Live on Splendor - London to Barcelona

[mrlevin]

1 hour ago, RachelG said:

 

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

Portugal is on BST (GMT+1).

[lincslady]

4 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Portugal is on BST (GMT+1).

It is a bit west of Spain.

[RachelG]

St James path

[RachelG]

Santiago de Compostela pics

[lincslady]

The Parador there is lovely as well.  Some excursions go there for tapas or lunch; did it some years ago and it was great then, nice food, copious wine and smiley service.

[Gilly]

1 hour ago, lincslady said:

The Parador there is lovely as well. 

It is indeed, though the playing of Catalan bagpipes under the window for maybe 18 or 20 hours a day can get a little wearisome!! (Understatement 😉)

[Camillus112]

I had the opportunity of watching the workings of the "botafumeiro", a huge incense dispenser which hangs-and is swayed- from the Cathedral's ceiling. This only happens when a group of "peregrinos" or "caminantes" arrive at the Cathedral, to celebrate their finishing the Camino de Santiago.  It was breathtaking!

[RachelG]

1 hour ago, Gilly said:

It is indeed, though the playing of Catalan bagpipes under the window for maybe 18 or 20 hours a day can get a little wearisome!! (Understatement 😉)

We heard those bagpipes, and I thought the same thing.

[Zqueeze1]

Rachel:  I am so glad you got to experience a piece of the Camino De Santiago and sorry you were not able to see the interior of the cathedral.   I hear that it is breath taking and to experience the botafumeiro would be a lifetime highlight. For most of my adult life, I have wanted to experience the Camino, but work got in the way and now I think I’m a little too far over the hill to do it.  We hope to cruise one day on a similar cruise as this one so we can also experience the same.  Thanks for sharing your experience with us.  
 

Z and TB

[Gilly]

@Zqueeze1 we are most certainly not fit enough to walk the Camino but enjoyed a wonderful week or so in Galicia and Asturias last Spring and can recommend it as a region to explore in a car.  The roads are good, the Autovia Cantabrico is a fast motorway connecting the whole area and it's easy to fill the days in small towns, charming villages and taking in that stunning coastline, fuelled by fabulous food and the occasional drink 😉  Highly recommend (and yes, it's all on my blog!)   We loved chatting to those walking the Camino in the evening and met some fascinating people from all over the world.

[newlondon]

I second Gilly's recommendation, but if driving yourself does not appeal I highly recommend El Transcantabrico Gran Lujo the luxury train that follows the north coast of Galicia. The trip we took started in Santiago de Compostella so you would see all the afore mentioned sights and than have a five day luxury trip ending in San Sebastian. The food is spectacular and my only warning would be to make sure your trip has allowance for english speakers. We did but the Spanish speakers definitely got more detail.

[forgap]

We gained an hour so we took a leisurely tour of Porto.   Visually Porto is dramatic with the river dissecting the town, high cliffs, and a series of beautiful bridges.  

 

This bridge was designed by a student of Eiffel.  Eiffel himself designed a bridge further down the river.
 

Our first (and only) stop was port tasting.  Our charming guide gave us all the details about the harvesting of the grapes and the manufacturing of different styles of port.  We tasted a white port and a tawny port.  

 

 

 

We then had some free time but it seemed like only cafes were open and, frankly, neither one of us had the stamina to traipse up and down the hills by the river.  Back on the bus, we toured the city, saw impressive buildings multiple times as it seemed we made several loops of the city.  

 

I am always charmed by Portuguese tile work.  In fact the cruise terminal was impressive and designed like a nautilus with thousands of white tiles. 

We returned to the ship at about 2:30 with the rest of the passengers.  The pool grill was slammed to the point it was hard to get to the buffet.  I snagged a table and ordered a hot dog  NY deli style. That and a glass of rosé improved my mood considerably. 

[cruiseluv]

5 hours ago, Camillus112 said:

I had the opportunity of watching the workings of the "botafumeiro", a huge incense dispenser which hangs-and is swayed- from the Cathedral's ceiling. This only happens when a group of "peregrinos" or "caminantes" arrive at the Cathedral, to celebrate their finishing the Camino de Santiago.  It was breathtaking!

