Tuesday, May 24, 2016 – Lourdes – We left Spain under cloudy skies and crossed the border into France in about ½ hour.  Joe had found a restaurant on-line in a little French town near Pau.  When we went in, we found out that you had to have reservations and that they could not accommodate us.  So, we went to the next little town and found a place where they spoke a smattering of English and we had a very good lunch.  From there, we continued on the Lourdes, getting closer and closer to the snow-covered mountains of the Pyrenees.  We check into L’Hotel du Paris, www.hotelparislourdes.fr  Once again, Joe did an excellent job of selecting a location for our hotel.  We walked about two blocks to enter the grounds of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, www.lourdes-france.org  Rick and I went into the Sanctuary and were awed by the many mosaics depicting the life and death of Jesus Christ. 

Then we went into the Grotto. 

We met back up with Joe and Casey and proceeded to the Underground Basilica of St. Pius X – it is a huge place of worship.  We saw part of the Blessed Sacrament procession before returning to our hotel. 

We ate supper of roasted chicken and fries before returning to the Sanctuary grounds where Joe and Rick participated in a torch lite procession.  We left Joe and Casey exploring and returned to our hotel.  When we checked our e-mail, we were distressed to learn that Rick’s 91-year-old mother had fallen and broken her leg.

Wednesday, May  25, 2016 – Villandraut –We had two nice rooms.  They don’t use numbers in this hotel; we were in the “medieval room” and Joe and Casey were in the “school bus” room.   We asked the proprietor, Ronan Talbot, if there were any wineries close by and he suggested two.  We visited Chateau de Budos where we met Lawrence, 4^th generation wine maker, who gave us a tour and a tasting.

Then we went to Sauterne to taste the sweet white wine produced in the district.

5/26 – We set off from Villandraut taking small country roads – this time through the heart of the Bordeaux wine making country.  There were villas and vines everywhere you looked.  We saw a sign for a winery and took a left turn.  Just around the corner, we found the Chateau du Payre.  We were greeted by the secreatary, Dauphine, who that her boss, Valarie Labrousse, was not there at the moment, but she knew a little English and would take us a tour and tasting.  www.chateau-du-payre.fr  The property has been in the family since 1888 and we met the grandfather, Arneaud, while we were tasing La Perle Payre, a very nice red merlot.  I thought the cork was unique because it has the name of the wine on it as well as his e-mail address.  Alas, he did not speak or understand English. 

Saint-Sulpice-et-Cameyrac

Thursday – Saturday, May 26-29, 2016 –

After purchasing a bottle of wine for supper, we continued on our journey and arrived at the Chateau du Lamothe du Prince Noir B & B.  Chateau Lamothe was built in the 14th Century.   The Chateau takes its name from the Black Prince, Edward of Woodstock, who used it as a hunting lodge.  The three-towered Chateau overlooks rolling fields and forests and is surrounded by a spring-fed moat, home to swans and ducks.  The castle is now a B & B. This castle is to be our abode for the next three nights.

After checking in, Joe and Rick went to a grocery store and bought some bread, salad stuff and a roasted chicken which we ate for supper in the chateau’s dining room.

5/27 –We started our day with a lovely breakfast which included fresh fruit, yogurt, assorted breads/pastries, a warm bread pudding, fresh orange juice, ham and an assortment of cheeses as well as coffee and eggs cooked to order.  We asked the Chateau owner for a suggestion for a winery tour.  She made an appointment for us to tour the Chateau de Reignac.  www.reignac.com 

We toured the area where their small amount of white wine is stored in concrete vats in the shape of eggs.  This was the first time we have seen these type of vats.  The chateau has won several awards – the latest was for a special scent garden that has been planted next to a greenhouse that was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel, who later built the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

After smelling the scents that we might expect to find in the taste of the wine, we proceeded to a three-story restored pigeon tower for our wine tasting.  Of course, the pigeons are long gone.

Next, we travelled to a town well-known for its wine, St. Émilion.  Wikipedia says, “Saint-Émilion’s history goes back to prehistoric times and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with fascinating Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets.  The Romans planted vineyards in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century. The town was named after the monk Émilion, a travelling confessor, who settled in a hermitage carved into the rock there in the 8th century. It was the monks who followed him that started up the commercial wine production in the area.”

We had lunch on the patio of Le Bistrot due Clocher bistroduclocher@yahoo.fr  The patio was next to a bell tower and we could see a fort from here.  If you enlarge the picture below, you might see the flags flying on top of the fort.

Unfortunately, we missed the 2:30 English tour of the town,so we went to the cathedral on our own, walked around the town, and tasted some wine before getting back in the car and continuing on our way.  Pictured below is the garden of one of the establishments where we tasted wine.

