today, this travel with denne,
Well, we always wanted to come here since Louis Guies said it was his favorite place in the world. So far just wandering around this evening, it is spectacular. This mornings train ride was eventful, the train broke. We rushed to make the 10:54 and got in with all our suitcases in tact, found a nice seat and settled in. 25 minutes later the train was cleared of us and everyone else when on of the doors didn't work. So they sent us to track 14b from 14a, which is interesting cause its the same track, just different ends. Well on our way, we were sent back to the 14a location to wait for the next train so we wouldn't have to change trains in Rottedam instead of Antwerp. (Rotterdam in not luggage friendly). So we walked back the other way until they made the anouncement that the broken train in front of us wasn't moving and we all had to go back to 14b which we did and the rest of the trip was uneventful. The hotel room is small but has a bose sound system and a fish tank, so we are staying.
The van gogh (pronounced Go, or Gock, we still don't know) was very interesting with 200 paintings from his first to his last and all the changes in attitude he went though icluding on of the 7 Sunflowers.
The Diamond museum was 1 solid hour of looking at the way diamonds were made and harvested and separated and colored and cut and polished and sold wholesale in antwerp and sold retail in amsterdam and replicas of every crown ever made (and some other stuff).
The boat cruise through the canals was interesting and the 2500 houseboats (max number) go from $200000 to millions and just a little bigger than a large camper.
The Reiksmuseum with Rembrandt's "the night watch" was great, lots of vermeer and the dutch masters (just like the cigars).
The trip to Haarlem to see the Bollenstreich Flower Parade was well worth the trip (about 20 minutes by train with a lot of walking). The pictures speak for themselves ans the whole town turns out.
Middle of the night here so bedtime an sightseeing tomorrow...we are well into this trip now.
Tomorrow, Mike
woops...spell check doesn't like Flemish either.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
April 23 "We're talking tulips here"
Arrived in Amsterdam yesterday afternoon. Got caught up on internet and talked to most of you on the telephone. We got caught up on our laundry and went to be and slept like rocks. Today we went to Keukenhof Gardens which is a little ways outside of Amsterdam. This is without doubt the most beautiful gardens we have been. Tulips are not the only bulb flower grown here, but also, hyacinths,narcissus,crocus, daffodills, paperwhites, iris, then in summer glads, dahlia,carnations and asters. Three pavalions with flower arranging competitons, and growning of some of the most beautiful flowers to include orchids. The fields are bursting with color of hyacinths and tulips right now, it is truly beautiful. Tomorrow we will see a tulip parade( think similar to rose bowl parade but maybe smaller...we'll soon see)!
We had a wafle today while we were at keukenhof. Okay, you have never had a wafle like this. Piled high with whipped cream, mmmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmm. Yes that's how it is spelled here. Pretty exhausted, did lots of walking today.
It's mike here and I got a good one. As I was getting ready to post the spell checker came on and most of the words were spelled wrong. It wanted betitel for beautiful and gardnes, orchis, tuilip, coccus, arenging etc. Who knew that it would show up wanting Dutch.
We had a wafle today while we were at keukenhof. Okay, you have never had a wafle like this. Piled high with whipped cream, mmmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmm. Yes that's how it is spelled here. Pretty exhausted, did lots of walking today.
It's mike here and I got a good one. As I was getting ready to post the spell checker came on and most of the words were spelled wrong. It wanted betitel for beautiful and gardnes, orchis, tuilip, coccus, arenging etc. Who knew that it would show up wanting Dutch.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
april 10-18 heading for miami
April 10 - 18, 2010
Everything is packed and we are ready to go on the 10th. Goob jumped in the suitcase and thought maybe he should go too! Sorry Goob no room in the suitcase! Pat and Bob drove us to Miami. We looking forward to our cruise crossing and they on their way to Florida Keys. We stayed in a hotel right in Miami. Our room overlooked the Four Seasons hotel and we had a great view of their pool there. They were setting up for a wedding, so, we decided we had to see the wedding before we made any evening plans. (we had a balcony in our room, it was a 2 bedroom/living room/kitchen hotel) Very pretty wedding, beautiful weather and fancy dresses. Then off to South Beach for dinner. South Beach was booming. Judge had told us of a great place to go, but, nothing available until 11 pm.. So maybe next time. We had dinner at a place that sounded like a seafood place but was a bit of a combination of Italian and Seafood and whatever else you like. It was quite good and kind of expensive. LET THE VACATION BEGIN!
