12/30–Sapphire Princess

We are up at a relatively normal time this morning, after sleeping really well straight through the night (well, with the exception of being woken up twice with the baby screaming across the hall).  The clouds are gathering outside, but we decide to try to walk anyway.  We make our half hour circuit alongside one of the canals that has a nice promenade running on both sides.  There are lots of people out running and walking, and using the exercise machines alongside the walkway – which gives us plenty of people watching opportunities as we walk.

We are ready for coffee now, but Tolido’s doesn’t open until 9:00 today, so we head back to the hotel to the coffee shop in the lobby.  But unfortunately they are not open because their system is down.  Bummer.  Upstairs we go, to hit the instant coffee we have brought with us as a back up (smart thinking!).  After showering and suitcase organizing, it is time for Tolido’s to open, so we wander over there for another great cappuccino.

The interesting thing about this place – besides the fact that it has great coffee and lovely, young servers – is that you have to make reservations to get a table.  It is this teeny little coffee shop with fresh cooked food – breakfast/brunch stuff – and it is crazy busy.  We are just lucky to get a table this morning since the 4 top in front of us was “granted” a table as long as they are out by 10:00 because it is reserved after that.  Amazing!

Duly caffeinated, we stroll back to the hotel, check out and grab a cab to the port. . 10 Singaporean dollars later (less than $8USD) we are deposited at the port facility and in the waiting lounge to board the ship.  Smooth as silk.

Let the people watching begin!  We are in Boarding group 1 with the suites and Elite group – we’ve finally risen to Elite status on Princess.  There is a little special area to wait – but it is full, so they show us to chairs right outside the “elite” area, but tell us we can get refreshments located inside the “elite” area.  Cool.  Well, cool with us.  Oh geez, the people who walk up and refuse to sit “outside” the elite area.  Really? Come on, it’s not even 10 feet away.  Too funny!

Boarding starts around 11:45, and we all shuffle through immigration, which is about as crazy as the airport immigration.  But they have these automatic machines, and one of the immigration officials takes a lady out of line and asks her to try it – saying if it works for her, we can all do it.  Yay! Shorter lines!  The automatic machine works for her, so we all go scooting over (and under the Disney-esque line place holders) to the automatic machine where I breeze right through, but Ed gets stuck because his fingerprint won’t work.  He gets shunted off into the exception line, and soon is free of immigration too.  Even with that little snafu, it was still totally quicker than the other lines.
Once onboard we go to our fantastic cabin!  E731 – last cabin on Emerald deck, a mini-suite with that awesome balcony that goes almost to the stern of the ship – and since we are under Dolphin deck, the balcony is covered.  Which comes in handy since it is pouring down rain outside!  But we can stand on the balcony and watch out over the storm totally dry.  Love this room!  Except for the fact that it brings back memories of my first Vasal Vagel incident – but otherwise – heck – it’s a great cabin!
Our bags come right away, so we are unpacked and organized really quickly. Then off to the Muster drill, and back to the cabin for sail away.  Nothing remarkable about the sail away except for the oil rig we pass on the way…

…then its out in the open ocean for our 2 days at sea before Bali.  Happy almost New Year!

12/29–Singapore

Our cabbie, “Joe,” was a talker, and he kept us entertained our entire ride into town.  Told us about the best restaurants around, and asked tons of questions about the cruise ship – when it docked, etc. –so he could plan out his day tomorrow.  Quite the entrepreneur – very smart! 

We arrived at the Hotel Boss about 7:30am, and it was a hive of activity.  Good Lord! The people!  Ed specifically picked this hotel because it had early check in (we paid extra – but definitely worth every penny).  We walked right up, checked in, and were in our room before 8:00am.  Totally worth it! 

