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Published: June 11th 2013
The Voyager was scheduled to dock in Monte Carlo but due to the Grand Prix race the port was full. So instead we anchored off Villefranche-sur-Mer. This was a stroke of luck for us. While we really enjoy Monaco, Villefranche is a very special place on the French Riviera. My sister Judy’s favorite movie was filmed here. "An Affair to Remember" is a beautiful romance story and continues to lure fans to this lovely town. A prominent citadel covers one side of town and an ancient Cathedral towers over the rest of the village. Villefranche was home port for the U.S. Navy 6
th Fleet for years after the end of WWII. Navy ships still call here as the bay has the deepest natural harbor in the Mediterranean. We came here in 2008 with our retired commander friend John. He took us to his favorite restaurant La Mere Germaine. It was fabulous as only French restaurants can be. This time we stumbled upon a tiny Vietnamese restaurant called Le Mekong and had a great bowl of Pho. It was a picture perfect day here on Villefranche Bay.
In Marseille we decided to go to Le Castellet up in the mountains. I
swear, the French have cornered the market on cute. This is another storybook village surrounded by vineyard covered hillsides. Our guide described Le Castellet as very "colorful and smelly." I think she meant aromatic. The French director Marcel Pagnol filmed many of his movies here. Our favorite was "The Baker's Wife" which evokes French village life. We wandered around the Provencal town for several hours just taking in the sights, sounds and "smells."
The residents are very proud of their wines. During the Roman era the farmers were forbidden to grow grapes and olive trees. The Romans were afraid that their monopoly on these products would be usurped. Now this area is famous for its fine wines and other home grown products. We tried some locally made potato chips...they were the best ever!
In Barcelona it is always easy to find new areas to explore. So we walked from the ship to La Barceloneta on the waterfront. This is such a pleasant out of the way place. There are no tourists here, just regular folks going about their day to day business. On the ocean side of the town there are beaches that attract both locals and visitors.
LA MERE GERMAINE
Tres Chic restaurant in VillefrancheWe enjoyed a delicious 3 course lunch at a restaurant overlooking the sea.
Barri Gothic is the oldest part of Barcelona and is a great place to stroll around the car-free lanes. It seems that there is a cathedral on every plaza square including the one where my nephew Mike married his Catalan wife Eva.
After six days of touring it was great to have a sea day. The weather wasn't the best as it was unseasonably cold and the seas were choppy. That didn't stop us from playing ping pong, paddle tennis and cards. Sandra continued with her informative lecture series on local topics which always gives us better insight and appreciation of the areas we are traveling in.
We had a night time sail past the Rock of Gibraltar as we slipped out of the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic Ocean. That morning we called at the ancient port of Cadiz and docked right downtown. We like any port where the ship can tie up in the heart of the city. Then we don't have to take shuttles or taxies and we can just walk into town and explore on foot.
After the
founding of the New World, Cadiz became the wealthiest trading port in Western Europe. Its importance has faded somewhat but Cadiz is filled with beautiful medieval fortresses, cobbled streets and remains a lively market town.
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Dick
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End of Adventure-this chapter
So, a change of plans. You guys find the best places for fantqastic food. Let's see now-how many days of exercise to work off all the days of gourtmet dining on this cruise?? England next?? and then what??. Thainks again for your blogs. Nostalgic and tempting. When's your book coming out? See you one day soon at home. The salm on are big and plentiful. Dick