Kuala Lumpur: A City We Should Not Overlook

To see the record straight, we visited Kuala Lumpur on March 14. Then we had one day to pack for our seven-night overland trip in India. Writing an entry for the blog or packing for a trip of a lifetime, which should one pick? Right, we concentrated on our extended visit to India. However, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, deserves its due. Better late than never.

We received our wake-up call at 6:15 a.m. for our nine-hour, ship-sponsored tour to Kuala Lumpur (from here on abbreviated as KL), which included three hours for the trip to and from the city. Once again we boarded an absolutely gorgeous bus. The United States should definitely hire decorators from Thailand and Malaysia to design their tour buses. We were delighted with the gold pleated draperies and tasseled valances, the burgundy with bright colored designed seats, and the use of that material on the ceilings and around the vents and light fixtures.

Our tour guide Suzy was wonderful and would keep us abreast of how far women have progressed in the third-largest Muslim country in the world (Morocco is first while Istanbul is second). We learned that Malaysia did not suffer from earthquakes, tsunamis or volcanoes. The biggest threat was the heavy rainfalls that caused flooding at the end of the year. The temperatures were hot, hotter and hottest. Friday was the holy day. While some countries do not allow women in the mosques because beautiful women, even with veils, could distract the men, Malaysian mosques at least had a separate section for women. However, a woman should not expose any part below her knee to the other sex in a mosque. But the ladies do wear very colorful clothes.

What turned into a warning flag for us was that Suzy did mention her government more than usual, which reminded us of our trip in China. She also told us about a male friend from another country, where the men could only see the eyes of a woman, who told her that he could tell if a woman was pretty from her eyes. But after he chose, there are no refunds.

The major sources of export income for Malaysia were petroleum, television and radio semiconductor components, and palm oil. Gas was cheap so most households in Malaysia owned an average of 2.5 cars that they purchased through nine years of installment payments. Between 30 and 40 percent of the land was cultivated for palm trees with four pounds of fruits producing one pound of palm oil, which is used for cooking and cosmetics. The country suffers from a shortage of sugar, and Malaysians liked to eat very sweet desserts and use at least two spoons of sugar in their cups coffee and tea. While timber used to be exported, the country was running out of timber so it was now expensive to live in a wooden house. Malaysia used to be one of the world's largest exporter of tin but now it was running out of tin. Alcohol and cigarettes were very costly because of the heavy taxes by the government, plus as a Muslim country, drinking was discouraged.

Education was free with most thinking it was an offense to the government if families did not sent their children to school. In the past, the students used to go abroad for their university education but now many go to the universities run by the government in Malaysia, which offered four-year degrees. When Suzy's bother went to the United States for his university education, he drank beer like water. Suzie finished her university education in Australia and New Zealand.

Most Malaysians did not speak English until they were forced to do so. If dealing with the government, one should speak Malaysian because the government would put a person on hold if he or she did not. If a person spoke English, that person was considered "stuck up." The government encouraged citizens to own homes with the a 500-square-foot home averaging about $4,500 US. The average family income was between $3,500 and $4,500 US with many citizens wanting to achieve a $10,000 US annual income.

Suzy described KL as being a concrete forest. Our first stop was the National Museum, which traced Malaysia's history from the Stone Age to when the Dutch arrived in the 1600s to when it was British colony for a century until 53 years ago when the country declared its independence from Great Britain. Then we drove to the National War Memorial where Suzy told us that the government does not allow the citizens to speak too much. The memorial was dedicated "to our glorious dead" from World War I and II and from the communists from 1948 to 1960. The National Monument which was "dedicated to the heroic fighters in the cause of peace and freedom," was dedicated to the heroes who fought during the Japanese occupation and communism. The monument featured five soldiers with the two fallen soldiers being communists. "May the blessing of Allah be upon them."

Suzy told us about her grandmother who lived during WWII and did not want to be captured by the Japanese and sold into slavery. In a coffee shop, she found a man to marry her who told her that he was very rich. Three days after the wedding, he asked her to return the wedding ring because he was not rich and had borrowed the ring. The grandmother tried to run away from him but broke her leg in the process. Eventually she became pregnant and had nine children.

