Kathy and I are currently spending a few weeks cruising around the Caribbean aboard Celebrity Eclipse. The plan had been to avoid what amounts to “winter” in North Carolina, but the weather at home has been unusually nice the last week or so. Regardless, it’s pretty nice here too!
I’ve been pretty lazy about photography so far this trip, but this photo presented itself to me this morning while we were in Grand Cayman.
The final stop – actually the only stop as it turned out – on our voyage from Barcelona back to Florida was a stop at the island of Madeira. I had heard of Madeira previously as the home for Madeira wine, a form of fortified wine similar to, but slightly different from, Port wine from Portugal. Madeira is actually a territory of Portugal, although the wine is a bit different, primarily in the type of alcohol used to fortify it.
The first thing that struck me about the island was how non-touristy it is. While there is a very nice port area for cruise ships, our tour of the island underscored that this is an island where people live and work, and while they appreciate the tourism industry and probably don’t mind a little more, things are pretty nice the way they are.
Upon leaving the main city of Funchal, we quickly entered the mountainous area that makes up the majority of the island. Grapes are grown literally everywhere. I’m not sure who they belong to or where they ultimately end up, but it is quite clear that wine is a very important crop on Madeira.
We booked a tour through Tours By Locals with a guide named Valdemar. He was very knowledgeable about the island and introduced us to many of the unique experiences to Madeira, including stops at a “regular” winery and a Madeira winery. We also stopped at a roadside restaurant for an authentic Madeiran meal, consisting of locally caught and freshly grilled fish. Afterward we made a stop at a local ‘Taberna’ for a taste of Poncha, a traditional local liquor made from rum and tropical fruits.
We’re getting ready to head out again, so this will wrap up the “official” posts from our Portugal and Spain adventure. As a reminder, photos can be found on my Adobe Portfolio page from our entire trip.
I have to say, that of all the places we visited on our trip, the island of Madeira seemed like the kind of place where I could imagine being born there and living a simple life. I would have a hard time living there now, but there is a lot to like about the lifestyle, scenery and overall pace of living that appeals to me.
Parc Guell (gWELL) is a private park system composed of gardens and architectural features designed by Antoni Gaudi, known famously for La Sagrada Familia but also recognized for his many buildings throughout Europe.
We didn’t get a lot of time to explore Parc Guell, so my photographs are exclusively of the upper gardens and terrace. We unfortunately did not have time to explore the lower gardens and the sculptures there. To be honest, we hadn’t researched the place enough to prioritize our visit. Next time! There are several buildings on the site that would have been interesting to explore. Some of them required separate entry tickets and all were very crowded, as the park is a heavily visited place.
One of the places I really wanted to visit in Barcelona was the Mercado de la Boqueria or Boqueria Market. We visited on a busy Saturday afternoon and there was plenty to see and to photograph.
The hardest part was being patient and waiting to get a clear shot. There was something for everyone there, including a bar where you could just sit and have a drink. Fresh fish, produce, chocolate, wine & liquor, you name it. A ‘target rich environment; I called it!
I loved trying to capture all the colors and patterns, and occasionally get a good action shot.
We spent 5 days in Barcelona and saw a lot of interesting things. I’m going to feature individual places over the next several posts to show some of the places we visited and things that we saw. My Adobe Portfolio page now has galleries through Barcelona, with one or two more to go. Head there to see many more photos from the entire trip.
I’ve heard many words to describe La Sagrada Familia, but one I don’t hear is ‘boring.’ It is literally a feast for the eyes, both inside and out.
It’s hard to make a bad photograph there, but it is equally hard to make a photograph that captures the scale and expanse of the space. It is amazingly huge and amazingly beautiful. Everywhere you look there are striking details and intricate designs. Symbolism is everywhere.
The biggest challenge is dealing with the crush of people. Even with timed entry, the place is crowded. I like to find spots where I can take symmetrical photographs, and I’m often not the only one! So patience and quick work is essential. This was one of the very few places on the entire trip that I wished I had brought a wider lens than 16mm. My 10-24 would have been appropriate.
We. Loved. Valencia
Porto was great and we would go back there in a heartbeat. But Valencia? It was probably one of the loveliest visits to a large city we’ve ever had. The people were friendly, the food was wonderful, the city is very walkable and the architecture is fascinating. It probably helped that we stayed in a beautiful hotel in the heart of the historic area that was staffed with friendly people, but the overall experience was just great.
Prior to our arrival in Portugal, we were of course concerned about the condition of Valencia, given the horrible flooding they had experienced just a few weeks prior. Conversations with our hotel and our car service assured us that the damage was limited to areas south of the city center, and that the city itself was fine and up and running. We saw signs of the flood damage on our way into the city, but other than some cleanup happening at the City of Arts and Sciences (which might have just been routine cleaning) we saw no evidence of damage.
Speaking of the City of Arts & Sciences, wow. It is an amazing collection of beautiful architecture, set along the Jardín del Turia, a park built in a former riverbed. We spent the large part of one day just wandering around the exterior, returning the following day to explore Oceanografic, the aquarium attraction that is part of the complex. To explore the entire museum complex would have been very interesting, but would have taken days! I’ve included just a few of the many photos I took at the City of Arts & Sciences, but there is a larger gallery on my Adobe Portfolio page if you just want to see more of Valencia!
