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Semester at Sea
  • John O'Donnell

Semester at Sea

Spring 2022 Voyage Read more
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  • Trip start
    December 28, 2021
    John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell
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    5 days in Rome

    January 3, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    Ahhh Roma! Mostly warm, blue skies and less crowded than normal due to Covid and weather. Checked all the normal boxes with tours of Vatican, Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Borghese, Spanish Stairs,
    But also played Pickleball on the first and only dedicated court in Rome with club pro and his son and rode bikes on Appian Way. Argentina Style Hotel was perfect small Euro hotel in the center of it all. Met very few Americans however one evening in a crowded restaurant we were seated next to an acquaintance from Bozeman named Andrea Pope. What are the odds?? At least we can say we met a Pope in Rome!Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell
    Sailing between the toe of the boot and Sicily through the straighta of Messina.
    Leaving Naples. Mount Visuvius is behind us.RYCC Savoia

    The Voyage has Begun

    January 7, 2022 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 54 °F

    After Rome we spend a few days in Naples which is both gritty and beautiful. It was nice to be on the coast and see Capri and the other islands. The pizza was good but the espresso was incredible! We pre arranged a tour of the RYCC Savoia and had drinks with Commodore Lezzi. Super cool sailing history and awesome seafood.

    We boarded the MV World Odyssey and set sail yesterday January 6th. There have been lots of orientation classes and meet ups. We have a very nice suite on the 8th level starboard side midship. The ship is not as big as I assumed and is quite small relative to the Mega Cruise ships.

    Today we sailed past the active volcano Stromboli and are now passing through the Straight of Messina.

    We both had Global Studies class and a Seminar this morning. I then had Oceanography and Mary Jo is taking the Philosophy of Death and Dying.

    Being with 400 college students is interesting to say the least!    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    Greece

    January 12, 2022 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 45 °F

    Greece was a huge success for us especially since our expectations were not super high. Day one we rode the Metro train into the center of Athens and walked all over including the Parthenon. We watched the sunset from the Grand Hotel roof then took a cab to Piraeus for an unbelievable dinner that included Greek oysters (oyster matrix coming at end of trip).

    Day two we wanted out of the city and heard of a ski center 2.5 hours north of Piraeus so we rented a car and drove to Arachova (“Aspen of Greece”). We loved it but could not ski because there was too much new snow up on Mount Parnassos. We enjoyed the afternoon and evening and stayed in a small village hotel.

    Day Three we attempted to ski again as the center was open but they would not let us drive the last mile w/o chains so we had to abandon the ski plan. We were bummed but it turned out to be the best day of the voyage to date. We went to Delphi ruins and then had lunch in the sea side village of Itea. Our seafood lunch came off a fishing boat that docked in front of us when we arrived into hot olive oil and onto our plates! It and the Greek salads were delicious. We then decided to drive back to Piraeus along the south shore of the Gulf of Corinthia. May have been the best drive I can ever recall. Amazingly large mountain ranges covered in snow up high and palm trees along the Mediterranean shore below.

    Day Four we woke early to meet Flag Officer Stratis at the Yacht Club of Greece. The hospitality will never be forgotten. Mary Jo hit yarn shops that afternoon while I went out on the bay and helped the race committee.

    We loved Greece!    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    Cyprus

    January 24, 2022 in Cyprus ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    Cyprus is known as the island of copper (gone), timber (mostly gone) and Aphrodite (still here). It is much more Middle Eastern than we expected. Mostly Greek and Turk but also Lebanese, Israeli, Italian and much more recently Russian. The UN still controls a buffer zone between the south and the north. It is a melting pot of what should be hostile but seems to be working quite well.

