the harbour and beyond. The island itself is much larger than we anticipated, both in size and its approximately 450,000 residents. By this time we needed to make our way back to the ship for our 5:30pm departure. We grabbed a drink from the martini bar and enjoyed the last bit of sunshine as we sailed away with another spectacular view of the island! We are going to take a nap before dinner and tonight's show. Tomorrow we have another sea day, before landing in Athens on Tuesday!

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 18 (Day at Sea)

 

We have decided there is NO better way to travel than cruising! For the amount of food, shows and booze everyone consumes on here, it would cost a fortune on land for the same experience. You also get access to see so many wonderful locations without worrying about transportation. I was somewhat skeptical that the food would be to par, but it has exceeded expectations. It's as good as any good to very good restaurant on land. It's probably on the level of say a Keg, perhaps better. They make all the bread and ice cream themselves and nothing is too much trouble. We are also very spoiled to have a suite; don't know that we'll be able to settle for anything else from now on! The extra space to move around is wonderful. We met a group of wonderful friends at dinner last night. A mother and daughter from New York, celebrating daughter's 30th and a retired woman from Hollywood (used to work in production for CBS). Food was great; I really liked the beef tartar and the strawberry shortcake was also excellent! None of us new each other prior to the cruise but hit it off so well, we're going to all celebrate Angel's birthday together tomorrow at the Italian Steakhouse (Tuscan Grille). Our butler is also going to arrange champagne and canapés on our verandah for sail away. So very civilized is this cruising lifestyle! Think I could get used to it :) After dinner last night, we went to a comedy show (comedian from Las Vegas who gas won 6 Emmy's) and then dancing at the nightclub until 2:30 AM. We didn't realize we lose an hour going to Greece (now 10 hours ahead of Vancouver), so breakfast at 9:15 was very early! We did a morning trivia (very popular on cruises, 15 questions on all kinds of topics in teams of four) and then I retired for a nap on the balcony, which was heavenly! Angel took a dancing lesson and then a Zumba class. I went to the buffet and made myself a salad, which I took to the back of the ship to enjoy in the sun with a glass of rosé. It was HOT today! We reached close to 30C. The pool was packed; only going to get hotter the closer we go further east. We have a big tour of Athens tomorrow starting at 8am! So dinner and a show followed by an earlyish bedtime.

 

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[güerejo]

Day 19 (Athens)

 

Hi Everyone!

 

I'm writing you from rougher waters this evening. The winds picked up this afternoon as we were getting back to the ship in Athens and they haven't let up. I took some Gravol just in case and have been fine. Things are really rocking around and the waiters had quite a time during dinner. We get quite the view of the waves from our balcony up here on the 11th floor!

 

Last night we did karaoke at the club. It was a lot of fun for sure. Afterwards, we enjoyed drinks in the Molecular Bar with some of the crew and the cruise director to ring in Angel's birthday. It was off to bed around 1:30am with a wake up call at 6am for our tour in Athens.

 

What a full day we had today! We met our driver and guide at 7:45am. We had room service in the cabin to save us from getting dressed for breakfast. It's great to have the butler set it all up. We had a short drive from the port of Piraeus into Athens proper. Our first stop was the Acropolis to beat the crowds. Weather was perfect, not too warm (around 22C) and a bit of partial cloud cover to keep us out of the blazing sun. The guide gave us a great history lesson of Athena and Poseidon. It was fascinating to see structures over 2500 years old and all the work done to restore them. We took a drive through the city and into the downtown. The city does show the wear and tear of in excess of 50% unemployment: lots of graffiti and closed businesses. We witnessed the changing of the guards and viewed the stadium of the first modern Olympics. We had a fantastic lunch of Greek salad (the most amazing feta cheese and fresh ripe tomato), followed by lamb and beef kebabs. We then took a walk up the Agora and viewed one of the best-preserved Greek temples. From here we wandered through the Plaka and did some shopping. I got a lovely silver ring and Angel saw some beautiful gold medallions and bracelets but didn't buy anything (not from lack of temptation). We made our way back to the ship, as we were hosting a cocktail party in our room to celebrate the birthday boy. Our butler brought us shrimp cocktail, sandwiches, pastries and rosé champagne. With seven people in our cabin, we still had plenty of space to spare. We had dinner at the Tuscan Grille tonight - fantastic! I had beef tartar, goat cheese arugula salad, and filet mignonette with wild mushroom ravioli. Dessert was magnificent - pistachio chocolate ganache crème brûlée! It was a long but wonderful celebration today and we're looking forward to a more relaxed day tomorrow in Mykonos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 20 (Mykonos)

