New York-Day Two

Posted on May 15, 2012 by travelbynatasha

Emma and her Pie Face purchase
©Jean Janssen

We could sleep in today, but I ended up waking up early.  We had come up with a plan to get show tickets for the day.  Maggie and Emma wanted to see Spiderman, but I had no interest.  I laughed when I saw the reference to a “record-breaking show.”  It was record breaking all right-for injuries, delays, and production expenses.

In line for half price tickets,
TKTS in Times Square
©Jean Janssen

If you really want to see a particular show, I do recommend buying the tickets before you come to town and as soon as you pick your travel dates.  Most Broadway tickets are sold through Ticketmaster or Telecharge.  Other services will charge heavy premiums, although they are sometimes your only option when buying tickets to the most popular shows or at a late date.  While in New York, you can also go directly to the Box Office for remaining spots or late-released tickets.  Another wonderful option is TKTS, the half-price ticket booth right in the middle of Times Square.  Although most tickets are 50% off, sometimes the discount is only 30 or 40%.

Urban Gardening
©Jean Janssen

The tickets for the evening performances go on sale at 3 pm.  For matinees, sales begin at 10 am.  They are sold only on the day of the performance.  If you want to go to four shows in one weekend, you need to go in with a strategy.  You may want to buy your tickets ahead for the Friday night performance, unless you get into the city by 3pm on that day.  Also buy your ticket for Saturday night at home.  On Saturday morning go by to get a matinee ticket and do the same on Sunday morning.  You will be in your matinee performance on Saturday when the evening show tickets are released at half price.  Since the Saturday night show is the most popular time slot, if you wait until the end of your matinee to go over and get evening tickets, your options will be very limited.  If you are not picky, just head over to the booth and see what you can get (have your mind made up by the time you reach the window though).  Some of the “risk” tickets I have bought in the past have been to terrific shows.

After the ticket purchases, it was time for breakfast.  As we walked toward central park, we saw some urban gardening and stopped into Pie Face where the mini and small individual pies have about everything you can think of in them.  I got bacon and eggs.  The pastry was flakey and the eggs were fluffy. Fortified by our breakfast, standing of course, it was time for some outlet shopping.

We walked back to the theater district via 9th Avenue.  There are lots of fun places to eat in this area of the city called Hell’s Kitchen.   When the weather is nice, the restaurants add outside tables on the sidewalk.  Since we needed a quick lunch, we stopped at the Galaxy Diner at the corner of 9th avenue and 46thstreet and snagged an outside table at the end near the neighborhood brownstones.  After lunch, it was straight to our respective theaters after for our matinee performance.

Lunch at Galaxy Diner in Hells Kitchen
©Jean Janssen

Maggie and Emma saw Spiderman.  There were mildly impressed.  They didn’t care for the music at all, although both generally like Bono.  In their phrasing, when the technical stuff was done well, it was done really well.  That said, the story line didn’t hold up and many of the songs were just plain silly.

In contrast, I scored with a ticket to see the Columnist with John Lithgow.   It was based on the true story of an old guard writer with ties to the Kennedy administration.  The story begins with Kennedy’s inauguration and progresses through the Vietnam War.  Joseph Alsop wrote a popular column and liked to throw dinner parties with “the right people”.  He was also gay and when in Moscow the Soviets set him up, taking pictures of his liaison that they use to blackmail him.  The play was very well done, building your interest throughout.

Hell’s Kitchen, the setting for West Side Story.
Emma did her best Jets immidation as we walked through the neighborhood. Maggie and I kept our distance and pretended not to know her.
©Jean Janssen

Since it was understudy weekend-unofficial of course-we had an understudy in the female lead.  However, it was the other female character that had me guessing.  She looked so familiar.  It took me the first act to figure out it was Meryl Streep’s daughter.  After the show, there was a question and answer session with four of the actors.  Now dressed as herself and not as the character, Grace Gummer looked even more like her famous mother-especially in profile.  The session was quite interesting with the actors talking about the challenges of bringing a real story to life and how that is different on the stage than in film.  The understudy also spoke of how her inclusion changes the performance and some of the rehearsal tidbits she saw.

My Magnolia Bakery caramel cheesecake.
©Jean Janssen

We met back at the hotel and set out again, this time for dessert at Magnolia Bakery.  You know it is good when there is a line to get in, another line to place your order, and a third line to pay for your purchases.  I got an individual caramel cheesecake and the other girls got vanilla cupcakes.  We walked down 5th Avenue, where chain retail has taken over and stopped in Little Miss Matched where they sell socks in sets of three mismatched socks.  That way it doesn’t matter if you loose one.

dressing rooms on the movie set
©Jean Janssen

We passed by Radio City Music Hall (ah, memories of the Tony Awards) and watched them dismantle the equipment from an afternoon movie shoot that had taken place along that street.  They were filming The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Ben Stiller.  We had a traditional dinner from the hotdog vendor.  (I know you thought I was kidding when I told you that this is the way my sister and niece eat while in New York.)  Since we were having our Magnolia Bakery treats for dessert and needed to sit down, we watched the rest of the equipment removal from the movie set.

checking out the flowers in Hell’s Kitchen
©Jean Janssen

Our second show for the day was Jesus Christ Superstar, a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber now in revival.  It wasn’t on Emma and Maggie’s radar originally, but I wanted to go because I had performed the songs from it in junior high.  (I particularly remember the colorful, yet horrible, jumpsuits we wore for the performances.)  As with any opera, there is no spoken dialog all the words are set to song.   In Superstar, the only exception was words spoken by Jesus on the cross, giving that significant moment an even more powerful impact.  The limited staging was most cleverly used.  Loved it and I remembered every word from my JH days.

