Figueres, Spain

This morning we took the Metro to the Sants Station to take the train to Figueres, about two miles north-east of Barcelona. We wanted to got to the Dali Museum in Figueres. Purchased tickets and men never ask directions ever - I mean never - so we headed down to the platform that I knew was the correct platform for the 9:46 AM train. Boarded the train and road it to L'Hospitalet and that was as far as it went. As you probably already knew, I picked the wrong train. We turned around and took the train back to Barcelona and I asked at the information desk, "What was the train number? What platform was it on? What should it say on the front of the train (ie, the destination)? Took the correct train and got there in two hours!

 The train was packed for most of the trip, mostly school kids, so the trip was a bit noisy but not that bad. The first thing we did when we got to Figueres was to have lunch. (Keep in mind we blew quite a bit of time with or trip to L'Hospitalet and back to Barcelona Sants.)


After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Dali Museum and it was well worth the trip. In addition to Dali's paintings and papier mache works, there is one separate building for jewelry that he had done. The one thing about Dali that I had recalled was his drooping watches. Here is a piece of jewelry that he had done with the drooping watch.

Yesterday we received an email from Celebrity Cruise Line via our travel agent saying that we would not be able to check-in tomorrow until 2:00 PM and cabins will not be available until 5:30 PM (obviously we will not sail at 5:00 PM) so that they can do a thorough cleaning job as apparently there was an outbreak of Norovirus  this week. This is good and bad. The bad is the Norovirus but the good is we can spend a couple more hours in the morning in Barcelona. This is our fourth time in Barcelona and every time we have been here we have seen

Gaudí's church, Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) but have never been inside. This time we can make it.

Barcelona and Montserrat

Barcelona Friday Nov. 18 6:10 PM (12:10 PM EST)

This morning, after sleeping almost fourteen hours, we had breakfast at our hotel and then took the Metro to the La Espanya Station to board the train to Monserrat. Montserrat is about 35 miles northwest of Barcelona, about 30 minutes on the train. Then a 20 minute ride in a cog-rail train up the side of the mountain. Spent quite a bit of time up there in the Basilica - an impressive building.

 
At 1:00 PM there was a presentation by a boys choir and the Basilica was packed. We had lunch on the mount and then wandered around the grounds. Then the train(s) and metro back to the hotel. About 8:00 PM we will walk around the corner for dinner. Tomorrow we will take the train again. This time we will be going to Figueres to visit the Dali Museum.

My Favorite Airline

As I have mentioned earlier, when flying especially in Europe I try to find the cheapest flights and this generally turns out to be EasyJet. Next summer we plan to take a two week cruise along the coast of Norway. This cruise both starts and ends in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. After we would like to take a ten day cruise up the Elbe River from Prague, Czech Republic to Berlin. Therefore I wanted to see what flights from Amsterdam to Prague and Berlin to London (we assume passes on American Airlines from Miami to London to get to Europe and back). On Kayak the cheapest flights are on Lufthansa and for two of us it would be about $450.  On EasyJet is is $155. What a deal!

Back Home

Arrived at Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) on Tuesday morning after a wonderful five or so weeks away. Although we visited a number of countries that we have seen before, we added six new countries to our list: Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Now I have to upload our photos to Flickr. That may take a bit.

We come home and find that Donald Trump is in the "news" as a possible candidate as President of the United States. Once more it proves my point that we are a nation of morons!

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Before I talk about Dubai, I must mention a bit about the Doha Airport in Qatar, our lay-over point in flying from London to Dubai. The airport is very large, modern and comfortable. As with most airports in the Middle East there is a mosque in the airport. (Actually two mosques, one for men and one for women.) We have been to large mosques in Casablanca and they have large washing facilities for hands, face and feet before the prayers. In the airport the closest they have is the men's room. In the couple times I used it (we were there for 5 hours) there were men washing in the sink of the hands and face. The last time in there, there was a gentleman washing his feet in the sink. No foot baths in the mens room!


We arrived in Dubai early Wednesday morning about 3:00 AM and after going through immigration and customs we got a cab to the hotel. Arrived there about 4:30 AM after the cab driver had to stop at another hotel to find directions to our hotel. It is a small (and I mean small) hotel inside a cultural center with only six rooms. Different and very nice. It was originally the home of the grandfather of the current ruler of the UAE. Because we had been travelling all day and night we were tired and just as we crawled into bed at 5:00 AM the calls for prayer from about a half dozen mosques started, all with loud speakers. We have found that in Dubai a wake up call is not necessary.