We stopped at the railway station. The architect from England had been asked why the roof of the station was built that way. How could it endure the heavy snow? (Not a concern in Malaysia.) We also saw Independence Square and Club 125, celebrating its 125th anniversary. This club was started for white men only. The English ladies used to walk their spotted dogs around the club in search of their husbands. We saw the Anglican Church that was built in 1903 and then drove through Chinatown and Little India, where the government did not want to demolish the buildings because of their culture but sometimes only saved the front facades. We viewed the Petronas Twin Towers in the city center. A bridge connected the two towers with visitors starting to line up at 2 a.m. to cross it. At 452 meters high, these building were the tallest in Malaysia and the third tallest in the world. In Malaysia, transporting drugs and murder resulted in the stiff penalty of being hung until dead. While the king can grant a pardon, very few pardons have been given. One of the signs in the downtown area warned us to "Beware of Snatch Thief." The cutout on the sign was a woman whose purse was being snatched.

Suzy told us to eat lunch with our hands because touching the food with our fingers causes the fingers to send signals to our brains that make the food taste better. Our last stop was the 276-meter KL Tower built in 1996. At the top, we enjoyed panoramic views from 12 different points. When we tried to match up the buildings at the 12 points on the audio tour, we realized that the maps has been created when the tower was open and much had been changed since then. KL was a work in progress.

Portofino: The End of an Incredible Vovage

We honestly did not know whether or not we would tour Portofino because the main goal for our last day of this incredible voyage was to cram as much as possible into four suitcases, two checked bags and two carry-ons, without going over the weight limits. While we knew we weren't the only passengers faced with this dilemma, packing was not a pleasant chore, which really wasn't a legitimate excuse for waiting until the last full day of the trip to finish it. We could cry crocodile tears about the things we had to give away or leave behind--snorkeling fins that we never used in any port where we went snorkeling, the bright blue backpacks presented to us by Princess on the first day of the trip that we carried all over the world, shoes that still had some wear in them, coreless wine bottles from the Seychelles, beautifully designed brochures from many ports of call, a box of wine from Gibraltar and several bottles of beer. (Stop crying, Ken!) Because it seemed that Ken was reluctant to part with any of his cruise clothes, Sara resigned herself to leaving behind anything of hers that kept us from zipping up the suitcases--a smart move on her part part. If she had to replenish any piece of clothing, would she prefer to shop for Ken or herself? An easy choice!

At about 11 a.m., we agreed that we had packed enough and should partake of this lovely town that lies along the coast of the Italian Riviera. A wise choice according to Chris, our assistant tour director, who told us that if we had docked at any other port on the coast, we would being paying for a tour to Portofino to sit in one of the lovely outdoor cafes to enjoy a glass of wine or a mug of beer. The best site was seeing Captain Andrea Poggi, wearing khakis and a polo shirt rather than his brilliantly white uniform. He and his family live so the outskirts of Genoa so after 106 days of sailing us around the world, he was starting his vacation on the last full day of ours. He looked so happy and relaxed. We actually had a new captain for the last day of the world cruise but no one ever learned his name.

We walked through the charming streets to the hill at the end of town, which Ken wanted to climb and Sara mistakenly thought led to the castle. It seemed as if we climbed straight up or tread cautiously on steep stairs. Of course, Ken charged ahead. When Sara got to a fork in the path, she sat down on a step to study what the ship referred to as a "somewhat accurate map." Two couples who were hiking up the hill told her if she went to the right, she would eventually reach the Gulf of Genoa, where she could take a ferry back to Portofino. After hiking for several hours on the path to the left, she would arrive at another village. With neither choice sounding appealing and no euros in her purse, she decided to stay seated on the step until Ken came back. When he joined her and they reached the place where the path started on the out-skirts of town, they learned that the road to the castle was near where the tender had dropped them. While described as winding with several sets of steep stairs, the walk was a breeze after Ken's ambitious hike.

On the way to the castle, we stopped at the Church of San Giorgio, which stood on the ground of the temple dedicated to the Roman god Mithra, the god of the sun. There and in other churches in Portofino, we were amazed by some of the most ornate crucifixes we have ever seen, with Jesus either a white or black man. In the back of the church was a cemetery with all the graves above ground.

