Days 33 to 39–Crossing the Atlantic and Home

Friday, November 11, 2016
Forecast:  Partly Cloudy with a high of 75 degrees
Evening Attire:  Smart Casual
Sunrise is at 7:39 am and sunset is at 6:10 pm

Captain Albert’s blog for Day 2 of the Trans-Atlantic Crossing: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/11/11-nov-2016-trans-atlantic-crossing-day-2/

Today is Veteran’s Day.  We had a Veteran’s Remembrance Service in the Mainstage Theatre at 11 am.  We were welcomed by Cruise Director Simon James who introduced the Captain for his opening remarks.  Father Stephen Hill gave a prayer.  The audience sang a hymn that was printed in our programs – O Valiant Hearts.  Simon read the poem In Flanders Fields.  After a moment of silence, Environmental Officer Brian Quiggs read For the Fallen.  Veterans were asked to stand and be recognized by applause.  Veterans were asked to stand and give any remarks.  In conclusion, the Cruise Director read a short poem followed by a benediction by the Chaplain.  It was a lovely service and the Mainstage Theatre was filled in tribute and remembrance.

This evening’s entertainment featured comedian Kelly McDonald. 

Saturday, November 12, 2016
Forecast: Partly Cloudy with a high of 75 degrees””
Evening Attire: Gala
Sunrise is at 7:15 am and sunset is at 5:45 pm

Captain Albert’s blog for Day 3 of the Trans-Atlantic Crossing: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/12/12-nov-2016-trans-atlantic-day-3/

This morning as 4 star Mariners we were invited to the Mainstage Theatre for cocktails and the Mariner Awards Ceremony where passengers who have sailed 100, 300, 500, and 700 days were awarded their medallions.  Members of the President’s Club who have sailed 1400 day or more and been invited to the President’s Club were also recognized. Afterwards we were invited to a special Mariner’s Luncheon.

     
Captain Robert Jan Kan                            Cruise Director Simon James

At the Vista Dining Room, we were toasted with a glass of champagne before our lunch was served. For lunch we had a choice of two appetizers:  Mediterranean-Style Fish Salad described as shrimp, calamari, olive oil, lemon and garlic dressing, crisp crostini or chicken and white bean soup.  Henry chose the soup and Granby chose the fish salad.

For the entrée, there were three choices: Moroccan-Style Baked Poussin on Couscous or Grilled Lemon Sole with Provencial Vegetables, or Washington Gold Cheddar Cheese Strata.  Both of us chose the Lemon Sole.  Dessert was Fresh Strawberry Mille-Feuille.

Tonight, the Gala Dinner menu featured shrimp cocktail, foie gras, filet mignon with lobster ravioli, lamb, duck breast with apricot, steamed Alaskan crab, meat tortellini, and zucchini tomato tart.  Dessert offerings included chocolate cheesecake, coconut & lime soufflé, strawberry tart, and a linzer torte.

The Oosterdam Singers and Dancers were back on the Mainstage with an upbeat European dance show featuring ballroom dance styles.

Sunday, November 13, 2016
Forecast: Partly Cloudy with a high of 75 degrees
(This forecast became a reason to smile because every day was sunny with smooth seas, but the forecast never changed.  It was always partly cloudy.)
Evening Attire: Smart Casual
Sunrise is at 7:49 am and sunset is at 6:21 pm

Captain Albert’s blog for Day 4 of the Trans-Atlantic Crossing: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/13/13-nov-2016-trans-atlantic-day-4/

The ship’s clocks were set back one hour last night so we had another extra hour for sleeping.  This is the way to cross the Atlantic!

Tonight we had our picture taken with Putu and Wira, the best dining room steward and assistant dining room steward on the ship!

     
Putu behind Granby; Wira behind Henry                             Wira

Tonight was a video show featuring BBC’s Frozen Planet, a visual and musical journey to the Polar Regions.  We did not go.  We could have gone to the B. B. King’s All Stars in the Queen’s Lounge or the Late Night All Request Piano Duo in the Billboard Onboard, but we chose an early night.  Are we lazy or what!

Monday, November 14, 2016
Forecast: Partly Cloudy with a high of 75 degrees
Evening Attire: Smart Casual
Sunrise is at 7:21 am and sunset is at 5:57 pm

Captain Albert’s blog for Day 5 of the Trans-Atlantic Crossing: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/14/14-nov-2016-trans-atlantic-day-5/

Last night we tried to see the supermoon, but the skies were too cloudy.  Tonight there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the supermoon was HUGE! It’s the closest supermoon in 68 years since January 26, 1948. The moon won’t come this close to Earth again until November 25, 2034

Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Forecast: Partly Cloudy with a high of 75 degrees
Evening Attire: Smart Casual
Sunrise is at 7:51 am and sunset is at 6:32 pm

Captain Albert’s blog for Day 6 of the Trans-Atlantic Crossing: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/15/15-nov-2016-trans-atlantic-day-6/

Last night the ship’s clocks were set back one hour.  With all this extra sleep, we are getting up earlier.  This is what sunrise looked like from our balcony this morning.

One of the nice touches that you notice when walking around a Holland America ship is all the fresh flowers.  We noticed this arrangement as we walked into the dining room this morning.

Tonight, ABBAFAB was back in the Mainstage with a new show, The Piano Men featuring the music of Billy Joel and Elton John.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Forecast: Partly Cloudy with a high of 75 degrees
Evening Attire: Gala
Sunrise is at 7:18 am and sunset is at 6:07 pm

Captain Albert’s blog for Day 7 of the Trans-Atlantic Crossing: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/16/16-nov-2016-trans-atlantic-crossing-day-7/

Tonight we had dinner with Gloria and Peter from Reno, Nevada.  It has been lovely getting to know them better since our tour to the bodegas Santa Catarina in Mallorca.

     

Tonight’s entertainment in the Mainstage brought together for a Variety Show, musician David Meyer with his Xylosynth and comedian Kelly McDonald.

Thursday, November 17, 2016
Forecast: Partly Cloudy with a high of 75 degrees
Evening Attire: Smart Casual
Sunrise at 7:39 am and sunset at 6:35 pm

The ship’s clocks were turned back one hour last night for an extra hour to sleep.

Captain Albert’s blog for Day 8 of the Trans-Atlantic Crossing: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/17/17-november-2016-trans-atlantic-day-8/

At 2 pm, Captain Albert J. Schoonderbeek gave a presentation on the history of Holland America Line in the Mainstage Theatre.  His presentation was excellent and we really enjoyed learning more about Holland America, the history of cruising, and some of the HAL ships.

     

With the clouds mostly behaving we were able to take some good pictures of our last sunset at sea on this cruise.