It was only a two-hour show and we got out early by New York standards, so we did what Emma and Maggie love to do late nights in New York.  Wait for it…go to a movie.  No kidding.  We saw Dark Shadows with Johnny Depp.  So ended our second night in New York.

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The Big Apple on short notice

Posted on May 15, 2012 by travelbynatasha

I am in New York City for a quick trip with my sister and niece.  There are so many ways to experience this city, but we enjoy staying in the theater district and seeing as many Broadway shows as possible.  This was last-minute planning-a weekend away before my sister’s wedding next month-so we were not able to get tickets to all the shows we wanted to see.  We came with tickets to see Memphis on Friday night and Gore Vidal’s The Best Man matinée performance on Sunday.

Emma and Maggie at the Iconic Sign,
New York
©Jean Janssen

If you have someone to share cab fare into the city, a flight into La Guardia provides the quickest (and a relatively inexpensive) way to Manhattan.  Arrival into Newark means a longer car ride and a much higher cab fare.  However, Newark airport does offer train connections to Penn Station in New York for $12.50 one way (this includes monorail travel from the terminal to the airport train station).  Perhaps because the connections from Houston are more limited, I never fly in and out of JFK.  If you live on the East coast, train may be the quickest and most economical travel option.

My sister Emma and I flew into La Guardia together.  I am leaving by myself on Sunday, so I am going to try the train connections.  You can get the schedule on-line and there is even a video that walks you through the process of getting from Penn Station to the airport.  Train travel for dummies.  I found it very helpful. The station is about 12 blocks down 7th Avenue from our Times Square Hotel and the walk with crowds took about 17 minutes.  (We walked down there today to meet my niece Maggie who was coming in by train from Philadelphia where she is a student at Villanova.)  It may take a little longer on Sunday with a rolling bag.  I will give you the scoop after my experience.

Penn Station is next to Madison Square Garden and is in the Garment District, so we wandered around that area.  We stopped in a couple of specialty stores we have visited before-Emma is very crafty.  Even if you are not talented in that way (as I am not), the vintage ribbons, buttons, and handmade craft items were interesting to see.  Emma was looking for pieces to use at the wedding.

Outside the National Headquarters in NYC, Girl Scouts USA We did make one photo stop. Emma’s favorite shop (Tinsel Trading Company) is literally next door to the national headquarters for the Girl Scouts. I serve on the Board of Directors of our local Girl Scout Council that serves 70,000 girls and about 13,000 adult volunteers.

©Jean Janssen

When I come to NYC with Boris, he loves to eat at some of the great restaurants here.  I think Harry Cipriani’s is our favorite.  But with my sister and niece, it is all about the hot dog venders.  They simply don’t want to take the time to stop and eat.  There really aren’t any good places to eat right in Times Square, but walk one or two blocks over and you can wander down 8th or 9th Avenue and find lots of good small restaurants.  One of my favorites is a French Bistro called Brasserie Athenee. And you can’t go wrong with the Italian food in this area.  We had a nice salad and a little pasta for dinner at Daniela Trattoria, a small Italian eatery at 728 8th Avenue between 45th and 46th streets.  This must have been a special occasion, because we actually sat down to eat.  (We didn’t skip the hot dog vender.  That’s where we had a late lunch near Penn Station.)

My niece Maggie was excited to see this production of Memphis for several reasons.  When she graduated from High School we came to New York and her mom surprised her (and I surprised Rocky) with tickets to the Tony Awards.  That year Memphis won best musical.  The Tony Awards Show was a great experience that I can highly recommend.  Its black tie attire, even for non-celebrities like us.  Yes, we had to go in a separate entrance, but from the lobby balcony we watched Angela Lansbury, Scarlett Johansson, Catherine Zeta Jones, Lea Michele, Sean Hayes, Denzel Washington, Octavia Spencer and others enter.  It was great to see what happens in the audience when the live show goes to commercial break.  There were specific instructions on how to respond when we went live again.  The energy in the room was infectious.  (We had a “fabulous” dinner that evening too-hot dogs in the room before the show while we got dressed.  It was the only time we brought them in and sat down to eat.)

The regular folk use this side entrance to RCMH for the Tony Awards
©Jean Janssen

Kevin Massey signing autographs after the show.

Maggie was also excited because Adam Pascal was slated to play the male lead.  Pascal was the original Roger in Rent and my twenty-year-old niece has seen that stage production 15 times (seriously).  Her record is five times during one long weekend.  When we arrived at the Shubert Theatre we found out there were four understudies performing that evening, three in major roles including that male lead.  Maggie was extremely disappointed, so it was even more impressive when Kevin Massey did such a great job in the role of Huey.  We had fun and hung around the stage door after the show and got his autograph.  When he is famous at some future date, we can say “we knew him when” and sell that autograph on e-bay.

After the show…

I realize that the show has been around a while, but if you haven’t yet seen Memphis, I can highly recommend it.  It is an interesting study of race relations in 1950s Memphis, with the story backdrop of the birth of rock and roll.  The music and dancing draw you in.  It is also laugh out loud funny.

We weren’t really tired after the show, so we took some pictures on Times Square and wandered around the theater district, even ending up at one of the 16 McDonald’s that populate the area.  The caffeine in my Dr. Pepper kept me awake, so you are getting a blog post.  Good night from the Big Apple…

Times Square NYC

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Stuck in Paris

Posted on April 30, 2012 by travelbynatasha

Our final sail away aboard the Silver Spirit.
©Jean Janssen

The trip narrative might have ended here if not for all on drama at our departure.  We had made such a smooth crossing of the Atlantic that the rocky seas and the boat bottoming out on the waves that occurred our last night was a shock.  Some people had a very difficult time sleeping.  I felt a little uncomfortable, but was able to go right to sleep.  Due to the weather, the captain had to slow down and we were late arriving at the dock in Lisbon the next morning.

