Crystal Cruise: Cathedrals And Castles—Dover to Rome

Earlier this month, I ended this report on Crystal Cruises with Portugal, so now we continue with Gibraltar, France, Spain and Italy.   

Every where we went, there were mobs of people, and it was not enjoyable to have to fight your way through  crowds on the sidewalks. Do avoid July and August if you can for Europe.  

What is surprising to many, is that in these ports of call few people spoke English.  You should have a map with the name of the place you are wanting to see marked, so you can point to it when you get directions.

Gibraltar is under British rule, tax free, so the shops were mobbed. There are lots of the British department stores you find in London. There isn’t any sightseeing except going to the top of the rock to see the ape population.

Valencia, Spain, is not a normal port of call. It is known as being host to the America’s Cup sailing yacht race, which has now moved to San Francisco. But there is good shopping, and the Lladro Porcelain museum is worth visiting. There are great prices to buy leather goods, shoes, bags and jackets. 

Barcelona, Spain: I know this city well, since my younger sister was at University here and we visited her regularly. I knew which shops to go wander around. Most visitors go to the Gaudi church, or the museum, which has many masters, cooking classes, or a Flamenco performance, which is fun. Montserrat is excellent to visit if you can handle a lot of walking.  

Cannes, France: We didn’t even get off the ship.   We had been there lots of times. But for a tour of Cannes, Cap d'Antibes and Nice is good, and I would recommend a visit to the little village in the mountains, St. Paul de Vence if you can handle walking on steep cobblestone streets. Many guests took the tour of the perfume factory.

This was the only port where they used the tenders in and out of the harbor. The crew lifted on and of the handicapped passengers,  then they had their wheelchairs ashore.  The tenders went back and forth to shore every ten minutes, so it was an easy service.

On another trip, I took the train to Monte Carlo and Monaco. I went to see the exhibit of Princess Grace’s jewels and evening gowns which was fantastic. This part of France certainly has the biggest yachts you have ever seen in their harbors,   and lots of expensive cars like Ferrari, Lamborghini or Maserati. Every millionaire in the world seemed to be in Cannes in August.

Florence, Italy: We took the shuttle, first one we had to pay for. Since it's 2 hours by bus from the dock, it was $125 each. There were fourteen different excursions you could take. Since I had done every one, we decided to shop, have lunch and find a good ice cream shop where we sat and watched the world go by, carrying their bargains.  Must-sees are the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Luca (a lovely medieval town), Michelangelo’s Florence and David, the Uffizi Gallery, Siena, and San Gimignano, just to name my favorites. I lived in Italy, so I have done all of this.

The town was mobbed. There were thousands of people following a tour guide holding up a flag. There were long queues of people, trying to get into see the treasures. At least if you are on a tour, you get in without standing for hours.    Leather handbags, shoes and jackets are the big attraction here.  

Next week – Rome