Wandering West

Last Day of Trip

2011-10-04T15:26:00.001-04:00

I am packed and getting last minute things done to disembark tomorrow morning. It has been a long, interesting trip. I flew approximately 5,000 miles to begin this journey. Travelled 2,000 miles in a bus around Scandinavia. Sailed 5,522 nautical miles across the ocean.

I have seen many beautiful sights…and sites…and have gained some insight into myself. Long sea voyages provide time for introspection. I return renewed.

On The High Seas

2011-10-02T13:30:00.004-04:00

As I write this, we are sailing across the Sargasso Sea, and at three a.m. we will enter the mysterious Bermuda Triangle.

What does one do for 16 days while sailing across the various oceans and seas? If you are on a cruise ship:

You eat, sleep, swim, sunbathe

Eat, dance, gamble,

Eat, talk, walk around the promenade deck, shop,

Eat, go to shows, go to auctions

Eat, talk, play basketball, play cards

Eat, compete in games shows, browse the library for books,

Eat, learn how to dance, watch cooking demonstrations, watch towel art demonstrations

Eat, watch movies, listen to lectures, look at photographs taken at ports or in restaurants,

There are multiple things to do every day, every hour, 24 hours a day. I am always puzzled when I hear someone say that they didn’t think they could be on a boat that long because there’s nothing to do…

Well, I’m going to have lunch now on the aft deck before I go to the next lecture on art.

Sao Miguel, Azores

2011-09-30T09:24:00.003-04:00

Well, we have made it to the last port before the “crossing” and arrival at Port Canaveral. We have sailed 2,638.3 nautical miles from Copenhagen to Sao Miguel, and it is 2,820 nautical miles to Port Canaveral. So we are about half-way home.

I said “made It” because the passage from Lisbon to Sao Miguel was very rough. Waves were from 7.5 to 12 feet. And gale winds were blowing so high at Sao Miguel with ocean swells of 30 feet that cruise ships were unable to land there for two days prior to our landing.

Here’s the beautiful sunrise that greeted us as we sailed into port:

And view of the port city, Ponta Delgada.

I was off the ship early for a full day’s excursion around the island. What an interesting place this is!! I really wasn’t expecting much, but I was surprised at the variety of landscape, industry, and towns that this one island has to offer. (Nine islands make up the Azores, all formed from volcanic lava flows, and located where two major plates of the earth come together and move. Sao Miguel is the largest.)

They say they have two earthquakes a day, but they are so slight that they are not felt. However, in the past, there have been major earthquakes, like the one in 1588, which caused a landslide, destroying the oldest town on the island. The remnants of past earthquakes and landslides can be seen like these fences of lava rock which can be found around the island. They were used to separate orange groves.

Exportation of oranges was the major industry of the island from the end of the 17^th century to the first half of the 18^th century. About a third of the arable soil was filled up with orange groves. As time went by, easier access to oranges grown in Sicily and Valencia and a deadly disease destroyed this business.

The orange industry was replaced little by little with tea, pineapple, tobacco, chicory and hydrangeas. They grow the pineapples in green houses where they are marketed as organic fruit. I had some as a desert for lunch and it was very sweet and juicy.

You see thousands of hydrangeas everywhere. Hedges of them line the road. Because of the pH of the soil, they are either white or blue.

Also along the road, you see clumps of pink amaryllis.

One plant that is causing a lot of problems here is the ginger lily which is a non-native plant and is overtaking the country-side. I guess you could call it Sao Miguel’s cudzu. The guide mentioned that there are about 3,000 native plants on the island, but over 6,000 non-native ones, some of which are really causing problems.

While on the subject of plants, one of the places we visited was Terra Nostra which is a garden created by Thomas Hickling, first US Consul of the Azores.

It is filled with interesting huge fern trees and has a feel of a sub-tropical rain forest. It is damp and muggy, but is strangely beautiful.

In the center is a pool of yellow-colored water (from the iron content) which is supplied by warm springs from the volcanoes. Here people swim along with black swans.

Near the town of Furnas, boiling water inside the cauldron is evident from the steam billowing out of the ground, much like at Yellowstone.

The local people use “hot holes” like this much like crock pots to cook stew which takes about six hours. I had some of this stew (though not cooked in this manner) for lunch. It is called, cozido. It was a delicious platter of all kinds of meat—chicken, pork, beef, sausages—and vegetables carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and kale.

Water is a constant presence all over Sao Miguel from rivers like at Ribeira Grande

Or lakes, formed inside craters, which Azoreans call lagoons. This one was almost hidden by the misty rain which comes and goes throughout the day.

Or black sandy beaches along the south coast.

There are big and little and gardens and parks in all of the island towns. Some are more decorative like the Paradise Garden in Ribeira Grande.

Others are gathering spots, it seems mostly for men to talk.

The main town is Ponta Delgada. There is a university here as well as several elementary schools and a high school. The people of this island are very religious and celebrate many holy days with processions. There are churches and old convents everywhere.

The town center has characteristic black and white figured plazas and sidewalks with statues or fountains in the center.

Ponta Delgada is where the cruise ship port is. This was recently built since tourism is on the increase as more and more ships stop on their way across the Atlantic.

Right at the port is a public swimming area. Here you can see people enjoying a swim after work or during lunch.

As I said, there is a lot to this island which I have only briefly described. If you want to find out more, go here.

Lisbon and Fatima, Portugal

2011-09-27T09:24:00.003-04:00

Another beautiful sunny day for an excursion ashore. Before driving the 90 miles to Fatima, we took a “panoramic tour” of Lisbon which simply means a drive around with a guide saying on your left is the Rossio Square and on your right is Edward VII Park. Most of the city tours are like this, so most of my photos are taken through highly reflective bus windows…sometimes across the aisle windows.

I was in Lisbon two years ago and did a similar tour, but I am learning that Tour 1 is not Tour 2 which is to say you see a lot of the same things, of course, but you also are taken to different parts of a city depending on your tour guide. I did see parts of Lisbon today that I did not see before, like a new section that has built up around the area where the 1998 World Exhibition was held. This area includes high rise apartments, businesses, a huge aquarium, and this new modern train station designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava whose idea was to make it look like fish bones. It is really beautiful.

Despite its newness, graffiti is still seen. Some of it is very well done and covers huge walls, making me wonder if these artists were commissioned to fill this concrete space.

I did observe that it must be Monday, wash day, since I saw a lot of laundry hanging out of the windows, even in really posh sections of the city. This is a common sight throughout Europe, since they either don’t have driers, or if they do, they prefer the fresh air and sun to do the job. This window was in Alfama quarter, the oldest part of the city near the pier where we were docked.

I won’t repeat information or photos of Lisbon in this post. If you are interested, look at my post in the archives. To find it, look in the column on the right, find year 2009 in the Archives, click on the > and a menu will drop down, then select month of April, another box will drop down. Go down the list and click on “Lisbon and Esteril, Portugal”.

I was glad that we were going to Fatima on a Monday because it would not be as crowded as, say, on a Sunday. (The last time I arrived in Portugal it was Easter Sunday, so it was impossible to get into this mammoth square, much less the basilica, because of the thousands of worshipers.)

Through the center of this square, you see a path made of marble. It is here that some make their way the entire length of the plaza on their knees as a sign of devotion or adoration. Today, I saw this man doing that accompanied by a child.

There are three main structures on the plaza. First is the basilica itself. Inside is where the children who saw the apparition are buried. The line in front of the altar are people who want to get a glimpse of the tomb.

The second structure is built over the place where the children saw the apparition. The marble column next to this priest who was leading the saying of the rosary as I went by is supposedly where the Blessed Virgin appeared. It is reported that about four million people visit this Chapel of the Apparitions each year.

Next to this is a place where people light candles. Some of the candles are over six feet long.

Opposite the basilica next to a huge cross is a new, very modernistic church which can hold over 9,000 people.

At all religious places like this which draws millions of people every year, you will find an abundance of souvenir shops. Here’s one strip of them. There are many more.

They sell rosaries, candles, key chains, holy cards, statues, and so on. I’m sure collectively they make millions each year.

I had a quick lunch in this little side café.

And then we were on our way back to the ship.

Bruges, Belgium

2011-09-25T17:20:00.004-04:00

Bruges, Belgium—September 23, 2011

The second stop on our cruise was ZeeBrugge, Belgium, the port for Bruges. Between the 7^th and 8^th century a settlement was established on the banks of the Zwinn. A port of international standing in the 13^th century, Bruges fell into economic decline two centuries later when the river silted, and it was no longer a port.

Later, it became a city of great splendor, a city without rival as a center for the arts. The architecture of Bruges, styles spanning nine centuries often found in a single square, makes an essential contribution to the artistic patrimony of Europe.

Wandering through squares, narrow cobble streets, parks, and along canals, you can see so much in a four hour walk and a thirty-minute canal boat ride. Here are some of those sights:

Love Lake

According to legend, since 1448 swans have been shown special favors here. Rebel citizens of Bruges holding Maximilian, Archduke of Austria prisoner, condemned his servant to death. The Archduke consented to meet rebel demands, but in reprisal for the death of his servant, condemned the citizens of Bruges to take care of the swans until the end of time. White swans belong to the city and are marked on the beak with a capital B and the date of birth.

Bruges has elegant horses that pull the sightseeing carriages at a fast clip around the narrow streets. They know the way by heart and will not stop for man or beast. They are considered more dangerous to pedestrians than the bicycles and cars.

Sometimes a dog can be seen riding along-side the driver. This cute pooch peeked at me while his horse had stopped for a rest and a drink.

Here’s a scene called, The “Rozenhoedkaai”, which attracts painters and photographers.

The “Brug” was built as a fortress. The famous Bell Tower, THE landmark of Bruges, can be seen rising behind it.

On this square are the law courts built in classical style, the former Records Office/then police station, built in Flemish Renaissance style. The Gothic town hall built in 1376 became the model for other town halls.

The Chapel of Blood completes this square.

Going through a gate a short distance away is the Main Square (Grand-Place). A number of buildings with corbie-stepped gables flank the square. These were originally guildhalls.

