Live on Splendor - London to Barcelona

[RachelG]

8 hours ago, briar14 said:

Rachel, Judi Dench? I think we were at the same wine estate in 2021. If I’m remembering right, I think both sons married American women. 

Your reports are bringing back wonderful memories.Thank you.

Correct and yes, same wine estate

[RachelG]

8 hours ago, Camillus112 said:

Hi Rachel, did you get a chance to visit the Wine Museum?  Unfortunately my DH and I did not have time, else we would have missed the ship sailing out of Bordeaux!  I've been told it's excellent with a top level great restaurant.  Oh well, next time.

Going there today.

[RachelG]

8 hours ago, runnerswife said:

Can you tell us what cabin your friends are in and did they get the problem solved?  Thanks,we board on Nov 20.  Mary

846, and yes, the problem seems solved for now.  We will see when the ship sails again and is on rougher seas.  

[forgap]

We were on tour with Rachel and George so I won’t repeat much except to say that she and George were wise to split away from the group.  Our guide had a very thick French accent and our tour took us into the catacombs and the crypt of the church.  Accent plus écho made the narration indecipherable.  
 

On return to the ship, we ate lunch in La Veranda which was featuring a French theme which was nicely done.  After a bit of a rest, we ventured into Bordeaux to explore and find oysters.  That was a bust so we will continue the quest today.  Our target restaurant didn’t start service until six although their website said five.  Well, we’re in France .

[RachelG]

The wine estate

[RachelG]

St. Emilion

[RachelG]

Bordeaux cathedral 

[RachelG]

Interesting sign

[forgap]

We slept in today in favor of continuing our oyster quest for lunch.  It is another clear and warm day in Bordeaux.  I am adding on a bit to Rachel’s comments on Sainte-Emillion.  The vineyard was a humble, family owned “estate” which left me scratching my head as to why Regent chose this one rather than other, larger vineyards in the area.  However, the explanation of transforming the grape to wine was most informative concerning all the variables that go into growing, harvesting, and producing wine.  

 

 

The village itself was beautiful with some stunning visitas. 

 

 

 

 

In the cloister, an artist had installed a very interesting mural of heaven and hell.  We were once in the alpes and discovered a small chapel that had been transformed by a monk with modern paintings and sculptures.  It was very moving as this was.  

 

 

 

 

[forgap]

Dégustation des huîtres complètent!  

 

We walked to a square surrounded with restaurants and found a local boîte specializing in seafood.  

 

Two dozen  oysters and une verre de vin later the oyster quest is completed.  

 

Of course the oysters are substantially different from gulf oysters-smaller, deeper shell, saltier, tasting of the sea. 


My French held up, too.  The restaurant was a popular local spot.  

[2012_Alaska_bound]

2 hours ago, forgap said:

The restaurant was a popular local spot.

 

Do you remember the name?

[forgap]

La Pointe, 10 Rue Sicard, 33000 Bordeaux, France

About a 10 minute walk from the ship.

[RachelG]

September 28, 2023–Bordeaux, France

 

Another quiet night (since we aren’t moving), and a great sleep.  The weather for today was forecasted to be same as yesterday, sunny with highs in the mid 80’s which is just about perfect as far as I am concerned.

 

Our excursion for the morning was to the wine museum which is new since we last visited Bordeaux.  We set off and drove around a for an hour, apparently wasting time until the museum opened .  Very annoying. Just start the tour an hour later.

 

But the museum, which really isn’t a museum, but rather an interactive experience, was great.  We loved it.  Could have easily spent more time there.  

 

But our excursion for the afternoon was to start at 1 pm.  So we had 20 minutes between. We were off for Fort Medoc and Chateau Lagesson .   

 

The fort was really interesting.  It was started by King Louis 14.  It was to defend the entrance to the estuary.  Not much remains but George and I hiked all around .  We found a fruit orchard with fresh pears. And had a snack.

 

Then on to the château where they produce very nice red wine.  We had a grape tasting which was really nice, tasting the different grapes right off the vine.

 

Back to the ship took forever due to a huge traffic jam.  We eventually arrived and joined forgap and hubby in time for the sailout.

