First day at sea

 Well we are on our way and when typing this report for yesterday we are off the Portuguese coast en-route for Gibraltar.

We had an early breakfast in the Grill and then took a walk around the ship for a while before returning to the cabin to sort out some paperwork. The filtered water provided does my tummy no good and so lost an hour in the small room but by late morning was all ok. For lunch we did a tour of the choice of facilities and at home we would normally have a sandwich or even less and then dinner around 5pm but when you could see what was on offer with people tucking in was most intereting.

Around one pm we did a walk around the top deck where there was an area by the pool where we could have a snack and I had the hot dog and Jen some scampi both with fries unfortunately but not to many. In the afternoon we had time to catch up on some sleep and then for dinner we would be in the Coats to Coast seafood restaurant. WE both ordered the same sole but because of my dietary requirements ie FODMAP the two plates looked quite different but the food was excellent. 

After dinner we sat in the lounge for a while and then went to the Playhouse theatre to see a chap called Max Fulham who was a ventriloquist/comedian but his script and comedy presentation was really great and he will be on again on Wednesday night.

Have been watching the riots in France, a number of groups are being blamed but it appears to be the non reflective type causing all the problems whilst Mr Burnam may be heading for the door as more revelations about his relationship and financials dealings with the Man City owners, this will be fun to watch as if Labour kick him out there is nobody there to take over apart form the deputy Pm who is also a joke.

Ah well lets see what happen over the next few days.

We board Saga Spirit of Discovery today at Portsmouth

 Well a busy morning packing up the house and the final packing of suitcases. When leaving for nearly three weeks there is so much to consider but easier now the caravan is no longer part of the family.

As part of Saga cruise Line offering they send a car or vehicle of some type to collect you and take you the port and so we did not know what to expect. One hour earlier than expected  a large Mercedes arrives and we think , wow this is great only to discover this car is for our neighbors going to Heathrow en-route to Malta for few days holiday, oh what a disappointment.

Well at 1315 a Ford Transit MPV turns up , not as good as the Merc, and I must say its a most uncomfortable vehicle compared to our Lexus, that's the problem of being spoilt.

We arrived at Portsmouth Cruise Building and went thro the usual check in procedure and we re able to be in our cabin by 15.00. Following this we went for a cuppa and a small bite before returning to the cabin for the Muster Station Call.

We are on deck 11 and the must station for us was on Deck 6 and to see all those old fogies with walking sticks and hearing aids I thought that if this was real emergency we would all have been sunk by now.

Noel has to visit the main restaurant at 5.30 to discuss his FODMAP diet requirements with the on board team, this is the second time as did discuss with the ship reception guys dockside, ah well that's the way it is.

The cabin is of a reasonable size which is good when you are on a long cruise and don't want to be in the lounge or similar. In the  early evening Noel met with the staff dealing with food allergies with about 50 people showing up?? anyway they sad FODMAP no problem, so let us see what happens. I met Jennifer in the main bar and we had a glass of wine before dinner and met a couple from Lancashire, he was retired policeman and his wife, nice people. We are both of the same view that the UK Government is rubbish, say no more.

Dinner pretty much OK , beans a little soggy as were the carrots but the pork was good. Due to unforeseen circumstances the ship left about 90 minutes late and so the opportunity to take photos on departing Portsmouth eluded us.

So back to the cabin to unpack the suitcases and perhaps listen to music or watch TV

Goodnight

i

 

Final visit of the trip

 Following a good breakfast we headed of to the Yarnton Garden centre where we could buy a sandwich or similar as today we are visit Noel's brother in law in a care home in Cumnor.

The visit to the garden centre for a cup of tea and purchased a baguette for lunch we headed off the care home where we spend about 10 minutes chatting with our family member. 

Following the meeting we had our brief lunch downstairs in the reception and then headed home where we arrived around 3pm and spent the rest of the day taking it easy and and then an early night.

