8th port. - Valencia, Spain

8th port.  18.5.16.  Valencia, Spain

Hola.  Yay, we are in Spain.  Woo....Hoo!!

Oops, I know Palamos is in Spain too but for me this truly has the Spanish feel.  We all agreed this is such a beautiful Spanish
city with its wide 6 lane roads.  Souvenir shops lining the side of the roads with plenty of outside sitting for food.  This is my third favorite place, the first being Rome and the second, Mallorca.
The whole atmosphere of this city is "inviting", exciting and with the glorious weather very very nice indeed.

It was also easy to find a pure vegetarian restaurant, in fact, we were spoilt for choice.  Good local food. We also went to McDonalds which was first class in cleanliness and with a superior interior.  As I am sure you can guess, this place is an important source for our wifi and toilet.  I know, I know.  Here we go again talking about food.


Barcelona, 19-20.5.16.  Spain

Our last port.  We have 2 days on our own and Kheng Lee did a fantastic job organizing our stay here to take full advantage of the numerous attractions.  Bought the day Hop On/Hop Off bus that went on 2 different routes so we covered Barcelona comprehensively from the sandy beaches to a ride up a small mountain.  So much to see and so much to do in this Beautuful city.

The Hare Krsna temple was only 5-7 mins walk from our hotel.  We arrived there at 10am and were told to come back for Lord Nrsimhadev's festival at 4pm.  So back we went and Kheng Lee was invited to lead the kirtan (singing).  He did a great, superb, wonderful, enlivening job.  So speak the much biased mother.
The temple president then gave a very very long, about 1 hour and 20 minutes, lecture in Spanish.  Whewwwwwww.  But the prasadam more than made up for our patience.

Time for another joke so you don't fall asleep on me.  Husband always take the opportunity to go take a pee when we stop for lunch at a restaurant.  His route usually take him pass the kitchen and one day he couldn't resist telling the Italian waiter that all the cooks are Indian.  Oh no, says the waiter.  They are Italians, just sunburnt, too much sun!!  Yeah.  Right.

Last, but not least, I should at least mention one church in detail.  This is the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia.  Even before its completion, this church is the most visited monumental site in Spain, receiving more than 3,000,000 visitors per year.  This church is entirely built with donations.  When I first saw the outside of the church it looked a bit weird because it is not in the traditional Gothic style.  However with its striking appearance and breathtaking features it certainly stood out.
Please do Google the architect, Antonia Gaudi and you will be totally amazed at his greatness and vision.  It is not in a big piece of land, but boy, oh boy, you can see and feel the dedication and the love he has for God.

Arrived back at the hotel at 9pm, exhausted but happy and looking forward to going home.

We're stoked.  Done! Done! Done!  Great holiday.  Had fun. Sumptuous food.  Wonderful company.  All smooth going throughout holiday (uuuuummm.. Maybe just a few minor hiccups).  Honestly though, no "lows"'. We are blessed.

Before I end this blog I would like to share a few amazing and weird experiences.

Immigration in Europe.
Go to counter, chop goes the stamp in our passports.  Out we go.  What???  No checking into the computer, no looking into the camera, no questions, no filling in forms.......sweet but scary at the same time.

Eating at cafes/bars.
The locals order their food at bar/counter/bench, eat, drink there.  So a little/lot of overcrowding makes it difficult for us to look at the food or to pay.  We, of course, being more civilized sit and eat at the table and for that privilege we had to pay more!  Strange.  Funny custom.

ABC.  Coined by the Americans on board ... Another Beautuful Church.  There are so many of these ABCs they are swimming in my head.

Tourists, tourists.  The places we went to were all taken up by tourists.  "Look", says our taxi driver... "There's another tourist jogging with a map in his hand".  It became a game to me to try to identify the locals.

Ports.  Super clean big ports, Enormous ports, beautiful ports, and best of all, free Wii Fi.  Husband, Kheng Lee, with a host of ship's crew trying to call, check e-mail while yours truly check out the shops.