On our way back to the castle, we made one more stop for a wine tasting at Canon Fronsac.  The woman didn’t speak any English, but I was able to communicate with her with my smattering of French. You can learn more about the Fronsac district wines at www.vins-fronsac.com

5/28 – We lingered over our breakfast, much the same as yesterday’s, but, with the addition of a bottle of sparkling wine that Casey bought yesterday in St. Émilion (added to our fresh orange juice).  Today, we travelled north of the city of Bordeaux to the Medoc district.  It started raining just as we left the chateau.  Our first stop was at the Chateau Dauzac Margaux where we paid €6 per person for a wine tasting as no tour was available on Saturday.

Our next stop was in Cantenac where we took the 2:30 English tour of the Château Prieuré-Lichine www.prieure-lichine.fr The chateau was a Benedictine Abby until the French revolution.  From that time, it passed through a number of families until purchased in 1951 by Alex Lichine.  Afterhis death, his sone had to see the Chateau/vineyards after paying 50% inheritance tax.  But,the new owner’s kept the name.  Our guide explained that they use the best farming practices.  One of those practices is planting grass in between the rows of vines.  It helps to regulate the soil’s water content and when they mow the grass, it helps to fertilize.  In the winter, they put sheep in the fields to eat the grass and leave their own type of fertilizer.  She also said that they take the water left over from the wine making process and put it on bamboo that they have planted on the edge of their forest.  The bamboo acts as a natural filter for the water which goes back to nature.  The picture below is from Wikipedia and is attributed to Prieuré Lichine. 

From here we drove to Lamarque where we took a ferry across the Gironde River to Blaye. 

At this point, we headed south.  Our chateau owner, Carla, told us later that if we had continued north, we would have seen many fabulous châteaus – including Chateau Richelieu.  On our return, we drove along the riverside and kept our eyes open for road signs advertising chateau with dégustation (wine-tasting).  We followed such signs to find Chateau LaCouture chateaulacouture@orange.fr  We arrived a few minutes after 6 p.m.  As we pulled into the open gate of what looked like a private home, we saw a sign saying they closed at 6.  But, Joe saw a woman and asked if we could have a tasting and she agreed.  Then, a young man came whizzing in to help his grandmother.  He brought along his English workbook from school to help him translate.  The wine was good and since they went to such an effort or us, we bought a bottle before leaving.

On Sunday, 5/29, we ate another magnificient breakfast and then said adieu to Madame Carla and le Chateau du Lamothe du Prince Noir and headed into the city of Bordeaux.  Joe’s handy Google Maps got us to the train station, Gare St. Jean, in plenty of time for us to say goodbye to Joe and Casey (who are flying to Belgium this afternoon) and to find our way around the station and get to the proper place to board our train to Paris.

Paris – Sunday, May 29 – Friday, June 3, 2016

Sun. 5/29 – We took a non-stop train from Bordeaux’s Gare St. Jean to Paris’ Gare Montparnasse which lasted about 3 ½ hours.  From there we took a taxi to our lodgings for the next 5 nights, the Hotel Eiffel Seine.  The lobby is pictured below.

The River Seine is at the end of the block and the Eiffel tower is just a few blocks away.  We had booked a sunset tour o the Eiffel tour, so we set off walking just before 6 p.m.  We only walked around the corner where we foud a nice restaurant and had our supper.  IOLANDA at 105 Quai Branly 75015. 

Rick ordered the plate of the day which included ¼ roasted chicken with french fries and salad.  I had a bowl of French onion soup.  We got to one of the Fat Tire Tours’ Office just before 7:30 and met our guide, Sandra.  She gave us all headsets to make it easier to hear her as we walked to and around the Eiffel Tower. 
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She gave us the history of the surrounding park and told us that the tower was built as a result of a contest for the World’s Fair of 1889.  Mr. Eiffel won the contest, but he had to contribute 90% of the cost of building it.  Because of that, he made a deal with the government that he keep the proceeds from tickets sales for the next 20 years.  He spent, in today’s equivalent approximately 27 million euros and recouped that amount in less than one year!  From the ground, you can see names in gold, around the base of the first floor.  These names are people, of his time, who contributed to the French people – like authors, poets, scientists, etc.  We proceeded up the two-level elevator to the second floor.  (Once up there, you can buy another ticket for €6 to go to the top.)  Sandra then took us out to each side of the tower and pointed out other places of interest.  Unfortunately, it started raining really hard and our views were obliterated.

After the tour of the 2^nd floor, we were on our own, but we were wet and tired, so we waited about 15 minutes to catch the elevator down and just went back to the ground level.  We walked back to our hotel in the rain and were very glad to “hit the hay” at 10 p.m.

