Last Post (Finally)

 Thanks to all our many fans for their patience for the final post for this trip. The last few days of the trip were packed and and I flew to Phoenix to drive a car home 10 hours after landing in Winnipeg. I am currently stuck in Sioux Falls due to the blizzard so I finally have time to write.

I will resume the story when we arrived in Genoa. We got off the boat and took a bus tour to two beautiful little towns on the coast. The drive is amazing as the highway has as many miles in tunnels as it has out in the open. The towns were Rapallo and Sestri-Levante. We had a wine tasting in Sestri. Angie and I then went to a cute little cafe for lunch.

Here is a picture of Rapallo.

As seemed to happen every night on the ship, we had dinner with the Hamiltons and ended up at the casino. What a surprise.

Our second last stop on the ship was at Livorno. Angie and I took a 90 minute bus ride to Florence and had 5 hours on our own when we got there. Highlight on the bus was when our guide gave us a map of Florence and one of the other passengers complained when the map said Firenze. "I thought we were going to Florence!" 

We walked to downtown and saw all the sites. One of the prettiest cities you will ever see. We walked along the river to Ponte Vecchio. This is from the other side from the one you usually see.

By 1:00 we were hungry and we found the busiest sandwich shop. They have 4 storefronts on the same street and we still waited 30 minutes . It was worth the wait.

Fresh and delicious! Phil, the salami was wonderful.

On our walk back to the bus, our guide pointed out a little church and asked if we wanted to go in. She gave us 5 minutes to take a look. I found the tomb of this guy and asked him directions back home. He didn't have much to say.

Our last night on the boat we went for a nice steak dinner with the Hamiltons to celebrate the trip. It was a pleasure to have them on the trip with us and rekindle an old friendship. When we arrived in Rome, we went our seperate ways to each experience the city.

We were fortunate that Angie bought guided tours of St Peter's Basilica for both days we were there. Was an accident, but worked out as we had a trip to the dome scheduled on the second day. The first day there were us and another couple on the tour, so it felt very personal. I learned much more about the church that I ever would have on our own. 

Here is the Pope's altar at the centre of the church where only he can perform mass. The church is enormous and the pictures from the next day will show that. Later we walked all around the city and saw the usual sights and some different ones. There is a piece of history around every corner and in every square.

The next day, we skipped the tour and went directly to the dome. There is an elevator that takes you to the observation area. The views are exceptional!

This picture gives you an idea of the enormity of it. Angie was daring and took the 330 steps up to the very top of the dome. I didn't think my knee could handle it, but she was a trooper and made it. The views were worth it.

Here is Angie on the roof at St Peter's and inside the church.

On the way out we saw a couple of the Swiss Guard keeping an eye on the us as we definitely looked suspicious.

We rewarded ourselves with some Gelato on the walk back to the room.

The next day we made our way home. Thankfully all our flights were on time, but it was a long day. The alarm went off at 5:15am and we taxied to the airport. Flew from Rome to Paris, Paris to Calgary and Calgary to Winnipeg. We were in bed by midnight, but it was a 24 hour day.

Once again, I would like to thank Gord and Cheryl Hamilton for accepting our invitation to join us on the trip. They turned a great trip into a perfect one!

That is it until the next extended trip and accompanying blog. I hope our fans can hold themselves until that happens.

Marseille!

 After another sea day, we made it to Marseille. Another beautiful city, along with Provence which we were able to see a lot of on our 8 hour tour.

Before we get to that, Mike had a nice win last night at the Casino which actually put him on the plus side of the ledger.

Unfortunately it was a 10 credit maximum and I was only betting 5. Still was about a $450 win.

We arrived in Marseille about 8:00 this morning and got on our bus right away. We went directly to Aix-En-Provence, which used to be the capital of the Provence state. It was built on Greek and Roman ruins. It was quite pretty and after a tour of downtown, we had a couple hours to stroll around on our own.

Here is a square which only sold flowers. It actually smelled quite nice and was a joy to see.

Here is another square with a pretty fountain. We stopped at a coffee shop for a rest and so we could all hit the bathroom. It was hard to find a public washroom in town.

We got back on the bus and headed to downtown Marseille, which was built around the old port. We had lunch included in the tour and it was delicious. Here are a couple pictures of the restaurant and the meal.

It also included a tuna salad and beef and potatoes for the main course.

The most amazing thing though was we got to sit next to Confucius. I asked him for some wise advice, but he just told me to f-off.

After lunch, we got a nice picture of Cheryl and Gord. It's truly a case of beauty and the beast.

We drove around the south end of Marseille and climbed the hill to Notre Dame-de-la-Garde. It is a beautiful basilica high upon a hill that provides 360 degree views of the city. The views were amazing as well as the beauty of the church.

After the church, we got back to the boat. We are looking forward to our 8:15 dinner reservation and a good sleep before we hit Genoa tomorrow. 

In response to Phil's questions, we haven't had any salami yet, but that should change once we get to Italy and it's been too many steps!

 

On the Boat!

