Planning, preparing, anticipating

... in Key Biscayne

Cruising today from Miami! Next stop - the Azores on May 8. Looking forward to calm seas, reading, relaxing, playing cards.
Crazy trip so far

Bonjour! This will be brief...at sea for 11 days instead of 6 due to high seas and wind in port of Ponta Delgado, Sao Miguel, Portugal. Finally arrived in Brest, France this morning. More problems toRead more
Southampton, England

Immigration was a mess! Got off the ship after 2 hours in line. But enjoyed walking the medieval walls of the old town, stopping at a pub for a pint and drinks later near the water. Southampton wasRead more
Southampton

Having trouble with internet connection here. Will update later. All is well. Enjoyed the day walking the medieval walls of the old town and drinking a pint or two of ale. Ship is having problems soRead more
Side trip to Delft

Sunday morning - Happy Mother's Day to all - Dan and I took the Metro to a small town north of Rotterdam and while waiting for a bus to Delft, we popped in on a Catholic service (and to use the WC).Read more
Copenhagen between cruises

While waiting for cruise 2 to the Baltics, we are doing a quick tour of Copenhagen and on a mission to find our hotel for later this month. The hop on hop off bus is a relaxing way to preview the cityRead more
A few photos

Most photos are on our camera. Here are a few.
Rostock and Warnemunde, Germany

On our own today. Took a train and tram in Rostock to just walk around the old town. At noon we are backtracking to St. Mary's church for a short organ concert and service. The church dates back toRead more
Tallinn, Estonia

Unexpectedly, rented bikes for the day to explore the old town which is high above the city, paved in cobblestones and very crowded today. Five cruise ships in town and the first beautiful day ofRead more
St. Petersburg

A busy 2 days but totally worth the walking and touring with a guide. I am so glad we have had this experience. The photos will not do this city the justice it deserves.
St. Petersburg

This visit has exceeded out expectations and we are thankful for our guide, Elena, who has sheltered us from harm and given us a crash course in Russian history and culture for 2 days. The palaces andRead more
Helsinki

Exploring some of the 1952 Olympic venues today, among other sites.
Stockholm

The ship docked about 45 km from Stockholm so we took a bus into the city. Took a boat cruise and walked around for a few hours. Found an antique store (my kind of day) and the owner's husband walkedRead more
Copenhagen

Renting bikes from the hotel was a perfect way to maximize our time in Cooenhagen, especially on a holiday with less traffic. Christiania (the alternative living community) with a path along theRead more
Monnickendam

After fighting the city crowds and a brief heat wave yesterday, we are biking in the countryside north of Amsterdam. We found a cafe in the shade for coffee and apple pie (with the whipped cream, ofRead more
Bruges

In case anyone is concerned about our having fun on our trip, don't worry! Bruges is wonderful and the beer is tasty. We like the city much better than Amsterdam. Add Bruges to your bucket list.
Ieper, Belgium

Explored World War I sites yesterday including British and German cemeteries. The countryside is so peaceful today so it is hard to visualize the devastation from 100 years ago. The town of IeperRead more
Paris

We have been blessed with beautiful weather on this trip. Reservations for a nighttime visit to the Eiffel Tower was the best idea ever! Today we are being lazy tourists by riding around on a bus. MyRead more
Notre Dame - we are safe just barely

After a lovely reunion with my second cousin Laura, Nancy and their daughter Ari at Montmartre, we returned to the Left Bank across from Notre Dame Cathedral. As we entered the plaza in front ofRead more
Home is very Sweet Home

Last blog...it is 4:00 am and jet lag is messing with my internal clock. We are glad to be home in DeLand and soon to NY. Some simple pleasures I have missed...a fresh mug (large) of brewed decafRead more
TravelerPlanning our latest "expedition" has occupied much of our time over the past 6 months or so, ever since our friends, Pete and Jean Murphy, agreed to join us on a Baltic cruise. One thing led to another, as often happens in our world, resulting in the addition of a transatlantic cruise on the front end followed by 2 weeks of exploring Europe on the tail end. We will leave Miami on April 30 and return stateside June 8. Planning the cruise was breezy easy, but the majority of the "land cruise" has been handled by the Stewart team using a variety of resources and ideas. Lots of reading, then more reading, then tiring of the reading for a while, then returning to the reading. Recently, I found a delightful book called "Le Road Trip: A Traveler's Journal of Love and France", a refreshing break from guide books and online travel sites. Preparations completed, we have moved to what the author calls "anticipation". She says, "Anticipation is a crucial phase of any journey. It's the promise that life will be different, better, for having seen as amazing sunset over the pyramids of Egypt, for dining on gourmet delicacies in Burgundy, for experiencing the stillness in a Zen temple in Kyoto. We want the same thing from travel that we want from love, a life-changing encounter with destiny. Plus fantastic scenery." Although we won't be in Egypt, Burgundy, or Kyoto, we anticipate relishing in good local food, small villages, a few historical sites, a cathedral or two and simply soaking it all in. We hope you will join us by occasionally glancing at our travel blog. The first 6 days we will be somewhere in the Atlantic. Blog will resume on May 7 when we stop in the Azores for one day.
Cyndie Van HookI'm sure it will be a fabulous trip. We just returned from our 23 day jaunt. We are going back to Israel, wonderful country. Venice was awesome too. We have booked back to back cruises to Australia and New Zealand for 2019. 33 days!!