Mediterranean Madness!

I forgot one of the ports I did after Lisbon. GIBRALTAR. It was really cool being there. Me and a bunch of friends took a van tour up the rock where we could see two continents, and 3 countries (Spain, Gibraltar is part of the UK, and Morocco). I was so excited for this port and it definitely paid off! On top of the rock of Gibraltar there’s a bunch of stops- caves, tunnels from WWII, and monkeys! Lots of monkeys, technically their apes. The only apes in Europe. They climb on people and high-five the bus drivers and take people’s food if they have it in a bag or anything. It’s pretty funny when this all happens! Last time we went through the Gibraltar Straight at 1am and I went outside for a minute in the rain to look at it. So this was way cooler!

After Barcelona, we headed to Civitavecchia, the port of Rome. I had been there a few times on my first ship so I didn’t head into Rome. Instead, one of our other ships was in port with us and I had friends on there, so I hung out with them. It was really nice to see them after about 6 months! Civitavecchia being our only Italian port, I ate pizza at about 3 different places, as well as gelato and frozen yogurt with warm nuttella drizzled on top--- WHOOAAHH. America needs to get on board. Business opportunity?? I also stocked up on cheap Italian wine and amazing chocolates!

Our next port was the Spanish island of Ibiza. I went on a tour that took us all around the island. Ibiza is known for a few different things- the main thing being a huge club destination for Europeans and the whole world. We drove by a couple of them and apparently they’ll have 10,000 people in there each night. It makes sense that these two clubs were rated the biggest club in the world, and the other one the best club in the world. I wish we had an overnight so we could’ve gone to check them out. However, it was pre-season, so they weren’t even open. But all around the island are billboards for DJ nights and special events. Literally every half of a mile there’s one. On our tour we went to a couple towns that were very different than each other. One was in the countryside, where it was quiet, hilly, and had “white-cubed” houses. The other town was definitely the party destination, with a big beach and tons of bars and clubs next to the beach. I definitely want to visit again once I have lots of money, and you should too! If you pay for the plane tickets I’ll pay for the drinks :) It’ll probably work out to the same price anyway.

After Ibiza, we were in the city of Almeria. Most people headed to Granada, where Alhambra is. As much as I wanted to go, I had to be back early for a rehearsal so I hung out with friends in the port city. Which turned out great! We went to the oldest tapas restaurant in the city and had chorizo, cheese, wine, and bread with this great olive paste on it. Hanging all around the restaurant were these smoked legs of pork. You seem them everywhere in Spain. The walls were filled with these, even over our heads while we ate! We learned that they last about 2 years after they’re smoked. We saw them cutting one of them- it looked like a science experiment, and kinda gross so we all passed. But I’ve heard it’s great! One thing I have to mention is that the pastries here are incredible!!! I found this small little shop filled with just pastries. And all of them COVERED IN CHOCOLATE. Not joking. And goooood chocolate. I’m not lying to you when I tell you I bought extra to bring back on board. I don’t know why it’s just this place, but they were also at the following port too, so maybe it’s a Southern Spain thing..?

The last port of the cruise was Cadiz, Spain. I was lucky enough to go here last year so I knew my way around the place pretty well. It’s a beautiful place, a little touristy in some spots, but others not so much. It’s a pretty small sliver of land, so you can cross one side of town and get to the ocean pretty quickly. It was nice just sitting on a ledge with the calm Atlantic Ocean below us. Me, the bassist and singer found this local market with all fruit, fish, and meat and cheeses. Everything was amazing! We bought some fruit and meat and cheese and a baguette for later. Then we found this restaurant with internet and the best paella! Then…. You guessed it, I went to the supermarket to stock up on more local Spanish wine.

It was so nice being in the Mediterranean this week! It was smooth smailing (sailing, that typo was really funny)- it felt like we were docked and not moving. It was great! And luckily the Atlantic Ocean was pretty calm, but then we went into the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel and things started to get rocky. I definitely ate a lot of food and drank lots of wine and coffee this cruise. But I’ve heard everything in Norway is about 5 times more expensive- like coffee being $10 for a cup, or $17 for like a hamburger and soda at McDonalds.. Also the warm weather was incredible. I got a rosy face to bring up north. Especially since I heard it was snowing in Norway this past week! Let the summer begin?

