Hurtigruten's one off to Morocco, Spain, Portugal and Eastern Baltic.

Have you ever wanted to sail along the coast of France, or call at Agadir in Morocco onboard a ship with a relaxed and informal atmosphere? Hurtigruten is offering guests the chance to do just that when it takes its unique sailing experience outside of its traditional destinations on a host of special European voyages.
The one-off sailings onboard Hurtigruten’s expedition ship, MS Fram, will take place during the spring and autumn and will incorporate some of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
With six voyages to choose from, the schedule will include the south western coasts of Portugal, Spain and France, the eastern Baltic coastline and St Petersburg and will extend to the far north of Europe to Scotland, Iceland and Greenland. There is also a spring voyage around Norway’s fjord area for those who would like to see a little more of this beautiful landscape.

For more info and booking details, be sure to check out this link with the UK's luxury cruise specialists, The Cruise Line Ltd.

Uniworld Launches NEW ship, the Douro Spirit, in Portugal and Spain’s Breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage Douro River Valley

This week, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises’ new ship, the Douro Spirit, made its debut on the ‘Portugal, Spain and Douro Valley” itinerary.

The Douro Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage region, is being increasingly recognised for its wine making and natural beauty, reflected in an impressive 80% growth in UK river cruisers in 2010 over 2009, according to recent figures from the Passenger Shipping Association. Its Port heritage dates back over 2,000 years with the oldest demarcated wine region in the world. The Douro Valley is also a cultural landscape of exceptional beauty with rambling vineyards and charming quintas clinging to the steep slopes of its valley, creating an incomparable backdrop to one of Europe’s most unspoiled regions. And this is what you can expect to see and experience from the comfort of Uniworld’s new Douro Spirit.

Every riverview stateroom and suite onboard the Douro Spirit features a French balcony, so guests can get closer than ever to the breathtaking scenery of the region’s unspoiled natural landscapes. The Douro Spirit’s common areas provide added comfort with a main lounge featuring a full-service bar and dance floor, a restaurant, a sun deck with Jacuzzi® and small swimming pool, a lovely onboard restaurant with open seating, a fitness room, a massage room, a beauty salon and a boutique. And all of this is presented on an intimate ship built to accommodate a maximum of 128 guests and provide the small-ship boutique ambience preferred by Uniworld’s experienced travellers.

Uniworld’s 11-day Portugal, Spain & the Douro River Valley cruise includes: three nights in Lisbon at a deluxe hotel; a 7-night cruise in a stateroom with a French balcony onboard the new Douro Spirit; all meals with complimentary fine wine, beer and soft drinks served with dinner onboard; 10 fully-hosted shore excursions by English-speaking local guides; return flights and transfers on arrival and departure days. Prices start at £2,499 per person.

For more information and to book please visit http://www.uniworldrivercruises.co.uk/

The Naveta des Tudons

The Naveta des Tudons is about 3,000 years old and is found in Menorca. It is the oldest roofed building in Spain and has a horseshoe shaped interior. The building resembles an upturned boat therefore this kind of prehistoric building is known as a "naveta" (vessel).  As you can see it was a bit overcast and raining when we were there but in someway this added to the visit. I hope you enjoy your day now.

The Alhambra

I find the patterns in the ceramics in The Alhambra absolutely amazing. If you look at this one long enough  twelve designs can be found vertically, diagonally and horizontally. There are also three layers of patterns as well as larger shapes that suddenly spring at you.

Enjoy your weekend.