Povies in Europe!

 Today we visited Tarragona, Spain, a smaller town about 50 miles south of Barcelona. It is being developed as an alternative cruise port due to the overly busy traffic in Barcelona. They recently added 2 more cruise berths to the original 2, but today ours was the only cruise ship in port. Lots of commercial ships and ferries and private yachts and boats on hand though, as well as giant piles of coal ready for export. We got a cab to the city center and explored. There is an original Roman amphitheater historical site with half the original 12,000 seats intact, as well as archway and inscriptions from 200 AD. They've documented the whole history, including the ousting of the Roman's and establishment of a Catholic church and graveyard in 700, right on top of the theater floor. An adjacent site shows the location and layout of the Roman Circus here two millennia ago. Tarragona is the center of Catalan culture, which is an ethnic identity encompassing the central coast of Spain,...

                                          When we woke up we were already in port at Marseilles, France! Apparently these overnight junkets don't take as long as the itinerary says. We had a quick petite dejuener in the buffet with many fewer fellow sailers, then got ready to explore this town. Turns out it's the 2nd largest city in France, so we had to take a taxi from the cruise pier to the Vielle-port area. Lots of great views along the way, and then the stunning yacht basin in the middle of the protected harbor appeared. Marseilles is VERY upscale with lots of high end shops, chi- chi restaurants, and smartly dressed residents everywhere. We found our way to the Visitors' Center and got our bearings before strolling  along the pretty harbor with its billions of dollars worth of yachts, sport and fishing boats, ferries and tall masted sailboats. We marve...

Our first cruise stop was the lovely port city of Genova (the Italians add a "v" just to confound us).  The ship docked around 9am so we had a quick breakfast (seems like everybody had the same plan) and walked into the port area.  This city has a whole different feel than Rome. Built on the side of a hill and centered around the port, the old buildings and streets look like a painting staring down on you from above.                                              Tiny walkways and passages go up the hill, through the old buildings, with a bar (they all sell coffee and food as well as alcohol, and most are open all day), a gift shop, a farmacia or a fruitstand everywhere  you go.    We checked out the aquarium, with a pirate ship replica in front, and McDonald's with a very different menu. Then we made our way up some of those stree...