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Nancy and Doug Trips
Nancy and Doug Trips

Nancy and Doug Trips

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
Our lifelong travel bug has given us our most prized ‘possessions’ - the many memories from business and especially family trips.
 “Take only memories, leave only footprints.” Leggi altro🇨🇦British Columbia
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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Our bus
    Our busMountains to trek overOne turn and we are in Spain!The auberge Lillian stayed at: dorm styleRoncesvalles: in the Pyrenees, 4 km from the border with FranceThis Way!1Only 755 km to go to Nancy's final destinationLeafy walkMarkingArrival in town for lunchQuiet and tidy placeIn 1924/25 Hemingway stayed at this still operating AlbergueFlowers even where there is no place to plant them...how nice!1Salads here are very freshBasque music over lunch

    Over the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles

    1 giugno 2025, Spagna ☁️ 23 °C

    Our bus travelled through the Roncevaux Pass from Saint Pierre-du-Port to Roncesvalles. Helen told us about Operation Comet and how the Basques assisted the British airman escape Nazi occupied France to neutral Spain. Also the song of Roland from Charlemagne's time: glamorizing the knights of old. The first part of the Camino Frances is a tough hike over the Pyrenees and from the bus we could see the steepness of the mountains. Wewere fortunate to have a beautiful weather day to walk along the Camino (on a beautiful weather and arrived in the village Burguete for a two hour lunch. Like the night before, the salad was wonderfully fresh and Beth had the shrimp and fish stuffed peppers and Nancy had the roasted duck leg which was very good. It was a one hour drive to our destination: Pamplona.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Basque flag: a proud identity
    Basque flag: a proud identityHouses along the River NiveThe gate1A beautiful house and container garden on the main streetThe alter of medieval church Notre Dame-du-Bout-du-PontOne of many pilgrim stores to comeAssociation of the Friends of Saint-James, Navarre ProvinceMarking "The Way"All water is said to be potable along the CaminoA steep walk up to the CitadelleLillian, Camino Frances solo veteran

    St Jean Pierre de Port

    1 giugno 2025, Francia ☁️ 18 °C

    Our bus arrived at 9 am and it took about an hour to get to St. Jean Pierre de Porte which marks the start of the 748 km Camino Frances. Lovely views and town. Popped into the church. Walked to the Citadel where the building is now the local school. Fred, Lillian’s partner took a picture of me with the Camino Frances veteran who had been very reassuring about the walk which she had done solo 5 years prior. Helen got us passports and we got our first stamps: there would be a prize for the person collecting the most stamps during our couple of days following the Camino.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    He said he has made many crepes in his life
    He said he has made many crepes in his lifeLaundromat was simple to operate

    Bayonne afternoon

    31 maggio 2025, Francia ☁️ 22 °C

    We went to A La Bolee creperie recommended by Helen thinking we d split a crepe but it was a one seat one plate policy so we ended up with more food than we wanted. We joined Susan and Allan from the tour who were very pleasant. We located a laundry and Beth got that done while Nancy bought a better rain coat for her upcoming Camino walk. We did a wander over the Neve River bridge to Petit Bayonne which was built later and had a quick look at the A Dour River that empties out into the Atlantic. Feeling peckish we split a plate of grilled prawns before tucking in for the night.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Typical posted day agenda sheet
    Typical posted day agenda sheetRoman walls up to 6 meters thick. Holes are construction scaffolding sites that had not been filledMarie CathedralCloister used as cemetery and court.A Pilgrim carving in the capital of the cathedralThe Holy Mary Cathedral: restored medieval style glass and paintings over original medeival onesTransition between lower and upper town due to tide flow. Caves underneath protect the structuresNeve RiverHistorical old townPost Middle AgesThe Basque provinces, 3 in France and 4 in SpainTypical Basque home: note stable at the rear1885Le Manila: walking stickThe whaling diaspora in the 1600.. cod...red seaweedsLa peloton basqueLa China1660s: Catholicism replaced PaganismSummary

