Food

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Could easily spend a week in Málaga

It’s a lovely city – beaches, beautiful squares, elegant buildings and such a lot of greenery.

This is our last port on our wonderful cruise on Oceania Marina. Next stop Will be Barcelona on Friday and we will have to disembark.

Today we had a late start, banana pancakes for breakfast, did some washing and headed off to the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. The tour here was really well managed and the information was comprehensive and easy to understand so we really enjoyed it.

The Jacarandas were in flower so that reminded us of home as did the colourful bougainvilleas. We even saw a very thirsty, sad-looking gum tree.

We had hoped to visit the botanical gardens but when I looked it up on the web it said that it could be closed because of the May Day holiday. I asked the tourist info people and they looked it up on the web and told me what I already knew. So we figured it wasn’t worth €100 in taxi fares to get there and find it closed. We enjoyed our visit to Málaga nevertheless.

Here’s a few pictures to show why we enjoyed it so.

After our tour we found a little café to have lunch. David wasn’t adventurous and had a burger and chips but I enjoyed pescaîto frito – fried seafood. It was a huge serve and was too much for me. It included anchovies, squid, fish, mussels etc.

A week here in a little apartment near the beach would be very pleasant!

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Cadiz, an ancient port

Last night we had a delicious dinner in Jacques, the French restaurant on Marina. Onion soup and Dover sole for me and escargot and fillets of John Dory for David. He managed to fit dessert in as well – an amazing Mille feuille. I pinched a couple of mouthful.

The sommelier convinced David that we should have a Premier Cru Chablis from Burgundy and it was most enjoyable. They put your cabin number on it and bring it to you at the next restaurant you dine at. It will probably take the rest of the cruise for us to finish it. We don’t drink much at all these days.

Today we arrived at Cadiz a little late as we had to turn back to Lisbon last night to put off a person having a medical emergency. I felt for them. I know what it is like to leave a cruise ship on a stretcher and miss the rest of your cruise.

Today we took it easy in Cadiz. You can walk into town from the ship and we just wandered down the main shopping street for a little retail therapy.

As in all Spanish towns, we found some lovely green squares.

I don’t know why there is a padlock in the middle of this roundabout? Very peculiar!

We could have visited Gibraltar from here but we decided that a restful day was preferable. It was most pleasant.

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The amazing blues and greens of Lisbon

We’ve really enjoyed our few hours in Lisbon which began with a full circuit on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. It is a beautiful sunny warm day and the northern hemisphere people are complaining that it’s too hot at 26*C but for me, it is just becoming warm enough. Perfect!

My memories of Lisbon will be all about the blues and the greens. We drove along many avenues lined with trees and past many parks filled with people enjoying the weather; many of them locals as it is Sunday. What really grabbed me was the beautiful sky white-washed with wispy clouds. I loved the blend of the blues and the greens.

The blues are also found in the tiles on the buildings illustrating The Moorish influence from times past.

As you drive around Lisbon you can’t help but notice the proliferation of statues. Of course, I can’t remember who they all are but I think this could be the mayor who rebuilt the city after the massive earthquake in 1755. But then, it could be someone else entirely!

Many people take tours in these Tuk-Tuks. A bit scary for me in the traffic!

There seemed to be hundreds of eateries gathered in eat streets and we found one where we could enjoy seafood paella and a Portuguese custard tart.

Junky souvenir shops were everywhere and we avoided them but I did buy myself a very nice shirt to remember Lisbon by.

So, a very pleasant day all round but undoubtedly it was the amazing colours of the sky that I will remember most.

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Beautiful beaches at Porto & Matosinhos

We are now in Portugal for the first time. We docked here at the industrial port near Matosinhos this morning and caught the shuttle bus into Porto proper, about a thirty minute drive along the beautiful coastline and beaches. This was my favourite part of the day.

The surfers were out on this lovely sunny day but the breeze by the water was cool still.

Once we passed the mouth of the Douro River, there were many fishermen and small boats with outboard motors. It reminded me of the years of my childhood that I spent at Donnybrook on Pumicestone Passage just north of Brisbane. There my parents had a multifaceted small business: a corner store, boats for hire, an unofficial post office and, as well, we sold petrol (with an old hand operated petrol pump). At the same time, Dad was a professional fishermen and crabber. Of course, our boats were inboards as there were no outboard motors at that stage.

I found the town of Porto itself to be quaint and so steep. Not good for the knees. We had a frustrating time here as we had booked tickets on the yellow vintage hop on hop off bus. We waited 50 minutes for it to come and then the driver’s reader wouldn’t read my e ticket which had assured me that I didn’t need a printed ticket. So he wouldn’t let us on. Very frustrating. Then we climbed some very steep steps to the market which wasn’t open and didn’t open until midday. More frustration! We did find a coffee and two excellent Portuguese custard tarts. We enjoyed them. Two coffees and two tarts for a total of €4. Amazing!

I do love to use a nice pen that feels good in my hand and there is a great pen shop here that we lingered in. They also stocked beautiful sets of coloured pencils for serious artwork. I have a lovely set of pencils that I haven’t touched in a few years. I think I’m getting the urge to get them out again. All very tempting but I resisted. The other shop which severely tempted me was quite a large hat shop. I very nearly bought a stylish black and white hat but David convinced me that I wouldn’t get it home in immaculate condition and I should buy one at home. So I will.

The streets are very interesting, so steep and narrow and the buildings are several stories high. Shops occupy the ground floor of many.

