All's well in Endwell...............

The fall leaves were falling fast, but occasionally we'd find a colorful tree!

 Returning to Florida after the cruises was somewhat bittersweet.  It was great seeing everyone, especially NaNa who continues to amaze us with her wonderful attitude and sense of humor.  It also gave us a firsthand look at the damage left behind from Hurricane's Helene and Milton.  It had been several weeks since the storms had hit, and an extensive cleanup was underway.  While there was quite a bit of loss of "stuff", all family and friends are safe and that's what matters!  It's a long slow process, but the cleanup and restoration efforts are continuing and will be for quite some time.

Ben was wrapping up the camping season up in New York.  Shortly after the season closed at the end of October, he was scheduled to attend the annual corporate meeting which was being held in Knoxville.  He was needing someone to help by taking care of his sweet dog Allie.  Beth and I were happy to help out.

She's a sweet dog, but she does shed a lot.  Using the vacuum cleaner was a new trick.......it worked a little and she loved it!   

We had the opportunity to spend a bit of time with Ben before he headed to Knoxville, enjoy Allie and catch the last bit of fall in the Southern Tier region of New York.  We didn't do anything significant in the two weeks we were in Endwell.  There was a trip to the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, a couple of local community theater plays that we enjoyed and almost daily walks in some of the local   parks, where the last of the colorful leaves were falling as the temperatures were also dropping.

Corning Museum of Glass

If you're in the Corning area, check out the Corning Museum of Glass.........

The museum features great displays and demonstrations. 

Celebrating Beth's Birthday at the Cider Mill.  It was Ben's treat to Beth and he was kind enough to let me tag along!

Chenango Valley State Park

The leaves in the state park had mostly fallen, but it was a great walk.

Allie enjoyed a couple of walks in Binghamton's Otsiningo City Park.

Post walk relaxing while Beth and I played a game of Scrabble (I lost......again)

Ben and I took in a little high school football playoff action New York style.  It was a very entertaining game that the local team won in the last minute.

We were thrilled to learn from Ben that his park (Binghamton Jellystone) had won the top award for activities based on guest satisfaction surveys.  This was quite a great honor to be named the #1 park out of 77 parks across the US and Canada.

Being recognized at the annual symposium!

Well deserved!

Ben is able to work remotely for a period of time once the park closes.  He was very fortunate that he was able to find someone to take care of Allie until the end of the year.  He flew back with us to Florida where we enjoyed Thanksgiving before heading out on the Great American Road Adventure............stay tuned!

   

Regal Princess-21 Days Southampton UK to Galveston, Tx.

 

We didn't anticipate being back in Cobh, Ireland but things don't always go as planned! 

We were in no rush to disembark the Norwegian Prima since our only objective for the day was to get from one ship to the other.  We reached the pier where the Regal Princess was docked a little before the embarkation process began.  In less than an hour we were on board. 

The Regal Princess has been in service since 2014.  It can accommodate up to 3,560 passengers and a crew of 1,346, making it roughly the same size as the Norwegian Prima.  Its design is more "traditional" than the Norwegian Prima which was built in 2022.  It was comfortable, and as we made our way farther south towards the Caribbean, we were able to enjoy more outdoor time on the open decks.

Regal Princess

Around 5:00 PM the mooring ropes were cast off, the ships horns blasted out the theme from the Love Boat (a tradition on Princess ships) and we were on our way.

Unlike the 10-day voyage on the Norwegian Prima, which had lots of ports and a few sea days, this journey had lots of sea days (13), with a few ports mixed in.  Not a problem because we enjoy the sea days.  There's plenty to do on board if you want to participate and certainly plenty of time to relax.  Beth read around 10 books while we were making our way across the Atlantic.  As for me, I finished one book (read a couple of pages, rest my eyes for a while, etc.).

Our scheduled itinerary

Le Havre, France-Le Harve is located in the Normandy region of France.  It provides easy access to the historic sites from World War II such as Omaha Beach and the American Cemetary.  We have had the privilege of visiting these sites before, including visiting the grave of my uncle who is buried in the American Cemetery.  It was an unforgettable experience. If you have a chance to visit this region of France, I would highly recommend it.  

A little less easy, but another popular excursion from Le Havre is Paris, which is about three hours away.  If you try to do Paris from a cruise docked at Le Havre, you'll spend more time on the bus than you will enjoying Paris.  It's possible to do it, but just be aware.  

