Tag Archives: Mediterranean

Spain

Beach Party

Friday evening we went to a beach party in El Campello, which is a short distance from Alicante. There are miles of beautiful white sand beaches and a gorgeous view of the coastline. We went with friends and arrived at around 8pm. The small beach pub was quaint and a perfect spot to watch the sunset.

img_20160923_200943203
InterNations Beach party

The theme of the beach party was for everyone to wear something white including funny t-shirts etc. We mingled with people from all areas of the world, including Sweden, Holland and other areas of Europe.

img_20160923_201642843
Ray wearing Norwegian Bingo T-shirt

The music and ambience were great and  we enjoyed assorted tapas throughout the evening.  It was a nice way to spend the evening and unwind after studying for the driver exam.

“adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Monaco

Monaco and Monte Carlo Tour

1 Comment

We went to visit Monaco which is the second smallest state in the world. It is just under two square kilometres and located on the Cote d’Azur, in the French Riviera and is bordered by France on three sides. There are stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea and the Monaco harbour as we were heading up the mountain to Monte Carlo.

IMG_20160722_124050272
View of the Monaco Harbour

Monaco is  located on the Alpes Maritimes and overlooks  the Mediterranean sea. The world renown Grand Prix race is held in Monaco and runs through the streets every year.

IMG_20160722_144600271
Road in Monaco which is used for the Grand Prix race. Rubber marks on the curb are still visible from last years race cars

The James Bond  movie “Golden Eye” was filmed in part at the Casino de Monte-Carlo in Monaco.

IMG_20160722_150306726
Casino de Monte-Carlo in Monaco

The Casino de Monte-Carlo is well-known as a high roller casino where the rich come to play. While we were outside we saw some very expensive cars parked out front of the casino.

IMG_20160722_150141023
Expensive cars parked outside of the Casino de Monte-Carlo
IMG_20160722_150101647
A red Ferrari parked beside the Casino de Monte-Carlo

We decided to go into the Casino de Monte-Carlo to check out the inside. We only went into the lobby area and saw the interior entrance area. It was like a movie set from the 1930’s with marble floors,  pillars and ornate decorations.

IMG_20160722_151432749
Lobby area of the Casino de Monte-Carlo
IMG_20160722_151809983_HDR
Ceiling in the lobby area of the Casino de Monte-Carlo
IMG_20160722_151509657_HDR
Casino de Monte-Carlo main lobby area

We took a candid selfie while in the Lobby of the Casino.

IMG_20160722_152019180

After touring the casino lobby we headed back outside to walk around the city. From outside of the casino we could see the mountain tops in the distance.

IMG_20160722_145726866
View of Monte Carlo with the Alpes in the background

We came across the Prince of Monaco’s Palace during our walk.

IMG_20160722_124613596
Palace in Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is a beautiful spot and is very clean and well maintained. Our guide informed us that the police are very friendly but strict and the rules are strongly enforced with fines.  We were to follow the rules or risk a possible fine. We noticed that people cross the street at the crossings, there is no littering and people walk on the paths in the park and not on the grass. We even saw a tourist couple get put into a police cruiser with their dog for what appears to be allowing the dog to run loose with no leash.

We walked through this beautiful cliff top park which overlooks the Sea.

IMG_20160722_123321933
Park on the cliff edge in Monte Carlo Monaco

We walked along the path looking at the statues and panoramic views of the sea.

IMG_20160722_134350595_HDR
Statue in Monte Carlo Park
IMG_20160722_135338175 (1)
Statue in Monte Carlo Park
IMG_20160722_135411734
Statue of nude women playing Ping Pong
IMG_20160722_124057898
View from the Park looking at the marina in Monaco.

We walked the entire pathway which ran along the cliff edge of the park admiring the views.

IMG_20160722_134951594_HDR (2)
Ray and Shelley with the Monaco Marina in background

Eventually, the trail ended at a lookout which overlooked the sea.

IMG_20160722_140155450
Lookout at Monte Carlo Park

Monaco is a beautiful spot and the views are gorgeous. We enjoyed our time there and wish we had more time to spend in Monaco.

“jusqu’à la prochaine fois et avoir une bonne journée”

 

Spain

Cruising the Mediterranean

We have been thinking about taking a cruise for quite some time now. We finally decided to take a cruise and selected the Norwegian cruise line with a 7-day Mediterranean cruise. The cruise took us from Barcelona to Naples, Rome, Florence, Cannes, Marseille and back to Barcelona.

This was our first cruise and we were not sure what to expect when we arrived to board the ship. We arrived early and found a lineup of people with suitcases in tow getting ready to board the ship. We Got in line and managed to board the ship easily with a few stops to fill out paperwork.

