Stern sitting today

Finally a really nice day to enjoy the ship. We normally spend the sea  days here.

Such a late crossing this time that it was much cooler. 

Time to pack up!!!!

Thanks...

Tried to capture towel elephant on the thank you  card for our stewards.

I've picked up a cold form George wo got it waiting for pickleball games the first day!   Note to self, bring cough meds. Drops don't help much!

Happy to be getting home and looking forward to all our plans for the holidays and beyond 

Last two days...

 We have only one more sailing day after today.  They have been lazy days and fairly smooth until yesterday.  Now we are really rocking. and it's not even as rough as last night.

The food on this ship has been great.  Except for things I experimented tasting, everything has been great tasting and attractive.  I forget to take photos before digging in, however!  One night we went to the specialty steak house.  The food was even better with huge portions.  Both of us had stuffed tummies and swore we wouldn't need to eat the next day.  But we did of course.  We had had a really nice lunch that same day, steak again, I would never schedule both in one day again!!

I've enjoyed the origami classes and new friends and relaxing.  Now we're both ready to get busy with landscapers, the new exhibit at Big Arts, and Christmas.  And hopefully some painting time, especially before I teach!!

just sailing along

 These days are slow and leisurely as we make our way across the sea.  I've done a couple of art classes that were a nice break.  Origami seahorse and penguin were fun to learn.  We'll see if I can ever do them again!

Food is very good on this ship and we are enjoying far too much of it.  Today we will attend the Mariners Brunch and I expect even better dishes from what I've heard.  The invitation was a surprise to us and a nice perk.  Tonight we are going to the Pinnacle Grill, a steak house, and favorite of mine.  I've also discovered why people were taking so many mandarin oranges, they are fresh and delicious.

We're taking notes on what to bring on the next voyage....so far Band-Aids are on top of the list!! Between blisters and bumps we are using up the supply!

I'll post my seahorse and penguin from my phone.  We switch between pc and phone as only one device can be on at a time.  Less expensive and fine.  This new Starlink internet is great though!!

Seahorse

Yum!!!

Oops I ate half before I remembered to take a photo.  🍫 With raspberry under it. Beef bourgone (sp) was pretty good too. 

We had a nice day and were able to sit outside finally.  Spent a long time at lunch chatting with new friends from Vancouver. 

Met another couple from Scotland who live very close to where my great grandfather was from and they said there were lots of Hughs there.

Rick and roll show tonight...fun!!!

A windy day in the caldera....

Ponte Delgada

View from the rim

Blue and Green lakes in the Azores near Ponta Delgado. Sete Cidades

This is inside the caldera. A small town is at the bottom.

This is the greenist place I've ever seen!!

After three planned port stops we finally were able to see this island. A cool but nice day.

Oragami

Made a cute penguin today!!

We spent a nice day aboard chatting with several new people. Did a martini demo and tasting..yum. participated in Trivia on European food watched a movie. Had dinner with new people then listened to music.  There are new piano players who are not as good as the others. Bummed.

Tomorrow I think we will dock in ponta Delgado. Yea!  We're on a tour for half a day.

Orange juice machine

Oranges go into the chute at the top and are cut and squeezed.

Seville...

We didn't take photos!!!   The lovely thing is all the orange trees everywhere. A little messy but delicious when fresh squeezed. For a glass it took about five oranges.  Photo is of a plane tree which are planted throughout Europe. I think they are chestnut trees in USA.

I'll post the orange squeeze machine from the Picasso Cafe.

Today is beautiful but cool. Little balcony time this time of year. We always eat on the stern outside..  not so far this cruise.

What to have in Seville??

Sea Day

 What a nice relaxing morning and slow start to the day.  Yesterday we took a bus to Seville from the port of Cadiz.

Riding the Ho HO bus around the city is a great way to see what everything looks like and where they are.  This city is a mix of many different architectures and eras.  The old site of a World Exposition had some unusual modern buildings, some still use and many not.  There was also an avenue of buildings representing many different countries which were built for a different world event.  They are used to this day.  

We departed the bus to walk back to the cathedral area thinking it was fairly easy to do.  As it was in a historic area, the streets were all angled and street signs seemed non existent.  After walking quite a way we finally asked and were sent back to our start point to begin again in the correct direction.  We asked at least three others to finally get to the cathedral.  Whew  By that time we were ready to sit and have something to eat!!

The day was cloudy and occasionally rainy so we chose an inside seat to try paella and sangria for a light lunch.  I may have a photo to forward, but it was good in any case.

From there we went early to our meeting point as we were a little concerned about getting lost again!!A little cocktail party was held for 3,4 & 5 star mariners so we attended that.  Hopefully after our SA cruise we'll be 4...free laundry!!

