Tag Archives: travel

Bordeaux France 29-30 September 2025

Sailing up the Dordogne river to Bordeaux during breakfast onboard Sirena. We are sitting on the back of ship outside and enjoying the brilliant clear blue sky, the green flat coastline stretching for miles. We passed Pauillac where we will stop at tomorrow evening. 

Guest bloggers participate providing descriptive words. Rich in mystery. Colourful. Autumnal.  Peaceful and serene, glowing, wind kissed, verdant.  Radiant. Fertile. Lush. Vibrant. Dotted with farm buildings, spires and towers. Vineyards. Sheep. Cows. Charolais. River cruise ships. Vineyard estates. Church steeples. Water towers. Colourful Channel markers. It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood. Oh my. Perfect rows of vines in green fields. Each site begs to be described in vivid detail. The gentle wake of the ship rolling towards the shore in persistent waves. 

The ship parked right in town travelling under the bridges. 

Off the ship and a visit to Cite du Vins (museum of wine). Some fun activity. And five wines to taste. Yay. A tram to fountain where we will go on a city walking tour. 

Monument of Girond

Grand opera. (Like opera de garnier, in Paris)

3 moons. Symbol

Paris is a bigger Bordeaux. 

Replicated architecture in Paris to mimic Bordeaux. 

Romans brought wine vine 2000 years ago

Wine cellars in basement 

Big gates, big doors for protection and to collect taxes for people coming in to city

At Andrew’s cathedral. X inside. Killed on cross   Gothic style. Gargoyles. Spikes on top. 

Eleanor of Aquitaine. Movie. The Lion in Winter she died at 83 years of age with 11 children. 

Rue st Catherine longest. Pedestrian at now. 1.3 Kms. Triangle gate. North-south. 

Sculpture for blind people. Water mirror. Bridge. 

Wine tasting afterward at Coleurs du Vin. Women owns company. First one white , 80% Sauvignon blanc and somillion. Then clear red wine out of Merlot and cab sav. DeMeter With very strict organic rules. Less sulphites. Third one is Merlot. Very smooth. And a 4th complementary tasting. Very nice, sweet little place. 

30 Sep we set alarm to be up early. Gorgeous sunrise promises a sunny day. Hotel notre dame. 3 star. Very nice location and price advised my friend. Off to find market. Photos of doors, fromagerie, coffee, fleuriste, we purchase cheese and try while waiting for the tram. Past jardins publique. Exploring Bordeaux. Wonderful. A few churches with beautiful stained glass, large pipe organs. Some kind of soaked cinnamon sweet that others can eat. We spend some time in the most beautiful and interesting wine store, all wines of Bordeaux region, prices showing, round spiral staircase.  Up. Up. Up. Delight at every one of 6 floors. We make a few purchases. 

Back to the ship using our tram pass from yesterday. 

Dublin Ireland. 27 Sept 2025. Oceania Sirena

Dublin Ireland 

27 September 2025. Saturday morning 

Waking to the grey wet morning in Dublin. We can see town and will be provided a shuttle to drop us off further up river. We wanted to be on shuttle after breakfast before 10 am to miss the safety drill for staff. Yay, we made it!  It is light enough rain to start. 

We are on Do Dublin hop on bus. Starting with stop 6. Live commentary which is charming and understandable Irish accent. Places of rich n famous. 300 year old Georgian houses four stories up. Basement for servants and receiving coal through shoots. Doors painted different colours. 

Oscar Wilde quotes. Fun. Everything in moderation including moderation. Always be yourself as everyone else is taken. 

Pearse street, longest in Dublin. Police is Guardians of the Peace. Guns not allowed here. 

Trinity college. 60% grads are women now. There was a time when no women allowed to study here. 

Molly Malone statue. Our guide sang the song. And received applause. Fun

Dublin castle. 

Christ Church Cathedral. 1028 built. Was where Viking first settled. Architecture from 9th century. Archways. 

Viking museum with artifacts. 

St paddy’s cathedral built 1100s. 

No catholic service in over 500 years in either cathedral even though originally built as catholic. 

Built 1701 a library we pass. 