 

We came back to rose petals on our bed last night in celebration of the birthday boy. Our butler has truly been spoiling us. Angel's suit button came off (too much good food) and our butler was happy to sew it back on! We woke up early this morning to torrential rain, hail and wind battering our verandah door. We decided to give ourselves a break and sleep in and we knew the island was small and would only take a few hours to see. Around noon the clouds had parted and we grabbed a coffee (and an amazing carrot nut muffin) and made our way off the ship. We booked a shuttle into the main town for $8 each. We decided to rent an ATV to take around the island. We wanted to see Paradise Beach so this was the easiest way. It was an experience in the high winds on a bike! We did make it to the beach, which was stunning! The sand is quite course but feels oh so good on the feet. The water is beautifully blue and the waves were crashing. We could imagine how amazing it would be here in the summer months. We did enjoy a drink on the beach and put our feet into the water for a bit. But it was a tad cold for full on swimming. After the beach we headed back into the town for some shopping. The great thing about the ATV's is you get a tour of the island and all the white houses and windmills overlooking the cliffs. We did some browsing and I bought a beautiful silver ring with a gigantic moonstone and Angel got a nice leather bracelet with the Turkish eye. We made it back just as the lightening started and the rain began crashing down. I just returned from a quick bite in the buffet and am contemplating a nap!

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 21 (Kusadesi)

 

We woke up this morning in the lovely seaside village of Kusadesi, Turkey. We had a great view from our balcony of the traditional dancers on the pier. We also had the hills lined with old houses and palm trees in the background. We met our fellow cruisers at 8:30 (after picking up a caramel latte) in the Passport bar and walked off together to find our tour guide. We had a lovely mini bus for the 14 of us. Our tour guide was born in Turkey but is married to a Canadian (from Quebec). We drove from the town of Kusadesi out into the country as she gave us a description of what we were going to see. We started to climb the hill towards the house of the Virgin Mary (where it is said she last lived prior to her ascension). The walk towards the house is beautiful, lined with olive trees. We were able to go into the house and light some candles. We saw the gifts given by each of the three popes that have come to the house to give mass. From the house you can descend down a few steps and arrive at the spring water (the German nun who had visions of the house described the location as being near a water source and this led to the discovery of the home). We filled up two huge bottles with water to bring home with us. After some photos and a restroom break, we made our way to the historic ruins of Ephesus - which date from 100-200 AD. The ruins are nearly completely original (unlike the Acropolis where much of it has been recreated to represent the original structures). We viewed the political arena, the library, forum, and baths and terraces houses. Much is greatly preserved due to the fact that earthquakes led to the ruins being underground for several thousand years before their discovery and subsequent excavation. We had a cloudy but warm day - perfect for walking the ruins and listening to the explanations of our guide. The society at the time was very sophisticated - with hot water available on demand in the homes and a great amount of plumbing throughout the city. The Austrian government is providing the financial backing to uncover the terrace houses. Currently they are in the process of rejoining all the tiles that made up the thousands of square feet of floors. There are over 250,000 tile pieces and they only complete around 50 per day - so it's a long, tedious process! After the tour of Ephesus, we visited a cotton and silk store with some amazing textiles. Turkey is known for the finest quality white silk and the cotton was equally soft and luxurious. I purchased a beautiful soft grey silk scarf; we just don't have items of such high quality at home. Next we made our way to see the temple of Artemis, before making our way for lunch at a traditional restaurant. We dined on appetizers of yogurt with mixing of roasted red pepper, watercress and shredded carrot. We drank local white wine and enjoyed wonderful fresh bread. The main course was equally fantastic - bulgur cooked like rice, amazingly seasoned beef meatballs with cumin, grilled chicken and roast potatoes. It was a meal to remember for sure! We also enjoyed some fresh melon and grapes for dessert. Next we took a trip to see the local art of carpet weaving. We got an instruction of exactly how they turn the silkworm cocoon into raw silk and then process it. I never realized that silk is incredibly strong and is used in items such as airplane tires, sutures, to cut marble, and even in parachute strings! You have to be very careful when handling it so as not to badly cut yourself. We got to enjoy Turkish coffee and a lovely cup of apple tea. We got a demonstration of how to physically weave the carpets - it can take one person several years worth of work to complete a single carpet. It really is a laborious process and now we know why they cost so much! They were much cheaper than what you pay in Canada (4x less) but a small rug still costs around $1000. After the carpets, we made our way to a leather factory to see their clothes. They did a full fashion show for us and Angel even got to join in a walk the catwalk! They have beautifully light, reversible leather jackets that they make for companies like Armani and Burberry. The leather is incredibly soft and only a few millimeters thick - never seen or felt leather like that. The prices were again a fraction of what you would normally pay, but we resisted the temptation. They were quite pushy so that was enough to keep our money in our pockets. By this time we needed to get back to the ship so we made our way back to Kusadesi. I made a quick pit stop for Turkish delight, apple tea and spices for making the meatballs. It was another long but wonderful day. There truly is no better way to travel...We are already making plans for our next cruise! All our welcome to join us... The more the merrier!!