Mon. 5/30 – We awoke to more rain, so decided to take it easy this morning.  Rick went  down to the desk to make arrangements to be picked up on Friday morning to get to the Orly airport in time for our 7 a.m. flight to Barcelona.  Ann, at the desk, was very knowledgable and gave him some options.  He chose to have a private car pick us up at 4:20 a.m. (cost €50.)  He also made arrangements to have a taxi pick us up this afternoon for our tour of the Louvre.  I was happy to have this quiet time to update my diary and let my tennis shoes dry.  We took a taxi to the Rue des Pyramides to the Vision Paris tour office for our tour of the Louvre which Fat Tire Tours had booked for us.  Even though we didn’t have the correct voucher with us, they quickly found our names on their list and issued us our “stick-on” tour numbers.  Then they said that we had an hour to wait and feel free to walk around the area. We tried the bistro across the street but it was full, so we walked down the block to the El Tonel Bar and had a glass of wine while waiting.  At 2:00, we met our tour guide and discovered that we were just around the corner & two blocks down from the Louvre.  So, we “put on our running shoes” and followed our guide to the Galerie du Carosel (underground shopping mall) entrance.  Even though she walked faster than we liked, it was wonderful to have a guide take us through the maze of people and halls to gain quick entrance to the museum.  Since we entered in the lower area, the first thing we saw were the centuries-old foundations of the original structure on the site.  Then, we passed under the inverted pyramid

and into the Sully Wing where we saw the sculpture of aphrodite, known as the “Venus de Milo”.

  In the Denon wing, we saw many great paintings, including Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

Of course, we saw many other beautiful works of art—too many to name specifically.  We left the Louvre (in the rain) and walked back to El Tonel where the bar tender called a taxi for us while we had another glass of wine.  Later, we went on an absolutely fantastic dinner cruise on the Sein on the BateauxParisiene.  Even though it was raining, we could see the sites easily through the plexiglass.  We had a table for two right at the “window”. 

They gave us some paperwork that identified the twelve sites that we would be passing, but our waiter often came to our table to tell us what we were looking at.  Our 8:30 dinner started with champagne and cheese puffs; then an appetiser of our choice served with a bottle of white wine; followed by our entrees – Rick had veal and I had a filet of beef for which they gave us no steak knives (because they weren’t needed).  With this, they opened and served a bottle of red wine.  This course was followed by a cheese course and then desert.  We high recommend, if you are coming to Paris, you check this out www.bateauxparisiens.com  While cruising the river, we were able to see the 10:00 light show at the Eiffel Tower as well. 

They ask that you dress nicely – and most did – but we saw a few pair of jeans.  There was also a live singer who was very good.  Note:  The next day, the River Seine reached flood stage and all boat traffic was stopped for the rest of our visit.

Tues. 5/31 – We scheduled a third tour through Fat Tire Tours – this one a “Behind-the-Scenes” tour of Versailles.  We met at Café Regalia at 1 Rue de la Convention, 75015 about a half-hour walk from our hotel.  Once the group was gathered, our guide told us that we would be catching the train at the station across the street.  She explained what to expect and made sure that we all made it on the same train (even though it was very crowded). 

This was a 7-hour tour which included skip-the-line access to Versaille; tour of the Royal Gardens; lunch on our own; tour of the Private Royal Apartments and then access to what the general public gets to see.  Of course, the gardens, fountains and statuary were stunning (even in the rain). 

The part we enjoyed the most was the private tour of the royal apartments.  Our guide pointed out what was original, what came from another palace, what had been restored, etc.  We were in a small group and it was very interesting.  Pictured below was King Louis’ private library.

When we got into the public areas, while overwhelmingly beautiful, the crowds were too thick to be able to enjoy it as much as we did the other parts of the tour. 

We managed to catch the train back to Paris on our own with no trouble and went back to IOLANDA for supper after a very long day on our feet.

Wed. 6/1 – Today we took the main line (green) on L’Open Tour Hop-on Hop-off Bus.  We walked to the Eiffel Tour and had no trouble getting seats on the upper level.  We passed by and learned about:  Hotel des Invalides and Museum of the Army with the gold dome under which Napolean is buried;

the Rodin Museum where we could see the “Thinker” by looking over the wall; the Place de la Concorde (where King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette were beheaded – they now have a gold-tipped obelisk in the middle);

the Grand and Petite Palais (constructed or the 1900 World’s Fair); and much more.  We rode down the Champs-Elysées and around the Arc de Triomphe

and then around the Place du Trocadéro, from which you have a terrific view of the Eiffel Tower. 

We decided to save the other routes for tomorrow so we could get back and ready for our big evening out, celebrating my birthday, at a dinner show at the Moulin Rouge in the Montmartre district. 

We were ushered in just before 7 p.m. and seated at a table for 10 people about 3 rows back from the stage.  Next to our table there was an open area which looked like a dance floor.  Dinner service was started immediately at 7:00.  During most of the dinner, a band played and accompanied a couple of singers.  After a nice dinner, which included a bottle of champagne, the show began.  But first, part of the stage came out to cover the area that I thought was a dance floor, making the stage practically at our elbows.  The show was very good and we enjoyed the evening very much.  It was, indeed, a memorable way to spend my birthday.

Thurs.  6/2 – The day was cold and the Seine was flooding pretty badly which had many of the roads near the river underwater – causing more traffic jams than usual. 