IMG_20160717_111325693
Checking into the Norwegian Epic cruise ship in Barcelona

We walked a long gangway to the cruise ship called the Epic.

IMG_20160717_115857666
View of the side of the Norwegian Epic ship from the gangway

The ship is the very impressive and it has the longest water slide on any cruise ship.

IMG_20160717_131305781
The Epic claims they have the largest slide on any cruise ship
IMG_20160717_131402867
The waterside goes right around the top section of the deck

We walked through the ship checking it out. On one of the decks, there is a section with several different restaurants and shops. In the centre of the floor area was an opening with a large crystal chandelier hanging down to the floor area below. It was quite impressive and a nice feature for the restaurant below us.

IMG_20160717_135611762_HDR
The Epic crystal chandelier claimed to be the largest of any cruise ship

Our first evening on the cruise we went up to the top deck area and enjoyed a relaxing beverage and watched the sun set over the  Mediterranean sea.

IMG_20160717_211639269_HDR
Sunset viewed from the upper deck of the Epic

On one of the lower decks, there was an outdoor track where we could walk and look out over the side of the ship.

IMG_20160718_173147169_HDR
Walking and running track on the Epic cruise ship.
IMG_20160722_075254713_HDR
view from the walking/running track on the Epic ship

We took several excursions when the ship was docked. We tried to explore as many places along the trip as possible.  On one excursion we could not dock on shore and had to take a boat to ferry us to shore.

IMG_20160722_082715231_HDR
Leaving the cruise ship by boat to head to shore.
IMG_20160722_083232778
View of the Epic ship from our boat
IMG_20160722_171213805
View of one of the boats used to bring people to shore

The cruise was different from what we are accustomed to for travelling, the pace is relaxed, the downtime is full of things to do and the food was extremely good. We enjoyed the change of pace by travelling via a cruise ship.

Here is a short video of some of the highlights of the cruise ship “The Norwegian Epic”.

https://youtu.be/_UvmNK-7Ylo

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”

Spain

Sailing the Mediterranean Sea

3 Comments

Friends of ours were going sailing on Sunday and invited us to come along. Sunday was a beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze, perfect for sailing.  We headed down to the marina to meet them and go out onto the Mediterranean sailing for the day.

The marina in Alicante
The marina in Alicante

We arrived around 11 a.m. and climbed aboard the “Hegaldi” sailboat. Mike and Liz were preparing the sailboat for the launch. We wanted to help but not knowing anything about sailing we were more of an observer than a worker.

IMG_20160605_110216112
Mike preparing to launch the sailboat

Once we were underway it was a slow maneuver out of the large and crowded marina. There are boats of every  shape and size in the marina.

IMG_20160605_111059275
Different boats in Alicante Marina

IMG_20160605_155608177_HDR

Once we were out of the harbor Mike and Liz raised the sails and we were underway. We stayed within sight of the coastline and sailed east. The water in the Mediterranean sea is a beautiful azure colour.

IMG_20160605_123717344
Azure colour of the Mediterranean Sea on coastline of Alicante

It was such a peaceful and quiet way to travel on the water. There was only the sound of the waves lapping at the boat and the wind in the sails. We travelled around six or seven knots on average and had a beautiful view of the coastline.

IMG_20160605_143059728_HDR
Shelley and Ray with the coastline in the background

We sailed for approximately two hours and then anchored at a nice beach area. We enjoyed lunch on the boat and chatted for a while before heading back to Alicante. On the way back Mike gave us the helm and let us steer the boat, (not really there is an autopilot that kept the boat going the right way) but it made for a good picture.

IMG_20160605_143138053
Ray pretending to sail the boat

Like any good team, my co-pilot also gave it a try.

IMG_20160605_143210606
Shelley at the wheel of the boat.

We had an enjoyable sailing trip and saw the Alicante coastline from a different vantage point. I brought along my brand new selfie stick and tried it out. Mike and Liz were good sports and let me take lots of pictures.

IMG_20160605_142303936
Ray, Shelley, Mike and Liz sailing on the Mediterranean sea

We were sailing for about four hours and the sun was quite hot. When we finished sailing and docked the boat we decided to head to a local bar for a nice cool and relaxing drink.

IMG_20160605_162957362_HDR
Ray, Shelley, Mike and Liz at local bar having a nice drink

The bartender was quite attentive and generous with the alcohol. There was plenty of gin in the gin and tonics.

IMG_20160605_170129273_HDR
The bartender poured the gin and tonics using a  freehand guess as to an ounce of gin. He wasn’t very good at guessing correctly.

We finished off our drinks and said our goodbyes. It was a wonderful day and very enjoyable.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”