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 22 (Santorini)

 

Hi Everyone,

 

What a magical day we had in Santorini! This island is truly something out of a fairy tale and the highlight so far of our cruise. We had breakfast delivered to our room and our butler set our table on the balcony, as it was a beautiful sunny day. We had pancakes with blueberries and freshly squeezed orange juice as we approached the island. The sun was warm and the water was bright blue. We got ourselves ready and wandered down to our favourite stop in the morning - Cafe al Baccio for a caramel latte with vanilla soymilk. We watched the ship pull into the caldera as we sipped our coffee and the sun beamed through on us. The island was much larger thousands of years ago before a volcano at the centre erupted and then sank deep into the ocean. The town itself sits atop the volcanic terrain way above the water. Shortly after 9am we dropped anchor, but the winds were very strong so we had to reposition in order to use the tenders. We were delayed by over an hour so there was lots of waiting. This is just one of those islands that's tricky to get on and off of, but it's very much worth the trouble. We had joined a group of 20 that were going to take the express boat from the harbour over to the fabled city of Oia to beat the crowds. The organizer got us all tender tickets the night before, saving us a long wait in the lineup. Shortly after 10am our tender number was called and we made our way down to the lowest deck to board. We got a look into a few of the oceanview cabins as we walked the deck - they're not bad at all and there's lots of light from the window. If you had to stay in one of those it wouldn't be a problem; you could live on the ships decks etc. instead. The water was rough so they guided each guest one by one into the tender. The ride was actually not too bumpy considering the winds and within a few minutes we were on the island. It was amazing to see the size of the ship from the water - we got some great photos. As soon as we reached the island, we saw the huge line for the gondola up to the top - which made us very grateful that we booked the shuttle instead. Essentially you only have three options to get up and down to Fira - gondola, ride the donkeys, or walk up the donkey path (but you need to watch where you step!) Our ride on the boat to Oia was quite a bit rougher, as we had to transit the open waters. The boat was bouncing up and down like an amusement park ride! We made it though and no one got sick. We next took a shuttle bus from the bottom of the island up to the top and the city of Oia. It's breathtaking! White houses with blue doors and gorgeous views of the water. The houses are built right into the cliffs - we will definitely be back to spend more time here. We browsed through the shops - it's a shoppers paradise. Shop after shop of wonderful art, jewelry and textiles. We purchase a lovely table runner made of hand-processed linen with the olive leaf pattern embroidered down the middle. We also got a hand sewn silk cushion depicting with the typical view seen here in Santorini. Too many wonderful things to bring home! We had the most breathtaking lunch ever - sitting on the edge of the cliff with a carafe of white wine, baked feta, the freshest Greek salad you will ever eat, rich creamy tsiziki and rice with Greek meatballs. We were accompanied by many of the cute cats you see roaming the island. A photographers paradise! Not a cloud in the sky either. We then made our way in the shuttle bus back towards the cruise ship and the town of Fira. We wandered through many more shops and even bought some local fruit to eat. For two mandarins and two plums (way fresher than anything in Canada), we paid 40 cents total. We're living in the wrong place I tell you! Angel also bought a picture frame made from the traditional blue doors on the island - very cool! It was getting close to 5pm by this time, so we enjoyed a quick coffee to enjoy the view one last time and then made our way to the cable cars to take the ride down. The line was moving quickly and we enjoyed the wonderful view (and most amazing sunset you will ever see) as we rode down to the tender boats. The sun literally goes pink and orange as it dips down into the horizon, completely unobstructed - not an island or anything in sight as far as the eye can see. Back aboard we went for a drink (had my favourite - coming up roses) and cleaned up before the show. Tonight's show featured tango dancers from Argentina, who we have gotten to know while onboard. They asked Angel to join them and he got to participate in part of the show. It was a great show and we were ready to eat again by the time it ended. We went to Blu and dined on Boursin stuffed empanadas, roasted mushroom salad (Angel had chilled pumpkin soup) and finally I had the roast pheasant (phenomenal) and Angel the pork chop with polenta. We all had the bananas foster for dessert! I was ready for bed and Angel went to listen to some music at the martini bar for a while before calling it a night. It's another beautiful sunny day today and we have the day at sea, before arriving in Naples tomorrow. The brunch buffet is at 10am, so lots more eating for us today... They are going to roll us off of here!!