    All of this played out yesterday when 25 Semester at Sea students including Mary Jo and I were thrown into the mix at Troodos Ski Resort. Many of our fellow voyagers and most of the locals had never seen snow or skied. With no ski patrol, parking attendants, lift line organizers or trail maps it was the perfect place to observe this mix of nationalities. Ground zero was at and on the 2 T bar lifts. Making it up the first 20 yards was a major accomplishment for many. There were Greek Cypriots crashing into Turk Cypriots who were crashing into Brits (they have 2 naval bases) who were crashing into Russians who were crashing into students from Hawaii, LA, Alabama, etc. It rekindled my love of T bar slalom and Jerry of the Day videos. Warren Miller would have had a field day. With our 1980’s rental gear and all 700 feet (maybe 30 turns top to bottom) of vertical we had an awesome day teaching, avoiding wipe outs and observing the international mash up.
    We are happy to report that despite all the craziness it appeared everyone else on the mountain did too. Kudos to our taxi driver Costas who picked us up with no idea what we were up to drove us an hour up, hung out for 5 hours, took us to lunch then drove us back to the ship!

    Prior to the ski day we toured wineries and spent time in the port city of Limassol. Today we visited with a founder of the local Nautical Club who loved hearing stories of Grand Lake.

    Not many Americans travel in Cyprus. They treated us well and taught us a lot!    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    Croatia

    February 4, 2022 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    It is odd to say but a winter voyage in the midst of a pandemic has its advantages. Few, if any, other travelers are over here and given the dramatic drop in numbers we are greeted with eager and open arms. The locals are excited to show off their culture and get back to business. Dubrovnik is amazing, awesome, clean and gorgeous. While we understand it can be overrun with tourist in the summer we strongly recommend it.

    On day one we got off the ship and headed to the airport in an effort to ski and tour Zagreb. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the Bora winds canceled our flight. The Bora is a NW wind that is steady and very strong (30 MPH). The sky is bright blue and there are no clouds. We experienced the Bora when we visited 15 years ago. Then, and now, you would assume the skies would be angry and black when in fact they are sunny and clear.

    We adjusted plans and headed into Old Town Dubrovnik and walked part of the famous wall and visited a museum. It is really really cool. We then hit the Orsan YC for lunch and quickly decided the food here is the best yet.

    On day two we hired a Tuk Tuk driver and spend 4 hours touring the region and saw and learned a lot about the war with Serbia in the 1990’s. Croatia is one of the few counties we have visited where a recent war has happened and the people we met experienced it first hand. It is powerful and sad. Bosnia is only a few miles to the east and Montenegro is only a few miles south. It felt slightly uneasy looking across a small valley into foreign countries that were recently at war. Despite the conflict we went to a Bosnian restaurant for lunch and had incredible food. Who would have thunk it?

    On day 3 we took a bus an hour north to visit an oyster farm, tour a salt pond and hike the walls of Ston. After the tour we had dinner with a few fellow voyagers at a pub across the street from the pier where the ship was docked. Little did we know it was a big night for singing and celebrating St Blaise day. Imagine a pub in Ireland on St Patrick’s day with no tourist.

    Today we had coffee with the head of the local sailing club, walked the entire wall of the old city and had lunch at Sunset Beach before returning to the ship.

    We love this place and hope to return soon!    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    Malta

    February 12, 2022 in Malta ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Malta is magnificent. South of Sicily east of Tunisia and north of Libya; it sits squarely in the middle of the Mediterranean. The culture feels mostly Italian/Spanish but not entirely. There are strong British and North African influences as well. It is very clean and the people are extremely hospitable.

    The port of Valletta is a walled city that is both modern and ancient. On day one we explored the city including a tour of St John’s Cathedral which is as exuberant and ornate as anything we saw in Rome. Inside is the largest Caravaggio painting of all time. We are not really knowledgeable about art but even I can tell you that guy was a kook!

    Later in the day we met all 8 Pickleball players in Malta at the university for a fun match. They were excited to have Americans show up to play and share news of the “great new sport”. It is fun to be at the beginning stages of pickle in the Mediterranean.

    On day two we spent most of the afternoon and evening at the Royal Malta YC. We ate Red Snapper and Sea Bass prepared in a salt dome. See the photo. Hard to imagine using that much salt but super tasty. Incredible food, wine, views and a whole crew of new friends.

