Back in cold UK

We are back now after another pre 6:00am start and a slightly delayed flight. The taxi was waiting to whisk us back to Croft on a cold and rainy day. Its 20 Deg cooler here than Majorca and certainly feels like it. However it was overcast this morning when we left Palma and was expected to turn wet and cooler this weekend.

Last day in Cala d'Or

Its our last day so we went down to the beach for a quick paddle, we had to dodge a lot of small children. Then a frappe-latte in a beach bar before setting off to find a small hotel near the marina that we stayed in  a few years ago when we hired a car for few days to see this part of the coast.

It is still there, Fowlers Hotel and owned by the same British family. We met the current owner this time, he has been there for 29 years and the business is still doing well with regular guests booking every year. It has not changed, Harrods bar towels and all, a little bit of old England in Majorca.

We decided to have a nice lunch for our last day and Rosemary found a good 3 course lunch menu at Port Petite restaurant over looking the marina. It was really good, only €20 without drinks and very photogenic plates.

We were back in time for some last rays of the sun and a sangria by the pool.

Marina today

Just wandering down to the Marina today, then maybe get the sightseeing train that goes between the various Cala. It will save the effort of walking back up the hill when it warms up later (it's 22 already.)

The Sunseekers in the marina seemed even bigger than last time, one even had a sparkling new Ferrari sports car, UK registered, parked in front of it.
We did catch the last little tourist train before siesta and stopped at La Bodega again for a lazy lunch of 6 montaditos, the tapas on a slice of toast, with a small jug of sangria.
In the afternoon, we chilled out by the outdoor pool again and I spent a few minutes in the jacuzzi until Rosemary messed around with settings.
We have a complimentary dinner in the 'a la carte' restaurant tonite. Its been almost empty every other night so expectations are not high!
The meal was authentic Mallorca, so not to everyone's taste. The starter was a plate of small cold 'cheffy' tapas, very nice. The second course was a warm fishy tapas -  not so nice! Don't think I will try rockfish again and Rosemary isn't so keen on octopus.
Rosemary main course of smoked pork loin was served from a bell jar filled with smoke. My main was a marinated beef steak, both courses were very good.
Puddings were also good on presentation and tasty and my house mojito sorbet had a real kick to it!
So overall not what we expected, but we both  enjoyed a genuine local Majorcan posh meal and it was on the house.

Santanyi market

We were up fairly early to catch the local bus to the street market at Santanyi about 30 mins away on the road to Palma.
It was the usual mix of imported tac and better local artisan stuff. The town itself is a maze of streets around an imposing central church with some nice permanent bars, restaurants and craft shops. We had a coffee and an excellent apple cake in one of them.
As for the busy market Rosemary found a nice necklace she liked and I bought a leather belt, knocked down from 25€ (best price) to 10€ (even better price). We caught the 12:30 bus back thanks to Rosemary navigational skills finding the bus stop.
Back in Cala d'Or we tried the tapas bar recommended by Michael on reception and enjoyed a much better lunch experience. We may even go again before it closes for the season like everything else in this corner of the Island.
After lunch we got in a few rays around the outside pool until the sun went down behind the buildings at 5 o'clock. Another busy day!!!

Cala d'Or

We are up early this morning and leaving the Dream later to go to Cala d'Or on the east coast to extend our holiday until the weekend. Not so much to unwind as to carry on!
We have a room with small balcony at TUI Blue Rocador looking east over the sandy beach at Cala Gran about 100ft below.

The hotel self service restaurant has an extensive range of Mediterranean hot and cold options from suckling pig to vegan salads. We also have one night in the 'a la carte' on our package, so will be spoilt for choice.
Downloaded the bus timetable for the market in Santanyl tomorrow.

Very friendly staff, perhaps because they finish for the season on 31st. The area is typical Majorca resort with high level of German holiday makers and mix of shops to suit. We have established best Tapas bar from reception staff and hope to make up for Barcelona disappointment.

Barcelona for Tapas

We arrived in our rescheduled stop in Barcelona after a slightly bumpy night. It is sunny again, we don't have much planned except a ramble on La Rambla to have some tapas.
We left at 8:00pm for our final cruise destination, Palma, before we continue with our holiday in a hotel in Cala d'Or.

Ajaccio Corsica

We have spent another warm sunny day ashore, this time in Corsica at Ajaccio. This is the birth place of Napoleon Bonapart so there is a bit of a theme going on in town. The town is a working fishing port, ferry terminal, marina and cruise ship destination. Lots of boat trips to see the costal scenery which looks very attractive, but there is not enough time on a short cruise stop. There are mountains all around the picturesque natural  harbour. We browsed the Sunday markets on the quay and in the square. We had enough time for a paddle on the sandy beach, moules frites and a disgustingly calorific crepe, before the 4:30 departure.