 

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 23 (Naples & Amalfi Coast)

 

 

I'll start today's commentary with a note about baths. I'm more of a shower person myself. There are many who book suites just for the bathtub. I never really understood that until last night. But before I go there, let's talk about our day in Naples.

 

We met our fellow cruisers in the Passport Bar at 7:30am after stopping at Cafe al Baccio for a caramel latte to go, which has turned into a sort of morning ritual for us. We walked off the ship together and met our driver/guide for the day - Giovanni. We loaded into the Mercedes van and were on our way headed for Pompeii. As we travelled on the freeway, we could see Mount Vesuvius in the distance, growing ever larger as we approached Pompeii. We arrived shortly before 8:30, which meant we would beat the large crowds. We keep hearing from all our guides that we have been so lucky to see all these great sites with so few people. In the summer, everything operates at a frantic pace and you're hard pressed to see anything up close. We had arranged a guided tour of Pompeii and we could not have asked for a better guide. He was able to share so many details of the ruins with us; things we could have never found in a guidebook. The city of Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in the first century AD, the ruins were covered in 20 feet of ash and another 20 feet of hummus. We viewed the coliseum, baths, tempiderium, and apartments and saw the preserved casts of some inhabitants in their final moments following the volcanic eruption. Because the city was buried for hundreds of years, the ruins have survived intact unlike many others we have seen which we significantly destroyed during the crusades. After two hours strolling Pompeii, it was time to get back into the bus and make our way towards Sorrento. We started to get our first glimpse of the coast, as we slowly ascended up into the hills. The city of Sorrento is quite beautiful and famous for their limoncello liquor - we bought a bottle to share back home! The main streets were already decorated for Christmas and there was lots of hustle and bustle. Lots of stores selling leather, liqueurs and all kinds of Italian groceries like pasta, olive oil and dried spices. After some time meandering the streets, our driver took us to a restaurant for lunch. We started with an amazing antipasto platter with the most wonderful marinated artichokes, cured salami, prosciutto and fresh mozzarella. It was all divine! I have never had mozzarella cheese that tasted so wonderfully mild and fresh - the stuff we get at home really doesn't compare. For our mains, we split a Margherita pizza and a linguine puttanesca (anchovy, black olives & tomatoes) with freshly grated parmesan cheese. The pizza was fresh out of a wood oven and the pasta was perfectly cooked. For dessert we shared a tiramisu (wonderfully light and not too sweet) and sipped espresso (coffee here is so fully flavored and not at all bitter). It was time for us to part ways with Sorrento and continue our trip along the Amalfi coast. I had read about the windy road along the coast, which deters many from taking this tour. Let's just say that everything I read was little preparation for the real thing. A two-lane road with no divider, 1000-foot drop to the ocean below and literally hairpin curve after curve. And we're talking buses and vans as oncoming traffic, not four passenger cars. I was fine until about thirty minutes before the end of the coast, when I began to feel the effects of three hours in the back seat - I didn't get sick but let's just say I was happy to get back to the ship and take a gravol. The villages along the coast are breathtaking; they are literally nestled into the coastline a thousand feet above the ocean. The view out towards the sea and along the coastal mountains reminded me a lot of the sea to sky highway between Vancouver and Whistler, but the water here in Italy is a thousand shades of blue. We did pass through one downpour on our way through Positano, but otherwise were very lucky. We stopped in the village of Amalfi for gelato and walked the streets, peaking into a few of the shops. It was a very leisurely afternoon and seems as if no one is in too much of a rush in these villages, taking time to sip cappuccino in the plaza and wander along the beach. We passed the hotel where 'Under the Tuscan Sun' was filmed and saw a few amazing hotels with pools cantilevered over the rocky cliffs. I can only imagine how amazing it would be to wake up every morning to that incredible view! We were going to make our way up to the village of Ravello, but the fog was moving in and the wet roads wouldn't make for a very safe drive up the mountain. Instead we continued along to Salerno (the last city on the Amalfi coast) before cutting inland back to Naples and our ship. We were all very happy to get out for some fresh air and stretch our legs after a long day of driving. There were a few other ships in port so it did take some time to clear through security back onto the ship. We were so exhausted that we skipped dinner and went to bed very early. We also knew a busy day awaited us in Rome, so we indulged in some extra sleep. We did wake up once during the night to the creaks and groans of the ship, as the winds picked up speed. There were also a few flashes and cracks of lightning close the ship. One thing we learned is that we will likely not book a cabin at the back of the ship again. The motion is greatly magnified compared to midship and even towards the front. I had read about that on here but didn’t realize what a different it makes (at least when it is rough).

 

 

 

 

[güerejo]

Day 24 (Rome)

 