Both Wednesday and Thursday we travelled all over the city in the "Big Red Buses" and saw quite a bit of Dubai. There is construction everywhere on office buildings, hotels, shopping centers, entertainment centers, etc. There is a lot of money in Dubai and have found that a large parts of the construction is being done by different members of the royal family. Although the capital of the UAE is Abu Dabi, the ruling family lives in Dubai. More about Dubai after we get on the ship. It is now 6:50 AM on Friday morning.

London Heathrow

After our late start (or early depending on how you view is) from home on Saturday, it is Sunday afternoon 3:00 PM in the Jurys Inn just outside Heathrow Airport. We left home Saturday morning at 3:45 AM to get in line for the first flight from Miami to La Guardia airport. We made that flight that left Miami at 6:30 AM or so and arrived in La Guardia about 9:00 AM. We then took the shuttle bus to JFK and then waited until the next flight to Heathrow which was not until 7:35 PM. We did get on that flight and both Nancy and I got seats in Business Class so it wasn't bad.

After we checked in the hotel we took a nap and got up at 2:00 PM and had lunch in the bar. Now just to rest. Tomorrow we will take the underground to London and spend the day there.

Our Amended Cruise Itinerary

As we expected, the itinerary for our upcoming cruise is being changed based on the events in the Middle East. We had planned to visit three ports in Egypt: Safaga, Sharm El Sheik and Alexandria and had booked excursions to see the Nile River, the Pyramids, the Sphinx, etc. We have learned from folks already on board the ship that the Egyptian port visits had been canceled. It appears that in their place we will be visiting Salalah, Oman (we are already visiting Muskat) and Ashdod and Haifa, both in Israel. I am pleased that we will be visiting Israel as I always wanted to see it but really wanted to see Egypt. Maybe we will try again in a few years when the area is calmer.

Our Next Trip

Right now we are checking last minute details for our upcoming trip/cruise. Our plan right now is to leave home next Friday, March 18th and fly to London. Because we fly "stand by" for international flights so we can fly either First Class or Business Class, it appears we may want to fly Miami to LaGuardia, bus/taxi to JFK and then JFK to Heathrow, arriving Saturday morning. We shall see. In London we are staying at the Sheraton near Heathrow until Tuesday.  While there we want to visit London itself and Windsor.

On Tuesday evening evening we will fly Qatar Airways to Doha and then on to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Originally our flight left London at 7:55 AM and arrived at Doha at 5:25 PM, a hour and a half lay-over and then leave Doha at 7:00 PM and arriving Dubai at 9:05 PM. Yesterday I received an email from the airline and now we leave London at 11:00 AM and arriving Doha at 8:30 PM, leave Doha at 1:00 AM and arriving Dubai at 3:05 AM. This really sucks!

In Dubai we are staying at the XVA Art Hotel, a boutique hotel is located in Bastakiya, the oldest portion of Dubai. This portion of our trip we are really looking forward to as this is our first time in the Middle East. We will be staying in Dubai until we start our cruise.

The cruise on Holland American Line's m/s Amsterdam is the last leg of this year's World Cruise that started in Fort Lauderdale in early January. This is a thirty-two day cruise and we will be in Fort Lauderdale on April 26. Even today there are questions as to whether we will be able to visit some of the sights we have scheduled in Egypt and Jordan. A number of cruise lines have put off stopping at Egyptian ports until this Summer. We just have to wait and see. Here is a map of our itinerary:

Update on our Upcoming Cruise

Earlier I noted that a portion of our upcoming cruise aboard Holland America Lines' m/s Amsterdam is to visit a number of ports in Egypt. Other cruise lines have stated that they would avoid Egyptian ports at least until the end of June but HAL has made no comments about their plans for the Amsterdam. Yesterday aboard the Amsterdam, officials of the line and the Amsterdam's captain stated current plans for the Amsterdam are for the ship to sail through the Suez Canal. In addition, they noted that right now it is a 50/50 chance that they would go through with planned excursions in Egypt. The final decision will be made toward the end of March and will be based on activities in Egypt. Therefore, it looks like we will be able to see the pyramids and the Sphinx after all. We'll see.

