Port Stop: Vigo, Spain
Our first three stops included Portland, UK (Weymouth), Cherboug and Vigo. Feeling a bit lazy, we opted to enjoy the ship instead of exploring Portland. We visited that stop on our British Isles cruise. Cute town but we weren’t in the mood. Rainy weather in Cherbourg, kept us from venturing too far. The ship excursions included day trips to Normandy. We took a three day land vacation to that area, so we just walked around the cruise terminal area.
Just off the ship, we avoided the rain by checking out the terminal building. The first thing we saw was the giant wooden luggage rack used by guests of the Titanic. Originating in Southampton, the first stop for Titanic was Cherbourg and the second European stop was Cobh, Ireland. We visited the Titanic museum in the that small town a few years back. Cherbourg’s terminal still has signs about Ellis island. Inside is a museum and an aquarium. We simply walked around looking at the free exhibit and went back to be lazy on the ship!
With a nearly empty ship, we went to the Crown Grill bar for an afternoon cocktail. While I ordered an Aperol Spritz, Barry was still thinking. The bartender, Jasper, misunderstood and thought we each wanted on so he made two. Just to help the bar tender out, I offered to drink them both. Waste not, want not…
After our afternoon cocktail, we played a couple of games and went back to our cabin. It was time to prepare for Catch By Rudi… Barry’s favorite, seafood. hahaha. My appetizer (on the left) was a sea food tower. The main course, Triple S Platter (middle), included this giant prawn suspended on a hook, Scallops and Salmon. Barry ordered a surf and turf… I got the surf! It was a nicely prepared piece of lobster.
After turning away the photographer, Barry surprisingly agreed to one click of the camera. We had finished our appetizer and main course. Our package includes Belle Glos, so that was our wine for dinner. Now, it was time for the grand finale… dessert.
Named “Delight in the Air”, this gluten free dessert was delicious. Ordinarily, we don’t order the dessert, but we made and exception during this meal. We would waddle off the ship if we had every dessert and ate every bite! Back to the dessert… this is a Strawberry Pavlova. Consisting of a lightly crisp meringue, with earl gray scented Chantilly cream, it was the strawberry consume poured over the top that made it special. A couple of basil leaves added another level of tastiness! Wow! Delicious.
Swinging by the Princess Theater on our way to the elevators, we enjoyed a few minutes of this musician. Usually, we miss the shows because we get to talking or we have dinner in between showtimes. We ended up settling into some seats and watched the entire show.
On a previous cruise, we were rerouted to Vigo due to weather. With no time to plan, we just got out and walked around the port area. For some reason, we didn’t venture far. A large building next to the dock had many shops. We stopped in to pick up some candy to nibble on in the cabin. We only had a few items and it came to 80 euro! Deciding not to make the purchase, that left a sour taste about Vigo. This time, we had a purpose…
Adjacent to the harbor stood an unusual sculpture. Named El Banista del Arenal, translates to “The bather of the Sandbank. When I saw it, a completely different meaning came to mind. Once back in the cabin, I had to look up the significance of this piece. Created by Francisco Leiro, the goals was to bring appreciation to the swimmers of Galicia and their close relationship to the sea. Three sculptures can be found throughout Galicia.
Not quite sure what we wanted to explore, we knew we had to look for a clothing store. Barry realized that he had forgotten to pack his tux shirt. He brought everything else… so off through the tunnel we went. Entering a plaza, we found fruit stands and restaurants.
Most exciting was to look up and see that we had walked into Christmas! Everywhere we looked, ornate decorations filled the pedestrian area. I can only imagine what this charming town looks like at night! After not wanting to visit this town, I actually heard myself say that I would love to return for a land-based vacation next December! Apparently, it doesn’t take much to interest me and get me planning…
Window shopping for food rather than clothes is pretty fun! My mouth was watering at the tasty looking pastries. Possibly, there would be a gluten free option, but nothing had signage, so it really didn’t seem like there was anything for me to enjoy. Fresh sandwiches… ham hanging from the ceiling… oh so tempting!
Roaming the streets gives insight to the local’s lifestyle. It seems commonplace to buy flowers. We saw several walking with a small bag of groceries and a bouquet of flowers. As we strolled by, we noticed a well-dressed man walk from the florist, straight across into this doorway. When he opened the door, we got to peek in and see what was behind the door. Once opened, we saw a large atrium type area. You would never know that such elegance would be behind this relatively simple door.
My favorite! In addition to the lights that decorated Vigo, there were several displays like this one. Adorable…
After visiting several stores, we finally found a shirt. Vigo has a good sized shopping area but all of the clothes seemed more casual. Long sleeved, button up shirts were all displayed with rolled up sleeves. We almost walked out of this store but at the last minute noticed there was an upstairs. On one of the shelves, we saw a shirt that was made for cuff links. It wasn’t a typical tuxedo shirt but it was as close as we could find. Other stores we visited didn’t even know what we were talking about… we had asked for a shirt that could also use tux studs. No one had ever heard of that. The sales people told us cuff links and tux studs are an American thing. Who knew…
The final stop for those who walk the Camino de Santiago is at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. In the heart of the city, this couple had just completed the walk. As soon as they arrived, the man got down on one knee and proposed… I believe they walked 32 days. What a special moment. Also, one of the couples we’ve enjoyed spending time with on this trip… the husband walked the pilgrimage trail. So impressive. It was a treat to visit the ending spot. Walking the trail definitely intrigues me… although our joke on the ship is that we will Uber rather than walk…
Back onboard, we grabbed an afternoon cocktail and hung out on the balcony. It’s always so nice relaxing and reading while on a cruise. With our cabin located on the “sunny side” of the ship, we were able to avoid hanging out with the crowds. We have actually spent quite a bit of time on our balcony this time.
