West Coast Europe

October, 2025

The track of our voyage.

This is our third time on the Silver Dawn.

Introduction

Again it was autumn, one of our favourite periods of the year to travel. This time it offered us a chance to break free from the shackles of home life, and once again visit Europe. Specifically, the coasts of Portugal, Spain and France.

Spring and fall offer the best advantages for travel, since the weather is mostly favourable and family vacations generally don’t happen during these times. The resulting lack of crowds makes everything from air travel to local attractions much less stressful. In this particular case, the overall stress of what’s going on in the U.S.A., and it’s affect worldwide, prompted a desperate need for us to escape the news cycle. Even a two week break can often be enough to reset our cortisol levels, especially when done with like minded people we love spending time with.

Since this would be an adventure by sea, we once again selected Silversea Cruise Line to move us from one location to another. Since all accommodation and dining is achieved within the confines of this moving platform, it’s an unpacked once, and enjoy experience. You can’t get much less stressful than that.

Our Veranda Suite with queen size bed, seating area and sundeck.

Our suite also has a walk-in closet and bathroom with soaker tub and shower.

The expansive main dining room was very luxurious.

The S.A.L.T. Kitchen was a specialty dining area.

The Arts Cafe was on our deck and very convenient for afternoon coffee and drinks.

Dolce Vita was the main lounge on Deck 5.

The Panorama Lounge on Deck 9 had an outside area as well.

The Observation Lounge was located forward above the Bridge.

Lisbon, Portugal

Like our previous European trip, this one also started in Lisbon. So the usual plan of spending a few days in the departure city before boarding the vessel wasn’t needed. We had already explored the finer points of this wonderful city. Besides, the “first day” of the cruise was actually spent in this port, and an excursion had been planned through the ship’s various offerings. Although, our own explorations of the previous year were just a tad better, in our opinion. Unfortunately, this feeling of being underwhelmed would become a recurring theme during the trip.

Our excursion this day took by bus to a neighbouring town called Sintra. It’s a lovely town bordered by a national park, Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais. Old world charm engulfed by beautiful forests of pine and eucalyptus trees. The eucalyptus imported from Australia for paper pulp purposes. The town of Cascais was a popular haunt of movie stars back in the day because of its casino and fancy hotel, and while filming Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart and such were seen staying here often.

This shows the location of the two towns we visited a short distance from Lisbon.

We got a good view of the Águas Livres Aqueduct from the air as we flew in.

The Águas Livres Aqueduct from the ground. Built in the late 1800s using Portuguese engineering.

We passed the main bull fighting ring in Lisbon on way to the other towns.

Although not discernible at the time, this is the Praca Da Republica, or central plaza for the town.

The largest building by far in this part of town was this, the National Palace of Sintra.

With temperatures in the mid 20's, light clothing was appropriate.

The backside of this roof below our position needed some serious maintenance.

The town was built upon varied topography, and signs of building repair was clearly evident.

It's unusual from our perspective to see police overseeing speed bump installation. Was it prison labour?

A lot of the shops were on pedestrian only streets.

Looking at the area from a second floor store.

Shoppers got a workout when looking for bargains here.

Now in Cascais on the southern coastline, it varied from sand to rock beaches.

Despite the cooler water from the Atlantic, some people were swimming.

The Geiser Maritimo de Paco de Arcos. The wind blew the spray onto our bus.

The town sign, spelt differently than the maps name of Cascais.

The Forte de Sao Juliao da Barra.

Porto, Portugal

Also known as Oporto, as well as Leixões, it’s the second largest city in Portugal with a total urban area population of 2.1 million. Located on the steep stacked banks of the River Duro, it’s an authentic Portuguese city with wine and bright azuleho tiles which turn the streets into works of art. Many around the world consider it the place to go for a taste of the “real” Portugal. The varied topography and large river make it an endlessly interesting city to explore.

We were taken by bus from the industrial port to the centre of the city, by the river. From there we walked a short distance thought the narrow streets and alleys to reach the obvious tourist centre for the area. Alongside the river, dozens of tour boats of varying sizes lined the backs waiting for hire. After a short wait, we boarded one of the larger boats for our voyage up and down river before being dropped off on the opposite shore. A short walk back over the amazing metal span of the Dom Luis I Bridge got us back to our starting point. Braving the long line of tents operated by the souvenir sellers, we eventually made it to the rendezvous spot for the shuttle bus back to the ship.