Le Havre is a nice place to spend a day roaming around.  Due to extensive bombing the town suffered during World War II it is a bit more modern than many European cities, but enjoyable.  Since we had spent a day in Le Havre recently, we took the train to Rouen (about 50 minutes away).  

Rouen has a long and rich history.  The city of close to 750,000 is filled with cathedrals, museums, and historical sites, most of which are just a short walk away from the train station.  Among the most popular sites are the Rouen Cathedral, which was depicted in numerous Monet paintings, as well as sites related to the captivity, trial and execution of Joan of Arc in 1431.  Our day in Rouen was on a Monday and several of the museums were closed, however we had a great time roaming around, content that we didn't have to fill our brains with too many facts!

It's now known as the Tower of Joan of Arc.  It is the only remaining part of a mid-evil castle built in the 13th century.  It is believed that Joan of Arc was held captive and interrogated in the castle.

A few of the many "split wood" buildings in the historic district.

Rouen's Notre Dame Cathedral

Rouen Cathedral

Rouen Astronomical Clock

Cohb, Ireland-Florida wasn't the only place dealing with hurricanes in October.  Our next two ports of call were scheduled to be Bilbao and Vigo, Spain.  However, due to an approaching hurricane in those areas the itinerary was changed.  We skipped the two Spanish ports and diverted to Cohb, Ireland.  Based on what we learned about the weather on the Spanish coast, this was a good call.

Cohb is a really nice port city that was the last port visited by the Titanic before it started its ill-fated voyage across the Atlantic.  Since we had visited Cohb recently, we opted to share a cab with another couple and visit the colorful small town of Kinsale.  For us it was a good call.  We enjoyed learning about the history of the area from our driver and returned to Cohb in time to enjoy a bit of roaming around before sailing onward.

On May 7, 1915 about 11 miles off the coast of Kinsale the passenger ship Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat.  All 1,1915 passengers (including 123 Americans) were killed.  Although the US didn't enter the war until a couple of years later, it is widely considered one of the main reasons that we became involved.  

Downtown Kinsale was filled with multiple brightly colored buildings.

The Kinsale Harbor from James Fort.

Downtown Cohb.  We were glad we got back in time to enjoy walking around the small town for a while.

Cohb continues to honor the memory of the Titanic with a small museum and several historical markers around the port.

Another view of Cohb, this one from the ship as we were heading out.  One of the interesting things about the change in the itinerary was the supply chain issues it caused.  The Regal Princess was scheduled to pick up a large quantity of food in Spain. It had to be reordered and delivered to Cohb on short notice.  We were told that over 100 tons of food was ordered, delivered and loaded to make sure we didn't miss a meal.  

Sailing away from Cohb.

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal-Funchal is a city located on the island of Madeira, which is an autonomous region of Portugal.  It's a popular destination for Europeans as well as cruise passengers.  We've visited there several times over the years and always enjoy it tremendously.  This time, while we didn't do anything new, we enjoyed our day tremendously.  

The cruise ships dock within easy walking distance to the city center.  There are numerous parks along the waterfront as well as throughout the city.  We always manage to find a few nice benches to sit and take in the scenery.  We enjoy walking through the old city with its numerous painted doors and relaxing with a beverage and snack at the Barreirinha Bar Cafe (outdoor tables overlooking the city and coastline).

So many great benches along the waterfront parks and throughout the city!

A few of Madeira's famous painted doors..............

City Center Park

Santa Catarina Park

another view of Santa Catarina Park

Barreirinha Bar Cafe, our favorite watering hole in Funchal.

As we pulled away from Funchal, we waved goodbye to land.  The next six days would be "sea days" as we made our way southwest across the Atlantic to the Caribbean.  Below are a few of our favorite shots from the crossing:

On the Sea Days there were plenty of activities.  This one gave you 15 minutes to "create your own masterpiece".  

Beth is so talented it took her only about five minutes to complete hers.  Not wanting to set the art world back, I chose to be a spectator, not a participant.

Antigua, Antigua & Barbuda-We were fortunate to have smooth seas on our six consecutive sea days.  In addition to smooth seas, we had temperatures that were rising daily as we entered the warm Caribbean waters.  Antigua is an island in the lesser Antilles.  It is one of two islands that make up the country of Antigua and Barbuda.  Approximately 100,000 people call the islands home.  Around 25% of the population live in the city of St. John's, which is where the Regal Princess docked.

