Bright Yellow GoCars, Lisbon Potholes & The Bay of Biscay - Ray Prince

Last month I told you that I was off on a cruise around the Mediterranean with my wife, Laura.

In fact, it was a second honeymoon

We set off from Southampton on Saturday August 9th. The weather was grim as we left the port, but we knew we'd be heading into the sun within hours.

Crossing the Bay of Biscay was a wee bit choppy on night one. What made it even more interesting was watching the actors and cast in the theatre trying to keep their feet! They did it admirably so I guess it all comes down to experience. The ship was quite sparse the first night so I think many decided to get an early night rather than putting their bodies to the 'motion test' (aparently sea sickness does not exist, it's technically motion sickness).

Rather than give you chapter and verse the main highlights were…

Barcelona

This really is an amazing city! We docked at 6pm and headed into the city. We wandered around the usual tourist haunts but unfortunatley Laura was feeling ill so we retired early.

The next day we were booked in to drive a 'GoCar'. We found it online before we travelled. To quote from their website:

"GoCar is an entirely new way to explore a city. These nifty yellow convertibles talk to you and take you on a city tour you'll never forget. The advanced navigational capabilities of the GPS deliver an informative tour, high-lighting specific locations throughout Barcelona as you drive. Just follow the friendly audio directions and relax.

Unlike a traditional tour GoCar gives you complete autonomy over where, what and in what order you see sights and also how long you spend at any given point. The cars have a personality and a sense of humour, telling the stories that bring a city to life while guiding the way with clear driving directions".

This is us setting off

If you are a couple this is a fantastic way to see the city. The main benefit is that you will be able to see sights far away from the main tourist areas. It's very easy to follow the directions of the GPS as it's delivered through a speaker in the car (a bit like a hands free system).

The cost is very reasonable as well. You can read all the details at their GoCar Tours website (will open in new window).

The only downside we could see is that if you deviate from the GPS route the commentary stops! This happened once (I think we were talking and missed what was said). To get back on track we just followed our instincts, as well as trying to read the map provided.

The company (this is starting to sound like an advert!) is actually run by a Brit. We met him in Lisbon where we hired another car.

What I will say is if you do hire one in Lisbon be prepared for the potholes! It was pretty rough at times so you've got to keep your eyes on the road and dodge them if you can. That said, Lisbon was even better for going 'off the beaten track'. We ended up in areas where there were no tourists, just locals.

You can also hire the cars in San Diego, Miami and San Francisco.

Monaco & Nice

What a place this was. Even if you had a few million in the bank you would not feel rich here. We saw all the yachts in the bay in Monaco

And enjoyed a rain storm in Nice. We nearly missed the ship on the way back so the heart was thumping. We just made it though with a few minutes to spare. Another couple got lost and tried to get back on board after hitching a lift off a local in his dinghy (the ship was anchored). The ship's staff sent them back to the shore and they had to be brought back in a tender…to huge applause from many on board! Funnily enough, we didn't see them again (must have been keeping their heads down).

We had a superb trip and if you're considering a cruise, I can totally recommend it.

Back to reality now though :(