We enjoyed dinner after that and met some new people but we opted for an early night.  Our calves are still aching from the fort in Alicante. Plus G tripped over the comforter and fell yesterday, skinned elbows and knees on the carpet and pulled a decorative wire out of the wall.  They must think we are really clumsy after this second crash!!

Today will be housekeeping day and just relaxing on the ship.  

Picasso Cafe stop

Malaga cafe

Billboard on board...dueling pianos

Malaga balcony day

No bare feet but nice to sit here enjoying my wine. What a beautiful city this is!  Picturesque and clean with lovely people.

A nice French Canadian lady took our pictures in the city and we took hers in return. Interesting conversations as she spoke no English and our French is sketchy. We managed!

The Picasso museum was interesting but I liked very little if his work. He broke boundaries for sure. Interestingly enough none of the work was signed.  That usually means they were only studies. I liked the etchings and prints best.

Tomorrow we travel to Seville from Cadiz.  Busy day!!

Malaga shopping

Alicante Port Day

We cruised into port this morning for a cool day ashore in this lovely Spanish city.  It has a wide sandy beach and a large marina filled with racing sail boats.  A large race is held here each year and there is a museum centered on sailing.

We had a fairly leisurely breakfast and then went ashore with the idea to visit the Castillo de Santa Barbera.  It sits high above the city on a rocky promontory.  As  we started out we ran into our table mates from last night's dinner.  Jackie and Doug from Vancouver.  I admired his unique shirt design of paint samples and discovered he was an artist too.  We joined them for dinner and had a great conversation about art and baking bread.  They went off to find the old town area.

Fortunately there was a lift to the top and we were the first ones down the tunnel and entrance.  We climbed many ramps and terraces for a fantastic view of the city and ocean beyond.  A stop at the cafe for chocolate milk( no mocha coffee available) and a pain de chocolate fortified us for the long downhill walk into the city.  

We found a store for a few needed items and wandered around a bit looking at old buildings and churches.  Never really found a concentrated area and eventually got tired of walking so returned to the ship.

Lunch in the lido with a glass of wine was just right and a nap after even better!!  Now we will watch a comedian tonight after dinner and hopefully get a good nights sleep.  Tomorrow is another port, Malaga where there is of course another castle fort and a Picasso museum which we have tickets to see.  Hopefully we'll find the old town and market in this city!!

The weather is cool but we did sit on the balcony with coffee this afternoon.  No pool deck for now.  This ship does have a cover that they can close over the center pool which is great for this trip.  Its a feature that the Princess ships don't have any more but is great for some iteneraries.

Michele Barron Buelow

239-209-1434

kzooartist@sbcglobal.net

michele.buelow@gmail.com

Correct name!!

Castle Barbara, Alicante Spain

Alicante Santa Barbara Castle

Sea day...

Whew...finally got the pc to connect to the internet on the ship.  I almost had a meltdown when having so much trouble,  It is important this trip as I am collecting data for the Big Arts show and monitoring invoices from the architect.

Our first sea day has been very relaxed.......  At least after this morning's internet issues, we settled down to a routine.  George went to pickleball and I went to art classes and the cruise critic mingle.  The class was a bust for the most part but I enjoyed playing with paint.  Guess the pickleball was good as G is napping now.  

This ship is really nice and they have made improvements to it recently while in drydock.  We are the first sailing since and it's nice to have it all shiny again.

It's been fun talking to new people and learning about them.  Today I met an author who has her first book at a publisher and has been asked to write a second one already.  I'll have to watch for the books!!

Tomorrow we will be in Alicante, Spain where we will just do our own thing.  It is supposed to be a lovely beach town with a  marina & cafes..should be nice.

Rolling Stones Rock Room

Evening entertainment!

Lunch aboard the New Statendam

We grabbed a quick meal at the Dutch Cafe to taste their pea soup.  It was good but I Iike my split pea better. 

After boarding and lunch we were able to unpack and try to find room for everything. Not easy!!

We watched the sail away from the Crows Nest   in the bow on deck 12. It's a great space  Not much of a sunset, though tonight, but those on the open sea are usually beautiful. 

We had a nice dinner .. mine was trout and Caesar salad with strawberries Romanoff to finish. G had French onion soup and lasagna with cheesecake.  We are stuffed!!  Now for a bit of music then to bed.  G has fallen asleep just now as we came back for his pill. Geez. 

Fwd: Made it to Civitavecchia!!

Now we are enjoying some wine in our pjs ready for a good night's sleep.

The first leg of a trip to Europe is always a very long one and tiring despite all the sitting  done. We are happy that it went off smoothly, meeting timetables and reservations. The hotel here is pretty basic but our host is friendly and we have all that we need. Simone is a print artist and someone has hand painted on the walls too.

