Bon Voyage!

Yesterday we sailed out of Genoa on the start of the next leg of the adventure – a seven-day cruise on the Mediterranean with stops in France, Spain, Tunisia, Malta, Sicily (Italy) and Italy. The embarkation process was extremely simple and unlike other cruises I’ve been on we were able to pre-pay for drinks by purchasing booklets of tickets. Of course we also learned that this cruise line (MSC) charges for many of the things that have been ‘included’ in the past – of course this will ultimately limit my gelato and pastry consumption! (note: There are TWO gelato bars on the ship and one patisserie that makes my mouth water and my waist grow every time we pass it!

We are on the MSC Splendida – a ship that is only about 2 years old and is extremely opulent. Our little inside cabin is about the same size as our hotel room in Genoa – tiny – but the shower is a thing of beauty (hot and strong) and the bed is extremely comfortable. The interior of the ship is well equipped with many hidden nooks and quiet spots where you can escape the 1000+ people who are on here with you! Right now I am sitting in Aft Lounge waiting for us to set sail – we were out exploring today but when the skies turned black we headed back to the ship! The centre piece of the interior design are the Swartzky Crystal stairs that are located mid-ship and take passengers between the two main passenger service decks. The upper deck has a large pool area but (in my opinion) the best is that it also has a pool and two hot tubs that are located in the “Zen Area”…that means no kids!! Of course we haven’t even thought of visiting those areas yet!

We met a really fun couple from Britain yesterday when we first came on board – we then ran into them during lunch at which point we discovered that we had also been assigned the same table for dinner! Mike and Cath could easily be members of the Christie clan as their sense of humour is equally warped!  We were also joined by a Turkish couple whose (I think) names are Jale and Ankan. I think that we ended up winning the dinner companion lottery!!

Now to the food as we all know that is what you want to know about! Lunch was a relatively uninspired event – at least it would be for those who have just come on board from home. For me it was amazing – I was able to partake in a veggie filled salad bar (complete with thousand islands dressing), cheese, bread, and salami! It was only as we were leaving that I noticed (smelled really) the burgers, dogs, and fries that they were serving alongside pizza, pasta, and other hot dishes. As this was the first day and that we didn’t know where the main restaurant were, we ended up in the pool deck buffet. We will probably skip that from now on!! Dinner? Well that was a whole different ball game!

Dinner last night was “informal” which isn’t casual but the guys don’t have to wear a tie or the tux! Women dressed up though – I don’t think I kept enough dresses with me!! The menus for dinner which each feature a region of Italy and last night it was Bologna’s turn. I skipped the prosciutto and cantaloupe (I still blame Uncle Tom Christie for my dislike of melon!) in favour of the veggies in puff pastry. That was followed by cream of onion soup and asparagus risotto. My main course was chicken marsala (more chicken I know but the beef selection was veal) followed by a trifle! I have promised myself that I won’t have that main selections tonight but that’s mostly because I didn’t have enough room for gelato and there are a lot of flavours on this boat that I HAVE to try!

While dinning last night we learned that we would not be able to enter the port of Marseille as the winds and water conditions would not permit it – so today we spent the day in the seaside village of La Seyne Sur Mar which is located near Toulon (East of Marseille). Apparently this happens a lot as Mike and Cath were unable to stop in Marseille on a Med cruise last fall! Mom and I didn’t really care as we only had plans to wander around the town and didn’t really know much about Marseille anyway! It turned out to be an excellent detour!

We docked in Toulon port while we were eating breakfast (muesli and yogurt – I’m going with eggs tomorrow) and shortly after we where heading off the ship. The sun was (was being the most important word here) shinning and as the town was really close we skipped the shuttle and walked into town. Our first discoveries were the pay-public-toilet that was on the sidewalk and the local flea market. We gave the 'water closet' a curious glance but later on we both took advantage of one – they ROCK!! The flea market - well that got a closer glance! The town is located on a very sheltered but quite large harbour that is home to the second largest Navy port in France. Unfortunately the navel officers were not walking about town today!