 

There is a bridge in Bordeaux which rises and lowers as needed for ships.  So it rose for us, and with only inches to spare.  Very impressive.

 

Dinner in CR was great as ever, then the show, Bohemian something, was really good.

[RachelG]

The moving bridge—only 12 inches to spare

[RachelG]

Fort Medoc

[2012_Alaska_bound]

16 hours ago, RachelG said:

But the museum, which really isn’t a museum, but rather an interactive experience, was great.  We loved it.  Could have easily spent more time there.  

 

Thought you would love this! Sorry you had a limited time. On our river cruise they just gave us the tickets so we could stay as long as we wanted and then either take the tour bus back or walk back. I think we stayed about 3 hours!

[RachelG]

September 29,2023–Bilbao, Spain

 

We slept well again, and when I awoke, sun was shining brightly under the curtain. I was cooler than yesterday, with the high to be around 80.  I could see some hazy mountains in the distance.  We were a little late getting into port, a proper cruise port, beside a huge MSC ship.

 

Our excursion today was to hike to the Gorlitz lighthouse.  We boarded the bus.  The guide, Joseph, was excellent, knowing when to talk and when to stay quiet.  We drove past some huge mansions, then through beautiful countryside to a trailhead beside a beach.  The trail was paved though a bit steep in places.  We took off hiking though the fields.  There were lots of nice looking cattle grazing.  When we got higher, there was a sheer cliff to the ocean on one side.  It was a great hike.

 

Part two was to experience the Vizcaya bridge which was built in the late 1800’s by a student of the man who designed the Eiffel Tower. So lots of steel beams.  There are two levels.  The top, 160 ft above the river, is pedestrian.  The lower, 30 ft, above the water , is a gondola which carries cars and pedestrians.  We got todo both.  It was a great view.  The upper part is a little daunting as it is VERY high.

 

Going back to the ship, we asked the bus driver to drop us off at the marina where there are restaurants.  We found one and tucked into a huge tapas lunch.  Fresh tomatoes, green peppers roasted, good bread, mussels, shrimp, cheese, octopus, and dessert of very different thick ice cream and a chocolate lava cake.  Totally delicious.

 

We walked back to the ship, arriving just in time for trivia, again coming in 3rd place.

 

You would think that after all that eating at lunch, we couldn’t possibly have room for dinner.  And you would be wrong.  We had Prime 7 reservations.  I decided to go light and had a salad and shrimp which were quite good, followed by berries.  George had salad and a steak which he says is one of the better steaks he has eaten on the ship.  

 

I went to the show which was the 2nd performance by Foggy Flax who is an impressionist.  He is a really talented singer as well.  I regret not seeing the first show as he was excellent.

[forgap]

In Bilbao we opted for a private tour.  Our guide was great and we went directly to the Guggenheim.  

 

 

A Picasso sculpture exhibit had just opened and included hundreds of pieces that I had never seen before.

 

There was also a retrospective by a Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama.  (photo is upside down, but I rather like it this way!

 

The Guggenheim has monumental works in its permanent collection as well as installations of works by contemporary artists.  

 

 

After the museum, we walked to the old town for a respite of pintxos and beer.  Bilbao is very impressive, surrounded by mountains and lush vegetation.  Manufacturing is its main industry and the city has made a real effort to clean up the industrial pollution of the past to create a vibrant community.  

 

The Basque lifestyle is easygoing with an emphasis on relationships with friends and family and meet ups in the many parks and pintxox restaurants.  It is also very independent from Spain with its own language, economy, and tax structure.  Forty hour work weeks are the norm (and 4 weeks of annual vacation) but the 40 hours are spread over 4 1/2 days so the work week ends mid day on Fridays.  
 

We managed to walk just under five miles which left us rather depleted.  Our evening consisted of attending the seven seas society event, an early dinner, and an early bed time.  
 

Today we are in La Caruna, Spain.  I am going on a food tour and my husband is making it a sea day.  

