BORDEAUX 2019

03/08/201904/24/2025Irene

12 Apr 2019

Newark Airport

We leave today for Bordeaux, France…the center of a major wine- growing and wine-producing region, although, interestingly, no wine is produced within the city limits. We are looking forward to sampling some stellar wines and enjoying our cruise.

Come join us…

13 Apr 2019 Bordeaux

We arrived at Newark in plenty of time for our flight. Check-in went very smoothly; it’s great having the boarding passes right on your phone and all you have to do is scan them. We procured our baggage tickets from the kiosk, put them on, handed the bags to the agent, and prayed that they would ultimately wind up in Bordeaux. We were changing planes in Frankfurt and we were hoping that our bags would change planes as well.

We had a glass of wine and a sandwich at the airport before boarding our flight. They served dinner onboard as well so we were quite stuffed. Our flight was fine; we had upgraded our seats so that was helpful with giving more leg room to stretch out.

We arrived in Frankfurt to a snow shower and we then made our way thru a passport check and on to the gate where we would catch our plane to Bordeaux. We passed lots of kiosks selling pretzels and beer… But did not stop. BTW…I noticed that a lot of German words end in the letters farht. Maybe that’s because of all the beer and bratwursts they eat?? Just saying….

Anyway…we had a long layover unfortunately, but we passed the time having lunch and taking a short nap.

Our luggage made it to Bordeaux and so did we. We were met by a Viking agent and we got onboard bus that took us to our home for the week… The Forseti. We made just in time for dinner and we sat with two lovely couples, one from Wales and one from England. We had so many laughs and one of the ladies, Judith said “This is the most fun I’ve ever had on a first night on a cruise.”. (And yes… If my boys are reading this… Dad and I did regale them with “the stories.”)

After dinner, we walked around the ship and then had a Drambuie while listening to an excellent pianist and singer. Then hot cocoa and off to bed to be all set for tomorrow’s touring.

14 Apr 2019 Bordeaux

We woke up this morning to a glorious sunrise.

After breakfast, we toured beautiful Bordeaux. We saw the Place des Quinconces, one of the largest squares in Europe, the Grand Thea ̂tre de Bordeaux with the 12 muses 12 Corinthian columns, which is also the home to the Opera House. We passed some beautiful churches and of course, strolled by the upscale shops with beautiful clothing for sale. The French bakeries are works of art on their own with sculpted confections and the chocolate shops..ooh la la. The shops were closed as it is Sunday but we will visit the shops when we return to Bordeaux at the end of the trip.

We returned to our ship and set sail along the Garonne on our way to Cadillac.

We arrived in this quaint town and visited the Chateau De Myrat and the owner told us all about the making of sauterne wine. He only spoke French so our guide translated. He spoke of the one word that is used exclusively when making wine. Depends! It depends on many factors… Primarily the weather. Frost is the enemy of a vineyard and can be the ruination of a good year. Too much rain can be the ruination of a vineyard as well as too much sun, particularly in the morning after a rain. This can cause the drops left on the leaves to become a magnifying glass and can literally burn the leaves. Pruning the leaves is an art and an inexperienced pruner can also be the ruination of a vineyard.

Sauterne wines depend on a type of fungus called Noble Rot which shrivels and decays wine grapes. A vineyard full of rotting grapes therefore is a good thing. Wines such as sauternes from Bordeaux depend on Noble Rot to intensify sweetness and add complexity. It causes the wines to dehydrate yet maintain their level of sweetness. It also adds a slightly higher alcoholic content to the wine.

However there is also a fungus Bordeaux

called grey rot which causes the grapes to mildew… Not a good thing. The vintner has to be skilled in knowing which grapes to pick that have Noble Rot and to leave the grey rot ones to…well just rot.

We then had the opportunity to taste two sauternes from the 2018 vintage which apparently shaped up to be a great year. (They are still waiting with anticipation for the ratings to come out but 2018 had stellar weather so they are fairly confident of a good rating.)

The sauternes were quite sweet and the second one had an earthy taste. I’m not a big white wine drinker but it was nice to sample the wines from this beautiful winery.

We returned to the ship for the Captain’s Welcome cocktail hour and then went off to dinner. After dinner we played a game with everyone called Majority Rules and had a lot of laughs. We listened to the pianist and singer and then danced till almost midnight. It was a great day!

15 Apr 2019 Cadillac

Today we stayed on the ship all day cruising along the beautiful river. Because of the water levels we did the tour in Cadillac yesterday instead of today so we enjoyed a full day of activity on the ship.

The Garonne river is one of the few rivers in the world where an unusual phenomenon can occur:. A tidal bore. This occurs when the incoming tide forms a wave that travels up against the current. It can happen twice daily and we were told that our Captain would be unmooring the ship around 2:30 in the morning and taking it to the middle of the river so the wave wouldn’t slam the ship into the dock..

After breakfast we listened to a presentation: People, Places, and Prosperity, about Bordeaux’s history and culture. Then it was lunch followed by a live demonstration of making macarons. We were able to sample them and as the demonstration concluded we went right in to have French tea time and sampled a variety of French pastries, tea sandwiches, and French coffee with whipped cream and a shot of liquor. So decadent!

We chatted for awhile with our dinner mates who we meet on the first day. The 6 of us have been enjoying each other’s company each day and having a lot of laughs!

We all went to the VES cocktail party for guests who have sailed with Viking before. The program director made sure I had a dirty martini…a drink they were not offering among the many specialty drinks that were lined up for the taking. One of the drinks was a grasshopper… So of course I had to tell my joke….A grasshopper walks into a bar and orders a beer. The bartender says to him, “You know… We have a drink named after you.! To which the grasshopper answered, “You have a drink named Steve??”. (I’ll be here all week folks!)

Dinner was very nice and afterwards we went to hear the lecture on Bordeaux wine tasting and had the opportunity to taste four wines and also played the game my wine club plays… Try to identify the wine. Allan and I did fairly well… But lost on the last two questions… Year and whether left bank or right bank produced.

Then we sat with our friends and listened to music and around 11:30 decided to go to bed. However, Allan and I stayed talking with the program director until 1:30 am. She told us how she was born in East Berlin and how her grandfather was asked to join the SS. He didn’t have a choice. If you said no you were shot dead on the spot.

She said her relations lived in West Berlin and when a family member died, you had to get permission to go to the other side of the wall for the funeral. She said her relatives would bring coffee pots with them to put the ashes of their loved one in and then carry it back to the East so the remains could be buried near by.

I told her how Allan and I were there in 1990 as the wall was coming down and we helped demolish it… Taking remnants of that history back home with us.

It was an emotional discussion and one I was glad I was able to be a part of.

16 Apr 2019 Libourne & St. Emillion & Chateau vineyard

After breakfast this morning, we went on an optional tour to the Saint-Emillion wine center. Before we left, we strolled around Libourne’s market. It is an open air market and people are selling everything from vegetables to bolts of fabric. There is no bartering; the price is the price, but the seller might be inclined to give a slight discount if you purchase more then one item. From there we went to the inside market where fish and meats were for sale as well as cheeses of all different varieties.

There were rabbits for sale and our guide said that they have to sell the rabbits whole with the head on as it is the law. Since cats and rabbits have basically the same bone structure, except cats have one extra rib, in order to make sure the buyer is getting a rabbit and not a cat, the rabbit is displayed in all its glory.

We walked around seeing the sights and Allan and I opted to visit the Town Hall where a museum is located on the second floor. We saw a statue by Rodin and also a beautiful painting that recently was in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We left the museum and walked down to the lower level of the plateau where the Monolithic Church was carved into the side of the hill.

We had a delicious lunch at a local restaurant and after lunch we visited Château Siaurac, toured the vineyards and had a wine tasting.

Some of the vines in this vineyard were over 60 years old and grow in limestone. The limestone keeps the roots watered and nourished as the vintner is prohibited from watering the vines no matter how hot the season becomes. This is the ruling of the appellation where these grapes are grown. “An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine are grown. The rules that govern appellations are dependent on the country in which the wine is produced. “

This vineyard grows Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec grapes. An interesting fact… they graft vines from America which have insect resistant roots that helps keep the vines here in Bordeaux healthy. Years ago, they also planted rose bushes at the ends of the vine rows. If the rose bush looked like it had a blight like mold, the vintner knew his vines would be next to be infected. But now with the latest technology to keep vines healthy, the rose bushes are just planted symbolically.

We saw white pots all throughout the vineyard and we were told that the pots were set on fire to help keep the vines warm in a frost. Some of the more affluent vineyards hire helicopters to fly overhead while the fires in the pots are burning so that the downdraft from the copter turns the warmth from the fire back down on the vines.

Our guide told us how they straighten the growing vines to grow horizontally rather than vertically and how master pruners come in to accomplish trimming the vines. It was so interesting and we learned so much.

We got back to the ship in time for the port talk and dinner and then played Name that Tune. We had to name the song, the artist, the artist’s nationality, as well as the decade the song was introduced. Yikes! Our team did rather well, but we didn’t come in first.

Off to bed for a busy day tomorrow!

17 Apr 2019 Blaye and Bourg

Let me begin by saying, all of France is saddened by the devastating fire that ravaged Notre Dame. Allan and I were so fortunate to see the beautiful cathedral the last time we were in France and the destruction is particularly hard to bear for the French people as this is Holy Week. The French news is saying it will take decades to rebuild, but the French are determined to make the cathedral even more beautiful than it ever had been. The flowers are blooming all over Bordeaux and the French countryside is beautiful to see. Hopefully the birth of new growth from a long winter will give the French a reminder that beauty can come from the ashes.

Today we toured the historic town of Blaye and learned the history of Cognac during a Privileged Access visit to a distillery. Blaye is on the Gironde River and our first stop was the 17th-century citadel. This fort was very well fortified and the ramparts, fortified gates, barracks, prison and gunpowder magazine are evidence of the defensive system that was quite effective . We walked around the outdoor market where fresh vegetables abound and shiny fish are laid out on ice. White asparagus is the claim to fame of this area and since this is the season for it, it was displayed for sale all over.

We then embarked on an hour plus drive through the countryside to the towns of Cognac and Camus. We had lunch at the Camus cognac distillery. This distillery has been family owned for five generations and we happened to sit with the Master Blender, Frederic Dezauzier. Frederick is the Master Blender for one of the five major cognac makers of the world. I was able to ask many questions about the process of making cognac which he happily answered. I never realized that cognac is made from white grapes and begins as wine and then is twice distilled.

The grape growing for cognac is basically the same process that we learned about for making wine, except the vines for the cognac grapes are planted further apart in rows and the vines are allowed to grow taller. Wine grape vines are planted close together since the vintners want them to fight for their nourishment since they don’t want a lot of grapes. With cognac, they want to produce many grapes because of the amount of cognac that is exported all over the world.

I noticed as we drove to the distillery that acres of grass were planted between the vineyards, which wasn’t true where the wine vineyards were. Frederick said that was a good observation and that the grass helps maintain water for the vines as cognac vines also are not permitted to be watered in the Bordeaux region, Just like wine grapes.

Frederick said that before the grapes are distilled, the wine in the car could dissolve an oyster along with its shell. I said similar to vinegar (since I know vinegar dissolves bones.) He said definitely not like vinegar. Just more like an acid. (I was amazed that no one at the table questioned how I knew bones dissolve in vinegar. I found this out when I was in China. I guess if I had mentioned to the group my supply of Hefty black bags and bleach they would have taken more notice. LOL!)

Anyway, after lunch came the fun part of the tour. We blended our own cognac! So much fun and my cognac blend turned out wonderful! The grapes that are used to make the four blends are colombard, ugni-blanc, and folle Blanche.

I wasn’t pleased with my first try, but my second go, ooh la la! Allan’s blend a little more potent than mine, but very nice. They give you four different cognacs and you decide the percentage of each one you want to put into your blend. The four blends are fin bois, borderies, petite champagne, and grand champagne. Each blend has distinct qualities and you have to decide which ones you want to use for your unique blend. You take a pipette to add the cognacs and then taste your creation. If you don’t like it, you throw it away and try again by either decreasing or increasing the percentages. Once you are pleased with your blend, you figure out the percentage to determine how many milliliters of each Cognac you must take from the barrels and put into your cylinder. Then you mix your blend in a beaker, pour it into a bottle, and then they cork the bottle. The bottle is then shrink wrapped and labeled to take home with you. My blend was very close to their SO blend I found out later. I guess I have good taste! Chemistry class paid off in college!!

We were able to take home the bottle of our blend and they wrote down the percentages that we used to create our own blend and they keep it on file. That way, if we ever want to order more, they can ship the exact blend we created. It was a fantastic experience.

We went back to the ship for dinner and then danced the night away once again.

18 Apr 2019 Pauillac

This morning after breakfast we went on a wine tasting at La Petite Cave. The proprietor was very interesting and told us how to savor a wine during a wine tasting. We have learned this technique over the years but this vintner added an extra step after swirling the wine in the glass, smelling, swishing the wine in the mouth like mouthwash, and chewing. He then said to open your mouth a bit and suck in a bit of air and the taste will explode in your mouth. Voila! It did. It was amazing!

Wine has properties that you should be aware of when tasting. Color, aroma, and taste…CAT. I asked some questions during the wine tasting and Allan overheard one lady say to another… “How does she know so much about wine!”. Ummm… It’s because I drink large quantities!! LOL!

The wines we tasted were stellar and we then went on a tour of his building where an artist paints and where he rents out rooms. He offers cooking classes for guests along with wine tastings and he is a collector of antique cars and bikes. He has a Porsche from 1955 in pristine condition. He calls it the divorce car since his wife almost divorced him after he purchased it. It was a work of art!

On our way sailing the rivers, guides kept mentioning wines from the left bank and the right bank.
Apparently left bank wines are masculine wines like Cabernet and Cabernet franc whereas right bank wines are more feminine in quality. We bid the owner adieu and made our way back to the ship.

After lunch we went on another wine tasting in the heart of the Pauillac Medoc and Margaux wine country. Though the towns are surrounded by vineyards that are small in acreage, they are legendary among wine lovers. Some of the most fabled wine chateaux in France are here and we passed by many of them including Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Latour and Mouton Rothschild. The wines produced at those vineyards probably wouldn’t be purchased by the average oenophile as they are extraordinarily expensive. For example, in 2005, a 6 bottle case of wine from Chateau Lafite Rothschild went for 16,000 dollars! Also at this winery during the war, the Nazis came and occupied the Chateau. The residents of the winery had built false walls where the bottles of wine were being stored…complete with mold and spider webs. They placed the expensive bottles behind the wall and kept out the average wines. The Nazis helped themselves to the wine… not realizing they were drinking the average wine. One has to wonder whether they thought to themselves…”What’s all the fuss about Bordeaux wines. These aren’t that great!”

As we continued on the drive our guide told us that not only frost can cause the ruination of a vineyard but grape theft is also a problem. Gangs pick vineyards that are remote and they come in at night and pick the vines dry. Some vineyards have lost their years profit because of theft.

Our wine tasting was at Chateau Marquis de Terme. The grounds are beautiful, but we really weren’t very impressed by the wines.

After the wine tasting our bus took Bordeaux

us to dinner at Chateau Kirwan…a magnificent Chateau with beautiful grounds. We were totally surprised when we walked in to find the entire dining staff waiting to greet us. The chef was there as well preparing the meal. They literally brought all the glassware, silverware, tablecloths and food to the Chateau. We had three wine pairings from Chateau Kirwan throughout the meal and the wines were wonderful. Viking is the only cruise line that hosts a dinner at a Chateau. It was amazing!!!!! The wine and the food were some of the best yet. It was a fabulous evening of elegance mixed with fun! Bravo Viking!!!

We made our way back to the ship and turned in early as we have a great adventure ahead of us for tomorrow.

19 Apr 2019 Arcachon

When we left New York, the 10 day forecast was for rain and chilly weather for most of the week. However, the weather could not have been more perfect. Sunshine every day and lovely temperatures and the flowers are blooming all over.

We took an optional tour today to the Atlantic coast and the town of Arcachon and the headlands of the upscale Cap Ferret to see the beautiful seaside and to eat oysters. The drive was beautiful as we passed gorgeous homes that were expensive to purchase. Each one was more beautiful than the last, with unusual architecture. We also passed the largest pine forest in Europe.

We finally arrived at the vessel that took us deep into the oyster beds surrounded by the red roofs of Victorian-era villas. You have to be very wealthy to live on these shores. Since it was low tide, we were able to see the oyster beds very clearly. After a short cruise, we docked and walked to an oyster farm where we learned about the life of an oyster farmer. It is hard work and takes a few years for the oysters to get to a Bordeaux

size that is edible. The larger the oyster, the more expensive they are to purchase. I won’t go into how oysters are spawned, but it truly is a long process and the farmers work is never done.

We sampled oysters and our guide taught us how to tell if an oyster is fresh. You take your fork and touch the rim of the raw oyster and if it contracts a little, it is fresh. They provided buttered bread and wine to go with the tasting… and I am proud to say…I tried my first oyster! It was quite good… Salty and delicious. A guy on the tour had never had an oyster either so both of us slurped them down together. He didn’t like his… And I actually thought he was going to throw up… But he grabbed his wine and chugged that instead. I ate two of them and enjoyed them. (I was glad however that I had my hepatitis A shots… Just in case. LOL!)

After the oyster tasting, we had a delicious seafood lunch…the calamari was outstanding and the cod was so tender and moist.

After sailing back to where our bus was located, we drove back to the ship and had our last dinner with the friends we met the first day onboard…Judith, Chris, Vanessa, and Peter. We had a wonderful week together… Lots of laughs and lots of wine. We got along very well and it made our trip a memorable one indeed.

We all went to the lounge and were treated to operatic entertainment. The singers were excellent and at one point, the tenor came over to me and sang a love song while holding my hands. I blew him kisses… Just before the soprano came over and tapped him on the shoulder and admonished him for leaving her. He shrugged his shoulders and off he went with her, giving me a wink before leaving to finish the song with his “other” lover. It was great fun and we enjoyed the performance immensely.

We hugged our friends adieu and promised to keep in touch. We are all sad that the trip is over. It was truly wonderful. Bordeaux is a quaint region and I’m so happy we had the chance to experience it.

20 Apr 2019 Leaving Bordeaux

Ready to catch our flight to Zurich and then on to Newark.

While on the bus, some of the staff were going home and boarded the bus with us. Allan was the only one they greeted by name. The same thing happened last night when we arrived back from our day excursion. Allan loves to talk with the staff and we complimented them every chance we had. Everyone… from the captain (who one day wore a “crew” shirt and unloaded heavy boxes on the pier along with his crew) down to the sweet young girl who cooked our eggs in the morning…was polite, upbeat, and made everyone’s day onboard a memorable one.

Can’t wait till our next adventure!!!

New England 2018

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11 Sep 2018 New England

We are off on another adventure…this time visiting some New England states…Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Can you say Road Trip? Com’on along for the ride!

Kennebunkport

We had anticipated lots of rain traveling up to Maine… But we were so lucky. We didn’t have any rain… Just some clouds which was actually helpful in driving without the glaring sun, and when we pulled into Maine, the sun came out in all its glory.

On the way up to Maine, we stopped at our favorite lobster roll shack in Waterbury, CT and had a delicious lobster roll filled with chunks of lobster and dripping in butter. Yum!!! Frankie’s is a hot dog shack but they also sell the lobster rolls and we loved getting our lobster fix when we lived in CT, without having to drive up to Maine. Still as good as we remembered.

Kennebunkport is a charming town and our little hideaway is very nice and clean. The room is quite large as is the bathroom so we are happy about that.

We went to Nunans for lobster. OMG… Delicious. Allan finished with blueberry pie which was also excellent.

12 Sep 2018 Rockland Cliff House Beach

Nunan’s, where we had dinner last night, was the venue for a film, Empire Falls, featuring Paul Newman. It was filmed in 2013 and they closed the restaurant during the filming. Now we’ll have to rent the movie!

New EnglandWe started the day visiting the New England

Portland Head lighthouse the one that I made an attempt to paint many years ago, not realizing it was one of the most famous in Maine. It is really beautiful, with the rocks and the sea smashing up against them. The buildings with the red roofs made for a beautifully picturesque photo op.

From there we travelled to Rockland… First having a lobster roll at the famous Lobster Shack . Hey… One can’t get enough lobster while in Maine!!!!! I had the roll dripping in butter of course while Allan opted for the mayo one. Both were delicious and chock-full of lobster.

We visited the Farnsworth museum and saw many interesting works of art including many by the Wyeth family, the most well known family member being Andrew.

From there we travelled to the Olson house where Andrew spent at least 30 summers painting in watercolors and where he painted the famous Christina’s World. Christina’s World is currently hanging in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

We went on a tour of the home and the docent gave a very interesting talk about the Olson family and the relationship with the Wyeths… Andrew and his wife Betsy. You can read the book A Piece of the World which is an historical fiction novel about the life of the Olsons and Wyeths during those years.

We walked through the home and saw where Andrew did his over 300 watercolors and also the room where Christina resided as child. Christina had a rare condition that weakened her extremities and she could not walk. She refused to use a wheelchair and instead determinedly crawled to get around. This is how Andrew mcaptured her in his famous painting.

We had great weather today…a little sprinkle this morning but sun the rest of the time. It’s a great time to visit Maine; no crowds and mild temps.

Tonight we had. … Wait for it… LOBSTER!!!!! We went to Mabel’s, the restaurant frequented over the years by Barbara and George Bush. We each had a two lb lobster with 6 shrimp and garlic butter. It really was delicious… But I’m thinking I’ve done my lobster quota. Chicken here I come! LOL!!

13 Sep 2018 Kennebunkport to Ogunquit

We started the morning by walking around the quaint town of Kennebunkport and then stopped in a donut shop for six mini donuts. OMG! So decadent! We devoured them in record time… And I usually don’t eat donuts!!!

New England

We stopped in to see the Episcopal church, St. Anne’s, which, we were surprised to learn, is only open during the summer season. It is a beautiful church and the rectory is right on the cliff overlooking the ocean.

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We drove past the Bush complex and then drove on to Ogunquit. We walked the Marginal Walk which goes about a mile right along the ocean. It was a wonderful walk and we stopped often along the way to sit on the many benches lining the walk to enjoy the waves.

We ate lunch… Lobster again…at a restaurant overlooking the ocean and the lobster was delicious. I think all the restaurants have steaming lobsters down to a science, so no matter where you go to eat, the lobster is always juicy, flavorful, and tender.

Went to a fabulous movie theater to see Crazy Rich Asians. The movie was very sweet. The theater was amazing. Huge reclining seats that you could just hunker down in.

Afterwards we went out to dinner and had…. Well… You already know what we had.

Till tomorrow….

New England

14 Sep 2018 Ogunquit

“Lobster serves as an excellent source of lean protein. Each 6- ounce portion provides you with 28 grams of protein but only 1.2 grams of fat. Lobster also nourishes your brain by boosting your intake of choline and vitamin B-12, two essential nutrients. With only 115 calories, less than 1g of fat and a whopping 24g of protein, a one- pound lobster is sure to fill you up without filling you out. Lobster is high in selenium, important for maintaining a strong immune system. According to the National Institutes of Health, a 3.5 ounce serving of lobster has 72mg of cholesterol, which is less than the same serving of chicken, containing 85mg of cholesterol.”

But then we added the butter. Nevermind.

Anyway… Undaunted on our quest to eat all the lobsters in Maine, even though the butter will no doubt do us in, we had lobster again for lunch after we walked into town…a mile and a half trek each way… to visit the Ogunquit Museum of American Art. Many of the paintings were exquisite and the garden overlooking the ocean was filled with unusual flowers all in bloom. It was a foggy morning…the sun trying to peek thru… But the temperature was perfect and it made for a very pleasant day.

We had dinner at the Lobster Pound where you go and choose your lobster. I let Allan choose for me. There’s something about seeing the one and a half pounder moving around before he’s on my plate, that kind of makes me a tad queasy. (But nothing that a claw cracker and a dish of melted butter can’t cure!)

And then we went to the Ogunquit Playhouse to see a performance of Jersey Boys which was stellar. You could close your eyes and almost hear Frankie Valli live…the performer was that good.

We leave Maine tomorrow and travel to New Hampshire to see dear friends. Bye lobsters! Your fate is in someone else’s stomach!

Till our next adventure…bye for now.

The Seine 2018

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15 Jul 2018 Leaving on a Jet Plan

We are off on another adventure…this time visiting France…cruising the Seine, and then spending a few extra days in Paris after the cruise. We will be flying into Paris and staying overnight, and then we will be transferred to Honfleur to begin our cruise

The Seine is a 483 mile long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. According to Wikipedia, “over 60 percent of its length, as far as Burgundy, is negotiable by commercial riverboats, and nearly its whole length is available for recreational boating; excursion boats offer sightseeing tours of the Rive Droite and Rive Gauche within the city of Paris.”

The 2018 World Cup final between the international football (soccer) teams France and Croatia will be taking place in Moscow on Sunday. We will be arriving in France on Monday…and we hope to witness celebrating in the streets with a French win. Allez les bleus! Au revoir!

16 Jul 2018 Caen

We had a great flight into Paris and then checked into the Novotel in Roissy, France which is very modern and well appointed.

We met our guide Sandrine who is very sweet, young, and very easy to understand. She lives in Normandy with her partner and an almost four year old son named Louis.

Our group of about 40 (there are three groups with about that many people in each and a guide for each one) met in the lobby and went off on a walking tour through the quaint little town.

We passed a cemetery and Sandrine said all cemeteries in France are non-denominational. Anyone can be buried in them no matter what religion the deceased is. However the Jewish deceased are buried in a separate area to respect their traditions at death.

She also told us that if you hail a taxi in France, don’t be surprised to see milage already being charged on the meter when the car arrives.

The tab begins from where the taxi is when getting your call. Very different from the states.

She also said tipping in restaurants is already factored into the bill and unless the service is exceptional, no tip is required.

We passed many people on our walk and they all were still savoring the France World Cup win which took place on Sunday. Apparently the celebrations were frenetic on Sunday… Particularly in Paris… But by today, they were much more subdued. Although I did take a photo of a man still celebrating… And wearing an Irish tee shirt. Go figure!!

We visited a beautiful Catholic Church and one of the stained glass windows was from the middle ages.

We befriended two very nice couples and we all decided to go back into town for dinner in a French restaurant. It was delicious…I had shrimp and risotto… Very tasty.

We walked back to our hotel to hopefully get a good night’s sleep.

The Seine River

17 Jul 2018 Honfleur

I didn’t sleep very well last night and probably caught about two hours all toll. Thank goodness for the Kindle app as I spent most of the time reading a murder mystery. (Hmmm… Maybe that’s why I couldn’t sleep!!!!)

We started the day with breakfast in The Seine River

the hotel. They had a nice offering… But no decaf coffee! Boo hiss! And then I was going back up to the room to brush my teeth again and the elevator door slammed into me. My arm is a bit black and blue, swollen, and sore, but I’ll survive. It was really an unexpected happening. I was just so thankful that my brand new Apple watch didn’t get creamed! Yikes!

A mom and her daughter (who will be a junior in high school), forgot to take their money, passports, Kindle, and the girl’s laptop computer out of the safe when we left the hotel. They were so upset but the hotel will keep the items and they will pick them up when we arrive back in Paris. We felt so sorry for them and Allan offered them money to tide them over, but the mom said she had a little and also a credit card so they would be okay. She started to cry because she was so touched by his generosity. He’s my hero! It is so easy to forget checking the safe in the rush to check out. Lesson learned.

On the way to our boat, we toured the Memorial de Caen in Normandy which is a war memorial commemorating WW II. It was very moving and well done, with much memoribilia on display in the museum.

We then rode to Honfleur and boarded our boat The M/S Bizet. We just about were able to change for the Captain’s dinner and enjoy a glass of wine before we had to appear at 6. The dinner was delicious… Wonderful appetizers and then a veal entree with potatoes and asparagus wrapped in bacon… All exquisitely presented. Dessert was creme brulee and ice cream on top of waffles.

Our new friends Jay, Toba, Lucille, T.J. took a walk with Allan and I after dinner through Honfleur.
What a beautiful French town; there were picture ops at every corner. I was able to capture a Ferris wheel and it’s reflection on the River Seine. So beautiful. It was 10:00 at night and still light out and it made for a lovely walk along the cobblestones. There were magnificent floral pieces wherever you looked and people were out dining at the outdoor tables and enjoying dinner. It was wonderful.

We went back to the boat and Allan and I had a nightcap of Drambuie and sat talking with Jay and Toba. Hope we will get a good night’s sleep tonight.

Bonne Nuit.

18 Jul 2018 Honfleur and Etretat

We started today with a walk all through Honfleur with our guide. We had walked most of the streets last night, but it is such a magnificent town and so beautiful… We really were so happy to stroll through it again.

First stop was the fish markets along the water. Every kind of fish you could imagine.. some species I had never heard of.. were on display. Many of the fish mongers had just come in that morning with their catch and people were buying the fish for their dinner that night.

We strolled further along, savoring the smells of freshly baked bread and peering into the candy stores like little kids, looking at the colorful confections.

There are many art galleries and jewelry stores tucked into the narrow streets and we passed an artist recreating the banks of the The Seine River

river in bright oils. Such talent!

After lunch we took a bus to Etretat to see the cliffs. The cliffs are very similar to the white cliffs of Dover and the scenery was breathtaking as we gazed at the sea. The beach is not sand…but it’s made up of rather large pebbles. There is a church on one side of the cliffs and Allan and I decided to take the steps all the way to the top. We were the only ones in the tour group who decided to take the challenge…. and what a challenge it was. Steep steps all the way to the top. I had to stop several times…. Not because I was breathless but rather because my thighs were singing! We made it and have the pics to prove it.

We walked back down and met up with the rest of the group and continued on to a restaurant for some wine and shrimp… And then climbed aboard a trolley that took us… Wait for it…UP TO THE TOP OF THE CLIFFS! When we told everyone we had just walked up… People didn’t believe us because it is so high up. My Apple watch said I had climbed 27 flights of stairs! My thighs will agree with that tomorrow as I try to walk to the breakfast room I’m sure…(or more like crawl in.). But I plan on telling my cardiologist… Forget any stress tests. I’ve already passed with flying colors!

We returned and had dinner and for dessert I had delicious French cheeses. Every night we will be sampling a new selection of cheeses and I love that more than a sweet dessert.

We walked through the village once again and came back around 10… Had a Drambuie and now it’s off to bed. Tomorrow is an early day and an emotional one as we will visit the beach of Normandy.

PS..I met a lady yesterday, who I invited to dine with our little group tonight, who lived near my neighborhood… Went to my high school and also, to my church in Richmond Hill. We had a wonderful time going down memory lane… The F train, Rockaway Playland, the bus on Lefferts Blvd. and so on. It was great.

19 Jul 2018 Normandy

Well our reputation precedes us. Allan and I are the talk of the boat as being “the couple that walked to the top of the cliffs.”. Everyone is very impressed. I’m impressed that I didn’t have to crawl to breakfast on my elbows because of muscle aches in my thighs! So far so good. No pain at all!