     
     

We ran into one of our bartenders from our Voyage of the Vikings cruise on the Maasdam in 2012. We first met Alvin when he was a bartender in the Crow’s Nest.   Alvin Amboy has now been promoted to head bartender. It was wonderful to see Alvin again and find out that he is doing so well with Holland America Line.

     
Above, Alvin as a bartender on the Maasdam during the Voyage of the Vikings 2012.  We brought a gift for one of our granddaughters, a little plush Newfoundland dog named Newfie, to the Crow’s Nest.  Alvin pretended to feed Newfie peanuts.
Alvin as Head Bartender on the Oosterdam.

Our bartenders in the Billboard Onboard Bar during Happy Hour from 7 to 8 pm.

     
Amy and Oliver                                           Amy, T. J., and Oliver

The Singers and Dancers were back in the Mainstage Theatre for a new production show – Musicology.

     

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and had a grand time.  Crossing the Atlantic by ship is a delightfully relaxing and gentle way to change six time zones. Since the ship left Civitavecchia on November 3, it has traveled 5,293.7 nautical miles.  Prior to that, we traveled 2,265.9 nautical miles from Civitavecchia on October 10 to Barcelona and 1,999.8 nautical miles from Barcelona on October 22 to Civitavecchia for a grand total of 9,559.4 nautical miles beginning October 10th to November 18.

Disembarkation went smoothly on Friday, November 18th. After a nice breakfast in the Vista Dining Room, we picked up our shoulder bags in our stateroom and went to the Queen’s Lounge to wait for our color and number to be called.  We could have waited in our stateroom, but we wanted to let Restu and Anom have all the time they needed to prepare our stateroom for the next guests.  Restu is flying home for her vacation in between contracts today.  Also flying home today is Sherwin, one of our wine stewards.  Driving a rental car, we will be home the day after disembarkation.

Captain Albert’s post about the Oosterdam in port in Tampa: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/18/18-nov-2016-tampa-florida-usa/

Day 32– Beginning Our Eight-Day Crossing

Thursday, November 10, 2016
At Sea

Weather forecast is for partly cloudy skies and a high of 67 degrees.
Sunrise is at 7:03 am and sunset is at 5:37 pm

The ship’s clocks were set back one hour last night so we enjoyed an extra hour for sleeping.

Captain Albert’s blog for Day 1 of the Trans-Atlantic Crossing: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/10/10-nov-2016-trans-atlantic-crossing-day-1/

We are settling in to our relaxing days on board ship. 
Breakfast in the Vista Dining Room is from 8 am to 9:30 am
Lunch in the Vista Dining Room is from 12 noon to 1 pm
Happy Hour in the Billboard Onboard is from 7 pm to 8 pm
Dinner in the Vista Dining Room is at 8 pm
The second show in the Mainstage Theatre is at 10 pm

Each day the Today On Location Program is filled with overlapping activities. There is the guest lecture series, bridge instruction and bridge games, creative crafts (opportunities today to create paper ornaments, learn more about adult coloring, and make ribbon roses and bracelets), computer workshops, and presentations by the Navigation Officers who will be charting our progress across the Atlantic.  There are also cooking shows.  Today’s show, “Rolling in Dough” highlights the Oosterdam Bakers preparing Ensaymadas and Cinnamon Rolls.  Our Cruise Director Simon James is interviewing Captain Robert Jan Kan in the Mainstage Theatre at 11 am. We have been checking out some of these activities, but mostly have been enjoying reading on our balcony and being lazy.  This is the life!

ABBAFAB (http://abbafab.com) was on stage tonight with an ABBA tribute show.  They sang hits such as “Waterloo,” “Fernando,” “Honey Honey,” “Dancing Queen” and “Mamma Mia.”  It is mostly a family affair with Terry Davies on piano, his wife Anne as the blonde singer, and their son Nick on guitar.  The audience was singing along and dancing in the aisles.

    

      

After the 10 pm ABBA tribute show, the Indonesian Crew Show was held on the Mainstage Theatre Stage.  It is always wonderful and filled with a lot of heart.

    
Indonesian Band:  Dadun on Bass guitar, Pasek Tri on Lead Guitar, and Asep on Drum. Welcome Song sung by Wahyu Simorankir

    
Dance of a Thousand Hands                   Putu as one of the Monkey Troop

Indonesian Farewell Song: https://youtu.be/vHR6D1oOZu8

Day 31 – Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

  Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Funchal, Portugal (Madeira Island)
7:00 am to 3:00 pm

Weather forecast is for a high of 73 degrees and a low of 61.
Sunrise was at 7:32 am; Sunset is at 8:10 pm
It is 856 nautical miles from the Port of Málaga, Spain to the Port of Funchal, Portugal (Madeira Island).

Captain Albert J. Schoonderbeek, a Travelling Master with HAL, is now on board the Oosterdam at Captain Robert Jan Kan’s request to assist with all the preparations that need to done for a ship returning from a season in Europe to the United States. In addition to disembarking approximately 2000 guests and embarking an equal number when the ship reaches Tampa, Florida on November 18th, there will be a full face crew inspection by CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection), a full USCG (United States Coast Guard) inspection, heavy loading & provisioning, fuel bunkering, offloading of recyclables and the start of a Carnival Corporation 5 day audit.  Captain Albert also rotates around all of the HAL ships to assist with crew training as part of HAL’s On board Team Support Officer Program.  Captain Albert posts daily to his blog, so reading his blog will provide a different, more nautical perspective of our up coming eight day crossing.

Captain Albert’s blog entry for our day in Madeira: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2016/11/09/09-nov-2016-funchal-madeira/

Photo Credit: OpenStreetMap contributors

Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, 560 miles southwest of Portugal and 360 miles directly west of Morocco, Africa, Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal. Madeira is one of four islands (Madeira, Porto Santo, Desertas, Selvagens) in an archipelago. Madeira was claimed by Portuguese sailors in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1419 and settled after 1420

This morning the Oosterdam is in port with the cruise ship AIDAblu (2174 passengers) operated by the German company, AIDA Cruises. Cruise ships dock in Funchal about 2.6 km (1.6 miles) from the City Center. From the furthest cruise ship it is one mile or a 20 minute walk to the HOHO. Complimentary shuttle buses were operating for both ships to the city center.

    

There are over 168 tunnels on the island of Madeira and today there is a very good bus system. The airport runway is built on pillars driven into the sea.  Our bus actually drove under the airport runway. The sign for Funchal aeroporto in the picture on the right is pointing along the runway.

     .

