2023 Autumn Adventures Back to Sicily

 

After departing Laredo, and before heading back across the Atlantic to Europe on Carnival Freedom, we had about 3 weeks in Florida, in which we had time to enjoy visiting and catching up with friends. One consistent thing I've found in life is that you never know when you will see someone again, so if you have the chance to connect, you should do it (even if it involves a little extra planning or inconvenience)!

Our first stop was to cousins Jim's and Billibob's place in Cape Coral. We didn't do anything special in particular, just hung out and visited. While they were at work, we were able to enjoy their pool, hang out with Buddy, and get caught up on some last bits of planning before leaving the States. I did some cooking, and we enjoyed several dinners together. One night, we enjoyed looking at their wedding photos and videos. Fun, especially since their first year anniversary was right around the corner! We also had the chance to connect with friends Frankie and Ed, as they live close by.

Family dinner. Not my best photo, but it's the only one I have. I wasn't on my photo game! One night Billibob got a hankering for some ice cream, so Jim treated us at the Hershey's ice cream shop. Billibob entertained en route with his impromptu songs. That guy has mad rap skills!

Buddy was one of our Florida trip mascots.

When Buddy heard I'm a psychologist, he decided to have a therapy session.

I recommended he try yoga.

Before we picked up our rental car, BilliBob graciously let us borrow his Italian wheels for our errands. Cinquecento!

One of our to-dos was flu shots. And, surprisingly, we were able to squeeze in COVID vaccinations as well. Pharmacist said we were the first in her store (vaccines had arrived 2 hours prior). Perfect timing!

We had a nice catch up with Frankie and Ed. Thanks for the G&Ts mate! These guys are big fans of Buddy, and when he goes to visit them, he gets the posh treatment.

We had a chance to try a restaurant that people always talk about. Interesting how this Ft. Myers restaurant managed to forge a connection with the auto giant. Seemed appropriate to represent Detroit. 

A fun dinner! The beer tap was cool. Those are all pennies.

Cousins!

Happy Anniversary Jim and Billibob!

Cape Coral is on the west coast of Florida, and we needed to make our way toward Port Canaveral on the east coast. We arranged to return our rental car en route in Orlando, which meant we could have a visit with friends Iris and Lilly. They graciously offered for us to stay overnight at their place. This was great because we had a lot of time to visit and enjoy the awesome meals Lilly made for us (in addition to spending time with our second trip mascot, Zoey). Going above and beyond the call of friendship, they also drove us to Cocoa Beach, saving us the cost and trouble of a long Lyft ride. We appreciate you and the extra time we got to spend together!

Great conversation and times with Iris and Lilly (and Zoey).

Look at these delicious meals Lilly prepared for us. We were spoiled!

We got to meet Lilly's daughter on this trip, as she was arriving on the day we were leaving. Here they are at the new Moana exhibit at Disney.

Zoey got all dolled up for John!

Zoey previously had a cute companion named Diva. Sadly, she recently passed.

Iris knows I enjoy a ride in Lupita the golf cart in the tiny house complex where they live. We met Iris and Lilly in 2021 in one of our tiny house stays. Theirs is still the nicest house and property in the complex!

Our final stop was a mini-break with friends Roberta and John. We have known them many years, having met through our jobs in south Georgia. They now live in north Florida, and we decided we could meet for a stay in Cocoa Beach, before embarking on our cruise. Bonus: Roberta's mom, who is a lovely and interesting person, decided to join us!

When we arrived at the condo, we had a special greeting for the upcoming cruise. How fun! Roberta did all the heavy lifting for this getaway, including making all the arrangements and planning ideas for meals. This was a really special treat for me. Thank you Roberta!

Roberta did a great job selecting the vacation rental. Our condo had a huge balcony, with plenty of space to hang out, converse, and enjoy awesome views. We even had fun one night watching a thunderstorm. The condo complex had a nice pool and direct access to the beach.

Getting our Vitamin Sea!

We made a couple of trips out for errands (like getting that yummy grapefruit beer I like) and local sightseeing. John grew up in this area, so it was fun to have him give us a tour of his old haunts. We went for a nice Thai meal in Cocoa Village. As many times as we've been to Cocoa Beach, we've never been there!

Good Times!

Our mini vacay over, it was time to head over to Port Canaveral to board Carnival Freedom to begin our transatlantic crossing. 

An easy embarkation - on board!

Cruising on the Freedom had a nostalgic feel, as our first transatlantic (and first time in Europe) cruise (going the other direction) was in 2007 on the Freedom! It felt like coming full circle.

Getting ready to board Freedom in 2007, when she was new. 

Freedom also has a special place in our hearts, because this is where Emily's interest in music, specifically the Beatles, was sparked!

When I sent Emily this photo from the ship and asked if she remembered it, she said, "Oh, yes!"