Two magnificent houses face this square, as well as one house known as the “cat house” because of this stone cat on the roof which marks the spot.

You can see so many architectural delights as you go through the town by boat where you pass under a number of low bridges.

While riding on one of these boats, I even saw a doggie in a window watching the tourists go by.

Too bad I didn't see him soon enough to get a full view of his face.

I had some time to window shop to look at famous Belgian Chocolate which was tempting me at every turn.

Lace is still made here. The most sought after Bruges lace is created with the “sorciere” stitch which requires from 300 to 700 bobbins. Like those wooden shoes, lace is mostly machine-made these days, although a few still know how to do it.

After walking over 5 miles, I was ready for lunch. I found this wonderful little restaurant on the narrowest street in the city. It was called, Maliesherbes, and seated only 16 people. I later learned that this little restaurant is featured in a series of novels written by someone named Aspe. That’s all I got, no first name, nor any titles, but I will find out more about this when I get home.

I had a delicious salad, a tasty tureen of fish soup with cheese, and a glass of wine. This photo maybe doesn’t look appetizing, but believe me it was the best meal I have had on this trip.

On our walk back to the bus through a park, I saw these girls enjoying a picnic and the early fall weather.

This day trip ranks up there as one of the best I have ever experienced.

Cruising on the Norwegian Sun

2011-09-24T18:31:00.003-04:00

This is the fifth day of our cruise which began in Copenhagen, Denmark, and will end at Port Canaveral, Florida. During the first week, we have scheduled stops at several ports before we sail across the Atlantic. We first sailed north from Copenhagen to the North Sea, where we turned south. I was surprised that this part of the voyage was so smooth. I always thought of the North Sea as very turbulent. I guess it is sometimes, but it was calm as we sailed over wavelets of only .5 to 1.5 feet.

We have gone through the English Channel to the Atlantic. Here’s a map of where we were this morning…off the coast of France.

Since entering the Atlantic, the waves have gotten higher. You can see the effect by looking at this wave in the aft deck pool.

Amsterdam and Environs—September 22, 2011

Our first port of call after a day and two nights of cruising was Amsterdam. I had chosen to go on a full day excursion which included a walking tour of an outside museum of wind mills in Zaanse Schans, a typical tourist visit to a wooden shoe maker, a walking tour of Edam, a stop and lunch in Vollendam, and then a combined driving tour and walking tour of Amsterdam.

What a great day! We had picture perfect weather (literally)—sunny with temperatures in the low 60’s. More importantly, we had a fantastic guide whose love of his country and city was evident as he described history, buildings, culture of the various places we visited.

Zaanse Shans

Zaanse Shans is a delightful old hamlet a few miles outside of Amsterdam on the banks of the River Zaan. It is now an outside museum which gives the feeling of stepping back in time. Over the centuries, more than a 1,000 little windmill factories flourished along the River Zaan. The windmills were used to saw wood, mill grain, crush oilseeds for linseed oil, and many other uses. Here are three that served the purposes just listed:

Others, like the smaller windmill below, were used to pump water out of the lowlands to provide drain the land.

While at Zaanse Shans, we watched a demonstration of how wooden shoes were made, not by hand, but by using power lathes that follow models to carve shoes. The one on the right carves the outer shoe from a block of wood, then the one on the left cuts out the interior wood. It took only five minutes to make a shoe. Of course they sell these shoes and other souvenirs. Plus they charge 50 Euro cents to use the bathroom. The money from all of these ventures is used to maintain the outdoor museum and to preserve wind mills.

Edam

Edam was the next stop. For most people, Edam is synonymous with cheese, as the popular round cheeses have been exported to all corners of the world for centuries.

But this town has much more to offer than just cheese. It is a town with a rich history, lovely facades, squares, bridges, canals, and dogs. Here’s a sample:

Vollendam

A few short miles away was Vollendam where we went mainly for lunch. It has a place to park buses, many restaurants, and souvenir shops. None of which Edam had. Some people just have to shop these junk shops.

I didn’t buy any lunch or junk. I had brought my lunch, so I walked out on the dike and had a picnic.

I share my lunch with several little birds like this one. I’ve never seen a bird with a polk-dotted breast. Can anyone identify this bird?

While there, several boats came and went in the little port, some of which moored right in front of me. Some were ferries that were going back and forth to Marken Island, just off the coast from here.

This cute little dog was being walked (yanked) along the dike.

Just so you can picture how small he was, here he is next to his owners’ legs.

Amsterdam

After a refreshing break on the dike, we then drove back to Amsterdam to tour the city.
Of course we saw the ubiquitous bicycles everywhere, and beware if you get in their way. Cars will stop; bikes won’t if you are in the bike path.

We also crossed over the canals with their tour boats, house boats, and lovely bridges.

We passed by Dam Square where street entertainers were gathering a crowd.

We passed by elegant shops and stores…and not so elegant ones like this one:

We also passed by apartments that have been taken over by squatters. These abodes are distinguished by colorful graffiti.

We also went by crazy sexy district…or red light district where there are red lights and girls in the windows. If their curtains are drawn, they may be busy entertaining/working.

We passed many coffee shops. Our guide told use that coffee shops are really places where you can buy and smoke pot. The signs are always green and yellow. And, even though illegal, they are licensed by the city and are given a green city seal for coffee houses to show that they are legally illegal

We then did a walking tour through the University district to go to a surprising place called, “The Begijnhof”. Under the guidance of an unmarried woman, other unmarried women came together to live in community. They were a quasi-religious community, vowing chastity and obedience to the head woman, but not poverty. They lived in these magnificent apartments, and if they should take a lover or decide to get married, they had to leave. They were not officially recognized by the Catholic church (I learned about a similar community in Bruges [that’s for tomorrow]).

We wandered through interesting streets, through inside passages where courtyards appeared, like this one, which was once part of an orphanage, but now is part of a museum.

One person on the tour who had worn her pedometer informed me that we had walked 6 miles today. I can’t believe I did that!! Over coble stones, no less. But it is easier to do when it isn’t 90+ degrees souped up with 90+ humidity.

Since we have a sea day tomorrow before we arrive in Lisbon, I will catch up with a description of the visit to Bruges.

Scandinavian Capitals Land Tour

2011-09-21T17:34:00.010-04:00

September 12 – 21, 2011

I was not able to post anything during the land part of the trip because I could not charge the battery on my computer. I had brought my transformer and proper plugs that work in the countries that I was visiting, but I hadn’t noticed before I left that the transformer accepts only 2- bladed American plugs, and my computer has the third ground wire prong, so it wouldn’t fit. Fortunately, I could charge my camera’s batteries and the cell phone because those have the two-pronged plugs.
I became sort of a charging service for several people who didn’t bring transformers or European plugs. Although I was frustrated, I was glad that the equipment I brought benefited someone. Now that I am on the ship, it is equipped with 110 volt sockets that accept three-pronged plugs. So…I am back in business.

I will not attempt to recount each day of the land tour (aren’t you thankful?). Even so, this is a long post because it would have been 10 instead of one.

Suffice it to say, I was in the bus for 7 of those 10 days; they were long travel days. We drove approximately 2000 miles, from Copenhagen, Denmark to Bergen, Norway, and back again. By the end of the trip, here’s what several of us looked like.

Stockholm

First stop was Stockholm. Beautiful city. Probably the most interesting in Sweden. Here are a few photos of it.

Bird's Eye View

Is this Lisbeth Salander?

That night we went to an elegant dinner at a beautiful restaurant in old town that was established in 1722.

Oslo

Next was Oslo. Not as beautiful as Stockholm, but interesting none the less. Very modern buildings. Lots of construction going on. We visited the Vigeland Sculphure Gardens.

Next went up to the ski jump.

From the ski jump, you get a grand view of the Oslo fjord.

In the afternoon, I took a boat ride on the Oslo fjord. Each of the islands in the innermost part of the fjord has its own identity. Some are privately owned.

We could get a good look at Oslo's Opera House and the interesting sculpure in front of it from the boat.

The college student who narrated this boat tour makes $30/hour. This was a 2 hour tour, one of several that day, so she made a nice amount for talking maybe a total of 20 minutes during the tour.

As you may know, college students here do not pay tuition. Plus they are given a study stipend of about $1,000 per month. If they take a student loan, they don’t have to pay interest. Plus they make good wages doing this kind of work in the summer. Not bad, huh?

We got back at evening as the late afternoon sun illuminated the Oslo waterfront.

And just in time to catch the next ferry....but we decided to have dinner instead. This is where I paid $40 for a pizza and a beer.

Drive to Bergen

I will say that the 8 hour transfer from Oslo to Bergen was the best. It was a spectacular drive through the mountains and fjordlands. We saw many beautiful farms, rushing rivers, waterfalls, and mountains along the way. We were lucky to have a sunny day which illuminated the scenes beautifully. We retracked this same drive back to Copenhagen in the rain. The difference was amazing.

Norway in a Nutshell

Probably the most outstanding excursion I took was “Norway in a Nutshell” . We drove in our tour bus from Bergen to Vos (home of Knute Rockney). This is a 2 hour drive. Then we boarded a local sight-seeing bus which took us down Naero Valley via a twisting road that looked like the one in San Francisco called Stalheim Road. On our way, we passed the Kjosfossen waterfall, one of the most visited travel destinations in Norway.

Arriving at a dock, we embarked on a 2 hour sail through the Naeroyfjord. In 2005, this fjord was included on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. It is Norway’s longest and deepest fjord. It then joins the Aurlandsfjord which is a 17 km arm of the world’s second longest fjord, the Sognefjord (204 km). The surrounding mountains reach approximately 3000 feet, often sheer rock face that reminded me of El Capitan in Yosemite.

There were small farms on the edge of the water.

And a rare stave church.

Our cruise ended in Flam where we took the Flam Railway from Flam to Myrdal. This railway took 20 years to build and is one the steepest of its kind in the world. It is often compared to the White Pass Railway in Alaska that I rode on recently. It passes by many waterfalls, through tunnels, above valleys.

Off that train onto another that took us back to Vos where we picked up our bus to return to Bergen. Nine hours of riding on six modes of transportation. It was well worth it.