Teeling Distillery at 11 am stop.  Guinness stop. Sold out tour and tasting due to football activity this weekend. 1759 Guinness history. 7 floors. Sold out for weekend. Can take 7000 people a day!  Original owner had 21 kids. 

Another song. Wild Rover with audience participation clapping. 

Pearse Lyons Whisky distillery. In a church. Big renovations. 

Largest park in Europe. Phoenix park. Wellington monument. Flower garden. In 1660 was opened for royal hunting ground for royal family. 

Liffey River through city. Several bridges. Few swans through raindrops 

Jameson whisky distillery. 

There is a famous Dublin pub. 

Four courts of Dublin is very old. 

New courthouse for all Ireland. 

Vikings came in 9th century. 

Ha penny bridge. Before the bridge there was ferries connecting both sides of river. A family charged a toll. Ferries fell to disrepair. The city said either fix ferries or build bridge. It was cheaper to build a bridge. 

25 stops. On this tour.

1757 built Maternity hospital. Still here

As Rotunda hospital. 

we shall stay on a bit more to finish the tour. Our driver is great. He gets off at end of line, start at number one stop. 

Irish Writers Centre. Dublin Writers museum. Clerys department store and the tallest needle sculpture on o,Connell street. “I can see clearys now the crane has gone”. 

We walk about and find some fine Irish woolen shops. The city is alive with anticipation and celebration of big football game today. The Guinness.  The road closures. The pubs. 

We head back to the ship on shuttle bus. We will grab some food, have tea and then share a table for 6 of us, friends for dinner in main dining room. Yay. 

Good night. From Sirena at sea. Sea day tomorrow. 

Cobh Ireland. On board Oceania Sirena

26 September 2025

Beautiful sunny crisp morning to sit outside on deck of ship at Terrace Cafe on Oceania Sirena. Sky is blue with light clouds. The sunrise this morning was spectacular. We are enjoying the quiet as most guests have gone ashore after we met with immigration. A new stamp in my passport. 

We just talked with last nights entertainer, Irish Celtic fiddler dressed in Rosa Bloom sequinned spandex. She was very good musician and entertaining. 

Breakfast is over, warm drinks on the patio. Windmill twirling in the distance and sea gulls fluttering around. The wait staff setting up tables for lunch crowd. Nothing feels crowded here, lots of space and lots of great service. 

Our ship is docked at Cobh. Cute little place with colourful row homes and little shops. Cunard once had office here, I took picture of the sign over the door. 

We are interested in the Titanic experience tour. Starting in Cobh known now as “Cove”. There is no letter v in Irish language. Previously was Queenstown in 1912. Still it is visible- the pier used for titanic guests to disembark. Second largest natural port in world. We are given identification as we enter the presentation. 

I have third class identification for this experience and dear Hanna N does not survive the catastrophe. A view of the third class bedroom which included electricity and running water. Most third class did not have these luxuries at home at that time. 

Loved the tourist shops and whole titanic themed experience. We decide to take half hour rail ride to larger city of Cork. 

Our good weather is holding. Along sea coast sparkling blue surface reflecting the deep clarity of the sky. Coloured row houses on the shore. Shorebirds and low tide. Mucky shores like Nova Scotia with tide out, except the soil and clay are not red here, more grey. A few stops and thirty minutes and we arrive. 

In Cork. We walk and find a tourist information centre as maps are few and far between here. Recommended an English Market, started in 1700’s. We find it, stalls of fish, chocolate, tea, olives and cheeses. I am sure there were other things. Haha. We get some goodies and continue our walkabout. About two hours at this destination and now returning to Cobh. 

Gentle rocking of the train is tempting me to dose and sleep. 

Reading this weeks article referencing the background hum of some doom and worry and the advice is to sit, notice and focus on a miracle such as the beauty of a butterfly or hummingbird fluttering by in search of its goal, a scent, a sparkle of satisfaction. 

We set sail at 6 pm for Dublin. We are ready for specialty dining and the ship is wild and free. Deep discussions over dinner so we miss the show. Now we are spending some quiet moments in the library. Good night. Tomorrow is Dublin

Lehavre France

Wednesday September 24 2025

Waking up in the Cruise port of LeHavre. Requires a shuttle into town. Searching for an open tourist Information shop we walk to the sea. Yay. We found beach. After talking to the gal at tourism office we decide to go to Etretat cliffs for the day. We joined up with friends and took an Uber. 