Perhaps the dark clouds at our departure from Portimao should have given us some hint as to the rough seas ahead.
©Jean Janssen

This put everything a little behind schedule, but we still arrived at the airport just over two hours before our flight.    We were back on track.  However, when we checked in we were told that the flight was delayed for 55 minutes, not great with only a two-hour layover in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.  We found out there was an air traffic controllers strike that morning in Lisbon.  We had fared better than those on the British Airways flight to Heathrow (London).  Their plane had started to Lisbon early in the morning, but had to return for maintenance.  It was grounded at Heathrow waiting for a part.  One of the couples who we met on the cruise were transferred to our flight.

Then more drama.  The delay on our flight’s departure continued and our “layover”  shrunk to 10 minutes by the time we boarded the plane.  Things looked good in flight and they announced our gate and that they were holding the plane.  We landed 40 minutes before our next flight.  I was ready to run, bad toe and all.  But a 15 minute taxi and then getting off the plane left us with 10 minutes and we were stopped by Air France and told that even if we could reach the gate, our luggage would not.  The flight was closed and we would have to be re-routed.

It was evening in Paris by then, so there were no more flights for the day.  I had been working hard for a year on an event to take place in Houston the next day and was devastated when I realized I would not make it.  If we had taken our original cruise I would have been home two days earlier.  We had scheduled the original trip with extra time in case there was a problem.  The fire on the first ship and the subsequent last-minute rescheduling had not afforded us that luxury.  When we got our new schedule, we called Rocky who agreed to be my proxy at the event and pick us up at the airport.  I know he will do me proud as my representative.

They scheduled us on a direct flight to Houston the next morning and gave us a hotel and meal voucher for dinner and breakfast.  We left the Air France service counter and went first through passport control and then through the maze of the airport to catch the hotel shuttle.  When we arrived at the hotel-which looked rather charming from the outside-we had been in France over two and a half hours.  We briefly considered going into town, but they had not released our luggage to us.  When the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down, the decision was made; we would stay at the hotel.

Now you could say that there are worse things than being stuck in Paris for the night, but it is almost worse to be a train ride out from the city and unable to go.  The hotel was about as far from the posh cruise ship suites as you could get.  A tiny room, a tiny bed, and the smallest bathroom I have ever seen.  I have been on 23 cruise ships and seen small bathrooms, but this took the prize.  The food was ok-of course the bread was excellent and it is France so wine is included with your meal.  We were fortunate to have our friends staying with us, so that made the experience more fun.

A small breakfast at the hotel, the shuttle back, and then a parting with our friends at security started our day.  Ironically, this is the couple we met in the line at passport control in Barbados.  They were the first couple from the cruise we met and the last we said goodbye to, bookending our trip.

I am typing this on the plane.  I can only hope the luggage makes it…

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The Algarve-Portimao, Sagres, and Lagos, Portugal

Posted on April 29, 2012 by travelbynatasha

Sagres, Portugal
©Jean Janssen

Our final port before disembarking in Lisbon is Portimao, Portugal.  We only have the afternoon in port so we took a countryside tour of the Algarve, this seaside region of Portugal of about 100 miles.  The countryside was green and inviting, with attractive farming plots and orange groves.  There were horses everywhere, some working but mostly those enjoying an open field.

The lighthouse at Cape St. Vincent as seen from Sagres.
©Jean Janssen

It is a national holiday in Portugal, celebrating the anniversary of their freedom from dictatorship in 1974.  The breaking point came when the government kept sending unprepared young boys into battle in Africa in a war that could not win.  It was not a good day to just stay in Portimao where most places are closed.  We went to a national monument and a resort city and saw people enjoying their holiday.

Lagos, Portugal
©Jean Janssen

We passed through many small villages with vacation resorts and our guide reminded us that this is the area where the McCann girl was abducted.  He talked about how hard they have had to work to overcome the reputation that this is a dangerous place.  He actually mentioned safety repeatedly and made it a point to note the safe areas.  It was all so peaceful that it was hard to think of this area as a “hotbed” of criminal activity.

Our first stop was in Sagres and the fort remains there.  This spot was made famous by Henry the Navigator and Sir Francis Drake, among others.  There were sweeping views, including Cape St. Vincent, and a beautiful, but treacherous beach.  I almost didn’t come on the tour today, as my toe was very swollen.  Ice has helped.  I wasn’t able to walk the full length of the coastline at the fort, but found what I did see breathtaking.

The fort at Sagres
©Jean Janssen

There is a posada nearby.  This is one of 46 monument sites in Portugal that has been converted into a hotel and is run by the government.  They are often in lovely places like castles and estates and focus on national heritage.  They have similar hotels in Spain called paradors.  Our aborted stop at the top of the mountain in the Canary Islands was one such parador.  Unfortunately, rain and cold weather kept us from that view.

At the Southwest corner of Europe
©Jean Janssen

There are strong winds along the coastline and the energy-producing wind turbines are common in the area.  Unfortunately, birds often get caught in the turbines, a logical occurrence but one I hadn’t thought of.   70% of Portugal’s power comes from Hydroelectric energy produced through the use of water and dams.

The Lighthouse at Cape St. Vincent
©Jean Janssen

We drove next to Cape St. Vincent and its lighthouse.  This is where the most southern and western coasts of Europe meet.  From the point you can look in both directions and see the “corner” of Europe in the Atlantic.

