Canal Boat Ride Through the Beautiful City of Gent.

Canal Boat Ride Through the Beautiful City of Gent. 

It is Friday and we are in Belgium. The Eurodam was late getting into port because our departure from Cherbourg France, was delayed because of gale force winds. It was quite an adventure to stand on our balcony veranda and watch the tug and the ship battle the strong winds and eventually let go its moorings and head out to the open sea. Apparently the main risk was trying to manoeuvre such a large vessel through such a small opening in the massive breakwater around Cherbourg harbour when such strong winds were blowing.  We eventually left the port about 5 hours later than planned. The Captain then went flat out during the night (22 knots) so we could get to Zeebruges so the passengers could go on their booked tours.

THE FLEMISH COUNTRYSIDE.

Our tour today is to the medieval city of Gent (Ghent). We start with an hour bus trip through the Flemish countryside - which is extremely flat, lush and green. There are many small farms dotting the countryside. There are lots of extremely fat and healthy looking cows and there are fields of newly sprouting corn. Our tour guide tells us that there are thousands of small pig farms in the area and even though you cannot see the pigs you can smell them. The countryside is crossed by large water canals, which have been used over the centuries to transport goods by large barges to the inland cities of Europe from the coast. The canals stand out because they have very tall trees growing close together on either side of the water canal all the way through the country. The towns we pass through are very neat and tidy and the Flemish houses have a certain charm about them.

THE VIEWS AS WE SAIL ALONG THE CANALS.
 

When we arrive in Gent, we all squash on to a fairly small open top canal boat for our cruise to the old part of city. On the way we see many barges and pass under many low bridges, we pass old houses, grand buildings and old guild halls. We also see 13^th century monasteries, cathedrals. and the fabulous Castle of the Counts. The Her Gravensteen or Castle of Counts has massive thick stone walls and an imposing gatehouse. Parts of the Castle date back to the 11^th century. Gent was a world famous producer of cloth material during the 19^th century and even this castle was used as a mill during this time.

 THE CASTLE OF COUNTS.

The main area of the city is just beautiful. It is busy with many little canal boats, like ours giving tourists rides and there are lots of young people sitting in the area enjoying themselves. Gent is known as a university town and has 65000 students living there.

THE TOWNSHIP OF

GENT.

One of Gent’s most picturesque streets, the Grassley overlooks the River Leia on the site of the city’s medieval harbour. It is lined with perfectly preserved guild houses, some of which date back to the 12century. This is now the centre of the tourist area.

 

THE GUILD BUILDINGS IN THE OLD PART  GENT.

 

 

The Korenmarkt Square.

We have 50 minutes to ourselves to have a quick look around the old city. The buildings in this area are just charming and there are some beautiful shops selling beautiful Belgium lace and world renowned Belgium chocolates, and to add to the charm of the place there is a strong fragrance of lavender in the air. Even though are stay is short, we thoroughly enjoy our time in Gent. It is a gorgeous city and its medieval architecture is fantastic. I am sure that there is a lot more to be seen in Gent and I hope that one day we might return.

 

THE BEAUTIFUL LACE SHOP.

VIEW OF THE MANY TOURISTS AND TGE BOATS.

We then re-board the canal boat for the 30minute ride back to the coach and complete the transfer back to our ship.

 

 

 

Taste of Galicia.

A Tasting of Galicia.

Today we are in Vigo in the north west of Spain on the Atlantic Ocean. Vigo is a major fishing port but it is no small village as I expected. It is a very large well planned city set in a very picturesque harbour. It is renowned for its mussels and shell fish.

Today we are going on a ships tour called a Tasting of Galicia. We will head south of the city of Vigo towards the border with Portugal. This tour will take us through the country side and then we will go down to the coast to see some of the wonderful beaches. On the way we will also get to taste some of the Spanish wines from this area.

We are touring the province of Pontevedra which lies south of Vigo. Our first stop is the beautiful medieval walled city of Tui, located on a hill next to the Portuguese border on the river Mino. We visit the imposing 12^th century cathedral that was later converted into a battlements-studded fortress. The cloister of the cathedral is ancient and beautiful. Everywhere you look are picturesque views of the cathedral and the cloister garden framed by the arches that are all the way around the four sided cloister. At the back of the cathedral is a garden that has magnificent views out over the river and the countryside of Portugal. Whilst we are here the church bells chime out twelve o'clock.

The Cathedral at Tui

The Magnificent View from the garden behind the Cathedral.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View over the river Mino - the border between Northern Spain and Portugal.

 

We then head to a Parador (a state owned hotel) for our first tasting of locally produced wines. This Parador Hotel is rural Galician country house set among mountains and rivers and it is truly grand.

