This is our second and last day in Madrid and we had no
plans.
Having gotten to bed very late last night, we slept in. The first thing that we did was to walk about 30 minuites to the huge train staion as we were told it was a place to see. Well we saw it and moved on!
Then we took an Uber to an amazing food market, with lots and lots of food for
sale and lots of people as it was lunch time.When you see the video, you will understand.
We found 2 seats and Ed went multiple time to get different Tappas,
including wine of course, for lunch.
It was fun eating and people watching.
After that we walked to the main Basilica of the diocese only
to find out that it was not going to open until 6:00pm.
So we walked towards to very large steeples only to find out
it was the main government building!
At this point we were in one of the larger squares so we
relaxed with cokes and enjoyed the sun.
It also just happened that there were more scarf vendors in
this square that anywhere else we had seen so Barb was able to find a few new
scarfs to add to her “collection.”
Then we took an Uber back to the hotel, rested and then we
out to dinner.
There is one major waling street that is lined with bars and
Tappas restaurants and that is where we went for dinner and it was very
enjoyable.
We ate at 7:30pm in this delightful restaurant that we found last night. Tat is very early for the local crowd
you normally eat around 9:00pm and by the time we finished it was getting very crowded.
The manager brought us 2 carmel liquor shots to finish off the meal - wow they were good.
Madrid is a big, bustling city and while some people
said we would like it better than Barcelona, we did not.
We have been here now once and have no plans to go back.
Tomorrow, we leave to come home and will be arriving in Chicago
at 2:20pm on Iberia Airlines and will take a Hertz car home from there.
See everyone soon.
Lunch at the market - that's a fish dish
Lots of litttle bites
These were cheeses and they were very freash and wonderful
The market from the outside
Relaxing before shopping
Lots of scarves!!
Then Food Market - the sights and sounds
Following are pictures of the restaurant where we had dinner on our last night
We had a 10:30am flight from Marrakech to Paris and then
from Paris to Madrid. This meant we had
to be up at 6:00am, up to the rooftop restaurant at 7:00am and in a car to the
airport at 7:30am.
Normally the restaurant is not open until 8:00am; however, two
came in early and served us a nice breakfast before we left.
Again, this was probably the best service, nicest people and
best hotel stay that we have ever had.
Have there been better hotels – yes, but nothing like this
one.
In additional Marrakech is unlike anywhere we have ever been.Written words simply do not describe what we
have seen and we are so blessed to have gone there.
So, we spent the rest of the day flying and in airports before
getting to Madrid at 7:20pm and to the hotel by 9:30pm.Then we simply checked into the hotel and
went to bed.
Day 17 –
We woke up in time to take a 3-hour Tuk-Tuk tour of central Madrid
and the old city and it was run. It was
raining a little when we started the tour and then cleared up for the rest of
the daytime and evening.
After the tour, we had lunch at a Tappas restaurant and of
course had a glass of wine.
Then we spent the rest of the day in the Galleria Royal
Collections which is basically the national art gallery attached to the Royal
Palace.It took us about 4 hours to
visit the entire museum and it was a wonderful display of art and the history
of Spain.
At this point we went back to the room and crashed waking up
at 8:00pm.
We then took an Uber to a small street with lots of Tappas
restaurants and stopped at two of them for dinner and of course had wine each
time.
It is not midnight and time to go to bed.
Instead of taking a lot of time to download all the
pictures, we did a short video for you to see what we have experience, starting
with breakfast with the house cat at our Riad in Marrakech.
Tomorrow is another day in Madrid before heading home.
We have been on a dead run for the last three days so we are
sorry we have not been able to do the blog.
Getting to Marrakech was the worst travel day we have ever
experienced.
The first thing that happened is when we got off the ship,
we could not find our big suitcase.The staff
helped us and finally Barb realized that in our area there was another suitcase
in the same color and style.Our had
yellow duct tape all over it and this one didn’t.We called the person whose name was on the
luggage tab and he was just arriving at his hotel in Rome.He turned around and we met his at the
airport.
Then we had to wait 5 hours in the waiting room of the terminal
before we could check in which was 3 hours before boarding.We were able to go to the American Express
Lounge and have a nice complimentary meal and relax before the flight.
We flew into Casablanca and it took us about an hour and a
very long walk to switch terminals to get to our gate.The only problem was that Ed did not have his
boarding pass and they would not let us in the new terminal.A security policeman took Ed out of the
terminal, in the rain to the next building to get a new boarding pass and he
then went back to a waiting Barb!!
Then when we finally got to the gate to fly our last flight
to Marrakech, Barb could not find her boarding pass.All was ok as they looked it up and let here
on the plane; however, we had to leave the waiting area, walk to a bus, and
then climb up a large staircase to get on the plane and it was pouring rain!!
