Alitalia bad! Costa better. - Western Mediterranean "Ports" Review by brother

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Home > Member Reviews > brother_unknown's Port Reviews of Aarhus, Barcelona, Aarhus, Tunis (La Goulette), Malta, Palermo

brother_unknown's Port Reviews of Aarhus, Barcelona, Aarhus, Tunis (La Goulette), Malta, Palermo
Costa Pacifica cruise in November 2009

Member Name:	brother_unknown
Cruise Date:	November 2009
Embarkation:	Civitavecchia
Destination:	Western Mediterranean
Member Review:	brother_unknown's Costa Pacifica Review

	Aarhus Port Rating: Savona is readily accessible from port. Though still jetlagged, we walked through charming town
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	Barcelona Port Rating: $6 pp shuttle brought us to the foot of the Rambla, where we followed a walking tour I'd found on the web. The expected buildings were there but so were large numbers of unemployed Morrocans. Then on to the Boquera (an extensive outdoor market) and a tapas bar where we had our best meal since leaving the States.
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	Aarhus Port Rating: It's a long, long walk from the port into Mallorca and I'd recommend that everyone take the city bus at the port (the bus is marked airport but it also stops at the center of the city). Still the walk took us along the yacht harbor and then up briefly to two antique windmills Quixote might have visited. From the city center, we took a E5 cab ride to the Pueblo Espaniol which features recreated architecture from the 13th century on for all parts of Spain and the Canary Island. Recommended.
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	Tunis (La Goulette) Port Rating: A taxi is essential to get from the port to the Medina and the ruins of Carthage. The Medina consists of a maze of narrow alleyways lined by stalls on either side; one entire section is devoted to clothes, another to jewelry and so on. We were taken aside by an amiable conman who led us at breakneck pace to his friend the perfumer who offered to sell us for 20 euros, no 10, no 5, the rare essences of perfume. Our guide then demanded money for his children, five Euros, please. Thankfully, he did lead us to a lane which led out of the market before he ditched us. I gave him a $1 US which he looked at scornfully. (Actually everyone on our journey looked at $US scornfully.) If you're not careful, your cab driver will take you not to the ruins of Carthage but to another outdoor market. Our driver did throw in a tour of the Presidential palace as well as the innumerable villas and apartments reserved for the President's cronies. By begging, we also got to see some ancient Roman era cisterns.
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	Malta Port Rating: We took a bus tour of the Island (the only real stop was at a glass factory--warning: it take a good 10 minutes to get to the rest rooms from the factory) which left us at the entrance to Valletta (the ancient main city) perched high above the port. The entrance was lined with stalls, and although a McDonalds and Burger King were to be found within the walls, I led us back to a shack where all the bus drivers seemed to be ordering their meals. We had a superb stewed rabbit served with great bread. Valleta was home to the Knights of Malta and their headquarters is not to be missed.
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	Palermo Port Rating: Map in hand, we headed for the principal sights only to come unexpectedly upon a museum of contemporary art, the high point of our tour! There is a great deal to see in the city, impressive buildings from the previous century and we were exhausted when we completed our uphill climb. This may explain why the way back to the ship led us into a narrow alley, home to an outdoor market with fresh fish and cephalopods of every description on display. The thing about narrow alley is that they immediately challenge the Italian driver to see how fast he can go (as in the movies) without actually hitting a pedestrian or overturning a stall.
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