Mary, Danny, Barcelona

         We LOVE Barcelona. Walking the old streets, stopping for café con leche, or wine and bread, or gelato, or gazpacho, whenever you feel like it is luxurious. The center of the wide streets is for pedestrians, with big trees shading both sides. Every 3 feet there is an outdoor café. We walked down a narrow alley, lined with cafes and shops, to a large open square, and guess what we found…more cafes, all around the perimeter of the square. Above all the shops are several stories of apartments, each with a balcony  overlooking the square or street.                                                                                                           

From our first café con leche and croissant to our last sip of wine and gazpacho, we were trying to figure out how we could come live here for several months. There is so much food, we need more time! Will have to do a whole separate group of pictures on the food market. The Spaniards like everything fresh and as local as possible. Here it is all about the food. I think we would fit in nicely. 


 The Barcelonans also appreciate their public spaces and architecture (one needs a place to eat, after all). Every intersection is octagonal, making it very spacious. There are narrow lanes for cars, and wide spaces for people, and cafes. The buildings are all beautiful. The pre-eminent architect is Antoni Gaudi, who designed a magnificent park overlooking the city. We climbed to the first level, took pictures of the amazing view, then climbed some more, and had to take more pictures of the even better view. Then we climbed some more, and you get the picture. We could just barely see our ship in the distance from the highest point.  

We didn’t get a chance to really interact with any local people (other than our hundred or so waiters), but “por favor” and “gracias” was sufficient survival Spanish for our purposes. We are now safely back on the ship, after one last dash through the market for wine, cheese, and bread for the voyage to Italy…Ah, Italy!

Cafe Con Leche In Barcelona: Sublime

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Behold what architect and art professor on the ship, Marthe Rowen, saw in the Freeport, Bahamas industrial port. I posted a picture of it, mainly because I thought it a shame  to spoil such an idyllic spot with that dock and the cranes. Marthe, however, saw the color and lines, the beauty in the scene, and put oil pastels to paper to share it with us: 

From Dan: On Entering the Mediterranean

Mary will spin her narrative magic soon, but I wanted to post at least once before I get too busy.

In about 30 minutes we cross the Prime Meridian. Last night the excitement was palpable as we entered the Straits of Gibraltar and saw the north African coastline through an ebbing sun and building fog. The Atlantic crossing was generally calm, and both of us survived without medicinal aids. I hope no one reading this blog views this as a complaint, but I have never worked harder in my life. I’m teaching back-to-back 75-minute classes that start at 12:30, meaning today’s class will be my eighth day of doing so. I feel bad for the students, who get mixed signals of expectations of academic rigor on the one hand and socializing/sunbathing on the other. A good night’s sleep has been elusive for many of us voyagers.

The Mediterranean is more stunning than I ever imagined. Dolphins spun out of the wash from the ship this morning, and tuna leapt in the distance. The rocky Spanish coastline beckons us, and we will exuberantly step off of the gangway tomorrow in Barcelona.

Dreams tonight of café con leche, tapas, & red wine. And good thoughts about all of our family and friends back home, whose earnest enthusiasm for our trip has been, well, touching.

Freeport, Bahamas

Freeport, Bahamas

     The Bahamas, as you already know, consists of beautiful water in varying shades of intense blue, interspersed with low, green islands, with a constant sea breeze. That’s about it, and it’s quite enough. They are, however, being invaded by large resort hotels, including the floating Carnival species.  We could see the big Atlantis resort looming in the distance.   I was mesmerized by the numerous container ships in and out of the port, and how quickly they could load them, though have no idea what the Bahamas exports. Will get back to you on that. Danny and I walked from our ship past the trinket stands and bawdy T-shirt shops, and found a lovely rocky beach with the clearest water I’ve ever seen out side of a swimming pool. It was very inviting, but for the “shark feeding area” sign!

       We left Freeport yesterday afternoon, 24 hours ago, and are now at 70 degrees longitude, 28 degrees latitude, give or take a few minutes. It is amazing to look out on blue ocean in all directions, just amazing.  

Again?!

Here we go again!  I can’t believe that abelscontinentaldrift  is continuing! No offense to the captain, I certainly don’t mean to imply that the ship in any way drifts, only that at least one of us on it is a drifter.  But before we leave I need to summarize thoughts from the last voyage… of the damned lucky.  I had naively thought that 1 trip around the planet, visiting 10 countries and taking a few of classes, would give me a good understanding of the world. HA! It actually made me more confused, but as the dean from that voyage said, “Yes, but now you are confused on a higher level.” Would that that were true.  I did realize that I had been looking at other countries through very near-sighted American eyes ( though my taste buds are partial to India.)  And, as much as I love my country, I love the whole world more.  So, it’s off  across the Atlantic!

WE'RE BACK!

I was brushing my teeth at 6:00 a.m. when all of a sudden on the loud speaker (emphasis on LOUD) Neil Diamond was singing "Coming to America." It was blaring all through the ship, as people came out of their cabins and gathered on the aft decks to watch the sun rise. Magnificent. Then we walked to the forward deck to see Ft. Lauderdale into view. The sun was so warm and welcoming, the sky clear and blue. When we docked at 8:00 a student was playing the bagpipes, parents were cheering from the pier, and soon the students were talking to those parents on their cell phones, "Look toward the back of the ship, I'm in the orange shirt waving at you from the 6th deck", etc. And now, it is 10:30, and we are back at the computer lab, which has been my nemesis throughout the voyage) waiting,waiting for passports to be stamped. It is so weird to have said all our goodbyes, not without tears, and then be milling around, chomping at the bit to get off the ship. And get to StarBucks! See Y'all soon!