April 30, 2023 "Captain William Congreve with his Son William" was Brent's favorite picture at the National Gallery in Dublin, the highpoint of his walk around the town. (It was a tour, and I was still coughing so I stayed back on the ship.) Brent had a pleasant walk around Dublin and enjoyed the unique architectural features. His favorite part of the tour was the National Gallery where he saw paintings depicting David and Goliath, Christ's miracle of the loaves and fishes, a

April 29, 2023 We tendered into Oban. It is a small, picturesque fishing community. It is known as the "Gateway to the Islands" and is the unofficial capital of the West HIghlands of Scotland. The view from the ship emphasized its location in the Highlands and it was surrounded by the hills of the Highlands. We didn't have a bus tour and I was feeling a bit better so I went into town with Brent. It was fun to poke around in the shops and walk along the waterfront. Oban is fam

April 28, 2023 I was still under the weather when we arrived at the Isle of Skye, our first port in Scotland. I was sorry to miss the tour of the West Highlands, but it felt it was best not to spread the cold my sore throat had developed into. Brent did have a great time seeing the Eilean Dolan Castle and learning about the Highlands. I will need to return someday as I have ancestors from the Highlands. The MacIans were a part of the McDonald clan that feuded with the Campbel

April 25, 2023 Bergen was our last stop in Norway. I stayed on board as I had a sore throat and wanted to rest up for the Norwegian dinner tonight. Brent went into town on a quest for whale meat. He did find some and enjoyed it. I wasn't sad to have missed it though. That evening we went to the Pinnacle to enjoy a Norwegian dinner complete with a cured salmon appetizer, a leek and potato soup with Norwegian brown bread called Purresuppe, a raspberry and cardamom sorbet as a p

April 25, 2023 The spectacular sail in to Eidsfjord past the snow-covered fjords captivated us that morning. The small communities nestled among the woodlands looked so peaceful. All too soon, the sail-in was over and we arrived at Eidsfjord, a tiny town surrounded by snow-covered mountains. We went in search of hot chocolate and waffles. The first place we tried turned out not to be so great as the hot chocolate you served yourself from a machine and the waffles had got pre

April 24, 2023 The port of Haugesund took us to the land Vikings once called home. Not far from Haugesund is Avaldsnes, once the home of Viking kings and now the site of a history center and a recreated Viking village. This is where my excursion would take me. The sail-in to Haugesund took us passed wooded shorelines. It wasn't hard to imagine Viking ships in these same waters - although the current houses were more modern. I was excited to visit the Viking village and thankf

April 23, 2023 Today we explored Kristiansand on our own. As we walked out of the port, we could see our ship reflected in the glass exterior of the Kilden Performing Arts Center. Before we disembarked, we had enjoyed the view of Kristiansand from our verandah. We walked along a small canal and over a bridge into the town of Kristiansand. The houses or shops along the water were in reds and yellows. Brent had been hoping to visit the Fish Market, a main attraction in Kristian

April 22, 2023 We sailed into Oslo past houses scattered throughout the forested hills. After disembarking, we walked to the new Nasjonalmuseet, Norway's national art museum, to see Edvard Munch's famous painting, The Scream. We had missed it the last time we were in Oslo in 2019 because the museum was still being built and it was in storage. Many people think the title refers to the man on the bridge, but the man is not screaming. Instead he is covering his ears to block ou

April 21, 2023 Hans Christian Anderson lived most of his life in Copenhagen. He is famous for his fairy tales like "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Steadfast Tin Soldier". His well-known "Little Mermaid" became a beloved Disney movie. One of the popular tourist attractions we saw when riding on the Hop On Hop Off bus was a statue of the Little Mermaid by Edvard Eriksen. She has had many adventures of her own. She is a popular target for vandals and has been painted, written on,

April 19, 2023 Today we did a morning tour to the Keukenhof Gardens for the Tulip Festival. It was the perfect time to visit with both tulips and daffodils in full bloom, as well as hyacinths and other spring flowers. Our day began with another beautiful sunrise. We again left the city of Amsterdam and journeyed to the countryside. As we neared the gardens, we drove by beautiful tulip and daffodil fields in full bloom. Soon we were at the Tulip Festival. This year was its fir

April 18, 2023 We spent two days in Amsterdam. On the first day, we visited Marken and Volendam, two quaint fishing villages, as well as stopping by a tourist-centered farm for cheese-tasting and a demonstration of how wooden shoes are made. There was a beautiful sunrise when we arrived in Amsterdam, painting the sky different shades of pink and lavender. On our way to Marken, we passed the canals of Amsterdam. Bike riders filled the bike lanes as biking is a healthy, cheap a

April 15, 2023 Today, after our walk together around Weymouth, Great Britain, Brent took a tour of the Tank Museum in Bovington to see over 300 tanks and other military machines used in key battles from World War II to the modern day. Our day began with the ship coming into to port at Portland (not Oregon). We had missed our stop in Brest, France the day before because of rough seas. We hopped on a shuttle and went to the seaside town of Weymouth to wander around. We didn't s

April 12, 2023 The Tower of Hercules was built in the 1st century A.D. by the Romans and is still in use today. It was the first place we stopped in A Coruna before journeying on to Betanzos. The artist Pablo, Picasso spent 4 years of his childhood (around 9 to 13 years old) in A Coruna. He and his dad called the Tower of Hercules, the "Tower of Candy" (“Torre de Caramelo"). Its color reminded him of caramel. The budding artist painted the tower during his stay in A Coruna. O

April 10, 2023 Brent toured Lisbon and Sintra todtay. I stayed back on the ship as I had blisters and was giving my toes a break to heal up. Lisbon was a beautiful city which featured many magnificent city squares with monuments, fountains, cafes, shops, and other attractions. The one above is Rossio Square. The one below is Restauradores Square which was built to commemorate the restoration of Portugal as a separate country from Spain rather than sharing a king with Spain. T

April 9, 2023 It was Easter Sunday when we visited Seville. Many of the houses had dried palms in their windows for Palm Sunday the previous week. It is a tradition to cover palm leaves so they are hidden from the sun and can whiten. People then braid the leaves into decorations to mount about their entryway. The one seen here is above the Casa Pilatos, or Pilate's House. A beautiful traditional house that has been turned into a museum that we visited. We started out our East

April 8, 2023 Brent and I went on separate excursions today. He visited Alhambra, an ancient citadel that was originally built as a fortress (alcazaba) in the 9th century by the Zirtians - the first kings of Granada. In the 13th century the Islamic Nasrid dynasty rebuilt the ruins of the alcazaba and added a castle for the sultan to live in. Each generation of sultans in the dynasty gradually added their own touches to the citadel. As it reached its peak of grandeur, the Alha