Merry Christmas 2011

and now words, by Randy...


Spain and the Holiday Cruise

By

Randall D. Ball

Over the Christmas holiday, we traveled to Spain, taking a cruise from Barcelona out to the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa. We visited the colorful port town of Funchal (Madeira), a part of Portugal; Spanish Tenerife, with its volcanoes (including the very tall, impressive Mount Teida) and “lunar landscapes,” as all the travel brochures and advertisements rightly describe, Arrecife, and—back on mainland Spain—Malaga (Granada) Spain, where Christine enjoyed part of her Christmas present (a day to herself with a tour of the Alhambra, a famous Moorish palace). My primary regret is that we missed the Rock of Gibraltar; both times that our cruise ship the Norwegian Jade passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, it was during the night, and we were sleeping soundly in our cozy (not quite cramped) cabin.

The cruise featured tons of constant food, activities, shows, and entertainment and games for the girls, especially Anastasia, who decorated her own cupcakes, made a pizza, played pirate, and had fun with other little kids on our ship. Talula was too young for those activities, but the ship did have a small, simple under-two playroom for her. Santa Claus paid a visit on Christmas Day; both girls received a little gift from the cruiseline. Christine attended a few art lectures and an art auction, and Anastasia and I caught two “Broadway” shows. In between all this excitement over the course of nine days, we ate at the buffet and at two separate dining rooms.

Upon our return to Barcelona, we toured Guell Parc and the famous cathedral of Sagrada Familia, designed by the architect Gaudi and still under construction since 1882 (estimated completion date: 2025). Then we enjoyed some tapas at a little restaurant in the neighborhood where we were staying; the squid and scallops were especially tasty, although the goat cheese and the bread were good as well. The girls struggled, however, to find something to their liking. They preferred bananas, chocolate sponge cake, and microwave popcorn that we found at a little market around the corner. It was a change from the spaghetti that Anastasia had been living on for the past few days. Talula was willing to eat nearly anything on the cruise ship.

We stayed in a furnished, rented apartment in the Old Town, a trendy and very pedestrian-friendly area near Parc de la Ciutadella. On our last day, we walked over to the zoo in that park, much to the girls’ delight. Of course, they were just as interested in trudging through the fallen leaves and in chasing pigeons as they were in observing the animals. They did enjoy the petting zoo, however, as our photographs suggest. Nearly all of our photos from the zoo focus on that petting zoo—goats galore! Anastasia and Talula were also impressed with the peacocks, giraffes, elephants, and the Komodo dragon.

Both girls get excited about airplanes and airports, by the way. As soon as they see a packed bag, they start talking about airplanes. At the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, Anastasia had us draw pictures of airplanes. Then she’d show the drawings to the airplanes out the window of the terminal. Anastasia and Talula also made “snow angels” continuously, lying on the floor of various airport terminals, waving their arms and legs. One particular comment was my favorite, however. Anastasia pointed to a fellow passenger at the terminal in Frankfurt who was sleeping under a blanket, and she asked, “Is he hiding?” Yes, Anastasia, he’s hiding, but he doesn’t want to be found. That’s part of the point behind a holiday, after all.