Ok, when we travel we tend to run into some sort of weather-related issue.
At Heathrow we were waiting to board our plane. The Business Class folks were asked to board but then there was a long wait & no one else was called. Then, the Business Class passengers all walked off of the plane.
We were only told that there was some sort of mechanical issue with the plane & that our flight would be delayed.
A few hours later (did we mention that Heathrow does not seem to have air conditioning) we were able to board the plane. The pilot made an announcement to explain the reason for the delay saying that the plane had been hit by lightning as it came into Heathrow during the previous flight.
Go figure!
July 12, 2008
July 10, 2008
Stavanger
Welcome to the Petroleum Captial of Norway!
Stavanger was the most "modern" of the cities we visited due to the discovery of oil in the 1960's. It is not old enough of a city to have burned down several times, but the locals are hoping this will be their year. Otherwise, the city was quite Ballard-like with the exception of older people who cannot see over a steering wheel driving real slowly. Oh... wait... All those people were on our ship.
Anyway, Stavanger also used to be the "Sardine Capital of the World." Yes, we truly do only visit the best places...
Oh, and it was designated as the "European Capital of Culture" for 2008. We knew we were in a special place when we saw the 7-Eleven right next to the McDonald's in the center of town where the fake Gucci sunglasses were being sold.
Ah... and this high honor is shared with Liverpool.
Stavanger was the most "modern" of the cities we visited due to the discovery of oil in the 1960's. It is not old enough of a city to have burned down several times, but the locals are hoping this will be their year. Otherwise, the city was quite Ballard-like with the exception of older people who cannot see over a steering wheel driving real slowly. Oh... wait... All those people were on our ship.
Anyway, Stavanger also used to be the "Sardine Capital of the World." Yes, we truly do only visit the best places...
Oh, and it was designated as the "European Capital of Culture" for 2008. We knew we were in a special place when we saw the 7-Eleven right next to the McDonald's in the center of town where the fake Gucci sunglasses were being sold.
Ah... and this high honor is shared with Liverpool.
Bergen
Bergen is the town you think of when you imagine a picturesque Norwegian village.
After a short excursion up a funicular to an amazing view point, we bummed around town and walked through the open air market.
A quick note about the weather... Bergen is known and celebrated for its constant rainfall (Seattle could be an honorary, sister city). We have really lucked out with how nice it has been. Thanks to whoever arranged that for us.
After a short excursion up a funicular to an amazing view point, we bummed around town and walked through the open air market.
A quick note about the weather... Bergen is known and celebrated for its constant rainfall (Seattle could be an honorary, sister city). We have really lucked out with how nice it has been. Thanks to whoever arranged that for us.
Hellesylt & Geiranger
We dare you to try to pronounce either town names correctly!
Both towns are tiny & are located deep inside a Fjord. When we arrived in Hellesylt the captain gave an announcement saying that the town folks were always worried about the cliff faces falling off into the fjord causing a tsunami which would then destroy the town. Right after that he said, "So, if you want to go ashore & into town..."
Both towns had huge waterfalls literally flowing through the center of them.
Geiranger was one of our favorite ports during this cruise.
Both towns are tiny & are located deep inside a Fjord. When we arrived in Hellesylt the captain gave an announcement saying that the town folks were always worried about the cliff faces falling off into the fjord causing a tsunami which would then destroy the town. Right after that he said, "So, if you want to go ashore & into town..."
Both towns had huge waterfalls literally flowing through the center of them.
Geiranger was one of our favorite ports during this cruise.
July 8, 2008
Bikers Beware!
In Trondheim, the pigeons have gotten very nasty indeed. They swoop down on unsuspecting bicyclists and force them down to the ground. They then descend in a feeding frenzy like nothing you have ever seen. Beware!
Trondhiem, Norway
Trondhiem, like every other city we have visited in Norway has burned down to the ground several times. Eventually, it gets rebuilt with largely non-flammable materials like stone and marble. However, some areas that managed to escape the more recent fires are still made of timber (for now).
Trondhiem, unlike every other city we have visited, was closed. It was a Sunday and pretty much nothing was open. Thank heaven for 7-11 (yes, they are here) and a few small souvenir shops attached to Nidaros Cathedral. Otherwise, we would have been walking around a very empty town.
