My apologies, so many ports, one after another and 2 of my grandchildren + their Mum and Dad on board has left me with little time to write. We are in Porto, Portugal today and I’m playing catch-up, not only with the blog but paperwork in general. Rather than no post at all, I thought that a photography content is faster and easier, so here we go.
The Messina Straits
The Straits of Messina, lying between mainland Italy and the island of Sicily
The pilot for the Straits, boards, at 17 knots!
Messina
Mainland to Sicily ferries
Naples (and the family board)
Vesuvius in the sunrise
The port ahead
Liz, Lawrence, Karen, Violet and Lois, (taking a nap). In the background the market stalls in the square
Karen sampling a stall-holder’s cheese selection
Barcelona
Columbus statue
La Rambla, the main boulevard.
La Boqueria market
Enjoying lunch in the market
In my case, my favourite, grilled sardines
At the aquarium, the children feeding fish
Cadiz
The central market, in which lies…….
Easter weekend and relics are paraded around the Old Town; officials garbed in white and purple hoods, it looked very macabre
Violet and Lois on an Easter-egg hunt on board
Then onto Lisbon and the family have to disembark, we are heartbroken, the time has gone so quickly..
In the Tagus river, Lisbon ahead
A memorial to the dead of WW 1
So to Porto, or Leixos as it is known. A Maiden call for us, the first time the Amsterdam has called. An exchange of gifts from the Port authorities and ourselves, another plaque to mount on the bulkhead. Karen is ashore, (hoping she takes some photos). We have ‘President’s Week; having joined us in Barcelona, the VIPs stay with us until Amsterdam. Dinners, presentations and revelry are the order of the day.
