LIVE from the Prinsendam - 24 day Med Rivieras & River Explorer - please join us

[kazu]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I'm pretty sure that what you saw there are the famous fava beans...👍

 

Oh thank you.  🙂 

 

I should have thought of them but I didn’t.  I’m sure you are correct 🙂 

[kazu]

7 hours ago, sansterre said:

Thanks for posting about your cruise.  I enjoy seeing the pictures and hearing about Dutch Day, and the Flamenco show.    I feel like I am on this cruise with you.

My brother  boarded this cruise in the Rome port of Civitavecchia.  His name is Robert, but he might be known as Bob from Florida.  If you run into him, please tell him Jean said hello.  

 

I will indeed.

 

5 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Wow, Jacqui, you sure know how to pack a lot into a cruise!  You’re going to need a vacation when you get back from vacation.  Thanks for doing this!

 

We hope not to need a vacation from our vacation 😉 

 

3 hours ago, bobalink said:

Jacqui - your photos are amazing! Love traveling along with you.

I noticed Jose is holding a Pikolinos shopping bag. That's my favorite shoe, I have 6 pairs in my closet!

The Tapas Tour looks so fun and delicious. Savor the flavor!

 

We are indeed savouring the flavour. 😉.  There is more of the tapas tour to continue and, of course, there is today.  Heaven help me 🙂 

 

You are observant on Jose’s bag.  Those are his shoes in that bag.  What a surprise 😉 

 

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I am just catching up with you again. I can't believe the winds kept you from Ponza!  That woud have been a disappointment for me (although I well know these things happen...). 

 

I shall get there one day. 😉

 

The best laid plans 😉  The captain definitely made the right call.  The weather forecast for there was horrific.  Naples got part of the system and it just poured.

 

Can’t complain as it was our only bad day weather wise.

 

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Loving your Herculaneum photos so much. I know just where these shots were taken. Truly an incredible place that has seen leaps and bounds of improvement in the condition of its preservation over the last decade due to some very dedicated people.

 

For anyone that finds the thought of Pompeii too daunting, I highly recommend visiting Herculaneum.

 

I really enjoyed Herculaneum.  It is so different from Pompeii and our guide really brought it back to life for us.  I recommend it too 🙂 

[kazu]

Good morning from the Prinsendam and the Tagus River as we begin docking in Lisbon.  Yes, we are back in the city where we started our cruise.

 

That’s ok, we love Lisbon and have a food tasting tour planned for part of the day and will enjoy the rest in LIsbon.

 

I had problems uploading pics yesterday on board.  Probably because the whole world was using wifi - LOL 🙂 Hopefully I can polish off Malaga today if I can talk DH into a wine/beer and wifi stop 😉 

 

It’s a rough life 😉 

 

 

[kazu]

Oops...

 

I think I neglected to post last night’s dinner menu.

 

How could I forget that?  There were OYSTERS on the menu.  Yes, they picked up FRESH OYSTERS and they were really well prepared.   I got two servings of them 😉 

 

 

 

[kazu]

And, here is today’s When and Where.

 

 

 

 

Our clocks went back an hour last night.  I was really heartbroken - NOT 😄

[puppycanducruise]

Your pictures are great.

That market was wonderful.

And your tapas tour was fabulous. 

I'm enjoying reading about it.  Thanks.

[*Miss G*]

I would so not be happy with them baking and hollondaising my fresh oysters.  😂 Hmm.  Now that I think... about it an oyster bar on a ship would be nice.  😀

 

My husband’s shoes would also be in that bag.  😳

[kazu]

40 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

I would so not be happy with them baking and hollondaising my fresh oysters.  😂 Hmm.  Now that I think... about it an oyster bar on a ship would be nice.  😀

 

My husband’s shoes would also be in that bag.  😳

 

Actually  the sauce did not overwhelm the oysters.  It was quite good and I do like my oysters 😉 

 

Here they are:

 

 

LOL on your husband’s shoes.

 

 

[kazu]

We were still on our Malaga tour (sorry there will be a bit more food porn in a smidge).

 

Along the walk:

 

Loved the stained glass:

 

 

 

 

 

See the men in costume?  They are music students at the university and perform on the streets like buskers to earn money.  They also had a CD to sell.

 

 

They even posed for us 😄 

 

[kazu]

And it was time for one more tapas spot!

 

This is just bread, oil and salt but because of the type of salt it is, it tastes a lot like bacon and eggs.  Quite neat!

 

 

All different kinds of creative buns - cheese, olive, the list went on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the fois gras.  Very, very good.

 

 

Mushroom & press with Parmesan crust.  Yum.

 

 

This is the ceiling in the restaurant.  What does it look like?  If you said egg cartons you would be right!  They help absorb the sound.