Main Plaza in Lagos, Portugal with the statue of
Henry the Navigator and a seagull “bird bath”
©Jean Janssen

Finally, we drove to Lagos, a charming waterfront village and marina.  There were actually quite a few places open here for the people enjoying the holiday.  There were many sidewalk cafes and souvenir shops, some carrying goods made in Portugal.  There was also a small craft fair where you could buy homemade items directly from the artist.  The large square at the waterfront had a bronze statute of Henry the Navigator with a pool in front of it where the seagulls bathed.

tile facade on a building in Lagos, Portugal
©Jean Janssen

The small buildings that made up the village often had facades covered in square tiles in solid colors or patterns.

The streets were patterned cobblestone.  There was another plaza that had a more modern style statue of a young prince who was unprepared for the task of leaving his troops into war.  He is shown as a small figure with armor that is too big for him.  There was a singling group performing on the stairs at the base of the statue in celebration of the Portuguese holiday.

A cobblestone street in Lagos, Portugal
©Jean Janssen

our departure from Portimao, Portugal
©Jean Janssen

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Casablanca and Marrakesh, Morocco

Posted on April 28, 2012 by travelbynatasha

Marrakesh, Morocco
©Jean Janssen

On the sea day before docking in Casablanca, the ambassador did his final presentation.  I was surprised to learn that as late as 1909, there were still no roads, no engineers, no doctors, and no pharmacists in Morocco.  The country is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and a mountain range cuts it off from the Sahara Desert.  When Morocco became a protectorate of France in 1912, the overseeing governor was Marshall Lyaetuy.  His goal was to protect the culture, architecture and history of Morocco, so he built the modern cities next to the original, thus preserving the ancient monuments.  We dock in the modern city of Casablanca founded in 1912.  It is a major port and the city moves at a faster pace than in the rest of Morocco.

Our balcony didn’t have the best view when we docked in Casablanca
©Jean Janssen

Boris hit the century mark when we touched ground in Morocco, having now visited 100 countries. .  It will be a long day with a 13-hour tour.   We drove through Casablanca passing a Catholic Cathedral with a Moorish flare built by the French.  The Hassan II Mosque, the second largest mosque in the world, is located in Casablanca; we were only able to see the minaret (tower) in the distance.  Its foundations are partly on land and partly in the sea.  The main hall holds 25,000 and has a retractable roof.  It is also the only Arab city to have a Jewish museum; our guide reminded us often that Morocco was a tolerant country.  Casablanca is a city of four million people with a “continuous” workday from nine am to four pm.  65% of the population works in agriculture.

Baja Palace, Marrakesh
©Jean Janssen

Mahjid, our guide, was proud to tell us that Morocco was the first country to recognize American independence in 1976.  He also related a shocking fact; next year for the first time, education will be mandatory in Morocco.  It will be provided to both girls and boys. I recalled the Ambassador’s lecture and realized that everything happens later here.  The official language is Arabic, but French, Spanish, and English are also spoken.  Ten million visit Morocco annually, mostly French with the number of Americans growing.

Marrakesh, Morocco
©Jean Janssen

We left Casablanca on a divided toll way that is only 3 years old.  We made one “comfort stop”.  The inside restroom was closed, so we were directed to an outside building with one western style toilet and one squatter.  There was also a trough to wash your feet.  Odd, but then I saw that there was a prayer room in this same outside building right next to the men’s restroom.  Muslims wash before prayer.

KFC, they are everywhere, even Morocco.
This is the most common American fast food chain we have seen while traveling abroad.
©Jean Janssen

Marrakesh is an imperial Berber city established in 1062.  It is often called “The Pink City” or “The Red City” due to the way the salmon-colored buildings look in the sun.  Most of the Moroccan cities are whitewashed, but Marrakesh is pink to cut down on the blinding reflection of the sun on the white walls.  The original settlers used to paint their skin an indigo color to protect themselves in the sun.  Marrakesh is a city of almost one million people.  We crossed a bridge coming into town, the mirror image of the 11th century bridge we will cross on our way out.  There was delay as a tree was removed on the opposite side of the road so the road could be widened.  Mahjid was upset that a 90-year-old tree would be removed for this “progress”.

Baja Palace, Marrakesh
©Jean Janssen

We went first to photograph the minaret and then crossed through the gates into the old city where we toured the Baja palace near the Jewish Ghetto.  They are just starting to renovate the palace.  Although it is not as beautiful as the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, it was in very good condition.  After the tour, we went to lunch at one of the nicest restaurants in the city.  We sat on low chairs around a table where food was served family style.  98% of the Moroccans eat we their hands, but we all opted for the offered flatware.  Mahjid raved about the wine.  I didn’t care for it and we learned later that he had never actually tried it.

our first course
©Jean Janssen

The first course was an appetizer platter with about nine different offerings.  I liked the carrots, which looked like sliced red bell peppers, but tasted like candy.  The second course was lamb that was so tender it just fell off the bone.  After that another meat course was served with each of us getting our own small chicken to eat.  This was followed by a platter filled with a mountain of fruit so high you couldn’t see the person who sat across from you at the table. Next was a platter of pastries all filled with almonds and the meal ended with mint tea or coffee.  I was surprised we were not served dates.

Guess what this says?
©Jean Janssen

Morton Dean and his longtime girlfriend Mary were on tour with us and sat at our table of eight at lunch.  We talked about a lot of different things and Mort told us a story of when he was sent out to cover Woodstock and he sat down with a group of people who were all passing around a joint.  While he asked them questions, they continued to pass the joint and to offer it to him; he politely refused.  Finally “an attractive blonde with the most beautiful eyes, among other things,” (this is his phrasing) asked him what he was afraid of.  He answered honestly, “that I will never leave”.

snake charmer and his cobra in the main square, Marrakesh
©Jean Janssen

His girlfriend Mary is a bit of a daredevil who likes to heli-ski.   When we went to the souk right after lunch, Mary was the first to have the snake charmer drape a live snake around her neck for a picture.  The main plaza was filled with snake charmers who sat on carpets and made the cobras dance to the music from their pipes.  Needless to day, the snakes they draped on your neck were not cobras.   There were also those who had barbary apes who you could take a picture with.  I opted for the apes.  They ask for $20, but our guide had told us that a tip of $1 per person was appropriate.

