Monday, May 11, 2009
Last Three Days: St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Tallinn
IT'S BEEN A WHIRLWIND THREE DAYS! 5:30 AM--PACKED AND READY TO GO. SEE YOU SOON! US
Saturday May 9th
Helsinki Finland: What a cool little rock harbor we sail into. It seems like I could jump off the ship and land on a rocky shoreline. We are in some serious rain here. The bus takes us around Finland’s capitol city to see tributes to Mannerheim--the revolutionary spirit of the country, and Sibelius --the great composer and conductor. Another highlight is visiting the Rock Church Temppeliaukio-Built in the 1960’s; it is blasted right into the granite bedrock. It’s like a quarry with a copper domed ceiling and pews. Our drive to Porvoo was thru miles of countryside that looked just like home. Birch and Poplar dotted with little red and white cabins in the woods. Lunch is at an old turn of the century farm stead. Dairy and whiskey was their stock in trade. Full of antiques and good food. Then on to Porvoo a town about the size of Superior with a preserved 600 year old section. This area is full of cute shops and cafes. We are really having fun practicing our minimal Finnish language skills. They actually understood our babbling. There has been so much war here most of the buildings are only 100 years old. Our guide talked about how important education, the tango, sisu, and sauna are in the lives of all Finns. It was nice to visit where some of my blood came from.
Sunday May 10th
St Petersburg Russia: A crusty bunch of old army band musicians greeted us when we headed out to the bus and were they rockin. Talk about looks being deceiving. They were really groovin. We visit where the aristocracy of Russia lived for 300 years--and played. Like every country they had good and bad leaders. Peter the Great was one of the good ones. Visited his and his family’s burial crypt. Many colorful Orthodox churches and palaces are visited before lunch. The country is clean and quite western looking. Couple of odd things still like the raising of many bridges to prevent large movements of people after dark every day and drinking of shots of vodka for lunch. Raw salmon and caviar went down pretty well with the help of vodka and wine. Peter’s wife Catherine built a palace called the Hermitage She started collecting works of art from around the world to decorate it. Today the Hermitage houses the largest art collection in the world. She said the only people who were going to view the collection were the mice and her. Now millions of people a year get to see some of the most famous pieces of art ever. Saw the room where Nicholas and his family were abducted in 1917 and subsequently taken to Siberia and executed. It’s been said if one minute was spent looking at each piece in the collection it would take 7 years to see it all. The grumpy looking Russian women that we see and hear about were actually quite abundant. St Petersburg is built on many islands and is called the Venice of the North.
Monday May 11th
Tallinn Estonia: What a great story this little city and country is. Beat up and ruled by just about every county in northern Europe for a thousand years; a little luck, timing, and support from the western nations played parts in Estonia becoming independent in 1991. Gorbechov’s 12 day disappearance and Ireland’s quick acceptance of Estonia’s succeeding from the USSR 18 years ago started the unraveling. Heard the almost magic story of the hundreds of thousands of Estonians singing songs of the homeland that kept the spirit alive. The people have a great sense of humor and are catching on to capitalism quite nicely. A nicely preserved medieval part of the city from the 1300s boasts a walled fortress with churches and shops. A cool organ and singing program ringing thru the halls of a 700 year old church along with coffee and fresh baked pastries in an old inn capped off the day. This is definitely going to be a return stop for us along with Finland. Whooped it up a little with a party hosted by the captain for all the 117 dayer’s. Lots of hugs and pictures.
Tuesday May 12th
Going home-- Holy crap!
Saturday May 9th
Helsinki Finland: What a cool little rock harbor we sail into. It seems like I could jump off the ship and land on a rocky shoreline. We are in some serious rain here. The bus takes us around Finland’s capitol city to see tributes to Mannerheim--the revolutionary spirit of the country, and Sibelius --the great composer and conductor. Another highlight is visiting the Rock Church Temppeliaukio-Built in the 1960’s; it is blasted right into the granite bedrock. It’s like a quarry with a copper domed ceiling and pews. Our drive to Porvoo was thru miles of countryside that looked just like home. Birch and Poplar dotted with little red and white cabins in the woods. Lunch is at an old turn of the century farm stead. Dairy and whiskey was their stock in trade. Full of antiques and good food. Then on to Porvoo a town about the size of Superior with a preserved 600 year old section. This area is full of cute shops and cafes. We are really having fun practicing our minimal Finnish language skills. They actually understood our babbling. There has been so much war here most of the buildings are only 100 years old. Our guide talked about how important education, the tango, sisu, and sauna are in the lives of all Finns. It was nice to visit where some of my blood came from.
Sunday May 10th
St Petersburg Russia: A crusty bunch of old army band musicians greeted us when we headed out to the bus and were they rockin. Talk about looks being deceiving. They were really groovin. We visit where the aristocracy of Russia lived for 300 years--and played. Like every country they had good and bad leaders. Peter the Great was one of the good ones. Visited his and his family’s burial crypt. Many colorful Orthodox churches and palaces are visited before lunch. The country is clean and quite western looking. Couple of odd things still like the raising of many bridges to prevent large movements of people after dark every day and drinking of shots of vodka for lunch. Raw salmon and caviar went down pretty well with the help of vodka and wine. Peter’s wife Catherine built a palace called the Hermitage She started collecting works of art from around the world to decorate it. Today the Hermitage houses the largest art collection in the world. She said the only people who were going to view the collection were the mice and her. Now millions of people a year get to see some of the most famous pieces of art ever. Saw the room where Nicholas and his family were abducted in 1917 and subsequently taken to Siberia and executed. It’s been said if one minute was spent looking at each piece in the collection it would take 7 years to see it all. The grumpy looking Russian women that we see and hear about were actually quite abundant. St Petersburg is built on many islands and is called the Venice of the North.
