Amsterdam: Waterways & Bicycles

Amsterdam waterways

When on the Avalon Waterways cruise on the Rhine, the trip included a canal cruise in Amsterdam. This will be a photo post of what we saw.

Notice all the bicycles in the bike parking garage

Amsterdam probably has more bicycles per capita than any other city. They are everywhere!

Brussels: Better than Brussel Sprouts

Close-up on wall of Grand Place in Brussels

Before my cruise from Barcelona to Dover, I angsted over whether I preferred to go to Bruges, Ghent or Brussels on the day we docked in Zeebrugge, Belgium. Each place had its own charm. Bruges has the waterways and cute shops and is so convincingly medieval, even though it is said most of it was bombed during the war and rebuilt. I was told that Ghent is a bit more authentic and a real town, not a tourist trap. And finally Brussels .... a few people tried to discourage me from going to Brussels. But I think Brussels must be a lot like Brussel sprouts, either you love them or you hate them. I happen to love them, so maybe that is why I loved Brussels so much. (Just kidding.) 

Grand Place

In my mind, what's not to love? Okay, so it is a bit dirty but what super congested city is not. There is a ton of construction going on now and supposedly many pickpockets. I didn't see any or hear any horror stories from our bus tour group. But the buildings are awe-inspiring and being the seat of the European Union, it is just so darn interesting. Every other block has some embassy or other, and there must be over a hundred museums. 

Mannequin Pis, Brussels

We did a walking tour and honestly, we didn't walk far. It just took forever because of the crowds. It was a Saturday so we did not have the added traffic from the business people. There were a lot of tourists from the UK though, so since I was only there the one day, I am not sure if the tourist sites are more or less crowded during the week. When you come upon Mannequin Pis and see this little boy statue who is famous for peeing and has over 300 costumes in a museum, or round the corner and see for the first time the Grand Place, the central square of Brussels, with all its medieval buildings still in operation, you understand why it is so crowded. It is just that great ... one of the most beautiful sites on earth, truly. To make it even more special, there was a wedding going on, and the limousine waiting for the lucky couple was an old convertible Jaguar. Ou la la.

I loved Brussels. I loved the chocolates, the fun-loving people, the restaurant where we ate ... I mean, when is a mass-produced meal for cruise ship tours good? Normally if the meal is edible, I am happy. We had chicken, but it was delightful. I loved the old streets and the city museum I visited. The only thing I didn't like is we had to leave. I wanted to stay longer.

Little boy scooting along with his brother and dad

First mall in the world with lots of chocolate shops

On the tour bus back, I chatted with a lovely couple who sat behind me. I explained to them that I was torn on which tour to take, but I was happy with my choice. They said that they had encountered the same dilemma the year before and and chosen Bruges. Therefore, they opted for Brussels this time around. She turned to me with a big smile and said, "I never expected to come back so soon, but here we are just one year later." She gave me hope that I would go back, but truth be told, I would probably opt to go to Brussels again. I just loved it that much.

Lovely couple from the tour

Faces in the Stone: Santiago de Compostela

Stone face in Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Continuing in a gargoyle frame of mind - on my cruise from Barcelona to Dover, I scouted out architecture with faces in stone in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. 
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela was started in 1077 and has been added on since then up until the 18th century. It is a treasure trove of medieval artifacts and architecture, including gargoyles. But there are also a ton of stone faces that are absolutely fascinating. I took a bit of time to locate as many of the different faces as I could. Many are from medieval times. 

More stone faces in Santiago de Compostela, Spain Cathedral grounds

St. James the Elder, Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

Virgin Mary on one side of statue

Virgin Mary on Cathedral wall, Santiago de Compostela

Controversial information can be found on Santiago de Compostela here


Santiago de Compostela is located in a beautiful, green part of Spain so unlike Madrid or Sevilla. The people of this area, Galicia, are said to have Celtic roots like the Irish. I can not wait for my return to this wonderful area of Spain. We reached it on the cruise from Barcelona to Dover at the port of Vigo. It is the third most important pilgrimage site in the world. I strongly recommend a trip there. It does not disappoint.