    Day three was also great as we traveled via ferry to the island of Gozo to see monolithic temples (oldest free standing structures in the world), sea caves and even more walled cities with lots of churches. We love Gozo and think it and the Bozo (aka Bozeman) should be sister communities.

    On the final day we explored Mdina and more of Valletta. We experienced St Paul’s feast and were extremely sad to leave the amazing island nation.    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    Spain

    February 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    The trip to Spain was interesting to say the least. Normally we have 4-5 days in each country but due to Covid Morocco did not allow us in so we picked up a few more days in Spain until we had an outbreak on the ship and had to delay our embarkation for a few days. While we were in Spain Russia invaded Ukraine and Europe became a very different place.

    Recap: 2 days in Barcelona including a tour of Sagrada Familia and other works of architect Antonin Gaudi. Stayed at a really fun hotel called 70. Also super fun lunch in the market. We then took a high speed train to Madrid.

    2 days in Madrid. Cocktails at Museo Chicote followed by tapas. Next day we toured the Prado museum and did a bus tour of the city. We enjoyed Madrid and Barca but we’re ready to slow it down so we jumped on a train and headed south to Córdoba. The high speed trains are awesome. The scenery on the train in the high plane of Spain with no rain was high octane!

    Córdoba was the right speed for us. We did a guided bike tour the went to Hammam Al Ándalus for a bath and massage. After a long late lunch we met a few locals for an awesome pickleball match and a few beers. The next day we toured the Mezquita and Alacazar. This is amazing mash up of Moroccan Moorish architecture and Roman Catholicism in the Andalusia region.

    After two nights we left for Granada excited to see the Alhambra which was amazing as well. Given some rain we decided to go further south and ended up in Malaga on the coast. We had a great time but also had our first encounters with peaceful protests condemning Russia’s invasion. Very powerful as many there were weeping real tears and others were gearing up to go fight. We enjoyed Malaga, especially the Picasso (his home town) Museum, and will always remember being there when Putin launched the war.

    On our final day we rode a bus to La Linena then walked across the boarder into Gibraltar.

    Spain was great. We were pleasantly surprised how developed it was and how friendly everyone is. We hope our new pickleball friends will come visit us in Montana or Colorado!    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    Gibraltar

    February 28, 2022 in Gibraltar ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    Gibraltar aka Gib aka The Rock. We got off the bus in La Linea, Spain and walked to the border then on to the hotel. Gib is somewhat gritty but very interesting historically and geographically. We stayed at The Rock Hotel, went up to the top of the rock and then boarded the ship and sailed away.

    On our way through the straights we saw a North Africa, SW Spain and a few mega yachts that seemed a bit suspicious.

    We thoroughly enjoyed the Mediterranean and are now excited to explore the North Atlantic.    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    Portugal

    March 13, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Portugal was another amazing adventure. We had extra time to spend so we rented a car and traveled north along the coast. On a future trip we will travel south of Lisbon and visit the Algarve. We are also putting the Azores on our bucket list for a future trip.

    We spent the first day in Lisbon and hired a Tuk Tuk to tour us around the city and to learn its history and see all the host spots. This included having Pastel de Belen (custard and egg) pastries, bifanana (pork sandwiches) and amazing squid and oysters for dinner. Lisbon is an interesting city with super rich history in navigation and global trade. Lots of museums and monuments to explore that are more about their empire and sailing skills.

    On the second day we rented a 6 speed Renault and headed for the coast. We spent the first day and night in Cascais which is super nice. Thanks to our sister in law we stayed at the Albatroz Hotel. Unbelievable views! We visited the local sail club then drove north and hiked in a preserve above Cabo de Rock which is the western most part of Europe. We then drove north along the beautiful coast to Penichie to catch the tail end of a pro surfing competition. The next day we drove an hour north to Nazare to see the largest waves in the world. While we only saw the regular wave sets it was clear this place is ground zero for monster waves. If you have never heard of Nizare you should search for a video.

