Barcelona Olé no moré

I ran by the Cote D’Azur today but admittedly it was on a tread mill as the ship sailed down the French coast en route to the south eastern coast of Spain. Barcelona is all about architecture and Sangria. Too much of either one will give you a headache. Fortunately I didn’t have too much of the later but Gaudi (for those like me who don’t know who he is, Gaudi is an eclectic architect as Picasso is to art) is for those with more of an affection for the absurd. Bull fighting is now outlawed in the Province of Catalonia of which Barcelona is it’s capital but churches such as the Barcelona Cathedral and Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia will never be out of favour. Great was the walking down the Rambla in this post Olympic city and the viewing of the statue of Christopher Columbus was inspirational. Yes the Spaniards take claim to Columbus as one of their own as do the Italians but it was Spain who stepped up to the plate and financed his four journeys to the New World. We ran out of time far too soon but that will just be the excuse needed to return for some paella and fine Spanish wines.

Genoa Prego

We were upgraded to a mini suite and our (Note to Pieter V) “personal butler” has just left the bucket of ice with our complimentary bottle of sparkling wine.  Yesterday we embarked from Civitavecchia (Rome) after our overnight flight on Alitalia. Today was spent exploring by foot, the romantic ancient city of Genoa, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus from where he set out on his historic voyage aboard the Santa Maria to discover the new world.  The weather is wonderful and the breezes are warm despite the locals dressed in jackets and long pants. Shorts and short sleeve shirts are more than enough, especially when lunching outside in the Piatzza Matteotti on homemade Lasagna Bolognese washed down with the local Pierro brew. Life here is all about quality. Truly there is something to be said about the Italian culture and way they embrace life. I have to keep reminding myself this is a work trip for Jennifer. She has my total support.

Ports of Call

Barcelona

Roma at Dusk

Genoa

Malta

Sicily

Tunis, North Africa