A morning in Cadiz

I hadn’t been to Cadiz before, and neither had Mrs PBT’s, and for the pair of us this Atlantic facing port, close to the southern tip of Spain, was the furthest south in the country that either of us had visited. One of my work colleagues’ hails from a small village close to Cadiz and following his advice we decided to spend our time in the port, rather than book a place on the excursion to Seville. The latter is a two-hour coach ride away, so as the prospect of sitting on a bus for four hours didn’t appeal, we decided to leave the delights of Seville for another occasion.

It was a short walk from the ship to the exit from the port area, and whilst the sun was shining, and the temperatures high, there was a strong wind blowing which nearly caused my hat to disappear over the edge of the quay. A returning passenger handed us a map of the city, although we only needed to refer to it a couple of times, as the city seemed quite easy to navigate – at least in the immediate environs of the port.

First stop was a pavement café, facing the gateway to the docks, so we grabbed a table and ordered ourselves a coffee each. Mrs PBT’s didn’t want to walk too far, given her mobility issues which date back to her spell in intensive care, five years ago now, but as mentioned above, Cadiz seemed easy to navigate and find our way about. The city’s cathedral is reportedly well worth seeing, but as Eileen isn’t as fond of ecclesiastical buildings as I am, we decided to give this local landmark a miss.

We found a pleasant park area, with plenty of plane trees, plus the odd orange tree, providing plenty of shade. The area was overlooked by some fine-looking apartments, with outward facing balconies looking out across the park. We sat there for a while, just soaking up the atmosphere of this attractive city, whilst watching the world go by. It wasn’t too long before itchy feet kicked in, for me at least, so I left my wife sitting on a bench whilst I set off to explore the immediate vicinity.

It was an area of narrow streets, hemmed in by tall buildings, which reminded me of the old-town area of Barcelona. Unlike the latter city, this small section of Cadiz seemed quiet, unhurried and without the sense of unease that does at times, characterise that area of Barcelona. I passed a number of interesting local shops, including a fruiterers, a small corner shop (no local beers on sale, though), and a rather basic looking, stand-up-to-drink bar. I was almost tempted to pop in, but I didn’t want to leave Eileen on her own for too long. Instead, I decided to make my way back to her, by cutting back via the next block, and it was there that I found the type of place I was looking for, which was a corner bar, with several outside tables, plus a multi-lingual menu on a board outside (Spanish, English and German).

I returned to collect Mrs PBT’s and suggested we give the place a try. She was happy to go along with this, and we were soon seated at a shady table outside La Nueva Taberna. I ordered a Diet Coke for Eileen, plus a beer for myself, although disappointingly there were no local brews available. Instead, a half-litre of Barcelona’s finest (Estrella Dam) hit the spot. The selection of “Breakfast Appetisers” (Tapas?) sounded interesting, but having not long breakfasted on the ship, we weren’t tempted, or at least Eileen wasn’t.

Later on, a number of local customers turned, and they were tempted, and although I didn’t take too much notice of what they were eating, the food on the plates certainly looked appetising. After a coffee and a beer, I needed to make use of the facilities, and this allowed me to view the interior of the bar. I wasn’t brave enough to take any photos of the interior as I found my way to the Caballero’s, but it had a tiled floor and plenty of dark wood, of the type that typifies many bars in this part of the world.

As we weren’t eating, and as a number of other, presumably locals had turned up, we thought we’d better leave our table for them to sit at, and as my wife was now starting to get hungry, we decided to return to the ship, but not before taking a look at the impressive stone walls that kept Cadiz safe from marauders, in times gone by. The fortifications weren’t sufficient to prevent the attack on the Spanish fleet, by Sir Francis Drake, an episode that went down in history as “the singeing the King of Spain’s beard.” On the way back, I looked out for a shop, mainly to buy a few snack or other types of nibbles. It is something of a tradition at my workplace, for people returning from holiday, to provide some local “goodies” from the place they have just visited, but with no suitable shops to be found, we returned to the port entrance, empty handed.

Before re-boarding the ship, we had to pass through an airline-style security area, complete with bag and body scanners. Such areas are sadly, an essential requirement at every place of embarkation, as we discovered in both Crete and Athens, when returning to the ship. Once through security, my wife noticed both a Duty Free plus a souvenir shop, and she ended up buying herself yet another bag, plus a few aforementioned nibbles.