Making our way down to the waterfront to board our tour boat.

The opposite facade of the church seen in the previous photo.

Yes, even in this beautiful old European city there is the unsightly American fast food joint.

Dozens of these narrow, car free alleys are everywhere.

Small businesses adorn these narrow alleys.

Our first view of the Dura River, and the heavy wall supporting the structures.

This massive ring must have been used for the heavy sailing ships from hundreds of years ago.

One of numerous river tour boats waiting patiently.

A large plaza area by the river. Later we would see just how crowded it would get.

Admiring the beauty of the old work facades.

A view of the waterfront from our river boat.

This shows the detail of the Ponte da Arrabida 6 lane car bridge.

When there is no land for a road, just build it atop river stanchions.

We passed many of the river tour boats during our time on the river.

There were lots of river boat repair places along the waterway.

One of the more unique river tour boats we saw.

A river view of the Dom Luis I Bridge, designed by the same person who did the Eiffel Tower.

Beyond the Dom Luis I bridge was another of a completely different design and construction.

This is the Pont de Sao Joao double track rail bridge. The bridge construction was massive, and we weren't sure what the material used was.

Yet another river cruise boat getting ready to raft up to the other two.

Going back down river we got a good view of another steel trestle bridge. This one was the Maria Pia Bridge.

It seems that every bridge built used a different design. This is the Infante Dom Henrique 4 lane car bridge.

This bridge was much more architectural with pleasing design details

Yet another bridge was just getting underway.

The other side of the new bridge construction.

Every inch of land was in use, despite the topography.

This town uses all forms of transportation including a gondola.

The gondola was installed right over the existing township.

As evidenced by the name, Porto has a large port wine industry. The Portuguese also eat a lot of cod and potatoes, so here in this building they put the three together.

This first thing we noticed when entering the building was the elevated pipe organ.

The building had a great mezzanine for viewing the entire room.

The inside of the building is beautiful, and has a large pipe organ that was being played as we entered.

A sample of the many ports produced in the area.

These are the cod cakes referred to on the sign outside.

Funny how the name portrays something different.

Everywhere we looked, there were lots of spires and churches in sight. We imagine that expedition ship sailors talked to God regularly.

The small, fully restored cargo ships that delivered the port throughout the area.

Both sides of the river were well stocked with pop up merchant stands. Not so many on this side, but the other bank was a madhouse.

The Dom Luis I steel girder bridge was an amazing structure.

The lower deck is used more by pedestrians than it is by cars. If you look to the hill on the right side of the bridge you will see a track for a funicular that runs throughout the day.

Lots of marine traffic on the river…and yes, they have graffiti in Portugal as well.

On the side of the bridge there was a funicular.

Looking at the carriage, it looks like it changes angle as it reaches the top area.

The north side of the river is commercial and residential, with tons of restaurants everywhere.

There was a huge market for people selling tourist related souvenirs etc. We had to rub shoulders with everyone else just to make it from one end of the white tents to the other.

These old waterfront apartments had large enough balconies for sun umbrellas.

Every inch of laneways were used. Here we see a very cramped restaurant.

It must be hard on the waiter to constantly work on this steep slope.

Our first stop of 3 in Spain was Vigo.

We bused from Vigo to Baiona.

Vigo, Spain

Our first stop in Spain was Vigo, which is located just above Portugal in an odd part of Spain that juts out over the top Portugal. It’s one of those border situations that makes you wonder why the border of Portugal didn’t just go straight up to the northern coast.

Like one of our previous stops, we only docked in Vigo, but went by bus to another town known as Baiona. It’s where an old fort is located that helped protect the coastline back in the day. The Fortaleza De Monterreal.

The site occupies the entire 18 acre Monte Boi peninsula, and is known to be a walled enclosure for over 2000 years. The current structure was fashioned between the 11th and 17th century. It has been designated as a National Historic Artistic Monument and Historic Artistic Ensemble of Interest. It’s open year round to the public and currently houses the Parador, a high end hotel that occupies the preserved walls and towers.

Close to the coast were a few islands similar to the gulf islands of British Columbia.

We had a few hours to wander around the grounds and visit the part of Baiona that was close to the fort. It’s a holiday town with a large marina and lovely beach area. However, on this bank holiday Sunday most all of the shops were closed and locals were only starting to venture out by the time we were getting back on the bus to leave. So much for our tourist dollars helping the local economy.