It was our first visit to Antigua, so we decided to do an island tour which we booked once we were off the ship.  It was a nice way to see the island and learn a little bit about its history, which included being named by Christopher Columbus in 1493.  We learned that thanks to favorable conditions, the islands are able to provide a majority of their own food, which helps keep food prices and dependency on other countries down.  In recent years tourism has taken off with visitors from the US and Europe coming to the islands to enjoy the white sand beaches and warm waters.

A pirate and a pirate wannabe hanging out in Antigua

Nelson Dockyard on Antigua is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Great beaches and warm waters are driving Antigua's growing tourism 

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands-The islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John are the three main islands that make up the US Virgin Islands.  The islands are considered "unincorporated territories" of the United States.  This means that the islands can elect a delegate who can participate in debates in the United States House of Representative, however they cannot vote.  I didn't take time to delve into all the implications of this, however, it was pretty apparent that the economy is vibrant and they're doing well without much assistance from Washington..............imagine that!

There was a great waterfront promenade from the pier to downtown.  We enjoyed the walk so much we didn't stop to take too many pictures!

Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands-Georgetown is the capital and largest city in the Cayman Islands.  The Cayman's are known for two things, tourism and banking.  The popularity of tourism is obvious.  There are beautiful beaches, great resorts, a large port for cruise ships, championship golf courses, fishing, diving and much more.  Banking and finance are a little less obvious, but thanks to favorable regulations, offshore banking in the Cayman's is so popular that there are over 600 banks and financial institutions that account for over 35% of employment!

We didn't need to do any banking, so we opted for beaching it for our day in Georgetown.  Getting to the beach was easy and inexpensive.  We bypassed the tours and taxi's and used the public bus system.  The buses are actually clearly marked vans that are color coded for various routes.  While there are a few bus stops, you can simply flag one down along the route and let the driver know where you want to go.  We went to a public beach on Seven Mile Beach.  We paid $2.50 per person each way and they accept US dollars.  The water at the beach was warm and refreshing. Since we knew we were going to the beach we left our phones on the ship.  Hence, no pictures from Georgetown.  It was a great way to spend our last port day on this 21-day adventure that took us from the UK to Texas.  

We enjoyed smooth seas and had a great time all along the journey.  There was a little excitement as we left Georgetown and headed for Galveston.  The ship lost power a couple of times.  It was never for long and there was no panic since the generator lights kicked in quickly.  We're not sure what the issue was, but we do know that the next three scheduled Regal Princess cruises were cancelled while repairs were made!

Travel is always an adventure!

Norwegian Prima-10 Day Iceland to London (Southampton)

Fall comes early in Iceland!

 We flew from Sarasota to Reykjavik by way of Chicago, and arrived around 8:00 AM on Wednesday, September 25.  We had a full day to enjoy in and around Reykjavik before getting on the Prima the next day.  We have enjoyed Reykjavik on several occasions, the most recent one being just a few months earlier.  This time our plans were to explore the Golden Circle, which is approximately 190 miles in length and takes in many of Southern Iceland's most scenic sites.

The Golden Circle

We rented a car through Blue Car Rental, which is a popular Icelandic car rental company.  The rental process, pick up and the car were fine. It's a company I would definitely consider using again if I ever find myself in Reykjavik and needing a rental car.  Driving around Iceland and even in the city is quite easy.  There isn't a lot of traffic, and the drivers are laid back and courteous.

Blue Car Rental

Below are a few pictures from our day on the Golden Circle:

Our first stop on the Golden Circle was actually at a convenience store/gas station where we took about a 30-minute nap in the car (sleeping on a plane is something neither of us do very well).  After the nap, a breakfast treat, and coffee it was on to Thingviller National Park, which is about 25 miles from the capital city of Reykjavik.  It's filled with great hiking trails along the fault line between the North American and Eurasian Tectonic Plates.

Chapel in Thingvellir National Park is known accurately and appropriately as........."The Chapel in Thingvellir National Park"

Haukadalur Geothermal Field

Gullfoss Falls

We finished the day with a great soak in the Secret Lagoon, which as you can tell wasn't really a secret!

We intentionally booked our hotel for the night outside the city in hopes of having a better chance of seeing the Northen Lights.  When it comes to seeing the Northern Lights, we have mostly swung and missed on numerous previous occasions around the globe.  Sure, we have had a couple of glimpses, but nothing substantial.  This time the God's of the Northern Lights smiled on us, and we were treated to a really nice show.  To make it even better, they didn't wait until the middle of the night to put on the show.  Shortly after sunset we walked out back, and the sky magically lit up.  We shivered and enjoyed them for around an hour before heading back inside to warm up while visions of green, blue and purple images danced in our tired little brains.

