Cruise in the Atlantic, Mediterranean
In May 2008 I went on a 2 week holiday with my family. It was split into two distinct parts. The first was a short cruise in a luxury vessel, while the second part was a visit to Norway. The cruise was a 6 day long affair on the Crystal Serenity, starting in Lisbon and ending in Civitavecchia, a port near Rome.
Being on a cruise ship was a new sensation for me. Unlike ferries or hydro-foils or other commuter vessels that I have been on, the ship is very stable. At the port it barely moves, and even when moving the movements can barely be felt. However, there is always a sensation that I am not quite still - and when I disembark the ship I have the funny feeling that the ground is floating. Perhaps for the other seasoned travelers on the ship, this was not a problem. Having a sea view out the window and the sound of crashing waves on demand is actually very soothing, as was the a buffet breakfast at the bow. As Dad paid for the trip, we were treated to top-notch luxury and service. Cavier snacks for afternoon-tea brought to our rooms, balcony in our room. One could practically stay in the room all day.
That, of course, was not the whole objective of the holiday. The ship stops at 3 ports en route to Civitavecchia - Gibraltar, Villefranche (near Nice), and Barcelona. And of course, we also spent some time exploring Lisbon before we boarded the ship.
I found Lisbon to be a charming city. There was a strange feeling of familiarity, probably due to the fact that I have been to Macau, an ex-Portugese colony near Hong Kong, many times. The cakes, snacks, drinks, and even some of the street decorations and architecture look vaguely familiar. Perhaps the hilly-ness of the city also contributes to that feeling. Since Dad enjoys his food, I was able to have some fresh seafood, which has sadly been missing from my menu since returning to Munich. Another highlight was a train ride up into the suburbs - the number 28 tram winds through some historic narrow streets to some elevated suburbs, where one can enjoy great views over Lisbon and the ocean. 
At night we followed the Lonely Planet guide and downed a Ginjinha (cherry liqueur) on the way home after dinner. Served in little plastic cup with a couple of pieces of cherry (from the bottle of course), that stuff is strong! One great source of difficulty in Lisbon was that a lot of the locals did not speak English, or has very limited knowledge. Telling the taxi driver to go "downtown" or to the "city centre" can be futile - pointing to the map or telling him to go to "Rossio" would be much more useful.
The first stop of the cruise was Gibraltar. This was a short stop with limited sights - it is famous for "The Rock", a giant rock or a small hill that was used as fortification during the war. At the top of the rock, which can be reached by a cable car, is home to many monkeys. As it seems to be the case of all monkeys that have too much human contact, they are mischievous brats that steal food and other items. But they do make good photo subjects when they decide to stay still for a while.
Next stop was Villafranche in France. We joined a tour that took us to St. Paul, a historic small town which is an hour or so's drive from the port. In this case I will let the picture tell the story, the link to the photos is at the end of this blog entry. 
Barcelona was our last stop, where we had a whole day to see the city. It is also the largest city by far out of all the stops, so it was still a squeeze even to absorb the essence of the city. My friend Marta lives in Barcelona, and she offered to met up and show me around the city. But in the morning when she took her cat Otto to the vet, I headed to the Casa Batllo, a house that was rebuilt by the famous architect Antoni Gaudi. And man was I impressed. The entire house looked organic, both its exterior and organic. Everything took on curves and bulges that looked impossible to build (and design as well!), and looked like they would swim towards you at any moment. The more well-known and unfinished church La Sagrada Familia is designed along much the same themes, and on the outside of some of the church's columns are large carved lizards and snails slithering down to greet the tourist. 
It is amazing that architecture of this extent is still being built today - the locals are not sure when it will be finished, as its completion requires the tearing down of some surrounding accommodation. Barcelona also offered some wonderful culinary delights - I only had time to enjoy some lunchtime Tapas and fried artichokes, and a quick detour to the markets almost made me miss my ship!
Another couple of 5-star meals, a kitchen tour and a wine tasting session on the ship, and we were ready to disembark and fly to Bergen. As luck would have it, it was not to be so simple. More in our next installment!