In the Souk, Marrakesh
©Jean Janssen

We went through the market, which reminded me a little of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, but was on winding streets, mostly uncovered.  There were some people who had never been in a market of this type who were really uncomfortable with the pushiness of the vendors.  I like the Grand Bazaar better for the shopping, but this setting was more picturesque and definitely more primitive.

Boar’s head in the Souk, Marrakesh
©Jean Janssen

spices in the Souk
©Jean Janssen

an infinite variety of olives, the Souk, Marrakesh
©Jean Janssen

Jardin Majorelle, Marrakesh
©Jean Janssen

Our last stop in Marrakesh was a garden with wonderful flowers and tile work pathways, Jardin Majorelle.  Packing up on the bus for the trip back, I did a stupid thing; I dropped my camera with the long heavy lens on my big toe.  Ouch.  Thus ended my disco dancing days.

The Main Plaza, Marrakech, Morocco

It was a warm sunny day in Marrakesh in the mid 80s.  In the heat of the summer the temperature goes up to 126 degrees Fahrenheit.  The drive back to Marrakesh was long, 3 hours.  That was a half an hour shorter than the trip there.  We passed several small villages along the way.  As the sun set, we saw numerous shepherds retiring with their herds.  The strangest sight was seeing one shepherd take his flock across the highway overpass, blending the old way with the new.

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The Canary Islands, Spain

Posted on April 24, 2012 by travelbynatasha

©Jean Janssen

Today we are docked at the island of Gran Canaria, the third largest of the seven main islands that comprise the Canary Islands.   The Capital of the Canaries shifts back and forth between the islands of Tenerife and Gan Canaria.  We did a full day excursion leaving the pier at La Palmas and stopping first at the Cathedral at Arcus designed by students of Gaudi.  Anyone of has been to Barcelona has seen multiple examples of Gaudi’s architectural achievements.  Our next stop was the gardens at Jardin de La Marquesa where peacocks roamed freely among the beautiful flowers and plants.

Teror, Gran Canaria
©Jean Janssen

Leaving Arucas, we started our tour of the country villages in the mountains stopping in Teror.  The village featured colonial Spanish architecture with all the carved wood highlighted in the doors, window coverings, and balconies.  It is Sunday, so we could only tour the churches between masses.  The shops were closed, but there was a wonderful market filled with produce, meats, cheese, and flowers.  If you wanted cheaply made goods, those were also available.  Boris and I enjoyed a chimney cake, like a tall spiral funnel cake.  You could choose your topping-caramel, cinnamon, or coconut.

©Jean Janssen

We didn’t realize that we were headed next to lunch.  We ate at Balcon de Zamora which had wonderful views of the valley and out to the sea.  When we arrived the clouds were so thick that the windows looked frosted.  As we ate the sky cleared, slowly revealing the view.  We started with an appetizer course of bread, garlic sauce, and potatoes.  The second course was a vegetable soup, thick with potatoes.  I choose the fish as my main course, served with-you guessed it-potatoes.  Flan was the dessert.  The top 2/3 of the mountain was covered in clouds which did not clear as we ascended, so the hour and half after lunch was spent traveling to a mountaintop view that did not materialized.  We did experience dramatic weather changes.  It was sunny and 69 degrees at the pier and 40 degrees and raining at the top of the mountain.

Jardin de La Marquesa
©Jean Janssen

While traveling the guide did tell us an interesting story about the indigenous people of the island living here when the conquistadors arrived.  They lived in caves with woman as the head of household.  Each woman had four “husbands”.  Two handled the farming, one tended the animals, and the fourth husband was for the entertainment of the wife.  The wife changed her fourth husband every six months.  The arrival of the Catholic Church changed these policies.  The cave homes are now highly coveted.  It is unlawful to create new ones, but you can add additional rooms in front of the cave.  They pass from generation to generation to the oldest born, male or female.  They never come on the open market.

I am currently on the hunt for three additional husbands.  Boris will be tending the animals.

Casa Colon
©Jean Janssen

We traveled back to the port city of Las Palmas and visited the Cathedral, City Hall, and Plaza Santa Ana with its bronze dog statues.  The Canary Islands are named for a breed of dog, canum in Latin, found here by ancient explorers.  The highlight of La Vegueta (the old quarter) is Casa Museo Colon, a former palace believed to be the residence of Christopher Columbus before he departed for the New World.  There are copies of early navigational maps, nautical instruments, models of Columbus’s ships, and pre-Columbian artifacts.  We arrived too late for me to see the floor dedicated to 16th through 19th century paintings.

cheeses in the Sunday market in Teror
©Jean Janssen

After leaving La Vegueta, we once again traveled uphill to view the Baldama Crater.  There is a single residence at the bottom where a 90 year-old man lives.  Our guide told us he travels uphill (quite a climb) each Sunday to sell his produce at the market.  We were unable to spot him traveling up or back down.  Next it was back to the ship.

It was still warm outside, so I decided to spend some time at the pool.  We ordered dinner on our veranda and stayed in for a movie.  No disco tonight.

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Life on Board

Posted on April 23, 2012 by travelbynatasha

Silver Spirit was built to accommodate 540 guests, but there are only 220 on board for this transatlantic repositioning cruise.  It has been fun to get to know the other passengers and even some of the crew.  I know all of the people on the entertainment staff and the staff handling shore excursions.  85% of the staff members are from the Philippines, while most of the bridge officers are Italian.  That said, I have also met staff from Romania, England, Germany, Brazil, and Norway.  All of the musicians are Pilipino, but the singers (with the exception of my friend Michele who has called me by name since the first day) are all young Americans.

