5/3 Amsterdam

Cold, foggy and just overall miserable – that’s what it looked like outside. But the bonus is we are early to arrive, so we were hopeful that we wouldn’t have too many problems getting off the ship and getting to Anne Frank’s house by our 9:30 ticket time. 

Captain is doing the same thing – just sitting off the dock for ever until he pulls hard aside.  But we know we have time today since we’re early, so we’re ok. We waited downstairs in the lobby for only 5 or 10 minutes before we were clear to go ashore.  Surprisingly, there weren't’ many people there waiting – so we just walked right off. Got maps from the Info place in the port building and stuck out toward Central station and into Amsterdam.

It’s a great city – and we sorely wished we had more time and better weather today. But – can’t change either – so off we went.  We navigated our way past the tram lines and bikes that whizzed by us constantly.  Past the lone window dancer (a guy in a teeny thong) in the Central Station square (it’s Sunday early morning, so not much doing in the Red Light district); and made our way to Dam Square – one of the main plazas in Amsterdam.  The architecture here is just stunning.  Don’t kn0w what you’d call it – besides Dutch! – but it’s just too neat.  Houses that are leaning toward the street (we learned later that they were built on angles on purpose to help with the weight of items that had to be wenched up to apartments – everything is built tall and narrow – so most buildings have a wench arm at the top of the building to wench furniture, etc., up and place in through the windows), some look like old timbered buildings, others stone, and other brick. Everything seems steeped in history.

Took us about 1/2 hour to walk to the Anne Frank house.  When we got there we were shocked at the line!  It wasn’t even 9 yet (when they opened) and the line must have been at least 100 or 150 long! We were so glad we purchased tickets online. We got to stand at another door for online tickets – and even though our tickets were for 9:30, they let us go in early.  No waiting or anything. 

That was an incredible experience.  First of all the house and museum have been done incredibly well.  Everything is bi-lingual.  they use still photos and video to tell the story, and lead you through the house and the events so extremely well.  The whole story is so moving, then to actually be in the Annex and stand in the rooms where they lived for so long only to be discovered and sent basically to their deaths…it’s too powerful for words.  There are all sort of criticisms about the book, her diary, claims that it isn’t authentic, that she couldn’t have written the way she did, a girl her age….but regardless…just the idea that these 8 people spent 2 years in this little space hoping to hide out through the ghastly horrors, then were caught…and you can walk through that space?  And read and learn more about it?  Mind blowing!

We left after about an hour of soaking up the experience, and headed out into the now drizzling morning. Crud! We were right at the hop on hop off canal boat stop, so we decided we’d take the green line, then switch to the blue and head back to the ship. We could see most of the city that way from the water – and stay dry until the rain stop.  When we got on, I told the driver (there’s only one guy doing the whole boat, driving, docking, checking tickets) “2 please'” – and he said, yeah, yeah, that’s ok, that’s ok and told us to sit down.  Ok, well, sure!  So we sat – expecting him to come back and get the money – but he never did! So we rode the boat all the way around the canals looking at the great buildings, learning about different sites and bridges and houses, then jumped off at the train station and figured we got a bonus!  In hind sight, I think he may have thought we already had our tickets…oops!

The canal cruise was fun – but unfortunately it had really started raining.  We walked around a bit looking for a cafe but everything was closed for Sunday – or didn’t open until night time.  At this point we are cold and wet – and I’m running out of Kleenex – so we decided to head back to the ship.  We figured we only really missed 1 1/2 hours ashore – and it wouldn't have been all that pleasant in the rain anyway.

Of course, wouldn’t you know it? right as we sailed, the sun came out!  Boo hiss!!!

So, back aboard, blogging from the balcony, with the sun shining – but I’m still wrapped up in woolen blankets!  Relaxing a bit, so that we can be ready for our big Captain’s Table dinner tonight. We were invited to the Captain’s Table hosted by the Environmental officer.  Hmmm…this should be interesting!  I just hope I can blow out enough of this crap in my head so that I don’t “pollute” the environment at the Captain’s table!!!  More later…..after dinner and tomorrow’s sea day….