The original castle was necessary to dominate and protect the port and the gulf, so naturally its location was at the top of the hill. Because traces of the Roman culture were found in the 1950s among the building materials, which dated the castle to the II century. The castle did save Portofino from several attacks. After the Congress of Vienna and the return of peace in the 19th century, the Kingdom of Sardina was not interested in keeping the castles or fortresses working because they needed constant and costly maintenance while their strategic value was negligible. When the sale of the castle began in 1867, the English Consul in Genoa, Montague Yeats Brown, bought the castle from the State for seven thousand lire. He had fallen in love with the place after seeing it from his ship Black Tulip while sailing in the Tigullio Bay. His architecture and engineer transformed the castle while not altering the original design. When Brown died in 1905, his children inherited the castle and looked after it until 1949 when they sold it to John and Joceline Baber of England, who completed valuable works of renovation so the stones could talk about what men's history could not tell. In 1961, the Babers sold the property to the Municipality of Portofino so everyone could enjoy its incredible beauty, fairytale setting and breathtaking views of the Gulf of Genoa.

While we were impressed by the furnishings and sculptures and posed Punxsutawney Phil for photographs with the antiques and voluptuous metal women, we enjoyed most the black-and-white photographs from the 1950s and 1960s of such luminaries as Greta Garbo, Sophia Loren and many others who vacationed in Portofino when the village came to international prominence. When we left the castle, we strolled among the vendors with their fashionable and pricey goods. Several women remarked that Ginger had scarves similar to those displayed, and Sara assured them that Ginger probably had spent that much money for hers--remember the three-scarf day that Joe so lovingly name after Ginger's shopping spree in Singapore. We talked with Timmy, the 19-year-old ship's dancer, and his mother and grandmother who had recently joined him on the cruise. Mom proclaimed Timmy's performance in last night's grand finale by the Pacific Princess singers and dancers as fantastic while Grandma said he was better than she expected.

When we returned to the ship, we finished packing and zipped up our suitcases. The evening's entertainment was the Texas Tenors, the 2009 winners of America's Got Talent, who were highly touted by Brett, our cruise director who had watched every show on which they competed while on his summer away from the ship that year. While most of us had never heard of this trio with a combination of operatic and country-western styles, we all quickly became big fans. The singers and dancers appeared one more time to dazzle us with their costumes, kicks and vocal range for Donna Summer's Last Dance. What a fitting tribute to an absolutely awesome trip!

Do we really have to walk down the gangplank for the last time tomorrow morning? More than a dozen passengers including Terry and Jack will be staying on for the 12-day Mediterranean Cruise to the Holy Lands, Ginger and Joe will be spending four days in Rome before flying to Toledo, and we will fly to Ireland for eight days for our first trip to the Emerald Isle before reentering reality.

Madeira: One of the Perfect "Purple Islands" for Volcanos and Wines

NOTE: This entry is out of sync. We visited the Portuguese island before we arrived in Casablanca. Ken was sure that he downloaded the photographs but Sara couldn't find them. When Ken does find them, we will attach them to the entry and move it to its correct place.

The colorful nickname of the "Purple Islands" by the ancient Roman author Pliny probably gave tribute to the shadows of the tall volcanic peaks, but the name could also describe the vineyards where the grapes are grown for the rich wines enjoyed worldwide. Our tour, arranged by Pat Lucas, took us on winding roads up and down gentle slopes through many of the picturesque villages, lush vineyards, magnificent flora and fauna, and along soaring sea cliffs in the western part of this island that is becoming a popular international tourist destination. Madeira, from the Portuguese word meaning "wooded" for its abundance of trees, was definitely a place one could visit again and again. Its capital, Funchal, is the largest Portuguese city outside of Portugal.

With many villages situated on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the narrow winding roads, the island had a very European flavor. Residents farmed on the side of the hills with vineyards growing up to the steps of the small, well-kept homes. The people seemed to be very adept at not slipping. Not all the houses had a road near by, so people kept in shape by walking to theirs houses and fields. At the top of one hill is the Tower for the Clock, which looks like a church, so that anyone in the valley can see what time it is.