Trondhiem, unlike every other city we have visited, was closed. It was a Sunday and pretty much nothing was open. Thank heaven for 7-11 (yes, they are here) and a few small souvenir shops attached to Nidaros Cathedral. Otherwise, we would have been walking around a very empty town.
Honningsvag, North Cape & Gjesvaer
Honningsvag was the furthest north our cruise ship went. Actually, we were able to go to the most northern point in Europe (North Cape).
Well, it doesn't get dark here. It's cold. Not much grows here except for free range reindeer & cod. They catch, fillet and dry the cod here. It dries to a consistency of hard stone (has to be soaked to become edible again) and call it Klippfisk. They dedicate museum after museum to the Klippfisk industry. We're not kidding...
Actually, one of the largest colonies of puffins nests here. We were fortunate enough to visit them & about a million other birds.
Did we mention that cod is a big thing here?
Well, it doesn't get dark here. It's cold. Not much grows here except for free range reindeer & cod. They catch, fillet and dry the cod here. It dries to a consistency of hard stone (has to be soaked to become edible again) and call it Klippfisk. They dedicate museum after museum to the Klippfisk industry. We're not kidding...
Actually, one of the largest colonies of puffins nests here. We were fortunate enough to visit them & about a million other birds.
Did we mention that cod is a big thing here?
July 6, 2008
Making New Friends
Okay… The Chicken made a friend. We were walking around in London on the day before the cruise started and stumbled across a gift shop for The Queen’s Museum. Inside, The Chicken met Bendy. The Chicken learned that some of Her Majesties guards are “beefeaters” and they immediately became close, personal friends.
July 3, 2008
Crossing the Arctic Circle & Svartisen Glacier
Around 5am this morning we crossed the Arctic Circle. It's difficult to tell when it is night & day because it is light almost all of the time. Sunrise is around 3am & sunset is around Midnight.
Once North of the Arctic Circle we cruised through some fjords & visited the Svartisen Glacier (2nd largest in Norway). This glacier is not as spectacular as the ones in Alaska or Chile, but was still awesome to see.
Once North of the Arctic Circle we cruised through some fjords & visited the Svartisen Glacier (2nd largest in Norway). This glacier is not as spectacular as the ones in Alaska or Chile, but was still awesome to see.
Kristiansund, Norway
Kristiansund, Norway was our next stop. The weather was fantastic (low 70's). It's difficult to believe that we are getting close to the Arctic Circle!
The town is quite small & was bombed heavily during WWII. (we think that most of the towns we will visit will be this way, too). The Germans occupied this area during the war. There are still some remains of bunkers, lookout towers, etc. from that time.
Cod fishing is big here.
We spent most of the day touring the countryside. Much of the vegetation is similar to what we have in Washington, especially the weeds.
The town is quite small & was bombed heavily during WWII. (we think that most of the towns we will visit will be this way, too). The Germans occupied this area during the war. There are still some remains of bunkers, lookout towers, etc. from that time.
Cod fishing is big here.
We spent most of the day touring the countryside. Much of the vegetation is similar to what we have in Washington, especially the weeds.
Alesund, Norway - City of Herring & Cod
Alesund was our first stop in Norway. This town burned down in the early 1900's so much of it is relatively new (ok, new for Europe). Fishing for herring & cod is huge here.
Southampton & EuroCup 2008 Fever
Ok, Southampton is not exactly in the running for the "most scenic" town in the UK but it's where we boarded our ship from.
Besides a couple of families with small children in tow, we are much younger than most of the passengers. Visualize lots of gray hair, walkers, canes & wheelchairs. We're thinking that this is the European version of our Alaska cruises which tend to cater to an older crowd.
Once we were onboard the EuroCup final game (soccer) was on in every public room on the ship. Everyone gathered around & watched Spain win. Afterwards, there was one Spanish TV channel that either played game highlights, team interviews or fan celebrations for the next 36 hours or so (straight). Over 1 million people came to Madrid to see the team arrive & congratulate them. The Chicken watched it all!
