The Old and the Restless

The cruise ended at Civitivechia. We stayed near the airport for three days, visited Ostia Antiqua (forgot my camera) and took the train into Rome. The forum was the political and religious centre of ancient Rome. Every time we go to Rome there are "new " ruins that have been discovered. This is a room from the house of Augustus.   Above are the "old" ruins of the forum. The Coliseum is in the background.

Our cruise ship moored just off the Amalfi coast. We climbed a lot of steps to get up to the main church. The centuries old church door at Amalfi. One of the shops in fashionable Positano on the Amalfi coast. Two views of Positano from above and below. We spent so much time walking in Sorrento, we did not have the time to visit Capri. Sorrento has interesting narrow alleyways where you can get your groceries.  Fish for dinner? If we ever go to Sorrento again, we'll stay here. I like the garden in this hotel. This roadway leads to the centre of Sorrento.  I chose to walk down it... but not up. The 1 Euro bus fare is worth the trip up. Paul took the bus both ways. Looking down into the deep cleft that divides Sorrento. I wonder if this building used to be inhabited?

Ah! The daily gelato -  which to choose? The cathedral is under repair. City Hall and the centre of Sienna. Horse races are held here twice annually as they were in the past. The Tuscan countryside. St. Giardino is like a museum. Time passed it by and everything is as it was in the past. Originally this was a city of towers. Every family tried to have the tallest tower house. An example of the tall narrow houses. Interesting paintings on the city hall wall.

Attracted by an old National Geographic that we had at the cottage, we first visited Portofino about 20 years ago with the children. Because it is an International Heritage site, it hasn't changed very much. From Portofino we took a ferry to the slepy town of Santa Margherita. Testing the gelati in santa Margherita.

A visit the famous aquarium in Monaco formerly run by Jacques Cousteau. This is a pineapple fish. We haven't seen it when diving. This is a "look down" fish. We have seen them at St. Lucia. Sailing lesson in the harbour at Monaco.

To wear off some of the good food we had been eating, we walked up to the fort above St. Tropez. A view of the boat as we walked back down the hill behind the town. Walking down one of the lovely, narrow streets. These houses, backing onto the water, have charming narrow streets at the front. The harbour at St. Tropez was filled with yachts.

A view of the approach to Marseille. The cathedral in Marseille stands out over the city. Instead of doing a cruise tour, we took a train from Marseille to Cassis, alovely seaside town. We had been there once before with Evelyne, our babysitter, who is from the area. Above is a window from one of the houses. I didn't take many photos in Cassis because I was too intent on finding our way back to the train. I didn't want to miss the boat!

Paul stayed on the boat while I went for a walk in Palma de Majorca. We had to tour quickly in order to be back on the boat by 12:30 PM. Two people, who were probably jet-lagged, thought the last call was 3:30 PM. The boat left without them. $4000 later, after flying and staying overnight in Madrid, they rejoined the boat in Marseille. The cathedral in the centre of town. An interesting tree in a town square. The latest in fashion. You can buy the shoes at the front for only $666. The ones at the back with the fancy heel are a bargain at $628.

We arrived in Barcelona from Toronto in mid afternoon on May 6. The rest of that day was spent trying to stay awake and explore a little of the area immediately around our hotel. On day 2, we boarded the Barcelona tourist bus to visit Parc Gueli, the suburban masterpiece of Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona's visionary architect. Previously, we had visited some of his famous buildings such as the Sagrada Familia and La Perdrera. This time we wanted as much outdoor sun as possible to help shake the jet lag. Parc Guell is decorated with fantastic artworks. Here Paul is seen walking up a pathway decorated with elaborate abstract decorated columns.  The path led us to a highly decorated ("gaudily" decorated?) bridge across the top of the park. The pavilion below was originally designed as a market hall for the planned development with a seating area on top from which one can see many abstract artworks by Gaudi. Looking down through the park from the top of the pavilion.