Operation Scenic Route to Spain

In Fourteen Hundred and Ninety Two (1492) Columbus sailed the ocean blue. In two-zero-one-one (2011) we did too; it was tons of fun!

In the summer of 2010 we followed a big ol' Mouse all over Northern Europe.  We had a great time on board Disney Cruise Line's (DCL) The Disney Magic, so much so that when I blogged that trip  I wrote at the end that I might just "space-A home for a visit next spring simply so we can cruise back to Europe with the Mouse."

we spent a lot of time holding shirts

Well, that's exactly what we did.   The Disney magic left Port Canaveral May14 bound for Barcelona, Spain.  She arrived two weeks later and in between stopped  in the Bahamas; Funchal, Portugal; Gibraltar; and Cadiz, Spain. Of the 14 nights on board, 6 of those were  at sea crossing the Atlantic between Castaway Cay, Bahamas and Portugal's Atlantic island, Madeira.  Almost everything we've done over here falls somehow/someway into a "best ever" category, but it was indeed "the best ever" (or at least very very cool) to wake up on day 3 and look at the map on your stateroom TV and see the boat smack dab in the middle of the ocean, to stand at the rails and see nothing but ocean all around you and know that yep, there really is nothing but ocean all around you.  Six days trapped on a cruise boat with no where to go but on another lap around the deck might be a little much on any other cruise line, but I think I could spend 6 weeks on a DCL cruise and not once feel the need to send anyone up the crow's nest looking for land.   All the glowing things I wrote about our first DCL experience holds true, especially the dining room staff who made it their mission to get my picky two year old to eat something other than chocolate milk.

tuckered

luxury of time

And because this time there was more time, plus Grandma to pitch in with the kiddos,  I got to do ALL the cheesy Disney things -- take the tour that explains the art and decor on board;  learn how to draw Donald and Mickey, and  test my trivial knowledge. (D and I cleaned up at TV theme song night, btw.  No, we weren't latch key kids who spent every afternoon watching reruns on TBS, not at all.).  This trip there was time to go to all the broadway style productions and  to see a number of movies, King's Speech and a red carpet PremEAR of Pirates 4 among them.  And there was more time to try all the yummy recipes on board and to pop into Palo, the on board signature restaurant, for brunch.  But with so many days at sea, we also had more time to interact with cast and crew, some of whom have really remarkable stories of how they ended up sailing with DCL. Surprisingly, there weren't very many kids on board, so a number of the staff took a special interest in mine, which made their two weeks even more fun. (And helped me feel less guilty all those days we left them on the boat while we went ashore exploring.  Seriously, I didn't feel *that* guilty.  I know what it is to navigate Europe with the pint-sized set.  Furthermore, they know what it's like.  I think all parties involved would agree that the kids spending port days in the Oceaneer Club is a win/win all around.)

Pirate Night

(Full Disclosure:  Some of my continued  DCL enthusiasm comes from the fact that in the months since our eastbound transatlantic with Disney we have taken an  eastern Mediterranean cruise with another major cruise line, and while that was a great trip with some of the most AMAZING sightseeing, the cruise experience on that other boat can't compare to DCL's.  If we had never sailed with Disney, we would have loved sailing this other line, but as we had already sailed Disney we were left thinking this other company needed to find  itself a stash of pixie dust somewhere)
 

Castaway Cay

Didn't much care about spending the day on CASTAWAY CAY (Disney's private Bahamian island) but that's mostly because we were coming off two weeks at our own private beach house (AKA Grandma's house).

smak dab in the middle!

"The Rock"

My favorite port was GIBRALTAR.  We took a van tour of the Rock, stopping at all the main sights --to see the Monkeys, and the bunkers -- and learning about the Rock's history.   I can't really imagine what it must have been like living there before Spain opened it's borders.  Our tour guide remembers going with his father on day long trips into Spain to shop.  Day long trips because they had to get to and from Spain via a ferry from Morroco instead of  simply walking 10 minutes to the border. Speaking of Morocco, I was supposed to spend a few days soaking up the African sun last winter and had to cancel at the last minute when my kid-care fell through. I only got slightly perturbed when we stopped to look out over the Straits of Gibraltar at Morocco and the African continent. Oh well, at least I now have pictures of Africa, even if I didn't get to step foot there.  After touring we ate lunch in town and did some shopping. I designed my own champagne flutes at Gibraltar Crystal, where the crafters hand make their items on the island itself.