The size of the fort made it easy to see the minute we got close to the waterfront.

Before the first gate to the fort we saw this grove of trees, already pruned for the winter.

Militaries of the world could take a lesson from the bark of this tree. It's the perfect camouflage.

Our first close up look at the excessively clean fort walls.

The first gate to the fortress, without its metal doors.

This surface is more appealing in our view. It maintains its historical look.

This was the second and third gate structures that would form a killing zone between the two gates if closed with assailants inside. No iron bars needed for tourist though.

The small chapel located inside the walls.

The fortress locations had a superb view of the numerous islands just offshore. Very much had a feeling like our gulf islands.

Easily defended ramparts in this topography.

We walked the perimeter of the ramparts to admire the view.

We couldn’t figure out what these man made pools were for. Maybe storage for live fish, or perhaps some form of medieval waste water dispersement?

This was the only water facing watch towers on the property. It had an amazing echo chamber inside.

Closeup detail of the top structure.

I guess here the defenders could have a picnic while firing on invaders. Very civilized indeed.

Definitely not original equipment, this railing was fashioned from cement to look like a wood railing. But it has been here long enough to get some lichen growing on it.

Again, not likely original equipment for a fortress, but necessary I guess for a hotel.

This walkway continued on to the town area on the opposite side of the fort.

It's hard to see in the photo, but this wall had sparkles in the limestone.

The perfect Juliet balcony.

This was the entrance to the hotel. We didn't check it out for a gift shop. Probably should have.

Heading back toward the entrance. This part of the wall seemed to have been spared the cleaning process, which was much nicer to look at.

The coat of arms on this wall was cleaned so much that its detail is wearing off.

This is a replica of the Carabela Pinta. Built in 1442, it was the fastest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first cross Atlantic voyage.

Even in fall, there were beautiful flowers all about.

This was the only open restaurant/store this early in the morning.

We found this door entry to be very beautiful, and was the entry to a business that catered to those on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.

An English pub menu in a Spanish town, written all in English. Very authentic indeed.

We walked the laneways in the commercial area and the bars and restaurants were just starting to show signs of life at noon.

An odd paring of the old world religion with, dare I say, the new world religion.

The town church bell which hadn't uttered a sound the whole morning.

This place probably serves a better burger than what McDonald's does.

A look down one of the lanes that made up a maze of streets in Baiona.

Our limos for the day. Very clean buses, especially the windows, are such a treat.

It can be seen everywhere that this is a fishing town.

A beautiful end to the day as we leave Vigo for Gijon.

Gijon, Spain

Gijón is the largest city by population in the autonomous region of Asturias. Located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, it’s approximately 24 km north-east of Oviedo, the capital of Asturias. With a population of roughly 273,750 it’s the 15th largest city in Spain.

In Gijon, after driving around the city streets to get a feel of the town, the bus took us to two specific locations. One had an elevated view of the city and harbour, and the other was a large building of yesteryear that had been built for one purpose, but now was re-tasked for use as ‎⁨the Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura and Universidad Laboral⁩, ⁨Costa Verde⁩, ⁨Spain⁩. A cultural centre and university. Oh that we could have such a structure for a university in our home town.

A broader view of the park area we visited on top of the hill. Gijon in the distance.

Today’s elevated viewing spot contained a WWII pillbox and trench, well maintained for historical education.

The entrance to the World War II pillbox.

The city of Gijon on the north coast of Spain.

‎⁨Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura - Universidad Laboral⁩, ⁨Gijón⁩, ⁨Costa Verde⁩, ⁨Spain⁩.

As with so much of greater Europe, no one cheaped out on this structure and grounds.

A graphic of this enormous stone structure. They sure knew how to build things back in the day.

The foyer had a massive skylight. Not sure if it was original equipment or not.

There is an enormous courtyard in the centre of the structure.

Just one of many beautiful entrance ways into the side structures.

One of many long hallways. Notice the lack of students.

The main entrance to the chapel area. Never consecrated or use as a chapel.

A well adorned facade in the courtyard.

A coat of arms for whatever was supposed to have been here.

The statue on the left is missing its head. Supposedly caused by a storm. Maybe the ruler of the day didn’t like that person and decreed “off with his head”.

The surrounding grounds are beautifully landscaped.