    After Nizare we continued north to Porto the second largest city in Portugal and home to Port wine. We did a half day port tour, visiting 3 “houses” to learn about production, history and tastings. Our favorite stop was a Churchill. Mary Jo likes the white port, I am torn between tawny and ruby. Porto is a cool town with amazing views, music and food.

    We drove back to Lisbon (3 hours) in the Renault singing Jerry Jeff, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffet and Van Morrison songs. Once back in Lisbon Mary Jo did a day hike and I did a river boat ride.

    The war is becoming more of an issue and we saw large Ukrainian flags and people disgusted with Putin. Our ship has 2 Ukrainian crew. One was able to get his wife and 2 kids out of Ukraine and on the ship. They are great little kids who speak no English and have no idea what is going on.

    It appears we are headed to France today although there is a big storm on the way up. We all know the war could cause major changes. We really hope things can settle down and this does not become a full NATO war.    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    France

    March 22, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    France is so very French. Having watched Inspector Clouseau and Pepe Le Pew growing up I was set linguistically. Thankfully Mary Jo recalled some of her HS French! All Covid restrictions were lifted and the war backdrop was always present. It also seemed to have very few foreign tourists. There was lots of rain on day one but the rest of the trip was bright and sunny.

    Our ship arrived in the port city of Brest in Brittany. We hopped in a rental car with our ship friends Kristen and Fernando from the Bay area and drove to Mount Saint Michel in Normandy. The film Harry Potter should have been filmed here! An island off the coast where some of the biggest tides in the world occur. Thankfully Henery our Art and Architecture professor was also with us to explain some of the work. That night we took a train deeper into Normandy to the quaint village of Bayeux. I bought wine, cheese and a baguette for the ride to truly experience France!

    The next day we awoke to a bright blue sky for our tour of WWII D Day beaches, memorials and the American Cemetery. It was beautiful, emotional, empty and very relevant given Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. We had a quite St Patricks dinner at our hotel as we reflected on the day.

    The next morning we rode the train to Paris. First we had lunch at the Yacht Club de France with included oysters and Chablis. We then checked in to our awesome AirBnB apartment across from the Hotels de Invalides in the 7th arrondissement. We walked to the Seine for a river tour which was a great way to kick off Paris. We went to a pizza joint down the street for dinner. Simple and easy and the pizza was better than any we had in Italy.

    The next day we did a 4 hour bike tour (highly recommend) then had lunch a faux ski lodge, walked up Champs-Elysees to the Arc d Triumph. That evening we went to a Jazz Club called Le Bal Blomet and saw a very Persian performance. It was a 2 hour book reading with piano and bass. No English. The story is called Novecento. Dying to read the book!

    On day 3 we took the Metro to Sacre Coure to see ground zero of the Sacred Heart order (Mary Jo and her mother attended Forrest Ridge Sacred Heart school growing up). After church we toured Montmartre and had lunch at Maison Rose then took the metro to Jardine Luxemburg to sit in the park and people watch. Mary Jo bought dinner at Bon Marche and we stayed in.

    The next morning we went to the Louvre to see Mona Lisa and other works. Afterward we rented scooters and explored the city. I got hit by a van but was not hurt. We had lunch at Cafe de Flore and went to the Shakespeare bookstore. That evening we went up the Eiffel Tower then had dinner at Le Vauban.

    On our final day we toured Museum d Orsay to see the impressionist art. After that Mary Jo went shopping and I rode a bike all over the city. Paris is super bike friendly so it was a great way to do a final tour. That night we had a cocktail at Rue Cler then went home for another home meal.

