Cinque Terre

Our last stop certainly turned out to be the best stop.  We docked in Livorno - an industrial port that mainly services Florence and Pisa.  Beth and I had already been, so we opted for a Cinque Terre excursion.

The tour starts with a nearly 2 hour drive north to the town of Spezia - a small coastal town with a naval base.  From there - we ascended into the hills above the town, and came out on the far side of the bay at the small town of Portovenere.

Portovenere is a medieval town, with a layout, church and building dating back over 800 years.  It survives today as a tourist trap with a dock that launches northward into the Cinque Terre park.  We took a tour down Main Street, bought some pesto.  Found out that the pesto place we bought from was not as "authentic" as the other vendor claimed - typical east coast/west coast pesto drama.  We then had some free time to climb to an incredible church on a rocky outcropping.  After that we wandered back towards the main area.

             


The highlight here was sneaking off the beaten path to see the rest of town.  The town is a series of parallel walking streets that are connected by stairs every "block" or so.  The houses are narrow and high, and the streets windy.  You can't get lost, since it is effectively a grid with no exit, but you can really get lost.

              


We boarded the boat for a truly amazing, and bumpy, ride along the coastline of the Cinque Terre UNESCO park.  It cannot be described or captured by pictures.  Imagine a steep cliffs that dives straight into the ocean with no beach.  And then imagine sprinkling houses and villages on those cliff sides.  They are connected by literally hundreds and thousands of stairs, as well as a small road, and a train.  It is possible to hike the length in about 12 hours (and we will do this sometime!).

I usually don't love scenery photos in tour albums, but I had to here.





We finally docked about an hour north at Monterosso al Mare. The largest and furthest north of the 5 towns.   This town has 1,800 residents...all involved somehow in selling overpriced pasta or t-shirts.  There is a small beach, and unfortunately the train travels on an elevated track directly in the middle of the main square.

                                             


Here we had more than 2 hours to explore.   We saw more of the same narrow streets, and I climbed to a viewpoint at an old Church.  Back in town, we had an incredible pesto lunch (remember pesto wars) including gnocchi that was cloud like.  I didn't like it, but it was different.  The pesto is the specialty of the region though, and is amazing.

                                

After finishing up too soon, we headed back to take the train to a main road.  We headed back to the boat, where the girls barely made it past dinner, before finally getting to bed early.

I type this as we are descending into London for our flight back to LA.  It was much easier traveling with kids to Europe than I imagined.  They stayed energized and engaged for most of the time, and generally with ipad and ice cream they were able to be convinced to be excited other times as well.  They handled long bus rides, early wake ups and lots of walking.  They relished the chance to climb stairs and run around, when possible.

Its hard to tell to what extent they enjoyed seeing something different.  I can see Becca's natural curiosity in reading maps, wanting to "look over there" and in learning new things. I hope that this is the first of many such trips and that they grow their interest in traveling and learning further.

Cinque Terre

Milan, Italy

Stopped in the port city of Genoa and took a delightful 2:45 drive into Milan

Milan boasts a truly impressive castle (Sforza Castle) with a sick moat, if you're into that type of thing.
We took a tour of the castle, mainly I suspect because it had easily accessible bathrooms. 

                                                    

We then took a brief walking tour down the Main Street towards the original high end shopping mall - the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.  It's basically two Prada stores and a Gucci store.  Who wears Gucci?

The mall is actually incredible.  Even more incredible, it was built while we were mired in Civil War...  The mosaic and details are endless and the glass ceiling is impossible to appreciate in photos.

                  


From there we walked a few steps to the main Cathedral.  It is hard to even see in just a few minutes.  There are 3,000 statues built into the exterior, and even though I am personally not a fan of Gothic style - this one is a must-see. 

                                              
                                     

We picked a café closest to the front for a view during lunch. They took 20 minutes to take our order...then 10 minutes later told us they were out of Gnocchi and some other pasta dish. So they brought pasta with tomato sauce.   In a fit of frustration I went inside, bought a small rice dish and ate it at our table.  The waitress said I was not allowed to eat it here...and I challenged her to bring a manager over to explain how the RAN OUT OF GNOCCHI AT A HUGE RESTAURANT IN ITALY!!!