This “athletics” class was running laps around the court. I wonder how many they had to do to equal 1 kilometre.

Another empty water feature on the grounds. Our short tour revealed three at least.

There were fountains and other water features here, but all were missing enough water to function.

Bilbao, Spain

This time we’re in Bilbao, our last stop in Spain. Known best perhaps for the famous Guggenheim Museum, the city of 350,000 residents was built up along the Nervión River. It provided a long sheltered waterfront for the growing industry and trade going back to when it was established in the year 1300. Our visit consisted of a bus tour around the town in the morning just to see the highlights, and then a return to the city centre in the afternoon for a closer look at shops and how the locals lived. In this region of Spain the merchants generally close from 2-4pm for a mid-day break, which from our observation included a lot of drinking and socializing. Since our timing happened to put us there to walk and shop during that time, we had fewer stores to choose from. Probably a good thing…

It’s always nice to dock at a port with a proper cruise ship terminal. It makes for a nicer introduction to the town compared to an industrial port.

One of numerous homes of the wealthy located along the banks of the river from where they made their fortunes.

These expensive mansions are on the uphill side of the waterfront road. Their business operations used to be on the water side.

It would be interesting to compare the value of this real estate with that of Canada.

Made in the late 1800s, this tram was the first method used to get people and vehicles across the Nervión River. It’s still in use today and can take 6 cars across at a time.

More and more of the waterfront is being repurposed for recreational use.

Originally, all of the riverfront was used for industry and trade. But now many of the run down and dilapidated industrial areas are being redone for modern city urban use.

There’s a massive amount of money being spent to resurrect the old waterfront into looking like the image below.

There's a lot of graffiti in Spain. We wonder if this bridge paint job was an effort to prevent it on the bridge.

This is one of the old industrial buildings that are, in some cases, literally falling down. Some are being restored, but many are bulldozed for new development.

More industrial buildings in a state of decay. Will these come down?

Dilapidated industrial buildings down below, graffiti covered highway walls above.

For history’s sake, there are large examples of the past left in place to remind people of what the city’s roots were.

The Guggenheim Museum is truly spectacular. Hundreds of thousands of titanium panels adorn the outside of the structure, the building of which was constructed in and around existing infrastructure.

Numerous sculptures dot the landscape around the museum.

Different architectural styles can be seen throughout Bilboa.

Both high rise and low rise buildings are being built.

Even the small bridges are architecturally designed for interest, not just function.

The riverwalk has sculptures all along it. Some are less attractive to our taste than others.

As with many old world cities, structures are literally built right up to the edge of the waterways.

This is one of the many parks that occupy the centre of city roundabouts. The city is well developed for pedestrians and cyclists.

The Guggenheim is visible on all sides. Some views are better than others.

Perhaps the largest of sculptures, and maybe the cutest, is the flower covered pooch located alongside the Guggenheim. The city changes the plants that cover the exterior based on the various seasons.

Here's a better perspective of the giant dog that shows its detail. We thought it looked like a Scotty dog.

The interesting exterior of the football (soccer) stadium.

The Nervión River has numerous bridges over it. Some for vehicles, but many for pedestrians and cycles only.

A peek inside a neighbourhood produce store. All looks nice and fresh.

A barber shop with a digital barber pole outside.

Most of the little eateries have a few tables out on the street.

Many of the streets downtown are pedestrian and cycle only, but even these allow for delivery vehicles. This street is one with a high volume of restaurants and bars.

Like so many places in Europe, these wedge shaped buildings appear whenever there are streets that radiate out from central focus areas like plazas, parks or business centres.

One of numerous sign posts around the city.

We wish we had buildings as beautiful as this in our part of the world. Unfortunately the cost to create such old world beauties is beyond what our current time in history is willing to spend.

Ladies on the hunt…

The daily temperature in Bilbao was perfect for walking around in light clothing.

One thing that is very noticeable is the large open “sidewalk” areas. More like continuous plazas.

Inside one of countless bar/restaurants that are open wide to the street every afternoon.

A large statue of Jesus in the middle of a roundabout. It looks like he is shaking his finger at those below.

No clue on this one. Sculpture of crumpled metal I guess.

Returning to our ship at the cruise ship terminal.

Last stop.

Up the river.

Ship location.

Landmarks.

Bordeaux, France

Arrival Upriver

Unknown to us at the time, Bordeaux would be our last stop of the trip before we docked in Southampton for our flight home. More to come on that later.