Monday May 11th
Tallinn Estonia: What a great story this little city and country is. Beat up and ruled by just about every county in northern Europe for a thousand years; a little luck, timing, and support from the western nations played parts in Estonia becoming independent in 1991. Gorbechov’s 12 day disappearance and Ireland’s quick acceptance of Estonia’s succeeding from the USSR 18 years ago started the unraveling. Heard the almost magic story of the hundreds of thousands of Estonians singing songs of the homeland that kept the spirit alive. The people have a great sense of humor and are catching on to capitalism quite nicely. A nicely preserved medieval part of the city from the 1300s boasts a walled fortress with churches and shops. A cool organ and singing program ringing thru the halls of a 700 year old church along with coffee and fresh baked pastries in an old inn capped off the day. This is definitely going to be a return stop for us along with Finland. Whooped it up a little with a party hosted by the captain for all the 117 dayer’s. Lots of hugs and pictures.
Tuesday May 12th
Going home-- Holy crap!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen
Thursday May 7th
Copenhagen Denmark: This is our first pure walking tour. It rains and drizzles off and on all during the tour. We see Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid statue made out of bronze on the shore. The shorescape here is also loaded with huge wind generators. A lot of Denmark’s architecture has been preserved because they have been skillfully avoiding conflict over the hundreds of years mostly by giving away parts of the country. Our visit to the royal residence {Amalienborg Palace} home of the current Queen has fancy guards and a huge granite courtyard. We have a special moment with coffee and Danish in a 200 year old palace. We stroll down some 600 year old streets adjacent to a fish market that only last year the last women with a license to be a fish monger died. We see where pianist and humorist Victor Borge (one of my favorites) bought his pianos, and where Mozart’s wife lived after he died. We head back for the ship for a late lunch and to dry out!
Friday May 8th
Day at sea: Sue asked if I could visit the bridge because of my sailing experiences a couple months ago and it was granted but it was the exact time of one of the choir concerts so I couldn’t go. We asked again and I got another opportunity today at 10 a.m. I was kind of nervous but there were 10 other people there also. It was really cool but we couldn’t tell anybody about it or we would be killed because it’s not technically allowed. Got some nice pics. Then to an up and close magic seminar--I will wow the grand kids now.
Copenhagen Denmark: This is our first pure walking tour. It rains and drizzles off and on all during the tour. We see Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid statue made out of bronze on the shore. The shorescape here is also loaded with huge wind generators. A lot of Denmark’s architecture has been preserved because they have been skillfully avoiding conflict over the hundreds of years mostly by giving away parts of the country. Our visit to the royal residence {Amalienborg Palace} home of the current Queen has fancy guards and a huge granite courtyard. We have a special moment with coffee and Danish in a 200 year old palace. We stroll down some 600 year old streets adjacent to a fish market that only last year the last women with a license to be a fish monger died. We see where pianist and humorist Victor Borge (one of my favorites) bought his pianos, and where Mozart’s wife lived after he died. We head back for the ship for a late lunch and to dry out!
Friday May 8th
Day at sea: Sue asked if I could visit the bridge because of my sailing experiences a couple months ago and it was granted but it was the exact time of one of the choir concerts so I couldn’t go. We asked again and I got another opportunity today at 10 a.m. I was kind of nervous but there were 10 other people there also. It was really cool but we couldn’t tell anybody about it or we would be killed because it’s not technically allowed. Got some nice pics. Then to an up and close magic seminar--I will wow the grand kids now.
On to Holland: the Low Country
Tuesday May 5th
Amsterdam Netherlands: For Bob and Leo I saw a great team of Belgium’s pulling a wagon of Heineken beer kegs. Here we had a great afternoon of cruising the grand Amsel River and some of the the 100 manmade canals branching off. Thirty per cent of Amsterdam’s surface is manmade. The city is actually a few feet below sea level. Quite a large population lives in house boats on the river. But getting new permits to live there is like getting Packer tickets. People will permits to family when they die. This is by far the most liberal country in the world. Our guide called drugs like Marijuana or Hash soft drugs and are legal as is prostitution which is a taxable trade. Since this was a city tour we got to see only one classic Dutch windmill and no tulips. The city gets high marks for its mass transit systems. Lots of bike lanes and electric trolley cars. Hop on and hop off. Also some down town walking only areas. We have seen quite a bit of that in Europe. We saw where Anne Frank lived and wrote her diaries. This is another place that has not forgotten what the US sacrificed for them. Pretty cool after all these years. Only a half day tour so we leave the bus and take a short cut thru the red light district on the way back. NO NO NO just kidding children, just a little Amsterdam humor. We do walk back thru a very old train station that is still a train station today for high speed service. Really cool.
Wednesday May 6th
Day at sea: Relaxing and packing--mutually exclusive?. Rough seas today; some are sick but not us old salts, and mahjong for mom (she even went to yoga on the rolling sea, thanks to bonine).