We survived Barcelona, or should I say Barcelona survived us. It was a great 3 nights and we hope that we will be lucky enough to return again soon. Angie's favourite thing in Barcelona was Sagrada Familia and Mike's was probably the evenings finding great places to eat along Las Ramblas.

These were some Churros with chocolate we had after our last meal in Barcelona. They were eatable.

Sunday morning we ariived at the port and quickly got on the ship. The embarkation process was flawless and we got on the boat in about 10 minutes. Our room was ready and luggage arrived by noon.

We quickly got comfortable on the ship and had our first beverages. The drink package limit is 15 drinks a day so we had to pace ourselves. Here is a view from our balcony.

As you can see, the sun was trying to shine and we made it to the pool deck for a bit. It was around 16 degrees, so the sunshine made a big difference.

After a nice dinner in the evening, we snuck over the casino, where it seemed that Gord was the only one with any luck. After depleting my bankroll, I moved over to the blackjack table to watch Gord. The guy next to Gord managed to clear out the table when he stood on a soft 6 against the dealers 10. And no, it wasn't Austin Powers.

Yesterday was a sea day as we moved down the Spanish coast to Gibraltar. It was a fairly uneventful day with cool temperatures and smooth seas. Once again, there wasn't much luck too be had in the casino.

Today was Gibraltar and we got off the boat about 8:30.

We took a tour bus for a drive around the rock. Gibraltar is a part of Great Britain and has played an important part in the security of the Mediterranean Ocean for 1300 years. Gibraltar is only about 6 kilometers long and 1.5 kms across. The British gained control in the 1700's did a great job protecting it from invaders. We toured the seige tunnels which were built halfway up the rock and had cannon turrets every 10 yards or so. Here is a picture from one of the turrets looking down on the modern day airport.

One interesting feature of Gibraltar is the number of monkeys running wild. They are protected and fed by the government, as well as get medical care whenever they need it.

The last stop on the tour was a spot where we could take a picture of the famous north side. It is the view that has become famous.

From there, our great bus driver Richard took us back to the ship. We had a nice quick lunch and came back to the room to make this post. We have another sea day tomorrow before we get to Marseille and another excursion.

Stay Tuned!!

 

 

Barcelona!!

 

We're almost 2 days into our stay in Barcelona and will be getting on the ship tomorrow. Yesterday we had a well deserved sleep in after the 24 hour travel day, so we didn't do much in the morning. Our schedule for the day centred around Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. Being both brave and stupid, we thought we would walk to both places. The front desk guy thought that we might be better off taking a cab from Sagrada to the Parc as it was quite a bit uphill, but we decided he didn't know what he was talking about.

The walk to Sagrada wasn't too bad and we were there in time for our scheduled guided tour. We learned quite a bit about it and it was spectacular. I could spend 20 paragraphs describing it and I still couldn't do it justice.

It has been under construction for over 130 years, so we thought it must have been built by civic employees. When we were done at Sagrada, we started the trek up the hill to Parc Guell. The front desk guy apparently knew more than we thought and it was quite an uphill walk. Here is Gord and I having a rest just before we made it to the Parc.

The Parc was beautiful and was full of trails and neat spots to sit and visit as well as great views of the city. Of course, you are bound to get good views when you climb 200 meters. Here is Angie and I with the city below us.

 We wandered around the park for a couple hours with Gord and Cheryl. Here is a picture of me pointing at something with no idea what I was talking about.

We eventually made it to the highest point in the Parc and heard the sweet sounds of someone strumming on a guitar. We couldn't believe our good fortune when we came upon this fellow and a few of his feathered friends. 

After the park, we smartly decided to take a cab back to the hotel. Smart decision! We went to dinner at a nice little spot where we had some traditional Spanish Paella.

This morning we decided to go on the Hop On Hop Off bus tour around town. We got to see a lot of things that we wouldn't have otherwise, with the highlight being the Barcelona Maritime Museum. Barcelona has been a very important port city in the Mediterranean Ocean for hundreds of years. The highlight in the museum was a recreated Gally Boat that was powered by hundreds of slave rowers. It didn't look like the most enjoyable job. Gord and I are hoping we won't have to do any rowing on the cruise ship.

Right outside of the museum was the famous monument to Christopher Columbus.

Just like Mike, he appears to be pointing at something he knows nothing about.

We are now back at our room getting a little rest before supper tonight and getting on the boat tomorrow. Stay tuned for more riveting adventures! 

 

Mike, Angie, Gord and Cheryl made it to Barcelona!

 I'm not going to say it was a long day, but it was a long day!!!

After getting very little sleep Tuesday night, both Angie and I embarked on our trip Wednesday afternoon. We were both concerned that the flights wouldn't be on time, but that turned out to be a false narrative. All our flights were more or less on time and we managed to make it to Barcelona on schedule. 

We endend up spending about 11 1/2 hours flying and almost 20 hours travelling to get here. We both found it hard to sleep on the 8 hour overnight flight from Calgary to Paris. Thankfully all the connections went well and our luggage managed to make it as well.    

Charles De Gaulle airport was very beautiful and we managed to take full advantage of it for the 2 hours we were there.

There was no shortage of opportunities to have a snack there.

