Ashore in Cambridge

Hi everyone,

During our first 'Schengen Shuffle' this year we spent a week in Cambridge.  Such a lovely city.  Very laid back.  So many pubs.

A River Somewhere (in Cambridge)

Our AirBnB was a 15 minute walk from the city centre.  The walk along the river beside a park into town was a delight.

Wonderful Parks

Used-to-be Locks

The city centre is a popular tourist site.  We had a week to explore and could head into town before most of the tourists got out of bed.  If you go there find the clock shown below.  Super-cool, but you have to study it for a while to figure it out.

Punters

Second Coolest Clock I've Ever Seen
(no pressure JohnH)

We've visited Cambridge several times over the years.  We always visit The Eagle for a good feed and to see the roof 'decorated' by RAF and USAAF bomber crews during the Second World War.  Lest We Forget.

The main bar in The Eagle

Roof in the main bar of The Eagle

We usually visit Kings College.  This time it was covered in scaffolding so we didn't.  Just strolling around the city is great fun.  Most evenings we walked to a different pub, sometimes well out of the city centre.

Colourful Cambridge Shop

Just another pub

And another

Old terrace

It was great to revisit Cambridge.  We hope we'll do so again!

Flying Away

From Cambridge we moved to Norfolk for a few days with family, then flew back into Europe.

Ashore in Porto #1

Hi everyone,

After our short stay in Reston, VA we flew to the UK.  We spent a week visiting relatives before flying to Porto in Portugal.  We had visited Porto briefly on Zen Again in May 2021.  See here.  This time we'd have longer to explore.

Colourful houses

Colourful Supermarket

We joined a day trip to visit the Douro Valley.  That's where all Port wine is grown.  The Douro River goes all the way to the Spanish border and beyond.  The river valley in the wine growing area is very scenic.

Our day trip started with a train ride up the valley.  The line runs alongside the river with some nice views.

A view from the train

Vineyards from the train

Railway station decorations

From the train we moved to a coach and up into the hills to a vineyard.  We were welcomed with a glass of Moscatel.  Then we were set to work in the fields!

Approaching the vineyard

Harvesting Moscatel grapes

Glass of wine anyone?

Beautiful Country

Just Us

Having earned our keep we were treated to a traditional 4-course Portuguese lunch.  Very tasty indeed.  Accompanied with music, dancing and poetry.  After lunch we toured the winery and tasted some more product.  Then it was back on the coach which took us all the way back to Porto.

More wine tasting

Douro River view

Back in Porto we've been exploring the city and trying out cafes and restaurants.  It's a mission!

Micro-Brewery

Who knew there was a Reynolds winery?

Porto Shopfront

Baking the famous Pastel de Mata custard tarts

Trying the product - with Port of course

We did another day trip by train.  This time to Aveiro south of Porto.  It's known for its canals and is a nice town.  Quite touristy but very pretty.  There was a very interesting Art Nouveau museum too.

Averio Canal

Canal Boat

Fancy Bridges

Interesting Museums

Aveiro Square

Nice Lunch!

Aveiro Shopfront

Colourful canned fish shops are everywhere in Portugal

Spectacular Streets

Spectacular Squares

Just another snack back in Porto

Next we'll be doing a 'Schengen Shuffle'.  Back to the UK for a short stay.