Beautiful drive through serene countryside on route to Etretat. 30 minutes one way by car. 

Doors. Rooftops. Unique stone and brick buildings. Apple trees. Farmland. Black and white cows. Sculptures at roundabout of Vikings, stone farmer, fisherman with crab. Corn fields. Little villages. More roundabouts. 

Upon arrival we take in the view of the majestic sea and round stone beach. Blue sky and wind today. The sound of the mighty surf pulling relentlessly in waves over the round stones is very loud yet soothing. I walk to the famous cliffs. Up. Up. Up. Some 358? Steps someone said. Lots of micro stops for taking photos and catching my breath, allowing heart race to calm. Beautiful at top. A stone church, a garden. Taking in the spectacular view of the sea, surf, cliffs. Ancient and eroded. What a sight!

Specialties of this area mouilles frites and buckwheat crepes!  

Took city bus for 1 euro 80 each to LeHavre from Etretat. It took half hour by uber to get there and more than hour to get back with cool little stops off the highway. Beautiful regional experience. Bus dropped us at the train station and a quick brisk walk to our pick up point for Oceania shuttle into centre of town. 

I asked for specialty restaurant again tonight so we will go back to Red Ginger. Yay. We did not attend the show tonight after dinner, we sat and talked to our dinner share people. Following we went out dancing up on deck 10, Horizons lounge    Time now to sleep and gain an extra hour tonight with sea day tomorrow. 

Bruges, Belgium. Sept 23 2025

I had a glorious long solid sleep. Bit of a late start this morning with a nice shower in very small stall. 

Spoke to guest relations person who is local to the area. Free shuttle to Blankenberge to catch train to Brugge!  We get ready, get our gear and out the door, off gangway and to shuttle. Due to timing we will have a short day here, back on last shuttle at 230 pm. We can do this!

Outside the terminal of rail station, in Blankenberge the Sign says: “Kiss and ride. Max 15 minutes”. 

I think only 10-15 minutes to Brugge. We will do a walkabout and check out Belgian chocolate and some wine?  On train ride i enjoy the architecture and different roof textures of the homes. The greenery and farmland once out of the town limits of Brakenbruge. Farm equipment and crows in the fields. Many windmills making power. Blue sky again and cool but sunny temperature. 

I arrive at Brugge!  Red squirrels frolicking through trees

I am enchanted by the Waterways. Rivers or canals, locks, home for beautiful white swans and pairs of ducks. Old red brick architecture. I can hear an owl and pigeons. Weeping willows reaching down to the canal. Sunshine is bright and it is warmer now. Distant church bells clanging as we walk along a path through park to town. Rows of attached brick and stone buildings along cobblestone streets. In town little artistic shops selling Belgian chocolates and lace, pillow covers, bags made of needlework. 

Carrefour express store sells lots of wines, we pick up some rose, red and a Cava from Spain. A little something of every kind. Despite the poor map and my lousy sense of direction, we find our way back to the train station and there explore a little chocolate shop. By 130 pm we are once again on a fast train heading closer to the ship. We explored Blankenberge (some very old buildings and some locals riding bicycles, a quiet town today)and then complimentary shuttle to the ship by 230 pm. 

Time for tea at 4 to 5 pm, happy hour from 5 to 6, dinner 630 and show tonight in the lounge. Done. Done and done. 

We are out at sea heading toward LeHavre and we will be there in the morning. Good night from somewhere between France and Belgium. We have an app for finding ships!!

Monday 22 September 2025. embarkation day. Oceania Sirena

I spent the last two days in Paris. We left home on 18 September in late afternoon to begin the journey. Adjusting to a very long set of Westjet flights from Victoria BC Canada, via Calgary and overnight to Halifax.

A day at my mom’s in Wolfville. We are picked up by my friends friend and driven to my moms for the day. The gift of delicious meals, loving hugs and a restful needed nap. We drove to Kingsport beach and quick drive by some favourite sights. A beautiful gift of time. I have been pondering this article https://ckarchive.com/b/75u7h8h699kkzb6rgg7rlawl85666tnhordn0 and stringing beads through out the day. 