Bergen

However, because we were on this all day optional tour, I missed the half-day tour of Bergen. The little I did see made me think that this was probably the most interesting city on the tour, despite the architectural beauties of Stockholm and Copenhagen.

By far, Norway is the most beautiful of the three countries. It is considered the National Park of Europe, at least that’s what the guides say. I enjoyed my visit in the land of the Trolls and would like to explore it some more.

Back to Copenhagen

It took us two days to get back from Bergen to Copenhagen, a total of 20 brutal hours. Before we boarded the ship, we were scheduled to have a 7 hour tour of the city. But, once on the bus, we were told that we may not be able to get into the Central City because there was an international bike tour going on and all streets entering the city had been blocked. You could hear the groans.

We were taken to see the new, ultra-modern opera house which was completed in 2005. It is built in the area of the old docks.

This is one of the lights in the main lobby

which gives the building a beautiful glow at night.

The opera house is built in alignment with the Queen's Palace and The Marble Church, so that if one stands in the main entrance of the Opera, one can see the dome of the Marble Church behind Amalienborg (the name of the Palace). Very convenient for the Queen when she wants to attend events at the Opera.

Then we were taken on a tour of the suburbs…around the airport…where we had been staying in hotels. The driver drove very slowly, and the guide did his best to inform us of the community gardens and potatoes that people grow in these country communities .

The night before I had happened to look out my hotel window and saw a couple working in their garden. The man was using a hand-pushed lawn mower (which I haven’t seen in years), and his wife was sweeping and poking away at something. Neat little house and yard. Here they are working on their tidy little plot:

On our way to a “quaint” fishing village, we passed the newest hotel, the Bella, with 800 rooms, which was built just before the financial crash. Poor timing. Lots of very modern apartment houses in this area which the guide said would be future slums.

Notice the windmill in the background. We saw many of these in Sweden and in Denmark. Also, I noticed that there was a man washing those crazy windows on the Bella. Since we were stopped at a traffic light, I was able to zoom in so you can see him better.

The fishing village of Dragor (with a slash through the o) is quite a contrast with its thatched roof houses.

While at the fishing village, we got word that the race was still on, but some streets in the city were open and that we could take a quick tour to see some of Copenhagen.

The Stock Exchange

Nyhavn Canal

Lots more photos of this city, but I think you have had enough. Must end with the little mermaid though.

We all knew that these countries would be expensive, but when you pay $15 for a bowl of soup, or $25 for a hamburger, or $40 for a pizza and a beer, you really begin to appreciate how relatively inexpensive the US is in comparison. It doesn’t help to try to go to grocery stores to buy “supplies” to make your own. Food there was expensive, too. For example, eggs were $8 a dozen.

Fortunately breakfast was included in all of our hotels, and they were bountiful. Since they included ham, cheese, fruit, nuts, hard boiled eggs, and other treats, most of us began to surreptitiously pack a lunch for the day which would save anywhere from $15 to $25.

So after so much bus riding and schlepping our luggage from bus to room to bus again, and reluctantly paying so much for food and drink, all of us were ready for the cruise where we unpack once, eat what and when you want, enjoy the library, or entertainment, or lectures, or a quiet corner to read.

Scandinavian Trip

2011-09-12T15:27:00.001-04:00

I may not be able to continue this blog because I just learned that my transformer doesn't have the right slots for the three-pronged plug American plug. I went to a lot of trouble to get the right plugs for the countries I will be visiting....Grrr! But here's a summary of what has transpired beginning in
Orlando on Saturday night, September 10. I have photos to go with this, but don't have enough battery power left to post them. I hope I can remedy this, but may not be able to until I board the SUN ship on September 20th.

A Rough Start
September 10-11, 2011

After taking about 3 weeks to get all the details done getting ready for almost a month of travel, I was finally ready to go. Since I was going on an international flight, I got the airport about 3 hours before the flight. I surprised to find quite a long line already at the Air France desk. Once in line, I found out that the flight was delayed 2 hours because there had been a security threat at Charles DeGaulle Airport where the flight orginates. (It flies from Paris to Orlando, then turns around to return to Paris.)

This meant the we, like many others, were going to miss our connecting flight. So the line moved very slowly…it took about an hour and half to get checked in…and I was near the front of the line. I learned that I would have about an 8 hour lay-over in Paris and would not arrived in Copenhagen until 10 p.m. (the next night) where originally I was to arrive at 2:30 p.m.

The best thing I can say about this whole flight is that I didn’t have anyone sitting in the seat next to me. That was great because I had a little more room to stretch out and move a little easier when trying to get some sleep.

We arrive the next day around noon Paris time. Got our connection verified and a seat assignment, then spent 8 long hours waiting. Believe me, CDG Airport is not Orlando International. You walk for what seems like miles to get from one terminal to another, there are few places to get something to eat, and there is hardly any place to sit and wait. The gate areas are small and huge crowds of people are milling back and forth, standing or rushing to get a plane, with their pull-along-luggage bumping into one another.

So, after three gate changes, the Air France flight to Copenhagen finally arrives and gets us to Denmark. Again, we walk a long way to get our luggage (through what looks like a nice airport), go through customs, and go out to the terminal area where we (there were about 20 of us in the group I am travelling with) expected to see a representative of the company waiting for us with a bus to take us to the hotel. Well…no one was there. We looked at the paperwork and found it clearly stated that if a flight is delayed, they could not guarantee a pick-up. Bear in mind it is now 11 p.m. and we have been on this trip since the day before…travelling for over 24 hours. I was exhausted and thought I would collapse.

We did have the name and phone number for the Hotel, so one of the group called, and a bus was sent to get us. We saw on the notice board that we had to have our luggage ready by 8 a.m. and ourselves ready to leave at 9 a.m.

I can’t tell you how wonderful that shower and bed felt after this ordeal. My first impression of this tour was not good.

A Better Day—September 12, 2011

After a short but good night’s sleep, I was up at 6 a.m. and to breakfast…which was wonderful. Got the luggage ready to go and learned that we had to schlep our own luggage to the bus. (Usually on tours, you put your luggage outside your door, and it is picked up. )

The bus was there waiting for us. It is a beautiful double decker. There are 70 of us on this part of the tour of the Scandinavian capitals. Again I am fortunate to have no one sitting next to me which gives me a lot of wiggle room. This helps me get myself arranged so I can take pictures as we roll along. As many of you know, so many of my travel photos are taken for the bus window, so it helps for me to be able to twist and turn.

Our tour guide’s name is Benedicta. I think she is going to be a good one. I writing this right now on the bus after lunch on our way to Stockholm. It is 500 km to Stockholm—about an 8 hour trip. The group seems friendly, mostly my age, and well-travelled. As we drive along, some are playing cards, some are reading, others are napping, and I am blogging. I hope I get a Wi-Fi connection tonight to get this posted.

It’s a congenial group who took yesterday’s travel travails (for some of us) as just part of how things go. We’re too old to let stuff like that bother us too much.

More later.

P.S. I am getting instructions and information from Blogger in Swedish!! Gish!

Rome to Home, April 29 - May 2, 2009

2009-05-02T10:25:00.000-04:00

We disembarked from the ship around 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday, April 29th, to a bus which took us to Rome. It is about an hour’s drive, depending on traffic. Whenever you talk about any distance in Rome (if you are not walking), you always add, “depending on traffic.”

Since we couldn’t check into our hotel until afternoon, a panoramic tour with a local guide had been arranged. We drove by and got as much as an explanation as possible in this type of driving tour of the many of the well-known monuments of Rome—Victor Emanuel’s monument (known as the “Wedding Cake” because of its very white and very ornately designed.) It is also the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. (Almost of these photos were from the bus, sometimes across the aisle and out the other window; hence, not as good as I like).

We also passed by the Roman Forum, Circus Maximus, and Capitol Hill with its famous steps.

Saint Angelo Castle and Bridge

We stopped for a photo shoot at the Coliseum

We then made our way to Vatican City. Since it was Wednesday, the Pope was holding an audience for the people. As a result, St. Peter’s Square was jammed with thousands of people. We had to time our tour to enter St. Peter’s Square after the Audience, so I didn’t get to see Pope Benedict, but thousands of people were still in the square while others were streaming out.

Before you can enter St. Peters Square, you must go through security checks and scanners. The same is true if you want to go into the Basilica. This is new since my last visit there. We didn’t go inside, but did get a good look again at the famous dome, façade, and front of the basilica.

We saw a bride and groom who had just been married there.

It is from the second window from the right which is on the first floor down from the roof at the Pope's residence where he often addresses the people.

From there, we made our way to our hotel and got checked it. It is a nice hotel near the Bourgese Gardens. We had the afternoon free, and I just walked around the neighborhood and looked in the windows admiring the beautiful clothing, especially the men’s clothing, the leather goods, and interesting things for sale in the equivalent to a hardware store.

April 30th

The next day, I shared a taxi with one of the other Vantage travelers to go the Pantheon. This is my favorite building in Rome, after St. Peter’s. This year it is celebrating its 1400th anniversary this year.

I rented one of those audio-tour phones to get a more detailed explanation of its history, construction, and the various niches, tombs, and altars. Victor Emanuel II, “the father of Italy”, is entombed here. So is Raphael.

The marble floor and walls are stunning, and the high altar is, too. It is still an active church. It is the best preserved monument in Rome.

But the dome is probably what it is most famous for with its ocular which lets in sun and rain. (The floor is slightly concave to allow the rain to drain into small holes.) Michelangelo designed the dome of St. Peters's based on this one.

After enjoying a cappuccino in the piazza in front of the Pantheon, I went on a personal walking tour though narrow streets and piazzas to the main Via Corso which led me to the Trevi Fountain

which is very close to this very fashionable shopping center called, "Galleria Alberto Sordi."

I passed by Marcus Aurelis’ Column with the history of many of the Roman wars on its spiralling freise. (It looks similar to Trajan’s column which has a spiral relief with Bible Stories)

Then I walked on to the Spanish Steps which were filled with people and flowers.

In front of these steps, is the Via Condotti (one of THE exclusive shopping streets in Rome). On this street is the Caffe Greco. When I am in Rome, I always go here to have lunch at Caffe Greco.

