HAUGESUND, Norway - Saturday, April 29, 2017

The scenic coastal town of Haugesund is considered the birthplace of Norway and the homeland of the Vikings. In this scenic coastal town, the country was united into one kingdom in the year 872. The Haraldshaugen monument commemorates the occasion.

 

 

The monument as well as a campground beside it, right on the ocean. Rather nippy spot!

All the typical characteristics of a seaside Norwegian town are here: rustic timber houses, long and stunning sea views from the quays and magnificent vistas of fjords from the Steinsfjellet viewpoint.

 

 

 

Our ship was warmly greeted in Haugesund as it was the Viking Sea's first visit here. They had a special ceremony on board, with local dignitaries to celebrate the occasion.  The town was very happy to have our visit and we were even welcomes by Norsemen!

 

 

Our drive through the town showed us the rich Viking heritage, making Haugesund one of Norway's best preserved small towns.

 

The pink town hall.

 

A lovely place and just the start to our time in Norway.  Tomorrow we start 2 days in Bergen. The first half of the cruise ends, with the majority of the people leaving.  A new batch come on board.  We are a few of the lucky ones who can stay for the rest of the cruise ports.

All for now, love to all.

SOUTHAMPTON, England - Thursday, April 27, 2017.

One of England's renowned maritime cities, Southampton boasts an incredibly preserved medieval city wall that survived WW II bombing largely intact. Thankfully it was a sunny, but cool day.  As the day progressed, the temperature rose and we enjoyed some warmth. Apparently the weather has been unusually cold.

We did a 3 hour walking tour of Southampton, which actually turned out to be 5 hours because we left the tour after the SeaCity museum.  The tour was excellent and we learned about the old wall around Southampton which still remains intact. We walked to the art gallery and then the SeaCity museum.  It is interesting to hear about the Titanic because it was built and left on its original and only voyage from Southampton. We also learned more about it in Cherbourg, France as this was its last port of call before it headed off to North America.

 

 

Part of the old wall ...  Eric trying to find a geocache!

 

 

The only pub in Britain called "Titanic".  The bottom photo is an original wool warehouse for export. It is now a brew pub.

 

 

From the Maritime Museum, this is the Carmania ....  the ship my parents took my brother Bob and I on in 1965.  We sailed from Montreal to Rotterdam and on our return trip we sailed from Southampton to Montreal on the Franconia. Kind of makes me feel old when the ship is one of the Cunard ships featured here. It actually was converted to a troop transport ship during WW II.

Our geocaching travels took us through the many beautiful parks in the city. The flowers and trees were spectacular and they have palm trees!

 

 

Love the wisteria...it was a walkway tunnel of wisteria.  Absolutely gorgeous!

 

Our final memory ---- one of the many palms.

At sea today, crossing the North Sea to Haugesund, Norway.  First time this ship has visited this port and the only reason we can get into the port is because we are a small ship.  Looks like a beautiful spot.

All for now, love to all

LE HAVRE (PARIS), France - Wednesday, April 26,2017

Nestled beside a Seine River estuary, Le Havre is France's second largest port. It's central city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. During WW II, Le Havre was completely destroyed and subsequently has been completely rebuilt.  Our mission for the day was to take the shore excursion into Paris for the day.  We enjoyed a 2 hour drive, through Normandy to Paris. Once there the bus did an hour tour around central Paris.  This was very interesting as we saw many lesser known points of interest.  Then we were left on our own for 3 hours.

What did we do?  Walked, walked and walked.  Along the way we did quite a few geocaches.  It was a cold day and it started raining near the end of our time!  Did not take many photos because we have been here before and have lots of good shots. Here are a few ...

 

Had to get the Eiffel Tower!  We were all bundled up with 4 layers of clothing.

 

 

Liberty flame .... where people still lay flowers in memory of Diana.  Also the LOCKS...had to be thousands of them around the monument.

 

 

Norte Dame cathedral and the Ferris wheel. 

It was a good day and we figure we have done Paris!  The people who stayed behind and explored Le Havre were disappointed in the city.  The best part of the day though was the drive through Normandy!