We picked the rental car up at the airport and were able to return it to the downtown rental office.  From the rental car office, it was a short (10-15 minute) walk to the beautiful new Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center.  There is a complimentary bus that runs from the concert hall to the cruise terminal on days that cruise ships are in port.  It's a nice easy walk of around an hour between the concert hall and the cruise terminal, which we have enjoyed before.  That time we were in port for a day and not embarking and we didn't have our luggage with us.  Even though we're light packers (one carry-on and one backpack each), and the thought of dragging the luggage for an hour just wasn't very appealing.

Norwegian Prima

The Prima is one of Norwegian Cruise Lines newest ships.  It can accommodate around 3,500 passengers and a crew of around 1,600. It's a bit larger than the ships that we typically prefer, but with a good itinerary and a decent price we figured what the heck, let's give it a try.  The ship itself was absolutely beautiful, and the stateroom was huge and well designed.  There were a few quirks that have been well documented in reviews of the ship, but being kind of quirky ourselves, we enjoyed it and would sail on the Prima (or one of its sister ships) again if the price and itinerary were right. 

This cruise had two ports of call in Iceland (Isafjordur and Akureyri).  There were then three stops in Norway (Alesund, Geiranger and Bergen) followed by a visit to Amsterdam and Brugge before ending in Southampton, UK).  

Ten Days......Seven ports with a couple of much needed "sea days" mixed in.

A little hot tubbing while waiting for the Prima to set sail.  We were the last ship of the season to depart from Reykjavik, and several other ports along the journey.  We were trend setters, and the hot tubs were quite busy the rest of the cruise.

 

Isafjordur, Iceland-is a remote town of around 2,600 in Northwest Iceland.  Until recently the main driver of the economy of Isafjordur was built around fishing, however in recent years tourism has increased significantly.  Most tourist arrive by cruise ship, sailing in and out through a very scenic fjord. 

Celebrating Isafjordur's fishing heritage

A well placed bench along the shore walk.

When we were in Isafjordur last year, the dock was under construction.  It's now completed which will allow for continued growth of tourism.

Akureyri, Iceland-Nicknamed the "Capital of Northern Iceland, Akureyri is the home to around 20,000 Icelanders, and is the largest town outside the capital region of Reykjavik.  It is uniquely located in such a manner that the port remains ice free year-round, which isn't an easy task in such a cold climate.  We really enjoyed visiting Akureyri previously and were looking forward to an encore.  Thanks to a tip from our friend Mary Kay we were looking forward to spending part of the day like a local.  Mary Kay and her daughter Amanda had been to Akureyri recently and enjoyed visiting the local swimming pool.  Blessed with an infinite amount of geothermally heated water, soaking and swimming is a way of life for Icelanders.  After walking through the downtown area, we enjoyed visiting the botanical garden, which was filled with a combination of late season colorful flowers and fall leaves.  Then we headed for the city pool complex.  It was busy with locals (and a few of us tourists) enjoying the variety of pools with temperatures ranging from hot to downright freezing.  Thanks Mary Kay and Amanda, your tip made for a wonderful day in Akureyri!

Akureyri Swimming Pool

There's no shortage of geothermal water around Iceland.  This waterfall was one of many we passed on our sail in and out. 

Akureyri's downtown from the ship.  The botanical garden is on the left side of the picture, the pool complex is several blocks behind the church in the middle.

There is plenty to love about Akureyri!

Outside the swimming pool complex.

Sailing away from Akureyri after a wonderful visit!  On to Norway......

Alesund, Norway-With Iceland in the rearview mirror, it was on to Norway.  Our first port of call was the city of Alesund (pop. 67,000).  It was our first visit to Alesund and one that we really enjoyed.  The city, which is the administrative district has a nice, easy to navigate downtown that is conveniently located near the port.  

From the ship

Alesund has it's own mountain, Mount Aksla.  It's 418 steps up to the overlook.......the climb is well worth it!

Mount Aksla

All smiles.....we were on our way down!

We made some new friends in Alesund!

Alesund's downtown has numerous scenic canals

Leaving Alesund 

 Geiranger, Norway-Lonely Planet recently named Geiranger as the best travel destination in Scandanavia.  To reach the small village by ship means sailing through the Geiranger Fjord, which is quite spectacular in and of itself.  Once we docked it was easy to see why it had earned such lofty recognition, not only by Lonely Planet, but also by UNESCO, which named it a world heritage site in 2005.  

