August 25, 2011 - St. Tropez

Now this is a busy port! The marina is small at St. Tropez and with it being such a popular port, there are boats anchored all over. We have to anchor a little further out so tendering takes a bit longer (still less than 10 minutes) and with all the waves from the boats, the ride is a little rougher.

Just like Cannes and Monte Carlo, the yachts here are enormous. I can't believe there is that many people with this much money, but I guess there is.

St. Tropez is small but busy. It is filled with high end, designer shops but in general everything seems more expensive here. In the morning we walk around, checking out the shops and people watching. Unfortunately, we don't catch a glimpse of an celebrities (we are told many visit here).

In the afternoon, we take a tour and visit 2 villages just outside of St. Tropez - Grimaud and Port Grimaud. Port Grimaud is a man-made version of Venice, in a way. A series of canals create a nice little resort area just off the Mediterranean. Provencial style townhouses line the canals and each has there own boat moorage.


Grimaud is a Historic village built in the 11th century and not a lot has changed since then. The roads are very narrow so only walkers and bikers can use them so it makes it a very quiet and cozy village. It is very pretty with all the stone and the vines covering the outsides of the buildings.

We spend all of the day on shore, heading back to the boat late in the day to pack and hav our last dinner on board. Tomorrow we will be leaving the ship early and heading to Nice, France.

August 24, 2011 - Port Vendres, France

This is another small port. Not much to do or see here but we did get off the boat and walked around a bit. We are back in France but with Port Vendres being so close to the border of Spain, Spanish influences are present. Sangria is flowing and tapas are steady.

Just one more port for us before disembarking in Monte Carlo. Tomorrow will be the glitz of St. Tropez!

August 23, 2011 - Palamos, Spain

Another tour for us today - a visit to Salvador Dali's castle. It is actually his wife, Galla's castle (he bought it for her) but his work is present there. When I think of castles, I think of King Ludwig's in Germany - large and very opulent, this is not like that at all. It is nice, but small, simple, understated and more modern. The picture below shows the room where visitors could greet Galla - just to give an example of the castle.

From here we are taken to a mas (an old farmhouse converted into a hotel/restaurant) for a wine tasting. The Spain countryside is so beautiful. The old stone buildings are beautifully restored and are picture perfect against against the green forests and fields. This would be the place to come for rest and relaxation. And the wine is pretty good too!

August 22, 2011 - Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona - the first thing we learn on our tour today it that we are pronouncing it incorrectly. It isn't pronounced Barselona (with the s sound for the "ce" portion of the name) but instead Barthelona (a "th" sound). Good to know!

Our tour today is showing us some of the works of Gaudi. A very famous architect who was well ahead of his time. He created these unique and modern buildings in the very early 1900s which are still considered modern and unique in today's time.

He is probably most famous for La Sagrada Familia, a church that was initiated in 1882 and is still under construction today. It is massive with the naves being able to hold 8000 people and the highest tower will reach 160 meters when it is complete. They are estimating the church will be done in 2026 (100 years after Gaudi's death), but no one knows for sure.

It is smoking hot today. If it isn't 40 above, it is close to it. We can't complain though as the weather on our vacation has been fantastic! After our tour we head back into Barcelona to investigate on our own. We walk and walk and walk - checking out the markets, shops and people. We can't believe how busy it is - definitely the peak vacation season. The walking and the heat get the better of us and we can't resist taking a break and enjoying a glass of beer and Sangria. These are our size of drinks!!

August 21, 2011 - Porquerolles, France

Porquerolles is a small French island in the Mediterranean. It is only 8 kms long and seems like it is just a place where people go for a quiet beach vacation. We did go onto the island but after walking around for about an hour we decided to go back to the boat. Not much to see here and we are leaving this port early so that we can make it our next port - Barcelona, by morning.

We take this opportunity to relax on the boat and catch up on some sleep (another way of saying we napped :-) ). We need to make sure we are rested for Barcelona. We are expecting it to be a full day and can't wait!

August 20, 2011 - Antibes, France

We have begun the second week of our cruise and the first port is Antibes. It is a smaller city and one of the oldest in France. It has a ton of character and charm - so needless to say we enjoyed our time here. We followed it's wall along the coast to the Picasso museum and went inside for a browse. He was a very interesting artist with most of his work being way out there, but that is what made him famous.
Further on our walk we came across this incredible market. It was filled with fresh produce, cheese, meat, olives, baked items- man I wish we had this at home!

