Silversea Silver Cloud - Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona - April
10-26, 2014
April 10-18 - At Sea
I've waited until my last at sea day to write this entry. I hope I don't forget too much.
First let me introduce my friends - Angela, Tom, Perry, Richard
and Herman. Unlike my last cruise, everyone
I met was friendly and great company.
As usual, the food and drink on the Silver Cloud was amazing. You don't even have to ask, and your drink appears. The food was fantastic, but way too much.
The highlight was the ship building contest. Angela and I built the Silver Sang (SANdy ANGela). The contest is tomorrow so read further to see
if we won.
The singers were also first class and their operatic performance
was one of the best I've seen on any ship.
The usual ABBA and Broadway numbers were present as well.
We had one amazingly rough day at sea. Waves at least 50 feet, or so it seemed. Everything in the cabin was flying, including
my bottle of Van Gogh raspberry vodka, which shattered on the closet floor. The rest of the crossing was fairly smooth.
One of eight days at sea
Angela and I took our sailboat to the pool deck, awaiting the other competition. There was one other entry. There were three categories to be judged - creativity, ability to float, and how many cans of soda could be placed on the boat until it began to sink. Ours performed admirably and we WON.
Angela and I with the Silver Sang yacht
The winning entry which held 53 cans of soda
April 19, 2014 - Funchal, Madiera, Portugal
After eight days at sea, I finally stepped on dry land. Funchal is probably one of the most beautiful islands in the Atlantic. It's much larger and more colorful then the Canary Islands. I still haven't made it to the Azores.
First I wanted to walk my 3+ miles. I walked along the coastline until the road stopped. Then it was an uphill climb. I opted out of the cable car, since it looked cloudy on the peak. I'll save it for next time.
The beautiful city of Funchal
Some colorful fishing boats
Walking up the hillside
On the way back I tried a few stores, but there are never bargains in Europe.
April 20, 2014 - At sea
April 21, 2014 - Cadiz, Spain
Tom and I started walking around the port to the bay. The sky was threatening and we had no umbrella. But we made it to the cathedral and city hall without getting too wet.
Hundreds of small boats in the harbor
Lovely arches and tile work
Could this be a future painting?
After lunch the weather had improved, so I went to the Central Market, only to find out it closed at 2:00 pm. Better luck next time. But I walked one of the tourist routes, so saw lots of interesting sights.
April 22, 2014 - Malaga, Spain
This was another repeat, but I thoroughly enjoyed my walk today. I started in the shopping district - so many shops and not a euro spent. Then I revisited the beautiful cathedral - not exceeding my one church a day rule.
The Silver Cloud
Some majestic buildings
Beautiful street flowers
Too bad he's just a painting
In the afternoon I went to the castle and roman theater - both repeats from previous stops.
April 23, 2014 - Cartegena, Spain
The cities are all different but similar at the same time. They all have cathedrals, castles and roman theaters. In Cartegena you had to climb high above the theater to get a good view. I then strolled some new streets seeking good photo ops.
At the port
The Roman Theatre
Ornate buildings
April 24, 2014 - Valencia, Spain
Yeah! A new port. I took the shuttle bus in the early afternoon. The city center was almost five miles from the ship. The center of the old section had the obligatory cathedral. I then went to the central market before it closed. There was lots of fish, meat, flowers and assorted junk. I made my one purchase of the trip - red Spanish saffron. I will compare it to the Greek saffron I purchased last year.
Paella in a storefront window
Paella pans of all sizes
The Valencia Central Market
Buildings, fountain and flowers
City scene
This was actually the Turia river bed, before the river was diverted. Flooding was a major problem.
For our final dinner on the ship, I invited two of the cute entertainers - Kelly and Jason to join me. I had dinner with three other entertainers earlier on the cruise. And I look forward to meeting all the singers again when Eric and I rejoin the ship in Istanbul.
April 25, 2014 - Barcelona, Spain
The cruise ended in Barcelona, a truly fantastic 15 day transatlantic adventure. I took a taxi to my hotel and walked too and from Las Ramblas and the most amazing central market in the world. On my way back to the hotel, I stopped for some Valencia paella - delicious.
A Dali sculpture
A bullring facade and a shopping mall inside
Candy and cookies at Las Ramblas Marketplace
Artichokes
So now I think I remembered everything. I return to Orlando tomorrow to start working on my upcoming Las Vegas and Around the World trips.
