Barcelona to Rome: American Style

Greetings from Europe: where the views are stunning and the gas prices are…character-building.

Let’s start with a fun little fact to make those of you in the US feel slightly better about life: yes, your gas is expensive.  But over here, it’s practically a luxury item. Right now, regular gas is about €9.80 per gallon. That's euros. When you convert to the (not very strong at the moment) dollar it is ~$11.47. And because Mike is Mike, we of course buy premium, which at one point clocked in at €11.35 per gallon ($13.29). We did eventually find a “deal” for premium at €10.60 ($12.41), which felt like winning the lottery.

Sure, European gas is supposedly higher quality, but not that much higher. It’s still just gas, not liquid gold.

We’ve learned that Germany and Belgium are cheaper. We filled up in Liège for €7.50/gallon premium (~$8.78), which was a true bargain. The Netherlands, meanwhile, taxes gas like it personally offended them. It’s no surprise people cross borders just to fill up.  Especially given that being cheap is basically a national pastime to the Dutch.

So next time you're grumbling at the pump, take a deep breath, remember us, and go ahead and feel a little smug.

Anyway...back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Last month, we had the pleasure of hosting Mike’s dad, Denny, who casually took a cruise across the Atlantic to ease the time change (as one does). He spent nearly two weeks with us, during which Mike and I slipped away to Tenerife (see my prior blog for that adventure).

In early April, the four of us, me, Mike, Denny, and Alex, flew to Barcelona to kick off a seven-day cruise through the northern Mediterranean.

We spent a day in Barcelona doing the classics: tapas, Roman ruins, and a lot of walking. It was great, but one day felt like the right amount. Barcelona is wonderful, but we were ready to sit down and be fed.

The port in Barcelona

Then we boarded the Sun Princess, the newest ship in the Princess fleet. Denny had already done a two-week voyage on this exact ship, so we had a built-in expert, which meant we immediately knew where everything was and how to avoid rookie mistakes.

Alex and I were excited going in. Mike was…cautiously neutral. His idea of a good time is not “a week with 4,000 new best friends.” But in the end, even he admitted he enjoyed it.

First: the food. Shockingly good. The real highlight? It was unapologetically AMERICAN. There was a taco bar open from 10:30am to midnight. I will not confirm how many times I visited it daily, but let’s just say I was consistent. For context: decent Mexican food in the Netherlands basically requires a 4.5-hour drive to Luxembourg. So yes, I took full advantage.

Also: good pasta, good pizza, good salads and, the kicker…excellent chocolate chip cookies.

Important cultural note: in Europe, cookies are called “biscuits,” and they are baked until they could double as construction material. You take a bite and they explode into crumbs. This is not what we grew up with.

The cookies on the ship? Soft. Chewy. Perfect. Our group consumed…an amount.  We will not be confirming what that number actually was.

Second: the efficiency. Despite 4,000 passengers, everything ran smoothly. Boarding, food lines, excursions: all seamless. I once stood behind three people waiting for pasta, which was the longest line we encountered the entire week, but I powered through.

This was a stark contrast to a previous European cruise, where the person at the port desk seemed to be encountering the concept of “check in” for the first time (despite the 100 people ahead of us in line). No urgency and about 10 minutes of quiet existential reflection before being handed our tickets.

This time? Passports handed over, 37 seconds later we were boarding. Efficiency! Even in Barcelona, America somehow showed up and said, “Let’s move this along.”

And yes, we did see some incredible places.

First stop: Mallorca. We visited the Dragon Caves, where a small orchestra literally rows into a cave and performs on the water. Classical music echoing off the stalactites.  It sounds made up, but it’s real.  And the acoustics were amazing.

Inside the cave

Next: Marseille. Unexpected highlight. It’s a big, diverse port city with people from all over Europe, which gives it a lively, multicultural vibe. We did a food walking tour, learned some history, and (because...France) ate extremely well.

The view from the hill in Marseille

Day three was supposed to be Corsica. Unfortunately, local fishermen decided to protest gas prices (honestly, fair) by blocking all ports. We couldn’t get in, but at least we weren’t stuck. After a couple hours hovering offshore, the ship pivoted to Italy.

Next stop: Genoa (Genova if you want to be Italian about it). A beautiful, hilly city with elevators everywhere, like a vertical metro system powered by cables and optimism. Also: apparently life-changing gelato, according to the rest of the group.

The port in Genoa (and our ship over Alex's right shoulder)

Then came La Spezia for two days. It’s a gateway city for Florence and Pisa. Since we love Florence, we took the train and revisited David, climbed the Duomo, and remembered why we liked it so much. That said, the train schedule turned it into a very long day.

From the top of the Duomo

On La Spezia day two, we had plans for Pisa, but Alex and I had picked up a bit of a cold, so we made the bold decision to stay on the ship and do absolutely nothing (there may have been some additional cookies consumed). No regrets.

Finally, we docked in Rome, where we said goodbye to Denny at the airport. It was such a special few weeks: travel, time together, and a lot of cookies.  What more could you ask for?

All in all: a fantastic trip and amazing to get to spend time together.

We’re already trying to figure out how we can do it again.