At home but about to start traveling again

Well, it has been a while, since I posted and I guess I should start with the finish, of the last cruise because many of my dear friends and family have asked for me to do so.  So I will do that, now lets see where did I leave off?


Tuesday 25 October

The captain had warned us the night before that the weather was not going to be on our side today. Sure enough he was correct as we boarded the tenders in the dark, rainy, and windy morning at 0700. We were first off the ship as the rain pelted down. Unfortunately our guide was no where to be seen as we waited in the rain. She did arrive at approximately 0800. We all piled into the van just to escape the continuing rain. Fun, fun!

We drove along the coast line from Cannes to Antibes and to the hill top ancient village Biot. The rain didn’t stop, but we did. We all climbed out of the van and walked up the stone walkway into the town. The streets were very small walkways dotted occasionally with wide steps. Partly up into the village we spotted a shop selling umbrellas. Big umbrellas! That was for us. Cindy found a beautiful rainbow colored one, just perfect for the remainder of the day’s travel.


 


After walking through the village we returned to a restaurant at the village gate, it had a big bocce court, right in front. Reminded us of the movie, a Year in Province. We wished the weather had been nice, and the men playing. They were serving a veal reargue’ with peas and carrots for the special. So it was the special with a bottle of wine and French bread and we were warm and dry again. Not much to do in the pouring rain but slowly return to the ship, we would like to return here some day. Once again safely on board to depart for the warmed sunnier Barcelona!





Wednesday 26 October

The morning began with us sitting on the balcony watching the sun rise. It was beautiful! After breakfast we made our way off the ship meeting Ann & Al and Gail & Tom along the way.

We took the Princess shuttle bus to the world trade center. Then it was off to stroll La Rambla promenade checking out the shops and head toward the large city market full of fresh vegetables, fruit, candy, baked goods, meat and fish. It is similar to many European City Markets.

After the market visit it was off to visit the old sector of town walking by the Cathedral, the line was too long, and then seeking out a Tosca shop for lunch. The menu was complete with over 35 choices, we collectively selected 10 different ones, ranging from calamari to ham and beef. Of course there also was the obligatory wine and beer to top it all off.



 On the return to the ship Cindy and Gail had their photos taken with the street mime, he was really good! Well, 6.2 miles later we were back safely in the arms of the Ruby Princess. As we departed Barcelona the sea gulls followed close behind as if to say bon voyage to the Ruby as she leaves for the Caribbean not to return to Barcelona, until next spring.

Thursday, October 27^th

Today is a welcome sea day, we are not doing much today, just resting up a bit. Just had a great pub lunch in the Wheel House Bar, they do this on sea days. It is great fish and chips. Today’s big event is going through the Straights of Gibraltar, and me posting this blog,, we will see what happens first. We passed through the straight at 7pm as thr sun was setting. We also placed a note in a wine bottle and placed it in the sea as we exited the straight. The evening clouds and weather closed in as we departed for diner. While at diner the seas became heavier and heavier and it was slightly challenging to return to the aft of the ship.

Friday October 28^th

We awoke about 0400 to a heavy thud, not sure the size wave, we were in the north Atlantic and we were welcomed by the sea . It was a rough night with all the folks awakened by the sea. With sunrise the weather cleared and the seas became calmer. We passed under bridge to enter Lisbon’s harbor and docked at noon.

After a slow disembarkation process all the tours rushed to make to most of our 5 hour stay. We boarded our private tour to Sintra to visit the castle located on the mountain top, Park and Palace of Pana. It was built in the 19^th century and was last occupied just prior to WWI.

After the palace tour we returned to Lisbon and stop at the infamous cookie shop for espresso and cookies. Then it was back to the ship to begin the long voyage across the Atlantic.

 Leaving Lisbon, is beautiful, once again going under the bridge, and this time from our cabin, in the aft of the ship.

Saturday October 29^th

This is the first of many sea days as we begin our track across the Atlantic. The weather and sea state forecast was for mostly cloudy skies and 7 to 17 foot swells with periods of 13+ seconds. Fortunately the swells were head on so the motion was simply up and down. Not to hard to navigate down the corridors of the ship. We spent a majority of the day attempting to gain connectivity with our computers. By the time we quit, it was time to shower and dress for formal night. The chiefs were preparing a rack of lamb for us in the main dining room, wow was it terrific! It was a excellent evening.


