Today this segment ended and the next one began in Barcelona. We chose to take a ships tour to the Monastery in Montserrat, Spain. The drive was beautiful up the mountain until we reached the monastery and the development around it. We didn't have time to hike any of the surrounding trails, although we would have loved to. The funicular was quite incredible, taking visitors even further up the mountain and allowing them to hike to the cross we could see in the distance.
There is also  a train that brings visitors up the mountain too! The monastery and church are truly remarkable - even for me. I haven't bored you with all the photos - this was. a great tour. There was a liquor tasting included in the price to visit the monastery - lovely idea and a small local market where you could buy cheese, pastries, nuts and so on.
Once back to the ship we quickly left again so Adrian could get a glimpse of Barcelona. We were docked in town so a short walk away from the statue of Columbus that marks the beginning of the Ramblas. Unfortunately, the street is mostly torn up so this attraction was not as I had described it. We didn't have time to visit La Sagrada Familla De Gaudy - I have seen the exterior of the church a couple of times but never without scaffolding. We had been tolf the restoration was complete for this 100 anniversary year - however one of our fellow cruisers who visited today said it's not complete yet. Oh well, next visit.

Barcelona. Monuments, street artists, food and architecture.

Another port, another market. Today we took the shuttle from the port into old town Valencia and the market. I love these European markets, the food on offer is amazing and the buildings themselves are gorgeous. We only had an afternoon here and we headed straight to the market to make sure it didn't close before we got there. We had a great time - Adrian enjoyed an antipasto cup and we shared some sausage and cheese. After our shared "snack" we each got a sandwich - massive and delicious. Another beautiful day in an equally beautiful city.

Today we are in Cartagena and experienced our second vacation mistake. The first one was in L'Orient, France when we should have booked a tour as there was absolutely nothing to see in this port. Our second mistake was booking a tour in Cartagena. Both Adrian and I read the tour description incorrectly - we assumed that a 15 minute bus ride to the site through the city meant that the ruins were not withing walking distance. But alas, our bus tour was through the city - a city where the most interesting sites are within the old town, pedestrian only area. After the bus drove us through the city pointing out elementary schools and such it finally stopped for us to get out and walk to the ruins - it stopped directly across from where are ship was docked. 
So we had paid for a tour that we could have walked. across the street and for 7 Euros each could have visited. To add insult to injury our tour guide was not only well versed in the history she felt that we needed to know every detail. What should have been at most a 10 minute walk though the museum to the entrance of the ground took 40 minutes. 
Adrian and I chose to leave the tour at this first stop and explore the rest of the city on our own. It's a very pretty city, and I got a few good shots on our sail out of the port. We stopped and had a couple Asiatico coffee which they are famous for - this layered treat has condensed milk, brandy, espresso, cream, cinnamon and is topped with 43 also a famous local liquor. The coffee, with a beer chaser to cut the sweetness, helped redeem the day.We also snagged lobster for dinner which helped too! The lobster tails onboard are excellent, large and cooked properly. In fact all of the fish is excellent.

Last night the ship had another customer appreciation event and our friends Steve and Mary were recognized for the many days (209) they have travelled with Windstar. We had great fun cheering their win, which included a very special wine from Spain. At dinner we were also treated to another great Spanish bottle. It was a great evening.
This morning we arrived in Malaga. No tour today - we are docked close to everything and chose to explore on our own. We started by hiking up to and exploring the Castillo de Gibralfaro - this original fortress was built in the 8th century and was the centre of Moorish power. It was a steep hike and we were rewarded with great city views, and a beer, at the top. From here we could also see the Alcazaba, a palace fortress built in the 11th century during the Moorish period.
Rounding out the history was the Roman Amphitheatre. We managed to find a place for tapas and 
a bakery for a final treat. We walked the old city streets fro a while before returning to the ship.
The ship presented a show - A Taste of Malaga, Flamenco Onboard! to round out our day.

Getting our free bottle and us trying to make the bottle sound like a ships horn!!

We were very sweaty by the time we reached the Castillo entrance and were grateful for the rest stop and the refreshment.

Our bakery treat, an almond pastry.

To pay for our pastry above, with cash, we were directed to this machine. This was the second time on this ship a merchant sent us to a machine to pay in cash - I assume it's so they don't have to handle cash? We saw this everywhere in Japan.