The hotel is pretty new, and incredibly basic. Teeny, tiny room but on the 10th floor with a decent view of the city.  It has over 1,000 rooms and 2 elevator banks on either side of the hotel. Crazy.  But all we cared about was that we had a place to put the luggage as soon as we arrived, and then had a place to lay our sleepy heads when we were ready to nap/sleep the night.  Worked perfectly.

After getting settled and changed, we wandered out into the surrounding area, checking out the Hawkers Market down the street for dinner possibilities and trying to find the wine store.  Never found the wine, but found a 7-11 that had wine and beer, so we bought our supplies there, then headed to a cute little local coffee shop, Toledo’s Espresso Nook, and filled up on double shot cappuccino. Yum!

Back at the hotel, we dumped our purchases, reconnoitered our neighborhood maps, then headed out again snapping pictures of the two mosques in the neighborhood.

The little streets were crowded with small restaurants and silk shops – all getting ready for business.  The whole area reminded us a lot of Warorat market in Chiang Mai - the stores, the portico over the sidewalks, the mix of people.  Very familiar to us.

Meandering around, we found a side street with great murals behind the mosque…

...then continued our explorations, checking out lunch options.  We settled on a little cafe on the corner of Arab Street, with”authentic Persian cuisine.”  They had an “all day happy hour” and the owner was very sweet, so we grabbed a nice table under the fan and ordered our Persian meals.  A Lamb “set plate” for Ed (typical Lamb Kabob with rice and salad for lunch), and a Lamb Doner Wrap for me.  Both excellent, authentic, and filling.

Afterward, we strolled the streets again, looking at restaurants, then headed back to the hotel where we actually napped for a couple of hours, a rarity for us, but definitely a necessity after all those hours flying.

Later that evening, we decided just to go to the little Hawker’s place next door for dinner – it’s a little more pricey (everything being relative, like $1USD more), but it is close and we don’t feel like walking back to the Golden Mile stalls. Ed gets some sort of soup bowl, while I try to get chicken satay, but after waiting 5 minutes for the girl to come out of the kitchen, she tells me they are out.  Ugh.  So I go to the Japanese place for a bento box, I want the BBQ chicken with udon noodles. The girl says it is spicy, and I say a little? Yes.  Ok, I can do a little.  Turns out she gives me the Udon noodle soup – which is not what I wanted, and it was spicy!  I ended up just eating the noodles and picking out the chicken  But really, it filled me up, so it wasn’t a huge deal 

Back in the room, we watch Raiders of the Lost Ark and start to watch something else, before we fall asleep in our teeny little room overlooking the city.

12/27–The journey begins

After a lovely morning and lunch with my parents and niece Stephanie, we Uber to IAD for the beginning of our long journey to Singapore.  We are early enough that we can go to the United Lounge and use our last free visit coupons for the year.  While the food is definitely less interesting (there was at least some decent salami and good spicy mustard), at least we had a place to hang out and recharge our electronics before the flights.

The first flight to London pushed back on time, and went really quickly. We obviously had a huge tail wind, because we arrived over an hour early.  The flight itself was fine, Virgin Atlantic, decent food, good movies.  We both watched the Zoo Keeper’s Wife (book was better, but movie was ok), then I watched Baby Driver and Ed watched a Diana documentary and something else.  We decided not to sleep on this flight so we could sleep on the long one from London to Singapore.

In London we had a little snafu while waiting at the transfer desk – we stood there for over 40 minutes while the desk clerk tried to help these 2 guys who were re-routed.  She finally told us just to go to the gate, which we did (after a 15 minute walk) and got checked in and settled.

Both these flights were slam packed – but they loaded them quickly and we pushed back early.  First time we have ever seen this – but the plane was decorated for Christmas.  Very sweet!  We watched Wind River (excellent), had dinner, then tried to sleep.  I did, Ed not so much.  But overall, the flight went pretty well, and again, had some sort of awesome tailwind, because we arrived in Singapore an hour early. 

