From the shoreline and the sea

Last night's excellent dinner was served in a room and in a style which made TSH and Diva wonder if Miss Marple was at one of the other tables. Formal, restrained and with top class service. Doesn't happen any more. But it does here and, apparently, in the other hotels of the Brend Group.

The weather was dry and with a reasonable temperature and both had a great day. The route was through Exmoor and then along the coast road from Minehead to Ilfracombe. TSH went to photograph steam trains whilst Diva sat in a tea shop with her Kindle. TSH bought a book to help with his project.

DIVA IS ABOUT TO HAVE A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. Following reader requests, she is trying to write about the good bits of the holiday so that everybody knows that a good time is being had by all. But it is starting to read like a Christmas Round Robin letter and if anyone posts it to one of those ironic sites which mock, she will sue.

Diva wants to write about the white knuckle ride through the narrow twisty 25% gradient A roads, full of loose dogs, nervy horses and local drivers who own both sides of the road. About the Dutchman almost reversing his massive LH drive camper van into another vehicle. About the sheer drop over the cliffs and into the raging sea beneath. About the church wardens who lure the unwary from the route to the town car park and into their most expensive church car park. And its not high season so there are not that many caravans to make the roads even more interesting.

Ilfracombe has a massive Damien Hurst statue - Verity. A pregnant woman with a sword and the scales of justice. TSH and Diva were impressed but did not understand the connection with Ilfracombe.

Monday's 20% off order from M&S was collected from Barnstaple - isn't click and collect wonderful?


TSH and Diva are both really enjoying their holiday.

Devon Day 1

TSH and Diva are beside the silver sea rather than actually on it this time. Well, they are overlooking the river Taw and it's low tide so it's a bit mudflat-ish but the view is very open and not overlooked. The day started in traditional fashion with an English breakfast at the local cafe. The breakfasts are always excellent but they seem to have increased the quantity whilst keeping the quality at least as good.

An uneventful journey was followed by a short walk round the shops, where Diva bought a new hairbrush. Barnstaple is a mixture of seaside, historic market town and standard shops geared to older people. The Imperial is as it sounds. Old-fashioned but in a good way with what looks like a very recent sympathetic renovation. When reception rang to check that everything was OK, Diva was able to tell them that her cleaning inspection had not managed to find any dust. A rare event. The compliment will be passed to the cleaning team.

Fruit, chocolates, biscuits and water in the room was a welcome sight.

TSH and Diva are both enjoying the holiday very much.

London

Dramatic sail to Tower Bridge – one of the most impressive places in the world to moor a cruise ship. Embarkation sad as always.

Honfleur

Silver Wind docked in Honfleur, which is much more convenient than using the tenders. This is a very attractive town with a photogenic port and an extensive old town. TSH and Diva had a pot of tea by the harbour – almost 10 euros, so similar to drinking in St Marks Square, Venice.

The sea remained flat calm in the channel, through the Dover Straits, across a few miles of North sea and into the Thames estuary. Phones are back on their home networks. Lunch on the sea-day was English-themed, so as well as fish and chips there was chicken tikka masala, the making of which was demonstrated in the morning by the executive chef and an assistant from India.

Packing was easier than usual. No flying, so no weighing of cases and no worry about liquids and sharps in the hand luggage. 

St Malo

The tender service started late because of fog around the harbour and consequent safety concerns. However, it lifted slightly and Diva and TSH were able to accompany the executive chef to a local farmers’ market. The chef amazed one stall holder by buying 2Kg of pate – more than she had ever sold in one go before. The group tasted cheeses, of which there were more varieties than most UK people could imagine. Hams and other cooked meats were stored right next to raw chicken but it was not possible to work out if hands were washed between handling the different items. TSH and Diva bought, ate and enjoyed a local speciality – Gallette saucisse – a pancake wrapped round a sausage.

