Europe 2023

Today we'lld be in Leon all day and this morning we'd be going on a guided tour of Leon starting at 9am. Although there were blue skies, it was only 11C and so I decided to wear my puffer jacket to keep warm. Our guide used a small loud speaker so we could hear her better. The first destination was the Basilica de San Isidoro . This building, which is still within the Roman walls like our hotel, dates back about 1000 years and has been added to and restored since. Then we moved on to a building, Casa Botines , which was designed by the Spanish architect, Gauci, who is famous for the La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Finally she took us to the cathedral which is a very tall building in a plaza. It is famous for its huge stained glass windows. The tour ended at about 10:40 in the market square. We were then free to explore the area before getting back to the square by 11:20. Justin then led us a few blocks away, past the other side of the cathedral, to a nearby street where the b...

Today we'd be travelling from Santiago del Compostela to Leon via Ponferrada. We had breakfast at 7:15, had our bags out for collection at 8am and the bus left at about 8:50. It was misty and the temperature was a cool 13C. We travelled along rural highways and through rural villages before getting onto the motorway. Since it was mountainous territory, there were numerous bridges and tunnels. When we stopped for a break at a service station at about 10:20, it was still misty. Justin told us the history of the Templar Knights who was a Christian military group set up in the 12th century to protect pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem. They also became very rich by developing an early form of banking where they protected the wealth of the pilgrims. They also protected pilgrims travelling to Santiago de Compostela by establishing a fortress on a hilltop in Ponferrada that had previously been a fort in Roman times. He also gave us a history of Spain from 1492 onwards starting with Christop...

Today we'd be staying at the Spanish town of Santiago del Compostela . The excursion for this morning would be a guided tour of this historic town. The plan was to board the bus at 9am for the short trip down to the town. We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant at about 7:30. Although it was cloudy, it wasn't raining. Last night's storm was gone but the weather forecast said there was a chance of more showers. So it was hard to know what to take for warmth and rain protection. In the end I decided to just take my spray jacket. Santiago del Compostela is a famous religious location. It dates back to Roman times and has a very large and very famous cathedral . The cathedral supposedly has the tomb for the apostle St James whose name translates to Sant Iago in Spanish. Legend has it that St James made a pilgrimage to the Iberian Peninsula after Jesus was crucified to spread the word about Jesus - thereby establishing the Christian religion in what is now Spain. Furthermore, a...

Today would be the first full day of our bus tour of Portugal and Spain with Back Roads Touring. The bus was due to depart at 9am and we had to have our bags outside our room for collection by 8:30. We went down for breakfast in the hotel restaurant at 7:30 trying to remember the names of the people we met last night. Justin, our tour guide, and the driver, Paco, struggled to load all the luggage into the back of the bus. So much so that they were unable at first to shut the luggage door. We got away a little late at 9:10. It was a cloudy morning with a temperature of 17C. It was hard to know what to take to be ready for the weather and so I took a light jumper and my spray jacket. In the end I didn't really need either of them. After leaving Porto, we got onto motorways for most of the journey. Justin gave us an excellent informative commentary along the way. He is a natural story teller. He spoke off the cuff without notes and has the ability to make it interesting, relevant and ...

This evening, we'd be starting our tour with Back Roads Touring, A Taste of Camino: Porto to Bilbao . The tour starts from the Hotel Catalonia Porto where we've been staying for the last couple of nights. The forecast for today was for showers but on closer inspection of the app, it seemed likely they would be in the evening rather than during the day. There was also a warning about a possible thunderstorm. It would be a pity if there was a storm tomorrow night because it might put a damper on the Robbie Williams concert. They had started setting up the stage for the concert when we reached Porto. It was located on the wharf area right near where the Scenic ship docks. This morning we planned to go to the beach - not to swim or sunbake but just to experience a different part of Porto. I'd already seen it as part of the Porto sightseeing at the beginning of our Scenic cruise but Suzy had done a different excursion that day. Initially we weren't sure which was the best wa...

We had no commitments today and so we could sleep in. We went down for breakfast at the hotel restaurant at about 9:15. As usual, it was a buffet with quite a good range of choices including a chef who was available to cook eggs, etc. I ordered an omelette. Last night, my iPhone app was forecasting showers for most of the next week. This morning, it was cloudy but there was no sign of rain. Soon after 10:30, we set out from the hotel to explore the places that the man at reception had suggested last night. My iPhone app said it was 18C and I hadn't worn a jumper. As soon as we got outside, I realised this was a mistake because there was a cool breeze and so I went back for my light jumper. The streets around here are narrow and so most of them are only wide enough for one-way traffic. Some are blocked off for pedestrians only. The traffic is slow and the streets are noisy with cars, trucks, buses, pedestrians and emergency vehicles. It's a bustling city. One of the closed off s...

Today we'd be leaving our Scenic cruise ship. Although we had to be out of our room and checked out by 8:30, we were allowed to stay on the ship in the public areas. Scenic had organised for a taxi to take us to our hotel at 2:30pm because our check-in time for the hotel was 3pm. We could still have lunch on the ship too. I set my alarm for 6am and we went down for breakfast at 7:30. By this time, we had almost finished packing. Scenic has a well organised system for handling departures. Some people were leaving during the night, others at various times during the morning and afternoon. For each departure, they gave people colour-coded tags for their luggage. It was even more complicated than that because people were arriving on the ship too - just like we had at the start of our cruise. What's more, there were staff changes too. It was a logistics challenge. After checking out, we sat in the lounge until about 9:30 when we set off for a walk. The plan was to catch the cable ca...