We used that extra hour waiting in line at immigration.  So frustrating!  We have no clue what the immigration officer was doing, but she was agonizingly slow.  And a few people even got turned back.  Uh oh!  When we finally made it to the front of the line, she was so nice and personable to us – we had no idea what the hold up was with everyone else.  Crazy.  But, we got through without any incident, picked up our bags – which were off the baggage belt by the time we got there – and walked out to grab a cab to the Hotel Boss.

11/21 –Last day in San Juan

We wake up early – who’s surprised about that? – and have to really cool our heels before breakfast.  We manage to patiently (sort of) wait until 7 (when breakfast starts) to go downstairs, and the dining room is not really open.  No water on the table, no coffee or tea out yet.  Oops.  When we checked in, they gave us little order forms (they called them papers) that we were supposed to give to the “girls” in the dining room.  They had check boxes for what you wanted (boiled eggs, toast, etc.) and an anticipated time when we’d be there.  The first day we just handed the girl the paper, but we never handed in the 2nd day, just assuming we’d give it to them when we arrived.  Apparently that isn’t how it works!  We did find one of the guys in the reception area, and he turned on the lights, A/C and plugged in the coffee.  Hmmmm… The girl came out, and we managed to order in Spanish (with the paper) and ask for hot water (so we could have our instant coffee!).  That at least worked, and while we probably put them out, they did manage to get our breakfast together quickly – except the coffee which once again had its own difficulties.

After breakfast we decided to take a walk down along the water on the Paseo del Morro trail.  We had overheard one of the guests saying it was a lovely walk, so we thought we’d try it since we had tons of time.  Looking at the map, it appeared we could access the walk via the Paseo de la Princesa, so we headed in that direction, being sure to take photos of the Pigeon park entrance, which looks wholly different in the early morning with no pigeons and no bamboo umbrellas and tables at the Chapel bar.

We also got to actually visit inside the Parque de las Palomas – without the pigeons, which was a very nice and peaceful lookout over the harbor and the islands across from the city.  We continued down through the sleeping town to the Paseo de la Princesa and then to the end of the promenade and the lovely fountain - The Raíces Fountain - which was created to celebrate the New World’s 500th anniversary. The fountain contains statues that honor Puerto Rico’s mixed African, Spanish and Taino/Amerindian heritage and is also said to be a very romantic place in the evenings as the sun sets.  Unfortunately we are here as the sun rises, but it is a beautiful setting, nonetheless.

Moving past the fountain, we find ourselves at the beginning of the Paseo del Morro, which is a broad walkway all along the waterfront, following the lines of the fortress walls to the old city of San Juan.  It’s a lovely walk, dappled in bright sunlight and shade.  There are stunning views of the garitas and old fortress walls as we circumnavigate the old city.

Oh, and the cats. Have we mentioned the cats?  They are everywhere – freaking everywhere!  More cats here than on Hydra, which is cat central for Grecian felines.  We only have one picture of this precocious little thing sitting in the middle of the walkway – but trust us when we tell you there were hundreds of cats down here – and lots of little tupperware feeding stations too.  So, whether they are feral or not, they are being taken care of – fed and watered – here along the Paseo del Morro – and we are assuming elsewhere in the city since they are so plentiful.

Besides the cats, we spend a delightful hour or so wandering along the paved walkway along the bay.  It is just heating up as we return, and we realize that there is an entrance to the path right outside the road that leads to our hotel.  No way! It turns out to be the main gate into San Juan!  La Puerta de San Juan, also known as the Red Gate, was the original entryway into the old city of San Juan.  Geez!  It is totally not clear on our map, so we walked far, far out of our way to get here – we loved the exercise, but still….sigh.  So, we took the short way back to the hotel, past the Governor’s guards and past this great graffiti of the PR flag on downed tree roots.

