Santa Cruz, Tenerife (Canary Islands): After 7.5 days at sea, this island looked like heaven, setting the foundation for what was to be a delightful visit. We had a previously arranged car rental with Enterprise, and after walking to the wrong building, we discovered that Enterprise was aligned with Cicar which is conveniently located on the pier. The kind folks at Cicar upgraded us to an automatic 2018 Fiat with all the bells and whistles for no extra charge, so we happily drove off into island traffic. Having heard that traffic in Europe can be chaotic, I expected the worst but that never materialized. All of the ground work using Google Maps and Google Earth to get a preview of the roads prior to our arrival paid off, and navigating the streets and highways was a breeze. We drove toward our objective destination: Mt. Teide National Park. We had purchased tickets on-line (https://www.volcanoteide.com/en/teide_cable_car) for the cable car that takes you nearly to the top of Mt. Teide, and also requested a free summit pass (from http://bit.ly/dQ3Tah) to be admitted to the volcano’s peak at over 12,000 ft. Hint: Be sure to book your summit pass 60 days prior to your trip, they tend to go fast. Unfortunately, the cable car does not run when the weather is bad, and it had been windy there all week and on the day of our visit, so instead of ascending up to the pinnacle of the highest mountain in all of Spain, we had a very enjoyable stay in the park. As we were above the cloud line, it was sunny and beautiful, and it was also much warmer than we had anticipated. After sheading our multiple layers of clothing, we enjoyed the other worldly scene of lava flows, lava towers (where cones had been), and the clouds wafting over other nearby mountains and hills. It was like we were on Mars, but less red and we could breathe. After a couple hours of touring, we returned via the coastline for a different view of the interior island than we had on the way up along the spine of the mountain ridges. You descend through several thermal and ecological zones: Lava rock yields to high altitude flora & fauna, which yields to a rain forest of majestic trees, which finally yields to the lower coastal zone at sea level. Very beautiful, and a nice change of pace from simply touring the port city of Santa Cruz. Especially since we would be doing just that in every port to come.

Cartagena, Spain: The port here typically only handles a single cruise ship, read: The town is pleasantly uncrowded. The dock is right in the middle of town, making Cartagena one of the best ports too walk around on your own. We used a Tomsportguide.com for a free downloadable 28-page guide that we carried on an iPad mini during our day in port. The guide provides step-by-step directions of key points of interest, all of which are in a 1.4-mile rectangular radius from the ship. We toured the marbled (yes, really, marble!) streets of the downtown city hall area. Gorgeous stone edifices pay tribute to the post 19th century architecture. A truly European town: Beautiful, clean, picturesque, with friendly citizens. Across from the city hall building is the entrance at $5pp euro to the museum that provides access to the Roman Forum. We did not go in as we were there before the museum opened at 10am, and (Here’s a tip…) later we discovered that a walkway leading from the Fort at the top of the hill provides a top-level view of the forum, so we felt we vindicated and happily took many “free” photos of the ruins. The Church of Santo Domingo lay about fifty yards further down the Calle (street) and was free to enter and see the ornate tributes to the Holy Family. We toured the $2.50pp euro House of Fortune to see the recently reclaimed ruins of a wealthy Merchants home that is actually under the current street level. I was surprised how interesting it was to walk through a 2,000+ year old home and upon the original streets outside the domicile. Amazing. A video shows how the home likely looked back in pre-first century Cartagena. The guide also shows where to catch the lift to the Castillo de la Concepcion – or conception castle (the fort on the high hill near the port). The lift and castle entry is $4.25pp euro. The grounds are beautiful, the view overlooks the entire city and port (take your ship photo from here!), and videos provide a description of the most interesting thing in Cartagena, and for that matter the whole of Europe: The history of conquest and change over millennia is fairly well preserved in this wonderous land. You see Roman ruins beside Islamic castles that are built next to Christian and now modern-day buildings – all preserved or in a state of restoration. If you are able to walk down about 150 steps, be sure to take the path down toward the aforementioned roman ruins rather than back down the lift. The pathway ends at City Hall, and the port facility is across the street.

