by Jim Bellomo | Jul 12, 2025 | Uncategorized
The next morning, we woke up in the Cape Grace hotel, grabbed a very early breakfast and headed to the airport for our flight to Victoria Falls airport in Zimbabwe. The flights went pretty well, except that Kathleen and I couldn’t sit together. Our wonderful tour organizer, Delia, had seen how tall I was and got me an exit row. That was fine, but when the gate agents saw Kathleen roll up in a wheelchair, they moved her back in the plane instead and didn’t move me as well.
Our flight in an Embraer 190 (one of our favorite planes) was a good one. It takes about 2.5 hours to get from Cape Town to Victoria Falls Airport. We had to go through passport control to check out of South Africa. Then, when we arrived in Zimbabwe (where the Victoria Falls airport is), we had to clear customs there. We then boarded a bus and drove for about 90 minutes to the Botswana border, where we had to check out of Zimbabwe and then drive a short distance to check into Botswana (by a short distance, I mean about 100 feet). Then we drove another 45 minutes and arrived at the dock where we would catch the smaller boat that would take us to the Zambezi Queen. But first, we had to pass the Queen (on the river) and go to the Namibian border. We had to then get off the small boats and walk inland about half a mile in order to check into Namibia (because legally, the Zambezi Queen is in Namibia). After walking about a mile in the very hot sun, we got back on the boat and went back to the Zambezi Queen. Whew! From the time we landed in Zimbabwe, this whole process took us about 3 hours. Just crazy.
And the really crazy thing is that we had to do it all over again anytime we left the ship. I have now done that hike from the shoreline to the Namibian border station at least six times. Might be eight. Luckily, they did not make Kathleen do the walk. I could sign in for both of us. It is also expensive, and there are a LOT of forms to fill out. We had done our Namibian e-visas before we left, so that helped a little. Thank goodness we had Delia to tell us what to do to satisfy all the legal requirements.
Now the good stuff. Once we got on the small boat to head for the Namibian border, we realized that we were definitely in Africa. Our driver, a wonderful man named Gibson, would stop if it looked like there was something to see. Usually, there was A LOT to see. So, here are some pics. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
The Chobe River was jammed with boats.
We saw nice game lodges…
…as we were going towards Namibia.
And some interesting excursion boats.
This guy got his own boat. Something I would experience later in the week.
Look! Elephants!
Up close elephants.
There are more elephants in Chobe National Park than in most of the rest of Africa.
I would say they are very friendly but I am just not sure.
This kid has lens that costs more than my camera and lens combined.
This was a swallow’s nest inside the small boat we were on.
We can see the Zambezi Queen
She sure looked good.
And then we went past her to go the Namibian Border…but we finally made it back.
I took this from the lounge on the top deck of the Zambezi Queen. African sunsets (and sunrises) are amazing.
I wish I could have taken a photo of the border crossings (especially the one we had to walk to in Namibia), but there are huge signs everywhere prohibiting photography. But I was able to get a Google Maps overhead shot of the shore-to-office route we had to take. It was pretty much soft sand all the way.
They all had something interesting about them. The Zimbabwe border had baboons everywhere, and to enter Botswana, you had to walk across mats soaked in insecticide to keep their cattle herds safe. We also had to turn over any other shoes we had with it to two people from AMA, and they had to dip them in the disinfectant and then get them back to us. And Namibia was just nuts. You walked all that way through domesticated animals (I had a nice talk with a dog while waiting for some fellow travelers to walk back with me) plus roosters that would not shut up.
I think that about covers our transition day. It was probably the only thing I didn’t love about our time on the Zambezi Queen. That and all the other times we had to do the border crossings. Everything else was just about perfect. More about that later.
Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water. —W. C. Fields
by Jim Bellomo | Jul 10, 2025 | Uncategorized
Here’s the Cape Town group. We would meet up with eight others when we boarded the Zambezi Queen in Namibia. You can see Kathleen and I on the right. And yes, I can pretty much tell you who everyone is. Well, everyone I like ?.
As I write this, I am sitting in our stateroom on the Zambezi Queen riverboat. Today has been exhausting. We have been in four countries, and I can see a fifth one outside our window. But more about that later. Today is about yesterday, or actually four days ago. Does that make sense? (Editor’s note: It has now been four days since I wrote this, and the internet has been so slow that I have not been able to finish it. I have so much more to show you, so please stand by.)