One booth in particular caught our attention. It had a wood burning oven and was selling this food that looked like a crepe but they were putting pepper on it. We had to try it!
It was so simple yet very tasty. A nice snack for our walk.

We continued to peruse the town, enjoying all the little shops and history that is still present.

Back on the boat it is marina day! They open up the back of the boat and bring out a bunch of water sports, including a swim cage that goes into the water and allows us to swim in the sea. It is very refreshing! After our little dip, we decide to try something a little more exciting.

The "retro" or "couch" is a lot of fun. We have done a lot of tubing but not together and not on the Mediterranean! These guys don't show any mercy and although the couch doesn't flip, it gives a very bumpy ride!

It has been a great day!!

August 19, 2011 - Monte Carlo, Monaco

Boats, cars and casinos...and maybe a little royalty as well

Monte Carlo is very similar to Cannes but maybe even more opulent. The boats are bigger, the cars faster and the casinos - well we have all seen at least one James Bond movie right.

It is another hot day. They say it was 28 degrees but I swear it felt just as hot as yesterday. We walked a lot today from the marina up to the palace then over to the casinos and back again (picture of the famous Casino de Monte Carlo).

It was a good thing had signs pointing out where the defibrillators were. We almost needed them at some points!

Our last stop of the day was at the "Exhibition of HSH The Prince of Monaco’s Vintage Car Collection". Just as the name says, it is the Prince of Monaco's car collection of more than a hundred cars ranging from Packards, Model As and 1930s Rolls Royces to Ferraris and McLaren F1s. Monte Carlo is about cars with the Grande Prix, the Rallye Monte Carlo and just the variety of exotic cars on the streets. A car enthusiasts dream!

August 18, 2011 - Cannes, France

At first sight, Cannes is very similar to our previous ports along the French Riviera - the lush vegetation, the red roof tops of the houses dotting the hillsides, the marinas filled with boats.

But as we walk through this port it is clear, this is where the rich and famous come to vacation. 100 ft yachts, Ferrari's, and designer clothing stores stores are abundant here. I am thinking some of this draw is due to the Cannes Film Festival (you can see the film festival building in the picture above - it is the white and chrome building on the right hand side of the picture, by the marina). To give you an idea of the boats, take a peek at the photo below. They don't look that big when you see them together but compare them to the boats (regular size ones) at the bottom of the photo. A little bit of a difference there!!

All of Cannes isn't like this. Further from the marina, the streets are very much like the other French ports - 100 year old buildings with quaint restaurants and shops underneath, nd only separated by narrow passage ways. This is France to me.

We walked through Cannes for a few hours, taking in the sites, people and the heat - it was 34 degrees today and no breeze. A bit of sweats ville for us! A little lunch (found a great pizzeria with the thinnest crust pizza I have ever seen - it was really good!) and some lovely chilled white wine helped cool us off and continue our walk. We had a great find along the way... Wine from Domaine d'Ott! Yes there is wine maker in the Ott family! Okay, not sure, if he is actually in the family, but it sounds great doesn't it. We bought 2 bottles to bring back with us!

August 17, 2011 - Saint Raphael, France

Saint Raphael is known as an old seaside resort where rich families of French and Italian came for their vacations. The town has continued in it's old tradition as the town is still a vacation mecca full of hotels and beaches which line the main street. The old town is several blocks from the pier so once we tendered in we head to the old town. The highlight of the old town is found at it's center were we found an old archeological museum which contained many artifacts found from ancient sunk ships. Wine bottles or ceramic bottles enough to hold 10 bottles of wine is proof the French really do like their wine. We headed to the top of the museum up a series of stairwells within a very high turret. Once at the top the view was fantastic as the entire town and beaches were within site.

It was quite warm today so a short walk back took us to the beaches where we couldn't resist a swim in the warm Mediterreanean, how refreshing. Back to the boat for lunch and a siesta and we are ready for a another evening of fine dinning and a few beverages. Life's rough.

August 16, 2011 - Sanary-Sur-Mer, France

Ever heard of the Cote D'Azur? The name might ring a bell as it did for me. It is a region in the French Riviera and it is stunning. We were thinking that there wouldn't be much to see or do in the small town of Sanary-Sur-Mer, and I guess there really isn't many landmarks to see, but the town itself is lovely. It reminds me a lot of Venice, just without the canals. Shops line the narrow walkways of the town center, fishing boats line the harbor and cafes the few streets. I could see myself coming back here for a holiday one day.