Back in the room, we do our final organizing for the flights home, then go downstairs taking one last photo of the cool courtyard,

then bid Ricardo a fond farewell when our cab arrives to take us to the airport.  Thirty minutes later, we are checked in and safely ensconced in the Priority Club lounger, hanging out until our 3 pm flight back to the mainland. The flights are all on time – early even into Atlanta – and we traverse the two terminals with enough time for some food and beverages before the flight to Asheville.  You know I never ever talk about airport food – always overpriced and of nominal value – but this time, I just have to post the picture of the Southern Starter at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint.  OMG.  I ordered it because it had fried green tomatoes and fried okra – figuring it’s an airport restaurant, how much – and how good – could it be?  Holy cow.  It was crazy – crazy huge and crazy good!  There was no way I was finishing this – I couldn’t even finish the tomatoes – which for you all know means there was way too much food on this plate!

Ed got the wings, and even those were almost too much to finish.  Wow, that was quite the dinner!

Totally sated, we rolled ourselves onto our little plane and flew happily back to Asheville and our Lyft ride home.  A very successful end to an incredibly great trip.

11/20–San Juan afternoon and evening

So, almost 4 hours later – we are finished with our tour of the Castille San Cristobal.  And what a tour it was!  Great way to spend our morning and celebrate with the NPS on re-opening their Historic Site.  On the way out, we find Milagros, give her our address and ask her advice for lunch.  She gives us a couple of options, one a few blocks up the street called El Jibarito – The Hillbillies.  But sadly, once we get there, they are closed for some reason.  The signs on the door indicate they are open every day, but in this environment – who knows?  Could be anything from power to deliveries to whatever.  So, now we are on a mission to find lunch.  We change courses and head down toward the water and the main streets of the city. We see the two guys from the Castille that were dressed in historical garb and sort of follow them to see if they are going for lunch.  They actually end up in a pizza joint, and while we are sure it was great (follow the locals!), we are not eating pizza in Puerto Rico.  We continue on through streets, searching through closed restaurants and shops for someplace with food.  We hit the end of the city – only the massive city parking deck and water remain in front of us, and just happen to turn left and find Restaurant Raices  - real Puerto Rican food.  We are their first customers, and are happy to be seated in the air conditioned dining room.  Decorated with original wall murals depicting Puerto Rican scenes, it is a small, but cozy little space with interesting local beers.

The menu looks great – we start with local fried cheese, which is delicious, then order the fried “mero",” which we think might be grouper – but aren’t really sure.  Whatever it is, it is fantastic – and they actually have Mofungo – so we finally get to try that PR delicacy of smashed plantains.  Not as yummy as we might have hoped, but you have to have it at least once while you are here.

Walking back to the hotel, past gorgeous buildings and this amazing bank lobby (it was closed for Founders day, so we could only take pictures through the door windows – but it was absolutely spectacular inside)…

…we decide it is too early to go back to the room, so we stop at the little bar we walked past yesterday, The Chapel (so named because it is right outside the entrance to the convent – and the Pigeon Park).  We hang out here for at least 2 drinks, watching the military on the corner protecting the governor as well as the pedestrian traffic making their way to the Paseo de la Princesa.  Not a bad way to spend an hour or so!

Finally, we return to the room – passing through the little park that we have now named Kitty Kat park due to the wild statue and proliferation of wild cats that seem to populate the place.

After the afternoon rain storm that has become like clockwork these 2 days in Puerto Rico, we meander out into the streets, getting a beautiful shot of the interior of the church at the head of Kitty Kat park….

…then heading toward the supermarket to shore up our stock of evening beverages, then onto Cafe Punto for dinner.  On the way to the restaurant, we pass through one of the many blocks of old San Juan without power. This is our first evening encounter of blackout since we only crossed the street last night and it is really sort of frightening.  It is pitch black, hard to navigate and really hard to tell where you are going.  What an awful way to live – especially since it’s been almost 70 days now since the hurricane.  True to our luck today, the restaurant is closed. But, fortunately, right across the street is Barrachina, another restaurant we had thought about earlier.  We kept walking by this place, but it looked closed.  We finally figured out that it was because we were walking by the back door!  Jeez.  They hawkers at the door greeted us with enthusiasm and led us into the incredible interior – complete with outside terrace seating as well as the indoor (air-conditioned) dining area (where of course we chose to eat).

