Europe 2024

A 95-day adventure by Wendy Read more

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Day 51
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 11:58 PM
🌙 19 °C
Altitude: 648 m
Spain Plaza de Oriente 40.419191, -3.71314440°25’9” N 3°42’47” W
18th September Madrid
September 18, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 19 °C
Walked about 30 minutes to the meeting point for our free walking tour in Madrid which was really good & showed alot of the architecture through the centuries & the history. This ended at the palace which is the largest palace in Europe, saw the changing of the guard then walked on to the Temple de Debod which was pretty much a non event compared to the internet pictures so onwards to the cablecar but it appears this is no longer working which was disappointing. Walked until we found a taxi back to the hotel & had a couple of hours quiet time before heading out to find some dinner. Really enjoying the Spanish architecture, food & cheap wine.Read more
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Day 52
Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 9:25 PM
☁️ 19 °C
Altitude: 674 m
Spain Puerta del Sol 40.412386, -3.69887240°24’45” N 3°41’56” W
19th September Madrid
September 19, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
Hair colour & cut today, was a bit nervous thought I might come out with a green mullet especially when lady doing my hair had bright pink hair. Used Google translate & lots of hand gestures & got a reasonable result. Jeff has a cough so just had a walk in the park by the hotel & a quiet day before meeting our tour group for dinner. It rained quite hard so got wet feet getting to the restaurant but it had stopped by the time we came out.Read more
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Day 54
Saturday, September 21, 2024 at 12:15 AM
☁️ 17 °C
Altitude: 640 m
Spain Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid 40.410249, -3.69328240°24’37” N 3°41’36” W
20th September Madrid
September 21, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Had a slow start today as we were not doing the tour this morning so just went for a coffee up the road & wandered the back roads in the area, nice & relaxing. Joined the group for a Madrid tour & to the Prado Museum which we had done before but think you see different things doing it again & with a different guide. Unfortunately 1 of the group got pick pocketed in the morning & lost 3000 euros. Wandered back to our favorite tapas bar for dinner.Read more
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Day 54–55
September 21, 2024 at 9:00 PM - September 22, 2024
1 night
⛅ 16 °C
Altitude: 785 m
Spain Ataquines 41.188135, -4.81092841°11’17” N 4°48’39” W
21st September Santiago de Compostela
Sep 21–22, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Didn't get much sleep - Madrid certainly knows how to party on a Friday night by the time they were heading home my alarm was going off. Quiet a long bus ride today with just a couple of comfort & food stops. Was raining when we arrived but walked into the town center & had some dinner but was pretty tired so headed back for an early nightRead more
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Day 55
Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 10:07 PM
🌙 14 °C
Altitude: 258 m
Spain Santiago de Compostela 42.886823, -8.54324242°53’13” N 8°32’36” W
22nd September Santiago de Compostela
September 22, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 14 °C
Woke up with a sore throat & the start of a cold. No rain this morning but foggy & quite cold (might be short on warm clothing for this part of the trip) Did a tour of the town & the Cathedral learning about St James & the Camino pilgrimage. Then went onto Cambados, nice little seaside village for lunch except the tide was out. Stopped at a Manor House on our way back to the hotel & looked around the beautiful gardens & inside the house where the 10th generation still lives before having a wine tasting & heading back to the hotel for dinner with the group.Read more
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Day 56
Monday, September 23, 2024 at 6:40 PM
☁️ 18 °C
Altitude: 242 m
Spain Santiago de Compostela 42.88964, -8.54353242°53’23” N 8°32’37” W
23rd September Oviedo
September 23, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Another foggy & cool start to the day temperature started at 11 degrees. We are finding Northern Spain very different with green mountainous landscape & very different architecture as well as the climate cooler & wetter. Stopped at a small village for a traditional Gilician Almond Cake & coffee. Then on towards the coast & stopped at a light house for photos & to test the drivers skills on turning the bus around without going over the cliff we weren't allowed on the bus while he did this. Stopped for lunch & their traditional cider before arriving in Oviedo & having a tour of the city & cathedral. The tour director delivered a bottle of wine to our huge hotel room for my birthday so went out to buy some water & got an apple cake so had wine & cake for dinnerRead more