The rest is rather uneventful. We all crashed, got up, had breakfast and we off to the Celebrity. Got on early and hassle free. Walked the ship and nothing had changed much since we were here 4 years ago. (or was it 5 years?) It brought back some fantastic memories when we met our wonderful British friends. Many, many memories. The first couple of days was kind of a wash for me. It seemed I couldn’t get enough sleep. Could have been the movement of the ocean but I slept, napped and grabbed shut eye whenever I could. Finally got my energy back. This is a wonderful cruise line, I can’t say enough about it. It is on it’s way to dry dock for an update, which it needs, but it is the cleanest and most hospitable ship I have been on. I could live here. (I think some do!) Great cruise director and his assistant is the funniest person. Now all you need to do is see him and you want to laugh. The seas have been good to us. The first 4 days very calm. Actually after 4 days at sea we were only 500 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. We went from Miami up to the North Atlantic and then across. We have one more sea day before we get to LaHarvre. The last 3 days have been a little rough with seas from 6 to 13 feet and some windy conditions, and cold about 51 out there right now. We are on the second floor, yes, right next to the crew! We have a water view so I tried to get a picture of how large the waves looked from our window. We’ve been playing a lot of trivia games during the day, seeing the shows at night, (all so very good by the way), and I blew $5.00 in the casino on a nickel machine. A couple of bingo games, Mike tries to keep me away from those. We are heading for the Spa tomorrow morning! NO, I won them in various things on the ship. Have had a tour on the bridge which was very interesting. The passengers on this ship are kind of…….well maybe I should say…..I feel young. I’ve seen 3 children, wish we had Malcolm to show off!!! Annalisa and Jell, think you guys would feel incredibly bored. Anyway, they don’t have anything midnight here! (hmmm, wonder why!) The fancy buffet is a BRUNCH buffet. Ice carvings, vegetable flowers, chocolate fountain, and EGGS! There are other things but at 10 am not interested in stuffed anything! You can see the few pictures we took. Well looking forward to tomorrow, it’s way past my bedtime 1:20 AM!!! We loose an hour about every night, as of the 19th we are 6 hours later that EST.. Okay all, wish us luck in France!
April 19
As I write this, it isn’t really the 19th rather it is the 21st and we are in the harbor of Dover England. However, I have stored some things in my head about the 19th and some of the earlier days of this cruise that I forgot to tell you. I want you all to know that we made it through 2 FORMAL nights! Ugh, don’t know many who like them but I know Mike will put up some pictures when we get to a port that we can get online which looks like it’s going to be Amsterdam in our hotel! Anyway, the 19th came and the ship entered the English Channel. It had been 8 days at sea and you don’t see much out there except water in different stages of turmoil. Well at first it was just like the being at sea where nothing new on the horizon then someone saw a bird, then another ship(tanker) then another ship or a bird. You’d think we were on the Santa Maria and the earth was flat!!!!! Everyone stood at the windows with amazement, it was truly amazing! Passengers were getting a little testy in the lunch food buffet, cabin fever I think. Me, well I was kind of sorry as I knew the end of this kind of living was about to end. But then a new adventure about to begin.
April 20th
LaHavre France. (ooooo la la)
Got of the ship about 10 am with full intentions of checking out LaHarvre but mostly got lost and did a lot of walking. Did get some interesting shots on the camera….like the pastry shop and the very cool sign made out of pipes and metal and the street with pointy pruned trees. It was neat but we were still lost. Got on a bus to Honfleur. A little village not far from LaHarve about 30 min. bus ride. We crossed the Seine (bridge) and we were almost there. I didn’t realize the Seine flowed into the English Channel and then to the Atlantic. HonFleur was basically back in its day a fishing and ship building and a trading port. It has been through many wars, owned by the Normans and the British and gee I can’t remember who, but many. Wonderful place, very old, many of the buildings built in the 14th century. Now a very quaint touristy place with many restaurants and shops. We did have the very best open faced grilled cheese and ham sandwich thing we have ever eaten. FABULOUS. We got back to LaHarve by bus about 7pm and then to the ship, and very very tired. Good night all…..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
April 21st
Dover, England (Home of the Dover Sole?)