This café has been in existence since 1763, and many historically famous people have met and eaten here, like Buffalo Bill with Indians.

It has wonderful pastries and sandwiches.

You order from the bar and then sit and wait for a waiter who wears formal tails to serve you.

It’s expensive (about $20 for a glass of beer and a small sandwich), but I enjoyed it anyway. In fact, everything everywhere we have visited is very expensive.

I was tired after walking so much, so I hailed a taxi to go back to the hotel.

Friday, May 1

We left the hotel early to go to the airport. Since it was a national holiday, there was hardly any traffic. I have never seen so few cars and buses.

My suitcase was overweight (which I knew before I left home), but this time they were going to charge me $400!!!! I got rid of 3 kilos of weight and was still charged $150. I had to dispose of the things I took out of my suitcase because I didn’t have any room anywhere else.

The Rome airport was somewhat confusing to me. Very little signage, people shouting into the microphone so you couldn’t understand anything that was being said. Eventually we got on the plane for a 9.5 hour flight to Washington, D.C. Nine and half hours in a sitting position in little space qualifies for torture, doesn’t it?

Then the customs lines were very long, but I got through that okay. I hadn’t bought much. Next was a 3.5 hour lay-over at Dulles, then a 3 hour flight to Miami. Then schlepping the luggage to get a taxi to a nearby hotel. It was near mid-night here, which would have been 6 a.m. in Rome, when I finally got to me room. It had been a full 24 hour day.

Believe me, the only way to travel to continents is by ship. It is so refined, and hassle free, and enjoyable. Flying should, I repeat, qualify as torture…

May 2nd

I am in Miami staying at the Hampton Inn near the airport. I can see the Soffitel Hotel from my window where we had stayed just one month ago. I am writing this as I wait to leave for the airport. I will be home this afternoon. I have come full circle. With the exception of yesterday, it has been thirty days of exceptional pleasure, enjoyment, education, and relaxation.

Messina and Mt. Etna, Italy

2009-04-28T15:27:00.000-04:00

Messina is the last port before our final destination, Rome. We arrived here around 7 a.m. and left at 1 p.m., so I didn’t get to see a lot of it. In fact, this early morning shot from the deck of the ship is really about all I saw of Messina.

In this photograph is the Clock Tower Cathedral, the Madonna di Montalto behind it and the dome of the Sacrario Cristo Re in the upper right.

And this is a view of the port.

I had selected the tour that took us to see Mt. Etna, the largest volcano in Europe. When we got within viewing distance, it was not visible because of the clouds.

But in a few minutes, the clouds parted and revealed with beautiful snow covered spectacle. The guide told us that we were very lucky because it has been raining and foggy and just awful weather for several days, and it was not possible to see it.

Soon thereafter, it was hidden again.

We drove along the Ionian Coast up the southern slopes of Mt. Etna through several little villages. They looked deserted. Windows were shuttered, shops dimmed, and streets were almost empty. Most of the sidewalks, streets, and many of the older houses are made from lava rock.

We stopped at the Hotel Airone (Heron) for tea. The hotel dining room was sunny as we enjoyed some delicious tea cakes and the view down to the cost. We were at a height of 750 meters. I don’t know how many feet that is.

They put on a nice spread for us.

From there, we went to see the colata lavica 1992 which is the place where the lava flow stopped just short of the first house in the village. The people felt that it was a miracle and built a shrine to the Virgin Mary in thanksgiving for her protection.

Lava rock is everywhere in this region, but it is quite impressive here.

A nearby town is called the “City of Honey.” They make predominately lemon honey from the blossoms of the many lemon trees. The local women set up tables at the colata lavica area to give samples to tourists to try to entice them to buy some. It was delicious, but no one seemed interested in trying to transport it back in their suitcases.

We were back on the ship by 1 p.m. and on our way shortly thereafter. Messina is situated on the northeastern coast of Sicily on the western shore of the Strait of Messina. On the eastern shore is the toe of the boot of Italy.

The ocean was rough last night and continues to be rough right now with waves 7.5 to 12 feet. The wind is also blowing a gale. This is the kind of water I expected crossing the Atlantic, but not here.

Anyway, I am rocking and rolling as I sadly pack my bag to leave the ship tomorrow. I would gladly sail for another month. We will be in Rome for two nights, then begin our flight home on Friday.

I am unsure if I will have access to internet until I get back in the states, but if I do, I will write.

Unrequited Love

2009-04-27T06:22:00.000-04:00

I have kept this a secret the entire voyage.

I fell in love with the cutest guy on board. He has curly, strawberry-blond hair and big brown eyes. He is not very tall, but he is firmly built.

I first saw him taking a walk on the Promenade Deck. We looked at one another; our eyes locked for a few seconds. It was love at first sight on my part.

I didn’t see him for a few days. Then just before we arrived in Portugal, I saw him again. This time he was on the aft deck, next to the Ocean View pool, waiting for a treat to be served. He glanced at me with recognition, but quickly looked away. I learned that his name is Oz.

The last time I saw Oz was while we were in port in Monaco. He was stretched out on a deck chair, taking a nap. I wanted to crawl into the blanket with him.

The Problem: He has a companion. And he was obviously very devoted to her. He was so attentive to her every need. I learned that her name is Colleen. I never saw him again. I surmise that he disembarked in Rome.

I did catch some photos of him. Here they are:

Our first encounter

Walking on deck with Colleen

Waiting for a treat

Asleep on deck chair
Oz is a companion dog. Colleen is deaf, so he is a “hearing” dog. He was the most well behaved, loveable, and faithful dog I have ever met. I still think of him, but I remain faithful to my love, Loofy.

Athens and Praeus, Greece

2009-04-26T23:50:00.000-04:00

When I visited Athens 25 years ago, I didn’t like it. It was hot, dirty and congested. Of course I was impressed with the Parthenon. I had climbed up the Acropolis to see it and the other temples there, and the stadium below. The night before, I had seen the Acropolis under a full moon. But the city itself was a turn-off.

What a different reaction I had today! It was cool, clean, and not congested. Why the difference? Well, it is April—the very best month to visit the Mediterranean, in my opinion. It is Sunday—no congestion. The recent Olympics—they spent billions to build new transportation systems, clean buildings and monuments, and build sports venues. This is the Peace and Friendship Stadium.

We are docked at the Port of Piraeus which is really three ports in one: for ferry boats, for commercial shipping, and cruise shipping.

This is the commercial port with semi-trucks that have just driven off large commercial ferries. Note the buildings in the background which are painted with historical scenes.

We had a pleasant drive to Athens which was very quick because there was virtually no traffic. We passed the tomb of the Unknown Soldier with the Presidential Guard in traditional dress.

Instead of taking a bus panoramic tour of the city, I chose a walking tour through the Ancient Agora and the Plaka. What a superb choice! We were a small group, and we had a great guide.

The Ancient Agora (from the verb “ageiro”, meaning to gather together) was absolutely essential in the organization and functioning of ancient Greek cities. It was the political and administrative center of the city-state, and it was the place where social, commercial, and religious activities concentrated. Once in this place, Socrates, Aristotle and others would gather to teach and talk. It was here that democracy evolved.

On the other hand, the Acropolis (“acro-“ meaning high as in acrobat, acrophobia, and –polis meaning city) is where people felt closer to their gods. This is looking up the north view of the Acropolis from the Agora.

People lived in the Ancient Agora area until 1931 when John D. Rockefeller paid to have the area excavated and preserved as an historical place. The people who had lived here generation after generation used the building materials from earlier times to build and rebuild their own structures, so there isn’t much left of the original.

This Athenian Dog is surveying the remains.

The Temple of Hephasestus (God of Fire), on the other hand, is one of the best preserved monuments in Athens. It has withstood wars, earthquakes, and humans since it was on a high hill and not in the basin of the Agora. It was later used as a Byzantine Church named after St. George.

The Stoa of Attilus II has been reconstructed to show what some of these buildings once looked like. This was a shopping center with stores lining the long, covered walk way. Today it is a museum.

Right next to the Ancient Agora, is the modern day shopping area called Plaka. On Sundays, flea markets abound, people gather to have their coffee and talk, and tourists ride a little red train to gawk at it all.

We meandered through the Plaka passing what I would call “cheaper shops” like these where the merchants were standing outside waiting for customers…

Continuing through streets that had more expensive shops where their merchants sat in chairs almost in the middle of the tree-shaded street in front of their shops.

We then stopped in this café for mezedes (Greek appetizers).

Mezedes usually include tomatoes, cucumber, olives, grape leaves, feta cheese, bread, and ouzo or wine.

I had wine instead ouzo.

After our mezedes, we had some "free" time in which I spent some $$$ on a "souuvenir" for me which I bought here. The name of the shop is Georges. That name has followed me everywhere this trip.

This was a very relaxed and memorable Sunday morning.

Kusadasi and Ephesus, Turkey

2009-04-25T14:53:00.000-04:00

Kusadasi is one of Turkey’s main holiday resorts and is the gateway to 3,000 year old Ephesus and other ancient cities. It has been over 25 years since I was last here, and the port has been “spruced up” since then. The marina is next to the port and is faced by expensive apartments.

Kusadasi has a small town beach which can be walked along on a promenade.

Turkey is predominately Muslim so it is expected to see mosques. This is a major one in Kusadasi.

I chose to return to Ephesus today since I was so impressed with it when I visited before. It is the Aegean’s best preserved ancient city. This is the Marble Way, once lined with columns and statues. The Library of Celsus can be seen at the top.

The Library was built as a tomb. Later it was used as a library where papyrus rolls were placed in the niches on the side walls. The gate links the library to the Agora, an important town center for commerce and shopping.

The Grand Theater is really impressive. It could seat 25,000.

Perhaps the most interesting structure is the Public WC. In the center was a pool ornamented with large columns and mosaics paved all around. It had stone toilet seats and running water. It could accommodate 50 people at a time. (I wish public toilets could do the same today! ) The sewer system ran under that beautiful Marble Way.

