The trip started with a Business Class flight, direct to Barcelona. Regent Seven Seas Cruises dispatched a private driver and we were off to our hotel. OUR hotel, not theirs. RHIP with Regent. We spent a couple of days shopping, dining on Iberico ham and dinners from our favorite restaurant, El Mussol.
We hadn’t visited the Sagrada Familia for about three years, so we decided to wander up and count the cranes. Didn’t take many fingers this year: there was exactly one. It was, of course, right in the photos we wanted to take of the newest additions to the cathedral.
We treated ourselves to the upgraded suite life this trip and set up shop in a Penthouse Suite. Check it out:
This choice did result in extremely prompt housekeeping; however, we felt that there was a lot of wasted space and really--who needs a butler?
A day at sea brought us to Cadiz, Spain and we went straight to the Decathlon to see if they had what they didn’t have in Barcelona. They did. Here's Cadiz. It's really a nice place!
Onward to Casablanca, after watching the movie in our suite. No matter how many times we see it, we always forget something: to whit, he never said “play it again, Sam”. We visited the Hassan II Mosque.
We have no photos to verify this, but it's true. The market should be called the "Cats-a-blanca". Strays everywhere ranging from kittens to grande dames. They all looked pretty well fed but any one of them would have been happy to go home with us. After refreshments at a local resort, we stopped quickly at the town square, which should be called Pigeon Central Station.
Next stop, Santa Cruz de la Palma, Canary Islands. We went uphill to the town of Fuencaliente to see the Salt Pans lighthouse.
Then to the volcano San Antonio.
This not-so-little guy was ready for his close-up, and after that we enjoyed a glass or two of wine at the Teneguia cellars.
Now, here’s where it gets good. There’s a hurricane out there called Lee, and we’re headed into it on our five-day passage to Bermuda. It was obvious to even those who caught the stupid that the ship was pointed not at Bermuda, but New York. Two days later, the Captain (who, by the way, spoke the worst English we’ve yet encountered and apparently kept many secrets from the Cruise Director) finally fessed up that we were going to New York. No shit, really?
On our way, we were entertained by Terry Bishop, the traveling troubadour and lecturer. He never fails to entertain, delivering a lecture on survivors at sea and giving reference to our unfortunate situation, he bemoaned the concerns we all shared: running out of champagne, lobster, and Regent Rewards Points.
Now, Terry, an excellent songwriter, covered once again his number one hit, “I Don’t Look Good Naked Anymore”. Yes indeed, he admits to being a deep-fried, double-dipped version of the man he was before. We can relate.
Ah, but upon arrival in New York there would be no room at the inn, so we would be anchored at the Verrazzano Narrows bridge for…wait for it…two days. We had company, though:
Actually, the views weren't bad.
The good news was that when we finally were allowed to move toward the dock, it was dark and the lights of the city were something to see.
A quick political comment: hundreds, if not thousands, of illegal immigrants cross our border each day, but it took hours upon hours for Immigration in New York to process less than 700 people, most of whom were American Citizens.
So we move on. Our port call at Newport, Rhode Island was canceled due to weather and that was fine because we had nothing to do there anyhoo. Next stop, Boston and a walk in the historic districts.
Another walking tour in Bar Harbor, Maine:
In Saint John, New Brunswick we revisited the “Foodie Tour” to enjoy cupcakes, pizza (with maple and pecans!), coffee, and Beaver Tails (yummy pastry). Our booze stop was at the famous Five & Dime nightclub. Look it up online…it’s not to be missed if you’re there overnight.
In Halifax, Nova Scotia, we drove out to Famous Peggy’s Cove. Beautiful, but dangerous!
Sydney, Nova Scotia found us hitting the bars again on a pub tour.
Corner Brook, Canada is a place we’ve hiked twice, so we went to see the Insectrium & Butterfly House. This place was really neat…look! Here’s the Death’s Head Moth!
We hiked in Saguenay:
And toured Quebec City and Montmorency Falls. Quebec City is neat, but not quite as neat as we expected. One highlight was what sounded like a bomb going off just after we returned to the ship. Still don’t know what that was all about, but it got everyone’s attention.
In the end, Pati won the Wiener Dog contest, three dogs to one.
