Cruising Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale

We stayed in an unusual Renaissance hotel in Barcelona.  It is built around an open atrium with plants spilling from floor to floor.  Our window was an artsy sort of slit. 

  

  

We had the morning to wander around the city before we boarded our ship. 

Columbus Monument

  

Rambla de Mar is a wooden bridge in the harbor.  We walked over to the man-made island where there is a shopping center and restaurants.

  

We walked through the picturesque old town…

  

  

up Las Ramblas…

  

and through neighborhoods to Placa d’Espanya.

  

The Venetian Towers and a view of Montjuic.

  

We’ve been to Barcelona many times.  Check out my Travel Index to see pics from other visits. 

Then it was time to board the ship for our trip back to the U.S.  We were supposed to stop in Cartagena but the winds were too high, so we had an extra day at sea and headed for Malaga.

We’ve been to Malaga many times too.  Check out my Travel Index to see pics from other visits.  There were 4 other big ships in town with us, so all the sites were crowded. 

  

We took a city bus up to the castle and walked back down to enjoy the views. 

  

  

  

  

We stopped for a tapas lunch on a busy square.

  

  

  

The weather was cool, so the beach was empty this visit.

Our next ports were to be Cadiz, Lisbon, and Funchal, but again, the weather was not cooperating.  Instead, our ship headed south to the Canary Islands to avoid a big storm.

The Canary Islands are part of Spain and located about 100 miles west of Morocco.

Las Palmas is on the island of Gran Canaria.  It is the largest city in the Canary Islands and the capital city, held jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife (our next port).

The big shopping mall at the port is a draw for many islanders.

We walked across the town to the lovely beach.

  

Not the day we expected, but it was fun to see a different island.

Our last port was Santa Cruz on the island of  Tenerife.  We visited here in 2010 and did a cab tour of part of the island.  Check my Travel Index to see pics from that trip.

This time we stayed in the city of Santa Cruz, first stopping by the Tourist Info office located in the former Palacio de Carta.

  

Palacio de Carta doesn’t look like much from the outside but inside it is beautiful.  Built in 1752 by the first mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, it was a family residence (for 111 years), a government building, and a bank, before it was purchased by the Community of the Canary Islands.

  

Church of San Francisco de Asis, completed in 1680, was originally a Franciscan convent.

  

We walked to Parque Garcia Sanabria.  Opened in 1926, the park was named after the mayor who approved its construction.

  

The floral clock was a gift from Denmark in 1958.

  

This is a lovely garden right in the middle of town.

We walked across town past the Parliament of the Canaries.

We expected to have lunch at the market.

But most of the booths were closed, so we found a little local cafe on a small street that served the best traditional tortilla (potato omelet) I’ve ever had.  It is normally served at room temperature, but this one was heated.  Much better!  Will had calamari, which he said was also the best he’s ever had.

  

The Tenerife Arts Space, opened in 2008, is a cultural space and library.  It is made of concrete with 1200 glass windows.

You can look down into the library area from the courtyard above.

Iglesia de la Concepcion was begun in 1500.

  

  

 

Plaza de Espana is considered the center of Santa Cruz.

  

This is a sculpture called “Lo llevo bien” (I’m coping well) by Basque artist Julio Nieto.  Made of stainless steel, it is a man in the shape of a tree.  The tree’s branches have words attached to them.

The plaque at the base says, “We are all an “Atlas” carrying on our shoulders a world of thoughts”.

  I love that.

That’s the end of this trip.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

 

Richmond – home of Ted Lasso and much more

We so enjoyed watching Ted Lasso that we decided we should go see where he “lived”. Richmond is a part of Greater London, about 8 miles south-west of the center of London. Located on the River Thames, it has lots of parks, open spaces, and many protected conservation areas.

We took the train to Richmond from London and subwayed back.  It was a short walk through a pretty neighborhood and past Little Green Park

to Richmond Green.  This is the heart of the town and is featured in the Ted Lasso show.  It is a 12-acre square of grassland framed with trees. 

