COSTA BRAVA, PALS, AND GIRONA, SPAIN — MAY 16, 2026

What an excellent decision we made when we decided to take a road trip for our last full day in Spain! The tour, our guide, and the locations we visited were fantastic. We booked a day trip with Spanish Trails. It was even better than we expected, and we expected a lot! Our guide, Anthony shared a wealth of knowledge about the area and its culture, history, food, and art. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide!

We were picked up early Saturday morning and drove about an hour and 45 minutes northeast to the coastal town of Calella de Palafuegell. We saw white houses, restaurants, and hotels lining the cliffs overlooking the impossibly blue Mediterranean, and colorful flowers were blooming everywhere. The tranquil white and blue background with an abundance of bright colors created an idyllic scene way beyond what I imagined we would see that day. It didn’t hurt that the weather was perfect — clear blue skies and warm but not hot temperatures made walking and exploring pleasant.

After about an hour in Calella de Palafuegell we walked to Llafranc by following the coastal trail. This was a great way to get from one town to the next, although there were some pretty significant elevation changes.

Our next stop was the village of Pals, a beautiful Medieval hilltop town about 20 minutes from Llafranc. We walked the cobbled streets and explored the village before lunch.

We had lunch at a local restaurant, Antic Casino. They are known for their paella/rice dishes, and it was a very popular, very busy spot.

It was about 1:30 when we got to the restaurant, so we were definitely on Spanish time! The late lunch would come into play later, but at the time it was fine. I was ready to get off my feet for a while, and we were able to sit outside to enjoy the gorgeous day.

The drive to Girona took about 50 minutes and took place under increasingly dark clouds. By the time we got to Girona it was cold, windy, spitting rain, and we encountered wall-to-wall people! We discovered it was the weekend of the annual Flower Festival, and it seemed as if everyone within a 100 mile radius had descended on Girona!

Anthony dropped us off near the bridge to town while he searched (in vain) for a place to park. He never found a spot. Jim and I walked around for a while, but it was crowded and cold, so we lost our enthusiasm pretty quickly. We called Anthony and told him we were willing to call it a day.

So…Girona was the main reason I booked the tour, and it ended up being the only part of the day we didn’t enjoy. I think that had more to do with circumstances than Girona itself, but nevertheless we were kind of relieved to head back to Barcelona. We had a fantastic time, but a long travel day was up next, and we still had to repack and make sense of everything that was haphazardly thrown in our suitcases the night before we got off the ship.

I know Anthony felt terrible, and he offered other things we could go see, but we honestly didn’t think it was necessary. Our day was terrific, even without really seeing Girona. Besides, it will give us a reason to return.😆

We were tired and still full when we got back to Barcelona, so we cancelled our dinner reservations (or tried to), got snacks from the little terrace bar, and spent the evening lounging once we had the suitcases taken of. It had been a great trip, but like all vacations, once it was over I was ready to get home. After all, we would be leaving again in just over three months, and I had some planning to do!

MONTSERRAT, A WINERY PICNIC, TAPAS (AGAIN😂), AND FLAMENCO — MAY 15, 2026

We were up early — very early — on Friday because we needed to leave to by about 7:15 for our tour. Fortunately breakfast in the hotel starts early so we were able to grab a quick bite to eat before we left.

Our “Montserrat & Cava Winery Tour — Day Trip from Barcelona with Lunch” left from near the Gothic Quarter and the waterfront at 7:50. We were in a comfortable touring van, and as far as I remember there were 12 of us plus our driver and our guide Ariana.

Ariana was great! Whenever you book space on a tour in a small group instead of a private tour with a specific guide you’re risking getting a bad guide, but other than the robot from our tour in Provence we had great guides on this trip. The tour was booked through Walks/Devour Tours, the same company we used for our tapas and history tour Thursday evening, and it was excellent. Monserrat and Winery Tour.

The day didn’t start out too well in the weather department. The skies were gray with flat light, it was windy, and it was spitting rain off and on. It was also cold up at the higher altitude where the Montserrat monastery is located. I had on a sweatshirt and a long sleeved t-shirt, and if I could have bought another layer while we were at Montserrat I would have!

The monastery of Montserrat has been in operation for over 1,000 years. You can read about the monastery’s history and evolution here: Montserrat.

The monastery is set in a strikingly beautiful setting high in the Montserrat Mountains northwest of Barcelona. It is secluded and difficult to get to on steep, winding mountain roads.