What detracts from this beautiful place are all of the vendors selling scarves, rugs, postcards, souvenirs, and genuine fake watches.

I succumbed to having my photo taken with this poor beast.

Ephesus was the center for the fledgling Christian movement. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is like a handbook on how Christians should live and act. A short distance from Ephesus is the prison of St. Paul, Mary’s house, and the Church of St. John where he is buried.

Back in Kusadasi, along with more souvenir street sellers are beautiful stores where merchants display and sell very expensive jewelry, cashmere, silk scarves, and silk on silk Turkish carpets which cost thousands of dollars.

Santorini, Greece

2009-04-24T19:05:00.000-04:00

This has been the most beautiful day of the entire cruise. Santorini is a spectacular and fascinating island. After several days of rain and overcast skies, the gods smiled on us, and the sun shone today illuminating the Aegean Sea and the white washed buildings.

We toured the entire island, participated in a wine tasting, ate a wonderful lunch in a tavern with a spectacular view of the caldera, visited a small Byzantine chapel, walked on one of the black beaches, and had time to stroll the streets in Oia and Fira. I took 200 photos. Here is a sample:

Classic Photo of Oia

House in Oia

Vin Santo-- One of the Wines We Tasted

Lunch at tavern that overlooked the Caldera (the caldron) left by volcano explosion
Here is the view from that tavern.

Byzantine Chapel With Easter Flowers (Orthodox Easter was April 19)

Black Beach

Artist Studio in Oia

The Cat Was Not For Sale

But the Fish Was

We took a cable car down to the port the steep cliffs of the caldron in Fira to take a tender back to our ship which is anchored in front of a island left by volcano.

Olympia, Greece

2009-04-23T09:11:00.000-04:00

The monuments described below do not include the ruins of an ancient city because Olympia was not a city. Olympia was a sanctuary of Zeus, one of the most important in Greece, and at the same time it was a panhellenic center for contests, where the most brilliant games in ancient Greece were held. Therefore, the buildings erected at various times were intended either for worship or to serve the games.

The Sanctuary of Olympia is expansive, beautiful, and very peaceful. The trees within are full of birds, chirping and flying among the ruins. There is so much history and mythology related to this place that even my brief introduction to it was overwhelming. The photos below will give you a sense of it.

Here is a model of Olympia showing the most important structures as they once stood.

The Temple of Zeus is the one with the white roof. The one at 10 o’clock is the Temple of Hera. The green area in the upper right at about 1 o’clock is the stadium, and the grey conical shape to the right of Hera’s Temple is the Altar to Hera. Foreground red roofs are of the gymnasium.

This is what it looks like today.

Temple of Zeus—Most splendid building in the Sanctuary--best one for the head god—has been destroyed several times.

In it was a statue of Zeus which was made of ivory and gold. This was one of the ancient wonders of the world.

Temple of Hera-- Built in 600 BC, it is thought to be the oldest temple in Greece.

At the Altar of Hera, in front of the temple, is where the Olympic torch is lit. From here, it is taken to Athens by runners and then throughout the world until it reaches the host country where it lights the Olympic flame that burns throughout the games.
The Stadium wasn’t excavated until 1958-61. According to tradition, the length of the stadium is 600 ancient feet long said to have been fixed by Hercules who measured it with his own feet. Our guide said that this length is known as a stadia, hence the name for the place as stadium.

Here are some columns that once were part of the gymnasium.

After a pleasant morning within the Sanctuary of Olympia, we went to a local hotel where we had a wonderful Greek lunch.

And were entertained by Greek dancers.

The spirit of Zeus and Zorba linger with me as we sail toward Santorini.

Corfu, Greece

2009-04-22T17:05:00.000-04:00

Countess Flamburiari said that Corfu Town, the island’s capital, was: “Venice and Naples, a touch of France and more than a dash of England, apart of course from being Greek.” Driving through the town, it is the architecture that shows you what she meant.

The Doge of Venice ruled this island for decades and some of the people still speak Italian (Venetian dialect). The New Fort was built by the Venetians which is obvious with the Lion of St. Mark displayed on the walls.

Venetian buildings, featuring airy balconies with wrought-iron railings and window grilles, abound. Many are in need of repair.

The British landmark in town is the Georgian style Palace of St. Michael and St. George (1824) which was the Governor’s Official Residence. The British also brought cricket and ginger beer which are still around today.

The French influence is seen in arched buildings of the Liston on the southern side of Spinada Square, the town center, which were copied from Paris’ Rue de Rivoli.

Our drive through Corfu Town also passed the central market. These women buying the vegetables look different than those I photographed in Spain, don’t they? Notice the older woman on the left in the black clothing.

The Island of Corfu is the seventh largest and western-most of the 3,000 Greek Islands. It is just off the coast of Albania and Greece. At its closest point, it is only 1.5 miles from Albania.

It does not have the traditional white houses with blue trim or churches with blue domes as is characteristic of most Greek islands, but it does have beautiful beaches and coastlines. Unfortunately, it was very overcast this morning when we made our way up one of the mountains, going through little villages with just inches to spare on each side of the bus, to get this view of Paleokastritsa.

This close-up of one of the bays gives a hint of how beautiful the water color could be a la scenes from Mama Mia. The pink flowering trees are Judas Trees.

As we scraped by the buildings, I saw this sign in one of the small mountain villages which I captured for all of my technology-loving friends just in case you need to know how to say or read “computer-multimedia” in Greek.

The main industry in Corfu is the production of olive oil. There are over four million olive trees on the island, many of them 300 to 400 years old. Here they rarely prune them, so they are taller and wider than olive trees elsewhere in Greece. They use the Italian method of collecting the olives. They simply put nets under the trees and gather the olives as they fall.

As we were leaving Corfu in the afternoon, the sun came out briefly, so I got this shot of the Old Town of Corfu where you can see the Old Fort and the red bell tower of St. Spyridon Church.

In port in Dubrovnik

2009-04-21T10:37:00.008-04:00

We are docked in Dubrovnik today. I had not purchased any shore excursions since I had toured this interesting city and surrounding area quite extensively in 2007.

Here are some photos I took during that visit. The first one is a overview of the old part of the city.

Here is looking back the opposite direction from inside the city out to through the marina.

The belltower/clocktower looms over the city with marina in background.

This is a view of the setting sun through one of the windows in the wall that surrounds the old city.

I am glad I didn't go ashore today since it is raining. It was raining the first day I visited in 2007, too. The rain glistens on the white marble walkways in the city, giving it quite a different "feel" than when the sun is shining on the buildings as shone above.

So, this rainy day was a perfect day to do the more quiet things offered on board. I read some this morning, then I took in a movie at noon. The ship shows current feature films every day three times a day. They even serve popcorn. This is the first one I took advantage of.

I went to High Tea which is served everyday from 3 to 4 p.m. The waiter asked if I would mind sharing a table, and this interesting man joined me. He is the new priest on board. The one who had been with us for the first tour disembarked in Rome, and this one came on board there.

He has been studying in Rome since February. He told me about his studies, his Holy Week experiences at the Vatican, and a little about his parish and school. He is a diocesan priest from Minneapolis. His former bishop is a priest that I knew from the Diocese of Albany. We had a delightful conversation over Earl Grey, tea sandwiches, scones, and little sweets.

It was a soft day, as the Irish say.

2009-04-20T12:17:00.000-04:00

Early this morning, we passed Stromboli, one of Europe’s active volcanoes. A couple of hours later, we transited the Straits of Messina. It was very foggy and overcast, so we couldn’t see much. I am glad that we will be passing this way again on our way back to Rome, so I might get a better look.

We are now in the Ionian Sea sailing past the heel of Italy’s boot to the Adriatic Sea en route to Dubrovnik. We arrive there tomorrow. I am spending the day catching up on my laundry and resting.

Additions and Corrections to Previous Posts

Even though I can go back and edit previous posts (which I will when I get home), I am not doing it now because it just takes too long and time is precious on ship internet. Therefore, I thought I would just post some Additions and Corrections to Previous Posts as a reminder for me and to keep my information to you as accurate as possible. Most of the information and stories I post are from the guides, so I don’t know how accurate they are or if they are just spicing up the narrative to make it more interesting….as I am trying to do, too.

Almeria: The village where the story Blood Wedding took place is Cortijos de Fraile. The name of cured ham is jamon Serrano that I saw in Nijer.

Ibezia: The artist who did such great fake Impressionist paintings that they even fooled the experts lived here. Orson Wells made a movie, FAKE, based on him. Clifford Irving, the guy who wrote the unofficial biography of Howard Hughes, also lived here and was friends with the artist. The movie about him was called HOAX.
St. Paul de Vence: The name of the game is not bocci ball, but petanques (accent on the e) or boules. (Sorry, but I am not using the Spanish and French accents because it is too difficult to switch from keyboard to keyboard. I’ll fixed those when I get home.)

Orvieto: The rock was not cut by man, as our driver said. (I thought that was a bit unbelievable when he said it.) In a tour book that I read this morning, it described the rock this way, “a shear tufa outcrop, the remains of volcanoes fractured by millennia of ice, sun and rain.” Sounds more like it, doesn’t it? The name of the lake at Marta is Lake Bolsena.

Civitavecchia, Orvieto, and Umbria, Italy

2009-04-19T16:03:00.000-04:00

I am on what Holland America calls a “Collector’s Voyage” which allows you to take two separate cruises and turn it into one. Today is “turn-around” day, that is, some people who selected the first cruise are now disembarking at Civitavecchia (the port for Rome), while those who selected only the second cruise are boarding to take the second cruise only.

The port is quite a distance from Rome. I understand taxi fare to the city is about $125. Thankfully, when I end the second cruise here, I will be transported to the hotel by my travel group, Vantage. We will spend two nights in Rome, and then they will transport me to the airport. These two transports and two nights would cost about $500. I know I paid for this service, but it is sure nice not to have to plan and worry with all of that. When I return Rome in ten days, I will visit some of my favorite places there.

So instead of staying on the ship today, eight of us in the Vantage group had made arrangements several days ago to have a private driver take us to Orvieto, Marta and Tarquinia—all in Umbria.

