Blogs from Europe - page 13

Saturday 27th January We have been to Madeira many times before, this cruise we don’t plan on doing too much galavanting so after a stroll around the sun deck we took a panoramic tour around Funchal, just a couple of photo shoot stops. The guide was very informative, a lot we already knew but did learn a few things new. One of the stops we have been to so many times I think we should get loyalty points for visiting, but the view over Funchal is great and so too the swan neck Agave (Agave attenuata). Some of the passengers stayed in Funchal, but we returned to the ship and enjoyed an alfresco lunch back on board. A lovely sunny day and everyone was feeling upbeat now that we had finally reached our first destination. Saga ... read more

Our final winter destination for 2024 is the Malaga area of Spain with a side trip to Ireland. We spent 4 days in Dublin on the way to Spain and will return for 12 more days in April, doing a self drive tour of the Island. The over night flight Toronto to Dublin with AC was actually quite enjoyable. We departed on time, was hosted by friendly staff and arrived on schedule. There may be hope yet for our national airline?? With an overnight flight, it’s always a struggle to stay awake until normal bed time in order to adjust to local time zone as quickly as possible. After arriving around 7:00 am, we took the “hop on hop off” bus. It was much better than in other cities as the driver provided some interesting comments ... read more

Travelling days are always long and tedious adventures. Finding the right check in for the luggage, then the right boarding gate which is usually 40 miles away. Landing in Lisbon and after collecting our luggage, we are required to walk from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 to find the check in for Faro. Then it‘s finding the boarding gate which in this case is an even bigger challenge. We know the area but not the gate number and it doesn’t come up on the board until it’s time to board. But got there successfully - then hurry up and wait! We have met some really nice people. In Toronto desperate for a beer we scanned the seating area for a table - none to be had. A couple offered to share their table and we soon ... read more

The car with no name needed a trip out . We had tried earlier in the week to get over to Anglesey. Ynys Mon - a smallish island about one hour and forty five minutes drive from home. The home known as the mother of Wales and home to the Druids pushed back over the years. But that was thousands of years ago. The A55 North Wales Expressway runs from near where we live and we can join just south of Chester and travel right along the coast with the Irish Sea to one side and pretty welsh villages and towns to the other . There is always a lot of traffic on the Expressway as it runs from east to west taking traffic from and to the port of Holyhead and then on to or ... read more

Mastika (also spelled as mastiha) is one of the most unique Greek liqueurs. It is made from mastic tree resin from the island of Chios, the only place where the trees grow. Chios Mastiha has European PDO status. Mastika has a slight piney flavor, making it an intriguing cocktail ingredient. It must be at least 15% ABV. My Greek brothers make their own, and offer it at the end of dinner (usually not lunch). Mastika can also be purchased at most grocery and liquor stores in Greece. In fact, on one of my first trips to Athens, I was having dinner, and enjoying a conversation with some Americans at the next table. After we were served the mastika, they decided to buy some at the store around the corner. They brought back TWO, one for them ... read more