Our last post was Travel Log: Gibraltar. Since visiting Gibraltar we’ve had a number of ports in both Spain and Italy. I’m going to approach this post a little different to catch you up on all the places we’ve been recently. A more rapid fire, first person recap of our most recent stops in Mediterranean Spain and Italy seems like the best way to bring you back up to speed.
Cartagena, Spain
November 4th was a port in the Spanish town of Cartagena. Both Tiffany and I were able to go ashore with Linda for an explore around this port city on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Cartagena was founded by the Carthaginians around 227 B.C. and later became an important Roman city, Carthago Nova. We visited a number of amazing ancient sites in Cartagena including the Castillo de la Concepcion, Museo del Teatro Romano, and the Museo Foro Romano Molinete. Walking in the footsteps of people almost 2000 years prior is pretty mind boggling. During our explorations we passed the Ramon Garcia Davo bakery with a long line of people and decided to join the queue. It was absolutely worth the wait. The spinach croissant, ham and cheese croissant, apple tart, and various chocolatey baked goods were all amazing!
Palma, Mallorca
November 5th was another opportunity for all three of us to go on a walkabout together. Where the ship was docked in Palma resulted in a lengthy round trip (appx. 16km), but offered a variety of interesting sights along the way. The day began with a visit to the Castle of San Carlos. Walking along the Avenue de Gabriel Roca we passed the Torre de Paraires and the Bastion of Sant Pere. Eventually we made our way to the hugely impressive cathedral in the heart of this port city, Catedral-Basillica de Santa Maria de Mallorca. We enjoyed a wonderful tapas lunch at Bar Bosch before heading back to the ship. Palma was a lovely port of call and we would recommend it for future visits.
Palermo, Sicily
November 7th saw us make port in Palermo. Dragon had to stay behind for work, so Linda and I ventured around the city together. Palermo is a bustling city that we found to be shockingly dirty, having a surprising amount of graffiti everywhere as well as trash and even feces on the sidewalks and in the streets. While that was disappointing, Palermo was also home to a some old world charm. The historic Palermo old town was home to a plethora of walkable streets filled with shops and cafes. We discovered the Piazza Pretoria, the Teatro Massimo, the Church of San Cataldo, the Church of Saint Mary of the Admiral, and the Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Palermo is of course famous for the cannoli. We bought a selection of freshly prepared cannolis at Cannoli & Co. to share with the medical team on the ship. The Sicilian cannoli is all it is made out to be, sublimely delicious. While Palermo was an interesting visit, it doesn’t make the list of places I plan to return to.
Salerno, Italy
November 8th was a port on the Italian mainland at Salerno. It was a rainy day in Salerno. Linda and I again ventured around Salerno without Tiffany who was working aboard. Salerno is a lovely port city south of Naples along the Amalfi coast. We elected not to hike to the medieval Arechi Castle, but instead decided to explore the town below. Our exploration resulted in visits to the Salerno Cathedral and the city’s medieval aqueduct. After exploring the city for awhile we ducked in to Pasticceria Romolo for a spectacular selection of pastries and enjoyed a few with some cappuccino. Despite the rain, Salerno was delightful and will likely be a return visit in the near future.
Leaving Salerno took us towards our voyage’s end port of Civitavecchia, which is the cruise port closest to Rome. Despite our brief visit to Rome, the eternal city really warrants a post of its own. Until next time, ciao.
Can’t wait for the Rome recap to find out if you went to Steve’s favorite pizza place!
Sadly we did not have time. We were in a time crunch to get back to the ship so we ate at a place we were walking past right near the train station. It’s not too late though! We’re definitely going back to Rome. I have his place marked on my google maps, Sapori e Delizie. You’ll have to wait a little longer for round two of Rome. Even more so than most of our port stops, this one was very rapid. Rome was pretty far from the port of Civitavecchia.
I like the first person perspective! A little more personal and easy to read, imo. Really cool architecture and ruins in this one! Cartagena looks very cool.
Well, idk. The past ones were personal and easy to read, too. Hard to say.
Excellent feedback! 😉 I guess they both work.
Great writeup, I like the first person recap, much more personal. It was wonderful to explore this part of the trip (both on land and on ship) with you and Tiffany.
It was a great time! We’re so happy you joined us. Tiffany had a lot of work during that period, but it was still great. Thanks for exploring with me.