This morning we visited two beaches where the Normandy landings took place on June 6, 1944. The operation was called Operation Overlord – D-Day being the most famous part. (The D in D-Day doesn’t stand for anything; it is just the day the operation took place.). Because of this endeavor, the liberation of occupied France from the Nazis began.

The Normandy coast was divided into sections for Operation Overlord, called Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Omaha, was one of the two American led operations. It sustained the most casualties of any of the five operations.

Our first stop was Pointe du Hoc, the place where the Rangers swarmed the cliffs to overtake the German stronghold. The cliffs were especially trecherous as they were more than 100 feet high and the Rangers had to scale them, all the while taking heavy gunfire and casualties. This battle helped to seize the German artillery that could threaten the landings of the troops that would take place along the other areas of the beach.

The Rangers faced mines, barbed wire, and many other obstacles and almost 60% lost their lives because of the horrible conditions as the first men in had to clear the way for the soldiers coming on shore from behind.

While walking around, we could see the huge craters in the ground caused by the bombardment. We looked over the cliffs and could hardly imagine how the men were able to bravely scale the walls to defeat the Nazis stronghold.

We entered one of the concrete bunkers that the Nazis used for observation which had an opening for a gunner. The bunker could hold about 20 soldiers.

From there we visited Omaha beach, where the US military forces attacked the Nazis in a fierce and bloody battle. Our guide said not to be offended to see people swimming and sun bathing on the beach that was once a bloody battlefield. She was sure that the soldiers who gave their lives so that the French could be librated, would not mind that people can enjoy the beach now because of their sacrifice.

We went for lunch and then visited the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. It was very emotional seeing the over 9,000 graves of the American soldiers who gave their lives for freedom.

There was a special ceremony that we took part in… singing the National Anthem and standing solemnly during the playing of taps. The veterans on our trip were asked to come up front to be honored. We were then given roses to place at a grave of our choice. We chose to honor a soldier from New York… Angelo Rizzutti, a PFC from the 320 infantry 35 division who lost his life on June 13, 1944. May you rest in peace Angelo and may you know how much your bravery means to those living today in freedom.

We toured the visitor center and we were able to read the time line of WW II and see the names and faces of those who lost their lives. It was an emotional day but a special one and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to see and experience it all

20 Jul 2018, Rouen

We sailed to the town of Rouen this morning… Arriving a little after breakfast. Our guide took us on a walk all around the town, pointing out the shopping areas and the points of interest.

Rouen is the capital of Normandy and as we walked the streets we saw beautiful half-timbered houses, some of which date back to pre- Roman times.

Rouen is most famously recognized as the city where Joan of Arc was put into prison on a variety of charges, one of which was for wearing boys’ clothing. She was told she had to stop this practice and her captors said it would be in her favor to do so at the trial. But when she went back to her cell, the only clothes they left for her to wear were boys’ clothing, so that was one of the charges that sealed her fate.

We visited Rouen’s Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral. Monet painted this cathedral more than 30 times, to highlight the facade during different hours of the day. We saw the window where he stood and captured the morning light into afternoon shadows with his famous impressionism technique.

Allan and I walked around some more and then back to the boat to get ready for French night. Allan dressed as Napoleon… And entered the dining room on his knees, (since Napoleon was rather short in stature), hand tucked inside his jacket, and replete with the hat! Everyone roared and after dinner, he went on to win the award for best dressed in French attire. Of course… He accepted the award… Again ‘walking’ on his knees. It was hilarious!

We danced to some sixties music and then went off around 10:30 to see the light show that was shown on the cathedral facade. Returned to the boat around 11:30 for a well deserved night’s sleep.

21 Jul 2018 Rouen

Everyone is still laughing about Napoleon! They all thought Allan was hilarious and many people came up to us saying they also enjoyed watching us dance last night. (Not many people can say they danced with Napoleon!!!). One lady told me that I looked like I was having a great time smiling all the time while I was dancing. She said most people don’t look as happy. That made my day!

After breakfast, Allan and I decided to pass on the home visit with a French family and instead took a spontaneous nine mile bike ride with our guide Sandrine and five others from the younger set!

We were in traffic many times which was a little scary but we did well. We kept up with the young ones and did ourselves proud! Then Sandrine stopped and bought some croissants for us and we biked to her home to have tea and the croissant treats. It was a great break from pedaling. My thighs are a bit sore… And I did have fanny fatigue but I’m glad we did it. We stopped into Saint-Ouen Abbey Church, along the way and then biked through the botanical gardens. It was a great morning and we really worked up an appetite for lunch and of course wine.

They had a treasure hunt through town this afternoon, but Allan and I were pretty pooped so we sat that one out and opted for a hot shower and some cocoa.

We sat with some friends up on the top deck and chatted… Had some dinner… Played a game along with the staff… And went to bed.

22 Jul 2018 Vernon

We slept in a bit this morning since we were cruising the Seine and didn’t have to get up for a tour.

We joined the “Find a Letter Quiz”. Twenty crew members wore letters pinned to their uniforms and you had to track them down and write down the letter they wore. Once you found all twenty crew members, you had to make a sentence from all twenty letters. I worked on it.. And finally came up with the sentence. I turned it in but I think a few others got their quizzes in before me. You had to have the spelling of each crew member correct… So we shall see.

And for those of you who want the challenge… Here are the letters. Try and figure out the sentence:

IAHOETGYUPWNEOETMOAE

After breakfast we had a presentation on Chateau Gaillard, the fortress on the cliff, which was a stake between the Norman Duchy and the French kingdom. Richard the Lionhearted erected the Chateau in 1197-1198,

After the presentation we had a cooking demonstration and learned how to make an apple pastry, followed by a French gourmet tasting of cheeses, foie gras, breads, meat, wines, and many other French delights.

After a light lunch (we were stuffed from the tasting) we walked up to the Chateau… Which was quite a hike. It was well worth it because the views were amazing. The tiny village tucked into the hillside overlooking the Seine was beautiful.

We walked thru the village..a tiny yet quaint one… And then came back for a tour of the galley. The galley is immaculate and larger than other galleys we have seen on River boats. We were then invited to an Inner Circle party for those who have cruised a number of times with Grand Circle.

Our boat left Les Andelys and sailed on to Vernon.

We had a delicious dinner… And then went up to the top deck where it was gloriously cool, choosing to forego the crooner in the lounge.

All in all…a great day.

23 Jul 2018 Giverny

This morning we went to Claude Monet’s home in Giverny. We walked the beautiful gardens which were in bloom and also walked around the famed Lily pond where Monet painted his famed water lilies. We left very early and we were allowed in before it actually opened and therefore we were able to walk the gardens and pond in relative quiet.

Monet’s wife had died and he married another woman who had four children. He had four of his own… So they never had a child together as 8 was more than enough.

His home is exactly the way it was when he lived there and it is filled with his paintings. What a treasure. Unfortunately, the museum was closed due to renovations, but we were very happy to have seen the beautiful gardens and Monet’s home. Everything was in bloom and it was gorgeous!

We stopped at a cafe on the grounds and had a delicious chocolate filled croissant. The croissants are like nothing I’ve ever tasted before…flaky and the The Seine River

chocolate is decadent!

We were waiting to get back on the bus and Allan dozed off a bit in the chair. Suddenly…a rooster came next to the table and crowed!! Allan practically bolted out of his chair. It scared us both half to death!! No croissant crumbs for you!!!

We came back to the boat and ate lunch and then walked around town a bit. Afterwards, we listened to a French lady who is 92 and she told us of her life in France during the Nazi occupation. She met and married a GI and eventually moved to the US. She told of her life before the occupation and how it differed afterwards. Very interesting.

Grand Circle often has locals come aboard to talk about interesting topics. A few days ago, Sandrine’s husband came aboard and talked about the rail strike currently going on in France. He works for the RR and he talked about the politics surrounding the strike.

Every day the boat has items for sale up in the lobby and today they featured Coeur de Lion jewelry. I found a beautiful piece and Allan bought it for me. How lucky am I?

Tonight we celebrated anniversaries with two other couples… One of whom grew up in my home town… Went to my high school and my church. Their anniversary was today and we celebrated with champagne and the crew brought out a cake. Since the other couple’s anniversary is tomorrow and ours is August, we had a great party. Tomorrow we will do it all again!

The crew put on two hilarious skits after dinner and my husband got chosen to participate. Again! From Napoleon to a leprechaun robber! He played his part well and it was a hit.

Took a hot cocoa to the upper deck around 10:30 to enjoy the night air. It was a wonderful day!!!

24 Jul 2018 Vernon and Conflans

At 7:30 this morning, we set sail for Conflans which is located 12 miles west from Paris at the confluence of the Seine and Oise rivers.

We all went to the upper deck after breakfast and the boat slowed down so we could take pictures of La Roche Guyon, which had military use in the Second World War when Field Marshall Rommel established his base there.

We then were briefed about Paris, and given info about the metro, the sights, and what we needed to know to get around when we arrive on Wednesday.

After lunch we took an optional tour… The path of Van Gogh, and learned much about Vincent Van Gogh’s life and his psychotic episodes. He was institutionalized twice and tried to commit suicide while in the mental facility… Once by drinking lamp oil and once by eating paint.

His brother Theo was an immense help to Vincent during the days when Vincent was painting, and sent him money so that he could continue in that path. Vincent loved deeply but was always refused in marriage, which no doubt contributed to his despair and depression. We walked the town where Vincent created much of his work… And saw the wheat fields that he painted, the church, and the sunflowers.

Sadly, Vincent eventually committed suicide by going to his beloved wheat field and shooting himself in the chest. He died two days later, which put his brother into despair. His brother died 6 months after Vincent. We visited their graves… Theo’s wife bringing the body of her husband to be laid next to the brother he loved so much.

We returned back to the boat for a port talk and then off to dinner… Celebrating with another couple on their anniversary.

We then joined everyone to hear some cabaret music with a French singer and once again… Allan was called to perform…singing along with her and dancing with a chorus line of other passengers. What a hoot!

Tomorrow… Versailles! A special trip that only ten of us are taking. Can’t wait!

25 Jul 2018 Paris

We sailed into Paris and had our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the distance… The site we’ve been waiting to see.

We left immediately after breakfast for The Palace of Versailles and even though we got there in record time… We had to wait over an hour in the sun since the lines were immensely long.

The palace was the principal residence of the Kings of France from Louis XIV in 1682 until the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. The palace is opulent with gilt all over and tapestries, paintings, and beautiful sculptures. The Hall of Mirrors was equisite and very avant garde for it’s time.

We walked all throughout as many gardens as we could… However, not many flowers were in bloom (nothing like Monet’s home) but the intricacy of the layout of the gardens was beautiful to see. Many fountains, statues, groves, and pools, that obviously were the WOW factor when guests visited the palace in the day.

When we arrived back to the ship, our Captain had a special treat for us. Because the water levels are so low on the Seine, he was able to take the boat along the Seine for a close up of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and many other sights. Some of the bridges are quite low and the boat usually cannot go under them. It was wonderful!

Dinner was delicious and then the crew put on a hilarious show. Afterwards we went up on deck to see the Eiffel Tower in all its nighttime glory. And glorious it was!

26 Jul 2018 Paris

This morning after breakfast we explored Montmartre, one of the most famous districts in Paris. We walked through the lovely town, finding ourselves a top the Montmartre Hill with breathtaking views of Paris below.

The church at the top, Sacre Coeur Basilica, was quite beautiful and from there we walked down to the town that was bustling with street artists, cafes, and stores. We stopped in one of the cafes for a cool drink and then it was back to the ship for lunch.

After lunch we braved the metro with our friend and walked the Champs-Elysees to the Arc of Triumph. It was a good walk… And by the way…We have been averaging over 12,000 steps a day! Hooray for us!!!

Tonight was the captain’s farewell cocktail hour and dinner… Delicious filet mignon and then the captain sailed the ship to the Eiffel Tower to see it sparkling in the night. It was a full moon as well and it was all very magical.

Tomorrow we move to our hotel for a few days as we extend our visit in Paris. This was one of our best river cruises ever. Great crew, great food, and we met many friends who we will keep in touch with.

Bon nuit!

The Seine River

27 Jul 2018

11:30 pm Paris Crowne Plaza

Today we said goodbye to the M/S Bizet and to its wonderful crew, and to the friends that we made during this voyage. The crew was one of the best we’ve ever had… Always anticipating your needs, always ready with a smile, and always making you feel special. We exchanged email addresses with the new friends we made and I know we will be in touch with them.

We boarded a bus that took us to our new home for the next few days… The Crowne Plaza in Paris. As we travelled, we went through the tunnel iwhere Princess Diana was killed. Very sad.

We arrived at the hotel and our guide, Dominique took us on a walking tour of the area, pointing out the sites and familiarizing us with what was in the area such as restaurants, ATM’s, food stores, etc.

By the time we returned we were able to check into the hotel and Allan and I went off to visit the Musée d’Orsay which is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum has paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography and houses the largest collection of Impressionist and post- Impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and Van Gogh. There are five floors in the museum and we took our time going through each one.

The museum itself is beautiful… With a stunning ceiling and enormous golden clock. We stood in awe in front of some of the paintings by the Masters that we had, up until now, merely viewed in books.

I highly recommend visiting this museum if you are in Paris and also, procuring tickets before hand, which we did, to facilitate avoiding the long lines. We walked right in.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped into a cafe to enjoy a crepe and espresso which was quite wonderful. Sitting in a sidewalk cafe and watching the people go by is wonderful… especially while enjoying a Parisian speciality. Ooh la la!

We are getting very adept at navigating the Paris metro… Changing trains and figuring out what stop to get off at. The metro is similar to the NYC subway system and if you can read a subway map, you are good to go.

However, the metro operates a little differently than NYC’s system in that you are issued a ticket stub that you must insert in the stile to gain entry. The ticket goes in and immediately pops out and you must remember to retrieve it again before entering the gate, since you might need it to gain access if you change trains. or to produce if approached by a conductor. After you exit the train system, you need to throw the ticket away, as it is only good for one-way and the used ticket might get mixed up with your other tickets that have yet to be utilized.

We got back to our hotel and met up with four others on our tour (there are ten of us signed up for this post-tour in Paris) and we walked to a nearby restaurant called La Marine that was recommended by our guide. The food was Italian…pastas and pizza. I was expecting a nice French meal for our first night in Paris so I was rather disappointed that the guide recommended this place.

During dinner, the heavens opened up and a deluge of rain and hail pounded the sidewalks. People ran for cover as the hail was quite large and the wait staff had to rush out to close the awnings which would surely have been ripped to shreds. I’m sure the hail dented some cars as well.

By the time we finished our meal, the sun was out again and the temperature had dropped substantially. We walked back to our hotel and called it a night. Voila!

The Seine River

8 Jul 2018 Paris Crowne Plaza

Our hotel is very nice… Comfortable beds and very nice breakfast. The concierge has been very helpful making reservations for us and today we have had a very full day.

First stop was The Louvre, and we were very lucky to have a guide who took us right in to begin the tour. The Louvre is the world’s largest art museum and was once a fortress in the 12th century. We were able to see the remains of the fortress on our tour.

We viewed Venus de Milo, the famous statue thought to be the work of Alexandros of Antioch. It was created sometime between 130 and 100 BC and is made out of marble. The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, was created about the 2nd century BC and we were fortunate to see that as well.

Of course the highlight of the tour were the works by DaVinci and most especially the Mona Lisa. We were very surprised to see that the painting is much bigger than people have told us. It was easily visible and we were able to get up very close for photos.

Allan and I decided to stay in the museum after the tour and we visited a few other sections that were worthwhile to see.

We walked over to the Tuileries Gardens and strolled through them admiring the colorful display of flowers and then we stopped at a sidewalk cafe for a baguette with ham and cheese. It is a beautiful day today..mid 70’s and breezy. Perfect for walking around.

Our next stop was Sainte-Chapelle. What a treasure! The outside of the church is plain and gives little hint to the amazing beauty inside. The second floor is reached by climbing a long, narrow, spiral staircase, which was a bit out of my comfort range… But upon entering the nave and apse, my breath was literally taken away. The stained glass windows are magnificent. They tower above you from all sides and the sunlight steamed through them giving a jewel-like impression. I honestly have never seen windows so beautiful. The windows are one of the the most extensive 13th- century stained glass collections anywhere in the world.

We then walked over to Notre Dame and tried to find the Memorial of Martyrs of the Deportation, a memorial to the more than 200,000 people who were deported from Vichy France by the French to the Nazi concentration camps during World War II. This was the place where they were held for days before going on to their death. We were told that we could access it from behind the cathedral, but due to construction behind the cathedral, we could not access it.

We made our way back to the hotel and freshened up and then took the train over near the Eiffel Tower to have dinner at the French restaurant Chez Francis. The food was excellent as was the service. We both had French onion soup, and I had lamb chops with French green beans. Delicious. Allan had the duck and said it was excellent. We finished the meal with chocolate mousse and cappuchinos. Ooh lala!

We walked over to the river to take a night boat ride down the Seine, boarding at 10 pm. It was a beautiful evening and the City of Lights was true to it’s name. The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the museums looked so different against the darkened sky. It was a wonderful hour long cruise!

We took the metro back to our hotel. The platforms had lots of people… Even though it was 11:15 at night. Paris is very safe with many people out and about enjoying the summer nights.

Btw… We logged almost 18,000 steps today!!!!! Voila!!!

29 Jul 2018 Paris Aéroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG)

This morning we took the train to visit the Latin Quarter, where the famous Sorbonne University is located and from there we walked through the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens.

The gardens have spots to do your daily exercise routines, pony rides for the children, a park for kids to play in, a pond for sailing boats, and many areas to just sit and enjoy the gardens.

We loved watching the little ones sail their sea-worthy boats and many adults were also sailing what looked to be their hand crafted vessels. We saw one man with waders on and he went to the middle of the water to fish out a boat that had sunk.

After walking through the gardens, we stopped into Angelina’s for a decadent hot chocolate and some Parisian confections. The chocolate was so thick it almost plopped out of the carafe and it was served with an enormous bowl of whipped cream. Ooh la la.

We went back to the hotel for the final Au revoir to our friends and had a parting drink. Allan and I had dinner and then early to bed because we had to leave the hotel

It was a fabulous trip and we feel we saw everything that we wanted to see. France is beautiful in the summer… Flowers blooming from window sills and in the streets, and everyone was friendly and helpful as we made our way around.

Paris has so many amazing treasures and we feel so fortunate to have seen so many of them in the time we had. It is a lovely town and as the song says…”I love Paris every moment…” And we certainly did.

IRELAND 2018

03/08/201804/24/2025Irene

18 Mar 2018 LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert

Well… we are off today on another Grand Circle tour…this time to Ireland. We will be flying to Dublin and starting our tour there. Come join us on our latest adventure. Can’t wait to have ‘a pint of gat’ and perhaps see a leprechaun or two!

19 Mar 2018 Dublin

At Newark we met some Irish folks who were returning to Ireland after seeing the big Apple. They were loaded down with packages that they purchased in the city… Even making a trip to Woodbury Commons to take advantage of the discounts. It’s amazing to me how foreigners know where to get the bargains. The women were delighted in their Michael Kors purchases as well as some watches and clothing. They told us while we are in Ireland, to be sure to sample the baked potatoes…. Filled with butter salt and bacon and also to try the cabbage.

The flight was very nice… The cabin stewards went out of their way to accommodate us… Even going into first class to procure some herbal tea for me. The problem with the flight was that there were no screens for movies… So we really just slept as best as we could and read.

We landed in Dublin and our driver, Alan, met us and took us to the hotel. There is a little snow on the ground since a storm went thru a few days ago and Alan said Ireland hasn’t seen snow since 2010. His kids had never seen it before and were out building snowmen.

He also said that this weekend, being St. Patrick’s day, was very special… Not only because of the holiday… But also because the Irish rugby team beat England in England on the same day. He said the partying was monumental and a great time was had by all the Irish. (He also was amused by the fact that the USA colors their beer green as well as their rivers to honor the saint. He said that won’t be happening here in Ireland)!

A Grand Circle rep met us at the hotel when we arrived at 8 am and told us our room was ready and waiting. She also gave us vouchers for breakfast and we enjoyed some delicious sausages, eggs, fruit, cheese, and some brown pudding which was more like a piece of bread with lots of grains. Our hotel is very nice… With many amenities.

We walked around a bit on our own but it was quite windy so we decided to head back and take the “not recommended to do” nap. We slept for almost two hours… So hope we sleep tonight. It’s always so much better to not succumb… But just try to stay awake. Well that

While watching TV… We saw a commercial for medicine to keep your cows healthy! We are in Dublin… But the countryside isn’t far away.

After a nice shower we got ready to meet up with our fellow travelers for a walking tour of the area.

Our guide Sean is very nice and all the people on the tour met in the lobby to go off on a short jaunt around the area. There are 38 of us… And most of the folks know each other and are traveling together. We spent a few moments introducing ourselves and talking about where we are from… And then we walked out into the beautiful sunny day… Rather unusual for the emerald isle. The wind had died down and it was so pleasant seeing the sights.

After a quick walk… The group of fellow travelers told us they were going to the nearby pub and so we joined them for a Guinness. Wow!!! Nothing like Guinness in Ireland. So smooth and creamy.

We sat around in the pub and got to know each other and shared stories about travel. These folks have travelled a lot with both Grand circle and OAT and told us about some of the trips that Allan and I are planning on taking in the future. They are a fun group and I think we will have a great time with them.

We had a delicious dinner in the hotel and now it’s to bed. Tomorrow we tour Dublin.

20 Mar 2018 Dublin

Well… Just as I feared, I was up most of the night.. but I did finish a book and started a new one so that was good.

Today we did a tour of Dublin… Seeing all the beautiful sites. Many of the buildings in Dublin are very modern and quite interesting and we enjoyed the tour very much.

(But the way… As an aside…The tax rate in Dublin is 23.5%… Which we all gasped at when we heard. However when visitors purchase an item, you ask for a VAT Form and you are entitled to get some of that tax money back).

As we made our way through Dublin, we first passed a famine ship…. An authentic reproduction of a 1840’s Emigrant Vessel, that Irish emigrants boarded to cross the Atlantic to escape the potato famine. The journey was horrific…Many dying along the way due to the close quarters and illness.

We then saw Phoenix park… The largest park in Europe…1750 acres. The president of Ireland has his residence there as well as the US ambassador to Ireland and the representative to the pope. There is a beautiful cross that is known as the papal cross that was erected as a backdrop for the outdoor mass celebrated there by Pope John Paul II in 1979, the first day of his pastoral visit to Ireland. The congregation numbered over one million, equal to Dublin’s population.

The park is beautiful and even more so on this amazingly gorgeous day. We stopped in to the cafe and had a scone and a cappuccino and enjoyed it in the sunshine. By the way…I have a Helly Hanson rain coat that I wore today fortunately since I proceeded to spill half of my coffee over it. The coffee just rolled right off… No worries. I should be good to go when the inevitable rain starts to fall as we travel on.

We then visited the Book of Kells at Trinity college. The book of Kells contains beautifully decorated copy in Latin of the four Gospels. It was produced early in the 9th century by the monks of Iona.

There is an amazing library at the college called the Long Room, which houses around 200,000 of the library’s oldest books. There is a rather complicated system of identifying where to find the books and students come to the library each day to take out books, to peruse them for their research. They must wear special gloves to handle these relics. There are marble busts lining the shelf alcoves and there is a harp on display… The oldest to survive from Ireland and dates back to the fifteenth century. Ireland is the only country that has a musical instrument as the country’s national symbol.

We passed the Doors of Dublin, which date all the way back to the 1700’s during the Georgian Dublin time period (1714-1830). The city became more affluent during this time and so did the architecture. Each building had to adhere to strict guidelines and since they looked the same, they were pretty boring. As time went on, the stringent guidelines eased a bit and people started painting the entry doors bright colors as one way to differentiate them. Today the doors are painted colors straight out of a crayola crayon box… And the effect is stunning. Allan and I wandered through the Georgian neighborhood, and I snapped photo after photo of the bursts of color on each door. Some of the transoms above the doors were stained glass and quite ornate as were the beautiful shiny brass knockers.

Allan and I certainly did our 10000 steps as we walked all around Dublin. I bought a beautiful plaid Merino wool scarf with the saying in leather on it “May you live all the days of your life”. A quote by Jonathan Swift.

We walked back to the hotel rather than join the bus and had a pint of Guinness with a delicious Irish soup called coddle. Coddle is a traditional Irish dish usually associated with Dublin and known also as Dublin Coddle. It is comfort food of the highest degree; a hearty stew-like dish made from salty bacon, pork sausages, carrots, and potatoes. It was wonderful.

At night we were treated to dinner at The Old Punchbowl which you can read more about below. I had the traditional Irish dish….clonakilty black pudding with Irish boxty and jam for an appetizer and I had Guinness Irish stew with beef and vegetables over mashed potatoes. Wow!!! Delicious!

With a Guinness and an Irish coffee for dessert it was a wonderful meal. Then we were treated to a performance by young Irish dancers who will be competing next week for a championship. After that musicians came out to sing Irish songs and tell some jokes. It was a lot of fun especially since they sang Galway Bay… The song I love to sing to my grandkids.

Tomorrow it is off to Kilkenny.

The Old Punchbowl – From the restaurants website:.
This famous tavern, once the haunt of notorious highwaymen, was first licenced in 1779 when William Scully, the then landlord, served such patrons as the Fitzwilliams, Barons of Thorncastle and Viscounts of Merrion. The landmark location has seen more than its share of history and tragedy in the 200 years since it first opened its doors.A tranquil November day in 1807 turned to catastrophe as The Prince of Wales’ transport ship was caught in a sudden northeasterly gale as it tried to leave Dublin Bay. In violent seas, it founered on the rocks just south of Booterstown. The Captain escaped with his family and crew, but all 120 soldiers aboard perished. Their bodies washed ashore on Booterstown Strand and their bodies were buried in a quiet graveyard a five minute walk from the pub.

A more modern tragedy unfolded in 1927 just yards west of The Punch Bowl, on Booterstown Avenue, when renowned nationalist Kevin Higgins was assassinated while on his way to Sunday Mass, in reprisal for his part in the Irish Civil War.The Pub’s location was immortalised in the iconic 19th century ballad, ‘The Rocky Road to Dublin’. whose name is reputed to derive from the very Rock Road on which the Punch Bow stands. A century later the world- famous tenor Count John McCormack retired to just a few doors away from the Punch Bowl and is said to have savoured its convivial atmosphere in his final years.

Throughout it all, The Punch Bowl has endured and prospered, providing a haven for travellers

from far and wide. Today, its acclaimed hospitality can be enjoyed thanks to the O’ Rorke family. For the past 20 years Joe, Catherine and their daughters have ensured that visitors from all over the world bask in a cheery authentic welcome and enjoy the finest of fare in warm, traditional surroundings

21 Mar 2018 Dublin to Kilkenny

We started our day very early with a tour at the Guinness Storehouse. Nothing like having a pint at ten in the morning.

The Storehouse is a seven-story museum located in a former brewing factory inside the St. James’s Gate Brewery. We were allowed in before it opened and had our own tour guide who took us through the process of making the beer… From the roasted barley all the way to the pouring room where those who wanted to could learn how to do a Guinness pour with the creamy head.

Allan and I did very well with our pours and we took our pints up to the gravity bar…a bar that overlooks all of Dublin. It was such a beautiful day and the panaramic view was spectacular.

From there we travelled to Kilmacanogue where we ate lunch at the Avoca store, which also sold all kinds of soaps, wines, cheeses, clothing, and many hand crafted items. The items were beautiful but rather pricey.

After lunch, we continued on to Glendalough, where we toured the famous monastery that is there. This early Christian monastic settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century and from this developed the ‘Monastic City’.

The ‘City’ consists of a number of monastic remains, the most impressive being the Round Tower. We also walked to the remains of St. Mary’s Church and the Priest’s House, a 12th Century building.

Then we drove the two hours to Kilkenny through the beautiful countryside. The sheep were grazing on the lea and the sun was shining on the melting snow and the grasslands. It was bucolic and peaceful and made for some fabulous photos.

During the drive our guide Sean told us some interesting facts about Ireland. Apparently, the Irish really don’t eat corned beef and cabbage. The Irish who fled to NYC during the famine had to live in what were called shanty towns. They were very poor and they lived along side poor Jewish people who came to the US to avoid persecution. The Jewish people bought corned beef because it was a cheap meat and so the Irish followed suit… But it isn’t something the Irish in Ireland eat today.

Also… No one says “Top of the mornin” here in Ireland. That is an American saying. And the same goes for many of the Irish songs we sing around St. Paddy’s day… Like MacNamara’s Band. Sean said he had never heard that song until he went to America.

In Ireland during an election, the campaigning can only last five weeks. Period. And most candidates only campaign for three.

Most people think the Irish eat a lot of lamb given all the sheep that are grazing in the countryside, but actually, lamb is served at Easter and on special occasions. The sheep are raised primarily to produce lambs for exportation and for wool. Pork is popular, and the pigs are raised in a commercial environment and not on farms, so they never get to see the light of day. Chicken is also a mainstay in Irish cuisine as they don’t eat much beef or fish, although fish is becoming more popular in recent years. Years ago under British rule, the Irish were not allowed to fish in the rivers as the landlords claimed ownership of them. After the 1922 independence of Ireland, the laws changed but by then, the Irish just weren’t used to eating fish. Also, the church mandated that the people eat fish on Fridays… So fish became a penitent food in the minds of the religious. When that rule was done away with, it was still difficult to not think of fish as what you needed to eat to repent. All this being said, I had a delicious salmon meal the first night we arrived.

22 Mar 2018 Kilkenny

This morning we left bright and early and drove to the workshop of a man who makes hurling sticks. Hurling is an extremely popular game in Ireland…(and no… hurling doesn’t have anything to do with what you might be doing after too many Guinnesses. Lol)!!!

This man makes each hurling stick by hand in his workshop in his backyard. He finds the wood and planks it himself and then proceeds to cut the shape of the stick. Each stick he creates entirely by hand.

Hurling is a game similar to lacrosse or field hockey but with a much shorter stick that has no webbing. It’s just flat at the end. The ball that is used somewhat resembles a baseball with a cork interior and leather covering. The field or pitch as it is called is about 150 meters long and 80 meters wide. There are fifteen players on each side and they wear no protection except a helmet. The game is played for two thirty minute halves and only stops for a few seconds if there are penalties.

None of the players are paid and except for extremely severe injuries, get little or no medical help. The scoring is one point over the goal (similar to kicking for points in football) and five points for getting the ball past the goalie into the net. The net is about the same height as a soccer net… But not as wide. The game was described to us as the fastest competitive game in the world.

It sounds like a very violent game and the young player who told us all about the game said it is brutal. With a hard ball whizzing around the field at great speeds, when the ball hits a player, he can definitely wind up with a fracture.