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Day 57
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 8:54 PM
☁️ 16 °C
Altitude: 262 m
Spain Museo de Covadonga 43.308677, -5.05468143°18’31” N 5°3’17” W
24th September Santander
September 24, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
1st stop today was in the mountains of Covadonga at the caves with this stunning little chapel built in the side of the mountain & King Pelayp tomb. Lunch stop was at Santillana del Mar, a quaint little village which looks more like Austria than Spain shared a yummy chicken caeser salad & a glass of wine in the sun. Arrived at Santander & Insight put on drinks for us so ended up just having some bar snacks for dinner.Read more
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Day 58
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 7:40 PM
☁️ 27 °C
Altitude: 77 m
Spain Anero 43.395316, -3.65211443°23’43” N 3°39’8” W
25th September San Sebastian
September 25, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
1st stop today was Bilbao where the Guggenheim Museum is. It is made of 33 ,000 pieces of metal. We took a wander around the town & the promenade. Lunch stop was in a fishing village Getaria where we experienced Pintxo which was great but somewhat hectic experience. Nice to have the temperature going up a little as we travel east. Did a sightseeing tour around San Sebastian with good weather for views & quite warm, saw a launch on fire in the bay. Found a good place in town for Pintxo dinner the city is really busy with the film festival on this week.Read more
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Day 59
Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 7:49 PM
☁️ 18 °C
Altitude: 26 m
France Nivelle 43.373754, -1.65340743°22’26” N 1°39’12” W
26th September San Sebastian
September 26, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Woke up to rain & we are off to France for the day. Stopped in Biarritz but with the rain it was pretty miserable walking around. We did spend some time in the
market & decided to buy a few bits & a bottle of wine so we wouldn't go out for dinner as the rain is meant to continue. Went onto St-Jean-de-Luz the home of the original macaroon, where again the sightseeing was pretty horrible so had some lunch & then the sun came out in time to head back to the bus. Caught up on a few emails etc back at the hotel & enjoyed our quiet night.Read more
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Day 60
Friday, September 27, 2024 at 6:46 PM
⛅ 12 °C
Altitude: 653 m
Spain Gorriti 43.061412, -1.95491643°3’41” N 1°57’18” W
27th September Barcelona
September 27, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
An early start today as a long drive to Barcelona through the mountains our 1st stop Pamplona, where the running with the bulls happens in July each year. Had a coffee in the Cafe that Ernest Hemmingway used to write in then walked the running of the bulls path - it takes 3 minutes for the bulls to run but a little longer for us to walk - they have to be crazy - they have 6 bulls run each day for 7 days, they are all sacrificed at the bull ring each day & sold to high end restaurants. Arrived in Barcelona & got a few supplies ready for the cruise & found some dinner before having a cheap wine in bedRead more
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Day 61
Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 8:17 AM
☀️ 13 °C
Altitude: 71 m
Spain Jardins de Sant Joan de Déu 41.388511, 2.13149541°23’19” N 2°7’53” E
28th September Barcelona
September 28, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
Had a lay in this morning & joined our group for a tour of Barcelona & returned to Sagrada Familia & this time had a guided tour through this magnificent building. Learnt that a NZ architect has been involved with building this for many years but he has now retired. Had our final group dinner in the bull ring of Barcelona (there are no longer bull fights held in Barcelona) this has now been turned into a shopping mall with restaurants at the top so had some great viewsRead more
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Day 63
Monday, September 30, 2024 at 5:08 AM
🌙 16 °C
Altitude: 71 m
Spain Jardins de Sant Joan de Déu 41.388491, 2.13142441°23’19” N 2°7’53” E
29th September Barcelona
September 30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 16 °C
Very quiet day today went for a short walk this morning & had a huge coffee at Starbucks, there is very little open on a Sunday unless you are in the tourist areas. Spent the day just catching up on emails & bills & getting organized to start the cruise. Watched the Louis Vuitton Racing on TV before wandering out to find some dinnerRead more
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Day 63
Monday, September 30, 2024 at 9:05 PM
🌙 21 °C
Altitude: 71 m
Spain Jardins de Sant Joan de Déu 41.388473, 2.1313141°23’19” N 2°7’53” E
30th September Barcelona
September 30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 21 °C