The photos from this part of the trip can be found here:
Lisbon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokmanho/sets/72157605253977371/
Gibraltar: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokmanho/sets/72157605271134143/
Villefranche: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokmanho/sets/72157605271552343/
Barcelona: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokmanho/sets/72157605271552341/
The cruise itself: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokmanho/sets/72157605253977373/
Being on a cruise ship was a new sensation for me. Unlike ferries or hydro-foils or other commuter vessels that I have been on, the ship is very stable. At the port it barely moves, and even when moving the movements can barely be felt. However, there is always a sensation that I am not quite still - and when I disembark the ship I have the funny feeling that the ground is floating. Perhaps for the other seasoned travelers on the ship, this was not a problem. Having a sea view out the window and the sound of crashing waves on demand is actually very soothing, as was the a buffet breakfast at the bow. As Dad paid for the trip, we were treated to top-notch luxury and service. Cavier snacks for afternoon-tea brought to our rooms, balcony in our room. One could practically stay in the room all day.That, of course, was not the whole objective of the holiday. The ship stops at 3 ports en route to Civitavecchia - Gibraltar, Villefranche (near Nice), and Barcelona. And of course, we also spent some time exploring Lisbon before we boarded the ship.
I found Lisbon to be a charming city. There was a strange feeling of familiarity, probably due to the fact that I have been to Macau, an ex-Portugese colony near Hong Kong, many times. The cakes, snacks, drinks, and even some of the street decorations and architecture look vaguely familiar. Perhaps the hilly-ness of the city also contributes to that feeling. Since Dad enjoys his food, I was able to have some fresh seafood, which has sadly been missing from my menu since returning to Munich. Another highlight was a train ride up into the suburbs - the number 28 tram winds through some historic narrow streets to some elevated suburbs, where one can enjoy great views over Lisbon and the ocean. At night we followed the Lonely Planet guide and downed a Ginjinha (cherry liqueur) on the way home after dinner. Served in little plastic cup with a couple of pieces of cherry (from the bottle of course), that stuff is strong! One great source of difficulty in Lisbon was that a lot of the locals did not speak English, or has very limited knowledge. Telling the taxi driver to go "downtown" or to the "city centre" can be futile - pointing to the map or telling him to go to "Rossio" would be much more useful.The first stop of the cruise was Gibraltar. This was a short stop with limited sights - it is famous for "The Rock", a giant rock or a small hill that was used as fortification during the war. At the top of the rock, which can be reached by a cable car, is home to many monkeys. As it seems to be the case of all monkeys that have too much human contact, they are mischievous brats that steal food and other items. But they do make good photo subjects when they decide to stay still for a while.Next stop was Villafranche in France. We joined a tour that took us to St. Paul, a historic small town which is an hour or so's drive from the port. In this case I will let the picture tell the story, the link to the photos is at the end of this blog entry. Barcelona was our last stop, where we had a whole day to see the city. It is also the largest city by far out of all the stops, so it was still a squeeze even to absorb the essence of the city. My friend Marta lives in Barcelona, and she offered to met up and show me around the city. But in the morning when she took her cat Otto to the vet, I headed to the Casa Batllo, a house that was rebuilt by the famous architect Antoni Gaudi. And man was I impressed. The entire house looked organic, both its exterior and organic. Everything took on curves and bulges that looked impossible to build (and design as well!), and looked like they would swim towards you at any moment. The more well-known and unfinished church La Sagrada Familia is designed along much the same themes, and on the outside of some of the church's columns are large carved lizards and snails slithering down to greet the tourist. It is amazing that architecture of this extent is still being built today - the locals are not sure when it will be finished, as its completion requires the tearing down of some surrounding accommodation. Barcelona also offered some wonderful culinary delights - I only had time to enjoy some lunchtime Tapas and fried artichokes, and a quick detour to the markets almost made me miss my ship!Another couple of 5-star meals, a kitchen tour and a wine tasting session on the ship, and we were ready to disembark and fly to Bergen. As luck would have it, it was not to be so simple. More in our next installment!
The photos from this part of the trip can be found here:
Lisbon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokmanho/sets/72157605253977371/
Gibraltar: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokmanho/sets/72157605271134143/
Villefranche: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokmanho/sets/72157605271552343/
Barcelona: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokmanho/sets/72157605271552341/
The cruise itself: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lokmanho/sets/72157605253977373/
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