Month: April 2019

April 30, 2019 Paul Groves

Today we’re off to see “The Best of Copenhagen” What better place to begin our tour than at the statue of the world famous “Little Mermaid”.  The bronze statue on its rock wasn’t as big as I thought is was.   A few photos and then back on the bus. After a short drive we arrived at “Amalienborg”,…

April 27, 2019 Paul Groves

Today we reached the ship’s home port of Amsterdam.  When you think of Holland, you think of several things: windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, and cheese.  Today’s excursion had them all and was called “Windmills & Edam”. First we visited the town of Edam.  It’s a small town riddled with picturesque canals and houses.  Years ago it was a bustling…

April 27, 2019 Paul Groves

Today is all about remembrance and the price of war. During WWI, the city of Ypres was a major objective of capture by the Germans.  Defending the city was a large contingent of British Commonwealth soldiers.  The city was totally destroyed as was every other village in the area.  It’s reconstruction was paid for as part of German…

April 27, 2019 Paul Groves

Once again we took separate excursions.  Ron was interested in the WWI site and took an excursion entitled, “Ypres, In Flanders Field” while Paul took an excursion called “Romantic Bruges”. Bruges is a picturesque community located about 30 minutes from our port with many well preserved or restored buildings, parks, and canals.  Belgium is known for its…

April 26, 2019 Paul Groves

Today’s trip fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams: to see the Bayeux Tapestry.  I’ve been a long time fan of British history.   The drive to Bayeux took about an hour and a half.  Along the highway were signs indicating the upcoming exits for some major WWII sites.  Our guide also pointed out the fields that were used as…

April 25, 2019 Paul Groves

Once again, Ron and I chose two different excursions.  Ron’s strong interest in history led him to visit the Bayeux Tapestry while Paul chose to revisit a place he saw when he was a foreign exchange student to France in his high school days, Mont St. Michel.  This island rises out of a bay at the mouth…

April 24, 2019 Paul Groves

After a hectic couple of days in Cádiz and Lisbon, it was nice to have a short excursion today in the city of Porto, Portugal.  It’s a beautiful old fashioned looking city lying on the Rio Douro.   It was the maiden visit of the Amsterdam to this port. Port wine (named after this city) is made in…

April 24, 2019 Paul Groves

Yesterday’s tour was a little hectic since there is so much to see in Seville with so little time.  Today’s tour was much more leisurely and relaxing.  Our tour was named “Lisbon Sights, Sintra, and Cascais”.  Pulling into Lisbon early in the morning was an event in itself.  Lisbon is not located on the ocean, rather you reach it…

April 23, 2019 Paul Groves

We arrived in Cádiz around 8:00 am.  We had visited Cádiz in 2017 and decided to book an excursion for a tour of the city of Seville which is about an hour and a half bus ride from the dock. Our first stop was the Plaza de España, a huge complex built specifically for the Ibero-American…

April 21, 2019 Paul Groves

Barcelona’s Markets & Cuisine After a late start Lynn and Ron headed off to their first stop at St. Joseph’s Market. On the way we went by the Christopher Columbus column.  This was erected to honor the completion of Columbus’s first voyage to the new world. It was in Barcelona that Columbus reported his discoveries to…