Tizwoz

I am a retired doctor with 2 kids, one of whom lives in Australia so travelling to the other side of the world has become second nature. Apart from socialising and gardening, travelling is my favourite hobby. I love travelling with my husband as we have the same likes and dislikes when it comes to food, wine and things to do (apart from sport that is !)
TP PROFILE

Former TravelPod Member: tizwoz

Joined: October 11th, 2008
From: England lives in Sutton,United Kingdom
Favorite Book: Any fantasy or science fiction
Favorite Movie: Lord of the Rings
Favorite Music: Prefer peace and quiet
Hobbies: Art, Films, Reading, Travelling
Languages: Schoolgirl French
Bucket List: Visit every major art gallery in the world
Profession: Retired Radiologist
Amazing Event: It has all been amazing
Description: optimistic ,friendly

Barcelona

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona November 21st 2023

Gaudi house

Tizwoz

Disembarked our ship in Barcelona and were rapidly transported to The Corner Hotel, a 4 star hotel in the middle of the city. Barcelona is basically a huge grid of one way boulevards with wide pavements so traffic flows easily. It is also easy to walk around .We walked to the Sagrada Famiglia, the famous Cathedral by Gaudi which is still unfinished. Sadly the only way to get in is by ordering tickets on line and despite both of us trying on different phones we could not succeed so could not visit this time. We weren't the only ones who were disappointed. What a stupid system! Later we ventured out to a local Tapas bar for dinner and then another little bar for a late night cap. Did a lot of walking! On day 2 we ... read more

From Rome to Barcelona

Europe » Italy November 15th 2023

IMG_0775

Tizwoz

We decided to go on a last minute November cruise to bolster our spirits before a busy Christmas. It all started off well with a rapid check in at Heathrow, a short sit in the lounge and an uneventful flight to Rome. We had a prearranged pickup which took us to The Liberty, a small boutique hotel. From here we walked to the Vittorio Emmanuelle Monument and stopped for a beer at a bar we knew. The place was really crowded and we couldn't get a taxi back so had to walk it. Luckily, the restaurant which Stefan had booked , Ristorante Julie's was directly opposite the hotel so we relaxed over a cheapish dinner with plenty of wine. The hotel did a huge breakfast the following morning and all the staff were very friendly. The ... read more

Bermuda

North America » Bermuda March 31st 2023

Royal Naval Dockyard

Tizwoz

Bermuda is a lovely island and is very clean and immaculate. They don't allow high rise buildings and all the houses have to have white roofs and their own water cisterns to collect all the rain water. It all looks very pretty with lots of golf courses and lovely coves and beaches. We did a few hours ride around in a coach and got to see a fair bit.... read more

The Everglades

North America » United States » Florida March 31st 2023

The boat park

Tizwoz

The ship returned to Miami as that was the end of the short leg of the cruise. We had to get off the ship so took a trip to the Everglades. This involved a nice tour on an air boat looking for alligators and other wildlife and afterwards a wildlife show. The government has decided to stop the wild life shows in the future so we were the last to see one.... read more

Harvest Caye, Belize

Central America Caribbean » Belize March 24th 2023

Where we stopped for a beer

Tizwoz

This is a pretty little island. We hadn't signed up to any tours so decided just to walk ashore. It turns out that this island is owned by the Norwegian Cruise Line and the resort has been built specifically for it's various cruise lines visiting here. Apparently all the major cruise lines are doing this in the Caribbean. At least it means your passengers are entertained and looked after safely. So it organises lots of fishing, snorkelling etc tours none of which we fancied. The resort however is very pretty. Lots of little shops and bars. A lovely pool area with cabanas and sunbeds and a huge sandy beach with a zip line over it. Our ship is small so the place was relatively empty. However when the huge ships come in apparently it is full. ... read more

Roatan Island, Honduras

Central America Caribbean » Honduras March 24th 2023

Iguana reserve

Tizwoz

Roatan is an island off the Northern coast of Honduras. It is tiny and nothing much happens here except for the arrival of cruise ships, which apart from fishing is the main industry of the island. The people are a mixture of Spanish descent and African Caribbean, some of whom have come over from Jamaica and others from other islands in the East. The main language is English and also a version of Spanish which sounds nothing like Spanish!. The kids have to get up really early to walk to school and families on the whole tend to be quite large, which is not surprising as there is really no entertainment on the island! We were driven in a tiny bus out to a nature reserve looking after green iguanas, which are really quite cute. You ... read more

Funchal, Madeira

Europe » Portugal » Madeira November 20th 2022

Steps to Monte church

Tizwoz

Madeira is a beautiful island because, although volcanic in origin, it has a huge amount of rainfall in the mountains which makes it very fertile for all sorts of fruits and trees. Funchal, the capital, nestles in the southwest of the island and so has the best climate. Up in the hills there is a lovely Botanical Garden, which is worth a visit. It has wonderful ferns and other tropical plants from all over the world. This island has the perfect climate to grow anything. You can get there by cable car from the town if you don't have a car or coach. There is also a lovely church, Our Lady of Monte but you do have to climb quite a few steps to get to it. This is also the place where you can get ... read more

Canary Islands- brief visits to Gran Canaries and La Palma

Europe » Spain » Canary Islands November 17th 2022

Church of the Madonna of the Pines in Teror

Tizwoz

We are so lucky to be in the Canary Islands in November. The sun is shining every day while back home in London it is dark and rainy! Our ship docked in Las Palmas and from here we were taken by coach up into the mountains through lovely green ravines which have the benefit of rainfall which the islands further East do not have. We stopped in the town of Teror which is a very pretty town with a lovely church dedicated to the Madonna of the Pines, and old streets of houses with the lovely wooden balconies. There are good souvenir shops here too and the local rum is Honey Rum is worth a go. Onwards we travelled to Arecas, a town further north and lower down. It has the most amazing Cathedral which is ... read more

Detail of church of Madonna of the Pines

Arrecife on the East Coast of Lanzarote

Europe » Spain » Canary Islands November 15th 2022

Vineries at the base of the volcano

Tizwoz

A glorious sunny day even for November in these parts. Arrecife is pretty in that all the houses are maximum 2 storey and they are all painted white or cream by law. The island has very little rain and is volcanic. Between 1730 and 1736, multiple eruptions from the volcanoes covered the island in volcanic ash and lava. The cereal crops were all destroyed and those of the population who were left decided to plant vines. A 3-metre hole is dug down to the original soil and a single vine planted. This is covered at the base by volcanic ash and a small lava wall built around. The ash absorbs any moisture there is from the air. There are fields of these vine holes around the bases of the volcanoes. We visited two of the vineries ... read more

First time in Casablanca

Africa » Morocco November 13th 2022

Rick's cafe from the film Casablanca

Tizwoz

The port in Casablanca is huge so first sightings of the city are not good, but once past the huge containers and into the city itself the sights improve. It is a huge place with lots of white buildings in need of a coat of paint. Like all cities, it's wealthy area with tree lined streets and large white houses is fine but there are plenty of poorer areas. It has a very long frontage by the sea called the Corniche with lots of hotels and cafes and restaurants. The choppy sea makes it a magnet for surfers. Our first stop was at the huge Hassan11 Mosque which took 7 years to build by 10000 workers and is very beautiful. It has the highest Minaret and a beautiful roof which can open to let in the ... read more

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