Festive Carib PreCursor Paid Off
14 сентября 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
Technically, final payment for this precursor cruise wasn’t due until the 18th. But that’s when we are leaving on our RV road trip. Thus, when the reminder for the payment came from Oceania today,Читать далее
SWA Re-Priced
13 сентября 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
An article from Points Guy this afternoon led me to check the pricing on our Southwest Airlines flight from DEN to MIA on 13 December.
I wasn’t expecting that we’d be able to fly for theЧитать далее
SFO-DEN Flight ... ✔︎
14 августа 2022 г., Baffin Bay ⋅ 🌬 41 °F
I wasn’t anticipating that I would be writing in this journal while we are on our expedition voyage in the Canadian High Arctic. But something came up today that is directly related to RTW2023 …Читать далее
Exclusive Shoreside Events
30 июня 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
One of the published "perks" for a world voyage with Oceania is the planned exclusive shoreside events. I say planned because they might change before — or even after — we embark upon ourЧитать далее
CatC 4052 It Is
27 июня 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F
Normally, we prefer to book veranda cabins as I spend so much of my time on the ship sitting out there ... enjoying the fresh air and the sound of the ocean as the ship cleaves through the water.
NotЧитать далее
Cha-Ching! ... Paid in Full
27 июня 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
Done!!!
I paid the third and last installment of the final payment for RTW2023 today. The proof that I owe nothing further came in the form of an updated Oceania invoice.
Barring any unforeseenЧитать далее
New-to-Us
25 июня 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F
AusPan — short for “Australian Panorama” — is Oceania’s circumnavigation of Australia … on Regatta … R/T out of Sydney.
This 35-day Extended Voyage consists of two segments. (1) “AweЧитать далее
Cha-Ching! ... Installment #2
22 июня 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
Making headway towards a zero count for the final payment.
Two down ... one more installment to go.
Circumnavigating Australia
20 июня 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F
"Feast your eyes on an astonishing kaleidoscope of visual treats as you circumnavigate Australia for over a month, with highlights including the Great Barrier Reef, the coastal towns of theЧитать далее
UA Out ... SW In
18 июня 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
The short story ...
United changed our December flight to Miami to an earlier departure ... 8:29a. It would have been OK if the flight was originating from COS ... which is a short drive away. It’sЧитать далее
Cha-Ching! ... Installment #1
14 июня 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F
The final payment for RTW2023 — the 198-day version — is at hand.
This voyage must be paid off by the end of June. My Chase credit card gives two points per dollar spent on travel. So, I'm usingЧитать далее
RTW2023 Segments
3 июня 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ 🌧 64 °F
Oceania bundled RTW2023 with a couple of segments this year ... prior to or after the San Francisco to San Francisco voyage. Those longer versions of the itinerary went on sale at the same time theЧитать далее
Festive Carib ... $s Saved
26 мая 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
Oceania began a Memorial Day Sale yesterday. Reviewing the list of cruises to which the sale applies, I noted that our RTW2023 precursor cruise to the Caribbean was included.
The sale is for aЧитать далее
Residence in Brickell ... ✔︎
15 мая 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
Since neither the YVE Miami nor the Brickell Arch residence at the AKA Hotel turned out to be an option for December’s pre-cruise stay, today we sat down to figure out where we would be stayingЧитать далее
Back from Our EuroCrossing
13 мая 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
We traveled for some 50+ days without getting bit by the COVID-19 virus, masking up in crowds and in places where we could not social distance ... only to get caught in its trap after we got homeЧитать далее
Home Sweet Home
10 мая 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
We’re back home! As much as we love traveling to lands distant and near, it’s always a delight to return home.
Our flight from IAH to COS was on time and uneventful … but it sure was cold onЧитать далее
Travel Day 2 … Onward to COS
10 мая 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
We’ve checked out of the Marriott and are on our way home … should be pulling into the driveway by 2:30p if all goes as scheduled.
Normally, we walk the underground pedestrian path from the hotelЧитать далее
Welcome to Houston
9 мая 2022 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
Day 1 of our travels back to the US is now completed. We’ve checked in and settled into our room at the Marriott IAH … connected to George Bush Intercontinental Airport via a subway. EasyЧитать далее
Whiling Away Time @ IST
9 мая 2022 г., Турция ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F
An uneventful flight from ADB to IST.
The aircraft pushed back on time at 8:50a … in the air seconds after 9:00a … breakfast on our trays by 9:09a … pilot announced descent into IST at 9:27aЧитать далее
At ADB
9 мая 2022 г., Турция ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
Mui had arranged for a taxi to pick us up from Mom’s at 6:30a. But we were ready by 6:00a, so he walked over to the corner to see if the cab could pick us up early. The driver was, in fact, ready.Читать далее
Heading Home
9 мая 2022 г., Турция ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
Today is the first of our two travel days to get home … have to overnight in Houston, Texas due to flight schedules.
Mui did a “bit of shopping,” so we’re going back with an extra bag. One ofЧитать далее
Happy Mom’s Day
8 мая 2022 г., Турция ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
We went to Sakız Restoran for a late lunch today … to celebrate Mother’s Day … and to enjoy a farewell dinner with the family since we leave tomorrow to return to the USA.
As is always theЧитать далее
Urla: Food-Art-Food
7 мая 2022 г., Турция ⋅ 🌙 63 °F
A beautiful spring day — a bit breezy; but with blue skies and sunshine to mitigate the chill.
To make the most of it, we began our day early with a 40-minute drive to Urla, a town in the ProvinceЧитать далее
İzmir Tradition: Lokma Dökmek
6 мая 2022 г., Турция ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
Lokma is a pastry made with leavened dough. The dough is shaped either like a ball or a doughnut and deep fried. Then, it is soaked in simple syrup just long enough to coat the exterior. It is oftenЧитать далее
Murals Around İzmir
6 мая 2022 г., Турция ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
Longtime readers all know of my love of murals. The medium doesn't matter ... paint, tile, mosaic. So, of course, when I came across a few as we wandered around the city yesterday and today, I had toЧитать далее
Konak Square
5 мая 2022 г., Турция ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F
From the Agora, Mui and I headed into Kemeraltı, the shopping district, and grabbed some döner for lunch from Özev, the restaurant Murat took us to a few days ago.
Then, we meandered to KonakЧитать далее


























