    A morning tour of Bayonne

    31 maggio 2025, Francia ☁️ 21 °C

    Our group was given a tour of Bayonne by a local named Claire. She explained that under Franco the Basque language and customs were forbidden. The boomer generation was not allowed to learn Basque but the next was. This area came under British rule via inheritance in 1152, marked by the stained glass of the crest of Richard the Lionhearted (King Richard 1 of England 1189). The Nazis had an appreciation for Bayonne architecture and occupied many buildings thus saving them from destruction during WWII. We had a sampling of pasteurized and unpasteurized sheep cheese. Claire’s husband is a shepherd and sells his milk to the producer of the samples from the market. It was Saturday so the market was in full swing. Our next stop was the Basque Museum where a young woman provided insights into the history and customs of the Basque. Her grandparents taught her Basque, her mother French and her father Spanish and she picked up English from school and friends.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Stop Saint Leon in Bayonne, 43 stops from start at au Jardin in Biarritz
    Stop Saint Leon in Bayonne, 43 stops from start at au Jardin in BiarritzFirst views of Bayonne and the old wall.Very nice room with a sitting area...Comfortable king bed.....And a courtyard view from outside our windowTour team leader Helen who is a Brit transplanted 17 years ago to Andalusia.The hotel is located within the executioners tower, one of three Roman towers built in the 300s ADOrientation walk: green shutters marks a farming family, blue seafarers, oxbow redExcellent dinner!Salad...yum!Group sharing...rainy but warm walk home.

    Arrival Bayonne

    30 maggio 2025, Francia ☁️ 21 °C

    The 1.4 Euro bus ride took 50 minutes to Bayonne and we found Hotel des Basses Pyrenees built into the ramparts of the old wall a 10 minute walk away from our stop at Saint Leon. As we walked into town we could see a ?moat, wall and cathedral that looked impressive. We arrived 2 hours before the meet up with our group. Introductions, an orientation stroll and then a very good dinner with generous helpings: salad and Hake on garlic mashed potatoes. Nancy found the hake similar to halibut, just abit softer and moister…Beth liked it too.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    1Les Halles poisson market.Monkfish; remember one in that basket in Mama Mia?Interesting sea plant to try if Nancy sees it on the menu...Beth will probably be less keen.Great selection of fromage.It must be artichoke season!Hotel near Plaza BellevuePlace de BellevueLooking over the Grand Beach: Surfers ParadiseGorgeous weather today. Basque Country is the wettest spot in all of FrancePaellaOld Fisherman's PortBasque fishermen housesFishing and WhalingA tribute to the Commune...reprises have disarmed since 2018. Franco was very nasty to the Basques.Pedestrian bridge1We both agreed...it was too soon to leave Biarritz!

    Biarritz

    30 maggio 2025, Francia ☀️ 26 °C

    Checked out at 11 am. and back at 2 pm. after a 5 km walk along the sea promenade, taking in the views. In 1660 King XIV, the Sun King, married a Spanish princess Maria Therese (who at age 21 was reputed to be quite ugly with only 3 teeth due to her love of sweets and lack of modern dentistry). With their union, the wars between France and Spain came to an end. They were married in a nearby small town called St Jean de Luc. We are just 22 km from the Spanish border. Napoleon III, in addition to remodeling Paris, designed Biarritz to be a major destination for 18th century upper crust society and since the 1950’s a surfing culture has developed. It is very clean, and although some of the original concrete and pavement is weathered in a charming European way that make falls easy. Overall, it is a prosperous looking place. We took in the central market and then walked the long promenade with its beachfront views passing through the old fishing port and then via a pedestrian bridge out to the rocks with its statue of Mary. A quick rest at the B and B and we were off by bus and our meet-up with for the one week Rick Steves group tour of The Basque Country.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Waiting for our track to come up on the departure board
    Waiting for our track to come up on the departure board? Another Camino walkerWhizzing by....Dinner at California KitchenPollack is a soft bland fish...looked great thoughSurfing culture and lots of young people living it upSunset walk after dinnerBeautiful sunset viewsWho built this?1Pedestrian walkway out to the rocksOld and new glitzBack at our hotel