Back on last flight Halifax to Paris. We catch an uber to stay with our friend. 

Wandering our way through Paris, Montmartre district. Lively music in a bandstand in the park. People people everywhere enjoying the architecture, sights, sounds, energy, lights and texture of Paris. So alive. Cafes and bars with lots of patrons sharing a delicious meal with wine or beer. Walking. Lebanese lunch, tasty gluten free wrap, Grom sorbet to go. 

We spend some time on the river watching people and lights. Galleries Lafayette and Opera house. Green boxes of artwork. Bridges lit up. Bateau on the Seine. Fabulous day exploring beautiful Paris. My last blog post was featuring yesterday in Paris. 

This morning up early to repack and catch train through France to Belgium, Antwerp. We took an uber with all our bags to Gare du Nord rail station and on prebooked train 9415 to Antwerp station. Wifi free on train. Beautiful large spacious red velvet seats with huge windows and beautiful view of the lush green countryside. 

Eating quiche and focaccia bread purchased a day or so ago at Copains gluten free bakery. Fantastic breakfast. Quiet except for the rattling sound of the train on tracks. Gentle rocking as we speed along. 

Windmills and vehicles. Brilliant blue clear sky. Perfect day for a train ride. We stop in Brussels to exchange some passengers and next stop Antwerp. 

We get off train a few minutes later than scheduled. With no one around we navigate and take escalators up up and up. 

We find transfer bus arranged to take us to the ship. Yay. We drive by castle of Antwerp. I can breathe and relax and let Oceania look after the rest. Seatbelt mandatory here on bus. The Scheldt River coming from France and Netherlands. People in this part of Belgium speak dialect of Dutch, Flemish. 1813 became independent. In other provinces speak German and French. 12 million inhabitants of Belgium. 250 miles one side to other side. Very dense population. Lots of traffic. We pass through city of Ghent or Gent. Lots of grains, convergence of two main rivers. 

We arrive to the ship, get checked in and have lunch in buffet. Then to our room to unpack our bags. We had a nice time settling in. Dinner followed by a movie. 

Time to rest. 

21 September 2025. Paris France

In the necklace du Paris, we are adding the beads. 

Here is an article to read. https://ckarchive.com/b/75u7h8h699kkzb6rgg7rlawl85666tnhordn0

Sunday morning quiet in the apartment. My ears still plugged from the flight. Haha. We had a wonderful walk by the river in the city of lights last evening. Then enjoyed telling stories and a game of cards. Slept a full night and now preparing for the day. 

Walk to Sacre Coeur. Through quaint pretty little streets alive with ceramics and tourist baubles. Walking groups. 

A moment in Catholic Church service. Organ playing. Voices in song. The acoustic sound reminds me of a time long ago. Someone had a vision for this cathedral. 

Pushing through throngs of people gathered for a Sunday morning run, organized and wearing numbered purple t shirts. Bouncing to the music. I can hear the church bells clanging through the sounds. UrbanTrail. We persue the goal to see the sights of Paris from Sacre Coeur. ! The run begins Down the steep cobblestone streets. We paid for a novel ride down funicular. We passed a women’s lingerie shop but decided not to go in. 

Angel store contains everything angels!. Rubber duck store of all themed little yellow ducks. Chocolate specialty shop, Dengo. Omg. We taste and try. We purchase some treats. Amazing. 

Bougies candle store. Fragrance store. 

Copains is totally gluten free enjoying pizza, focaccia bread, flan, cookies and other delights. Beautiful French pastries all gluten free. Magically presented. We sit inside and try. 

Towards the outdoor market. A free street toilet is pleasantly surprising. We find weekly flea market for several blocks. Shopping. Browsing. Looking. Touching. Then to cemetery. A very old place, walking between little houses with family names. We share a gf cookie on a park bench. Peaceful. Quiet and amidst the city. Gentleman playing accordion in open cafe. We stop for the briefest moment. Back home to drop off treasures. 

St eustache cathedral with huge organ. More tour groups everywhere. Stained glass, candles, wooden pews. 