At first we figured three nights in Bordeaux would be a waste of time, but boy were we wrong. Although Porto and Bilbao were terrific cities, and we enjoyed exploring them, Bordeaux turned out to be the real highlight of the entire trip. A perfect walking city, we spent two days putting over 11 miles on the old sneakers peering down laneways, and exploring countless plazas and beautiful buildings. We definitely need to go back for more.

We docked right in the heart of the city like we were a river cruise boat, but because of Silver Dawn’s height, we could see for miles over top of the old world buildings. What added some colour to our location was the operation of a popup ride fairground. At night it was alive with neon colours on every part of each ride. It was spectacular for sure.

The playground as seen from our ship’s deck 7 outside dining area.

We arrived at about 5pm and before we could dock, the ship had to be spun 180° so the bow was facing downstream. Imagine that, turning a 700 foot long ship like a pinwheel in the middle of a river. To do so without any drama needed the use of a tug attached to the stern. We picked that tug up as we approached the first bridge downriver. Their job was to secure a line to the stern so it could steer the ship if the navigation controls failed, and when we reached our mooring location it helped to pull the stern around and upstream as the ship’s bow thruster pushed the bow in the opposite direction. All happened flawlessly and we nuzzled up to the wharf without so much as a bump. Despite looking nothing like a port, but rather the riverside park that it is, there were men in orange vests standing ready to receive the ships mooring lines and place them on the ballards.

What turned out to be a fantastic bit of luck for us was where our cabin was on the ship. Since we were on the port side of the ship, turning the ship around now placed us on the side facing the city’s beautiful Unesco World Heritage Site, instead of an industrial area on the opposite shore. By the time dinner on the back deck was served at 18:30, the gang plank was down and people were already leaving the ship for an excursion to explore the area. By the time we had finished dinner, it was dark and the bright lights of the ride playground were at full blaze. It just doesn’t get any better than that. We can’t overstate just how grateful we felt to be there.

We picked up the tug just down river from this giant suspension bridge called the Pont D'Aquitaine.

Even bridge architecture is beautiful in Europe.

Having just passed under the tallest lifting bridge in the world, the Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas, you can see the tug on our stern.

This bridge prevents all but dedicated river cruise ships from going any further upriver.

This is where we will tie up once the ship's 180º spin takes place.

The little tug pulling with all its might to drag our large butt around.

These dock line personnel came upriver in the little boat from the industrial port to help us.

We tie up alongside this park, which runs almost the entire length of Bordeaux.

We end up right across the street from this amazing Unesco World Heritage Site building.

The gangway set up and ready for offloading passengers.

If we wanted to, we could have joined this standing room only event across the street. We chose bed instead.

Our first view of the wine museum.

The Cité du Vin as we passed by on the river.

Day 1… Visiting the Cité du Vin

The next morning saw the start of our first full day in Bordeaux. After our 7:30 buffet breakfast we boarded a bus that would take us on a short tour around the old part of the city to eventually end up at the spectacular Cité du Vin. It’s a dedicated museum for wine and wine production around the world, and has some of the most stunning architecture we’ve ever seen. One could spend hours wandering the unique spaces inside, and learn from the wonderful exhibits, everything from preparing the soil and growing the grapes to the final bottling of the precious product. After the lower museum tour, one could take the elevator to the penthouse where one could enjoy a glass of the many different wines they had to sample. Sadly for those who drink, only a single glass was included with the admission ticket price.

Morning sunrise light on these magnificent structures.

The beautiful Fontaine Des Trois Graces erected in 1869.

The Place de la Bourse, part of the Unesco World Heritage Site.

Porte Cailhau is a city gate in the French department of Gironde. It was a defensive gate and a triumphal arch which was listed as a historic monument in 1883.

Constructed in the 18th century, the Porte de Bourgogne served as a crucial gateway to the city, connecting the historic centre to the surrounding neighbourhoods.

A small private shop housed in a very old building.

Look how vacant the street is at 10:30 on a Friday morning.

A world map showing all the wine regions and how much wine each country produces.

Unique displays appear throughout the museum.

This highlights some of the more notable estates for wine in France.

Curios abound throughout the building.

According to this display there are 91 different grapes to make wine from.

More interesting design features inside the museum.

This display is interactive and shows the individuals projected grape stomping capability as they walk on the surface.

