R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 51

Fun Photo Friday — Transatlantic 2022; Valencia and Sagunto favorites 2

Today I’m including one shot of Sagunto amongst six others of Valencia. See if you can pick out which one does not match the rest:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Transatlantic 2022 — Valencia; Inside the Silk Exchange and Sant Joan del Mercat

Silk Exchange “Palm Tree” columns

Looking at how the Silk Exchange is surrounded by churches, one supposes that the merchants of Valencia feared for their souls. In a moment I’m going to show you another of those churches, but first we’re going to study the incredible details of the Silk Exchange. Above is the Hall of Columns, and those columns are meant to invoke palm trees. Impressive, for sure. But equally impressive are the bas-reliefs decorating the interior walls:

Silk Exchange bas-r...

Transatlantic 2022 — Valencia; Street Walking in Valencia

Today I’m going to take you on a walking tour that started from the Valencia Cathedral. From there we meandered up and down narrow, colorful streets adorned with flowers and flags. For instance, here is Miguelete Belltower (Valencian: Torre del Micale/Castillain Spanish: El Miguelete) at Valencia Cathedral:

Miguelete Belltower, Valencia Cathedral

If you look south you’ll see another nifty belltower in the distance. This is the tower at the Church of Saint Martin (Església de Sant Martí)...

Fun Photo Friday — Transatlantic 2022; Valencia favorites 1

Most Fun Photo Fridays I present around half a dozen photos. Not for this series of four. There is simply too much to see in Valencia and Sagunto to limit myself to six in each of the four Fun Photo Friday favorites of this area. Today I present eight. Click on any image below to enlarge and to bring up today’s slide show featuring seven more images:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Transatlantic 2022 — Valencia; Walking around Valencia Cathedral

So, just how much is there to do in, and in the vicinity of, Valencia? Enough that we’ll be exploring both this city and nearby Sagunto this week and over the course of the next three. Yep, there is just so much in this area to see and photograph. For instance, today we’re going to concentrate on just one incredible structure.

Valencia Cathedral

In Valencian it’s called Església Catedral-Basílica Metropolitana de l’Assumpció de la Mare de Déu de València. Those speaking Spanish refer to...

Transatlantic 2022 — Valencia; Our Next Port of Call

Our next port of call came three days after leaving Tenerife, Canary Islands. Like the Canaries, we were at another Spanish port. But this port was on mainland Spain east of the Strait of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean. So, on 11 May 2022 we found ourselves in Valencia. If you’re keeping track, that means Vision of the Seas had completed the transatlantic portion of this 14-day cruise, and we were getting close to our final destination. And, as is frequently the case, Ursula had us lined up ...

Fun Photo Friday — Transatlantic 2022; Tenerife favorites 3

Watch That First STEP!

Time to finish up with the Canary Islands and Tenerife. Next week we move on to the next destination on our transatlantic voyage aboard Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas. I hope you’re enjoying this voyage so far, the first of five we took beginning in April. Interspersed between those cruises will be a side journey to Germany, and then a four-day stay in Dublin, Ireland before we return. So, until next week, here is today’s Part 3 of Fun Photo Friday favorites of Te...

Transatlantic 2022 — Tenerife; Touring San Cristóbal de La Laguna

Iglesia de la Concepción (Church of the Conception) in the Plaza de la Concepción

Today I’m taking you on a photographic tour of one of the most picturesque areas in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Plaza de la Concepción. This charming pedestrian street is lined with everything from bright green trees, to colorful buildings, to cafés with tables beneath shady umbrellas:

Plaza de la Concepción

As you approach from the west you’ll pass a structure dating back to 1511. This impressive building ...

Transatlantic 2022 — Tenerife; Arriving San Cristóbal de La Laguna

Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna

Our tour group arrived at Plaza del Adelantado in an Cristóbal de La Laguna in the early afternoon. This would be our last stop before heading back to Santa Cruz de Tenerife to rejoin Vision of the Seas. Here we would take a brief guided tour before being left to our own devices until time to rejoin the bus back in the plaza. The plaza is located at the extreme eastern edge of the city’s old town section, adjacent to the Convent of Santa Catalina de Sie...

Fun Photo Friday — Transatlantic 2022; Tenerife favorites 2

San Cristóbal de La Laguna

Today is the second of three Fun Photo Fridays dedicated to favorites from Tenerife, Canary Islands. Next week we’ll conclude with a tour of San Cristóbal de La Laguna before heading back to Vision of the Seas for completion of our transatlantic crossing. The next destination after that will be… a Spanish surprise.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)