A map of where we can find crème brûlée in the area. Goal for later. People watching, kissing of both cheeks. Fashion forward women and men. 

The Bourse de Commerce for a large blue liquid pool full of white ceramic bowls moving gently. So many people the sound is muted and lost in the large 4 story room with glass dome. We have tickets. 

Reflections. Beads. Another. All making music, subtle. Gentle. Nevertheless. Can I just listen and hear the bowls?  Singing. Apart from the words and talking sounds. There it is, the music. 

The craving mind wants more quiet, more bowls, less chatter. The grateful mind hears the song. Thank you

The sunshine through the glass dome. Reflections on ceiling. Magic. Up the elevator checking out each floor and finding the little mouse art. I bought a postcard for boys. 

Five Guys for fries (gf) on way to Shakespeare and Co. , Notre Dame cathedral and walking over some bridges. 

We line up for the book store only five minutes till close. No time to shop in a meaningful way. But fun and we went inside- bead. Over the beautiful bridge to Notre Dame cathedral for the bells ringing at end of service. The people spill out. 

We find a grocery store and pick up Comte cheese, bubbly water, green olives, red wine from Bordeaux with a new corkscrew.   Down to the river by a bridge. Waving at the passengers. Such a lovely way to spend the evening. Good friends. Another bead moment. 

Back to the bridges for sparkling lights view and people watching. Couldn’t get the metro so we bussed to the area. Walked to La Village for shared crème brûlée. More walking up up the hill. Ready for another relaxing evening and good sleep. 

Disneyland Paris 25 May 2025

We take a few metro stops and end of line arrival at Disneyland Paris Park. Oh exciting times. Children, parents, couples. Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears, Disney T shirts and hoodies. People have been here before!! Haha. 

So many stuffed animals from all the recent Disney movies. Little girls in long princess gowns. Parents in Mickey ear headbands. Backpacks with Disney logos.  

We start our day in Frontierland park. I remember we had the Frontierland game when my brother and I were young. And I flashed back to the Disney books we had when young including stories from this theme. Such fond memories of family time. I also reflected on both my daughters loving Disney movies like Mary Poppins, Little Mermaid and The Lion King amoung others. How they could sing and play many of the parts of a full length movie. A few of my favourites are Jungle Book and the Sword in the Stone. When I was a child Mary Poppins captured my heart. 

We take in a few rides and a walk around. Then Adventureland. We made our way to the 4 parks. Walking 20,000 and 13 Kms. We arrived just after 10 am and left after 8 pm. A full day of people watching and heightened stimulation of all the senses!!  

The day was fun and we enjoyed the adventures. Rides included Peter Pan, Star Wars, Pirates of Caribbean, Carousel, Tea cup, Indiana Jones, the Phantom Manor, It’s a Small World (which we saw twice). 

We saw live musical The Lion King in reserved seating. It was amazing. We toured the Princess Castle. We shopped in some of the many beautiful stores. We took in some musical events and saw some of the Disney characters signing autographs. We stopped to rest at a Cowboy Barbecue. 

We left after the grand finale with music and fireworks and like billion people gathered. 

Taking the metro to a few lines on our way home. I leave in the morning so this will be my final metro and walk up up up the hill for the night. 

Paris, the last full day 24 May 2025

Late start. Sleep in and big breakfast of healthy veggies in lentils and curry on salad. 

Time to write my blog and post from yesterday.  

Metro to a large produce market, alas, it was closing up when we arrived. I got a glimpse of colourful olives, vegetables and cheeses. I stopped abruptly to admire the pink and pale peonies ready to burst into bloom. Photos and memories is what we get from this market. 

We walk to a grocery market store and pick up picnic items for an outdoor snack with nibblies (Hagen Das salted caramel ice cream, fresh berries. We sit on a park bench to admire the iconic Eiffel Tower from up close. Also great people watching. Families and couples, individuals, shoppers, children squealing, laughing and playing, Saturday persons. Birds tweeting in the trees. A school band practicing playing classical music in the park. The sun came out!  Ahhhhh, Paris. A rest and very enjoyable. 