Nevertheless, thousands of visitors daily make the trip to see both the monastery itself as well as the majestic surroundings. The scenery was beautiful despite the gray skies and threatening clouds, and I think it would have been breathtaking on a clear day.

The “main attraction” at the monastery is the Basilica of Montserrat in the center of the complex. The basilica is accessed through a large atrium. While the most famous feature of the basilica is the statue of The Black Madonna, the structure itself and the finishes are beautiful and definitely worth visiting.

Ariana explained the history and culture of the monastery, and then we had free time to explore. Guides are not permitted to provide tour services inside the basilica, so we walked through the basilica and then toured the grounds on our own. There is a funicular that takes guests to a scenic overlook above the monastery, but we didn’t think it would be worth going up there given the weather conditions.

We had a little time in the gift shop for required souvenirs (and snacks) before we headed to the food and wine part of the day.

I really enjoyed the scenery on the way down the mountain. The cloud cover was lifting a bit and the skies were brighter than they had been earlier in the day.

To the best of my recollection the drive to the Joan Segura Pujadas Winery was about 45 minutes. Joan Segura Pujadas

We were greeted by Alba, our outstanding winery hostess and guide. She led the tasting, the cellar tour, and the picnic in the vineyards.

We had a pretty extensive tour of the cellars after our tasting, but to be honest, the stairs were STEEP and it was very dark so I was concentrating more on staying upright than on taking pictures!😂

The winery part of the tour ended with a bottling demonstration, and one lady in our group had the opportunity to “bottle” her own wine with a label she created and take it with her! Since it was her birthday I thought it was a great keepsake of the day!

The highlight of the day was, for me, our trip out to the vineyards for a picnic lunch. After all, what’s not to like about good food and wine in a beautiful setting?

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, so we headed back to the winery and then boarded our van for the drive back to Barcelona.

We were thankful to have a little down time back at the hotel before our evening tour. We had booked a Tapas and Flamenco tour with Liv Tours: Tapas and Flamenco. There were five of us on the tour, and we tasted MANY tapas at two different restaurants in the Gothic Quarter.

Everything was very good, but if I’m being completely honest it was way too much food. Lunch in the vineyards had been substantial, and the tapas on the tour just kept coming!

We saw the flamenco show at Tarantos after the food part of our tour. It wasn’t what I expected, but it was enjoyable and different. I was afraid it would be very touristy, but it really wasn’t. The venue is small and “cozy” and the performance was part show and part guys sitting around talking and playing guitars!🤷‍♀️

We took a cab back to the hotel after the show. Thank goodness it was a set rate, because the less than 2 mile trip took 45 minutes!

While we were walking to the meeting point for our taxi we passed one of the hundreds of tacky souvenir shops that litter the landscape in Barcelona. I couldn’t decide which magnet or bottle opener was tackiest, so I just took a picture of the whole display. Unfortunately when I looked closely I realized I can’t share that picture here — it’s extremely vulgar. Here’s a crop of the only item on the whole display that’s remotely acceptable for my blog!

Just like that, we only had one day left!😢 We spent our last full day taking a road trip to Costa Brava and Girona. I can’t wait to share my pictures…Costa Brava is gorgeous!

BARCELONA — MAY 14, 2026

We had really been looking forward to our visit to Barcelona. We had heard so much about the city and we were excited about exploring it ourselves. We packed a lot into three days and saw Barcelona as well as some fantastic places outside the city.

Believe it or not, despite having a great time we did not love Barcelona like we love other European cities. It felt very Americanized to us, and outside of the scattered Gaudi architecture, the Gothic Quarter, and of course La Sagrada Família, we could have been in any large city. When I’m in London I know I’m not in the US. The same goes for Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, etc. There was just something about Barcelona that felt very familiar…perhaps it was Nike, 5 Guys, Taco Bell, Hilfiger, Levi’s, KFC, and the list goes on. I know those things are everywhere, but they seemed more pervasive in Barcelona than other cities I’ve visited.🤷‍♀️

Our day started outside the cruise terminal about 8:45 when our ride/guide from Spain Day Tours picked four of us up for a city tour and hotel drop off. Spain Day Tours

I thought this tour would be a good way to get an overview of the city without worrying about our luggage. Our friends Doreen and Neil who were touring with us were staying in a hotel just a block from ours, so between luggage and location the convenience factor was high for choosing this tour!