Sunday October 30^th

We arrived on schedule 10am at Ponta Delgada, on the island of San Miguel, the largest of the Azores. We took a personalized van tour of the north and south coasts of island. Our first stop was at a large grocery store similar to a Walmart complete with underground parking. It was really nice. We stopped there to purchase port wine and of course cheese which the islands are famous for. The market prices are better than the tourist shops.

 The cost of this island is spectacular, you would think you were in Ireland, it is one of the best kept secreats of Europe.

We proceeded on our way stopping in the middle of the island at Furnas, site of the many volcanic mud pots. We stopped to see our meal being cooked in the volcanic mud and then proceeded to a restaurant.

They bring out the pots and put them in the ground

Then they bury them, each of thes holes belong to different familys

Where they opened the pot and served us our lunch of, beef, chicken, pork, potatoes, yams, taro root, carrots, and cabbage; wine, beer, and water too. It was really excellent. The name of the meal is “Cozido nas Caldeiras.”

As we were returning our guide stopped at a roadside rest and cut open a fresh pineapple for all of us. Wow and double wow! By far the very best pineapple we have ever had. Even the main stem within the pineapple was tender and sweet. It was fantastic.

 Then it was back to the ship where we held a small sail away party for our van partners. Ordered 2 pizzas and of course we had the wine and beer. We sat on the deck and watched as we sailed away for our next 6 days across the Atlantic. The captain has warned us that the swells will be rather high and the weather not so wonderful. This thirty day cruise has had some interesting weather. All the folks left about 830pm and we decided to call it an evening. We have turned back the clock for the third day in a row as we transit the Atlantic.



Monday October 31^st

Happy Halloween! We were greeted with morning dark gray skies and rough seas with 17ft swells. Just the type of day you wish to curl up with a book on the couch. We went to our regular breakfast at Sabortini’s Restaurant and then took some time to trouble shoot our computers. Cindy’s Ipad 2 is doing great while our little Eee PC is having its problems connecting. Of course that is what we were using for our Blog posts which are all in Word. We skipped lunch to get ready for the Cruise Critics Halloween party at 1500. It was great, our costumes worked and several folks did not recognize us. What fun! We stayed at the Sky Walkers lounge until diner and then joined the group for diner. We slowly made our way to Club fusion at 9pm to join the Princess Halloween Party, dancing, and parade. Excellent Halloween party, we entered the parade and danced the evening away! Fun, fun!!! Halloween is the best for parties!!!

Tuesday November 1^st

The connection was not good, so I am finishing this trip now,,, in 2012  here are pictures of some of the sea days, and our docking in Fort Lauderdale, in the wee hours of the morning,  it was a wonderful cruise, and we had a grand time, as much for the people we cruised with as where we cruised… we will be doing part of this cruise again in the fall 2012 and then again in 2013, so I guess you could say we like this itinerary.

Ed loved this lunch, hot dog is his favorite food

We drove home, from Florida, and our next cruise was on the ferry accross the James river and then we were home. 

The birds wecomed us back



It was wonderful, but it was good to be home too, and the trees were in there full fall color!

Good morning,
We are having a problem with the wifi, so we will have to post our log and pictures when we get closer to home. We are still having a great time.
By for now.

Barcelona

Arrived in port just as the sun peaked out above the horizon.  We quickly dressed and went for a quick breakfast before going to see the city.  We decided to just walk through the shopping areas and see the large market.  The sun was out in fun force as were all the folks. After walking through the food market with all the candies, meats, and vegetables we headed to the old section of town to see the old cathedrel and locate a place for lunch. We stopped at a tappas restauranrt and order three tappas, sardines, squid, and shrimp and of course a small bottle of wine.  It was excellent! then it was off for a stroll back to the ship stopping along the way to see the street sights. The mimes were set up along the street, some dressed so well it was hard to believe they were people. We got back to the shuttle pickup spot about 30 minutes prior to departure, just in time for Ed.  don't like cutting it close. Then it was sailing of to Lisbon and to the great north atlantic. The cruise is moving faster now as the number of days remaining decrease. We'll be seeing you all soon. We have not been able to get our computer on line, that's why no pictures are attached.       

Tuesday 25 October


The captain had warned us the night before that the weather was not going to be on our side today. Sure enough he was correct as we boarded the tenders in the dark, rainy, and windy morning at 0700. We were first off the ship as the rain pelted down. Unfortunately our guide was no where to be seen as we waited in the rain. She did arrive at approximately 0800. We all piled into the van just to escape the continuing rain. Fun, fun! We drove along the coast line from Cannes to Antibes and to the hill top ancient village Biot. The rain didn’t stop, but we did.  Our guide took us to a gass factory, so we could have an espresso.  And watch the glass blowing.

