I recently spent two weeks on a Mediterranean Cruise. With ports on both the European and African sides of the Sea, I was hoping for an opportunity to meet people, see places, and eat pie.
The cruise started in Barcelona, and we followed a recommendation for a restaurant to have the best Piella (AKA Paella) in this city. Paella is the traditional Spanish dish of saffron, rice, and spices for the “crust” and seafood for the “filling”. Well ok, not exactly a pie, but it was delicious after a day of sightseeing, including Barcelona’s landmark, Sagrada Familia.
Passing through Calanques National Park on our way to Marseille, France, the Chef offered a chocolate and a lemon tart, the French version of “pie”. (When having trouble deciding, have one of each!). 
After docking in Marseille, we took a bus to St. Remy to visit the hospital where Van Gogh spent his later years and was inspired to make his now iconic paintings of his bedroom and the blue irises and sunflowers in the fields surrounding the hospital.
In Les Baux-de Provence we hiked to an overlook with a view of the limestone mountains in the background and enjoyed a mini lemon chiffon pie topped with meringue as a sweet treat after lunch.
Dessert on board the ship that night was a Hazelnut Bavarois (Bavarian Crème Pie) with Banana Sorbet which we enjoyed as we cruised along the Provencal Coast East of Marseille.
The next stop was Corsica and reminisces of Napoleon. No pies here, but the Corsicans managed to immortalize their favorite son with a pastry of the same name, which, in an emergency, can be a substitute for a pie.
On to Malta which, with its strategic Mediterranean location has been ruled by the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, British and French, and is now an independent country and member of the EU. The highlight here is the Mdina, an ancient walled city once the capital city of this island. The current capital is Valetta where we restored our energy with a cafe au lait and a croissant. 
In Italy, we opted to take a tour south of the port to experience a necropolis, an ancient burial ground with both above ground memorials to the dead. The crematoria looked like stone mushrooms, and the subterranean crypts had well preserved and elaborate artwork which required a steep climb to view!
After a day of wandering through the narrow streets of Tunis and absorbing the sounds of noisy venders at the souk, I was ready for a hearty dinner. 
Tonight, the chef prepared a lamb pot pie perched on mashed potatoes and garnished with a spicy herb meat sauce. For dessert, to calm my tastebuds, I chose Mhalbi, a creamy cinnamon and rice “pie” with a caramelized pistachio topping. 
In Algeria, the chef’s Destination Menu offered a Chicken Bastilla, an Algerian pot pie with chicken, almonds, raisins and wonderful Algerian spices. The pie, which has a sturdy top crust, is hidden under an artistic arrangement of radicchio and greens.
To reach Morocco, our next destination, we passed through the Straits of Gibraltar to enter its very large port city, Casablanca. After a walking tour of bustling Casablanca, we, of course, had a drink at Rick’s Café, the venue (a replica actually) for the famous World War II movie, Casablanca.
Our final port was Malaga, Spain, known for its beaches and its renewed interest in art and theater. The Picasso Museum and the branch of the Pompidou Center in Paris combines the best of France and Spain in one beautiful coastal city. To transition our tastebuds back to Indianapolis, we had an apple pie for dessert at our farewell dinner.
The joy of traveling is discovering that pie is a link to people and places throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. Be happy, eat pie everywhere!