Portugal and Spain!!

This second cruise has been incredible! It started in Rotterdam, which is our home port. It’s a great home port because there’s lots of shopping close by and a pretty cool city. It’s Europe’s biggest port and practically the whole city was demolished in WWII because of it. So most of the city is pretty modern and new. When we sailed away from it, it took a long time because it just keeps going and going.

Our first port was Lisbon, which is such a cool city! I ran into this huge flea market going on, with tons of people selling everything you could imagine, from CDs, DVDs, and clothes, to random things like lamps, antiques, magazines, etc. I bought a cool little comic book that was in Portuguese, as well as a Fado CD (the local music genre of Lisbon), and a scarf of the Lisbon club futbol team. I then walked in the heart of downtown where there was lots to do and many tourists walking around. I had some great pastries and there were awesome views and many photo moments.

Then I went to Cartagena, Spain. A small port town, but I drank some great wine and ate lots of tapas for cheap. There were some cool places to walk around there too, and most important- fast internet, since that is a novelty on ships.

Barcelona was next, which I have been looking forward to visiting again since last year. I had one of the best days there! I went to Mercat la Boqueria, where I bought the famous fruit juices and some cheese, sausage, and a baguette. Me and my friend Russell walked up Jew Mountain (Montjuic) where we ate our European picnic with an amazing view of the entire city! Afterwards we went to my favorite sandwich place- Bo de B!!! I had to wait in a long line this time, but it was totally worth it! Chicken sandwich with tons of veggies and all their amazing sauces, along with the best patatas bravas. We enjoyed that on a packed lawn by the bay since it was a gorgeous sunny day. Then we walked Las Ramblas and found some friends in a bar, where we joined them for a sangria. We played for the BBQ set back on the ship and afterwards took a hot tub on the back deck with a beautiful sunset over the city.

Oh Hey Europe

Our first stop in Europe was Madeira, a Portuguese island near Africa. We were in the city of Funchal. It was a quiet, quaint town, with small streets that were fun to walk around. Even on a Thursday mid-day, there were many local kids and adults walking around. But I liked this port because there weren’t huge crowds of most touristy ports- this was a chill place. There were nice parks to walk through, great views of the mountain directly behind the town (which were covered with dark clouds the entire day, even though below we had warm sunshine), benches to sit by the ocean, and of course pastries! I can’t remember what this pastry was called, something like quiejitos or something. But it was a round pastry filled with a sweet cheese, like ricotta or something. Wow, this thing was amazing! I bought a few extra that I thoroughly enjoyed some days after that.

Next was Lisbon, Portugal. I was only able to get off the ship in the morning, but even though it looked beautiful I really shouldn’t have. I walked outside to a light drizzle and dark clouds. Being from the Northwest and Oregon, and even in Colorado, I’m not scared of clouds. I can take em on. If it rains on me, fine. I don’t need no stinkin umbrella! This time it turned out bad…. Within 10 minutes of walking, I saw the first lightning strike. Then more. It was POURING down rain, the slick cobblestone streets filling quickly with water. And I’m starting to get soaked. Really soaked. There’s no one even out walking except for brave souls like me, but they’re smart and have umbrellas. I end up walking back to the ship cause it wasn’t gonna let up. However, before I made that decision I had one of the best chocolate croissants I’ve ever had. So I guess it was worth it. We’re back here next week so I’ll explore the city more then!

The next day we were in Brest, France. Yes, it’s called Brest. I had some amazing pastries- croissants, chocolate, crepes, sandwiches, and more, plus some local cider that the area is known for. It didn’t have a small French town kind of feel- it was a pretty modern downtown area with shops and tall apartment buildings, but I wandered down side streets to find some cool local shops.

This next cruise we’re docked out of Rotterdam and go to a bunch of Spanish ports, including Barcelona which I’m really excited for!