“Man… you guys do keep on the move. Even your “light” travel schedule would knock a lot of other folks to their knees.” –
Jeff C in an email exchange discussing 2025 travel plans
2024 was a good year. In fact, 2024 was a very good year for Tom & Kathy. Everyone stayed (mostly) healthy, there were no major catastrophes, we spent time with friends and family, and we traveled. Boy did we travel!
)I haven’t finished processing our Spain photos, although it doesn’t matter much. It’s nearly impossible to filter just 24 favorites out of 18,000!
How do you choose just one Yellowstone/Grand Teton photo? You don’t. You choose 6. That was tough enough!
Sometimes a photo is a favorite because of where we were:
Portugal and Spain were quite nice – 9 more:
Sometimes a photo is a favorite because of who we were with:
I’m gradually working my way through photos and am now up to our time in Cordoba, which was the third of the five stops in Portugal & Spain. After our day trip to Granada and The Alhambra, we spent two days exploring this beautiful city.
Our first stop was the The Mosque-Cathedral, which like the Alhambra has a complex history, dating back to the 6th century as a Visigoth Basilica. The building became a Muslim mosque in the 8th century, and after a number of additions and enlargements eventually became a Catholic cathedral in the 13th century. Restoration work began in the 19th century and is ongoing. The building became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.
One of the things that distinguishes the Mosque-Cathedral is the red and white arches that span the columns in the building.
We spent much of the rest of our time in Cordoba exploring the streets, alleyways and neighborhoods of the town, both on our feet and using the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus to get from place to place. We also attended a Flamenco show, which was so interesting it warrants its own post, which I will do soon!
I continue to add photos to my Adobe Portfolio gallery, so check back often to see what’s new! The one that changes the most is the one titled “Stops Along The Way” as it contains photos from places we stopped as we transferred from one city to the next. The most recent addition is photos from Alarcon and Requena.
It was interesting to note how many people asked “where?” when we said we were going to or had gone to The Alhambra. It is one of the top destinations in Spain, and it sure was busy when we were there. Even one of our drivers in Spain said that he had never been there.
In many ways, the history of The Alhambra reflects the history of Spain.
The complex was begun in 1238 by Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the first Nasrid emir and founder of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state of Al-Andalus. The most significant construction campaigns, which gave the royal palaces much of their defining character, took place in the 14th century during the reigns of Yusuf I and Muhammad V. After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition), and the palaces were partially altered. In 1526, Charles V commissioned a new Renaissance-style palace in direct juxtaposition with the Nasrid palaces, but it was left uncompleted in the early 17th century.
The site fell into disrepair over the following centuries, with its buildings occupied by squatters. The troops of Napoleon destroyed parts of it in 1812. After this, the Alhambra became an attraction for British, American, and other European Romantic travelers. The most influential of them was Washington Irving, whose Tales of the Alhambra (1832) brought international attention to the site. The Alhambra was one of the first Islamic monuments to become the object of modern scientific study and has been the subject of numerous restorations since the 19th century. It is now one of Spain’s major tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We booked a private tour from our hotel in Cordoba to Granada through Spain Day Tours. The package included a driver to the complex then a private guide who took us all through the various gardens and buildings. He was extremely knowledgeable and steered us to many of the “secret” places that others might or might not have seen. It was a great way to visit without having to also navigate trains and buses.
(Special thanks to James The (Retired) Wine Guy for his excellent recommendation!)
When we started planning our time in Portugal & Spain, we first had to decide where we wanted to go. Since we would be getting off the ship in Lisbon and getting back on the ship in Barcelona, those two cities were no-brainers. We knew we wanted to visit Porto, since that is the home of Port wine and also an important place in the history of Portugal.
We ultimately decided to visit Porto and Lisbon in Portugal, then Cordoba, Valencia and Barcelona in Spain. More time in fewer cities would allow us time to explore each place, with plenty of flexibility for discovering things not typically on the tourist checklists. It would work out to be a pretty good strategy.
We chose where we wanted to go before we decided out how to get there. We initially figured on using trains to get from city to city. Trains from Porto into Spain generally go through Madrid, and we had decided to avoid Madrid for this trip since we were already planning to visit Barcelona. Yes, there are many interesting places we would miss, but we knew that we were going to miss a lot no matter where we went. Trains from Lisbon tend to stay along the southern coast of Spain, which is the general area we decided to visit. It seemed to make sense to go directly to Porto from Lisbon first, then return to Lisbon before working our way on to Spain.
As it turned out, we used private cars to take us from city to city. It is quite a bit more expensive than taking trains or buses, but it saved us the hassle of schlepping suitcases and dealing with train and bus schedules and unfamiliar stations. It also gave us the advantage of a driver with local knowledge and being able to stop in interesting places along the way.
On our ride from Lisbon to Porto, we stopped in the towns of Obidos (OH-bee-dose) and Nazare (NAZ-a-ray). We had a little time to explore each place, take a few photos, do a little shopping and grab a bite to eat.
In Obidos we explored the town, including the remains of an ancient Roman aqueduct, the city gate dating to the 1300s and an old church, among other sights. We were able to pick up a bottle of Ginja, a sweet & sour liqueur made from cherries. It is typically served in a small chocolate cup, but we just bought a bottle and a couple of souvenir glasses to take along.
Nazare is known as a beach town, and in winter can have huge waves which attract surfers from around the world. The sea was calm during our visit, so we wandered the town and visited Our Lady of Nazareth Church before heading on to Porto.