 We all climbed out of the van and walked up the stone walkway into the town. The streets were very small walkways dotted occasionally with wide steps.
Partway up into the village we spotted a shop selling umbrellas. Big umbrellas! That was for us. Cindy found a beautiful rainbow colored one, just perfect for the remainder of the day’s travel. After walking through the village we returned to a restaurant at the village gate, it had a big bocce court, right in front. Reminded us of the movie, a Year in Province. We wished the weather had been nice, and the men were playing. They were serving a veal reargue’ with peas and carrots for the special. So it was the special for us with a bottle of wine and French bread and we were warm and dry again.

Not much to do in the pouring rain but slowly return to the ship, we would like to return here some day. Once again safely on board to depart for the warmed sunnier Barcelona!

Monday 24 October
We arrived in Livorno at 0730, just prior to sun rise. We were greeted by our guide for the tour of Siena. This was one of our longest van ride across the Italian country side, over an hour and a half. Siena is a very interesting place, not just the ride to get there.
They have a very famous horse race here. They put sand on the street in the center square, and all the people from the area, have the competition.

I is really hrd to see, but this squair, is a big dome.

There is also a magnificent cathedral, here. The whole floor is mosaics, it was really unbelievable.

After leaving Sienna, we went for wine tasting and lunch, it was very good and we bought, some wine, to ship home. Cha ching!

TUSCANIA

Sunday 23 October


We arrived in Civitavecchia (Port for Rome) at 0730 after a short cruise up the Italian west coast. Marco Tavola was our tour guide, he is a very animated Italian, with 7 children, all under 12! Great guide, for a visit to Toscana, the Odescalchi Bracciano Castle, and San Gimignano. We learned about the Etruscan’s and how they influenced, Italy. We finished our tour with lunch in the village nestled in the high hill top it was wonderful. Marco took us to a place to buy wine and olive oil, and we bought some wine, can't run out ya know.  He also intertained, us oon the way back with wonderful stories,  all along the way, it was very interning.

It was a long day, but the adventure was worth the effort.

NAPLES

Saturday 22 October


As we arrived in Naples the sun was just peeking over the horizon beside Mt Vesuvius. We were an hour late, but could fit in with the ferry schedule and make a smooth arrival! We all gathered at the dock to form up to catch our tour van for the day! First stop the ancient Herculaneum, buried in 79 A.D.



While Pompeii was thought of as a working city, Herculaneum was built as a resort community for the upper class. The tour was excellent. After a couple of hours we boarded our van for the sightseeing trip to the Amalfi Coast stopping at Positano, Sorrento, Ravello, and Amalfi.

After an hour of driving along the Amalfi coast cliffs and stopping for pictures we stopped in the town of Positano. Our driver recommended we stop and recommended a restaurant by a little beach just down from the road. We asked if many steps were involved, and he indicated that it was simply and gentle ramp down. Some 1000+ yards down the coble stone path interspersed with steps we arrived at the restaurant by the sea.

Wow was it beautiful! We ordered calamari and a Nicosia salad with wine and beer. Of course after lunch it was back to walking through the streets and up the city hillside to the car for the ride back to the ship! Another wonderful day exploring Italy with friends.

Sea Day

Friday 21 October
We awoke to the sea day in the Mediterranean with clearing skies and softer seas. We attended the Red Hot Rubies Group Meet and Greet event which the Captain attended to welcome us all aboard. He indicated that three ships were not able to enter Venice the night before due to the heavy weather. So we were lucky to be able to leave when we did. Tonight is formal night and we are ready with new items to wear. Fun, fun! We had diner with Anne, Al, Bill, Irene, Gail, and Tom at Michelangelo’s anytime restaurant. We had hoped to see the Straight’s of Medina but because we were 3 hours late leaving Venice we were late at the straight. We did see the straight during the night from our balcony. Cindy woke up from all the bright lights shining from the cities lining the straight they were beautiful. We stood on the balcony watching all the lights go by!

Venice depart again

Thursday 20 October

The morning began with heavy overcast skies just waiting to rain. We order room service and Ed dressed to go out with Ken to the Ko-op grocery store near the pier. Of course near was about a four block walk to a people mover train which had one stop to a city district. It was another four blocks to the grocery store. While en-route it began to slowly rain. The price of going to purchase a couple of bottles of wine and toothpaste. As we walked back to the ship it started to rain in earnest. By sail away it was raining hard and the wind was over 35 knots. We were going nowhere fast. We delayed departure until the wind subsided. That was about 1530. Then with the help of a tug, we were off in the rain, wind and cloudy skies. Not much to see as we left the beautiful city in the storm. Once we cleared the port into the open sea it was off into the 35+ winds moderate seas and the night ahead.