On Sunday, the plan was to tour the South African Winelands, and if the clouds finally cleared, we would take the cable car to the top of Table Mountain. Visiting the Winelands is, of course, all about the wine. So, today, Delia passed the baton to Gen, who is a true wine expert, having worked in both the travel and wine industries for several years.
Gen entertained and educated us as we drove from Cape Town to Stellenbosch. I wish I could remember all I heard, but I know I had a great time listening. She (as well as Delia) were very open about life in South Africa and about their own lives. We truly appreciated their frankness about a country they clearly loved, but not a racist system that is still in effect here.
We arrived in Stellenbosch and got out to both do a little shopping and to walk around the downtown. As you can see, I took a few photos as well. Then it was back in the “luxury motor coach” to head to our first winery, Longridge. We tasted six wines (at 10:00 am) from a Chenin Blanc (this is South Africa’s premier white) to a Pinotage (South Africa’s premier red) as well as a sweet dessert wine. All were excellent, although we have grown to love Pinotage.
We spent about 90 minutes at that winery before heading to another one, Lievland. There, we not only tasted their wines but also enjoyed a full lunch in their amazing restaurant. We stayed for at least two hours, having a great feast and another opportunity for all of us to learn a little more about each other.
So, here are my photos of our wine tours. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
A really fun sculpture in Stellenbosch
Loved this tiny sculpture on the front of a building
An entire store dedicated to one of our favorite drinks.
The entrance to Stellenbosch University
And a very dramatic church just as it started raining and I had to run for the “luxury motor coach”
Our amazing guide Gen. I have never known anyone that knew so much about wine. Even my buddies Steve and Bill.
If you look closely through this hole, you can see Table Mountain. Or not. It was covered in clouds at this point.
Our hostess at the first winery.
Pinotage
One of the things we loved at the first winery we went to was that they were training the servers to also…
…become carpenters. The ceiling in the previous room was all wine barrel staves as is this chair…
…and this table.
Another shot of Gen doing what she does best. Talking about wine.
The menu for lunch
After lunch, we were back on our “luxury motor coach” for the return trip to Cape Town. Throughout the day, we could see Table Mountain in the distance. The only major thing we hadn’t done since arriving was to take the cable car to the top. We kept watching it, but we were often disappointed because it was covered in clouds. Delia and Gen told us it wasn’t worth going up if the whole mountain was shrouded in fog, since the main attraction is taking photos of the city from above.
All day long, our hopes sank as it looked like the weather wouldn’t clear up. It hadn’t cleared since we arrived in the city. Delia said they would take us to the lower cable car station, as the view there was pretty good. But, surprisingly, as we drove through the city, the clouds disappeared, and we were able to go up! I’m sure you can see what an incredible experience this was from my photos, so I’ll let you look at them. They do have captions but you have to click on them and run the slide show to see them. Some are just views from the top.
The view from the bottom.
The cable car coming down to pick up us up.
They are round and they rotate so everyone gets to see everything.
Including some amazing views.
Of the city…
Our hotel in the middle of this shot…
Their stadium (big rugby match here the night before)
The rest of the mountain.
Lots of hyrax
They kept posing, I kept shooting.
Adorable but we hear they bite.
But come on. You have to take this photo.
More of the city…
And another incredible view.
Me being artsy at the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.
And the view from the side.
Come back tomorrow… or maybe later today. Our transition to the Zambezi Queen in Namibia was a journey I wouldn’t want to take again. Nothing bad, just too many border crossings.
Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy. —Benjamin Franklin
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 17, 2024 | Uncategorized
I am starting this post on the 16th of December as we head north tomorrow morning, flying out of John Wayne Airport at 10:45. When we get back to SEA, we will jump in our car and head south to Olympia (not home) because tomorrow night, our grandkids have their winter band concert. Both of them play clarinet, and this is our fifth-grade granddaughter’s first concert. And the really cool thing for me is that we will spend tomorrow night there, which means I will wake up on my birthday at their house on Wednesday morning.