Known as the “Garden of the Atlantic” or the “Island of Eternal Spring.”  Madeira has a rich volcanic soil and a mild climate with year round temperatures between 64 and 75 that produces an abundance of greenery. The island is colorful with flowers and fruit trees. The laurisilva forests on the northern slopes of Madeira Island are designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The forests are 15 million years old and provide a glimpse of what subtropical forests in Southern Europe and Northern Africa looked like before the Earth was occupied by Humans. The forests are characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as “laurophyll” or “lauroid”. The laurel forests on Madeira are quite similar to the forests that grew during the Cenozoic Era that began 65 million years ago and lasted more than 63 million years.

Madeira is a mountainous island 35 miles long and 3 miles wide that was created by a volcano. There are no real sandy beaches on the island.  Deadly wildfires broke out on the island on Monday, August 8, 2016, following weeks of hot, dry weather. Firefighters said the island’s steep hills and dense woodland made it hard to reach the flames. Unfortunately, August forest fires are common in Portugal and other southern European countries when winds are strong, temperatures are high, and forests are “tinder-dry.” Police, however, suspect the fires on Madeira were set by one or more arsonists.  We saw some of the extensive damage done by the wildfires on our scenic bus drive.  We also saw where many trees have already been replanted.  Eucalyptus trees are being planted because they grow quickly.

     

Interesting fact: Winston Churchill was a famous visitor to Madeira. As a newspaper correspondent covering the Boer War, his ship stopped in Madeira on October 17, 1899.  He returned again by ship with his wife Clementine and daughter Diana in January 1950 to relax, paint, and work on The Hinge of Fate, the fourth volume of his war memoirs.  After just 12 days, his vacation was cut short due to his need to return to London to deal with pending politics. Clementine and Diana continued their vacation in Madeira staying at Reid’s Palace Hotel which originally opened in 1891 as a luxury hotel patronized by British citizens who were looking to avoid English winters. Today, the hotel is known as Belmond Reid’s Palace. Photographer Raul Perestrelo immortalized Churchill spending some free time painting Camara de Lobos, a small coastal fishing village located five miles west of Reid’s. Local shops sell postcards of Churchill hunched over a canvas, painting the cliffs with a cigar clamped firmly between his teeth. Today the location where Churchill set up his easel  has been renamed the Winston Churchill Viewpoint.

Unique foods and beverages of Madeira
Small bananas. Madeira was a big European banana exporter until the EU regulations on the size of bananas changed. Many of the bananas that grow on the island of Madeira don’t grow large enough to meet EU standards, so they cannot be exported out of Portugal anymore. Besides being smaller, Madeira bananas are much sweeter.
English tomatoes, or tamarilhoes. They are red and look like a cross between a plum and a tomato and typically only grow in high altitudes.
Custard apple.  an apple-looking fruit that really tastes like a peach flavored custard.
Philodendron fruit. a pineapple-looking fruit that tastes like a banana.
Madeira bay leaves. another great Madeiran specialty and an all around great spice to take home.
Poncha, an alcoholic drink made with Aguardente de cana (distilled alcohol made from sugar cane juice), honey, sugar, lemon rind, and lemon juice. It is all mixed together in a pitcher with a special Madeiran muddler called a mexelote. The taste is sweet, it doesn’t have a strong alcoholic taste, but you might want to sip carefully anyway because it packs quite a punch!
Coral. a local beer first produced in 1872, and produced by the Madeira Brewery.

Never having been to Madeira before we decided to book the 4-hour HAL Scenic Madeira Tour from 8:45 am to 12:45 pm. Our tour guide was Doris who was very knowledgeable and entertaining. Her home is located in Santo da Serra near the Clube de Golf Santo da Serra, about a 40 minute drive from Funchal.

Our tour bus made its way through the streets of Funchal, winding up to the small village of Monte 2.2 miles north of Funchal and 1800 feet higher in elevation than Funchal’s city center. This small village perched up in the hills overlooking Funchal was formerly a health resort for Europe’s high society and is known for its downhill toboggan ride on a two-seater wicker sled with wooden runners driven by two running men. Our vehicle continued upward past eucalyptus and mimosa trees en route to the Terreiro da Luta at 2,670 feet above sea level. The higher we climbed on twisty roads with hairpin turns, the more we were able to see fabulous mountain views until we reached Poiso Pass at 4,308 feet. The road came to an end at the 5,937-foot summit of Pico do Arieiro. This vantage-point offers magnificent views on clear days. Unfortunately, it was very foggy and misty so we only saw the gift shop where poncha was being sold as well as many souvenir items.  We returned to Poiso Pass and the village of Santo da Serra and the Santo da Serra Golf course, where our bus stopped and we had a light refreshment of cake with our choice of either coffee or tea. The Santo da Serra Golf course is the official venue for the only PGA tournament scheduled every year in Madeira. From this course golf players have incredible views over the island and the Atlantic Ocean.

            
    

After our refreshment we re-boarded the coach and continued our descent down the mountain. We had another photo stop at the Camões Pequeno viewpoint for spectacular vistas and photo opportunities overlooking the Machico Valley. Machico is the oldest village on the island. It is the site where the island’s discoverers put to shore in 1419 and where the island’s oldest church, the Capela dos Milagres, can be found.

After our photo stop, our bus continued on to Funchal for a visit to Blandy’s, a wine lodge, established in 1811 (http://www.blandyswinelodge.com/).

Here, we were able to sample blends of the famous Madeiran wine before re-boarding our coach for the return drive to the pier. This is our third  tasting of one of the “vinos nobles,” the most important historical wines of Europe that include Sherry from Jerez (Cadiz), Spain; Fondillón de Alicante from Alicante, Spain; and Madeira from Madeira, Portugal.

     

     

Madeira wine is a fortified wine (to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, is added); varieties may be sweet or dry. Fortifying the wine with spirits raises the alcohol content to around 19 – 21 percent, allowing the beverage to survive long journeys at sea. Madeira wine, as sailors soon discovered, improved with exposure to heat in the ship’s hold while other table wines did not do well. Additionally, sailors realized that the “pitching and rolling” the wine experienced in the ship’s hold improved the wine’s flavor.

Interesting facts: The Declaration of Independence was toasted with Madeira wine after the signing ceremony in 1776. Winston Churchill once commented when drinking a vintage from the late 1700s, “My God, do you realize this Madeira was made when Marie Antoinette was still alive?”

Some Literary references to Madeira wine:
In Shakespeare’s play “Henry IV” there are references to Madeira wine. The character named Falstaff sells his soul to the devil “for a cup of Madeira and a cold capon’s leg.

The Duke of Clarence was a noble Englishman who after being sentenced to death in 1478 for attempting to murder his brother Edward IV, chose to die by drowning in a Madeira Malvasia cask. The Duke of Clarence’s death is portrayed in Shakespeare’s play Richard III and Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins’ War series.

