June 14, 2019
Here are a couple of pictures of the new cruise terminal from yesterday in Porto. And last night at the Oceania Club party, our captain, Maroje Brajcic got his 15 year recognition and Ray Carr got his 5 year recognition.
We went to the Red Ginger night in Terrace Café. Delicious food as usual. We loved the Red Ginger restaurant on Sirena, wish they had it here. But this was second best.
Today we were in La Coruna.
Here is the harbor as we arrived.
It was the third visit for us, so I thought I might find a nail salon for a pedicure. We found three, but no appointments were available until later in the afternoon, so we visited the gardens and some of the new city.
And of course, we had to go to the fish market.
Then we decided to do a city tour with Hercules Tours. It turned out that we got to see parts of the city that we had never explored and turned out to be a great idea.
Our tour guide was Don.
The tour featured 10 highlights of the city with extended stops at 4 of them.
As we drove past the pier, Don mentioned the Galleries houses with the windows that reflect sunlight and whose facades were built by fishermen out of wood and glass. La Coruna is often called the City of Glass. The population is 250,000.
We had a stop at the San Anton Castle which was built between the 16th and 17th centuries and played a vital role in defending the city from attacks by sea. It now houses the Archeological and Historical Museum.
As you can see, it was a beautiful day! We drove on to the Torre de Hercules, an ancient Roman lighthouse and one of the city’s most prominent symbols. It was built in the 2nd century by the order of the Emperor Trajan. It is the best preserved Greco-Roman structure of its kind and is the oldest lighthouse still in operation. It can be seen from 32 miles away. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On the way up to the lighthouse you see this sculpture. Don says that the sculptor’s father was a fat man and this is his likeness!
The beaches here are beautiful! And so are the views from almost everywhere.
There is a famous tiled statue of an octopus and we had to have some pictures here!
There is now a panoramic elevator that takes you to San Pedro Mount that is the newest attraction in the city. It is under repair right now. No problem, our bus took us there.
From here you have more beautiful views of the city. And some nice flowers too.
We passed other statues, fountains and interesting buildings as well as parts of the old city walls.
These two statues are right outside the port terminal building.
The copper domed building is in Maria Pita Square, the city’s greatest public plaza, named for the heroine who rallied the townspeople against English invaders in 1589. It is the Palacio Municipal, the ornate town hall and council building.
Tomorrow is our last port in Spain, Bilbao.