Giant bottles house even more informational displays.

One can relax as they watch information projected on the ceiling.

This area highlights the affects of terroir on wine taste.

By squeezing the bulb, and sniffing in the funnel, one can experience the terroir of each element.

All three engrossed in knowledge absorption.

The museum is multilevel, in more ways than one.

The ceiling of the top floor where wine is served is stunning.

Thousands of bottles are screwed into mounts in the ceiling, and then light is flashed through them.

The Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas bridge in the lowered position.

The Silver Dawn off in the distance up river. A German cruise ship pulled in behind us just after Silver Dawn got tied up.

The Grosse Cloche de Bordeaux. Another security gate from the 13th century.

Walking inside history

With the wine museum tour finished, we returned to the ship for lunch. After that we ventured out on our own to walk the streets in this historic city. Just being around the centuries old beauty was an experience to relish. The biggest revelation to us new world inhabitants was the sheer magnitude of the buildings made of stone, and carved to such detail and beauty. Nothing like this exists in Canada, except maybe in old Quebec City.

One thing puzzled us though as we walked about the streets. Where were all the people? For a city of over a million residents, the streets were, for the most part, empty. Even on a Friday afternoon the only place that we saw an abundance of people was on Rue Sainte-Catherine, the longest pedestrian only shopping street in Europe. Everywhere else had only a token showing of individuals moving about. The only exception to this was at the many neighbourhood plazas that we came upon. There people were sitting at tables enjoying food and drink from the establishments dotted around the plazas, and soaking up the exquisite warmth from this sunny fall afternoon.

Thirteen thousand steps later we found ourselves back at the ship. Hungry, and with very sore feet, we very much looked forward once again to dinner on the ship’s back deck after this first full day in Bordeaux.

Our afternoon walk started across the street from the ship at this financial market for trading various commodities and financial instruments, including futures and options.

Do we wish that our city streets looked like this? Ah, yes!

This central park area of trees serves as a parking lot for workers cars. A brilliant combination of uses.

The Grand Hotel de Bordeaux it is an iconic 5 star hotel and true architectural gem that proudly sits on the prestigious Place de la Comédie, opposite the majestic Grand Théâtre.

The majestic Place de la Comédie.

The very long Rue Sainte-Catherine pedestrian only shopping street. This where all the people were concentrated.

This is the iconic Grosse Cloche de Bordeaux, circa 1300 A.D.

The replacement bell for the clock chime is made from 7,800 kilograms of bronze, and was cast in 1775.

This shows the back façade of the clock tower.

Just down the street from La Grosse Cloche is this delightful book store.

The store owners have a whimsical talent for interesting displays.

One of the more unique features of Bordeaux neighbourhood streets are these remote control ballards that locals have control of.

Bicycle use in Bordeaux is big, and these rental stands are everywhere.

A typical neighbourhood plaza, in full use here by locals in the sunny afternoon.

Beautiful Juliet balconies were considered a sign of wealth back in the day.

This is the backside of the Porte Cailhau, another security gate for early Bordeaux. The street ballards with lighted tops are retractable.

Here is a complicated awning deployment mechanism for this cafe.

Getting set up for the afternoon crowd of "spirited" drinkers.

This is the Fontaine des Trois Graces, a fountain with statues of 3 queens of the day.

Expansive in size, the Place de la Bourse is one of Bordeaux's most recognizable sights. Built from 1730 to1775 with Unesco World Heritage status.

The Ecole Elementaire du Vieux Bordeaux is a public primary school focused on educating young children and providing healthy meals through its cafeteria.

A well populated cafe/bar with girls mugging for the camera.

A tourist guide vehicle train for city tours.

Another cruise ship of German ownership pulled in behind us on the same day we arrived here.

The proverbial fork in the road. Which way will our advance team go?

Day two… change of plan

Although we had signed up for one of the ship’s tour excursions, at breakfast we and our travel companions decided not to partake. We wanted to try and find a couple of specific stores, and to continue our exploration of the city on our own. Our companions had walked a different area than us on the previous afternoon, and they didn’t see the iconic Bordeaux landmarks that we had discovered. So on this morning we all set out together to see what kind of highlights (read bargains) we could find. We stayed at it all morning and arrived back at the ship around 13:00.

