Photo review of Equinox Cannes Film Cruise May 2016

[cruise kitty]

Hi all! Just back from another fantastic cruise on the Celebrity Equinox! Are you ready for a slightly long & semi-meandering journey with me? Please, come along for ride, & be patient, this may take a couple of weeks.

 

We're Steve & Debbie, from Los Angeles, Steve is 51 I'm 49, & we booked this cruise in November, 2014, pretty much the day it was available. We'd been to Barcelona on a port day back in 2009 on the Solstice, & had really been blown away by our short time there, & were determined to make our way back for a deeper look at Barcelona's rich & diverse culture.

 

This is us BTW:

 

We flew from Lax to Barcelona with a layover at CDG, flight delays meant we missed out on one our days in Barcelona, but otherwise it was an uneventful flight, & we managed to get some decent sleep in, after an excellent meal & several glasses of champagne lol.

 

 

We stayed at the Hilton in Barcelona, & even though it's not in the center of things, there's a metro stop half a block away... the metro system is fantastic, & we were able to get around quite easily. We bought the T10, which is ten rides that can be shared between two people, so it actually works out to 5 rides each, ended up buying a second one after a few days.

 

We had pre booked tickets for Gaudi's Park Guell & the La Sagrada Familia

 

Park Guell was originally conceived as planned housing community, with homesites tucked in amongst parks, shopping, recreation areas etc. It failed due to a poor economy, & was turned into a park instead, it's truly remarkable!

 

 

 

[cruise kitty]

A little more of the Park:

 

 

One of the "model homes" privately owned now:

 

 

We hiked some of the trails in the free areas of the park after, fantastic views, we spent a good 4 hours there... after we decided to walk to La Sagrada, it was a nice walk & we got to see some of Barcelona's neighborhoods:

 

 

 

 

After a bit of a long walk, we round a corner, & there it is!

 

[LzyCruiser_NWA]

Looking forward to more.

[cruise kitty]

La Sagrada Familia is Gaudi's pièce de résistance, a remarkable Basilica that been under construction since 1882... it's the modern equivalent of seeing Notre Dame being built. Pictures simply cannot do it justice. It tells the story of the Holy Family on the exterior, in metal & stone on the facades, each side dedicated to a different phase in Christ's life. The interior tells the story of the bible, but does it in color & light. We made a pact to see it at least once more before it's complete, & then again when it's finished.

 

 

 

 

 

[cruise kitty]

More La Sagrada; this is what stained glass is meant to do:

 

 

 

 

We took the elevator up one of the towers, I believe it was the Nativity tower, after you walk down the stairs:

 

 

Coming up, Montserrat, more Gaudi, & the Picasso museum (just kidding, no photos allowed in the Picasso museum)

[cruise kitty]

Looking forward to more.

 

Thank you, it will come slowly, but surely... :)

[cruise kitty]

We woke up bright (except it was raining) & early, grabbed a quick breakfast in the lounge, & then headed out. We took the metro to Placa Espanya train station, the area to buy train tickets to Montserrat is clearly marked, then headed down for our train... I believe we took the 8:46 train, which was the first of the day.

 

You have your choice of two stops, depending on whether you're going to take the cable car up or the funicular, it's very clearly marked as you can see in the picture:

 

view from Cable Car:

 

 

 

 

 

Montserrat means "serrated mountain" & as you approach by train, that's exactly what it looks like, however, it was raining quite hard & I didn't really get any good shots....

The monastery is a Benedictine Abbey, famous for it's amazing views, gorgeous hiking trails leading to caves & shrines, & it's boy choir. It's said to be the site where the Virgin Mother showed revealed herself to several shepherd children, & her image (the black Madonna) is revered.

[cruise kitty]

 

 

rain, rain, go away:

 

 

 

[cruise kitty]

We used the audio guides that were available to rent, & by the time we were done, the big bus tour crowds were rolling in, so we decided to take a hike, because of the rain, we had it pretty much to ourselves.