In February 2010, the island suffered horrible floods so signs of construction of new homes for residents who lost their homes were very prominent. During the floods, the roads turned into rivers of rain. We toured a church that had been built facing away from the cliff so that the flood water could not come in the door. In the cemetery near the pretty church, the grave markers all displayed pictures of the deceased. No one on the plaques was smiling. Parts of some of the roads had collapsed during the flooding. The beneficiaries of all that water were the waterfalls along the road, with the most famous being the Bridal Veil. Tourists refer to the waterfalls as the "car wash."

After learning so much about the major flood, it seemed appropriate for us to be visiting on a rainy, dreary, chilly day. The temperature fluctuated from between about 45 to 70 degrees F., much cooler than we had experienced in Africa. When the sun finally decided to grace us with its presence, our guide Phil said, "Mist, rain, sunshine. Welcome to Madeira!"

After a delicious lunch of tuna steak and Madeira wine, we drove along the coast road. We wished that we had counted the number of tunnels through which we passed since we boarded the van. We drove through eight, long tunnels on our way to the extreme point of the island, Porto Moniz. People were enjoying the hot springs from the volcanoes as well as the incredible vistas of mountains, valleys, flowers and ocean. All the beaches, except those that were manmade, are rocky. The ocean with its strong currents was good for fishing. Cows roamed freely along and across the roads with signs warning the drivers of "Cow Crossing." The brakes on the van started to burn as we were coming down one exceptionally long and curvy stretch of mountainous road.

Being a good tour guide, Phil stopped the van at a supermarket for us to purchase the delicious Madeira wine. Sara bought a bottle of dry, semi-sweet, sweet and very sweet. Along with the friends with whom we shared them, we proclaimed all four as outstanding.

Monte Carlo: Everything One Could Expect

The Formula 1 Grand Prix. The Casino. Prince Ranier and Grace Kelly. Prince Caroline and her ill-fated love life. Princess Stephanie, who may or may not have been driving the car when her mother died. Playboy Prince Albert, who would marry an Olympic champion swimmer in July 2011 and with her, probably produce an heir. While Monaco is the second smallest country in the world after the Vatican, it packs a major punch in charm and in a lesson in the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

After a mix-up of where to meet Eva, our tour guide for the second day, we finally caught up with each other one hour late thanks to Jean Guy's international cell phone and its access to the Internet to find her cellphone number. We thought that Jean Guy sounded loud and uspet on his end of the conversation but Diana told us he always shouted when talking on the telephone. Eva definitely sounded angry when she picked us up at the end of the pier and seemed to be blaming the customers for the mistake--usually not a good business move.

Then we were off for a quick tour of Monaco before driving onto another section of the French Riviera. Monaco's population is 40,000 with the aim of 50,000. Only about 20,000 of the population are able and willing to work--the rest are too young, too old or too rich. Prince Rainer wanted to attract the rich but also realized that the country needed laborers. About 15,000 people are employed by the company that takes care of everything from the palaces to the museums. People come across the border from France to work in Monaco because of the shortage of labor and the higher salaries. We saw the grandstands that were being erected for the Grand Prix and drove around the hairpin curve where contenders couldspin out. In the harbor was one of the world's largest yachts, Lady Moura, which belonged to a business woman from Lebanon and flew a flag when she was on board.

After departing Monaco, we drove along the Old Roman Road, Via Arellia, which ends in Rome. Again, one side of the road offered spectacular views of the ocean while the other side featured a mountain range, which Eva told us was the Maritime Alps with the French Alps behind them. Our first stop was the village of St. Paul de Vence, founded in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 15th century by the French king. Cannons greeted us, and we were impressed by a white car that had been transformed into a metal sculpture of a man, even incorporating the wheels on the back of his shoes. Eva pointed out the daisy pattern on the road, in honor of the daughter of a count, Margaret, which in French means daisy. As we passed through the gates, we were greeted by a pair of hanging legs.

Nothing in the village can be changed from the 15th century. The fountains, which are a trademark of this village, are filled from underground wells so they never stop running. Marc Chagall, who came to France from Russia, was buried in a small cemetery in St. Paul de Vence. The road from the harbor to the village is the Nietzsche Path, the German philosopher who used to stay there. In the old section, we viewed a part of the old castle. In St. Paul's Church, we admired many Italian painting, a metal copy of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and sterling silver crosses, goblets and praying hands from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. A painting of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus, that was ordered by a French queen, had the queen's face. The houses were built into the rocks. Tourists crowd this picturesque villages on the weekends so we were fortunate to have it almost to ourselves on a weekday. On our drive from the village, we stopped to view the castle and the church from a distance. No wonder so many artists and writers wanted to frequent the place.