This brief visit, of course, only scratched the surface of Cadiz, but we both decided that the city is definitely worthy of a further visit, and proper exploration. Combined, perhaps with a stay in nearby Seville, this area of Andalusia, would be a good place to enjoy some pleasant warm sunshine, by escaping the worst of a typical British winter.

Cruising - a few questions & some answers

There’s certainly been a lot of feedback on my last post, along with quite a few questions, that I shall do my best to answer. The first relates to the hand pull dispense, used in the onboard pub. I haven’t managed to find anyone who’s likely to know the answer, but there are several lines of inquiry for me to pursue.  Having said, James H’s suggestion makes a lot of sense, and a bag-in-a-box sounds like the ideal solution to storing, and keeping cask ale in situations where demand is likely to be low, and turnover intermittent.

Volvo Cruiser, there are plenty of online websites offering advice about cruising, and I have listed a few of them below. With regards to the food, the portions and whether or not it is included, I would say yes, it is, on the majority of cruise lines, although there are options for “fine dining” where you will have to pay extra. We are only familiar with Cunard vessels, and can confirm that dining in the buffet, the Britannia Restaurant (waiter service) and the pub, is all inclusive. In the buffet, you can go back as many times as you wish and pile your plate as high as you want.

Drinks are not included though, but drink packages are available, at a price – something like $110 per day, but unless you are a really heavy drinker, they aren’t really worth it. Having said that, we’ve met two sisters from Wales up on deck, who are part of a group that my wife has made friends with. Both ladies are making full use of their package, with limitless G&T’s appearing in front of then, from dawn until dusk. Another lady we’ve met, whose a former air stewardess, likes to start her morning’s off with a glass of Prosecco or three, and then continues in the same vein until bedtime! I'm not wishing to moralise, but this is dangerous territory if you ask me.

Confectionery, such as Mars Bars, and other similar snacks are not available on ship, and you are best bringing your own, especially as prices in the onboard ship are high. I remember, on a previous cruise. Mrs PBT’s paying $12 or more for a bag of M&M’s, so bring your own, or better still, buy whilst ashore, as that way you will be putting something back into the local economy. Btw, US dollars are the onboard currency on Cunard, and possibly other cruise lines as well. They obviously know where the money is.

Aloha Harry, the fish and chip portions in the Golden Lion pub, might appear small, but they are sensibly sized, unlike those from our local chippy back home. There, the temptation is to finish what’s in the wrapper, and if I am being truthful, the friendly Turkish chippy we normally use in Tonbridge, does tend to pile on the chips – even for a “small” portion.

What I will say to anyone thinking of taking a cruise is, bite the bullet, and take the plunge, if you pardon the pun. Perhaps do what Eileen and I did, which is book a short, mini cruise (ours was just for two nights). There are plenty of websites, alternatively a visit to a good old fashioned travel agent might be helpful, as they can go through the options available and help you find a deal which suits both your leisure time as well as your pocket.

Finally, this post comes to you via tethering – an idea that I copied from Retired Martin. Basically, it involves hooking up the laptop, to your mobile phone, and yes, after a bit of help from my good lady wife - who knows about such things, the laptop is finally connected to the internet. So thank you to both  Martin and Eileen.

Cruise Advice & Handy Tips

Emma Cruises. 

Cruise with Gary

 

Welcome aboard

I wrote this post shortly after we boarded our ship, the Queen Victoria, just over a week ago, and I began writing it as we were leaving Southampton and sailing down the Solent.  We had arrived early at the Cruise terminal, after our pre-booked taxi picked us up, shortly before 8 am, last Sunday morning. Traffic on the motorways was relatively light, which allowed a speedy, and hassle-free journey down from Kent, but unfortunately meant an hour’s wait before we could drop off our bags.

We then joined the queue for check-in, which whilst relatively straight forward, then left us sat in a large departure area, with dozens of other passengers, all waiting to board. So much for Mrs PBT’s pre-cruise concerns about COVID, which annoyed me somewhat, particularly as I’d been religiously avoiding crowded situations. The irony of the situation seemed lost on my good lady wife, but hey-ho, although I informed her that any rules about being grounded, would go straight out of the window, we when return home.