The Wrong Money

As the ship did not anchor until midday, there was a cooking demo in the morning – chicken in cider and a cod dish made with dried Portuguese cod. As usual, the audience were shocked by the lack of hygiene, which they are always assured does not extend to the kitchens. A chicken was jointed, hands not washed properly and the board re-used for other tasks. But nobody died. Diva only tasted one boiled potato, which the chef said he had paid 15 euros per kilo for. It was very nice but not quite nice enough to justify the price.

The excursion in Guernsey did not start well. The bus arrived at the underground German military hospital and the doors were firmly closed. A nearby resident appeared to say that he would get the owner to open up as he only lived up the road. The decision was taken to visit the military occupation museum first. This turned out to be full of interesting items but it lacked the overall theme which a modern museum would be expected to have.  TSH and Diva learned something about the difficulties of the local population under German rule.  Back to the underground hospital, which was notable mainly for its sheer extent. It was built by slave labour, mostly brought in from Eastern Europe. Some guests think that the hospital was an attempt to invade the UK by underground tunnel.

The bus driver, who was also the guide, was a charming young man who tried hard but was totally out of his depth. He explained that since Guernsey has only two dairies to produce its milk and cream, each cow on the island was taken to one of the dairies twice a week to be milked. Now, Diva is a proud townie, but this did not sound right. Some people from farming communities queried this arrangement, but were assured that this was the Guernsey way. They would love to get higher yields by milking more often but this was not possible. A check with Google afterwards confirmed that there are two dairies but that the cows are milked twice a day (like everywhere else in the world) and the milk refrigerated for collection by the dairies. This collection is probably what happens twice a week.

One interesting piece of information is that there is no road tax but that drivers have to buy a number plate. These numbers start from 1 and go up to 5 or 6 digits. People pay more for the lower numbers, just to show that they are rich, and the numbers less than 100 are much prized. TSH and Diva saw number 21.

The ship’s doctor invited TSH and Diva to dine with him and he diagnosed Diva as OCD after about 5 minutes. How could she have given him an idea like that?

TSH is very experienced with money and it is one of his duties to issue the party with money before every visit ashore. It was only after returning to the Silver Wind that he realised he had issued euros instead of pounds. Fortunately, no money had been needed and he did have a credit card with him, although that would have been of little use to buy an ice cream.  He used some travel budget to take out an open booking for 2018.

Referendum: The ship’s doctor, who was from the US, thought that Obama had been wrong to say that the UK alone would be at the back of the queue for trade agreements. He thought that agreements between the UK and the US would be put in place in no time.

St Emilion and Belle-ile

The tour to St Emilion was the best Silversea tour this cruise. It took TSH and Diva to a medieval stone village which is a world heritage site. On the way, they passed many famous vineyards, such as Pomeron and Cheval blanc, whose produce is way beyond TSH’s wine budget. One of the highlights of the village was the stone church which had been carved out of the rock. During WW2, it was used to store the stained glass windows of the northern France cathedrals to save them from the bombing. Back in Bordeaux, they had a good external view of the new wine museum, open for just a few days, which is designed to look like wine swirling into a decanter. The inside seems to be a bit like the Guinness museum in Dublin, with tasting in the panoramic view bar at the end.

The Silversea boutique had a sale of venetian glass jewellery, so after a couple of glasses of port, Diva added to her collection.

The excursion to Belle-ile has two narratives. TSH thought it was interesting and scenic and he had a good time. Except when Diva was complaining. Because the walking in the heat up hills and over cobbles was far more than she had expected. And everybody walks faster than she does. It felt like games class at school. Parts of the coast were very wild and rocky, like Cornwall but the interior was mainly rolling small hills. The views on the coast were very dramatic – in one place, it was totally clear and in just a few moments the mist rolled in. TSH took so many pics that his SD card ran out of space.

An unscheduled stop next so that the Silver Wind can officially exit the Schengen area.

TSH photographed gannets following the Silver Wind and on Belle-ile he spotted a few lizards of varying sizes. Also special breeds of cows and sheep.

The executive chef is providing special food most evenings. Mostly cheese but sometimes antipasti, such as olives or oysters. Diva ate the oyster but TSH passed. He had eaten shellfish earlier in the day when he did not wear his specs to visit the buffet and he ended up with seafood pizza.