Ajaccio, Corsica (France): I write this sitting on our balcony overlooking this wonderful city. I was surprised by this island, a providence of France. It was quaint, uncrowded, and g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s! Of all the islands visited on our Western European itinerary, this is the one I can see myself retiring on…and not just for the fine French wine or pastries here. We began our visit exiting the port building and turning left, after which you can catch the “Ajaccio Vision” double decker open air tour bus. I read about this on TripAdvisor, and it was 100% accurate: We took the 55-minute $8pp euro (was actually 1 hour and 5 minutes…there is also a 1:30 minute tour that includes a 20-minute stop at the end-of-the line…no real reason to stop) tour that hits upon the major in- city sights, but spends over half the tour beyond the city and along the picturesque coastline where the history and major sites along the way are explained. This is where you become sold on the prospect of never leaving this place. The water is clear, the landscape is green with trees and foliage, the beaches are plentiful…and, sorry ladies, the women enjoying the beaches may be topless. Oh my! Let’s just say, France is OK in my book. Moving on…the terrain is hilly and interesting in that it has a Malibu, California feel to it – sophisticated, gorgeous, and pristine with many private homes along the shoreline. What is there not to love here??! Oh, and a side note: Everywhere you look in town is a monument to the “Emperor” Napoleon Bonaparte, as he was born and christened here (you can visit the church) and see the many monuments to his name located at nearly every turn. The tour will show you most all of these sites – albeit in a drive by fashion. After the bus tour we traced back to a couple of Napoleon sites to get a better view (and pictures): The “Monument a la memoire de Napoleon” (in place de Gaulle square, the monument pictures Napoleon and his four brothers), and the “Place de Austerlitz” which is a monument up a hill (don’t worry, my 82-year-old mother walked it) is yet another tribute to Napoleon. It is beautiful and worth the visit. We then turned off the beaten/tourist path, always looking for the true local flavor of where we are visiting – and we exited to the south of the base of the monument and headed down the street to the sea shore. Here we (finally!) dipped our feet in the Mediterranean Sea and strolled along the beach. It was S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R! We then walked along the sea edge board walk (though it was a concrete path lined by palm trees) and back through the narrow city streets to the port building. We spent 4 hours ashore, and in the future, should we ever have the opportunity to visit again, I would probably also rent a car and drive into the interior of this lovely island. I am told that the Prunelli Gorges are a vision to see. Next time…it is always good to have a reason to come back.

Malaga, Spain: Here our ship docked near the town, but since it was still a 20-minute one-way walk, we decided to take a taxi and begin our next DIY adventure into this historic city. We began at the Alcazaba palace and Roman Theatre. We paid a small fee of $6 euro for all three of us and entered thinking that we could breeze through the site. That proved not to be a valid assumption, and during the 2.5 hours we spent there we were impressed with how the Muslim inhabitants had lived. They had gardens, ponds, fountains, trellised patios, and the best views you could ever imagine. It was a photographer’s paradise. There are many steps here, and the palace is built along a hill, so the elevation rises a couple hundred feet as you tour from one end to the other. There is a nice café at the top and end of the palace tour that serves beer, wine, and sandwiches. We enjoyed our first real Spanish Sangria there and loved it! Which was good, because prior to then we did not know that there was no exit on top and had to traverse back to the entrance in order to exit. In our Sangria-ized state, it did not matter, and we enjoyed many of the views in reverse on our way out. We had planned to take a cab to the fort (Castillo de Gabralfaro) on the hill next to the palace, but after all of the walking we did at the Palace, my mother was in no mood for more. We instead strode by Cathedral Square and took in the view of the outside of the huge church there. We would have went in too but felt it better to get back on board for Mom’s sake, so we taxied back to the ship. For those with more energy, you can instead head to the Plaza de la Constitution and explore it and the Thyssen Art Museum near there, and then head back toward the marina/port via Calle de Larios for the finest shopping in Malaga. The Atarazanas Market is also popular with tourists and is a little further West of Calle de Larios.

Barcelona, Spain: This is a large city, with all of the hustle and bustle that goes along with it. We took a taxi from the port directly to the Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family) Temple. The taxi from port to the Temple has a flat rate of $19 euro total for 3 passengers, or $25 euro for up to seven. You WILL need to order your entry tickets in advance at www.sagradafamilia.org/eng/tickets/index.html. We paid $29pp euro for entry, a lift into the Nativity Tower, and an audio guide. The Antoni Gaudi architected temple is hard to describe and has to be seen to be believed. Gaudi’s vision is pure genius, it is simply a jaw-dropping sight to behold and experience. We spent three hours there, and it felt like three minutes. The site is still under construction and will be completed in 2026, which is not too much longer, considering that the building was originally designed by Gaudi in 1909. As Rome was not built in a day, it will be over 100 years before this glorious tribute to the Holy Family is completed. Fortunately, most of the temple is in a ready state for your visit. The audio guide was superb; including discussion of the structures, details on what and where to look to see the finer details, building techniques, and Gaudi inspired insights into why the building is built the way it is and what it represents. Anyone, whether religious or not, will walk away inspired from this site. We then took the L1 train for $2.20pp euro to the Plaza Catalunya and walked down the Las Ramblas thoroughfare toward the port. This is a mostly pedestrian street with shops and eateries. Though it was a bit too “touristy” for me, we did stroll into the “La Boqueria Market” and sampled some candy and fruit drinks there. Note: Just about anything you may want to buy is here too! If you want tapas, it may be a better and less costly fair if you walk a block or too away from Las Ramblas to find a more local (non-tourist) restaurant. We had racked up about 3.9 miles walking up to this point, so even though we had intended to use Rick Steve’s free downloadable “Barcelona City Walk” audio-guide to tour the Barri Gothic Quarter beginning halfway down Las Ramblas, we opted instead to take an $8 euro total taxi from the market back to terminal B in port and re-board the ship. It was a full and splendid day, but we had to hit the pool to cool off our tootsies!