We had thought previously to extend this trip with a couple of days elsewhere but then decided to leave this for another day 

Moreton in the Marsh

Unfortunately overnight Noel had trouble with either the food or wine, who knows what brings on the LARS issues 

The drive from the Hotel in Stratford should take 30 minutes but along the route were road closure signs but with no indication what road they were talking about which made life a little complicated.

We finally came across the bit of road closure which was a small patch where they were relaying new tarmac and they could have done each side separately and allow traffic but Oh No they closed the who bloody road. So with Jennifer's map reading skills we set off cross country and took a number of narrow country lanes to get us back to the correct route and we finally arrived in Moreton on time. 

Jennifer left Noel to await his colleagues and then was planning to spend some time looking around the town but the parking was nightmare and so her second thought was to visit the Batsford Arboretum which she did for several hours and a great time in lovely warm weather.

In the meantime Noel join his colleagues with a total of seven and the first pub we visit the Bell was not open until midday and so on the the Bear for one and then we ended up for lunch in the recently refurbished pub and hotel called THE REDESDALE and they have done a good job. The food was good if not expensive and we all hade a good time.

Come 1530 it was time to departs and my colleagues were on a train departing at1600 hrs to Reading and Jennifer and I headed off to Bicester and the Holt Hotel for the night. WE arrived at about 4.30 and checked in and had a little rest before going down for dinner which was excellent. Its a great privately run and owned Hotel and we have stayed there before and it wont be the last time we do so.

We retired for the evening after spending some time in the lounge

A visit to the Cotswolds

 A mid morning start to our drive up to Stratford Upon Avon where where we will be staying for one night at the Doubletree  Hilton Hotel in the city.

We arrived mid afternoon and found a good place to park and headed off in to our room to dump our bags. Then after a cup for tea headed off in to Stratford town to see the sights on a lovely warm afternoon with Noel using his mini mobility scooter so he can visit most locations in the town. This is our first visit in to this town and we had great expectations of old buildings and rivers however there were some old buildings but surrounded by some pretty tatty ones and also newer ones which did not honour the city of Stratford and its history.

We walked down to the Locks on the river and around a few of these streets and then back via a a road with lots of restaurants and the one we chose was called Lambs and the food was excellent, best liver ever. We were lucky to get a table as they were fully booked from 7pm .

So back to the Hotel and we sat in the lounge area of the Hotel for a while and then off to bed.

Tomorrow we head of to Moreton in the marsh for Noel to join his colleagues

for a lunch

Overnight Santander and then on ferry to Portsmouth

 We arrived in Santander about 3 pm and booked in to the Hotel and immediately went for lunch in their cafe which was packed with locals, which is always a good sign.

We had a quick sort out of out packing for tomorrow nights stay on the ferry cabin and then went for walk along the promenade which was also very busy. There was a large building containing cinemas and arts activities also full up and so Santander seems to be a bustling little ( hardly) town.

In the evening we watched some tv and then had not a bad nights sleep. The next morning we had breakfast and left the Hotel around 10.30 for the short drive to the Ferry terminal and lined up in the space for those who had booked Priority Departure and then boarded and and dropped our stuff off in the cabin and went to the club lunge for lunch.

When departing Santander Port for Portsmouth you have to go thro the new EES procedure and you need to get out of the car , show your passport etc.

There are about ten gates in a row all marked with a number 1-10 and as you drive up, the gate allocation process is a joke. There is a nice little chap in his yellow jacket holding up his two hands where you have to count the number of raised fingers which then denotes which gate you go to. One would have thought there is a better way…But that's Spain for you.

It was quite a smooth crossing and we saw dolphins on couple of occasions and eventually the next day on Thursday arrived in Portsmouth harbour on time at just before 8 pm. As a result of our paying for priority dis-embarkation we were off the ferry by about 8.15 pm and home at around 9.30 and looking forward to a nice cup of tea.

So that's the end of this trip which we enjoyed very much but fancy something different next year, we shall see.

Not the best way to start the day

Well, whilst in the process of getting ready to go to breakfast Noel could find his car keys , Oh no perhaps he lost them in either restaurant yesterday or the bar last night. After checking all the suitcases etc we went downstairs and checked with reception who said nothing found but allowed me in to the closed bar area but nothing.