Unfortunately, we encountered rain most of the day, so the views from atop Orvieto were muted, the lake at Marta was grey like the sky, and the outside Etruscan ruins and tombs at Tarquinia were too wet to slog around in. The photos, consequently, are not so great, but they give you an idea of what I saw.

Orvieto is an impressive hilltop town. The mountain slopes were carved away to make a steep vertical when the it was built hundreds of years ago to thwart invaders. Even Pope Clement VII moved his whole court here for protection while Rome was being pillaged in 1527.

The Duomo dominates the town. Construction on it began in 1290.

It reminds me of the one in Florence with its exterior pink and green marble and beautiful mosaics.

By contrast, the interior is simple, also like Florence.

Not many people were out this rainy Sunday morning, but there was a display of classic Citroen cars in the piazza.

The men of the town seemed interested in them as well as gathering to discuss the news of the day.

A few shops were open, like this ceramic and souvenir store.

And this one in the Alley of Craftsmen which specialized in olive wood carvings.

But what really took my eye with this cluster of flowers. They reminded me of Walt Whitman’s poem, “When Lilacs By the Door Yard Bloom’d.”

Next, we drove to the little town of Marta to see a lake. (I didn’t catch the name of it). The grey sky blunted the color of the water. It has two islands in it, and a park with a walk around the edge.

We had planned to eat lunch in Marta, but we couldn’t because every restaurant was booked by families celebrating their children’s First Communion. So we headed to Tarquinia and ate in a lovely café, the San Marco. A guitarist played for us while we enjoyed the excellent Orvieto wine and food.

As I said, we didn’t stay to examine the Etruscan antiquities found in Tarquinia because of the rain. We returned to the ship earlier than planned. I am glad because after a full week of touring, I am tired. Tomorrow we will be at sea, so it will be a leisurely day.

Monaco, Nice, and St. Paul de Vence

2009-04-18T17:01:00.000-04:00

Monaco is best known for its Monte Carlo Casino, Princess Grace Kelley, and the historic Grimaldi Family into which she married.

The Casino was established in the mid-19th Century as a last ditch effort to fund the tiny principality. It worked. And the rich and famous have come here to live and play ever since. The architect and designer, Charles Garnier, also designed the Paris Opera House.

But since I have been to Monaco and the nearby village of Eze before, I chose to visit a French town named St. Paul de Vence.

We left Monaco on the Middle Corniche road that winds along the French Riviera coast through Nice, passing the famous Promenade des Anglais.

We turned inland, and after traveling about 20 miles, we saw St. Paul de Vence—a medieval city with an imposing silhouette. Perched high upon an escarpment, it is the quintessential fortified town of Provence.

Painters such as Modigliani, Signac and Soutine met at a local café which has since become the sumptuous Colombe d’Or. This was a favorite of such as Ava Gardner, Paul Newman, and it is where many current movie stars come while attending the film festival in near-by Cannes.

The town has narrow streets that open occasionally into little courtyards.

Expensive shops and art galleries are abundant that cater to the summer residents.

But the great treasure for me was to learn that Marc Chagall lived the last 33 years of his life here. He is buried in this cemetery.

His tomb is simple. Jews place stones on tombs instead of flowers. You can see the stones placed on Chagall’s tomb here with a beautiful rosemary bush in bloom at its head.

Nearby, a local lady was placing flowers on a grave.

A favorite pastime in France is bocci ball. St. Paul has such bocci ball park where these men were involved in the sport.

We came back “home” to the Noordam which was nestled in the small port next to this big yacht that has a helioport on top!

Au revoir to Monaco and the beautiful Cote d’Azure.

Barcelona, Spain

2009-04-17T16:36:00.000-04:00

On the City Tourist Bus map, the following words are used to introduce one to Barcelona: Mediterranean, Modernistic, Gaudi, Gothic, Walkable, Gastronomical, Cultural, and Olympic.

Eight hours in such a magnificent city is ridiculously scant, but they were enough to give me an introduction to a place I hope to visit in depth in the future. So this synopsis is just a teaser.

The first view of the city I saw was from Montjuic. Clearly, La Sagrada Familia Temple and the Cathedral, along with a strange Cucumber, shaped edifice dominate the cityscape.

Also on Montjuic we passed the 1992 Olympic stadium and other venues marked by this symbol.

La Sagrada Familia is Gaudi’s masterpiece. Begun in 1882, it is still under construction with a hoped-for completion by 2020. Construction is paid for by tourist entrance fees. It has three fronts or facades: the Birth of Christ, the Passion, and the Death and Resurrection. Each façade bears four soaring towers which represent the Twelve Apostles, four monumental bell towers representing the Evangelists, and two colossal domes, dedicated to The Virgin and to Christ, respectively.

The facades have many niches with scenes from Jesus’ life. Instead of telling these stories in stained glass as many cathedrals do, it is done in stone. Here are some:

Presentation

Jesus as Carpenter

Passion Façade

Judas Kiss

The Cathedral is the center around which medieval Barcelona revolves. The construction of the current cathedral began in 1448. It is currently being renovated, much of which is being paid by commercial sponsors. Even though the city is predominantly Catholic, the guide said that only few practice the religion.

Choir in center of Church 1390

Lecturn and Paschal Candle with Easter Flowers

What I found most interesting was the cloister. It had a lovely small fountain topped by a figure of St. George, the Patron Saint of Barcelona.

St. George Fountain

Ducks live in the cloister. I watched them preening themselves.

The monument of Christopher Columbus is at the base of Las Ramblas, the fashionable wide shopping street, where it meets the Mediterranean.

He is pointing out to sea…where I am now sailing away from Barcelona on my way to Monte Carlo.

Ibiza, Spain

2009-04-16T13:41:00.000-04:00

Ibiza is a beautiful island, so it is not surprising to learn that its main economy is based on tourism. It is a favorite of the European youth, somewhat like Padre Island. Sex, drugs, huge discos and nother things associated with spring break are linked to this island, especially to the town of San Antoni de Portmany, which the kids call, “San An.”

This time of year is perfect for a visit here. Not only to avoid the kids, but also to avoid all of the other Europeans who love these beautiful Balearic islands. Also, it is so pleasantly cool now.

We visited another little town named, San Jose, where we had a sweet treat, I think it was called a floa, and a café con leche.

This little square was outside the café and opposite the local parish.

The San Jose church has a simple exterior, but a very ornate altar. It is said that the pillars and other parts of the altar are gold leaf made from the local women’s jewelry who donated their rings to reconstruct the church after it had burned down.

They have salt flats here, too, which have been an export for centuries. The workers used to be paid in salt, a very expensive item in early times. Our word “salary” comes from this practice. (I didn’t know that.) They also grow olives, almonds, and carob. Carob used to be called caret. Since carob beans are said to be almost exactly the same size, they were used to weigh diamonds and gold. Hence, the word “carets.” English lesson for today.

The history of the island is similar to places we have already been…first settled by the Phoencians, later the Romans, the Moors, and retaken by the Spanish. King Charles V built this castle in 1554 to replace an earlier Moorish fort and to protect Iberia from foreign invasion again. The Cathedral is next to the Castle.

Since it is the highest point in town, the view from the Castle is spectacular.

Almeria, Cabo de Gata, and Nijar, Spain

2009-04-15T11:49:00.000-04:00

Taking along the laptop and writing this blog will be a big help to me for remembering where I have been and what I have seen. As you know, when traveling to so many different places, you often look at your photos when you get home and can’t even remember the country you took them in, much less why you captured some of the people and scenes.

So far I have taken 685 photos, so be glad you won’t have to be bored with all of them. Even though 95 per cent of them have been taken through reflecting bus windows while zipping along at a fast clip, the quality is better than I had expected for many of them. Thank God for digital cards…I shoot with abandon, hoping that one out of ten is decent.

Be glad that the cost of putting up this blog is costing me an average of $12 per day because I might fall into the trip of relating you too many details and boring you with too many photos as so many enthusiastic travelers do. You won’t even have to ask me if I had a good time when I get home…you will already know.

So today, we are in Almeria, near Cabo de Gata, which is where the Mediterranean coastline of Spain swings from south to east. We began our day early. As we were leaving the port, I caught of glimpse of a rainbow through the ship’s moorings.

A good omen because immediately I looked up and saw the Alcazaba, the fortress built in the 10th Century by the Caliph of Cordoba, bathed in the morning light. Enclosed by three concentric walls, the Alcazaba was subsequently enlarged to become a palace, making Almeria a key Al-Andalous (Moorish Spain) stronghold.

Almeria is a hilly port town with narrow streets lined with old convents, monasteries, theatres, shops, and senoritas waiting for a bus.

A wide promenade leads down to the sea along Avenida Federico Garcia Lorca. (More about him later.)

This part of Andalusia is the most parched part of Spain, with large expanses of rocky semi-desert. The landscape reminds me of the area around Las Vegas. As a result, it gets very hot here, so this cool 60 degree April weather is a blessing. I would not want to visit here in the summer, although it is said to be a huge summer tourist area.

The plants seen here are Algarve plants from which they make Algarve nectar. (I buy it in the health food store to use like honey.) Because of the sunshine and unique minerals in the soil, this region has developed an intensive horticulture economy. How do they do that in a desert? They use plastic greenhouses which cover the valley and the hillsides. The photos of this area on Google Earth look like snow is on the mountains, but it is the white plastic of the green houses. Vegetables and fruit are shipped from here to all over Europe.

Also, salt is gathered from the salt-flats and processed to be used as street salt in northern Europe. Here is a salt factory with huge mounds of salt and salt flats in the background.

All of this is in The Cabo de Gata Natural Preserve which covers thousands of acres and is also a migratory bird stopping place. Flamingoes come by and fish here, but they weren’t here today. It also is the home of several different reptiles, insects, and other interesting varmints that come out at night. Some of the Westerns made by Clint Eastwood were filmed here.

The preserve is named for the Cape (Cabo) which juts out into the Mediterranean, as I mentioned earlier. The Cabo de Gata promontory is arguably the most dramatic corner of the Andalusian Coast.