Our Upcoming Cruise

Next month my lovely wife and I will begin this year's Spring travels.  We will fly to London,  spend a few days there and then fly to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. There we will spend three day and start a thirty-three cruise aboard Holland American Lines' m/s Amsterdam that will eventually end in Ft. Lauderdale. We are especially anxious for this cruise as there are ports in three countries that we have never visited before. These are Oman, Jordan and Egypt - three countries that have had different levels of demonstration in the recent days.

Different thoughts and questions come to mind. Will the cruise actually come to pass? Will we be able to actually visit any of these countries? Based on the level of upheaval in Egypt, who is actually going to be in charge of the Suez Canal that is key to the cruise maintaining its itinerary? As our portion of the cruise (actually it is a world cruise but we are taking only the last leg if it) starts in the Persian Gulf, through the Straits of Hormuz, through the Gulf of Oman, to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, into the Red Sea, the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean Sea.  The key here is the Suez Canal. If a ship cannot use the Suez Canal it has to go around the Cape of Good Hope, another six thousand miles.

Let's see what happens! 

Home From Our Cruise

Yesterday was the end of our seven day cruise in the Caribbean. It was enjoyable but our idea of a cruise is more than a week. We would much rather cruise for a month than a week although a week is better than nothing. Now we have to wait for our thirty-three cruise next March from Dubai to Fort Lauderdale.

This video was the high point of the cruise. It was made at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas - a private island owned by Holland American Lines.

Getting Ready for Next Cruise

Next Monday we will start our next cruise on the Holland America Prinsendam from Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) to Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Leaving Port Everglades we will have six days at sea before we reach our first port in the Azores. The itinerary for the cruise is:

• May 24 - Horta, Azores
• May 25 - Ponta Delgada, Azores
• May 26 and 27 - At sea
• May 28 - Cadiz, Spain
• May 29 - Portimao, Portugal
• May 30 and 31 - Lisbon, Portugal
• June 1 - A Coruna, Spain
• June 2 - Bilboa, Spain
• June 3 - At sea
• June 4 - Falmouth, UK
• June 5 - Le Havre, France
• June 6 - Dover, UK
• June 7 - Amsterdam, Netherlands

From Amsterdam we arrive too late to catch the EasyJet to Milan so we are spending the night in Amsterdam and flying out the next day. From Milan we are taking the train to Florence and then spend a week or so with Julie, Bill and the kids near Siena.  Will be updating the blog while we are away.

My Passport Stampings and Visas

I was going through my passport (for what I don't recall) and realized that I have a number of stampings and visas there.  My current passport was issued in 2004.  This is what I find in there:

• Immigration Office Gatwick (London) 30 May 2004
• Kobenhavn (Copenhagen) 30 May 2004
• Amsterdam (Netherlands) Schiphol (Airport) 30 April 2007
• Mexico (Cabo San Lucas) 25 April 2008
• Japan Immigration 2 October 2007
• Kagoshima (Japam) 8 October 2007
• Republic of Korea (Admitted) 9 October 2007
• Republic of Korea (Departed)9 October 2007
• China 2007
• Hong Kong 19 October 2007
• Hong Kong (Departed) 20 October 2007
• Chinese Visa 15 August 2007 thru 15 February 2008
• Immigration Australia (Arrived) 31 October 2007
• Immigration Australia (Departed Sydney) 7 November 2007
• Singapore Immigration 24 October 2007
• Singapore Immigration (Depart) 24 October 2007
• Indonesian Visa October 2007
• Basel, Switzerland 26 August 2009
• Isafjordur, Iceland 3 August 2009
• Pipeas, Greece 30 October 2008
• Immigration Office Gatwick (London) 26 August 2009
• Immigration Office Heathrow (London) 15 October 2006
• Antigua & Barbuda 27 November 2004
• Republic of Gabon 1 November 2006
• Gambian Visa 8 July 2006 thru 8 July 2007
• Brazilian Visa 13 September 2006
• Ghana Visa 15 August 2006
• Gabon Visa 1 November 2006 thru 1 November 2011
• Togo Visa 21 August 2006
• Republic of Gambia 31 October 2006
• Cameroon Visa 28 August 2006
• Ghana Immigration 27 October 2006
• Togo Immigration 28 October 2006
• Rostok-Hafen, Germany 27 May 2004
• Russia Immigration 23 May 2004
• Russia Immigration 29 September 2007

Another Day of Making Travel Arrangements

Spent another day making travel arrangements for our May/June trip.  This will be a 21 day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Amsterdam, Netherlands and then we will go to our daughter's villa in Tuscany for a week before we head back home.

