Barcelona, Spain

Our third port was Barcelona. I wasn't expecting Barcelona to be so big. It was beautiful from the ship and even more breathtaking once we disembarked. We took a bus tour and saw the two big cathedrals, main shopping district, and Olympic venues.

This is the Cathedral of the Sacred Family designed by architect Antoni Gaudi. He didn't believe in straight lines because straight lines are not found in nature. I kind of thought this cathedral looked like a melted wedding cake. This cathedral has been under construction since 1882 and will not be finished until 2026. There are 150 people that work full time. I don't understand what is taking so long but I'm not an architecture expert.

Villefranche, France

Our cruise had advertised our second port as Nice, France. We didn't end up in Nice, we ended up in Villefranche. We pulled right up into a little bay and took tender boats to shore. We decided to go to Monaco which was about a half an hour away by train. The first train was delayed and by the time it came people were lined up on the platform. When the doors opened people just started pushing it was literally like a can of sardines. I didn't think I would make it in but did and perched myself up on a little platform for the ride. There were people screaming and girls crying. I kind of got used to this type of chaos on my last trip so I wasn't shocked.

Monaco was elaborate. The boats aka yachts in the harbor were huge. We walked up to the Casino first. The gardens in front of the Casino were beautiful.

I can picture Princess Grace riding around in a car like this when she reigned.

We walked over to the palace just in time to see the changing of the guards.

Let's just say it was a little windy.

Overall Monaco was lovely. We had just missed the Tour de France which had been there the day before. It would have been really cool to experience the Tour de France. That may have to go on my bucket list along with running with the bulls in Spain.

On our way back to the boat we met a woman from Scotland who was traveling with her 9 year old grandson. Their luggage had been lost on their flight to Italy. Let's just say I knew exactly how she felt my luggage was lost on my last trip to Italy and I picked it up on the way home. It was nice to have my luggage this time around.

Genoa, Italy

Genoa was our first stop on the cruise. Genoa was beautiful but probably not my favorite port. Once we disembarked we loaded a smaller boat and went to the city center near an aquarium. We spotted this old ship which made me think about Pirates of the Caribbean which made me think about Johnny Depp (not a bad train of thought) :)

There weren't a ton of sites in Genoa. We wandered the streets and tried to stay in the shade. Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa. This is the house where they believe he lived.

These ruins were located just above Casa de Columbus.

I was amazed by the number of motorbikes. I had never seen this many at once. I loved seeing women riding around in dresses. I think a Vespa is calling my name.

This castle or gate was also located just above Casa de Columbus.

Cinque Terre

I have heard that you haven't been to Italy until you have been to Cinque Terre and now I believe it. The entire time I was there I thought about friends that needed to experience this heaven on earth. Cinque Terre translates to "The Five Lands" aka five villages along the Mediterranean. The five villages are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.

We stayed in Monterosso which is the furthest North and has the nicest beaches. Cinque Terre is not accessible by car so train, boat, or trail is the way to travel. We arrived on July 3rd and spent the afternoon at the beach and the evening enjoying a long meal at a local restaurant.

We spent July 4th experiencing Cinque Terre. This is the first shot I took looking back on Monterosso. I think the trail between Monterosso and Vernazza had the best views of the coast. We hiked in vineyards and orchards.

This was our first view of Vernazza.

Vernazza was smaller than Monterosso. This is Rick Steves favorite village. I loved the colors of all of the buildings and the small bay, the water came very close to the buildings.

The trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola

There is tons of graffiti in Italy. The graffiti along the trail was mainly declarations of love. We also found lots of locks along the handrails of the trail. To express their devotion to a woman, men will place a lock near the ocean and then throw the key to the lock into the ocean.

We got some lunch in Manarola. Manarola literally had no beach. I loved that all of the boats had been pulled right up into the main street.

Since there was no beach the sunbathers walked right out the boat ramp.

This is a shot of the trail between Manarola and Corniglia.

I walked 382 steps up to Corniglia.

Here is a view near the top.

This is the final picture from Monterosso. If Cinque Terre is not paradise then I don't know what is.