MSC Meraviglia - September 17-24, 2017 - Trip Report and Review

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It was a multi-course meal, paired with seven wines. The food was delicious and the presentation was over the top... as you would expect at any pairing dinner or Chef's Table.

 

A few treats.... appetizer of Lobster with a Watermelon wrap.

 

 

..just seconds before it was served...behind the scenes...

 

 

Pea Soup... but certainly not your mother's recipe...

 

 

Hard to tell if the boys in the kitchen liked being watched...or not.

 

 

A world-class risotto

 

 

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Entree of Beef Cheeks... a new one for me

 

 

and a lovely dessert...

 

 

I am sure that I missed a photo of a course or two.... by mid meal, I was in a food-and-wine-haze....and the camera was secondary.

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Our wines....

 

We began with Prosecco

 

 

 

and ended with Asti

 

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...and in between... the following

 

 

 

 



 



 

 



 

 

 

My makeshift scoreboard...Proof that we killed all 7 bottles....

 

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At the end, our kitchen magicians joined us for conversation and praises from the guests.

 

 

A lovely dinner that lasted hours... a highlight for us on this trip. A hearty thumbs-up.

I would have liked to have a take-away menu... but the lack of it is certainly not a criticism.

 

There was a Caribbean party poolside late at night... we made an appearance on the way back to our cabin.

 

That dinner was a sufficient celebration for sure.

 

 

Tomorrow, one of my favorite cities...Barcelona. I have several treats planned... can't wait.

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Meraviglia - Day 5 - Sea Day

 

Up and at 'em early today for our visit to Barcelona.

An early breakfast at Waves and we were off the ship with ease.

 

 

We planned to show our friends La Rambla, and, for once, have an extended visit and tour at Sagrida Familia.

We have been to this magnificent church before...but this time wanted the help of a guide to explain the many details.

 

 

There are several option to get from the ship to the city area...taxi, MSC shuttle bus (not free) or public bus.

 

 

The bargain way is the Cruise Port bus (Blue Line) that runs from the ship to a bus terminal near the Columbus statue at the base of La Rambla... 3€ p/p gets you right to the heart of things.

 

 

 

 

We had a leisurely stroll up La Rambla...stopping to window shop and enjoy the Gothic area side streets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A must-see is about halfway up La Rambla... La Boqueria... the Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a huge city market with hundreds of "booths"... an amazing mix of tourists wide-eyed at the offerings, mixed with local folks doing their daily and weekly shopping...

 

 

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The booths are a mixture of produce vendors and cafes and bars

 

 

You could sit at any bar and have your afternoon meal...

 

 

 

..or just shop for fresh meat and produce.

 

 

 

 

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We stopped at out favorite cafe, Bar Pinotxo. Our buddy makes a great 'stew' that we had for brunch.

 

 

We continued to walk La Rambla all the way to the end at Plaça de Catalunya. There, we grabbed a cab to Sagrida Familia.

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It is impossible to capture the scope and detail of Sagrida Familia in just a few pictures.

If you are unfamiliar with the history of this church, it is worth a Google.

 

You can spend an hour just going over the sculptures on a single fascia... the symbolism and the story telling is amazing.

 

We ... (well...me) wanted some insight... more than just walking around with a guidebook.

So, we booked a guided tour with English-speaking guide. This was done in advance directly on the church's website

Very reasonable price and well worth it. We showed up at the appointed place at the right time.,..was met by our guide and off we went.

 

 

As I said...you can spend hours just going from sculpture to sculpture... but the inside is astounding...

 

 

 

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The life of Christ is depicted throughout...with amazing art depicting scenes from the New Testament.

 

 

 

...a clever magic square worked into the fascade

 

 

(... http://mysteriouswritings.com/the-sagrada-familia-magic-square-designed-by-josep-subirachs/ )

 

 

 

A visit to Barcelona is not complete unless you view this amazing place.

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As the old saying goes: "...I know a great little place..."

 

Just a 2 block walk from Sagrida is a great little cafe we went to for a tapas lunch

 

 

Authentic local food and great owners...

Nice to sit and relax after the tour...

 

 

We made sure they kept the Jamon close to us for seconds and thirds....

 

 

After lunch... we caught a cab back to the ship. from where we were, that was the easiest way.

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Freshen up and get ready for dinner...we planned a nice meal at Eataly Ristorante... the last of the three Specialties we would visit.

 

Before dinner, I had arranged a tour of the Yacht Club on the Meraviglia...

 

The One Pool...

 

 

Yacht Club Bar and Outdoor Buffet

 

 

 

The Yacht Club private restaurant... simply beautiful.

 

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Down to Deck 6 for dinner in Eataly Ristorante

 

 

This was a bitter disappointment... my only real complaint about this cruise.

 

Trust me...I know good food. This was not.

 

The menu was laughable... actually, it was insulting. We tried hard to make it a good meal...but it was impossible.

 

How about... tomato soup (more like tomato juice) with a whole soft boiled egg in it? If they are trying to be 'hip,' ...they missed the mark.

