Day 9 - Barcelona - 20 April 2015

We arrived in Barcelona while eating a delicious breakfast.  It's a huge port and we go outside on deck as we sail in.  We go past massive cranes and containers.  The sun is shining.  Barcelona here we come!

The ship goes quite far into the port until we get to a bridge where we stop.  I took a photo of the cabin tv tuned into the ship's webcam.  As you can see, there is another cruise ship which is in front of ours.  It's not a great picture but you can see how nice it is to have the webcam  as you can see what is happening at the front of ship

TV showing the webcam above dressing table

As we get off the ship via another lovely gangway, we see someone being taken off on a stretcher and an ambulance waiting for them.  Oh dear, that's the end of some poor soul's holiday.

We are taken down a lift in the port terminal building and straight onto a shuttle bus.  I'm impressed, the bus has a lift and there are plenty of spaces inside for people using wheelchairs, hurray!  The bus doesn't take us far and leaves us near Las Rambla,

Near but not at Las Rambla.  So that means a bit of a walk  to it.  I'm always aware of distances as I worry about my chair running out of power so I don't really want to wear it out before we get to where we want to go.  

as

Did I mention it was cold?  Well it was.  Not what I was expecting at all as it had been so sunny to begin with,  Mind you, it was just after 9am so I'm ignoring it, hoping it's just the early morning chill before it heats up,  Andy is wearing a vest top and I have a very thin t shirt, but at least I have sleeves,  Brrr!

Andy takes a few pictures of the sights

There are quite a few 'living' statues here.  Must be hot for them when the weather is hot.  They must be okay today though

La Rambla

La Rambla is popular with tourists and locals and is a tree lined pedestrianised mall.  It was pretty long and we seemed to going a fair distance without actually seeing anything much on it.  I was expecting lots of stalls but apart from the living statues, a few flower stalls and 100's of Spanish students, that was it.  I never saw anyone trying to get close to us. I was on the lookout for pickpockets!  But as we got further down we saw a huge food market that looked packed with people.  We saw fellow passengers from the ship who told us it was chaos in there and they nearly got knocked over.

We carried on even further and still it was more of the same.  We should have researched things more to see exactly where we wanted to go.  If I was walking I would have hopped on a bus and checked out different areas.  But as it was we stayed put and looked out for a cafe.

Eventually we found one.  Great it had wifi so we could catch up with facebook and delete emails

We found a beautiful square full of more students.  I bet it would be even more beautiful if the sun was shining and hot.  It kept coming out briefly but there were too many clouds.  Even Andy was cold!

We really wanted to sit outside for lunch in the heat and hoped if we walked back to cafes we'd seen earlier, the sun would come out.  But no, it was just as cold

Two statues

In the end we thought 'bugger it' let's go back  to the ship and put on warmer clothes and have lunch there.  At least we've paid for the food and it will be warmer.  

Sat waiting here for shuttle bus

View of back of ship from the bus

Guess what happened when we got back on the ship?  Yes, the sun came out and suddenly it was a beautiful hot afternoon.  Yay!  So we get up onto deck 18 for a great bit of sunbathing.  Someone fell asleep!

Nice views of the Lido deck

Colourful ferry passes by

Sunset from the balcony

Tonight is another black and white tie night.  It's also the Black and White theme where we wear only black and white.  We are just not in the mood for dressing up.  It's been a hot afternoon and we feel a bit 'blah'.  Also Andy forgot his black bow tie so we debate whether a red one will really matter.  In the end we decide to not bother. We can't go down to our normal dining room unless we dress up.  So we decide to go to the Horizon buffet which is having a Mediterranean theme as we think we can go casually dressed.

So Andy  is wearing shorts and flip flops and I've got my short leggings on and t shirt.  When we go up there we find that everybody else we see is very smartly dressed up.  Ha ha. Never mind, we slink about choosing our food and try and sit as far away from everybody else.  I know some people love dressing up into 'posh mode' but I'm not really into it.  I like nice clothes but I prefer casual really.

The only thing is, we miss our table mates from the dining room.  We really like catching up each night with what the other's have been up to during the day.  Ah well, tomorrow we will join them again.  

Tomorrow we arrive at Valencia, Spain.  Thanks for reading ...

Day 8 - Livorno, Italy - 19 April 2015

We arrived at Livorno, Italy, early in the morning when it was still dark.  We watched the ship's webcam on our cabin tv to see us approaching the port

Tug guiding us into port

Ready to go

Is there going to be a shuttle bus available that I can get on?   Yes!  Thank you Italy, my faith is restored.  We are shown to the bus and sure enough there is a ramp and two other people in wheelchairs inside.  There isn't really room for me but the Italian bus driver manoeveres me into place.

It's a short journey to the centre of Livorno.  The sun is shining and everything looks lovely.  We can't believe it, we are actually in Italy, it's a great feeling.

When we get off the bus we find a lovely gift shop.  Andy buys a cute Snoopy ornament for us.  As we're Snoopy fans it's great to find him in different countries.

We found a nice cafe outside.  I snapped this while I was sitting there.  I love palm trees, they symbolise warm countries to me.  I need to live in a country that palm trees are happy in.

Selfie time

Afterwards we wander around.  Andy wanders around a mini food market

I forgot what these were

Andy bought some strawberries.  They were lush, big and really sweet.  We sat in the sun eating them.

Then he spotted a bike he had to investigate.

Happy with bike pictures

We did quite a bit of shopping.  Well, I saw 5 items of clothing I liked :).  And then we went into a gelato parlour.  We should have taken photos as the selection was huge.  The man could tell we were impressed because he gave us huge portions.  To be honest I didn't really want so much and a lot of it dripped all over me.  I ended up having pistachio and lemon ice cream stains all over my leggings. Not the look I was hoping for in stylish Italy.

