aquariantravelbug

Thursday, 20thOctober, Arrived in Cadiz, supposely the oldest in Europe, it was founded in 1100 by the Phoenicians, Spanish silver, Baltick Amber, Spanish silver and tin were traded and the Romans after establishing a naval base there, told stories of its great food and music.. Seafood is the heart of Cadiz’s cuisine. We have been at sea for 4 days. One of the crew fell and it was thought he had broken his hip, so we had to turn around after one days sail to Madeira, and head back to Portugal. After a seamless handover, we were back on track. It meant missing Madeira and Funchal, and 2 extra days work for me. There has been lots of exercise (aqua aerobics, zumba and walking), but also too much food and wine!!! As a supernumerary (staff/passenger), I ... read more

Train trip to Zurich was good, and uneventful. It is a good way to see the countryside and after seeing some of the scenery today, I am sooooo pleased I decided not to drive. It was easy to get around Zurich the trams are fantastic. My hotel, the Adler was right in the heart of the old town and made my sightseeing very easy. There is a famous walk around the city, which I did. First, I left the hotel and back to the Bahnhof (train station) then walked the length of Bahnhofstrasse which has every shop known to man (and the most expensive!) down to the Muenster hof via a bar called “Jules Verne” which is on top of a circular building in the town, the up to the Lindenhof a beautiful park of Linden ... read more

Just a few more lines that I missed and remaining photos. Today I went to German class with Phillip, boy what a difference living in a country can do to your comprehension! This was only their second year and they are all fluent speakers, but subtle placement of words or some grammar is eluding them. I was surprised to find I am much better this year in speaking and understanding some German.... read more

Arrived in London in the early hours of Monday morning after a reasonable flight. I was a little surprised that the new plane had quite a few broken bits! New is not necessarily better! Arrived at Philip and Gary’s new flat about 9.30. After a late breakfast, we went out on the bus and walked along the canal walk, then on to Angel Islington then had a drink at the “Tommy Flynn” and the local pub before home and dinner and an early night. Tuesday, discovered that the tall ships were in London for the Greenwich tall ships festival so we took the overground train and bus to Greenwich to watch the flotilla sail past, then a walk along the Thames, and then took a boat trip past the palace of Greenwich, past the Cutty Sark, ... read more

The first day of the Asian experience was a shock to the system, after so much cold weather, to hit that tropical HOT of Saigon was a little daunting. It was a novelty to be picked up by a guide before we went through customs; it made the process quicker! After settling in to my room, I found out that there were only 18 passengers on the ship and the only other single was a gentleman of 84! The room overlooked the Opera house, and was in the busiest part of town. After welcome drinks, it as time to explore to find some dinner – found a little restaurant, had some Vietnamese food and off to bed! An early rise saw us on a bus tour of the city, to the Post Office, Cathedral and Market ... read more