We arrived in Marrakech at a little past midnight and a
driver was waiting for us to take us to our hotel – The Dar Ankia and it is a beautiful
Reaid.That means that it is in a
rectangle form with rooms around a large open area / central courtyard,
complete with t pool.
Our room was great, small but very nice. And we finally got
to bed about 2:00am.
Day 14 – Marrakech
We slept in until 9:00am and then went up to the roof top at
the hotel and was served an amazing breakfast.One of the best ever.Following
breakfast, we were met at the hotel later in the morning by our guide with a Tuk-Tuk
which is a scooter with room for 4 passengers
So, for the next 3 hours we explored the old city of Marrakech
and it was an amazing time.
Dinner tonight was in the hotels roof-top dining room and we had an excellent dinner.
Day 15 – Marrakech
Totay was a day to just wander the old city and all of the
amazing streets.We first started off by
going to one of the original palaces and touring it.The Bahia Palace was built in the 19th
century and was the greatest palace of it time.The King had 4 wives and 24 concubines!There is a 2-acre garden in the center of the palace.
Then we started walking the narrow streets.The first street that we walked down took us
an hour just to walk the length with little shops selling everything on either
side.When you see the videos, you will
realize how tiny the streets are.
Later on, we went to a restaurant close to the hotel and
have a chicken gyro type sandwich and it was very good.
Tomorrow we are up at 6:00am, breakfast at 7:00am and then
we leave by car to the airport at 7:30am.Words cannot describe the experience we have had over the last several
days.It was an experience unlike any we
have ever had and we wish everyone could experience this part of the world –
its sights, sounds and culture!!
As we will be travelling all day tomorrow, there might be a
blog entry.
So, good night from Marrakech, Morrocco
Instead of trying to sort througgh the humdred or so pictures that we have taken, we made a couple of videos so that you could enjoy the sights and soungs of Marrakech.
Today we are in Naples a city that while we have been here
before we have not spent a lot of time here.
We had hired a private guide so we took a taxi 30 minutes to
the meeting place.
She was a few minutes late because of traffic which was a
nightmare.
Every port we visited had too many people out in the
streets.
For the next couple of hours we explored the old city and it
was a wonderful tour.Lots of very
little streets and so much history.
At one point we wend underground and saw an excavation from
centuries ago and it was an amazing site to visit.
At the end of our tour, we took a taxi to the Presidential
Palace; however, we first went to a recommended pizza place and had a Margarita
Pizza as Naples is where it was first developed.
Then we took about a 2-hour tour of the Palace which had
been hit by many, many bombs during Worl War II and fully restored.
Finally at 3: oopm we took a cab back to the ship.They had some shops right before boarding the
ship and it was amazing that Barb found a scarf!
We wend up to the Ocenview Café and had some snacks and then
back to our cabin to rest a bit and get ready for the evening, our last evening
on the ship.
Dinner, of course was in Blu and
Then it was on to the show which tonight was a production
number by the cast called Life.
We then came back to the cabin and packed for
disembarkation.
Tomorrow we will be met by a driver to take us to the
airport where we will board a Royal Air Moroc plane to Casablanca, change
planes which will take us to Marrakesh, Morrocco.
We will get in quite late so the blog tomorrow will be combined
with then next day,
The blog for today with today's pictures is not completede - we will complete it while we are at the airport tomorrow.
Our second day at sea and the second to last day of our
cruise.
We slept in and then were up on the top deck relaxing in the
sun.The only problem was that it was
very windy but it ok.
At noon we went into the Ocenview Café for lunch and today
was their extravagant day with chocolate fountains, extra special deserts and
an entire mound of shrimp and lots more new choices.
Then it was back up in the sun before going back to our room
to get ready for the evening.
We left the room early so that we could explore the shops
and just relax people watching as tonight was Evening Chic.
The show tonight is a singer from London with a show of
music and comedy.He was very good.
Dinner tonight was
The casino
Tomorrow our last day and the Port of Naples.
We have been to Naples a couple of times, but don’t really
fell like we have seen it so we have hired a guide to take us on the
sights.Should be fun.
We docked at a town call La Spezia which is quite aways from
Florence where we planned to stay overnight.
We had to hurry off the ship as our first train was at
8:32am.
It was raining when we got off the ship and walked to the
shuttle bus off the port, about 20 minutes.
Then at the taxi stand with 3 other couples, we couldn’t get
a cab to the train stations.Finally one
came and we all shared one van to the train station.
On the taxi ride we met two guys who had been together for
over 20 years and lived in Cancun and we ended up sitting with them on both
trains to Florence.
Then we had to transfer trains in Pisa for the remaining train
trip to Florence.The problem was that
it was 7-minute window.We and 8 others
literally ran down the planform down stairs and underground to the next set of tracks.As we jumped onto the train, the doors
closed, we all laughed and we now could relax on a nice 1-hour trip to
Florence.