Edited September 30, 2023 by forgap

[RachelG]

Hiking to the lighthouse 

[RachelG]

The bridge

[RachelG]

Basque countryside 

[forgap]

We are in La Coruna, Spain today and we opted for an excursion “Galician Food and its Markets”.   Our guide spoke in Rapid Spanglish, so historical and other important facts passed right by me.  But, Google is my friend so I will back in the facts!  
 

A short bus ride from the pier brought us to a lovely Plaza de Luga adjacent to the food market.  In the plaza was a sculpture of a dog, Ney, who died in 2016.  He was a golden retriever with a kind character and a good disposition.  As he aged, he grew fat so he had to sport a sign to prevent people from feeding him.  

 

He was so beloved that, when he died, the people of the area collected funds to commission an artist to create a memorial to him.   
 

 

The market was a visual feast.  First floor was devoted to fish.

 

 

 

 

The second floor was devoted to meat and cheese.  

 

The the third  floor was for produce and spices.  

There was a reference to the Queen of Sheba and cheese.  I didn’t get the exact story as I was accent and hearing impaired, but the gist of it was that she was very well endowed.  The local bishop disapproved and had all references to her altered so she became flat chested.  The townspeople didn’t like this censorship so they shaped the local cheese in the shape of breasts and this tradition continues today.  
 

 

The rest of the tour was panoramic sightseeing.  

The last stop was at a restaurant so we could sample Galician cuisine.  After sangria,beer, octopus, frittata, and dessert, we rolled out of the restaurant to our bus back to the ship. 
 

 

 

[Techno123]

7 hours ago, RachelG said:

Basque countryside 

Are you sure you're not in Wales 😜😁

Edited September 30, 2023 by Techno123

[RachelG]

 

September 30, 2023–La Coruna, Spain

 

We had a nice sleep with the ship gently rocking.  Waking up, it was kind of hazy outside.  Tamps again in the low 80s.  The haze quickly burned off, and it was a bright sunny day again.

 

We have been to La Coruna before, years ago.  My memory is of glass encased cafes, sort of like terrariums for humans, as it rains here a lot.  We sailed into the harbor, again past a huge MSC ship, and were soon docked pretty much downtown, easy to walk if not going on an excursion.

 

Our plan for the day was to do an excursion which involved hiking 4 miles of the St James trail, the famous pilgrimage path to Santiago de Compostela.  This hike is one I have wanted to do for many years, so I figured the 6 mile portion would give us a little taste of it.

 

We were 45 minutes late getting off the ship as all the tours were delayed.  We drove through beautiful hilly forest to the beginning of our hike.  Our guide told us it was impossible to get lost, just follow the markers, so we set off.  The first part really was well marked, pretty flat and paved in places.  There were lots of pilgrims, so we just followed the herd.

 

There was a sign that said to turn right,  so we did.  We hiked quite a ways then realized there were only a few others on this trail, just the 10 of us in our group.  We turned around and tracked back to the sign.  Turns out, there were two trails going right, and we had taken the wrong one.  We hiked on, now on the edge of a road Into a town.  Lots of pilgrims were there, so we kept going, until we again realized no one else was around.  This time, I could ask for help as there were shops around.

 

We soon got back on the right trail and hiked through beautiful forest. Along the way, a cute little dog decided to join us.  We eventually turned up at the bar where our guide was waiting.  The little dog tried to get on the bus with us.

 

We drove to Santiago de Compostela, but had very little time due to our late start, just enough to see the outside of the cathedral and get a snack.  Disappointing.

 

We drove back to port.  I felt like a pillar of salt, so took a nice shower.  We met up with friends in the Meridian Lounge then went to dinner in Compass Rose.

 

They had a fresh local fish, a type of sea bream, on the menu which was outstanding.  George ordered a ribeye, but I could tell as soon as it came to the table that it was not properly trimmed.  And as a result, was very tough.  He sent it back and got a filet which was perfect.

 

The show tonight was Martin Kaye doing an Elton John tribute, and it was really good, particularly when he had his dad come up and play the piano.  Very touching.

 

Clocks go back an hour tonight, for whatever reason.  I thought we were done with that.

[RachelG]

Not sure why everything is underlined on the last post.  Very strange.