The passengers are from 15 different countries, mostly American, but there are many from the United Kingdom as well.  We were also pleasantly surprised by the spread in the age of the passengers; we expected to be 20-30 years younger than most.  However, we have met couples in their 20s and 30s and many others closer to our age (meaning just “slightly” older than that.)  Their backgrounds are varied and fascinating.  There is the couple who we met in the airport before we even boarding the ship that are in their 30s or 40s and have already retired and do volunteer work as financial planners; there is the retired ballerina who studied with Ben Stevenson as a child in England; (Stevenson was the head of the Houston Ballet Company and brought it its world renown status.) There is the English couple that raises horses for competition.  There is the yachtsman from Bermuda, a Harvard grad who is friends with the Mossbachers from Houston. There is a writer of cookbooks and two others who are travel writers.  There is the couple who live in Texas, she is from Dallas and he is from Newcastle (England) who were married at the estate used for the Downton Abbey series.  (She tells me the interior shots of the family quarters were done in the house itself-or at a faithful reconstruction.  These were the rooms they used for the wedding ceremony and dinner.)

There are lots of food venues on board in spite of the fact that this is a small ship.  There are two specialty restaurants that have a surcharge ($20 and $30, which is not out of line with other cruise ships), Seishin with Asian food and Le Champagne.  Both have seating for only 24 patrons.   There is also the main dining room with open seating called simply The Restaurant.   They did a Gala Lunch today where the food was beautifully displayed in the Galley, a unique approach.  La Terrazza has a buffet lunch (although you don’t even carry your own plate) and Italian food in the evening; you can sit inside or on the outside deck (see picture from previous post showing the view off the back of the ship).   Stars restaurant is designed as a 40s supper club and they serve six tapas courses to each patron.  With three tapas per course, it is a lot of food.  You can also eat on the pool deck for breakfast or lunch.  The menu is far more expensive than other ships.  In the evening there is al fresco dining at The Grill, aka Hot Rocks, where you make a meat or seafood selection and cook it at your table on a preheated volcanic rock.  It is a lovely seating and fun.  This is Boris’ favorite spot (surprising because he does not like to eat outside as I do) and we made a return visit tonight.  We saw the most beautiful sunset throughout our meal. There is no surcharge at La Terrazza, The Restaurant, Stars or Hot Rocks.

This is definitely a social cruise.  They even give you a booklet with the names of all the passengers and their hometowns.  While you could hide if you want to (your butler will serve you any meal or snack you want in your suite 24 hours a day-in fact he brought me tea so I could continue writing this blog post but not miss the finger sandwiches and scones), this is perfect for people like myself who love to meet new people.  Two nights ago, dressed for the second formal night, we discovered the disco.  We had heard about it from a young couple in their 20s we met at the pool.  While they introduced us to their friends, some of the younger people on the ship, the dance floor was dominated by the 60+ crowd who put me to shame.  All the young American singers on the entertainment staff were there dancing, as was the Gentleman Host.  Needless to say, I returned last night and it is on the agenda for each of the coming evenings even if Boris doesn’t realize that yet.

In case you missed it, I did mention the gentleman host-abbreviated “gent host” on his name tag.  This is the kind of thing you find in a movie (i.e. Out to Sea) or when reading about a by-gone era.  I had no idea they still did that.  Silversea determined how many singles were on the cruise and brought him aboard.  Apparently, he meets with the singles for cocktails and then they go as a group to dinner.  They were seated next to us the very first night.  The second time we saw them in the dining room one of the male officers was also included.  There is also an international hostess who joins them.  Not all, but the majority of, the singles are women.  On further research I found that this is even one of the things the cruise line advertises.  You can read their brochures and find out when the gentlemen host(s) will be aboard.  While Boris was in the restroom last night, my young female friend and I decided to go to the dance floor.  Feeling we needed the partner, the gent host joined us.  Boris immediately came to the dance floor as soon as he entered the room.  Anyone who knows Boris knows dancing is not his preference.  Priceless.

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Cape Verde, Africa

Posted on April 21, 2012 by travelbynatasha

Santo Antao Island, Cape Verde, Africa
©Jean Janssen

After five days at sea crossing the Atlantic, we arrived in Cape Verde off the coast of Africa.  If the name is familiar to you it is probably because this is where hurricanes start and then head our way.  Ironically, the islands of Cape Verde have no problem with the storms and homes are built right up to the shoreline.  In fact, the only weather-related problems are occasional inland flooding during the rainy season and severe drought.  It was the repeated droughts of the second half of the 20th century that lead to heavy emigration that resulted in a majority of Cape Verde citizens living outside the islands rather than on them.

©Jean Janssen

There are 10 islands making up Cape Verde, one of which is not inhabited.  We anchored off the Coast of Santo Antao Island and tendered in to Porto Novo.  Santo Antao is not as populated as some of the other islands of Cape Verde and is mostly agricultural.  Most of the visitors to the island are German hikers (of which we saw several).  Cruise ships began to visit in 2011, with 2-5 ships visiting each month during the tourist season that is about to end.  Isaac said there is another ship in port in two days and then none until September.  They are currently building a cruise terminal and dock and hope to attract more vacation dollars.  It was the perfect time to visit, while some of the charm of being untouched still existed.

Our guide Isaac
©Jean Janssen

Cape Verde was uninhabited when the Portuguese arrived in the 15thcentury.  They colonized it and used it as a base for slave trading and refueling.  Cape Verde got its independence from Portugal in 1975 and is now considered one of the most stable democracies in Africa.  They have a two party system.  For the first time this year, the Prime Minister is from one party and the President from another.  As Isaac our guide put it, it is too early to tell how things will work out.  The official language is Portuguese, but the people speak Creole.  English is taught in the upper school.  Students attend primary school free of charge, but pay for secondary school at a rate dependant on their parents’ income.  Family size is shrinking now, but Isaac (who is 25) is the 11th child of 12 in his family.