It was beautiful and sunny in Funchal and we would have like to have stayed longer. We hope to visit Madeira again and next time we might take the cable car to the top of Funchal.  The views from the cable cars are suppose to be amazingly beautiful.

Back on board ship on Lido Deck by the aft Sea View Pool, madeira wine and sangria were being offered as special beverages for Sailaway. As Linda, our On Location Guide, likes to say, “Sangria is just fruit in a glass.”

     

It was a gorgeous afternoon for a sailaway.

     

After dinner, the Mainstage featured David Meyer, a musician who plays an electric xylophone known as a Xylosynth as well as using laser lights to create music.  His wife came on stage periodically to do some dance moves. He explained that he met his wife Dawn, a former dancer on a cruise ship, and wanted to include her in his performance.  Meyer was incredibly energetic and creative and his music ranged from Led Zeppelin to Tchaikovsky.  Here is his promo video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKjWWj2xiOE).

     
    

Clue for our next port of call:  It is located 4,101 nautical miles from Funchal, Portugal (Madiera Island) and will take us eight days to sail across the Atlantic Ocean.

Day 30 – Sailing toward one of Portugal’s two archipelagos

Tuesday, November 8, 2016
At Sea

Forecast for today is a chance of rain with a high of 66 degrees.
Sunrise was at 7:00 am and sunset was at 5:44 pm

We are preparing for our transatlantic crossing as the ship’s clocks were set back one hour at 2:00 am this morning.  It was nice to gain an hour’s sleep.

We receive live television from several stations that feature news: Fox News, CNN, CNBC, and BBC.  It has been easy to keep up with the news about the election in the United States.  People on board ship have been been pretty quiet about the election up until now.  We imagine that the elections will come into conversations today and tomorrow when the results are known.

The Captain has reminded passengers to wash their hands regularly with soap and water, but it seems that over the last two days, there has been an increase in the number of reported cases of gastrointestinal illness which are strongly suggestive of norovirus.  The ship is now on Code Red which means more work for the crew as they have to thoroughly disinfect surfaces on the ship several times a day. Plastic wrap is now wrapped around any opening in the Lido Market so that passengers can not touch any food items.  Crew members have been commissioned to work additional hours in the Lido Market handing out food items.  Lilly, one of the hostesses in the Pinnacle Grill is now using tongs to put pieces of pizza on passengers’ plates.  The salt and pepper shakers have disappeared as well as the cream and sugar, butter, and bread baskets.  Waiters in the Lido can not bring drinks to the tables.  Passengers in the Lido must line up for water, coffee, ice tea, and lemonade.  After the last 10 o’clock show, we even saw the singers and dancers helping to disinfect by washing down the walls in the Mainstage Theatre. Crew taking trays to staterooms where ill passengers have been confined wear protective outfits that make them look like they are about to go through a hatch in an orbiting spacecraft.  Our Captain and Chief Medical Office Dr. Grant Tarling are seriously tying to keep any GI illness from spreading and get us out of Code Red as soon as possible.  We ate all three meals today in the Vista Dining Room.  It seems safer and a lot easier to be served than try to navigate the Lido Market.  Of course, we prefer the dining room to the Lido Market even without a Code Red..

There is lots going on today on board the Oosterdam.  We had two lectures in the Mainstage Theatre this morning. Dr. Stephen Mings continued with his topic of Portuguese Discovery & Settlement and Dr. Stephen Sloan talked about the challenges created as a result of mass migration. There is a cooking show and a navigational chart update with the Navigation Officers who will be charting our progress across the Atlantic Ocean.  There is a sign up for a shipbuilding competition, several digital workshops, an art auction, Bridge, Mah Jongg, and tie tying as a creative craft.  Linda, our Location Guide gave a presentation on our next port of call.

We had a lazy day and watched a movie in our stateroom. Elvis & Nixon was pretty entertaining.  We also managed some time out on the balcony.  This morning we watched the sun rise. Before we showered and dressed for dinner, we saw the sun set from our balcony.  The sky and ocean are ever changing when viewed from a cruise ship and fascinating to watch.

Clue for tomorrow’s port of call:  This capital city is on an island in an archipelago in the north Atlantic Ocean located 540 miles southwest of Lisbon, Portugal and about 360 miles directly west of Morocco, Africa.

Day 29 – Málaga, Spain – Andalusian Highlights

Monday, November 7, 2016
                        Málaga, Spain
8:00 am to 6:00 pm

The weather forecast is for a high of 69 degrees and a low of 54
Sunrise was at 7:48 am ; Sunset is at 6:15 pm
It is 173 nautical miles from the Port of Cartagena, Spain to the Port of Málaga, Spain
233 cruise ships called at the Port of Málaga in 2015, carrying a total of 419,121 passengers.

This morning the Oosterdam is in port with the Prinsendam (843 passengers), the Eurodam (2014 passengers), and the exclusive German luxury ship Amadea (604 passengers) owned by Phoenix Reisen cruise line. Total passengers in port: 5,377 plus crew. It was another day that we would have depended on the HOHO for seeing the city if we had not been worried about the port load.

     

We booked a tour with HAL called Andalusian Highlights from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm.  Our tour bus took us once again around some of the streets in Málaga where our guide pointed out some interesting buildings. We then visited Gibralfaro Castle, an ancient 14th-century Moorish fortress, located on the summit of the mount where a Phoenician lighthouse once stood. In 1487, the castle was conquered by the Catholic kings, who then used it as a prison for the defeated Muslims. Destroyed by the French Army and then abandoned in 1812, Gibralfaro Castle has only recently been restored. The castle commands breathtaking views of the city and the bay.

     
     
Right photo shows some of the residents at Gibralfaro Castle being treated royally.

Navigating down the hill to Málaga, our bus parked so that we could walk to La Malagueta, Málaga’s bullring that first opened in 1876 and seats over 9,000.  The bullfighting season in Spain is April to September when bullfights are held weekly usually on Sundays in the late afternoon or early evening.  During Málaga’s festivals in March and in August (feria de Agosto), bullfights are held daily.  At the La Malagueta bullring, we visited the Antonio Ordonez Bullfighting Museum (http://www.malaga.es/en/turismo/patrimonio/lis_cd-4080/heritage) dedicated to the history of this controversial sport among both Spaniards and those from outside Spain. The museum contains costumes worn by the matadors, and photographs, posters and artifacts of famous malagueqos (born and raised in Málaga) bullfighters from the 15th century onwards. The museum is named in honor of Antonio Ordóñez Araujo (1932-1998), a famous bullfighter.  Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) wrote The Dangerous Summer, published posthumously in 1985, documenting Ordóñez’s rivalry with another matador Luis Miguel Dominguin during the summer of 1959.  Earlier, Hemmingway, an aficionado of bullfighting, wrote Death in the Afternoon published in 1932, that many consider one of the best written books about the art of bullfighting.
Interesting fact: Bullfighting isn’t considered a sport in Spain, but an art (the art of tauromachy or the art of bullfighting), and is reported in the arts and culture section of newspapers. The matador is judged on the artistic merit of his performance.