    Gare Montparnasse / arrival Biarritz

    29 maggio 2025, Francia ⛅ 20 °C

    We left Hotel Eugenie at 0930 hrs via Bus 74 to Gare Montparnasse which is large with 28 tracks. Found our way to the proper level for our train starting here and terminating in Hendaye, and we are getting off two stops before at Biarritz. It is surprising that most houses just outside of Paris had clay tile roofs. The landscape along the over 700 km was of fields of hay, wheat, and vineyards. We had a prolonged stop at one station, and by the clock we should have almost arrived at our destination. Nancy who had her head buried in Penguin updates, panicked momentarily as to whether we needed to get off. We laughed later as posted just our window the station was labeled Dax. Sadly, the interruption was due to an investigation of a death or accident on the tracks. We googled restaurants and noted it was a public holiday called Ascension, and many people were taking two days off. We arrived about two hours late, and then, due to the holiday, there was a prolonged wait with many other people for the bus. We finally arrived at Maison de Lierre at 8 pm. We found our way to dinner at California Kitchen, where Beth had fish and chips and Nancy fish tacos. We both decided pollock is a rather bland fish, but the dinner overall was good and we sat outside as it was warm with temperatures tomorrow of 30 degrees. Beth commented it felt more like she was on a holiday now. Walked part of the waterfront and viewed the last rays of sunset before heading home. There was quite a party atmosphere on the local streets and this is a hilly resort town with its roots of development in the era of Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie (1850s).Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Arrival at Pigalle station.
    Arrival at Pigalle station.Across the street...lunch!A popular place!Wow! These prices are good!!Nancy tries escargot for the first time and surprisingly Beth passes on sampling them!In front of the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de MontmartreViews of ParisGargoyles originated in medieval Europe to warn against Evil and serve as rain spouts.Colourful MontmartrePortrait painter in Place du TertreView as we sat at a cafe called Le Consulat, buildings here are 900y old!Jacques Brel started here, a Woody Allan movie filmed at at Le Consulat, meeting place of artists.Two of the original windmills remain.One of the most painted buildings in ParisAfter a Google wander with unplanned detours: The Moulin Rouge!We had previously decided that getting out to a show at 11 pm was beyond our abilities!

    Montmartre

    28 maggio 2025, Francia ⛅ 19 °C

    We got off M12 at Pigalle Square and across the street was our lunch destination at Bouillon Pigalle. Opened in 2017, this brasserie recreates the atmosphere of the Parisian restaurants in the 19th century by the Duval butcher group with the intent of serving French food from all regions at reasonable prices. And reasonable price they are. Beth opted for the salmon spinach pie in puff pastry with a side salad and 250 mL of Chardonnay (€20) and Nancy had escargot, Ravioli Dauphine made with Conte cheese and topped with leeks, rose wine, fruit compote and an espresso (€28). The tables are close and we had amicable tourist companions: A couple from Thailand who are American/Thai and a couple from the USA who immigrated there 20 years and were enjoying a 3 week first visit to Europe. The Thai woman coaxed Nancy into the snails which she had described as acceptable but not as tasty as the ones in Vietnam served with hot sauce. We had a leisurely 2 hour lunch and set out to walk to the Place du Tertre, a hang out for portrait artists and tourists. Along the way, we decided to take the funicular (€2.50) and enjoy the view from Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. Walking back down we came across La Maison Rose and Dalida’s statue. We found our way down to take a picture of the Moulin Rouge before heading back about 8 pm via Bus 74 from Blanche station. Tomorrow we say “Au Revoir” to Paris and travel 784 km by high speed train to Biarritz in the south of France.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Breakfast at the Hotel Eugenie, fresh croissants daily!
    Breakfast at the Hotel Eugenie, fresh croissants daily!The LouvreVenus de Milo, Greek goddess of love and beauty, 150 BCCupid1Beth as Athena, Greek God of WisdomProcession of Panathenaic Festival: Parthenon friezeRoman statues had been moved out to reno the ceilingWinged VictoryAb impressive royal passage housing Crown Jewels including the Regent DiamondJewels of the daughter of Josephine and Napoleon ICrown of empress Eugénie wife of Napoleon IIIMedieval ages alter piece painting of MarySt Francis 1226The Renaissance Gallery: 3 football fields longNo one seems to stay long looking at this Leonardo DaVinci painting...yet it is quite striking

    The Louvre

    28 maggio 2025, Francia 🌧 14 °C

    After our nice French breakfast at the hotel we were ready for a big morning at the world's most famous art gallery.