Despite the queuing, and the airline- style security scanning, we were on board the ship shortly after 2pm. Our bags were ready and waiting, outside the cabin, or “Stateroom,” as the cruise line prefers to call them. After a quick cup of tea, we headed off in search of something to eat, as the two slices of toast and marmalade I’d had for breakfast at 7pm, had long ceased to satisfy my hunger, and Eileen felt pretty much the same. As good, compliant passengers, but also safety-conscious travellers, we popped along to our designated muster station to have our cards scanned, and then after walking just a short distance, we chanced upon the Golden Lion. This is the Queen Victoria’s onboard pub, and as it looked surprisingly empty, we nipped in, grabbed a seat and ordered a beer for me plus a soft drink for Mrs PBT’s. Those readers familiar with previous cruising posts will know the beer I went for, but for the un-initiated, it was a Cunard Black, one of three beers brewed exclusively for the cruise line, by Salisbury Dark Revolution Brewery of Salisbury.

Described as a “breakfast stout,” Cunard Black is much more an Oatmeal Stout, as whilst very enjoyable, I’m not sure that I’d want to be knocking back this 5.7% beer as my first beer of the day! 

Dispensed by what looks like a genuine hand-pump, and served in a pint glass, this tasty and full-bodied jet-black stout represents good value for money at $7.10 a pop (Sterling equivalent (£5.75). Going back to the hand-pump for a minute, whilst I suspect this is the genuine article, I very much doubt that the beer is kept or conditioned in casks.

Battered Atlantic cod, chips and mushy peas was the choice from the menu for the both of us and luckily, we’d obviously picked the right time for lunch as well. It wasn’t long though, before the Golden Lion started to fill up, after more and more people boarded, and presumably were as hungry as we were. Unfortunately for them, these latecomers were to be disappointed, as the pub only serves meals between midday and 3pm. I’ve a feeling that the pair of us will be making frequent use of the Golden Lion, over the next few weeks.

We returned to our cabin afterwards, primarily to unpack, a task which was far quicker for me, than for Eileen who, in deference to Hyacinth Bouquet of “Keeping up Appearances” fame, had brought sufficient outfits for several circumnavigations of the globe! She even used the additional “spare” space present in my suitcase. I jest, but just because there’s no limit on baggage, it still has to be carried, and there is still an airline-style weight limit of 23 Kg per case, as some poor bugger has to carry it!

As well as its own pub, the Queen Victoria has a number of other bars, self-service buffets, restaurants and opportunities for fine dining. All manner of different cuisines is offered, meaning there is something to please everyone. So far, we have made use of the Commodore, and Yacht Clubs, the pool bar, the Lido Buffet self-service restaurant, and the much more formal Britannia Restaurant. Somewhat surprisingly, the latter is a good place for a quiet spot of lunch, or an equally enjoyable breakfast, away from the often-manic Lido Buffet. Kippers feature on the Britannia’s breakfast menu, an attraction I have already experienced for myself.

That’s it for the time being, there will be the occasional other post about cruising, but more importantly, and I’m sure of more interest to readers, reports of the destinations on our itinerary. We have already experienced the delights of the Spanish city of Cadiz, and I look forward to telling you about the parts of Greece, Sardinia and Portugal, that are still to come, as we continue our cruise around the Mediterranean, as well as the Atlantic voyage back to Southampton.

Further tales from the Med - Saturday 7th October

If I’ve done my sums right, this is the fifth cruise that Mrs PBT’s and I have been on, and on the first of two full days at sea, we’ve been getting our bearings. So, after a good night’s rest, that was certainly much needed, followed by breakfast in our cabin, we set off to explore the ship, which is to be our home for the next two and a half weeks.

This is our second time aboard the Queen Victoria, the first being a short, pre-Christmas excursion last November, to Amsterdam. For the lovers of trivia, or superfluous information – I’m thinking of our anonymous troll here, we are just one room away this time, from the cabin we stayed in last year. We followed the wise advice given by Eileen’s late brother-in-law, who along with her sister, was an avid cruiser. Brian sadly passed away just at the start of the COVID pandemic, but along with his wife Lynne, he looked after us on our first “taster” cruise, which was a short, two-night sailing to Zeebrugge and back.

Brian’s advice centred around the position of cabin, which deck was the best, plus the importance of the cabin position, fore or aft.  Several factors come into play here, but mid-ships is generally considered to be the most stable position, an important consideration for those prone to motion sickness. The deck number is also important, as if you’re someone who values peace and quiet. you don’t want to be in a room that is directly below the promenade deck, the dance floor or one of the swimming pools. Cabin position is also reflected in the price charged, and this is another factor to consider when choosing one’s cabin and booking your next cruise.