At Florence, we took a taxi to our hotel, the Arte” Boutique
Hotel and it was everything we expected and more.The hotel was originally a palace for a rich
member of the aristocracy in the 1400’s.Then it was a home to several rich families.Since 2019 it has this boutique hotel of 13 rooms.We had an upgraded room that had an amazing
over the main Cathedral in Florance, El Duomo.
When we arrived it was drizzling and it continued throughout
the day.
We had a fine 2-hour walking tour that took us to the major
sights in the city and after that we went back to the hotel.
While we were on the ship, one of the couples that we ate
with gave us the name of their favorite restaurant in Naples and we made
reservations for lunch and it was wonderful.
As it typical in Europe, the good restaurants are small and
the owner is always there to greet you.This restaurant was no different and the owner stopped by at our table
several times. We had to go there for
lunch as the only available time for dinner was 11:30pm!!
After we finished dinner, the rain had stopped so we walked
around, had some gelato, and then finally went to bed.
On Wednesday, we had an amazing breakfast as I am sure the
picture swill show will show and then went to the El Duomo Cathedral to go inside.We had a line pass, so we skipped ahead of what
seemed like hundreds in line to get in.the guide spent about ½ hour inside telling us all about the church.
This is the third largest church in the world, behind Rome
and London.It still has the largest
dome in the world.The original plans
were destroyed in a fire and they still have not figured out how the architect
built it.One of things that made this
Cathedral unique was it its exterior is all marble giving it a white exterior –
truly magnificent.
The original church was built in 4AD and was a church for
the people and had no domination, rich or poor all were welcome.The church as stand today began construction
in 1296 and the building process lasted 72 years and finished in 1368.At the time, it was that largest church in
the world and still is the church of the people.Even admission to see the church is free and
the church is now a Catholic Church.
We then had time to ourselves to explore more of the church.
They have a clock inside that hs 1 at the bottom. To the people then 1 was 1 hour after sunrise. Someone climbs up to the clock every two weeks to reset the clock to keep time correctly - amazing.
Then we went walking for the next couple of hors and of
course Barb found some beautiful scarves.
We then checked out of the hotel at noon and took a taxi to
the train station.This time we had 28 minutes
to transfer trains in Pisa before getting back to this about 4:30pm
Then it was time to take a fast shower and get ready for the
evening.
The show tonight was a production show by the cast of the
ship and it was not that good and we had seen it several times in the past.
Then onto dinner in Blu where we shared the last couple of
days stories with people we had met before.
Tomorrow is our second day at seas and we are looking
forward to just relaxing in the sun (we hope)
Night on the way to our last stop, Naples.
Ready to go to Florence for overnight
The two guys we met from Cancun
The lunch menu that was recommended to us by people on the ship
Inside the restaurant
Igore the owner
Barb buying rings (4)
Just the bedroom in the hotel
El Duomo from our hotel room
Going out for our second day
The front door to the hotel. At night the doors are closed and our key opens them
Breakfast at the hotel
The clock
The main dome
A sandwich for lunch on the train back to the ship
Going out for the evening
Our room at the hotel - one of the best we have ever had
Today we are docked in our in the harbor at Santa Margherita
and when we woke up it was raining and it rained all day!
The town is 22 miles southeast of Genoa and its part of the
Italian Riviera.It is a port for both
tourism and fishing activities with about 10,000 people all who seem to live on
the side of the hill leading down to the port.
We left the ship about 9:30am with raincoats on and an umbrella
and took the tender into the town.It
was drizzling and stayed that was all day.
We had a self-guided walking tour that took into a plaza as
port level with one of the two churches we visited.Then we walked a long walk up a very winding road
to beautiful church and restaurant at the top of the hill.The bad news is that they had closed the restaurant
that day.
Then we walked down the hill on very steep walkways into the
center of the town, which is the port area.
We stopped at noon at a very nice little restaurant and it
was warm inside so it was perfect.
We had a caprese salad and a great pizza.We met the owner who bought us each a small
sipping drink of Lemon Cello!!
Then we walked about the shops, ate one of their famous pastries
and took the shuttle boat back to the ship to dry out and rest.
Tonight the entertainment was a flautist who was very good; however, we probably wouldn't go to see her again.
Dinner in Blu was good and while you sit at a different
table for two each night, you are usually sitting next to another couple as we were this night and met an interesting couple from England.We have met several couples that we have
enjoyed talking to at dinner.
Then we went back to room to
prepare for the next two days. We plan on packing only one "beach" type bag for the overnight trip.
The ship is docked overnight in the City of Lasperxia, Italy
and we will take the train into Florence and stay over night there.I will not be taking my laptop so the next
blog post will come in two days on Wednesday
