Tuesday, June 14, 2022

{EUROPE} Days Five & Six - Gibraltar + AT SEA

Yesterday, we docked early in Gibraltar...


and while Grandma stayed behind on the ship (she'd been to Gibraltar many years ago, along with my dad), the kids and I went on a tour!

We toured around the town by bus and then hit some points a little further out.

We headed over to the area near the Spanish border, and drove across the airport runway (yes, you can both drive AND walk across the runway there!) for this (most famous) view of the rock...

 

From there, we headed over to Europa Point, the southernmost point of Gibraltar...


with a view of Africa, across the Straight of Gibraltar...


Then, we continued up into the Upper Rock Nature Reserve,


where we saw our first barbary macaques...

{that's our ship down below}

up toward St. Michael's Cave...


The Angel of St. Michael's Cave was my favorite inside... 


On our way out of the cave, we saw more barbary macaques...


and waved over to Africa again...


On the way back down, we passed by the Moorish Castle...


before being dropped off at Grand Casemates Square...


We enjoyed a walk through town...


on a hunt for the Referendum Steps, also known as the Union Jack Steps, and we found them!


These steps were painted in celebration of Gibraltar's first sovereignty referendum in 1967...


Not state capitol steps, but they ran them anyway...


On our way back down and into town, we stopped at Marks & Spencer for some Percy Pig gummies...

{IYKYK}

because, YUM!

Afterwards, we went on a search of post boxes. On our tour, we learned that while the United Kingdom has boxes with the current monarch's royal cypher (initials), Gibraltar actually has many of the old boxes from kings and queens of the past!

{Victoria}
{Edward VII}
{George V}
{Edward VIII}

We also found a phone booth (WITH a phone!) and some celebratory banners noting the Queen's Platinum Jubilee...


Once back down near the square...


we found a little place to grab a snack...


of avocado toast for the girls and me...


and churros for B...


I also took a few photos of flowers...


because...


FLOWERS!


On our walk back to the ship, we noticed an extra special post box...


celebrating the birth of Prince George...


With that, we left Gibraltar and prepared to sail away...


We enjoyed a fun, and high energy, show as we pulled out of port...


and I enjoyed a Pimm's Cup, too!


After a wonderful night of great sleep (windows can be so overrated, but seriously, sleeping in a dark cabin, while being rocked to sleep by the ocean - perfection!), today, we enjoyed another "At Sea" day...


as we made our way back up the coast of Spain towards France...

We mostly just relaxed and caught the ship's version of the "Deal or No Deal" game show...


So fun!


Off to visit Marseille, tomorrow!

More {EUROPE} 2022 Fun
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Sunday, June 12, 2022

{EUROPE} Days Three & Four - Barcelona Day 3 + AT SEA

 Yesterday morning we had a bit of time before making our way over to the ship, so we decided to head over to the Picasso Museum first thing, as it was a short walk through the Gothic Quarter from our hotel...


We were surprised to find out that one of the churches we saw yesterday, on our (4+ hour) walking tour, was literally right behind our hotel!

We were also surprised to find another protest as we walked through St. James Square...


Once we arrived at the museum...


we enjoyed learning about the early years of Pablo Picasso and his art beginnings, painting mostly animals and landscapes...


Picasso began this work, Science and Charity, when he was just 15 years old!


It was neat to see how his style changed and started to morph into what we recognize today...


B recognized a painting from his Spanish textbook...


and I just loved this one, maybe because I think I recognize that as the Columbus Monument near the port, here in Barcelona...


We loved the beautiful building the museum is in, as well!


After walking back to the hotel, we reunited with Grandma and caught a taxi over to the ship.

We were all relieved to board the ship, 


As we got settled, we noticed that our ship is also a television set, as they are currently filming a new reality tv show, The Real Love Boat!


We grabbed some lunch...


took some time to explore the ship...


and to take a dip in the pool...


and then, we set sail at 10:00pm, saying "Adios" to Barcelona!


Hope we'll get to visit once more someday!

Today was a much appreciated "At Sea" day, and we took it easy most of the day, catching some filming here and there!


We caught the evening production show, which is always so fun...


But, the biggest treat was watching the sun set as we sailed through the Straight of Gibraltar...


Looking forward to tomorrow!

More {EUROPE} 2022 Fun
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)