Western Mediterranean, I thought boring how wrong was I.

Last time I told you all about the beautiful Celebrity Reflection and why I decided to take that cruise. (friends had never cruised before and wanted to play safe). I agreed on the ship with no hesitation however the itinerary did not excite me that much. I just had this impression that these standard ports of call would be working ports and very touristy. My how wrong was I.

After a lovely night at the charming 4 star Hotel San Giorgio which I have to say is a must if sailing out of Civitavecchia we headed to La Spezia in northern Italy. Our party divided here as some went to Pisa but we decided to take a little boat trip for 10 euros around the bay to Port Venere. Wow a charming resort with amazing views, cafes and shops. It had a very sophisticated feel and the local pesto was to die for. I even brought a few jars home with me.

From there we sailed into the South of France arriving in Villa French another charming resort in itself but the gateway to Nice and Monte Carlo. Again we all did our own thing and we decided to wonder the tiny hillside streets and just take in the local feel of this town.

One highlight was our next stop which consisted of an overnight in Barcelona. I had been many times but my husband had not, so the hop on hop off buses were a god send. We managed to cover most of the city in one day and returning to watch the amazing fountain show in the evening. We eat at a local tapas bar that night and really got to feel the magic of this beautiful city.

Malaga Costa Del Sol, the airport is the only place I had been to in Malaga but again the city is breathtaking. The streets were marble paved and very clean, historic buildings and churches at every corner. We went into the old fort and waked up to the castle that stands high above the city where we could see down into the old bullring and out as far as the eye could see. Moored along side Reflection was the Thomson Discovery.


The walk did take longer than I expected and I would love to return to just walk around the City and enjoy the cosmopolitan feel of the pretty
port lined with markets stalls and cafes there were even parrots flying freely in the trees.

On to Cartagena in the Murcia region of Spain again another little gem. I even shopped here and came back with a few lovely dresses that you will not find on the UK high streets and at a very good price too. Here most of our time was spent walking around the Roman site and
Amphitheatre .

We also stopped in at Gibraltar and Ibiza both very well know resorts and were just what I had expected.

Finally we had two fantastic nights in the ancient city of Rome to to finish off in style. There was a very strong military and police presence at all of the major attractions as this was the week before the Barcelona terror attack, this may have been why. It did make us all feel very safe and we managed to see most things from Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. The Vatican City will be on our next trip as Rome is most certainly, an I will return.


About Me

My name is Nicola Milligan and I am lucky to be living in the beautiful Market Town of Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, with its historic castle and haunting tales of Mother Shipton. I have a husband Stewart and a 16 year old daughter who are both cruise fanatics and a Cocker…

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