The guide said that the scene from an Indiana Jones movie where Sean Connery chases away some sea gulls with a beach umbrella was filmed on one of the beaches here. (I haven’t seen any of the Indiana Jones movies, so I don’t know which one).

I said I would get back to Garcia Lorca. He based his story, Blood Wedding, on a newspaper account of a girl who was to marry a rich farmer, but fell in love with his cousin. As they tried to elope, they were murdered. That incident happened in this area.

Garcia Lorca seems to be very popular in this region because not only is the main street of Almeria named after him, so is the main street of the little town of Nijar where we visited next. This town is known for its ceramics, pottery, and rugs.

This was market day, and many women were out getting their vegetables and fruits early.

Many of the laborers who work in the green houses come from Morocco. I saw some women with head scarves and this merchant wearing a fez.

I wanted to experience more of the Spanish culture, so I stepped into a bar (café) to get a café con leche

served to me by this barman. Notice the leg of meat on the counter behind him. It is jamon serro (sp?), cured ham, said be very delicious. The coffee was good, too. Que Rico!

Tonight’s entertainment on the ship will be Los Mulero Flamenco Trio.

Cadiz and White Villages, Spain

2009-04-14T15:26:00.000-04:00

Our first stop in Spain was Cadiz, said to be the oldest on the Iberian Peninsula, maybe even in Western Europe. It stands on a peninsula that juts out into a bay and is almost surrounded by water. Named “Gadir” by the Phoenicians, who founded a trading post here in 1100 B.C., it was later controlled by the Carthaginians, until it became a thriving Roman port.

Under the Visigoth and Moor occupations, Cadiz fell into oblivion. It regained prominance in the early 16th century as a launching point for journeys to the newly discovered lands in America. Opulent buildings represent the colonial legacy that began with Christopher Columbus in 1492.

Later, the city was sacked by Sir Francis Drake, but it withstood Napoleon’s revolution because the French couldn’t get passed the thick city walls, which, ironically, they had built in earlier times.

The Spanish Constitution was declared at the last anti-monarchist holdout of Cadiz in 1812. The monument commemorating this event is topped with a book, which represents the law.

These photos were taken from the ship. I got this information and more history from our guide as we drove through Cadiz on our way to the village of Vejer de la Frontera (which is one of the “White Villages”).

As soon as we got out of the bus and hiked up the hill to the center of Vejer, it began to pour rain.

But it stopped after a bit while we explored hilly cobblestone streets, hidden patios and lovely plazas.

Here’s a church square near the 12th Century walls which surround the old town.

This church is dedicated to The Virgin of the Olives.

Next, we drove along the Atlantic Coast through the La Brena Nature Park which is covered with thousands of acres of pine trees from which pine nuts are harvested. We stopped at the Cape of Trafalgar for a look at the lighthouse where the famous Battle of Trafalgar took place in 1805. Admiral Nelson suffered a fatal wound here, and, according to our guide, he was shipped back to England in a barrel of brandy.

We continued along the coast to another white village called Conil de la Frontera. Many of these towns have “de la Frontera” in their name indicating that they were on the frontier between the Christians and the Moors.

A typical Andalusian town, Conil attracts legions of visitors, especially in the summer, where they enjoy the beaches, the surf of Cabo Roche, and the local specialties like pescaito.

I just had time for some tapas.

and a glass of Vino Verano at the Café Manolo. Salud!

As I am writing this, we are sailing through the Straits of Gibraltar. We are closer to the African side of the Straits. Both sides are mountainous; the peaks of Sierra Bullones and Ibed Musa on the African Side rise to more than 2625 feet.

I am six hours ahead of Eastern Time. It is now 9:30 p.m. The time stamp at the bottom of my blog is not correct.

Algarve Coast, Portugal

2009-04-13T12:45:00.000-04:00

We arrived early this morning and anchored off the Algarve Coast near Portimao. Since couldn’t dock at the port, tenders took us in to shore where we were met by our tour buses.

The Algarve is a region that looks out on the Atlantic Coast to the south and west and to mountains in the north and east which separate it from Spain. It has lovely beaches, high cliffs, and plenty of sunshine which has transformed it from a coast dotted with little fishing villages to one of Portugal’s leading tourist destinations. Condos and apartments are everywhere, and they are building more.

We first went to Lagos, a town that is partially surrounded by 14th Century walls. The main square is lined with cafes where people meet for morning caffe and gossip

Even the Lagos dogs greet each other with a kiss…or at least a sniff

A city market is near where fresh fish is sold daily. I am sorry that I didn’t get to enjoy the tasty sardines.

The Portuguese are renowned for their tile work. Old tiled-covered buildings still survive.

From here, we drove to the craggy coastline of the Ponta da Piedade. The Romans thought this was the end of the earth. This rock has seen a lot of sailors go…and not come back.

The rugged cliffs overlooking the sea here contain numerous grottoes.

Kayakers and sailors skim along by the rock formations.

And through one of the cave openings, I saw our ship waiting for our return . Can you see it too? (Look in upper left).

This was just a glimpse of pretty Portugal. We are now on our way to Spain.

Lisbon and Estoril, Portugal

2009-04-12T12:46:00.000-04:00

After attending Eater Sunrise Mass, having a hearty breakfast, I was off the ship for the first time in nine days for a tour of Lisbon and Estoril.

This is one of those on-and-off tour buses. (We didn’t ride on one of those.) The building in the background is the Hieryonimites’ Monastery which is said to be a masterpiece of Manueline art built in the early 16th Century. (We couldn’t go in the monastery today because it was closed for Easter.)

The Manueline style emerged during the reign Manuel I (hence, its name) and is Portugal’s most representative architectural style.

The port is just at the foot of the Alfama District, a labyrinth of narrow streets, tiny squares and staircases, whose origins go back to the Visigoth times, though its final layout was the work of the Moors. Until 1775 earthquake, many rich Lisbon families lived in this part of the city. Behind me, you can see the dome of the Church-Pantheon of Santa Engracia.

Probably one the most well known monument of Lisbon is:

Monument to the Discoveries with Enrique the Navigator in the lead

We also went to Estoril, a resort on the Atlantic Coast. Since Portugal was a neutral nation during WWII, many of the wealthy and royalty came here as exiles during the war, including the King of Romania and the current family of Juan Carlos of Spain. It is still a resort now, but many live here and work in Lisbon since it is an easy commute by train.

The casino at Estoril is said to be the largest gaming house in Europe.

This is just a glimpse of what we saw today. I am working on a Web Album where you will be able to see more photos.

Happy Easter!

Azores Sail By

2009-04-11T08:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we saw land for the first time in days as we sailed by Santa Maria, the southernmost island of the Azores. The Azores is an archipelago and experiences earth quakes. I understand that three of the earth’s plates come together here.

The town runs up the hillside.

There is an airport on this island, several nice beaches we were told, pasture lands, and a lighthouse

Several dolphins followed the ship as we sailed by. These are not the first. We have also had a couple of whale sightings, but I didn’t catch a glimpse of them.

While hanging out in the library/internet café, I chat with interesting people everyday. Today I met Jacqueline, Joe the Navigator’s wife.

She told me that she is a WOB—a Wife on Board. She lives with him on the ship. She used to be a dancer on board where she met him. Since she doesn’t have to cook, or clean, or even make her bed, she spends time knitting.

The wind has picked up a bit, and it is noticeably cooler. It is now 57 degrees. The Captain just announced that these higher winds and waves are more typical of the Atlantic this time of year. Other passengers have said that this is still relatively smooth noting that they have been on ships where the dishes were literally sliding off the tables. I am glad that I have been initiated to extensive sailing this way.

Tomorrow we reach our first port, Lisbon. We will be in a different port every day for the next week until we reach Rome. I hope you are following along with the map on the right.

Good Friday

2009-04-10T05:35:00.000-04:00

Navigator's Log

2009-04-09T09:27:00.000-04:00

The term “smooth sailing” has taken on a significant meaning to me now that I have been crossing the Atlantic Ocean for five days. I have heard many experienced passengers comment that this is the smoothest sailing they have ever experienced. Even the Captain said the same, and, further, we have been blessed with unparalleled weather.

I can see why sailors get the idea that they could cross this vast expanse of water in a small boat if they witnessed weather and slight waves like this.

Since I once flew airplanes where navigation is a critical skill, I was interested in how they calculated the ship’s course taking in consideration the winds, the current, and the speed of the ship. So, I sat in on a session given by Joe, the Navigator. (His name really is Joe.)

They have a contest every day to see who can come closest to calculating what the ship’s position will be at noon. I didn’t enter the contest. I think one man has won each time.

We are now four hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time. We advance our clocks an hour ahead again tonight. Obviously, adjusting to the time change one hour at a time is much easier than coping with 5 hours of jet-lag. We

The Captain has been moving between 18.5 and 19.6 knots. So far, here are the distance we have sailed:

We have this much yet to go before arriving at Lisbon:

Tomorrow around noon, we will be passing within 1 ½ miles of the southernmost island of the Azores, Santa Maria.

The ocean depth has varied from 1266 feet to over 5000 feet. It is quite mountainous beneath us. The waves, on the other hand, have been slight—only 1.5 to 4 feet, until today. The wind has picked up a bit, so the waves are now from 4.5 to 7 feet. The north wind has brought a little cooler weather. It is now 64 degrees. It has been consistently 68 degrees.

Conditions couldn’t be more perfect.

Lectures at Sea

2009-04-08T10:30:00.000-04:00

Each day enrichment lectures are given by two guest lecturers. The first series has been about the enormous challenges ahead in the age of our new globalization. After a general overview, Warren Salinger has focused the BRIC nations—Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

The second series has been discussions of the history and culture of several countries that we will be visiting—Portugal, Spain, Italy—with other talks focused on cities, like Rome. Dr. Kathleen Wulf, an Emeritus Professor from the University of Southern California, has been the presenter.

In addition to these, the Culinary Arts Center entertains us with a series of demonstrations of cooking techniques and food information. Three or four demonstrations are given each day, ranging from Herbs & Spices, to Wine Tasting, to Cheese Trivia.

One I attended was The Art of Flambé Cooking.

Here’s the banana flambé cooking. Smells good!

