Live from the Spirit April 26 Barcelona to Rome

[Emtbsam]

Spinnaker2 -

 

All your photos have been wonderful, and they make me want to take the same itinerary some time in the future (sans the obnoxious man).

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to bring us all along on your adventure.

 

Hope your trip home went smoothly.

[TLCOhio]

Spinnaker2 - All your photos have been wonderful, and they make me want to take the same itinerary some time in the future. Thanks so much for taking the time to bring us all along on your adventure.

 

YES!! YES!! Appreciate these wonderfully involving pictures by Spins. Many of your visuals have really excellent color, definition, etc. Very well done. Anything special or different you have done with some of these pictures for editing, adjusting to make them "pop" so well?

 

Keep 'em coming. Love to see lots more!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 212,105 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[spinnaker2]

 

The weather gave way to a beautiful moon. Nothing more romantic on a cruise, is there?

 

 

 

 

Dawn as we approach Monte Carlo...the sunrise was just as romantic!

A new day.

[spinnaker2]

29 of April we took the tour to Eze and Nice from Monaco.

We wanted to get back quickly in order to see Emtbsam and Bob's sisters who were staying in nearby Nice and had already made arrangements with the Spirit to come aboard for lunch.

 

Eze is a medieval village famous for its view of the sea from the very top. One would characterize it as a "museum village", chock full of little shops and uphill climbs.

The church, Chapelle de la Sainte Croix, dates from 1306.

We arrived early in advance of the crowds, and once again, the shops were just opening up. Frankly I prefer this timing, as it seemed a little less touristic.

 

Looking up at the church.

 

 

 

View through a gate

 

Many steps up...

 

View to the sea

 

 

The church

Gate to cemetery no photos allowed

[spinnaker2]

[SuziCruises]

Appreciate these wonderfully involving pictures by Spins. Many of your visuals have really excellent color, definition, etc. Very well done. Anything special or different you have done with some of these pictures for editing, adjusting to make them "pop" so well?

 

I was going to ask the same. What camera are you using to get these amazing pics? The color saturation is beautiful.

 

We will be on the Spirit in June and I will be buying a new camera for the trip!

[Wellseasoned]

Your photos and narrative have been great from the beginning! Are you using the HDR (high dynamic range) settings on your camera?

 

Hope to sail with you again one of these days.

[spinnaker2]

Is a Sony interchangeable lens digital alpha 77, model SLT-A77. It's already out dated, in other words there is a newer model.

I admit I really don't know much about it as I pretty much point and shoot.

For the most part I use the AUTO shooting mode.

 

I tried to use Photoshop and got a free trial for a month, but that was several months ago and I couldn't save the images because my computer is SO OLD there isn't enough memory. So I don't have that option.

 

As for lenses, I have two.

[spinnaker2]

Nice is the capital of the French Riviera and was founded by the Greeks in 350 B.C. It is the fifth most populous city in France and is on the Côte d'Azur.

 

The Flower market

 

 

 

The lilly of the valley, en francais, the Muguet, plants were everywhere and many of the locals were buying them. I would have had an armload of flowers if I lived there! So much color and fragrance.

 

 

 

We walked along the Promenade des Anglais along with hundreds of other walkers. It is alongside a rocky, pebbly beach. We also drove by the Russian Orthodox church, but so quickly that I could not get a photo. The bus was not allowed to stop there.

[Les Picantins]

Thanks for the wonderful photos. Your images are much more focused than my memories of the same cruise.

[spinnaker2]

We drove back to the ship along one of the corniches, the scenery was just incredible. No photos as we did not stop. I will have to return there some day.

Since so many of the locations have been in James Bond movies, I guess I could just watch them over and over.

We arrived back and were so happy to see Emtbsam and Bob's sisters, we had a nice lunch out on the very crowded deck of La Terrazza.

 

 

[Les Picantins]

A little trivia about the muguet in the above photo. It is a tradition to offer a brin muguet on May 1 to bring luck and bonheur.

[spinnaker2]

Ahhh, thank you for the insight into the Lilly!

I was wondering why so many had them. Now I wish I had one or two!

 

I am so sorry we did not get to meet, and hope we will on another cruise. I suggest a crossing, it is so much different!

[spinnaker2]

 

View of the Palace from the ship

 

The Oceania Sirena was anchored and tenders were running back and forth.

A sailing school was taking advantage of the gorgeous day and smooth water!

 

[spinnaker2]

As some may know, this was to be our day to return to Florence, where we have been many times. As fate would have it, we didn't get to go as I was still feeling ill.

We didn't even leave the ship. Nevertheless here are some photos taken of Livorno from the Spirit.

 

 

 

[spinnaker2]

SARDINIA!!!!!

Words fail me.

Craggy cliffs, eroded by years of Le mistral, the mountains with their sensuous rock formations, the multiple colors of granite, the blue of the sea, the air, the warm embrace and hospitality of the people, the wild flowers...I hated to leave here.

I am not talking about the area where Putin and other celebrities have made an artificial plastic play land, so reminiscent of shopping plazas and homes near where I live. I am speaking of the Sardinia which is still unspoiled and beautiful.