    We had 0930h admission tickets to the Louvre and as expected we were not particularly early. The world s largest museum has 8 miles of galleries and it would take 13 (24 hour) days to see every piece displayed. This previous palace became a museum after the French Revolution and 8.4 million people visited in 2024 (Olympics year). We followed the Rick Steves Louvre Tour audio guide and found it a useful way of navigating the evolution of prehistory to 1850’s art. Famous Greek originals such as the Venus de Milo evolving into Roman statues and then Middle Ages religious themes and finally the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a time of art, science and humanism. Three dimensional painting of the idealized beauty, Greek mythology, religious scenes, great battles and political events.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Haussmann block building1View from the TrocadéroA bit tired during a late evening crepe - 8 pm!

    Around the Eiffel Tower

    27 maggio 2025, Francia ☁️ 19 °C

    After our views from the top of the tower, we walked over to the Trocadéro, took in a long range view and then, feeling some of the tourist end of day “feet are sore and out of steam,” we took the first café that looked reasonable called Frog XV. It turned out to be a British pub rather than a place specializing in frogs legs as Beth feared. We opted for one of Beth's favourites (ribs) but noted it really is a wings and beer place, giving it a disappointing 5/10. On the up side, we had no fear of food poisoning. We took the metro back, managing a smooth transfer between stops back to our now familiar neighborhood.

    We have a lot of pictures of the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 World’s Fair by Gustav Eiffel. It was meant to be a temporary structure but here it still is and it deserves to be the Grand Icon of Paris.    Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Musee D Orsay, a previous railway station
    Musee D Orsay, a previous railway stationRenoir, 1876: Dance at the Moulin de la GaletteVan Gogh, 1889: Starry NightVan Gogh 1889: in the Garden of Saint Paul HospitalView of Basilica of the Sacre-Coeur de MontmartreWho will she choose to crown?Base of the Eiffel TowerMassive concrete foundations, 18,00 pieces, 2.5 million rivetsWe were not the only ones taking in the viewEnjoying the view from the topA different view from every angle

    Musee d'Orsay and Eiffel Tower

    27 maggio 2025, Francia ☁️ 15 °C

    We walked about 20 minutes from the hotel to the world’s premier museum of Impressionist painting. The impressionists (approximately 1840 to WW1 which is known as the “Belle Époque”) was the time of departure from classical style and themes to lighter, more relevant painting. At first, the Society (of artists) rejected this style but it proved very popular and some artists lived long enough to see financial reward while others died early such as Vincent Van Gogh. We followed the Rick Steves audio guide, which was helpful but due to the museum moving pieces there was a search for the key pieces.

    After some tea, we decided on Beth’s bucket list Eiffel Tower instead of Montmartre so Nancy moved the latter to the next day and scratched off the Champs Elysses and Arc de Triomphe. We sprung for the elevator ride to the 2nd level fearing a case of FOMO as Jan had regretted not taking the ride. Nancy and Jan had lost each other in the crowd two years ago and faced with the last run of the hop-on-hop off bus and fatigue ran out of time and energy to go to the top. As it turned out, we were glad to take in the views but the 45 minute wait to get a ticket and on the elevator seemed long.    Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Musee de Cluny (now Medieval Museum) 15th century by the Abbots of Cluny
    Musee de Cluny (now Medieval Museum) 15th century by the Abbots of ClunyMedieval streets of the old quarter.This is the same shawarma spot Jan and I ate at in 2023!1Beth posing outside the Canadian Pub with a Mountie.Lunch at Pont Neuf Park surrounded by school kids.Notre Dame Csthedral...glad we had a timed ticket as there was a 30 minute walk up line.Notre Dame facadeListening to the Rick Steves "Historic Walk Paris" audio tour.Beautifully restored inside after the fire 2019, reopened in time for the Paris Olympics in 2024.Contemporary stained glass window.Cute medieval architecture on walk back to hotel.Concert at St Chapelle: Beth is "tres fatiguee"Our first Paris dinner spot; the Latin Quarter now feels like "our neighbourhood".

