R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 49

Mediterranean Cruise 2022 — Vision of the Seas arrives into La Seyne-sur-Mer, France

La Seyne-sur-Mer, France

On 15 May 2022 Vision of the Seas arrived in port at La Seyne-sur-Mer, putting Ursula and me in close proximity to Toulon. Before taking the ferry to Toulon, however, we decided to first hit the streets of La Seyne. It’s about a 20-minute walk west from the cruise terminal to the marina you see pictured above. A few minutes more and you’re on pedestrian streets with many street vendors:

Pedestrian vendors in La Seyne

This area is easy to find. It’s just north of ...

Fun Photo Friday — Mediterranean Cruise 2022; Aigues-Mortes Favorites

Next week we move on to Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer, Toulon, and perhaps the best pizza on the planet. Until then, here is today’s Fun Photo Friday favorites of Aigues-Mortes, France:

Mediterranean Cruise 2022 — Aigues-Mortes, Notre-Dame-des-Sablons Church and Saint Louis Plaza

Notre-Dame-des-Sablons Church, Aigues-Mortes, France

Don’t let the quaint exterior of Notre-Dame-des-Sablons Church deter you from stepping inside. We’ll take a look at that in a moment, but first I must apologize. The lighting inside Notre-Dame-des-Sablons is low and the color hideous. As such, I had to shoot in JPEG with the camera set in handheld night mode, which gave me adequate shutter speeds but made color correction almost impossible. Here’s an example of what I mean.

Notre-Dame-de...

Mediterranean Cruise 2022 — Arriving Sète and heading to Aigues-Mortes

We completed our transatlanitic cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas, docking in Barcelona on 13 May 2022. After a hike to our favorite Barcelona restaurant, we hoofed it back to Vision of the Seas to begin an eight-day Mediterranean cruise that would take us to some French and Spanish destinations not usually associated with a Mediterranean cruise. And so it was that the next day, 14 May, we arrived at the French port of Sète. We would not be there for long, however, as Ursula...

Fun Photo Friday — Transatlantic 2022; Palma de Mallorca and Valldemossa Favorites 3

Today finishes up our 2022 transatlantic cruise series, and next week I begin a series on an eight-day follow-on journey aboard the same ship — Vision of the Seas. We’ll begin with a town I’m thinking most of you will not know, Aigues-Mortes in France. Until then:

Transatlantic 2022 — Returning to a Barcelona Favorite; Restaurante Anduriña

Restaurante Anduriña, Barcelona, Spain

Today concludes my series on our transatlantic cruise, but this trip is far from over. As you may have surmised, since several of the destinations covered over the past several weeks were hit more than once, the next segment of this two-and-a-half-month journey was an eight-day Mediterranean cruise that hit seldom-visited ports in Spain and France. So, while the transatlantic aboard Vision of the Seas ended in Barcelona, our next Vision of the Seas adven...

Transatlantic 2022 — Mallorca; Valldemossa Charms

Valldemossa

Valldemossa, located on the Spanish island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands of the Mediterranean Sea is just a photographer’s dream. I put this charming mountain village right up there with the likes of Santorini, Greece; Istanbul, Türkiye; Madrid, Spain; and others. You really owe yourself Valldemossa, so put it on your bucket list. There’s even an impressive palace, the Valldemossa Charterhouse, a former monastery dating back to the 15th century:

Valldemossa Charterhouse...

Fun Photo Friday — Transatlantic 2022; Palma de Mallorca and Valldemossa Favorites 2

Palma Street Scene

Here is today’s Fun Photo Friday favorites from Palma and Valldemossa on the Spanish isle of Mallorca.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Transatlantic 2022 — Palma de Mallorca; Heading to Valldemossa

Royal Palace (left) Palma Cathedral (right)

It’s approaching noon on 12 May and we’re heading back to the tour bus. To get to the bus we once again pass the Royal Palace and the gardens (see below). Our next destination awaits, and it’s a bit of a drive. We’re about to head north for an hour-long journey.

Royal Palace of Almudaina

Our next stop is the enchanting mountain village of Valldemossa. Actually, the word enchanting doesn’t really do this place justice. You’ll find photo-worthy s...

Transatlantic 2022 — Palma de Mallorca; Catedral de Mallorca and Street Scenes

Passeig Dalt Murada (Walk Atop the Wall) viewed from Palma Cathedral

Today’s article continues our trek from the Royal Palace of La Almudaina to the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, also known a La Seu. But before we get there, I’ll be showing you the street scenes we passed along the way. We took a rather circuitous route so as to view some incredible finds. For instance, the building below is Ajuntament de Palma (City Hall of Palma) at Plaça de Cort (Court Square) about five minutes’ wal...