So we went to the car and opened it by using Jennifer's spare set  and then the car would not lock for some reason and so nearly panic set in. We have a set of keys that work but wont allow us to lock the car and upon investigation the car was showing keys in the car???. So we went thro all the bags and no joy but eventually found the keys in th camera bag, put there for safety by the writer, Oh dear what a fool.

Bahia Hotel Santander

We had breakfast and then checked out and headed of on the nearly our hour trip to Santander stopping shortly afterwards to top up with fuel and then we kept going until arriving in Santander at 14.45 and checked in to the Bahia Hotel where we are staying the night. The cafe was still open and busting with locals which is always a good sign and so we both ordered the baked hake with salad and ships and it was truly excellent. For desert the rather elderly waiter clearly had no English and did not understand what we wanted and so he went away and came to different deserts which were great.

We had a rest in the room after the lunch and later in the day went for a walk around the park which is right by the sea front which was also very busy. There is a Arts Centre plus a few other things in this large building and everywhere there were people enjoying themselves although we did see the odd street sleeper.

At around 7.30 pm we got back to the Hotel after a much needed walk and settled in for the night. Tomorrow following breakfast we head off to the Port to connect with our ferry sailing at 14.00 hrs for Portsmouth. So a nice day.

Forgot to mention that to access the underground garage you had to enter a large lift which takes you down three floors. slightly worrying really in case it broke. 

What a lovely city Salamanca is

Had breakfast and then plotted out the rest of the day. Whilst at breakfast there was single elderly guy having breakfast and we chatted for a few minutes, and he lived in Southern Spain and was visiting areas of Spain following the death of his wife.

 Noël was unsure whether to use his mobility scooter as it might hinder visiting certain locations so decided no to take it. We tried to book a taxi on Uber and Bolt but then it turns out neither operate in this city and so we had to call via the Hotel front desk to take us up to Plaza Mayor.

The taxi took about ten minutes and dropped us off and we initially wandered thro the food market which very clean and tidy and then we walked in the o the Plaza which n the sunlight was really quite beautiful and it was not too crowded apart from the odd tour guide towing a few people along . We stopped at a cafe in the square for coffee and watched the activity for about 30 minutes and then took a slow walk in the direction of the Cathedral. By this time it was around 2pm and so for lunch we at at e cafe with seating outside and Jennifer had a chicken burger and Noel a pizza, boy that's Spanish for you. But you have to remember that each time Noel has to order food he has to go thro a rigmarole of requirements with he serving staff and sometimes its just easier to pick something that is OK.

From there we walked down to the Cathedral which is really very impressive and beautiful at the same time and I would say its the best Cathedral I have ever visited. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take photos and I did take one then got told off, ah well.

We continued walking trying to find a taxi but then we discovered th
at Taxis are not allowed to stop anywhere and only and designated taxi ranks and so we started to track back to where we had just come from and bumped into the English we had met at breakfast who informed s the Taxi rank was over a kilometer away whilst the Hotel was a lesser distance and so we followed him back but it was much greater distance than he had indicated. Noel needed a couple of breaks but eventually we got back very hot and sweaty and so straight to the room for a shower and rest.

 

Following our rest we met the English in the bar for a chat but he did not stop talking , no wonder his kids find it difficult to meet with him.

So then we returned to the room Noel to do his blogging and Jen to catch up on the news. Tomorrow morning we leave for Santander where we spend the night before taking the ferry to Portsmouth on Wednesday the 29th April

Drive to Salamanca

 Well we got up early for us and was having breakfast downstairs at 0845 and so was able to leave the Hotel at around 0930. The roads were extremely quiet , whether this as because it was s Sunday or in Portugal people getting over their hangovers from partying due to the overthrow of the Dictator, I don't know.

