Tag Archives: Spain

2018, A to Z Challenge, Europe, Spain, Travel Notes

C = Cartagena, Spain

April 3, 2018 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

A to Z Ports: Cartagena, Spain

The sail-in / out for Cartagena, Spain is beautiful and gives you an understanding of why this port is so important to Spain. It is large, deep and much protected. The hills surrounding it have several fortresses that blend into the rocky landscape and, while they may look worn-down, are still partially in use to protect the harbour.

Because this is a deep harbour, all sizes of ships are able to dock very close to the city centre – just walk off the ship!

Along the pier, you will find restaurants, a nautical museum and a harbour tour. If you cross the boulevard, there is a tourist office that can sell a number of package tickets, including a hop on, hop off bus. The bus can give you an understanding pf the city’s layout and a stop to the elevator that takes to you a castle that overlooks the entire city and harbour.

You can easily walk to the entrance to the Roman theatre and a city centre. The museum is usually closed on Mondays, however both times I docked, it was supposed to be closed, yet it opened just a little latter than the posted time because there was a ship in port.

I love how easy this port is to navigate and find your way around. It is not crowded and the people are amazing. It has become one of my favourite ports of call.

Here is my previous posts about Cartagena.

#AtoZChallenge

Cruises, Europe, Spain, Travel Notes

Strolling around Palma de Mallorca

May 31, 2017 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

Sailing into Palma de Mallorca is beautiful and a highlight is the ability to see the entire Cathedral – a very large building that can fill a photograph.

While is looks like your cruise ship is close to the city centre, it is about a 30 minute walk or a one-way taxi ride that costs approximately 10 Euros. Fortunately, the cruise terminal will provide a shuttle bus for 8 Euros, round trip. Taking the shuttle, you will pass by one of the largest marinas for private boats – it seems to go on forever!

The shuttle will drop you across the boulevard from the Cathedral, which is a great place to start your own personal tour. Once you cross the street, you will find an information centre and the first stop for the hop on, hop off bus. You will also be at the base of the cathedral, which includes several parks and a pedestrian street that has several coffee shops and cafés. This is a very walkable city and it is easy to slow down, stroll and just wander through its streets.

If you want to get a good “lay of the land” or see more of the city, the hop on, hop off bus is a great option. It also includes a stop at the Bellver Castle that overlooks the city – giving you great views of the harbour.

2017, A to Z Challenge, Cruises, Denmark, Europe, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Travel Notes

Mystery Cruises #AtoZChallenge

April 15, 2017 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

So, why would someone pay to go on a mystery cruise; get on a ship and head to ports unknown? Since I love to cruise, this sounded like an interesting opportunity to sail into, well, mystery! I’ve now done two of these cruises and both on the Braemar. I really like this ship. It is a smaller one and feels like family. It is very easy to sail solo and meet lots of friends on this ship.

On the first cruise, we sort of knew where we were going. The passengers were given a choice and we voted for one port or another — but we did not know where we were going until we got there! Here are the ports we visited:

Porto, Malaga, Barcelona, Valencia, Cartegna, Cadiz, La Coruna

The second mystery cruise was truly a mystery — one that would include only maiden ports (ports where our ship had never visited). It was very strange not to be able to plan or research the ports we were going to, nor to be able to know exactly what to pack — for warm or cold! The cruise was early May, so it was hard to plan for everything. It started in Dover and we waited to see if we would turn to go north … or south (or if we could even trust that, in the night, the ship would change directions!). As it turned out, we continued North and thus we began a cruise that went to Norway, Denmark, Germany and Sweden.

The ports included:

Larvik, Hundested, Nyborg, Fredercia, Wismar, Lyskil

Would I go on another one? It would be hard to keep me away!

2016, A to Z Challenge, Argentina, Cuba, Europe, Portugal, South America, Spain, Travel Notes

Y is for Y más: a review of my top five places

April 29, 2016 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

Y más or “and more …” is my review of my top favorite places to visit — as least at of today! Here is my countdown…

Number Five: Cadiz, Spain! I was so surprised at the beauty and walk-ability of Cadiz. At to that a Fortress named after my patron saint that is constructed in a star shape, beautiful beaches and great seafood — what more could I want!

Number Four: Lisbon has beautiful architecture, twisting streets, great museums, amazing music and, of course, good food and wine!

Gate to downtown Lisbon

View of the opera house and Plaza from the Santa Justa Elevator

View of the castle from the Santa Justa Elevator

View from the Castelo de Sao Jorge

Number Three: Buenos Aires with it different neighborhoods, tango all night, and friendly people — I think I lost part of my heart there!

Recoleta Cemetary

Me at the Piazolla New Year’s Eve show

Number Two: Cuba! I am still dreaming about Cuba and all it has to offer. I love Cuba and her people. Viva Cuba!

And number one should not be a shock to anyone who has read my blog … BARCELONA! If I could, this is where I would like to live. Architecture, people, beaches, food, night life, museums, concerts — it has everything I love (and did I mention football and Camp Nou?).

2016, A to Z Challenge, Europe, Spain, Travel Notes

T is for Toledo, Spain

April 23, 2016 Cat Starr Astral Traveller Leave a comment

Toledo, Spain is a beautiful walled city that has been memorized in artwork by El Greco.

The cathedral towers over the entire city while massive walls surround a jumble of twisting streets where churches, synagogues an mosques stand side by side.

It is an easy trip by train from Madrid and even the train station is an interesting site.

But it is the cathedral that is the heart of the landscape.

I loved wandering the streets of Toledo, seeing more of El Greco’s artwork and, of course, eating marzipan — a Toledo specialty!

2016, A to Z Challenge, Europe, Spain, Travel Notes

G is for the Gardens in Valencia

April 8, 2016 Cat Starr Astral Traveller 3 Comments

Running through the center of Valencia, Spain is a series of gardens. These gardens are gathering places for families, sporting events, and a wonderful place to cool down in the hot sun! That was my goal — I’d spent a very hot morning wandering the streets of the old city centre and shade provided a welcome relief.

Here are some pictures of my walk through the gardens in Valencia.

Here is more about my experiences in Valencia.

Europe, Spain, Travel Notes

La Coruna and the Torre de Hercules

January 19, 2016 Cat Starr Astral Traveller 5 Comments

The last stop on the Braemar “Choose your own cruise” was La Coruna, Spain. This is a small, charming coastal town. I was drawn to it because it is the home of the oldest lighthouse, La Torre de Hercules. It is very walkable, but also has good transit. During the summer, there is an old-fashioned tram, however from the port, it is easy to get around by bus. The main tourist bus is 3 or 3 A, however 5 also goes to all the same places — and heads out to the suburbs and university. Yes, I ended up taking this one, not realizing how much of a “tour” of the city I was going to have!

It is also a very friendly city — I had several opportunities to practice my Spanish, and even a chance to speak French! It was very pleasant to walk around and see this charming place. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Sunrise in La Coruna