     
     
Above are two views of a model of La Malagueta.
     
 

The matadors’ costumes were very elaborate and generally seemed small.  What we found interesting was the type of shoes worn by matadors.  If bullfighting is considered an art in Spain, then the shoes appropriately might belong to a professional dancer.

We left the museum for our final Andalusian highlight, an opportunity to experience Flamenco Tablão. Flamenco is the traditional song and dance of the Gypsies (flamencos) of Andalucia. During the so-called Golden Age of Flamenco, between 1869-1910, flamenco music developed rapidly in music cafés called cafés cantantes, a venue with ticketed public performances. The dance is an release, a lament and a celebration all combined. It is provocative, fun and sensual — full of gestures, touches, looks, and movement that have no script. The Flamenco is a manifestation of emotions that are universal but are wrapped in a uniquely Spanish flavor.

An exciting performance of Spanish Flamenco dance showcases an art form that originated in Andalusia and is comprised of the song (el cante), the dance (el baile), the guitar (el toque), and handclapping (palmas). The male flamenco dancer is known as a bailaor. A female flamenco dancer is known as a  bailaora. Among the gypsies of Andalusia it was used as an expression of poverty, oppression and personal grief. Over time, Flamenco has also become a means of expressing happiness as it incorporates elements of Spanish music in lighter forms (alegrias, bulerias, fandangos).

     
Peña Juan Breva, Calle Ramón Franquelo, 4, 29008 Málaga, Spain

Peña is a meeting place for musicians and in Spain is often noted as being Peña Flamenco.  These are more traditional places where Flamenco is performed with less emphasis on catering to tourists. The Museum established in 1958, is dedicated to the art of Flamenco and named for Juan Breva, one of Málaga’s greatest flamenco singers.The upper floors of Peña Juan Breva house a treasure trove of flamenco memorabilia including thousands of vinyl records, 20 guitars some of them more than 200 years old, posters, traditional Flamenco dress costumes, and Flamenco-related fine art and photography. We were ushered to the cellar where we were seated around just four tables for the show.  Each table had a pitcher of wine and a platter of tapas to share.

     
     

This performance was much more personal and authentic as it was held in a smaller venue and had fewer people in attendance than the Flamenco Show we saw on board the ship while the Oosterdam was docked in Cadiz, Spain.  The guitar music was a highlight as well as the singing and the dancing.

Leaving the Museum, we followed our guide on a short walking tour along a maze of pedestrian streets.

     

We walked past the excavated ruins of a Roman Theatre that dates back to the first century. The Theatre was not discovered until the mid- 20th century. The Phoenicians from Tyre founded the city of Málaga as Malaka about 770 BC. After a period of Carthaginian rule, Malaka became part of the Roman Empire. A Roman Theatre was built at this time during the age of Augustus and remained in use until the third century. Beginning with the arrival of the Arabs it served as a source of stone for the new structures built by the Muslim conquerors. Numerous column shafts and capitals that were taken from the theatre can be seen in the Alcazaba complex today. The theatre was discovered in 1951, and was considered so important that an existing building was relocated so that archaeologists could excavate. While excavations continue, almost all the elements of the theatre have been uncovered.

     

We had a late lunch after we returned to the ship.  A half moon appeared in the sky as we waited for sail away on our balcony. A colony of seagulls seemed to be waiting for sail away as well.

     

After dinner, we went to a brand new show with a brand new cast of singers and dancers.  Off The Charts is a review of the hits from Billboard’s lists from Elvis to Beyoncé.  It had great energy and vibe and fantastic sets.  No one was thinking about falling asleep during this show.  Our last singers and dancers seemed more suited to being on a Lawrence Welk show, so this was a wonderful change.

     
     
     
     

While we were at dinner and the show, Cocorico and Ferdinand found this towel animal.

We are looking forward to a day at sea tomorrow.

Day 28 – Cartagena, Spain

  Sunday, November 6, 2016
Cartagena Spain
8:00 am to 5:00 pm

The weather forecast is for a high of 70 degrees and a low of 55.
Sunrise was at 7:35 am; Sunset is 6:00 pm
It is 291 nautical miles from the Port of Palma de Mallorca, Spain to the Port of Cartagena, Spain.
108 cruise ships called at the Port of Cartagena in 2015, carrying a total of 151,195 cruise ship passengers.

The Oosterdam is docked today in Cartagena (pronounced cart-ta-hay-na) with the Prinsendam (690 passengers). Shops are closed on Sunday. During the week, siesta is from 2 pm to 5 pm and is strictly enforced with shops closed.

Cartagena has declared 2016 as the Year of Modernism (Año del Modernismo 2016) to celebrate Modernist architecture, highlighting the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Gran Hotel. In addition to an array of Modernist buildings from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Cartagena has impressive Punic and Roman remains, and two not to miss museums – the Roman Theatre Museum and the Museum of Underwater Archaeology.

Cartagena is the main Seaport of the Murcia region with a natural harbor surrounded by five hills. It has 214,000 inhabitants.

Interesting fact: During the First (264-241 B.C.) and Second (218-201 B.C.) Punic Wars Carthage and Rome were at war as each empire was seeking supremacy over the Mediterranean. Hannibal (247-183 B. C.), a great Carthaginian general, left Cartagena in 218 BC with a massive army of 100,000 men and 40 elephants to cross the Pyrenees and the Alps in an effort to destroy the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps is one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare even though Hannibal failed to defeat Rome.

Our ship docked right in Cartagena.

     

We walked from the pier to the main street (Paseo de Alfonso XII) where we got on the Bus Turístico, a double decker sightseeing bus for a 45 minute tour of the city.

     

We enjoyed seeing some of the architecture, sights, and street views on a quiet Sunday morning.

     
     
Right photo shows the Ascensor Panoramico, a panoramic lift that goes up to the highest point in Cartagena. At its peak is the Castillo de la Concepcion that offers sweeping views of the city and across the port. Cartagenans refer to the Castle as Castillo de los Patos (Castle of Ducks) as it is now home to strutting peacocks and paddling ducks.

After our bus tour, we made our way to Calle Mayor, the main, marble-paved pedestrian street with gorgeous buildings built in the modernist style.

     

Our landmark was City Hall, also called Palacio Consistorial de Cartagena, a gorgeous triangular-shaped building. Near City Hall, we saw  a life size statue of a Spanish sailor returning home.  .