Flamenco show...

Today we arrive din Tangier and took a tour to Tetouan, a UNESCO World heritage site and home to one of the Royal palaces. The King has a palace in each city.  Tetouan is about an hour away from Tangier so we got to see a bit of the countryside during the drive. Our guide also shared some of the culture and  improvements the country is undergoing. Morocco has embraced solar and wind farms and is generating a great deal of its energy this way. It is not a country with oil reserves. Tangier is on the top tip of Morocco jutting out into the strait and is very close to Spain and on a clear day you can see Gibraltar.
The palace is a 17th century building and from here we toured the Medina (old city) and the traditional souk or shopping area. It was a very hot day and the tour was an hour longer than advertised so we returned to the ship a bit like limp lettuce.

Royal Palace - Mohammed the 6th

Walking tour of the Medina, the old city,  and traditional walled souk features many typical architectural traits and is also UNESCO World Heritage Site

Dar Oddi - a traditional wealthy residence restored and turned into a museum.

Top floor sunlight and views from the roof

Streets where no two buildings have the same architectural embellishments

Today, we spent the morning navigating the Guadalquivir river on our way to Seville. The ship offered a viewing opportunity far forward complete with Sangria - lovely way to start the day.  About 30 minutes before reaching Seville we went through a lock. The first shuttle into the city left the port at 3:30 pm this afternoon and we were on it! It was a 2.5 mile walk in 40 degree heat so we chose the shuttle. It was very warm but bearable for our exploration, we managed to visit all of the highlights - the Plaza de Espana (most of our pictures are form this fabulous castle type building with many mosaics and a depiction and map location of all the counties in Spain. We also visited the Maria Louisa Park, a huge park you could easily get lost in. The Torre del Oro, the Seville Cathedral and all the famous streets.
We had tapas at a lovely restaurant with the cured meats traditionally hanging from the ceiling. Great day and a beautiful city. 

This morning we left Lisbon at 9am and were able to get some great shots on our way out. We are now at sea until about 3pm tomorrow afternoon when we arrive in Seville.

Today we arrived in Lisbon. It's another changeover day and th ship encountered some issues getting our gangway in place. This delayed everyone getting off by about an hour. My temporary filling from France didn't last - I lost about 2/3 of it so we ended up back at the dentist. My appointment was at 1pm with pick-up at 12 noon so we really just had time for a waterfront walk before the dentist.
It's a beautiful sunny and hot day. The hottest day we've had at 40+ so after the dentist we chose to stay onboard for a bit and venture out early in the evening. Our idea was to find a place for dinner then do our walk-a-bout once it was cooler.
It's a beautiful evening and still quite warm - we ended up beginning with a port tasting! We didn't do this in Porto so it just felt like the right thing to do here. We had a fabulous tasting of 3 different ports accompanied by some cheese and olives. I missed lunch to allow my new filling to set completely so I was definitely ready for the cheese - Adrian loves port so we were both happy. 
From here we continued our waterfront walk, reading menu's as we walked. We eventually settles on a Portuguese restaurant that was just opening and where a line had formed - always a good sign. We had a wonderful meal, both of us ordered shrimp and Adrian enjoyed a beer. 
After eating we continued our tour of the waterfront in the beautiful dusk light. Lots of people enjoying the large city squares and the waterfront - very few phones which was a nice change from home.

Port tasting

Authentic Portuguese meal...

Sardine store...

Today is the last day of this leg of our trip. We arrive in Lisbon tomorrow. The ship actually docked in the port of Leixoes and we took the ships "Porto on your own" tour this morning. Essentially hat was a bus ride from the ship into the city of Porto about 30 minutes away. The drive into Porto was beautiful, you could walk the whole way on the waterfront if you had the time/energy.
We had about 2.5 hours in Porto before having to return to the port. We enjoyed walking the waterfront, crossing the old steel bridge, to explore both sides and admiring the many bridges and architecture. As usual we found a great place for some local pastries, both savory and sweet along with our cappuccinos.
After returning to the port we had just enough time to enjoy a walk on the huge beach right next to our ship! We set sail at 3pm to arrive in Lisbon tomorrow morning. My dental work in Rouen didn't do the trick, I've since lost part of the crown,  so I am now hoping to see a dentist in Lisbon.

Cable cars to take you to the top of the hill....

The beach in Leixoes