We have now cruised on all three of Cunard’s Queen ships, and with the recent launch of the line’s latest vessel, and her maiden voyage next spring, the Queen Anne will become the fourth cruise liner in the company’s illustrious line-up. I think we both prefer the Queen Vic, out of the ships we have sailed in so far, but there’s probably not much to choose between her and the Elizabeth. The odd one out, is the Queen Mary 2, and this anomaly is because the latter is deigned as an oceangoing liner, as opposed to a cruise ship. Because of this, the Queen Mary operates primarily on the North Atlantic crossing between Southampton and New York.

To accommodate the sea conditions on what can often be a rough crossing, many of the balcony cabins on the Mary are enclosed, that is to say they are cut out of the upper hull of the ship, so whilst still “open” as far as the views are concerned, they are far less exposed and offer much more protection from the elements, compared to a traditional balcony. The Queen Mary 2 can thus be regarded as the last of the true Atlantic liners.

Mrs PBT’s and I sailed on the QM2 on our cruise to the Norwegian Fjords, last June, and it’s worth focussing for a minute on the different demographics of the people who cruise on the various Cunard liners. The first part of last June’s voyage was characterised by mainly British and American passengers – the ship had, after all, just crossed the Atlantic from New York. Before heading up to Norway, the Queen Mary sailed up the Elbe River, and berthed at the port of Hamburg. Quite a few Americans left the ship there, as did many German passengers returning from a trip to New York. Many of the passengers leaving the ship were replaced by other Germans who, like us, were keen to experience the fjords. Without wishing to stereotype, the Teutonic contingent were quite boisterous, although once you got talking to them, they proved interesting company. Again, without risking upsetting another nationality, the Americans were also loud, but in a different way from the Germans, if that makes sense.

This current cruise, across the Mediterranean, almost exclusively consists of citizens from the UK and Ireland, and the age demographic is older as well. I would say that the majority of the passengers are a similar age to Eileen and I. Most are retired, living the dream possibly, or perhaps not, but from my point of view it would be nice to see a few younger faces. As far as children are concerned, we have only seen two so far, and we have been virtually all over the ship – or at least in all those areas that are not out of bounds to passengers.

Mrs PBT’s has managed to find a tucked away spot right at the fore of Deck 10, where she can vape away to her heart’s content, in the company of other nicotine addicts who prefer to take their poison in more traditional forms. They seem a welcoming bunch though and have proved their weight in gold with useful tips and advice.  As with any of these open areas of deck, drinks are available, courtesy of the waiters who patrol these areas, and I confess to having been tempted on several occasions, by a glass or two of beer from the Cunard range – either the Black Stout, or the Gold Pilsner. Further back along Deck 10, are the two pool areas, although technically the pools are situated on the deck below. Here can be found the varied ranks of sun worshipers – people who grew up in an age where the acquisition of a suntan, as a result of exposure to the sun, was considered desirable, rather than something to be wary of.

I’m currently sitting in one of these shaded “smoking areas” keeping company with Mrs PBT’s, whilst typing out this post at the same time. We’ve spent a lazy morning, although I have still managed to clock up 6.5k steps, following a few laps of the promenade deck, after breakfast. We had lunch in the “posh” restaurant, which saved us from the scrum of the buffet. An announcement from the captain at midday, informed us of a change of itinerary, which means our next stop will now be Crete, rather than the island of Mykonos. This is due to potential issues with tender operation at the latter destination, due to strong winds. Eileen and I don’t mind, as Heraklion in Crete, will prove an easier port to disembark the ship from. We may experience similar issues at Santorini as well, but this is part of the whole cruise experience, so we’ll just sit back, relax and enjoy ourselves, and go wherever the ship takes us.

 

A quick update on the cruise, from somewhere off the coast of Algeria

This article comes to you, courtesy of Mrs PBT’s who, just a day or so into her digital detox, decided that she really needed to reconnect with the world. Consequently, she signed up for a 24-hour, onboard internet package. She received a discount for being a Cunard Gold Club member, although I still won’t say how much the package cost. It might sound a bit hypocritical on my part to be criticising her lack of staying power, especially as I’m taking advantage of her purchase, so I won’t, apart from thanking her for the opportunity of posting this article from the middle of the Mediterranean.