As previous TUI cruisers we were  invited to meet the crew this evening for bubbles and nibbles. This is really just an excuse to find who has done the most TUI cruises. The winner with 50, yes 50, was presented with a bottle of bubbly

Our next destination has changed from Palamos to Barcelona because of a potential wind problem getting out of Palamos harbour on Monday evening.

We decided to go and try the hot stone restaurant where you cook your own main course on a hot (460 deg) stone at your table. Rosemary had lamb cutlets and I had beef medallion and lobster tail. Both were very nice.

Civitavecchia for Rome

We are docked in Civi today and there are lots of 10 hour tours to Rome from the ship. Its 90 mins each way on the coach and we have been to Rome before, so plan to spend most of the day on board.
Should be quiet as there are 900 out on ship's tours today.
We walked into Civi along the promenade and back as far as the old pier complex which is now a relic of a bygone age when Civi was the Roman equivalent of Brighton. 

Now it's mostly a port for cruise ships and car ferries and a commuter town for Rome as it also has a good rail connection. There are 4 big English cruise ships including Queen Victoria and Britannia together with two small Windrush sailing cruisers in  today.
I spent the late afternoon with Don McLean and Eva Cassidy in my headphones on the sun deck.

Sorrento and Capri

We took the tender from ship to shore in Sorrento and bought a ticket on the jetfoil to Capri. Just had time for another cappuccino before the 25 minute hop to the spectacular Isle of Capri. We had a look around the harbour area before taking the funicular up to the top of the town. Stunning views all but an afternoon is not enough time to do much. Everywhere was crowded, little busses stuffed with passengers like prison  trucks. We had an early had lunch in a nice looking restaurant perched above the bay below and had the worst pizza and service ever. Must have been bad cos we actually got a discount from an Italian restaurant! We walked down the designer  shopping street with its eye watering  prices. We caught the 3:45 hydrofoil back to Sorrento just in time to get the last tender to Dream. The weather has fine today, warm and sunny and there was a nice sunrise and sunset over the bay as we departed for Rome.

We had a speciality meal in the Mistrals restaurant tonite. Good quality food and attentive service from the young staff. Shame about the Christmas music, but we did get it chsnged!

Sicily, Trapani and Erice

We decided to do a half day ship's tour to Erice which involved a short drive through the port of Trapani to the cable car terminal. The cable car whisks you up, 8 at time, the 2000 feet to the ancient city that looks down on Trapani. It was rather cloudy but warm and our tour guide said we were lucky because Erice is often very foggy.

After looking around the duomo we went to the parapet to look down over Trapani and our luck ran out. A heavy mist rolled in and within minutes the coast had disappeared, followed half an hour later by rain and thunder. We managed to see some of the Venus castle and have our first Italian Cappuccino and cake before descending the cable car and making our way back to the ship for a late lunch.

It was too wet to spend anytime back in town especially as we leave at 5:00pm. Not an ideal start to the cruise and not the first time we have experienced Sicily in the rain.

Sea Dream

Today is the only sea day and it's almost a flat calm. It started dull but brightened up a bit later. Its the captain's gala dinner tonight. Captain Watkins started his career as an HGV driver, then transferred to tankers and cargo vessels where he gained his master's qualification, before joining Thompson Cruises.
Don't think he would go down well in the Cunard fleet.
I did the wine tasting course this afternoon and we managed to fit in afternoon tea before an afternoon doze.
We crept in late to see the Captain introduce his staff at the Gala night, thereby avoiding the photographers queue. Btw The Captain actually looks and speaks like an HGV driver!

The downside to creeping in late is we ended up in the overflow part of the Orion restaurant with a few other late arrivals. It was very lacking in gala atmosphere and everything else!

Dream Cruise

We got up at 4:45am (almost unprecedented) to get a 7:50 TUI flight to Palma to join the Marella Dream, which we did by 2:00pm.

The Dream is an older style cruise ship built in 1986, it used to be the HAL Westerdam, so it is small in comparison to modern cruisers. However after a short look around we like it. Its obviously dated, doesn't  have a big choice of restaurants, but it has many cosy bars and lounges. Its clean and the staff are friendly.
We bought a 5 bottle wine package which will keep us going all week and we will probably go for the 'trio of speciality restaurants' package, both of which are being promoted at reduced prices.

There appears to be plenty of outside sun loungers which are being well used today as we do not depart until 10:00 pm. It's nice and warm but there are a few dark clouds in the east.
The outside cabin is very big, no balcony of course but a decent window and a bath!

Now it's to catch up with some ZZZZs before dinner.