    We woke up on the 23rd and went to Charles de Gaulle airport to fly to Scotland. Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed France. We never encountered rudeness and felt very welcome. Perhaps it was post covid and pre tourist season and/or our newly reformed western alliance that influenced their super friendly hospitality? We will return!    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    Scotland

    March 25, 2022 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    Scotland check list:
    Eat haggis in an Edinburgh pub (check).
    See Van Morrison live in a really cool Scottish venue (check and he was really good).
    Meet an old college friend and her family and stay in their 1674 built home for a few days (check-Thank you Cam and John Laird!!).
    Lunch at R&A with club champion and host John (check)
    Golf the Old Course at St Andrews with Lew, Mark and John (check). Play really well and post a respectable score ( ). Post golf beers at Dunvegan’s (check). Drink really good whisky (check). Wake up feeling fresh as a daisy ( ).
    Bag a Pap (check). Learn all about fruit farming (check).

    Sunny, warm and no wind the entire time. John and Cam were the best hosts ever. Check out Cairnie Fruit Farm and visit if you are ever in the area!    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell
    1

    Denmark

    April 5, 2022 in Denmark ⋅ ☀️ 41 °F

    Fun time in Copenhagen. Great city for biking and walking. Canal tour was great. Very surprised how good the food scene is. Best oysters in Europe.

    Copenhagen has been the place to connect with new and old friends. It was super fun to connect with old Denver friend Charlie Fisher who has lived here for 30 years. He and his daughter took us to a great restaurant and bakery. Also fun to connect with old Seattle friend’s son (Bunker Risse) who is here for study abroad. Bunker is dialed in on the Euro program. Also fun to spend time with one of our favorite students on the ship named Bridget Donovan from Vail. Here mom flew over and we all went out and drank Aquavit!

    Made the big decision to jump ship in Cope and not go to Sweden and Germany. Next stop is Morocco which was on our original itinerary…    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    Morocco

    April 10, 2022 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Marrakech Morocco is 180 degrees opposite of Northern Europe. We were glad for a change and to experience the Muslim culture (4:30a prayer calls excluded), African food and landscapes and to meet local Berber people. One tip we really liked was staying in a Riad not a hotel. We would recommend Riad Dar Chibani to anyone.

    Day one was an eye opener in the Medina souks, markets and total chaos. You get trapped and before you know it you are holding snakes, buying slippers and trying to remember where you are. We toured the famous Jardines, palaces and squares. After 100 days of European order this was a deep dive into the deep end!

    Day 2 we hired a guide who took us hiking and exploring in the High Atlas Mountains. The ski station was closed so we could not take any runs this trip. Had lunch in a village home with a Berber family that spoke only the local dialect. It was a great day in the country and out of the chaos.

    Day three we hung out at the Riad. Day four we missed our flight and had to check in to a hotel. The hotels are full of French people on vacation. Felt like Americans in Mexico.

    Given we were here during Ramadan we ate Tajine for lunch and dinner every day.

    As we begin our journey home we will always be grateful for our experiences in Northern Africa.    Read more

  • John O'DonnellSemester at SeaJohn O'Donnell

    The Netherlands

    April 16, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F

    Amsterdam is a funky place. We flew in for what was going to be a 3 day layover before flying home. Thousands of electric boats, millions of bikes and billions of tulips.

    Day one we did an open boat canal tour. This is a very good way to the see the city and learn the history. Like all old European cities Amsterdam has lots of bizarre history. We had dinner at a cool seafood joint with good oysters.

    On day two we did a day tour to a tulip garden called Kookenhaus (just kidding but that is what I call it). It was fantastic. The pictures are worth a thousand words. We lucked out on the weather and the time of year. Flowers are seriously big business in The Netherlands. Dinner on the canal at Jardines Garden was great. Wish we would have rented a little eboat.

    Day three was a wake up call. Instead of going to the museums and long bike rides I tested positive for Covid and had to start doing isolation. It was an inconvenience but given hotel views, WiFi, cable TV (albeit most was Dutch), good books and great companion it was not a hardship.

    We finally got out and jumped on a plane home after 100+ days of travel. All good except there is now a blizzard in Montana. Maybe we will miss our flight in Atlanta?    Read more

    Trip end
    May 1, 2022
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