Just so you know, I wrote this article a couple of days ago, so here we go. It’s day two of the cruise, and the second of 10 full days at sea. After yesterday’s overcast and slightly blustery conditions, it’s wall to wall sunshine today, and this afternoon it’s been positively balmy. We’ve spent most of the day cruising down the western coast of Portugal, having completed our, a surprisingly calm crossing of the Bay of Biscay. In the early hours of the morning, we rounded the most north-westerly tip of Spain, at Cape Finisterre (remember the shipping forecast), and commenced our long voyage south.

Tomorrow morning we’re due to berth at the southern Spanish city of Cadiz, the first port of call on the cruise, but in the meantime, it’s sit back, enjoy the sunshine, but not too much of it, and just generally chill out. I’m typing this, and other articles, on the new 13” laptop I treated myself to. You might remember me writing about my search for a suitable, small, portable device, well after much online searching, I found just what I was looking for, and at a reasonable price as well. It’s a Chinese brand called "Jumper" – strange name, but it seems to be doing the business, even though this is the first time I’ve used the device in the field, so to speak.

I’ve written before about cruising being the perfect way to relax, and even when the weather isn’t clement, there’s till nothing like sitting there, reading a book, or even typing out a blog post, whilst watching the wash from Queen Victoria’s powerful engines, disappearing into the distance behind us. We’re sitting at the moment, at the rear of Deck 10, virtually at the top of the ship, overlooking the pool deck, where lots of people are lying on sunbeds, literally frying themselves in the sun.  There’s some quite subtle and very relaxing “mood music” playing out, over the pool deck, but it’s barely audible up here.

Yesterday evening we attended the first of several gala dinners – the ones where the ship’s company encourage diners to dress up – black tie for those identifying as male and black dresses for those who identify as female – he said, facetiously. It was all rather swish, the food was excellent, and for once. The company was good too. This time around, Eileen and I were sat with a couple from Cheshire, who we both described as “down to earth and genuine” which was in stark contrast to some of the over-pretentious bores we’ve been lumbered with on previous cruises.

Tonight, it’s the Lido Buffet, where to be fair, the food is equally good, but you just need to help yourselves. I paid a visit to the Lido this morning, for breakfast, leaving Mrs PBT’s to enjoy her beans on toast, in the room. We almost slept through the waiter’s knock, as despite having been warned by the captain’s announcement about putting clocks and watches forward an hour, we almost slept right through. Looking out the window, dawn certainly seemed a long way off at 8am this morning.

The buffet was packed this morning, but when you’re on your own, you need to grab your food first, before laying claim to a table. Both tasks van proved troublesome but having the sense to procure a cup of coffee first, I had the other hand free, plus a convenient ledge to put my cup down, whilst I piled up my plate. You’ll no doubt be grateful that I don’t intend giving a blow-by-blow account of what I ate, apart from saying they rustle up a fine omelette on the Queen Vic, and they also serve an equally impressive, afternoon tea. This consists of dainty sandwiches (with the crusts removed), cakes, plus scones (with raspberry jam and clotted cream) is something of a tradition on Cunard ships, (it might be on other cruise lines too), but it only happens on sea days.

Eileen and I arrived just after 3pm, expecting the Queen’s Room, where the tea is served, to be half empty, but more seasoned sailors than us, obviously know the score, and the elegant ballroom was packed. The waiting staff still managed to find us a table, and we enjoyed a selection of dainty sandwiches – made with bread with the crusts cut off, a cake, plus a scone or two with strawberry jam and clotted cream. And that’s the trouble on a holiday like this, as unless one is careful, it’s far too easy to pile on the pounds and thereby undo all the good work the pair of us put into losing weight, over the past few months.  

Fortunately, portions are not massive, and given the distances between various locations on board ship, it’s also easy to keep one’s step count up. Without really trying (apart from three laps around the promenade deck), I managed to clock up 10,000+ steps yesterday, and I’m well on the way towards doing the same today. I’m going to have to sign off soon, as the sun is moving round, and it’s getting difficult to see the screen, but I have to say that I really like this combination of taking it easy, watching the ocean roll by, whilst at the same time, bashing out an article or two. It’s a way of life I could become really use to this, but without further ado, I’m going to sign off now, head down to collect Mrs PBT’s from her place in the shade and head off – perhaps for a pre-dinner drink at the Golden Lion – the ship’s pub, and then make our way up to the buffet.

I will update you all, tomorrow possibly, although with time ashore, in Cadiz, it might not be until Thursday that I hit the keyboard again!