We woke up early and met our friends at 7:30am and were out on the dock bright and early with our driver Max (short for Massimo) waiting for us. I had developed a bit of a cold overnight, so I bundled up with a scarf and a heavy jacket. Max told us that it had rained heavily overnight and that lots of flooding had occurred in the lower areas of the coast! We boarded the van and snuggled in for the 90 min drive from the port of Citavecchia to Rome. We past through open fields of grapes and olive trees; the land is very fertile along the coast and they grow pretty much anything you can think of. You could really feel the winds picking up speed, as the van was pushed side to side. As we approached the city, Max gave us an overview of the sights we would be seeing and pointed out a few landmarks along the way. First up was a visit to the Coliseum. Unfortunately, it started raining heavily right around the time we arrived. Combined with the wind, it made for very cold and damp conditions. I was also really starting to feel my cold get worse and my ears were getting plugged. I'm sure it would have been lovely in the sun, but the combination of cold weather and the fact we had already seen so many ruins this trip made it less appetizing. Within a few minutes, all of our shoes were soaked through and after a few photos we made an express run for a cafe to sip cappuccino and use the washroom. Back on the bus we headed towards the Circus Maximus and pallentine hill - as we approached, the rain began to let up and the winds appeared to have broken a hole in the clouds and some blue sky was starting to poke through. We stopped to take some photos and then drove up to the Malta square to look through the keyhole at the “three countries”: Italy, the square (which is part of Malta), and Vatican City. Next up were stops at the Pantheon and then the Trevi fountain, where we tossed our coins over our left shoulder and wished to come back many, many times! By now it was time for lunch and a chance to dry off. We started with three kinds of bruschetta (tomato, artichoke and olive) and then enjoyed gnocchi and breaded veal for our main dishes. We were quite full, so we skipped dessert and had another cappuccino instead. After lunch, we met our guide at the Vatican, as she would be taking us into the museums. We had debated about whether to pay the extra money to visit the Vatican and are we glad we did! This was definitely the highlight of our visit to Rome. The museums are great, the Sistine chapel is a work of art, but St Paul’s Cathedral is truly breathtaking! You don't realize how massive it is until they tell you that each letter on the scriptures around the dome is eight feet high! We have never been anywhere so truly impressive. It's definitely a must see not only in Rome, but the world over. They take you from chapel to chapel and explain the most amazing marble sculptures and tombs of the deceased popes. The main alter in the middle of the dome is made of several thousand tonnes of bronze and towers up into the dome, which is over 400 feet in height! It's truly a work of art and a triumph in architecture, which took over 120 years to build. Following our visit we boarded the van and prepared for our ride back to the ship. It was a welcome respite from all the walking to sit down and nap as our driver navigated us back to Citavecchia. The winds had not calmed down at all and the van swayed back and forth more and more violently. Once aboard the captain announced that our departure would be delayed until the winds eased, as