Good news

TSH and Diva learned that they have a new grand-son. Two weeks early but obviously desperate to join the world. All’s well with him and his mother. His health was toasted with much Prosecco in La Terrazza.

Bordeaux

The sea was still calm as the Silver Wind made its way across part of the Bay of Biscay. Diva spotted a couple of dolphins leaping out of the water as they came over to investigate the ship. It was good to hear that one of the waitresses (20 years with Silversea) had been able to find time to visit the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

A few nights ago, Diva thought that the butler was very efficient on a time-change night as the alarm clocks has been altered. Turns out it was TSH who was the efficient one.

Bordeaux is a beautiful city which can be appreciated even from the mooring close to the city centre. The only other vessels there were river boats, including one belonging to Viking. The morning walk took in the seafront, a farmers’ market and several large squares, including the one between the cathedral and the hotel de ville and the one with the main theatre.

Referendum: One young woman thinks that the best prospects for the UK lie in Brexit and then becoming a tax haven. Her greatest fear was of extreme German socialism. Not sure which kind of socialism she was afraid of.

Bilbao in the rain

It is only a few years since TSH and Diva visited the Guggenheim, so this time they decided to use the shuttle bus and walk round the city on their own. This is the first time that raincoats and hats have been required on this cruise. The city is very interesting, with many impressive buildings which appear to date from the 19^th century. Many are connected with finance and banking but there are also government buildings. A visit to the railway station gave the opportunity for a few train pics and a good view of the impressive stained glass window,

The walk finished along the river with a good view of the Guggenheim before returning on the shuttle.

Dinner with new friends from Hove.

Gijon and Aviles

This area still has heavy industry in the shape of coal mining and steel manufacture. The tour started in Aviles, where there was a 1 hour 30 minute walking tour. This seemed a bit long but it did give an impression of a town which had been subject to many changes over 800 years. At first, it did not seem very hospitable. TSH and Diva tried to get a drink at a smart hotel but the bar was not yet open., although they used the clean loos, which really was the point of the exercise. The first street café did not serve either tea or decaff coffee, so that was useless. But the next one not only served with a smile but they produced complimentary biscuits and then a small piece of frittata on bread.

Diva thought the best part of the tour was the visit to the Labour University – a vast Franco-built attempt at a worker’s university. Fascist architecture but very impressive. Parts of it are still in use for education.

The city of Gijon is probably more attractive than Aviles and certainly seems more prosperous. TSH was most taken with a glimpse of the train museum and a steam engine. Although it was a five hour trip Diva and TSH were back in time for lunch – salad and fruit being a major part thereof.

Referendum: Diva had a chat with a British woman who seemed to want Brexit and did not see ‘what Brits have in common with Romanians and Bulgarians’. She had not lived in Britain since

1975.

La Coruna

The Silversea executive chef has joined the cruise. He has a table in the restaurant set out with port and local cheeses. TSH and Diva’s dessert was taken from this table and a good tasting session took place.  They plan to accompany him to a farmers’ market in a few days, to participate in the selection process.

Diva wanted her photo taken at the table in her formal clothes, so she handed TSH her smartphone. Regular readers will know that TSH has no smartphone but takes excellent pics with his digital SLR. But this makes him heavy handed and 14 almost identical photographs were taken with one heavy finger action.

The tour took in La Coruna itself and the nearby town of Betanzos. Not the most exciting of tours but it ended with a tasty tapas tasting at a restaurant overlooking the ocean. One member of the tour went missing for a while and his wife, desperate for him to hand over some money for her to buy a hat, speculated that he had been kidnapped. Europeans convinced her that the chances of this in a small town in Northern Spain were really quite low. Good sighting of a number of diesel engines on the way back into port.

New butler and maid not trained yet,

Referendum: Today’s Spanish guide seemed to think that the British have already decided to leave the EU.

Lisbon and Porto

On the second day in Lisbon, TSH and Diva took the metro into the centre of the old town and spent a pleasant couple of hours walking around.