After a short nap we walked toward the water to a little area filled with cafes, hungry from skipping lunch. Not much was open as dinner is 7:30 so a good margarita pizza and a Stella was enough. Grabbing some wine and chocolate we headed toward our home for the night.

Bueno sera!

Finishing the Saga.....

   Taromina Gardens

We are home now after a very long day, 26 hrs., of travel and travail.  The plane was delayed in Barcelona which was just uncomfortable as we had time in Atlanta.  But then the next plane to Detroit was delayed as well causing us to literally run to the next terminal to catch the last one to Kalamazoo.  There were others racing toward the gate as well.  Alas, the door had been closed with the plane still sitting there but no one would open the door up.  Seven of us were left frustrated and angry in the terminal.  Delta gave us vouchers to cover the flight cost but only offered a flight the next morning.  We wanted to be home so rented a car and drove.  Arriving at 2 am we dropped into bed exhausted.  The next morning as we went to return the car and collect our luggage that made it on the plane, the battery was dead in our car that had sat for a month.  AAA to the rescue.   We were very glad when all the tasks were completed so took naps!!!

I will post photos as I am able of the last stops on this trip. (it keeps saying the mail box is full) We visited Naples where we took the ferry to Capri for the day.  Ana Capri was interesting and the chair lift to the top afforded great views of the island and sea.  There we took a boat around the island before returning by ferry to the ship.  

After a sea day we debarked in Barcelona for two nights.  Gansens were in our hotel so we toured the old town with them and found the Placa Rieal for lunch.  Kris and Jeff were in another hotel and we never caught up with them but they enjoyed the HoHo bus and dinner before leaving the next day.

We did the HoHo and enjoyed seeing the city again.  Our hotel was in a great location near the Placa Catalonia and the old town as well as La Rambla  We had dinner on La Rambla the first night then back to the Placa Rieal the next.  It is such a pretty square and well worth searching out.  As we left Barcelona both of us thought we need to come back and spend some more time there and in Spain.

It was such fun traveling with Henry and Helma as well as Jeff and Kris on the cruise.  They were all new to Princess and I think like it enough to sail again.

The stay at Watermill was so much fun.  The location and buildings were beautiful as were our hosts Lois and Bill.  The food was amazing!   We visited such lovely painting sites and experiences gracious meals and attention that it is hard to be back to reality.

And the next big trip...South America on the Oosterdam.....

 

Lunch in the square..with wine of course!

Barcelona Placa Reial

We did walk a bit more to see the Placa at night after tapas on La Ramblas.

Last day before returning to reality.

The bay

A very narrow road!!!

Half way up

Leaving Kotor

Sometimes this is so magical. We spent the day in a 4x4 climbing the mountain behind the city on a winding road ending in an unpaved path to lookout favored by a past King. The  view was amazing looking down to the fjord and ships below.

After a taste of the local cheese and prosciutto ham on delicious bread, accompanied by local wines, we made our way back down to the tenders

Now we sail through the night to Messina.i'm sitting in the balcony sipping wine from Turkey with the last of the sun in my face counting my blessings.

Santorini

It was a beautiful day to see the island.

My Greek lunch in Fira

Lunch in Fira

Oia today

Gansens in Oia

Sea in the distance ......

Tricky steps among the crowd!!!

Acropolis tour day

We climbed the steps up then walked up and down the Plaka to the Agora and the Olympic site. We were exhausted!! 

Dinner was nice and Kris and Jeff joined us. It was an early night for us on Aloha deck!!!

Iconic windmills of Mykanos

View from the Mykanos coffee bar

Mykanos

Helma looking great!

Blue Mosque

Gate number one

Don't get lost!!!

View from the Topkapi over the Bosporus

Over the Bosporus to the Asian side

Istanbul

We had a great,if tiring, day in Istanbul with our guide. Walked miles it seemed with her telling us all the interesting facts about her home. We visited the Blue Mosque and Topkapi palace, the Bazaar. Hagia Sophia had a humongous line so we voted to skip as we would have done nothing else.

Lunch was at Pudding, a famous local cafe where hippies gathered in the 70's before leaving for India. We had fun chatting with the group one couple from Las Vegas, one from Tialand sp?? And the guide. She appreciated my rusty knowledge of the history and artifacts we were viewing.

I think I'd like to come back to see more...slowly!!

George in a skirt

He wore shorts and they insisted he come with us inside so he had to don the skirt. I had to put a scarf on to cover my hair and arms. 

Pudding cafe

My lunch

Stuffed zucchini..cheese and potatoes. With a stuffed grape leaf appetizer. G had chicken kabob.

Grand Bazaar

Huge complex....ooh the bead store!!