ollienbertsmum

Gosh all that sounds very worrying. I hope that you are feeling better. I also want to thank you for raising the issue of blood pressure meds. Earlier in te year I found that my blood pressure was high. I was a little affronted because my blood pressure had always been low. Anyway I have lost about 10 lb and can get a bit lower, I have reduced my alcohol consumption which had crept up to daily while I was overworking, Dr told me that my exercise routine of lots of walking was not enough - I have added in some flights of steps and hills, I am also adding in some cardio workouts and planks. Dr said he had confidence that lifestyle changes would work for me. Every now and again I waver - starting planks at 64 yrs is not easy. I think to myself “why not go for meds like so many others do?”. There is not even a cost implication, I am am a pensioner so I don’t pay for meds or health care. You started a conversation that has demonstrated why I need to try a bit harder (or at least to keep trying). Thank you and keep eating the bananas.

Safe, well but nervous. I am ready to go back to the athletics at any point.

Luggage storage in Placa de Cataluyna is an option and then taking the airport bus from there later in the afternoon (or three hours before the flight). You Tube is a good source of information as to what is available in Barcelona (there is a lot to see).

Great match - the only thing is now they have to face Spain. Spain and Gibraltar do not have good relations. I almost wanted them to lose. If I had known about the State holiday for Auzzielozzie I think I might have been cheering more for the Matildas.

You are right about discovering new cities. We would not have found Trieste and Bologna if we had sailed from Venice. It just feels a bit of a faff at the moment because we have not got well-trodden roads to follow. Embarkation and Debarkation days are so stressful anyway because the dots have to join up when it comes to timing or cruise ships, trains or planes might be missed. Here is hoping that those many folk who have asked questions about getting to the ports come back with descriptions of how they got on in order to advise next year’s cruisers.

We were in Bologna on a Friday night. It seems that for the best food you have to book your restaurant ahead. I was cross with DH because we got stuck with a mediocre restaurant because he would not go with our Air BnB owner’s recommendation when we checked in. By the time we went to book at about 7 pm it was too late.

If I am planning to pay by card (anywhere in the world) I always ask first. Who knows if their machine or wifi might not be working. When in Barcelona I showed the taxi driver the written instructions from NCL as to which port we were aiming for. DH is a fluent Spanish speaker (not Catalan) but the driver queried what he had said. Possibly he thought we might have wanted the marina, so we still felt that it was better for him to see the destination written down.

Like you I love walking, especially when on trips, such that my apple watch tracker gets exhausted. However I think that the route from the Columbus Statue to the ship has nothing going for it. No views and no respite from the sun - it looks brutal. I would always suggest getting transport into town and saving the walking for the city centre

Maths was the subject I did not pass as an 18 yr old. I always used to say that I would try again when I retired. Here I am one year retired and I seem to be a bit too busy to enroll. The thought of doing it is a good incentive to keep busy, but I’m still curious to know why it was so hard.

On numerous cruises I have sat on my balcony in Barcelona, on the EPIC (dockk A) watching people walk to the ship. The route is obvious but there is no shade so in the summer it is not a pleasant walk. The road also swings round so what is a short distance as the crow flies, in the middle of summer you could read from the body language of walkers that most were regretting the chance to walk off a few calories. I used to sit there thinking “whyyy?” I am all for walking but this is a part of the day in Barcelona that I would choose to get transport. There are port shuttles available but from the map it looks as if the route goes along the port before returning to the Columbus Statue https://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/faq/cruise-ship-terminals/shuttle-bus-barcelona-cruise-terminal.html To be honest in your place I would get a NCL shuttle into town - OR get a taxi to the first point of your route - especially if you are going to the Sagrada Familia - get there at about 8.45 with a timed entry ticket for 9 am.. Barcelona is one of my favourite cities but the tourist sites are quite spread out. I would suggest planning your route ahead of time.

So to clarify, I am not recommending the actual tour. I meant to be recommending that Google is probably going to be your best friend in this search.

A quick Google search came up with this. https://barcelona-helicopter.com I have not used this company. The only helicopter tour I did was in Boston Ma. back in 2007. A six minute tour doesn’t sound very exciting but the city tour sounds interesting if still a bit short. They say that they are situated beside the cruise terminal so that might be helpful.

So this is the link to my review that included Koper. I would recommend contacting Istranka tours. I did like the small old town of Koper even though the weather was not kind to us. I just wish I had known about the Lippizaner tour beforehand - we just did not leave the ship early enough. The tour i did was nice enough - i just could have done better.

Layers is the only way to go. We have been in that area on three cruises. Mostly lovely weather for walking around. One year wet in a few ports and a storm that resulted in Naples being cancelled. So be prepared.

I would have done this too. I would have spent the whole cruise worrying about the arrival time. Now you have a lovely day to explore Barcelona. Well worth it.

Just Googled prices of fuel around the world. I was supposed to be switching off my computer and doing a cardio workout, really needed something to procrastinate with. Apparently Venezuela is the cheapest place to buy petrol. You could fill up a car in Venezuela for under $1 !

Just out of interest is that expensive or cheap for you? I converted it to £1.25 litre which is probably a bit more than we pay.

One of our cats was diagnosed with diabetes a good few years ago. We kept him under control with ear pricks and insulin injections. It was not particularly difficult but a chore we had to do. Then after a few years, I cannot recall how long, he stopped being diabetic. Vet said that this can happen in cats. We eventually lost him to stomach cancer, but we have memories of a lovely pet.

To be honest I think that you are overthinking this. You will be on a shuttle designed for cruisers. Cruisers have suitcases. There will be a way to get the suitcases from the shuttle to the ship. Happy cruising

+1

I thought of these comments on Sunday when I was out with my daughter and her boyfriend (from the north of Spain and Canada). They had been to the beach just up the coast from Tarifa. First thing in the morning she said they were a bit peckish because they had had lunch at a beach bar at 4 pm, so they went to bed without supper. So that is an alternative itinerary - hold out for a late lunch and then just go to bed early. Just a thought.

i live in the Southern Mediterranean. I can say that there is no way I would sightsee in the middle of summer now the kids no longer travel with us. April and May are however great months for travelling around. You might get rain, which we did in our early May cruise to Croatia and Slovenia this year - I always travel with a light rain coat, I cannot cope with an umbrella when moving around. You may well have sunny days but if at sea it can be breezy and so pool activities are probably unlikely, unless you have a ship that has a cover over the pool. Temperatures might make you consider whether or not you are likely to need a balcony, that might be the place you use your heavy coat

In your case I think that I would consider leaving your luggage in the hotel and then using a Hoho bus. If you buy a basic ticket you have not wasted so much money if you can only cope with sitting on for one circuit.

88 euro sounds a bit excessive. The time you are leaving will probably still have taxi drivers working taking people home after Saturday night outings so why not use the hotel ? Welcome pickup rate sounds fair but perhaps it is one of those middle men companies that are not always recommended.

So today was a day at sea. Almost felt like I was on a cruise. For my birthday in April my girls promised me a whale watch. The idea is to see Orcas but they don’t pass through the Straits of Gibraltar until mid summer. We saw whales but only pilot whales. Apparently they are quite territorial and aggressive so they keep the Orcas away. We were a bit spoiled the first time we went two years ago when we saw so many Orcas…. maybe next year. We had a lovely lunch in Tarifa to end. IMG_7439.mov In this area there are not many boats that go out. When we went in Vancouver and Boston there were lots of boats. I think that they communicate with each other and let each other know where the whales are on that day giving more chance of sighting. It was good to see one whale species though. It did feel l like I was standing on a balcony at one point.