Amsterdam Netherlands: For Bob and Leo I saw a great team of Belgium’s pulling a wagon of Heineken beer kegs. Here we had a great afternoon of cruising the grand Amsel River and some of the the 100 manmade canals branching off. Thirty per cent of Amsterdam’s surface is manmade. The city is actually a few feet below sea level. Quite a large population lives in house boats on the river. But getting new permits to live there is like getting Packer tickets. People will permits to family when they die. This is by far the most liberal country in the world. Our guide called drugs like Marijuana or Hash soft drugs and are legal as is prostitution which is a taxable trade. Since this was a city tour we got to see only one classic Dutch windmill and no tulips. The city gets high marks for its mass transit systems. Lots of bike lanes and electric trolley cars. Hop on and hop off. Also some down town walking only areas. We have seen quite a bit of that in Europe. We saw where Anne Frank lived and wrote her diaries. This is another place that has not forgotten what the US sacrificed for them. Pretty cool after all these years. Only a half day tour so we leave the bus and take a short cut thru the red light district on the way back. NO NO NO just kidding children, just a little Amsterdam humor. We do walk back thru a very old train station that is still a train station today for high speed service. Really cool.
Wednesday May 6th
Day at sea: Relaxing and packing--mutually exclusive?. Rough seas today; some are sick but not us old salts, and mahjong for mom (she even went to yoga on the rolling sea, thanks to bonine).
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Ghent, Belgium
Monday May 4th
Zeebrugge Belgium: A short ride thru the countryside lands us in the quaint medieval city of Ghent. From the year 1000 to 1500 this little area was bigger than London and second only to Paris. It was a huge trading center. There are forts and cathedrals still here representing many stages of this once great and proud trading center. Their pride was so strong that it got them in trouble with the ruling monarch in the 1500’s. They wouldn’t pay the new tax the king wanted, so he demanded all the people come before him dressed only in a nightshirt with a noose around their neck and beg for mercy. All the people in town still celebrate their stubbornness by wearing only a shirt and a noose and march thru town once a year. The highlight for Sue was seeing actual Guildhouses. It was drummed into her studies in high school and now she saw them for real. We see hams that are cured in the same way and in the same building as they have been for the last 500 years. Gothic and Renaissance architecture hand in hand everywhere. Then we run into another little bistro for lunch. One waiter, one cook, about ten tables. It was like being at one of the neighbors for lunch. Some of the unique food items here are eel in a variety of ways and mayonnaise on French fries. We didn’t have either. Next stop was a tour of a 3 person shop where they make chocolates by hand. Quite sophisticated, top shelf ingredients but quite labor intensive. We even got samples. We glean a little more of the town’s rich history and off back to the ship. The farming looks quite modern but quite small plots of land like you might see at home in the 40s. Americans are still held in a dear spot in their hearts for the help in WWII.
Zeebrugge Belgium: A short ride thru the countryside lands us in the quaint medieval city of Ghent. From the year 1000 to 1500 this little area was bigger than London and second only to Paris. It was a huge trading center. There are forts and cathedrals still here representing many stages of this once great and proud trading center. Their pride was so strong that it got them in trouble with the ruling monarch in the 1500’s. They wouldn’t pay the new tax the king wanted, so he demanded all the people come before him dressed only in a nightshirt with a noose around their neck and beg for mercy. All the people in town still celebrate their stubbornness by wearing only a shirt and a noose and march thru town once a year. The highlight for Sue was seeing actual Guildhouses. It was drummed into her studies in high school and now she saw them for real. We see hams that are cured in the same way and in the same building as they have been for the last 500 years. Gothic and Renaissance architecture hand in hand everywhere. Then we run into another little bistro for lunch. One waiter, one cook, about ten tables. It was like being at one of the neighbors for lunch. Some of the unique food items here are eel in a variety of ways and mayonnaise on French fries. We didn’t have either. Next stop was a tour of a 3 person shop where they make chocolates by hand. Quite sophisticated, top shelf ingredients but quite labor intensive. We even got samples. We glean a little more of the town’s rich history and off back to the ship. The farming looks quite modern but quite small plots of land like you might see at home in the 40s. Americans are still held in a dear spot in their hearts for the help in WWII.
From the White Cliffs to London
Saturday May 2
Dover England The majestic white cliffs of Dover and the Dover Castle looms over the bay. Today again we are treated to a drive thru the country side on the way to London. Fields of hops, cows, sheep, and grain. Very lush looking. We see their high speed train and where the tunnel starts in going under the English Channel. Once we get into London the sites are like from England’s Who’s Who. First stop is the Tower of London and associated castles. Unfortunately famous for the public executions and executions of some of Henry’s wives. Then we saw the Tower bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, Winchester (oops Westminster) Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, changing of its guard, Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus, Number 10 Downing street, the Thames River, Bank of England, Lloyds of London, Jack the Rippers stomping grounds, Bob Hopes home, Charlie Chaplin’s digs, Harry Potter’s movie sets, and even the building that was home to the tea company where all the tea came from for the Boston Tea Party and many other sites. It’s like going to Washington DC where the national everything is. The variety and number of double decker buses is amazing. We were on our own for lunch and stumbled into a little café in some old storage caverns under the city streets. Had some great pasta in this romantic little hide away. On our way out we wind thru an old walled factory neighborhood where many thousands worked and lived in factory owned housing but now its posh digs for the rich and famous.
Sunday May 3rd
LeHavre France: Decided to take a day off since we were just here and played some ping pong and did some reading. Sue did some laundry and logging.
