Location: Mediterranean Sea; Italy; Sardinia; Spain; Los Alcázares
Summary: This week marked the final days of my Costa Diadema cruise, with visits to Italy, Sardinia and Mallorca. After returning to Valencia, I spent the weekend recovering from dehydration and exhaustion, doing washing, sorting holiday photos and enjoying a great Sunday lunch before watching Arsenal finish the season in style.
Monday, 22nd May
Today, the ship docked in Civitavecchia, Italy, and I went to visit Civita di Bagnoregio, the village that is slowly fading away. It was a fascinating place, perched dramatically on a hilltop and accessible only by a long footbridge.
Tuesday, 23rd May
Today, the ship docked in Oristano, Sardinia. I spent the day feeling unwell and trying to recover onboard the Costa Diadema.
Wednesday, 24th May
Today, the Costa Diadema sailed across the Mediterranean towards Palma de Mallorca. I still felt unwell and ended up paying the ship doctor a visit and spending time in the ships hospital.
Photos from the Costa Diadema.
Thursday, 25th May
Today, the ship docked in Palma de Mallorca. The trip I had booked was cancelled and because I still felt unwell I stayed onboad the Costa Diadema.
Friday, 26th May
Today, the Costa Diadema returned to Valencia. Unfortunately, due to train delays and awkward timetables, I spent most of the day waiting at the train station in the middle of Valencia before finally getting home.
Saturday, 27th May
I didn’t wake until around 09:30. The bug I caught on the cruise, combined with dehydration after visiting Civita di Bagnoregio, had drained all my energy. I still felt exhausted.
I realised I couldn’t do much today except rest and drink plenty of fluids. I unpacked my suitcase and put clothes in my new washer/dryer. I had to look up the instructions online and download the English manual. After figuring it out, I put on my first load of washing. Even that small effort tired me out.
I went to Economy Cash for groceries, then came home, put a film on and promptly fell asleep. I did more washing throughout the afternoon and evening and spent the rest of the day dozing on the sofa and watching films.
Sunday, 28th May
I woke at a more normal time of 06:00 and felt much better after a proper sleep. I spent the morning moving my holiday photos from my camera to my computer and selecting the ones I want to use for my website photo albums.
I Skyped my sister in the UK, and we chatted about my holiday and her upcoming visit to Los Alcázares. At 12:45, June picked me up for our Sunday lunch at Campbell’s. We don’t even need to order anymore, June had her roast chicken, and I had my lamb. Our waitress knew exactly what we wanted.
We saw Dave and Lesley, and Kate and Aria, but didn’t stop to chat as I was still feeling a bit drained and wanted to get home to watch the final Premier League matches of the season.
June dropped me home, and I put on a final load of washing before falling asleep in front of the television. I woke up just before the football started and watched Arsenal destroy Wolves 5‑0. A brilliant end to a great season. Arsenal finished 2nd behind Manchester City, a huge improvement on previous years. I’m already excited to see who they sign in the transfer window.
I stayed up long enough to watch all the other games on MOTD before heading to bed.
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