There was a time, many years ago, when I developed a fascination for the Chinese language. It was because of watching Chinese movies, and no, they were not the Kung Fu kind. Two that made a real impression on me were “Raise the Red Lantern” and “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress”. I attempted to learn Mandarin for two years and loved doing so at the time but then stopped. On Sunday 13 May, I finally made it onto Chinese soil. We had come to China to watch the second Port Adelaide Football Club game in Shanghai which was to take place on the same day a great many people were expected to be watching a certain royal wedding. We were to be in a stadium with thousands of fellow Power supporters cheering on the team. ... read more

We were to be in Montreal for twelve days because we came to attend the jazz festival which runs for eleven days. When I gazed at the street of our hotel I thought “Oh no, more drab grey and dirty beige anonymous office towers”. The weather was also against us. Sombre skies settled in during the first few days of our stay and lingered. We had sporadic rain. When the rain ceased, it was humid and muggy. The sun was rare to show itself. However, as the days passed my appreciation for the city grew. On the first day, we visited the old town which I enjoyed - I do prefer old, historical buildings to most modern ones. The Royal Bank Building on Rue Dollard was sumptuous. These days, you can get good coffees there and ... read more

We were due to dock early in the morning and when Lisbon appeared on the horizon we were soon aware of its charms. The buildings that we were fast approaching us were very cherry in their pale yellow, apricot, blue, grey and vibrant pink tones. After docking Mark and I spent an afternoon wandering around and taking a long bus ride (on one of those hop on hop off buses) which went to the newer parts of the city. Nothing much to report here. There were industrial areas and urban streets with the usual square towers - a modern city like any other. I was keen to return to more interesting areas. We eventually visited two craft beer bars and just chilled. It was very hot! That night we spent our last evening on board the ... read more

A funny thing happened on the way to Córdoba. That sounds like a good way to start this blog, because actually, we did have a tiny adventure. The day we left Granada we arrived at the station of Antequerra St Ana (which happens to be in the middle of nowhere) and had two hours to spare before our connecting train’s arrival. Mark suggested going into the town to have some lunch. We managed to find the only taxi available but it had no driver. When the driver arrived, he explained the trip would take about 20 mins, which was longer than we had anticipated, but after a quick calculation we decided the detour and lunch could be achieved in the time we had. With my halting, Spanish and his basic English we arranged a place to ... read more

Our first rainy day in Spain came on Wednesday 17 May. One of the crew members greeted us with a barely disguised scowl on his face. “British weather.” he said. I am feeling the burden of all these ridiculously mouth-watering meals they keep placing before us. Despite an expanding waistline, I cannot say no to the bread which is always a heavenly revelation, the delicious wines (vino tinto – the red - is my preference) and the array of regional dishes we sample whenever we are at the restaurants. The on-board cuisine is also exemplary. We dined on Tuesday night in a one Michelin starred restaurant, “El Corral del Indianu” in Arriondas where we had “berthed” overnight. I will never forget the bite-sized appetizer I ate first, Bombón de queso Cabrales, chocolate blanco y manzana asada ... read more