Trading the Colosseum for Dawn Departures

These pictures were taken on September 8, 2025.  Jay celebrated this birthday in the city of Rome, Italy.  Here's a peek at that day:

 

Jay and I always try to give ourselves the gift of travel whenever a birthday rolls around. Our recent Alaska cruise took care of my own 2026 milestone, but Jay’s upcoming celebration in September remains entirely unbooked. Our actual confidence in where or when we will fly is floating near rock bottom. Mexico City has surfaced as our primary idea for one simple reason: despite all our years of travel, Jay and I have never spent any time in the capital city. It remains a massive, unvisited five-century-deep megalopolis waiting on our map; it offers a full week of real exploration, provided we can accept the flight schedule.

A quick check of the flight options shows that the airlines make Vancouver-to-Mexico City travel feel like a test of patience. Reaching the city at a reasonable afternoon hour requires an 08:15 Aeroméxico departure, which demands a 05:30 alarm clock setting that borders on biological cruelty. The alternative is Air Canada, which burns an entire calendar day in transit only to deposit passengers at the terminal at 23:15. On top of that, even opting for budget carriers still guarantees a fairly expensive ticket for a trip that stays strictly within North America.

So our plans remain in limbo while Jay and I weigh the scheduling headaches against the thrill of brand new territory. Paying a hefty premium for terrible flight times rubs me the wrong way, yet staggering onto a tarmac before sunrise feels like the inevitable tax for diving headfirst into a premier cultural and culinary hub sitting practically in our continental backyard.

Back on Pacific Time

We're back from our one-week cruise. This was 5:47 am. It was taken from our balcony in New Westminster. It was after about six hours of sleep.

 

Even after just a short get-away, we have a great number of errands to run today.  Oh, and I can pick up my new phone as it's waiting at the neighbourhood UPS store!  That'll be a fun errand.

Disembarking and Flights Home

It was a day without stress or mishap.  We had arranged with MSC for a bus to the airport, leaving the ship at around 9:30 am.

Our direct flight to Toronto on Air Canada went without delay.  We had enough time to get to the Vancouver flight and although it was packed, we didn't encounter any trouble.

We left Barcelona airport at 1:35 in the afternoon their time, and were home by 9:15 pm Pacific time.  It was a much longer than the time might imply of course, due to the extra nine hours of time zones.

Cruise Day 7 - Marseille, France

The weather was great. We spend an entire month of June on the French Riveria. However, this was our first visit to this city. It was quiet because they French called a general strike today. Not a lot of business going on but pleasant enough.

 

Cruise Day 6 - Geona, Italy

We've new respect for Genoa after a lovely walking trip in the city's old town.

 

Cruise Day 5 - Civitavecchia, Italy

It was definitely worth the 90 minute bus ride from the port to downtown Rome. Jay had his birthday lunch with the site of the Coliseum.

 

Cruise Day 4 - Cagliari, Sardinia

We had arranged for a tour today and got right out after an early breakfast. First our motorcoach brought us to view points overlooking the city. Laster we headed to a rural town called San Sperate. 

The village town was once home to the late Pinuccio Sciola. He was responsible for a project of paintings on the homes in the agricultural town. It is home to his 'Sound Garden' outdoor museum where the transformed large slabs of limestone, basalt, and other stone into instruments that emit tones when struck in a particular manner.  We got a guided tour of it.  

It was nice seeing both the city and having a ride out to the town. Our group did a lot of walking.

 

Cruise Day 3 - Our Only 'Sea Day'

 

We picked this itinerary as it is packed with ports. Today was our only day to enjoy the simple joys of water transport on these mammoth floating resorts. THere is generally a lot of things to do but how much one participates is totally up to them. We will be in the capital of Sardinia tomorrow. As you can see, the winter isn't close to Caglairi!

Cruise Day 2 - Ibiza, Spain

Cruise Day 1 - Boarding in Barcelona

We got into town after dark last night but woke up to a great buffet in the Rialto Hotel just a few blocks away from Las Ramblas. We were able to walk out and enjoy the famous pedestrian way. It was hot and sunny.

 

We grabbed an Uber at around 11:30 am. We had to meet in the corner of a close square as downtown Barcelona traffic is nearly impossible. Checking into the MSC terminal was effortless. We boarded in time to find our away around the ship and start with lunch.

 

Delays and Changes to Flights

We would've liked it if our original flights took us through Montreal to get here this morning. That didn't happen. We had to hang around New Westminster until the late afternoon. Our first flight headed towards Heathrow in London. Then, we had to wait a bit longer in the plane for take off because of weather. 

We did get into Terminal 1 in Barcelona around 7:00 pm. We'd looked up how get to our hotel before leaving home. Phew, I'm happy for that. The train into downtown leaves from Terminal 2 which is not close but easy via a shuttle bus.

   

After the train, we navigated the metro on a couple of lines to roll our suitcase and carry our backpacks to the Rialto Hotel.

   

We had to get out and get a little something to eat. Barcelona night life was just getting outside. I was surprised by the crowds at 10:00 pm on a Wednesday night! Love this town! We'll have to remember to stay longer next time. We board our cruise in a bit more than twelve hours!

 

Delayed Departure

These were our original flights to Spain.

 

We should be in Montreal because it's 12:44 pm in Vancouver. However, I know the Vancouver time as I'm still sitting on the couch in our apartment. As soon as we got up at 5:00 am this morning, my phone already had an email from YVR, the airport, that our flights had been cancelled in the night. Jay logged on to the computer and had around ten messages all relating to our cancellation and rerouting. 

