Sunday Stuff 7-9-23
More Spanish (and French & Italian) Stuff
Getting off our Virgin Voyage
If you’ve been reading much of my Sunday Stuff you know that we just took a 7 day cruise on the Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady through the Mediterranean hitting the ports of Toulon, France, Marina de Carrara (Portofino/Santa Margherita/Cinque Terre) , Corsica, France and Ibiza, Spain. We have been very loyal Celebrity Cruises Edge Class Clients for the last several years and it wasn’t without a bit of trepidation that we embarked on this Adults Only Cruise Ship. If you watch many of the Virgin Voyages Vlogs many of the reviews are very “click bait" and (in my opinion) attempt to make you think that the ship is just one big sex show.
Let me tell you that nothing could be farther from the truth. Yes, Virgin Voyages is an adults-only cruise line. That just means no children are on board (brilliant in my opinion) and that some of the entertainment can be a little off-color and “cheeky”. But this is just a beautiful cruise ship designed with a modern aesthetic and appealing to a demographic that doesn’t want kids and kids clubs on board when they are sailing.
There is so much to do and see on these ships that I couldn’t possibly contain it in one small blurb. I’m going to do some more posts in the near term to give some of my honest thoughts and opinions on these ships. But bottom line, run, do not walk, to Virgin Voyages and book yourself on one of their magnificent ships.
Travel More and Meet New People
Travel will change your life for all the best reasons. Cruising as part of your travel and taking the time to reach out to fellow travelers will yield amazing new friendships and future fun.
While we always meet new people and forge new acquaintances on every cruise, I don’t know that we’ve ever met more people that were truly a joy to be with. From two gents from Newcastle, England to a retired couple from the UK who live in Alicante, Spain to a beautiful French couple who want to take us to Normandy and show us all around, it’s the people that you meet that make these trips special.
I know it’s easy to be an introvert, but putting yourself out there a little bit and being friendly to strangers can yield amazing results. I am guilty of not making the first move to reach out to a stranger, but I’m trying to get past it because I know the results and how life-changing it is. This morning the Al and Lady Janet, our new friends from Alicante, insisted on driving us from Barcelona to Sitges. Lady J’s sheer will power made us figure out how to get all of the luggage into her car. And true to her word we did get that luggage in and she and Al got us to our hotel.
My one regret was that I let my own prejudices keep me from interacting with a group of people from the UK because I thought they would be too over-the-top for me to have much in common with. Unfortunately, I had an opportunity to spend time with them on the last day of the cruise and it turns out while their more public persona is very flamboyant, their true selves were actually smart, quick witted, warm and terribly friendly. I did myself a disservice by not being more open and I’ll regret that going forward.
So approach things with an open mind and don’t be afraid to be nice, you might find a new best mate(s).
That’s All The Stuff Folks….
We are about to pull in to Barcelona Sants Station and we have a busy afternoon ahead. Look at my social pages (mostly Instagram) for more content this week and I’ll see you next Sunday