We then toured the Chateau de Gourdon, which we remember most for its water closets with three different types of toilets. On May 14, all the museums are open all night and are free to visitors. We drove through Nice, France's fifth largest city, which is very nice but lacks the charm of the villages that we visited. We viewed the greenhouses where strawberries are grown.

Then on to Eze. The legitimate question must be, "Why did seemingly bright people build their villages on tops of hills in cramped, inaccessible spaces when there seemed to be so many better locations below?" During the Middle Ages, pirates from Moorish countries settled on the shores so the residents from the seaside moved to the top of the hill to defend themselves. Concentrating everyone in a small area made sense so that the limited patches of fertile land could be used for growing crops. Beyond the double gateway circa the 14th century, we found it easy and enjoyable to get lost on the narrow streets, stairs and covered passageways. Laundry still hung from the windows, and neighbors chatted merrily over their flower boxes, which were only inches apart. The Italians rebuilt the village in the 16th and 17th centuries. We toured the remains of the old castle from the 15th century with its garden inside. The neo-classical facade of the Notre Dame de L'Assumption Church with its monumental pillars belied the surprising baroque interior. A wedding had taken place just before we arrived. While Eze was tiny, it was well worth the climb!

On our way down the winding, up-and-down road, we stopped at the Trophy of Augulus that celebrate the hero's conquest of the Gaulish tribes between 25 and 14 B.C. The setting overlooks Monaco. We also viewed the mansions of Elton John and the Rothschilds. After a leisurely drive around Monte Carlo to absorb its elegant exteriors and beautiful people, we returned to the ship to learn that our next-door neighbor had jumped through incredible hoops to acquire three tokens from the Monte Carlo Casino, which opened it 1863. The casino is open only to visitors, not residents, enforces a strict dress code and charges 10 euros to enter the casino proper for the privilege of losing your hard-earned money. Yes, we had basked for a day in the lifestyle of the rich and famous!

Toulon: French Riviera 101

The next two ports of Toulon, France, and Monte Carlo, Morocco, served as our introduction to the French Riviera, which was started as a health club for the rich and famous who belonged to the upper class. According to Richard, our destination port lecturer, France is slightly smaller than Texas but rivals it in amount of attitude. When we visited Paris in 2002, Sara fell in love with the city and the country while Ken developed an intense dislike (hate is such a strong action verb). Our guide for both ports was Eva, whom Pat Lucas had hired to show us the sites along the lovely coast of Provence.

Whatever our question was, Eva would begin her answer with, "It's complicated." When we asked, "What is the capital of Provence?", we received a history of the area, starting with the Greeks and progressing to the Romans. When Eva finished, she remarked, "Is that clear?" No one knew what the capital was but we decided not to ask again. We adored Eva's accent so much that we really did not care what she said but liked the way she said it. We did read later that Aix-en-Provence was the capital of the Roman province and later of the independent state of Provence.

It always seems to surprise those from Florida that one side of the highway can be coastal beaches while the other side is mountains. Eva explained that the color of the mountain changes with the seasons and the weather. "It's fantastic! In a thunderstorm, the mountain is black." It almost made us wish for rain on a glorious, sun-filled day.

Our first stop was Aix, which Eva told us had a very expensive cost of living--Aix is three times pricier that Toulon while Monte Carlo is twice as expensive as Aix. The prices, even if they had been in dollars rather than euros, seemed inflated. And the dollar was at an all-time low against the euro. In the center of the fountain are three ladies representing justice, art and architecture. In the summer, the temperatures can soar to 120 degrees while the winter is cold and snowy. The city sponsors an arts and crafts show the weekend of the month with an incredible number of vendors based on the number of spaces that had been designated.

Thanks to enlightened rulers, like the Good King Rene, Provence and its capital Aix has had a phenomenal flourishing culture since the the medieval centuries. Rene married Queen Jane and built beautiful palaces for her. Paul Cezanne's parents had a house in Aix where his father was a hat maker. Like every village, Aix had a marketplace to the residents to buy food. What a delightful way to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, spices and almost anything else that you would like. Every village of any size sponsors a market. In a small town, it may only be open once a week while in a larger town like Aix, the residents and visitors can enjoy the sights and aromas every day.