We took parts of the orange line and the blue line along with parts of the green line on the hop-on hop-off bus.  Among many other things, we saw the Notre Dame Cathedral,

all sides of the Louvre,

the Museum D’Orsay; the Opera House and so much more.  One of the things we saw was the National Library of France which traces its origin to the royal library founded at the Louvre Palace by Charles V in 1368.  Today, it is one of the world’s largest libraries containing around 14 million books.  Before returning to our hotel, we did some shopping on the Champs-Elysées.  We had supper for the final time at IOLANDA and then tried to settle in early for our 4:20 pick up in the morning.

Friday, June 3, 2016 – You know how travel days can be.  The car driver arrived early and the plane was late in Paris.  We were just happy to have a ride as the air-traffic controllers had gone on strike the day before.  (Thank goodness it was only for 1-day.)  When we got to Barcelona to change planes, we had to retrieve all of our luggage and haul it around the airport until we could check it in again.  We had made arrangements through Princess Cruise Line to fly back to the US on American Airlines.  Rick decided to book business class for the 11-hour flight from Barcelona to Miami and it was a dream.  The seats laid fully out into a bed and many people slept a good deal of the way.  The food and beverages were good and plentiful.  We were very pleased with this leg of our journey.  Again, we were late leaving Miami and when we arrived at baggage pickup in Tampa, we found our son, JP, asleep waiting for us.  (He was sick.)  We were very grateful to see him and soon loaded up the car, dropping him off at his home on our way back to the boat.

This was a dream vacation that could never be duplicated.  If you’re wondering; I know how very lucky I am.

 

We left Ft. Lauderdale on April 22, on the cruise ship Royal Princess.  We stopped at several ports in Spain, but I covered them with the cruise.  Once we landed in Barcelona, we spent another 17 nights in Spain, followed by 5 in Southern France before we split up with Joe and Casey, with us going to Paris and them going to Germany.  

Barcelona

Saturday, May 7, 2016 –  

We arrived in Barcelona in the morning, in the rain.  We couldn’t check into our hotel until 3:00, so we left our luggage there and went walking around the neighborhood.  I bought a fold-up umbrella for three euros (3€) – the best 3 something I ever spent!  We went to the Picasso Musem, but there were so many people trying to get in, we changed our minds.  We were searching for a bar, but walked by the Mammoth Museum, so decided to go in there.  We saw skeletons of Wooly Mammoths and Wooly Rhinos.  We also saw the remains of Musk Oxen, an ancient horse and a Cave Bear – believe me, you would not like to run into him!  It is a very small, but interesting museum, you can learn more about it by going to http://museomamut.com/en   

After that short visit, we found a tapas bar where we shared a bottle of wine and something to eat.  On our way back to the hotel, we went into a very inexpensive shoe store where Casey bought some boots  for 12€.  After lunch, we checked into our hotel (the Chic and Basic Zoo).  Rick and I rested while Joe and Casey went across the street to walk through the park and zoo. 

Sunday -5/8 – Happy Mother’s Day to all.  Casey’s children sent her flowers and champagne. 

Barcelona is cool and has been raining/drizzling since we arrived yesterday.  But, it is a slight rain and does not keep us from walking about the city.  After having a breakfast of crosissants and mimosas (for Mother’s Day), we took a taxi to Sagrada Familia. 

This church was started in 1863 and it is still underconstruction.  It was designed by Antoni Gaudi and is unlike any other church.  Unfortunatly, they had sold out of entrance tickets for today, but we were entranced by the outside. 

From here, we took a taxi to the Ramblas where we had a nice lunch then continued walking.  We went into the Cathedral of Barcelona

and then into the Barcelona History Museum which was mostly underground and very interesting.  We returned back at our hotel around 7:30 and put our feet up for a while.  We walked a few blocks to find a restaurant called “Little Italy” www.littleitaly.es  Rick broke his temporary briddge this morning, so he thought pasta would be a good choice for supper.  Rick, Casey and I ordered spaghetti and meat balls while Joe had a veal dish that he declared was extraordinary!  In addition to the really good food, they had a live jazz band as well.

Monday – 5/9 – We started our day walking to the nearest dental clinic, but they said that they couldn’t see Rick until tonight, so we continued our search ending up in a charming part of town known as Barceloneta.  Here we found a dental clinic that could take Rick in one hour and they had a doctor who could speak English – Hooray!  We walked across the street to an open bar where the three of them had a beer and I had a cappuccino.  The doctor saw Rick as soon as we walked in, he confirmed that the temporary bridge was broken and then he fixed it.  He was also kind enough to write down what materials he used, so Rick could give it to his dentist at home and then gave Rick his e-mail and told him to get in touch with him if he needed anything else while we are in Spain.  We left the dental office about 12:15 with instructions that Rick was not to eat or drink for one hour.  We walked to the beach and found a hut with the warmers turned on.  Joe, Casey and I had a glass of sangria until Rick’s hour was up, then we all ordered lunch. 