In the meantime, since I last wrote about our visit here, we have done some more cool stuff. After our Christmas boat parade on Friday (see my post here), Saturday was about Christmas at the Mission. San Juan Capistrano is home to a California of the same name. It’s the one that the swallows come back to every year. And this year they were having a Christmas celebration. It was very nice, but we were all a little underwhelmed. Steve and I kept telling each other how they could improve the whole celebration with a lot more lights. But I did get some decent photos of the decorations, the performers and the lights. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
When we arrived there was an…
…Old English caroling quartet.
They were very animated.
Great photo subjects
Lots of fun to shoot.
Before I went to look at other Christmas decorations.
Then we ran into a wedding
The groom and bride. I love taking photos of weddings.
And you can tell we are in California.
Just liked the patterns.
Another palm tree.
A window in an old wall in the Mission.
Projected angel.
Accordion player.
The Mission at dusk.
A nice sunset.
After the show, we went for another of the amazing meals we have had since we got here. I think Jamie and Steve have spent the 18 months since we were here the last time finding new and wonderful restaurants. We did the pizza place the day before, and tonight, after the Mission, we walked about three blocks to Rancho Capistrano Winery. Delicious food and amazing wines.
On Sunday, we had a family day. Jamie’s sister Pam, her husband David and their daughter Analee, as well as our niece Cassie and her beau Omar, all came for dinner. Steve made some delicious rotisserie chicken, and Jamie made some amazing appetizers, baked ziti, meatballs, and so much more. We again ate ourselves to bursting. January is going to be a very dry and lean month for us.
This morning, I went out and took my usual walk, and just to prove that I don’t always take great photos, I took at least 50 and only found three I liked. One was a shot I took walking over Interstate 5. I am always amazed that this highway, which is about eight blocks from my brother’s house, is also about 15 minutes from my daughter’s house and about 40 minutes from ours. Kathleen drove on this road every weekday for more than 15 years to commute to work. When I was in college, I used to drive a truck on it almost every day. When I lived in Eugene, Oregon, I spent many an hour driving up and down that part of it. When I lived in Rogue River, Oregon, I lived about a mile from it. It’s kind of been the road of my life. So I had to take a photo this morning.
The dawn of electricity
The train station in San Juan Capistrano
Interstate 5.
This evening, we went for an amazing Greek meal at Greek Bistro in Laguna Hills. WOW! It might even be better than Chris’ Taverna (my favorite Greek restaurant in Florida—I love Greek food, and we have a hard time finding it in Redmond). Then, after, we were off to look at some of the most amazing Christmas light displays we have ever seen. In case you haven’t seen the photos my brother posted of their house, they are REALLY into decorating for holidays, and they do a super classic job of it. Here’s what their place looks like this year. All of these pics are ones that I stole from him. It is truly impressive. You will note that every window has a theme.
The entire house from the street
Starting from the left side of the driveway.
Across the front. (This is the apartment we stay in).
So many lights
I think they told us they have 47 large boxes of decorations they have to store.
Beautiful
Amazing
This is the Frozen window.
Mickey and Minnie window.
Winnie the Pooh window
My niece Cassie did a lot of the artwork.
Up the front walk
Along the way to the front door.
A beautiful wreath.
Almost to the front door. All live plants.
At the front door.
In the side year.
And these are the ones we saw last night on our Christmas light drive (a tradition that Kathleen and I do as well). We were in a very wealthy section of Laguna Hills that I can’t remember the name of. The lights there were amazing.
Some of these are beyond words so I may just say LIGHTS! from this point onward.
Christmas dragons?
LIGHTS!
LIGHTS!
LIGHTS!
LIGHTS!
LIGHTS!
LIGHTS!
LIGHTS!
The last few of those are a couple of places back near their home that had a LOT of lights. Living proof that sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. ?
That about concludes our trip to Southern California. We had a super time, ate and drank way too much, and my sister-in-law Jamie was a great tour guide. I would use her as my Southern California travel agent every time we are here. Plus, free room and board is quite the incentive. I am finishing this up at 3:30 AM on the day we go to the airport to fly back to Seattle, then drive to Olympia to see the kids play in their winter (Christmas) concert tonight and then home to our place tomorrow. Thanks for reading along on this short journey. I hope my photos have gotten you deeply into the holiday spirit. If this hasn’t done it, then maybe this video Steve found last night will—click here.
