Sunday, April 29, 2012

… to Funchal, Madeira …

… in Portugal. Funchal is the capital of the Madeira Islands, and the largest city on the island. Founded in 1421, the city is named after the wild fennel which was found growing on the uninhabited island when it was first discovered by the Portuguese. Because of its location far from the European mainland, Funchal was important in the 16th century as a stopping place between the Indies and the New World, and became wealthy.

Our excursion began with an early-morning walk around the old part of the city. Many of the doors in this area were painted with eye-catching designs. Some were magnificent!

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We had one of our best adventures of the trip in Funchal. We took a two-mile long cable car ride up to Monte, a village 2000 feet high in a national park. We had a sweeping panoramic view of the Funchal harbor and the entire city. In Monte, we had a few minutes to take in the scenery and views, and then queued up for the main attraction: a ten-minute basket sleigh ride down the steep and winding streets of Monte all the way to the town of Livramento at the base of the mountain. Once a popular form of transportation on Madeira, the sleigh travels on wooden runners. Two men dressed in traditional uniforms – including hats reminiscent of those worn by gondoliers in Venice – pull the sleigh at the top of the first hill to get it moving. They wear special boots which are the only brakes the sleigh has. When it has picked up speed, they jump onto the back runners and steer the sleigh around sharp curves, parked cars, and the occasional tourist standing in the street, snapping pictures of the descending sleighs. In the middle of the route there is one slow spot where they again pull the sleigh to get it moving, but the sleigh reaches speeds of 25 miles an hour for most of the ride and there was a strong smell of burning wood from the runners. Frank took video of the entire ride – it was a blast!

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Back in Funchal, we were lucky; the annual Flower Festival was in full swing. Flower carpets were arranged in the middle of several downtown streets, and the flower market stalls were packed with tourists and buyers. It seemed like the whole city was in bloom: purple jacarandas, orange flame trees, pink hollyhocks, white and yellow daisies. And in the market, exotic varieties from Africa and Asia were breathtaking.

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The excursion ended with a wine tasting back in Funchal of the locally-produced madeira wine. It was delicious! Lunch was lovely at a sidewalk café in the middle of the flower festival, with a guitarist providing entertainment. We spent a pleasant afternoon wandering the streets of the old city. Funchal is a beautiful city – and that basket sleigh ride needs to be experienced to be believed!

This was our last port before the transatlantic crossing. Seven days to pack and rest, and say our goodbyes to the many wonderful people we’ve met. We’ll be back in Ft. Lauderdale on April 28, and in Maryland by evening. It has been a trip of a lifetime and showed us things we will never forget. Perhaps best of all, it’s a great introduction to places we would like to see again!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

… to Cadiz, Spain …

… a really lovely old city, reputed to be the oldest in western Europe, originally settled by the Phoenicians about 1100 BC. Columbus sailed from Cadiz on his second voyage in 1495. We spent a wonderful sunny day in Cadiz, touring the old city and walking the beach. We walked for miles…

Our tour began with a bus ride south to the “white city” of Vejer de la Frontera, a small city with cobblestone streets and hidden patios. Andalusia has many of these towns and cities, so-called because most of the buildings are painted white, and they stand out from quite a distance away, gleaming on the hillsides. We got permission to enter a typical courtyard which opened to a second courtyard, both filled with beautiful flowers. Steep stone steps at the end of this courtyard led to the ancient Roman city wall, and a beautiful panoramic view of the city below.

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We explored Vejer and its many monuments and churches, walking on the cobblestone streets, hand-made of river rocks. The patterns used were fantastic.

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We then went by bus along the scenic Atlantic route, passing through parts of the La Brena Nature Park. We saw nesting storks and flamingos in the salt water marshes along the road. There are 32,000 pairs of storks near Cadiz, the most storks anywhere except for Poland. The Park is primarily forested with umbrella pines, the trees from which pine nuts are collected. In the photo on the right, below, there is actually a stork gliding high up in the sky near a nest on top of a tall pole. We saw several storks, which don’t fly but only ride thermals, near these nests. They are a protected species.

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We stopped for photos at the Trafalgar Cape lighthouse near where the famous Battle of Trafalgar took place in 1805. The Franco-Spanish troops fought the British under Lord Nelson; the British ultimately won. There’s a lighthouse in this photo if you look very closely…

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Our next stop was the town of Conil de la Frontera – a city between pine forests and the sea. The influence of the Arabs who ruled the city at one time are everywhere in the design of the buildings. Conil has lovely plazas and beaches, which attract wind-surfers – like Coronado! After a short stop for exploring, we drove through the town of Barbate and stopped for a quick look across the ocean toward Africa. We could make out the dim outline of the faraway shore; on a really clear day, Gibralter is visible from Barbate.

We went back to Cadiz and walked around the town, exploring the shops and admiring the narrow winding streets and many towers. Cadiz is known for three things: its watch and fire towers, the abandoned cannons of Napoleon which have been put to use to protect the corners of buildings at intersections, and its bulidings made from oysterstone. Looking closely, you can see the clear outlines of the oyster shells in the building blocks. Cadiz also has beautiful beaches, and we walked the beach, looking for shells and beach glass with some success. We finished the afternoon with a snack at a café overlooking the beach.

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Definitely a wonderful place to spend much more time, with so many things to explore in the area, including a cave with ancient paintings, Andalusian horse farms, bulls which are bred for the ring, and even Roman ruins. Cadiz has the ruins of a very large Roman theater right in the heart of the city. There is also a wonderful museum which includes Phoenician artifacts. Cadiz made it onto our list of places we definitely want to revisit.