Besides a couple of families with small children in tow, we are much younger than most of the passengers. Visualize lots of gray hair, walkers, canes & wheelchairs. We're thinking that this is the European version of our Alaska cruises which tend to cater to an older crowd.
Once we were onboard the EuroCup final game (soccer) was on in every public room on the ship. Everyone gathered around & watched Spain win. Afterwards, there was one Spanish TV channel that either played game highlights, team interviews or fan celebrations for the next 36 hours or so (straight). Over 1 million people came to Madrid to see the team arrive & congratulate them. The Chicken watched it all!
June 30, 2008
Day Trip to Scotland
We took a train from London's Kings Cross station into Edinburgh, Scotland. We truly lucked out in terms of weather. It was partly sunny most of the time spent there. We really couldn't ask for much more than that.
The train trip back to London was a bit long, but well worth the time. However, a train filled with Scots on a Friday evening can be a bit rowdy; particularly when they come on board with a cooler full of beer (and left with an empty one).
The train trip back to London was a bit long, but well worth the time. However, a train filled with Scots on a Friday evening can be a bit rowdy; particularly when they come on board with a cooler full of beer (and left with an empty one).
Chicken Around London
The Chicken enjoyed his time tooling around London (& stalking the Royal Family).
FYI: We're a bit behind in our postings as the first few days have been quite busy.
FYI: We're a bit behind in our postings as the first few days have been quite busy.
June 22, 2008
European Trip Itinerary
Below is the basic itinerary for our upcoming trip to Europe:
- England
- London (Royal Garden Hotel)
- Belgium
- Brussels
- Bruges
- Ireland
- Dublin
- Scotland
- Edinburgh
- England
- Southampton
- Board NCL Jade cruise ship
- Cruise through Norway (see map)
April 5, 2008
Barbados & St. Lucia
These things sum up what we did in both Barbados & St. Lucia: Snorkel with fish & turtles and hang on the beach.
April 1, 2008
Samana, Tortola & Antigua
Okay…. We have been bad. We have been enjoying our cruise and have not gotten to posting much on the blog up until now. Bad cruisers! Bad!
Well, today we are going to remedy that to some extent.
The weather has been really pretty amazing (no, not snowing like it was in Seattle when we left). It has been in the high seventies or low eighties since we landed in Miami. We had a very short rain shower today, but it was the kind that actually felt good since it had been so warm. Sorry, if we seem to be rubbing it in, but when you can sit by the pool and lounge in the sun for most of the afternoon, it’s a good vacation.
The town of Samana (we were there on Sunday) is a fairly undeveloped port; and for an undeveloped port, things were very hectic. The traffic was insane – it seems that dodging motorcycles and taxis as you walk across the street could be an Olympic-class event. We walked through town in the morning and ended up spending the afternoon up on the deck by the pool.
In Tortola we had an excursion that took us on a short scenic trip across the island and ended up on a beach where we rented a couple of chairs to lounge in for the early afternoon. The beach was one of the more renowned (in other words “crowded”) beaches, but was very beautiful. After making it back to the ship, we somehow ended up back by the pool for a few more hours of lounging.
Antigua was very a very busy port. There were 4 large ships docked by 8:00 AM. This stop was a very “traditional” stop where the port opened up to a large shopping district that had many small jewelry or t-shirt shops that all sold the same thing for roughly the same price. It becomes impossible to remember which shop you found that cool little magnet in because by the third one you have visited, they all have blended together into one. The really distinguishing factor of Antigua was that it was sunny and warm – oh wait… Anyway, we decided to close out the day by doing something a bit different from the past couple of days. We went up to the pool deck and lounged out in the sun for a couple of hours.
Anyway, tonight after dinner we walked down to the casino where we played some penny slots. Lori was at a game called “It’s a Blast” where the theme seems to be something about sheep and explosives. Anyway, on $20 Lori ended up playing somewhere closed to two full hours! I am sure that she will be blowing up sheep in her sleep, but we had fun anyway.
Tomorrow’s port is Barbados and we have a snorkeling trip planned to go swim with some green turtles after doing a bit of cruising around town. Tomorrow is supposed to be somewhere around 81 degrees.
Oh… and down in the casino there is a betting line that is posted that has it a 2-to-1 favorite that we will ended up some place lounging in the sun. My advice is to not bet against.