Anywho, manager never came.  My two drops of coffee were comped and we wandered around.  The best pizza we had all trip came from a fast food restaurant and paired with two Gelatos made Milan quite a stop.

                                         


I type this waiting for our formal photos which Princess lost.  Thanks Princess.  #FML     (Note: They were later found. Princess is lucky; they wouldn't have wanted to mess with my pregnant wife!)

Marseilles & Aix-En-Provence, France

We stopped in the port of Toulon, which is the gateway for Marseille, Provence and some other Ocean Facing French Villages.

Marseille was ok.  Our tour had a short stop there.  Not long enough to enjoy.  Though a highlight -we went to the Norte Dame de la Garde Cathedral.  It had 167 steps to the top, with truly incredible city and ocean views.   The girls sprinted up the stairs.  I was impressed.

                                                 



Next we travelled to Aix (pronounced Ex) En Provence. Cute little town.  Wandered around some walk only streets.  Had some pizza at a little café. Then figured we had to get some crepes while we were in France!

    


Review:  Majestic Princess 

We had a sea day the day before France.  Becca spent a little time in the kids' club.  Hannah is a few days too young to stay there alone - she's ALMOST 3, but they have the passport info on file, so no fooling them.

So as mentioned we're sailing a new boat for the first time.  The boat had 10 days of service when we boarded.  Its a larger boat - 3,600 people - but not as large as the big Royal Caribbean Boats (5,400 people-ish). Being on a new boat means it really sparkles - everything is in great condition.  The boat has a water show on the pool deck (bleh) and a really high quality outdoor movie screen.  There are two "skywalks" - glass platforms protruding over the edge of the boat.

Downside - It definitely feels a little crowded. The buffet is always a little chaotic.   

Gibraltar

Day 2 was a stop in Gibraltar - a great port stop.  Gibraltar is a tiny British territory only accessible by land through Spain.  It consists of reclaimed land turned into Miami (mid and high rise condos, soul-less retail) blocking a really nice old town, and an absurdly steep rock.  We took our tour up the rock, which is so narrow and steep, that the road is a one-way loop.   First we saw St. Michael's Cave - a huge natural cave complete with stalactites. So big and great acoustics, that it also serves as a concert hall.  

Then....Monkeys moneys monkeys everywhere, heights, tunnels, monkeys.   The sharp height and the tunnels they dug in to the (porous, flimsy) rock are absolutely incredible.  And monkeys. Aggressive, smart monkeys that necessitate your guide carrying an umbrella to fight them off with.





Back down to the old town.  The tour company wants 280 Gibraltar Pounds, but will settle for GBP.  And my ATM card doesn't work there.  So I abandon my children to have a strange foreigner drive me around to various ATMS.  Finally got on the ship and used their shady Casino ATM and paid him in REAL AMERICAN CURRENCY.   Not his garbage fake pounds.   #RevolutionaryWar #MAGA.

Old town, quaint bla bla.  Found Beth unnecessarily clothes shopping.  Wandered back to the ship.   Gibraltar is a must see.

Cartagena, Spain

So we're on the Majestic Princess - a 10 day old boat.  It's really nice.  New features - a water show and two skywalks.  So new we smelled the fresh paint as we walked in!

First stop is in Cartagena.   A large port town in the South of Spain.  Cartagena is Spanish for "Eh."  They have a slightly below average castle type thing (Concepcion Castle) that is not really well preserved and has a lot of modern reinterpretations.   The only cool thing was the hike uphill to get there, as well as the peacocks.

 

After the castle, we wandered down to a pretty good Roman Amphitheater with a hidden door.  We actually never found it and just went in the exit.  After that we wandered their walk streets to a café on the main plaza.  It turned out to be a British café, but oh well.  A couple merry go round rides and then home.



Like I said, eh.

Madrid & Barcelona

I write this at 9:45, as the girls remain asleep in their chambers.  We're cruising past an idyllic island in the Mediterranean which has planted a lovely oil refinery right on the most visible section of their coast.

 

Just having come off of 3 of the longest days of my life...not long in a bad way, just in a long way.