18 October - Venice Italy

18 October - Venice Italy
We arrived at the entrance to the Venice harbor at sunrise 0732 and we were ready on the balcony to see the sunrise and to watch as we cruised into the city off Venice down the large canal. Gosh it is a beautiful site. We  had clear skies and full sunlight with temperatures in the low 60s.



After docking we took a tour of the lace shops on the island of Burano and the glass shops of Murano. The boat ride around Venice was spectacular and the islands were filled with shops. Not enough time to spend money andd see them all but it was fun to look!

We headed back to the ship for diner tonight on the ship overlooking the city. We will be in a restaurant on the 18^th deck which is higher than any place in town. Another great day on the Ruby Princess.

SPLIT

Monday, October17^th


It was a beautiful morning as we arrived in Split, Croatia and the weather held for the whole day. This is a beautiful city, not sure what I was expecting, but this far surpassed, expectations.
We were signed up for a tour of Diocletian’s palace & Mestrovic Gallery. And St. Dominius Cathedral and lunch, by the Cetina river. This was a good tour, and we thoroughly enjoyed the day.

We tendered into town.

Then we met our guid and she took us to tthe Place.

From there we took a bus ride to the Mestrovic gallery

Then it was on to lunch, what a great day.

　KATAKOLON
　
Saturday 15 October

We awoke about 0700 to the noise of thunder and opened the drapes to look at the sea and saw lightning all about the ship. We were in heavy seas with thunderstorms all about. The ship captain came on the loud speaker to notify us that we were waiting outside the harbor to determine what we were going to do because the weather was terrible with the wind at over 45 knots. He indicated that we would wait outside the harbor to determine if the weather would pass by. While it did not leave the winds subsided and we entered the port and docked.

We did not plan to leave the ship since we saw Olympia before, with our friends from Athens, it continued to rain thus we just stayed on the ship. After we docked the Greeks notified Princess that they were going to strike. All the tours that had not left, had to be canceled. And the few people that went into town, were stuck, as they later closed, the gang way, leaving the passengers with no place to go. When they were able to get back, on board, the weather reversed itself again and the wind picked up to over 40 knots, leaving us in port with the engines running to keep the ship from breaking its lines. What a mess! We stayed until 3 hours past our original departure time to let the wind subside. It was all very interesting.
So it was off to Corfu!!!

This sailboat was from New Zeland,, and they came through this storm,,,,, wow





　
　
CORFU
Sunday 16 October
We awoke at 0600 to see our arrival at Corfu and to be ready for our 0715 tour. It was scheduled for the full day. We got off the ship and were greeted cloudy skies, but a very beautiful island. Our first stop was Elizabeth’s palace, built in the 19^th century. It was really beautiful and the gardens surrounding it were filled with plants from all over the world. It was used during the filming of the 007 movie, Live & Let Die.

 After visiting we boarded our 50 passenger bus and went to the northern most area of the island taking a one lane road up the side of the mountain some 1750+ feet, this road made the Going to The Sun High Way look like a thoroughfare! And it was not one way… Cindy was really scared! We stopped along the way to visit a monastery midway up the mountainside, this was an Orthodox church, too, and they were having services as it was Sunday. We then re-boarded the bus, and finely reached the top. Where we stopped at a coffee house, best darn coffee and baklava we had in Greece.

After coffee we returned to the bus to proceed down the mountainside, not much better, the views were spectacular, but oh my god, it was scary, then they took us to a resort for lunch. The resort was very pretty and the lunch was enjoyable. We then left for the center of the main city square and had time for shopping. The city square was beautiful in all ways. We did go shopping and found some items we didn’t know we wanted. What fun! Then back to the ship and formal night with the Captains cocktail party. There are over 1000 return Princess passengers on this cruise, so they had to have 4 captains cocktail, parties. On board this cruise the most frequent passenger having over 1500 days aboard Princess ships. WOW, that is four years at sea! They said he had more days then the Captain.
What a day it was. As we finished our dinner our ship began to rock a bit, more then a bit really! Soon the captain told us we were experiencing 60 knot winds and of course the seas and ship were telling us that too. So off to bed for us!! We were both sound asleep within minutes.