Deck the halls and light the lights; it’s time for some festive delights! —Santa Claus
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 14, 2024 | Uncategorized
Yesterday started with a quick walk along the San Juan Creek, a route I have taken many times before. But it’s been more than 18 months since the last time, and it has changed quite a bit. The biggest change is the addition of a cute little park with a birdhouse theme that replaced a community landmark full of tiny birdhouses that were added on a regular basis. Due to liability issues, the city took it over and turned it into an actual city park. Both the old community-created park and the new “official park” provided me with a great place to take photos. Here are a few I got yesterday morning, along with other shots on my trek. Don’t forget, if you click them, you can see them a whole lot bigger. Really!
Birdhouse
Birdhouse
Birdhouses
Birdhouses
Trees
Cacti
You tell me what you see here.
Horse
Flower
Berries
Tree
The rest of the day featured some rest time right up until we headed up the coast to Laguna Beach, where one of my favorite stores is Crazy Shirts. If you don’t know about Crazy Shirts, just know that I am addicted to them; I have owned at least 50, I have a brand new one on right now, and they last almost forever. Yes, they are spendy for tee shirts, but they are worth every penny to me. The only problem we had was that the traffic was horrid on the Pacific Coast Highway, but Steve and Jamie were wonderful about feeding my need for new shirts, and we made it up and back with less trouble than coming back from LA the day before.
After going “Crazy,” it was time for an early dinner before today’s main event. Steve and Jamie had found an amazing place for pizza—Truly Pizza. They are supposed to have some of the best pizzas in the world. I mentioned it in my post yesterday, and it really is a great place for pizza. Here are the two pies we had. They, along with some interesting salads and dessert, made for a “Truly” great dinner. Almost forgot—I need to mention that dessert. It was their own specially made soft-serve ice cream. We tried the flavor of the night—gingerbread with cherries on top and vanilla with (believe it or not) olive oil and sea salt. It was AWESOME! BTW: if you want to see the pies enlarged, just click them.
This is the “Champion Cheese.” Earlier this year it won “Best Pizza in the World.” It was good, but not that good.
I liked this one better. The Sweet & Spicy because its crust was thicker but still light as a feather.
After dinner, it was time for the main event—the Dana Point Christmas Boat Light Parade. We boarded a boat to cruise the harbor and see some truly amazingly decorated boats. And, of course, I got pictures. It gave me a chance to take some photos I would not normally get. And before I got those I got some beautiful sunset shots. Sorry but here’s the old warning…Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Sunset
Sunset
Sunset with a beautiful woman
Sunset
Boats
Boats
Boats
Boats
Boats
Boats
Palm Trees on an island
Me trying some special effects.
Boats
Boats
Folks watching.
Boats
Last Boat.
That was it. Tonight is a special “Christmas at the Mission” at Mission San Juan Capistrano. Plus, dinner with our niece Cassie and her significant other Omar. Can’t wait. Come back tomorrow. I should have pics.
Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling. —Edna Ferber
by Jim Bellomo | Nov 5, 2024 | Uncategorized
Whew! We are home, but to be honest, I am still having a hard time remembering what day it is. Hopefully, I will get over that soon. Jet lag is pretty much over, but real life is intruding into my travel life. It’s so much fun (sarcasm here) getting home to more than 200 emails I had been just throwing into a folder in Mail to be read when we were home. Now, I have to read them and respond to them. I want to go on vacation again.
Our trip home was pretty decent. The airports got the wheelchair stuff for Kathleen correct this time. British Airways surprised us with two decent Indian meals on two flights. We stayed overnight at a Terminal 5 hotel (Sofitel) and found that we liked the Terminal 3 hotel (Hilton Garden Inn) we had stayed in last June a lot better. Our flight was on time, our luggage showed up quickly, we looked at the camera in passport control, and we were out of there in less than 15 minutes from when we got off the plane. Our Welcome Pickups guy grabbed us, and with the light traffic after 7:00, we were home in no time. Kathleen was off to bed. I got the mail, watched the Dodgers win the World Series and then hit the hay. A good end to a great trip.