Well, today we are going to remedy that to some extent.
The weather has been really pretty amazing (no, not snowing like it was in Seattle when we left). It has been in the high seventies or low eighties since we landed in Miami. We had a very short rain shower today, but it was the kind that actually felt good since it had been so warm. Sorry, if we seem to be rubbing it in, but when you can sit by the pool and lounge in the sun for most of the afternoon, it’s a good vacation.
The town of Samana (we were there on Sunday) is a fairly undeveloped port; and for an undeveloped port, things were very hectic. The traffic was insane – it seems that dodging motorcycles and taxis as you walk across the street could be an Olympic-class event. We walked through town in the morning and ended up spending the afternoon up on the deck by the pool.
In Tortola we had an excursion that took us on a short scenic trip across the island and ended up on a beach where we rented a couple of chairs to lounge in for the early afternoon. The beach was one of the more renowned (in other words “crowded”) beaches, but was very beautiful. After making it back to the ship, we somehow ended up back by the pool for a few more hours of lounging.
Antigua was very a very busy port. There were 4 large ships docked by 8:00 AM. This stop was a very “traditional” stop where the port opened up to a large shopping district that had many small jewelry or t-shirt shops that all sold the same thing for roughly the same price. It becomes impossible to remember which shop you found that cool little magnet in because by the third one you have visited, they all have blended together into one. The really distinguishing factor of Antigua was that it was sunny and warm – oh wait… Anyway, we decided to close out the day by doing something a bit different from the past couple of days. We went up to the pool deck and lounged out in the sun for a couple of hours.
Anyway, tonight after dinner we walked down to the casino where we played some penny slots. Lori was at a game called “It’s a Blast” where the theme seems to be something about sheep and explosives. Anyway, on $20 Lori ended up playing somewhere closed to two full hours! I am sure that she will be blowing up sheep in her sleep, but we had fun anyway.
Tomorrow’s port is Barbados and we have a snorkeling trip planned to go swim with some green turtles after doing a bit of cruising around town. Tomorrow is supposed to be somewhere around 81 degrees.
Oh… and down in the casino there is a betting line that is posted that has it a 2-to-1 favorite that we will ended up some place lounging in the sun. My advice is to not bet against.
March 28, 2008
Miami
Here are some pics of our time in Miami. More details to come shortly.
We're on the NCL Jewel. Here are pics: http://www.shipparade.com/cruise%20reviews/norwegian_jewel/Norwegian_Jewel_2.htm
This is the largest & newest NCL ship we've ever been on.
We're on the NCL Jewel. Here are pics: http://www.shipparade.com/cruise%20reviews/norwegian_jewel/Norwegian_Jewel_2.htm
This is the largest & newest NCL ship we've ever been on.
March 17, 2008
January 25, 2008
If you put a penguin video on YouTube...
We recently posted one our "Penguin Happy Dance" video on YouTube so we could include it in this blog. Apparently, this coincided with some sort of Penguin Appreciation Day (no kidding).
A few other blogs have since helped celebrate this "special day" by embedding our little video which is actually pretty cool.
A few other blogs have since helped celebrate this "special day" by embedding our little video which is actually pretty cool.
January 10, 2008
January 7, 2008
January 5, 2008
Not Us
Apparently a Norwegian cruise ship hit a glacier in the Antarctic. This was a small ship & was not the NCL ship we are on.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22429821/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22429821/
Montevideo, Uruguay
We're here. The weather is fantastic. The network connection is icky. More to come sometime soon.
Quote of the Day: "Football is sort of popular here. If you drop a ball in the street people will gather around."
Quote of the Day: "Football is sort of popular here. If you drop a ball in the street people will gather around."
January 3, 2008
Puerto Madryn: Land of Free-Range Penguins
Today the ship visited Puerto Madryn, Argentina.
We headed north up to Punta Norte (north of Puerto Madryn) to the San Lorenzo Estancia to visit a colony of Magellanic Penguins. Of course, the only way to get there was by spending 90-minutes or so riding in a shock absorber-free bus on an unpaved, bumpy road (sponsored by the makers of Tylenol, we’re guessing). There’s nothing like “off-roading” in a bus in far-away lands.
