Geo: 54.5973, -5.93019The report from the Captain was that despite an overnight stay in Belfast, we would still run into the gale winds which have not passed southwards as fast as he had hoped. In order to reach Iceland in time we had to leave Belfast at 2pm and go as fast as possible. When the storm hits it is going to slow us down so do not know when we will reach Iceland. Having missed out on a stop at Stornoway we do not want to miss out on Iceland too.As the ship was in port, the singers and dancers who put on a wonderful Abba show did not have a problem with a rocking ship. Brilliant songs which always bring back happy memories.We took the shuttle bus into Belfast city centre as our original ... read more

Geo: 53.3441, -6.26749Our first Formal night on board happened while we were sailing away from England, around Land's End and up the Irish Channel to Dublin. Pre-dinner drinks at the Captains welcome party followed by dinner at which we were treated to an excellent rendition of the Drinking song from La Traviata by the ship's singers. After dinner we attended a piano recital by the virtuoso pianist David Schofield who was excellent.This morning lo and behold the sun was shining over Dublin. Off we went into town via the ship's shuttle bus. Our main cultural event was the National Gallery of Ireland, a large modern building with a very unassuming entrance, lots of interior space but only a few galleries. However these contained a comprehensive collection of European and Irish art but not too much so ... read more

Geo: 48.2975, 4.0748Driving through France is an easier affair than through Italy. The roads are better and we have a gizmo on the car windscreen which automatically raises the barrier at the Peage so we don't have to faff around with tickets and money. Also we were able to stop at a lovely Aire at which to have our picnic. We found a nice table with a hut like roof to shade us from what was still a hot sun- the last we should see for some time.The address of the hotel was 2 Rue de la Paix. When we arrived at the address all we could see was a high wall with a locked metal door and same with the garage door just further down. It did not look very promising until I pressed the ... read more

Geo: 43.3892, 11.3855Not wanting to drive too far and yet wanting to go somewhere different, we saw an ad for the Parco Sculture del Chianti near Vagliagli on a leaflet in the villa.It was surprisingly easy to find and the lovely old Italian gentleman on the gate was delighted that he could record an Irishman, a Canadian and two English on his visitor records. He told us all about the setting up of the park a few years ago and about some of the pieces of sculpture we would come across. Then for 7 euros each off we set not seeing any other visitors until we came out again. It was great fun coming across a sculpture and guessing what it was called. After our tour we also called in at a fabulous art gallery down ... read more

Geo: 43.7687, 11.2569Florence is a city that benefits from a 4 day stay during which time you can really immerse yourself in all the glorious renaissance stuff it has to offer. We had the one day to enjoy it but having been before we did not mind especially as it was a sunny day. I love the Piazza della Signoria, where the statue of David by Michelangelo stands. It is a very good copy however and you need to go to the Accademia to see the original. There is also the wonderful bronze statue of Perseus and Medusa by Cellini. It is told that when he was making it he was running out of metal so he rushed around the house collecting bronze plates and anything he could find to literally throw into the melting pot. ... read more