Familiar sight.  In the old town of Palamos we saw clothes hanging out to dry outside their windows.  See, Asians are not only the ones who like to do this.

 As I have not been very coherent in my blog,  here is the list of ports we visited.  And yes, my face is red with embarrassment but my excuse is that there are lots to do on board the ship, including playing table tennis with Kheng Lee and yes, he won all the time, so it was just a matter of jotting down my thoughts here and there.

CivitVecchia, Italy
Livorno, Italy
Olbia ISardinia) Italy
La Spezia, Italy
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Antibes, France
Marseilles, France
Palomos, Spain
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Valencia, Spain

Total distance travelled was 1,463 nautical miles

So, sadly, its time to say goodbye and it's been wonderful talking to you.  Arrivederci, Au Revoir, Adios.  Take care.

Photos

5th and 6th port: Monte Carlo and Antibes

5th port:  Monte Carlo.  14.5.16

Grand Prix in Monte Carlo!!  Boy, those racing cars sure can make super super loud noises.  We managed to catch a few glimpses of the racing cars.

It's amazing the gifts God gives us.  We literally see it here in Monte Carlo.  The architects who built this place so many many years ago have put levels and levels of buildings against the wall of the mountain.  There are steps, escalators, lifts going up and down different levels.  All so picturesque, so pretty.  I have never seen anything like this.  It is such a solid mountain.  How on earth did they do this?  Especially since it was done such a long time ago.

6th port:  Antibes, France.  15.5.16

Mind boggling.  The 100 million yacht.   One of Europe's largest yacht harbors, Antibes is where the super-rich come to play on their yachts.  A stroll along the harbour, among these impressive yachts, was a jaw-dropping fun way to return to the tender, 

Nice little port.  Winding streets.  Bought lots of olives and a thin pancake made of just chickpea flour, olive oil, water and salt.

Sat on the steps of the old fort overlooking the sea and ate them all up in one go.  There is also a large market selling lots and I mean lots of plants, especially roses and orchids.  Shops selling lots of rosé flavored ointments.  And the pastries shops are just amazing!  Caught the tender and came back to Nautical in time for lunch.  And yes, we ate our usual gelato before boardiing.

Met a Chinese Canadian couple on board. They want to have dinner with us.  Oh dear!  Made an appointment 16.5.16

with them at the Grand Dining Restaurant tomorrow.  About 6 Malaysian couples on board (they travelled together) but fortunately they don't want to have dinner with us.  Have been feeling a bit anti-social - just wanted to have a quiet relaxing time!!

Until next time, 4 more sleeps to go on Nautica,

Ciao

SP

3rd and 4th port: Olbia and La Spezia

3rd port:  Olbia, Sardinia, Italy.  12.5.16

This port city's coastline is a beautiful spectacle, alternating between majestic rocky cliffs and stretches of fine white sands with crystal clear waters.  Beautiful sunny day.  Took a small toy-like train giving us an overall insight of this full of character port.

Decided to make this a short visit as we were all feeling tired.  Went back to Nautica and had a great afternoon nap, then went for sauna and dinner and attended the evening entertainment.

Yay.  Great day, great food, great companions.

4th port:  La Spezia, Italy.  13.5.16

Nestled on plains encased by undulating hills and the sparkling sea La Spezia is located in northwestern Italy.  La Spezia is also a major naval base.  Unfortunately, it was raining and we could not catch the ferry to Cinque Terre and 4 other villages.  They are listed as Unesco world heritage site.  These colorful coastal villages are perched on the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean.

So we just meandered along the Main Street, Via Prione, admiring the unique character of this port.  

Good to be leaving Italy for Monte Carlo.  It's been a beautiful experience, lovely old buildings, narrow winding streets, lots of pizzeria cafes/restaurants, and plenty of tourists and tourists and tourists.  All the places we have been to have been taken over by visitors from all over the world.