Then we walked to the Eiffel Tower and around the bridges over the river. Second snack stop for cheese and olives and gf crackers. So lovely and a change of perspective view of the tower. So many wedding photo shoots here today, maybe ten that we saw. There must have been lots more. So festive and happy, all the happy couples posing together. 

Then to the metro to find IKEA. Interesting to find it in a mall that is conveniently located next to a metro stop. We shopped for bargains that are needed in the home. So much fun, a few laughs and lots of stuff to carry back at the end. Big IKEA bags through small metro styles. But we got seats and the walk up up up the hill from Pigalle metro station. 

Now putting all the IKEA items together. And enjoying a dry red Bordeaux and a few more giggles. 

Paris, France 23 May 2025

Bonjour, another blue sky day in this beautiful city, Paris. Friday in Paris, a relaxed day. Slow start, looking out the window to the courtyard. Greenery mixed with the aging stone and brick. Grateful for the time to read books, do some writing. For exploration of this beautiful place. For having a place (home base) to hang out here, right in the city. 

To have access to walking and Metro, small boutique shops, large Galleries Lafayette and quiet simple parks, artist lofts and fragrant tasty produce, wifi and Google maps, everything and nothing, all at my fingertips. The taste and scent of juicy red strawberries and tiny grape tomatoes.  The subtle cooing sound of pigeons pecking between stones in the street. 

I am seeing a lot of the culture and sights of Paris on this trip. Not necessarily only tourist places, but the residential and daily business areas also – the streets and sidewalks, storefronts and cafes, construction in the streets, the people eating and drinking in doorways or at small tables in the gathering areas. Shops selling fresh produce, ceramic and painting art, vintage and designer clothing, all varieties of spirits, tobacco and wine, exotic eye glass frames, hundreds of varieties of cheese in fromageries, breads and sweets in patisseries and Boulangeries, designer running and upscale dress shoes, hair and nail salons, fleuristes selling cut flower bouquets and large growing plants, ice cream and gelato offerings, boutique chocolate and macarons, woolen and linen hats and silk scarves, touristy stuff like postcards, linen towels, Tshirts, nick nacks overflowing into the street. 

I like the feeling of the culture and the experience of being present to the ordinary in this extraordinary place. Hills, stairs and flat along the river and canal. Weather mostly sunny, one small few hours of drizzle – enough to see the variety of umbrellas protecting people as they traverse about the cobblestone streets. Red flower boxes hanging on small French balconies on iconic architecture. It’s an iconic and beautiful site, Paris in the drizzle. 

And when the sun shines and sets, it is beautiful with all the bursting colours and joyful faces of children laughing and playing, people seated outside of cafes or along waterways lined up as if watching a movie in a theatre. Many in deep conversation or engaged with their phones and devices. Drinking cafe, red wine, golden beer in large draft glass or from a can. Flowers in front of shops exploding in deep reds, spring greens, royal purples, yellowy golds, soft pinks, vibrant oranges and pure white. The sky a solid baby blue with intermittent white silvery fluffy clouds moving through. 

All the senses alive and peaked. Hear the many accents being spoken on the street, French accent speaking English and other accents trying to be understood. Passion and connection everywhere I look. 

Today I took the metro to the river. Purchased some veggies, cheese, wine and enjoyed an outdoor picnic by the water. Bustling with activity the area is alive with music and sounds, colourful sights, artists displaying their wares out of the green boxes and pigeons searching and cooing. The sight of Notre Dame cathedral in the backdrop. Photos being taken. 

After the snack took metro to the University of Paris area where students reside in “houses” of many different nationalities such as Sweden, Greece etc.  A celebration happening with drinking, music and cultural exchange from each house. It’s a huge area, beautiful homes and lots of green space. What must it be like to attend University here?  Such a mixture of culture all in connection and relationship to each other and the homeland of Paris France. Soccer, basketball and other sports being played in fields. 

Riding the metro home, it’s almost dark and the sky is a mix of colour and dark.  Ahhhhhh, Paris. 

Tomorrow, Saturday, an easy day planned. Catch up with blog, head to the outdoor produce market, maybe go to IKEA and visit the Eiffel Tower for some up close pictures. 

Sunday to Disneyland Paris!  Monday I fly home. 

Goodnight and Bonsoir!  A demain.