Paradors are found all over Spain. They were originally monasteries, grand manor houses, castles etc. usually with wonderful views and gardens that have been turned into 1^st class accommodation places fort todays tourists.

After this we travel some 30klms to the coastal city of Bayona. Here we see and walk the grounds of the Castle of Montréal. This old fortress is now the site of another Parador, but it has retained its outer walls with its battlements and sentry walks, clock tower and prince’s tower. From the walls there are magnificent views out over the bays and the Atlantic Ocean. Delicious tapas and four famous wines from this area were served to us in a grand room in the Parador. No thimble sized tasting in Spain – you get a full glass to try – two whites and two reds.

 The Tasting Room at the Castle Montréal.

My Wine I did not leave any. It was very enjoyable. Whites much better than the reds.

We all had a truly enjoyable day and our voyage home on the bus was full of joviality and plenty of laughter.

 

Sintra - Lisbon - Portugal

 Today we are in Portugal, it is Sunday and everywhere is extremely busy. There are two large cruise ships in port, so there are many tourists and I think because of the beautiful weather everyone in Lisbon have also decided to have a family day out. Portugal is a very large city and it is spread out for many kilometres along the Tagus River. Lisbon is a city full of history and it is hundreds of years older than London, Paris or Rome. It is said to date back to 1200BC

The Roster is the National Emblem of Portugal.

We have an organised tour today with a local tour group and we are going to see many of the wonderful sites of Lisbon, the beautiful white sandy beaches of Estoril and some of the more rugged coastline but we are also being taken up into the hills to the small country village resort of Sintra which is World Heritage Listed. Sintra has dense, subtropical vegetarian and has been a town where the Portuguese have retreated to get away from the summer heat. There are many palaces and grand residents in this area many dating back centuries.

 

The road up to Sintra is very narrow and winding and when we meet a bus coming the other way someone has concede and reverse back – the road is just not made for two cars/buses to pass. It is quite a hairy ride but when we finally get there it is just picture perfect place. It is extremely busy – lots of people, cars, buses and the occasional horse drawn carriage. There are eateries, bars and quaint little shops dotted along the steep and narrow streets and all are full of people having a fun time.

The City Square and Entrance To The Palace.

 

As well as coming to see this beautiful village we are here to see the 15^th century Royal Palace. You enter the palace from the main town square and what we see when we are inside is a real treat. This building is truly magnificent. It is a mixture of all the architecture styles from the countries Portugal colonised over many centuries. There are decorative tiles on every wall in every room and the ceilings in all of the rooms are also extensively decorated in painted pictures. The furniture is very dark brown rose wood and the paintings are also very dark and somewhat sombre both in colour and mood. The largest room has massive dark wood tables and chairs, lovely windows that frame beautiful views of the country side and the walls are completely covered in white tiles with intricate dark blue paintings all over them. The ceiling is also extensively decorated with painted pictures. I have never seen anything quite as beautiful as this serene and gorgeously decorated room.

 

Views From The Inside Of The Palace

 

All the rooms in this Palace are beautifully presented and furnished. Even the kitchens and food preparation areas are different from anything I have seen before. It was an absolute delight to visit this wonderful residence and I hope my photos convey the beauty of this residence.

We then return to Lisbon and on the way back to the ship we stop at the Belem Tower, Jeronimos Monastery and the Lisbon Cathedral and the Discovery Monument. All are magnificent and well worth visiting. But the very large white limestone Discovery Monument in the shape of a Portuguese Caravel with many of the famous Portuguese Explorers standing around the base is truly a grand and magnificent site.

 Belem Tower In Lisbon

 The Discovery Monument.

 

Once again we have had a great day and just loved and enjoyed everything that we have seen in Portugal.

 

Cadiz-One of the Oldest Cities in Europe.

Cádiz- One of the Oldest City in Europe.

Cadiz is a unique Spanish city in the south west of the country on a narrow slice of land surrounded by the sea. Like most of the cities in Spain there is the old part of the city with all the historic sites and monuments and then there is the newer area of the city. On this visit to Cadiz we have planned to do our own thing and explore the narrow winding alleys and streets of the old town, to visit some of the churches and forts and to walk along the water front with its well-tended gardens and statues.

 

The Eurodam has docked very close to the old town and it is only a short walk to the monument Las Cortes set in the Plaza de Espana. This massive marble sculpture is the Commemorative Monument to the signing of the first Constitution in 1812 (but it was not finished till 1929.)

 

It is a charming walk through the narrow alley ways to the Plaza de la Cathedral. The sun is shining and it is a beautiful warm day. The streets are very narrow and the buildings either side are three stories high. It is too early for the shops to be open but there are many locals out for a Saturday morning walk with their dogs. Each alley way has lovely old style street lighting and there are colourful pots of flowers everywhere.