Eva warned us not to ask for a room at the Hotel de Vilee, a former palazzo built in the 17th century for a local count, because it now served as City Hall. We stood in the plaza trying to soak in the ambiance and whom did we see but passengers from a ship's tour eating lunch. Also, we did not want to breathe too deeply because something in the air was causing people to sneeze and cough with tissues seen everywhere. On the plus side, we dined on the most delicious pizza we have ever had, purchased from a sidewalk vendor. We knew we were in France because wine was less expensive than soda. Eva wanted to show us the Cathedral Saint-Sauveur, an 11th century church with a clock tower, but a funeral was ending. Most of the mourners wore black slacks and top, even the women. During the French Revolution, many of the churches had been burned down. (We need to research this.)

The next charming village that we visited was (can anyone supply the name???), a small feudal village in a provincial, picturesque setting. We entered the village through two fortified gates. Then we drove on to Cassis, where everyone goes to the beach in the summer and imbibes in La Blanc de Cassis, the region's famous white wine that is dry and a little sparkling. After the French Revolution, the castle in the city was abandoned because it required money to maintain it. The castle was eventually sold for one French franc with the provision that the new owner would maintain it.

As we searched for a parking space, Eva explained with a definite tone of exasperation, "I hate Cassis! You can never find a parking space!" We never did. We walked over to the beach while Eva stayed with the van. The beach was more sand than pebbles. The nationality of the tourists changes with the school holidays. While Cassis used to attract many English visitors, the English had not shown up in great numbers in the last two years due to the economy. In August, the French on their summer holiday populated the beach. Eva then drove us up a winding, narrow road for a spectacular overview of Cassis, where the wind can blow up to 100 mph with pine trees tilted sideways to attest to the velocity. Looking down on the terraced vineyards was amazing.

The next stop was Le Castillet, named after the little castle built in the 14th century, which serves today as the town's city hall. From the end of World War II to 1987, the village was abandoned. Then a wealthy lady from England purchased a house there, and the village was revived. We climbed several sets of steps to enter the village and be rewarded with an outstanding overview of vineyards. The beautiful and sharming Saint Anne du Castillet from the 11th century is popular for weddings. What a wonderful setting for the couple's romantic day!

Our last stop was Vins De Bardol for a wine tasting, where we tasted the most tempting roses ever. Bastide de la Ciseletle had absolutely the perfect pink color. We learned that the sooner the grapes are pressed, the lighter the color of wine. Ken, who came into the day with a negative opinion of France, decided to reconsider the country with beautiful weather, beautiful wine and beautiful women. The rest of our little group agreed that the scenery and weather along the French Riviera reminded us of California.

Barcelona--A Marvelous, Modern Introduction to Europe

Early Tuesday morning, we all lined up to receive our passports so we could meet with the Spanish immigration officers for our entrance to Europe. Along with Ginger and Joe, who had visited Barcelona previously, we planned to take the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus to tour as many attractions as we could in one day. Ginger should be credited with the best quote of the day--"Isn't this city wonderful? The weather is great and its clean!" What she was stating for all of us was that we had finally escaped the sweltering heat and blatant filth of our ports in Africa. In response, it is fair to say that the main reason most of us had come on this incredible world cruise was because we had the opportunity to visit so many places in Africa, which we were glad we did. Probably no would give their major reason for taking the cruise was to tour the four ports in Europe but we all seemed very happy to be there finally.

Once on the bus, we quickly learned that our choice of date to visit Barcelona was not the best because the quarter finals of a soccer match resulted in visitors crowding the streets and most major attractions. However, the temperatures that ranged between comfortably cool and pleasantly warm, the beautiful lime green color of spring having sprung on the city, and the gracious hospitality of the residents who were always charming in answering any questions that we had, all added up to an outstanding day.

