Mary and I flew Air France from Miami to Paris. We stayed at
Le Royal Montparnasse Hotel on the south side of Paris. We walked
the city and used the Metro a lot, the Metro was clean, easy to
use and we felt very safe at all hours. Great food and great history
here. We dressed well and tried to speak a little french so we
did not experience any of the notorious french rudeness. This
city rivals San Francisco as my favorite in the world so far.
After 7 days in Paris we flew to Barcelona. We rented a car and
stayed a few days in Sitges, a small artsy beach town (reminiscent
of Luguna Beach, CA). It was very sleepy in November. Hotel Santa
Maria in Sitges has an excellent restaurant, try the Paella. We
enjoyed the Maritime Museum in Barcelona and Gaudi's unfished
Sagrada Familia Temple was impressive. Otherwise Barcelona was
just OK. We had heard crime was bad so we were very alert and
I did see several men on Los Ramblas (tourist walk and shop area)
scoping Mary's purse and my back pockets (I hope). My mom was
not as lucky and had a bag stolen while checking into her hotel.
Watch everything if you go to Barcelona.
We met my family onboard Voyager of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean
ship. My mom, stepdad, sister, bro-in-law and nephew made the
trip. The cruise departed from Barcelona saturday evening November
22nd. Sunday we woke up in Villefranche, France. We toured Villefranche,
Nice and Monaco. Monday was Florence and we toured it with the
family, great history here and don't miss the Leatherworking school
attached to the main temple in the center of town (where Galileo
and many other greats tombs are). Tuesday was Rome and we got
a late start, by the time we took the 1hr train into town we only
had time for a whirlwind tour on the top of a bus and a great
lunch. Wednesday was Naples but Mary and I skipped it for a trip
to the excavated city of Pompei and stops in Sorrento for lunch
and Positano for shopping. This was a great trip and I'd recommend
all 3 stops. Thursday was Palermo and we decided to stay aboard
and donate to the casino.
It didn't quite work out that way as one silly dollar slot insisted
on paying me every time I touched it. First time was $120, second
was $2500 and then another $100. Flush with cash I entered the
nightly poker qualifying tournament and won a seat the final table
friday night. Friday was a sea day steaming back to Barcelona
so I tried the tables. Won about $300 at blackjack and caribbean
stud. I also won the final table of the poker tourney for $300
more and free entry into the $100,000 Royal Caribbean Championship
next December plus a free cruise for 2. Silly luck that week,
I shoulda headed straight to Vegas.
Here are some of the sights.
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