Cova Volcanic Crater
©Jean Janssen

The island was uncommonly beautiful.  It is very mountainous, which we could see from our balcony before even leaving the ship.  It appeared very arid, so it surprised us when Isaac told us it was an agriculturally based economy.  We traveled on the “old road” completed in the 1960s after 30 years of construction by hand.  The road is made of stone and travels up and over the mountains.  It is rough, but in very good condition.  The views from the road were breathtaking.  Upon reaching one mountaintop, we viewed the Cova Volcanic Crater that is now a lush valley.

terrace farming, Santo Antao Island, Cape Verde
©Jean Janssen

We saw examples everywhere of terrace farming.  The people also raise goats and chickens to eat.  There are some cows, but their beef is an expensive luxury.  We also saw donkeys, but they were beasts of burden carrying packages (especially in the high altitudes).  It was very warm at the shoreline and quite cool at the top near the crater.

a secondary school classroom in Cordo Village
©Jean Janssen

We continued on the old road to Cordo Village, making several stops for pictures along the way.  We visited the new high school (a restroom stop) and the village square with its Catholic Church.  90% of the island’s population is Catholic and the local festivals are based on the feast day of the local patron saint.   Most of the students and the teachers at the high school were friendly, allowing us to come inside the classroom and even visit with the students.  I suspect this was the only facility in the area with several restrooms available to accommodate our tour buses.  (One teacher even went to hunt down more toilet paper.)  This is also Isaac’s hometown.  He told us of a history of local rebellion and persecution from years ago, even pointing out a survivor of the rebellion who is now in his 80s and who was sitting outside a village store.

lunch
©Jean Janssen

We went next to Ponta do Sol, the northern most point on the island, for a wonderful lunch of local delicacies.  The staple of their diet is a mixture of corn and beans that is served with fish, goat, or chicken.  We saw the fishing activities at the end of the street and knew that the tasty fish we had for lunch was most likely just caught that morning.  We saw one woman either taking home her find or perhaps trying to sell a large fish she carried in a bucket on her head.  As one of the guests put it, how else would you carry that large a fish?

the best way to carry a large fish
©Jean Janssen

While the trip out was almost directly north (although full of switchbacks), the trip back was on the “new road” which followed the coast line south and then west until we reached Porto Novo.  The new road was paved and was completed only 3 years ago.  Where were tunnels through the mountains and construction must have been very costly.  Prior to the new road’s completion, there was no road through this area, although we did see shortcuts and walking paths for foot travel.  We saw very few homes and only a few goats, but travel along the waterfront was spectacular.  Isaac told us that one of the unfortunate results of the construction was that vehicles no longer passed through the mountain villages and the people who depended on the sale of their produce to those who passed through were now suffering.  The mountain road we traveled on-the “old road” as Isaac called it-is now used only by tourists and hikers.  We did see many abandoned produce stands in the villages we passed through.

along the shore, Santo Antao Island, Cape Verde
©Jean Janssen

The last stop on the island tour was a less than memorable resort with a gift shop.  Souvenirs were limited, but somehow Boris found some of the local alcohol (which they call grog) to buy.  After a wave filled ride back to the ship on the tender, we headed to the room for naptime.  A full day of touring was hard after our lazy sea days.  If you enjoy a beautiful vistas and/or hiking (particularly up and down hill), I can highly recommend Santo Antao Island in Cape Verde.  The people were welcoming.  It is a great one-day stop to see the unaltered beauty of the island.  Hikers could keep themselves busy there for a long time.

hiking trails along the Cova Crater
©Jean Janssen

My hope is that increased cruise traffic to the island will not spoil its charms.  I do recommend a visit sooner rather than later.

welcome to Cape Verde
©Jean Janssen

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Hanging with the VIPs

Posted on April 20, 2012 by travelbynatasha

We are crossing the Atlantic as the world recognizes the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking. Although icebergs are sometimes sighted in the areas we are sailing through, we are farther south than the Titanic’s route and icebergs are not found in this area in April. There were several documentaries on the television and interviews with descendants on some of the live news reports, but there was absolutely no mention of the anniversary on board this ship, not even in the mini newspaper we receive each day. We found this very odd.

This is our third transatlantic crossing. We are enjoying fabulous weather and outdoor activities and pool time (and a serious sunburn) are definitely options. All of the crossings we have done have included guest lecturers. A couple of weeks ago I read a wonderful book on the Titanic by John Maxtone-Graham, a lecturer I heard on a previous crossing. Now in his 80s, he is probably the foremost living expert on luxury travel at sea. His son’s writing has gone in a different direction and he is the lead writer for the Simpsons television show.

Our current crossing includes a biologist, a politician, a former ambassador, and a news reporter as guest lecturers. I haven’t made any of the biologist’s lectures, although I am interested as he is speaking on coral reefs-right up my alley with the diving. The politician was a forensic scientist and pediatrician, but he doesn’t like to use notes, gets lost repeatedly, and heads off on tangents; I have given up on those lectures. The British ambassador spoke on the history of piracy and slavery in the Caribbean and his presentation was very well done; I am looking forward to today’s talk on his diplomatic work.

The fourth lecturer is Morton Dean who reported for CBS and ABC. Even if you don’t recognize his name (I did), you would certainly recognize his voice. (Unless of course, you are too young to know whom Walter Cronkite was.) Dean spoke on war correspondence in the field during the Vietnam War. He included several clips of his interviews and trips into the action from that time which ran on the CBS evening news and told us stories about Walter Cronkite. I ran into him later in the specialty restaurant we were dining at which only seats 24 for the evening and he was quite friendly.