Afterwards, we took a walking tour through the quaint town of Kilkenny and then had lunch. The rain held off but as we walked back to the hotel it started to sprinkle.

About thirty of us made reservations for dinner at a beautiful pub called Matt the Miller. I had Fish and chips… Although they weren’t as crispy as I would have liked. The Guinness was good as always. After dinner some of us walked over to another pub called Lanigan’s and listened to some Irish music and watched an Irish dancer perform while we had another round of drinks.

Kilkenny is a beautiful Irish town. Wish we could stay here longer.

23 Mar 2018 Cork

We traveled from Kilkenny to the city of Cork today, stopping en route to visit the Waterford Crystal factory and Cahir Castle. It’s pretty weird driving on the opposite side of the road from what we are used to in the states.

We toured the Waterford Crystal factory and watched how the beautiful Waterford crystal is made… With the etching and the intricate designs. Some of the crystal is etched by hand… One man has been there for forty plus years doing amazing work. Other pieces are measured by machine and then etched by machine. I asked if the handwork was more expensive then the machine pieces and he said they were equivalent in price since it is time consuming to program the machine. The intricacies of those patterns cannot be done by hand. I purchased a few pieces of jewelry that were really quite lovely.

We then travelled to Cahir and had a delicious lunch and a tour of Cahir Castle. The castle is one of the largest castles in Ireland. It was built in 1142 by Conor O’Brien, Prince of Thomond. During the Irish confederate wars, the castle was besieged twice. Cannon balls can still be seen wedged into the sides of the castle.

Oliver Cromwell took over the castle during his quest of Ireland, after sending a threatening letter in 1650 to George Matthew saying leave peacefully and no blood will be shed… But if you stay, prepare for bloodshed. Needless to say…. Cromwell took over the castle. In 1961, the castle reverted to the Irish state when the last descendent died.

The castle tour was very interesting and the castle has been maintained beautifully. The gate that is able to drop in three seconds still works today and had been used in many movies including Braveheart.

For the first time since we’ve been in Ireland, we had a rainy afternoon. We travelled to Cork and went on a rainy walking tour of the town. The town is very modern with many upscale stores and we will have the opportunity to check them out tomorrow.

We are staying in the Kingsley hotel… Fit for a king. Our room is huge as is the bathroom. I love it when they have warming racks for the towels.

We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink in the regal oak bar in the hotel and then enjoyed a delicious dinner of lamb stew and an Irish coffee and then it was off to bed for a busy day tomorrow.

24 Mar 2018 Cork

Today after breakfast we went on a walking tour in Cobh (pronounced “cove”). A local historian gave an interesting lecture into Cobh’s history.

Cobh was a very active port years ago and many Irish emigrated from its harbor to the United States. This was the last place the Titanic dropped anchor before heading across the Atlantic on her tragic journey in 1912. The historian told us some stories of the people who sadly lost their lives… But also stories of people who, by a stroke of luck, avoided the terrible fate. One such man was Frank Brown.

From Wikipedia….”In April 1912 he received a present from his uncle: a ticket for the maiden voyage of RMS Titanic from Southampton, England to Queenstown, Ireland, via Cherbourg, France. He travelled to Southampton via Liverpool and London, boarding the Titanic on the afternoon of 10 April 1912. He was booked in cabin no. A37 on the Promenade Deck. Browne took dozens of photographs of life aboard Titanic on that day and the next morning; he shot pictures of the gymnasium, the Marconi room, the first-class dining saloon, his own cabin, and of passengers enjoying walks on the Promenade and Boat decks. He captured the last known images of many crew and passengers, including Captain Edward J. Smith, gymnasium manager T.W. McCawley, engineer William Parr, Major Archibald Butt, and numerous third-class passengers whose names are unknown.During his voyage on the Titanic, Browne was befriended by an American millionaire couple who were seated at his table in the liner’s first-class dining saloon. They offered to pay his way to New York and back in return for Browne spending the voyage to New York in their company. Browne telegraphed his superior requesting permission, but the reply was an unambiguous “GET OFF THAT SHIP – PROVINCIAL”.

Browne left the Titanic when she docked in Queenstown and returned to Dublin to continue his theological studies. When the news of the ship’s sinking reached him, he realised that his photos would be of great interest, and he negotiated their sale to various newspapers and news cartels. They appeared in publications around the world. Browne retained the negatives”.

We also saw the tribute to the victims of the RMS Lusitania at a quayside memorial and saw a statue of Anne Moore, who left on a boat from Cobh harbor and was the first person to pass through Ellis island. Interestingly, a man ahead of her would have been first, but seeing a lady behind him, he said…Ladies first… And Anne therefore walked off…a celebrity. She was given a gold coin and quite a fanfare took place upon her arrival. I’m sure the man was not happy he had been so gallant.

From there we visited the magnificent Colman Cathedral in Cobh with it’s beautiful carrilion bells. The cathedral contains the only church carillon which, with 49 bells, is one of the largest carillons in Europe.

We went to a home hosted lunch and meet a lovely couple…Kay and Joe who served us ham, potatoes, cabbage, and turnips with apple crumble and custard for dessert. We had the opportunity to talk with them and they told us about their life and about their children. Joe goes to the tennis club every night for a few belts of Paddy’s whiskey. Joe and Kay don’t go to the local pub as all the young kids go there now… And the music is too loud. It’s customery to bring a small gift for the host and hostess and we brought some delicious Josh Early chocolates from our hometown of Bethlehem.

I did some more shopping… Which is pretty rare for me. I bought a beautiful Irish woolen plaid jacket… Similar to a poncho…with a matching hat.

We came back to the hotel and will grab a bite to eat and a pint. It was a gloriously sunny warm day. Very unusual for Ireland!

25 Mar 2018 Killarney

Our day dawned warm and sunny and we were off to the Blarney Castle. It is a great time of year to be in Ireland since the weather isn’t too bad and there are hardly any tourists. The daffodils are in full bloom and many places have planted beautiful spring flowers all over. Sunny days in Ireland are rare

indeed and we have had more than our fair share on this vacation. (Although I think our luck will end starting tomorrow as rain is predicted). We were the first visitors of the day to the Blarney Stone… So no waiting line.

The climb up to the Blarney Stone was definitely out of my comfort zone. Very narrow and very winding staircase… And there was a rope that you coukd use to pull yourself up along the way, which believe me, you needed since you were going practically vertically up the staircase. There are 127 steps to get up to the stone. We were all exhausted when we reached the top.

You have to lie down on a mat and hold onto two bars on either side in order to get ready to take the plunge. Then a man helps you to go all the way backwards to kiss the stone. I had all I could do not to pull out my antiseptic wipes to clean the stone before I bussed it… But alas, I kissed it… Devil may care! Allan didn’t want to do it but everyone talked him into it so he kissed it too. Now we both have the gift of gab! Heaven help us and everyone else who is around us.

We took a lovely walk around the lake at the castle and then stopped into the largest store in Ireland that sells Irish handicrafts etc. And if course we had to buy Irish Aran sweaters in Merino wool. Could I knit them myself? Probably… But these are already hand knit and beautiful so we purchased them.

We had lunch and then we were off to watch a sheep herding demonstration by a local farmer and his dog. It was so much fun to watch the dog keep the sheep in line. The dog nips at their legs and the farmer was constantly yelling at him to behave. At one point, the

dog leapt over the fence and back again in a show-off display. The lambs have predators… Primarily the mink, the crows, and the fox. The mink are prevalent and are adept at biting the juggler of a lamb as it sleeps… Thus killing it. The crows can peck out the eyes of a lamb and soon it dies, and the fox will kill as well. Mother nature and survival of the fittest.

We checked into our hotel… The Killarney towers and went off for a wonderful jaunty ride…a horse drawn carriage ride through the park. Our horse was named Elvis… But no blue suede shoes on him. Our driver had at one time obviously kissed the Blarney Stone because he certainly had the gift of gab. We were provided with heavy woolen blankets that we tucked around our legs and we were nice and toasty as we went on the beautiful drive.

We had dinner and then we listened to a local Irishman tell us of his life in Ireland in the fifties and sixties…a very interesting story. While we listened, we drank Poitín… Pronounced potcheen… a traditional Irish distilled beverage which is about 90 proof. I actually thought my esophagus was on fire after a mere few sips. That stuff is potent!!!

Early day tomorrow so it’s off to bed.

IRELAND

25 Mar 2018

5:30 pm

Killarney

Portmagee

Early day tomorrow so it’s off to bed.

26 Mar 2018 Dingle Peninsula

Our first stop this morning was to the Kerry County museum where we saw an elaborate exhibit about Sir Roger Casement’s landing at Banna Strand on Good Friday 1916. This was a pivotal event that led up to the rebellion that broke out in Dublin a few days later.

We also saw an exhibit about the IRELAND

history of Kerry… From the first settlers dating back to 5000 BC all the way thru WW II.

Another interesting exhibit was about Tom Crean who went on three expeditions to Antarctica. He served in WW I and retired from the Navy in 1920.

The museum also had an amazing exhibit featuring an authentic reconstruction of Tralee in the year 1450, showing what life was like in a medieval market town… Complete with sounds and smells of the period.

Then it was off to the Dingle peninsula where we had a lunch of fish and chips. The fish was very good… But not crispy like we have in the states. We did put lots of malt vinegar on it and it was quite good.

There is a statue of a dolphin named Fungie…a famed dolphin in the Dingle harbor. Fungie is a wild Bottlenose dolphin, no one is quite sure of his age but he has been in the harbor for nearly 32 years. Our guide told us Fungie has a lifespan of between 40 and 50 years. He follows the boats out of the harbor everyday like clockwork… And there is a tour company that guarantees you will see Fungie… And if not… You will get your money back for the tour.

The movies Ryan’s Daughter and Star Wars were both filmed on the Dingle peninsula and we saw the home where Robert Mitchum, the star of Ryan’s daughter, lived during filming. Our guide said Mitchum frequented the area pubs and was always drunk… Showing up on the set with black eyes from pub brawls.

Then we drove along the cliffs overlooking the water. It was a hair raising drive…Roads narrow and windy with a big drop to the sea. It was raining a little but we were lucky in that it wasn’t fogged over so we were able to see the coastline which was beautiful.

Then it was back to the hotel for dinner, a pint, and an Irish coffee. I love Ireland!

IRELAND

27 Mar 2018 Killarney. Ring of Kerry

I meant to mention yesterday that the Kerry museum opened just for our tour group so we had the entire museum to ourselves. This is one of the many advantages of going with Grand Circle tours.

Today we found out that two couples that are on this tour… (They are traveling with 28 other people from Indiana) will be on our river cruise along the Seine that we are taking in July. It’s a small world! One of the wives that will be with us speaks fluent French so I’m sure she will be helpful as we travel along.

We passed a few graveyards yesterday and our guide told us that a cemetery stands alone but a graveyard is always connected to a church. I never knew that.

This morning we did a tour of the Ring of Kerry, a drive that “traces the coastline of the Iveragh Peninsula and offers breathtaking IRELAND

views”. That was the description of our tour… And they weren’t kidding about the breathtaking views!

The first town along the route was Killorglin, where an elegant eight- arched bridge crosses the River Laune.

Also in Killorglin the Puck Fair takes place every year in August. A group of people go up in the mountains and catch a wild goat. The goat is brought back to town and crowned “King Puck”. Once the goat is crowned, the three day festivities can begin. The pubs stay open late and the village goes into party mode.

The “King” is then put into a small cage and raised on a high stand for three days, and on the 3rd day of the fair, he is brought down to be led back to his mountain home. Before that happens however, he has a gold button inserted in his ear so that he is can be identified and not caught again in the years to come. This way, a new King is crowned each year.

We entered the beautiful area of Waterville, a magnificent beach area with gorgeous views and where Charlie Chaplin made his second home for many years. There is a statue of Chaplin there and we all rubbed his nose… Which apparently brings you good luck.

This village once had a “Charlie Chaplin look alike contest” and Charlie was to be one of the judges. He backed out at the last minute… But actually, he registered for the contest under a fake name, unbeknownst to the villagers. He came in third in the contest! Pretty funny!!

On the return to Killarney, the route took us through the picturesque village of Sneem, where we had lunch, and then saw the Ladies

View, a picturesque area on the ring of Kerry, named after Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting who visited there for a picnic lunch one day.

The day was sunny again… Very windy in the ring of Kerry, but a fabulous day for touring. The weather in Ireland is usually rainy and so we have been very lucky indeed to have the amazing weather we have enjoyed so far on our trip.

When we returned, we had some ice cream from a concession called Murphy’s and then we went to dinner. I ordered Thai chicken and it was pretty awful. It came in a cream sauce. The other day we had what was billed as a margarita pizza… But was in fact… Just plain old cheese pizza. Ireland doesn’t do ethnic food very well I’ve decided.

Tomorrow we head out to Galway.

IRELAND

28 Mar 2018 Galway

Some facts about Ireland:

Ireland has a little over six million people in population and tourism is very important. The majority of the tourists come from Britain…with the US tourists coming in second.

Ireland is getting away from fossil fuel and trying to go towards wind power. Right now about 35% of their power comes from gas… With some peat, hydroelectricity, and coal making up the difference.

Interesting fact about how Irish coffee came about. Apparently, Charles Blair, a pilot and husband of the Irish actress Maureen O’ Hara, was piloting a plane that had to make an emergency landing in Ireland. The passengers were cold and tired and Blair decided to have a local pub offer them coffee to get warm and added some Irish whiskey to it… And thus became the first drink known now as irish coffee!

The houses in Ireland are not made of wood but are constructed with concrete blocks… Two layers with insulation between them. Most of the roofs are either tile (in older homes) and slate found in the newer ones. Irish homes do not have basements.

After breakfast, we boarded our bus for a day of touring and travel to Galway. Every day, we change seats in the bus… Always moving up two seats. Today, Allan and I had the first seat behind our driver, so we enjoyed seeing where we were going as we drove along.

We took a ferry across the River Shannon and drove along the coast of County Clare to visit the majestic Cliffs of Moher. The day has dawned sunny and fairly warm…a perfect day to visit the cliffs. Usually, the cliffs are either fogged in… Or it is raining and they can’t be seen. We had the best possible day for perfect viewing.

You really have to be in good shape on these Grand Circle tours as there is a lot of walking and lots of times, it can be strenuous. Allan and I walked all the way to the top of one side to view the cliffs and then we walked up the other side… Through the mud and rocks since we crossed over to the area that was not part of the park itself. It was very windy but the views were spectacular.

Then we traveled along a scenic coastal road to discover another natural Irish wonder, the Burren. Its name is derived from a Gaelic word meaning “stony place,” and it is like no other place in Ireland. Instead of peat bogs and pastures that we see all over the countryside, , we found a surreal moonscape full of huge limestone crags. We clamoured over them… Making sure we didn’t lose our footing. We walked all the way to the beautiful water’s edge and enjoyed the view. By the way… So glad I had the cortisone injection in my knee before I left. With all the activities we’ve done… Up and down hills… My knee feels great!!

Across the Burren we could see the Aran islands where the Aran sweaters are knitted. The sweaters always have stitches that are indigenous to a particular family. Our guide told us that when he was a boy, there was a tragedy in his family when three of his cousins who were brothers drowned while fishing. He said that years ago, people were never taught how to swim. This was because when you were in a boat fishing and went overboard, the Aran sweaters that everyone wore for warmth as well as the heavy clothing they wore to keep warm, would pull you down under like a stone… And quickly. If you swam, the inevitable would be prolonged and horrific. Better to die as soon as possible. Sadly, many times the bodies wouldn’t be found for weeks and they would be unrecognizable. However, the Aran sweaters with their unique stitch for a family, could be the only identifying factor. Very sad. Now of course things are very different and safety wear is worn and people are taught how to swim. Our guide Sean is a very interesting man and tells us many stories like this about his life as a young boy in Ireland. His family was poor and didn’t have electricity in their home until the early 1970’s.

IRELAND

We arrived in Galway and took a short orientation walk with our tour guide and then had dinner in Maxwell’s! It was delicious. I had chicken liver pate, pork belly with applesauce and mashed potato… And chocolate mousse for dessert.

Our hotel, the G, is very upscale and has large and spacious rooms for the guests. We arrived to two delicious cupcakes on our table and at night we found chocolates on our pillows. Designed by world renowned milliner and Galway native, Philip Treacy, the g Hotel looks classy and the bar areas are beautifully decorated. The chandelier in the lobby is breathtaking.

We had an Irish coffee in one of the bar areas and then off to bed.

Interesting note: We passed through a town called Lisdoonvarna, which was famous for its music and festivals. Although the music festival was discontinued in the 1980s, Lisdoonvarna still hosts its annual matchmaking festival each September. Apparently people come from all over the world to find their soul mate and about 15-20 marriages take place. No statistics on whether or not they last!

29 Mar 2018 Galway

What a day! We had just showered and the fire alarm went off all throughout the hotel. What could it be?? Oh wait…I SET IT OFF!!

I couldn’t regulate the shower and it just spewed out very hot water. I could barely stand the water on my skin it was so hot. So I did the best I could… Wrapped the towel around me and went out to tell Allan about the scalding hot water issue. Seconds later… The fire alarm went off because of all the hot steam! Everyone in the hotel heard the alarm. Yikes!!

The desk guy came up to make sure we were not on fire. Of course thank goodness we weren’t… because he didn’t arrive until fifteen minutes after Allan called the desk to tell them about the alarm. We told him about the hot water problem. (Also… Our towel rack that was supposed to be heated didn’t work either). They said they would fix all while we were out touring.

When we came back from our day, we checked our room and nothing has been fixed. Allan went down to complain and Sean our tour guide was there. Between Sean and the consierge, they decided we should be upgraded for the inconvenience.

WOW!!!!!! We have a suite… Corner room with a view of Galway bay…Shower for two… Huge tub… Bidet, Couch… King bed…AND… Another room with dining table, fireplace, coffee pot with pods, another couch, and another bathroom. WOWSER!!!! We will certainly enjoy the next two nights. Our bathroom is almost as big as the room we vacated!!!!

Anyway… On to our day. We took an optional tour through the Connemara region of Galway. This is a desolate region in Galway… With an absolutely beautiful landscape. Most of the area is bogland, with sheep grazing, mountains in the background, rivers trickling through, rugged hills, and beauty everywhere you look. As you near the coast, sandy beaches and blue waters can be seen.

In Connemara, we viisited the former Gothic mansion of Mitchell Henry, now the home of Benedictine nuns and better known as Kylemore Abbey. Mr. Henry was a doctor, industry tycoon, politician, and pioneer. He built his mansion from wild scrub to a place of beauty. He built his castle out in the wilderness out of love for his wife. They had nine children, but sadly, his wife died of dysentery while on the Nile, at the age of 45.

We walked to the Victorian gardens…a good mile hike. The gardens were beautiful with many flowers blooming as well as herbs. We also toured the head gardener’s home back in the day and then went to the Henry’s mansion. It was quite lovely and the furniture was beautiful. We also visited the Gothic church that Mr. Henry built like a small cathedral in memory of his wife. He was heartbroken after her death and built the church to honor her memory.

After seeing the sights at Kylemore, we boarded a boat in Killary, and cruised a charming fjord. We had a delicious lunch while on board. Our lunch included a taste of mussels that were harvested right in the fjord. The unpolluted waters of the IRELAND

fjord are perfect for mussel farming. There are a series of buoys floating on the surface. Hundreds of ropes are attached to the buoys to which the mussels attach themselves as they develop. Most of the mussels harvested are shipped to Spain. They were tender and delicious. I also had tomato soup, salad, and chicken entree with an Irish coffee. Allan’s meal was a seafood soup and seafood shepherds pie… Both chock full of fresh seafood. Then we went to the upper deck to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

On our return to our hotel, we traveled through the Inagh Valley to the coast, where we saw the deserted village of Clough Na Mara. This was the place where the Irish died of starvation during the 1845- 55 potato famine. After it was over, not one Irish family could be found in the area. We could see some of the famine homes still standing. They are only shells of homes, but are not torn down, but stand next to new homes, as a reminder of the hardship that took place. There are also miles and miles of stone walls that are still standing.

Our bus driver let a few of us off in town and Allan and I walked around a bit and then walked back to the hotel… Which took over a half hour. We had a quick bite to eat and we are now relaxing in our SUITE!!! From fire alarm to pampering… What a day it has been! AND… It was another beautifully sunny day even though the weather report called for rain. We really have had the luck of the Irish with us this whole vacation!

IRELAND

30 Mar 2018 Galway

Today again… No rain! Amazing. Sean keeps saying his mother’s Holy water kept the thunderclouds away.

As we passed Galway Bay… Sean played the song Galway Bay and I told him I sing that song to my grandkids at bedtime. He said he heard me singing along with the IRELAND

30 Mar 2018

3:30 pm

Galway

Galway

Today again… No rain! Amazing. Sean keeps saying his mother’s Holy water kept the thunderclouds away.

As we passed Galway Bay… Sean played the song Galway Bay and I told him I sing that song to my grandkids at bedtime. He said he heard me singing along with the Isong on the bus and said I had a lovely voice. Awwwwww…

We visited the beautiful Galway Cathedral today. Much of the money for the construction of the cathedral came from the US… Mainly from Boston and also from the Kennedy family. Construction was finished in 1965 and was consecrated by Cardinal Cushing who lit the sanctuary candle and gave the sermon at its first Mass.

The cathedral is not impressive from the outside with its granite stone, but inside, the cathedral is magnificent. Most of the church… Altar, altar rail, floor, etc. was made from Connemara marble that is indigenous to the area. The stained glass rose window was exquisite as was the altar.

After seeing the cathedral we walked the promenade in Salthill along Galway bay. Legend has it that if you kick the wall at the end of the walk… It will bring you good luck. So of course we all lined up to do just that.

People were swimming in the freezing water in Galway Bay. Sean said people are swimming there every day all year long no matter the temperature. They must be members of the polar bear club. We couldn’t believe their stamina.

We then toured the Connemara marble factory and saw the beautiful jewelry that is made from the million year old stone. The marble comes in black, rose, white, and green and is very pretty.

Afterwards Sean told us about turf (peat) cutting. When he was a boy in the sixties, every farm house in addition to the farm acreage, had about two acres of bogland which was about twenty feet deep. Sean remembers his dad saying… usually in the spring..”tomorrow you won’t be going to school”. Usually that was cause for he and his siblings to be joyous, until they realized they would be turf cutting.

They would get up early in the morning and walk four miles to their bog. His father would cut the “bricks” with a special tool and his mother, his siblings, and Sean himself would lay the bricks in a pyramid style to dry. This could take two weeks or more for complete drying. They would then rent a farmer with a tractor and take the dried bricks to their cottage for storage. The bricks would be fuel to heat their home for a year. This happened every spring and the bog would be large enough to serve the generations to come.

The bog is still there but they no longer need to cut it since the homes are centrally heated now.

Sean also told us about leprechauns and fairies. There are good fairies and bad fairies and they fight under the hawthorn trees. You should never touch a hawthorn tree or cut it down as you will then have bad luck for the rest of your days. Sean said it is all fun and fancy… But no one in his family would ever touch a hawthorn tree. He also said that the fairies get paid in gold by leprechauns… Who are actually very nasty little people. I loved listening to Sean’s childhood stories. They had no electricity when he was little and depended on the fireplace and paraffin lamps for heat and light.

We came back to our hotel suite and had lunch in a place similar to Johnny Rockets. I had a delicious chocolate malt with my burger. Yum!

We rested up in our beautiful room and then went down for a glass of wine and off to the farewell dinner. It was very good and we all said our goodbyes. We leave the hotel tomorrow around 8:45 for our flight out of Shannon airport.

It was a wonderful trip. Ireland is a beautiful country and the people are friendly. The countryside is breathtaking and its history is both horrific and victorious. We will remember this trip for a long time to come.

Sián abhaile.

I wrote a poem to give to Sean. He was an amazing tour guide!

There once was a tour guide named Sean
On the Emerald Isle he was born He taught us so much About Ireland and such
A beautiful country where the sheep are shorn.

He imparted so much history to us (Usually while we rode on the bus) We learned about famine houses Famous Irishmen and their spouses And Sean did it… Never making a fuss.

So we just want to say Sean made our trip
From Dublin, to Kilkenny, to the Killary fjord ship

A vacation so wonderful
(His mom’s holy water made it un- thunderable
Everything from start to finish BLUE CHIP!

CARIBBEAN CRUISE 2018

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25 Feb 2018 Cape Liberty Cruise Port Terminal

Well…we are off to the Caribbean for a 12 day cruise with friends from our community here in Bridle Path. About 30 plus folks will be joining us on the Anthem of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship. We’ll be visiting Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Kitts. It should be a lot of fun…and I hope you don’t read about us! (Oh…who am I kidding! I hope you DO read about us. It will mean we’re having a wonderful time on the high seas!

The Anthem of the Seas is a beautiful ship… Very tastefully appointed with fabulous works of art on every floor. The embarkation went very smoothly and before we know it we were sitting down for lunch.

The ship sailed at three and It was pretty amazing leaving port and seeing the Statue of Liberty in all her glory and the NYC skyline. We sailed under the Verazzano bridge… With the ship’s stacks a mere five feet from the bottom of the bridge. A thrill to see.

We had dinner and then went to see the show…a comedienne who was pretty funny. And then it was off to bed to get a good night’s sleep before our first full day at sea tomorrow.

By the way… The drink package is great. I had a few wines, a gourmet decaf coffee, and a Drambuie.

26 Feb 2018 Day at sea

This morning we had breakfast in the dining room and then we wandered around the ship to see where everything was. The ship is huge and many places to check out. There are some very cozy little niches where one can just sit and read or have a quiet drink.

A few of the cruisers we were with had, before we left, arranged for us all to buy shirts that we would wear to honor Frank, the guy who arranged for all of us to get together on this cruise. Our shirts in the front had a cruise ship with 2018 on it and the words “Frank’s Cruise”. In the back it said…”I’m not Frank”. Of course, Frank’s shirt said “I’m Frank”! We all sang for he’s a jolly good fellow when Frank walked in and we have him his shirt. We all turned around so he could read the backs of our shirts. It was a lot of fun and we know Frank was touched by it all.

Afterwards, My friend Diane and I decided to do some power walking on the top deck and off we went. We started out… It was a little windy but we kept going. By the time we were ready to round the bend of the track… The wind was so powerful we literally couldn’t take another step. We kept getting pushed back. We turned around and the wind the other way wasn’t much better. My friends said..let’s go in and have a glass of wine instead.

Now Allan thought we were out walking, but another friend saw us and told him we were actually drinking. He and a few other friends snuck up on us in the bar and caught us red handed with wine glasses in our hands. The jig was up. We almost got away with it. Lol!

Tonight was formal night and we had a great dinner and afterwards went and did some dancing… Then off for a snack and then to bed… Drambuie in hand.

Tomorrow is another sea day.

27 Feb 2018 Day at sea

Caribbean Cruise

Frank”! We all sang for he’s a jolly good fellow when Frank walked in and we have him his shirt. We all turned around so he could read the backs of our shirts. It was a lot of fun and we know Frank was touched by it all.

Tonight was formal night and we had a great dinner and afterwards went and did some dancing… Then off for a snack and then to bed… Drambuie in hand.

Tomorrow is another sea day.

27 Feb 2018 Another beautiful sea day

Had a great breakfast and spent the day lounging around the ship doing a little of everything. We met friends for lunch and then did some reading and again… Lots of walking. Checked out bumper cars which we might sign up for tomorrow.

We were invited to the captain’s welcome since we’ve taken celebrity cruises and this Royal Caribbean one. There was some entertainment and then the captain spoke. He was very personable and at one point his phone rang and he said… Oh…I have to take this. And then he said… “Hi. Mom. Yes…I ate breakfast. Yes… I’m wearing pajamas to bed… Mom… I’m kind of busy right now…”. It was pretty funny.

Dinner was very good tonight and then we all went to see the show The Gift. Music and dancing were great but the show itself was a little odd and most of us didn’t get it… But it was enjoyable.Afterwards we met up with friends and had a drink and then Allan and I went off to bed. Tomorrow is Puerto Rico.

Caribbean Cruise

28 Feb 2018 Puerto Rico

Today is my sweethearts 70th birthday! I arranged to have our cabin decorated and all of our friends wished him a happy birthday!

We had breakfast and then it was off to the bumper cars which was a lot of fun. Then we went to the robotic bar and Allan had the robot make a scotch on the rocks for him and I had a Kahlua. It was fun watching the robot do his thing… And the drinks were very good. You program in how much ice you want and how much liquor. It allows you to add the liquor up to a point… And it was still a generous pour.

Our ship docked in San Juan and we walked over to the fort. We definitely got our 10,000 steps in today. The day was beautiful and we sat for awhile at the sea and enjoyed the view.

We had dinner in the specialty restaurant of Jamie Oliver’s… But first we stopped at the schooner for drinks. I was looking forward to a nice filthy martini… But it was very disappointing. Allan’s martini was very good he said and since he’s the BIRTHDAY BOY I was glad he had a good drink. The dinner at Jamie Oliver’s was stellar! Allan had Bolognese and I had lamb chops. We also had the homemade pasta and the meat plank and the salad and the prosciutto with melon. For dessert we had a chocolate brownie that was the best I’ve ever had. Served with caramel popcorn ball and ice cream. OMG! So decadent! Everything delicious!

Tonight we will see a show starring Mark Preston and then go off to dance the night away with probably a Drambuie to cap off the night.

Caribbean Cruise

01 Mar 2018 Port Of St. Maarten

We are apparently too relaxed. We were eating our breakfast, and remembering the great dinner we had last night and the amazing performance at the theatre by Mark Preston who was once with the Lettermen. He still has a beautiful voice and the show was wonderful.

I suddenly get a text from our friends…”are you on your way”? I texted back.”We’re enjoying breakfast in the windjammer”… To which my friend texted back…”what about the North Star?”. Yikes!!! Allan and I totally forgot we had signed up to take the big North Star ball up the thirty stories over the ocean! We hurried up to the top deck and we were able to join the rest of our friends for the experience.

I was definitely out of my comfort zone… But I really enjoyed it once the ball started rising the 300 feet and then swung over the ocean. The view was amazing and I’m really glad I did it.

Since we’ve been to St Maarten before we just walked around a little and got back on the ship for lunch and some sun time by the pool. On port days… You have the ship almost to yourself since everyone goes off for excursions. It was a delightful afternoon.

Since we enjoyed Jamie Oliver’s last night, eight of our friends wanted to try it as well… So Allan and I made reservations for March 6. When Allan and I went last night we received a twenty percent discount apparently because it was a port day. The reservation we want is on a sea day and I asked if we could get the 20% discount again for everyone. The waiter said no discount on sea days. But then I mentioned that my husband and I enjoyed the meal so much last night…To which he said… “You have already been here??? Twenty percent discount then for everyone when you come back with your friends” . Hurray!!!!

Tonight is dinner in the main dining room and then we will see a show afterwards. Tomorrow we will be in Antigua.

