Windsor and Trip Home

We started our last day leaving the ship and getting on the bus for Windsor Castle. Our last shore excursion was just as good as we expected. The castle is full of history and beauty. We could have spent the whole day there.

But we had a plane to catch. After our long plane ride including "the crying baby" and a crummy sinus headache. We arrived in LAX for the drive home. Last night was hard. And after the trip, we expect it to take all weekend to recover. And it should take about 1 year to remove those smiles. :-)

Thanks to all that read our blog - it made it more fun for us to share this trip.

Love,

J & M

Brugge

We arrive in Belgium with another beautiful weather day. So far on this trip every day has been pretty close to perfect for the weather. We have yet to have any rain even though we travel to places that “claim” they get tons of it.

OK, guess what, more old churches!! Yes Brugge is a city that went broke around the 16th century. They couldn’t afford to modernize so they kept things just as they were. Now a city of 20,000 gets about 4 million visitors a year.

We did a walking tour of the medieval section of the town. We saw Michelangelo’s Madonna in the Church of Our Lady.

Then we took a boat cruise of the canals. Our boat guide was a funny and strange man.

Finally we finished with a little shopping and some Belgian chocolate. Melodee is happy J

This is our last blog entry until we return as we will have no internet access.

Paris

The day started early with a 3 hour bus ride to Paris. The French landscape is beautiful. It is a little hilly with lots of trees and shrubs. The traffic in Paris was very thick. We drove around a bit to get to see some sites before we met our boat for the Seine river ride. The river ride was excellent. We had lunch onboard and we were serenaded by a violinist.

Do you believe in “love at first site”? Well, Mel and Jeff fell in love with Paris. We MUST go back. It was only about 4 hours in Paris. I think we need at least 1 week.

Sites that we saw – the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, and the Palais de Chaillot.

Sites we only saw from the outside and will see more of next time – the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay and Notre Dame.

Sea Day

We spent the day at sea. And we took no pictures. We started the day with a lazy morning; staying in bed to watch a movie. Then after lunch, Melodee laid by the pool, while Jeff played poker. In the evening we went to a specialty restaurant, Sabatini’s where we had an excellent Italian meal. Our energy all built up for the long day tomorrow.

Cobh, Ireland

We took a bus, or a coach as they say here, to Blarney. The guide told us that it rains only twice a week here – once for three days and again for four more. But, for us, today the weather was very pleasant with no rain. The landscape in Ireland is as beautiful as we have been told. And it is very green. We waited in a long line to climb to the top of an old castle where the famous Blarney stone waits millions of lips. Melodee wouldn’t kiss it, and only allowed me to get into kissing position – on my back hanging with my head upside down. That is a very strange Irish tradition and some of it feels like a big joke on all the rest of us.

When we returned to port the city of Cobh had come out in full force to send our ship on its way. They had a band and hundreds of people where lined up on the docks and by the sea waving good-bye to us. There were many sailboats and pleasure craft that escorted our ship out of the harbor. The Irish were so friendly and genuine. Our captain sounded the ships horn with a “fond cheerio”.

Anniversary

Access to this page is RESTRICTED!!

Vigo

We start the day both feeling much better, with nagging traces of our colds hanging on. We took a bus to the church of St. James in Santiago. This is a famous church for the pilgrimage trek that millions have done over the centuries and still do today. – Yep another old church. The interior was beautiful but too dark for our camera with flash photos prohibited.

We shopped in the local streets finding many interesting items and musicians. The weather was perfect – especially for a place that rains more than Seattle.

We had a great lunch at a local hotel with very interesting conversations from the other passengers. All in all, we found this to be one of our best excursions.

As we set sail for Ireland the seas have become a little rough. The picture doesn’t do it justice. Many passengers are feeling sea sick. So far Mody and I are just enjoying the roller coaster ride.

Talk to you all tomorrow
J and M

Lisbon

We woke up just as we entered the harbor of Lisbon, Portugal. While on our balcony we passed under the Golden Gate Bridge (smaller than SF) and saw the Christ the King Monument just like the one in Rio.

We took a harbor tour and tasted some of the wonderful Portuguese pastries. As we left the dock I noticed a man sitting on the steps by the sea fishing with just a line. We did a short tour of the city. The cable car was about 100 yrs old and still being used.