 

 

 

The fideos tostados con calendar y aoli albaca

 

You mix it in

 

 

After our tapas tour we did a bit of walking and stopped at the same place for a drink.  All of a sudden this couple came with what I thought was a puppy.  It is actually 2 years old.

 

But he reminded me very much of my own Miko.  Turned out it was a SHE and she is 2 years old.  She is also a parti poodle, but a smaller size.  And her tail is docked.  

 

 

The couple was very nice and didn’t mind me talking, patting and getting kisses from their dog and helped her pose for pics.  You should have known we couldn’t resist.  

 

[kazu]

 

 

 

 

Well, DAM, this went out of order and I can’t fix it.

 

Above is part of the recording for the making of the Dutch Poffertjes.  There is more below.  Sorry about that.

 

It was King’s Day so I went to check out the special dinner in the Lido. After all, I had no food porn pics that day 😉 😄 

 

 

 

The pic above is the Dutch poffertjes and below the special cookie.  Sorry, not sure what happened.

 

I spaced and CC is not co-operating to let me fix it.

[ski ww]

All that food porn every time I read your blog I get hungry & want to go up stairs and raid the fridge. Great posts.

Allan

[bobalink]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

We were still on our Malaga tour (sorry there will be a bit more food porn in a smidge).

 

Along the walk:

 

Loved the stained glass:

 

 

 

 

 

See the men in costume?  They are music students at the university and perform on the streets like buskers to earn money.  They also had a CD to sell.

 

 

They even posed for us 😄 

 

When we are on a Douro River cruise, a group like this came onboard and performed for us. The university students music group is called a "tuna."  They are very talented and we had a lot of fun watching them.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, bobalink said:

When we are on a Douro River cruise, a group like this came onboard and performed for us. The university students music group is called a "tuna."  They are very talented and we had a lot of fun watching them.

 

Thanks - I couldn’t recall the name.  My memory is getting short these days 😉 

[kazu]

Turned into a great King’s Day night:

 

Here are some pics of the decorations and the Orange Party held that night:

 

 

 

 

 

Since we were in port late, the ship brought on some local entertainment.  And, it was a Flamenco show.

 

It’s hard to get decent pics but I tried:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a quick glimpse at a video.

 

For some reason, it duplicated and I can’t get it deleted.

 

So, just play the first one.

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

Of course, we stayed up way too late despite knowing we had an early start the next day in Gibraltar.

 

Gibraltar is a short day - just here to 1:00 pm and since we have tried twice, I was delighted that 3 times was the charm 😄 

 

I “supervised” the captain and his team as he worked to bring us in.

 

 

 

 

I had two vans booked for the “full meal deal” and was delightfully surprised with this port.

 

 

 

Look at the views we got from this spot:

 

 

Can you see the land across the water ?  That is Africa - Morocco.

 

 

 

 

 

This monument to the Pillars of Hercules was quite unique to me.  

 

This is the front as you enter

 

And this is the reverse of the monument

 

 

Had to take this from the van - but can you see the yellow in the wall?  You would see them everywhere.  They had the big round hooks in them and were anchored in the stone.  They were used to haul the guns and cannons from the bottom of the rock to the various levels.  All done by man back then.  No animals to help or mechanical apparatus.  Amazing.

 

 

[kazu]

Then we went to the famous cave.

 

 

It’s used a lot for concerts because of the fantastic acoustics now but has been used as a hospital and even by the Romans!

 

It’s naturally formed and incredibly beautiful.  They have installed lighting that changes constantly so depending on the colour you get different appreciation of different formations in the cave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

We were to visit the monkeys.  Yes, I said monkeys.  I know many call them the Barbary Apes but our guide educated us.

 

They are native to Morocco - the Atlas Mountains.

 

It is believed they came over in 711 when the Moorish people came.  They were pets for them.

 

 

We had no problems with them but we followed the rules 😉.  One roll call member did have one jump on her but just to use as a stepping stone to get where it wanted to go.

 

One guide keeps a plastic snake in his car to keep them from jumping on the hood of his car and denting it.

 

 

They are the only completely free monkeys in all of Europe.  They are well cared for with food, water, vet care, neutering and spaying (they multiply quickly).

 

  Our guide warned us no food, no plastic and no closer than 2 metres.  Those that disregard the warnings might be needing tetanus shots from the bites.

 

 

 

The myth is that apes have no tails.  This why these animals were called apes but they are in reality monkeys.  They have no tail because they come from the Atlas Mountains where it is frozen and covered in snow all year long.  Tails were lost from frostbite so genetically, these monkeys adapted.

 

They were a riot to watch - especially the babies.