It is fairly deserted when we arrive, but are lucky to place our orders quickly because the place fills us fast.  We start with the Puerto Rican Delight – a selection of fried plantains, empanadas and croquettes.

Oh my! that’s a meal all on its own!

Sadly, we have also both ordered mains – Grouper Islano (Grouper with shrimp and creole sauce) for Ed and Beef Steak Fortaleza (Skirt steak stuffed with ham, swiss cheese, onions and peppers, covered with mushroom sauce) for me – both served with this huge bowl of beans.  Argh.

The food is fabulous, but way, way too much for us.  We are glad we tried all the different, local preparations, but boy are we stuffed to the gills!  We try to eat slowly, listening to all the conversations around us – the emergency workers who eat quickly then leave, the Coastie and her husband  (who saw President Clinton today as he was visiting and volunteering – I’m so jealous) and are chatting with the Hospital folks who are here taking stock of the situation and what needs to be done.  Just as we are finishing, a group of folks we had lunch with on the cruise come in – but they don’t see us and we're just as happy to remain anonymous in our little people watching/listening space.

Finally the night is over and make our way through the darkened streets back to our lovely little rooms atop the Villa Herrencia.  Tomorrow – the end of our latest adventure.

11/20–San Juan Castille San Cristobal continued

Next we managed to find the barracks halls (we wandered down some spiral staircase that dumped us out into these rooms we had seen from above on the battery).  There are a number of rooms, and a wonderful exhibit displaying how the troops lived.

Next we went into the dungeons.  Oohhh….creepy…and actually, they sort of were scary.  Big tunnels, so it wasn’t very claustrophobic, but they were very hot and humid, and just not a pleasant place to be.  Entering into one of the dungeons, there are drawings of ships on the wall – drawn by one of the Spanish captains held there before his execution.  Creepy.

We’ve covered so much ground, but we are still not done!  As we are making our way back down to the courtyard, Milagros comes running after us – asking for our home address.  Her supervisor wants to send us a gift for being the first people to visit the Castille.  How sweet! Back through the battery, we end up at a stair case that goes into the basement – which turns out to be the main entry to the fortress – we entered through the Historical Entry.  Down here is one of the gift shops, a model of the fort and supposedly a movie that gives us an overview of history of the castle.  We hang out in the theater for a while, waiting for the film, but it never starts.  After visiting the facilities, we ask the ranger on duty about the film, but he says it is not working right now. OK. Well, nice little rest for us anyway.  The ranger is totally customer focused.  He shows us the map of the property and then asks if we want to see the outside park area –which was the first line of defense against a land invasion. We said sure – and he virtually ran up the stairs and out into the yard to point us to the little fortification at the end of the property and explain a little bit about the fortress and its grounds.  He was so excited to have someone to show around.  Sweet.

So, outside we go, and around to the large grassy which contained multiple lines of defense and a small fortress. And also Helen.  Another Park Ranger who is so nice, and helpful, and talkative.  She is an architect who volunteered for years, then finally got a permanent position with the NPS.  She is also happy to be back at work and talks to us at length about the last 2 months, and the fact that she still doesn’t have power at her house either – but at least has a gas stove.  The NPS has been kind enough to let the rangers use their facilities though, so she’s been able to do her laundry and at least be in air conditioning for parts of the day.  We chit chat for a long while, but then decide to get moving because the sun is searing us along with the heat. Walking through the battlements, the sky is gorgeous and photos are spectacular, first looking out over the devil’s sentry box (because it is said to be haunted)…

Then looking toward the Condado area, through the original gates to the fortress…

…and finally with a long shot of the Castille.  Gorgeous!