5/2 Back-to-Back begins

Moving day!  We’ve packed but didn’t have to really pack everything since Javier is going to get the trolley and move us to our new cabin.  It’s odd packing, but not leaving, and then watching everyone else leave the ship!  We trundle up to our aft balcony cabin around 9 ish.  Of course, it’s not ready, but that’s ok, we just dumped our luggage and headed to the pool deck. It’s an incredible beautiful day in England so we took advantage of the sun during the 2 hours before we could get our room keys and get off the ship. 

We finally got our cards, and headed out to the grocery store a little over 1/2 mile away.  Easy walk, nice day, good way to spend a couple hours off the ship.  Once back we ate and then retired to our new home away from home. This cabin is awesome!  The cabin itself is 2 rooms – bedroom and then sitting room with sliding doors in between.  Sitting room has 2 sofas, TV, table and tons of cabinet space.  The entry into the cabin is wild too – it used to be a hallway – so there is emergency lighting on all the time.  There are 2 cabin doors – the one at the end of the hall which locks, and another right at the start of the bedroom area that doesn’t lock.  Wild!  And the closet space is tremendous.

But the huge selling point is the balcony.  It’s almost as big as the cabin.  Extends out toward the back of the ship so we get wake views and side view.  There are 2 loungers and a large table with 4 chairs.  An overhang covers about half the balcony, the rest is in the sun.  It is so cool.  We could have a huge party out there – and actually we did!  The cruise critic party was held on another balcony just like ours and it fit about 40 people.  We are going to be loving this space – even if it’s only going to be 40 degrees!  That’s what those deck blankets are for!

So – we are ready to begin the 2nd half of the voyage. Unfortunately though – I have a rotten cold.  I’m blaming it on the lady at the table next to us at dinner who – during the Baked Alaska parade when everyone has to sing Auld Lang Syne decided she had to come over to our table and hold my hand! Honestly lady!  Haven't you heard about Swine Flu?  Don’t touch me! How am I supposed to finish my meal now?  Guess I should have politely declined, but thought that might be a little rude. So, now I have what I am calling the Auld Lang Syne cold!  Crud!  I’m trying to hide it so people won’t panic, but its hard to hide my sniffling and snuffling!  The saving grace is that most people know that we’ve been on this ship for 2 weeks already, so it can’t be the evil SF, just the normal old-people-not-washing-their-hands-and-touching-everything-with-their-germs-cold.

It is odd being on the ship with all new passengers.  Most of the same crew. We have the same dinner table and waiter, but new asst. waiter and sommelier.  Tons more people in our section too.  Same DJ – who looked at us with panic when he realized we were still on the ship and going to come to all his power hours! He wanted to know if he needed new questions.  Of course we said no…..but……he’s really worried about us getting all the prizes. We’ll see if he comes up with new questions!

5/1 last Sea Day

Another typical sea day. Although the British authorities are aboard so we were able to go through immigration first thing this morning. All done and passport stamped, we’re now just organizing our day to pack so we can move tomorrow to our new cabin.

Javier, our asst housekeeper (who is a doll baby and gave us a ton of extra chocolates this morning – Ghirardelli if you can believe! RCL no longer gives you chocolates at night, Celebrity has ended their Cova relationship, but now gives out Ghirardelli!  I’m a happy girl – I like G better than Cova anyway!) will help us haul all our stuff tomorrow morning.  Then we’ll just hang out on the ship and wait until we can get our new sea pass cards (at 11) and then wander off to the grocery store for supplies. 

So – today is packing – our Captain's Club wine tasting – and maybe another one at 2:30 – depending on how we feel after lunch and that’s about it!  A relaxing day at sea – weird to be packing and moving – but at least it’s not our last day!  Just the end to the Romance part of the cruise and the beginning of the Baltic/Scandinavian part!