After eating and enjoying a strolling serenade by a guitar  player, we walked a couple of blocks and caught a taxi to the Palau de la Música Catalana (aka Palace of Catalan Music).  This concert hall was built in 1905-1908.  Because the surrounding buildings blocked the natural light, the architect, Lluis Domenech  Montaner, was challenged to come up with new ways of brining the light inside – which he did eautifully through many stained glass windows.  The concert hall is dedicated to the Catalan patron saint, St. George – the Dragon Slayer.  It is said that when he slew the dragon, its blood went into the ground and red roses grew there.  So,there were red roses incorporated into the stained glass, mosaics and other ceramic embellishments throughout the hall.  We took a 50-minute tour to see the practice hall as well as the multi-level concert hall.  We even got to hear a selection played on the pipe organ. It was very impressive. 

Tuesday, 5/10 – After breakfast we met our tour guide in front of the  Barcelona Hard Rock Café.   Soon, we loaded up into a bus and started our trip to Montserrat – the serated mountain – about an hour’s ride northwest of Barcelona. 

There is a monastery, by the same name, at the top of the mountain.  Although there has been a church there since the 11^th century, the current Basilica was built in 1850 and holds an ancient carving called the Blas Virgin (La Moreneta). 

We went inside this beautiful Basilica but did not stand in line for the additional 45 minutes to touch the carving. 

We saw the tombs of 2 very important ple.  After the monastery, we went down to lunch and then walked about 5 minutes to a winery where we had a tour ending in a very informative wine tasting at Oller del Mas, a fantastic wine estate at a 10th century castle. 

We returned to Barcelona about 8 p.m.  We rested for an hour and then went across the street to an Italian Restaurant for supper.  It was raining the hardest it has rained the who time we’ve been in Barcelona.

Wed – 5/11 – Zaragoza – After breakfast we picked up a rental car and hit the road.  On the way to this evening’s destination, we made a stop in a small town called Sant Sadurni D’anoia to tour Cavas Freixenet www.freixenetgroup.com  

Cava is the champagne of Spain.  After the tour and wine tasting, we stopped in the town at Il Picarolo Ristorante and Trattoria for a late luch.  The food and views were excellent.  We drove along a great highway (with tolls) through beautiful countryside for a few hours to arrive at the AC Marriott in Zaragoa where we ate a quick bite before turning in.

Thurs -5/12- Fiente la Reina – Before leaving Zaragoza, we took a cab downtown.  We stopped at the Tourist Information Center at the Plaza Del Pilar then visited the Basilica del Pilar – Our Lady of the Pilar Basilica.  www.basilicadelpilar.es We took some pictures of the outside, but unfortunately no photos were allowed inside.  It was the prettiest/most impressive cathedra we have been in yet.  We stopped to hae a snack and drinks.  I got a cup of their thick hotchocolate with churros.  Then we caught a cab back to our hotel where we had left the car parked and ready to go.  We left Zaragoza headed to the small town of Olite where we ate our lunch and then visited the Royal Palice of Olite.  They gave us a map which pointed and explained over 20 rooms.  www.guiartehavarra.com or www.facebook.com/palaciorealdeolite 

We continued on to the village of Puente La Reina which is situated on the Camino de Santiago – the “Way of St. James”.  This is one of Europe’s ultimate pilgramage routes.  This particular camingo is also called the  Camino Francés as it starts just inside France and goes about 500 miles across northern Spain ending at Santiago de Compostela. 

In addition to this town, the camino also goes through Pamplona and Burgos.    Puente La Reina was named for a bridge in the  center of town.  There is a church in town called the Church o the Crucification with a stork’s nest on its steeple which was founded by the Knights of St. John in the 12^th century.  There is a distinctive “Y” shaped crucifix in the church which is believed to have  been carried here from Germany.  The main street leads to the “Bridge of the Queen” for which the town was named.  Since many pilgrims stay in the Hotel Jakque, there was a laundry and we got to do a load and have clean clothes again.

Fri – 5/13 – Laguardia by way of Pamplona –  When we left Puente la Reina, we decided to backtrack a little by going to Pamplona – famous for its running of the bulls.  We were looking for a bust of Ernest Hemingway along the route of the bulls – but finally found a full-size statue of him in one of his favorite restaurants, Café Iruña.  (Sorry, the picture is a little blury)

We ate lunch at a restaurant called Olé Pamplona which is right across the plaza from the city hall where the fiesta de San Fermin begins on July 6 of this year. 

After lunch, we drove to Laguardia where we toured Bodegas Carlos San Pedro Pérez de Vinaspre.  This is a small family-operated vineyard.  They have moved their winemaking to a new facility outside of town, but still store about 50 barrels of wine in the caves under the building.  There are over 300 caves under this town.  The family has been making wine in this area for over 500 years.  The wine stays in barrels for 22 months, the all of the barrels are transferred into large concrete vats. 

