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[kazu]

Of course, we had to have a gelato at another spot to cleanse our palates : 

 

 

 

 

This is the typical costume for the city.  The lady in the picture is 104 years old!

 

 

This is the theatre - right next to where the bishop lived.  Apparently there was quite the competition between the bishop (who wanted to be the most important) and the theatre.

 

 

So the little square carries both names - Bishop’s Place and Theatre Plaza:

 

[kazu]

Walking down the street to the church.

 

I did a close up of the top.  It’s tin, not silver.

 

You’ll see the lamp posts covered in the red anywhere the procession is going to go.

 

 

 

 

I attempted a close up of the church spire, but I’m not sure that the shine shows through.  It was glimmering in the sunlight.

 

 

 

Here is a close up of the well that I talked about earlier where the ladies got the water for their bread.  

 

 

 

 

 

A very pretty street - actually the original Jewish quarter.  

 

People pay less tax for garbage if they get their streets clean.  This street did more than that.  They recycled their old plastic bottles, broken things and created pretty flower pots.

 

 

[kazu]

Then it was time to enter the magnificent cathedral.

 

It was started in Catalan times but took many years to build so the styles changed.

 

 

 

 

 

Solid sliver:  Beautiful:

 

 

 

 

The stained glass was really beautiful.  Sorry, my pic doesn’t do it justice.

 

 

The dome:

 

[kazu]

The outside of the church.  The contrast between the more modern part

 

 

And the initial part.  The columns are the expensive pure white marble.

 

 

After that Antonio led us to a spot nearby and we went to the terrace.  Look at the view.

 

 

 

 

Here we were served coffee & the local liquor.  

 

 

 

[kazu]

then some more walking and we stopped at the Hotel Catalunya.  Up to the top we went where there awaited more goodies.

 

Seriously??:  MORE????  Yikes!

 

There was bubbly

 

 

And snacks - pizza, light sandwiches, etc.  

 

 

 

Most of us just had the bubbly.We were pretty stuffed.
 

[kazu]

There were some great views from the hotel Catalunya and I think I accidentally posted them previously.  Not sure why they went out of order.

 

We were in deep, deep trouble as we had Sel de Mer booked that night.

 

We tossed around the idea of changing the time and decided that by the time we got the food we should be ok and we would all just go with what was planned.

 

here is the Sel de Mer menu:

 

 

 

 

For anyone wondering, there was fresh catch of the day.  It was brought on from the island (they have plenty of fresh fish).  It was similar to sea bass

 

Cheers!  Andrea is sporting her lovely red coral bracelet she picked up after our tour.

 

[kazu]

We all decided that we would just get appetizers and some shared a main course and 3 of us asked if they could give us a baby portion.  They kindly obliged us.

 

We needed more food like we needed a hole in our heads but we had to enjoy our Sel de Mer 😉 

 

Our amuse bouche:

 

 

Our fantastic wine steward Libay.  She’s been on several of my cruises and always takes very good care of us.

 

 

Escargots: 

 

 

This is the soup before they cut the bag

 

 

And after:

 

 

Had to get the tower too 😉 

 

 

My baby portion of the catch of the day.  It was good but I couldn’t finish it.

 

 

And the branznino:

 

[kazu]

Dessert at Sel de Mer was bypassed by most.  Gee, I wonder why?

 

We decided we would do the fruits at the next one.  We were just too full to try to do it that night.

 

Our cultural walking and food tour was a whole 50 euros per person.  We definitely got our money’s worth with a good guide, good info and fantastic food.

 

The next day we were in Adjaccio - Corsica.

 

Karen (scubadawg) had organized a private tour and we were fortunate enough to be included.

 

We left the ship early and our guide pulled up just as we were getting to the meeting place - perfect timing.

 

We were heading to the mountains and to a small village to see the Latin & Greek Orthodox churches 

 

And of course, there were fantastic views.

 

 

The black you see in the water is not pollution.  It is an algae which apparently is very healthy.

 

 

 

 

You will see a lot of eucalyptus trees here.  They were imported in the 1800’s as Ajaccio had a lot of bog which attracts mosquitoes.  Since 1 eucalyptus can drink 800 litres of water a day, they were very useful here.

 

As we got closer we stopped at the lovely town of Piana for a drink and a restroom break for anyone who needed it.

 

 

 

 

And, as luck would have it - there was a procession so we watched for a smidge before we headed back to see more scenery.

 

I really need DH’s memory card as I KNOW he got better pics than I did 😉 

 

 

 

[DeeniEncinitas]

HAPPY EASTER!

Alghero is a wonderful little town. I bought a red coral necklace there several years ago, and the food was great. Jacqui the pictures I enjoyed a lot. Hope you and Jose have an amazing day.

Denise😊

[kazu]

We were climbing.  Xavier told us that in February you can go skiing in the mountains and then an hours drive and you are at the lower level at the beach and could go swimming if you so wished.

 

We were coming to the Creek of Piana.  Xavier stopped to let us walk the kilometre or so to get the full effect of the view and met us at the end of the walk.

 

On the way up:

 

 

So let’s go walking, it was absolutely incredible:

 

 

The heart you see at the beginning was naturally formed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

 

I know I took way too many pictures but it was so wonderful.  I wish I had the photography skills to try to show you how wonderful it was.  But, sadly, these pics will have to do.

 

I’m going to twist DH’s arm later to get his memory card and hopefully show you some really good pics. 😉 

 

 

 

I was amazed at the trees growing out of these rocks.  There is little to no earth at all.  Amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

I am afraid I did too many close ups so you don’t get the full impact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

Coming to the end of our walk and Xavier was waiting for us at the end to pile into the end.

