Cruising from Rome to Ft Lauderdale

Last fall we finished up our Italy trip with a cruise back to the U.S.  Although we’ve stopped in these ports before, it’s fun to revisit and go at a slower pace!

Alicante, Spain

You can see pictures from our past visit here.  I love the tiles they use on the walkways.

 

And the pretty doors.

   

 

Malaga, Spain

This was our third visit to Malaga.  See pictures here and here from prior visits.  This time we ate Churros and chocolate, then had lunch!  Sardines (for Will), fried eggplant, hummus, potatas-aioli and fried artichokes.

 

The Malaga Market has a beautiful window.

  It was close to Halloween.

And they were decorating for Christmas.

 

Cadiz, Spain

We’ve stopped in Cadiz 3 times.  You can see pictures here, here and here!  This time we took a free walking tour and saw a church we had missed before.

It is the oldest church in Cadiz.  Built over a mosque, it became a cathedral in 1263.  It was modified over the years and a new cathedral was built next door in 1838.  That’s when this became the Parish Church of Santa Cruz.    

 

Funchal, Madeira

We’ve also been to this port three times.  You can see those stops here, here and here.  We had gorgeous weather, so this time we took the cable car up to the Monte Palace Tropical Garden. 

Our ship is the black-hulled ship in the distance.

The Monte Palace garden is over 17 acres and is nestled in the hills above Funchal.  The estate was started in the 18th century. 

 

 

In 1897 a palatial house was built which later became the Monte Palace Hotel.  The hotel was closed in 1987.  It was donated to the institution that continues to care for the gardens.

A large collection of Hispano-Moorish tiles is placed along garden walkways.  Some are from the 15th and 16th century.  The larger panels were produced in Portugal in the 19th and 20th century.

 

 

This was a lovely place to end our visit to Europe.