02 Mar 2018 Antigua

Last night we saw a good show…a comedian who was also a juggler and did tricks with a unicycle. He was pretty amazing balancing on both the unicycle and a ladder. Pretty scary watching him… But he had a great joking commentary going on throughout the act and we really enjoyed it. Afterwards we all met up for a drink and sat talking about what we all had done during the day. We all pulled up chairs into the area where during the day, the agents reserve cruises and supposedly give the best deals. The cruise agents of course had packed up by the time we got there, so I decided to stop people as they walked by saying…”Reserve your next cruise? Over 30% discount if you pay cash. Tonight only”! No one took me up on it. LOL!!

This morning we were up bright and early to go horseback riding. It was a great opportunity to see the island. There were 18 people on the

Some of the horses were more excitable than others. Allan’s horse had a mind of its own… And at one point, butted my horse in the head and had a little nip. Yikes! His horse wanted to be leader of the pack and kept trying to get ahead. My horse was pretty well behaved…I only had to pull his head up a few times since he thought it was great to eat the foliage on the way. He also wanted to nuzzle his nose in the sand… Which I was not about to let him do since someone told me that after they do that.. They want to ROLL in the sand. We all kept to the trail and it was lovely just meandering along seeing the sights.

We were supposed to ride the horses along the sand and into the water but the waves were pretty high and it was also high tide so we could only ride for a little bit along the sand. We were supposed to get some beach time in as well, but instead, we continued riding for about two hours. We passed a fort and a well preserved surrounding wall that was built in the 1700’s and passed by some hotels that were right on the beach.

We came back and dismounted and the minute I got off my horse, he sprinted away. I’m so glad I was off of him before he decided to go rogue!!! They corralled him… All he wanted to do was eat more foliage across the street. Allan said my horse was just like Ferdinand the bull!!! I’m just happy no one was wearing red!!

Came back and took a dip in the pool and then it was off for lunch.

Tonight after dinner we had the birthday cake I ordered for Allan’s birthday. I ordered three… Twenty five dollars each… So all of our friends could have some. They came with a huge chocolate cake with cherries… That was delicious. We all sang Happy birthday… Waiters included. Then the head waiter told me that the cake was on the house… No charge. I thought that was so nice of them to do that. There was a lot of cake left over and I told the wait staff to enjoy it. It was a nice celebration for my honey.

We all went to one of the bars afterwards for some drinks and to listen to music and then we went to bed. Busy day tomorrow.

Caribbean Cruise

03 Mar 2018 St. Lucia

This morning we were up bright and early and went on the Soufriere by Spanish galleon excursion to see, among other things, The Pitons. According to Wikipedia, “the Pitons are two mountainous volcanic plugs, volcanic spires, located in Saint Lucia. The Gros Piton is 2,530 ft high, and the Petit Piton is 2,438 ft high; they are linked by the Piton Mitan ridge. The Pitons are a World Heritage Site 2,909 located near the town of Soufrière. The volcanic complex includes a geothermal field with sulphurous fumaroles and hot springs”. We were off to experience the hot springs and mud baths which were heated by the lava that came from the volcano years ago.

We boarded an old Spanish sailing vessel and took off around the beautiful island of St. Lucia seeing the gorgeous shoreline with its quaint and colorful houses tucked into the mountains as we made our way to the mudbaths in Soufriere. We saw yachts and sailboats along the way making the voyage absolutely wonderful. We were able to see the Pitons up close as we sailed by.

When we arrived we boarded a van that took us to the mudbaths. First we had to go into the hot springs and get completely wet. The water was very hot but once you were in it was very soothing. We smeared ourselves with the light and black mud and let it dry and then I went back into the hot springs to rinse off and Allan opted for the cool fresh shower to get the mud off. It was a lot of fun… But a little more crowded in the hot springs than we would have liked.

We boarded the van again and we were whisked off for lunch to enjoy a delicious Creole meal. It was very good with homemade coleslaw, BBQ chicken, fish, Creole rice, lentils, and Creole bread. The ride to lunch was a tad hair raising as they drive on the opposite side of the road and drive through the narrow streets very fast. We almost collided with another car coming in the opposite direction. That gets your adrenalin going!

After lunch we boarded the sailing vessel and once again enjoyed the sights as we cruised to a special secluded spot to swim. The water was forty feet deep and crystal clear and the crew threw a ladder overboard and those who wanted to, went down into the warm sea. Allan opted out but I enjoyed swimming for quite some time. You could see practically to the bottom of the sea and some of the people had snorkeling equipment with them and said the fish were beautiful.

We went to the theatre when we came back to the Anthem and heard a violinist who was very good… But he also added embellishments to classical music which I am not a fan of; I much rather hear the music the way it was originally written.

We ate dinner afterwards and then went to one of the bars for a quick drink and then off to bed. We were both really tired from the day’s excursion… But it was a fabulous experience!

04 Mar 2018 Barbados

We’ve been to Barbados before and since we were docked only for nine hours… We did some shopping and then stayed on the ship. We just got word that we won’t be going to St. Kitts tomorrow because of bad weather… So it will be four sea days till we return to Bayonne.

We had dinner tonight at the specialty restaurant Chops Grille and enjoyed some nice steak. Our friends Larry and Diane arranged to have another cake to celebrate Allan’s birthday so we enjoyed that as well.

Went to the show tonight tonight… The guy was an impersonator and sang songs made famous by many artists …But he wasn’t that great. Met up with friends in one of the bars afterwards and sat and talked for awhile and Allan and another couple chatted till 12:30 am. I had already gone to bed… But I was glad Allan had a drink and just enjoyed.

Tomorrow… The first of four sea days until we arrive back in Bayonne.

05 Mar 2018 Sea day

Since we weren’t able to visit St. Kitts, we had a nice sea day… Got some sun… And then we all met for dinner in the main restaurant.

In our Bridle Path community, the first Monday of the month is scotch sippers club… So since a few of the members are on this cruise.. Allan met them for a scotch in one of the bars. I joined them as well and enjoyed a Drambuie.

Afterwards we went to see the magic show performed by someone named JZ. He was very good… Always amazes me how they do those slight of hand tricks.

We went back to the bar… Sat and talked for awhile and then it was back to the cabin. The sea is quite rough and we were rocking and rolling all day. There were barf bags placed strategically all over the ship for those with weak stomachs. We fared okay… But I did take a Dramamine just in case. At night in bed… We were actually rolling from side to side. It was soothing and we did fall asleep eventually.

06 Mar 2018 Sea day

We passed the island of Hispaniola today. The sea is calmer today and our entire group met for breakfast in the main dining room… Wearing our cruise shirts. Afterwards we all stood on the staircase for a photo op!

We lounged for most of the day… I Helped a friend with knitting and had a light lunch and then saw the show We Will Rock You which was amazing! Fabulous singers and of course… The music by Queen! It was awesome.

We all ate in Jamie Oliver’s restaurant and Allan and I enjoyed it but some of the group were disappointed in their pasta dishes. We had to ask for more sauce to be brought out. The lamb chops were excellent though as was the truffle pasta. And the brownie dessert… Yum!

Went for a quick drink afterwards and then to bed.

07 Mar 2018 Sea day

Today we went on a galley tour with brunch afterwards. Unfortunately we couldn’t understand the man who gave the tour… So we really didn’t learn anything about how they manage to feed all of the crew and guests on this enormous ship. (One thing I did hear at one point were the words “fish” and”contamination”. Guess I won’t be sampling the fish for dinner tonight! LOL!

The brunch was very good… Shrimp (I think that’s considered SHELLfish… So I took a chance) and filet mignon.

We spent the day walking around the ship and just enjoying. Got some knitting done and some reading. We got dressed for formal night and enjoyed a drink before hand with friends. The dinner was lobster tail and another selection was prime rib. Usually t the last cruise formal night is surf and turf… So I ordered the beef and asked for the lobster on the side which the waiter did… But seemed surprised. Allan did the same thing and then most at the table asked for the combo as well. It was the first time on cruise that they both were not offered on the same plate for formal evening. Oh well… Enjoyed it anyway.

We went to see the show Spectra which was wonderful but had to be stopped as the seas were rough and the dancers could have been in danger of falling. The half hour we saw was a lot of fun and a great performance by the singers and dancers. The star of the show came up to me and blew me a kiss… Which I returned. Sitting on the end of the aisle has its benefits.

We went back to our cabin and started packing a little as tomorrow is our last sea day and we leave for Bethlehem on Friday.

08 Mar 2018 Sea Day

Today we listened to the captain and crew speak about the specs on the ship… Number of crew that take care of the guests on the ship, number of passengers, what happens to the leftover food, how much fuel is used, etc. It was interesting to find out or that there is an incinerator on the ship that burns waste and all gray water from sinks and showers is treated and then released into the sea. Royal Caribbean is ecologically responsible and it was good to hear.

We listened to a performance by Ross Hunter, a singer and he was very good and I think he will one day be back on Broadway. He has already performed in Rent and Book of Mormon.

We had our final dinner together and our waiter performed some Bollywood dance moves for our entertainment. Then went to see the last show… The magician performlng again. We went to bed early to get a good night’s sleep before our trip back home on the bus tomorrow.

09 Mar 2018 Back home again

We were up bright and early… Just in time to see the Verrazano bridge lit up in the early morning. We started our vacation sailing under it and taking pictures and we sailed into Bayonne on our way home and were able to capture it’s beauty in the dawn.

We had a quick breakfast and then made our way to where our luggage was stored. We couldn’t find my suitcase as the tag that was to designate where it would be came off, but finally I spotted it in the “lost luggage” area looking quite forlorn. We retrieved it, sailed thru customs and found our bus for the ride back to Bethlehem.

It was a wonderful trip with good friends and we certainly had a great time. AND… We managed to avoid two snow storms while cruising the Caribbean!

See you on our next journey!

Avignon and Lyon 2017

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We leave today for a river cruise with Viking down the Rhone River in southern France.

The Rhone is about 505 miles long and is the only major European river that flows directly into the Mediterranean Sea. It flows from Switzerland into France and the first half of the river is not considered navigable by commercial vessels. The cities along the navigable river include Lyon, Vienne, Tournon, Viviers, Avignon and Arles and we will be visiting all of them along the way.

There is always the chance that the river can flood (especially with the melting snow from the Alps in the spring) and then we would have to be taken by bus to the various towns. We are hoping that we will be lucky and will be able to spend our time cruising on the Viking Heimdal and enjoying the beautiful sites along the way. We will see where Vincent Van Gogh painted his renown works of art in Arles, savor the cuisine and wines in Provence, the heart of French wine country, and see ruins and castles..some dating as far back as 2000 years ago in Avignon.

Hope you can come along for the ride and read about our adventures. See you in Avignon!

29 Mar 2017

Avignon

We had great flights from Newark to Paris and then on to Marseilles. We boarded our ship The Heimdal and our room was all ready and a late lunch was served which was delicious.

We’ve already met some nice folks and we are off to a great start. The weather is gorgeous. Sunny and in the 70’s. The flowers are blooming and the trees are beginning to blossom. The lavender hasn’t bloomed yet but you can purchase soaps and lavender sachets all over.

We took a walk around and our first stop was the Avignon broken bridge as it is called. This bridge spanned the Rhône and was built between 1177 and 1185. The bridge at one time had 22 stone arches but most of them collapsed since the Rhone floods quite often. Since it was costly to constantly repair, it was abandoned in the17th century. The four surviving arches on the bank of the Rhône all that is left.

We then strolled over to the centre of Avignon which is entirely enclosed by 4.3 kilometers of walls. High atop is the Golden Virgin statue which is near the palace of the popes in Avignon.

We went back to the ship to get ready for the evening briefing and dinner and happily found a wine and cheese tasting going on. So of course we had to sample some. It’s been a busy day and I’m sure we will sleep well tonight.

30 Mar 2017

Arles

What a fabulous day we had today. We took a bus tour into Arles and spent the day with Vincent van Gogh! We toured all the places where he painted his masterpieces…many sites of which are still standing. There are copies of his paintings in front of the actual places he put on canvas and it was so interesting to see.

we went to an art class at la Couverture Verte – Arles’s Siqueiros fine arts school and attempted to duplicate scenes from his famous paintings. It was so much fun and the two hour class flew by. I have included in the pics van Gogh’s original ( second pic) and my feeble attempt at duplication (last pic). I didn’t have time to complete my painting as we had to leave. Allan was a trooper and also did a painting even though this was not his idea of how to spend two hours.

Afterwards we had lunch in a lovely restaurant and then went on to see Place du Forum where Van Gogh painted many of his beautiful landscapes. We went on to see the mental institution where he spent some time when he had his mental break down and where he also painted his famous irises.

We continued on to St. Remy and visited St.Paul de Mausole monastery one of the most beautiful in Provence. At the adjoining mental institution we saw a replica of the room where van Gogh stayed and created 150 paintings when he was once again institutionalized.

Van Gogh originally came to Paris from the Netherlands and then moved to Arles and stayed in what is known as the Yellow House with artist Gauguin, who at the time was selling his paintings at a greater rate than van Gogh This caused them to have a falling out. It is speculated that after their falling out, Van Gogh cut off his ear and subsequently wound up in another mental institution. We walked the gardens of this place… Which is still in existence…and could understand how the beautiful surroundings contributed to the creation of his masterpieces.

We were able to visit the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles where eight of his original paintings were on display. There works of Alice Neel’ were also exhibited as well.

We came back on the ship and had a delicious dinner of Chateaubriand steak and crepes for dessert. Now listening to music with a Drambuie and looking forward tomorrow’s tour… The flavors of Provence.

Vincent’s painting and then my painting

31 Mar 2017

FABULOUS!!!!!! That’s the only word to describe our tour today. We signed up for the Flavors of Provence – an all day tasting tour – and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Our tour guide Philip was interesting, informative and absolutely adorable. He spoke perfect English and when asked how he knew the language so well he told us that he had lived in Kansas for a year and taught French at a university.

We started our morning with Philip, strolling the quaint and narrow streets of Avignon with its churches and medieval buildings. Avignon is known as the city of Pope’s with the papal seat being here for 70 years in the 14th century.

We followed our guide to the Passage de l’Oratoire and on to Rue Saint-Agricol and Rue Joseph Vernet, two streets filled with up-scale shops and gourmet treats. The dresses in the windows of the shops were gorgeous – very haute-couture and each new one was more beautiful than the last.

We passed by some Gothic churches on our way to our first tasting stop…A huge market filled with the aromas of herbs, fresh bread, and display cases of every kind of cheese you could imagine, as well as bins of vegetables and cases of iced fish. It was a gourmets paradise. We sampled delicious cheeses – made from both sheep and goat’s milk. Some were creamy and plentiful olive trees that grow in the region. Some olives were flavored with fennel… Others with garlic and onions. And of course there were the delicious black olives as well. Along with the olives we sampled garlic cloves that were brined in white vinegar giving them a slightly sweet taste. Magnifique!! Then we perused the spice aisle sampling many different kinds of flavored salts… Including a lavender one.

La Cure Gourmande specialized in olive oils and that was our next stop. We tasted the purest of the pure virgin olive oils that were so light and delicate in flavor that our taste buds couldn’t believe their luck! We savored olive oils that were flavored with ginger, lemon, lavender… To mention a few. We also sampled the Provencal dish tapenade, along with pesto, sun dried tomato paste and anchovy paste…All on baquettes you and all made with the olive oils. Amazing!!

Across the street was Les Delices du Luberon, the chocolate shoppe, where we sampled delicious cookies and chocolates. At the end of our tasting, the proprietress gave each of us a beautiful French cookie tin which of course we had to fill with some chocolates to take home with us.

We then walked over to the magnificent home where our cooking class was going to take place. It was a three story building in the middle of Avignon – 13,000 square feet…owned by a lovely lady who said the home was just too big for her so she began serving lunch and dinners in its quaint rooms and also began renting out apartments. Additionally she hired someone to give cooking lessons on occasion… and so began the creation of La Maison de Fogasses culinary school.

We toured her home and then settled in the backyard for our first glass (of many) of rose wine made by a local vintner that we meet at the restaurant who was a good friend of the owner of the home.

After enjoying the wine and the sunshine, we brought our wine glasses with us and made our way to the kitchen of the culinary school to don aprons and to begin making the local specialty fougasse, an olive bread. It was a lot of fun to work the dough and form the unusual shapes of this local delight. Then we piped out little eclairs that we would be enjoying for dessert.

While we were waiting for our lunch to be made, we went back outside to play Pétanque, a form of bocce ball, where the goal is to toss or roll hollow steel balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a jack. The current form of the game originated in 1907, in, of course, Provence, France. As we played, we drank more wine and nibbled on the fougasse that we had just baked. I was winning the game at the end… Having my ball closest to the jack… But the last toss by another player edged me out by a fraction of an inch. It was a lot of fun and we all had some good laughs.

We went up once again to the culinary school to feast on a beef stew, made by our chef teacher. This creation was made with mushrooms, carrots, herbes de Provence along with tender beef and wine. It was fantastic over noodles. After lunch we enjoyed some custard and French toast as well as our delicious eclairs. We also sampled some fabulous red wine that the vintner had made and we bought two bottles to take back with us to enjoy on the boat.

It was a truly fantastic tour and we enjoyed every morsel that we tasted. We certainly experienced the many flavors of Provence and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful town of Avignon, rich in history and culinary delights.

01 Apr 2017

Today we visited the sleepy town of Viviers. Today was our first day of rain so we had to try to walk between the raindrops and move along with our local guide.

Viviers is an old medieval town and one of the best preserved in southern France. We visited St Vincent cathedral and walked through steep cobblestone lanes, flanked on either side by apartments of the locals. There weren’t many shops or restaurants, but rather just lush foliage and beautiful architecture dating back through the centuries.

We had quite a climb to the top of an overlook… Through the cobblestones that were rather slippery and uneven. At one point many people fell behind the guide and the guide, quite oblivious, kept plodding up up up to the top. One lady ran ahead and asked for someone to stop the guide so the people in the back could catch up. It seemed like no one could get her attention so I did my two fingered whistle…A whistle I’ve perfected over the years to get the attention of my boys. That did the trick. The guide stopped and looked back to see where the whistle came from and I was able to put my hand up and say “please stop”!!!
Too funny!!!

It was a quiet day.

02 Apr 2017

Another rainy morning but that didn’t stop us from taking a morning walk and boarding the steam engine train for a beautiful ride through the Doux Valley. This region is unaccessible by road making it a beautiful and untouched wilderness to tour.

After our train ride we enjoyed a walking tour through Viviers, which was rather sleepy since it was Sunday. While there, we visited the smallest cathedral in France, the 11th century St Vincent Cathedral.

All of the shops were closed today and our guide said that the streets were empty as the French like to sleep in on Sundays. Sounds like a plan to me!

We went back to the ship for a delicious lunch and cruised to Vienne. The Rhone is beautiful this time of year and we enjoyed dining on the top deck and watching the French countryside go by. After lunch, replete with a few glasses of wine, we went back out to tour Vienne. We hopped on a trolley and went to Mont Pipet to view France’s best preserved Roman amphitheaters. It was amazing to see in the middle of the town. It held 13,000 spectators in its day and is only slightly smaller than Rome’s theater of Marcellus.

We went on a walking tour after our trolley ride and viewed the temple of Augustus and Livia from the 1st century.

But the highlight of the day was visiting the beautiful Gothic cathedral of St Maurice with itsceiling that seemed to soar up to the heavens and was absolutely breathtaking.

We finished the tour with a walk around the Garden of Cybele that also has many Roman remains.

Our guide told us that the French are rather lazy and they get a lot of time off from work. They have a high tax rate and rationalize their socialized medicine, education and government services because of this high tax rate. She admitted however that there is cheating and this tax rate is not the one that is necessarily paid.

We enjoyed our visit to these beautiful towns immensely. Spring is quite evident all over southern France and the shades of green that are in the foliage and the beautiful blossoms made for a wonderful day. The towns are so quaint and you just want to buy some cheese, a baguette and a bottle of wine and sit in the square and watch the people walk by.

We had dinner on the ship. (By the way, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this, but every day at lunch and dinner, unlimited glasses of wine are offered! We have been imbibing each day and the wines offered are stellar)!! Once again, Allan and I procured a table for ten so that our new friends can dine with us and as usual, a good time was had by all as we shared our stories.

After dinner, we met up with another new friend Patty, a fellow nurse, and Allan, Patty and I had fun with Robert…A 91 year old Scotsman who still loves to dance and drink his wine. He is a hoot… Sharp as a tack and with a great sense of humor. He was a chemist and was married for 54 years to the love of his life who sadly died 7 years ago. Now he travels the world and enjoys meeting new people. He wears knickers!!! He and I had a few dances and he sang opera to me in his beautiful tenor voice.

03 Apr 2017

Lyon

Lyon is known for its gastronomical delights, it’s culture, and it’s beautiful silk. From the moment you step off the ship, you know you are in a beautiful and quaint town replete with cobblestones and amazing architecture. Cultural life is present in the myriad museums that grace the streets, the opera house with its dark black roof and the amazing trompe-l’oeil that grace many buildings. Interpole has been headquartered in Lyon since 1989 so we really have to behave ourselves while here in Lyon!

Our first stop was the Basilica of Notre Dame at the top of Fourviere Hill. The Basilica is magnificent with murals in mosaic tiles and ceilings that went ever upward. The stain glass windows had gorgeous color that was shown off as the sun burst through. We learned that the Basilica had made arrangements with the local telephone company and for a fee, have allowed the phone company to put antennas on top of the church. It’s funny to see the statue of St Mary with a thin bit of wire protruding from her head. But it pays the bills and because of the arrangement, the Basilica has had the monies to do major renovation work

When you walk out of the Basilica, you see the Metallic tower of Fourviere, a landmark of Lyon. It is a steel framework tower which bears a striking resemblance to the Eiffel Tower, which predates it by three years. During the Exposition of 1914 in Lyon, it had a restaurant and an elevator capable of taking 22 people up to the summit. Although used as an observation tower until 1953, nowadays it serves as a television tower and is not accessible to the public. It is the highest point in Lyon and towers over the Basilica.

Right behind the Basilica, we were awed by the panoramic view of old Lyon from the hilltop vantage point and we were able to see for miles since it was such a beautiful day.

During WW II, thousands of Lyon’s citizens were tortured and killed and many more thousands were sent to Nazi concentration camps under the barbaric gestapo chief Klaus Barbie, the butcher of Lyon. Nazi rule ended in 1944 but not before the retreating Germans blew up all but two of Lyon’s 28 bridges. A Lyon court sentenced Barbie to death in absentia but it wasn’t until 1987 that he was extradited from Bolivia and sentenced to life imprisonment. He ultimately died of cancer.

We boarded our bus for the next stop… La Fresque Des Lyonnais, a mural on an apartment building of about 30 of Lyons famous figures, both past and present, done in the trompe l’oeil style. The famous chef

Paul Bocuse stands in the front of one of his famous restaurants. The Roman emperor Claudius who was born in Lyon had a place on the mural as does the author of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint- Exupery. Interestingly, Verrazano, of the NYC bridge fame, is also depicted.

We then went on a walking tour along the cobblestones and visited one of the city’s famous traboules, unique hidden passageways made for busy merchants in medieval days.

We returned to our ship for a French cuisine luncheon… With duck, lamb, pates, cheeses, amazing desserts and of course… Wine.

Tonight we will have a delicious dinner of fillet mignon and lobster and then we dance the night away with friends.

04 Apr 2017

Lyon

Today dawned sunny and warm as we made our way by bus into the historical Provence of Beaujolais. It is located north of Lyon and covers parts of the north of the Rhône-Alps region.

The French countryside is beautiful this time of year and we passed acre after acre of vineyards. The vines are pruned in early March and we noticed they were just starting to sprout the blossoms that will ultimately yield the grapes. Depending on the weather, the grapes are harvested in late August into September and folks come from all around to partake in the harvest. College students come as well to make some money and meet new friends.

The winter pruning of the vines is very important and they are usually printed very low to the ground. A vine that is 45 years old is considered an old vine and when a new vines are planted, it takes there years before the grapes can be harvested for wine. Interestingly, one vine produces approximately one bottle of wine.

Beaujolais wine tends to be a very light-bodied red wine, with relatively high amounts of acidity. In some vintages, the Beaujolais area produces more wine than the Burgundy wine regions of Chablis, Côte d’Or, Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais put together. But Beaujolais isn’t just red wines. About 15% of the yield is made into white wines.

We visited a winery and had a tasting of some wonderful Beaujolais wines, both white and red. The winery was in a castle called Chateau de Varennes. The first stone of the castle was placed in the middle of the 11th century and the heart of the castle was almost entirely refurbished in the 16th century.

The service quarters were built in the early 16th century. This is where the winegrowers lived. The cellars were enlarged in the 19th century and the wine is still produced there today.

After our tasting we drove into the town of Beaujeu and walked the very narrow streets and found a pastry shop where we enjoyed a huge butter cookie. Yum!

We returned to the ship for lunch and then walked into Lyon to do some shopping and to enjoy the sunshine and the French way of life.

We have packed our bags and are all set to leave tomorrow morning. Tonight is our farewell dinner and time to say au revoir to all our new acquaintances and to thank the crew who took such good care of us.

Spring is an amazing time to visit the south of France. The fruit trees are blossoming all over and the Rhone River was picturesque to sail along for the week. We loved seeing the homes tucked into the French hillside with their tile roofs and the grape vines that stretched as far as the eye could see. It all made for a bucolic journey that we won’t soon forget.

05 Apr 2017

Lyon

Aéroport Lyon-Saint Exupéry (LYS) (Aéroport de Lyon Saint-Exupéry)

We’re at the airport and waiting to take off for Paris and then on to Newark. Tonight we are meeting our friends for a wine tasting dinner at a local restaurant. Hope they don’t serve soup as I might fall asleep in it and drown.

Had a fun evening last night with our table crew. We all promised to keep in touch and perhaps someday even travel again together.

One of the guys at our table asked me if I could teach him how to do the two fingered whistle that I used on one of the tours to get the guide’s attention. He said he’d been trying to learn it ever since he was a kid but to no avail. I tried to show him and then someone else said “let me hear you whistle”. I said we’re in the restaurant… But undaunted I did it! Lol!

Good news and bad news. The bad news is… Everyone stopped talking and looked around for where the whistle came from. The good news is…I looked around as well for the culprit and no one was the wiser.

Next whistle performance… Bethlehem, PA. I’ll be there all week folks! Haha!!!

Related

ISRAEL 2017

05/07/201704/24/2025Irene

18 May 2017 — 02 Jun 2017

18 May 2017

Flying to Tel Aviv John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) (John F. Kennedy International Airport)

We are leaving from JFK and flying to Rome and then on to Tel Aviv for our amazing adventure – traveling through Israel. Please join us on this fabulous experience.

19 May 2017 Tel aviv

Ben Gurion International Airport

We had a great flight from JFK to Rome and the food was pretty good on the plane. (But I actually don’t mind airline fare… Go figure… So I usually eat anything they offer). In Rome, over 100 nuns boarded our plane to Tel Aviv, along with a separate youth group. It was a full flight and we arrived in TelAviv and went thru customs. Israel does not stamp your passport so we were issued an entry card that we must keep with us while we are here. The passports are not stamped so that if you want to visit Saudi Arabia or another Arab country, you will not be turned away. We met our taxi driver who was waiting for us holding a sign that said ‘Leslie’. (I’ve always wanted to be the weary traveler that has a driver waiting for you holding a sign). LOL!!

We met our tour guide Lior who is very sweet and very accommodating. We were greeted at the hotel with delicious lemonade, went up to our well appointed room for a quick shower and then went to the 4th floor terrace for wine and delicious Mediterranean treats…dates, olives with cheese and tomatoes, pastries, and other delicacies.

We met up with our friends Jocelyn and Bob and met the friends that they are traveling with Brenda and Rick. We already have had a lot of laughs so we know it will be a great time with them. The other folks in our group, 14 of us in all, seem like fun as well.

We all walked to the restaurant which is right on the Mediterranean Sea and stopped on the way in an orthodox Jewish synagogue. We knew it was orthodox since the men and women were separated by a screen. We were not allowed to take photos as it was Friday night services and no electrical equipment is to be used.

Then we walked along the beach to our restaurant. The food was unbelievable… Chicken wings, fish, hummus, chicken in garlic, beef skewers with cinnamon, salad, tomato and garlic, babagoosh, to mention a few of the highlights. Of course we drank lots of Israeli wine that was delicious as well.

We were all pretty tired after traveling so it’s early to bed.

20 May 2017 Tel Aviv and Jaffa

Israel is bordered by Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and is considered a Jewish state of democracy. Israel has a peace agreement with Jordan (1994) and Egypt (1979) but there is no peace agreement with Syria and Lebanon.

We started our morning with a delicious Mediterranean breakfast…olives, fruit, tomatoes, cheeses, grains, fish and delicious breads. There were also crepes, sweet potato French toast, pan fried potatoes, as well as fresh juices and coffee.

Because today is the Sabbath, regular buses do not run…only taxis. Most of the stores that are run by Jews are closed and did not open until 7 pm tonight. We boarded our tour bus – destination Old Jaffa, a 4000 year old port city right outside of Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv is an open and liberal city with 1/2 million Jews and 50,000 Muslims and Christians and Jaffa is a city contiguous with Tel Aviv where people of Jewish, Muslim, Christian and other heritages coexist. Jaffa has been mentioned in both the old and new testaments. We walked through the streets and our guide, Lior, told us all about the city and its makeup. She took us to a shady spot and rolled out a map of Israel and explained many things to us. What surprised me the most is that the size of the West Bank on the map is much larger than I thought it was.

Lior lives near the Gaza Strip on the western side of Israel and her home has the mandatory bomb shelter within. The Hamas control the Gaza Strip and do not recognize Israel. She said things are peaceful now but in years past, she and her partner had to go to the shelter often when the bombing began.

We walked through the artists’ area in Jaffa where only artists who have galleries can buy and live in the homes there. The homes can cost up to 2 million US dollars. We visited the home of Ilana Goor, a sculptor and designer. The home was filled with unbelievable works of art…unusual furniture, lighting, as well as amazing sculpture. There were also artifacts that Ilana has collected over the years from Israel’s past.

After the museum visit, we went for a delicious lunch in the home of a Christian Arab Palestinian Israeli named Doris, who welcomed us into her home and served a delicious lunch of cheeses, egg, fava beans, vegetables, cheeses, pita bread, hummus, and a creamy spread filled with an herb similar to oregano. Baklava and halva was served for dessert along with coffee made from the arabica bean mixed with cardamom spice.

After lunch, our host told us about her life in Israel. She is Christian and we were able to ask her questions about how the Jews and the Christians and Arabs get along in Jaffa. We also met her 17 year old son Anthony who said that in school he talks with everyone, but he really only hangs out after school with his Christian and Arab friends. Doris said that if any of her children married a Jew, she would not be happy and she would not recognize them. It was an interesting discussion.