For those who don't know the story ... When we were on the Freedom in 2007, one of the big production shows was "Ticket to Ride," a tribute to the Beatles. All the cover bands on board at that time dressed as Sgt. Pepper Band during the show, so they all knew a lot of Beatles songs. One day while John was walking around the ship, he heard a song that he thought was a recording through the speakers. But, when he looked in the lounge, it was the cover band rehearsing - that's how good they were! The next night we took Emily to see the band, and she was hooked. When we returned home to Atlanta, she wanted to start guitar lessons, and the rest is history.

Emily's dissertation is titled: Honey Pie, Colors of Dreams, and Inner Light: Stylistic Expertise and Musical Topicality in the Beatles' Mid and Late 1960s Songs. If you'd like to read it or the abstract, click on the link.

 

There are two fun follow-up stories. On another cruise on the Freedom in 2010, there was a different cover band. Emily got to talking to them, and they invited her to play Let It Be with them on Lido Deck on a sea day. She had her acoustic guitar, George, with her, but she needed an electric to perform the solo. The guitarist let her play his. We were amazed at her ease in playing in front of probably 1,000 people! 

Getting ready to go on stage. This was before everyone made pictures and video of everything, so it's all I have, aside from wonderful memories.

On another Carnival cruise a few years later, I discovered that two of the original band members from 2007 were in the cover band. We were able to share with them their influence on Emily's musicianship, and they were really touched to learn this. They invited her to play with them several evenings in the lounge, which was a really fun memory too.

While we were on this cruise, in the interest of nostalgia, we re-created a few of our photos from 2007. A good transatlantic cruise activity!

Promenade Deck Lounge. We don't dress up like this any more - too much luggage!

Our cabin? It was on the opposite side! We definitely did not have an oceanview. Freedom has had some restructuring, so I guess the numbers changed. The cabin number plaques are less classy now. 

Dining room was the same, but the seats were a lot less comfortable.

Now vs. Then: A lot more condos!

Can you see what's missing? The primary reason for the dry dock.

This area is totally different. A downgrade in my opinion, especially since this reconfiguration eliminated one of the pools.

Funny sign encountered while doing our now and then. I had never seen this one before. LOL!

What else did we do on our sea days? We did our usual ...

Enjoy Mother Nature's Show

Listen to music and find ducks. We've sailed with Tio Phill Rock before, so we were happily surprised to see them on our cruise. The quality of music they produce for a guitar and drums is amazing. Check them out!

Read and study Italian. We also went swimming several days, but I guess I forgot to make pictures! One day we were in the pool while they started having the boat building competition. A few others joined us when we were assigned to try to sink the ships in the finalist group.

Watch movies on deck. Can you guess the films? The second one is harder. Anyone? Anyone?

The towel animal explosion on this sailing was epic! Saw so many we have never encountered before.

So creative and funny!

And we did some special things, as related to our relatively new Diamond Status ...

First was the Diamond lunch, which is a special meal on every cruise for customers at this status level. It is a nice menu, with a delicious filet mignon (among other choices). I think most people show up for the unlimited free drinks, LOL. I didn't remember to take photos, but we definitely enjoyed the meal.

Upon becoming Diamond, each person receives a meal for 2 at a specialty restaurant. We used our second one to eat at the Steakhouse. It, too, was a delicious meal, but I do think Princess line steakhouse provides a better steak (and at much lower cost). John's appetizer was the star of the show - literally, it was a show!

Iced and Smoked Fresh Oysters

We appreciated the complimentary bottle of wine we received for dining on formal night.

This cruise had 4 ports, 3 of which we have been to before. Per our usual Vagabond strategy*, we made sure to get out and do something at the new port, choose 1 port for a special excursion, and leave the other ports for walkabouts. 

*To keep within budget, we cannot treat every cruise like a vacation. Mostly they are transportation and lodging, but we attempt to make a portion of them 'vacation.'

Bermuda was our new port. It was actually nice to go here, because it broke up the multiple straight sea days that are the hallmark of transatlantics. Since the weather forecast was favorable, we decided to go to one of its famous beaches for snorkeling. The beach was pretty - I could kind of see the 'pink sand' for which their beaches are known. 

That's a strange snorkel pose! Can you see the pink tint to the sand?

Our first stop was a cove in beautiful surroundings. 

We saw a lot of fish, big and small. (2.5 minutes)

Next we tried the beach, but the waves were really strong. It wasn't much fun just jumping in them. So, we returned to the cove for a while.

Before returning to the ship, we headed to the beach bar. I wanted to try the famous Bermuda drink, the Rum Swizzle. Sadly, that bar didn't have it, so we had a (very overpriced) rum punch instead. Cheers!

Sail away was very pretty, and we had a nice relaxed feeling heading into the next batch of sea days.

Our next port was Ponta Delgada, the Azores. We have been here twice before. On our first visit we toured with Gary Travassos, of Azorean Tours, and we had a very enjoyable time. So, we decided to book with him again to see the other parts of the island our first tour didn't cover. The weather wasn't as nice as our last tour, but Gary managed to adjust the itinerary so that we still had an interesting and fun experience.