 

The mussel farms as we came into port.

 

 

We boarded our jeep for our journey which was such fun.

 

 

First stop was San Pantaleo, with its church on the square. The church was built in the 1200's. Note the rooster weathervane on the tower! A male symbol we were told.

 

 

One of the Popes in granite...no I didn't recognize who he was.

 

 

Wild flowers including red poppies

 

The rock formations which are everywhere in the countryside. I am told they inspired the sculptor Henry Moore, but I am certain they inspired many others before him.

 

[jpalbny]

SARDINIA!!!!!

Words fail me.

 

No, they didn't! Your words and pictures just moved this place way up on my list. :)

[spinnaker2]

J P

I haven't finished!

I have saved the best for last.

I can't quite end it yet.

I still want to selfishly savor it for myself.

I will share it soon.

[Emtbsam]

The suspense is killing.

 

Which port did you go to in Sardinia?

[spinnaker2]

From San Pantaleo, we drove along some paved roads then hit some dirt roads including one in a gully next to a collapsed bridge. We were told there were floods recently and that the bridge collapsed during the flood. All along the way there were rock formations, wild flowers and countryside without many inhabitants that we could see from the road.

 

 

 

 

I had been asking our driver if we were going to see the Nuraghi, which are the towers and other buildings left behind by the mysterious Nuragic civilization. These towers date from the Bronze Age and Iron Age, approximately 1800 -500 B.C. Sardinia has at least 8000 of these towers, and there are likely many more which have yet to be discovered. No one has a definitive answer as to the exact origin or reason for these towers, although there are multiple theories. The towers and surrounding buildings are quite remarkable and still being excavated. I was told our tour did not contemplate seeing any of the Nuraghi, and I was disappointed to say the very least.

 

As an aside, our driver, Antonio, was a pure Sardo, in other words Sardinian. We also had a tour guide who was a concert violinist in her prior life before marriage and moving to Sardinia. Antonio wanted to share his knowledge with us, and chatted away in Italian as if we understood. I was able to get the gist of the conversation, but I don't think the others in the jeep, including my DH and another guest got any of it. Our guide did try and translate, but honestly it was just a synthesis of what Antonio said. I was so glad I could understand!

 

We continued on through the countryside, and we were told our next stop was at the Chiesa di San Giacomo, a small country church used mostly by local folk. I could understand why, it was seemingly remote. We arrived in the middle of a rain shower, le mistral was definitely the weather pattern of the day.

 

As we turned the corner and walked onto the church grounds we were surprised to see many people, wearing red aprons and caps.

[spinnaker2]

How fortuitous! We had stumbled upon the preparations for the festival to be held on the church grounds later that day. The church parishioners were expecting about 600 guests and were in the throes of preparation.

 

Our jeep guides had not expected this, as they had planned to set up a small snack for us at the church.

 

What happened next was just an amazing experience and one I will not soon forget.

[TLCOhio]

We had stumbled upon the preparations for the festival to be held on the church grounds later that day. What happened next was just an amazing experience and one I will not soon forget.

 

Appreciate the continued great pictures. Looking forward to seeing the "proof/evidence" for this church festival. Sounds like great fun!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 141,981 views for this posting.

[spinnaker2]

The air smelled like delicious barbecue, which we later learned was actually the meat soup in the making.

 

We were immediately greeted and surrounded by many people, who were so curious about us and why we were visiting their church. They posed for photos but more than that, wanted to show us what they were doing and share with us.

One gentleman went into one of the rooms and came back with a large jug of homemade wine, quickly cups were passed around and we drank this great stuff!

Then out came trays of homemade cookies, clearly meant to be used later in the day, they were passed around for us to try. One of the types of cookies was covered in Sardinian honey, YUM. More wine was offered. More cookies were offered. The hospitality was genuine, warm and spontaneous. We stood around drinking and eating with people who didn't know us but who welcomed us into their "home". They wanted us to stay for the soup, which wouldn't be done until much later. I can only imagine if we had stayed, we would have had an amazing afternoon. Regrettably, we had to be back at this ship, so we said our good byes and kissed their cheeks.

One gentleman insisted I take some wine with me, in spite of my saying no. He went inside, got a clean soda bottle, a funnel and poured me a bottle of wine from the large jug. What a treat!!

Our driver, Antonio was amused by this, but very proud of the graciousness of his compadres. He suggested that I call the bottle's contents aqua de sardo, if asked when going thru security at the port of Sardinia( separate and apart from the ships security). There was no need, I wasn't asked!

 

Wild boar and beef for the soup

 

 

Some of the ingredients for the soup in la cucina

 

 

Stirring the soup base!

 

 

The honey cookies!

 

 

Church patio view

 

 

Note the cross made of coins at the entryway to one of the back rooms where many older men were sitting talking.

 

[jpalbny]

What a great experience! Thanks for sharing!

[specialcruisegirl]

Brilliant Spins....a true local experience for you......

 

S [emoji4]

 

 

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