     

The entrance to the Roman Theatre Museum and Roman Theatre is across the street from City Hall.

     

The Roman Museum and Theatre is open on Sundays so we decided to see this on our own.  The entrance fee is 6 Euros per person for the Museum and the Roman Theatre. The Theatre was discovered under buildings which were removed between 1990 and 2003, allowing archaeological recovery and restoration.  The Museum was amazing and the actual Theatre was astonishing. We are so glad that we were able to see this archaeological wonder.

     
The Museum shows documentation of how the Theatre was excavated and displays some of the items that were discovered during the excavation.

    
With the use of models, the Museum allows you to see how the Theatre looked in Roman times.
    
The highlight is when you walk out from the Museum into the Theatre itself and experience to enormity of the site in the middle of the city. We were so thankful to have such a lovely day to enjoy the Roman Theatre and the city of Cartagena.

Leaving the Roman Theatre and Museum, we walked down Calle Mayor. Sidewalk cafes were filled with people enjoying their Sunday.  Families were out strolling. We saw a wedding party.

     
     

We found Columbus Restaurant with outside seating and we each ordered pan con tomate and a beverage. Spanish Tomato Toast (Pan con Tomate), is a delightful combination of toasted bread and tomatoes which is a classic Catalana tapa served before the meal. It originated in Catalana, but can now be found all over Spain in every village and restaurant. Sometimes called Pan a la Catalana in other parts of Spain. It is one of the simplest and most widely eaten food items in Spain. Some consider Pan con Tomate as Spain’s National Breakfast along with Café con Leche.
     

     

The pan con tomate was good. It needed salt, so I guess that is why our waiter brought a salt shaker to the table.

While doing some people watching, we saw people dressed in vintage costumes and a man riding a high rider bicycle.  We have no idea why people were wearing costumes and riding antique bikes, but guess that it might be part of the celebration of 2016 as the Year of Modernism in Cartagena.

     
     

Cartagena turned out to be one of our favorite ports.  We would love to return and spend more time exploring Cartagena, Spain.

Clue for tomorrow’s port of call: La Malagueta, the bullring in this city, first opened in 1876 and seats over 9,000.  The bullfighting season is April to September when bullfights are held weekly usually on Sundays in the late afternoon or early evening.  During this city’s August festival (feria de Agosto), bullfights are held daily.

Day 27 – Returning to the Balearic Islands

  Saturday, November 5, 2016
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
8:00 am to 5:00 pm

The weather forecast is for a high of 68 degrees and a low of 50.
Sunrise was at 7:23 am and sunset is at 5:42 pm.
It is 627 nautical miles from the Porto di Civitavecchia to the Port of Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
788 cruise ships called at the Balearic Islands in 2015, carrying a total of  1,996,533 cruise ship passengers.

Today the Oosterdam is in port with the Eurodam (2104 passengers) for a port load of 4,020.

For many passengers today is a pilgrimage to the Carthusian monastery at Valldemossa 12.5 miles north of Palma where the Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin and French writer Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin better known as George Sand spent part of their three months in Mallorca during the winter from November 8, 1838 to February 14,1839. Sand wrote about this time with Chopin in her book, A Winter in Majorca. Chopin completed 23 preludes in each of the major and minor keys. One of his more famous musical works while in Mallorca is the “ Raindrop” prelude: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8uONLM5U-I
Elizabeth Berg’s book The Dream Lover is a historical novel about the life of George Sand.
Review: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/books/ct-prj-dream-lover-elizabeth-berg-20150416-story.html

Our tour this morning was North Coast & Wine Tasting from 8:30 am to 12 noon. We traveled by bus to the Serra de Tramuntana mountains (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1371).

     

It was the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range that brought the first tourists to Mallorca in the early 20th century. Austrian Archduke Ludwig Salvator (1847-1915) was enamored of the island’s north coast, where he acquired several estates located between Valldemossa and Deià. He wrote about how beautiful the countryside was and how gorgeous the views were from the top of the cliffs looking out to the sea along the north coast. Mallorca’s North Coast (Costa Nord) is a 40-mile-long stretch of thick lime rock that for centuries has been a protective wall against wind, pirates, and invasions.

After leaving Palma by bus, our first stop was for a visit to Son Marroig (http://viagallica.com/baleares/lang_en/village_son_marroig.htm), the favorite home of Archduke Ludwig Salvator. Son Marroig (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7s1fB1aUyI) is located on the north coast of Mallorca just 4.5 miles north of Valldemossa and 1.3 miles west of Deià.

                                                              Valdemossa

Interesting fact: “Son” frequently found in the names of Mallorca homes (Son Marroig) indicates that the property is a large finca (estate or country house located in a rural or countryside setting that might also be involved with agriculture).

Austrian archduke Luis Salvadore visited Majorca in the mid 1800s. His estate has been converted into a museum housing his collection of pottery, writings, and paintings. The view from the mirador (tower/balcony) looks down nearly 1000 feet to a rocky headland from which the waves have carved over time a huge sea arch called Sa Foradada (meaning perforated) that refers a huge round hole in the rock caused by water and wind erosion.

     

We were able to tour the mansion as well as the gardens.

     
     
     

     
     
     
                                                                                           Wood Duck

At an Ionic Temple made of Carrara marble situated on an outcrop, we had a wonderful view of the coastline.

     
Sylvia and Beauford                                        B. J. and Henry

Some of the views of the North Coast from the ocean side of Son Marroig.

     

Another nearby home built by Austrian archduke Luis Salvadore is now for sale. S’Estaca (http://www.homeadverts.com/en/blog/historical-mansion-in-puerto-valldemossa-mallorca) located on 247 acres and owned by Michael Douglas is on the market for a reduced price of £34 million through Sotheby’s.

We left Son Marroig for a drive along the North Coast to Andratx for a wine tasting at Santa Catarina (https://www.santa-catarina.com/en/). At Santa Catarina, we were able to taste four different wines (two white wines and two red wines) accompanied by bread, olives and olive oil with a salt and herb mixture.  We purchased wine to take back to the ship and we also purchased cans of the bodegas’ special seasoning to mix with olive oil for dipping bread.

     
     
     
(Right) Sylvia and Beauford inside the bodegas Santa Catarina.

Even on an overcast day, Mallorca is a beautiful island.  We are glad that we had a second visit to see more of this popular tourist destination during the off season without the crowds. Back on the ship, we went to the Lido Market for lunch and had made to order salads.

At 7 pm, we met the “regulars” in the Billboard Onboard Bar for Happy Hour.  Our hardworking bartenders always greet us with a smile and pour us a glass of our favorite wine as soon as they see us.

 

From left to right: Mike, Amy, and T. J.

