Vigo

Day 13 Vigo, Spain

This is the last stop now and the next one will be in Southampton and then home. 

It has all passed far too quickly but we have had a wonderful time on board this huge cruise ship.

So this is Vigo and this chap is waiting to greet us outside the port entrance.

He was quite tall and many people had photos taken with him ... but he was not a living statue ... no this a  real solid statue.

This was another big statue near the port but I have no idea what it is supposed to represent.

The weather although not raining was not very warm and we only had till 2.30 pm before we needed to be back on board to sail for home.

This was a little park that we found and we sat for a little while watching and listening to the water.

Every so often the pattern in the water cascade changed to a different formation and it was very pretty to watch.

The view along the main street made us want to see what was there and so we walked all along this shopping area... with the obligatory coffee stop on the way.

We sat and people watched for a while and then set off back to the ship. 

And this cloud in the sky looked just like a bird and so was worthy of a camera shot as we walked.

And so we said our farewells to Vigo and this was the shot from alongside the ship.

The sun was setting later in the day as we sailed away from the land.

The water as it was churned up was the most beautiful shade of turquoise and oh so clean.

This has been a Happy Holiday ...  and tomorrow is Day 14 and back to the Southampton UK ... and the long drive back to Blackpool.

So no more snaps from me till the next  holiday.

 Thank you so much for viewing all my pictures  and leaving me your lovely comments.

I am glad that you have enjoyed seeing them as much as I had taking them.

But now it will be back to work on  Card Making Magic  and to lots of new changes that are happening on the website.

The next posts will be back to card making and another video is on the way. 

Hugs xx

Lisbon in the Rain ...

Day 12 Lisbon

This was the view from our balcony as we sailed up the river, passing the Monument to the Discoveries and on into Lisbon.

It was very early in the morning  and the weather forecast was rain and I promise you it did not disappoint.

We have been to Lisbon before so we had a plan of what we wanted to do and we got the ships shuttle bus from the port into town.

I snapped Griff filming from the balcony and this Monument on the hill was in the background.

It is enormous but we didn't have time to visit this.

You can see how grey the sky was even at this hour in the morning.

The first stop was to go to the Castle on the hill and we walked up a very steep hill to get there.

 As we got to the top the skies opened and down came the rain... so no photos.

We decided to take the small trams back down into the town to rejoin the shuttle bus and go to another part of the city.

But not too worry I had our plastic ponchos and the trusty umbrellas

This is the Monument to the Discoveries that we wanted to photograph but it was so wet we took shelter in the cafe.

I had a welcoming hot chocolate ... looking like a drowned rat ...

 

.... and Griff had some fresh squeezed juice ... looking his usual handsome self with not a hair out of place and no mascara running down his face.



Then it was out into the rain  to try and get a photo.... complete with the ponchos again and the brollies from Barcelona.... but all was not well !!

The thing decided to blow inside out and here I am trying to fix it without much success.... in fits of giggles as I tried.

Griff said we should go back to Barcelona and complain ....

So I am afraid that this is the best I could do on this very wet day ...  and we made our way back to the shuttle bus.

But as we waited for the bus  we spotted this very beautiful building and the fountain was still flowing even in the rain ... so out came the camera again.

Once back on the ship ... all showered and dry ... we found a cozy spot at the top in the  "Olive or Twist" lounge bar.

We settled into some cozy sofas with a lovely cocktail and watched as we sailed out of Lisbon and past the Monument again.

And would you believe that once back on the ship the rain stopped and the sun came out......

Hugs xx 

Fun with towels ...

Day 11 at Sea

Our cabin steward was a young man from India called Anthony who had an amazing skill with towels.

Every other night he would make a sculpture and leave it in the cabin for us to find.

This was the first one that he did and it really made me laugh as it was wearing a pair of my sunglasses.

Here is me and my new friend and over the next few nights there were many more for me to find.

The snake was very clever and Anthony had even added beady black eyes to him.

 The bat was suspended from a coat hanger and was hovering over the bed waiting to bite ... coz of course it is a vampire bat.

 The monkey was also suspended from the coat hanger and was cleverly done with one of the legs tucked under him.

But the rabbit was the best of all and had the TV's remote control in his front paws.

So thank you Anthony for all the hard work you did to keep us comfortable.

And also for the fun we had seeing these adorable creatures when we returned to our cabin.

Hugs xx

Malaga

Day 10 Malaga

This holiday is passing fat too quickly and here we are at our last Mediterranean   stop before we have a days sailing to get to Lisbon. 

 At this stop we had to be back on board by 7 pm so we had a good days sightseeing planned. 

This was the Castle a the top of the hill and today it was a beautiful sunny day.

The view over Malaga was lovely in the sunshine and we took lots of photos.

You can just see one of the other ships in the distant port

Malaga is the Birthplace of Picasso and of course we had to visit the house.

It was near a very busy square that was bustling with people and a very good place to have a coffee stop

This beautiful building was worth a photo shot but for the life of me I cannot remember what it was...

... but this young man was one of the living statues that we saw in many towns.

He very rudely told me to add money to his cap if I wanted a photo of him.... and I couldn't very well refuse seeing as how I had the photo.

But  he was the only  one ..  out of several of these living statue people that I took ... that was rude about it.

Hugs xx

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Alicante

Day 9 of our cruise in Alicante

We visited the Castle here in Alicante and again had a magnificent view over the port.

It was a lovely place and very warm but we only had till 4.30 pm to look around.

We had a lot to cram in and the best way was to take a tour from the ship.

This was inside the Castle and we had  a lot of steps to climb to get to the top...

...but we were rewarded with this spectacular view over Alicante once we got there.

This is the Bullring but there are not many bull fights held here anymore.

Back down in the town we walked along this beautiful Mosaic tiled floor that runs along the centre of town. 

It has stalls and artists along it and we stopped and viewed many of them as we walked.

And in the harbor is this Galleon ship that you can visit.

It was lovely and as the day went on it got warmer and warmer.

But the one thing I want to show you are the beautiful dolls that are made each year for a festival that is held in June.

When I say Dolls I don't mean little ones that kids play with .... oh no these are very  big .... and this is Griff stood along side some to give you an idea of the size.

These dolls are made by the local people from Papier Mache and are hand painted.  

They start the work on the 21st and  they are placed around the town for everybody to see.

Over  the following days the festival takes place and the Dolls  are then  judged by the towns people.

On the  last few days the Dolls are all burned.... except for those judged to be the very best and these are stored in this museum for visitors to see.

You are allowed to take photos but you must not touch as they are made from paper and can be easily damaged.

Here are some for you to see and they are all very beautiful.... and many hours of hard work must have gone into the making of these Dolls.

But time conspired against us and all too soon it was time for us to leave.

This is another place I would be happy to return too in the future as there is still so much left to explore.

Hugs xx