The Joys of Retirement Production Company

We have had 5 days of sea crossing the Atlantic,  4 of them smooth and calm,  but the last was quite high swells and white caps.   It’s nice to be on land again,  in Bermuda today

Our cruise in, past old St Georges, a lighthouse we could see for miles out, and a fortress

We dock in the Royal Navy Dockyard and boarder a mini bus for a great island tour,  to Hamilton, the capital of the island country, and St Georges, the first settlement, and original capital.   The country is covered with lovely Pastel houses,  each family having their own color!

Beautiful turquoise water!  On the south shore,  the reef is just 200+ yards offshore,  so the waters are shallow and gorgeous!

We have had a lovely day on Gran Canaria,  visiting the small village and the Jardin de la Marquesa

First Arucas

Lovely countryside drives

The Jardin de La Marquesas,  planted in the late 1880s, with 2500 species of tropical plants

Many cacti and fountains

It is mating season for the peacocks, so they were displaying and dancing for us!

We visited the church and village of Teror and enjoyed our last tapas lunch of a very tender and delicious octopus,  with potatoes and a Canarian sauce called MOJO!

Our last tapas lunch

Our port stop on the Costa del Sol.   I do love this area!  Gateway to Andalusia!

I did the ship excursion to Marbella’s old town

And on to Puerto Banus

We stopped in Malaga’s old town and cathedral square before returning to the ship

We visited the El Cabanyal sedition of the city for just a quick lunch and some exercise. 

We decided to get off the ship for one last Valencia lunch.  And I’m so glad we did.   We happened upon La Sastreria and found a wonderful menu

On to a new adventure!  We have boarded the Carnival Glory for our ride home!  14 days at sea with 4 ports,  but we have opted to not pay for internet.   We will post in ports with updates,  but on sea days,  consider all our views are of the sea, or the buffet!!  Thanks for hanging with us on this epic adventure.   We are 6 weeks in,  almost with another 5 to go, 2 of that at sea and the rest with family on a couple stateside adventures! 

Today we opted for riding the hip on hop off, just to see the city sites.  We got off to see the 2 Gaudi houses and walk from Placa de Catalunya, down Las Ramblas, to the Boqueria for lunch and a bit passed the Columbus circle to catch the bus back to Placa Espana, near our BnB. 

We passed the Barcelona Football club and site of the new stadium

The Gaudi houses

Placa de Catalunya and Las Ramblas to the monument to Columbus

Of course we stopped for lunch!  Another great Catalon lunch in the market

The shopping there is still the most important function! 

Other sights along our trip back to our temporary home included a great stop to overlook the city,  the old Olympic area from 1992, and back to the Placa de España

The old Olympic flame

Our first full day in Barcelona Kathy and I had early tickets for Sagrada Familia,  to beat most of the crowds. 

The windows and the light and color are striking!  The blues and greens are on the east, with the morning sun,  and the nativity facade.

The columns are different colors,  made of different stone,  the strongest of a pinkish color,  to support the Christ tower

2 of the 3 facades are complete, along with about 12 or 13 of the 18 towers that will complete the roofline.   The largest,  the Christ tower is started,  about half its final height. Here is some is the detail of the towers on the outside

The Nativity Facade

The passion facade

In the afternoon we joined the guys and visited Park Guell

My favorite part of the park are the benches

This paella was the best yet…. and so was the sangria!

Our dinner was interrupted by this procession.   We ate right across from our air Bnb apartment.  

We arrived about 1 PM today so we had the afternoon to enjoy the city and explore a bit after checking in to our AirBnB

Our 3 BR home for 3 nights.  We even have a washer and dryer!

Around the squares in our neighborhood

Our first evening meal in Valencia was Tapas! With a little dinner show of flamenco

We ventured out a little farther to El Parman, for lunch at a restaurant with a chef,  famous for his prize winning paella, Bon Aire. Great lunch

We stopped to walk around the center for the arts and science, Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. The architecture is pretty stunning!