4/30 La Rochelle France

Oh, it’s a gloomy day today!  The skies are threatening and it is cold – wet and cold.  We knew we were due a bad day soon, but we were sure hoping it wouldn’t be today!  Bummer!  Oh well – we’re heading out anyway – what else can we do?

Docking again is painful, but finally we are released.  We headed out to the $15 shuttle hoping it’s not the rip off that the Lisbon shuttle was – but we got differing versions of how far it is into town – so we went with the shuttle. As it turns out – you aren’t walking into town – that’s for sure.  You can barely walk out of the port – much less to town. It was 20 minutes minimum of highway and city navigating to get to the old port.  Once there we headed out to the train station to pick up our car and head to the Ile  de Re – a cute little island that was actually right across from where the ship docked!

We navigated out of the city well – it’s so easy with the directional signs – and 15 minutes after getting in the car, we were paying the 9 Euro toll (ack!) at the Pont de Re – heading onto the island. Our original plan was to leave the car in the first little town and bike our way around the island. There are 70 miles of bike trails and it looked adorable.  Unfortunately the weather is not cooperating!  It started raining as we came across the bridge and it kept on – a steady heavy rain – the entire time we were on the island. 

It was a shame, because it really reminded us of a French Sanibel – gorgeous scenery, cute little French villages just waiting to be explored, a cool lighthouse at the end of the island.  It would be a perfect place to spend a sunny day – but not so much for a rainy day.  We circumnavigated the island – tried to go visit a cathedral in Ars en Re – but got roadblocked by a work van and then couldn’t go any further into town on the little windy, narrow roads.  So, as the rain came down even harder, we decided to just bag it and go back into La Rochelle.

After filling up the car, we headed back over the bridge.  Of course getting back into town was harder than getting out.  We made a couple of wrong turns on the auto route – and then went all over hell’s half acre to get back to the old port. Sometimes following those stupid road signs is NOT the best way to get around.  We were at this one Plaza and I knew the port was only a few blocks away, but we followed the signs and ended up driving for another 20 minutes before we got back to the car rental.  It was definitely an adventure!

Back in town, it’s still raining! So much so that we both have our umbrellas open.  We searched in vain for a cafe with free wi-fi access.  The tourist bureau (again, fabulous info and so helpful!) told us that there really weren’t any cafes that had internet – just the pay type.  So we settled on lunch at a restaurant right on the marina promenade.  Called Les Grandes Yachts brasserie, their specialty (and we think every other restaurants too) was Moules Frittes.  Ed was in his glory – he ordered the country style which ended up being cooked in a rich wine/beef type broth with onions and cheese all over them.  I had a Cassoulet of seafood, which ended up being mostly mussels, but also baby shrimp and some octopus. It was quite good and the perfect size for lunch.  Wine and beer 0f course, always good!  And all at a bargain price too – the total bill was less than 20 Euro.  We were impressed!

We wandered about for a while, then hit the internet place to catch up on emails.  Skyped the voicemail and Jamie!  I’m like a little kid with Skype and even though I was trying to speak quietly, I just think it’s so cool I get all excited. The guy sitting in front of me was laughing at me as I was explaining to Jamie how cool it was and how I was trying to whisper!

We wandered a bit more around the old town, window shopping, buying the sea salt for which the region is famous and a caramel with sea salt (that promptly pulled off the crown on my back molar.  Yay!).  Then back on the well-worth-$15-a-piece shuttle – and back aboard as the dumb rain stopped and the sun broke through the clouds!  Bummer!  But – at least sailaway was nice!

4-28 Vigo Spain

We were just here last year, so we had already mapped out a plan to get out of town first thing.  Of course, first thing with this captain is subject to debate.  He still docks this thing like it’s made of porcelain or fine china or something  takes him FOREVER to dock. Then the gangway takes forever, then the “officials” who have to clear the ship.  We actually sailed in 1/2 hour early and barely made it off the ship at the appointed 10:00 time.  Once again, we had to fight with a passenger who decided he wanted to be in front of us in line.  It was a stand off, really. We were in front and then we had to move back behind a “line” to let security work.  So we turned to move back – and the ever so chivalrous gentleman said, no please, you go first to me.  I said no, really, after you.  No, after you.  Seriously!  So I just stood there for at least 2 minutes looking at him and he wouldn’t budge. All so he could get off the ship in front of us.  finally I just gave it up so that I wouldn’t be the one in trouble with the cruise staff. What idiots. 