Madrid
Going back to the very beginning, we liked Madrid a lot. We stayed at the Hotel Preciados in downtown. As you may recall, we toured for three full days: one in Toledo (our best day), one in Segovia (another great day), and one in Madrid itself, which could have been better. Read all about those in previous posts. The summary of Madrid was that we had a great time, and we’ve now been there and done that. It’s now crossed off our list, and we won’t be going back. A nice city, but it was no Edinburgh or Amsterdam for us—but we are glad we visited once.
Lisbon with Viking
The next stop was Lisbon before our Douro River cruise. As soon as we got there, we met Marianne, who was amazing. She was not only the person directing our pre-cruise stay in Lisbon but also the Program Director on our entire river cruise. She proved to be one of the best parts of the whole 10 days we spent with Viking. Her laugh, her sense of humor and the fact that she was always UP and always FUN made her someone we will remember for quite a while. More about Marianne later.
Sadly, as you have read, when we were touring Lisbon with Viking, Fatima, the worst guide I have ever experienced, ruined the entire experience for me. Not only would she not shut up, but she insulted me, too.
Our Douro River Cruise
OK, this is what you have been waiting for—how was the cruise? In a quick word, it was awesome. We love river cruising. We really didn’t discover how much we liked it with our Christmas Market cruise on the Danube last winter because it was so darned cold. So, if you have done a Christmas Market cruise, go back and do a warm weather cruise like the Douro and see what you missed.
One of my absolute favorite things about this cruise was seeing the cruise. By that, I mean that on our Danube cruise, most of the movement on the river was accomplished either at night when we were asleep or during the day when we were on an excursion. My absolute favorite part of our Douro River cruise was sailing on the river. I think I mentioned in a previous post that I could do this cruise again and never get off the ship. Seriously, my favorite days were the ones where we spent the majority of the time sailing on the river and watching Portugal go by.
Shore Excursions
Don’t get me wrong, the shore excursions were just fine. If I had to rate them, I would put Salamanca, Spain as #1 because it was like going back to what Europe used to be in the early 2,000s before over-tourism started. I also enjoyed the short visit to Castelo Rodrigo. I mean, the castle was nice, but the best part was that it was brief. We sailed most of the day and then did about a three-hour excursion to a somewhat interesting place. Probably my third favorite was the second half of our first day when we visited the Mateus Palace. What snoozer. But the second half of the day was to visit the Sandeman winery, where they make their wonderful port wine, and be shown around by a guide who really knew what she was talking about and made the tour fun. That was it. The rest of the days, the excursion was either blah (Favios), or we didn’t go (Lamego).
The ship/boat
I really have yet to spend any time discussing the ship itself. Unlike the Viking Longship, we sailed on the Danube, the Douro River boats (you can put a boat on a ship, but you can’t put a ship on a boat, and I think you could put a Douro River boat on a big ocean-going vessel) are smaller due to the smaller locks they must get through. So, instead of carrying up to 190 passengers like the Danube boats do, the Douro River boats carry a maximum of 106, and ours only had 99. That makes so much difference. It’s much more intimate. You get to know most of the crew because there are only 36 of them. And they all do all sorts of jobs. One of our favorite people onboard was Mitra. His official title (on his name tag) said, “Bar Chef.” He was the best bartender on board, and he really kept things going in the lounge. But he was also the sommelier in the dining room and helped out waiting on tables or restocking the buffet as well. Our favorite server in the dining room, Ovi, not only served us dinner but also was the crew member who walked us to our stateroom on embarkation to show us how everything worked. She often worked in the lounge serving drinks. The lady got around.
Embarkation/Disembarkation
Speaking of embarkation…those of you who have suffered through a three-hour embarkation as we did in May 2023 to get on Koningsdam in Vancouver or anything like it will LOVE embarkation on a river cruise. Especially this one. Since we had spent two days with Viking in Lisbon before we boarded the boat, they had everyone on one of four “luxury motor coaches,” and they staggered their morning departures, which meant that each of the “luxury motor coaches” made it to the ship about 15 to 20 minutes apart. So when we arrived, we went up the gangway, and they asked us our names. We were escorted (us by Ovi) to our stateroom, and our luggage arrived minutes later.
Disembarkation was just as efficient. We were given a list of when every stateroom would be getting off (we had been asked in advance how we would be leaving the ship) and told to put our big luggage out in the hallway outside our rooms 15 minutes before we would get off. Then, at our appointed time, we got up and got off. Simple as that. It really pays to be on a smaller boat.
