ExPat Expertise Needed!!

[MommC]

Note to mod: Hope this meets the 'guidelines'!

So here's the questions for all expats' that have answers.

Before coming to the DR for our annual winter stay we're taking a little side trip (think cruise) with final port of call being Rome, Italy where we'll park ourselves (figuratively) for a couple of weeks to visit relatives and friends.

What I am doing is posting a list of ports of call and asking for suggestions of 'must do/see' in each port. Keep in mind that we will have roughly 8 hours to visit each port of call, with the exception of the embarkation port as we arrive a day early (don't want to chance a delayed flight causing a missed sailing!!)

Here goes:

Copenhagen, Denmark
Rotterdam, Holland
Zeebrugg, Belgium
Le Havre, France
Vigo, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Cadiz, Spain
Casablanca, Morocco
Gibraltor, UK (I'm waiting Chiri - ready your holiday entries as well)
Barcelona, Spain
Cannes, France

The rest are all in Italy so we already know what we want to do/see at those ports (think steak Florentine when we get to Livorno).

Thanks in advance........

We leave Sept 16th and I've just realized our passports expire BEFORE the six month expiration date required by some countries (and the cruise line) so now I need to make a trip to Ottawa to have new ones issued as mailing them in won't do!!!

Yikes!

 

[AnnaC]

Good news on the passports. There is a simplified version if you qualify Passport Canada: New measures to simplify the passport issuance system

 

[planner]

Wow MommC - sounds like a fabulous trip. Sorry I can't help you but will plan a trip to visit you this winter to see the pictures and hear the stories. It is about time we met.....

 

[MommC]

Sure thing planner!

AnnaC -
Too bad those "simplified' forms aren't on the website yet like they say!!!!! &*^$#%#
So I've filled out all 8 pages on both application forms and we're going to take them personally tomorrow to a Passport Office in Toronto for 'expedited' processing!

Now where are all those 'hot spots' from the expats on the board???

 

[Chirimoya]

I'll reply by PM, MommC.

 

[MommC]

Thanks Chiri! Excellant walking tour in your PM and just the thing we're looking for!
I've already printed it out and it's in my binder filed under Gibraltor!
Now.....where's Bok with Copenhagen and maybe Rotterdam or Zeebrugge??
Dunhill should be able to answer some for Rotterdam and Zeebrugge also!!!???

 

[La Mariposa]

Good news on the passports. There is a simplified version if you qualify Passport Canada: New measures to simplify the passport issuance system

The new version is going to be in force by August the 15th

 

[Dre Broeders]

Rotterdam.
You can make a trip by boat through the harbour.
I wish you a very nice trip and I hope you tell me much stories when you come back in Casablanca (bar in Juan Dolio)
MommC. Still they are not starting Aquabella.
Make greetings to Papa TONY.
You had bad luck that your cruiseship do not make a stop at Amsterdam.
Amsterdam My dream. My dream is: I want to live for one year in my live in Amsterdam.

 

[rendul]

I have been to Casablanca and there are two areas you should check into. The previous king of Morocco had a mosque built on the shore of the Atlantic. It is the only mosque (we were told) that will permit infidels (non-muslims) in. There are tours that go through the entire mosque. It is breathtaking!!

Second place for Casablanca is the medina. Not to be missed!!

Good luck and have fun. My husband and I would go back to Marrakesh and Casablanca at the drop of a hat! We loved it so much!

 

[Chirimoya]

Thanks Chiri! Excellant walking tour in your PM and just the thing we're looking for!
I've already printed it out and it's in my binder filed under Gibraltor!
Now.....where's Bok with Copenhagen and maybe Rotterdam or Zeebrugge??
Dunhill should be able to answer some for Rotterdam and Zeebrugge also!!!???

You are most welcome. But a word of warning! Be sure to spell the name of the place correctly or they won't let you off the boat. It might also help when doing internet research - see if you can find a map, check it out on Google Earth - all three and a quarter square miles of it!

If you think I'm tough on spelling, you should see my compatriots...:cheeky:

 

[Chirimoya]

It is the only mosque (we were told) that will permit infidels (non-muslims) in.

I heard it was the biggest mosque on earth, which may or may not be the case, but what they told you certainly isn't true. You don't get much more 'infidel' than me and I've visited several mosques in my time.

 

[MommC]

Dang it....been hanging around Spanish countries too much!!!

You are most welcome. But a word of warning! Be sure to spell the name of the place correctly or they won't let you off the boat. It might also help when doing internet research - see if you can find a map, check it out on Google Earth - all three and a quarter square miles of it!