British Ben, a student of Sara in 2007 whose hippy-inspired parents traveled all over Europe with their son in tow, informed her that Gaudi made a tour of Barcelona worth it. Anton Gaudi, who was born in Barcelona in 1852 and lived and worked in the city throughout his life, designed some of Barcelona's most Modernist buildings with the curved lines, pinnacles, towers and natural and organic stone as his trademarks--no angular or mechanical lines for his masterpieces. The four of us agreed that the first stop on our tour should be the Temple Expiatori de las Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Temple) for which Gauti was hired as an architecture in 1866, a calling that he answered for 40 years. His plan was to construct a vast cathedral that showed the birth, death and resurrection of Christ with 18 towers to represent the 12 Apostles, the authors of the first four books of the New Testament, the Virgin Mary and Christ. Unfortunately, when he left work in 1926, he was run over by a tram and died, without any identification, in a hospital. When his body was recognized, the people of Barcelona lined the streets for his funeral.

At his death, only the nativity facade, the crypt and one of the towers were completed. The fact that his masterpiece was not finished would not have concerned Gaudi. When he was alive and had been asked when the church would be completed, Gaudi answered, "Don't you worry. My client is not in a hurry. God has all the time in the world." Unfortunately Gaudi left no plans or notes to help his successors. The optimistic plan for the future was to complete the temple by 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's unfortunate demise. Now that deadline has been extended to 2040. Many people that it is very unlikely the project will ever be completed. Las Sagrada Familia was, is and may always be a masterpiece in progress. Pope Benit XVI traveled to Barcelona to dedicate the Temple Expiatori as a Basilica on November 7, 2010. Construction changes the complexion of the church continually but if one aims the camera skillfully, the many scaffolds can be edited out of most photographs.

The best experience that Ginger and Joe had on their first visit to the church was taking the elevator to the top of the tower to view the city from the small narrow windows. Unfortunately on our visit, we needed to pay an extra fee for this incredible view that could only be paid at the front entrance. Because we had waited almost 45 minutes in line to enter Las Sagrada Familia and had watched the group on a escorted tour from the Pacific Princess enter immediately through a side door (one of the benefits of a ship-sponsored tour), we agreed that we did not have the time to enjoy that magnificent experience. A visitor could spend all day admiring the beautiful details of the sculptures adorning the outside of the church searching for a gargoyle or a fanciful bird. The facades on the east depict the Nativity while those on the west demonstrate passion and death. Gaudi promised that Barcelona would be known for his church, and he was absolutely correct.

When we decided it was time to continue our tour of the city, we waited for four buses to obtain a seat on the upper deck of a hop-on, hop-off bus. We asked the attendant at the stop if the bus was always this busy. He used the hand motion for more or less and told us that Saturdays and Sundays were the most crowded. But the soccer finals had caused this Tuesday to be unusual. When we arrived at the stop for the Futbol Club, more than half of the passengers departed. The Communications Tower in the Olympic Stadium, which was inspired by the Olympic flame, was built in 1929 and refitted for the 1992 Olympics. The stadium accommodates up to 50,000 spectators.

We passed by Guell Park, where Gaudi had build a mansion for textile baron Count Eusebi de Guell, his patron. Nature was always Gaudi's greatest source of inspiration. Tourists often spent several hours at this visually stimulating place watching the light playing on the flora, fauna, mosaics and sculptures. Because of the limitations imposed by the clock and the crowds, we stayed on the bus until it returned to its starting point at the statue of Christopher Columbus. We had hoped to tour the Picasso Museum in the Gothic Quarter that boasted more than 3,000 works by the great artist who spent his formative years in Barcelona. However, fellow passengers who did find the museum related that the long lines to enter discouraged them from their attempts to visit this 14th-century Agular Palace that housed Picasso's progress from school sketches and anatomy diagrams through his painstaking studies of the great Spanish masters. Oh well, maybe next time.

Along with the constant and colorful flood of humanity, we strolled Las Ramblas, probably the greatest and best-known promenade in all of Europe. We delighted in stopping at the flower stalls, candy stores, art displays, bird vendors, souvenir shops, newspaper kiosks and outdoor cafes while we enjoyed the mimes and musicians. We stopped to partake of Ken's favorite pastime, sitting at a sidewalk table while enjoying a pint of beer. After our first delicious taste of delectable Spain, we agreed that we wanted to spend more time in the cultural, cosmopolitan hub of Barcelona and visit all the other fascinating places that the country has to offer, including but not limited to Madrid, Seville and Santiago. Another destination to add to our Travel Wish List.