We have been rebooked on Vancouver to London flights and then, hopefully, will have two hours to get from terminal 2 to terminal 5. Our flight from there to Barcelona puts us in at 6:30 pm on Wednesday rather than in the morning as was originally scheduled. We will have less time to walk Las Ramblas in the evening for sure. 

Jay and I cannot board the MSC Orchestra for our cruise until 1:00 pm on Thursday, so I guess after breakfast that morning, we can have a few hours to mingle with the tourists on Barcelona's main pedestrian boulevard before checking out of Hotel Rialto. 

I'm sure it is not just the cynicism of age when I remember how flying used to be fun. We now plan to head to the Vancouver airport at around 4:00 pm to get on AC 860 at 8:00 pm local time.

A Timely Coincidence

AncestryDNA verified much of what I'd already knew in October of 2023. However, their results slowly improve over time as the data collected grows to include larger sample sizes. My most recent logon showed the inclusion of between 0 and 1% Sardinian on my father's side of the family.  It surely isn't very statistically significant.  Yet, there could, indeed, be an interesting story about which I'll probably never learn.

   

By chance, we arranged for a birthday week cruise for Jayantha earlier, in March, this year. We will fly to Barcelona during the first week in September and then board an MSC cruise ship for seven nights. The MSC Orchestra's second stop happens to be on the island of Sardinia, now part of Italy. Jay and I will spend just one day in its capital of Cagliari. It might make the port stop more interesting for me as I'll be wondering whether I may have had a long-lost relative who hailed from the area.

Proceeding as Expected

The Air Canada flight attendants' strike ended in the early hours of this morning. It'll take days and days before the airline gets back to a completely normal flight schedule. Yet, we're not due to fly to Barcelona for a full two weeks from today. Things should work out as originally planned.  Phew! 

We board an Air Canada flight on September 2nd and transfer through Montreal. The following flight puts us into the Spanish city in the morning of the 3rd. It's been fifteen years since we were last there. We have a single night in the Hotel Rialto just off the famous Las Ramblas Boulevard. On August 4th, we board the MSC Orchestra. We will have one week cruising the Mediterranean and get back to Barcelona on the 11th. We disembark from the ship in the morning and then fly directly back home via Toronto. 

Yet, in the middle of all of that, on the day we're again exploring Rome, Jay's birthday takes place. That's the whole reason for this excursion. And now that the threat of not being able to get there as expected is diminishing, we are getting psyched for our new, upcoming adventure.

 

Two Weeks Aboard MSC Ships by Year's End

 

We have already been on a cruise ship in 2025.  In January, we boarded the NCL Dawn in Mauritius and disembarked in Cape Town, South Africa.  That was during our winter away.  However, when we discovered both a reasonable cruise deal and a great airline price to its embarkation port, we grabbed another chance.  It will be during Jay's September birthday week.  Next month, we will hopefully be able to fly to Barcelona on the 2nd; that is, as long as Air Canada staff do not strike and cause travel disruptions!  We have just one night in a hotel.  We'll return to Vancouver the day the MSC ship returns to Barcelona.  It should be a great, eight nights!

We will not be visiting any new countries on the Mediterranean cruise.  We have already stayed in Spain, Italy, and France.  Ibiza belongs to Spain and the island of Sardinia is a part of Italy.  We spent a month on France's Côte d’Azur although we didn't make it to city of Marseille.  So the two islands and the major city in southern France will be new experiences.

 

We have spent a great deal of time in the Middle East.  Jay and I have lived in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE.  In fact, more than one third of my teaching career took place in the Persian Gulf.  Today, we bought a 7-night MSC cruise leaving from Dubai.  We'll be doing it just before Christmas and returning with Jay's sisters to Sri Lanka for most of our upcoming winter away.  This cruise will be an interesting week of both new and old for us.

Neither Jay nor I have been to the country of Qatar, so this cruise will allow us to add another new country in 2025.  By the end of the year, we will have visited a total of 98.

Slow Day in Durban / Future Travel Planning

Day 117: We were knackered today. Outside the weather is humid and with a grey haze. We stayed mostly inside puttering around and in the back of our minds, we're aware we will be heading to Johannesburg next Tuesday. 

However, we keep adding future travel plans for 2025.  One graphic I can include is a few of the places we will see during Jay's birthday this year.  There are plenty more journeys before the fall though.  You'll be able to read about those as they happen.  Remember, this journal as been active since the fall of 2003.  That adds up to a whole lot of pictures and words!

 

Travel Agenting for Ourselves

Day 106 - We're on load shedding again.  That means our power is on generator for the next two hours and excludes the use of large items such as the A/C, stove, and water heater.  It seems as though South Africa has an underdeveloped electrical grid and in order to meet capacity requirements, simply turns off sections of the country as per a special schedule.  We didn't run into the situation until yesterday.  Perhaps the heat is causing a lot of folks to use more power.  We will be running on the grid again in one hour and a half.

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Mainly, the thing I want to remember about today is the fact we finally decided to do something on Jay's birthday in September.  We went ahead and bought tickets on Air Canada today because they seemed relatively cheap. They almost felt pre-COVID kind of cheap.  I hope Expedia appreciates all our business!

After a little research in this journal, I learned the last time we were at this destination. The year of these two photos was 2010.  So, I guess going back to Barcelona, after fifteen years, won't be too soon.  We chose the dates to coincide with a cruise we saw online.  Even if we don't match up, finding ourselves with eight nights in this city and vacinity will be a welcome and suitable birthday gift.  It was one of the first cities that Jay visited before I met him in 1985.  We were both there in 2010 and plan on a repeat performance in less than seven months.