And on one corner of the park is the pub seen on Ted Lasso.  On the show it’s called “The Crown & Anchor”, but its real name is “The Prince’s Head.” Established in the 1700’s, the little pub has always been a popular spot for locals.  We learned that interior shots on the show were recorded on a separate set, not in the actual pub. 

There are lots of pubs and cafes clustered on this corner.  Down the lane called Paved Court is the doorway used as Ted Lasso’s home. 

  

It was just mid-morning, so we planned to return here for lunch later. 

  

We walked a few blocks to Richmond Palace.  The Gate House was built in 1501.

  

The Palace was built by Henry VII in 1501. Queen Elizabeth I spent time here and died at the palace in 1603.  Besides the Gate House, only the Wardrobe and Trumpeters’ House, built around 1700, survive.

  

We continued down Old Palace Lane towards the Thames.  This is one of the oldest roads in Richmond.  It was the supply route from the river to the Palace.

This row of houses is known as Maids of Honor Row, built in 1724 for the trusted royal wardrobe servants of Queen Caroline, who was the queen consort of George II.

There is a great walking and bike path running along the Thames.

Richmond Bridge, an 18^th century stone arch bridge, was completed in 1777 to replace a ferry.

  

This riverside path goes for miles.  We walked up-river about a mile and a half.

We passed Marble Hill, on the other side of the river.  This Palladian villa was built in the 1720s for Henrietta Howard, mistress of King George II when he was Prince of Wales, as a retreat from court life.

Our destination was Ham House.  In the early 17th century, the manor of Ham was bestowed by James I on his son, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.  The house was completed in 1610.

 

Prince Henry died in 1612 and passed the lands on to James’s second son, Charles, before the coronation of Charles in 1625.  The estate was passed down, leased, sold, and then granted to the Duke and Duchess of Lauderdale.  In 1672 they began an ambitious program of development, almost doubling the size of the house and furnishing it to the highest standards.

  

Later generations’ finances declined, and so their focus turned to preservation of the house and its collections, eventually donating it to the National Trust in 1948. 

Ham retains many original Jacobean and Caroline features and furnishings, most in unusually fine condition, and is a “rare survival of 17th-century luxury and taste”.  Pictures of the interior look fabulous.

Unfortunately, we did not get to see inside.  Not mentioned on their website, they are doing extensive renovations and opening hours were limited. 

But the pretty gardens were certainly worth a visit.

Ham has one of the few surviving examples of an original 17th century garden layout.  The National Trust has recreated the gardens using plant species that were introduced to Britain before 1700.  There is a walled kitchen garden, formal gardens and a woodland wilderness.  

We started in the kitchen garden where they grow historic crops and use the produce in the Orangery Cafe.

  

It was time for a break.  We chose a window table in the cafe and as soon as we were seated lots of other people started coming in – it had started to rain!  At least that was good timing.

The weather cleared, the sun came out, and we continued our visit.

  

  

  

    

  

The Cherry Garden was enchanting.

  

  

In the summer, a little ferry runs back and forth across the river.  We had planned to take that but there was no one to flag down.  So, we walked back the way we came, which was as pretty as when we walked out. 

When we reached Richmond, we walked through town rather than taking the river path.

This is the bridge we saw from below when we were on the path.

  

We made our way back to Ted Lasso’s street and the Princes Head Pub for lunch.

  

We had a great lunch of squash arancini (Italian deep fried rice balls) and traditional fish and chips.  Another lucky timing…it poured down rain again while we ate in the pub and cleared up before we left!

Even though the Ted Lasso show has finished, there is still interest in the area and the little shops are happy to keep up the connection that attracts the fans. 

  

  

On the walk back to the subway station we passed the town’s former fire station, built in the late 19th century, with a distinctive lantern clock tower. 

We would really like to return to Richmond to spend more time in this charming town and to revisit Ham House.  I want to see the inside!

Our hotel in London wasn’t too shabby.  Somehow, with our Marriott points, we were upgraded to the Presidential Suite!  

  

The only problem with a great hotel room on a trip like this is that we spend so little time in it.  We were off early the next day for a flight to Barcelona and the last leg of our trip.