 

The flight to London was fine....everyone slept a little.  The girls loved being on a plane...and then fell asleep and tossed and turned the whole 9 hours.   We got off for a quick turn at London, and American Airlines lost their stroller.  We've heard different stories...but not sure what the truth is yet.  They told us it was coming, we waited a half hour at the gate...then had to leave.  Then it was being delivered to our second hotel....then it was being shipped home.  I do not expect to find it at LAX.  

 

Our first night in Madrid was weird...we weren't tired at all, and we got to the hotel around 8pm.  The airport was a breeze...no customs, just a stamp and our driver was waiting at the exit.  We checked in to the Vinnci Via hotel, right on the Gran Via.  A very nice hotel...but like most European Hotels, very small.  We took the girls wandering through the walk only streets of Madrid, past an Easter Procession to a Hot Chocolate and Churro café (Chocolateria San Gines).  This was a big hit.

                                                           

 

The kids went to bed fine, sharing a blow up mattress that I manually inflated, since the motor sparked when I plugged it in.  That first night they woke up in the middle of the night, Hannah watched the ipad for about an hour then went back to sleep. They have been adjusted to the time change ever since.

 

We finally got up around 10am and sprinted around Madrid, getting back just as our car to the train station arrived.  We saw the Royal Palace and did a tour of the inside. 



We then walked through many squares and plazas to Plaza Mayor.   We had lunch at Restaurante Yerbabuena - a vegetarian restaurant with authentic Spanish dishes. Beth got paella complete with veggie "shrimp".

                                                

 

Without our stroller we made an ill-advised bee line for Retiro Park.  By carrying the two children.  The park is incredible.  A maze of shaded pathways, with a hard pack soil perfect for a stroller.  The girls enjoyed ice cream by the lake, and then we ran back home.  Fortunately, we found a bus that took us right back.

After a bizarre day of travel, night of not sleeping and a half day running through Madrid, we took the train to Barcelona.  The train was mostly empty, so we had plenty of space to spread out.  iPadCation continued in full force. We arrived at the hotel close to midnight and the girls (and boy) were exhausted, so straight to bed.  The Mirror Hotel is really cool, and highly recommended.  We had a Star Trek style hall door, all types of nice design features and a good sized room.

Friday was Good Friday, which means all conceivable stores that sell strollers were closed.  We logged 32,000 steps running through the streets without a stroller...which is some kind of record of something.  We started by wandering down the main streets to the central square (circle?) Placa de Catalunya.  From there we explored the 3rd Street Promenade equivalent - Las Ramblas, and got lost in the really cool Gothic District.  Gothic District is a typical European medieval town - no cars, narrow "streets" excellent architecture, knock off soccer apparel stores, etc.

 

We made it down to the waterfront for a carnival that the girls enjoyed and headed back to wander around town.  After a few more hours of walking we decided to see the Magic Fountain performance.  Very cool overall, but a lot of walking and a long subway ride back to the hotel.  

 

                                         

Fortunately the next Morning I bought a stroller.  Hidden at the top of a large mall next to Placa de Catalunya is a small stroller department, apparently mostly selling to tourists who have lost their strollers.  I cannot tell you the sheer joy I felt at seeing a stroller for purchase!  After a slow morning we hopped a nap bus to Montserrat for a tour.

Montserrat is an Abbey perched high in the hills outside Barcelona.  Its more impressive when you realize it was built before there was a train and bust that go there.  Unfortunately most of the original structure had been destroyed in various wars, so its a newish Abbey with views at this point.  

 

 

That night we caught a flamenco show.  If there is one thing overtired toddlers and 36 year old men like is a 90 minute interpretive dance performance in a foreign language.  Becca seemed to enjoy it enough to make it worth going.  The highlight was finding that the bus leaving from in front of the show went almost directly back to our hotel.  A side note:  Google maps is invaluable in easily routing you on local public transit.

 

                                                     

 

Sunday morning we had reserved tickets to La Sagrada Familia - the still under construction Church by Barcelona Superstar Antoni Gaudi.  I won't write about it.  Just look at the pics!

 

                   

 

From there we took the bus up hill to Gaudi's Parc Guell.  A large park (parc?) with a special park in the middle that you need tickets well in advance for.  We spent two hours walking through the regular person park, enjoying incredible views, a small playground and regretting having only a single stroller.  From there it was a bus ride back to hotel, a quick Spanish lunch (over priced pizza) and off to the boat!