So after the pushy idiots and the slow captain, we were finally on our way a little after 10.  Hiked up to the train station, which was further than we thought, but a  nice morning workout and picked up our teeny little mini car.  headed out without any incident and within 40 minutes arrived in Cambados – a sleepy little fishing town up the coast from Vigo.

The weather is not really all that great – it’s cloudy and cool, but it’s nice to be out in the country.  On the drive up to Cambados, the scenery changes from city suburbs to green farmland and eventually vineyards.  This area of Spain produces a special wine called Albarino – and everyone has a vineyard it seems.  Instead of gardens in your backyard, you have a vineyard.  Everywhere, every house, has grapes growing right up to their back door.

Cambados is a compact little town with some neat medieval buildings and an original little village for the fishermen at one end of  a long seaside promenade.  The tide obviously changes a great deal here – and when we arrived it was low – and I mean REALLY
low – you couldn’t see the water in many places and big boats where sitting up on the concrete landing areas – completely out of the water.  It was wild.  Plus, because of the low tide, there were hundreds of clam diggers out in the flats.  As far as the eye could see, people were bent over the muck, digging for clams to fill their buckets.  That was an incredible scene.

We wandered around, but it was truly chilly with a harsh wind off the water. Finally strolled up through the old town window shopping for lunch.  We settled on a Mariscaria  called Martinez.  Hardly anyone was there – but when we walked in they greeted us very warmly.  They had huge lobster and crab tanks that kept us occupied during our entire lunch.  You should have seen those lobsters move around in there.  Totally active!

We wanted the menu de dia – so we took our waiter outside and pointed to waht5 we wanted on the chalkboard that held the menu of the day. Even th9ough I speak pigeon Spanish, it was really hard to communicate when you have no written menu! I tried the Albarino wine – which was excellent – Ed of course had beer.  We ended up with garlic shrimp, mixed salad, fried calamari and Octopus Gallician style to share.  It was an excellent meal. Made all the more fun by trying to do the whole thing in Spanish.  When the waiter found out we were from the US he was pretty shocked.  Guess they don’t get very many Americans there – Brits for certain, but not American.

We finally decided to head back to town and wound our way back to our car (but only after running into some people on a tour!  Crud – didn’t know they came to Cambados.  Oh well – we’re having more fun in our car and wandering than on the bus – that’s for sure!

Back in Vigo, we dropped the car without incident and headed to the old town. It had started to drizzle, so we looked for a bar, but nothing really appealed to us.  Found an Internet cafe, downloaded our mail and checked voicemail, then decided to bag it and head back to the ship.

4-27 Lisbon

Another beautiful day dawns, except there are ominous black clouds on the horizon behind us – so we are keeping our fingers crossed they stay behind us!  But a beautiful sunrise up ahead as we sail down the River Tagus and into Lisbon.  We clear the “big” bridge, which looks like the golden gate bridge in SF, and sail past a P&O ship and into a berth at a harbor that is much closer to town than what we had expected.  The ship is selling shuttle tickets for $12 each to go into town, but from the look of the map – it’s only 1 mile if you go directly to the shuttle drop off – and we plan on wandering…so off we go.

Well, off we try to go.  We got in early, at least it seemed that way.  But the Captain either isn’t comfortable docking this ship, or he won’t dock until exactly the time it says on our Schedule (to save m9oney probably!) because he sits in the harbor - about 50 yards from the dock – forever!  We queue up in the hallway and listen to the staff when they say to stand back behind a table. Of course our fellow passengers don’t pay any attention to that and try to shoulder their way in front of us. Ed tried blocking the path, but the guy pushing through was way bigger and kept hitting him with his backpack – so finally he just let him through. Even the staff there saw it and tried to stop it – but they don’t listen. Honestly, a line is a line….but whatever….we were off by 9:15 and on our way.

