Good Friends, Wine, Beaches Highlight Spanish Mediterranean

Days 82-84, 2025 European Odyssey

Thursday to Saturday, Sept. 18-20, 2025; Alicante, Valencia and Barcelona, Spain.

I may be spending about 10 months a year cruising, but in between I go back to the United States, to visit family, catch up on doctors’ appointments, enjoy real Tex-Mex food and repack.

On Saturday I caught up with friends Justin and Alissa, who have made a more dramatic move. Two years ago, they moved with their two sons to Andorra. They are loving their life in the land-locked country between Spain and Portugal, high in the Pyrenees. My plans to visit them in Andorra last year fell through, so this weekend they left the boys with their visiting grandmother and drove the three hours to Barcelona to see me.

I thought I might face a long wait for a taxi to their hotel, but there wasn’t a line. We simply walked the streets, finding a good place for brunch and shopping as we headed for La Plaça de Catalunya, considered the center of the city. Alyssa was glad to find the English-language bookstore, as it isn’t easy to find books in English for their boys in Andorra. I found some cute and inexpensive earrings.

We reminisced about the 20 years that have passed since I met Justin through a MINI Cooper club and traveled with him to Russia, Ukraine and Moldova (taking advantage of his knowledge of Russian). We’re both glad for our travels there, as I doubt that I will be able to return to Russia anytime soon. Their life in Andorra sounds tempting, except for the winter part. It would be great if I still skied.

Near the Apple Store (packed with people looking at the new iPhone) we said goodbye so I could return to the ship by the 2:30 p.m. all-aboard time. While I was gone, almost all of the passengers on the previous cruise had left and a new contingent arrived for a two-week cruise to Egypt, Cypress, Turkey and eventually Athens.

Before I left the ship to meet Justin and Alissa, I had a mystery to solve. After changing cabins two weeks ago, neither I nor my room stewards could find a pair of dress sandals I must have left behind. Even a note left for the cabin’s new residents failed to turn them up. So, I stopped in before the new passengers arrived, reached deep into the cubbyhole shelf where I had kept them, and came out with two shoes — that didn’t match! I reached in deeper and found two more. Not only had I left behind the sandals, but also my swim shoes. Mystery solved.

On Thursday, I knew I wouldn’t repeat April’s magical experience in Alicante, one of my favorite Spanish ports since I first visited in 2013. In April, I stumbled across what looked like a spontaneous outbreak of swing dancing in a plaza near the promenade.

Today, the space was empty and silent, proving the serendipity of my previous visit. I moved on looking for a plate of paella and a dry white wine, but none of the restaurants offered single servings of the popular rice dish.

Instead, I walked the wide promenade, people-watching and doing a bit of shopping.

Going in a new direction, I found a shady bench near a beach with a great view of sunbathers, umbrellas, palm trees, apartment buildings and finally the castle on top of Mount Benacantil. It took me longer than I expected to sketch the complicated scene, and I just caught the last shuttle bus to the ship.

Valencia was a new port for me, and on Friday I joined seven others for a private winery tour to Requena and Utiel, two villages about 50 miles northeast of the port city. Our guide, a sommelier and expert on Valencian wines, took us to a wine museum and then a winery for lunch.

In Requena we toured the 9^th century caves under the ancient stone buildings where wines once were stored. Few people live in the old section because there is no place for cars. We tasted four local wines in the wine museum.

Next we moved to a vineyard near Utiel for a wonderful outdoor lunch accompanied by more wine. I knew I would skip dinner that night.