Reset search
International Jaunts 2020International Jaunts 2020
SatelliteEdit route

International Jaunts 2020

February - November 2020
From the US to Turkey and back ... trips that were realized ... trips that had to be shortened ... trips that were canceled. All during a year that saw the world dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. Read more
  • 81footprints
  • 4countries
  • 265days
  • 191photos
  • 18videos
  • 15.8kmiles
  • 10.0kmiles
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • International Jaunts 2020
    Day 14

    From the Atlantic to the Med

    March 11, 2020 ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Through the Strait of Gibraltar ... leaving the Atlantic Ocean behind for the Mediterranean Sea. As far as I’m concerned, that means that we’ve completed our crossing of the Big Pond known as the Atlantic Ocean. Our steward delivered the certificates of our “achievement” to the cabin last night.Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Day 14

    Arrived in Malaga

    March 11, 2020 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Quickie footprint to say we’ve made landfall. Allure is in the process of docking ... I think. We are on the port side of the ship with a view of the city but not of our berth. Off to breakfast and then off the ship to do some sightseeing .Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    1
    Day 14

    Lovely Day in Malaga

    March 11, 2020 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    We visited Malaga for the first time just over 4 months ago. We were on another TransAtlantic crossing — westbound to return us to the US ... accompanied by mom and Aylin. We went to the cathedral then ... and also to the Picasso Museum. Did a lot of walking and had a great tapas lunch at a restaurant with sidewalk seating. The weather was delightful and we really enjoyed our day then.

    Some people don’t like returning to the same port when they are cruising. We don’t mind actually ... as long as there is plenty to still explore ... definitely the case for Malaga. We had another lovely day, with sunshine, blue skies, and a comfy high temp of 75F.

    Disembarking Allure of the Seas around 10:00a, we bought our shuttle bus tickets — €5pp R/T — for a short 10 minute ride to El Palmeral, a promenade park near the heart of the city. We started off with a detour in our plans when I noticed an advertisement for a special exhibit. It was amazing.

    Then we strolled into downtown, following a meandering path to El Marisquero ... where we had lunch in October ... it did not disappoint ... the tapas were as good as we remembered they were.

    From here, we wandered into the Mercado Central and then continued our meandering walk to a small museum I had read about ... well worth going out of our way to visit it.

    We wrapped up our day with “helado” ...🍦... creamy and delicious. The sweet treat gave us the extra energy we needed to return to El Palmeral to catch the shuttle back to the ship.

    In summary, a lovely day! We still have a lot to see and do — both in and outside the city. Would definitely not mind another port call in Malaga ... or maybe we’ll make our plan for a self-drive tour around Spain a reality in a year or two and spend extra time here.

    I’ll write separately about the exhibit and the museum, so just sharing a few general photos with this footprint.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Day 14

    El Oro de Klimt in Malaga

    March 11, 2020 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    “When I paint, one of my greatest feelings of pleasure is the awareness that I am creating gold.” — Gustav Klimt.

    The shuttle bus that was taking us from the ship into the heart of the city was passing the Centre Pompidou Cube when a poster caught my eye. It was promoting an exhibit featuring Gustav Klimt ... one of my favorite artists. He is probably best known for his “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer” (featured in the wonderful Helen Mirren movie, The Woman in Gold) and another work simply known as “The Kiss” ... both painted during his “gold phase."

    Entitled El Oro de Klimt (The Gold of Klimt), the exhibit promised an immersive experience. I had no idea what that meant, but we’re talking Klimt here ... how bad can it be?

    In fact, it was terrific and well worth the detour that required walking back to the Cube ... and the admission of €9pp (senior rate). Turns out this is not an art exhibition in the sense that you look at paintings on a wall. Instead, you walk into a dark room, find a seat — either a bench or a comfy bean bag — and watch Klimt’s paintings come alive on the walls and floors all around the room ... with accompanying music. It was fantastic. I felt like I was inside the artist’s palette. I was so enthralled that I didn’t do a very good job with the videos ... I’ve included one of them anyway.

    We were especially lucky with our timing as we had maybe 10-15 people in the entire salon ... unlike the next session that was filled with a couple of busloads of kids ... elementary school and younger!!!    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Day 14

    Museo del Vidrio y Cristal

    March 11, 2020 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    When my pre-trip research unearthed a boutique museum in Malaga, I added the Glass and Crystal Museum to our plans for today. We were to have gone there before lunch, but then we jiggled our plans to go to the Klimt exhibition (previous footprint). So we headed to the museum after lunch instead.

    The museum is housed in an Italianate style home from the 1800s ... designed around a small courtyard. Admission for the guided tour — the only way to see the private collection — is €5pp (senior rate). Lucky with our timing, we caught the last tour before the museum closed for siesta.

    The young man who took us around was quite knowledgeable about the pieces displayed all around the house — from the courtyard to the rooms on the second floor. He gave us copious amounts of information, much of which is now a jumble in my mind.

    In addition to the lovely glass pieces, there were a number of portraits and interesting period furnishings. The surprise that delighted me was the collection of stained glass windows interspersed throughout the museum.