First stop – the Sao Jorges castle up on the hill above Alfama.  We wandered through the little streets of Alfama – the city’s medieval quarter that completely escaped damage in the 1755 earthquake that devastated the rest of the city.  it’s a sleepy morning in the narrow cobblestone streets, restaurants just getting deliveries and setting up for the day, cafes beginning to open, typically with a lone male customer smoking and drinking his espresso.  the buildings are a mix of architecture, but so many have the famed azulejos tiles for which Lisbon is so famous.  It’s a nice introduction into Lisboan life.

Up the winding, hilly streets we go, until we get to the Castle.  Perched at the top of Alfma, there is a fabulous view from the courtyard and even better vistas when you climb to the top of the castle walls.  We spent about 30 minutes wandering the walls, taking panoramic pictures of the city below and generally enjoying the atmosphere and the day.

Managed to scoot out of there just as the tours were arriving (they  had to walk up the hill too because the buses couldn’t make it through the narrow streets).  As we were heading down toward the Baixa district, we spotted a cafe on the plaza with a sign advertising Fada at 12:30.  Fada is a uniquely Lisboan style of music, sung by a lady with 2 guitarist accompanying her.  The songs are sad and heart rending, and supposedly you shouldn’t smile or act like you are enjoying the music or the musician will take offense.  We decided if at all possible, we’d try to come back to hear it.

Heading down tot he Baixa, the streets began to open up a little and the neighborhood becomes more cosmopolitan – or at least more city-like.  We ended up winding our way down to the main plaza, Rossio, at the end of Ave Agosto – which is the main shopping street of the city.    Above the plaza is the tree-lined Ave. liberdad – which ends in a park with sweeping vistas of the city.  We decided to save the park for another visit, and headed up to the Bairro Alto – the residential area perched on the hills opposite the castle.  Instead of walking up the steep hillside, we took the funicular which was fun – but jam packed – which made it hard to really see where we were going.

Once up top, we strolled through the back streets where many Fado clubs exist (but only at night) and gazed upon all the tiled houses and people watched as we made our way back down to sea level.  After a brief stop at the post office (the first PO we visited, there was way too long a wait, this one, not so bad), we headed down to an internet cafe for a bite of lunch and free wi-fi.

Mar Adeniro Cafe was a great choice. Light lunch of salad and antipasto plate which tides us over until dinner.  Free wi-fi is a big bonus too – so we checked 9our mail, skyped our voicemail and made sure we were up to date with everything.

Headed back in the direction of the ship, passing by Placa Commercio where the shuttle dropped you off. what a rip off.  It wasn’t more than a 15 minute walk – and all flat!  Not even remotely worth the $12 they were charging for it.

So back through the shopping street, up into Alfama, we figured we had time to see the Fado at the cafe by the castle.  Made it there a little after 1:30.  Beer and wine, sitting outside in the sun.  No Fado.  Well, what the heck – its’ nice, the drinks are good.  No one speaks english really, so we are kind of on our own.  We ask one of the guys standing around if there will be Fado – he says Si, a dos.  Ok, at 2.  And yes, at 2, here comes an older lady singing Fado – and the guy we talked to who also sings. But he had a sore throat, so he couldn’t sing as well as he wanted – of course he told us all this in Portuguese – had a great conversation with him! Turns out he and his family own the cafe and are the Fado singers.  He also has a CD which we are now the proud owners of – autographed of course (can’t read a word he wrote except for per Katy and Eduardo)!

Finally dragged ourselves away and back down toward the ship. Restocked our pantry – and headed back for a nice quick sail to Vigo the next morning.

4-28 Evening activities

Our days – and evenings – at sea have fallen into a comfortable routine.  We play trivia, read and write the blog or emails during the day.  Then in the evenings – it’s the gym – sometimes the early show if we remember to go (we’ll be better next cruise!) – at 7:30 – we go to the Bar at the Edge (aka the disco) for Power Hour.