Geiranger Fjord just after sunrise

Base of the waterfall feeding cold mountain water into the fjord.

There are steps along the side of the waterfall that lead to the cultural center. It can be seen at the top of the picture.

From the cultural center the trail continues up to a viewpoint that overlooks the village and fjord.

View from the top!  We appreciated the tip about the viewpoint from Beth's cousin Richard and his wife MeiLing who had visited Geiranger just a few weeks earlier.

Just like in Alesund, we made a new friend in Geiranger!

It was dark for most of the sail in to Geiranger.  We had a great veiw of the numerous waterfalls as we made our way out at the end of the day.

Bergen, Norway-With a population of close to 300,000, Bergen is Norway's second largest city (Oslo is the largest).  It is surrounded by seven towering mountains and Norway's longest and deepest fjord.  Bergen is often referred to as the Capital of Fjord Norway.  Although fairly large in size it was an easy city to navigate by foot. We enjoyed our day roaming around the colorful Old Wharf area before taking the funicular to the top of Mount Floyen.  From there we had great views of the city and the surrounding mountains.  We also got a kick out of sharing the views with some furry residents of the mountain before making our way back to the ship.

Colorful Downtown Bergen

Near the city center is a nice small lake with a walking trail around it.  The lake's name is Lille Lungegardsvannet...........not sure of the pronunciation!  

The Old Wharf Area.  Many of the colorful houses have settled over the years and lean on each other.

I guess that troll on the roof used the ladder to get there!

From the top of Mount Floyen...................

There are quite a few furry residents at the top of Mount Floyen...........A GOAT and an old goat in the same picture.  You can decide which is which!

There's a short Troll Trail at the top of Mount Floyen.  Some of them were pretty well hidden, but this guy was easy to spot.

Reindeer Sausage.........don't tell Santa!

 Amsterdam, Netherlands-We had spent a few days in Amsterdam back in May that we really enjoyed.  For that adventure we arrived by train and stayed at a hotel near the city center.  We enjoyed roaming along the canals and through the historic museum area at that time.  After hearing a presentation from one of the Norwegian Prima's officers, who was a native of Amsterdam, we decided to venture out of town for our day in port.  

Just a short 30-minute train ride from Amsterdam is the village of Zaanse Schans.  The village is historic and has many residents living and working there.  Many of them reside above their shops.  Once upon a time there were over 600 windmills in the area.  While most of them are gone, there are still several working windmills that are open for visiting (there is an entrance fee to go inside and up in the windmill).  We enjoyed several hours roaming around Zaanse Schans before heading back to the city center by train. Trains run to and from Zaanse Schans approximately every 30 minutes and a round-trip ticket was around $10.

Zaanse Schans   

Below are a few pictures from our walk around the village.

Brugge, Belgium-The port for Brugge is actually located in Zeebrugge.  The historic city center of Brugge is about a 30-minute bus ride away.  There were two different shuttle companies that offered round trip transportation for a small fee (around $25).  It seemed like the easiest and most reliable way, so that's what we chose.  

We had been to Brugge many years ago when the kids were young. It was impressive back then and remains impressive now. Although from what we remember it has lost quite a bit of its "quaintness".  We remembered roaming quiet streets while eating wonderful waffles and magnificent French fries.  While the streets were much busier, the waffles and fries remain amazing!

Waffle quest!

Pure joy!

There are multiple places to catch a canal boat tour.  No matter where the boat leaves from the tour is the same.  Look for one of the boarding locations outside the city center, the lines will be shorter.  We started our tour near the fish market.  

The city square was very busy with tourists, as well as runners who would be participating in the Brugge Marathon the next day.

Casa Patata.........great fries!

It might be a while before we're back in Brugge.  We figured a second waffle may hold us over for a few years!

Southampton, UK-Southampton was the disembarkation point for our 10 day adventure on the Norwegian Prima.  It was a really nice itinerary and we enjoyed the Norwegian Prima in spite of a couple of quirks in its design.  Southampton was not just our "hop off" point.  It was also our "hop on" point for our next adventure.  We walked a couple of miles from where the Prima was docked, and boarded the Regal Princess for our 21-day transatlantic cruise that would bring us back to the US.......with a few stops along the way.  But that's a story for another blog!