Next Stop.....The Eastern Coast of Spain, Wake Me When We Are There

We sailed away from Italy Friday night traveling just north of of the island of Corsica. I have no idea what is there but I did notice a huge ferry in Livorno taking people and cars to and from Corsica. It is a large island just off the coast of Italy about 20-30 miles or so. I didn't know this of course until one day Peg and I were checking out the world map books on display in the ships' library. They had a special table set up for these giant world map books with two of them open all the time across the table for people to view. The books were 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide!

Saturday was sort of an odd day as cruising goes. We woke up to a day at sea as we crossed the Mediterranean heading for Barcelona, Spain. The day was odd because we were going to pull into Barcelona at 5PM that day and dock the ship for the last time of our cruise. The morning started with a special presentation of the ship crew members. No less than 300 of the crew from all walks of ship life got up on stage in the main show room as the crowd (and we) all cheered in appreciation for all that the crew had done for us in the past two weeks. The crew ended the presentation with a song about love and people from all walks of life.....and learning to get along together. The show was great and it was the crew's way of saying good bye to everyone. The theatre was packed and I would be lying if I didn't tell you that the moment was a bit emotional for everyone. It reminded me a bit about something we heard a performer say one night. It was something like, "how is it that people will come on to a ship as total strangers and make new best friends of almost everyone they encounter, but on the streets of a city....people walk by each other and wouldn't give you the time of day if you asked?". It is a strange but true observation.

After the lines were tossed and the ship was tied, many people headed into town to see Barcelona. Peg and I decided to relax and wait until Sunday morning when we actually dis-embarked the ship to go into town. We spent our final day / night on the ship going to special shows that were put together by the singers and other special entertainers of the cruise. We saw the Irish Celtic Band "Live Wire" perform once again and the tenner known as Drew Preston.... sing a few more songs. Saturday evening, just the 4 lead singers from the song and dance team performed a unique show called a tribute to Broadway. These 4 singers were perhaps the most talented we have ever seen on a ship. Each and every one of their shows was just filled with energy and spectacular performances. Saturday night was no exception. After the last show, we packed our bags, prepared for the early morning exit, and called it a day. Saturday was weird in that we sailed into the port and sort of watched our cruise come to an end....slowly but surely.