After lunch my body was done in, so we stayed on board ship for the remainder of the day. But our companions did venture out again, all the while keeping 16:30 hour ever present in their minds. This is the time all passengers needed to be back onboard ship for the 17:00 cast off time. Since lunch was finished around 14:00 hours, it didn’t leave a lot of time for more exploring.

Once again our exploration started at the Bourse Maritime.

A major feature on the waterfront here is the Miroir d'Eua, a reflecting pool covering 3,450 square metres.

Built in 2006, the feature floods with water to create a giant reflection pool. It also has air jets that create a morning mist.

Walking inland from the Place de la Bourse, the building in the centre has a 2 Michelin star restaurant on the main floor.

One of only 2 small souvenir shops in the whole city.

A small Swiss restaurant on a narrow side street.

Many of the small shops on the side streets have these pull down metal blinds to guard the store from break-in.

One of the magnificent buildings at the start of the Rue Sainte-Catherine shopping street.

The design detail is unbelievable. Imagine the cost for craftsmen to carve all this detail from solid stone.

A colourful eatery on the edge of a neighbourhood plaza.

A rather provocative shop name don't you think?

Side lanes contain stores of all kinds. This is a glass jewelry shop run by the artist. Her workshop was fully visible.

Another lovely little store selling printed art.

Not a big cathedral, but an impressive church nonetheless.

The interior is humble by comparison, but no less important for the believers.

Beauty of all kinds was visible throughout the city.

The outside façade of the Porte Cailhau.

Even the walkways have amazing detail. Try and find this in our neck of the woods.

One of the sites we wanted to see first hand was the Pont de Pierre Bridge. We could see it from the ship, but wanted a closer look.

The bridge allows no cars, only pedestrians, bikes and transit trams.

The bridge runs straight into the Porte de Bourgogne, one of the major gates for the city.

After leaving the bridge and turning right to go back to our ship, we got a good look at the arch as well as the scaffolding around the Bell Tower of Saint Michael Basilica of Bordeaux.

The great reflection of the Bordeaux Palais De La Bourse in the Miroir d'Eau.

The complete reflection from the Miroir d'Eau. The rail tram is almost perfectly symmetrical in the shot.

The day was perfect for taking pictures of beautiful buildings behind beautiful gardens.

Art is incorporated into all aspects of Bordeaux, even the park lighting.

Viewing the playground from a different vantage point. It's not nearly as pretty in the daylight.

Our ship from the stern. You can see people sitting on the back deck of the restaurant where we have dinner.

A statue of Marthe Adélaïde Modeste Testas, an Ethiopian woman who was enslaved, purchased by Bordeaux merchants and subsequently freed after living on three continents.

Our last look at the welcome poster by the ship.

The dock worker waiting to release the last mooring lines.

Saying Good-bye To Bordeaux

At 17:00 hour, right on schedule, the Silver Dawn slipped its mooring lines and began its slow return back to the sea. We made our way up onto the open deck above the bridge so we could get the best view of our departure and journey downriver. At the highest point on the ship we were well above the old world buildings and could see a great deal of the city. Places we had explored over the last two days came into view as the ship powered away from the land. Looking down river we could see that the Pont Jacques Chaban Delmas Bridge was already raised to its highest point in anticipation of not only our ship’s passing, but that of the German ship as well. It also left Bordeaux at the same time. Since it would be hours before we once again hit pure tidewater, and it was now approaching 18:00 hours, we decided to go and get ready for dinner. Sadly, dinner would not be on the rear outside deck like before. The speed of the ship, along with the ambient wind speed, made it too turbulent for one last true alfresco dining experience.

Leaving the proximity of this playground seemed less sad during daylight, when the colourful lights couldn’t be seen.

Unlike the buildings themselves, looking at this view just never gets old.

One of several sites we didn’t have time to see, this cathedral will have to wait until next time.

An advantage of this high perspective is the ability to see the interestic street geometry.

A key aspect to a river city is they almost always have a very long waterfront.

Pulling out into the current. Interestingly, because of the ocean tide effect, the current is going upriver as we leave.

The bridge is already lifted for our transit.

As we approach the bridge we can already see the wine museum coming into view on the left.

Why can’t our bridge builders creat works of art like this?

Our bridges get built with cables that shed ice buildup in winter which drops on the roadway breaking vehicle windshields.

Our last look at the magnificent Cité du Vin.

This little boat transports our dock line workers back to the industrial port.

Approaching the last bridge we will transit as we leave France.