Our stateroom
Our stateroom was a suite. There, I said it. We splurged and booked a suite. It wasn’t that much more, but it got us some things we really wanted. The first was an actual extra room. We had both a living room and a bedroom. Not to mention a walk-in closet and a smallish bath (smaller than on our Danube cruise). So when I would wake up really early, I could sit in the living room and work on photos or on a new post without waking up Kathleen or needing to get completely dressed and go to the lounge.
The other reason we LOVED this suite was…free laundry. Yes, folks, we could send out as much laundry as we wanted, and it was included. On our Danube cruise, we had sent out a few things because we had already been in Lisbon for a few days, and then we did Prague and Nuremberg as a pre-cruise extension, so when we got on, we needed to have some things washed. But the prices were OFF THE CHARTS! As I recall, I got one pair of jeans, two pairs of socks, and two shirts, and it cost me $20. On Viking Torgil, we got to the ship with lots of dirty laundry from four days in Madrid, two nights in Lisbon and a single suitcase each. We immediately sent out all our dirty laundry (they gave us two really nice-sized bags to send it out in) and had it back early the next day. From that point on, I pretty much sent out laundry every day. Whatever I wore the day before, send it out! And it got to the point where it would come back on the same day.
If you would like to see photos of the suite, you may have to wait. I suddenly realized when we got home that I had never really taken any pictures of the suite. I had a couple (the bedroom and bathroom) but missed the living room. But never fear; you will be able to see a whole bunch soon because Mike and Cathy had the same type of suite we did, and Mike always does an awesome job of taking ship/boat/stateroom photos. His review of the cruise with all those photos should be out soon (HEY MIKE—is the review done yet? ?). When it is done, I will post about it, and you can find it right here at www.thepreismans.com. In the meantime, here are a few photos I took of our room.
The bedroom.
The bathroom
The shower. Smaller than on their ocean ships.
Our walk in closet
The Food
Everyone wants to know about the food on a cruise. We have found that Viking does a “fine” job of food on its ocean and river cruises. By that, we mean we like the food. It’s not gourmet, and it doesn’t hold a candle to Oceania. But our most memorable meals on this trip came when we were off the boat (lunch in Toledo and lunch in Cascais come to mind).
On board Viking Torgil, we had a wonderful British chef named Michael Bee Venet. I say he is wonderful less for his culinary skills than for his wonderful personality. Every night, he would preview the meal at our pre-dinner destination talk. He was hilarious. He also regularly stopped by everyone’s table. At breakfast, he would often come around with a special baked good and serve it to us himself.
But we thought his food was oversalted. Sometimes, it was just finishing salt. Some soups were fine when you got down below the surface, but those first three spoonfuls were very salty. We also thought the food was better at the beginning of the week than at the end. It wasn’t bad, just not as good. On a scale of one to ten, it was an eight when we started and a six when we finished.
By the way, when you take a Douro river cruise, you eat all your meals in the dining room. It is totally casual. I think we only saw anyone in anything dressy twice. OMG— people wore shorts in the dining room. We wore jeans and tennis shoes. On our Danube cruise, there was a small buffet area at the front of the boat, but not on the smaller Douro boat. It was the dining room or hunger.
All in all, the food was good and plentiful, and we had nothing to complain about…or wait! I want to complain about the bread. It was too good. Seriously, it may be the best bread I have had on any cruise. Delicious—and I ate way too much of it. Oh, and there were fewer veggies than we would have liked as well. Kind of like our ocean cruise on Viking Venus in June; there was a lot of red meat, which we try to avoid at home. Here’s a gallery of some dishes we ate on this trip. I will try to tell you where we ate them, but if you like great food, check them out. All were shot with my phone, so feel free to look at them on yours. Remember, you can click them to enlarge them and scroll through. I’ll start with some photos of where we all ate.
At our usual table in the dining room on Torgil.
And all of us at the Fado dinner.
Kathleen and I at Botin Restaurant, the oldest in the world. Opened in 1725.
The gazpacho at Botin
The suckling pig specialty of the house at Botin.
They also did young lamb.
But pretty much everyone had the pig.
Botin had great desserts. Especially this Catalan version of creme brûlée
And some flan for Mike.
While in Madrid, Cathy, Mike and I went to a tapas place one night. They had amazing eggplant.