They use oak from both the U.S. and France as they impart different flavors.  Those flavors blend naturlly in the concrete vat – they do not agitate it.  After 8 months in the concrete, the wine is transferred to bottles for 14 more months of aging.  We were given a tast of the wine taken out of the concrete vat.  Our guide explained that they choose to do that because no one else but visiters to their facility get to taste their wine at this stage.

They also sellwine cosmetics:  anti-wrinkle fluid; abdomen reducer, exfoliant, and body milk.  They don’t wxport, but you can order on-line for shipment to the U.S. www.bodegascarlossampedro.com  We checked into our hotel – Hotel Wine Oil Spa Villa de Laguardia and immediately went to schedule appointments at the spa.  All options for food on-site – the restaurant, the bistro and room service – wereno open for supper until 8:30 p.m.  We went to the Bistro just before 9.  After supper – bedtime.

Sat – 5/14 – Lerma –  Before leaving the Hotel Wine Oil Spa Villa, Rick and I went to the on-site spa to use their jacuzzi pol 90-minute circuit which included many different types of bubbles in addition to showers, sauna and steam room.  It was very nice.  While we were doing that, Joe and Casey had a session in a jacuzzi filled with wine.  They both liked it, but Casey said the wine stained her bathing suit.  We drove to Lerma where the two couples had reservations in different hotels.  El Zaguan was our destination.  It was about 5 short blocks away from Joe and Casey’s hotel.  El Zaguan was a lovely old hotel, but the ower didn’t speak any English.  Rick managed  to commnicate with him with the help of his son via the telephone.  We met Joe and Casey for supperat their hotel where Joe and Rick got the roast lamb and said it was delicious.

Sun – 5/15 – La Vid y Barios – After breakfast we returned to the car with a mid-way destination of a small town called Peñafiel to see a castle and wine museum. 

The castle was built high on a hill in the shape of a boat. 

We paid 9€ each for a tour of the 16^th century castle, entrance to the Provincial Wine Museum of Valladolid and a wine tasting including 1 white and 3 reds. 

We liked the white so well that we bought a couple of bottles to take with us.  After lunch in town, we continued on to La Vid y Barrios and checked in to El Lagar de Isilla and had supper on the grounds.  This was a very interesting Hotel as they used parts of wine bottles for lots of unusual things.  For instance, the neck of a wine bottle was a toilet tissue holder.  This door into a conference room was also decorated with parts of bottles.

Mon -5/16 – After eating breakfast in the hotel dining room, we took an on-site win tour.  The tour was very interesting.  We learned that this vineyard moves the wine into about 3 diffent barrels in the first year because each manufacturer’s barrel imparts a little different taste to the wine. 

Most of the wine stays in a barrel for 1 year and then is transferred to a bottle for another year of fermentation. 
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Madrid

Mon -5/16

We arrived at our hotel, the Ibis Madrid Central, about 4:30 in the afternoon and got settled in for our 3-night stay.  Later, we walked a few blocks down to a plaza filled with people and ate a pizza at an outside table enjoying the nice evening.

Tues – 5/17 – We took a taxi to the Royal Palace and were very impressed with its size and contents.  According to Rick Steve’s guide, this is the third largest palace in Europe.   Philip II made a wooden fortress on this site.  When it burned down, the current palace was built by King Philip V.  He was the grandson of Louis XIV and was raised in Versailles, so he wanted his  palace to match its oppulance.  Today’s palace has 2,800 rooms and though the royal family does not live here, it is used for formal state receptions, as well as royal weddings and funerals.  One of the rooms was being set up for a concert later in the day.

Our next stop was the Museum of Ham which is not really a museum – but a lunch place.  Ham, aka Jamón, holds a very special place in the hearts of the Spanish.  We were seated in a very nice dining room.

 

From there we walked to the Plaza Mayor and then took a long walk (downhill) to the botanical gardens.  But, we managed to miss the entrance to the walled garden, so we went to the much larger Park del Buen Retiro.  Casey had heard that there was a lake in this park, so we set off to find it. 

 

We were very pleased to find a bar next to the lake where we could sit in the shade for a few minutes sipping a cool drink.   We also got to listen to some nice guitar music while resting.

Then, after a short walk, we caught a cab to the Plaza de Toros.  Madrid usually only has bull fights on Sundays, but they have a festival in May/June where they have bull fights every evening.  We arrived about 5:30 – thinking the fights started at 5:00 and lasted until 7:00.  But, when the guys got up to the ticket window,there were told that the fights (6 each night) started at 7 p.m., so we walked across the street to find a place to sit and sip a cold drink.

We had a really good view from the 3^rd row in the 3^rd tier of the stadium and all agreed that the fights were not as grusome as we expected.  We stayed for 3 of the 6 fights, but people were smoking cigars and cigarettes all aroud us, so we decided to leave early. 