We boarded our cruise early before it got too busy so walked through with no hassle. Had a wander around then had a salad at the pool bar for lunch with plenty of wine. Once we got into our room we unpacked for the first time in 2 months which was pretty good. Joined a tour of the ship to get our bearings & sat in on the talk for the excursions for tomorrow. Had a drink in our room before getting organised for dinner. Nice dinner with very generous wine top ups then sat in a lounge & listened to a guitarist before heading to bed as an early start tomorrowRead more
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Day 65
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 1:18 AM
⛅ 20 °C
Altitude: Sea level
Spain Montjuïc 41.364284, 2.17465341°21’51” N 2°10’29” E
1st October Barcelona
October 2, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Very early start this morning so had breakfast in our room & out to tour of the city at 7.30am. Saw a few parts of the city we hadn't seen before & a few we had seen before. Returned to the ship for lunch & saw the America's cup boats just off our restaurant, so enjoyed a few wines watching the excitement. Went down to the spa & enjoyed a spa & relaxed on the heated beds before venturing into the snow grotto, then steam room & back to the snow grotto (wasn't as bad as I was expecting). Champagne with the crew & then entertainment in the bars for the eveningRead more
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Day 66
Thursday, October 3, 2024 at 12:10 AM
☁️ 14 °C
Altitude: 6 m
France Sete Ferry Port 43.403101, 3.70115643°24’11” N 3°42’4” E
2nd October Sete
October 3, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Did a morning walking tour around the town, it was a fairly cool morning, before returning to the ship for lunch & then an afternoon tour visiting Mont Staint-Clair, then the Noilly Prat vermouth cellars to see how they make the product & have a tasting session. The tour guide played a little pipe & summoned us to follow him like the pied piper. After dinner went to a 60's show which was very good.Read more
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Day 66
Thursday, October 3, 2024 at 8:05 PM
🌬 17 °C
Altitude: 9 m
France Marseilles Harbour 43.344759, 5.33265643°20’41” N 5°19’58” E
3rd October Marseille
October 3, 2024 in France ⋅ 🌬 17 °C
Marseille is the 2nd largest city in France we did a panoramic tour of the city & had some time in the port town before returning to the ship for an afternoon at leisure & some time in the pool in the the spa & some time alternating between the snow grotto & the steam room. Had a nice BBQ dinner by the pool with the band playing but moved on at line dancing timeRead more
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Day 67
Friday, October 4, 2024 at 7:50 PM
☁️ 14 °C
Altitude: 23 m
France Monte Carlo Country Club 43.75204, 7.44168543°45’7” N 7°26’30” E
4th October Monaco
October 4, 2024 in France ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Monte Carlo is the 2nd smallest state in world. We took a walking tour this morning, which was outstanding. An amazing tiny place with so much money. We reached the palace in time to see the changing of the guard. Looking at the hills you see France. We returned to the ship just before the rain arrived so watched the final yacht race on the computer & had a coffee in the bar. After dinner we saw the ABBA show which was amazing.Read more
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Day 68
Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 9:16 PM
🌙 16 °C
Altitude: 6 m
Italy Piana Rocks (historical)43.544335, 10.29699943°32’40” N 10°17’49” E
5th October Livorno (Florence)
October 5, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 16 °C
Had a later breakfast & took the ships shuttle into town & had a wander around, found the market & picked up a couple of things really cheap (3 pairs of sports socks for 2 euro - they may fall apart after the 1st wash but who cares). Took the hop on hop off bus around the town which included a ride up the hill on the funicular for some nice views. Back on the ship we went to a very relaxing high tea, Jeff beat me at mini golf so retired to our room for drinks. We tipped our room stewards yesterday so we now have an endless supply of ice. Somehow Jeff managed to say to the head of hospitality they could drop a bottle of wine in our room. When we went back to our room tonight we found a bottle of wine & 2 wine glasses, good timing as our bottle was emptied tonight. The staff are wonderful & we seem to be meeting some really nice people also.Read more
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Day 70
Monday, October 7, 2024 at 12:22 AM
☁️ 17 °C
Altitude: 8 m
Italy Stagno 43.60486, 10.35496943°36’17” N 10°21’18” E
6th October Livorno
October 7, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Had a quiet morning then joined our tour to Pisa. A long walk from the bus but then fascinating to hear the history of the building. There are 4 buildings the baptism building which was built to be used once a year, the Cathedral, the cemetery building then across what was originally a canal (no longer there) the bell tower. The 1st architect built the 1st 3 floors then they started to lean so he disappeared. The next architect built the next 4 floors then he died. The next fellow built the top bell floor & tried to counter balance the building by building it crockered. Would have loved to climb it but the queue was too long for the time we had available.Read more