 After a 2 hour layover in Paris, we were on our way to Barcelona. A 90 minute flight was a wonderful reprieve after the previous leg of the journey.

After thinking that a bus might be the best way to get to the hotel, we came to our senses and ordered an Uber. It was tricky as the Uber driver was actually a taxi and couldn't meet us in the Uber area. Even better was he dropped us off a 1/4 mile from our hotel and tried to help us find the best way to walk there. 

He wasn't much help, but we did finally find our way. Our hotel is very close to the Barcelona Cathedral which we got to see on the way.

We checked into our hotel, which Cheryl recommended and it is beautiful. Service was wonderful and the location is perfect.

We went for a nice dinner and a nightcap at a lovely bar on the Ramblas. I believe that Gord may have been overserved and it was only by the luckiest stroke that he had us around to guide him home.

We have a big day planned for tomorrow as we are taking a tour of the Sagrada Familia. Hopefully we can avoid any international incidents and keep the good Canadian name untarnished.

Hopefully in the next few days we are able to do something remarkably stupid and be able to chronicle it here.

New Trip for Mike and Angie

On Wednesday Angie and I will be embarking on our latest adventure. What makes it extra exciting is that our old neighbors from Carman, Gord and Cheryl Hamilton will be joining us. I suspect there may be a few shenanagins along the way. A brief outline of the trip is as follows: We will be flying from Winnipeg to Calgary on Wednesday afternoon to catch an overnight flight to Paris. Gord and Cheryl will be flying from Regina to Calgary to join us on the flight. I was very surprised to hear that Regina actually had an airport and you could catch a real airplane. Who knew? After a short layover in Paris, we will all be jumping on a plane for a flight to Barcelona where we will spend 3 days before hopping on the Sapphire Princess for a 7 night cruise around the Mediterranean.

We will have stops at Gibraltar, Marseille, Genoa and Livorno before finishing up in Rome. I hope to regale some of our adventures in this blog as the trip unfolds and hopefully a few people will enjoy or at least tolerate it. Stay tuned!!

Last day in Dublin

This post should bring an end to our adventure which took us across the Atlantic with stops in Edinburgh and Dublin before heading home. Our travel from Scotland to Ireland was uneventful and we arrived in Dublin around 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. We are staying at the Ashling Hotel that was very near the train station. Luckily our room was ready, so we dropped our stuff off and headed downtown to find some trouble. We took the tram and arrived downtown by 4:00. We strolled down Temple Bar and stopped in at The Quays bar and enjoyed a couple of properly poured pints of Guinness.

There was a band playing and the place was hopping at 5:00 in the afternoon. Everyone was having a good time and it reminded me of Nashville, but with an Irish accent.

A couple of Guinness and we were ready for supper. We found the Brazen Head Pub that claimed to be the oldest bar in Ireland.

Apperently it has only been at the current location since the 1600's, so the claim seems a little dubious. However, the food was delicious and the vibe was excellent.

It was an early night, as they all are these days, and we got ready for our next adventure. Angie has been planning a trip to Kildare since we booked the cruise. Her goal has been to find a Barbour wax jacket and there is an outlet mall with a Barbour store in Kildare. We jumped on a train right outside our Hotel and took the 40 minute ride to the town. The town is beautiful as we took a 20 minute walk to the mall. We passed an Abbey that was built in the 1200's and a graveyard right beside it. Very serene sight.

We got to the mall and Angie was in heaven as we walked around the stores. The good news is she found a jacket and she will be glad to show everyone when we get back home.

We returned from shopping and had a 3:30 appointment for a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. It was a 20 minute walk from our hotel and was very interesting. The best part was everyone got a pint at the end of the tour. And as a bonus it was served at the Gravity Bar on the top of the building with the best views of Dublin.

I'm not sure that either Angie or I have become addicted to the Guinness, but definitely have an appreciation after having some at it's home. Fun Fact: We were told not to sip it while imbibing, but to take a healthy mouthful. Of course, that may be a trick to get you to drink more. Today was our day to get on the Big Bus and tour around the city and see the highlights. It was a beautiful ride and the best part was getting off and getting a tour of the St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was said to be built on the land where St. Patrick perfomed miracles and baptised many devotees. We did an audio tour and learned many things about it. Here are some pictures of the cathedral and the park outside.

Right down the street is the Christ Church Cathedral that was built a little earlier in the 1100's.

After the bus tour, we were back at the hotel before a little rest before our last dinner at Nancy Hands Pub just down the street. We both had the Beef and Guinness Stew that was delicious.

Before returning to the hotel, we walked the other way to another wonderful park called Phoenix Park. As it was a lovely afternoon, there were quite a few people milling about about. Here is Angie beside some Palm trees. Not what you might expect in Dublin.

The last impressive sight in the park is the Wellington Memorial.

Angie's best: No rain in 19 days. Angie's worst: Nothing Mike's Best: Enjoying a Guinness in the Gravity Bar Mike's Worst: Trip is almost over. It has been a great trip for Angie and I as we celebrated our milestone birthdays. My 65th and Angie's 30th. I hope you have enjoyed the blog as much as I have had bringing it to you, (Probably not) and we look forward to seeing you all soon!