Gargoyle Christmas

Nothing like finding gargoyle Christmas ornaments to buy online. What don't they sell on the internet?

http://www.cafepress.com/+gargoyles+ornaments
Just click the link above and you can order these awesome ornaments. Feliz Navidad y Prospero 2016!

Graffiti Christmas

Southampton, UK graffiti posted by Richard Edwards

Since I had a post about gargoyles at Christmas, I thought it only balanced that I post about Graffiti at Christmas. Typing "Graffiti Christmas" in Google, I came across a great blog called The Cabbages of Doom and a great post on Christmas graffiti. When you look closely at this, it is pretty funny. A would be robber snowman is holding up another snowman with what looks like a gun, but is actually a hair dryer. LOL I guess to a snowman, there would be nothing worse than being melted by a hair dryer.

Homer and Son by Graffiti Life

Here is more great graffiti by Graffiti Life. Homer Santa is choking Bart for painting graffiti at Christmas, I think. The wall had become famous as the Bart Simpson wall, so they updated it for Christmas. More on this graffiti artist can be found here. It says "Don't get caught painting Christmas graffiti!"

Graffiti Christmas Card

Last but not least, here is a Graffiti Christmas card from Reduce the Panic's website. It is from the post "Not your Average Christmas Card: Santa Claus Graffiti." More info on this website can be found here.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Celtic Explorer Part 1

Plymouth Barbican courtesy of WikiVoyage

Once again, I am looking at cruises for 2016 before even going on my cruise for this year. I started by checking out the new itineraries on the Holland America Koningsdam, which will be new in 2016. It is the largest vessel HAL will build at 2,650 passengers. It has some wonderful itineraries including a Greek and Turkey itinerary. There is also a cruise that departs from and returns to Amsterdam, actually Ijmuiden - that does Iceland, Norway, Scotland and England. It is a great itinerary, but I keep getting drawn back to a cruise on the Prinsendam. The Prinsendam is Holland's smallest vessel and also its oldest. It was built in 1988, formerly known as the Seabourn Sun and the Viking Sun. More info on this Elegant Explorer can be found here on Wikipedia.

Plymouth Sound courtesy of WikiVoyage

The itinerary I am interested in is called the Celtic Explorer and goes to Antwerp, Guernsey, Isle of Scilly in the UK, and Dublin, Belfast, Donegal, Galway and Cobh (Cork) at Ireland. I have been searching for a land tour in Ireland and I just don't like bus tours. I don't mind day trips on the bus from the cruise ship, but bus tours spend too much time on highways on the bus ... and I end up packing and unpacking more times than I can count. 

To stay in nice places, the prices become cost-prohibitive. Mind you, the price for this cruise for a single in a single cabin is almost $5,000 dollars. But the beauty is the room is nice with an ocean view, the food is good and I unpack once and the ship takes me where I want to go.

Mayflower Steps at Plymouth courtesy of WikiVoyage

 This cruise is all about history, from the Mayflower steps at Plymouth to the last place the Titanic sailed before its fateful end. But the best part is it takes me to my family roots. Being a bit of a genealogy buff, I get to go to most of the places my family was from ... Dublin (my father's grandfather on his mother's side) and Donegal, Galway and Cork - from my father's father's side. 

Cobh Port entrance to County Cork

There is even a place to see a room on the Titanic at the Titanic Experience at Cobh.

Titanic Experience at Cobh Ireland

Thinking of Paris

me and Moises at Versailles 2002

My heart goes out to all the people around the world who lost somebody in the terrible tragedies in Paris this week. No words can begin to describe what we are all feeling - anger, shock, disbelief. I remember our one and only trip to Paris in 2002. We have not been back, as I was sure we could never recreate such a fairy tale trip. It was our most romantic vacation.

me at the Hotel California

Younger and much thinner then, Moises took a photo of me in the lobby of our hotel. Between all the amazing architecture and the Louvre, we were so impressed. And we loved the people of Paris. They were amazing. Now understand my husband speaks five languages, which goes a long way in Paris. We never once found anyone rude or abrupt. I have a harder time navigating the streets of New York. They aren't really rude, just always in a hurry. 

One of the architectural wonders of Paris

Stay safe, get well and hope to see you again one day. Take care, dear friends of France, and I really hope things get back to normal soon. The world has gone crazy. Let's hope we can right these troubled times.