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Day 70
Monday, October 7, 2024 at 8:59 PM
☁️ 19 °C
Altitude: 21 m
Italy Casarmette-Laghetto 41.96933, 12.10810441°58’10” N 12°6’29” E
7th October Rome
October 7, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
Did a tour not through Viking today as didn't seem to have lots on offer as lots of disembarking & embarking today. There were 7 of us doing a whistle stop tour of Rome in a day. Started with a wild 1 1/2 hour ride even included the driver getting out in a gridlock roundabout waving his arms & making a truck move 6 inches then he could take off at full speed between the vehicles, my window missed the back of the truck by about 2 inches. 1st stop was the Colosseum where we took a quick run around then couldn't find the meeting place until we found another couple on the tour who had a better sense of direction than me. Next was the Piazza Venezia, Trevi Fountain & then The Spanish Steps. A lunch stop & onto the Vatican City. Think we also had a couple of photo stops along the way we were pleased to get back to the ship for a drink & put our feet up.Read more
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Day 71
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at 7:57 PM
🌧 20 °C
Altitude: 29 m
Italy Castello Nuovo 40.838334, 14.25394740°50’18” N 14°15’14” E
8th October Naples
October 8, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 20 °C
Did a walking tour of Naples which is the 3rd largest city in Italy. Sun was shining & it was really warm. Returned to the ship & had a small open roast beef sandwich in a quiet front lounge with a couple of glasses of wine. Then spent a nice quiet time in the spa before catching up on some admin. After dinner went to a comedy showRead more
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Day 73
Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 2:49 AM
☁️ 20 °C
Altitude: Sea level
Italy Piazza Unione Europea 38.194861, 15.55846138°11’41” N 15°33’30” E
9th October Sicily
October 10, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Did a tour to Milazzo & it's castle. It was quiet a walk up but the views were fabulous, it was a really hot day. Milazzo used to be an island but over the years has joined up to Sicily & became a peninsula which was very integral to the protection of the area. We were invited to a cocktail party pre dinner due to being long stayers on the cruise to meet the other long stayers. Saw a great Broadway show after dinnerRead more
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Day 74
Friday, October 11, 2024 at 3:51 AM
☁️ 22 °C
Altitude: 7 m
Italy Spiaggia di Crotone 39.083167, 17.13417439°4’59” N 17°8’3” E
10th October Crotone
October 11, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Our tour today just involved a ride up the road to the town center & with map in hand we followed the path to the 1st stop which was a free lemon or melon grinata which was nice as it was pretty hot, then on around the streets seeing many churches & the archeological museum. Then onto the castle & the city gardens where we then got the traditional dessert of the city while listening to the music playing. We wandered back to the shuttle bus through little alleyways which was great & looked around town before returning to the ship. Spent some time in the spa in the afternoon & I tried to sweat out all the alcohol in the steam room before heading back to our room for a drink on our deck 🍸 😅Read more
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Day 74
Friday, October 11, 2024 at 8:48 PM
☁️ 20 °C
Altitude: 5 m
Italy Bari Ferry Port 41.136546, 16.86684241°8’12” N 16°52’1” E
11th October Bari
October 11, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Took the shuttle into town & restocked a few supplies before having lunch & joining our walking tour of Bari. 1st stop was a pasta & wine tasting then saw the traditional shell shaped pasta being made & walked through the old town & saw the Cathedral & Basilica with the tomb of the duchess of Bari. Watched another great show with a comedian in the evening after dinner & meeting & talking with othersRead more
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Day 75
Saturday, October 12, 2024 at 7:55 PM
🌙 16 °C
Altitude: 178 m
Croatia Slapovi Krke 43.795443, 15.96768843°47’44” N 15°58’4” E
12th October Sibenik
October 12, 2024 in Croatia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C
Busy day today with 2 tours. Morning tour took us to Krka Waterfalls & National Park with stunning scenery & a good walk. We stopped at Skradin to see where the rich & famous come in their boats to visit the area. In the afternoon we took a walking tour of Sibenik to see the town & cathedral. Enjoyed a Beetles show after dinner.Read more
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