Then the day after getting back home I caught a nasty cold so have not had the energy to write up my adventures or the lack of them. Hope you keep awake to the end, I apologise in advance...
Having left what was a lovely day in Gibraltar, Barcelona was equally lovely with bright sunshine with very little wind to spoil it. I got the shuttle bus which takes you to the world trade centre, from here you can take one of the routes on the hop on hop off buses. I noticed a number of people doing this. This time I was heading towards La Rambles where I was to turn off down one of the side streets and the one I was looking for was a fairly main one, Calle de Ferran there were no cars going down it, it wasn't until I came to a square I found out why, or partly the reason anyway. On getting nearer to the Plaza de San Jaime I could hear what sounded like chanting and it turned to be some sort of protest going on, be a small one but plenty of noise, they were young and looking like students. This square appeared to have a building that was something to do with local government as there were guards outside of this one and the one opposite. The reason for no cars was that they had stopped the traffic from going through the square because of this demonstration and the traffic were diverted down a very narrow street and what a pickle they were getting into when one person drives in the wrong direction causing a mini jam, took the police a while to sort it out. What with the noise of the students and the noise of horns and irate drivers I made haste and continue my journey to find the Picasso Museum which is somewhere behind one of the many narrow streets somewhere! It is in fact tucked away and the signage was not brilliant and I found it quite by chance. Once there I found there to be quite a queue which went down after 15 mins. The cost was 11 euros for normal entry and if you want to have the audio set it cost 14 euros. I opted not to have the audio this time. The building that houses Picasso's work is in its 50th year of opening. Picasso and his life long friend & secretary Juame Sabartes both set up and saw over the renovations of three buildings together to set up this museum which Sabartes wanted to honour his friend. It's a beautiful building and it houses his very early work and believe me you would never recognise it as being Picasso's work it is unlike works he was to become famous for. He starting painting at a very early age and his first major work won him a prize in 1897, he was just 16 years old, it's an impressive piece of work. He was strong encouraged by his parents which I would have thought helped him immensely. I spent quite a while here as the building was lovely and I went around the exhibition again to see it from a different perspective to which I saw them first.
With my bit of cultural tourism out of the way I headed towards the main square Plaza de Cataluna where everyone converges for the various tourist buses and where there is the huge shopping centre. I didn't make it to the shopping centre on this occasion as I went to the Apple store where I was able to send emails and post my previous report and to download updates as well. I had seen on my way there a 'shop' front which I could not make out what type of business it was but the glass of this building had various pieces of tape covering up areas on it that had cracks in it. Stopping to look, I noticed they did not look like it had been damaged by any vandal kicking it or throwing anything at it but they looked like bullet holes, I swear and then I realised it seemed to be some sort of financial business place. Someone was certainly venting their displeasure at this establishment. So having wondered from shop to shop and finding myself at the famous market and buying a very nice Mango fruit lolly, it was delicious and for 2€ it's the cheapest one in town. Got back to the ship at around 4.30 where back in the cabin I had waiting for me sandwiches that Bill had ordered vis room service, very nice it was too. At the evening meal there were just the 6 of us, I didn't think much of what I had for my main, Saddle of lamb. Both my starter and soup were the best parts of the evening meal. I have to say that the food on Azura is not of quite the high standard we had on Oceana. After the meal I went to see two shows, first the headliners, not one of their best & the other show was the 'cuban' comedian/magician. Very funny indeed, I was crying with laughter, cannot remember his name but purposely did not see him on Oceana the previous week but since those of you on here recommended to go and see him I did and yes he is one Magician/Comedian I would lady see again.
Next day, Valencia, Spain
The ship got in at 8am but my alarm did not go off as I had the sound down. So I ended up I getting up late and I left the ship a little later than planned. The shuttle bus took about 18 minutes. We were dropped off not far from the centre of town. I hadn't a map so I followed some of the passengers who seem to know where they were going and ended up in a square that had a fountain and it was brimming with foam just like a bubble bath. Also in the square there were two churches, actually I think one was a Cathedral. I saw there was a McDonald's which I went into and used the free wifi to upload emails and to download episodes of the Archers.
Walked further on, found a tourist office where I got a a map. I found a shop called ale-hop that has a modal of a cow outsidewhich i think is part of their logo and I bought a few things, it was a very cheap shop which is an amazing thing in the euro zone. On my way back towards the shuttle pick up I walked across from there and walked around the area that was the river. The river used to flood the city often so they redirected it and the river became a dry barren waste land. With good planning they turned this extra outdoor space into leisure areas, a park and a place for the city folk to rest and unwind. It has been done extremely well, very tidy and clean. Plenty of cyclist and joggers using it as well.