Back in Nautica Kheng Lee and I have been playing table tennis.  After a haphazard beginning I got my mojo back and it's been lots of fun.  Kheng Lee also has been playing chess with his father ...... Ssssssh......I don't know who is winning, I only know the Kheng Lee is very competitive!  I wonder from which parent he inherited this competitive streak.

Ciao

SP

Boarding Nautica and 2nd port:Livornio

Boarding Nautica 10.5.16

About one hour drive from Rome to our first port, CivitVecchia.

It was a breeze going through check in.  Went straight to lunch and then explored the ship.  Top notch facilities, great service.

The best way to describe the ship is: what not to like!!

2nd port:  Livornio. 11.5.16

 Our most hectic trip as we wanted to visit Villa Vrndavan in Florence, about 55 miles from Livornio.  Villa Vrndavan has 80hectares with a super beautiful mansion hosting Sri Sri Radha Vraja Sundara. It was worth our efforts.  From Livornio port we took a bus to the train station.

Rushing, we stopped at a wrong station.  Oh No.  Finally found our way to Santa Maria Novella station where we took a 20 minute taxi ride to Villa Vrndavan.  Had lunch there but unfortunately did not have the time to go round their beautiful complex as we must also rush our reverse journey to board our ship.

It Begins... 6.5.16

Kheng Lee, hubby and I started our journey with an auspicious beginning.  Booked on Singapore Airlines we went on co-share Air New Zealand.  This plane is only a year old.  It's spacious, toilets are nicer than norm and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that the 3 seats on the side of the plane could be straightened into a bed and that 2 passengers could lie down (albeit sideways) and sleep so nicely, and has a cuddly belt (Air NZ description, not mine).  

We arrived early in the morning in Singapore and, of course, went straight to the "best" vegetarian restaurant.  Yum, it lived up to our expectations.  Even bought takeaways but sadly left it somewhere in Singapore Airport on our return.  Hope someone was brave enough to eat it!!  Spent the next 12 hours in an old SIA plane, trying to sleep.  So passed our 2 days going to Rome.

Before I leave this page, something about me.  I developed two addictions.  One, I am now crazy about fried artichokes and two, I am totally in love with truffle fettuccine.  

8.5.16. Rome

Love at first sight.  Loved the food.  Loved the accommodation. 

Rome is enchanting, captivating, historical sites awesome.

Highlight of our 2 days in Rome was the two and the half hour tour into the Vatican.  The glories of this holy place cannot be described (by me, anyway) except the spiritualityiting of this place really resonate in my soul. We were in time to observe the awesome service.  Oh yes, 

We were also fortunate enough to be at the square when the Pope appeared.  He waved to us and gave a short speech.  

So, another auspicious beginning on our 2 day trip to Rome.  Another highlight was visiting the Hare Krsna temple in Rome.  Took a bit of time and effort as the they had moved but it was worth it to see 

Okay, time for a joke.  Hubby took Kheng Lee's phone and tried to take a picture of him.  "Your camera is not working", says hubby.  "Yes, it is", says Kheng Lee.  "It's just dark", says hubby.  Kheng Lee takes the phone, checked it and said it's working fine.  Hubby tried again, can't see anything, he says, all dark.  Giving the phone back he realized he has his sunglasses on!!

Moving right along.  Coincidences.  On the plane to Singapore there were a Singaporean couple with an 18 months old boy sitting a few seats ahead of us.  Searching for the Hare Krsna temple somewhere in the middle of Rome, we met them again.  

Weird, eh?  Coming out from our apartment one morning we passed a father putting a helmet on his little girl prior to getting on his bike.  Walking to buy our tickets for the Hop On Hop Off bus we saw them again near the ticket booth.  Strange!  Mmmmm... I need a moment.

Before I leave this page let me say how wonderful it has been having Kheng Lee with us!  Poor boy, we kept telling him what fun it is having him around and, of course, having him to be our guide, our protector, our assistant who carries all our luggage, etc, etc.

Ciao

SP