Once we arrived at the estancia we moved into smaller, shock absorber-free trucks & headed out towards the penguin colony.
These penguins were much different than the ones we saw in the Falkland Islands. They live in burrows instead of nests and return to the same burrow each year. As we walked around the colony we had to be careful as to not step on either any burrows or penguins. Chicks were everywhere!
Afterwards we headed back to the estancia for an “authentic” Argentinean lunch. This meant lamb, lamb and then more lamb (hunted down by the penguins earlier, of course) and lots of other Argentinean protein (dust).
We then all excitedly reboarded the bus to spend more time on the unpaved Tylenol Highway & head towards the Atlantic Ocean to see a ton of sea lions & sea elephants.
On the way back to the ship we saw all sorts of creatures roaming free from the South American “ostrich,” wild llamas, burrowing owls to the largest rat/bunny ever seen.
We headed north up to Punta Norte (north of Puerto Madryn) to the San Lorenzo Estancia to visit a colony of Magellanic Penguins. Of course, the only way to get there was by spending 90-minutes or so riding in a shock absorber-free bus on an unpaved, bumpy road (sponsored by the makers of Tylenol, we’re guessing). There’s nothing like “off-roading” in a bus in far-away lands.
Once we arrived at the estancia we moved into smaller, shock absorber-free trucks & headed out towards the penguin colony.
These penguins were much different than the ones we saw in the Falkland Islands. They live in burrows instead of nests and return to the same burrow each year. As we walked around the colony we had to be careful as to not step on either any burrows or penguins. Chicks were everywhere!
Afterwards we headed back to the estancia for an “authentic” Argentinean lunch. This meant lamb, lamb and then more lamb (hunted down by the penguins earlier, of course) and lots of other Argentinean protein (dust).
We then all excitedly reboarded the bus to spend more time on the unpaved Tylenol Highway & head towards the Atlantic Ocean to see a ton of sea lions & sea elephants.
On the way back to the ship we saw all sorts of creatures roaming free from the South American “ostrich,” wild llamas, burrowing owls to the largest rat/bunny ever seen.
January 2, 2008
Villagers Flee Volcano Eruption in Chile
So, we may have mentioned earlier that it isn't a vacation for us without a natural disaster happening, right? Well, a day or so after we left this part of Chile, the Llaima Volcano erupted.
Details:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/02/naturaldisasters.chile
Once the locals kept trying to explain to "us Americans" that this was just like the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. Once we mentioned that we had actually experienced that one we were treated like celebs.
Fortunately, we were far enough away from the Chilean volcano's eruption so that it did not interrupt our trip.
Details:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/02/naturaldisasters.chile
Once the locals kept trying to explain to "us Americans" that this was just like the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. Once we mentioned that we had actually experienced that one we were treated like celebs.
Fortunately, we were far enough away from the Chilean volcano's eruption so that it did not interrupt our trip.
Bilingual Cruising
Okay… We know that not every one speaks English. But on this cruise, those that speak English natively are a minority. We’re thinking it is because many South Americans are on this cruise (this is sort of like people from the States taking an Alaska cruise).
Bueno… Sabemos que no todo se habla Inglés. Pero en este crucero, los que hablan Inglés nativa son una minoría. Estamos pensando que se debe a que muchos sudamericanos se encuentran en este crucero (esto es como el tipo de personas de los Estados tomar un crucero de Alaska).
Because of this pretty much all of the shipboard announcements are broadcast in English, followed by Spanish, and, if time permits, French and German bring up the rear. This means that all shipboard announcements take forever because they are announced in at least 4 languages.
Debido a esto casi todos a bordo de los anuncios se transmiten en Inglés, seguido por el español, y, si el tiempo lo permite, francés y alemán criar a la parte trasera. Esto significa que todos los anuncios de tener a bordo para siempre, ya que se anuncian en al menos 4 idiomas.
There are dinner menus printed in, at least, English and Spanish. Much of the crew appears to be fluent in both English and Spanish.
Hay menús impresos en la cena, al menos, Inglés y español. Gran parte de la tripulación parece ser fluido en Inglés y Español.