 

 

There are no pictures of my entree...since I sent it back after one bite... it was simply inedible.

 

I did find a way to eat a dessert...unimaginative as it was

 

 

We arrived anticipating a fine Italian meal...and were let down in so many ways.

 

(Not their fault...but) ...Even the servers were rookies that returned blank stares when asked about individual dishes on the menu.

 

Overall, a colossal fail.

 

Thank heavens for late night pizza in the buffet.

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We topped off the night with another rave in the Promenade... the Flower Power Party

 

 

 

 

 

 

A busy day is planned for tomorrow...as we visit Marseilles and I have a great plan to get out of town...

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Cut-and-paste typo...and too late to edit...

 

Last panel post said: "Meraviglia - Day 5 - Sea Day" ..and should have said: "Meraviglia - Day 6 - Barcelona"

[Spastica]

No worries! Love reading about your trip and am especially loving the pictures in the ports

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Meraviglia - Day 7 - Marseille

 

Marseille... our last port of the cruise.

 

We had been to Marseille before... In past visits, we already have climbed the dreadful hill to the Catherdral, ate bouillabaisse in the Harbor and visited unfriendly cafes while being accosted by gypsy panhandlers... just like home in NYC.

 

This time, I planned an ambitious getaway... to Aix en Provence and Cassis.

Saturday is Market Day in Aix and we wanted to see that...as well as the Cezanne Studio.

Further...I wanted to visit Cassis and take a boat tour to the Calanques.

 

Quite a full day, but at first pass, it looked doable.

 

 

As I got into the nitty-gritty of planning, it became clear that this would be trouble.

 

First .. our port time is rather short...0900 - 1700

 

Next... it was Saturday... the car rental places near the port are all closed. ...yikes.

Closest rental was at the main train station.

 

Next.. we dock at the new port.. the ship's berth is over a MILE from the port entrance... then I would need a cab to the station.

Looking at this... and the logistics of remote car parks in the towns and the potential for traffic on the return to the port...

...this became clear, if we wanted to do all that we planned, it would not be a do-it-yourself day.

 

I contacted Transferts Service and booked a car and driver with Delphine. We discussed my itinerary and she agreed it was surely doable with her at the wheel.

 

Best plan ever... it worked out fantastically. No stress, we checked all the boxes with ease and had a marvelous day.

 

Picked up at the ship, we headed out to Aix-en-Provence for the Market Day.

 

 

 

Every main street had vendors...of all types... food, produce, clothes, home furnishings. We did quite a bit of shopping.

 

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She wouldn't sell me a single fig... insisted I buy a basket of them.

I smiled, made the "shush" sigh, took a fig and left a Euro coin in its place... she smiled...and was cool about it.

 

 

 

 

One plaza was dedicated to "starving artists"

 

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We strolled the streets and alleys of Aix..

 

 

 

Second floor of this building was the hat shoppe, owned by Cezanne's father

 

 

A fitting discovery...since our next stop was the Cezanne Studio

 

 

A cute little museum about 10 minutes out of town... with the Cezanne studio open for visiting.

 

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The artist's personal effects are all in place. It was very cool to see how the various windows were arranged for daylight at different times of the day

 

 

 

 

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After a short rest in his garden...we headed back to the car for the ride South to the shore...and our visit to Cassis

 

 

A beautiful seaside village with dramatic cliffs surrounding it.

 

 

We found a table at a beachfront cafe and enjoyed a very local lunch

 

 

 

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My special mission was a boat tour of the Calanques... the "fjords" of Southern France. Most are so out of the way that they can only be reached by hours of hiking... or a boat.

 

There are many small boats in the Cassis harbor that offer tours of varying length... We chose the shorter one, touring the closest three Calanaques.

 

 

A small boat..on very smooth waters... we slowly sailed out of the harbor

 

 

 

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The formations of the cliffs were amazing...making one think of the eons needed to create these forms.

 

 

 

At the inner apex of some of the Calanques were little secluded beaches, reachable only by hiking the trails in the mountain area. The whole region is a National Park; our guide explained that it is possible to actually hike the full distance from Cassis to Marseille thru the hills

 

 

 

 

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After about an hour boat trip, we headed back to port

 

 

We still had some "safe" time before heading back to Marseille, so we ventured a drive up the mountain range east of Cassis, for a spectacular overlook of the region.

 

 

 

It is a breathtakingly beautiful region of France.

 

 

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On the way back, we took a detour into Old Marseille... for nostalgia's sake.

 

 

On a past visit, we actually walked to the top of that hill, before we found out there was a tourist train to take you there.

 

 

Back to the ship...and onboard by 1630... with the help of Delphine, we made our day and had the best of times in this port

 

 

We had our dinner in Panorama (we do like first and last dinners in the MDR). It was Mediterranean Night.

 

As we had experienced all thru the cruise in Panorama... the service was crisp and pleasant... and the meal was not so bad.

 

 

 

 

A nice bottle of wine and good talk with our friends made it a pleasant final dinner.

 

Tonite, the horrible ritual act of suitcases in the hall, and...tomorrow...we return to Genoa.