Power Hour features one artist or group, and our DJ has developed bio’s on the featured artist.  He then asks trivia questions and gives away prizes – including free drinks!  Needless to say – we are enjoying these little evening diversions (much better than sitting listening to the big band music in the Rende-vouz lounge).

So, every night we’ve enjoyed the Beatles. Elton John, The Rat Pack, etc.  Then rode the elevator down to deck 5, walked the length of the ship and settle in our 2 top by the window. Tonight’s Power Hour was Glen Miller – not so much our style so we went back to the big band in the lounge before dinner. 

Had our drink, ate our peanuts, and waited for the dining room doors to open.  Once the hordes started moving, we fell in line with every one and headed to our table.  As we approached, we noticed different people sitting at the table in front of us – we couldn’t figure that out.  Why would someone switch dinner at this late stage.  As we were pulling out our chairs to sit, we also notice the assistant waiter was a girl.  Where was Marlon?  Our Assistant.  Before we could get into the bread, a waiter came up to us as it was dawning on us…..and said “Sir, Madam, I know you would enjoy my table, but I believe you are on the wrong deck!”

OMG!  Too funny.  We were so used to coming from the disco, we didn’t even stop to think we were on deck 4 listening to the band and not deck 5!  We had to walk upstairs, in hysterics, and sit at our own table on deck 5! 

So – that was our excitement for the evening!  We’re still laughing about it……..

4/29 Gijon Spain

Today dawned a bit overcast and cool.  But no rain as far as we can see.  Gijon is a small little coastal town with lots of beaches (wrong season) and a compact little historical center. Everything we’d read said that you could cover all the important sites in an hour or two.  Those reports were pretty accurate as it turned out.

We stood in line with the masses to get off the ship. Once again, Captain took forever, and then the gangway took a time to get handled.  We were finally released, but not without some pushy big guy who almost took out on of the entertainment staff. The poor guy actually had to turn around and tell the pushy man to wait his turn and stop pushing.  Brutal!  These people…and then the passenger had the audacity to lie!  He said “I have a private tour waiting, I have to go”.  We knew for a fact he didn’t, because he was standing with us before he shoved his way out the door and he and his whole group had bus tour tickets!  Geez!

We took the free shuttle to downtown – which was nice (took almost 1/2 hour).  Let us out right in the middle of the historic district, where we began our explorations. We walked up to the highest point of the Cimadeville (old town) – the top of the Santa Catalina hill - to the Elogio del Horizonte (the “Eulogy of the Horizon”).  It’s a massive sculpture designed to pay homage to the views from the cliffs.

From the hilltop, we wandered down around the beach promenade of Playa de San Lorenzo.  It’s a soft sandy beach, but you can see that when the tide comes in, the beach will disappear and the water comes fairly high up the sea wall.  We passed by museums and cathedrals, but decided we just wanted to wander and enjoy the Spanish atmosphere.

We began looking for a place to eat, there were plenty of little restaurants and cafes in the historic district, but none that opened before 1:30.  We ended up heading back to the “new” section of town and landing at the Gran Cafe, where there was free wi-fi and awesome snacks.  We sat there for a good while, me sipping Albarino wine, Ed sipping his beer, snacking on jamon and queso on baguettes and potato chips that came with our drinks. Then we ordered 2 bocadillos (little sandwiches) – chicken with onion confit and jamon con huevos – both excellent and a perfect light lunch (if it weren’t for the bread!).

Handled all our emails, but the time difference makes it tough to make phone calls on skype!  We at least check voicemail, but it’s 6 in the morning EST, so no calling is going on here. 

After our snacks and internet, we found a grocery store, stocked up on supplies and headed back to the ship.  Along the way collecting some great regional information from the tourist bureau that had set up on the pier.  Fantastic maps and information about the region – as well as a little cookbook with regional specialties that Elaine picked up and gave us a copy.  We’re all set if we ever decide to come back to the Asturias Region of Spain.