We wandered around until our knees were done (mine anyway) and then went to catch the shuttle back to the ship. Another 45 minute wait!

Now I’m waiting for a turn in the laundry. At least David brought me a lovely coffee!

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Imagine a two thousand year old lighthouse!

Today we visited La Coruña after a really rough night cruising across the Bay of Biscay from Bilbao. We were all weary as not many had a good night’s sleep. Even the crew were complaining!

La Coruña is on the north western tip of Spain and is quite a busy port and has been so for a long, long time. We caught the shuttle bus into town and then took a taxi to the old lighthouse, the Roman Tower of Hercules which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is still in operation today but it has been quite extensively restored as you can see below.

The scenery around the lighthouse is spectacular but it was quite chilly.

The taxi dropped us back to the old town but before we explored we needed to warm up. What’s the best way to do that? Churros con Chocolate

David salivated over this next shop with all the delicious jamon.

And then visited the barber of La Coruña.

There are many churches in the city but we thought the Town Hall was pretty imposing.

So a pleasant morning in town and then this afternoon we relaxed with some therapy at the Marina’s spa.

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Bilbao, Spain – home of the Guggenheim Museum

We weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow but the weather interfered. We can’t complain. We’ve had beautiful weather every day until now even though it was cold in Paris. We missed Biarritz but have an extra day here in Bilbao.

The port provides shuttle buses into the centre of town. It is about a thirty minute drive but it was an interesting drive and there were plenty of buses. So it was an efficient operation.

Bilbao is in the Spanish Basque Country as is San Sebastián where we spent a little over a week in 2014 at the end of our 45 day train trip around Spain. We loved wandering the old town of San Sebastián (Donostia), eating pintxos and washing them down with txakoli, the fresh new wine of the area which is poured from high above the glass.

So today we were back in Basque Country and we set out to wander the old town, eat pintxos and drink txakoli. We had a great time. There are some lovely old buildings in the old town here. David gets so excited when he sees the rows and rows of jamon hanging in the stores. Our lunch of pintxos with a glass of txakoli each cost us about A$30 and was delicious. Our only disappointment was the waiter just poured our wine in the normal way rather than from 40cms or so above the glass.

We don’t enjoy modern art. We love the impressionists and we’ve see many magnificent paintings in the last two weeks so we were not interested in going into the Guggenheim museum but everyone raves about it so we went to check out the titanium building. It’s an interesting shape but, again, not our thing. I did love the floral dog made with pansies, violas and heartsease. It was impressive.

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Polo Grill Delights

Last night it was our turn to dine in the Polo Grill on Marina and we dined very well indeed. We had asked to share our table with others as we love meeting new people over dinner. Unfortunately the people who were meant to share with us must have been late back on board and didn’t turn up. The night before we shared with two other couples and the conversation was excellent. One man was a retired FBI agent and the other had worked on the Voyager space program.

Nevertheless we did enjoy our dinner. Check it out: onion soup, whole lobster and hand made marshmallows in three different sauces for me; Tomato and onion salad, steak and apple crumble for David.

As you can see, dinner was delicious.

Today we were meant to be at Biarritz and having a tour of Biarritz and the Basque Coast but the weather was too rough for us to be able to be taken ashore by tender so we bypassed Biarritz and are now in Bilbao, Spain where we will have an extra day. We are off exploring now.

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Difficult decisions at Red Ginger

On Oceania ships the specialty restaurants are included in the price. All you need to do is book in advance as they are very popular. My favourite is Red Ginger, the Asian themed restaurant and we have eaten at it on three different ships. Each time it has been brilliant. I love it!

We shared our table On Sunday night with two American couples, all of whom had also been to Red Ginger before. Four of us knew before we went that we would have the sea bass cooked in palm leaves because we had had it before and is so delicious. I knew too that I would have the sushi sashimi platter for my starter and I chose the steamed ginger pudding for dessert. A perfect meal.

We all had the same problem. We know the sea bass is excellent but what are we missing out on by not choosing something different? Everything looks so good. The decisions are tough.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the food and the company. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures but here’s one I took on Marina as we cruised the Baltic in 2016.

Tonight we are booked into Polo Grill. We’re looking forward to that too!

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Ancient city of Saint Emilion

Yesterday from Bordeaux we took a tour to Saint Emilion, a grand cru wine village about 30 minutes from Bordeaux. The population is about 500 and it is all about wine. Very very old buildings are everywhere but the lower parts of many of the buildings have been very commercialised.

If you look very closely at this picture, you might find me. I’m not much of a photographer but David is worse. He cut off the top of the lovely spire and waited until I was hidden by others. Oh well! At least it is proof that I was there.

Our guide then took us to a grand cru vineyard where we sampled their reds. The main grapes grown are Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a very pretty area but a strong wind made being outside unpleasant.

We sampled three reds and I enjoyed all of them. David liked only one but we didn’t buy any.

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Cruising into Bordeaux

After our beautiful brunch on Sunday we had a very lazy day, just relaxing as we cruised right up the Garonne River to Bordeaux. It’s a very wide river and apparently only about 30 ships will make it all the way up the river this year. The bridge opened up to let us pass underneath.

We had a quick wander around Bordeaux and guess what we found:

We wondered which one the grandkids would choose if they were here but we resisted the temptation ourselves. No harm in looking though!

Bordeaux was once British and the wine trade between Bordeaux and England began in the 14th Century. Nearly one quarter of a million acres are under grape cultivation currently. The city was spared in both world wars so its beautiful old buildings still stand today.