Mary Goes To Spain, Italy, & Portugal October 2012 (Page 1)

Did You Know? - Schiphol is an important European airport, ranking as Europe's 4th busiest and the world's 14th busiest by total passenger traffic in 2011. It also ranks as the world's 6th busiest by international passenger traffic and the world's 17th largest for cargo tonnage.

49.8 million passengers passed through the airport in 2011, a 10% increase compared with 2010.

Schiphol's main competitors in terms of passenger traffic and cargo throughput are London Heathrow Airport, Frankfurt Airport, Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and Madrid-Barajas Airport.

In 2010, 65.9% of passengers using the airport flew to and from Europe, 11.7% to and from North America and 8.8% to and from Asia; cargo volume was mainly between Schiphol and Asia (45%) and North America (17%).

Did You Know? - MS Rotterdam is a cruise ship, the sixth Holland America Line vessel to bear the name, and is one of the two Atlantic flagships of the fleet. Built in Italy in 1997, Rotterdam features fine art and antiques, an internet center, and a spa and fitness center.

She is named for the SS Rotterdam of 1959 and also named after the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands and the Rotterdam and her sister ship Amsterdam are loosely based on the original ship. Also, the Amsterdam and the Rotterdam are the co-flagships of Holland America Line.

In October 2004, the vessel lost power during Hurricane Karl while doing a transatlantic crossing. Many passengers suffered injuries during this period; the most severe being a broken femur.

Rotterdam carries an art collection onboard worth over US $2 million.

Rotterdam is planned to conduct Holland America Line's first standalone transatlantic crossing since 1971 during the summer of 2011, making a single trip both eastbound and westbound.

Today the Rotterdam sails around Europe during the summer and South America in the winter. Beginning in 2012, she will be based year-round in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Holland America said it wanted to reconnect with its roots there.

Did You Know? - World Port Centre is a 33-storey, 123.1 m (404 ft) skyscraper in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The construction of the World Port Centre was commissioned by ING Real Estate Development The building costs amounted to approximately NLG100 million. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is the main occupant of the WPC, using floors 2 to 19. Floors 25 to 28 are rented to Eneco Energie, floors 29 to 32 are built as conference areas and are commercially leased to Regus. The grounds also cover the Argentine steak-restaurant Gaucho's.

As the building stands at the far point of the Wilhelmina pier it is built on, there is an excellent view of the surrounding harbours and city from the higher floors. The building is also an emergency centre, designed to deal with potential catastrophes in the port area and act as a coordination centre.[

Did You Know? - Cadiz, the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the Iberian Peninsula and possibly all southwestern Europe, has been a principal home port of the Spanish Navy since the accession of the Spanish Bourbons in the 18th century. The city is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network. It is also the site of the University of Cadiz.

Despite its unique site — on a narrow slice of land surrounded by the sea — Cadiz is, in most respects, a typically Andalusian city with a wealth of attractive vistas and well-preserved historical landmarks. The older part of Cadiz, within the remnants of the city walls, is commonly referred to as the Old Town (in Spanish, Casco Antiguo).

It is characterised by the antiquity of its various quarters (barrios), among them El Pópulo, La Viña, and Santa María, which present a marked contrast to the newer areas of town. While the Old City's street plan consists of narrow winding alleys connecting large plazas, newer areas of Cadiz typically have wide avenues and more modern buildings.

In addition, the city is dotted with numerous parks where exotic plants flourish, including giant trees supposedly brought to Spain by Columbus from the New World.

Did You Know? - This highest and most important of the city's old watchtowers is a fine place to get your bearings and affords a dramatic panorama of the city. Back in the 18th century, Cadiz had no less than 160 towers to watch over its harbours.

Did You Know? -Almeria is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name. The city was founded by Calipha Abd-ar-Rahman III of Cordova in 955 AD. It was to be a principal harbour in his extensive domain to strengthen his Mediterranean defences.

