London through to Vigo in Spain

 St Jean-de-Luz in The Bay of Biscay on the French Spanish border. This hotel had a display of Red Chilli Peppers draped above the entrance.

 The beautiful golden sands in San Sebastian. We loved this town. It was so beautiful.

 This was from the lookout high up on Mount Igeldo which we accessed by a funicular railway. Amazingly at the top was an amusement park that was built in the early 20th century. The flume boat ride called The Mysterious river in the photo was on an overhanging concrete water channel. Everyone seemed to love it. However we preferred to watch.

16 July 16

Well finally I think I have it sussed! Ive been putting off getting this Blog started after forgetting my password and a few other issues, but here we go, now I might finally get some short accounts of our travels under way.

London was fairly quiet on our part as we were quite exhausted this time after the long trip. We took a train down to Bournemouth for a day to visit friends. They had made a booking at Rick Steins Seafood Restaurant at Sandbanks ( with some difficulty as it is always booked ahead for weeks ) but they managed to get a 3pm lunch booking. It was fantastic and we had a table by the window overlooking the marina and on out to sea.The seafood was so fresh it could have swam off the plate. Three and a half hours later at 6.30pm we left for the train station. A very enjoyable day.

We did have a couple of trips from Greenwich into London city but with the ship being anchored it meant a Tender ride to shore followed by a train overland to Canary Wharf and then the underground into the city. However it worked well and with having spent a lot of time in London two years ago it meant it was all quite familiar to us, although we did have a hilarious time trying to top up our Oyster cards for the Tube. I kept putting in what I thought was 20 pound note and it kept spitting it back until I realised I was putting in an American $20 note. Then Richard pushed the wrong button for his and it spat out 20 pounds worth of 1 pound coins. Bit frazzled but we got there. The machines are always right of course!!

Belle-lle on the coast of Brittany was our first stop. A beautiful picturesque coastal town surrounded by cliffs and beaches.

Hendaye was very nice but we loved the small towns of St Jean de Luc and San Sebastian the best especially the later. Both were day trips from Hendaye.

Yesterday and this morning we have been at sea so its been good to catch up on laundry etc. Last night we were invited to have dinner with  Captain Dag ( yes thats his real name ) and the ships manager. We were a bit reluctant at first but we had met him before although hadn't spent any time with him so it was great to be able to ask him a lot of questions about the ship and his past journeys. It was a very interesting and informative evening and quite often hilarious. He really enjoyed Richards sense of humour. I don't think he will forget him in a hurry. He had also enjoyed the welcome cocktail party that was held for us a few nights ago and Richard had to say a few words about us. Not our thing at all but he kept it light and told them we had a business in DIY and we sold a bit of striped paint. I could see a few blank faces but then most 'got it' so that eased our tension a bit. Fortunately he didn't introduce me as the girlfriend that he advertised for and was the only one to answer.  (like he usually does.)

Well we are just about to arrive in Vigo Spain. The temperature is to be around 30 deg so we have finally hit the warmer temperatures. Its been around 18-20deg up until now which has been very pleasant.

Will be back with more news in due course.