It was not just guests disembarking at the end of their cruise – there were also many crew changes. So there is a new butler to train, as well as a new cleaner. And a new captain. They all did well on their first night, remembering all the special requests and steering the Silver Wind safely to Porto.

Porto, where TSH and Diva have visited before, was a really good port. They walked around areas they were not familiar with and took a pre-booked (by themselves, from home) trip to the Palacio da Bolsa. This is the home of the local Chamber of Commerce. The building is airy because of the central courtyard with glass roof. It contains an area with emblems of the countries Portugal traded with when the building was built. The woman from Iran was disappointed that there was no emblem for her country but the most disgusted were those from Canada and Australia who were told that they were included with Britain at that time. The most spectacular room is the Arab room, which is decorated in elaborate fashion from floor to ceiling.    

Today’s walking target was achieved but should have been more than doubled because many of the steps involved steep hills.

To TSH’s delight, the Cruise Port near Porto has a 19^th Century steam train on show.

Port in Lisbon and little Portugese custards in Porto.

It is Captain’s Welcome night, but the invitation to dine with Martin was refused.

Portimao and Lisbon

Portimao is a small town with beach resort attached. Neither are particularly attractive but in both cases there was a good sea-side walk for TSH and Diva. Storks were nesting on the top of the tall chimneys of the sardine factories.

It was Captain’s Farewell night, so it was formal dress and there was an invitation to dine with the Silver Wind HR manager. She is a charming young woman from South Wales but unfortunately she had merged her table with that of the Cruise Consultant, Martin. Diva has not taken to Martin because he was very unsympathetic about the cancelled cruises due to charters. His line was that it did not happen, there was only one website and if it did happen most guests don’t mind and the cruise consultant loses commission. ‘Poor Martin’. So Diva had to sit next to Martin at dinner and she is not good at hiding dislike. It was not a great dinner. He is condescending and arrogant as well as not very bright.

The day in Lisbon was excellent. TSH and Diva were on deck early for the sail-in past the Belem tower and the Jeronimos monastery.  took the metro out to Parque das Nocoes, the site of Expo 1998. This is a very modern part of town with interesting architecture and artworks views and excellent river views. Small frogs in the water garden were making a tremendous racket.

The return journey was made by train, which was much more direct but much more complicated to navigate. Diva can organise Metros in most languages but the over-ground system defeated her. Fortunately, TSH has an instinct for rail travel and he was also able to take some pictures of the trains.

Lunch was the traditional and excellent burger on deck.

Regent Voyager disembarked today – Silver Wind disembarks tomorrow, as this tiny terminal can only cope with one tiny cruise ship at one time.

Malaga and Cadiz

Both cities were explored on foot without benefit of a guide. Malaga has a lot of interesting-looking museums which would be useful on a re-visit. TSH forget to put an SD card in his camera so the earliest Malaga photos had to be retaken using his emergency spare. Cadiz has a very enjoyable sea front walk. The market in Cadiz was extremely impressive. Four long aisles of fish and shellfish which would put anywhere in current Britain to shame. It is difficult to believe that one city eats so much fish. The market also had several kinds of snail and one place selling live insects.  In both cases, the weather was pleasant without being too hot but in Cadiz TSH and Diva were very lucky to return to the ship just before the torrential downpour.

In Malaga, Silversea held an evening reception for the 50 or so guests who are staying on until London (rather than disembarking at Lisbon). Diva met another writer – a self-published writer of children’s books from Chester.

Diva’s smartphone has set her a target (without any consultation with her at all) of how many steps she should walk in a day. Every day on this holiday has reached the target and in Cadiz twice the target was achieved.

In Cadiz, there were also present the Regent Voyager and the Costa Magico

Referendum notes: The most recent lecture was: ‘Portugal from empire to EU’. At the reception, a guest was heard stating that the UK is the only place in Europe which follows the rules properly.