I thought the tour was good, but I’m not sure we got our money’s worth, at least from the aspect of time spent . The tour was scheduled to last four hours, but including the hotel drop-offs our tour was closer to three hours. I didn’t really mind — I knew we would be seeing most of Barcelona later in the day or during the other days of our stay, so I wasn’t upset. We had three busy days ahead of us and I was anxious to get checked in to the hotel and get settled/freshen up.

We really enjoyed our hotel — H10 Universitat. H10 Universitat

The location was great, and I had been lucky enough to grab a suite during a big sale, so we had plenty of room inside to spread out, and our own private terrace to enjoy being outside.

The only problem we encountered at our hotel was getting into our room without a long wait. Our room had been cleaned, but was waiting for the head of housekeeping to inspect it. We checked our luggage and went to lunch since the receptionist told us it would only be a few minutes. Well, I guess the head of housekeeping wasn’t about to rearrange her routine to accommodate us, so we still had plenty of time to kill when we got back from lunch!😳 By the time we got into the room Doreen and Neil were in the lobby waiting for us to go to our tour at Sagrada Família. It all worked out in the end, but it was a little stressful waiting and knowing we had a tour scheduled for 3:30.

Our original plan had been to drop luggage and check in to our hotels during our city tour, get dropped off near Sagrada Família around 1:00, grab a quick lunch, and take the Sagrada Família tour at 2:00. We had actually booked a private tour instead of a small group tour specifically so we could choose our time and make it work with the other things we had planned.

I had tried my best to include some down time between our afternoon and evening tours, but it didn’t work out. On Monday, May 11, while I was enjoying a marvelous day with Mago in Eze and Saint Paul de Vence, I received an e-mail that the Sagrada Família had changed our entry time to 3:30.🙄 I knew that meant we would have to go straight from our afternoon tour to our evening tour but we had no other options at that late date so we made the best of it.

La Sagrada Família was, in a word, magnificent. La Sagrada Familia

The structure has been under construction since 1882, and is still about 10 years away from completion. The exterior of the tallest spire, the Tower of Jesus Christ, was completed in February of this year, and blessed by Pope Leo on June 10 in commemoration of Gaudi’s death a century ago.

The architectural details of Sagrada Família are incredible, and Gaudi positioned the windows so that the use of light and color play a major role in the interior appearance. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s just breathtaking! Our guide, Caterina from LivTours possessed a wealth of knowledge and did a great job explaining the significance of what we saw. Liv Tours

After we left La Sagrada Familia we shifted our attention from spiritual things to physical things for our next (and final) tour of the day. Our Tapas, Taverns, and History tour was starting in the Gothic Quarter at 6:30, so as soon as we found a taxi to cram ourselves into we were off!

Our walking dinner/tapas tour was through Walks and Devour Tours. Walks/Devour Tours

We had a great time exploring the nooks and crannies of the old city and tasting authentic Catalan food and drink with our guide Luke. The places we visited were tiny and off the beaten path — I doubt we would have found them on our own. Throughout the tour we learned a lot about Barcelona’s history as we wound our way through the narrow cobblestone streets. We also got to see the thriving street art scene, and saw glimpses of vibrant nightlife outdoors in every public square and plaza.

The tour was a great way to end our first day in Barcelona. The Gothic Quarter was fantastic — just what I was hoping to see when I was planning our time in Barcelona.

We were exhausted by the end of the tour. We had walked many miles on uneven pavement, and we had been on our feet most of the day. As soon as we got back to the hotel I flopped on the bed. I couldn’t wait to get my shoes off and stretch out. Much to my surprise (not a good surprise I might add) my ankle was swollen!😢 I guess that was nature’s way of telling me I had done enough for one day. We grabbed just what we needed — pajamas and toothbrushes, I popped a couple Advil, and we were out!

Stay tuned for Barcelona Day 2…we have a 7:30 meeting time!😳

MARSEILLES TO CADENET, LOURMARIN, AND GORDES — MAY 12, 2026

Since I started my last post with a definition from Webster’s Dictionary I thought I would stay with a book theme and quote Charles Dickens to describe our day — “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

I had high hopes for our “Highlights and Flavors of Provence” Celebrity small group tour but the overall experience was disappointing.

In the best of times column, the places we visited were beautiful and interesting. We had sunny skies and warm but not hot temperatures — perfect for sightseeing.