It was a nice, short day and tomorrow we are heading up to Vigo, Spain.

Cadiz

Today we are back in Spain after leaving Gibraltar. I’m writing the blog this time since Jeff stayed on the ship not feeling too well with the cold we are sharing. Our guide said today was supposed to be hot enough to break records. It was but we had a strong wind to make us think it was cooler.

At Casa Del Obispo, the guide mentioned that he worked on Hwy 1 and has been to San Luis Obispo.

I saw more churches, a grand city hall with beautiful crystal chandeliers, and really cool small streets for shopping. I saw more statues of Hercules here since he was the main god here in Cadiz during Roman days and a few giant monuments to government officials. Oh, I returned with the credit card and Euro’s only spending 10.50 Eu’s. I’m saving my money for Ireland and France.

And Happy 70th Birthday to Terry!

Gibraltar

We start a little groggy from the wild night before. Fortunately, our excursion was in the afternoon.

The main attraction at Gibraltar is the tram ride to the top where we could see “the Rock”, the Barbary Apes (actually monkeys), Spain, the Mediterranean, and Africa. The wait was almost 2 hours, but we agreed it was worth it. The monkeys were very cute, but they are aggressive and will steal from you (bags, hats, glasses, food….) and they will bite.

Jeff spent the evening in bed with a cold that has gotten worse. Mel is still fighting hers off. As I write this (on the 17th) I am feeling much better now. Mel is in Cadiz with our Euros and credit cards – uh oh.

Love you all,
Jeff and Mel

Wedding

It was a full day at sea with the excitement of the wedding on our minds the whole day. We met a nice couple on our first day of the cruise and invited them to attend. They were very happy to be there. The Captain is a classical British Naval officer. It was formal night on the ship so most of the passengers were “dressed to the nines”. Mody cried during the ceremony (of course). It was a very tender moment. Champaign poured freely throughout the ship. We had a superb dinner although the food was in volumes far too large.

We are on to Gibraltar. On the down side both of us are fighting off colds – a hazard of all these foreign ports and shipboard life.

Our cruise is only about ½ over. We are having the time of our lives!!

Barcelona

We took a shorter tour today. But it was a very good one. In Barcelona we visited the Picasso Museum. Since he lived much of his early life here, it was a very good and complete exhibition. Unfortunately – absolutely no photos were allowed. So you will have to come see for yourselves. Then we went to see the home that Gaudi built here. He is a unique architect that loved to build rooms and structures based on the animals and natural structures he observed. The 6 or 7 story house that we saw had no weight bearing walls – quite fascinating. Rick Newton – this one was for you! This time NO old churches J

Jeff played more poker last night and …. yep… won again.

The sunset pic is from last night – after we had already posted our blog. There is a quick pic of the zoo (for Terry and Kathie).

Full day at sea tomorrow – and the wedding!! (Vow renewals)

Jeff and Mel

Cannes – Nice – Monaco – Monte Carlo

Notice to all – We have decided to move. Debbie, get ready to set up CygNet Monoco. Also, SEND MONEY!!!

We landed in Cannes, which is famous for the Cannes Film Festival. Then we rode the bus through Nice to get to Monoco. We transferred to city buses to get to the Casino in Monte Carlo. Had lunch-yummy! Gambled-Black Jack for Jeff and slots for Mel. Saw the Cathedral (another old church) where Grace Kelly married Prince Ranier. There was a wedding going on so we were not able to go inside.

The red Lamborghini made us think of Collin. Lillie would have loved the blue ocean water, supposedly nice and warm.

On to Spain.
:-)

Genoa

We are tired!! Our excursion today has been an easier one. We took a short bus ride into the port city of Genoa. It has a rich history as one of Italy’s largest and oldest ports. Many buildings and homes were constructed with the purpose of defending against pirates and attacks. They even had escape plans that included jumping from roof to roof of the homes and buildings that are very close together.

We saw Columbus’ home, beautiful fountains and.... yes more old churches. We saw the crypt that contained the ashes of John the Baptist. There was a ship that was used in the movie Pirates. We wanted Collin to be here for that one.
The rest of the day consists of lying by the pool drinking umbrella drinks and running (of course).