 

 

But there was some lovely scenery here too.  

 

 

These two were fighting for the car and then one realized he was going to lose so started grooming the other to apologize.  LOL.

 

 

You can see how tight it is for these little mini vans.  This is the biggest size permitted to get to the Upper levels of the Rock.

 

 

This is their pool.  The babies have a riot playing here.  The babies are actually born black and then their colour lightens.  Again that goes back to where they were from.  Black attracts heat and helped protect them in the cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some more of our views.  You can see the airplane runway here.  We were to go on it.  I didn’t get what the big deal was when I booked the tour - but I soon got it after 😉 

 

 

 

 

The monkeys can be pests in the town when they come down from the mountain.  Garbage is kept in wired places to prevent them from getting in.

 

The townspeople know how to get them back on the mountain.  Firecrackers  can be used and for a major invasion they broadcast the sounds of a rabid dog.  The monkey know the difference between the barks of a regular dog and a rabid one.  They scurry right back up the mountain.  

 

[kazu]

It’s nearly time to get ready for dinner, so I will be back later to do some more of Gibraltar.

 

Here is our dinner menu for tonight:

 

 

 

[slidergirl]

Kazu,

 

I love the monkey photos!  When I did my trip to Kenya, the "cheeky" monkeys and baboons were some of the more photogenic animals around!!

 

that runway reminded me of the one runway at SFO (San Francisco) - when you approach from the South, you get very ,very close to the water before you see the start of the runway!!

[dfish]

When we were in Gibralter one of the monkeys jumped down on my friend's head.  He then sat on her shoulders and started to paw through her hair.  She was not pleased, but I thought it was funny.

 

We had to cross that runway on foot to get into the town.  They warned us to be careful and not drop a thing as we crossed because it could be dangerous to planes taking off or landing.  

[kazu]

2 hours ago, dfish said:

When we were in Gibralter one of the monkeys jumped down on my friend's head.  He then sat on her shoulders and started to paw through her hair.  She was not pleased, but I thought it was funny.

 

We had to cross that runway on foot to get into the town.  They warned us to be careful and not drop a thing as we crossed because it could be dangerous to planes taking off or landing.  

 

The monkey was giving your friend a compliment and trying to groom her/him 😉 

 

I wouldn’t like it either and I followed the guide’s instructions.

 

We were in the van for the runway and it was incredible.

 

Can’t believe I said to myself when I booked - who cares?

 

I’ll be posting this later with the story but I can’t resist this now 😉 

 

Can you see the plane?  Starting to take off and how close it is?

 

 

[kazu]

We have a VERY early day tomorrow.

 

We arrive in Porto but the port for Porto is in Leixoes which is about 1/2 an hour away.

 

The ‘researcher’ has arranged a private transfer for a small group of us and then we have a walking tour in Porto with a highly rated guide and then some free time and a transfer back.

 

The company has actually stopped doing the tour we signed up for but told me they would honour our booking unlike another company I know.  More on that later.

 

Dinner tonight in the dining room was really good.

 

I don’t usually do MDR photos but the Greek salad was very, very good.  The tomatoes were picked up in port.

 

 

And the tenderloin was really tender.

 

 

I was definitely impressed.

 

I asked about cold soups and they are offering them on Caribbean but they fear of running out of fruit on the European cruises so they don’t offer them.

 

BUT, if I want to pre-order one the night before Yudha will have one made for me. 😄. I just might take him up on the offer. 😉 

 

There’s going to be some “Rock a bye baby” tonight.  And we’ve been fairly warned about the Bay of Biscay.

 

Sail a way from Lisbon was really nice.  It was too late when we boarded to see anything but today we had clear, sunny skies as we sailed.

 

More on that later as I getting ahead of myself.  After all, I haven’t finished Gibraltar yet.

 

Cheers to you all from the lovely Prinsendam as we sail to our next Portuguese Port.

 

Look out as the next port is Bordeaux and we overnight there 🙂 

 

Of course, that means the cruise is coming to a close 😞. But we still have nearly a week.  Nearly.

 

 

[1of4]

When I was in Gibraltar back in 1996 I was told that the British say that as long as the monkeys remain in Gibraltar so will the British.  Thus the military/government feeding and caring for them.  Apparently back during the siege of Gibraltar back in the 1700s the monkeys alerted the British to a night attack by the French and Spanish.  That was the start of the relationship between the monkeys and the British of Gibraltar. 

[rkacruiser]

kazu,

 

Surely enjoying your reports and photos as well as the menu postings and food porn.  You are experiencing much more interesting menus some evenings, i.e. the evening when the fresh oysters were offered, than any that were offered during my two Nieuw Statendam cruises in January.