Dover England The majestic white cliffs of Dover and the Dover Castle looms over the bay. Today again we are treated to a drive thru the country side on the way to London. Fields of hops, cows, sheep, and grain. Very lush looking. We see their high speed train and where the tunnel starts in going under the English Channel. Once we get into London the sites are like from England’s Who’s Who. First stop is the Tower of London and associated castles. Unfortunately famous for the public executions and executions of some of Henry’s wives. Then we saw the Tower bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, Winchester (oops Westminster) Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, changing of its guard, Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus, Number 10 Downing street, the Thames River, Bank of England, Lloyds of London, Jack the Rippers stomping grounds, Bob Hopes home, Charlie Chaplin’s digs, Harry Potter’s movie sets, and even the building that was home to the tea company where all the tea came from for the Boston Tea Party and many other sites. It’s like going to Washington DC where the national everything is. The variety and number of double decker buses is amazing. We were on our own for lunch and stumbled into a little café in some old storage caverns under the city streets. Had some great pasta in this romantic little hide away. On our way out we wind thru an old walled factory neighborhood where many thousands worked and lived in factory owned housing but now its posh digs for the rich and famous.
Sunday May 3rd
LeHavre France: Decided to take a day off since we were just here and played some ping pong and did some reading. Sue did some laundry and logging.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Calvados area of France, near LaHavre
Thursday April 30
Day at sea-Had a little last choir member get together-Some cherry Swiss cake and coffee. Everyone wanted to express what a big part of the trip the choir was. Kind of a dress up night for captain’s farewell and formal night for dinner.
Friday May 1
LeHavre France: Today the adventure takes us thru the rolling Norman countryside to Chateau du Breuil which is a Calvados (apple brandy) distillery. Takes 15 years of blending and aging. We had a sample of the 41% Calvados and 6% apple cider. I sure got talkative after that. Our next taste bud experience was sampling some soft French cheese, hard bread and apple pie with rich Norman cream. I think I could go on the road with this stuff. I think I’m starting to get a French accent and have a desire to paint. The whole setting is quite picturesque with a creek, huge old trees and gardens. Then on to Honfleur, a 15th century fishing village that seems to have missed the destruction of WWII. Here is a walled harbor about the size of two football fields surrounded on three sides by shops and winding little streets radiating from there. The town’s folks were celebrating May Day so it was a bee hive of activity, music, and color. Many people eating large bowls of mussels in the shell. Really looked good--GAG!.This is home to the explorer Champlain. I felt so romantic I bought Sue some street vendor fresh made praline covered peanuts. What a guy. Back to the ship for our trip across the English Channel to Dover.
Day at sea-Had a little last choir member get together-Some cherry Swiss cake and coffee. Everyone wanted to express what a big part of the trip the choir was. Kind of a dress up night for captain’s farewell and formal night for dinner.
Friday May 1
LeHavre France: Today the adventure takes us thru the rolling Norman countryside to Chateau du Breuil which is a Calvados (apple brandy) distillery. Takes 15 years of blending and aging. We had a sample of the 41% Calvados and 6% apple cider. I sure got talkative after that. Our next taste bud experience was sampling some soft French cheese, hard bread and apple pie with rich Norman cream. I think I could go on the road with this stuff. I think I’m starting to get a French accent and have a desire to paint. The whole setting is quite picturesque with a creek, huge old trees and gardens. Then on to Honfleur, a 15th century fishing village that seems to have missed the destruction of WWII. Here is a walled harbor about the size of two football fields surrounded on three sides by shops and winding little streets radiating from there. The town’s folks were celebrating May Day so it was a bee hive of activity, music, and color. Many people eating large bowls of mussels in the shell. Really looked good--GAG!.This is home to the explorer Champlain. I felt so romantic I bought Sue some street vendor fresh made praline covered peanuts. What a guy. Back to the ship for our trip across the English Channel to Dover.
Bad Seas on the Way to Blarney Castle
Tuesday April 28
Day at sea: Well, we wanted to taste everything a world cruise could offer and we got big ocean seas in spades. Captain said the seas were from 15-18ft. Some events were cancelled and others moved to lower decks to minimize the effects of the ships movement. I took some video thru a clean window, pretty cool. Great day to put on our last choir concert!! They put small tables around on stage for some to hang on to while singing. One fellow Lou in the back row took a fall but came up singing. Sue did pretty well thru it all. A special HI to Clint Johnson I forgot to acknowledge his watching the blog. If things are bad in the Twin Ports for electrical work they aren’t any better anyplace else either. So setting up an international branch of Electric Systems probably isn’t a good idea.
Wednesday April 29
Cobh Ireland: Weather is my stereotype of Ireland and England. Foggy and drizzly. The bus takes us thru town to see the various statues and buildings representing important aspects of the town’s history. This was the last port the Titanic sailed from before she sank. What stood out in my mind as unique to this area is the preservation of the stone and dirt fences made hundreds of years ago as a dividing up of the lands that the feudal kings owned. Many of these parcels were only an acre in size; that is the amount left to each landowner when the feudal lords took over. The resulting view of the countryside is like a patchwork quilt of fields with the large brushy rocky fences. We were serenaded by a great Irish band during lunch. They were rockin. A few Irish beers and 5 young Irish lasses doing their fling had everybody hooting and hollering. Then off to Blarney castle. Even with the light fog, the brightness of the day was enough to really highlight the magnolias, rhododendrons, and azaleas against the bright green lawns of the castle yard. The castle was complete with winding little staircases that led to the top where you could walk around the perimeter and pretend you had a bow and arrow or a pot of boiling oil to pour down on a would-be attacker. My wife kissed the Blarney stone--like she needed any more blarney. Then on to the Blarney wool outlet. Some nice leisure time for shopping and relaxing. Spent some time in a turn of the century railroad station next to the ship. Bob Bender would have enjoyed it.