The cruise arrangements had already been made. In fact, we made the booking while on our Panama Canal cruise over Christmas and New Years. The reservations made today (and part of yesterday) were to get to Tuscany and then to London for stand-by flight to Miami.  If you recall other travel arrangements I have described you recall my number one travel rule - if I'm paying, use the cheapest airline!  Probably the cheapest airlines in Europe are either RyanAir or EasyJet. RyanAir, an Irish airline, unfortunately wouldn't get me to I want to go so its EasyJet.  We have flown EasyJet before on our trip last Summer from Basel, Switzerland to London.

The cruise ship arrives in Amsterdam too late for the EasyJet flight to Italy (actually to Milan) so we will spend a day and night in Amsterdam.  I booked a night at the Ibis Hotel near the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam.  We stayed there a few years ago following a transatlantic cruise.  The cruise ship line (Holland America) will provide a shuttle from the port to the airport. From the airport the hotel provides a shuttle. After checking in we will probably take the train into the city.  The next morning we will fly out of Amsterdam.

EasyJet is probably on a par with some of the budget airlines in the US but they are real cheap.  I mean real cheap. British Air has flights from Amsterdam to Milan for $220 per person; EasyJet does the same route for about $48 per person.  That's why I love EasyJet.  Of course there are some drawbacks.  For instance, there are no reserved seats.  Get there early if you want an aisle seat.

We leave Amsterdam at 9:30 AM and arrive in Milan at 11:10 AM.  Our daughter's villa is closer to Pisa or Florence than to Milan but EasyJet has no flight from Amsterdam to Pisa.  As a result we have to get from Milan to Florence so we will take the train.  Next step, make train reservations.  (The tickets will be sent to us by mail.)  We will leave Milano Centrale (Milan central station) at 2:15 PM and will arrive at Firenze S M N (Florence central station) at 4:00 PM.  This is $75 per person for second class and for a less than two hour ride second class is all you need.  At the Florence train station our daughter and her family will pick us up.

We will spend about eight days at Castello di Casole and then have to think about going home.  Because we want to fly first class (or business class) to Miami and don't want to pay for it, we have to get to a European city serviced by American Airlines.  The best chances are Paris and London so will EasyJet get us there.  There are EasyJet flights from Pisa to both Paris Orly and London Gatwick so we opt for London.  Make reservations with EasyJet and we will leave Pisa at 2:40 PM and arrive at Gatwick at 3:50 PM. 

We're in London at Gatwick airport but to get to Miami on American Airlines we have to get to Heathrow airport.  That means a coach (bus) ride of about an hour and a quarter. It's not that bad. We've done it before.  

We're at Heathrow in the afternoon but the direct flight to Miami is in the morning so we need a place to stay for the night.  The Park Inn Heathrow is at the airport so I make reservations there.  We stayed there last Summer when on our way home from or ocean cruise/river cruise trip.

Now the only thing we need to get home is open space on an American Airlines flight to Miami.  Last Summer Nancy got a seat in First Class. I ended up in Business Class.  I know, it's tough. 

 

Cozumel and Cayman Islands

Yesterday we were in Cozumel for the day. I, Roberta and Alexandra went kayaking and snorkeling while Nancy laid by the pool aboard the ship.  During the afternoon we did our usual Bingo session. Both Nancy and Alexandra won. The previous day Alexandra and Roberta won. Today Nancy won twice this morning. Not a bad day.

Today we were to stop on Grand Cayman but the weather (waves and wind) was such that were not able to stop. Tenders are necessary to go ashore from the ship so all the activities on shore were canceled. However, that meant more Bingo! Besides the Bingo we competed in a scavenger hunt were able to win third place. Not bad. Getting better right now for a cocktail party.

Costa Maya, Mexico

Today we are in Costa Maya, Mexico and will stay here until about 8:00 PM. Roberta and Alexandra are taking a catamaran ride, Sam (a/k/a Tucker) is touring the ship and Grandpa and Nana will probably walk into the small village nearby. As you can see from the photo Nana is enjoying herself!