One thing I noticed was that Valencia seems to have a lot of churches in such a small place it seems to have more churches per acre than Rome, everywhere you turn there is a church. Various squares have more than two churches in it. I am sure there is something in history that will explain this phenomena.
The evening show was very good, it was two brothers, the Johnson Brothers. Their repertoire is classical and they sang just like the Three Tenors. They are very young, 19 & 22 I think they are. And although extremely good they do need a little coaching like all good singers to bring out the best, they just need reining in a little and then they will be exceptional. One thing they mentioned was that they have auditioned for 'Britain's got talent' competition so if you watch it look out for them.
Malaga, Spain
We arrived in Malaga half hour later than we were scheduled. Bill and I went to the costa coffee on deck 5 for a coffee and a hot chocolate for me while the ship was docking. Did you know that the cakes they have on show at the Costa Coffee on here are free!!, no, neither did one of our table companions who had a costa card dealbut never had a cake the entire cruise as he thought they were extra!.
I got off the ship at just after 1pm and instead of taking the shuttle bus I decided to walk, which was actually a good idea as it was an extremely lovely walk to do. The port is very new and the last time we were there was back in 2006 and the part of the port we arrived at did not exist at the time and the local government have certainly made a very good job of it. There were shops and cafes and in the lovely weather it is a lovely place to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. They have built a lovely park & leisure space as well and the structure they have built as a canopy is rather nice and has a lovely architectural roof that is geometrically nice to look at as well. There were park like areas with seating of all sorts and there was a kind of fountain as well that you can walk across. I took a good number of photos of all this lovely space. When I arrived at the end of the port area I came to the main road and just started to make my way into the historical part of the town and I found the area where the Picasso Museum is and is the place Bill & I visited back in 2006. As I made my way round the place parts of it was all coming back to me. I took a number of photos so as to remind Bill when I got back to the ship as Bill was staying on board, he is still recuperating and he just likes being on board using the facilities at leisure, he is very happy doing that, can't think of a better way to relax and recover from an operation.
I was given a leaflet that was for the hop on hop off bus when walking along the port pavement and when I looked at it there was a walk you could follow whether with a guide or not, so I partly did my own guided walk and pretty much did what they had suggested. I stopped at the same cake cafe we went to last time and I sat outside and had an ice cold cola and just soaked up the sun and people watched. I found Picasso's place where he was born.
Around 3.30 I found a McDonald's and I downloaded a couple of things and uploaded emails. At around 4.45 I started to make my way back to the ship I got back at around 5.45 which for me is quite late to be back on the ship but since it's easy to get back to the ship I was not worried about it, poor Bill was a little concerned but realised when I said, as the ship is close I don't mind being close to the time we have to be back. Within minutes of being back room service had delivered two pizzas which were a welcome sight and smell for both of us.
In the evening I went to the casino and Bill gave me £10 and I took £20. I started with Bills two £5 notes by just putting one of the fivers in and I was very close to emptying that when the machine threw out a bar and two triple or double payouts I can't remember what they were but it went up a big number, over 700 and as I could not remember what the configuration of that was. So I wanted to put my cruise card in but it would not take it. ( the system of playing the casino on Azura is very different and when you want to take out the money you don't hit a cash out button and coins come out, no, you have to put your cruise card in set up a pin number for it and then you transfer it to the card, then you take it to the cashier where they put it into a similar chip & pin machine and you put your 4 digit number in and they give you hard cash ). I had to attract the attention of one of the casino staff which was not an easy thing to do. I got him to guard the machine as I had to go to the reception to get my card changed so that I could use it in the casino. With that done I returned to the casino where I then put card in and pressed my PIN number and found that I had in fact won £70. So I transferred that amount to my card and I put into the machine the second fiver that Bill gave me, that went. I put in one of the ten pounds of my twenty I had with me and I hadn't been playing long when I got to £29 and I decided then to play to the point when I £25 and I would quit. I didn't get far into it when I got another big one. The line came up with a triple, a 7 in the middle and another triple, at this point the amount kept going up when it went past the 1000 mark I definitely at this point decided to quit so I transferred the amount and the grand total I won was £239.27p. It was a good feeling to have. I found out why your cruise card keeps being rejected and demagnetising when you go back to the slot machines, it seems the system they have for the casino machines is not compatible with the cruise cards used for the rest of the ship so they keep cancelling each other out. I had to get my card de magnetised after I won so that I could get into my cabin. I think they should issue two different cards so that this doesn't keep happening or some other system anyway.