After dinner, we went to the the Mainstage where the entertainment featured the comedy and ventriloquism of Kieran Powell (http://www.kieranpowell.co.uk/).

Ferdinand and Cocorico found this towel animal in our stateroom.

Clue for tomorrow’s port of call: It was from here that Hannibal set out in 218 BC with a mighty army and 40 elephants to cross the Pyrenees and the Alps during the Second Punic War.

Day 26 – At Sea

Friday, November 4, 2016
At Sea

The forecast for today is cloudy with a high of 69 degrees.
Sunrise was at 6:40 am and Sunset is for 5:29 pm
Tonight is a Formal or Gala Attire night

We had breakfast in the dining room as we enjoy doing on sea days and when we do not have an early morning tour.  Breakfast in the Vista Dining Room is from 8 am to 9:30 am.

We now have three guest lecturers on board for sea days during the crossing.  We also have a Bridge instructor who will be teaching classes in the mornings and conducting American Contract Bridge League sanctioned games in the afternoons.

After breakfast, we went to a Cruise Critic Meet and Greet in the Crow’s Nest that Sylvia organized.  It was a good way to welcome people who had joined the cruise yesterday in Civitavecchia.  People were also interested in talking about the next four ports of call before the Oosterdam crosses the Atlantic Ocean for Tampa, Florida.

     
     

We were invited to attend an Indonesian Rijsttafel Lunch at 11:30, but wanted to go to the Mainstage Theatre for Linda’s presentation on our next three ports of call: Palma de Mallorca (November 5th), Cartagena, Spain (November 6th), and Malaga (November 7th).

       

Linda is enthusiastic and has a great sense of humor.  When we are doing our own thing in Catagena, we hope to find and taste pan con tomate, a Spanish toast with tomato and olive oil, as one of our tapas.  We might or might not have fruit salad in a glass to go along with our tapas.

     

We had lunch in the dining room and then spent the afternoon reading and sitting out on our balcony as the sun was peeking through the clouds for long intervals.

The Captain’s Welcome Aboard Toast was in the Mainstage Theatre at 7:30 pm. With this welcome from Captain Robert Jan Kan and our toast, we are now officially on the final segment of our two back-to-back cruises – the 15-day Transatlantic from Rome to Tampa.

     

Afterwards, for our Gala Dinner, we has a choice of three appetizers: honey pineapple and strawberries with toasted coconut, shrimp cocktail, or escargots.  We chose escargots.  The salad was made with arugula, William pear, mandarin segments, pistachios, cherry tomatoes, and organic mixed seeds.  We both chose the surf and turf with cracked pepper tenderloin and grilled shrimp. For dessert Henry had the Black Forest Cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Granby had the fruit appetizer for dessert.

     

Tonight on the Mainstage were featured The Flyboys, a unique vocal act straight from the United Kingdom with music from the Golden Age of Big Bands and the Jazz groups of the 30s and 40s..

Here is the towel animal that Ferdinand and Cocorico found tonight in our stateroom.

Clue for tomorrow’s port:  Austria’s Archduke Luis Salvador (1847-1915) built a mansion known as Son Marroig, that overlooks Sa Foradada, a rocky point of limestone on this island’s North Coast.

Day 25 – A Day with an Italian Chef

  Wednesday, November 3, 2016
                    Civitavecchia, Italy
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

The weather forecast is for a high of 64 degrees.
Sunrise was at 6:45 am and sunset is at 5:01 pm.
It is 167 nautical miles from the Port of Livorno, Italy to the Porto di Civitavecchia, Italy, the port for Rome.
794 cruise ships called at the Port of Civitavecchia in 2015, carrying a total of  2,271,652 cruise ship passengers.

The Oosterdam (1916 passengers) is in port with the Prinsendam (740 passengers) and the Costa Diadema (4,947 passengers) for a port load of 7,603 passengers not counting crew. All three ships are scheduled to be docked at Pier 12. This is a big turn around day for each of the ships.  On the Oosterdam, many of the passengers who booked the 24-day segment from Rome to Rome (October 10 to November 3) and the 12-day segment from Barcelona to Rome (October 22 to November 3) will be leaving the ship today while others who have booked the 15-day Rome to Tampa, Florida transatlantic (November 3 to November 18) will be embarking.

Civitavecchia pronounced chee-vee-ta-VEK-ee-uh is the port for Rome. Between cruises and ferries, nearly 2 million passengers pass through each year, making it one of the busiest ports in the  Mediterranean. It takes more than an hour to drive between Civitavecchia and Rome. The train takes anywhere from 40 minutes (express) to 60–80 minutes (local). While Leonardo da Vinci International Airport is just 40 miles away, it can take 60 to 90 minutes to drive to/from the airport and the cruise ship port.

Civitavecchia is an attractive resort city of 58,000 about 80 km or 50 miles northwest of Rome. Though Civitavecchia is not close to Rome, it is nearly as ancient. Civitavecchia was founded as a port situated on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the 2nd century AD under Emperor Trajan, who called it Centumcellae. Escalating pirate attacks during the 16th century led Pope Julius II to order the building of a fort for a stronger defense of the port. To design the fort, the pope named the same man he had hired to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling – Michelangelo.

We had to say good-by to passengers who have been on board for the 24-day Rome to Rome segment and the 12-day Barcelona to Rome segment.  New passengers will embark for the 15-day transatlantic segment.

Today we booked a cooking class and lunch with Chef Federico Biferali at Ristorante Pizzeria Aqua located at Via Benci e Gatti, 3, Civitavecchia.

We took the port shuttle from the Oosterdam to the drop off point near the port gate where at 9:30 am, we found Chef Federico who took us to his restaurant in his car.

     

We were his only “students” this morning, so it ended up being just the three of us in his kitchen.  Chef Federico explained that we would be making a meal that would include grilled zucchini as a quick appetizer while we were cooking followed by Gnocchi with Bolognese sauce, Zucchini Parmigiana, Veal Saltimbocca, and Tiramisu.

Chef Federico in his kitchen at Ristorante Pizzeria Aqua.

     

Making Tiramisu.

     

Making Bolognese sauce.

     

Making Gnocchi.

     

     

Making grilled Zucchini and Zucchini Parmigiana.

     
     

Making Veal Saltimbocca.

     

What the three of us made for lunch.

     

Finally.  Eating lunch.  Delicious!

     

Always better with red wine.

We had a fantastic time with Chef Federico at Ristorante Pizzeria Aqua. Next time we are in Civitavecchia we will try to eat another meal at his restaurant as his customers.

After our lunch Chef Federico had one of his friends who owns a taxi service take us to the port.  We arrived at the port in plenty of time to take a shuttle bus back to the Oosterdam. The Passenger Safety Drill was at 4 pm, and we were excused as we had participated in a drill within the last 30 days.  We watched the Prinsendam sail out of port and the sun set.