Then we realised our time was running out.  We just made it back to the bus on time to take us back to the ship.  I always feel a bit pannicky about missing the shuttle bus  and the ship sailing off without us.

 Back on the ship we had a lovely time basking in the sun.

This is the life!

Loony Toons ferrry

Tonight's dessert was Coconut Panna Cotta.  Yes it was delish!

The captain made an announcement about our next destination.  We were supposed to be stopping at Monte Carlo but apparently the weather was bad and it was not safe for the ship to dock there.  We didn't mind as we wouldn't have been able to get off anyway as it was only possible to take passengers off the ship via tender boats (inaccessible to wheelchairs).

But lucky for us the Captain said we would be going to Adjaccio, Corsica instead.  This meant we would be able to get off the ship after all.

So tomorrow we arrive in Adjaccio.  Thank you for reading ....

Day 7 - Civitaveccia - 18 April 2015

We are so excited to be in Italy.  I've always wanted to go.  We've even been brushing up on our Italian so we can hopefully order a coffee in Italian.  Civitaveccia is the port of Rome ..... Rome is actually a 3 hour journey away.  We're not planning on going to Rome.  We just want to sit outside a cafe and soak up the sun.

Andy checks out the gangway for me (I've been calling it a gang plank the whole time ha ha!).  Again, it's looking good, not too steep.  The Captain announces over the loud speakers that the weather is 17c with rain.  Rain???  That doesn't feature in my Italian dreams.  No, all I've been dreaming of is hot Italy with wall to wall sun and ice cream.

Sure enough, we get off the ship and it's starting to rain.  We are dressed like it's the height of summer with no coats on.  It's cold and there are grey skies.  Is this really Italy, I wonder?  I'm freezing!

Waiting by the ship

When cruise ships arrive in port you see coaches arriving to take people off on their excursions.  Usually arriving for able-bodied people who can actually get on the coach.  Not people in wheelchairs.  We have to hope that there will be an accessible shuttle bus with a ramp or lift.  We were told there was one.  However me and Andy and another lady in  a wheelchair and her husband wait and wait and wait.  There is no shelter at all and it's raining and cold.  So we've had enough already!  Back to the ship we go.

So no Civitaveccia for us today.  In all honesty I'm disappointed but the wet weather has made me glad to be back on  the ship.  We decide it's not going to spoil our day, we will enjoy it whatever happens.  And the good thing is, with most of the passengers off the ship we will enjoy the ship more as fewer people about!

While sitting in the Market Cafe having our coffee.  We can see out of the window quite a few people in wheelchairs returning to the ship having realised there is no transport for them.  Not sure whose fault this is.  P&O usually say it is the country we are visiting whose  job it is to provide the transport. I think they and Italy should organise it between them. Anyway, too bad Italy .... you could have made a few more Euros if you'd put on transport for people who were willing to spend money visiting your country.  Get a grip and sort it out, it's 2015 not the dark ages!

We decide to have an exploration of the ship.   We set about to discover the secret lift that takes wheelchairs up to deck 18 that has the promenade deck that walkers can walk around getting their exercise.  We find the lift on deck 17 hidden behind a silver door.  Very nice too with an automatic door leading out onto the deck.  It's lovely on this deck, very windy but great views

Normally the pool side is packed with sunbathers.  It's too nippy this moning though.

I like this

Later after lunch we go back up on deck as it's got really sunny.  We manage to find a sheltered spot

So in the end we have a lovely afternoon.  Chatting to other passengers and getting the rays.

 No Civitaveccia for us

Before dinner we smartened up a bit and took a selfie

Then time for dinner and my favourite dessert, Summer pudding with clotted cream ice cream ..... oh yes please!  

Tomorrow we are arriving at Livorno, Italy.  I really hope there will be a shuttle bus for us.  I'm going to stay positive.  Thanks for reading ....

Day 6 - Day at Sea 17 April 2015

Today is a leisurely day spent at sea.

As I said before, you could have a day full of non stop activity.   You could go to cookery classes, dance, sing, go to lectures, go and watch a film, play sports on top deck, go to the gym, get pampered in the spa, get your hair done, get your nails done, swim, sunbathe, if it's warm enough, read in the library, listen to music, play in the casino, or at night watch a show in the theatre.

Or you could do nothing all day and chill.

So we do that.  We pick up the ship's daily crossword plus summarised newspaper of the UK news from deck 5, and then go to the Market Cafe.  So, with a nice coffee we sit by the window overlooking the sea, read and do the crossword and have a good chit chat.

Then check out the new cakes,  The photos aren't great though viewed through a glass cabinet

Although we don't eat the cakes we still ate a lot today (like most days).  For lunch we both eat a meal and share a selection of desserts.  Well they are small and so lovely looking you have to try a few :).

Plus have a side plate of poppadums as a starter

After eating too much for lunch we'd go back to the cabin for a bit then Andy would put on his running gear and run around promenade on deck 18 and do 3 or 4 miles.  I'd do my exercises in the cabin and both of us would think we did something to stop the calories from piling on! 

So tonight is another black tie night.  We make an effort for a pre-dinner selfie

We had a delicious meal as usual.  I had New York Cheesecake for dessert.  

Andy had a dessert and felt the need to add a face to his Warm Chocolate Praline Fondant with vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce

Tommorow we will be arriving at Civitaveccia, Italy.  I'm soooo excited!  Thank you for reading .....