As well as patatas bravas.
When I Madrid, you have to try churros and chocolate.
One day in Madrid Kathleen and I had this awesome salad for lunch and…
this wafer thin pizza. Salad was great. Pizza was not.
Stuffed peppers in Segovia
I think our best meal was in Toledo. This is my pork. Amazing.
Mike and Steve had the boar cheeks. They raved about it.
But the dessert—manchego cheese cake—was the best of the trip for rme.
They had some interesting deserts.
A pizza we had later in the trip In Salamanca, Spain.
Chorizo on the table in Segovia.
Some really great Segovian chorizo.
As always in Portugal, I ate a lot of octopus.
Lots of octopus. I think I had it at least four times. Probably more.
Of course Cathy had to have a burger. Sometimes you just need a taste of home.
When we stopped for lunch between Lisbon and Porto we got chicken or…
Portugal’s national food—reconstructed cod.
Onboard Mike got the biggest tiger prawns we have seen.
And a nice risotto
Something else we ate on board. I can’t remember what it was but it was good.
A delicious orange cake on Torgil.
And I got a hot dog! It’s a Bob thing. Only he understands.
When we stopped in the Lebanese place in Lisbon, the tabouli was excellent.
At the Fado show we got some decent soup.
My entrée at the Fado show.
I almost forgot the “Steve Test.” For those of you unfamiliar with the Steve Test. I call this the Steve Test because my brother Steve came up with it. I think it’s brilliant. This is the entire test: If you eat in a restaurant while traveling, and if that restaurant is near you once you get home, would you go there again? If it were in your hometown, would we eat there regularly? For this trip, the places that passed the Steve test were Clandestina in Toledo, the Lebanese restaurant behind the TimeOut Market and a few of the meals on Torgil, but the ultimate A+ on the Steve Test went to the Chicken restaurant in Cascais on the day we toured Sintra. I know my brother believes it’s the best chicken he has ever had.
Entertainment
If you have been reading my stuff for a while, you know we have kind of given up on shows. Besides, they really don’t have shows on river cruises. However, they did have some great entertainers come on board while we were in ports, and Mike will have photos of those, I am sure. He can stay up later than we can. But I did want to mention two of the best entertainers I have ever seen on a ship—river or ocean.
The first is not really an entertainer but a server in the restaurant. He was kind of in charge of singing Happy Birthday to anyone celebrating one. He also was a total clown. He has a great voice, but what really makes him GREAT is his face. He can turn it into the absolute funniest looks you have ever seen. Here are a few shots of our buddy Agus doing his thing.
He was singing to a woman who was celebrating her birthday.
See what I mean about his face.
No accompaniment.
He has a thousand of looks.
And is truly an amazing performer and a really nice guy.
He was so special that I am going to try to add a video I took of him. If it works, it’s right here. IT WORKED!
The other amazing performer on the ship was our wonderful, incredible, marvelous, fantastic Program Director, Marianne. We had heard that she was going to sing one night after dinner in the lounge. We were both pretty tired, but I persuaded Kathleen to go, and were we ever glad we did. She was all those adjectives I put up above and more. It might be the best show I have ever seen on any ship or boat. For sure, it was the most fun. And now that I got the Agus video to load, here’s a little bit of Marianne’s show.
Besides being the best Program/Cruise Director we have ever sailed with (35+ cruises), she is one of the nicest and most caring people you will ever meet. We would take a cruise she was on just to sail with her.
To Sum Up
How much did we enjoy this river cruise? For the first time in more than twenty years (since we took our first Panama Canal cruise on Celebrity’s Infinity in 2004), we don’t have an ocean cruise booked, and we don’t think we will take one in the foreseeable future. We have booked a Chobe River cruise in Africa, a Columbia River Cruise, and a Great Lakes cruise, but that’s it. We can’t think of anywhere that big-ship ocean cruises go that we still really want to see. We aren’t saying we wouldn’t go if friends wanted to go together, but we have been there and done that just about everywhere ocean cruises go. I guess we are now river cruise people.
WAIT! I almost forgot the best part of the entire trip—getting to travel once again with Steve, Jamie, Mike and Cathy—our October gang. We will all do it again next October when we cruise the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon.
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. —Heraclitus