it was too dangerous to leave the narrow port in these conditions. So now he have reached that part about why I am so happy to be sailing in a suite. After 10 days of non-stop touring (and other two weeks on land in Europe before that), my legs and feet are pretty much wrecked. I filled that tub up with hot water and soaked for a good half hour last night - pure bliss I tell you! Now I understand the obsession with bathtubs on cruise ships. I was still exhausted and not feeling very well so I did call it a night and took some cold medication (and some more gravol just in case) to help me sleep. I woke up around midnight as the engines turned on and we creaked out of the port. It was so rough that they closed all the outdoor decks and tied down the pool furniture. The drawers and cabinets in our room were opening and closing on their own! From our balcony you could see the huge swells building and crashing against the ship and the spray was hitting our deck up here on the 11th floor. This is one angry ocean out there I tell you. It eased a bit early this morning as we transited between Corsica but quickly returned to gale force winds as we exited out into open waters once again. We had a coffee gathering for the folks on our tours, but many couldn't make it because they were feeling the effects of the motion. I'm surprised I don't feel it, but thankfully it hasn't bothered me much if at all. Angel is just enjoying one last Zumba class and then it will be time for our last dinner! A few more days in Barcelona and then our trip will be coming to an end. What a journey it has been!

 

 

 

PS We pulled the trigger and booked 14 nights on the Eclipse leaving Miami Nov 23. They gave us $350 on board credit and only $100 each to reserve (100% refundable if we cancel), in addition to the free beverage package. So our next cruise countdown has officially begun!

 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2014 by güerejo

[güerejo]

Day 25-27 (Barcelona)

 

We’re back in Barcelona now and I’ve been trying to take it easy the past few days, hoping to shake of a bad cold that was already setting in before the soggy day we spent in Rome. Disembarkation was smooth, although neither one of us was looking forward to leaving! We did wander over to Las Ramblas again and enjoyed a nice sunny afternoon together. We leave for home tomorrow and I start work again the following morning, so I’m hoping for a quick recovery. Tonight we organized a big gathering with all of Angel’s family here in Barcelona. It was a fantastic time. We have truly come to appreciate these moments, sadly they are few and far between given the distance between us. Our flight back to Vancouver was fairly uneventful, with a quick stop over in Amsterdam. I had already prepositioned my parents that they might want to rent a minivan to fit all the souvenirs were acquired over the past month. We had grown from 2 suitcases to 4!

 

 

[güerejo]

Hope you all enjoyed coming along for the ride with us! It was truly the vacation of a lifetime from beginning to end. Hopefully someday we will be able to do it all over again :D Like many of you, I truly enjoy the planning process as much as the trip itself.

 

We are already planning our next trip this coming November. We convinced my parents to join us on the Eclipse for 14 nights in the Southern Caribbean. Mom has always wanted to see St. Lucia, so this was a great way to twist her arm :D We're going to spend a few days in Disney World first, before driving down to Miami for a few nights pre-cruise.