The train from Avignon to Barcelona takes about four hours. The 8:30am departure had us up at around 6:00am. That’s pretty early for us so we were really tired when we finally showed up at the Casp74 Apartments [https://www.apartmentscasp74.com/en/index.html] in Barcelona.
Casp74 is a pretty good place to stay. Location is walking distance to the main attractions and for the price, the place is clean and well equipped. We were pretty weary when we arrived so we decided to get a quick lunch and then come back for an early night. After perusing the internet, we decided to get Japanese food for something a bit different. What we didn’t realize was that Koy Shunka was a Michelin starred restaurant [http://www.koyshunka.com/KoyShunka/home.html]. Ordered the tasting menu which was really incredible! Such amazing detail to the food. A great surprise meal for us. And then we just went back to Casp74 and rested.
On our one full day in Barcelona we took an e-bike tour with wine and tapas. Great way to see the city. Tapas were had at Four Cats – a restaurant made famous by it’s association with Picasso [https://www.4gats.com/en/]. Apparently he started his career by trading drawings with restaurant patrons for drinks and food. Great place to visit in Barcelona and filled with cool Picasso prints – not originals – as well as memorabilia from movies shot on location like Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona.
Then it was time to make our way to Sea Dream One.
We loved our Caribbean Sea Dream adventure so much back in February, that when we had a week to fill and saw that Sea Dream was traveling the east coast of spain – and departing from Barcelona which was really close by – we quickly signed up and boarded for a week of fun. Kind of needed a vacation from all this traveling 😎!
Once again, we got a great assist from our fabulous travel pro, Tammy Cane [http://www.theartoftravelbytammycane.com]. She got us a sweet upgraded room and some nice spa credits! Thanks Tammy!
The boat, crew, food, spa and service were tremendous, just like before, a testament to Sea Dream’s motto that it’s not a cruising experience but a yachting one. The passengers were mostly European, but a big group of Lebanese passengers from Brazil really got the party started. We enjoyed our many nights of drinking, dining and blackjack as well as a special performance by Keith after the professional flamenco dancer pulled Keith out of the crowd and demanded his presence on the dance floor – lots of laughs for sure!
Our first stop was in Ibiza. We spent the day roughing it at the famous Nikki Beach club!
The third day on board we hit some rough seas, so the captain veered the boat from our original destination of Denia to a mooring in Alicante. If you are a clueless tourist in this port you may find yourself climbing up endless steep stairs to the hilltop fortress of Castillo Santa Barbara – instead of riding to the top in the air conditioned elevator. But the view is really worth the climb.
Other Sea Dream stops included the beautiful town of Cartegena where we swallowed our pride and toured the city on Segways – a great way to explore this port city built on recently excavated Roman ruins.
One of our favorite ports was Gibraltar where we took a gondola up to the top of it’s famous rock. You can walk to the top, but we learned our lesson in Alicante. This incredibly strategic port once guarded the only passage for ships needing to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.
In addition to the incredible views we were fascinated by the Macaques monkeys that live on the top of the rock. These monkeys had no trouble jumping on visitors and quickly unzipping backpacks in their endless quest for treats. We were warned ahead of time to not wear any jewelry or dangling sparkles of any kind. The monkeys were actually very cool and the babies were so cute!
The last day of excursions was in Malaga, Spain to what was once labeled the “most dangerous hike in the world”, Caminto Del Rey. Built in 1901 by King Alphonso XIII for hydroelectric power workers servicing a critical plant at the meeting place of three major rivers, the pathway hangs hundreds of feet above the ground, suspended on the side of a steep gorge. Over the years, parts of the path had given way until it became a death defying adventure trail for thrill seekers. It was finally closed in 2000 after many deaths and reopened in 2012 after a 5 million dollar reconstruction. You can still see the old trail under the new ramps – quite scary. The hour hike is spectacular and not to be missed if you happen to be in Malaga. The pictures really do not do this justice.
We left the Sea Dream with big smiles and will definitely be on another voyage in the future! Hopefully next time with a group of friends!