Back an hour from yesterday and then ahead a hour tomorrow, whew! Having a time keeping up with the time! We went to Dover Castle today and I must say it was soooooo fascinating. The Dover Castle dates back to the 12th century . It’s up there and the hill is a bit of a climb. King Henry the 1st took residence here every so often. This castle has housed many a army all the way up to the 2nd World War. Henry also used this for defense against any enemy he was up against. Sorry haven’t got all my facts straight in my head yet. Got a lot of info packed in there today and haven ’t figured it all out yet. Got a book however to keep me all straight. Maybe I’ll update you on that at another date. The castle, by the way, is on top of the white cliffs! In the cliffs were dug military tunnels which were dug 200 years ago for the Napoleonic War. France is only 22 miles away across the channel and France had always been a threat to England. The tunnels were built for protection for their munitions supplies and barracks for the troops. More were built after that and these tunnels were much used in the 2nd world war. It even has a hospital in there, mess hall, barracks, and much more. It was very interesting. The cliffs are mostly chalk from what I understand which I guess makes the white! Just an assumption on my part. Anyway we were there for about 4 hours and decided to go down to the city of Dover. We did a little window shopping and found the Roman Painted House. Yes roman ruins found here and excavated in the 70’s. The excavated the remains of a house with about 5 rooms in it. Still had the floors and partial walls. Heating system very innovative….they would have fireplaces on the outside of the house with the heat going underground under the floor and the heat would come up through vents or other flues. This house dates back to 200AD. Wow
Back on the ship now, and it is out last night. Got to pack. BUT, tomorrow is formal night……awwwwwwwwwwwe we’re gonna miss it! Amsterdam tomorrow, hope to post all this then.
Everything is packed and we are ready to go on the 10th. Goob jumped in the suitcase and thought maybe he should go too! Sorry Goob no room in the suitcase! Pat and Bob drove us to Miami. We looking forward to our cruise crossing and they on their way to Florida Keys. We stayed in a hotel right in Miami. Our room overlooked the Four Seasons hotel and we had a great view of their pool there. They were setting up for a wedding, so, we decided we had to see the wedding before we made any evening plans. (we had a balcony in our room, it was a 2 bedroom/living room/kitchen hotel) Very pretty wedding, beautiful weather and fancy dresses. Then off to South Beach for dinner. South Beach was booming. Judge had told us of a great place to go, but, nothing available until 11 pm.. So maybe next time. We had dinner at a place that sounded like a seafood place but was a bit of a combination of Italian and Seafood and whatever else you like. It was quite good and kind of expensive. LET THE VACATION BEGIN!
The rest is rather uneventful. We all crashed, got up, had breakfast and we off to the Celebrity. Got on early and hassle free. Walked the ship and nothing had changed much since we were here 4 years ago. (or was it 5 years?) It brought back some fantastic memories when we met our wonderful British friends. Many, many memories. The first couple of days was kind of a wash for me. It seemed I couldn’t get enough sleep. Could have been the movement of the ocean but I slept, napped and grabbed shut eye whenever I could. Finally got my energy back. This is a wonderful cruise line, I can’t say enough about it. It is on it’s way to dry dock for an update, which it needs, but it is the cleanest and most hospitable ship I have been on. I could live here. (I think some do!) Great cruise director and his assistant is the funniest person. Now all you need to do is see him and you want to laugh. The seas have been good to us. The first 4 days very calm. Actually after 4 days at sea we were only 500 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. We went from Miami up to the North Atlantic and then across. We have one more sea day before we get to LaHarvre. The last 3 days have been a little rough with seas from 6 to 13 feet and some windy conditions, and cold about 51 out there right now. We are on the second floor, yes, right next to the crew! We have a water view so I tried to get a picture of how large the waves looked from our window. We’ve been playing a lot of trivia games during the day, seeing the shows at night, (all so very good by the way), and I blew $5.00 in the casino on a nickel machine. A couple of bingo games, Mike tries to keep me away from those. We are heading for the Spa tomorrow morning! NO, I won them in various things on the ship. Have had a tour on the bridge which was very interesting. The passengers on this ship are kind of…….well maybe I should say…..I feel young. I’ve seen 3 children, wish we had Malcolm to show off!!! Annalisa and Jell, think you guys would feel incredibly bored. Anyway, they don’t have anything midnight here! (hmmm, wonder why!) The fancy buffet is a BRUNCH buffet. Ice carvings, vegetable flowers, chocolate fountain, and EGGS! There are other things but at 10 am not interested in stuffed anything! You can see the few pictures we took. Well looking forward to tomorrow, it’s way past my bedtime 1:20 AM!!! We loose an hour about every night, as of the 19th we are 6 hours later that EST.. Okay all, wish us luck in France!
