http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Jbrewco/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Jbrewco en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:20:15 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 09:20:15 +0000 Tuesday was a sea day so we were able to relax on the ship after four straight days in a different port. Sort of the same old routine get up eat walk around the ship eat check out some activities on the ship eat gamble drink and eat. On Wednesday we were docked in Valletta Malta for only four hours which was not enough time. We came into port around 200 PM and the view of the city and su http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Malta/Malta/La-Valletta/blog-390128.html Sunday is the third day of four straight days in a new city. We docked in Limassol Cyprus which is located just south Turkey and west of Syria and Israel in the Mediterranean sea. Again we did not book an excursion and decided to take a shuttle bus into the older part of the city. The area the bus dropped off us in is considered the old town and there were many shops selling various items includ http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Giza/blog-388766.html On Friday we docked in Piraeus Greece. Not a lot to discuss here until we hopped in a taxi to Athens. If crosswalks and stoplights are a suggestion in Sicily in Piraeus they must be considered casual artwork. People glance at them but it doesnrsquot change how they go about their day. We once compared a taxi ride in Mexico to Mr. Toadrsquos Wild Ride at Disneyland. A taxi ride in Piraeus is http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/South-Aegean/Rhodes/blog-388475.html Tuesday was an at sea day so we were able to relax on ship and take in some of the activities offered. The ship is very nice and in comparison to other ships we have been on the Brilliance of the Seas has a much different layout. Even though the ship was sold out it feels like most of the passengers are staying in their rooms. We both entered the slot tournament but only Lisa made it to the final http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Palermo/blog-387335.html Sunday in Barcelona the weather was overcast and a bit chilly so we decided to take a walk to the Barcelona Chocolate Museum. To get there we walked through the old part of Barcelona known as the Gothic area where the building architecture is of a medieval style. We paid for the entry to the museum and the tickets were small chocolate bars. It didn't take long for Jim to eat his ticket Lisa soon http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-386534.html Friday Day 10First thing we went back to La Rambla and walked down to the port area where our cruise ship will be docked on Monday. The weather was warm so we decided to head back to La Rambla and stop at the Mercat St Joseph which is a large farmers market like place but much more than we are used to in the states. There were over 100 stalls where vendors were offering fruits vegetables fish http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-385858.html Madrid On Wednesday we decided to stay in Madrid and see a few more of the local sites. We first visited the Museo Reina Sofia where one of Picasso's famous paintings Guernica is on display. He painted Guernica in protest to the bombing of northern Spain by Hitler under the request of Franco. The painting was in the U.S. until Franco's death in mid 70's. It is a large painting that is about 20 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-385306.html Toledo On Monday we took a short train ride 30 minutes to the small town of Toledo which is south of Madrid. Upon arriving at the train station we took the bus to the city center. While it is just less than 1 mile away it is all uphill. This is a good recommendation if you plan to visit take the bus or bring along your oxygen.Toledo originally was a walled city and is located on top of a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/Seville/blog-384756.html Friday night MadridFriday night in Madrid was crazy the central area was packed with tourists and locals looking to blow off some steam. The rumors that food is not available until 1100 PM at night are not true unless you are looking for a traditional restaurant for a sit down meal. Tapas bars are always open for something to eat even at 3 o'clock in the morning So far the strangest tapas ha http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/M-laga/blog-384098.html After a few long travel days on Wednesday and Thursday we made it to Madrid around 530 PM on Thursday the 19th. We left SFO at 515 PM on Wednesday and with the 8 hour time difference we lost track of time. From the airport we took a taxi to our apartment which is located a half block from the Puerto del Sol which is the geographic center of Spain. It is also the tourist center of Spain as it is http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/District-of-Madrid/Madrid/blog-383429.html Welcome to the travel blog for Jim and Lisarsquos next adventure to Spain and the Eastern Mediterranean. For those of you that know Lisa well this is no surprise if you check out the picture for this entry. She created a wipe board for our whole trip to make sure we had all of our plans covered. She did this about two months ago We will arrive in Madrid around 330 PM on Thursday March 19 after http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/District-of-Madrid/Madrid/blog-382654.html