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Vigo - Cruise 2008 Part Two - Andrew, Jacqui, their Mums and her Aunt & Uncle - 2008
The good ship Brilliance of the Seas put in at its second port of call, Vigo on the Galician coast of Spain. This was our first visit to the north of Spain.
Vigo New Town, Galicia
The tourist office of Vigo had been kind enough to lay on a bus for us and so we paid our few Euros and climbed aboard for a bit of a whistle stop tour. First the bus took us through the New Town of Vigo, although not particularly new. This is made up of a series of wide boulevards which sit behind the older part of town around the port area. Here is the peculiar mermaid/hybrid statue thing that has become a symbol of Vigo, although we only passed by it on the bus and didn’t get a good look at it.
Church in Vigo
The main objective of the tour – and probably the best of the tourist sites in Vigo – is the castle, high above the town. The castle is more of a fort, with relatively low walls and angle bastions, rather than the high walls and towers that you would associate with a castle. However, it is well presented with a nice little garden inside the walls and affords some excellent views back down into town.
Vigo Castle
Andrew and his Mum at Vigo Castle
Jacqui's Mum at Vigo Castle
It was certainly a good idea to get the tour bus up to the castle, as it would be a hell of a walk even for the fittest in our party.
View from Vigo Castle of the Harbour and Town
Picturesque rooftop in Vigo
Up here we cornered some poor fellow visitor to get our first group shot of the Cruise.
The Gang at Vigo Castle
The bus, which was an open-top type tourist bus, then headed off apparently into the hinterland of Vigo to visit the Pazo de Quiñones de León, a manor house dating to the 17th Century. This involved a good deal of ducking low branches for those of us sitting on the upper deck.
Pazo de Quiñones de León, Vigo, Galicia
The manor is nice enough, although not particularly special, and was far too expensive for us to go in when we only had about 10 minutes to spare, so we contented ourselves with a quick look around the gardens behind the manor before climbing back on the bus.
Andrew & Jacqui on bus going back to the Ship, Vigo
We arrived back at the port area and I went to seek souvenirs before heading back to the boat. Here I encountered a bizarre, massive dislocated head statue. Then we were back on the Brilliance of the Seas and heading for Portugal.
Weird Sculpture in Vigo Harbour, Galicia
Go to Cruise 2008 Part Three - Lisbon, Portugal
Barcelona - Cruise 2008 Part Eight - Andrew, Jacqui, their Mums and her Aunt & Uncle - 2008
The Brilliance of the Seas arrived at the massive port of Barcelona and we bade it a sad farewell. We had hugely enjoyed our cruise and were keen to go again.
Farewell to the Brilliance of the Seas
We had decided to extend our stay in Barcelona for a day, and so we took two taxis to our hotel on the edge of the Eixample District of town not far from the University.
After a little rest we walked down to the top of La Rambla and began a saunter down part of Barcelona’s famous street. Unlike when Andrew had visited on his own (in December) it was crowded and full of street performers, including dozens of those living statue type people of different kinds.
La Rambla, Barcelona
Building on La Rambla, Barcelona
Jacqui with one of the many Rambla Living Statue people, Barcelona
Man Flower or Flower Man? - La Rambla, Barcelona
Church of Betlem, Barcelona
We continued part way down Las Ramblas, reaching the Church of Betlem before Andrew spotted the entrance to the Mercat de Sant Josep, the central market of Barcelona. When Andrew had visited before it was quiet, not much produce being available in the depths of winter – but now in late spring it was a sight to behold.
Beautiful Catalan Produce in the Mercat de Sant Josep, Barcelona
Mmmm ... sweeties, Barcelona
Gloriously colourful fruits were piled up in artistic designs, vast quantities of sweets and oils were available and the fish counter put any market in the UK to shame. The fish were so very fresh they almost looked like they were about to swim away – in fact, the lobsters and crabs were that fresh and eyed us suspiciously as we looked at them.
More Fruit, Barcelona
Mercat de Sant Josep, Barcelona
Looking at the Peaches
I took some arty photos of rows of identical peaches and abstract views of piles of cherries which turned out very well – ones to sell to restaurants I think!
Cherries
Wandering around Barcelona
We bought a few bits and pieces and then went off to try to find some food to see us through the rest of the day. We walked straight across La Rambla and into the warren of alleys around the Cathedral (the Barri Gotic). Here we had a very nice snack sitting in a plaza before happening upon a little market next to the Cathedral.
Hannah & Elize in Barcelona
Barcelona Cathedral
On this occasion we didn’t go any further, although Andrew was interested to see if anything more had been built on the Sagrada Familia. Instead we went back to the hotel had a final excellent meal of the holiday and turned in. The next day it was off to the airport for the journey home – having found six new converts to the Cruise way of life!
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