Trip with F's on a BP. Firsts, family, Food and Fun.

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Back at the shuttle stop Mrsdrron got herself a new part time job.


Well the fellow did need a nature break. The stop was outside an entertainment centre. It had a very unusual sculpture outside.






And a Bilbao tram goes past.


A few views from the bus on the way back to the ship.

 

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M ore from the bus.

 

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The ship left Bilbao at 1830. looked a bit miserable.




So we went to Indochine for dinner starting with a usual coughtail sampler.


Mrsdrron had her usual water paper roll and I the chicken skewer.




Mrsdrron had the char sui beef for mains.


I fitted in a tom yum soup which really was yummy. The menu said they had a spicy lamb Rogan Josh. As I had never had a dish that really lived up to the word spicy it came out like this.


It was perfect. The best Indian curry I have had. Soured some what by seeing these monstrosities.


But then we both had our favourite dessert the kaffir lime and ginger creme brulee.

 

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We are now on the final 3 days of the cruise .Only 2 Spanish ports before arriving in Lisbon. Gijon and Coruna. I wasn't expecting anything wonderful. but it turned out these ports had the best included excursions by a long way.
Arrival in Gijon was underwhelming.


Lots of lovely coal.






Our exursion was called Snapshot Gijon which didn't engender any excitement. The bus trip started and the street were nearly empty. it was Sunday.







Through the CBD and we came to the first highlight which was an old fort with a view over Gijon.

 

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The siege o Gijon was one of the first battles of the Civil War.

Siege of Gijón

The Siege of Gijón, one of the first actions in the Spanish Civil War, saw the anarchist militia crushing a small Nationalist garrison in Gijón, between July 19 and August 16, 1936. The militia - nominally fighting in defense of the Republic - laid siege to the Simancas barracks in the city of...

military-history.fandom.com

It had a terrible efect on Spain. both sides were ruthless at times with the Nationalists being worse.

The Blood-Stained Legacy of Northern Spain's Civil War | David Ebsworth

www.davidebsworth.com

now though the site of the first battle is peaceful with very little evidence of the fort.












There is evidence of the path from the Fort to one of th btteries which is now a great viwpoint.


Nect we are off to the University. The land is basically agricultural.


Storage of produce is above ground.




Those trees are apple. Gijon calls itself the capital of Cider.

 

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The University is only a very small part of this building. It houses a magnificent church,a 1500 theatre and several other organisations. It is the biggest building in Spain. An intriguing history. Conceifved during the Second Republic by Franco politics Still intervenes. A proposal to seek World heritage listing was defeated by politics.
First the History.

History

www.laboralciudaddelacultura.com

Then the politics. I used google translate.

'Ilustra el franquismo', dice la izquierda para rechazar que la Laboral sea patrimonio mundial

El Principado no ve 'viable' hacer la petición y el PP acusa al PSOE de 'sectarismo' l Movilización social en favor de la idea de los antiguos alumnos

www.lne.es

And now the visuals. There were frequent showers during our visit. A plus because it reducfd the numbers wandering around the open spaces considerably.




The church.

 

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Now walked around the back of the church . It does h ave a lift to take you to the top but it was being renovated.

 

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The last of the University.
















and we head out through the foyer.

 

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And now back to the ship.

 

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That evening the Venetian Society coughtail function. We were presented with our certificate for saing 500 nights. We get a 14 day complimentary cruise.

After that dinner in Atlantide. Mrsdrron started with prawns and then had the lobster.




I've forgotten my entree but cod for mains.




Mrsdrron had th dessert of the night and I the cheese plate.

 

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We awoke docked in La Coruna, Galicia.




We came back after breakfast to find that our butler had provided us with several snacks.
Ours was an afternoon excursion so had a light lunch in the Japanese restaurant.




After lunch we hopped in the bus and took off for the countryside.

 

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We went a fair distance into the countryside. nice scenery.
























And then we stopped here.


This wasn't in the description of our excursion. We were told hat we were stopping for some wine and Tapas. Not expected on an included excusio these dys.

 

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The views from here were stunning so everyone first went out on the balcony to take a few pictures.








They were generous with the food. 2 plates of each dish for each table of 8.










they were pretty tasty as well
Then the wine not too bad and easy drinking. Our table ran out of wine pretty quickly. We got another 2 bottles whilst we were there. unheard of on a ship's excursion.

 

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I went out on the balcony before most had finished and had it too myself for a couple of minutes.










Leaving the restaurant.

 

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Back on the bus. The next thing is a drive around the old town.

 

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First we went around the edges of the old town.


Unfortunately not a good photo as the bus didn't stop. but it is a statue of John Lennon.

Sculpture of John Lennon in the Jardines de Méndez Núñez

A life‑size bronze statue of John Lennon by Spanish sculptor José Luis Ribas Fernández stands in the Jardines de Méndez Núñez in A Coruña, Spain.

lennonmemorials.com

 

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But there was going to be another stop. We proceeded around the bay next to the port.










And then we caught a glimpse of where we were going.


So we stopped at the Tower of Hercules. I knew that I would not be able to walk up and back in the time allowed. It is the only lighthouse from Greco - Roman times to have retained a measure of structural integrity and functional continuity.

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1312/

 

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I recognised the trees lining the car park.


The NZ Christmas tree. So thought the portaloos were appropriately named after Mrsdrons favourite brand of Sav blanc.


more views from the car park.




then back on the bus and retrace our steps.

 

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Coming back to the old town the bus was forced to the left by oncoming traffic and lost the passenger side mirror so though it wise to do jut a couple of streets as in the above pictue. Even so we were back at the ship a litle after 1830 and it was due to sail at 1900.

 

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The last few photos of la Coruna from the ship.














La Coruna surprised me. I didn't do much research but this excursion was definitely the best of the voyage. All the folks wemet were very friendly. Although we didn't eat in town I am very familiar with Galician cuisine. I used to eat at a Spanish restaurant in Liverpool street Sydney called Galicia. In University I went once a week. That dropped once working due to on call rosters and in the first 2 years working just being exhausted.
I would have liked to spend a few days here. sadly not to be.
So only the night and a sea day left on this cruise.