After thanking Doris and Anthony, we said our goodbyes, and boarded our bus again to drive through Tel Aviv to visit the memorial where prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995 at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords. The memorial, created out of stone blocks placed askew as if an earthquake took place, represents the artist’s despair and anguish over the shooting. The stones are smooth and rough reflecting the qualities of Rabin…softness and strength. There are markers on the sidewalk showing where PM Rabin was standing, as well as his eight body guards, when the shooting took place and how the shooter, Yigal Amir, came up and shot him. Some Israelis rejoiced after the assassination because Rabin made a peace deal that basically took the Gaza Strip and the West Bank from Israel. Others feel that he was definitely a peace maker and was trying very hard to bring peace to the region. Rabin signed the Oslo I Accord in 1993 with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Oslo II Accord with Egypt in 1995. Yigal Amir was an Israeli ultranationalist, who was distraught over Rabin’s peace initiative as well as the signing of the Accords and is currently in jail serving a life sentence.

Along the way, we passed over a bridge that had the signs of the zodiacs all along it, overlooking the sea. Legend has it that when you find your sign, put your hands on it and make a wish while gazing at the Mediterranean Sea and your wish will come true. So Allan and I made our wishes and hope they do come true.

Lior asked if anyone would like to go with her to a local restaurant for dinner, to sample traditional food. Of course we all did yes… And the meal was wonderful.

After dinner, Allan and I strolled through the streets of Tel Avi enjoying the sights and the people. It was a warm and balmy evening… Just a perfect end to a fabulous day.

21 May 2017 Nazareth

What an amazing day!!! This has been the best vacation!! We cannot believe we are in Israel, walking in Christ’s footsteps, and learning so much about the Jewish religion as well. We started our day again with an amazing Mediterranean breakfast and then boarded the bus to Caesarea. (President Trump will be in Israel this week, but fortunately our paths will not cross).

As we drove through Tel Aviv to Caesarea, Lior told us that young people cannot afford the housing that is being built all around. The homes in Tel Aviv can command almost 3 million dollars and many of the young adults are upset that those prices are so high and unaffordable for them. As I mentioned before, Lior lives near the Gaza Strip and the homes there are about $500,000 for a large beautiful home, much more affordable.

Medicine in Israel is socialized and the people pay $25 a month for coverage. This is for basic coverage, but complicated procedures would require the resident to pay out of pocket.

The cars in Israel are many brands…Korean, Japanese, German, and a few US, and they are usually white. Gas costs about $6 per gallon, even though the oil countries that could supply the fuel are right nearby. They are starting to use natural gas that is prevalent in Israel and they are also selling the natural gas to Jordan.

The garbage that Israelis generate is buried underground and the methane is used for electricity. The country is trying very hard to ‘go green’ so as to utilize recycling more and more. The Rabin power plant utilizes coal to produce 50% of the electricity for the country.

Our first stop in Caesarea was the national park where King Herod built a seaport…which was an engineering marvel of its time. We began at the Roman theater. Many concerts are held here during the year and it is the most ancient theater in all of Israel, being built in Herod’s time. We also walked through the Hippodrome which was built in the 2nd century for chariot racing. It was a magnificent area…with the azure blue Mediterranean Sea backdrop and the white waves crashing onto the shore…absolutely breathtaking.

We then boarded our bus again and traveled on to lower Nazareth…where Arab Christians and Arab Muslims reside peacefully. There are no Jews in lower Nazareth as they live in upper Nazareth.

Jesus was from Nazareth, and Joseph, his father, was a carpenter. But he probably was not a carpenter of wood…but rather a stone carpenter since sandstone is prevalent and the homes were made of stone and not wood.

We visited the Church of the Annunciation, where the house of Mary was unearthed and where Jesus lived as a boy. The church was built in 1969 around the house of Mary, which preserves the crypt, and we couldn’t believe we were walking on the same paths that Jesus walked. The church is beautiful…modern in design and beautiful stained glass windows adorn the edifice. They are still excavating around the church, as Nazareth was a small town in biblical times and the need to preserve this history is critical.

After visiting the church, we had a delicious lunch of falafel or another dish with sliced turkey and veggies. Allan and I both had an Israeli beer that was quite good. From there we visited a local bakery and sampled a delicacy called knafe. DELICIOUS!!!!!

The cousin of the owner of the bakery was there and he is an Arab Muslim. Nazareth is home to the largest Arab population in Israel and the cousin said that he lives peaceably with the Jews from upper Nazareth as well as the Christians that live in his neighborhood. He speaks Arabic as well as Hebrew and he learned Hebrew from speaking with his Jewish customers over the years.

The schools in Nazareth are divided; Muslim and Christian in some and then the Jewish children attend another school. Only four schools in Nazareth teach Hebrew, English, and Arabic languages.

We then traveled to an olive farm and met the owner and hostess Shoshi. She enthralled us with the story of her life…her marriage to the man who wrote the story that was later made into the movie Top Gun, their olive farm where she makes virgin olive oil, and where she graciously welcomed us to make delicious herb and red pepper bread and fed us a fabulous dinner replete with our bread, fresh tomatoes, salad with home grown lemons used in the dressing, quiche and pasta. Her story is fascinating. Her husband sadly passed away four years ago, but not before he wrote the book No Margin for Error, the history of the Israeli Air Force. She is a generous and gracious woman and our time spent with her will not soon be forgotten.

We arrived at our hotel…Haifa Bay Club…and had happy hour and then up to our beautiful room for a good nights sleep. This day was memorable.

22 May 2017 Haifa

We had another fabulous breakfast in our new hotel…the Haifa Bay Club…a beautiful hotel with fabulous accoutrements. After breakfast we boarded our bus and visited the streets of Wadi Nisnas, an Arab neighborhood in Haifa. We learned about the peaceful coexistence between the Jewish and Arab neighborhoods. Haifa is mostly Jewish with 10% Arab Christians. During the Festival of Lights in Haifa, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Ramadan are celebrated with a parade in the streets and everyone gets along. Haifa is an eclectic city…with art everywhere and we enjoyed walking through the streets admiring the “graffiti ” on the buildings and the sculptures.

We walked through the back alleys and had a wonderful tasting of coffee that the proprietor brewed with cardamom and arabica beans and we also enjoyed a sweet treat. The proprietor was an Arab Muslim and was so gracious. Then we stopped into a falafel place and sampled delicious falafel with tahini sauce. Yum!!!!

Coffee is expensive in Israel, but an entrepreneurial couple started a coffee shop where everything in the shop is $1. This includes croissants, coffees, cakes, etc. and it has taken off and now can be found on almost every other street corner.

We left for our next stop, and experienced some road rage. A truck was trying to push our bus into the next lane and a small car to our left was being squeezed out because of this. The little white car’s driver became enraged and passed us and cut in front of our bus. He then came to a sudden complete stop on the highway in front of our bus forcing our driver to slam on the brakes so as not to hit him. It was a miracle that we weren’t rear ended and that our driver was able to avoid an accident. Everyone on the bus wanted to get the car’s license plate but the car sped away through a yellow light and we were unable to do so. Allan and I shared that we were originally from New York…and as New Yorkers, we know people who know people…and we could take him…which added a little levity to a tense situation.

We safely went on to arrive at our next destination…the magnificent Baha’i Gardens, the spiritual heart of the Baha’i faith. There are about seven million who practice this faith all over the world, and we were able to listen to a young man who told us of his faith. He lives in the states and is a premed student at the University of Washington, and is here at the gardens to learn more about his religion. The main thing he imparted to is is that God loves us all and doing good for your fellow man is paramount. The Baha’i faith is the most recent of the world’s religions. The message is that there is one God and one human race. It has no clergy but rather elected councils and all costs are covered by contributions.

The gardens leading to the shrine are magnificent. Symmetry is all important in the gardens and the detail and upkeep of the gardens is meticulous. The greenery is planted keeping in mind the mountain conservation and water resources. I was able to visit the shrine. After removing my shoes I entered into a small room that had candles and floor rugs… a silent venue for meditation. We then went to the top of Mount Carmel and was able to view the gardens and the port of Haifa…a breathtaking scene.

We then drove to Safed and due to its highest elevation of 3000 feet, it is known as Israelis highest city and it is also known as Israel’s center of Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah). We had a delicious lunch in a local street market…a pita bread filled with cheese, fresh vegetables and spices. It was amazingly delicious! We had some free time to walk up and down the street and look at the items for sale…jewelry, paintings, and beautiful Jewish handicrafts.

We visited the Yosef Caro Synagogue and according to legend, Rabbi Yosef Caro wrote his epic Code of Jewish Law in a cave under the present-day Caro synagogue. Yosef Caro synagogue itself was reconstructed on the site of the original synagogue after the 1837 earthquake. It houses an extensive geniza…archive of holy books…which can be viewed from the glassed in shelves which line the synagogue walls. Its location is in Northern Israel in Galilee. In Kabbalistic tradition, the Four Holy Cities of Judaism are each believed to embody an element of Nature: Jerusalem is earth, Tiberias is water, Hebron is fire, and Tzfat is air. Our guide spoke about the Torah…which are the five Books of Moses and the Books of the Prophets which are all handwritten. The synagogue itself faces Jerusalem. Lior, our guide took out her guitar and sang a beautiful song for us which was very moving as we were all sitting in the synagogue.

We originally visited the synagogue when we first arrived, and was able to take part in a service and the singing, clapping and joy that was evident in the room was contagious and we thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it all.

In Israel…you are either an Orthodox Jew or you are not. Mysticism believes there are many parts of God that are sent down and the people take these parts and try, by doing good works, to bring the parts together. You start with yourself..and then your family…your community and ultimately the universe.

From here we visited Zhfat, a community of Ethiopian Jews. There are about 50,000 Jews in Zhfat and the place we visited was the Ethiopian Absorption Center. We sat inside a hut and were served coffee, popcorn and a delicious homemade bread and one of the Ethiopians told us her story. She left Ethiopia, along with 15,000 others, in the 1980’s in search of Jerusalem. The journey was fraught with famine, lack of water and sickness. They traveled by foot for a month and a half, many of her family dying right before her eyes. They eventually came to Sudan and entered illegally during the night cover. Once inside Sudan, they were welcomed…or so they thought. However, given their color and the fact that they were refugees, some of their food was poisoned and even more Ethiopians perished. The Red Cross eventually housed them and helped them to make their way to Israel. Her story was so moving and so poignant. Today, the Ethiopians Jews arrive via plane and are arriving once a month, approximately 500 people per year to this community. They stay approximately two years…learning Hebrew and the Israeli culture and then they move out into the world. They are educated in the community and they all do various jobs.

Afterwards, we visited the school and enjoyed singing and coloring with markers with a kindergarten class. The children that we saw today were adorable. I sat and colored with a little boy…him telling me the colors I should use to complete the artwork. It’s amazing how we can communicate with just sign language and smiles. When I was leaving, I took a photo of three little girls…and showed them what they looked like..to their delight. They then followed me (I started skipping and they joined in) and they followed me practically to the bus. I finally had to do sign language to tell them I was leaving. I thought for a moment they were going to accompany me back home! We waved goodbye…and they ran off back to the compound.

It was a fabulous day…filled with so many beautiful moments and fraught with an education of many aspects of the Jewish religion.

We came back to our hotel and a few of us went to happy hour in lieu of going out for dinner. We had some delicious fare, some wine, lots of side splitting laughs…and now to bed. Another wonderful day in Israel!!!

23 May 2017 Haifa

Every morning the breakfasts are amazing. Mediterranean fare with olives, fish, cheeses, fruit and vegetables as well as eggs, pastries and usually a special dish of the day. Our hotel is beautiful and the bed very comfortable.

Today we took the optional tour which was a full day excursion. And when I say full day…WOW!

We left on our bus and as usual Lior explained a lot of things about Israel along the way. We passed an IKEA store and Lior told us that during Passover the food served there is kosher.

A new airport is being built in southern Israel and will open sometime next year. It will be named after the Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, who perished in the fatal Columbia mission.

Haifa, is Israel’s third largest port. Cars are imported as Israel does not make cars. They made a model out of fiberglass some years ago… But it was not a success. It seems fiberglass was enticing to camels and when you returned to your car after a day at work, your car would have been nibbled on… With side mirrors missing, etc. Most of the cars are white in Israel because of the hot climate.

Our first stop was the old city of Akko… Where we toured a perfectly preserved Crusader city which has been unearthed and brought back to life, located under a city that was built above it. The conquerers over the years were the Canaanites and Romans as well as the Crusaders, Turks and British. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We toured the fortresses, knights halls, the prisoner quarters, the crusader dining hall (which is rented out for weddings), and a secret tunnel which we walked through by having to bend over in places to get through. The pillars hall was impressive with 15 identical cross vault ceilings. In the prisoners hall, openings on the wall remained to attest to the fact that the prisoners were secured by chains. We played ring toss, a game they played years ago and I scored highest along with Brenda! Go girls!

They are still unearthing the ruins and it is always a decision as to what level of civilisation to stop at.

Afterwards we walked through the market with spices, fish, vegetables, etc to view and we savored all the unusual aromas. We visited a mosque and even though the ladies had short sleeved blouses, we were not allowed in unless our arms were covered. I always travel with a silk scarf for that purpose so I did not need to borrow a shawl from the mosque.

We had lunch overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and for the first time I didn’t enjoy the meal. I ordered beef kabob but rather than what I was used to, it was really chopped meat balls with seasoning and very over cooked. There is always a selection of cheeses, hummus, olives, tomatoes and zucchini, babagoosh pita, and tahini so I made a delicious meal of those offerings.

We then visited the Rosh HaNikra grottoes which are cavernous tunnels formed by sea action on the soft chalk rock. They branch off in various directions with some interconnecting segments. A tunnel was built during WW II for the Haifa- Beirut railroad line, and in 1968 a second one was dug, both connecting the grottoes with each other and allowing access (currently: only exit) along the former route of the WWII railroad. For many years though, the only access to the grottoes was from the sea and experienced swimmers and divers were the only ones capable of visiting. A cable car was built to take visitors down from the top of the cliff to the tunnels and with a 60-degree gradient, this cable car is advertised as the steepest in the world.

Now the railroad end in Lebanon has been cemented up. Lior said her hope one day it’s that the railroad will be open in peace – connecting the countries which now do not have good relations.

The grotto was gorgeous with the sea pouring in around us. It was magnificent. The walkway was slippery and we had to walk carefully but it was the highlight of the day.

We were able to talk with an Israeli soldier who guards the border between Lebanon and Israel. He was twenty years old and has another year in the military.

We arrived back at our hotel and we all walked to a restaurant in Haifa and Allan and in enjoyed a dish Saj and then delicious shrimp. Had a nice dark beer…A Perfect end to our day .

24 May 2017

3:00 pm Golan heights

After breakfast we bid goodbye to Haifa and started north to the Golan heights, stopping at the site of The Six-Day War. The Arab–Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967 by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt (known at the time as the United Arab Republic), Jordan, and Syria. By June 10, Israel had completed its final offensive in the Golan Heights, and a ceasefire was signed the day after. Israel had seized the Gaza Strip.

We saw the actual battlefield with the bunkers still in existence. In the distance you can see the line, not a border, (actually a fence) with Syria. There is a demilitarized zone in between Syria and Israel which is monitored by the United Nations. There is a memorial which lists the Israeli soldiers who lived in the Golan heights, who have perished in the different wars fought by Israel since the memorial was created in 1971. Mine fields are in closeGolan heights

From there we went to a Druze community in the Golan Heights and had a delicious traditional Druze lunch prepared by a Druze woman and a talk by a teacher, non secular, in the Druze community.

The Druze believe in one God and they believe in the prophets and Jesus and incorporate many religions in their faith. They can be religious or non secular. Her talk was very interesting and you can google the faith to find out more.

Back on the bus to our final destination, a stop was made and Lior jumped out to pick up some delicious cherries that are grown all along the Golan Heights. You can see the trees from the road. The cherries were deliciously sweet and we really enjoyed them.

We went on our way and Lior surprised us by making reservations for a wine tasting at a winery in the Golan Heights. We saw where the wine was made and then we took part in the tasting which was wonderful. And the good news is, we can purchase it back in the states. Many of the wines produced here have won gold medals in France and Germany.

We are staying at the Peace Vista overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Absolutely breathtaking. I can’t even believe we are here. We each have our own cabin with all the amenities; Cookies, fruit, wine and tomorrow a breakfast will be delivered to our door so we can enjoy it in our veranda. The weather is perfect with a lovely breeze off the sea and we drank wine from the winery and just mellowed out while waiting for dinner

We had a lovely dinner at the restaurant and watched the sunset over the sea of Galilee. We walked back to our cabin and had a drink with our friends and now it’s off to bed to get ready for a leisurely day tomorrow on the kibbutz.

25 May 2017 Peace vista

We are on a kibbutz on the Golan Heights. This morning our breakfast arrived and we enjoyed an egg pancake, delicious croissants, cheeses, fruit, olives, juice and coffee and tea.

Then we walked around the kibbutz and, Ruth who lives on the kibbutz, told us what life is like. This kibbutz started in 1973 and many of the residents came from the United States when they were just young adults. They just wanted an environment for themselves and their children of equality. One for all and all for one was their motto.

Each member of the kibbutz years ago was not compensated but rather just contributed to the kibbutz with their skills. Now members are paid according to the going rate of their profession. There are 70 families residing on the kibbutz with a population of 359 people.

Army service is mandatory in Israel and so it is for the youth on the kibbutz, both men and women. After serving, many kids travel the world by backpacking and then about 1 out of 3 return to the kibbutz to live.

The kibbutz is self sustaining. Their agriculture is sold domestically and it is also exported. Their main business is a company called ARI which manufactures supplies for fluid transport for sewers, drinking, and agriculture. The government does provide health care and a clinic is open three days a week. A doctor is on the kibbutz twice a week.

New members who want to join the kibbutz now have to buy membership which costs 200,000 shekels and they also have to buy their own home which is about 1 million shekels. Interestingly, they also submit a handwriting sample and the hand writing is analyzed because they feel a lot can be told about you by your handwriting. The council then decides if the person can join. The new applicants have a year and a half trial period before they are officially accepted to the kibbutz. It is a legal contract that cannot be broken… Even if the person turns out to be a criminal, he/she stays.

This kibbutz celebrates agrarian holidays rather than religious ones. They just believe in being a good person and doing good deeds. The boys can get bar mitzvahed outside in a religious ceremony and then they return to the kibbutz for the celebration.

They also have a milk farm and sell the raw milk to a company for pasteurization. There are over 1000 cows, and they are artificially inseminated as there are no bulls on the kibbutz. The cows are milked three times a day by milking machines. Only 450 cows are milked at a time.

We saw the nursery and pre-K and the little ones are encouraged to learn on their own within a safe environment. One little one was sitting eating the dirt and having a great time. They played in the sand, and had all the toys one would see in the states. In third grade through 12th, the children leave the kibbutz each day to attend school.

We all then went to the cafeteria and did our part for our lunch by peeling bags of carrots. Lunch was delicious… Chicken, schnitzel, vegetables, salads, and of course, carrots…so much more.

After lunch we drove to the Gamla nature reserve located in the center of the Golan Heights. We stopped at an overlook on the hill of Gamla and saw the remains of Gamla that was uncovered in archaeological digs. The reserve also has the largest griffon vulture nesting colony in the world. One of the vultures showed off his flying talents and soared fairly close, a site Lior said rarely happens. The views were spectacular as we gazed from the hill shaped like a camel hump (hence the name of the reserve Gamla) and saw the ancient city with its wall and synagogue and the sea of Galilee. We also saw an olive press as well as the ruins of an old church from the Byzantine period.

We had a wonderful day and finished it off with a picnic outside our cabin watching another magnificent sunset over the sea of Galilee. We look forward to breakfast being delivered to our cabin tomorrow once again before bidding farewell to the Peace Vista, a magnificent place to stay in the Golan Heights.

On a side note… Allan and I purchased scott E vests before we left and they have been so useful for our travel. They have numerous pockets for sunglasses, iPad, phone, pen, and a pocket for wallet and passport that is RFID protected. I don’t have to carry a pocketbook so I have my hands free and it is wonderful. We purchased the summer weight vests and all the people on our tour wanted to know where we bought them because they thought they were so nice. I highly recommend them!

26 May 2017 Tiberias and Jordan River

We had another delicious breakfast delivered to our cabin door this morning and we enjoyed the morning serenity overlooking the Sea of Galilee. It was so quiet with just the birds chirping and a perfect place for meditation.

Galilee was mountainous, and swampy years ago…quite a different land from today. Of course the land is still hilly, but it is now mostly agriculture that is seen on the land.

Shnat shmita, is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the Land of Israel and is still observed in contemporary Judaism. During shmita, the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden by Jewish law. The produce that is grown by non orthodox Jews is actually marked with the words Shnat shmita… so that the orthodox Jews do not purchase. The reason for letting the trees, etc go for a year without tending is so the land is preserved for the future generations and has a chance to renew.

The sea of Galilee, where we spent the last two days, is also known as Kinneret. It is actually a freshwater lake. It is approximately 13 miles long, and 8.1 miles wide. It provides 50% of the water supply to Israel. Most of Christ’s miracles took place near this sea.

Today was a day following in the footsteps of Jesus and our first stop was Capernaum. According to the Gospels, Jesus selected this town as the center of his public ministry in Galilee after he left his hometown of Nazareth.

We visited the House of Peter, the home of one of Christ’s disciples. We also viewed the remains of a group of private houses built around the 1st century BC nearby the House of Peter. There is evidence that Jesus stayed in the house of Peter to pray and to speak to the people as graffiti was found on the walls with Jesus’ name as well as Peter’s. This was not the house where Peter actually lived as there is no indication of smoke residue that would have been apparent in the actual abode. It is where Christ connected with the people.

Also on the site are the ruins of one of the oldest synagogues in the world hailing from the 4th century. Below the synagogue are the ruins of a foundation of a synagogue that was built in the 1st century, perhaps one that was mentioned in the Gospels.

From there we went to the Mount of Beatitudes where it is believed Jesus gave the sermon on the Mount. Today the site is a tranquil garden with a Franciscan church featuring the eight beatitudes in stained glass. You can view Capernaum, Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee from its vantage point.

We then went to the Galilee’s Miracles Center. In 1986, two brothers discovered a Galilee boat which had been buried and protected since the first century BC. We were able to view the actual boat that went under extensive restoration. The story of how the boat was resurrected from its muddy confines and the process that had to carefully keep the boat in tact was fascinating. It was the type of boat fisherman used as referred to in the Gospels… So was this a fisherman’s boat or the actual boat that Christ sailed in when he calmed the sea, and encouraged his disciples to become fishers of men. It is a question that will probably never be answered.

We then sailed on a vessel on the sea of Galilee and enjoyed singing and dancing as we traversed the waters and then stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Tiberias that served St Peter’s fish accompanied by the vegetables, hummus, cheeses, babagoosh and olives that we have come to love. I am not a big fish eater but this was absolutely delicious and I didn’t get one bone. Hooray!

From there we travelled to the Jordan River where two of our fellow travelers wanted to be rebaptized. We watched the baptism and a few of us went into the Jordan and blessed ourselves with the water. It was a poignant experience.

We then drove on to Jerusalem where we will spend the next five nights. We drove through the desert, passing Jericho and at times, having the country of Jordan close by with a fence dividing the lands. We also passed a checkpoint as we entered the West Bank and saw Palestinian and Israeli settlements as well as Bedouin villages.

We arrived at our hotel in time for happy hour and had couscous stew, stuffed grape leaves, vegetables, olives and of course, wine.

11:30 pm

Galilee

)ןויצ רכיכ( Zion Square Sea of Galilee cruise

27 May 2017 Jerusalem

After breakfast we had the opportunity to talk with a Palestinian Muslim who shared his perspective on living in Israel. He said the land of Israel is different from the state of Israel and all he would like to see is equal rights for all.

We then visited the Church of All Nations, also known as the Church or Basilica of the Agony. It is located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, next to the Garden of Gethsemane. It enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest on the Thursday before his crucifixion. The architect, Antonio Barluzzi designed the church to be in semi darkness, with somber stained glass windows to depict the sadness of that night, but the altar is magnificently bright which we felt showed the final glory on Easter morning. The church is adjacent to the Garden of Gethsemane.

We then travelled to the Ayalon Institute, which was a secret ammunition factory disguised as part of a kibbutz. During the British mandate in the 1940’s, the Jewish people began planning ways to make guns to fight for independence. Keeping the supply of bullets was difficult, hence the secret creation of the ammunition factory.

The stairs leading down to the factory were under a huge washing machine on the kibbutz and the washing machine had to be rolled forward and backwards each day to allow entrance and exit of the workers. The noise of the laundry room helped to keep the noise of the ammunition making area concealed.

Since the people that worked in the factory were deprived of sunlight, they became pale and weak. In addition to being unhealthy, it was a security risk, so the workers sat under quartz sunlamps and had to consume fish oil and milk.

The factory was the size of a tennis court. Only about forty people worked in the secret facility and the rest of the kibbutz had no idea what was going on. The workers always showed up for meals and had to sneak out from underground stairs into the laundry room at mealtimes, blending in as if they had just come in from the fields and not from the underground. The factory produced 40,000 bullets a day and stopped operating three years after it was built. The original equipment is on display in the underground room

After lunch we toured the Church of the Visitation in Jerusalem, which honors the visit paid by the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. This is the site where tradition tells us that Mary recited her song of praise, the Magnificat.

Nearby was The Church of Saint John the Baptist that belongs to a Franciscan order. It was built at the site where Saint John the Baptist was believed to have been born.

We had happy hour back at the hotel and enjoyed a delicious shrimp dinner at local restaurant.

28 May 2017

1:30 pm Jerusalem

Today we visited the City of David, an Israeli settlement and the archaeological site from ancient Jerusalem. The ruins shed light on the land of Israel under the rule of King David in 1004 BC. We walked the ancient tunnel built by King Hezekiah in 701.

We then visited the Israeli museum where we took a closer look at the dead Sea scrolls which are housed in the Shrine of the Book. It was built to look like the urns where the scrolls were discovered.

After lunch we drove to Bethlehem. A local guide took over the tour at this point as our guide Lior, being an Israeli citizen is not allowed to travel into Bethlehem. There were huge signs along the way stipulating that.

In Bethlehem we had a delicious shawarma at Ruth’s restaurant and then we visited the Church of the Nativity built over the grotto where Mary is believed to have given birth. Our tour also included visiting shepherds’ field, where the angel is said to have announced Christ’s birth.

We ate dinner at happy hour and then went off to enjoy Belgium waffles. Yum!

29 May 2017 Jerusalem

It was a very poignant and moving morning. We visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the dead; honouring Jews who fought against their Nazi oppressors and Gentiles who risked their lives harboring and aiding Jews during this horrific time.

The museum was shaped like an elongated triangle. We were not allowed to take pictures in the museum. We spent over two hours walking through and reading and listening to survivor stories and seeing all the memorabilia that has been collected over the years… Some of it very hard to see given the atrocities.

The Hall of Names was the last room in the museum; a memorial to the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. The main hall has 600 photographs. These are reflected in the water at the bottom of large stone cone. Surrounding the opening is a circular platform, housing the approximately 2.2 million pages of testimony from survivors and their families collected to date, with empty spaces for those yet to be submitted. It was a beautiful tribute and a very emotional experience. We exited into the bright sun seeing
Jerusalem in the distance, a hope for the future.

We then entered the Children’s Memorial on the site that honored the children killed in the Holocaust. We entered through a long corridor into a dark room where five memorial candles were burning. These candles were reflected off of a series of mirrors and those five candles become millions of stars throughout the darkened room. These lights represent the one and a half million children murdered in the Holocaust. In the background the names of the children, their ages and country or origin were being read continually. It brought tears to my eyes too think that these young lives were taken and never could reach the potential that could have been in each one.

We then had the opportunity to listen to an 83 year old woman who lived through this time in Poland. Her mother, father and sister had a good life, one of means when suddenly, the Nazis came and took away everything. They had to leave their home taking only essentials with them and were sent to the ghettos. Life was hard on the ghetto with hardly any food and basic needs were neglected. There was no medical help for the sick… And because of the conditions many died. Only through luck in seeing a man her father knew from the past, was her family sent to the ghetto rather than the concentration camps. She said when they got to the end of the queue where people were separated from their families and sent to either the ghetto or the campus, , as luck would have it, a German that her father had done business with was there and sent the family to the line where lives would be spared. (Sadly, her father tried to find the man after the war to thank him, but he could never find him nor his family).

This courageous lady watched some of her neighbors get shot by a nazi who had the nickname Frankenstein, who, depending on his mood, would just shoot people for sport. She narrowly escaped being shot herself one day as this Frankenstein told her to walk slowly home as he walked behind her pointing his gun at her, laughing the whole time.

They had to figure out who to trust in the ghetto and when they did, they paid someone to look the other way and to open the gates at night so they could escape. Not everyone in her family could escape. It was decided that she and her mother would leave, leaving her sister and father behind, because the home where they would be hidden in only had room for two. It was a heart wrenching time for the family.

Some of the homes she was hidden in had caring people who kept them warm and fed. In one home however, the woman was quite uncaring and made her mother and she sleep in a cold building on the ground and did not provide even a blanket for them to keep warm during the long winter.

Eventually after the war, her family was reunited and moved to Sweden where she met her husband. She and her husband now live in Jerusalem.

We then had lunch and went to the largest hospital in Israel to views the Marc Chagall stained glass windows. The windows are displayed in the Fannie and Maxwell Abbell Synagogue, in the central square of Hadassah Ein-Kerem hospital. The windows depict the lives of the twelve tribes of Israel. The windows are magnificent with vivid blues, reds and golds. We were so glad to have the opportunity to view them.

The hospital has over 1,000 beds and when we walked in, we went through a huge mall where you could purchase everything from clothing to shoes to cakes and pastries. It was amazing to see people being wheeled in wheelchairs through the mall.

As we walked to the exhibit, there was a protest going on on the oncology floor. It seems they are going to close the oncology unit as five oncologists quit. They said they could not keep up since so many people from outside the country were seeking help and they could no longer be responsible for giving excellent care. A mother of a child with cancer told us what the protest was about and apologized to us for the disturbance. But she said her son had had a bone marrow transplant and now she would have to go to Tel Aviv to continue his care. It was heartbreaking.

For dinner tonight we were invited to join an ultra orthodox family for dinner and had the opportunity to talk with them about their life. Our guide Lior told the women in our group not to offer to shake the hand of the man and the men were told not to touch the woman. The man was dressed in a white shirt and black pants but did not have the long curls but rather sideburns. The couple had been married for two years and had a little boy. Their marriage was made by a match maker although they did not have to continue to date each other if it hadn’t worked out. They had about five dates, became engaged and within three months were married. The husband stays home and studies the Torah for ten hours a day and his wife, who is a social worker is the bread winner. They have no TV, they have a kosher phone which means no internet on it. If they need internet for business the internet is filtered so no inappropriate material can be seen.

They live on modest means as many of their needs are met by borrowing items from others in the community like clothing for children, wedding gowns, cribs, high chairs etc. They call it their “yellow pages”. They try to follow the word of God in everything they do and they believe in having many children to fulfill the commandment to be fruitful and multiply.

