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.
This past Sunday we visited Girona and Figueres, Spain.
Girona is a city in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region, beside the River Onyar. It’s known for its medieval architecture, walled Old Quarter (Barri Vell) and the Roman remains of the Força Vella fortress. Landscaped gardens line the Passeig Arqueològic, a walkway following the Old Quarter’s medieval walls, which include watchtowers with sweeping views.
Kathy & I took a tour to Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey from Barcelona. It was an awe inspiring trip, and the views were incredible. We’re piling up the stories and the photos but they will need to wait until we get started on our way back home! We rejoin our ship on Tuesday and should be home on December 7.
We’re tired and looking forward to getting back to ‘familiar territory’ but are having a blast! 🙂
Today we explored the outside of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (City of Arts & Sciences) in Valencia, Spain. This place is huge! Tomorrow we’ll go back and visit the aquarium, which is supposed to be one of the best in the world.
Thanks to the sound advice of good friend and blog follower James, we made a point of taking a guided tour of La Alhambra in Granada, Spain. It is one of the must-see attractions in this country, and it did not disappoint. I’ve got a bunch of photos from our visit, but this will have to do for now.
We made it to Valencia yesterday. All’s well here in the center city, although we saw lots of signs of the recent flooding on our way here.
We’ve been in Lisbon for a few days, and in fact will be moving on to Spain tomorrow. I made this photograph of a street car along R. de São Pedro de Alcântara near the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara park and viewpoint. Streetcars, trolleys and funiculars are popular with tourists and locals alike, and they attract budding photographers of all skill (and situational awareness!) levels.
Portugal has been wonderful! We’re looking forward to Spain, but have really enjoyed our time here.
We wanted to visit Porto first and foremost because it is world renowned as the home of Port wine. The south side of the Douro river, and the town of Gaia, is where all of the Port wineries are located. And of course every restaurant in town serves a nice selection of local wines.
I took this photo of the Luís I Bridge over the Douro on the night of our arrival. The bridge was designed by Teófilo Seyrig, who was a partner of some guy named Eiffel who designed something famous in Paris. 😉 Many sources credit Eiffel for the design, but locally everyone is quick to point out the real story!
Our second stop en route to Porto was Nazare (NAZ a ray). Because we had extra time in Obidos, Nazare was a quick stop to see the views and visit the cathedral. I only took a few photos there, but this view was pretty nice.
Summer time is a very busy time with vacationers visiting the beaches. Later in the winter, Nazare will host some of the largest waves in the world, and surfers will come from all over to try their luck. The town was pretty quiet on this early winter day.
We disembarked our cruise ship in Lisbon, Portugal this past Wednesday and had arranged transportation to Porto with stops in Obidos and Nazare along the way. Obidos (OH bee dose) is a cute little place with a main street full of shops, the requisite churches, a fort and – of course – cobblestones. It even has the remains of an ancient Roman aqueduct.
Obidos is also known for producing ‘Ginja de Obidos,’ a sweet and sour cherry liquor that is served in little chocolate cups about the size of a shot glass. And of course we bought a bottle as a souvenir! 😉
After Tenerife we stopped on the island of Lanzarote, another of the Canary Islands. A tour took us to many highlights, one of which is the Natural Park of Los Volcanes. This view of one of the many craters is representative of the interesting landscape.