April 19
As I write this, it isn’t really the 19th rather it is the 21st and we are in the harbor of Dover England. However, I have stored some things in my head about the 19th and some of the earlier days of this cruise that I forgot to tell you. I want you all to know that we made it through 2 FORMAL nights! Ugh, don’t know many who like them but I know Mike will put up some pictures when we get to a port that we can get online which looks like it’s going to be Amsterdam in our hotel! Anyway, the 19th came and the ship entered the English Channel. It had been 8 days at sea and you don’t see much out there except water in different stages of turmoil. Well at first it was just like the being at sea where nothing new on the horizon then someone saw a bird, then another ship(tanker) then another ship or a bird. You’d think we were on the Santa Maria and the earth was flat!!!!! Everyone stood at the windows with amazement, it was truly amazing! Passengers were getting a little testy in the lunch food buffet, cabin fever I think. Me, well I was kind of sorry as I knew the end of this kind of living was about to end. But then a new adventure about to begin.
April 20th
LaHavre France. (ooooo la la)
Got of the ship about 10 am with full intentions of checking out LaHarvre but mostly got lost and did a lot of walking. Did get some interesting shots on the camera….like the pastry shop and the very cool sign made out of pipes and metal and the street with pointy pruned trees. It was neat but we were still lost. Got on a bus to Honfleur. A little village not far from LaHarve about 30 min. bus ride. We crossed the Seine (bridge) and we were almost there. I didn’t realize the Seine flowed into the English Channel and then to the Atlantic. HonFleur was basically back in its day a fishing and ship building and a trading port. It has been through many wars, owned by the Normans and the British and gee I can’t remember who, but many. Wonderful place, very old, many of the buildings built in the 14th century. Now a very quaint touristy place with many restaurants and shops. We did have the very best open faced grilled cheese and ham sandwich thing we have ever eaten. FABULOUS. We got back to LaHarve by bus about 7pm and then to the ship, and very very tired. Good night all…..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
April 21st
Dover, England (Home of the Dover Sole?)
Back an hour from yesterday and then ahead a hour tomorrow, whew! Having a time keeping up with the time! We went to Dover Castle today and I must say it was soooooo fascinating. The Dover Castle dates back to the 12th century . It’s up there and the hill is a bit of a climb. King Henry the 1st took residence here every so often. This castle has housed many a army all the way up to the 2nd World War. Henry also used this for defense against any enemy he was up against. Sorry haven’t got all my facts straight in my head yet. Got a lot of info packed in there today and haven ’t figured it all out yet. Got a book however to keep me all straight. Maybe I’ll update you on that at another date. The castle, by the way, is on top of the white cliffs! In the cliffs were dug military tunnels which were dug 200 years ago for the Napoleonic War. France is only 22 miles away across the channel and France had always been a threat to England. The tunnels were built for protection for their munitions supplies and barracks for the troops. More were built after that and these tunnels were much used in the 2nd world war. It even has a hospital in there, mess hall, barracks, and much more. It was very interesting. The cliffs are mostly chalk from what I understand which I guess makes the white! Just an assumption on my part. Anyway we were there for about 4 hours and decided to go down to the city of Dover. We did a little window shopping and found the Roman Painted House. Yes roman ruins found here and excavated in the 70’s. The excavated the remains of a house with about 5 rooms in it. Still had the floors and partial walls. Heating system very innovative….they would have fireplaces on the outside of the house with the heat going underground under the floor and the heat would come up through vents or other flues. This house dates back to 200AD. Wow
Back on the ship now, and it is out last night. Got to pack. BUT, tomorrow is formal night……awwwwwwwwwwwe we’re gonna miss it! Amsterdam tomorrow, hope to post all this then.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Sunday to the Constellation and off to Le Havre
This is the boat (say ship) that we went to St. Petersburg Russia on. Can I end there? This is the boat that we met Allan and Sally on. I could go on and on.
If you don't know the story of that trip we could update the reasons for the current itinerary which is tied into the first "Connie trip" and the visit to Maine of Sally and Allen (the "brits").
I'll get Denne to write this soon, so you won't be confused
Mike
If you don't know the story of that trip we could update the reasons for the current itinerary which is tied into the first "Connie trip" and the visit to Maine of Sally and Allen (the "brits").
I'll get Denne to write this soon, so you won't be confused
Mike
Friday, February 26, 2010
Post Alaska is coming soon
Our story is moving on. Lots has happened since the Alaska trip and there's another really fun trip coming up that we want to blogabout. I'm just checking the oil and kicken the tires.
Monday, September 22, 2008
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