    Notre-Dame Cathedral

    26 maggio 2025, Francia ☁️ 19 °C

    At the close of our tour we walked down the small streets in our neighborhood where the guide pointed out medieval streets: a gutter runs down the center of the road, the lower floors jetty such that waste water would be pointed away from buildings. Women walked under the jettied out area. Beth got a baguette sandwich and Nancy wanted to try a shawarma from the same place she had lunch in 2023. We debated going on the Vedettes du Pont Neuf Seine cruise but felt the timing would be too tight so we enjoyed our lunch amongst a rambunctious group of French kids who were pretty typical of kids at recess everywhere. A likely local lady sat contentedly in the sun across from us doing Sudoku. We were glad we got timed tickets for Notre Dame which re-opened last year after the fire of 2019. The stone is beautifully white inside and the brass lanterns gleaming.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    Arrival in Paris CDG Airport: Self Discovery Tour.
    Arrival in Paris CDG Airport: Self Discovery Tour.Arrival Saint-Michel Notre-Dame RER B line from CDG into heart of ParisSunday City bike...one can feel the life and vibrancy of the city immediately!Arrival at Hotel Eugenie on St Andre de Arts. Nice place, excellent location=good value stay.Dinner around the corner at Le St Andre. Dinner 7/10 brochette saved by the Gorgonzola sauce.View of outside while dining.Macaroons for dessert-Beth discovered a new food group!Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighbourhood.

    Arrival Day Paris

    25 maggio 2025, Canada ⛅ 29 °C

    We had a smooth flight to Paris and a small meal was provided was split given we ate "twin" dinners at our connection in Calgary. Drizzly weather so our first 'tour' was of CDG airport. Doug had given us a simplified map of the airport but it is a somewhat complex navigation to go from our arrival in Terminal 2 E/F to terminal 3 Roissypôle where Beth’s end of trip accommodation is the Novotel which connects directly with the airport, To increase Beth's confidence, we re-did our path in the confusing shuttle that connects Gates M, L and K, the last of which connects to terminal 2G and 2F. Letters for both Gates and Terminals? What can we say other than such logic is "Tres Francaise"! We met an American who asked if we were lost; turns out he was trying to find terminal F to catch a flight to Split and we were able to help him since we were confident on our second round. This was to be a repeating theme in our travels...we were never really lost, just misplaced for a short time.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsParis, Basque Country & CaminoViaggiatore
    A morning hike at Knox Mountain with balsam root in full bloom.
    A morning hike at Knox Mountain with balsam root in full bloom.Nancy walking 14 miles along Mission Creek Greenway noting the special messages on rest stops.Crash learning yet again in French and Spanish tourist lingo.Planning and more planning makes time go by....1She's too cute to put in Silicone Pines for the tech disabled!

    Pre trip planning

    23 maggio 2025, Canada ☁️ 22 °C

    Over the past year, Doug had been planning a bucket list trip to Africa starting June 21 2025. With the trip with Jan to Disney behind her, a pause in family activities, and a bit of trip envy, Nancy reflected on what her bucket list consisted of: one thing: the Camino de Santiago. She had also wanted to do a trip with the well known Rick Steves Tours and, yes, there was a tour of Basque Country with 3 spots left! That would provide the planning and companionship if she did the Camino alone. She wondered whether sister in law Beth might be interested. Beth had not been to Europe and had free time on her hands given brother in law John was awaiting surgery. So, in March Beth and I decided to set off on an adventure together. We would fly into Paris for three days, then join the the Rick Steves tour of Basque Country and finish with a one day visit to the Palace in Madrid. After two weeks, Beth would fly home and Nancy would continue on a solo (but supported) walk of the last 100 km of the Camino de Santiago in Galicia, Spain. Planning and getting the walking legs and feet in shape made the time pass by quickly. Doug helped with Nancy’s ongoing tech disability, updating an aging tablet and helping with eSIMS.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsSE Asia 2024Viaggiatore