    TripAdvisor reviews for the Glass and Crystal Museum are mixed. Not sure why, but perhaps those visitors were expecting more elaborate pieces. We really enjoyed our visit. The minute details that made many of the glass pieces so special were a delight. I’m glad we did not skip this museum when we jiggled our plans at the outset of our day.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Day 15

    At Sea ... En Route to Barcelona

    March 12, 2020, Western Mediterranean ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    The Med has been near flat all day. What little motion we felt during the Atlantic crossing is non existent. Sunshine and comfy temps ... high of 68F with just a light breeze. With our heading pointing slightly north along the coast of Spain, we got some sun on the veranda in the afternoon. Of course we made the most of it, enjoying being outside for some well earned rest ... and some wine and snacks

    Why rest? Because we worked hard this morning. Just kidding, though we were busy packing the last bits into our bags.

    It’s now 10:30p. All but the clothes we set out for tomorrow and toiletries that can fit in 3-1-1 bags are packed away. The luggage for both cabins is sitting outside the cabin, waiting to be picked up by the crew and taken down into the belly of the ship.

    I had reservations for us to go see the Blue Planet matinee this afternoon. What an amazing production show it turned out to be, with the casts of Mamma Mia mingling with the Allure dancers and singers, and some of the acrobats features at the AquaTheater. The set was beautifully designed ... at times representing the oceans with aerial acrobats “swimming” behind a filmy pale blue curtain or a volcano with billowing lava, or the rainforest with camouflage-attired cast members blending in so well with the set that they were impossible to spot until they started moving. A really spectacular show.

    The 7:45p headliner show in the Amber Theater meant going to the Windjammer for a light dinner. The food up there has been good, so we didn’t mind. The show featured Frankie and the Dreamers. The lead soloist, Ryan Molloy, played the original Frankie Valli in the “Jersey Boys” on Broadway. Tonight’s show played homage to the music of Valli. It was a good show ... but something was off with the acoustics, detracting from our enjoyment.

    And thus our cruise is coming to an end. Overall, we’re happy with the experience we had on this ship. That said, we likely would not return to Royal Caribbean unless we’re looking for transportation ... at the right place.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Day 16

    At Our Berth in Barcelona

    March 13, 2020 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    It’s pitch dark outside. Allure of the Seas is docked in Barcelona. In another 1.5 hours we’ll be on our way to the airport. 🤞🏻for a smooth travel day as we make our way to Turkey.

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Day 16

    Aboard TK1854 ... Catching Up

    March 13, 2020 in North Macedonia ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    Lunch has been served on TK1854 ... our “air chariot” to İstanbul. We’ve got a little more than an hour left on the flight ... time enough to catch up on the story of our travel day thus far.

    For a ship that carries nearly 6,000 people, disembarkation this morning was easy-peasy. We left the cabin minutes before 8:00a ... just as our group number was being called. The elevator doors opened seconds after we pushed the down arrow ... with only a couple people inside. That was a miracle on a disembarkation morning as usually several elevators go by before one arrives with enough space to accommodate three people with carry-on bags. Our good luck continued at the gangway. Not a single person in line!!! Not sure where the crowds were, but we weren’t about to complain as we swiped our ship’s cards to let the crew know we had disembarked.

    Allure of the Seas is a long ship, so she was assigned to a berth with two terminals — B and C. The aft gangway directed us to Terminal C, where we whizzed through immigration, collected our checked bags, and walked outside to the transportation area. Our only dilemma? Where was the taxi we pre-ordered waiting for us? The driver had no way of knowing that we were at Terminal C. A quick phone call to the booking company — using the WePhone app — alerted the driver. Problem solved. I’ve said it before ... I’ll repeat it again ... we love our T-Mobile plan, which includes unlimited overseas data at no extra cost.

    By 9:30a we were at the airport. Inside the terminal the crowds had queued up at various airline counters ... only a small number of people wearing masks. At the THY counter, Mui asked the business class agent if she could check us in so mom would not have to stand for long. She graciously agreed. In fact, once the agent matched mom’s face to her passport, she directed the two of us to a seating area at the far end of the counter, leaving Mui to complete the check-in formalities.

    Once we cleared the security checkpoint and immigration for the departure passport control, we made our way to the gate. By this time we arrived, we had barely ½ hour to board ... a process that went smoothly once it was underway. By 11:15a Mui and I were in our exit row seats in row 21 ... mom in her aisle seat in row 24.

    The aircraft pushed back 30 minutes later and was 🛫 by our scheduled departure time of 11:15a. We set our watches two hours ahead and settled back for the 3½-hour flight to İstanbul. The meal service has been completed ... choice of chicken or pasta ... chicken was the better option and all’s quiet on the plane ... no evidence of any coughs or other respiratory issues ... which is a good thing. All in all an uneventful flight ... the best kind.

    Time to put the iPad away in preparation for landing. More later.    Read more

  • International Jaunts 2020
    Day 16

    At IST

    March 13, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    Landed at IST. Walked the long length of the arrivals terminal, went through the domestic transfer passport control, and got a bite to eat. While not deserted, the airport here in İstanbul is far less crowded than we’ve ever seen it.

    Next flight at 8:00p ...    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice