Monte Carlo

After a extremely short bus trip we arrived in Monte Carlo,  The home of the rich and famous.


There are three main attractions in the town,

The harbor

The casino

The race track

There were also a lot of flash cars on show.

We enjoyed the trip out, however there were far too many hours spent on the bus.  We were absolutely shattered by the end of the day.  Also a couple of chavs rushed back to the bus and purposely sat in the seats we were in.  Which did not really bother us, however we then sat in someone else's, which had a continuous knock on effect.

Monaco

I never released how small Monaco actually is, and in the picture below you can see the whole country (principality).

The place is beautiful, clean with lots of tight winding streets.  The main attraction being the square in the centre of town where the palace was situated.

Claire wrecking my photo!

It was not surprising that we covered the whole country in no time at all.

Views into Monte Carlo

Cannes

After catching a tender boat to the shore, we had a quick look around the beach area of Cannes.  It was a beautiful place.

We did not get to spend a lot of time here as we were on a coach trip to Monaco

Barcelona

Barcelona

We were off the boat first thing in the morning and headed straight for the hop on hop off tourist bus.  As it was another scorcher of a day we sat on the open top deck.  There were many attractions on route.  One of the main ones was the Sagrada Famila, a church designed by Gaudi and is still under construction.

We had intended to jump off at the Gaudi national park, however progress in the tourist bus was slow. This was for two reason, huge congestion and traffic lights every 100 metres.

we also passed Barcelona FC, the shirt sales and merchandise was booming.  No wonder they have a ton of money.

After a couple of hours on the bus we were feeling the heat and had to  move inside for the last but of the journey.  We then headed down La Rambla, this is the main shopping street in Barcelona.  You have to keep your eyes peeled for pick pockets, though.

We had to be back on Azura by late afternoon as it was my mums 60th birthday.  She had ordered some canapes to her cabin.  In the evening we headed to a Indian restaurant on board called Sindu, you have to pay a extra £15 pp though.

After the meal we went to a 80s, 90s, 00s pool party.  To say it was bad would be a understatement. It was just childrens entertainment mixed with some butlins cabaret!  There are many good aspects to cruising however the eveining entertainment is not one of them.

Alicante

Alicante

Another glorious day around the med, which set us up nicely for a stroll around the Spanish town of Alicante.

We had been off the boat no more than 2 minutes and Claire was off shopping.  Before, I complain to much she was buying a hat to protect her from the sun.

First up some random pirate boat, as a tourist you end up taking pictures of random shit.

We then headed into the old quarter, which was filled with narrow streets and small coffee shops.

After some nice lunch  and a massive ice cream we headed to the main area of town and I was hoping to sponge some free WiFi from somewhere.  However, it is really difficult to find not even the Mcdonalds or Burger King were offering much of a service.  The sooner roaming charges are scrapped the better ( yes another WiFi moan)

We paid a visit to the beach, which was absolutely packed.

A view of the castle in the background.

My overall impression of Alicante is its just a average Spanish tourist town. I personally would not go back, if you are looking for somewhere a bit quieter than Benidorm it might just be for you!

Vigo

Vigo

After a day at sea the Azura  docked at the Spanish port of Vigo and it was a glorious day. Vigo is made up of tight cobbled streets, that wind up some steep hills.

After a long walk we arrived at the Ayuntamiento.  This is basically a small fort that looks over the harbour.

Then we began the ascent up to the El castro restos de la Fortaleza.  This is the main fort that over looks the city.  We were pretty tired at this point and the sun was getting hotter, so we took some obligatory photos and headed off downhill.

A nice fountain at the top of the walk.

After a bit of shopping we headed back to the ship.  However there had been a chlorine spillage onboard the Azura so nobody was allowed back on.  We were told it could take up to two hours before we could board.   So we headed back into town for a ice cold beer and Claire did some shopping. Yes she bought some stuff!!

Bangkok

Day 85

Last day!!!!!!!!!

I am not sure what happened but 5 days have gone amiss somewhere?  It was our last day of a long trip,  Boy how we have enjoyed it, time has literally flown by.  We are ready for going back though, we have seen everything we had wanted and met some amazing people on route.

Today however we just took it it easy and relaxed by the pool most of the day before heading out for some street food in the evening.  Bangkok really is amazing and is still my favourite city, its got everything!

View from our room at the fabulous Pathumwan Princess

A random interactive fish tank we found in Bangkok airport!

On the way back I took some cool shots of the mountains as we flew overhead, somewhere near Afghanistan.

We will be on our travels again soon, next time we will be cruising round the Mediterranean in July, Cannes, Rome, Gibraltar here we come!!!

Bangkok

Day 84

Claire had booked a cooking class with Baipai Cooking School, so we were up bright and early.  When I get back I am going to look forward to a nice lie in.


Before we started the class we were taken to a local market and where shown what type of products were needed for the class.

The cooking school was based in a really nice house,  I was expecting a more of a class room type place.

We were soon underway, there was a total of three dishes that needed to be made.

Here are the three dishes I cooked

Chicken and Cashew Nuts

Spicey (way way too hot, I did not finish it) Beef Salad

Pad Thai

All of the dishes took less than 10 minutes to cook.  However it was the preparation time and amount of ingredients that surprised me.  We both definitely learned a few thing though.

Not long left now.  Where has the time gone, it has literally flown by.

Bangkok

Day 83

After another hard days shopping, yes there are clothes left in bangkok.  This is despite claire's efforts to buy them all!  We decided to have a leg and shoulder massage.

It was £8 each for the hour massage.  Dont get me wrong it was relaxing however, the neck massage was quite rough at times.