The Cathedral Square is very picturesque, little cafés, beautiful old buildings and a magnificent cathedral all face onto the square.  We really enjoy a self-guided audio tour of the inside of the cathedral. This building is being faithfully restored and it is full of precious Spanish religious paintings and sculptures. This Neo-classical Baroque Church is magnificent inside and outside. It has Neo-classical towers and façade and its cupola which was completed in 1838 it made of golden yellow tiles that glisten in the sunlight.

 

We then walked along the water front. From here you get great views of the beaches and also back at the Cathedral and other churches. It is a perfect day and there are lots of people on the beaches and many are preparing their boats for the coming summer. Saturday must also be the day for weddings and renewing marriage vows. Locals are dressed up in their Sunday best – all the young ladies are dressed in pretty short dresses, high heel shoes and fascinates. The children are dressed up also in long white dresses and the boys are in suits. I think that it must be Confirmation Day for some. Lots of people are out taking the all-important family photo to remember the occasion. There is a lot of activity in Cádiz today.

 

The main beach we pass by is La Playa de la Calera, it is the best loved beach in Cádiz as it is in the old town situated between two castles – San Sebastian and Santa Catalina. The tide was well out as we went by and all the brightly coloured row boats were high and dry.

 

We then venture into the Castillo de Santa Catalina (which has been beautifully restored) and walked through some of the restored building and around the walls. This Castle had fantastic old sentry towers strategically positioned along the walls and facing out to sea.

 

 

We continued our walk and came to the Parquet Genovese which is home to the beautiful botanical gardens.

We loved our day in beautiful Cádiz. It is a very clean and orderly city, full of wonderful architecture and history and I am sure that one day we will return to Cadiz to explore more of its treasures.

Our Last Day In Rome💚.

It is our last day in Rome and we have decided to go and see a couple of sites we have not seen before and also revisit some of our old favourites.

We decide to travel by bus to the Circus Massimo to see the remains of the old Roman chariot racing track and the Palatine Area that majestically sits on the hill above it. We also want to walk the beautiful Aventine area which is fairly hilly and has some fantastic panoramic views of St Peters and the Vatican City as well as a vast expanse of the city of Rome.

We catch bus 175 from Termini. A ride on this bus gives us the added advantage of wonderful journey through the older part of the city and we get to see many of the cities ancient buildings and monuments as it meanders it route through the busy cobblestone streets of Rome. Why would you ride the hop on hop off bus, when you can see so much by just riding on the public bus system and you can also get to enjoy seeing and hearing the wonderful Italian people as they go about their daily tasks. This bus trip takes a lot longer than we anticipated, but we end up passing through areas we have not been before and seeing sights that we have not seen before.

 When we get off the bus the first thing we do is to join the end of a long queue of people lined up to go into an old church. They are waiting to see and have their photo taken with the “Mouth of Truth”. It is a very large circle of stone with a very gruff looking face on it and its mouth is a whole into which you can place your hand. Back in the middle ages it was used to test if people were telling the truth. I presume that some must have lost their hand and others then in fear of losing theirs told the truth.
 

Just around the corner is the Circus Massimo. It is a large green grassed area about 400mts long by at least 80mts wide and it has raised grassy banks all around it. In Roman times the raised areas were all terraced so all people attending could get a great view of the games etc. that were taking place on the vast track. I sat and just visualized the chariot race from Ben Hur.

Overlooking this area for the full length of the Circus are the massive ruins of the old palaces on the Palatine Hill. It is really great to see these areas being restored, preserved and looked after so we can see and learn about the history of past. Rome is supposedly still full of ancient Roman sites still to be discovered - so every time we visit there is always something new to see.

 

 The Aventine area with its wonderful views over the whole city was great to see. The public gardens are great to walk through, one was full of large orange trees covered with fruit and another was a beautiful rose garden with an abundance of fragrant roses. We also visited the church of Santa Sabina - one of the first Christian churches in Rome (this was mentioned on the SBS documentary on the Dark Ages that we saw recently.)

 

Over Looking Rome from the Gardens on Aventine Hill

The church of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill.

We then walked the full length of the Circus Massimo and around the Palatine Hill to the area where the Colosseum and the Forum are. This is an area that we always love seeing and walking around.

 

This is a great view that includes the Forum and a small section of the Colosseum.

 

The Colosseum is a massive structure and looks different from different viewing points. It is such a shame that all the beautiful marble that once adorned the outside of this building has been removed and used in other structures over the years. We walked right away around the building and took many different photos. After this we rode the Metro back to our B & B. Again we have had a wonderful time in Rome and we both agree all being well we will return again.