Between Barcelona and Tunis

Buskers at the top of la Rambla

After a long day in Barcelona and a restorative spa for some, we are on the high seas, bound for north Africa. 

Sangria familia Gaudi

The Splendida slipped her moorings in Barcelona at six, let out an almighty blast on her horn, edged gingerly past a Costa cruise liner, glided through the narrow port and we are away.

Our party of five assembled in the lounge to enjoy this spectacle over prosecco, martini royale and aqua con gas. 

Our sailor suits 

We then moved on to L'Olivo at the boat's stern for dinner....squid stuffed with rice and lemon, a vegetable soup, risotto with radicchio, slow cooked lamb with rosemary. No room for dessert; a limoncello sufficed. To the show.

We took second row seats to a song and dance spectacle that ranged over the Beatles, Buddy Holly and Michael Jackson. We clapped and sang and clapped some more. 

Genoa? Hardly.

Photographically, its tempting to look for a theme that seems the essence of a place. Genoa won't indulge that temptation. We visited an Edvard Munch exhibition while here and it seemed the perfect city to see it.

It is a complicated place. Port city, fading glory, gritty, slightly spooky and threatening. Kids and focaccia, high end retail and fabulous palazzo. A place to get lost in, but not too lost or too late. And if you do, chances are you'll pop out of a tiny alley into a bustling, Christmas lit piazza. But not every time.

There was a serial killer on the loose in Genoa while we were there. He fled while out visiting his sick mamma (only in Italy). I'm guessing they don't have a serial killer on the streets every week - but I'm betting that something is going down.

Nice is nice.

After the Revolution, the French 'Declaration of the right of man and citizens' in 1793 proclaimed among other things that:

Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else

Whether slipping and sliding in the faeces and urine of compatriot's pooches causes injury is moot, but I think this is where many of the things that are peculiarly French have their roots.

 It could be much worse, I guess. The Americans were at the same time enshrining rights that are wrongly read to let idiots spray bullets into their compatriots in schools, theatres and so on. Hmmm, dog shit v bullets...I think I'll go with the French version of individual rights.

Imagine for a moment if the US had enshrined the right for dogs to do what they do in the street. Smellier, but safer.

Now that I've got my only complaint about Nice out of the way, I want to sing its praises. 

It truly is a lovely place to visit. A majestic promenade, the glittering bay of angels, lovely old buildings, parks dotting the centre and a character filled historic old town make it a pleasure to wander. 

Add superb patisserie, magnificent cheeses and wines, subsidised for we tourists by the good taxpayers of France and a bistro or restaurant on every corner. Our decadent lunch at MelodyNice convinced us of the quality of the serious restaurants too.

And the people seem, well, pretty ordinary really, lots of retirees walking the promenade, taking in the sun, people jogging, riding, shopping. It doesn't have the dudes that dot some other coasts, including ours. Not pretentious, as I might have expected of the French Riviera. 

Think Manly, but much grander, with an accent and decent food. Oh, and with Monaco, Cannes and St Tropez down the road!

Musee Massena on Promenade des Anglais, Nice

This museum sits alongside the Hotel Negresco on the Promenade des Anglais. So we have walked past it many times and today, after serious over-indulgence at lunch, it was this or a nap. Kunst redt, or 'art saves' as they say in holland!

The front door is at the back. As I walked in, the attendant asked for the ticket I didn't have and sent me to the small ticket booth at the corner of the building. There I was given a free coupon at a desk staffed by three garrulous girls and sent back inside. The attendant then welcomed me in and took the ticket. I don't think Napoleon would have put up with this, but I, full and sleepy, was happy to.

It is a beautiful palace that apparently tells the history of Nice through art. Malheureusement, c'est tout en Francais! That said, you can get a sense of it all....and that sense is of splendour, elegance and achievement. 

Superb rooms with marble floors, finely painted ceilings, gilt mirrors and panelling, embellished with art and artefacts telling the story of France and Nice over the last 200 years. Napoleon's death mask is there, together with a haughty portrait of Josephine. I spent a quiet hour admiring it all and a little longer in the gardens, where nicois sat and chatted.

As I was leaving, the attendant was explaining to another puzzled visitor that they needed a ticket to get in and that, yes it was free and no, she didn't have them and so on...

Last night in the Netherlands

On our last night in the Netherlands, there was a family reunion party. The party was held at Erna's place at Hook van Holland and family gathered from Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Schoorl and....Australia. 

It was a well planned event. I'm told Api had a spreadsheet to organise what people would bring. We brought ourselves and some gifts from Australia. It was a splendid night.

Hugh took lots of selfies.....

The group minus me, Hugh, Bjorn and Boaz.

With Heidi and Kasper

With Ed

With Jasemin and me

With Jacquot

With Sylvia, Manella and Syl 

With Rich and Rogier

Yasemin and Helene 

Sylvia 

Joyce, Rich and Avigail

Gerard and Syl 

Ed and Manella 

With Jorn

With Avigail

With Lisa 

With Erna

With Dennis

With Lisa and Cherry Mae

With Caity and Fenix 

With Noa

With Jane

Not sure