Hot on our heels, the German ship also passes the final bridge.

Here is our final track to Southampton, bypassing Saint-Malo.

The Gulf of Saint-Malo is a very protected body of water.

No More stops

The “pièce de résistance” - not!

After our departure from beautiful Bordeaux the night before, there was a morning announcement by the ship’s Captain informing us that our final stop in France at Saint-Malo had been cancelled. Instead it was being replaced with an additional day at sea. The excuse given was that the seas were just too rough for the ship to travel at its usual cruising speed of up to 22 knots. Since the ship would have to slow down, it made it impossible to have a day in Saint-Malo and still make the docking time in Southampton for the completion of the cruise.

Of course this fostered intense disappointment not only with us, but the bulk of the passengers as well. What turned disappointment into utter contempt for the bridge crew was the fact that it was a complete lie. The seas were nowhere near passing the limit of the ships full cruising speed. How do we know this you ask? It’s a simple, one word answer…experience. We crossed the South China Sea from the Philippines to Hong Kong on a Silversea ship two thirds the size of Silver Dawn, just two days after a typhoon had assaulted the region. We also sailed across the Southern Ocean on a smaller Silversea ship from Antarctica to South Georgia Island. In both cases the seas were much rougher than this cruise, and those ships made the crossing at their regular cruising speed. Yes it was bumpy, but people could still walk the halls and eat in the restaurants.

The size of the sea we were wallowing in. Two to three metres at best. Not much for a 700 foot long ship travelling in the same direction.

Yes, on this occasion we did feel the ship getting hammered by the waves as we lumbered up to Southampton, but it wasn’t because of the ship’s speed. Rather, it was the opposite. The ship was going so slow that the waves of the following sea were going faster than the ship, and as a result were slamming into the stern! We wallowed in the open English channel for two days experiencing this unpleasant situation. The ship could easily have made it to the protected waters of the Gulf of Saint-Malo travelling at is normal cruising speed. A maximum speed, I might add, that was never reached during the entire cruise. Casual glances at the ship’s location screens available throughout the entire ship, including the television in each of the staterooms, showed that the ship never made it above 13 to 15 knots. So travelling at 6 or 7 knots in this sea was complete lunacy.

They tried to placate our disappointment with a first ever fancy buffet breakfast. We would have preferred to eat down in the formal dining hall where it was more comfortable and quiet. We could only do this on sea days.

In hindsight, we can see only two reasons for the Captain to make this decision. One was when the ship took on fuel in Bilbao. It was done from a fuel truck on the dock which wouldn’t carry enough fuel to fully bunker the ship. So, did the Captain misjudge the amount of fuel needed to reach the end of the cruise, so had to conserve fuel by cruising at six knots so the ship could go the distance? Or is there a more nefarious reason? Since we saw other cost cutting practices on this cruise, was the Captain incentivized by the company to dream up excuses whenever he could in order to save the company the cost of port docking fees, and extra fuel cost for running at the higher cruising speed? We’ll never know for sure, but clearly the given excuse of heavy seas was complete rubbish. Did we feel cheated? You bet we did, and it will certainly be factored into any future decisions on what company we cruise with.

Images of the so-called special buffet breakfast

The special buffet breakfast was different only in its presentation. Set up more for visual appeal than anything else, the only added food items was a huge pile of shellfish in the centre of the food area. It did look nice, but it didn’t really provide anything special for us to savour. Frankly, since we could only manage breakfast in the main dining room on sea days, we felt somehow robbed of this by them closing the main dining room now for this “special” buffet brunch.

The suitcases being transferred from the ship to the terminal holding area.

Disembarkation

After two days of boredom and crappy mood, we finally made it to Southampton for our disembarkation. This process is well orchestrated as there are different waves of departure times depending on where and when the passengers have to meet their connections. For us, we were in group eight, which had the advantage of a later departure, so we were able to have a proper, unrushed breakfast. When our group was called, and before we could leave the ship, we had to retrieve our passports from the ship staff and then present them to the U.K. immigration officials that were aboard the ship in the same room. This also went without drama, and once done we made our way to the departure deck. From there we picked up our suitcases that had been collected from outside our room the night before, and were now in the cruise terminal’s holding area. Once we had them we headed for the bus that took us to Heathrow Airport and our British Airways flight home. Nine hours after boarding the plane we touched down in Vancouver where a car was waiting to take us home.