The highlight (other than the loo which I’ll describe later) was finding the Sunday market that was mostly fruits, veggies, meats & cheeses and olives!! There were also the required clothing and odds & ends sections. The veggies were mostly recognizable (some really odd beans that look similar to my legs when I spend too much time in the sun…white with random red splotches! The primary difference is that everything looked ‘farmers’ market’ fresh and the basil was the size of lettuce! We immediately bought a basket of strawberries that were the most fragrant and best tasting ones I think I’ve ever had…now you know why I needed that loo!!

After walking though and checking everything out (while eating that bucket of strawberries) we decided to wander on but soon after we were called back by the call of nature! As you see from the pictures – these public bathrooms are really clean, smell good (I know you can’t tell that from the photo but believe me), and are really comfortable to use. The one we used did not have any toilet paper in it but that’s okay as I’m still travelling with the little towels that expand when water is added and there was a handy ‘sink’ within the washroom. The really cool thing is that once you are ‘done’ the door closes behind you and magic ferries (or perhaps something less imaginative but equally impressive) come in a clean the entire thing so that it is as if you were never there! I didn’t figure out the engineering behind this marvel but I would like to install one into my apartment! Just think – a self-cleaning bathroom!!!

Since we were back in the market and it was at least a couple hours since we had eaten we decided to start the shopping part of our trip. I bought a lovely pestle and mortar made of local olive wood and then I really broke out the French as I starting picking up the ingredients of our picnic lunch. Une baguette et une pain du chocolate from one spot (done completely in French – I know not all the impressive but my French is SOOOO much better than my Italian!) and then Italian Jambon (prosciutto) from another. The lovely (and I do mean in a physical as well as spiritual) man who sold me the prosciutto too a look at the baguette and guessed correctly that we were making a sandwich. The next thing I know he’s got the baguette cut open, buttered, and even added the prosciutto! All completed with a saucy smile and a wink! We made couple more stops – one for some cheese and another for fresh basil to add to the sandwich and the final stop to pick up a small bottle of GSM (red wine). After our extremely successful lunch shopping (total cost approx: 9 Euro including the wine!) we headed to a local park to enjoy our gastronomic delight! As you can tell we were really proud of the meal – all that basic was only 1 Euro!

As we finished up lunch we noticed the incredibly dark clouds and decided to head back to the ship. It was at that point that we also noticed how tired we were so heading back and having a short nap was the task of the afternoon…it was a great plan! Of course plans have a way of changing so after a really short nap we decided to check out the spa. That I can type now is amazing since the one hour Balinese massage and 20 minute hot shower managed to remove all the kinks left over from Ghana (and those got from watching Ghana end in a draw with Aussie). So here I sit, relaxed beyond belief, watching the world go by from the stern of the ship in a room full of Italians listening (in Italian) to Italy play New Zealand in the World Cup. I’m pretty successful at ignoring the soundtrack (and the buzzing created by the trumpet things in South Africa) but am distracted by the ooohs and aaaahs of the crowd!

This adventure continues to be a great experience and I cannot wait to see what happens next. We have about one hour left in this port before heading to Barcelona Spain. I think that I feel rejuvenated enough to finish up my BBC (Rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream, bailey’s, and banana), up-load this post, and then seek out a place to ‘relax’ before dinner. I hope that all of you are having as good a day as I am!

Long live beautiful and flirty French men!  Ag

I have to confess that I didn't end up posting this last night! I ended up heading to the top deck to watch us leaving the port and then it was dinner, evening entertainment and bed! I was very glad that I did go up as we were somewhat delayed due to a French Submarine heading out of port! It was very cool to watch - I'm just wondering how bad you have to annoy the captain to be chosen to ride on the outside of the sub! Pictures later as we're off to breakfast and then Barcelona!