Day at sea: Well, we wanted to taste everything a world cruise could offer and we got big ocean seas in spades. Captain said the seas were from 15-18ft. Some events were cancelled and others moved to lower decks to minimize the effects of the ships movement. I took some video thru a clean window, pretty cool. Great day to put on our last choir concert!! They put small tables around on stage for some to hang on to while singing. One fellow Lou in the back row took a fall but came up singing. Sue did pretty well thru it all. A special HI to Clint Johnson I forgot to acknowledge his watching the blog. If things are bad in the Twin Ports for electrical work they aren’t any better anyplace else either. So setting up an international branch of Electric Systems probably isn’t a good idea.
Wednesday April 29
Cobh Ireland: Weather is my stereotype of Ireland and England. Foggy and drizzly. The bus takes us thru town to see the various statues and buildings representing important aspects of the town’s history. This was the last port the Titanic sailed from before she sank. What stood out in my mind as unique to this area is the preservation of the stone and dirt fences made hundreds of years ago as a dividing up of the lands that the feudal kings owned. Many of these parcels were only an acre in size; that is the amount left to each landowner when the feudal lords took over. The resulting view of the countryside is like a patchwork quilt of fields with the large brushy rocky fences. We were serenaded by a great Irish band during lunch. They were rockin. A few Irish beers and 5 young Irish lasses doing their fling had everybody hooting and hollering. Then off to Blarney castle. Even with the light fog, the brightness of the day was enough to really highlight the magnolias, rhododendrons, and azaleas against the bright green lawns of the castle yard. The castle was complete with winding little staircases that led to the top where you could walk around the perimeter and pretend you had a bow and arrow or a pot of boiling oil to pour down on a would-be attacker. My wife kissed the Blarney stone--like she needed any more blarney. Then on to the Blarney wool outlet. Some nice leisure time for shopping and relaxing. Spent some time in a turn of the century railroad station next to the ship. Bob Bender would have enjoyed it.
Beautiful Lisbon
Sunday, April 26
Lisbon Portugal. I’m feeling a cold coming on so I bundle up and we head out at noon for a bus ride thru the countryside and seaside to the north. On the way thru Lisbon we pass by the Sana Estoril Hotel, the home of WWII espionage that spawned the James Bond stories. Again the amazing sea coast vistas and remnants of 2000 years of history. It’s nothing to see a high speed form of mass transit with a Roman aqueduct in the background. Sue seems to have found some things while making Portugal green {that’s husband talk for spontaneous consumption} she has been looking for for years. {wink-wink} {nod-nod}. Anybody out there got an extra charge card? Had another quaint outdoor lunch and beer in Cascais. In Sintra we stroll a cute little mountaintop village and Sue finally gets some popcorn from a street vendor. There was a lesson for life--the popcorn man was as happy as a clam and probably will live to 100. He was so happy he was giving away some of his popcorn to tourists who only had US dollars and not Euros. Not us –well maybe. It was sweet kettle corn but really hit the spot. Sue also experienced a very European custom that was recommended by a local couple. If you have to go to the bathroom and can’t find one just go behind a car on a side street. Which she did. That’s my girl. Bye the bye, here I was thinking no one was reading the blog and we finally stumbled onto where the comments are showing up so a belated thank you for enjoying our trip with us. To Ginger and Jill and their families, Gram and Barb, Uncle Vern, Cousins Helen-Mickey-John, Ben and Andrea, Erica, Mark Wick, Bob Bender, Darlene and John, Marv and Marie, Donna and Stan, Sharon Johnson, Jeff and Terry, Beth Good, Chris and Carrie, Dan Maki, Rick Lange, Mark Smith, Wendy Kroll, The Treadler???, Susan, and all those reading but not signed in. Since this travelogue is free and from around the whole world a 50 dollar donation to the Ron and Sue Charitable Trust would be greatly appreciated in small unmarked bills would be best. Now, I take some Airborne and hit the sheets.
Monday April 27
Day at sea: Cold and windy, everybody is taking whatever they take for motion sickness. Buckle up the hatches boys we’re in for a blow. Finally finished my second book ; Sue, her 6th. Trying to get some pictures of the storm but all the outside decks are closed. So I take some thru salt streaked Plexiglas. Yuk.