Photoblog

Modern architecture in Valencia

Diva’s Sea Dragon

Thanks from Silversea

Cartagena

Although many people think that TSH and Diva’s 250ish days with Silversea is an impressive total, most of their recent voyages have included people who have done well over 1000 days. But they discovered at Venetian (loyalty club) night they were in the top half dozen cruisers on this voyage. Dinner was at the Hotel Director’s table. Unfortunately, he had been ill during the day and was far too free (in Diva’s estimation) with graphic description. People said after he left that they were afraid of catching something and wished he had not attended.

Towards the end of the dinner, Diva had a wine refill and knew it tasted horrible – it had been very pleasant thus far. The maitre was called and the whole table’s glasses were take away and new ones supplied with fresh wine. Afterwards she received a grovelling apology from a pale sommelier.

This was the 10^th anniversary of TSH and Diva’s first cruise. When they returned to their suite, there were balloons and candles, a card from the captain and a chocolate cake on a plate with a greeting. It would have been very rude not to eat it.

In Cartagena, there was a tour whose highlight was the Roman theatre and its very well displayed museum.

Misc: It is very good to see Dyson hand dryers in use across France and Spain. TSH saw a goods train but not near enough for a photo. Just a diesel. And he is not happy because all the fuss about the 2017 cruise caused him to label all this year’s pics so far as 2017. He hates re-work.

The holiday is proving as restful as hoped.

Valencia vindicated

The previous time TSH and Diva were in Valencia was not a happy time. Silversea had lost their luggage in transit and this situation lasted for about 4 days. So they had spent a lot of time hunting for mascara and contact lens care and had missed out on part of the planned sightseeing. This time more than made up for it. They took a taxi to the modern City of Arts and Sciences. This is a park area with water and trees and very futuristic buildings. They already had tickets for the aquarium, which claims to be Europe’s largest.  The aquarium itself is new and extremely well laid out, partly indoors and partly outdoors. There are southern sealions, walruses, beluga whales (like the ones seen in the wild in Greenland) and a very ugly octopus (which became very graceful and aerodynamic when it started to swim). Diva was much taken with the Sea Dragons, which were very graceful and looked as if they were made from twigs and seaweed.  TSH saw a wild lizard in the bushes.

Back at the port, a ferry for Algeria was moored next to the Silver Wind. Most of the cars waiting to board had many parcels strapped on top. One had a ladder and there were lots of bicycles. The guess was that Algerians working in Spain were taking goods not readily available in North Africa back to their families.

The day surpassed expectation.

Barcelona

The overnight sail was calm in spite of the captain threatening an uncomfortable night with Force 6 winds. Diva was glad about the calm but had been ready for much worse with her brand new life jacket. She rejected the original one at the drill because the light wasn’t fixed on properly and there was no cord for switching it on.  Regular readers will know she takes the drill very seriously and always checks the equipment.

Dinner last night was with two sisters from North Yorkshire and a woman from London. The group was hosted by Erich, the Shore Concierge from Austria (living in Sweden).

Morning in Barcelona started with a walk along the water-front, viewing the marina as well as the imposing neo-classical 19^th century buildings.  Very narrow streets led to the old cathedral (not the Gaudi one), which is well guarded by a flock of geese in the cloisters. Then through the old Jewish quarter and the antique shops to La Rambla, the main walk back to the port. A call into the traditional market showed that the best Iberian ham sells for up to 190 euros per kilo.  This was all a new perspective on the city for TSH and Diva, who have visited here a few times before. Well-earned pizzas for lunch.

Good discovery: There is a generous allowance of free wifi on this cruise.

Marseille

This city surpassed expectation in that it has many beautiful buildings and interesting museums. TSH and Diva would definitely like to visit again. The morning was spent on a city tour, driving around the narrow streets and avenues and photographing the Palais Longchamp. At the end of the tour, they skipped the shopping trip and walked through the old port back to the ship, giving TSH many photo ops. They were back on the ship ahead of the main lunch queues.  In the afternoon, they went to a Picasso exhibition and a museum about Mediterranean civilisations. Diva really really wanted one of the Picasso silver plates.

Diva was called sporty for the first (and probably last) time in her life. Well, perhaps not her directly but she was included in the description. The guide suggested that some guests might not want to climb the 200 steps to the Notre Dame cathedral but that ‘the sporty ones’ could go up. Diva went all the way with no ill effects on lungs or legs. And was back early.

