Live virtual Transatlantic on the Regal

[homeinboca]

I haven’t been on CC for a while, due to obvious reasons, but so glad I checked in and found this thread. Thanks so much for creating this. We all share a great love of cruising and traveling. So this is much appreciated as we stay home and stay safe. I will be following along. Be well. 

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

Your pictures make me miss being on a ship and having a relaxing time.  Have you ever visited Oporto, Portugal?

 

No we haven't been to Oporto . The nice thing about a TA is relaxing days at at sea followed by busy port days .

[scubacruiserx2]

40 minutes ago, bcnvcanada said:

Can't wait for the next stop and our favourite brewery in Bruge

Straffehendrik and Zot Belgisch Beir.  Thanks for posting all the'wonderful

pictures.  We have enjoyed our revisit to all the wonderful places.  Hopefully,

we shall be able to see some of them again.   

.

 

 

Thanks , we will be in Bruge tomorrow .

[scubacruiserx2]

43 minutes ago, homeinboca said:

I haven’t been on CC for a while, due to obvious reasons, but so glad I checked in and found this thread. Thanks so much for creating this. We all share a great love of cruising and traveling. So this is much appreciated as we stay home and stay safe. I will be following along. Be well. 

 

Thanks , we're glad that you joined us . Our son and DIL just bought a house in Boca after living there for years in a condo .

[CruzinNoony]

We were in Bilbao a few years ago and your pictures brought it all back.  I bet you are looking forward to your sea days coming up.  

[scubacruiserx2]

21 hours ago, CruzinNoony said:

We were in Bilbao a few years ago and your pictures brought it all back.  I bet you are looking forward to your sea days coming up.  

 

Thanks , I need to take photos to jog my memory as my memory cards are getting full .

[scubacruiserx2]

Next was the sculpture Reflectorama .

 

 

 

Looking at a telephoto shot of it gave us a bright idea

 

 

Why not use it as a selfie ball ?

 

 

But the real photograph that I had wanted to take was on the other side of the building , out of sight . Puppy by Jeff Koons .

 

 

http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/en/works/puppy-3/

 

And now , it was only a few steps away .

 

 

Unfortunately , it's coat was being groomed .

 

[ischeer]

There is a similar Koons Sculpture at Glenstone in Potomac, Maryland

 

[ischeer]

Here it is

[scubacruiserx2]

41 minutes ago, ischeer said:

Here it is

 

Thanks for sharing .

[scubacruiserx2]

We wanted to break for lunch and we had found a restaurant on tripadvisor that we wanted to try .

 

 

 

Our watches said lunch , the menu said breakfast , and our multicultural stomachs said "feed me" , so we were up for the task .

 

 

The available sandwiches were on the counter top and our choice was soon on our table . Some of that yummy ham on the left and egg on the right . He said that he could make us a breakfast omelet , so we ordered one of those .

 

 

 

 

And the winner is : 

 

[BarbinMich]

We've never been to Bilbao so really enjoyed those photos!  We've seen the outside of another one of Frank Gehry's museums--in Panama City (sailed by it actually).  Must say his works are interesting!

 

Edited May 2, 2020 by BarbinMich

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, BarbinMich said:

We've never been to Bilbao so really enjoyed those photos!  We've seen the outside of another one of Frank Gehry's museums--in Panama City (sailed by it actually).  Must say his works are interesting!

 

 

They sure are interesting . Thanks for sharing the nice photo . We did see one of his other buildings in Seattle - The Museum of Pop Culture .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

A last look or two before heading back

 

 

 

 

We did see another church on the way to meeting the bus

 

 

 

[AF-1]

The museum of Pop Culture Seattle; rivals Rock Hall Museum in Cleveland.  Well at least the area where all the guitars and rock stuff is

Edited May 2, 2020 by AF-1

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

The museum of Pop Culture Seattle; rivals Rock Hall Museum in Cleveland.  Well at least the area where all the guitars and rock stuff is

 

That's nice to know we haven't been to either one . We had lunch at the Space needle and went to the Chihuly Glass Museum and Garden . Both were great .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We had a coughing , sneezer on our bus ride back to the port , which I don't mind - if they cover up . But he didn't . When we arrived at the port , there was a line to get on the ship . Not just any line , but a very special line reaching the length of the ship .

 

When we were getting in line , there was a very strong wind but we were able hide behind the ship , with the ship blocking the wind . Unfortunately , the people behind us were exposed to the crosswind . There was only 1 gangway with wheels at the bottom which articulated with the sway of the ship . Further complicating the loading process was the many wheel chairs bound people who needed to be lifted and carried up the gangway .