Another interesting one was about The Art of Fruit and Vegetable Carving. These men start out with a pile of fruits and vegetables. In just a few minutes, the skin is peeled and an initial design is outlined.

In less than 15 minutes, the carving is complete. This shows not only the watermelon creation, but also a bouquet of flowers made from vegetables.

Lessons are also given each day on such wide-ranging topics as: flower arranging, scrap-booking, bridge, and whole series of workshops on various aspects of digital photography, blogging, and creating webpages.

The technical workshops have been presented four or five times a day, everyday. Every session has been full. I am glad that I got my training from the Geeks on Tour in Perry, GA. Also, I am glad I purchased their videos to have Chris show and tell over and over how to do certain things. She’s been at my side every day (via her videos) while I have learned more about how to enhance this blog.

Something for Everyone

2009-04-07T09:51:00.000-04:00

I am loving this cruise! There is literally something for everyone to do, or not to do if you just want to enjoy the sun, the sea breeze, and the ocean views.

First, I like the size of this ship, the ms Noordam. It is not one of those behemoths, but it is large enough to accommodate a variety of activities for a variety of ages and interest groups. It holds a little of over 1900 passengers and almost 900 crew members. On this particular cruise, the majority of passengers are my age, or older. There are a few younger ones, some with children. I have seen few adolescents or college age students.

As a result, it has a restful, peaceful ambiance. Background music is often classical or instrumental and is not pervasive. The volume is kept low enough so you can easily have a quiet conversation. Music is only in the dining rooms and the bars. The Lido pool deck occasionally has a DJ or a band playing, but the Ocean View deck on the bow is always quiet.

Consequently, you see people doing a lot of quiet activities, like

Sunning by the Pool

Doing Needle Point

Playing Dominoes

Playing Cards

Working Out

Most of all, you see people reading. The ship has some many wonderful places to curl up with a good book.

By the Pool

In the Crow’s Nest

And, of course, in the library, which has an extensive collection.

After a good read, there’s nothing like a nap!

In addition to doing what you want on your own, there are many daily, planned activities. I have already heard four lectures, gone to a cooking demonstration, taken a line dancing class, and taken in the evening entertainment each night. More about these in future posts.

Computer System Has Been Down

2009-04-06T11:26:00.000-04:00

Since we boarded ship on April 3rd, the computer/satellite system has been kaput. Believe me, the Geeks on-board have been VERY unhappy.

Fortunately the problem happened when it did since we could divert our course to swing by Bermuda to pick up a systems expert and equipment to fix it. Had we been in the middle of the Atlantic, we would have had to wait until we got to Portugal. We had sailed 928 nautical miles to Bermuda from Ft. Lauderdale. It is sill another 2704 nautical miles to Lisbon.

Apparently we couldn’t enter Bermuda waters. We had to hang off-shore in international waters until a small boat could deliver the technician and the parts. His flight had been delayed. He finally arrived late Sunday night to the cheers of many who were leaning over the railings watching the mini-drama.

So that’s why you haven’t heard from me either by email or this blog. I have been writing every day, so I will post those notes now.

I am a happy cabin camper now that I am connected.

While still on the cruise, posts will be more topical than blow by blow activities. There is a lot to share.

At Sea at Last—April 3rd

After a lovely breakfast and a friendly briefing given by our tour director, Sarah, we boarded the bus for Port Everglades. The trip through Miami to Ft. Lauderdale didn’t take much time at all. Before we knew it, we were in line going through security and checking in, getting our boarding pass which will be our charge card and cabin key as well.

Only one glitch…the computer went down, so they couldn’t scan the cards to allow us on board. It was fixed in a relatively short time, and I got on board and found my cabin pronto.

I like where I am. I am on the Main Deck, in the middle of the ship, not too far from elevators. Two decks up is the ship library and internet room, but I am close enough to a hot spot to get it right here in my cabin.

One problem—using the internet on board ship is EXPENSIVE. How about 40 cents a minute!!! And that’s the cheapest rate if you purchase $100 worth of time. Oh well, I have gone to too much trouble not to use it as much as I want. I will forego drinking. A glass of wine = 13 minutes of internet time.

However, they are having some kind of computer trouble, and I can’t set up an account or get logged on until tomorrow.

Another first day cruise ritual—boat drills.

We finally got under way around 6:30 p.m. Two hours later than planned. So while the sun was going down, we left Florida and headed out to sea.

***** **** **** ****

Ship Computer Problems Continue—April 4th

10:30 a.m.

Well…not online yet. Remember I said that the computer went down yesterday during check-in. Apparently, it continued last night when the crew was trying to figure out the dinner seating arrangements. Could that possibly also be the reason we were delayed leaving for two hours? I hope the Captain of this ship is as knowledgeable and skillful as that USAir Pilot because maybe he is actually having to steer the ship.

He has gotten a relatively calm sea so far. I couldn’t sense any movement last night. However, the wind was really brisk before we even left port in Ft. Lauderdale, so I expected rough water. I couldn’t resist taking this picture of the wind whipping up the skirts of this lady. She was having too much fun to notice the wind or me.

1:30 p.m.

The computer geeks are really restless. Just now the Captain announced that the computer system is shot, perhaps as a result of several power surges while in port. Also, there seems to be a glitch with the satellite system as well. Since we are “fairly” close to Bermuda, he is going to change course to make a stop in Bermuda where they will fly in computer/satellite system parts and an expert who will come on board and hopefully get the system operational again.

We are expected to arrive in Bermuda tomorrow (Sunday) night around 6:30 p.m. Stay tuned.

**** ***** **** ******

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Since it is Palm Sunday, I went to mass this morning. The priest is from Boston, and he will be saying mass every day through out the cruise, which is nice, especially since this is the beginning of Holy Week. He is also planning on providing an Easter Vigil Mass Saturday night and a sunrise mass on Easter Sunday, the day we arrive at Lisbon, so we can make our early shore excursions departures.

After breakfast, I went on tour of the ship’s kitchen where they prepare 11,000 meals A DAY! (I won’t prepare that many meals for the next ten years.)

The results are all kinds of food all day and night. I have been on board for 48 hours and have already over-dosed. The temptations abound. I hope I am over it now and will be more restrained—at least during Holy Week.

I will write a later post just on the kitchen and the food—a major part of any cruise.

I also went to a lecture, learned to line dance, went to a cooking demonstration, and a show. Each of these will produce future topical posts.

I apologize for this long post, but it is really three posts in one. After we get online, they will be more frequent and less lengthy with more photos.

Here We Goooooo!

2009-04-02T19:07:00.001-04:00

The day has finally arrived.

Since my last post, I have spent a lot of time and thought about getting ready. I wanted to get some Euros, needed to make sure I had all of my bills covered, had to stop the paper, and other things you normally have to do before you take a vacation.

One of the big decisions for this trip was what clothes to take for such a long time with variable weather conditions and social events. The ship has two formal dinners a week. Since I will be gone four weeks, that means eight formal nights. And then there is swimming attire, sightseeing togs, shipboard outfits and so on. Bottom line…a lot of clothes.

I was worried that this big, over-stuffed bag would be overweight. When I checked in...it was. I not only had to pay the normal fee for one suit case, but also had to pay $50 more for being 7.5 pounds over the 50 pound limit.

I also packed a lot of my gadgets and toys, like my laptop, camera, Flip video camera,jumpdrive, card reader, Kindle, binoculars, etc., etc. Each one of these electronic things has its own electric thingy to charge its battery. All of this gear went into my carry-on and back-pack. Also crammed into the carry-on suitcase was a month’s supply of all of my medications which is quite a big package.

All I can say is I am certainly glad that once I get on the ship tomorrow I won’t have to pack/unpack again until the end of the trip. Another advantage of touring via ship versus by tour bus. :-)

After wrestling my luggage through check-in and security, I was glad to get to the gate and wait to board.

While waiting, I saw a sign that concerned me.

Whew! No problem. It fit.

After about four hours of getting ready, getting to airport, getting through all of the hoops, and waiting, it took only 40 minutes to fly to Miami!

Now, I am at the Sofitel Hotel. It is really a nice hotel, and I have a great corner room with a view of the Miami International airport.

The hotel lobby/bar overlooks the pool which overlooks Blue Lagoon.

This is the dining room where we will have breakfast before our briefing session tomorrow where I will meet the other members of our tour group. I understand that there are 73 of us.

We leave the hotel at 11 a.m. tomorrow to go to the ship.

By the way, I hoped you noticed the map on the right. You can enlarge it, and click on the blue markers to see where the day-to-day progress of the cruise. At the top of the enlarged map, you can see a link to view it on Google Earth, which will fly you to different stops, provide weather info and other information. If you don’t already have Google Earth, you get can get it free at Google Earth

A Blog is Launched

2009-03-20T15:10:00.000-04:00

Seems appropriate to launch a blog in a Land Yacht! I am sitting in my Air Stream Land Yacht on my way home from the FMCA International Rally in Perry, Georgia.

This rural campground near Lake City, Florida, is quite a contrast to the FMCA parking. At FMCA, there were over 3,000 coaches. Here there are only three of us...shared with a peacock and some goats.

The peacock was admiring himself in the reflection of my wheelcover.

The goat was admiring me.

The main reason I went to the FMCA rally was to take as many seminars presented by Jim and Chris Guld (better known as Geeks on Tour). I managed to get to five of the six they presented (all were excellent). You can get hand-outs and how-to videos at their website.

One seminar was about creating blogs. So I thought I might as well start now since there is not too much to do at this campground after you see the peacocks and goats. I am also using Picasa 3 for editing the photos used here, which was another seminar presented by the Geeks.

I am naming this blog Wandering West since I love to travel, and the focus of this blog will be my travels. I am setting this up now so I can keep a journal of my trips... the next one being a 30-day trans-Atlantic/ Mediterranean cruise stopping in 16 ports in Portugal, Spain, Monte Carlo, Italy, Dubrovnik, several Greek isles, Athens, Ephesus (Turkey), Sicily...ending in Rome. Here's a map of my itinerary:

I depart on April 2nd and will return to Florida on May 2nd. So check back if you are interested in following my wanderings.