We Love to Travel

We started our journey in Barcelona, Spain.  With an itinerary that would take us to Jerez, Lisbon, Oporto and Bordeaux, among others, we would be visiting some of the wine regions favored by the British Empire over the centuries, as well as some newer developing wine cultures.   Our trip was aboard Oceania Cruises’ Regatta.

 Barcelona is a great food city – with the limitless tapas bars, the Mercat la Boqueria, and the many excellent restaurants, the hardest part is narrowing down the choices.  Most of the restaurants open late for dinner, as Barcelona, like most of Spain, dines late.  Since we were still adjusting to the time change, waiting until 11 for dinner wasn’t an option for us.  Fortunately, a very poplular seafood restaurant, Cal Pep, opened at 7.  This small diner-like place seats about 20 people at a long bar.  If there isn’t a seat open, then the waiting patrons line up along the back wall until a seat opens up.  The line was long, but the food was well worth the wait.

 From the Port of Cadiz, we took an excursion to the Jerez region, where we visited two of the three points of the famous sherry triangle – Jerez de la Frontera and El Puerto de Santa Maria.  We toured and tasted a selection of sherries in both cities – at the Gonzalas-Byass winery in Jerez, and at Emilio Lustau in Puerto de Sta. Maria.  We were amazed at the variety and range of flavors.  One thing we learned that day – sherry is not just your grandmother’s drink.

Our ship rounded the southwest point of Portugal and headed north up the coast to Lisbon, entering the port beneath the bridge, Ponte de 25 Abril, a near-exact replica of San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge.  Since we have visited Lisbon before, we decided to hire a car and guide to take us up the coast to Cascais, for lunch at the famous seafood restaurant Porto Santa Maria, then on to the historic village of Sintra (a UNESCO World Heritage site) for some sightseeing and shopping.

From Lisbon the ship headed north to Oporto, Portugal.  This city at the mouth of the Duoro River is the center of the Port Wine trade.  During the 18^th century the English set up a trading post in the city, and eventually gained control of many of the major producers.  Our excursion this day had us traveling by bus, and then by boat (a historic barco rabelo)up the Duoro Valley to the vineyards.  We were welcomed at the Quinta do Crasto winery for a tour and lunch from the estate gardens.  Quinta do Crasto is one of the premier producers of Portuguese table wines, as well as Port.

Quinta do Crasto in the Duoro Valley

After visiting the ports of La Coruña and Gexto in the north of Spain, our ship cruised north into French waters.  We entered the Gironde estuary and cruised upstream to the meeting of the Dordogne and Garonne rivers, and continued up the Garonne to the city of Bordeaux.  Two full days in this port was not enough to visit the great wine estates, and to fully explore the city, but we gave it our best try.  Our ship was docked in the city center, giving us easy access to the historic neighborhoods of the city.  One of our favorite memories was our lunch at the restaurant, La Tupina, which features the rustic fare of southwest France.

After visiting Lorient and the Island of Guernsey (a little slice of England in the French side of the channel), our ship entered the mouth of the Seine and cruised upriver to the city of Rouen.  Being in the heart of Normandy gave many of our fellow passengers the opportunity to visit the D-day landing sites.  How appropriate that we arrived hear on Memorial Day.  With two days in the city, we again had time to visit the city and its famous cathedral.

We concluded our trip with a stop at Monet’s gardens in Giverny on our way back to Paris for our flight home.  With an overnight in Paris, there was still time for one more meal, before we had to depart.

Travel to Egypt with Big Five Tours & Expeditions

The Sphinx

By Dee Brillhart

 Big Five operated this tour to Egypt which included a 4-night Nile Cruise, and hotel stays in Cairo at Semiramis Intercontinental and Four Seasons First Residence.   The Nile cruise was aboard Movenpick’s “Royal Lotus”.   The local Cairo supplier provided all the transfers and tour transportation throughout the trip.  Big Five had an excellent Egyptologist guide who stays with the Tour Group throughout the cruise and tour. 

 Cairo

The main feature of Cairo is the traffic–15million people and no traffic lights, chaotic, cars driving without lights, straddling white lines on the Freeway, goat herds on some surface streets, U-turns are commonplace if traffic jams are too much to deal with, with jaywalking a national sport!  This is a good place to have tour guides and transportation provided.

 Main things to see & do in and around Cairo:  Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza  plus other pyramid and temple sites at Memphis and Sakkara, and the Egyptian Museum, Citadel fortress with Mohammed Ali Mosque, Khan el Khalili outdoor shopping bazaar.

Fresh produce in the marketplace

Nile Cruise

We boarded Movenpick’s ‘Royal Lotus’ river cruise ship at Aswan for a 4 night.. Nile cruise.  The ship has a Sun Deck with pool, hot tub, loungers, bar, and area with table seating for buffet dining.   Food was good, all meals were buffet-style (with omelette or pasta station).

The Nile cruise was the highlight of the trip, a truly amazing experience seeing ancient ruins side-by-side with people still living their ancient way of life.   Many living along the Nile are farmers (fellaheen) living on 1-5 acre plots in mud-brick housing with palm-frond roofs along the river bank; they usually have 1 cow or a water buffalo and maybe a donkey or camel hobbled and grazing alongside the river.   Small towns, all with mosques and minarets, arid desert and mountain backdrop to lush green foliage along the river itself complete the scene.  Going into the towns at cruise stops along the way you can go to the local outdoor bazaar where everything imaginable is sold from open-air stalls – spices, vegetables, meat, bakers, clothing, with pasta-making machines, shoe-repair, and hardware stalls with giant balls of steel wool that you buy by the handful.

Dee on her mount at the pyramids.

I loved Egypt, and fellow-travelers seemed to feel the same.  It’s truly exotic compared to Europe and quite otherworldly with the feeling of having one foot in the distant past, and another in the modern-day world.  Most women cover their hair with headscarves and wear long skirts but not many in burkas.  Men wear long robes or western attire.  In Egypt they consider the Roman era “modern”.  Egyptian people are friendly and willing to help, however, “baksheesh” is expected even for pointing out a tourist site or where the rest rooms are located—it’s a national custom and it’s expected that you’ll give a few coins for any kind of assistance.   For example, our camel ride was paid for in advance with the $10 cost having been negotiated by our Guide.  Afterwards, the camel driver held his hand out for baksheesh or tip after helping us off the camel – he declined Egyptian pounds saying “I like Dollars, to give me something to remember you by”.