After supper a block away from the hotel, we walked a block in the other direction to have desert at Crepes and Waffles – um, um, good.  www.crepesywaffles.com.es

Wed – 5/18  –  We started our day at the National Archeological Museum and then got on the hop-on-hop-off bus to get a 1-hour tour of the historic part of city from the top of a double-decker bus with descriptions of the sights in English.  We got off the bus to have lunch and then returned for a second trip – this time to the modern section of town.  We returned to our hotel and after a short rest, we gathered up our dirty laundry and went to a launderette.  While the clothes were washing and drying, we enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine at the corner bar.

Thurs -5/19 – Burgos – We said goodbye to Madrid and were all ready for a slower pace.  We drove through the country-side for about an hour when we stopped for fuel and noticed a restaurant next door.  Casey was hungry, so we decided to make it our lunch stop.  Each couple ordered a pork and cheese sandwich and we were pleasantly surprised that to find that the “pork”  was what we think of as a slice of ham.  All the other ham we have eaten has been paper thin, but this slice was almost ½ inch thick and it was good.  Back in the car for another hour and a half, we reached our destination, Mesón El Cid which sits directly across the square from the amazing gothic cathedral of Burgos www.cathedraldeburgos.es  The cathedral was started in the 13^th century and worked on for hundreds of years after that.  It seems to take up an entire city block.

We had supper in the hotel’s restaurant.  The restaurant is in an old house.  The pamphlet says that the house was used in 1483-1489 as a printing house publishing the first edition of the Celestina newspaper.  www.mesondelcid.es

Fri – 5/20 – Bilbao – Before leaving Burgos, Rick and Joe went out for coffee and pastries and brought some back to Casey and me.  Then, we all went shopping around the square. Rick and I bought a new suitcase because one of our hangup bags got ruined in the rain in Barcelona.  Joe and Casey left something for Stephanie Zokos who will be walking the Camino de Santiago later this month.  Stephanie aka Eleni, is our friend Bill Baker’s granddaughter.  We stopped somewhere between Burgos and Bilbao for lunch.  There was no menu – just order from a list of first course, second course and desert course for 10€.  We explained that the 4 of us wanted to share 2 meals and they were happy to accommodate us.  After lunch, we piled back into the car and headed for the Atlantic coast.  We drove into Bilbao (rhymes with cow) and checked in to the very nice Carlton Hotel www.hotelcarlton.es which was right across the plaza from the Governor’s mansion.  Then we walked several blocks to the Guggenheim Museum. 

The building, itself, is just as interesting as the art displayed inside.  It was designed by Frank O. Gehry and is a combination of many shapes and materials including limestone, titanium and glass walls.  It has artwork displayed on 3 different levels including masterpieces and Any Warhol art.  At the current time, they have a temporary exhibit, on the second floor, of art by Louise Bourgeois.  She apparently had a very traumatic childhood and that is reflected in her art. 

The tickets are normally 13€, but our hotel gave us free tickets.  Then we had to pay 2€ for the audio guide of the museum.  They also had several large art pieces displayed outside of the museum.  You can learn more about this museum at www.guggenheim-bilbao.es

Sat -5/21 – Elorrio –  We left Bilbao and arrived at Elorrio before 1:00.  Our hotel – Hotel Elorrio – said that their restaurant was closed for a wedding, so we walked a short distance to a restaurant called Navarra which was just next to a very old church.  The dining room was not open yet, so we shared a bottle of wine in the downstairs bar before going up for lunch. 

We have reservations this evening in a “world famous” Michelin two-star restaurant tonight, so we wanted a light lunch.  They were gracious enough to let us order off of the bar’s snack menu which was not normal.  When we finished our lunch, we looked around the church which had a plaque indicating that it had been there since 1003.  We were picked up by a private car and taken to the restaurant Etxebarrifor the 8:30 seating.  In the bottom floor of the building there is a small lounge where everyone congregated until 8:30.  Then we were all taken to the second floor to be seated for dinner.

We ordered 2 tasting dinners which included about 15 different items.  Casey took a picture of the menu.  If you click on the picture, you might be able to read the menu.

We couldn’t believe that we ate everything.  We didn’t get back to the hotel until 12:30 a.m.

San Sebastion

Sun – 5/22 –  We awoke to rain and a chill in the air.  We drove through the mountains and down to the shore of the Atlantic Ocean where we checked into our hotel HUSA EUROPA www.husa.es.  After getting settled in our rooms, we walked about 2 blocks down to the Bay of Conchos.  Even with spitting rain and gusty wind, it was beautiful. 

We ate lunch overlooking the water at La Pearla and then walked the promenade to the old town which is famous for its tapas bars, so we felt like we had to visit a few.  We walked into a plaza where they were setting up a stage for some kind of concert.  We noticed big numbers over the balcony doors of all of the apartments.  I read in Rick Steve’s guidebook that this is the Plaza de la Constitution and that they used to have bull fights in this plaza.  Even if you owned one of the apartments, the city retained the right to use the balconies as box seats for people to sit and watch the fights.  The apartment owners could stand and look over their shoulders.  This evening we walked to a nearby Italian restaurant called Momma Mia aka La Mamma www.lamammadonosti.com .  San Sebastion is in the Basque region of Spain and they also speak a Basque language.  In that language, the city is called Donasti which the Basques shorten to Donosti. 

