Barely A Live from Escape May16-26 2024 Trieste (Venice) to Barcelona/10-Day Mediterranean: Italy Croatia Greece France Spain

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

👀  👀  👀

 

Those are eyes just to be clear

 

"Wake up to find you are the eyes of the world."---from the song Eyes of the World on the album Wake of the Flood by the Grateful Dead.

 

Keep on Truckin, Sugar Magnolia.

[Sugar Magnolia]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Such overwhelming sadness...

 

 

 

 

 

[Fogfog]

Really enjoy your sense of adventure and humor and writing.

Please add here and also to Henry's thread. 

Happy to hear your insights.

 

Travel safely.🥰

 

Best

fog

[CruisnHallelujahs]

2 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Such overwhelming sadness...

For me too.  You did an awesome job allowing us to cruise vicariously through you.  Isn’t there another cruise you can hop on to continue this effort? 

[mking8288]

3 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Such overwhelming sadness ...

No, no and no - girl, you gotta get that mindset out of your head.  When you wake up in the morning, go to the MDR to relax, enjoy breakfast and let others rushed off the ship first ... be among the last to disembark; and you begin planning for the next cruise ahead ...

 

BTW, the mid October one is too far away for you at 148 days out, assuming that you've locked that in your cruise calendar.  Come up with something else in between, we know you can do it.  

[debenson0723]

Don't be sad...tomorrow is check in day for the Bermuda 6/16 cruise that will include myself and @graphicguy (aka The Fall Guy). And you don't need a passport for it!

Loved this review so much and can't wait to see your adventures in Barcelona. 

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Such overwhelming sadness...

 

 

 

 

 

One time we made the sadness of leaving a cruise at least be not there for a while. We took a cruise excursion from the ship to Heathrow from Dover by way of Canterbury. (It also included a walking tour of Dover.) It was from a small ship. (Under 700 passengers and no unfortunately no longer in the Princess fleet.) With the tour and the small number on the bus including 4 who we knew from our roll call (the other couple with an anniversary on the ship and their teenage daughters. It was like we were still on our cruise vacation. 😊

 

We were going to do the same type of thing in 2020, but on a much larger ship. We would have had a stop in Stonehenge on the way to Heathrow. Alas, being the summer of 2020, the Covid epidemic shutdown stopped that cruise from ever sailing. 😢

[Sugar Magnolia]

It’s happening…I am being kicked off the Escape. 
 

 

But the pain is less painful being kicked out into Barcelona, one of my favorite cities,

 

 

Disembarkation was easy and painless. At 7:30am I made my way to Deck 7 through the Manhattan Room to scan out for the final time. There were no long queues, no nonworking elevators, no confusion, no frustration. I was out of the terminal within minutes. So disappointing. 
 

Baggage collection was only slightly confusing. Some were placed on the conveyor belt and some were placed on the floor.

 

 

 

If you want your luggage delivered to the airport or to your hotel, these are your friends. The service costs €12 per bag but there is a two bag minimum. 

 

 

 

Once you walked out of the terminal, there were nice young people directing you where to go…the NCL buses, the taxis or private pick-up area.  

 

 

 

Scarlet Lady was also in town. 
 

 

[graphicguy]

@Sugar Magnolia. Thank you for a great review.

 

 

[www3traveler]

Have a safe journey home 

THANK YOU

[Sugar Magnolia]

2 hours ago, graphicguy said:

@Sugar Magnolia. Thank you for a great review.

I’m blushing…

 

Thank you for all of your fun and informative reviews, which helped nudge me to take the plunge into the world of CC Lives and Reviews. Still, I don’t know how many of you wizards are able to post in real time. Perhaps I need to book another cruise and work on that. 
 

[Sugar Magnolia]

13 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

Don't be sad...tomorrow is check in day for the Bermuda 6/16 cruise that will include myself and @graphicguy (aka The Fall Guy). And you don't need a passport for it!

Loved this review so much and can't wait to see your adventures in Barcelona. 

You are hilarious @debenson0723 . No doubt it would be great fun to sail with you and @graphicguy, Doesn’t look good but keep trying. 
 

[Sugar Magnolia]

14 hours ago, mking8288 said:

BTW, the mid October one is too far away for you at 148 days out, assuming that you've locked that in your cruise calendar.  Come up with something else in between, we know you can do it.  

You all seem so confident. 😂

I know that being home is overrated but my furniture misses me. 
 

[graphicguy]

3 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

I’m blushing…

 

Thank you for all of your fun and informative reviews, which helped nudge me to take the plunge into the world of CC Lives and Reviews. Still, I don’t know how many of you wizards are able to post in real time. Perhaps I need to book another cruise and work on that. 
 

'Ya think?  LOL!

[schmoopie17]

4 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

I know that being home is overrated but my furniture misses me. 
 

If that's the case, be prepared to have your La Z Boy get up off his lazy butt and run to the door to give you a big bear hug. (Unless, of course, you have a bearskin rug...in which case, that would be his job.)