 

Steve on the pathway:

 

 

 

 

We hiked up to the big cross on a rocky outcropping, & this was our reward:

 

 

[cachouonacruise]

Very nice pictures and review. Thank-you very much for taking the time to share!

[cruise kitty]

A few thoughts on Montserrat: First of all, it got ridiculously crowded by around noon, I'd love to return in March or April, stay in the hostel, (we checked it out, looks very nice, clean, rooms about 110 euro a night, includes breakfast)

 

A few more shots:

 

 

 

restaurant:

 

 

[cruise kitty]

Very nice pictures and review. Thank-you very much for taking the time to share!

 

Thank you, & you're welcome! :)

[Clarea]

Absolutely beautiful photos!

[cruise kitty]

attempting to embed a video of the bells at Montserrat:

 

http://vid1131.photobucket.com/albums/m552/cozkityy/IMG_5875.mp4

[prish]

attempting to embed a video of the bells at Montserrat:

 

http://vid1131.photobucket.com/albums/m552/cozkityy/IMG_5875.mp4

 

Cruise kitty, thanks so much for sharing your pictures, am reliving that wonderful cruise all over again, keep it coming...:)

[dodger1964]

Really enjoying pre cruise review...We love cruising out of Barcelona.

[sunpsyche]

Gorgeous photos! I'm enjoying following along. Take all the time you need; quality reviews deserve proper attention. :)

[wallie5446]

Just following along, love the Equinox!

[MustBCruzn]

I'm loving your review and your photos are beautiful! We cruise the Equinox next year and I can't wait. Thanks for taking us on your journey. :)

[Scrappytraveller]

Love your pics, brings back so many great memories. Love Barcelona!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[riclop]

Thanks for the photo review.

[cruise kitty]

Wow, sorry life got in the way of my review !

 

I'll finish up our time in Barcelona, we visited the La Boqueria market off of Las Ramblas, mainly in search of the little restaurant & bar featured on my favorite show; Rick Steves !

 

 

We ate there, delicious squid & grain dish, & grabbed an autograph!

 

 

We also visited the Picasso Museum, which I highly recommend, but like the Sistine Chapel...no photo, no video

 

We bought tickets for for Gaudi's Casa Mila or La Pedrera as it's also called, when we showed up for our time, the roof was closed due to the extreme rain, so we came back a few hours later as the roof is a highlight.

 

 

 

 

[cruisecatmama]

Great review so far! Can't wait to read the rest....

[atlast95]

Enjoying your photos of Barcelona. Looking forward to the rest.

[cruise kitty]

We decided to just take a taxi straight to the ship ... it was raining & crazy windy, (usual for us, we've never embarked on a cruise without rain) Barcelona is great for embarking (my opinion) we were on board, mimosas in hand within 15 minutes of being dropped off. We were in AQ in one of the big hump balconies... on this trip, with all the rain we had, it was nice to be able to enjoy the balcony & stay out of the rain.

 

There was the Captain's Club get together, which was well attended by members & officers alike, it was held in Quasar, & the Cruise Director (Alexander, I believe) graciously answered our questions.

 

Our first full day was Toulon, we had joined a small private tour arranged by a cruise critic member, which I highly recommend in this port! I'm normally an advocate of public transport, however, Celebrity docks in Le Seyne sur-mer, which is pretty much the middle of nowhere, completely across the bay from any reasonable mode of transport, it takes a good 20 to 30 minutes just to drive to the other side. There are ferries available, as well as bicycle rentals, but that's about it.

 

What a wonderful day! A mini van picked us up bright & early, & we headed up to Aix en Provence, a charming little French Village with extensive fountains. We were lucky enough to be there on a Tuesday, which is market day. I picked up some lovely monogrammed sheer linen draperies, which will eventually be hung in our family room if our new home is ever completed (hint, hint dear contractor)

 

Anyway, with a minimum of commentary, here's the photos:

 

 

Bike rentals in Port:

 

fountain, Aix En Provence: