Day 1 of the cruise - leaving Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. No more land for a while.
Day 2 of the cruise - somewhere in the Atlantic.
Day 3 of the cruise - somewhere in the Atlantic.
Day 4 of the cruise - somewhere in the Atlantic.
Day 5 of the cruise - somewhere in the Atlantic.
Day 6 of the cruise - somewhere in the Atlantic.
Day 8 (note that I have two pictures out of order) - Our first port of call was in the Azores, but unfortunately the weather was horrible and the seas too rough to dock, so we spent another day at sea.
Day 7 of the cruise - another day at sea somewhere in the Atlantic.
Day 9 - Our final day at sea until we reach Lisbon, Portugal.
Hurrah, we finally could step on land after over a week at sea. This is the first time I've visited Portugal, so I get to add country number 64. We left the ship and headed for the center of the city. I had recorded an audio tour, so we listened as we walked.
As usual, I can't pass a train station. The main station in Lisbon was small, but had the typical European look.
This tower - the Elevador da Santa Justa - was designed by one of Eiffel's students.
The trolleys were so cute. I have no idea what the sign on the side means.
This was part of the Royal Palace, now government buildings.
Our final stop was the Castelo de Sao Jorge. We climbed a steep cobblestone hill to reach the castle. Somewhere along the way I hurt my knee, which still hasn't healed. We headed down the hill for a long walk back to the ship.
We did stop at this store to replenish our liquor supply on board. You need to come up with ways to smuggle the liquor on board, since the cruise line would rather sell overpriced drinks. But that's what empty water bottles are for. The walk to the ship was much longer than we expected, and we made it back fifteen minutes before sailing. Luckily some of the cruise ship's tours were running late, otherwise we would have had to find a way to our next port of call.
Here we are in Cadiz, Spain. That's the Celebrity Equinox - our home for two weeks. Thank you cousin Sara for the recommendation. Last night we passed the Rock of Gibraltar at 1:00 am. Sorry, no picture.
A sculpture along the beach.
This is the Cathedral.
When we first passed this spot on our Hop On - Hop Off bus, all the boats were on dry land. On our second loop, about an hour later, the tide had risen a few feet.
Here's my lunch, five huge prawns. Eric had fried squid, but they were whole and he didn't know how to eat them.
We continued walking along the beach front to the botanical gardens.
Someone has a lot of free time to trim the trees.
After the bus ride we walked through the residential and commercial areas of Cadiz. Of course we were not able to locate an ATM machine.
Here's our last day at sea.
Next stop - Barcelona, Spain. This is the second time we've been to Barcelona, and on the same date - May 1, or May Day. Everything was closed. This is Gaudi's famous cathedral. Over a hundred years building it and no end in sight. New towers rise every few years.
Okay, here's the challenge. What do you think this is? The person with the best answer will win a prize. This was taken outside the Gaudi Cathedral.
A gargoyle outside the Barcelona Cathedral.
One of the many beautiful buildings in Barcelona.
Our final port of call was Villefranche sur Mer, outside of Nice, France. After taking this photo, I'm now inspired to paint again. Wish me luck.
Another one of my favorite shots - balconies with flowers. Get the paints and easel ready.
We climbed a hill, and went right over the train station. A five minute walk took us over half an hour. We took the train to Nice for the morning.
There is nothing better than fresh French bread. And believe me, I had plenty.
Here's the beach at Nice.
And some shops in Nice.
Another possible painting.
And here's the final shot of the cruise, before leaving for Rome. It was a fantastic two weeks, and I look forward to another transatlantic voyage.
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