Our first stop was to an area of the island that looks nothing like the other lush green spots. You get a full sense of the volcanic nature of the island. We stopped first at a viewpoint to get the larger picture, then ventured down a very steep and windy road to the area of a natural thermal bath, Ponta da Ferraria.

Viewpoint of Ferraria

A nice view of the Ferraria lighthouse, which looks quite lovely. 

The wind-y road. It was windy up there!

View of the mountains from the thermal pool area.

Fascinating landscape.

There are many trails, including this one that goes to the lava arch.

Rainy and overcast as we headed to our next viewpoint.

Viewpoint Escalvado.

Next up was a pretty area called Mosteiros. 

This area gets its name from this rock formation that looks like a monastery or church.

 

The sun came out for us.

The former windmill is now an AirBnB.

Love all the blues!

Next up was a stop in Sete Cidades to see Igreja de São Nicolau (Church of St. Nicholas).

The Mary Chapel was outside in nature.

I'm glad we had a chance to stop and explore a bit here, as I was able to get some nice piccies of the famous Azorean hydrangeas, as well as the amaryllis that was coming into season. The church grounds were quite lovely.

This was also our stop for a quick lunch. The cafe had this nice tile of Saint Nicolas.

Nearby we stopped to view the Crater Lake. 

It is commonly referred to as the Blue Lake and Green Lake, because each side appears a different color based on the sun's reflections.

As you can see, the sun was not cooperating! The tour normally includes viewing these lakes from a high point, but this was not possible. Still, very pretty scenery and serene.

The beautiful Praia (beach) de Santa Barbara was our next place to explore. Wow, between the plants, the surf, and the surfers, I felt like I was back in Santa Barbara, California. The only difference was the black sand beach. So beautiful!

Onward to the town of Riberia Grande, where there was a nice piazza and linear park, as well as many interesting buildings. And, of course, the cool Portuguese tile.

Can you spot John?

Seems like a nice place to live!

One more viewpoint to check out the vistas. This one is called Viewpoint of the Whales.

This truly is a beautiful island!

Our final stop was an area where there are natural springs, as well as a spot where locals can prepare cozido das Furnas, a special stew that is slow-cooked in volcanic steam.

The stew cooking spots.

We ended our day on a comical note, when we came across this handyman's truck!

After a little more time at sea, and crossing through the Strait of Gibraltar, we arrived at Málaga, Spain. For our then and now, we decided to visit the beach Malagueta, as we had on our first trip there. John had high hopes for a repeat of anchovies, wine, and olives on the beach, but there were none to be found.

Can you spot me? Málaga is a great city to just meander around. Scenes from our walkabout ...

Beautiful park, beach, and artwork. What's not to like!?

We opted for Spanish cheese and bread + Zumo for our snack. Yum!

Another beautiful sail away!

Our final stop was Valencia, where my goal was to explore the arts and sciences complex. From pictures I had seen, it had some interesting modern architecture.

Where we went.

This necessitated conquering the city bus. Success!

In front of the museum, a large water area where people can ride water scooters, paddleboats, and padddleboards.

The cultural center is a LEED Platinum certified building. I liked how the cafe was covered in plants and how it utilized natural light. The architecture in this complex did not disappoint!

Sicily Arrived

After disembarking in Barcelona we flew directly to Catania. To get to Capo D'Orlando from Catania, a change in Messina is necessary. This time it was better to take a bus and a train, instead of all train, which provided some new scenery.

From the bus, near Taormina. Can you see the village at the top? 

A decent view of Mt. Etna.

Catania

Italy mainland (the boot) in the background.

We were happy to finally arrive back to Capo D'Orlando in the evening! The weather was beautiful on our first day, so we were happy to get to the sea after doing our shop.

Shopping is a pleasure when there's such a great commute. Look how clear the water is!

Enjoying the clear, beautiful waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. I got in once at the end of our last visit, but this was John's first time. It was a lot warmer than in May!

We ended our day back at the Sea. Thanks to friend Ernesto for the lovely photo.

We've been here over a month now, but because I'm behind in blogging, I'll share activities (including our town's patron saint festival and a visit from cousin Gerlyn) in a future post. I wanted to wrap up and get this posted, because many friends have been asking about our apartment search and whether we are staying permanently. 

The short answer is: We don't know. Securing housing that will be acceptable as proof in the process for my spousal visa is proving harder than we expected. However, Capo D'Orlando does feel like 'home,' and we are continuing to work toward our goal of making this our permanent abode. We may get lucky and find something, or we may have to depart and return again after a 90 day break.

Today: Lunch with the best view. Celebrating finishing this blog!

In the meantime, we are headed off shortly on vacation to Ireland to visit our friends Gráinne and Denis. It's a lot easier with a home base to leave our stuff and only travel with carry-ons. Yay!