Mon – 5/23 – We had a lot of nice weather today.  We walked to two markets, both old and new and a very pretty cathedral with an amazing gothic steeple.  We wandered through Old Town some more, then rested in our room for a few hours before going out to supper.  Joe had found a restaurant he thought we’d like, so we walked a couple of blocks and went in.  We were greeted by a nice young man who asked if we preferred Spanish, French or English.  When we said English – he said you’re in luck.  Every Monday night they serve only one themed dinner and tonight it was American food.  We said thank you but goodbye.  We ended up eating at a Chinese restaurant where we enjoyed our last supper in Spain. 

Next stop – France

 

 

 

Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Barcelona, Spain

April 22, 2016 to May 7, 2016

We had a mini-suite on the 16th floor and were welcomed with a glass of complimentary champagne.  Also, Rick had pre-ordered roses for me which were waiting in the room when we checked in. 

We shared a table with Joe and Casey McClash, our vacation mates, in the smaller Allegra dining room.

On the first night and most of the other nights, we enjoyed the show in the theater after dinner and finished most evenings/early mornings at the Crooner’s piano lounge.

On our days at sea, we usually attended a port talk after finishing breakfast in the dining room.  And, all four of us enjoyed watching first-run movies on the big screen over the pool; in the theater; and in our rooms.

We enjoyed three formal nights (Sunday, Thursday, and Sunday) and took advantage of special eating opportunities at the Crown Steak House, the Crab Shack, and the Chef’s Table.

On Saturday, April 24, the Captain announced that we were changing course because a passenger was sick and needed to be taken off the ship.   On the following day, we made a brief stop off the coast of Bermuda while they transferred the passenger to a pilot boat to eventually be flown back to the State’s.

On Monday, April 26, Rick got his pony tail cut off! 

On Tuesday, the Captain announced that we had run into a depression making it “rolly poly”.  We could expect waves as much as 5 meters high and gusts of 40 m.p.h.  Also on Tuesday, I sang with a choral group of passengers a selection of songs from the Sound of Music. 

Saturday, April 30, found us docked at Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.  Before leaving the ship, the Captain announced that there was some very bad weather expected at our next port, so we were being redirected to Lisbon, Portugal on Monday.
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Our taxi driver, Carlos, picked us up and took us to a fishing village named for the sea lions that used to live here. 

We were invited into a restaurant to try some of the local drink called Poncho.  It is made from Madeira wine and orange juice.  Then we went to an aerial tram that runs from the highest sea cliff in Europe to the beach.  After coming back up, he took us up a mountain and showed us a plant called Madeira ‘s Pride.  It has lavender flowers and only grows on this island. 

We went to a restaurant across the street from the beach where we had a seafood feast.  Then we headed up to Monte where we took the famous toboggan ride. 

We spent Monday, May 2, in Lisbon.  Rick and I took a Hop On Hop Off sightseeing bus around the town while Joe and Casey explored on their own.  We met for a late lunch, then Rick and I returned to the ship leaving them to continue checking out a few more things.

At 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the Captain asked everyone to stay inside.  Winds were steady at 45 knots, gusting to 60.  He said, with cross winds, it is blowing 70 knots on the top deck.  We should get into Gibraltar around 1 p.m. this afternoon.

In Gibraltar, we took a bus tour seeing Europa Point, with its big gun and striped light house;

then we visited St. Michael’s Cave.  This cavern was set up to be used as a hospital during the war, but was never needed for that purpose.  Today, they have lit up all the stalagmites and stalactites with brilliant colors.

We saw the Barbary apes outside of the caverns as well as at the Ape’s Den in the nature preserve.  They are called apes, but are more the size of monkeys.  We also drove by tunnels used in WWII; and the remains of a Moorish castle.

In Malaga, Spain, Joe had arranged for us to take a tapas tour with We Love Malaga Tours.  We met our tour guide, Damien, at noon and spent the next 3 hours visiting the market and eating at 3 different restaurants.  Check them out at http://www.welovemalaga.com/ .  We would definitely recommend them.  It is a family business.  While he was leading our tour, his father was leading another one.   The picture below was taken in the second tapas bar we enjoyed.           

In Cartagena, Spain, we visited the naval museum and the Roman Theater.  Lastly, we visited the grounds of a castle high on the hill overlooking the port. 

On Friday, May 6, we were in Palma, Majorca, a Spanish island. We saw a couple of cathedrals, went to the Majorcan Pearl factory outlet store, and to the market.  After returning to the ship, we packed our suitcases for early debarkation in Barcelona tomorrow.