This seems to be a place for water sports - lots of wind surfing, water skiing, parasailing, etc. Not so sure if they see many cruise boats in this port though. Boats have been circling us most of the day with curious onlookers. Probably hoping to see some royal family or celebrity... But no luck!

We came back to our room last night to find a note from our stewardess - "The monkeys are on the loose... Watch out for Mr. Moe their leader". We found Mr. Moe (see picture). We have now adopted him as one of our own!

August 15, 2011 - Marseilles, France

Marseilles is the second largest city in France and the largest port on the Mediterranean. It is a big city with over a million people but has such beauty and character. The historical buildings and the Mediterranean in the back drop, certainly has something to with that.

Our tour was in the afternoon today so we took the opportunity to go to the gym this morning - need to work off some of our indulgences - and have lunch on the boat. Lunch had a French theme (makes sense as we are in France!) today with offerings of bouillabaisse and frog legs. As they say, while in Rome... The legs were actually quite tasty, a lot like chicken.

Our tour bus took us to some prominent sites in Marseilles - Fontaine Cantini (Cantini Fountain) built to mark the spot where the canals ended to bring water into Marseilles. We travelled down the coast to see the Frioul and Chateau d'If islands. The tour ended with the Basilica - Notre-Dame de la Garde (Lady of the Guard). It was built in 1864 and towers over the city of Marseilles. She is very grandiose both inside and out. As it is a holiday in Marseilles today, the basilicas were very busy and most shops in Marseille were closed.

August 14, 2011 - Le Lavandou, France

We awoke to see the shores of Le Lavandou. It is a smaller resort town in the French Riviera.

A little cloudy today but still nice and warm - about 25 degrees Celsius. Our tour was cancelled but we still were able to take the tender ashore and check out the town. It reminded us a lot of Rimini, Italy, where we visited 5 years ago. A great beach along the coast, the streets lined with resorts, restaurants and shops. We strolled the streets checking out the shops and their wares. A lunch of moules et frites (mussels and fries) for me - the speciality in the French coastal regions - and pizza for Ron. It is all about the food!

We came across this candy shop when we were heading back to the pier. The candy was on steroids! Kids, you would have loved this! Marshmallow strawberries the size of a small apple, licorice candy that must have been the size of a quarter in diameter. We considered buying some but were sure it would be rock hard by the time we got back to Canada. Hopefully we will find another place like this closer to our departure.

August 13, 2011 - Propriano/Sartene, Corsica

We were suppose to port in Bonafacio, Corsica but due to large swells, we had to head up the coast to Propriano. After breakfast in our room (yes, pure decadence), we headed out to meet our group and board the bus for our first tour. We headed for the town of Sartene. Corsica is stunning - plentiful with foliage and mountainous terrain. It is has a unique history as it was occupied by the British, Greeks, Italians and finally the French. The French have only occupied it for 250 years. It is large island spanning 180 kms by 80 kms at the farthest, most southern reaches of France.

Our bus ride took us up to the town of Sartene. It is on the southern side of the island and is built into the majestic mountainside. It has a ton of history with houses and structures over 600 years old. Corsica is made up of granite and basalt so almost every road, structure and side walk is built from granite. I guess that is why everything has lasted so long.

We came back to Propriano for lunch. With the Italian history guess what we had... Yup pizza!! And it was fantastic! A short walk finished our day on shore and it was back to the boat for a nap.

August 12, 2011 - First port - Civitavecchia

We are in Italy! We were picked up by older Italian man in a Mercedes van to transport us from our hotel to the port. In Italian (so we think we understood what he was saying, but maybe not) it was going to be a 3 hour ride to the port and 2 others would be joining the ride. We picked up the 2 others, but the ride only took 2 hours and that was with rush hour traffic. No posted speed limits where we were and 130 kms per hour seemed to be the speed to choice. It was fine and short! Our boat is beautiful - after 3 glasses of champagne it looks even better! The rooms are very spacious and have top amenities (including unlimited champagne!). We have unpacked and will be sailing at 5 pm. First stop - Bonafacio, Corsica.

August 11, 2011 - Calgary/London/Rome

Trains, Planes and Buses...

We made it!!!

After the 8 hour flight to London, taking a train to the main terminal, reading our itinerary wrong and taking a bus to the wrong terminal in Heathrow (we didn't have to switch terminals at all), taking the busback and 2 security searches (extra pat downs for Deanna!!) we found our gate and made the short trip to Rome.

A little jet lagged, but safe and sound. A pizza for dinner (the pizzas are the best in Italy!) and a couple Peroni's and we are ready for bed. Ready to board the boat tomorrow.