Yesterday, a day at sea, we played trivia three times and bingo in the  afternoon. Came pretty close on the trivia sessions, didn't even come close in bingo and even farther away from winning in the casino! Maybe today will be our day.

Aboard the Liberty of the Seas

We are on the Liberty of the Seas and heading south to the Caribbean Sea. We left Boca for Miami about a half hour after Noon and arrived at the parking garage about 1:45 PM. Shuttle to the pier and checked in.  Had lunch with Roberta and Alexandra as Sam was unpacking. We wandered around the ship. It certainly different than the ships that we generally cruise on. The Liberty has about 4200 passengers and the Holland America ships we generally go on have about 1300. In a minute we will be heading for Martinis and then to dinner at 8:30.

Packing For a One Week Cruise

We are just finishing up packing for our 7 day cruise that starts this afternoon.  We have decided that we know how to pack for a one month cruise (or even a two month cruise) but are clueless packing for a one week cruise.  Our daughter and her two kids were able to pack everything in roller cases (those that will fit in the overhead bin on an airplane).  We have a huge suitcase and a stuffed garment bag! What are we doing wrong?

In May we will be taking a three cruise to Europe and stay another week and a half before we come home.  I suspect that we will have the same amount luggage then as we have for today's cruise!

An Interim Cruise

It has been almost two months since our last cruise and almost three months until our next cruise.  The next one is a three week cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam, NL.  We have decided that five months between cruises is too long so we have booked a one week cruise in the Caribbean.  Our daughter booked a cruise during her kids' Spring Break so we decided we'll take our Spring Break and go along.  So we're off a week from Sunday.

The Blizzard of 1966 (or Maybe 1967)

The current blizzards plaguing the middle Atlantic and northeast states remind me of a big storm in New York State that I lived through.  I thought it was the big storm of 1966 that happened in January of that year but it must have been in 1967 or 1968.  At the time I was living in Rochester and in December 1965 I had gone to work for IBM.

I was attending a class at the IBM Education Center in Endicott, NY but was home in Rochester for the weekend.  On Sunday it started to snow so I started the drive to Endicott early in the afternoon.  Because of the snow I thought I would take the NY Thruway to Syracuse and then go south on Interstate 81 to Binghamton.  (Endicott is just west of Binghamton on Route 17.)  Unfortunately, the snow storm got worse and the Thruway was closed so I had to find another route to Endicott.  I got off the Thruway pretty close to Waterloo and headed south on Route 96.  On Route 96 it just got worse as I went south.

When I got as far as the Seneca Army Depot in Romulus, I had been driving for probably four or five hours.  It was terrible and I could not see very far ahead of me on the road. Passing the Army Depot I spotted a car off the side of the road in a ditch and noticed it was a family with kids in it.  I stopped to help them and they said that they wanted to go back to the last town.  They got in my car, I attempted to turn around ended stuck in a ditch on the other side of the road.  Just great! The family I tried to help got a ride from another motorist going back north.  I stayed in the ditch with the headlights and heater on.

It seemed an eternity that I was in that ditch but it was probably only an hour or an hour and a half.  A road-grader plowing the road came by, pulled me out of the ditch and told me to follow him on to Ovid, a town about 25 miles north of Ithaca.  I tried to follow but the snow was filling in between myself and the road-grader.  He stopped and suggested that I park my car on the side of the road and I could ride in the cab with him to Ovid.  He told me not to worry about my car because they knew it was there and nobody would hit it.  (Yeah, right!)

I rode in the cab of the road-grader to a gas station in Ovid where I and a number of other folks stayed for Sunday and Monday night.  On Tuesday the stranded motorists, myself included, were able to sleep at the homes of a number of local families.  On Wednesday my car was towed into the gas station and the  engine was steam cleaned of all the snow.  In addition to the snow, the driver side of the car had been caved in by (what else) a road-grader!  Another car that had been abandoned was worse off than mine.  That car was pushed down a hill. I was still able to drive the car so I proceeded south to Endicott. 

That was the saga of that snow blizzard.  To this day I can still remember how uncomfortable it was trying to sleep between two folding chairs in the gas station in Ovid.