Its Moorish castle, the Alcazaba of Almería, is the second largest among the Muslim fortresses of Andalusia, after the Alhambra. The ancient walls of Jayrán. In this period, the port city of Almería reached its historical peak. After the fragmentation of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Almería continued to be ruled by powerful local Muslim Taifa emirs like Jairan, the first independent Emir of Almería and Cartagena, and Almotacin, the poet emir. Both Jairan and Almotacin were fearless warriors, but also sophisticated patrons of the arts. A silk industry, based upon plantings of mulberry trees in the hot, dry landscape of the province, supported Almería in the 11th century and made its strategic harbour an even more valuable asset.

Contested by the emirs of Granada and Valencia, Almería experienced many sieges, including one especially fierce siege when Christians, called to the Second Crusade by Pope Eugene III, were also encouraged to attack the Muslim 'infidels' on a more familiar coast. On that occasion Alfonso VII, at the head of mixed forces of Catalans, Genoese, Pisans and Franks, led a crusade against the rich city, and Almería was occupied in October 1147.

Within a decade, however, Almería had passed to the control of the puritanical Muslim Almoravid emirs, and not until the late 15th century did it fall permanently into Christian hands. The city surrendered to the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, on December 26, 1489.

Did You Know? - The Alcazaba, a medieval fortress that was begun in the 10th century but destroyed by an earthquake in 1522. It includes a triple line of walls, a majestic keep and large gardens. It commands a city quarter with buildings dressed in white colours, of Muslim-age aspect.

Did You Know? - The Alcazaba, a medieval fortress that was begun in the 10th century but destroyed by an earthquake in 1522. It includes a triple line of walls, a majestic keep and large gardens. It commands a city quarter with buildings dressed in white colours, of Muslim-age aspect.

The Alcazaba of Almería is a fortified complex in Almería, southern Spain. The word alcazaba, from the Arabic word al-qasbah, signifies a walled-fortification in a city.

Did You Know? - Ibiza (Catalan: Eivissa [əjˈvisə]) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain.

With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza Town (Catalan: Vila d'Eivissa, or simply Vila), Santa Eulària des Riu and Sant Antoni de Portmany. Its highest point, called Sa Talaiassa (or Sa Talaia), is 475 m/1,558 ft above sea level.

The relatively small island and its cities have become world-famous for their associations with tourism, nightlife, and the electronic music the island has originated. It is well known for its summer club scene which attracts very large numbers of tourists, but the island's government and the Spanish Tourist Office have controversially been working to promote more family-oriented tourism. Noted clubs include Space, Privilege, Amnesia, DC10, Eden, and Es Paradis. Ibiza is also home to the legendary "port" in Ibiza Town, a popular stop for many tourists and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Did You Know? - Ibiza is the larger of a group of the western Balearic archipelago called the "Pityuses" or "Pine Islands" composed of itself and Formentera. The Balearic island chain includes over fifty islands, many of which are uninhabited. The highest point of the island is Sa Talaiassa, at 475 metres.

Did You Know? - The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is often identified as a completely separate body of water.

The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning "inland" or "in the middle of the land" (from medius, "middle" and terra, "land"). It covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km² (965,000 sq mi), but its connection to the Atlantic (the Strait of Gibraltar) is only 14 km (8.7 mi) wide. In oceanography, it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere.

The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and the deepest recorded point is 5,267 m (17,280 ft) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea.

It was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region. The history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. "For the three quarters of the globe, the Mediterranean Sea is similarly the uniting element and the centre of World History."

Did You Know? - Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse. The name Civitavecchia means "ancient town".

The modern city was built over a pre-existing Etruscan settlement.

The harbor was constructed by the Emperor Trajan at the beginning of the 2nd century. The first occurrence of the name Centum Cellae is from a letter by Pliny the Younger (AD 107). The origin of the name is disputed: it has been suggested that it could refer to the centum ("hundred") halls of the villa of the emperor.

In the high Middle Ages[citation needed], Centumcellae was a Byzantine stronghold. Raided by the Saracens in 828, it was later acquired by the Papal States.

The place became a free port under Pope Innocent XII in 1696 and by the modern era was the main port of Rome. The French occupied it in 1849. On 16 April 1859 the Rome and Civitavecchia Rail Road was opened for service. The Papal troops opened the gates of the fortress to the Italian general Nino Bixio in 1870. During World War II, Allied bombings severely damaged Civitavecchia, and caused civilian casualties.