Dinner was with Gail and Mike Stoner from Phoenix.
My dinner @ Silk Road (Nobu box) a specialty restaurant on the ship.
Nicholas and Michael (from San Francisco) are on Seabourn and also docked in Malaga and came on board for a visit with us. Roseanne is the bridge teacher on board. They have been on our same cruises in the past.
View of Malaga Harbor from the castle on Gibralfaro Hill.

MALAGA, SPAIN-APRIL 5, 2012

Malaga Bullfighting Ring dating back to 1876 and hold a capacity of 14,000 people.
Dancers.
Flamenco performance.
Streets in Old Quarter in Malaga.
Don.
Nancy and Don in Malaga.
Beautiful fountains in the city.


Prosperous MALAGA lies along the beautiful Costa del Sol, approximately 70 miles inside the Strait of Gibraltar. The port city of MALAGA is located in Andalusia, southern Spain, on the "sunny coast" of the Mediterranean. The inner city of MALAGA is just behind the harbor and it has much revenue from the agricultural sector and from tourism. This modern-looking provincial capital was founded by the Phoenicians and later vecame culturally and economically important as the port of Granada
We arrived @ the port @ 8:00 AM after passing through the Srait of Gibraltar during the middle of the night.
We began our shore excursion with a visit to the Picasso Museum which opened in 2003 with over 200 works of Picasso which were donated by the Picasso Family. We then walked through Malaga's old quarter and a visit to Our Lady of Incarnation Cathedral, a fine example of Renaissance and Baroque architecture. We then experienced a flamenco performance while enjoying a glass of wine and refreshments. Onto a drive up to the 13th century castle that crowns Gibralfaro Hill with impressive views over Malaga and its surroundings. Just below stands a bullring.

CADIZ, SPAIN-APRIL 4, 2012

Mike and Gail Stoner from Phoenix in the Plaza de las Flores. The hats were given to us on the bus.
Nancy in the Plaza de las Flores. (The double decker bus was cold!)
Whimsical street scenes.
Inside the Cathedral of Cadiz which has Baroque, rococo and neo-classical styles of architecture.
Famous gold domed building.
Playa Caleta-the city beach.
Beautiful buildings.
Beautiful fountains throughout the city.
Double decker bus touring Cadiz.


CADIZ, SPAIN is the gateway to Seville and is perched on the tip of a thin isthmus and is near the Rock of Gibraltar. This ancient city is the oldest inhabited city of the Western World at over 3,000 years old. CADIZ is Spain's main Atlantic seaport and has a strategic location which was fought over by many major ruling forces, each trying to establish a foothold on the Spanish mainland. Under the powerful reigh of King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella I, Christopher Columbus set sail for the New World from Cadiz.
Don went on a 3 hour shore excursion and I ventured out from the ship and boarded a 2 decker bus and did a tour of the city.
We returned to the ship and had lunch in the dining room and took a nap as we moved our clocks ahead 2 hours last night!

CASABLANCA, MOROCCO 4-3-12

Cocktails in the Captain's Quarters on March 31, 2012.
Tomb of Mohammed V.
Typical building in Casablanca. Notice all of the satellite dishes on the roofs.

Inside the Mosque which can hold 25,000 people inside and the same # outside.
Don in front of Mosque.
Women in Casablanca.
Hassan II Mosque.


CASABLANCA is MOROCCO'S all-but-official capital. Its port bustles with more activity than most in Africa. Almost 4 million now call it home. Morocco was granted full independence in 1956 by both France and Spain. Following Mohammmed V's death in 1961, Hassan II succeeded him to the throne. As Time Goes By-This is Casablanca. You must remember this.
RABAT- is 1 and 1/2 hours from Casablanca and we had a 9 hour shore excursion to this beautiful city on the ocean where we visited the office of the president, Mohammed V's tomb, the Casbah and had lunch @ a lovely hotel. Before going to Rabat we visited the Hassan II Mosque, which is the 3rd largest one in the world. Construction began in the 1980's and it was finished in 1993 and covers 22 acres and was estimated to cost US $500,000,000. Wow!!!!

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE-APRIL 1, 2012

Our cab driver Javier dropping us off @ the ship after a lovely morning in Puerta Cruz de Tenerife.
Grand auditorium completed in 2003 by architect Santiago Calatrava. Resembling The Opera House in Sydney, Australia.
Swimming pool next to the beach.
Beach @ Puerta Cruz.
Nancy and Don on the beach with the volcanic sand so prevalent on the island.


Tenerife is one of several CANARY ISLANDS. In fact, there are 7 in the archipelago. Tenefife enjoys "eternal spring" and is popular year-round with sunseekers and vacationers. The island has a dormant volcano, last erupting in 1909, that is the highest Mount in Europe
Our ship arrived in port on Palm Sunday and many of the shops, etc. were closed in the city. We hired a cab and driver Javier and drove to Puerta Cruz, a small port nearby with lots of beautiful scenery and everything was open as it is a tourist mecca.

We are now on the second leg of our cruise. The first was Miami to Lisbon across the Atlantic with a stop in Madeira. The next leg will be Lisbon to Barcelona with stops in Madeira, Tenerife, Casablanca, Cadiz, Malaga and then Barcelona. We are at a whole new table of 8 for dinner and the ship is full.

Lady outside Embroidery Shop in Funchal, Madeira doing her craft. Madeira is known for its beautiful linens and also Madeira wine--"have some Madeira, M'dear....."
Fish @ Farmer's Market.
Wicker baskets and produce @ Farmer's Market.
Farmer's Market fruit and vegetables.
Shopping buddies from the ship. Gail from Phoenix and Christine from North Carolina.

Mercado dos Lavradors (Farmer's Market) where we shopped!
Fellow shipmates going ahore in FUNCHAL, MADEIRA on SAT. MARCH 31.
Getting ready for the Captain's Welcome Dinner after a Day @ Sea-March 30, 2012.
Our team of 6 won Team Trivia and Nancy came in first @ Bridge. A good time was had by all.
View from our verandah--Bridge in Lisbon (notice similarity to the Golden Gate Bridge) Same designer!!!!
Cable car in streets of Lisbon.
Nancy and Don with sculpture behind.
Square overlooking the city.
Portugese pastry-Delicious!!!!!
Famous Pastries of Belem Shop. Original recipe known only to 3 chefs.
We took a short city tour of Lisbon. The Museu do Combatente.