    The End

    9–14 mag 2024, Canada ☁️ 14 °C

    58 hours (and apparently 13,200 km) after leaving our hotel, here we are at Claire's. Our overnight flight from Manila to Tokyo Haneda was uneventful, but sleepless, so we decided the 12 hour layover was best used by checking into the HND hotel for a sleep. A long flight to LAX, another long layover and a delayed arrival into Chicago left us happy to get into the hotel for another night before the last leg of our South East Asia trek.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsSE Asia 2024Viaggiatore

    Leaving The Philippines - Homeward Bound

    7–13 mag 2024, Filippine ☀️ 34 °C

    After the morning visit to the museum, we had a final drink on the rooftop bar after a late check out as our plane does not leave until almost midnight to Tokyo; the first leg of a two and a half day trek back to Toronto via LA and Chicago.

    MUSINGS ON PHILIPPINES AND MANILA
    We found the Philippine people very respectful and pleasant. We were warned that Manila was not a big tourist draw and that walking around our area was not advisable after dark. Security checks at museums, the mall (the guards at the entrance carry guns, ask you to open your bag; no doubt this show is basically to keep certain individuals out). We know there is significant poverty here and the common folk on Palawan are living very modestly but we did not get exposed to much of it during our short stay in the tourist centre. City or country we are hoping the heat wave ends soon (highs in the mid 40s) and rain comes as it must be so hard on those who can not escape the heat.    Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsSE Asia 2024Viaggiatore
    Bulul replicasPlastic bottle sculpture

    National Museum of Anthropology

    7 maggio 2024, Filippine ☀️ 33 °C

    On the morning of the day of departure we both took in the (free) National Museum and of particular interest was an explanation of Neolithic pottery making and tools as well as an excellent film and area devoted to rice cultivation. The galleries on textile making and basket weaving were among the most educational and comprehensive we had seen on these topics.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsSE Asia 2024Viaggiatore

    Manila - Intramuros and shopping

    6 maggio 2024, Filippine ⛅ 34 °C

    The next day Doug walked around Intramuros seeing the typical tourist sites. Intramuros, or the ‘Walled City’, is one of the oldest districts of Manila, built around 1571 by the Spaniards – and is bound on all sides by moats and thick, high walls, with some over 6 meters high. Only the elite Spaniards and Mestizos were allowed accommodations in Intramuros. Intramuros repelled numerous attacks throughout history as the Dutch, the Portuguese and the Chinese all failed. During World War II, Intramuros was used as a garrison and prison facility by the Japanese, but Allied bombings resulted in it, and other parts of Manila, being severely damaged.

    Today, there is a mix of historic monuments such as the Cathedral and Fort, many lovely colonial buildings and lively local residential and market streets. Pedestrians, cars, motorcycles, and rickshaws and horse and buggies for the tourists all crowd the streets and lanes. Also dropped in on a small exhibit on the Filipino diaspora.

    During the day, Nancy spent time picking up a few things at a local antique, art and craft store called Silahis which was very good.

    In the afternoon we went to the SM Mall of Asia which is huge and Nancy bought a new gym bag to bring home her purchases.    Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsSE Asia 2024Viaggiatore
    Our favorite hang out spot.
    Our favorite hang out spot.Restaurant areaInfinity poolSidewalk up to the tower.View from tower over the beach.Typical outrigger boat for stability in the waves.Modest homes Palawan Island.Cobblestone on concrete walk around the island.Beachfront.Our Manila hotel

    Flower Island Resort

    4 maggio 2024, Filippine ⛅ 30 °C

    We stayed six nights, at this "off the beaten track" resort. On site there is a nice infinity pool, bar, restaurant, palapas, beach, snorkeling equipment and kayaks. We had a quiet, relaxing time overall; it took a day to adjust to slowing down. Slept well, enjoyed our bungalow. No Mosquitos! (end of dry season and with the hot temperatures the land, creek beds and vegetation were visibly dry). Staff were all friendly and hardworking. Breakfast buffet was included and it was $23 USD for lunch and dinner buffets. Overall food was good except for the chicken (tough), local and there was seafood most nights. We did find it too much to have a buffet three times a day and would have liked to see more a la carte options for lunch than pizza and clubhouse. We walked the 45 minute cobble path around the island and took the "sidewalk" up to the tower for impressive 360 degree views, seeing a native four foot monitor lizard along the way.

