Tag Archives: cruise ship

Barthelona ith in Thpain


Barcelona (41)

Christopher Columbus Pointing the Way

I don’t speak a lot of Spanish (taco, enchilada, chile relleno, and perhaps most importantly, cerveza), but I do know pretty much how to pronounce things . . . except apparently in Barcelona.  Here, the “s” is pronounced as a “th” sound, resulting in some potentially harrowing situations.

Ham made a great sandwich for a quick lunch

Ham made a great sandwich for a quick lunch

For instance, I was practicing this rather unique Barcelona-ism in case I had to say something in the local Spanish (Catalon is the predominant language here, but good luck getting me to try that) when I noticed Ursula was about to make a major misstep.

I hurredly said, “Wath out.  Dog thit.”

By the time she asked, “What?” it was far too late.

Ursula and I had been to Barcelona twice previous to this occasion, so I didn’t really take many photographs this time of the city.  Rather, I was eagerly waiting for something we hadn’t done before — the interior of Antoni Gaudí’s incredible Sagrada Familia.  That will be the subject of an upcoming three-part series with Parts 2 and 3 focusing on the unbelievable interior.

Meanwhile, below is today’s slideshow of Barcelona.  Watch for the Arc de Triomf, the Torre Agbar Tower, the bustling and crowded Las Rambla pedestrian mall, a very interesting guard house, and other sights of Barcelona:

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Marveling at Marseille


Marseille Panorama

Marseille Panorama

After Aix-en-Provence and Cassis our Mercedes minivan returned us to Marseille where we first visited Palais Longchamp for some quick photos, then onward to the harbor.

Palais Longchamp

Palais Longchamp

At the harbor is where our little tour group temporarily separated for a little lunch and on-foot sightseeing.

Marseille

Marseille

Photo tip:  When travelling in Europe (and other places) remember to look well beyond photographing the ABCs (Another Bloody Castle/Cathedral/Church).  Look for interesting textures and colors presented by the more mundane and everyday:

Fishnet

Shutters

The Rowboat

After our group rejoined our next stop was high above Marseille — the stunningly beautiful Neo-Byzantine (hey, if it ain’t Baroque, don’t nix it) Notre-Dame de la Garde — which overlooks the entire area from a height of nearly 500 feet (150 meters).

Notre-Dame de la Garde overlooking Marseille

Notre-Dame de la Garde overlooking Marseille

The views from this exquisite basilica aren’t all outside, however.  The interior is equally stunning:

Notre-Dame de la Garde

Notre-Dame de la Garde

Notre-Dame de la Garde

Notre-Dame de la Garde

Another sight awaiting you at the entrance to the harbor is Château d’If, famous as the prison which held Edmond Dantès in Alexander Dumas’ classic tale The Count of Monte Cristo.

Château d'If

Château d’If

And here for your viewing pleasure is today’s photo gallery.  Click on any image below to bring up the slideshow:

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Fun Photo Friday — MS Ryndam Photo Contest


Regular followers of this blog will recall that I asked for their assistance in choosing pictures to enter into the MS Ryndam’s photo contest for this cruise (H*E*L*P — Advice Needed).  Passengers were allowed one entry in each of four categories.  Those categories and the associated entries you helped me to select were:

Landscapes:

Guesthouse — The Bicycle

Objects:

Door Framed in Blue

People:

The Cell Phone Break

and Animals:

“Sure Hope Nobody’s Watchin’ This”

Results?  Pretty good.  You’ll recall that my first inclination for the people category was to enter this little gem, but you all overwhelmingly talked me out of it:

The Smoke Break

You were right and I was wrong.  Your choice took first place.  Thanks, readers.

Also in first was my entry for the Animals category.

Two out of four categories.  I’ll take that as a win any day, thanks to you all.

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Filed under Photography, travel