Alll for now, love to all

CHERBOURG, Normandie, France - April 25, 2017

The historical French port of Cherbourg was founded by Vikings. Over time, it grew into an important military port under both Louis XVI and Napoleon and was later pivotal to the Napoleonic Wars. During early planning stages of the Normandy invasion, Allies had planned to land there.  Cherbourg is also home to a lovely 12th century abbey that had a major influence on the town's medieval religious life. The natural beauty and cultural delights of the province of Normandy are a short drive away, offering a picturesque blend of windswept terrain and rocky seaside cliffs....pastures of Norman cows and groves of apple trees...all amid the carefully tended gardens of distinguished estates.

This morning turned out to be sunny and cold ..... 7 Celsius, due to a cold front that had moved in from Russia. We were fearless though and headed out on the bus for a tour of the town. We passed (and later visited) the 12th century abbey and viewed the military port that played such an important part in the Napoleonic Wars. At the cruise terminal there is a nautical museum and this port was the last port of call for the Titanic on its maiden and only voyage. 

We visited the manicured grounds of the Chateau Des Ravalet, one of area's loveliest English-style gardens. Created in 1872 by Viscount Rene de Tocqueville, this 30-acre site was given to the city in 1935.

 

 

 

 

Then we returned to Cherbourg to explore the heart of its historic district by foot. The actual town has a population of 40,000 with the surrounding area increasing the total to 1,000,000. 

 

 

Old part of town with tiny streets and amazing architecture.

 

 

  

The town square, complete with carousel.

 

 

Incredible cheese "bus" with hundreds of different Normandie cheeses. We could not resist ..... 5 cheeses for 5€. In our fridge to bring home with us.

 

  

 Incredible fruit and vegetable shops.  Everything was fresh!

This was a delightful day made even better by the fact that we found 2 geocaches.

Now we are relaxing and preparing ourselves for a day in Paris tomorrow.

All for now, love to all.....

A CORUNA, Spain

Here we are back in Spain again, in the northwestern region.  We were really looking forward to A Coruna but unfortunately it was Sunday and the whole city was closed down because of their annual marathon.  But good always comes from bad and we ended up doing a tour north of the city and we must say that this has to be one of the most beautiful places we have ever visited.

The stunning Atlantic setting of A Coruna lends this historic city a wide-open feel that's unique in Spain.  It's Hercules Tower, a Roman-era lighthouse, has been in continuous operation since its construction in the 2nd century. The coastal San Anton Castle once defended the north of Spain from intruders coming in by sea.  The city is known for the historic row of houses along Avenida de la Marina. 

 

These Galician 19th century buildings are all fronted by unique white glazed glass balconies that, viewed from the side, form a massive wall of white.  The city's pretty, bicycle-friendly promenade leads to the modern glass Millennium Obelisk monument, a state-of-the-art aquarium and the splendid sands of Orzan Beach.  We were able to walk the downtown once we returned from our bus tour.  The marathon was over and we poked around the area and of course were able to find 3 more geocaches.

Back to the morning though and our wonder bus ride north to Betanzos and Pontedeume.

A great clear sunny day, about 20 degrees ...  perfect!  This rather hilly area is known for its beautiful beaches, lots of fish and shellfish, pork, beef and excellent wines. One would need a GPS to navigate here and because it was Sunday, the roads and towns were very quiet. 

Our first stop was a scenic view of a castle. 

   

We also saw an interesting monument for fishermen.  This really was a lovely place.  We travelled another half hour through the countryside to Betanzos.  This was a typical small town and we were left in the town square for an hour.  We did follow our guide to visit the town's church and it was unusual to have few people in evidence and all the shops closed.  Any other day but Sunday and we would have been bombarded with people.  Great for taking photos and after did navigated the small streets and alley ways for a while we sat in the town square and watched people! Loved seeing the young families out walking with their children.

 

   

Notice the pig under the cross on top of the monastery. Just a few shots of the streets and the church.

 

  

Town square and local architecture.

Our final stop was Pontedeume where we explored once again the small streets.  Eric was impressed with the old bridge.

 

 

Lovely tour to a lovely place.

All for now, love to all