 

 

Fortunately , the wind and storm blew over and moved off .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

It was time to leave the Port of Bilbao

 

 

 

 

Entering the ocean

 

 

Full speed ahead and a panorama behind .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

It was great and we had a beautiful , clear and cool day  yesterday .

 

 

There's not a lot to see in the port of Zeebrugge and so we had booked the 9:15 Bruges on your own tour 

 

 

 

After confirming the meeting point and time for our return , we headed off ahead of the group toward the city . This is the point where the buses drop you .

 

 

You then cross this bridge , and into a park .

 

 

 crossing another bridge

 

 

 

Yields this view

 

 

Walking along the canal

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

Our first canal boat sighting . We have arrived .

 

 

Brugge is filled with canals , bridges and charming buildings .

 

 

And bicycles too

 

 

Brugge for dummies

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Our first horse-drawn carriage sighting

 

 

Waiting for the canal boat tour

 

 

This is what divers refer to as a cattle boat and should be avoided  ! Hopefully ours won't be this crowded 

 

 

Mooooo !!!

 

 

It's really hard to take any good photos in the back of a cattle boat . Whenever the guide pointed out something interesting , out would come arms with assorted cameras , phones , tablets encased in double - cases and selfie sticks . The only chance to take a uncluttered photo was the dreaded nostril shot , as you passed beneath the subject .

 

 

 

Ultimately , I think that this swan had the best idea for a canal tour - a boat for 1 .

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BarbinMich]

FYI, there are other places to visit when docked in Zeebrugge than Bruges.  Although if you haven't been to the latter, that would certainly be the top choice.  We've been to Zeebrugge 3x (on TAs).  As we had been to Bruges years before, I sought out alternatives.  There is a tram line that runs along the coast and is a very reasonable way to go either direction from Zeebrugge--the stop is a short distance from the port there.  The first time I took it to the west and discovered a large tourist area at Blankenberge.  There is a tall dike along this coastline and the very old town of Blankenberge is safely behind that dike.  Atop the dike at that point is a row of hotels, restaurants, a casino, etc.  On the other side of the dike is a vast sandy beach, which I've walked on twice.  Also enjoyed walking around the old town and bought some Belgian chocolates at a candy store.  The last time we were there I rode the tram in the other direction to the town of Knokke--a very prosperous newer city with high-end shopping, lovely residential neighborhoods, a grand cathedral, etc.  A totally different experience, but enjoyable.

Edited May 3, 2020 by BarbinMich

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

FYI, there are other places to visit when docked in Zeebrugge than Bruges.  Although if you haven't been to the latter, that would certainly be the top choice.  We've been to Zeebrugge 3x (on TAs).  As we had been to Bruges years before, I sought out alternatives.  There is a tram line that runs along the coast and is a very reasonable way to go either direction from Zeebrugge--the stop is a short distance from the port there.  The first time I took it to the west and discovered a large tourist area at Blankenberge.  There is a tall dike along this coastline and the very old town of Blankenberge is safely behind that dike.  Atop the dike at that point is a row of hotels, restaurants, a casino, etc.  On the other side of the dike is a vast sandy beach, which I've walked on twice.  Also enjoyed walking around the old town and bought some Belgian chocolates at a candy store.  The last time we were there I rode the tram in the other direction to the town of Knokke--a very prosperous newer city with high-end shopping, lovely residential neighborhoods, a grand cathedral, etc.  A totally different experience, but enjoyable.

 

Thanks Barb some good information . We have enjoyed this cruise so much that we booked the Sky on a TA next April and changing to the Crown for the British Isles portion . 

[scubacruiserx2]

 

After our canal tour , we walked to Market Square

 

 

We wanted to go on a horse drawn carriage ride and since this group was finishing their tour , we wanted to hop in because I really liked the co pilot .

 

 

But we were redirected to the queue on the other side of the square

 

 

The water for the horse comes from this horse's mouth - I kid you not .

 

 

But I didn't get a photo of the water coming from the horse's mouth because I was distracted by the canine cutie .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

And so we returned back to the square from where the trip started .

 

Carriage video clip :

 

 

Their were a couple of buildings of note and with their height , they were hard to ignore . In the square is the Belfry which dates back to 1240 .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfry_of_Bruges

 

 

And the Church of Our Lady can be seen from all around the city and dominates the city skyline .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Our_Lady,_Bruges

 

 

Although we didn't go into that church , we did go into St. Salvator's Cathedral .

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Salvator%27s_Cathedral

 

This is the impressive pipe organ built in 1717 .

 

 

Modern art ? No , standing in the tower looking up .