First afternoon tea in over 40 days on board. Sandwiches, scones, cheesecake and a blackberry tart. All at the peak of freshness. This somewhat made TSH feel better about what happened the previous evening. The waiter muddled up the starters and Diva ate most of TSH’s before they realised. And his was WAY WAY better.

Referendum notes: Heard from a New Zealander – ‘You did not want us 40 years ago when you chose Europe. So if you leave Europe, we do not want you back’.

Monte Carlo to St Tropez

Monte Carlo was covered in barriers and sound systems for the forthcoming F1, so perhaps not the best time to visit, as it was difficult to pick a way through them.

MC Novotel very comfortable and the Salade Nicoise is to be recommended.

Silver Wind is as splendid as ever and several crew remembered TSH and Diva. Especially the wine waiters and sommelier. TSH had his first Silversea Danish of the year, which did not disappoint. This was followed in the afternoon by his first beer.

St Tropez was less glamorous and more quaint than either expected but walking round its narrow streets and along the harbour was very pleasant. Many SUPERyachts.

TSH saw a quite large octopus moving along the harbour floor which he thought was a good sighting – Diva was less impressed as it had disappeared before she got a chance to see it.

Referendum notes: The Nice taxi driver thought we should stay in with our semi-detached advantages (Euro, Schengen etc). But he also wanted Nice to get independence from France. Two people from USA thought we were in the Euro, which made travel very convenient. 

Silversea

3 reasons to be furious with them:

      1    They cancelled the 2017 cruise from HK to Vancouver because the ship has been exclusively chartered for part of it. This also happened with the 2016 cruise.
2.       Silversea have two websites. One to sell ‘normal’ cruises to ‘normal’ people.  The other to sell charters. They are selling the same ships and the second always takes priority over the first. They are not the only cruise company doing this.
3.       The compensation offer was insulting. 40% off a rebook for 2016 but only 20% off for a 2017 rebook, the year of the actual cancelled booking.   

      TSH went into negotiating mode and they eventually offered 40% off a 2017 cruise. So TSH and Diva decided to use the biggest discount they are ever likely to get on the longest cruise they are ever likely to take. So its 63 days right round South America starting in January 2017. Panama Canal. Falklands. Rio for Carnivale. At less than 40%, with all the other discounts as well.

Still furious.

Easyjet

Easyjet is an efficient, safe method of making short journeys around Western Europe.

They have a special course in their school for pilots, where they do a lot of training on sharp turns and steep banking (the part of flying that Diva hates most). They all become very good at this and are awarded special Certificates of Expertise. So when they start flying real planes with real people they are anxious not to waste all the extra work.

This is what Diva thinks, anyway. TSH thought the banking was for his benefit as it gave him good views of the French coast. Earlier he had been able to have good views of the snow on the alps.

On alert

Diva and TSH arrived at John Lennon airport with plenty of time to spare. Time for a breakfast to supplement the fruit they had at home. TSH had a bowl of porridge (saving himself for the cruise).  The airport is small, so hardly any queueing for check-in or security. Almost time to go to the gate. And then. ‘Will all passengers go immediately to Gate 1. This is a security incident’.  So people (except the ones who sat around drinking coffee ignoring it all) gathered in a small area inside the terminal with no officialdom in sight. If there was a ‘device’ around this did not seem good.  The next move was about ten minutes crammed into a small corridor. No place of work would carry out an evacuation like this. There were no announcements and many people were uneasy about being cooped up in a small space with an unknown threat present. And then to the departures hall and through security again. The automatic gates which scan the boarding cards would not let people back in so everybody had to be rechecked manually by – at first – one person. No proper queue, just a scrum. And then they started calling particular flights and those people had to push through.

TSH spoke to a policeman and was told that the airport had discovered that a scanner (or scanners?) was not working so everybody had to go back through security.

JL airport did the right thing in a very clumsy way.  And they are supposed to verify scanners regularly.

Eventual take-off was about an hour late.