What a final resting place!

WW2 Tunnels

One of the most difficult landings anywhere. They have to shut down the road for planes.

Stalactites or is it Stalgmites?

AFRICA!

the most famous Gibraltan resident

beautiful Madeiran flowers

I also very much enjoyed MADEIRA, Portugal.  We made port at Funchal and took a sightseeing bus up into the mountains.  We saw some stunning scenery and ate a wonderful lunch of  Espada, the local catch,  at a cliffside patio cafe.  Then, we rode the bus back downtown to shop for lace and wine.  Here's another thing I like about DCL: We landed in Funchal on a Sunday, yet DCL made prior arrangements with some local shops to be open. (In contrast, that other cruise line  put us ashore in Malta on a Sunday where not-a-thing but a few tacky souvenir stands and bars were open.) Because it was Sunday, we couldn't go to a tasting at  the most famous of the Madeiran wine bars, but the wine shops we stopped into did tastings for us and of course we came home with several bottles of the famous spirit.  The Bordal lace "factory" also opened  and we saw where generations of Madeiran women have made lace products by hand; they still make their lace by hand at this factory. And although lace isn't really my style, I now have a far better appreciation of just how much work goes into producing one lace tablecloth.

View from our table

drying Espada

CADIZ:  We spent one morning in Cadiz, a not-so-picturesque, yet very "Spanish feeling" harbor town.  We followed a self-guided walking tour we picked up from the local TI office.  We've done self-guided walking tours all over Europe but what was unique and so user friendly about the Cadiz tours is that the city has painted colored lines all throughout town.  They provide four walking tours and each is designated a color. So if you're following the purple, Medieval District tour, you simply wind your way through town following the purple painted line on the ground.  

Cadiz Cathedral

lush gardens

War Memorial

Las Ramblas

I visited BARCELONA (and London and Paris and Munich and Rome) way back in 1991 as high school Junior and it's been good fun to go back to some of these cities now, as an adult, and compare today's experiences to what my 16 year old self remembers.  I was keen to visit Barcelona this trip because back in 1991 Gaudi's Cathedral was 20 years less completed than it is today AND not open to the public.    This time not only did I get to walk around La Sagrada Familia, but I also got to go inside.  We left the boat early and scooted to the subway and made the Cathedral our first stop.  As it was, we had to wait in line about 25 minutes.  I'm guessing that by the time we left, the line to get in was at least an hour, if not longer.  After learning all about Gaudi, we walked through Barcelona's oldest historic district, following a Rick Steve's walking tour which happened to begin at a square that was being occupied by Barcelona's unemployed youth. This was months before it became the cool thing  to "occupy [insert major city here]."  (Although Barcelona's unemployment rate among young people  is close to40 % percent, so you certainly understand the frustration).  The Barcelona police were in the process of trying to clear the square when we got there.  Barcelona's futbol team was playing in a championship game that night and the city anticipated needing the square for victorious futbol celebrations.  Except, we found all this out later.  At the time all we saw were lines of police in full riot gear, oodles of news crews, and helicopters circling overhead.  In researching the event, it apparently got pretty ugly, but fortunately we were there ahead of or behind the real violence.  We also spent a couple hours strolling Las Ramblas before heading back to the boat for dinner and one last evening on board before disembarking.

Barcelona Market

school children celebrating

people protesting

helicopters circling

Gaudi's Passion

Having spent 26 nights, total, cruising with DCL, I'm still one of their biggest fans.  I can't tell you how disappointed I am our move back to the States isn't going to coincide with a westbound transatlantic reposition.  BUT, I've heard a rumor that DCL is planning a Mediterranean itinerary out of Venice in 2013 and if the stars align........