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… to Ajaccio, Corsica, France …

… the capital and largest city on the island of Corsica, famous as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. Ajaccio can be pronounced many different ways: uh-JACK-oh, eye-OTCH-ee-oh, etc. Ajaccio is known for its cigars, macaroni, and sardine and coral fishing. We started our day with a walk around town, through the lovely town market, looking at all the beautiful produce, flowers, fish, meat and cheese for sale. It all looked so good, particularly the tomatoes, which haven’t been too tasty onboard.

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We stopped at Napoleon’s family’s four-story home, and visited the museum now housed there. Pretty amazing: for someone who seems to be the epitome of Frenchness, Napoleon began life as an Italian, and spoke no French. Legend has it that his attempts at French convulsed Josephine with laughter! He changed both of his names to appear to be more French.

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We experienced Corsican entrepreneurship with a visit to three local businesses. Our first stop was a nougat factory; the 85-year-old owner is still hard at work making and selling his products (see below), while his entire family is now also working in the business. We met several of them, as well as some friendly ants who marched along the counter top where the demonstration nougat was being prepared. Neither of us is looking too closely at the candy we bought there, just eating and enjoying … The nougat is made primarily from egg whites which are whipped mercilessly for hours until they become really stiff. Honey and nuts are added, along with various natural flavors – some pretty awful. Myrtle nougat, anyone?

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Our second stop was an essential oil distillery, up a steep hill which separated the men from the boys (actually, the less mobile from the rest of us). The owner explained that it takes 1 to 1.5 tons of raw material to make one liter of essential oil. Their oils really did smell good for the most part, although I doubt some of the health claims made.

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Last but not least was a winery tour, with a wine tasting, accompanied by bread and cheese. The winery is owned and operated by a woman, one of only 10 women winery owners in Corsica. 

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The day was extra special because it was Frank’s birthday! To celebrate, we booked a “Chef’s Table” dinner in the kitchen with our friends Lee and Troy Harden. A lovely table is set right in the heart of the kitchen, where all the dinner servers come to pick up food for their tables. The menu varies every time they do the dinner, and the ship’s main chef introduced each course as it was served. The ship’s cellar master, Ingo, chose wines for each course. He also helped us to discreetly dispose of some unwanted goose liver (not pate, just quivery goose liver on toast) so as not to hurt the chef’s feelings. The meal was one we will long remember, and concluded with many of the serving staff singing happy birthday to Frank in Indonesian. Below right, Chef Bernie and Cellar Master Ingo.

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One memorable dish was served in its own ice sculpture. Things heated up a little after 8 when the servers began filling the first orders.

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A fun time was had by all, and it was a wonderful way to finish a birthday!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

… to Barcelona, and see Gaudi, Gaudi, Gaudi …

… buildings. We started yesterday with an excursion to see “Gaudi’s Barcelona” – driving slowly by the Casa Battlo and stopping at La Pedrera, also known as Casa Mila. Casa Battlo is on the left, and La Pedrera on the right.

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We next stopped at Gaudi’s masterpiece, Temple of the Sagrada Famillia (Sacred Family), the building he spent 43 years of his life working on, from 1883 until his death in 1926. The building is not yet finished, but Barcelonans hope to see the completion in another 20 years. It is spectacular inside and out.

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We drove to Park Guell to see the magnificent buildings and decorations Gaudi designed for a planned community which never materialized. It’s hard to find the words to describe Gaudi’s work, unlike any other architecture in the world. We walked the entire park, and it was a lovely day.

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After a brief rest, we headed out for an evening of tapas and flamenco in the Spanish Village, high atop Montjuic. What a view of the city! It was lovely at dusk, and the tapas tasty. I don’t have anything to compare to the flamenco we saw, which seemed very good, but incredibly loud and somewhat angry. I’m sure it would have been more meaningful if we spoke Spanish and could better understand the words to the songs that accompany the dancing. Not my favorite form of dance, but takes amazing energy, coordination, muscle control and skill.

Today we joined friends who wanted to see the inside of Gaudi's buildings. We started with La Pedrera – the size of a city block, built for a family who planned to rent shops on the ground floor, occupy most of the first floor, and rent  apartments on the remaining three floors, with the attic for laundry and storage. The building has two large central patios that provide light and ventilation to the building. We checked out the ground floor, hiked up to the attic, and from there to the roof, then back down a few floors to an sample apartment. There are a few elderly residents living in this iconic building in the city’s best neighborhood and paying almost nothing because they originally signed leases which were good for a lifetime. The building is now owned by a bank, which is patiently waiting… The rooftop decorations, hiding chimneys and other necessary architectural details, were mind-blowing. Gaudi abhorred straight lines and loved open plans facilitated by supports such as the caternary arches used in the attic. Below, the lobby, the rooftop with its concealed chimneys and stairs, and caternary arches in the attic.

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Our second stop was a restaurant for some tapas. We sat outside and enjoyed the lovely sun while we sampled several tapas and the local beer. The desserts were especially tasty. Then it was off to Casa Battlo, a house renovated by Gaudi for the Battlo family. Seeing this house convinced the Mira family to contract with Gaudi to build their new home. It is magnificent, currently owned by a private family. Once again, there were no straight lines, beautiful tile and woodwork, and a wonderful use of natural light. Below, stained glass in the living room, the interior courtyard tile work, chimneys on the roof, and a lovely door. 

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We finished the day with a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of the city, which almost got us back to the ship past time. We ran down from Montjuic to Placa Espana to catch a cab back to the ship, arriving with only 5 minutes to spare. Whew! Lovely city, far too much to absorb in two short days. It’s on our list for a longer visit!