Cadiz, Spain.
Our last port of this cruise. A nice surprise was that Bill came out with me on shore. We walked aimlessly and just followed where others were going and looking at the map it looked like we were heading towards a square and when we arrived it was a very nice square and there was a large Cathedral and another church next to it. We saw some of the staff huddled and sitting on stone steps not far from the cathedral and they were on line. We tried to connect but to no avail. At this point Bill was going to go into the Cathedral and then make his way back and I went on my walkabout. I have to say Cadiz was a surprise, it's a lovely little place to wander and take in the surroundings sitting outside and watching the world go by. I stumbled n the market which was a traditional fruit, veg, fish and meat place, it was very clean and orderly. Since this was a short stay it wasn't long before we had to head back to the ship. Our last sail away was not as it should have been as there was a delay of tour coaches coming back and then while I was looking over the side I noticed an ambulance and the Captain made an announcement that although the tours were back there was unfortunately for one passenger, whose cruise was coming to an abrupt end. He was taken away in an ambulance, his wife was taken off first with their luggage to a waiting taxi. Never a sight that one wants to see, so I said a little prayer for them.
14th April at sea.
I got up early and did a spin class, which was good but it didn't feel like we were very challenged as it was when I did my first class on here 10 days ago. There were just 7 of us and I am guessing that either it was not fully booked or that 3 passengers did not turn up. In fact there were no others there in reserve. The ship was moving quite a bit and it was weird riding the bike and at times I had to hang on as it felt I was being pushed to one side and I am sure one side of my body worked harder than the other. I got back to the cabin just before 10am in time to wake Bill who was going to the Sunday Church service. I had a shower and got my things together in preparation for our Peninsula Lunch at mid day. I wore my purple & white skirt, white t shirt and a purple bolero and my shoes were white sandals the ones that Rose made for me in Singapore. We were sat with the environmental officer and his wife along with another couple Ben and Betty who were 92 & 82 respectfully, In fact he was celebrating his 92nd birthday. It was a pleasant table and the time flew by. We had all finished by 1.30 and we all left soon after. I went to see half of the Headliners interview and then I made my way up to the Planet Bar to meet up with Janis aka Jan Rosser who is someone from the forum, I hadn't managed up to this time to meet up with those from the forum who were on this cruise due to the fact that our first day went astray due to late sailing and then not knowing who anyone was I could not contact anyone to rearrange a meeting, one of the pitfalls of not having the free online site. Jan and I had a lovely chat in the Planet Bar, which is very nice but seems odd to be looking out to the stern and not the front as you would in the crows nest that i am used to on other ships, I miss that. Later I went to the walk through of the galley kitchens of which were no different to ones on Aurora. I for go the chocoholics as I have done that a few times over the years but have tired of it. In the evening we had our final Black Tie dress and there was also a Peninsular Party that was held in the Manhattan Lounge. So it had been a busy day from start to end, I think somewhere in between I took a nap.
15th April at sea.
Amazingly overnight we sailed across the Bay of Biscay with ease, very calm for this bay that's for sure.
I got up and went to spin where again there were just 7 of us including the instructor. We started a tad later than 10am but we were given a good workout. The ships horizon was being lost at times where all I could see was sea & then just sky, strangely it didn't feel too bad elsewhere on the ship but the crossing was still very good. I went back to the cabin where I had a shower and then we went off to breakfast. Bill paid his account with cash and we got some more yellow priority labels. Once back at the cabins we began our packing which at first I was wondering if I was going to be able to get it back into the cases. Eventually I did with the few extra bits and pieces I had bought. In no time at all we had packed all our things just leaving the things we needed that night and for tomorrow and now it was time for lunch! It didn't seem long ago we had our breakfast. Lunch was very nice and I have say the buffet has been surprisingly good considering it is not easy to do, to cater for a lot of passengers.
I eventually managed to hook up with the bar staff that our friends Elly & Bill know an Al Clinton at the Glass House to say hello to him from Elly. He seems like a nice chap and certainly someone Elly would befriend.
The evening show was a headliners one called Reel to Reel I think and it was very good. All the shows of the headliners have been very good in fact and even those that have either the same name or similar have been changed and updated and they do look and sound different. There are the odd ones that do not seem to fit right and I feel that the show producers should see these shows again on the ships as some do not work as well as they should, just a little tweaking will make them better.
So fellow cruisers this is the end of my ramblings of a cruiser who has enjoyed herself as usual but on a completely different type of ship and cruise. Until next time over & out.