Pilgrims arrive every day to Santiago, I’ve done it 4 times. They swing the Botafumeiro on special occasions or when someone or a group of people contribute 300 euros, nowadays is mostly every day at least during one of the masses, it’s quite a spectacle. Santiago is a very special place and it’s Cathedral is awe inspiring 

[cruiseluv]

3 hours ago, Zqueeze1 said:

Rachel:  I am so glad you got to experience a piece of the Camino De Santiago and sorry you were not able to see the interior of the cathedral.   I hear that it is breath taking and to experience the botafumeiro would be a lifetime highlight. For most of my adult life, I have wanted to experience the Camino, but work got in the way and now I think I’m a little too far over the hill to do it.  We hope to cruise one day on a similar cruise as this one so we can also experience the same.  Thanks for sharing your experience with us.  
 

Z and TB

Over the hill??? Ive met you and your lovely wife and you are certainly not over the hill! I’m older than you , did my last Camino, the Camino Ingles, in 2019 and other segments in the years prior . You just need to do a little endurance training and would be good to go! You shouldn’t give up on it

[cruiseluv]

9 hours ago, RachelG said:

St James path

What segment did you walk?

[RachelG]

1 hour ago, cruiseluv said:

What segment did you walk?

Good question .  I think it was part of one of the Portuguese sections, but not totally sure.

[RachelG]

October 1, 2023-Porto, Portugal

 

What with the time change, George and I were up early, and up to La Veranda in time to witness a beautiful orange sunrise through the haze, just spectacular.  Seas were completely calm all night. We could hardly tell we were on a ship.  Forecast for today—warm and sunny.

 

We had not been to Porto before, so had a hard time knowing what excursion to chose.  We settled on the medieval city of Guimaraes as it featured walking and free time.

 

We sailed in to a pretty ugly industrial port.  Then out of nowhere a thick fog descended. Which was a blessing as we couldn’t see anything.  We exited the ship through a very Guggenheim-esque white tiled circular like a snail port building.

 

We drove through the city then hilly countryside with large forests of eucalyptus trees planted by the previous dictator. We arrived at Guimaraes which is an old medieval city.  We walked all over seeing the old castle, churches, the city gates, lots of shops.  Prices were very cheap, so we bought some souvenirs.  Then we had a great pizza lunch, for very little euros.

 

Back to the ship, there was still fog, weird as it was very warm and in the afternoon.  We took a walk through the town, found a nice wine bar.  I tried some vino verde.  George had some port.  We walked all over the went back to the ship.  The fog had finally dissipated.  The area around the cruise port actually looked nice. We just hadn’t been able to see that part.  

 

Again 3rd at trivia.  We are stuck on that number.

 

Dinner was in Sette Mare. The menu has a few changes.  I had a very nice beef tenderloin.  

 

The show was a supposed duel between country and rock and roll.  The singers and dancers were great, but the theme was very contrived.  If they had just sang country or rock and roll, I would have been happy.

Edited October 1, 2023 by RachelG

[forgap]

This is the cruise port.  White tile that glistens in the sunlight. Really beautiful! 

[RachelG]

Guimaraes castle

[RachelG]

Guimaraes 

[forgap]

Lisbon from our balcony.

 

Edited October 2, 2023 by forgap

[Gilly]

17 hours ago, RachelG said:

We heard those bagpipes, and I thought the same thing.

 

For those of you who haven't heard them, or for those who'd like a reminder of the joy, try this...

[Mudhen]

Backing up a tad....

John and I were fortunate enough (just dumb luck) to experience a mass and the flying botafumerio (sp?) at the cathedral. It was truely an out of body experience. Some of the charm was that, although we were not seated together (lucky to just get in), was that we sat together with "pilgrims' of all social status, folks in heel and suits and assorted clergy. Truly a cross section of humanity. Made the experience all the sweeter!

Ranks right up there with fav excursions...

Truffle hunting with dogs in Tuscany and flying our own falcons in Scotland...

We're blessed!

[kjbacon]

@RachelG really enjoying your commentary, thank you! What are the changes you saw on the Sette Mari menu?

[lincslady]

3 hours ago, Gilly said:

 

For those of you who haven't heard them, or for those who'd like a reminder of the joy, try this...

I did not know about the bagpipes - only went there for lunch, and they perhaps weren't happening all those years ago. Certainly would not care to have a bedroom where you could hear them!

 

I was really just recommending the Parador as a place to have a break during a cruise excursion, as a lovely building with nice staff and reasonably good food and drink.