Today is Monday, April 28.
Yesterday we wandered around Casablanca in North Africa. The Atlas mountains shield the area from the harsh heat of the Sahara. It is one of the largest cities in Africa. Casablanca is very modern and clean. We arrived on a Sunday - many of the stores closed in the afternoon which frustrated Vicki. We did go into the food market area that had stalls of every vegetable, ton of flowers, fish, and all sorts of meat including horse meat.
This morning we are sailing in the Straits of Gibraltar where we dock in Gibraltar for the day.
dennis
As Dennis has told you, yesterday was Morocco (pronounced MOR-o-CO) for the day. We did a little tour of the town and saw the huge new mosque. It looks like the younger generation will be changing things a bit. We were told that the previous king had 100 wives, the current king only one. Our guide said this was because of a different generation. We weren't sure if it was because of the wife! Many young people had modern dress, and some with their muslim dress and head scarves, but with blue denim underneath. Everyone was checking their cell phones, so nothing new there! We had 20 minutes to shop in the only store that was opened for the benefit of the Grand Princess cruisers. The beaches in Morocco were very beautiful.
Today was a blissful change. Finally a first world country after 16 days of cruising and visiting 3rd world countries. Gibralter is over the top with shopping opportunities and is a duty free port as well. Only 2.6 square miles, half the size of Rhode Island, but an economic leader with only 3% unemployed and practically no crime. Hooray! We walked into town, all round and back to the ship. After being in Brazil, Senegal, and Morocco, the shopping was just about too much to take in. Culture shock had set in! We actually had a news channel today as well, after 16 days with no world news.
Tomorrow is a sea day, and then to Cannes, France. That should be enjoyable as we are set to do a tour on a small town with a vibrant art community.
Vicki
April 29, Tuesday
After sleeping in a bit this morning, we took in the last of the art lectures. This time the subject was Siena, a city located between France and Rome. Our lecturer had spent a year of art study there, and know the subject well. It is virtually the same as when it was established, and was very modern for the times with an advanced system of flowing water. I need to go here some day, so it is added to the bucket list!
Later today is the last art auction, maybe more on that later. Dennis has purchased me a lovely white rose corsage for the tonight's formal dinner.
The art auction went nicely, and I won a trivia card because I knew what chiaroscuro is. The formal dinner was very nice with lobster and prawns. Afterwards we went to the last musical dance show; and it was really outstanding. Next was a "champagne waterfall" made of 754 flutes stacked in a pyramid. People could stand on a platform with the maitre'd and pour champagne while having their picture taken. Now this was happening after the show at 11:15 pm. The whole lot of passengers seemed to be out in their formal wear for free champagne. There was a congo line and dancing. We retreated after just about an hour, as it was sooooo warm. I could feel the heat radiating off Dennis' suit coat and that is not a good thing for him! Up tomorrow early for our trip into France.
FYI: I didn't see any other person with a corsage, how special was that??? I was wearing black lace, so the white rose showed up beautifully. Thank you Dennis!
Yesterday we wandered around Casablanca in North Africa. The Atlas mountains shield the area from the harsh heat of the Sahara. It is one of the largest cities in Africa. Casablanca is very modern and clean. We arrived on a Sunday - many of the stores closed in the afternoon which frustrated Vicki. We did go into the food market area that had stalls of every vegetable, ton of flowers, fish, and all sorts of meat including horse meat.
This morning we are sailing in the Straits of Gibraltar where we dock in Gibraltar for the day.
dennis
As Dennis has told you, yesterday was Morocco (pronounced MOR-o-CO) for the day. We did a little tour of the town and saw the huge new mosque. It looks like the younger generation will be changing things a bit. We were told that the previous king had 100 wives, the current king only one. Our guide said this was because of a different generation. We weren't sure if it was because of the wife! Many young people had modern dress, and some with their muslim dress and head scarves, but with blue denim underneath. Everyone was checking their cell phones, so nothing new there! We had 20 minutes to shop in the only store that was opened for the benefit of the Grand Princess cruisers. The beaches in Morocco were very beautiful.
Today was a blissful change. Finally a first world country after 16 days of cruising and visiting 3rd world countries. Gibralter is over the top with shopping opportunities and is a duty free port as well. Only 2.6 square miles, half the size of Rhode Island, but an economic leader with only 3% unemployed and practically no crime. Hooray! We walked into town, all round and back to the ship. After being in Brazil, Senegal, and Morocco, the shopping was just about too much to take in. Culture shock had set in! We actually had a news channel today as well, after 16 days with no world news.
Tomorrow is a sea day, and then to Cannes, France. That should be enjoyable as we are set to do a tour on a small town with a vibrant art community.
Vicki
April 29, Tuesday
After sleeping in a bit this morning, we took in the last of the art lectures. This time the subject was Siena, a city located between France and Rome. Our lecturer had spent a year of art study there, and know the subject well. It is virtually the same as when it was established, and was very modern for the times with an advanced system of flowing water. I need to go here some day, so it is added to the bucket list!
Later today is the last art auction, maybe more on that later. Dennis has purchased me a lovely white rose corsage for the tonight's formal dinner.
The art auction went nicely, and I won a trivia card because I knew what chiaroscuro is. The formal dinner was very nice with lobster and prawns. Afterwards we went to the last musical dance show; and it was really outstanding. Next was a "champagne waterfall" made of 754 flutes stacked in a pyramid. People could stand on a platform with the maitre'd and pour champagne while having their picture taken. Now this was happening after the show at 11:15 pm. The whole lot of passengers seemed to be out in their formal wear for free champagne. There was a congo line and dancing. We retreated after just about an hour, as it was sooooo warm. I could feel the heat radiating off Dennis' suit coat and that is not a good thing for him! Up tomorrow early for our trip into France.
FYI: I didn't see any other person with a corsage, how special was that??? I was wearing black lace, so the white rose showed up beautifully. Thank you Dennis!
Comments
Love CAzzie