Unfortunately there were several items in the worst column. The transportation (10 people on a full-sized bus) was oversized for the roads we took, the drive time was very long, and our guide was simply awful — one of the worst we’ve ever had in all our travels.

In addition to the worst column items, I assumed (you know what they say about assumptions!) that since our tour was all day, was very expensive, and had the word “flavors” in the title we would get lunch, or at least multiple snacks, but we didn’t. The “flavors” part of the tour was an olive oil tasting which was excellent, but for anything else we were on our own with no help at all from the local expert (our guide). But, more about that later. Despite the negatives we visited some fantastic places!

After a trip to the theater for some pre-shore excursion chaos, we boarded our bus for the drive to Bastide du Laval in Cadenet, about 45 miles from Marseilles. According to Google the drive is about an hour, but because of rush hour getting out of Marseilles the ride was about an hour and a half.

During that 90ish minute ride our guide droned on and on. Her voice and intonation were very robotic, and she repeatedly laughed at her own jokes while her captive audience stared out the windows with dazed expressions on their faces. I amused myself by trying to take pictures out the bus windows and I followed our journey on my maps and weather apps.🤷‍♀️ The scenery we were passing was stunning but I didn’t learn anything — the commentary was that bad. Please excuse any blurry pictures…taking pictures from a moving bus is not a recommended photography technique!

Our stop at Bastide du Laval was the “Flavors” part of the shore excursion. Bastide du Laval

We had a tour of the production facilities with a very thorough explanation of the process of pressing and crafting olive oil — from tree to consumer! It gave us a new appreciation of why good olive oil is so expensive. Getting the olives from the trees, extracting and filtering the oil, and bottling it for the grocery store shelves is a long, laborious process!

Fascinating fact — olives don’t grow as green olives or black olives. The black olives are left on the trees to ripen longer, and that’s when they change color. I never knew that — I always assumed olives were like grapes and different varieties were different colors!

The oil we tasted was delicious! Bastide du Laval produces many different oils with different intensities, aromas, and flavors. They also craft olive oil infused with popular seasonings. You can read about the different oils they make here: Olive Oils at Bastide du Laval.

We had a hard time making a decision, but ultimately came home with three cans (yes, cans!) of infused oilve oil, a white balsamic vinegar, and a sampler for friends who were looking after things at home while we were gone.

If the AIL (garlic) can in the next picture looks a little funny it’s because it has a dent in it. All the cans went in our suitcase looking pristine, but the air pressure during the flights home caused dents in the cans.🤷‍♀️

Thankfully our ride to the next stop, the village of Lourmarin, was a short one.

Much to our surprise the guide got off the bus and took off towards the village without waiting. She was talking to one couple, but the rest of us had no idea where we were, what we were going to see, or how long we would be there.😢

We caught up with our guide inside the village and took a brief walk through the town. Just a few minutes after we arrived our guide told us to eat lunch and make sure we were back at the bus at 1:30. That’s it — no explanation about the village, its history, or its people, and no direction on what to do while we were there. I was dumbfounded!

Several people asked where we should eat and our guide (sorry, I’ve tried and just don’t remember her name) said there was a Michelin Star restaurant but outside of that the restaurants were all the same. We chose Restaurant L’ormeau right on the square and had a delightful lunch despite the lack of direction. Still, I can’t help but wonder what we might have seen/learned/eaten if our guide hadn’t been a dud, or as the French would say, un guide nul! Actually, to call her a guide is misleading, because she really didn’t guide at all!

Here’s a little information about Lourmarin: Lourmarin

We left Lourmain a little after 1:30 and drove an hour to Gordes. It was during the drive that I really got frustrated by our situation. We passed by many interesting sights, and there was much to see out the windows that I would have loved to explore. Sadly, I didn’t learn about any of it because we weren’t told what we were seeing or where we were!😡

I know we passed through the charming village of Bonnieux, but I know that because of the location information on my cell phone pictures, not because I had any idea where we were. I will add that it was a bit of a “white knuckle” ride by bus as there were many switchbacks and steep inclines/slopes.

At about 2:30 we arrived in Gordes, a striking village perched high on a hilltop overlooking Provence.