We were fed delicious food – a veal stew with many side dishes and pita bread. It was a fascinating and very informative evening.

30 May 2017 Jerusalem

After breakfast we embarked on a journey through Old Jerusalem. We first visited the Western Wall, once called the Wailing Wall. The Western Wall is considered holy due to its connection to the Temple Mount. It had great spiritual significance in the Jewish and Islamic traditions. Women were on one side of the wall and the men prayed to the left of them with a fence in-between. Although the wall is nearly 1600 feet in length, only 230 feet are visible above ground.

The practice of placing slips of paper containing written prayers to God into the cracks of the Western Wall, is a tradition and we were able to see thousands of notes tucked into the crevasses everywhere.
Over a million notes are placed each year in what has become a custom, not only for tourists, but also for high-profile dignitaries visiting Israel from abroad. The notes are collected twice a year and buried on the nearby Mount of Olives since many of the notes mention God by name and therefore cannot just be thrown away.

I placed my prayer request in a crack, said an additional prayer of thanks and walked backwards away from the wall, to show respect. My note will eventually be buried on the Mt of Olives near the Garden of Gethsemane.

We then went underground to explore the parts of the wall that were sealed off and that have been hidden for more than 2000 years. It was remarkable.

We walked old Jerusalem on foot, seeing the Jewish quarter and climbed to the top of a vantage point to see the view all of Jerusalem.

We then walked along the Via Dolorosa – the ancient way of sorrows where Christ walked to his crucifixion. We passed by nine Stations of the Cross and the last five stations were inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is believed to be the site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection.

I was able to kneel down and place my hand on the stone where Christ’s crucifixion cross stood on Golgotha.

After lunch we strolled the streets of Jerusalem’s Arab and Christian quarters and then visited Mt Zion the site of the Last Supper. It was a wonderful experience and an amazing journey.

Tonight begins the festival of Shavuot a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to the entire Israelite nation assembled at Mt. Sinai. Jewish people flock to the synagogues at sundown and spend the entire night praying. We saw many families carrying mattresses and blankets for their family as they made their way to the temples to spend the night.

31 May 2017 The dead Sea and Massada National Park

Today we left Jerusalem, but not before having a final photo op overlooking the city. Our guide played a song on the top of the Mt of Olives and we drank wine to celebrate the end of our amazing stay in Jerusalem.

We then travelled to the Qumran national park to see the caves where the dead Sea scrolls were discovered by Bedouins shepherds in 1947. Between 1951 and 1956 additional scrolls were found. The scrolls were hidden in jars for nearly two thousand years and were well preserved as a result of the climate and low humidity. We viewed the scrolls when we visited The Shrine of the Book in the Israel museum a few days ago.

We then travelled to Masada National Park. The story of Masada was recorded by Josephus Flavius. At the time of the revolt, Flavius was in Rome but the debate surrounding the accuracy of his accounts have been born out in excavations of the area.

The great revolt took place between the Romans and the Jews in 66 BC. A man named Eleazar Ben Yair fled from Jerusalem to Masada to become the commander of the rebel community in the mountain. Masada was the last rebel stronghold in Judea when the Roman legion, consisting of 8000 troops laid an attack on the mountain. The Romans built camps around the base of the mountain and built a battering ram to attack the wall. The seige lasted a few months and when the hope of the rebels dwindled, the leaders on the mountain thought it better to commit suicide then to live in shame as Roman slaves.

In Josephus Flavius’ own words … “Then having chosen by lot ten of their number to dispatch the rest, they laid themselves down each beside his prostate wife and flinging their arms around them, offered their throats in readiness for the executants of the melancholy office. These, having unswervingly slaughtered all, ordained the same time rule of the lot for one another,that he on whom it fell should slay first the nine and then himself last of all.” The stones with the names of the rebels were found at the site.

And an except from Ben Yair’s speech…
“Let our wives die before they are abused and our children before they have tasted slavery; and after we have slain them, let us bestow that glorious benefit upon one another mutually and preserve ourselves in freedom as an excellent funeral monument for us. But first let us destroy our money and the fortresses by fire; for I am well assured that this will be a bitter blow to the Romans, that they shall not be able to seize upon our bodies and shall fail to our wealth also; and let us spare nothing but our provisions, for they will be a testimonial when we are dead that we are not subdued for want of necessaries but that according to our original resolution, we have preferred death that we are not subdued for want of necessaries; but that according to our original resolution we have preferred death to slavery.”

According to Josephus, two women and five children who had been hiding in the cisterns on the mountaintop, surrendered and were taken to Jerusalem. The ruins are exactly as they were years ago and it was amazing to be there to view it all. We took a cable car to the top of the mountain to view the ruins.

We are now in the desert and it was beastly hot as we took the cable car to the ruins and walked the plateau. We drank water and kept refilling on the way.

I highly recommend the book The Dovekeepers, a 2011 historical novel by American writer Alice Hoffman. The novel dramatizes the Siege of Masada by the Roman troops and is an excellent read. We saw the actual dovecote that was talked about in the book. Also the movie Masada is a must see.

Our hotel is on the Dead Sea and tomorrow we will get a chance to swim and float there. Parts of the Dead Sea are used to cull bromine, potassium, and magnesium, which are major exports for the Israeli economy. People with psoriasis and other skin problems come to the sea for treatment, which is very beneficial.

We are in a spa hotel and look forward to a spa treatment tomorrow. Dinner tonight was buffet style and delicious and since we are really tired from hiking around all day, we look forward to bedtime.

01 Jun 2017 The Dead Sea

This morning after breakfast we hopped into Land Rovers and went on an off-road adventure through the Judean desert. The scenery was beautiful with canyons similar to the Grand Canyon (although of course not as immense) , dry river beds, and amazing views of the Dead Sea.

The ride was rough and pretty scary at times as there were sheer drops. Thank goodness we were in the 4×4 as at times we traversed over soft silty lime.

We rode to the top of Mt Sodam, which believe it or not, is rising at a rate of .14 inches per year. It is about 80 percent salt. Interestingly, even though it is a mountain, we were still about 557 feet below sea level but 742 feet above the Dead Sea.

Our guide poured some water onto the canyon wall and I tasted it. Sooooooo salty! We also peeked into a salt cave where we could see the white salt on the walls. Since this is a national park, the salt is not removed and cannot be marketed.

There are some beautiful pillars that we passed and saw a famous one known as “Lot’s wife”, in reference to the Biblical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. I took a photo and captured a beam of sunlight streaming down, which was pretty cool.

We stopped to view the Dead Sea Works, the world’s fourth-largest producer and supplier of potash. The company also produces magnesium, industrial salts, de- icers, bath salts, table salt, and raw materials for the cosmetic industry. It has customers in over 60 countries. Rather than extracting potash and other minerals from the Dead Sea by mining them directly, the company makes use of solar evaporation with shallow pond off- shoots of the sea.

We had a wonderful picnic under a tree in the desert and then rode back to our hotel for our afternoon swim in the Dead Sea.

The ladies were told not to shave our legs and the men didn’t shave their faces for at least 24 hours before the swim. If you shave, you really feel the burn from the salty water. We also wore beach shoes since some of the rocks of salt are sharp.

The water was so warm and we all went out and floated around. You have no choice but to float as the water keeps you buoyant. Some of the swimmers had trouble righting themselves again and couldn’t get their legs back down to stand up which was pretty funny to watch. I had no difficulty and spent my time floating and walking around. One person got salt water in their eye and had to go back to the beach to wash it out. It hurts! I tasted the water and yowser…It is salty!!!

The Dead Sea is earth’s lowest elevation on land at more than 1300 feet below sea level. It has about 34% salinity. Because it is so salty, nothing flourishes although there apparently are some microorganisms that can survive the salty environ.

The Dead Sea is receding at an alarming rate and there is a project called the Jordan National Red Sea Development Project which is being implemented to help with the problem.

We sat under a huge canopy out of the intense sun for awhile to allow the minerals to do their thing on our skin and then we rinsed off and returned to the hotel to get the salts off with a nice soapy shower. It was an amazing experience!!

Having dinner in our hotel tonight. Can’t believe tomorrow we return to Tel Aviv for our last day in Israel.

02 Jun 2017 Our last day in Israel

After another amazing breakfast at the spa hotel we were off to visit En Gedi Nature Reserve located on the edge of the Judean desert.

We saw the ibex, who live in herds and have the ability to climb the steep mountainous rock formations in the area. The horns on the male ibex grow throughout the animal life and can reach enormous length. The male’s are also bearded. The other animal we saw was the hyrax who live in the rocks or the brush. They live in groups and look almost like gophers.

We saw the Tristan’s grackle which is a beautiful bird with a red tipped wing and a loud singing voice that you can hear throughout the reserve.

There was a beautiful waterfall as well and Lior took the opportunity to splash around and cool off.

Back on the bus, I asked Lior to play a song I had on my phone that I thought would be appropriate…”I Had the Time of My Life”, from Dirty Dancing. Everyone on the bus sang along and we pointed to Lior every time the words… “And we owe it all to you” were sung. Lior came back and hugged me. It was really a sweet moment and she has been an amazing guide so the song lyrics were very true.

We arrived at our hotel in Tel Aviv… Where we began our amazing journey over two weeks ago. We went for one last shawarma lunch and the chef even gave us a falafel to munch on while we waited.

We had happy hour together and then headed off for the farewell dinner at a nearby restaurant. We sang songs, told stories of our trip and just enjoyed being together. Lior gave everyone a limestone rock from the desert that she picked up and on it she wrote our names in Hebrew as well as the date of our trip. A special and thoughtful gift. On the ride home she played “Leaving On A Jetplane” and Green Peace’s “Time of Your Life”. We all said goodbye with some tears and promised to keep in touch. It was a great group of people and we all got along very well.

Israel is a beautiful country and we enjoyed the history and the biblical significance from both the old and new testaments. Lior was excellent in giving us a true representation of every place we visited and she made Israel come alive and for that we are ever grateful.

I’d like to end my journal with a quote from the author James Michener…”If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home”.

So very glad we didn’t stay home!!! ‘Shabbat Shalom’

FLORENCE, ITALY 2017

04/08/201704/24/2025Irene

28 Dec 2017 Florence, Italy

Off with our friends to enjoy New Year’s Eve in Florence, Italy. Will let you know when we arrive. Ciao!

29 Dec 2017 Flight to Florence

We were delayed in Newark and didn’t take off until well after nine pm. We had dinner on the plane… salad, green beans, stuffing and… Wait for it…turkey with BBQ sauce. Yuck! But I did have two nice size glasses of red wine which made up for the not so great meal.

There was a lot of turbulence throughout the flight… And we were really rocking, but interestingly, I found it soothing and I actually slept for once on a plane. Go figure.

We transferred planes in Munich and flew on to Florence, flying over the beautiful mountains with little towns tucked beneath them. We checked into our hotel, The Diplomat and then we walked around town a little with our friends the Elliotts and the Williams. We found the restaurant where we made reservations for New Year’s and it seems like a quaint little place so we are looking forward to eating there.

We walked by the river Arno, and viewed the Ponte Vecchio or Old Bridge. The Germans, during WW II, destroyed all the bridges crossing the Arno, but this bridge miraculously was not destroyed.

It was around five and most restaurants close in Florence from 4 to 7 pm, and we were getting pretty hungry so we didn’t want too wait. We found one place open right by our hotel and we stopped in and enjoyed delicious soup and pizza there.

The weather was beautiful today and it was nice to escape the low temperatures we left in Bethlehem.

Tomorrow will be a busy day and we are tired so I’ll say goodnight!

30 Dec 2017 Florence

We had an amazing day in Florence. The weather was perfect and we started the day with a bus tour that took us to see an overview of the city. The view was spectacular and after the photo op we drove to visit the Galleria dell ’Accademia to see the renown sculptures by Michelangelo including above all, the statue of David. The statue of David was created between 1501 and 1504 and stands about 14 feet high. The marble statue depicts the biblical hero David, before battle with the giant Goliath. It is interesting that Michelangelo chose to depict David before battling the giant rather than afterwards, as most work had depicted up until that time. The details of the sculpture, like the veins in the arm and the taut leg muscles highlight Michelangelo’s amazing understanding of the human anatomy. It is also interesting that the head of David, his right hand and his feet are not in proportion to the rest of his body, but are much larger than they would ordinarily be. Some scholars think this was done by the artist on purpose as the statue was originally supposed to be placed high atop the cathedral of Florence and therefore those parts of the body had to be accentuated to be viewed from far below. But the vestry decided it was too beautiful to be placed atop the cathedral so the statue was placed in Piazza della Signoria where it remained until 1873 when it was moved to the Accademia under the magnificent skylight that was created to further enhance the statue’s beauty.

We also visited the Uffizi Gallery, one of the most prominent art galleries in Italy. Many of the works were gifted to the museum by the ruling house of Medici. On display are many famous works of art by Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo, Davinci, and Raphael. As we were fortunate to view these original works of art, we could understand how these artists are among the greatest of all time.

We also toured Florence on foot with our guide, seeing the beautiful churches and squares and window shopped along the quaint streets.

Back at our hotel we had a glass of wine and spoke with Lucy, our concierge, who helped us plan a day on our own for tomorrow. Ten of us will take the train to Lucca, a Tuscan village and when we return, we will celebrate the new year.

We all went out to dinner and went back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep after an amazing day in Florence.

31 Dec 2017 New year’s Eve

Today we decided to take a train ride to the town of Lucca, a little Tuscan town about 1 1/2 hours by train from Florence. We were going to go to Pisa but our concierge said Lucca was a more authentic Italian town.

The first site you see when you get off the train is the Cathedral of San Martino, a beautiful structure in the square. We couldn’t get into the cathedral upon arriving, since Sunday mass was going on, so we walked the narrow streets for awhile waiting for the mass to finish. The shop windows were decorated for the Christmas holiday and I loved looking into many of the upscale stores along the way. I also loved watching the people go by, many dressed for Sunday services at the Cathedral of San Martino, and hearing the Italian language spoken as the people passed. by..

When we were sure the mass was ending, we made our way back to the cathedral. However… we couldn’t find it, which was pretty unbelievable considering the massive size of the church. We

walked and walked and walked… Finally asking someone along the way who didn’t speak English but attempted to send us in the right direction with hand signals. We finally found the cathedral and went in, after paying three Euros apiece, but the cathedral was not as beautiful as the many other cathedrals we have seen in our travels, so it was a bit disappointing.

We had seen a place to eat lunch on our earlier journey through the streets so we made our way back and had a delicious lunch of pizza and of course wine. We then walked thru the market and all the ladies bought rain hats which looked pretty dorky on us, but they were lined and warm and kept our heads dry from the raindrops that had started to fall.

We caught the train back to Florence, had some more wine and then got ready for our new year’s celebration at 13 Gobbi, a restaurant where we had reservations.

We had a delicious meal at 13 Gobbi….too much to eat… lots of wine… And lots of laughs! Midnight came and we toasted each other, so happy to be with good friends to ring in 2018. We also raised our glasses to our friend Ron who passed away New Year’s Eve last year and also to our friend Nader who we wish the best for as he regains his health.

We lit sparklers and started singing Auld Lang Syne, God Bless America, as well as a few other songs, to the delight of some other Americans who told us as we left that they enjoyed our singing! We’ll be here all week folks!!

We made our way back to our hotel… Watching out for the fire crackers being set off by many of the Italians in the streets, and fell into bed since we have an early wake up tomorrow to visit Cinque Terre.

Happy New Year!!!!

01 Jan 2018 Cinque terre

This morning we were up bright and early to take a tour of Cinque Terre with some of the most dramatic coastal scenery short of the Amalfi coast. Cinque Terre is made up of five beautiful fishing villages and has been an Unesco World Heritage Site since 1997. The town’s are amazing, with tunnels cut into the mountainside and trains and boats that ferry you from town to town. Since it is off season, boats were not a available, but we took the trains to get from place to place. The cliffs seem like they would be uninhabited given their steepness, but homes are built into the mountainside and roads and pathways are carved into the cliff sides. A railway line cuts through a series of coastal tunnels and carries inhabitants and visitors from village to village.

The heavens opened and poured down upon us during our visit to Porto Venere, a village on the Ligurian coast of northwestern Italy. Porto Venere is not part of the five villages of Cinque Terre. When we arrived, we climbed up the hill to visit the gothic Church of St. Peter, consecrated in 1198. It was a very austere church, but the outside portico with its breathtaking view of the Mediterranean was worth the climb and the braving of the raindrops. The village could be walked in fifteen minutes and the seaside views were spectacular. Amazingly, the sun came out and stayed with us for the rest of the day.

From there our bus took us to the train station where we were transported to Manarola, the first village we visited in Cinque Terre. Manarola is the second smallest of the famous five Cinque Terre villages. We were fortunate to be visiting Manarola around the Christmas holiday as the hillside is turned into a huge nativity scene with 300 characters gracing the mountainside.

We walked the streets, where boats are parked like cars along the road, awaiting the warmer weather to be ferried into the water, and we walked down to the sea to view the breathtaking views.

We boarded another train to Vernazza, a quaint seaside town where we visited Santa Margherita di Antiochia Church. This church overlooks the square and sits atop The harbor. The church is peaceful and simplistic with its stone columns. It dates back to 1318.

Monterosso, the next town we visited is the largest and most commercial of the communities and features the longest sandy beach, although the sand was not white but rather a grayish black with many stones. People were lounging on the sand and most had their dogs with them who were having fun running after the breakers. We enjoyed a delicious lunch in one of the many restaurants. I had gnocchi with shrimp and Allan had ravioli in a bolognese sauce. And of course… wine!

We found a bench looking over the sea and sat down to let the sunshine warm our faces as we waited for the next train to take us to Corniglia.

Corniglia is not right on the sea, but rather up high on the cliffs. It is a beautiful town and we walked around enjoying window shopping and watching the people. We boarded another train that took us to our bus for the two hour ride back to Florence.

Allan and I weren’t hungry so we just had prosciutto, cheese and sun- dried tomato sandwiches on delicious bread with some wine and then went to bed to get a good night’s sleep before our day trip tomorrow to Siena and San Gimignano.

Florence, Italy

02 Jan 2018

11:30 am

Siena and San Gimignano

Stazione Pisa Centrale

I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about the hotel we have been spending the week at. The Diplomat has many amenities…a fully stocked bar, manned by Ricardo, and a nice seating area where we spent many evenings socializing with our friends and reliving our daily sojourns.

Our room has a king-sized bed, but really no place to unpack your clothes in, which was fine for me, since I don’t unpack but rather leave everything in my travel cubes.

The bathroom has a heated towel bar which not only held the towels that enfolded us in warmth after our showers, but also dried our hand-washables in record time. Speaking of showers, the fire alarm went off the other morning on our floor but since the cleaning staff seemed very calm, Allan and I just walked down the stairs and went on our way to breakfast. Apparently fire alarms go off if someone is taking a steamy hot shower.

One morning we woke up to a trickle of water from our sink faucet and no water in the shower. I quickly filled up our sink with what little water came out of the tap before it stopped completely and we used that to get washed. The water came back about an hour later but by that time, we were ready to go on our tour and so off we went. (We did try to stay away from folks though throughout the day. Phew!) LOL!

We took a day long tour of Siena and San Gimignano today, traveling by bus. Siena is a city in central Italy’s Tuscany region, and is known for its medieval brick buildings that grace the streets. The city’s 17 historic “contrade” (districts) extend outward from the piazza and the historic center of Siena has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

We stopped in to visit St. Dominic Basilica, where Catherine of Siena’s body is preserved. Well actually, only parts of Catherine are mummified there; her head and her thumb. The rest of her body parts are in other parts of Italy. Since she was so revered, many churches

wanted her…Even if it was just a small relic of her body.

The Basilica had an addition added to it, but unfortunately, the addition was more modern than the original. The stained glass windows I thought looked hideous… Like they were drawn by a six year old and colored in. I felt it was a shame, considering the beautiful paintings and original Gothic architecture in the old part.

Another site we saw was the Piazza del Campo, the enormous square in the historic center of Siena where twice a year, The Palio di Siena takes place. This is a horse race where ten of the seventeen contrades are represented and the jockeys ride barebacked and compete to be the winner. The race is run for three laps of the piazza and usually lasts no more than 90 seconds. According to Wikipedia…”It is common for a few of the jockeys to be thrown off their horses while making the treacherous turns in the piazza, and indeed, it is not unusual to see unmounted horses finishing the race without their jockeys”. YIKES!

We saw many beautiful churches, but the most spectacular was the Siena Cathedral. This magnificent structure has four distinct sides but the main portal highlights Romanesque, Gothic, and Classical architecture. It truly is a work of art.

We saw Torre del Mangia, a 340 foot bell tower, walked the quaint streets, and we found a nice place for lunch… And yes… Had some Chianti as well!

Then it was off to San Gimignano, another Tuscan town not too far away. The town is encircled by walls from the 13th century. Upon arrival we were treated to a beautiful panorama of the Tuscan area atop a hill and then we walked Florence, Italy

around until we came to some of the 14 towers that are in the walled town. From a distance, the towers might look like midtown Manhattan, but we only were able to view them from up close.

Our guide was knowledgeable, but after awhile we really didn’t know what we were seeing and what the historical significance was (and to tell you the truth, we really didn’t care). The breeze had picked up and we were starting to get chilled so we just wanted to end the tour and find some hot cocoa. Which we did and boy…was the cocoa delicious. It was the consistency of chocolate syrup and I had to ask for some milk to dilute it a little. It was delicious and really hit the spot!

It was a long day and we just had a sandwich, some wine and then went to our rooms for a good night’s sleep.

03 Jan 2018 Pisa and Florence

Florence, Italy

Today Allan and I decided to go off on our own and took the train to Pisa to see the leaning tower. How could we be an hour away from Pisa by rail and not see that iconic landmark? It is so easy to get around via the train system and we were in Pisa in a little more than an hour.

We walked from the train station through the streets of Pisa, and crossed the Arno river, the same river that flows through Florence, starting in the Appenines, continuing through Pisa and ending up in the Tyrrhenian Sea which is part of the Mediterranean.

There are many upscale stores in Pisa and many little cafes tucked along the main street. After about a twenty minute walk, we made a turn and there before us was the tower. The tower is in the Piazza del Duomo, where the cathedral and the baptristy can also be seen and the entire area is enclosed in walls. We researched and found out that although the leaning tower is probably the most famous landmark, it is actually the bell tower for the magnificent Duomo (cathedral).

The tower started to lean during construction in the 12th century because of soft ground on one side that couldn’t support the weight of the structure. The tower continued to lean through the decades and was stabilized in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The height of the tower is 183.27 feet from the ground on the low side and 185.93 feet on the high

side. According to Wikipedia…”Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees”.

All around were tourists doing the touristy thing of having one person take the photo of another “holding up” the tower. Were we going to participate in that silly make- believe????? You betcha!!! And we have the pics to prove it.

We walked back to the train station along the river and saw a beautiful little church, Santa Maria della Spina. The tiny church was built around 1230 and the architecture was magnificent. What an unexpected treasure to find.

We took the express train back to Florence and as we exited the station, Allan commented that he got me back to Florence in one Pisa! Always the comedian that guy!!!

We did some more touring of Florence, found a little restaurant where we had to walk downstairs to a bricked underground dining area. There we enjoyed homemade pasta, Chianti and finished the meal off with a cappuccino for me and an espresso for Allan.

We toured Florence one last time and then went back to the hotel to pack. We met everyone for our goodbye dinner at Osteria Pastella and we all had the beef dishes that Florence is known for. We had a great time but now it’s to bed for our early morning wake up call and our flight home.

Arrivederci Florence.

Florence, Italy

04 Jan 2018

7:00 pm

Ciao Florence… Hello Chicago???????!!!
Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Snow storm has us diverted to Chicago where we are waiting to rebook a flight. Will be here overnight. Hope we can get some deep dish pizza!!!

05 Jan 2018 On our way home

Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Well… Airline put us up for the night in a Marriott hotel and gave us each 30 dollars worth of vouchers for food. It was good to have a good night’s sleep and a morning shower.

We will take a flight to Philly and then a bus to Newark… Uber over to Scott and Erin’s to pick up our car and then drive to Bethlehem. Kids all asked us to stay overnight but we just want to head home. Just hope our flight takes off.

It was a great time in Italy and we are so glad we made the trip. See you on our next adventure!

06 Jan 2018 Back home again

Our flight to Philly was fine…then we took the bus to the Park and Ride where many of the travelers had parked their cars for the trip. Allan and I had parked at Scott and Erin’s home, so we needed to get back to Jersey. We were fortunate in that a car was provided for us that took us back to Jersey, and we picked up our car and headed back to Bethlehem…stopping along the way for an early “breakfast” at McDonald’s! We arrived home around 3:30 am. It was a great adventure…and actually it was the first time in all of our travels that we were diverted to an unplanned flight stop.

BAVARIA TO BUDAPEST along the Danube 2016

11/07/201604/24/2025Irene

03 Nov 2016

Leavin’ on a jet plane

Newark Airport

Well…our bags are packed and we are ready to go! We are off for our Danube river adventure! The weather will be chilly and there might even be some snow…which should be a beautiful sight to see in the countries that we are visiting. But alas, because of boots and heavier winter clothing, i could not invoke my usual ‘carry-on luggage only’ rule. We just couldn’t make the 18 lb. limit for carry-on bags. So…for the first time in years…we are checking a bag! I’m giddy with all the room I now have. I even packed a travel steamer!! Will the fun never end?????

Anyway…the Danube River, Napoleon once said, is the “Queen of Europe’s Rivers”. It measures 1,775 miles long, is 1 mile wide in parts and flows past 10 countries. We will be visiting three of them…Germany, Austria, and Hungary. We’ll be cruising on one of Viking’s longships, the Gullveig.

We have already been advised by Viking that in Nuremberg, Germany, due to the low water levels, we might be boarding Viking’s Aegir, another longship. Then somewhere along the way, we will change to the Gullveig. This is a common occurrence with river travel and we won’t have to do anything except repack our bags. The porters do all the rest.

So stay tuned and check into read about our adventures. We hope to give you an armchair tour of our travels and take you along for the cruise. First stop…Nuremberg! Auf Wiedersehen!

04 Nov 2016

First day onboard

Frankfurt Airport (FRA)

While waiting for our flight we met another couple who are also going on the cruise. We chatted for awhile. They are from the Poconos area of PA. They weren’t on our flight but we will meet up with them on the ship.

Our 747 had a three-four-three seat configuration and we were in the middle four seats. Yikes!!! Very, very cramped. But as luck would have it, unbelievably, the people in the other two seats never showed up.

Anyway, a lady across the aisle was coveting the seats since she was in a threesome row, but I quickly jumped over when I heard that everyone was on board. She gave me a dirty look…but hey you snooze you lose. it was great to spread out for the six plus hour flight with four seats all to ourselves.

It’s amazing to me what the airlines let on board for carry-on even though they say the size and weight limits are strictly enforced. People show up with carryons the equivalent of grand pianos and they waltz on and start shoving the oversized items into the overhead bins. It’s quite entertaining.

We arrived at our ship The Aegir after a thirty minute drive. The ship is quite lovely with large glass windows in the veranda dining room where we had lunch. There is also a main dining room which is also well appointed. Our room is small but it does have a lot of space for putting everything we brought away. With the suitcases under the bed we have plenty of room.

After lunch a number of us went into town. Our bus driver took us along the autobahn and on the way our guide told us sone of Nuremberg’s history.

Nuremberg was almost devastated during World War II. It was rebuilt after the war and now has a population of over 500,000. It is renown for its sausages, beer, gingerbread, and toys.

One interesting fact about the city is that two brothers years ago started the shoe company Adidas. But they had a falling out and the one brother became estranged from the other and started manufacturing sneakers under the name Puma. The families are still feuding to this day.

We arrived at the town square and walked around . It’s a huge place with many stores that are popular in the states. Then of course we had to try some German pretzels; one with bacon that was just like prosciutto and another with chives. Stopped in for a cup of cappuccino as well. Then we walked to a magnificent church…St Lorentz of Nuremberg. Construction started in 1250 and finished in 1477. Sadly, it was badly damaged during WW II and was later restored. It is now Evangelical Lutheran. I lit a votive candle and placed it in the sand circle at the back of the church.

We’ve met three really nice couples and enjoyed dinner with them. Now it’s off to bed.

05 Nov 2016

12:30 pm

Touring Nuremberg

Today is overcast but the rain held off as we went into Nuremberg for the city tour which highlighted much of old Nuremberg and also some of the buildings from WW II and the Nazi regime.

Nuremberg in the Middle Ages was as popular as London and New York City is in our world today. Since Nuremberg is almost in the center of Germany and has excellent transportation system to allow trade and commerce from other countries into it, it remains one of Germany’s most popular cities. Many innovative ideas got their birth in Nuremberg. The first globe of the world was created in Nuremberg in 1493 depicting three continents and the pocket watch was invented here as well.

Hitler chose Nuremberg so his maniacal powers of speech could be fully deployed. Sadly, since WW I had shaken Germany to its core, Hitler’s promises of a new Germany was balm to the German people. He was able to rally thousands at once to listen to his fanatical tirades. We saw the Zeppelin field where many rallies were held, the hotel where Hitler would stand on the balcony addressing the throngs and saw where the Nuremberg trials were held.

We took a walking tour through the old town seeing the Nuremberg castle. Walking up to the castle itself was a feat since it was all uphill and winding cobblestones. We had a beautiful view of the old town below where one of the buildings from the Middle Ages still stands despite the devastation to the surrounding buildings from WW II.

Continuing into town, we saw the beautiful Church of Our Lady where at noon everyday, the figures atop come to life to honor King. Karl IV. We were fortunate to witness it first hand.

We had lunch with new friends at a quaint German restaurant where we dined on 3 bratwurst in a bun with a nice glass of beer. Pretzels and mustard completed the meal. Delicious!

A speaker came aboard and talked about the history of Bavaria and tonight we will enjoy dinner and get a much needed sleep afterwards as we are still a little jet lagged.

06 Nov 2016

Regensburg, Germany

From the moment you arrive in Regensburg and the Gothic twin spires of St. Peter’s magnificent cathedral greet you, making lacy silhouettes against the sky, you know you are in a beautiful German city. The cathedral has been rebuilt numerous times since its first construction around 700 and the carved statues that adorn the outside of the cathedral are amazing. We were actually able to go inside this beautiful cathedral and see the beautiful architecture and hear the powerful organ, since a Sunday mass was in progress, making the experience awe inspiring indeed.

From the cathedral we went onto the old stone bridge…a 12th century edifice crossing the Danube. For more than 800 years it was the only crossing across the river. After WW II, at the end of the war, the Nazis blew up a part of the bridge as they left the city. The bridge has been restored numerous times since then and is in the process of being restored today.

