Mediterranean Cruise (Oceania) 2023

 Marseille and Aix En Provence - April 29, 2023 We decided on a small private led tour (Aix En Provence, Nice and Eze) and found ourselves with one couple from the Riviera and another from a Costa cruise ship.  There were many ships in port and it took quite a while to match up with our guide - so we were off to a late start.  Once we finally linked up we headed to Aix En Provence ( “aix” means  water(s)   for the outdoor market.   Aix is known as the City of a Thousand Fountains . ( we only found this out after I did the research for this blog....) While that's somewhat of an exaggeration, there are lots of fountains all over the city in various shapes and sizes. The first fountain most people visiting Aix-en-Provence will see is the most famous–La Rotonde. The outdoor weekly market was fun and did offer a lot of items that were not just tourist oriented.  It did seem geared for the locals which made it more fun.  Open  Tuesdays, T...

Palma De Mallorca. Spain - April 28, 2023 Palma is a resort city and capital of the Spanish island of Mallorca (Majorca), in the western Mediterranean. The massive Santa María Cathedral (also know as La Seu), a Gothic landmark begun in the 13th century, overlooks the Bay of Palma.   This vast cathedral built on a previous  mosque  which was built atop an original Christian church.  Although this picture is a bit blurry it is such a great showing of the sea in front of the cathedral with the mountains  circling around in the back. Although construction of the present Cathedral began in 1229, it did not finish until 1601.  The visual feat of the rose windows is nothing but a tribute to the amazing talents of architects, builders and mathematicians of the cathedral which was built from 1230 on and completed only nearly 400 years later, in 1601. Rose window front of church Rose Window in the back of the church On the day of the Winter solstice, the li...

 Ibiza ( pronounced Ibetha) Thursday, April 27, 2023 Ibiza    is a Spanish island in the  Mediterranean Sea  off the eastern coast of the  Iberian Peninsula . It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of  Valencia . It is the third largest of the  Balearic Islands .   Ibiza is well known for its  nightlife  and  electronic dance music  club scene in the summer, which attract large numbers of tourists. The island's government and the Spanish Tourist Office have worked toward promoting more family-oriented tourism.   Though primarily known for its party scene, large portions of the island are registered as UNESCO   World Heritage Sites . A notable example includes the Renaissance walls of the old town of Ibiza City, which were awarded UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1999. They are one of the world's few Renaissance walls that were not demolished, and part of the medieval wall is still visible. View fr...