    We said goodbye to the wonderful staff at Flower Island Resort and got the customary send off, they move the bar speaker down to the beach, pump up the volume and do a good bye dance as we pull away. The "boys" work hard on the island; balancing heavy loads such as suitcases and large water dispenser bottles on their shoulder while negotiating the slope of the boat ladder into the water depending on the height of the tide and then walking up the slope of the beach to the resort. The waves were pretty high getting to Palawan Island and then we had the 45 minute drive to get to El Nido, stopping briefly at a craft store along the way. We headed to Manila for two days on the way home.

    The flight to. Manila delayed due to wind - our first delayed flight since the WestJet at the start, and on arrival our bags did not make it as it was fully booked and we noted some suitcases were quite large (likely filled with dive equipment). Grab to our hotel just inside the old Spanish walls (Intramuros area) and we had a nice dinner at the restaurant. Luggage caught up with us just after midnight.    Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsSE Asia 2024Viaggiatore
    Cleaning cages at seaX-rayRemoving for cleaningTough work cleaning oystersOyster shell cleaningCleaned oystersOysters in the "ICU" recovering from cleaning the outside shells of competitive seaplantsImplantation of a small smooth bead made from a mussel shell and the mantle of a "mother oyster"After five years, another procedure to remove the pearlFruit bats

    Pearl Farm

    2 maggio 2024, Filippine ☀️ 31 °C

    We spent a day relaxing, then booked this tour from the Resort. From reading a book left in our room, we have pieced together the story of what seems to be a rather unique place. Jewelmer is a "fully vertically integrated company involved in cultivation, design, manufacturing and distribution of pearls". It was was cofounded in 1979 by a French sea captain and aviation pilot Jacques Branellec and Manuel Cojangco (whose family owns the Philippine beer San Miguel). They have the rights to use 8,000 hectares of ocean including Flower Island, the next one and the one that the pearl farm is located on. The area is essentially a nature reserve as pearls require a very clean water environment. We took a 20 minute boat ride over to see the farm and oyster "hatchery" which supplies the other 3 farms with baby oysters via helicopter. There are 266 employees living on site. Fresh water comes by pipeline from an adjacent island into a filtration system which supplies the Pearl Farm as well as Flower Island with potable water. The marine biologist explained growing baby oysters to South Seas golden pearl takes 377 steps and five years! Jewelmer only uses 2% of its pearl production in its brand of jewelry aimed at the "high end luxury market" and the rest is wholesaled off. A strand of pearls on display retailed at $30,000 USD. Additional inhabitants of the island were large fruit bats which were hanging in the mangrove trees nearby.Leggi altro

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  • Nancy and Doug TripsSE Asia 2024Viaggiatore
    1Shade umbrellas gratefully accepted for boardingBoarding for our second leg of the tripPick up by van at Nido Airport for third legFinal leg of the trip over1Check in complete, down rhe 'hall' to our roomFrom our cottage veranda on first night

    Arrival at Flower (Gilligan's) Island

    29 aprile 2024, Filippine ⛅ 31 °C

    After a good nights sleep and excellent buffet breakfast at the Manila Belmont Hotel which was connected to our arrival terminal, we took a Grab to the quaint old Domestic Terminal 4. We took a turboprop on very friendly Air Swift to El Nido airport, which is very small, manual baggage unloading. The resort arranged transportation by car and then a speed boat to Flower Island Resort, taking two hours total. Suddenly, we were met by staff, given a shell necklace, and joined a group of 5 other guests. A big bonus is that our bungalow actually has air con! There are no electrical plugs or internet connection other than the dining room and the bar, and it went down at times, so we are relatively remote. The resort in general seems very authentic and well maintained, operating for 30 years, 21 units on an uncrowded property on the ocean. Palawan is the least inhabited area of the Philippines, contrasting with Manila, which is the most densely populated city in the world.Leggi altro

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