Lisbon Portugal. I’m feeling a cold coming on so I bundle up and we head out at noon for a bus ride thru the countryside and seaside to the north. On the way thru Lisbon we pass by the Sana Estoril Hotel, the home of WWII espionage that spawned the James Bond stories. Again the amazing sea coast vistas and remnants of 2000 years of history. It’s nothing to see a high speed form of mass transit with a Roman aqueduct in the background. Sue seems to have found some things while making Portugal green {that’s husband talk for spontaneous consumption} she has been looking for for years. {wink-wink} {nod-nod}. Anybody out there got an extra charge card? Had another quaint outdoor lunch and beer in Cascais. In Sintra we stroll a cute little mountaintop village and Sue finally gets some popcorn from a street vendor. There was a lesson for life--the popcorn man was as happy as a clam and probably will live to 100. He was so happy he was giving away some of his popcorn to tourists who only had US dollars and not Euros. Not us –well maybe. It was sweet kettle corn but really hit the spot. Sue also experienced a very European custom that was recommended by a local couple. If you have to go to the bathroom and can’t find one just go behind a car on a side street. Which she did. That’s my girl. Bye the bye, here I was thinking no one was reading the blog and we finally stumbled onto where the comments are showing up so a belated thank you for enjoying our trip with us. To Ginger and Jill and their families, Gram and Barb, Uncle Vern, Cousins Helen-Mickey-John, Ben and Andrea, Erica, Mark Wick, Bob Bender, Darlene and John, Marv and Marie, Donna and Stan, Sharon Johnson, Jeff and Terry, Beth Good, Chris and Carrie, Dan Maki, Rick Lange, Mark Smith, Wendy Kroll, The Treadler???, Susan, and all those reading but not signed in. Since this travelogue is free and from around the whole world a 50 dollar donation to the Ron and Sue Charitable Trust would be greatly appreciated in small unmarked bills would be best. Now, I take some Airborne and hit the sheets.
Monday April 27
Day at sea: Cold and windy, everybody is taking whatever they take for motion sickness. Buckle up the hatches boys we’re in for a blow. Finally finished my second book ; Sue, her 6th. Trying to get some pictures of the storm but all the outside decks are closed. So I take some thru salt streaked Plexiglas. Yuk.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A Piece of the Rock
Friday April 24
Day at sea. Reading, writing but no arithmetic. Very calm seas. Saw some whales blow. Quite a few of our long time shipmates leaving at Dover in 7 days. Sniff Sniff
Saturday, April 25
Gibraltar: This British dependency is a little peninsula bounded by Spain and the sea. This little piece of turf has been a key in military activities for hundreds of years. It pretty much controls movement in and out of the Mediterranean. I took a little tour up thru miles of caves that were built to defend against a potential German invasion in WWII. A very diverse mix of cultures and religions live and work here in harmony. An airport was built with the spoils of cave building and it starts and stops at the sea’s edge with a highway bisecting the runway. Like our lift bridge to Park Point traffic is stopped when a plane takes off. Sue takes a general tour of the Rock. There are remnants of more forts than usual because of heavy pirate activity in the 18th and 19th centuries in this area. They have a state of the art desalinization plant here. We only are in port for a half day, but it’s a beautiful day full of activity. On our way out of the bay we see a small sail boat flip over. A short time later a rescue vessel shows up and we see a person bobbing in the sea with a life jacket on. He was pulled out of the water but I’m sure he had some hypothermia issues. The sea here is quite cold and he was in for quite a long time. The wind is up around 40mph so we button up our porthole as we head out into the Atlantic. The South coast of Spain is full of many wind generators. One big wind farm.
Day at sea. Reading, writing but no arithmetic. Very calm seas. Saw some whales blow. Quite a few of our long time shipmates leaving at Dover in 7 days. Sniff Sniff
Saturday, April 25
Gibraltar: This British dependency is a little peninsula bounded by Spain and the sea. This little piece of turf has been a key in military activities for hundreds of years. It pretty much controls movement in and out of the Mediterranean. I took a little tour up thru miles of caves that were built to defend against a potential German invasion in WWII. A very diverse mix of cultures and religions live and work here in harmony. An airport was built with the spoils of cave building and it starts and stops at the sea’s edge with a highway bisecting the runway. Like our lift bridge to Park Point traffic is stopped when a plane takes off. Sue takes a general tour of the Rock. There are remnants of more forts than usual because of heavy pirate activity in the 18th and 19th centuries in this area. They have a state of the art desalinization plant here. We only are in port for a half day, but it’s a beautiful day full of activity. On our way out of the bay we see a small sail boat flip over. A short time later a rescue vessel shows up and we see a person bobbing in the sea with a life jacket on. He was pulled out of the water but I’m sure he had some hypothermia issues. The sea here is quite cold and he was in for quite a long time. The wind is up around 40mph so we button up our porthole as we head out into the Atlantic. The South coast of Spain is full of many wind generators. One big wind farm.
Barcelona, land of the Catalans
Thursday April 23
Barcelona Spain: This was a half day tour that should have been a full day. Great city-It was St. George’s Day. The whole city was on vacation. Roses for the girls and books for the boys. The trip was a lot of slow down and shoot pictures fast. Got to see the Olympic village of 13 years ago. The highlight was getting a good look at Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia Temple. This is like seeing the Pyramids or the Parthenon half done. Have been working on it for over a hundred years-probably another 50 to finish it. Check it out on Google for more of the story and pictures. There are 80 stone craftes working on this cathedral now. Passed by a couple of bull fight arenas. Today bullfighting isn’t very popular so they are used for concerts, Back on the ship we watch a flamenco folkloric show; it was a real heel-stompen, guitar-strummen, Spanish-singen event!
