TOULON TO GIBRALTER

FRIENDS:  On Wednesday our long-time friends Gerard and Marie-Claude Gleize drove from their home in Aix-en-Provence to meet out ship when it docked in Toulon.  From there we drove to Saint Tropez, a town we had not previously visited.  Saint Tropez is the home of Bridget Bardot, and in the summer it is jammed with tourists hoping to catch sight of the former movie star and other famous people who are found there.  However, in November the town is quiet and very pleasant.

We drove back to Toulon along a beautiful coastline.  Because of traffic this took longer than expected. Nonetheless Marie-Claude's driving skills got us back to the ship with a few minutes to spare.

On Thursday we docked in Barcelona and then met up with our friends Teresa Ferreiro and Josep Casas.  After a walking tour we had lunch in a magnificent restaurant,then visited in their condo until Pol got home from school.  Barcelona is a beautiful city and it is unfortunate that we had such little time there.

In any event we had two wonderful days catching up with these four very good friends.

CARTEGENA: We had a 1/2 day stop in this small city in Muria.  The city has a magnificent waterfront as well as a lovely pedestrian shopping area.  Again it would have been nice to have had more time in such a pretty place.

MALAGA:  We had booked (and paid in advance) for an all-day tour to visit Granada and Alhambra.  The Alhambra was a Moslem fort/palace/town built in the 13th and 14th centuries just before the final defeat of the Moors in 1492.  However, after much discussion Betty decided to stay on the ship because of warnings that the walking would be difficult.  This was a good decision as the walk through the Alhambra is about 3 kilometers, much of it involving rough stones walkways and steep stairs, some without rails.

LUNCH:  After the Alhambra tour and before the 2-hour ride back to the ship our tour stopped for a short lunch on one's own in downtown Granada.  Because of the time I sat at a sidewalk cafe and ordered a beer.  In Granada the custom is that if one orders a beer or a glass of wine one gets free food (but not of one's choosing).  Order coffee and you go hungry.  My free food was a plate of paella.  The total cost was just over 5 Euros including tip.

GIBRALTER:  We decided on a late dinner and Betty managed to score reservations at Jacques, the best restaurant on the ship.  We were very fortunate to
get a table by the window on the starboard side which allowed us to see the lights of Gibralter as we dallied over several glasses of wine following our delicious meal.  Less fortunate was a passenger who was evacuated from the ship due to a medical emergency.  The procedure is that the ship stops and a pilot boat picks up the passenger for transfer to a hospital in Gibralter.