We also took an extended tour of the Jewish area. The earliest references to Jews in Regensburg goes back to the 11th century and the Jewish settlement in Regensburg is one of the oldest Jewish settlements in Bavaria on record. The Christians were forbidden to lend money so the Jewish people did all the money lending and in 1452 a duke wanted all Jews expelled from the area. The city council did not accede to this, but instead made all Jews wear an arm badge. The Jews were persecuted and a number of untrue accusations were made against them. Emperor Maximilian shielded the Jews from persecution but immediately after his death in 1519, Jews were given four days in which to leave the city. They had to leave all of their belongings behind and their homes were torched and destroyed as well as their synagogue and their cemeteries. More than 4000 gravestones were destroyed and even more horrifically, used in the construction of new buildings. We saw a building from that time and the gravestone still stands embedded in the stone. So as never to forget that horrific event, the foundation where the synagogue stood is now memorialized with a structure that reproduces the layout of the original building. The artist Dani Karavan made a place for all to sit and reflect, relax and ponder. He called it Place for Thought. Little ones were running around and playing there today during our tour.

In 1995 the city of Regensburg was digging up the roads in order to install lighting for the Christmas market, so imagine their amazement when the found the ruins of the city’s medieval Jewish quarter. Unfortunately it was closed today so we were not able to go down underneath the roads to explore it.

We were getting hungry, and at the foot of the historic bridge that crosses the Danube, is an historic restaurant called Historiche Wurstkuche…the oldest sausage kitchen in Europe. It is a 12 century tavern that sells beer and the most delicious sausages on a bed of sauerkraut. We had a delicious repast there with our friends Bernadette and Gaetano and I can now honestly say, I am sausauged out!! (until tomorrow when we arrive in Passau!!!!!

Throughout the city, there are plaques in the ground called stumbling blocks. Each block is a brass plate inscribed with the name, birth date and death date of victims of the nazi extermination.

07 Nov 2016

Passau, Germany

Passau is at the confluence of three rivers…the Danube, Inn, and the Ilz. Passau is another quaint city, however our first stop was not quaint but rather magnificent. St Stephen’s Cathedral is truly a masterpiece of Italian baroque, built by Italian architect Carlo Lurago. With 17,774 pipes, the organ at St. Stephen’s was once the largest pipe organ in the world. (The largest today is the Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ in Atlantic City). St Stephen’s organ is really several separate organs all accessible from one or more consoles. Our guide told us there are five organs en total with one organ actually in the ceiling.

The town is dominated by the Veste Oberhaus and the former fortress of the Bishop. We enjoyed walking around the city and then returned to the ship for lunch. Tonight we are off to Krems.

Last night we were entertained by some German musicians and had a German feast for dinner. Lots of sausages, dumplings, sauerkraut, roast pig and veal were the fare along with streusel and of course the famous Black Forest cake

08 Nov 2016

Krems, Vienna

Today dawned sunny and comfortably warm as we entered Austria and cruised along the beautiful and picturesque Wachau Valley on the Danube, designated a UNESCO World Heritage area. We passed vineyards, rolling hills and groves of apricot trees and the foliage along the way was colorful against the gorgeous blue sky. Truly a sight to behold. We were able to view the castle where Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned and we saw quaint villages with colorful houses tucked into the hillsides.

After lunch we took a ride to the 900 year old Gottweig Abbey, a monastery and palace rolled into one, where Benedictine monks still work and worship. The abbey overlooks the beautiful Wachau Valley and was founded in 1083. The monastery burned down in 1718 for a second time, but was rebuilt on an even grander scale than ever before. Rooms can be found in the living quarters that are suited for royalty and the fresco decorating the imperial staircase is considered a masterpiece in the Baroque style.

The abbey is still an active church where monks gather to pray during the day and where visitors are welcome. The abbey has a library of 130,000 books and documents, all of which survived WW II. The monastery offers bed and breakfast type accommodations for guests from May to October and offers these guests an opportunity to pray with the monks. The monastery owns vineyards that produce fine wines under the direction of Fritz Miesbauer and we had the opportunity to sample some of them.

It was a fabulous day with perfect weather to appreciate the uniqueness of this beautiful area.

The chalk numbers and letters on doors throughout the city are put on by acolytes as they go around at Christmas time collecting money for the poor. The numbers depict the year and the letters C, M, and B stand for the three wise men… Caspar, Melchoir and Balthasar. The inscription is thought to bestow blessings on the home and its inhabitants all through the year.

Pics of Gottweig monastery and Abbey church and our ship as the sun sets.

09 Nov 2016

Vienna, Austria

Vienna! What a beautiful city. And to make our touring even more perfect…the sun shone all day and we were treated to mild temperatures. We took a bus around town and saw the amazing architecture prevalent throughout the town. Christmas trees and lights were being set up for the Christmas mart that will open on Saturday and because of that, the crowds were non-existent since everyone arrives on Saturday.

We visited St Stephen’s cathedral – a beautiful church in the heart of the city. The tour guides tell us that the code for the churches and cathedrals throughout Europe is…ABC…Another Beautiful Church and as usual, this one did not disappoint. It was consecrated in 1147 and is the mother church of the Roman archdiocese in Vienna. The multi tiled roof on the cathedral is absolutely beautiful.

Our PA friends and Allan and I went off to do some shopping. I was able to purchase some Mozart candies…chocolate surrounded by marzipan…and from there we went to a cafe and had cappucino and delicious Viennese pastries. While enjoying our coffee and chatting, we suddenly realized…our tour bus had already left without us!!!! We were having such a good time we didn’t keep track of the time. Well…no worries. We decided to stay and tour the Sisi Museum…the imperial apartments and the silver collection of Elisabeth, the Empress of Austria. It was a fantastic exhibition depicting the china, silver and personal items that were a part of daily life in the palace. We also were able to enter the apartments of the royal family. Sisi was a beloved and beautiful, empress who suffered from depression. One of her daughters died in infancy and her son committed suicide. Sisi was assassinated when she was 60 years old. Her life has been compared to princess Diana…the only difference being that Sisi was adored and cherished by her husband Franz Joseph of Austria. His words upon her death; “You cannot imagine how I loved this woman”.

We navigated the Viennese subway system successfully and returned to the boat. Then allan and I went to a Heurigen tavern…meaning a tavern that serves the year’s new wine from the local vineyards. We sampled five wines…all throughout the evening along with Viennese fare. It was a wonderful evening…with violinist and accordionist playing folk songs, old favorites, new favorites and everything in between. The violinist played Santa Lucia and I sang along with him in Italian and everyone cheered and clapped and said I did a great job. (But that was probably the wine speaking LOL!!!!).

We are back on our ship listening to the piano player and having a drambuie. Life is good!!

10 Nov 2016

Vienna, Austria

Waltzes, strudel, Mozart…just a glimpse of Vienna! It is a city with buildings both historic and modern standing side by side. Our day once again dawned sunny and warm and off we went to the Schonbrunn Palace, the former Imperial summer residence. The palace has over one thousand rooms and has housed successive monarchs of the Habsburg monarchy.

The palace was remodeled by Maria Theresa who received the palace as a wedding gift. Franz Joseph, the longest reigning emperor in Austria’s history, was born at the palace and spent most of his life there and Empress Elizabeth, known as Sisi, was fond of strolling through the magnificent palace gardens. The gardens of course were not in bloom in November, but one could imagine the grandeur that the residents must have enjoyed. We were able to visit twenty rooms, many of which had original oil portraits of the Monarchs and also the original wall paper and furniture.

After our palace tour, we went off on our own, walking through the streets in search of a place to eat. We found a restaurant and enjoyed a delicious Thai lunch with sushi and the waitress even gave us complimentary spring rolls. After we dined, she brought coconut milk with tapioca to end our meal and then we did some shopping and took the subway back to the pier. We are getting very good at navigating the underground system, but tonight we are sailing to Esztergom so our Viennese subway prowess will have to be saved until we return perhaps again to this beautiful city.

11 Nov 2016

Dunaalmas, Hungary

We are so lucky with the weather on this trip. Once again, the cold weather that we feared was not in evidence and we went off to tour Dunaalmas, Hungary where we had a lesson in langos and strudel making. When we walked in we were treated to a glass of Palinka a traditional fruit brandy. It really helped to take the chill off as we downed the glass in one gulp, Hungarian style.

I volunteered to roll the dough for langos which is similar to pita and then was able to enjoy it with garlic butter after it was baked. Allan and I also learned the fine technique of strudel making…and Allan did a commendable job stretching the dough paper thin. We enjoyed some wine and freshly baked apple and cheese strudel before heading off to Esztergom. Esztergom is the seat of the Hungarian Catholic Church and was the birthplace of the first Hungarian king, St. Stephen, as well as the capital of Hungary until the 13th century. Hungary was not a free country for centuries…being ruled by Mongolians, Turks, the Hapsburgs, Nazis, and Russians.

We stopped to visit the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother church of the archdiocese of Esztergom. The present church was built on the foundation of several other churches…the first being built between 1001-1010.

On the way back to the ship our guide told us some interesting information about how the holidays are celebrated in Hungary. Easter Monday is celebrated by the women painting Easter eggs and giving them to the men folk. The menfolk in return “sprinkle” the women with water (sometimes ice water in buckets) and sometimes with perfume. This custom is to ensure the ladies stay young until next year. The boys say a little poem first before the sprinkle their lady…the last line asking “may I sprinkle you?” Usually…the girl says yes! Baskets are filled with chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs and are hidden in the house or garden for little ones to find.

The Christmas holiday is celebrated first on December 6 when children polish their shoes and boots and put them in the window so St. Nicholas can come and fill them with candies and chocolates. On December 24, the Christmas tree is decorated and on the 25th a dinner replete with fish soup made mostly from trout and lots of paprika to give it a red color. Stuffed cabbage is also eaten and the children are given sweets and toys from baby Jesus.

New Years is another celebration. Everyone eats lentils to become rich and roast baby pork for good luck.

We returned back to the ship and Allan and I went on a tour of the wheelhouse on the ship and listened to the captain’s presentation of the different properties of our ship, the Aegir.

And then…one of the highlights of our trip; the opportunity to sail into Budapest at night and witness the stately parliament building lit up and its lights twinkling and reflecting on the Danube. We were so lucky to have the chance to see this and we won’t soon forget the magnificence of Buda and Pest on either side of the Danube as we sailed under bridges and took in the beauty of each shore. With the lights illuminating the night, it certainly was a magnificent sight.

Our friends and Allan and I decided to forego the captains dinner and make our way into Pest because the Christmas market opened tonight. Will tell you all about it tomorrow, after we go to sleep, with the memories of our first glimpses of Hungary sprinkled in our dreams.

12 Nov 2016

Budapest

Danube River Cruise

As promised, I will tell you about the Christmas market in Pest that Allan and I along with our friends Bernadette and Gaetano walked to last night. We found our way through the streets and entered the market, greeted by a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. The stalls were filled with hand crafted items from scarfs and hand hewn wooden bowls to candles and jewelry and so much more. Bernadette spotted the paprika that I had been searching for so I was happy to be able to finally purchase it. Hungary has the forint as currency so converting from euros into forints was a little challenging and I think the merchants made a little extra cash … compliments of us.

There was a band playing rock music which added to the festive atmosphere and people were walking around smiling and happy to kick off the season. In almost every row you could find a stall with gingerbread. The bakers in Hungary are so talented, decorating everything with meticulous care. The gingerbread cookies were intricately decorated in colored sugar icings…much too beautiful to eat.

We had dinner at the food mart in the middle of the market which was offering pork knuckles, goulash and many other local delicacies. I opted for the goulash in a bread bowl. Delicious!!

This morning we took a bus tour of Buda and Pest and saw some interesting sights. Today was rainy but fortunately not cold so even though we were under umbrellas it was comfortable Our guide was funny and informative and made the ride very interesting.

We stopped at the Church of Mathias which was originally built in Romanesque style in 1015, although no archaeological remains exist. The current building was constructed in Gothic style in the second half of the 14th century and was extensively restored in the late 19th century. We were fortunate to hear a men’s choir sing during our visit.

We had cappuccino and espresso with decadent desserts and then returned to the ship in time for lunch.

Our afternoon shore excursion was a trip to the Széchenyi Medicinal Bath, the largest medicinal bath in Europe. The spa is huge with indoor pools and outdoor pools. We were given a “watch” that you scan and it tells you your cabin number where you can change into your bathing suit and then you scan your “watch” and your cabin opens.

The pools were very crowded but we found little niches within them to enjoy the warmth the thermal baths offered. We thought it was too chilly to partake in the outdoor bath but as we were leaving Gaetano and I decided to brace it and we took the plunge. It was actually quite lovely with the warmth of the bath and the coolness of the air.

The Shoes Memorial on the Danube River

One of the more poignant moments on our trip was seeing The Shoes on the Danube, a memorial to the Budapest Jews who were shot by Arrow Cross militiamen between 1944 and 1945. The victims were lined up and shot into the Danube River. They had to take their shoes off, since shoes were valuable belongings at the time. It contains 60 pairs of iron shoes, forming a row along the Danube. Each pair of shoes was modeled after an original 1940’s pair.

13 Nov 2016

Farewell Danube River

Well our trip was wonderful but we are ready to board our plane for our return to home. Hope you all enjoyed traveling with us. Bye Danube river. You are a beautiful river and we are so glad we had the opportunity to sail your waters and see your magnificent shores. But now we are ready to waltz home with the memories of our trip in our hearts.

Our trip from 2015 – Romance the Rhine and Mosel

07/22/201504/24/2025Irene

08 Jul 2015

Leaving on a jet plane for Paris and then flying on to Basel, Switzerland where we board our River boat The Melody and begin our journey. . Join us as we meander down the Rhine and Mosel rivers, visiting five countries along the way.

Most of you know when we travel…it’s always an adventure…so buckle up, com’on along and we hope you enjoy the ride!

09 Jul 2015 Switzerland

We made it to Switzerland and met our program director Steven. He seems like a lot of fun and is very personable. (By the way Rosa and george…Steven remembered the both of you)!!!Met a group of folks from Canada and we enjoyed having lunch with them. Bob the only man in the group is a hoot and he’s very quick with the one liners.

Lunch was a buffet and the food was delicious. They also give you wine at lunch and dinner.

After lunch we all walked around Basel. Not much going on in Basel without taking the tram, but it was a beautiful day for walking around with our newfound friends. We will do the touring on the tram tomorrow and go into town with our guide.

We walked to the end of our pier and took a photo of the monument where the borders of three countries meet. Germany, Switzerland and France.

Before dinner we had a Port Talk in the Lounge where we received info about what will be happening tomorrow.

Had dinner with two ladies and then the hotel director Jennifer joined us at our table. She ordered two outstanding wines for us all to enjoy and brought the chef out to meet us. We commended him. The chicken cordon bleu was outstanding. We enjoyed our conversation with Jennifer and she promised to meet us again for drinks. So far a very enjoyable start to our trip.

10 Jul 2015 Switzerland

Today we joined our program director for a guided tour through Basel. We took a tram ride into the market to begin our walk.

Switzerland is a neutral country but it is unique in the fact it has enough nuclear fallout shelters to accommodate its entire population. “Every inhabitant must have a protected place that can be reached quickly from his place of residence” and “apartment block owners are required to construct and fit out shelters in all new dwellings”, according to articles 45 and 46 of the Swiss Federal Law on Civil Protection. In 2006, there were 300,000 shelters in Swiss dwellings, institutions and hospitals, as well as 5,100 public shelters, providing protection for a total of 8.6 million individuals – a coverage of 114 per cent. The Swiss military can even land jet fighters on highways in the event of an invasion.

And other nations might want to invade Switzerland for the chocolate alone. The nation consumes 23 lbs of chocolate per person each year in contrast to USA who pale at 10 lbs per person per year. China is beginning to get on the chocolate wagon and their consumption of the confection was almost nonexistent but is recently starting to grow.

Basel has over 9000 university students and some of them live in apartments that are along the main roads. It is definitely a college town with lovely cafes, flower markets and bakeries that sell delicious looking breads. The average incone per capita is around sixty thousand dollars.

Novartis the drug company has a main building in Basel.

There are water fountains throughout Basel where the water comes out of a faucet into a large cistern and very safe to drink. People were filling up water bottles from them.

We saw apartments that had the name of a family from years ago etched into the concrete and also the number of the building as well as the year it was built. Apparently Napoleon introduced the numbering system of the homes.

There is a ferry that crosses the Rhine. Ferry men are prestigious people and your father had to be a ferryman for you to become one. When a baby is born, the mother will put the babies feet into a clay material and then she will place her fingers around the imprint. Then the mom takes this mold to the ferryman and he places his two thumbs into the mold. The clay hardens and it becomes a keepsake.

We visited a beautiful church, the Basel Münster, which was built between 1019 and 1500 in Romanesque and Gothic styles. On the eastern side were statues of elephants. The man who sculpted them had never seen an elephant, but made the statues according to descriptions from people who had seen them.

Within this beautiful church are amazing stained glass windows and on the floor near the pulpit is a glass window with a dragon painted on the stone underneath. Legend has it that if you walk over this glass three times your sins will be forgiven. I guess the trick is to sin as much as possible and then go to Basler Munster and walk over the dragon three times. Lol! I walked over three times so I’m good to go for awhile.

We walked through town and stopped at the Romance kissing corner. Legend has it that if you kiss your true love here…your love will last forever. Bridal couples have their wedding ceremonies and then always head over to the kissing corner. Of course, I kissed my true love there.

One of the spectacular artworks in Basel was done by an artist named Jean Tinguely who passed away this year. “He designed a fountain in 1977 placing some amusing machine sculptures in an enormous pool of water on the site where the stage of the old city theatre was once located. The Swiss artist had black asphalt poured into a shallow basin before placing these low power-operated, water-spouting objects in it. These nine iron eminences are in constant motion and “talk” to each other just as did the mimers, actors and dancers who once performed at this very spot”.

We returned to the boat and enjoyed a delicious lunch…again dining with new people. Everyone is fun loving and we are having a great time.

There was a port talk this afternoon and a local came onboard and told us all about Switzerland … The government, housing, employment, her life etc. She said the divorce rate is over fifty percent. I guess those couples forgot to go to the romance kissing corner!

We went to the captains welcome dinner and dined on five courses…one of which was roasted veal. After dinner watched as the boat traveled through one of the many locks on the journey. Then off to do some dancing and then to bed. We have an early morning tomorrow.

11 Jul 2015 Strasbourg, France

We are now docked on the river Ill in Strasbourg, France. Bright and early this morning we took a tram to go to the center of Strasbourg. What a beautiful and quaint town.

The highlight of the tour was the Cathédrale de Notre-Dame of Strasbourg, a masterpiece of the Gothic era. The magnificence of the structure, the altar, the statues and the breathtaking stained glass windows were awe inspiring.

We also saw the famous Strasbourg astronomical clock which is located in the cathedral. This excerpt is taken from the Internet.

“This clock was remarkable both for its complexity as an astronomical device and for the range and richness of its decorations and accessories. As well as the many dials and indicators – the calendar dial, the astrolabe, the indicators for planets, and eclipses – the clock was also well endowed with paintings, moving statues, automata, and musical entertainment”.

After visiting the cathedral we went on a boat ride through the canals of Strasbourg. The tour lasted for over an hour and a half and followed the River Ill around the Grand Île, which is the center of Strasbourg.

We passed through the colorful La Petite France area and navigated thru two locks. We had lovely views of the beautiful French architecture and also passed thru the European District, home of the European Parliament.

After lunch we boarded a bus and went to Alsace. Along the way we saw vineyards and rolling hills and absolutely charming homes. Some of the homes, to show whether or not an eligible woman or man lived there, had hearts or bottles of wine on the peaks of the roof. We passed Vineyards that had large crucifixes at the roadside. The crucifixes were placed there so that the vineyard would be blessed with a prosperous and fruitful season.

It was once thought that the vines had to be replaced every 20 years. After 20 years the production of the grapes diminishes greatly. Upon further discovery however they found that the grapes that were on the vines after 20 years were much more robust in flavor than the newer vines. So now the vines are left to continue to grow and produce grapes. The quantity might not be as much but the quality is certainly there. Of course vintners do continue to plant new vines regularly, in addition to preserving the old.

We arrived at a popular tourist attraction ~ the quaint town of Riquewihr. This beautiful little town is known for its historical architecture. Many of the buildings in this village were built in the 1500’s,1600’s and 1700’s. Riquewihr is known for Riesling and other great wines many of which are produced in the village. Riquewihr looks today more or less as it did in the 16th century. It is officially one of the most beautiful villages in France. We walked the cobblestone streets and enjoyed seeing the cafes and listening to the music that was playing in the square. They also have amazing macaroons and we treated ourselves to a bag which I’m positive will be consumed before we arrive back in the states. Our tour guides treated us to wine and we enjoyed a glass while sitting under a huge Linden Tree.

We saw graves in the town that looked like children had been buried there. But in actuality adults were buried there and they were buried in the embryo position – all curled up so therefore the grave was very small.

On our way back to the cruise ship we visited Munster in Alsace. The town of Munster has a dual population: humans live in charming medieval houses; white storks and their half-ton nests rule the rooftops. Yes – half ton nests!

In the 1970s the white stork population had dwindled down to a mere 12 birds. Though flocks of the white storks resided elsewhere in the world, they had all but disappeared from the region most closely identified with them. Today, one of the most successful repopulation programs of its kind has restored the beloved white stork to the Alsace and Lorraine region, with at least 600 pairs nesting this year on the roofs and treetops of its picturesque villages.

As you can imagine, some of the residents in the town are not happy that storks are building nests on the rooftops. The weight of the nest can be detrimental to the roof, not to mention the white poop that inevitably builds up. But the stork is said to bring luck to a home where they nest, so I guess that is worth the inconvenience.

Munster is not only the home of storks. It is also the home of Munster cheese. Unfortunately, we didn’t get an opportunity to sample any. We made our way back to the cruise ship and we enjoyed amazing French cuisine replete with escargot and pork Wellington.

Our guide mentioned that a laser show would be taking place at the Cathedral this evening. Allan and I decided that we would like to take the tram back into town at 10:15 pm and see it and eight of our friends decided to join us. One of the other tour guides also accompanied us and it was well worth the trip. The laser show was choreographed to music and the show was spectacular. We were so happy that we made the trip into the town because it was an opportunity to see something we probably will never experience again.

Most of the ship was asleep by the time we returned, so we treated ourselves to a hot chocolate and went off to bed. It was an end to an absolutely unforgettable day in France.

12 Jul 2015 Baden baden Speyer

I forgot to mention that before we left for the laser show last night, a local couple came onboard and regaled us with French songs and accordion playing. They were very good and considering the accordion is an instrument that most people don’t want to hear…the music was excellent.

We spent a leisurely morning enjoying Sunday breakfast of eggs Benedict and just relaxing before eating our next meal…lunch. I hope the counter at delta doesn’t charge us extra on our return trip with the added poundage that we will be most assuredly be carrying on our bodies.

Let me take a few moments to tell you about our river boat. The crew is amazing. Very accommodating and from the second day the wait staff remembered our names and what our preferences were. Very impressive. The ship is immaculate and the food is delicious. There is an upper sun deck and a lovely lounge to retire to when one just wants to read…or knit in my case.

At night we have been joining an Asian group of folks who love to dance so I have been enjoying doing the electric slide and the Lindy with them. Unfortunately allan injured his foot the first night in our cabin and has not been able to do much dancing. It is getting better so no worries.

We have enjoyed meeting many people but we met a group of Canadians whose company we enjoy and the feeling must be mutual as they insist we join them each night for dinner. They also happen to be assigned to our tour guide so we are with them quite a bit.

Bob, who was a superintendent in a school district in Canada told me he woke up in the middle of the night last night and since he couldn’t get back to sleep, spent some time thinking of a title for the book they all think I should write…about my adventures over the years. LOL! (And Val and Mike…Bob might be my new agent. They love the jokes I’ve been telling. I’ll be here all week folks. HAHA!!!).

After lunch we boarded our bus and drove through the Black Forest. The forest is comprised of dense spruce trees which, because of their density, make the forest seem black. There is a restricted timber industry in the forest and for every tree that is cut down, a new one must be planted to replace it.

The forest is part of a national park although some private homes do exist there. There are animals found in the forest…lynx, wild boar and very occasionally, a deer will be sighted. Two unusual specimens reside in the forest: the Baden worm and the Black Forest fox. The Baden worm can get to be over six feet long…I guess a real find for fishermen and the fox is not a fox but rather a horse that is used to carry timber through the forest.

The Black Forest is known for smoked ham which is smoked using beechwood. Schnapps is also made here…most especially cherry, pear, and apple.

The Brothers Grimm wove their fairy tales with their dreadful endings here inspired by this dark yet magical forest. The forest has a majestic quality and as we drove up the mountainous road we were able to appreciate its beauty up close and personal.

We then drove to the town of Baden Baden in the foothills of the Black Forest. Baden Baden is perhaps the wealthiest town in Germany. It is known for its hot springs that were originally utilized by the Romans. During the 19th century, the town became a mecca for celebrities and famous people like Queen Victoria and Dostoyevsky who were drawn to Baden Baden because of the luxury hotels and the hot springs. In later years, Ernest Hemingway and U.S. Presidents found their way to this idyllic spot.

We watched elite women strolling by dressed in fancy hats, high heels and lovely dresses as they entered into the high class hotels or high priced stores.

We found a biergarten and enjoyed some dark beer, sausage, German potato salad and a soft pretzel while we people watched. The sausage was outstanding as was the potato salad and the beer was delicious.

We had dinner back on the ship…something we really didn’t need. I ordered Filo pastry stuffed with a ragout of ham and leek, risotto with clams, German beef roulade and a cheese platter for dessert. Waay too much eating going on.

The program directors performed some skits for us after dinner and we had a quick German lesson. Then it was off to bed to dream of the Black Forest and its magical spells.

13 Jul 2015 Speyer, Germany

Today we woke up bright and early and joined thirty other fellow travelers to attend a church service to listen to the nuns of the church sing. Our guide said that the nuns at the church sing beautifully and that it would be a very special “must hear”. We were wondering if they would be singing “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria” from the Sound of Music (haha) so of course we had to go. The Kloster St. Magdalena church was beautiful, however, it was actually just a catholic mass where the sisters did indeed sing, but it was not a performance as we all thought it would be. We came back to the ship, had a quick breakfast and then off again for the guided tour of Speyer.

Our first stop was the Imperial Cathedral of Speyer. The cathedral has maintained its overall form since the 11th century, despite substantial damage due to many wars. The building is balanced with two pairs of tall towers and is indeed the major landmark of the city.

In front of the cathedral there is a large stone cup that was filled with wine whenever a new Bishop was instituted. The townsfolk were invited to partake of the wine which was offered all day long. Unfortunately, since it was free wine…it became a free for all at times and people were crushed while trying to get their wine. Pretzels are sold all over Speyer. The pretzel is the symbol of the holy trinity and in fact, one of the statues on the front of the cathedral depicts a woman holding a pretzel.

The town is very quaint with many half timbered homes. These homes were cheaper to build than their stone cousins. The first floor of the home was usually stone and the second floor was made of half timbers which were filled in with hay, straw and…manure! Yikes!!! The wood used was usually oak timbers. The problem with using straw, hay and manure to fill in between the wooden timbers was that it was very flammable. The kitchen was always on the first floor that was made of stone…but the smoke always wafted upwards to the other floors. This was obviously not the greatest for the folks living upstairs..but it helped to keep insects out of the home.

On the timbered area of the home, you could see an emperor chair motif. If the chair was a complete one, it depicted wealth and the more “chairs” in the front of the home showed wealth indeed. It also meant the home owner was taxed more. Some homes only had half chairs.

On the evening before Epiphany, teens would go to homes and offer to place the date and the initials C, M, B over the door for a small fee. The initials stand for the names of the three kings…Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar…however according to the church, the initials mean Christus Mansionem Benedictat meaning “Christ bless this home”.

There are beautiful shutters on many of the older homes. The purpose of the shutters is not for storm protection as not many big storms come through the area. The purpose is threefold: To protect from robbers, to keep the sun out in summer, and to keep heat in during the winter.

There are huge stone buttresses on some corners of buildings and these were placed years ago to protect the building from when the carriages went by too close to the corner of the building.

There was a municipality maypole in the center of town which differs from a personal maypole. The municipality maypole is a way for businesses to advertise. The personal maypole is when a young man falls in love and takes a piece of spruce tree and plants it in his lovers backyard. The girl would see it and know someone was in love with her.

This afternoon we had a home hosted visit. Anyone who wanted to participate in the home visit was assigned a family and no more than eight people went on the visit. The families get a small compensation for hosting…certainly not enough to make it lucrative. They do it to learn more about people from other cultures and to share their own culture with us as we were able to ask questions and to find out more about them.

Our German home visit was shared with four others from our ship and we met Crystal and Bernard. Their home was quite lovely…very spacious and sunny. They had a large backyard where they showed off their many flowering plants and herbs. Bernard was a gym teacher and geography teacher who recently retired and he also does beautiful calligraphy, makes boomerangs and collects them. Crystal is still teaching and specializes in children with disabilities and works to integrate them into the mainstream of elementary school.

Bernard baked an amazing raspberry tart and a chocolate cake where red wine made up 1/8th of the cake. My kind of guy! We had tea and coffee and then Crystal asked if we would like to try some wines from a local vineyard. Of course we said Yes! The white wine was delicious and I wish we could have gone to the winery to purchase some to bring home.

The couple chatted about their lives in Germany and their family. They were very hospitable and they loved the gift that we brought to them. (A potholder, two placemats with Pennsylvania motif on them and a grocery bag for carrying veggies, etc that we bought from Wegmans, with beautiful photos of vegetables on it. Crystal said she shops for veggies all the time and it will be wonderful to carry the produce in).

The visit was much too short. We said our goodbyes after about an hour and a half and then got back on the bus and we all shared our experience. It was a lot of fun!

14 Jul 2015

Last night Jocelyn and Bob (our Canadian friends) and Allan and I decided to skip dinner onboard and instead, go into town where a Pretzel Festival was going on. There was no charge to get in…you just entered into a huge area filled with arcades, rides, pretzel stands, biergartens, and food stands of every kind…from pizza to Mein Thai (which I thought was rather clever).

We walked through the carnival and then found an area that was serving food so we sat down amid loud laughing and music. As we waited for the waitress, we tried to decider

the German menu. We figured anything ending in a “wurst” couldn’t be bad…but the menu still was pretty untranslatable. To make matters worse, the poor waitress was one of two and was very hassled. She arrived at our table to take our order and when she realized we didn’t speak German…I thought she was going to cry!! We finally gave her our beer order and we were still trying to figure out the menu when I told Jocelyn to ask the people at the next table if any of them spoke English. One young girl said she did…but then realized, translating the menu into English was beyond her capabilities.

As we sipped our beers, someone else joined them at their table and they explained our plight to him. Between us all…with hand gestures and lots of laughs..we got him to understand that all we wanted was brat wurst.

Before we knew it…the man had gone off to where they sold brats in another food area and came back with four on delicious bread and ceremoniously placed them on our table. We thanked him over and over and paid him the money we owed him and then enjoyed some of the best sausages we’ve ever had.