Barcelona Spain: This was a half day tour that should have been a full day. Great city-It was St. George’s Day. The whole city was on vacation. Roses for the girls and books for the boys. The trip was a lot of slow down and shoot pictures fast. Got to see the Olympic village of 13 years ago. The highlight was getting a good look at Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia Temple. This is like seeing the Pyramids or the Parthenon half done. Have been working on it for over a hundred years-probably another 50 to finish it. Check it out on Google for more of the story and pictures. There are 80 stone craftes working on this cathedral now. Passed by a couple of bull fight arenas. Today bullfighting isn’t very popular so they are used for concerts, Back on the ship we watch a flamenco folkloric show; it was a real heel-stompen, guitar-strummen, Spanish-singen event!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Cannes, France and Rome, Italy
(For some reason this didn't download where I wanted. See photos below! Sorry!)
Tuesday, April 21
Civitavecchia Italy: This is the seaport that we dock at to make the drive to Rome. An hour and a half of driving thru Wisconsin Dells type countryside brings us to downtown Rome and the Vatican City. The whole of Rome is spattered with ruins of 3300 years of different stages and ages of Rome’s history. We hook up our museum headsets so our tour guide can easily communicate with us and off we go to the Sistine Chapel. This huge chapel depicts the origin of the world and life of Christ in many frescos and paintings on the ceiling. With a couple of thousand people at a time constantly slowly flow thru the chapel from one end to the other, it’s pretty moving--no cameras and no talking, just looking up and thinking how could one man do this 600 years ago. The 500-year old St Peter’s Basilica can fit two Notre Dames of Paris in it. Big and beautiful, just like the square outside where the Pope addresses the people twice a week. Next we get to walk up and around the Colosseum where many poor men and animals met tragic fates for the amusement of other folks for hundreds of years. Constantine outlawed this barbary in 313 AD. Like many of the places we have been, a week is needed to explore and experience it all.
Wednesday April 22
Cannes France: A huge crescent-shaped bay with homes and businesses line this port, too shallow for the ship so we must use the tenders again. Sue is so talented, on the way to shore she starts singing Love My Tender Cute, Hun. We hop off and onto a bus that takes us to Nice and see the sights. This area is the home of high grade olive oil, many fragrances for perfume, the hugely successful Cannes movie festival, the flowers that are shipped daily around all of Europe, and the Monte Carlo Casino. We can see the leading edge of the southern Alps from here. Snow capped and all. They have outlawed cars in many downtown areas and turned them into green spaces. Only walking or electric tourist trains. Good idea. The highlight is a visit to St Paul, a perfectly preserved, medieval walled city perched on a high hill in the middle of Nice. It was the 16th, 17th and 18th century refuge and inspiration for many famous European artists. A beautiful little church sits in the middle of this maze of 8-foot wide streets. We have a nice romantic lunch at a open air café complete with a roaming singing minstrel. Later we have some ice cream and watch a group of men playing Bocce ball in a dirt yard next to another café. Very relaxing day.
Tuesday, April 21
Civitavecchia Italy: This is the seaport that we dock at to make the drive to Rome. An hour and a half of driving thru Wisconsin Dells type countryside brings us to downtown Rome and the Vatican City. The whole of Rome is spattered with ruins of 3300 years of different stages and ages of Rome’s history. We hook up our museum headsets so our tour guide can easily communicate with us and off we go to the Sistine Chapel. This huge chapel depicts the origin of the world and life of Christ in many frescos and paintings on the ceiling. With a couple of thousand people at a time constantly slowly flow thru the chapel from one end to the other, it’s pretty moving--no cameras and no talking, just looking up and thinking how could one man do this 600 years ago. The 500-year old St Peter’s Basilica can fit two Notre Dames of Paris in it. Big and beautiful, just like the square outside where the Pope addresses the people twice a week. Next we get to walk up and around the Colosseum where many poor men and animals met tragic fates for the amusement of other folks for hundreds of years. Constantine outlawed this barbary in 313 AD. Like many of the places we have been, a week is needed to explore and experience it all.
Wednesday April 22
Cannes France: A huge crescent-shaped bay with homes and businesses line this port, too shallow for the ship so we must use the tenders again. Sue is so talented, on the way to shore she starts singing Love My Tender Cute, Hun. We hop off and onto a bus that takes us to Nice and see the sights. This area is the home of high grade olive oil, many fragrances for perfume, the hugely successful Cannes movie festival, the flowers that are shipped daily around all of Europe, and the Monte Carlo Casino. We can see the leading edge of the southern Alps from here. Snow capped and all. They have outlawed cars in many downtown areas and turned them into green spaces. Only walking or electric tourist trains. Good idea. The highlight is a visit to St Paul, a perfectly preserved, medieval walled city perched on a high hill in the middle of Nice. It was the 16th, 17th and 18th century refuge and inspiration for many famous European artists. A beautiful little church sits in the middle of this maze of 8-foot wide streets. We have a nice romantic lunch at a open air café complete with a roaming singing minstrel. Later we have some ice cream and watch a group of men playing Bocce ball in a dirt yard next to another café. Very relaxing day.
Friday, April 24, 2009
The Sorrento Peninsula on the toe of Italy
Sunday April 19
Day at sea: Church--choir--port lecture--passenger talent show--looking at pictures and writing fill this day.