 

But seriously, (and I'm rarely serious)...I don't know how I'm going to occupy myself until your next cruise escapade.

 

Edited May 26 by schmoopie17

[Sugar Magnolia]

The problem with dining in Barcelona is the infinite number of good inexpensive restaurants. While wandering the Plaça de Catalunya neighborhood, I came across this jewel of a restaurant which also has outdoor dining...

 

 

 

I arrived before 7:00pm like a good American in Spain and was seated right away at the counter. Dining early proved to be a smart move because this was the line for the restaurant after 8:00pm...

 

 

I ordered the eggplant chips with a touch of honey; fried squid, cuttlefish and anchovies; and coconut pudding for dessert, though it looked and tasted suspiciously like flan. Even the Spanish menu said pudding but not flan. Who were they kidding?

 

 

 

 

 

Everything was delicious. I think even those who hate eggplant would like the eggplant chips. Entire meal plus a small bottle of Perrier was €19. I plan to return tomorrow to try other dishes at that price.

 

 

 

 

 

[YVRteacher]

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

If that's the case, be prepared to have your La Z Boy get up off his lazy butt and run to the door to give you a big bear hug. (Unless, of course, you have a bearskin rug...in which case, that would be his job.)

 

But seriously, (and I'm rarely serious)...I don't know how I'm going to occupy myself until your next cruise escapade.

 

Schmoopie, will you and Mrs. Schmoopie do a live trip report for us one day?

[Sugar Magnolia]

21 hours ago, CruisnHallelujahs said:

For me too.  You did an awesome job allowing us to cruise vicariously through you.  Isn’t there another cruise you can hop on to continue this effort? 

 

Et tu, @CruisnHallelujahs? 

 

Both my bank account and my mental acuity need to bounce back before I can sail again.

 

Thank you for your occasion pop-ups. Perhaps I need to start a Cookies Around the World thread to keep you engaged and not just lurking.

 

[debenson0723]

6 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

You are hilarious @debenson0723 . No doubt it would be great fun to sail with you and @graphicguy, Doesn’t look good but keep trying. 
 

Oh I plan to keep trying up until the last possible minute. I will buy you a drink (as long as it's not over $15) and ice cream at Bailey's in Bermuda (not gelato but the best I can do). Or you could just @schmoopie17 us and show up at the Cavern Club bar on the Waterfront at 5:30. I promise I won't be mad for being surprised. 

[jrt.mom]

7 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

I’m blushing…

 

Thank you for all of your fun and informative reviews, which helped nudge me to take the plunge into the world of CC Lives and Reviews. Still, I don’t know how many of you wizards are able to post in real time. Perhaps I need to book another cruise and work on that. 
 

I'm looking forward for your next cruise so I can visit more places vicariously through your trip reports!

(This goes for everyone,  I devour them all...saves me lots of money!)

Edited May 27 by jrt.mom

[CruisnHallelujahs]

1 hour ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

Et tu, @CruisnHallelujahs? 

 

Both my bank account and my mental acuity need to bounce back before I can sail again.

 

Thank you for your occasion pop-ups. Perhaps I need to start a Cookies Around the World thread to keep you engaged and not just lurking.

 

lol…yours was much more entertaining than mine.  Will look forward to your mental and bank accounts recovery.

 

Im really not into cookies but Canadian maple anything will get my attention…and your description of the Sicilian pistachio has me wanting to visit again just to try them.  
 

Promise to be more engaged next live and hope to meet on a future cruise! 

Blessings 💜 
 

[schmoopie17]

15 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Schmoopie, will you and Mrs. Schmoopie do a live trip report for us one day?

It would be tough on our next cruise in September. It's Rome round-trip with no sea days, so not a lot of "down" time. We're also going with another couple who happen to be cruise virgins, so I foresee a lot of hand-holding in my future. (They actually surprised US, when they told us they wanted to go along for the ride). Plus, I always seem to have more trouble than most people logging into the "free" CC access. I'll definitely do something after the fact, though.

 

We're doing the Panama Canal in February, with a bunch of sea days. I'll try to give it a go then.

 

Edited May 27 by schmoopie17

[schmoopie17]

14 hours ago, debenson0723 said:

Or you could just @schmoopie17 us and show up at the Cavern Club bar on the Waterfront at 5:30. I promise I won't be mad for being surprised. 

I used to live in Paradise Valley, as well as a couple of other places in AZ. Still get back there now and then. Don't be surprised if I surprise you some day. (Actually, you would probably be pretty surprised)...

[mking8288]

16 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

The problem with dining in Barcelona is the infinite number of good inexpensive restaurants. While wandering the Plaça de Catalunya neighborhood, I came across this jewel of a restaurant which also has outdoor dining... 

Nice find and those are local prices vs. tourist & visitor menus, LOL.  Are you staying in/near that area or just riding the buses & trains/subways to get around ?  If you head toward the Universitat just south of Catalunya, lots of good & inexpensive places to eat, where beer costs less than a small can of soda.  

 

What's new in your land adventure today ?