     

As the Oosterdam sails out of Civitavecchia, we begin the transatlantic segment of our cruise.  There will be four ports of call before we will have eight consecutive days at sea and the Oosterdam docks at Tampa, Florida on Friday, November 18th.  On this itinerary, we will re-visit Palma de Mallorca, Spain and Málaga, Spain. New ports will be Cartagena, Spain and finally the island of Madeira and the Port of Funchal, Portugal located in the North Atlantic Ocean.

We are looking forward to a day at sea tomorrow and the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet where we will see people who have been with us on previous segments and meet some of the people who boarded the Oosterdam today for the transatlantic cruise.

Day 24 – Splish Splashing Under Rainy Tuscan Skies

Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Livorno, Italy
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

The weather forecast is for a high of 65 degrees and a low of 51 degrees.
Sunrise was at 6:56 am; Sunset is at 5:08 pm
It is 102 nautical miles from the Port of Monaco, Monaco to the Port of Livorno, Italy. 369 cruise ships called at the Port of Livorno in 2015, carrying a total of 697,955 cruise ship passengers.

On our first visit to Livorno on this itinerary, we stayed in the city to discover some of the highlights.  Today, we are venturing out into the Tuscan countryside. Tuscany (Toscana in Italian) is distinguished by rolling hills, snowcapped mountains, and dramatic cypress trees.  The capital of Tuscany is Florence. Author Frances Mayes (Under the Tuscan Sun 1996 and Bella Tuscany 1999) fell in love with Tuscany and we did the same (even in the rain) by following E. M. Foster’s advice, “…it is only by going off track that you get to know the country. See the little towns…” (Where Angels Fear to Tread 1905).

Map courtesy of Wikipedia

Tuscany has retained its romantic yet rustic charm with small hilltop towns, low stone buildings, and a rich and varied landscape. Building restrictions in Tuscany limit new buildings. In the countryside, farmhouses can be remodeled, but must be rebuilt in their original style and on the same size foundations. Farms are not large; they are mostly owned by individual families who grow a variety of crops. Many of the Tuscan hills are laid out with straight rows of dark green grape vines interspersed with groves of olive trees and other green vegetation — all under a beautiful blue sky — when it is not raining.

       
On our HAL tour Tuscan Countryside & Wine Tasting, we traveled about an hour from Livorno across Northern Tuscany passing Pisa and Lucca to the wine area of the Comune di Montecarlo – Lucca.

Pisa with its leaning campanile (free standing bell tower) as seen out the bus window.

We first stopped at Montecarlo, a tiny medieval village perched on a hilltop that overlooks olive groves and vineyards as far as the eye can see. These vineyards are the source of Montecarlo wine.

Even in the rain, Montecarlo is the picture perfect Tuscany village.  The main street, Villa Roma, is only about 150 meters long. We would love to come back and spend time in the area and perhaps fare una passeggiata (take an afternoon stroll) before eating al fresco at one of Monecarlo’s restaurants. Founded in 1333, Montcarlo has intact thick fortified walls and three gates. From the bell tower of the Collegiate Church of Sant’Andrea, the bells still toll on the half hour and hour. While reconstructed on the inside, the church has its fourteenth-century facade and portal as well as its 16th century baptismal font.

    
Pictured on the right, the belfry of the Collegiate Church of Sant’Andrea is distinctive and can be seen from the plains below for miles.

    

                
     

After visiting the village of Montecarlo, our coach continued on to Fattoria il Poggio, a beautiful farmhouse and winery owned by Giancarlo Rossi, where we received a warm welcome. Our bus parked outside the property and we enjoyed a short walk as the rain had ceased. The area around the village of Montecarlo (Comune di Montecarlo) was one of the earliest DOCs, created in 1969. Wines from the region are often called the best Tuscan whites.

     
     

The Rossi family has been managing this property since 1963 when Giancarlo’s father Gualitiero Rossi bought 37 acres of land.  We were given a tour of this beautiful winery where some of the best Tuscan wine and olive oil are produced. We had a chance to learn about the wine making process and sample some of their wines accompanied by local specialties such as crusty bruschetta, fresh salami, cheeses, olives, peppers, and tomatoes. Biscotti with a dessert wine was a perfect ending.  We had  an opportunity to purchase olive oil pressed from the farm’s olive trees, some delicious sun dried tomatoes, and wine. Onboard corkage fee is waived for one bottle of wine per person per tour for wine purchased during Holland America Line shore excursions.

     

Fattoria il Poggio produces three white wines and three reds, four of which are DOC wines. Annual production is 80,000 to 100,000 bottles. Other than the wines, Fattoria il Poggio also has a small production of Vin Santo, Grappa and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Fattoria il Poggio also operates a bed and breakfast, a restaurant, and the property can be reserved for weddings and special occasions (http://www.fattoriailpoggio.net/eng).  Good to know for a future visit.

Back on board the Oosterdam, we enjoyed hot showers and changing into dry clothes and shoes.  At Happy Hour in the Billboard Onboard at 7 pm, we shared a table with Marline and Lindsay from Napier, New Zealand.  Marline has been taking pictures throughout their trip that feature her Minion. While Lindsay had his beer, Marline and her Minion enjoyed their happy hour glasses of Pinot Grigio. We will miss Marline, Lindsay, and the Minion as they are disembarking in Civitavecchia tomorrow morning. We wish them safe travels back home.

    

After dinner we went to the 10 pm show in the Mainstage Theatre that featured the Lomax Brothers and Colleen Williamson.  The Lomax Brothers were described in the daily program, Today on Location, as being 4 hands, 2 brothers, and 1 piano for a high energy and versatile piano and vocal performance. Colleen Williamson is a talented singer of classic pop, film favorites, and hits from the Broadway stage.  We enjoyed both performances.

     
     

Back in our stateroom, Ferdinand and Cocorico found a towel animal and we found a bottle of wine and flowers from Guest Services with an apology note. HAL’s onboard computer system kept failing to recognize that we were booked back-to-back on the 15-day crossing following our 24-day Western Mediterranean cruise.  As it was, glitches with our staying on board continued over the next few days.  We had to spend time with Guest Services sorting out the carry-over of our Internet minutes, having new cruise cards issued, and having Henry’s new cruise card not registering our 4-star status when purchasing a specialty coffee.  The flowers and wine were a very nice gesture and much appreciated.  The flowers lasted throughout the crossing and were lovely.

    

Clue for tomorrow’s port of call:  Providing services for over 2 million cruise ship passengers in 2015, this busy cruise port is located 50 miles northwest of Rome.