Our tour here was much the same as it was in Lourmarin…not a tour. The guide walked us to the middle of the village and told us what time to be back at the bus. We walked around, did a little souvenir shopping, and just enjoyed the beautiful village. Thank goodness we live in a time when I can fill in the blanks after a bad excursion! Gordes

It was extremely windy in Gordes — so much so that I didn’t want to get too close to the edge of the sidewalk/overlook when I took Jim’s picture with the village in the background. I thought tearing the ligaments in my ankle in Iceland last year was pretty bad and I definitely didn’t want to find out what would happen if I tumbled down the steep slope near Gordes! We learned that the wind was the Mistral, and it’s very common in Provence. Mistral

It took about an hour and a half to get back to the port. Mercifully the ride back to port was without commentary for most of the trip, and I don’t think I was alone in napping part of the way!

Just like that, our cruise was almost over. We were exhausted, but we had a sea day Wednesday to rest and pack, then three very full days in Barcelona and the surrounding area before we had to face the “joys” of international travel.

FROM NICE TO EZE AND SAINT PAUL DE VENCE — MAY 11, 2026

The dictionary defines “nice” as Pleasant or Enjoyable. This is the most common modern usage of the word, meant to describe a positive experience or feeling. To use “nice” to describe our day would be doing a disservice to the spectacular locations we visited, our outstanding guide Mago, and the exceptional overall experience of our day. Even the weather was more than just nice!

I had arranged a tour with Mago, who is the owner of Unique Tours Riviera and also their top guide. Unique Tours Riviera

There were six of us from the ship, so we met at 7:15 to make sure we had plenty of time to tender into the port, which is in Villefranche. As it worked out, there was no wait at all. The port uses large port tenders which makes the process move much faster than when the ship’s lifeboats are used. We ended up getting to shore so early we had time to walk over to the open-air market and get coffee before our tour.

Shortly after we walked back to the port we met up with Mago and we were off on our tour to Eze and St. Paul de Vence. The weather didn’t look too promising at the beginning of the tour. Threatening clouds covered the landscape at our first scenic viewpoint, and we got rained on a little bit during the drive. The clouds couldn’t mask the stunning views though!

The drive to Eze wasn’t long, and the weather was turning around. Skies were clearing and even though the streets were wet it promised to be a beautiful day.

We got to Eze after a short drive and waited outside a grocery store while Mago parked the van. Everything looked so fresh and delicious!

Mago told us about the history and culture of Eze while we walked up the steep hill into the old town. Eze sits high atop a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and stunning countryside. Everywhere we looked we saw beauty and hints of life in the centuries-old walled village.

This might be a good time to mention that ancient castles, fortresses, and walled villages are not by any stretch of the imagination ADA compliant. Old limestone steps and paths are worn and uneven, and recent rain can make them slippery too. Handrails? Not many! I took things at my own speed, and it was really in Eze that I started feeling more confident about my ankle and steep slopes coexisting peacefully!

Eze is the location of La Chevre D’Or, a stunning 5-Star hotel built within the walls of Eze and cascading down the stone cliffs above the Mediterranean. La Chèvre D’Or

Ordinarily day tourists wouldn’t be allowed to access the hotel’s terrace cafe, but Mago “knows people” so not only did we take a refreshment break in a beautiful setting, we actually got to see one of the rooms in the hotel! We were reluctant to leave this amazing location, but we had many more things to see and our time was limited.

We opted for a quick lunch at La Premiere Boulangerie in La Turbie. It was delicious, and our entire lunch cost less than my drink at La Chevre D’Or!

Saint Paul de Vence is a beautiful Medieval village perched on a hilltop overlooking the surrounding countryside.

I found the cobblestone streets of Saint Paul de Vence to be wider and more walkable than the steep paths and stairs of Eze. Each street is filled with art galleries and shops featuring wine, cheese, olive oil, and handmade clothing and accessories. I thought it was a beautiful town in its own right with an extensive art history and culture, beautiful flower-lined streets, and many nooks and crannies to explore. I wish we could have taken more time in Saint Paul De Vence…we’ll have to go back!

Mago took us back to port through Nice so we could see a little of the famous resort town. Nice’s reputation is well-deserved. Stunningly blue water, a wide promenade overlooking the sea, top notch art museums, and world-class restaurants and hotels make Nice a draw for travelers from around the world.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and we said our good-byes to Mago after a fantastic day. I would love to visit the area again, and I wouldn’t hesitate to spend another day (or days!) with Mago. I can’t imagine our day could have been any better!