Monday April 20: Sorrento doesn’t have a deep water dock so we have to take the tenders to shore. Haven’t had to do that since Easter Island. We wind our way up the hillsides of this lemon tree loaded coast to Pompeii. This was a city of 20,000 that perished as a result of Mt .Vesuvius blowing its top in 79 AD. Walking the streets is like being put into a time capsule and turning the dial back 2000 years. It seemed like a well-oiled, closely knit, highly sophisticated group of people. The quality of the brick and stone work is wonderful. It came complete with theaters, arenas, markets, and government buildings. Finding the bodies in their last moments of agony is a little disconcerting. But what a gift to the future they gave in their untimely end. It has taken 100 years to clean most of the 60 feet of ash and other volcanic debris away from what is left of the city. It’s so much more than we expected. The rest of our day we drove the Amalphi coast. Here we find the most unbelievable collection of homes and businesses somehow clinging to the face of 500 foot limestone cliffs. One of the hallmarks of this area is their creation of villages in miniature along the roadside rock faces by the local people. This would be a bed and breakfast paradise. The area has been the subject matter for paintings and photography for years. We had lunch and did some shopping amidst Positano’s honeycomb of narrow street switchbacks. Sue was trying to keep her trinket buying to a minimum but she has been picking up the pace lately. I guess taxes will be going up when she gets home.
Day at sea: Church--choir--port lecture--passenger talent show--looking at pictures and writing fill this day.
Monday April 20: Sorrento doesn’t have a deep water dock so we have to take the tenders to shore. Haven’t had to do that since Easter Island. We wind our way up the hillsides of this lemon tree loaded coast to Pompeii. This was a city of 20,000 that perished as a result of Mt .Vesuvius blowing its top in 79 AD. Walking the streets is like being put into a time capsule and turning the dial back 2000 years. It seemed like a well-oiled, closely knit, highly sophisticated group of people. The quality of the brick and stone work is wonderful. It came complete with theaters, arenas, markets, and government buildings. Finding the bodies in their last moments of agony is a little disconcerting. But what a gift to the future they gave in their untimely end. It has taken 100 years to clean most of the 60 feet of ash and other volcanic debris away from what is left of the city. It’s so much more than we expected. The rest of our day we drove the Amalphi coast. Here we find the most unbelievable collection of homes and businesses somehow clinging to the face of 500 foot limestone cliffs. One of the hallmarks of this area is their creation of villages in miniature along the roadside rock faces by the local people. This would be a bed and breakfast paradise. The area has been the subject matter for paintings and photography for years. We had lunch and did some shopping amidst Positano’s honeycomb of narrow street switchbacks. Sue was trying to keep her trinket buying to a minimum but she has been picking up the pace lately. I guess taxes will be going up when she gets home.
The wonderful history of Athens
Friday April 17
Day at sea. Doing laundry, catching up on things and recovery the hallmarks of the day. Sailing the Mediterranean is new. Weather is very windy and cooler. We can tell we are getting closer to home.
Saturday April 18
Athens Greece: I didn’t realize how many islands are off the coast of Greece. We are in the homeland of democracy. The harbor here is very quaint, full of sailboats and coves. Our bus takes us on a journey weaving thru typical narrow European streets. The first stop is a very large football field looking sports arena. It first took shape about 400 BC, and was updated with all marble seating around 100 AD. Updated the last time in 1896 for the beginning of the modern Olympics. It holds 70,000 and was used for some events in the 1996 Athens games. Next was climbing the Acropolis to see what’s left of the Parthenon and other structures. They were all in pretty good shape until the wars with the Turks in the 1600’s. They actually had a powerful cannon of sorts that laid waste to most of it. From the top of the hill where the complex is situated a view of all Athens is visible. The entire Parthenon is locked in a web of steel scaffolding as work continues puting this huge puzzle back together. Looters and wars have taken their toll but considering it’s been around since 437BC it’s a small miracle. The collection of artifacts in their National Museum is one of the best in the world. The guide gave us high tech headphones to hear her stories unencumbered by any ambient tourist noise. We are now seeing sculpting of the human body in marble taken to a pinnacle of mastery that time has shown us nothing better. The end of the day was a leisurely stroll through a neat old market place where we bought something cool for Jill and Ginger[If you’re reading this you can have it!} We also got to do some people watching and coffee drinking.
Day at sea. Doing laundry, catching up on things and recovery the hallmarks of the day. Sailing the Mediterranean is new. Weather is very windy and cooler. We can tell we are getting closer to home.
Saturday April 18
Athens Greece: I didn’t realize how many islands are off the coast of Greece. We are in the homeland of democracy. The harbor here is very quaint, full of sailboats and coves. Our bus takes us on a journey weaving thru typical narrow European streets. The first stop is a very large football field looking sports arena. It first took shape about 400 BC, and was updated with all marble seating around 100 AD. Updated the last time in 1896 for the beginning of the modern Olympics. It holds 70,000 and was used for some events in the 1996 Athens games. Next was climbing the Acropolis to see what’s left of the Parthenon and other structures. They were all in pretty good shape until the wars with the Turks in the 1600’s. They actually had a powerful cannon of sorts that laid waste to most of it. From the top of the hill where the complex is situated a view of all Athens is visible. The entire Parthenon is locked in a web of steel scaffolding as work continues puting this huge puzzle back together. Looters and wars have taken their toll but considering it’s been around since 437BC it’s a small miracle. The collection of artifacts in their National Museum is one of the best in the world. The guide gave us high tech headphones to hear her stories unencumbered by any ambient tourist noise. We are now seeing sculpting of the human body in marble taken to a pinnacle of mastery that time has shown us nothing better. The end of the day was a leisurely stroll through a neat old market place where we bought something cool for Jill and Ginger[If you’re reading this you can have it!} We also got to do some people watching and coffee drinking.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
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