Bon Voyage to Barcelona

Bon Voyage-good journey, yes indeed it was a very good journey aboard the Celebrity Equinox.  We stepped onto the cruise ship for a seven day cruise from Civitavecchia to Barcelona.  It was a needed change of pace for us.  We went from cleaning up after ourselves and finding places on our own to explore and dine at, to letting the cruise line take care of everything.  Our only responsibility is to show up on time for medals and get back to the ship before it leaves port.

After nearly three weeks in Italy, Greg and I were more than anxious for the company of others.  We have met some wonderful people from the UK, Australia and the US.  Everyone was friendly and happily gave us suggestions for places to visit on the rest of our travels.  We have indeed met some new friends that we hope to visit with again.

The first port we visited Livorno, a nice little port town where we decided to walk the two miles to the train station and take a short train ride to Pisa.  Pisa is actually a lovely town with nice pedestrian walking and shopping areas.  I was surprised with how really beautiful the tower is.  

 

Our next stop was Villefranche-Sur-Mer, near Nice France.  The port was an idyllic little town with cafes and a lovely beach.  Before we began our adventure we stopped in a cafe for some cappucino.  Apparently we looked a bit touristy to the proprietor and he tried to charge us 24 euros for our drinks.  I simply smiled nicely and said that there was some mistake.  He quickly apologized and decided to try his scam on the next unsuspecting tourist.  Since we have become so comfortable using local transportation we took the train to Eze, a small picturesque village overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We initially attempted to climb up to the town from the train station however given the fact that we were not wearing proper shoes for the trip, and it looked like a humongous climb, we opted to take a local bus.  The steep, winding, narrow roads with multiple hairpin turns confirmed to me that as I get older my fear of falling off a cliff is as strong as ever.  The town was lovely and the view was spectacular.

 

Corsica is a French island with a distinctly Italian attitude. We loved the food, fresh and delicious. The outdoor market was teeming with fresh cheeses, breads, produce and locals shopping for the day. 
We went to the beach to swim and enjoy the spectacular view of the sea with wifi and drinks served chair side.  It was my favorite port, and I hope to return again one day.

 

 

On our last two days on the ship were in the port of Mallorca, Spain.  We enjoyed the city tour on an hop on hop off bus on our first day and a beach day on our second.  I made time for shopping for Mallorca pearls and other jewelry.  The prices for food and drinks were incredibly inexpensive.  

We are now onto Barcelona.  The adventure continues.