Our Canadian friends and Allan and I talked for quite awhile, sipping beer and getting to know each other better. We got up to leave and said danke to the German who fed us and wished them all farewell and slowly walked back to our ship. (Which might be due to the amount of beer we consumed. HaHa!).

It was a great evening.a local Biergarten tomorrow.

This morning after breakfast we went on the top deck for a beautiful cruise down the Rhine complete with commentary by one of the tour guides from the bridge.

The castles, churches, and villages were amazing to see. The lush countryside, with vineyards cascading down the steep mountainsides were all truly sights to behold. The villages looked like you could pick them up and save to place under your Christmas tree and the churches with their tall steeples as silhouettes in front of the blue gray skies were magnificent. It was chilly on deck this morning, but with hot chocolates and jackets, we were comfortable.

We passed by the famous Lorelei rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine. According to legend, a siren sat on the cliff above the Rhine and combed her golden hair. Unwittingly, she distracted shipmen with her beauty and song, causing them to crash on the rocks. Our program director Steven came out dressed as the siren…enticing the men and providing some great picture ops.

We arrived in the town of Boppard and went on a walking tour. We walked along the waterfront where beautiful flowers and even some grape vines graced the walkway. Boppard is the birthplace of Michael Thonet, born 1796. He wasn’t only a carpenter but also was a furniture manufacturer. Thonet experimented with wood, steam and pressure. He invented the famous bentwood furniture known for its lightness which was in stark contrast to the massive wooden furniture of the time.

We also stopped by the Carmelite church which was a monastery. The Carmelite monks gave away everything they owned…including their shoes and they always walked barefoot…even in the winter. Outside the church is a chapel of the Madonna of the Grapes. The statue has been walked through the streets for the past six hundred years and adorned with grape vines to assure a fruitful year.

We decided to stay in town for lunch and we both ordered an amazing dish that I can’t even begin to pronounce no less spell..but trust me, it was delicious. Then we also shared a frikadellen…which is a pork meatball. My grandma used to make them so it brought back memories.

Boppard is known for the Riesling wines. Steven our guide pointed out a shop that sold Riesling ice cream so of course we had to sample it. I also had the bitter chocolate cone. Both were delicious.

Food is very reasonable here. Our lunch…including the ice cream cones…was all of eight dollars and sixty cents!!

This afternoon we took an optional tour to the Marksburg Castle. Marksburg Castle is the only hill castle on the Thine that has never been destroyed. It has been lived in for over 700 years. It was quite a steep walk all around the castle and the walkways and stairs were stone and quite uneven. It was very interesting to see the furniture, kitchen, bedroom, and garden. Of interest was the “out house” which hung outside one of the rooms…from the second story. All of the “honey” went right down to the outside…and stayed there until the spring rains came each year to wash it away. Yikes!!!!

Tonight we walked to another Biergarten and had a fun evening with our friends. Steven our Program director and our hotel manager Jasenka sat with us as well and allan and I treated them. We all enjoyed talking and telling stories from where we live and stayed until 10:30.. Our waitress Zorica kids with us everyday and tonight at dinner, some of the tables were looking over at our table and wondering what all the laughing was about. (I think the Canadians and Allan and I are getting the reputation of party animals and that’s why the staff like us. What’s not to like??? Haha!

15 Jul 2015

Today we sailed to Cochem on the Mosel River. Once again, a quaint and beautiful German town with colorful homes and with windows adorned with flowers in window boxes on almost every facade.In the morning we took a tour of Reichsburg Castle, believed to have been constructed in the eleventh century. The castle was burned to the ground by King Louis XIV of France. The castle was finally restored by an entrepreneur who converted it to a summer home for the wife he adored and their three children. Unfortunately, his wife had other ideas and fell in love with another man, left her children and never once saw the new home. She divorced (unheard of in that era) married her lover and they had nine children, which my guide said, was probably her punishment. LOL! The husband was so distraught from the loss of his love and the humiliation of it all in society, that he only lived another two years. The children inherited the estate including the castle and for many years used it as a summer home themselves. Right now, the town of Cochem owns the castle and is very involved with its restoration. Only the tower is the original part of the castle today and is over 1,000 years old.

In one of the rooms, there was a locked door that led down to the woman’s chamber. But there was no keyhole for a key to unlatch the door. How to get the door open by the man who wanted to pay the lady a visit? Our guide said the hint was in the carved lady on the door who was rather buxom. One of our tourists poked the woman but that didn’t open the door. Another man suggested that the bosom be “caressed” and viola…the latch opened. (I am proud to say that the man offering the caressing solution was none other than…my husband. Who knew????)

The castle was filled with magnificent furniture that was intricately carved and the sun streamed through beautifully stained glass windows in every room. There was no wallpaper on the walls…everything was hand painted including the ceilings. There was a balcony that overlooked the Mosel River and the view was stunning.

After seeing the castle, we walked through the town of Cochem. We paused at St Martin’s Church where there is a plaque on the outside wall to remember Crystal Night during the war, when the Nazis broke the plate glass of Jewish shops and broke the crystal chandeliers in the synagogues. The other side of the plaque honors the Jewish people who were forced to leave Cochem during the war, and never returned. There is a rooster atop the church that usually signifies that the church is Protestant, but in this case, St Martins is Roman Catholic.

After the guided tour, Allan and I went off on our own and enjoyed a Turkish Döner Kabap, a sort of shish kebab in pita bread, that has now become the German national fast food. OMG…delicious. They slice the lamb off of a huge hunk of meat that is being cooked on a stick. The pita was soft and light and the sandwich was filled with red cabbage, onion, and a spicy garlic sauce. Yummy!

On the return to the shop our guide told us to pause on a staircase by the river and take a picture of the castle in the distance. There is a weathervane witch on a home by the staircase and if you get the right angle, it looks like the witch is flying over the castle. I think I captured it.

After that, we went to the mustard store and tasted about twenty different mustards…finally deciding that the Riesling wine mustard was the one to buy.

It was all aboard late afternoon and before we sailed, ice cream and cake was served in the lounge. It looked delicious but I didn’t have any. Still stuffed from lunch

16 Jul 2015 Bernkastel, Germany

Last night after dinner, the Captain gave an interesting talk about sailing and about this ship in particular. He said it was one of his favorite ships to sail in as it has a charm of its own with all the wood and beautiful cabins, etc. He also said that the newer ships, with all the computers, sometimes fail miserably during a cruise…whereas this ship is always dependable. The Captain is very young…41 years of age…and he has been a Captain for ten years. Really amazing. After his talk, Allan and I stood and chatted with him for almost forty minutes and he told stories of the ships he has sailed and some of the close calls he has been in. He was very impressed with Allan’s comprehension of some of the physics that he was mentioning. He told Allan that Allan was the only guest he has ever spoken with who actually comprehended what he was talking about in terms of thrust and wave motion influences. That’s my guy! (Thanks to Ned O’Connor, Allan’s physics teacher in High school. )

The weather has been amazing everyday so far. Not too hot…a breeze and plenty of sunshine. Our guide Steven said that last year at this time, it rained everyday for this tour…so we are lucky indeed.

Today we sailed into the town of Bernkastel, Germany. Bernkastel is the twin city of Kues and the area is a well known wine region on the Mosel. The town has several squares…each one prettier than the one before. As a matter of fact, every German town so far has been amazingly clean, filled with fresh flowers and…romantic. Strolling through the streets and peeking inside the shops, bakeries and restaurants is a wonderful experience. On our walking tour today, we passed a building that used to be the train station and is now a restaurant where Harley Davidson bikers frequent when they come into town. The funny thing is…their signature meal is quiche! So much for a hearty meal for burly bikers.

Vineyards are growing up and down the extremely steep slopes of the countryside. The vines are planted into the slate of the mountain and this slate provides the warmth for the roots of the vines and also gives the wine, in some cases, its aroma. Since the grapes are growing on such a steep incline, the grapes at harvest time must be picked by hand. German students and migrant workers are hired at harvest time to hand pick the grapes. Some vineyards have a monorail type system that allows equipment to be transported up and down the mountainside. There is no irrigation system on these hillsides as it is not needed. You would think that erosion would be a problem on these steep mountainsides, but to the contrary, the roots of the vines prevent this…sometimes burrowing into the slate and dirt some twenty feet.

We passed a building that had a basket tethered to the third story with a pulley system that would allow the basket to be raised and lowered. Steven said that years ago, the building was an orphanage and if a mother didn’t want her new born baby, she would place it in the pillow lined basket and the ladies in the orphanage would hoist the little one up and take him/her inside. That was one legend. The next legend was more practical. It was said that an elderly lady lived in the building and could no longer go up and down the stairs to walk her chihuahua, so she used the basket to lower the dog so he could tend to his bodily functions.

We visited a winery and had a tasting of four wines grown in the region. They were very good…and apparently we are able to purchase them in the U.S. We tasted a Pinot Noir, a Riesling Spatlese Trocken, a Riesling Spatlese and a Riesling Auslese. All but one were a little too sweet for my taste. They also sell wines under the label Berncasteler Doctor…from a doctor who cured a man with wine. (Legend has it that the sick man drank about three gallons a day of the stuff and after having been sick for years…was finally cured of his ailment. My take on this is that the guy was probably so drunk he didn’t know if he was sick or not. I guess drinking that much in a day would cure you of anything…except of course cirrhosis)!

One of the vintners of this winery during the war, built a wall over a part where bottles of wine were stored so that the Nazis would not take the wine and either drink it or smash the bottles. Years later, after the war, the man who subsequently purchased the winery met a man in town who asked about the hidden room. This man knew about the room as his grandfather had helped build the secret enclosure during the war. The vintner had no clue..and went back to his winery and with a sledge hammer, broke down parts of the wall…until he did indeed find the hidden stash of wine. The wine is still there…some of it going back to 1921. In 1986 one bottle was auctioned off at Christies for a pretty penny.

It is amazing to me that no matter what street you walk down…you can always see vines of grapes strung over the windows, cascading down light poles, and gracing doorways. The vines probably don’t produce much in the way of grapes, but they are beautiful to see.

Steven then took us on a tour of a local supermarket and we saw pigshead in a jar. The Germans spread this on their morning toast. I believe in our country it’s called headcheese. Yuck!

Allan and I stayed in town to sample German pizza…delicious. And we also treated ourselves to the cookie named Americana…a soft cake-like cookie made with butter and iced with a delicious glaze.

Upon our return to the ship we learned how to fold napkins and make towel animals. Then, It was a tour of the galley. The head chef is so tall, his hair grazes the ceiling of the kitchen. The food has been excellent and the menu choices, while limited, are varied and usually are indigenous of the country we are in.

Allan went off for a massage and I went for high tea. We are looking forward to the Bavarian dinner buffet tonight.

17 Jul 2015 Trier, Germany

We took a bus into Trier and our guide Steven shared some interesting facts. Many of the homes in Trier have been built over ancient Roman ruins. However, if a person comes across ruins while building his home, he is hesitant to share this knowledge and many times does not, because the construction of his home would immediately be stopped while the authorities figure out the date of the ruins and whether they are important enough to preserve. many times, construction could be halted permanently.

There are four types of high schools and the students must take a test to determine which school they belong in. If you don’t score very well, you go to the high school that specializes in trades. If you do a little better on the exam…you go to the school for administrative teachings. If you score well..you go to the high school that will allow you to continue your studies at university, and if you score tops…your education after high school will be to continue for advanced degrees.

The parking garages have an interesting and practical feature. There is an electronic sign outside that tells you how many parking spaces are still available, so you don’t have to drive in only to find out…no more spaces left.

After arriving in Trier, we did a walking tour with a local guide who was so boring we thought we might scream. We all wished that Steven would have taken over as we missed his wonderful and informative commentary. I won’t bore you with the details of the guides talk, but the places we visited were beautiful to see.

1. Porta Nigra. . The mighty Porta Nigra is nearly all that remains of the old Roman fortifications except for some stretches of the city wall. It is said to be the largest city gate north of the Alps

2. St. Peter’s Cathedral – The imposing fortress like Cathedral has its roots in Roman times. It was built in sections, rather than in one single construction. Absolutely magnificent inside.
3. Hauptmarkt – The focal part of town
4. Constantine Basilica – If there is one building in Trier which will give you an idea of the impressive building skills of the Roman Empire it is the Konstantinbasilka.
5. The House of the Three Kings – It was built in 1230 but the outlook today comes from later reconstruction. The name of the house stems from the 17th century. From the beginning there was no entrance on the ground floor but on the first floor only. That was because at the time of building, the city wall was not yet finished so the inhabitants in every house had to defend themselves. A ladder or a wooden staircase that could be pulled up had to be used. The old entrance is visible beside the windows.
6. The Jewish Quarter – Named for the four Jewish families that settled in Trier, in 1235 CE. These families had their four small houses built here, one next to the other. Building adjoining houses allowed them to construct a common escape tunnel, leading to the St. Gangolf cathedral, to be used if there were any threats being made against them by any unscrupulous villagers. There, the local Bishop offered them protection.
7. Stumbling blocks – These memorial-stones (so-called Stolpersteine or stumbling blocks) commemorate: Erna Reinhardt, Hilda Reinhardt, Maria Reinhardt, persecuted or murdered by the Nazis.

Local teens , from a town of 1600 people, came to perform for us this evening. They were too cute for the room. At the end of their performance …they all went into the audience and asked folks to dance. Of course, one young man, eighteen years old came over to me and asked me to dance.

Last night I got up with a few others and had to take a small bottle of liquor, put the cap on my nose, extend my arms out , put the bottle in my mouth tilt my head back and drink the contents. The stuff was pretty potent…but quite tasty.

I’ll be here all week folks!!!

18 Jul 2015 Zell, Germany

What a fabulous day!!!! We decided not to take the optional tour to Luxembourg and we are so happy we made that decision. We are in the quaint town of Zell and one of the tour guides, Rebecca, gave a guided tour for those of us who remained behind.

We walked thru Zell and as luck would have it, today is the once a year Long Table Festival where all the restaurants and shopkeepers set out tables on the Main Street right down the middle of the street and you can sit down and have something to eat and drink. Wunderbar!!!

We went for a walk along the River Promenade which afforded a beautiful view of the Mosel and the homes along the way. Our first stop was the former synagogue. In 1850, the Jewish community established a small prayer hall in a section of an old, local castle. Later, as more Jews settled in Zell, the community decided to build a new synagogue but construction was halted with the outbreak of World War I. The interior of the synagogue was destroyed on Pogrom Night (November 1938), but its exterior was not torched for fear of damaging the castle. The Jewish community was dissolved in 1939. Those who did not manage to escape Germany perished in the Shoah. Restoration of the synagogue building was completed in 2003; the site now serves as a memorial. There was a Torah on display and also gilded stumbling blocks in memory of some of the Jews who perished. Also, on a clay book, the list of the Jews from the community who were killed in concentration camps were listed. Our guide Rebecca is Jewish and she sang a song Shabbat Shalom for us.

Today in Germany, the school children, as part of their curriculum, are taken to a concentration camp to have them realize the atrocities that took place in history in the hopes that the young people will remember and learn how hatred is an atrocity as well.

We walked through the streets and our guide chatted with a German couple who were enjoying a bottle of Riesling. They spoke little English…but the man offered her a taste of his wine…which she did drink. They were very friendly..despite the language barrier.

We walked along and saw the Black Cat fountain that many wines in the area are named after…and the bottles are even shaped like a cat. From there we walked up to the cemetery which afforded a glorious view of the town, the river, and the vineyards. One can appreciate from that vantage point how steep the mountainside is where the vines are growing.

After the guided tour, Allan and I went off to find something to eat…and who do we see still sitting at the table where we left them? The German couple…still drinking wine! We of course stopped and sat with them and ordered frikadellen with potato salad and of course, Riesling. Well…the man didn’t speak much English as we knew, but we did find out he was once a professional soccer player and won many tournaments and played in world tournaments as well. His name is Dieter Baumanns and he has travelled to New York and Chicago to play in his younger days. He showed us pictures of his days as a star soccer player. We shared photos of our families and he even offered me his wine glass to sip his wine, which I did and enjoyed as well. (I can hear the collected gasps of my boys!!)

Dieter said when at the Mosel River…you drink wine, but throughout the rest if Germany, you drink beer. I’ll drink to that!

We then went up the street to have apple strudel that was soooooo delicious, then on to a winemaking museum and then back to the ship for a little rest before our afternoon bonus activity.

In the afternoon we took a covered wagon ride pulled by a tractor up to the top of the mountainside for a birds eye view of Zell…drinking wine along the way. For most of the ride we were so close to the edge, I thought we would surely plummet over.

The driver ave a very interesting talk about the Riesling wine area, how the grapes are picked in October, and how helicopters spray for mold. There are four million vines in Zell and each vine produces one bottle. Another fabulous day in wine country.

July 19, 2015

Today we are in Bonn, Germany, birthplace of Beethoven. Founded by the Romans, Bonn was the provisional capital of West Germany from the years following WW II until Germany’s reunification in 1990. Today is Sunday and all the shops are closed, but it was still lovely, since the streets were empty.

A large student population lives near the University of Bonn and as we went on our morning tour, we passed a church near the campus, whose bells were tolling telling people that the church service would be starting. During WW II the university suffered heavy damage. An air raid on October 18, 1944 destroyed the main building. The university was re-opened on November 17, 1945 as one of the first in the British occupation zone. Currently, University of Bonn is ranked 94th internationally.

We passed the home where Beethoven was born and then walked on to see the Altes Rathaus or City Hall. The impressive Rococo style building dominates the market place and has been witness to very important events. In 1962 both Charles de Gaulle, the French President and one year later US President John F. Kennedy delivered an address here. Steven our guide had us place our cameras on the ground and told us to all pose on the steps. Then, he patiently took a picture with each and every camera for us. This guide is amazing!!!!!!!

Then, thirteen of us decided to take a train into Cologne, Germany by ourselves. The tickets were 11 euros for a one way ticket…but if you had a group of five, you could get a round ticket for a total of 25 euro for all. Quite a savings. 5 euro round trip per person!! Since we had thirteen of us, we purchased three tickets, but our tickets were never collected either way on the train.

The highlight of Cologne is the Cathedral. This magnificent structure took over six hundred years to complete and renovations are constantly going on. The cathedral suffered fourteen hits by aerial bombs during WW II. Badly damaged, it nevertheless remained standing in an otherwise completely flattened city. The twin spires were an easily recognizable navigational landmark for Allied aircraft bombing. Words can’t begin to describe it, so I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Afterwards we went to a brauhaus for lunch…sausages again that were delicious and of course beer. In these places, if you don’t put your coaster on top of your beer glass when you are done…the waiter will just keep filling the glass up and charging you for it. After lunch, Allan and I went on our own to walk around and people watch. We stopped at a small cafe for apple cake and cappuccino and were treated to a classical music concert by some street performers. When you go into a cafe, you point out what dessert you would like and you are given a ticket with the number of your dessert on it. When the waiter comes he looks at the ticket and brings you what you picked out. Pretty neat.

We walked back to the train station to catch our train back to Bonn, but we were given misinformation from both the train schedule and the person at the ticket booth about what track our train would be coming in on. So after waiting on the wrong track for awhile, we finally got on the right train. (The train that came onto the wrong track we were waiting on was going to Paris. Oh well…we had to get back to the ship. Perhaps another day on another tour…oui??? ).

July 20, 2015

This morning we woke up in The Netherlands and after breakfast, we went on the walking tour. The walking tours are very informative and everyone is able to hear the guide since earphones are provided to each guest. The guide speaks into a microphone so that we can all hear what he is saying through our earbuds.

There is a festival going on this week in Nijmegen and they were partying last night in the streets. Since The Netherlands is very clean, there were sweepers this morning cleaning up already for the new day of partying. There were urinals around the streets the men can use right out in the open. There is no “wild peeing” going on, since if caught, a fine must be paid of 150 euros.

We walked thru a residential district and noticed the mailboxes with stickers on them. This is how the residents control junk mail. They put a sticker on their mailbox depicting either…”no newspaper OR junk mail”, or a sticker that says “no junk mail but newspaper allowed”, and some mailboxes had nothing which meant that they were willing to receive anything sent to them. Years ago you could purchase stickers and kids as a prank would put them on the mailboxes that had no sticker on them. (Our guide Steven confessed he was one of those kids). However, now you must show proof of your address before you are able to purchase a sticker.

We walked on to a memorial commemorating the over 400 Jewish residents of Nijmegen who were murdered in the Holocaust. The square is named after Kitty de Wijze who died in Auschwitz on December 15, 1942 and there is a statue of her in a gated area. Steven, who comes from The Netherlands, said he is embarrassed to say that even though with the popularity of the diary of Anne Frank and the Dutch supposedly sheltering the Jews during the Nazi realm, that really isn’t true. Many of the Dutch betrayed their Jewish friends, classmates and neighbors to the authorities so that they could receive the little bit of monetary compensation from the Nazis and also to get into their good graces. The monument was very poignant with not only the statue, but also a tombstone with a beautiful saying on it that our guide read to us. “Talk about the war and I will weep. Talk about the war 100 times and I will weep 100 times”. In the square are also bronze plaques with the names of the hundreds of Jews from Nijmegen who perished during the holocaust.

There are no drugs in The Netherlands that are legal..however, soft drugs like marijuana are “tolerated”. They are sold in shops all over. The philosophy is that it is safer to buy the drugs in a store rather than go to a dark alley for a shady deal. Also, the government puts a tax on what is sold in these stores so it also makes out pretty well. The marijuana is always mixed with tobacco as it is very potent; it is never smoked pure.

Ecstasy became a big problem in The Netherlands and kids were dying after consuming pills in discos that were very potent and deadly. Now, when they go to the discos, they can show their ecstasy pills to the policeman at the entrance, and he can test it and tell you if it is indeed a safe form of the pill. Even though the kids use the soft drugs, drug use in The Netherlands is by far less than most other European countries.

Dutch universities for the most part are public. The Dutch government gives each student a monthly stipend and transportation money. If the student doesn’t graduate in five years, all the money is then considered a loan and must be paid back.

In Dutch families, the children are ousted from the house at the age of 18. The kids then usually find other kids to live with and share apartments together. When the last child is ousted…the parents throw a big party to celebrate. The children can come back to visit…usually bringing their laundry, and the parents give them food to take home…but they no longer are responsible for them monetarily. Wow!

We walked on to the market square where years ago, anyone thought to be a witch was put to death. How did one find out if one was a witch? If the person in question, either male or female, weighed less than 110 pounds (they were weighed publicly at the weighing station in the square) they were thought to be a witch because they were light enough to fly on a broom. Witches were then placed in chains and thrown in the river. If they drowned, they were proclaimed innocent, albeit too late…but if they survived and were able to swim to the other side…they were indeed a witch and were sometimes caught again and killed. Yikes!

We passed the Blue Hand Pub which got its name from the fact that fabric was dyed blue indigo down the block from the pub and the workers all had blue hands. When they got paid once a week…they went to the pub to drink beer and all the mugs had the blue imprint of their hands.

Allan and I forgot to take our boarding passes with us this morning when we left the ship. The boarding pass is really just a calling card with your name and cabin number written in hand on it. You always have to remember them…because when the ship sails, if your boarding pass is not accounted for…they will track you down…first by calling local hospitals and then police stations. However, the system is a little skewed since, had the ship left when we were still out and about…having forgotten our passes…the ship would have sailed without us, thinking we were onboard. On the big cruise ships, you have to have your boarding pass scanned before leaving the ship and scanned again upon your return. This boarding pass system on Grand Circle is the only complaint we have and we will suggest that it perhaps it could be changed. (Only because we really were happy that we weren’t on the shore waving good-bye to our ship as it left to cruise down the Rhine thinking the Leslies were safely onboard!)

After lunch two of the program directors took a group of us on a spontaneous sampling tour throughout the town because of the festival in town. First stop..a thin waffle like cookie with caramel inside. Second stop…licorice – both sweet and salted. Third stop – a taste of sausage. Fourth stop – a glass of beer at the Blue Hand Pub. Last stop was a typical coffee shop in The Netherlands, that sells pot. We had a wonderful time…if you get the gist!

All in all..another amazing day on the Rhine!!!

21 Jul 2015

I forgot to mention that yesterday, on our spontaneous tasting tour, we also stopped at a herring stand and Steven took one of the fish and put it right down his gullet. Lovely. (Yuck)! Needless to say, I passed that stand up.

Today we are in south Holland…a provence of The Netherlands. Most people think the country is Holland, but it is not. The country is The Netherlands and two of the twelve provinces in the Netherlands are called Holland.

We started our morning tour in Kinderdijk, along canals where windmills are. The windmills are still inhabited by millers – sometimes their parents were millers, but others must pass a course in order to work the windmill. The windmill sails have to rotate at least 60 thousand times in a year and there is a person who monitors this and if you fall behind, you have to work to get back on track. The outside of the windmill must be kept as originally built, but you can do anything you would like inside. There is usually a bedroom, living room and now a kitchen inside and also floors above the first floor that can be used as bedrooms as well. Years ago, there was a kitchen house quite a distance from the windmill to prevent fires. The inhabitants pay a small amount in rent. Most of the mills were built in the early 1700’s and there are about one thousand windmills left in The Netherlands.

The top of the windmill rotates around, depending on the wind direction. The miller, using a huge wheel similar to a ships wheel, steers the sails and places them where he wants them and then secures them to concrete “mushrooms” to keep them in place. When someone dies, the top sail is placed at the eleven o’clock position on a clock and when there is a birth, the sale is placed at the one o’clock position. Fire is a major problem because if the sails pick up too much speed the friction can cause the mill to catch fire and since it is made of wood or thatch, it usually burns down. There is also an emergency brake to stop the sails from spinning, but usually the mill will still burn because of the friction.

Steven spoke about the Christmas tradition in the Netherlands, which is quite different from ours, thankfully. St Nicholas doesn’t have elves, but has black slaves as helpers. He comes by horse and puts candy in the wooden shoes left outside. Then at some point during the night, a bag of toys will be left for good children. But if you’ve been bad, no toys are left and instead, the child will be placed in the empty bag and taken away to become a black slave. Merry Freakin Christmas little ones!!! Yikes!!! As you can imagine, Steven said, this tradition is quite controversial, not only in that it scares the little ones into being good say child psychologists, but it is also extremely racist. No duh?

Steven showed us an authentic wooden shoe. Contrary to popular belief, the shoes are not painted with designs like we always see. Rather, they are left unpainted because they only lasted about three months and new ones would have to be carved. They are made out of the willow tree and were much cheaper than the leather shoes of the time.

After lunch, we boarded the ship again and sailed to Willemstad, named in honor of William of Orange a beloved ruler. It is a beautiful town surrounded by water and we walked along and watched the yachts and sailing ships go by. Willemstad has always been used as a defensive location because of its position in the waterway. The town was fortified by mountains of earth rather than brick walls because a wall would crumble when hit by an exploding shell, but the earth absorbs the shock and remains.

Willemstad is a rich city with many millionaires because the town won a government run lottery. The government had the towns play their postal codes and Willemstad won some years ago.

Because the town is surrounded by water, it has suffered severe flooding over the years, the most devastating in 1953 when more than 1800 people lost their lives. The Dutch said “never again,” and constructed the Delta Works. The Provence was once a collection of islands, but now through the Delta works, the islands are connected and protected by a series of dams, dikes and bridges.

We walked down rosemary street where the prostitutes used to work. It is so named for the rosemary that grew there and the girls made rosemary water to sprinkle on themselves to smell more enticing. Prostitution is legal in The Netherlands. Also, gay marriage has been recognized since the seventies and abortion is also legal during the first trimester.

Allan and I walked hand and hand down lovers lane and by doing so our love will last forever so the legend says. Many people get married in the church at the end of the long walk and then walk hand and hand down the walk so their marriage will last.

When we arrived back to the ship one of the guides asked if we would like to be interviewed by the local newspaper. We said of course and a young man interviewed us. Too bad we won’t see our names in print in the local paper as we are leaving the Netherlands for Belgium tonight.

Tonight was the Captains Farewell Dinner replete with filet mignon and baked Alaska. Afterwards we were treated to a show put on by the staff which was a hoot. Synchronized swimmers behind “water”, singing, skits and just a lot of goofy fun.

22 Jul 2015 Antwerp, Belgium

Today for our last port on our amazing trip, we are in Antwerp, Belguim. No we are no longer on the Rhine but on the Schelde river.

Belgium was conquered many times over the centuries. The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French and German. A number of non-official, minority languages and dialects are spoken as well, including Flemish.

There are many bicycles in Antwerp and you can rent them all over. The first half hour is free and then you start paying.

We rode the oldest escalator in Belgium which is made of wood. It takes you down to where you can cross the river on an underground pathway. We just rode the elevator and then came back up.

There are many lights throughout the town with a statue of Mary being illuminated by them. This is because there was a tax on lights…but you were exempt from the tax if it lit up a a statue of Mary, the patron saint of Antwerp.

It is claimed that fries originated in Belgium and that the ongoing dispute between the French and Belgians about where they were invented is highly contentious, with both countries claiming ownership.

The fries story here in Belgium goes like this: Small fish from the river were caught throughout Belgium, fried and enjoyed by all. But when the river was frozen and fishing became hazardous, they cut potatoes in the form of the small fish and fried them instead. Therefore, Belgians believe they invented the fried potato. Myth or truth we don’t know but one thing is certain: do not refer to fried potatoes as French fries here in Belgium. The people here eat their fries with mayo rather than ketchup and we sampled sone hot off the press swimming in mayo Yikes! Ketchup is much better.

We sampled some delicious Belgium chocolate which is rather expensive. Think we will stick with the Lindt chocolates instead.

The artist Peter Paul Rubens hailed from Antwerp. His home is located here, but his artwork is only displayed in the cathedral in town…not in his home surprisingly. It is said that Rubens had many apprentices and that he only painted the hands and faces on his artworks and the apprentices did the rest.

We went back to the ship to pack and have lunch and will just rest until tonight’s dinner. We bought some Delft Christmas tree ornaments to give to our Canadian friends as a thank you for “adopting” us on the cruise. Hopefully they will think of the great time we had together whenever they decorate their trees.

It’s been an amazing trip…one of the best we’ve ever had. The crew could not have been more accommodating and our program director Steven was amazing. Our waitress Zorica took such great care of us…calling me a “gentle soul” and giving Allan the royal treatment.

It is a vacation we will remember for years to come. Tomorrow we are off the ship at six am to catch our flight back to the states.

Thanks for coming along with us as we cruised and romanced The Rhine and Mosel Rivers.

The Escapades of Pookie and Allan

Page 31 of 32

BORDEAUX 2019

New England 2018

The Seine 2018

IRELAND 2018

CARIBBEAN CRUISE 2018

Avignon and Lyon 2017

ISRAEL 2017

FLORENCE, ITALY 2017

BAVARIA TO BUDAPEST along the Danube 2016

Our trip from 2015 – Romance the Rhine and Mosel