Posts

And We're Off Again! Vancouver and Cruising in Alaska

Image
Yesterday morning we flew from Houston to Vancouver (a four-hour, 20-minute flight), where we will spend a few days before boarding Serenade of the Seas on Sunday.  The flight was smooth and uneventful, thank goodness.  We had the first row of first class, so plenty of legroom.  Our pre-ordered cheese plates were excellent!   The pilot told us that smoke from the Canadian forest fires would prevent us from seeing much, but as we approached Vancouver, I was able to take a couple of photos of the Cascades and Mount Adams. Mount Adams The Cascade Mountains Once we landed, we had a long walk to Passport Control, which was very efficient, thanks to dozens of kiosks. At baggage claim, though, we waited for over 45 minutes for our bags.  After those finally arrived, we exited to find our driver waiting for us. It was a 40-minute drive to the Pan-Pacific Hotel. Since we'd been to Vancouver last fall (before the transpacific cruise), things looked familiar as we dro...
4 comments
Read more

Day 10: Mykonos, Greece

Image
Mykonos was our last port on this cruise.  It’s another Greek island that is very picturesque, but as I remarked to Charlie, I felt as if we were at Epcot. Everything is geared to tourists, with pricey boutiques and restaurants.  The area we toured feels scrubbed and freshly painted.  Our Food on Foot tour guide (bless his heart) wasn’t great, but he did mention that Mykonos really hit the map when the gay community discovered it in the 1970s. Here’s a photo taken from our balcony this morning, as we arrived. We boarded another tender to get to the port.  One woman was so queasy that she returned to the ship before we even left, poor thing.  The ride was quite rough, but mercifully short.  Then we walked a bit to board a shuttle that took us to an area still far from town.  (My opinion is that Mykonos is not ready for prime time.). Our guide met us there and led us (a group of 20, including two squalling toddlers in strollers) at a painfully slow pace ...
2 comments
Read more

Day 9: Santorini, Greece

Image
We docked in Santorini early this morning, and Charlie took some photos. You can see the lights of Kira, the capital The zigzag path for pedestrians and donkeys We were dressed and in the Retreat lounge by 7:20 to await our tender boat.  I was nervous because there were high winds, with windchills in the 40s.  For the record, I wore a long sleeve tee, a wool sweater, and a windbreaker and was glad for all the layers! The tender rocked alarmingly as people boarded, but the 20-minute trip to the dock wasn’t rocky at all.  We boarded a large bus with 18 others and drove to Oia (pronounced E-uh) on the opposite end of the island.  The bus made many hairpin turns up the mountain, and the views were amazing.  We climbed up a lot of steps to this area with shops, then wound our way through the paths between buildings, admiring the views. These flowers were everywhere! We stopped in a restaurant for coffee and wonderful bread with butter and honey.  View from the r...
4 comments
Read more

Bonus Kusadasi photos

Image
Our tour guide’s boss followed us around yesterday (after asking if he could take photos) and sent us these photos today. Enjoying a traditional Turkish breakfast  Trying the çoğ köfte  Enjoying the delicious dumplings  Our final meal at a fish restaurant, with our ship in the background 
1 comment
Read more

Day 8: Kusadasi, Turkey

Image
Last night was Lobster Night, and Celebrity did not disappoint.  We started with shrimp cocktail (me) and a crabcake (Charlie).  Then our server brought us each TWO lobster tails.  The photo shows only one, because we forgot to take it before diving in.  Baked potatoes weren’t on any of the menus, but we asked and got them.  Our server also insisted on bringing the lamb chops, and Charlie enjoyed one of them.  For dessert we shared baked Alaska, not pictured since a white dessert on a white plate isn’t that pretty.  But it was tasty! Crabcake This morning we sailed into Kusadasi after the sun was up, so Charlie took photos from our balcony. Fort and lighthouse Pigeon Island We met our tour guide, Leeza, in front of this caravanserai dating from the 1600s, when it served as a roadside inn, with animals housed on the ground floor and travelers above them. Now it’s used as an event space. Sculpture by a local artist  Our first stop was for a traditio...
7 comments
Read more