If you think I'm tough on spelling, you should see my compatriots...:cheeky:

I know that "o" should be an "a"!!:ermm: My third grade teacher must be turning over in her grave right now!!!!

 

[MommC]

Rotterdam.
You had bad luck that your cruiseship do not make a stop at Amsterdam.

Really rotten luck!! My sister lives in Den Helder which is only about 30 min. from Amsterdam!!! Guess I won't see her this trip!

 

[Tee Bone]

Tivoli gardens in copenhagen is a must and the beach in Cannes is worth a stroll

 

[MommC]

Our hotel is right across the street from Tivoli Gardens so I'm sure we'll be spending some time there as we arrive a day early.
Anything else in Cannes???

Or any of the other places on the list??? I'm sure there's more expats out there that have been to some of these places or come from them!!!

 

[Euterpe]

Barcelona :
( lived there for nearly 8 years)
make a bee-line for the Ramblas ( hold on to wallets/bags/cameras), walk right up to the Plaza Catalunya ( stop at Hard Rock Cafe for a beer), then up Passeig de Gracia ( fast forward past Chanel...) , passing the beautiful Casa Batllo on your left, turn right down calle Valencia and go to the basilica of the Sagrada Familia ( Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece), have another beer whilst admiring from one of the nearby cafes, then back towards the Plaza Catalunya ( try to take calle Girona, there is a a Mango outlet shop near calle Caspe with very silly prices ), where you take Plaza del Angel ( across the road from Corte Ingles) which leads to the Barrio Gotic ( old town ) then down to the end of the Ramblas again.
Lots of little bars & restaurants in the Barrio Gotic and around the Cathedral, or else go down to Maremagnum.
Then collapse ....

 

[MommC]

Whew! After all that beer (BTW I don't drink beer-can I have wine instead?) I won't be collapsing.....I'll be exploding!
Thanks for the walkthrough......Is the Ramblas easy to get to from the docks or will we need to taxi there??
Also about how far is this walk??? I'm nursing a knee that is threatening to give out (why oh why did the Dr. say to wait until it went out again to fix it???!!@#$%#$@)

 

[Euterpe]

Beer, wine, agua - just remember to stop frequently rather than to the tourist-dash - part of the fun is sitting and people-watching.
Not sure how far the Ramblas is from where you are docking - but there are always buses and the metro. Taxis are cheap and honest, so also a good option.

If you amble gently from point to point, your knee should be OK, anyway the object is to see the sights, so slow is the way to go. My mother is 86 , and can still manage the Ramblas in one go ( it's fairly long from Colon to Plaza Catalunya). If you get tired, there are 3 metro stops up the Ramblas ( Drassanes, Liceo, Catalunya), and a metro stop near the Sagrada Familia. Buy a day ticket, that way you can get all over Barcelona in your 8 hours, and probably also back to the docks.
Enjoy - it's a lovely town, and in 7 years I still hadnt explored even half of it.

 

[MommC]

Which is why I've been asking for advice via this thread. I hate preplanned 'tours' that speed through so many stops that one doesn't have a chance to 'people watch' or really explore the sights. I'd rather see a few 'good' sites and hope to make it back one day than rush around and not remember anything!
We like to think of ourselves as "travellers" rather than tourists...........
We like to build memories and I usually buy a tour picture book of the areas I visit to 'explore' more at home for the next time I visit!
We've managed to accumulate a lot of good memories this way and a looong list of where to go next time!
Thanks for the Metro advice....VERY useful as well as the taxi info. Some places the taxis are atrociously expensive (read tourist rip-off) and not worth taking if there is a good public transportation system.

Now what do you know about Vigo and Cadiz???

 

[Lambada]

I heard it was the biggest mosque on earth, which may or may not be the case, but what they told you certainly isn't true. You don't get much more 'infidel' than me and I've visited several mosques in my time.

Ditto throughout Morocco, Tunisia & Algeria as well as further south. Always threw a djellaba over my existing gear though.

Can't remember offhand, is the OP docking at Tangiers? Some very interesting personalities used to hang out at the Yacht Club in Tangiers................if there's a man in his late 60's/early 70's but very fit looking, a Yul Brynner look-alike, & with about 7 bodyguards ask (in French or Arabic or Spanish) if his name is Michel and if it is please send Ginnie's salutations.

Le Havre, btw, used to have a terrific restaurant attached to the flying club at the airfield. Nearer the port there's a cultural centre called the Volcan.