 

My last few pics.  It’s a memorable spot.

 

If you go, be sure to watch for cars and walk facing them.  No sidewalk of course 😉 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

HAPPY EASTER!

Alghero is a wonderful little town. I bought a red coral necklace there several years ago, and the food was great. Jacqui the pictures I enjoyed a lot. Hope you and Jose have an amazing day.

Denise😊

 

Thanks 🙂 

 

We are having a lovely day even though I changed plans dramatically.  (DH agreed).

[kazu]

We arrived in Cargese to see the Greek Orthodox and Latin churches and some of the town.  It’s a very pretty town.

 

The people here still speak Greek.  Carried the tradition down through the centuries.  They do speak Italian of course, but the language here is Greek.

 

 

 

This is the Greek Orthodox church

 

 

And this is the Latin

 

 

A peak at the village from the hill (did I tell you this island is hilly? 😉 ) of the Greek Orthodox Church.

 

 

[cat shepard]

Gosh, where do I start?

 

First - thank you for sharing.

 

The steeple looks very mirror-like in your close up pic. The pulpit? is exquisite. 

 

Your food pics are very interesting. How was the catfish prepared? Was it tasty?

Sometimes I have to force myself past the visual in order to try new things.

I really appreciate that the guide and the establishments you visited offered authentic dishes.

 

The rich colors in those rocks is strikingly beautiful. I think I can see snow on the top of one of the distant mountains - either that or my eyes are really bad.

 

The Sel de Mer menu looked very interesting, too. And everything looks beautifully prepared. I always appreciated when my waiter would give me a taste. Of course, I was also having a full serving of another entree. 

 

Again, thank you for sharing your amazing day. It was so cool that you did this as a group. Shared memories are so powerful.

 

[kazu]

So let’s go inside the Greek Orthodox Church for a moment.

 

 

there was a baptism going on so I only used my IPad as it is silent.  The locals were very nice and even invited me to sit.

 

 

You can see the Greek Orthodox priest here an it

 

 

 

And the frescoes

 

 

[kazu]

9 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

Gosh, where do I start?

 

First - thank you for sharing.

 

The steeple looks very mirror-like in your close up pic. The pulpit? is exquisite. 

 

Your food pics are very interesting. How was the catfish prepared? Was it tasty?

 

The catfish was cooked but marinated in a sauce.  Somewhat spiced but very tasty.

 

9 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

Sometimes I have to force myself past the visual in order to try new things.

I really appreciate that the guide and the establishments you visited offered authentic dishes.

 

We always like to savour the flavour when we are travelling and always try to do authentic dishes.  If I have a guide, they know that and if I don’t, I look for where the locals are eating 😉 

 

9 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

The rich colors in those rocks is strikingly beautiful. I think I can see snow on the top of one of the distant mountains - either that or my eyes are really bad.

 

There was indeed snow on top of the peaks.  It stays all year.

 

9 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

 

The Sel de Mer menu looked very interesting, too. And everything looks beautifully prepared. I always appreciated when my waiter would give me a taste. Of course, I was also having a full serving of another entree. 

 

Again, thank you for sharing your amazing day. It was so cool that you did this as a group. Shared memories are so powerful.

 

 

We could barely eat what we did in Sel de Mer.  We’ll have the fruits de Mer next time.  We were simply too full to be able to tackle it and give it justice.

 

And thanks, I’m glad you are enjoying the thread and it isn’t too boring (yet) 😉 

[travelnap]

Jacqui, your pictures of Corsica brought back some pleasant memories to me, of the last time I visited there.  From the pictures we were at quite a few of the same areas.  The trees just growing out of the rocks amazed me also, like you said, there is almost no soil for them to grow from.  Thanks again for taking us with you.  Have a Blessed Easter.

[kazu]

4 minutes ago, travelnap said:

Thanks again for taking us with you.  Have a Blessed Easter.

 

Thank you.  May your Easter be joyous as well 😄 

[kazu]

 

Just some local pics while we were there and then we’ll go inside the other church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TiogaCruiser]

Wow, oh wow.

 

Thank you for sharing. I’m getting even more excited about boarding Prinsendam in June.

[cruisemom42]

On 4/18/2019 at 11:51 AM, kazu said:

More of the market:

 

 

 

Had to stop to savour the flavour - pulpo (octopus)

 

 

Found the flower market too and made a little purchase

 

 

This is the spot where we savoured our flavour:

 

 

Lots of tapas

 

Food was really good here.  Kazu recommends 😉 

 

 

Gotta go and make myself beautiful (who am I kidding) but I’ll do the best I can.

 

 

MMMM, Spanish food -- so good!!  I can almost taste it! 

[cruisemom42]

On 4/18/2019 at 4:23 PM, kazu said:

More of the amphitheatre if you don’t mind:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ooh, now you are speaking my language!  Lovely pics.

 

I loved your shots from Tarragona as well. One of the hilliest Roman cities I've been to, lol.  You certainly earned a nice dinner.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2019 by cruisemom42

[kazu]

17 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Ooh, now you are speaking my language!  Lovely pics.

 

I loved your shots from Tarragona as well. One of the hilliest Roman cities I've been to, lol.  You certainly earned a nice dinner.

 

 

 

 

We did earn our dinner.  There were a lot of hills and steps.  More than I expected.

 

Our guide was fabulous.  He brought everything to life and was a very reasonable price. (120 euros for the group).

 

Our train tickets cost more than the tour - LOL 😄