Some of the motorways are not bad but others have a terrible surface and sometimes large holes and so you have to be very careful when driving and you could easily damage your car. After about two hours we stopped for a brief break and Loo's and then carried on and arrived at the Parador De Salamanca where we stayed on the rout down at about 14.40 which also allows for the one hour time change. So we checked in and went to the room and Noel started to find out how to watch the football and yesterdays gam was on BBC Player and he assumed the same for the Chelsea match, but no, it is on TNT Sports which I can get at home , what a pain.

So he signed on to the BBC radio and listened to the commentary and eventually the Blues won at 1--0 although the second half sounded a bit stop and go.

For an early evening snack we went to the Cafe in the Hotel only to find that their main menu does not start until 8.30 pm but they did do a Club sandwich which we both had ad it was very tasty, along with a beer.

And thn nak to the room for Noel to do the Blog and Jen to do some reading.

Best laid plans

Well our plan to visit Evora again was so that we could visit the small historic town of Monsaraz which we tried to visit last year but was to buy and no parking and so our plan this year was to return, stay ate Evora, then visit Monsaraz and leaving the Hotel around 0830 and spend some time getting there. Unfortunately we did not consider the following, that Monsaraz was further away from Evora than we both thought in fact nearly 90 minutes away as its on the border between Portugal and Spain but that we were both tired.

So waking up at 0730 I looked and Jennifer was still asleep but she wok at 0745 and as I said we were both feeling tired and so we said lets forget it for this time and do some necessary shopping then a trip back in to Evora. This was the right decision as I subsequently discovered there were many events on in the town due to the celebrations of freedom from a Dictatorship, see yesterday blog, and so we could have driven there and  still not parked.

So we took it easy and went for breakfast at about 10.30 and then back to the room to decide next steps. Noel wanted to get some fuel for the car and did not want to mess around tomorrow morning as out journey from here to Salamanca will take about 4.5 hours and he wants to be there so can watch on the PC the Chelsea vs Leeds game.. 

We checked where the cheapest fuel was and it was an Auchan Petrol station about ten minutes away and so fully loaded with fuel we then went in to the main Auchan store for some food shopping and also stopped off at another store to pick up somethin for lunch and then back to the Hotel. By this time it was about 13.30 and outside was going to be 25 C and to trudge around a town which we visited last year seeing the main sites we changed our minds and stayed in the Hotel and took it easy.

In the evening we went up to the top floor bar and restaurant and we both had a shrimp salad which was excellent. Tomorrow we want to leave a bit early so as to arrive in Salamanca as Noel would like to see the Chelsea vs Leeds game if possible and our plan is to leave around 0930

Sines to Evora

There was no rush to leave the Hotel in Sines as our journey to Evora should only take approx. two hours and so after a late breakfast we left the Hotel Sines Seaview Hotel and headed along the sea shore until we arrived at the recently opened area where many supermarkets and fast food restaurants were just getting established.

Whilst Jennifer bought our lunch from one of the supermarkets Noel sorted out the car and to avoid to many rattles and then we were good to go. We had planned a roundabout way to Evora and stretching the time but we had not foreseen, no Tom Tom, that the motorway that we were on for a short distance was under renovation and we could not exit where we planned and then ended up being unable to exit for the next approx. 30 miles or so which messed up our plans totally. The authorities had closed one side of the Motorway and so two way traffic and no exits was not easy to digest but nothing we could do.

Eventually we came across an exit and so we took it and then re planned the sat nav for country lanes which we did for about an hour until we came across a nice lake where we stopped to have our lunch. En route we noticed that there lots of storks on their nests on the electric posts in the road which was nice to see. By about 3pm we arrived at the Hilton Garden Hotel in Evora an checked in. We stayed here last year an thought it a nice Hotel.

We decided to have an easy and restful afternoon an then for dinner we stayed in the Hotel. There are due to be fireworks tonight around midnight but not sure I would wish to stay up so late as we want to leave early to visit a small ton called Monsaraz which we tried to visit last year but it was very busy and so we plan an early start tomorrow. Now the rest of the evening will be quiet. T then noticed that on the TV in the restaurant they were showing a football game which I suddenly realized was the Brighton vs Chelsea where the Blues lost by 3 goals and were totally outplayed. I did not own up to the American guy avidly watching the game that it was MY team as I would have been to embarrassed.