The shore excursions have also been segregated by language to some extent. We almost wandered on to a French version of a tour because they hadn’t announced that the tours would be language specific. I am sure it would have been fine, but we were glad we figured it out before we got loaded into the bus.
La orilla excursiones también se han segregado por idioma, hasta cierto punto. Estamos casi en vagó a una versión en francés de una gira porque no habían anunciado que las visitas serían idioma específico. Estoy seguro de que hubiera sido adecuado, pero nos alegra que pense que fuera antes de que se carga en el autobús.
After 10 days of Spanish immersion, you start to pickup on stuff. Between Bingo and Joel’s stint at the poker table, we have been able to learn how to count to (at least) seventy-five and say “raise,” “call” and “fold.” We also now know how to order Diet Coke and ask how much something costs.
Después de 10 días de inmersión en español, de empezar a recolectar el material. Entre Bingo y Joel del paso por la mesa, hemos sido capaces de aprender a contar hasta (al menos) setenta y cinco y decir "elevar", "la palabra" y "veces." También sabemos ahora la forma de orden Diet Coke y preguntar cómo algo mucho los costos.
We figure that it will take three more cruises to become fluent.
Bueno… Sabemos que no todo se habla Inglés. Pero en este crucero, los que hablan Inglés nativa son una minoría. Estamos pensando que se debe a que muchos sudamericanos se encuentran en este crucero (esto es como el tipo de personas de los Estados tomar un crucero de Alaska).
Because of this pretty much all of the shipboard announcements are broadcast in English, followed by Spanish, and, if time permits, French and German bring up the rear. This means that all shipboard announcements take forever because they are announced in at least 4 languages.
Debido a esto casi todos a bordo de los anuncios se transmiten en Inglés, seguido por el español, y, si el tiempo lo permite, francés y alemán criar a la parte trasera. Esto significa que todos los anuncios de tener a bordo para siempre, ya que se anuncian en al menos 4 idiomas.
There are dinner menus printed in, at least, English and Spanish. Much of the crew appears to be fluent in both English and Spanish.
Hay menús impresos en la cena, al menos, Inglés y español. Gran parte de la tripulación parece ser fluido en Inglés y Español.
The shore excursions have also been segregated by language to some extent. We almost wandered on to a French version of a tour because they hadn’t announced that the tours would be language specific. I am sure it would have been fine, but we were glad we figured it out before we got loaded into the bus.
La orilla excursiones también se han segregado por idioma, hasta cierto punto. Estamos casi en vagó a una versión en francés de una gira porque no habían anunciado que las visitas serían idioma específico. Estoy seguro de que hubiera sido adecuado, pero nos alegra que pense que fuera antes de que se carga en el autobús.
After 10 days of Spanish immersion, you start to pickup on stuff. Between Bingo and Joel’s stint at the poker table, we have been able to learn how to count to (at least) seventy-five and say “raise,” “call” and “fold.” We also now know how to order Diet Coke and ask how much something costs.
Después de 10 días de inmersión en español, de empezar a recolectar el material. Entre Bingo y Joel del paso por la mesa, hemos sido capaces de aprender a contar hasta (al menos) setenta y cinco y decir "elevar", "la palabra" y "veces." También sabemos ahora la forma de orden Diet Coke y preguntar cómo algo mucho los costos.
We figure that it will take three more cruises to become fluent.
January 1, 2008
Free Range Penguins Start New War in the Falkland Islands
Gentoo (as in penguin) does not equal gentle. They are vicious little monsters as we learned during our trip to Sparrow Cove in the Falkland Islands.
This reserve was located on the older couple's sheep farm and they were nice enough to take a couple groups of twelve (by Land Rovers) from the dock at Sparrow Cove across the farm to Kidney Cove where the penguins are. There were no roads, hence the need for the 4x4s.
Overall, the penguin visit was one of the highlights of the trip so far -- and we will get to see some more in Argentina.
This reserve was located on the older couple's sheep farm and they were nice enough to take a couple groups of twelve (by Land Rovers) from the dock at Sparrow Cove across the farm to Kidney Cove where the penguins are. There were no roads, hence the need for the 4x4s.
Overall, the penguin visit was one of the highlights of the trip so far -- and we will get to see some more in Argentina.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)