Tomorrow is 25 April and Portugal celebrates as follows

"Portugal celebrates 25 April as Freedom Day (Dia da Liberdade) to commemorate the 1974 Carnation Revolution, a largely peaceful military coup that overthrew the 48-year Estado Novo dictatorship. This day marks the restoration of democracy, civil rights, and the end of colonial wars, signaling the transition to a modern democratic nation. 

Visit Sines day

Following a good breakfast at the Hotel we went out in the car and our plan for today was visit a supermarket to buy food for lunch then a tour of the town, followed by lunch on the promenade  and then visit the castle, or so we thought.

Well the first part went according to plan but en-route to the supermarket we passed by the castle and the main car park was closed with lots of building activity going on and then we realized this was due to the planned celebrations of the passing of Salazar the country dictator and their are countrywide events on Saturday 25th when their will be concerts in the castle and lots of other events, hence it was closed which is shame. We arrived at a brand new are with lot of large chain from McDonalds, Burger King and Intermarche, LIDL and others and we both our sandwich and fruit for lunch.

I came across

this video of a walking tour of Sines which I thought was good and so attached

So we toured part of the old town on the way back from the supermarket but the roads were very narrow and with cars parked and two way traffic it was not fun and so we stopped on the promenade to have lunch. Whilst parking we started chatting to a Belgian guy who was living out of small van which he said had everything and he enjoyed Portugal being a much nicer country than Belgium and more freedom of self expression. We wished him well and enjoyed our lunch and then went to a local seaside cafe for a coffee which was nice.

On the way back to the Hotel we passed the castle and this time the car park was filling with beer and food stands ready for the forthcoming events. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing before Jennifer goes for her massage and then later for dinner in the restaurant.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Evora where we visited last year but this time for two nights and we plan to visit the old town of Monsaraz which visited last year but to much traffic and no parking and so we plan to go early on Saturday and hopefully park, we shall see how it goes.

Quinta to Sines today and Chelsea fire the Manager

We needed and earlyish morning start as we are leaving Quinta Do Lago and driving to a new location on the west coast called Sines. En-route we plan to visit a town called Monchique which is the top of a hill which had been recommended to us. Just before leaving Quinta we visited a nearby gold club which also has apartments which looked very nice with coffee shop and bar etc however it was very busy with golfers. Where we are is very quiet so perhaps if we return than we will stay in same place.

Whilst driving to get on the motorway there is a two mile length of road with no obvious signs of speed limits but I just caught a sign saying radar traps, so ensured my speed was Ok but when coming over the top of the hill up to the main roundabout I noticed a lot of police activity and it looks like they were pulling drivers over for speeding, but thank heavens not us.

We arrived in Monchiqure with the main road in going past garage after garage with the road littered with damaged and half repaired cars, looks a mess really until we reached the town Centre which looked nice but parking was a nightmare. The nearest car park seemed to be about a mile away so that was a no no for us but the town was not really inspiring. The only nice bits were that some sculptures had been placed at strategic corners and they were most interesting.

You have to go early to get a parking place it seems as there were also quite a few coaches.

We changed the SatNav for our next destination called Sines but this mountainous roads and we eventually came to what seemed a closed road which would be a problem, the signs were unclear and so we decided to risk it rather than go all the way back to find another route and the problem was there were a few areas where the road had collapsed down the hill but on the three occasions we came across these obstacles we were able to get by.

We arrived in Sines an located the Hotel called Sines Sea View Hotel and checked in and had a nice sea view. Noel did some work on the computer catching with a load of whats app messages and then had a rest and Jennifer went for a swim. It was then that I discovered that the Chelsea Manager had been fired, THANK GOD.

In the evening we went to the Hotel restaurant where they worked very hard to help me overcome my food challenges as the waitress said, cooking in Portugal starts with onion, garlic and herbs, however they produced a very nice filet mignon and fries after changing the cooking oil.

Then back to the room and we sat watching You tube for a while...