I am staying out of the sun today, having overdone it yesterday. The morning was for sleeping and blogging. We went to lunch on the terrace at the back of the ship. First dinner with Morton Dean and now lunch with the captain who was sitting at the table next to us. It was a lovely setting, so I went and got my camera and then Boris took my picture with the wake behind us. The captain commented on the photo with my hair blowing in the breeze, but I don’t think he recognized me with all my clothes on.

Boris loves these smaller ships and swears he never wants to go on the larger ones again (although he did enjoy the Oasis of the Seas in January). The staff on the Silver Spirit makes a real effort from the very beginning to get to know your name. All ask how they should address you. I am happy for them to use my first name, but some really want to call you by your surname. This of course creates problems for us, as I use my maiden name. We have confused more than one staff member. Some of them will use our first names but usually add “sir” or “madam” in front of it. All the staff at the pool knows “Madam Natasha”. They even had my chair covered with towels for me today, although I couldn’t go out due to sunburn. “Sir Boris” is convinced that he would have been knighted if he were British, so he finds the name highly appropriate and will most likely insist upon being called that when we return home. (Good luck with that.)

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St. Lucia in the Caribbean

Posted on April 19, 2012 by travelbynatasha

©Jean Janssen

Barbados is my favorite Caribbean island (although not for diving), but St. Lucia is one of the most beautiful with its lush landscape and volcanic peaks. We have been here before, but not since I had gotten a digital camera so I wanted to try to get some photographs that I could easily download to the computer. Unfortunately, we did not have time to make it to some of the most picturesque places I remember, but we did have a good day touring with Albert, our taxi driver. He had some of the darkest skin and the bluest eyes I had ever seen.We didn’t have time to book an excursion, so we talked to the local hospitality host that Silversea had invited on board the ship and got his recommendations.

Oldest Church on St. Lucia
©Jean Janssen

We visited the oldest church on the island, a Roman Catholic Church, with its colorful walls. Around the corner on the square was a 400-year-old tree that Albert pointed out. Next we traveled uphill to the governor’s home. The current governor is a woman, their first female governor, and a former schoolteacher. Albert liked to pull off on the side of the road just to show us the island flowers and plants and tell us about their uses. There was an aromatic tealeaf that is added to warm water and given to a crying baby to ease their pain or placed on their skin to remove a rash.

At the top of the hill we passed through the community college and visited a monument where a local man guided you around for tips. We saw an interesting plant that grows as a vine along the ground. They call it a poinsettia, but it is nothing like the Christmas plant we have at home. When touched, the leaves shrivel up in self-defense. There is a flower on the vine, but it is tiny, circular, and pale pink. We were able to see the pitons, the cone-shaped volcanic peaks, in the distance. There is a wonderful fishing village on St. Lucia that we didn’t make it to, but visitors with more time should give it a try.

We passed through the banana plantations that used to be at the center of St. Lucia’s economy. Now, like so many of the Caribbean islands, tourism is their primary source of income. Albert and I walked into the banana groves and he showed me the navel of the plant that has to be cut off to grow tastier fruit. I learned that they use blue bags to cover a bunch of growing bananas to protect the fruit from insects that eat it or animals that will scar it (reducing the price for which it can be sold). Albert also showed me the ropes and ties that protect the plants in strong winds. It is definitely labor intensive farming.

Marigot Bay, St. Lucia
©Jean Janssen

The lush rainforests give St. Lucia a romantic feel, but my favorite spot was a wonderful bay that we had not visited before. Marigot Bay has apparently been featured in many movies like Pirates of Caribbean. The scenery around the island is breathtaking and not to be missed. We met an Irish family at Marigot Bay that was staying on the island for a week. They had been there six days and this was the first time they were venturing away from their hotel and the nearby beach.

Renuit Beach, Rodney Bay St. Lucia
©Jean Janssen

Albert later drove us over to that area, Rodney Bay near Pigeon Island. Reduit Beach has beautiful white sand and the water was very clear and calm. You could rent colorful umbrellas and chairs and there were beachside restaurants. I recommend some water shoes or sandals that you don’t mind getting wet. The sand is much too hot to walk on in bare feet.

Then it was back to the ship for a late lunch and drama on the dock. Our balcony was on the pier side, so I decided to watch them pulling in the gangway and leave the dock. At time for “all aboard” the gangway was still out and several of the officers and staff were out on the pier. Boris guessed it right, some of the passengers that had missed the boat in Barbados (there were quite a few due to a cancelled British Airways flight) had still not made it on board. We saw several butlers in tails leave the ship and next thing we knew two couples were coming aboard with the butlers behind bringing their luggage. Boris recognized our butler and he told us later that the passengers had called from the airport to say they were on their way. The captain made the decision to hold the ship.

Once the gangway was pulled in, I watched the pilot come aboard and the dock workers and crew on the pilot boat release the six lines holding us on the dock. We had the perfect view with one of lines directly below our cabin.

Now a tip for all you cruise ship passengers. The reality is that unless they are cleaning the windows or you are leaning over, no one can see you on your balcony when you are at sea. In port, you can pretty much see anyone who can see you with your greatest concern being viewers from another ship that is docked directly across the pier from you. Otherwise you are in the clear, or so I thought.

Because I hate to iron, I had slipped off the crop pants I had worn during the day and hung them up. I was still wearing my tunic. It is really like a swimsuit cover-up, only I didn’t have the swimsuit underneath. So I am out on the balcony watching the goings on, when I realize that there is an overhang one cabin forward and one floor up from mine. This is how I got to meet the captain of the ship. The overhang was connected to the bridge and the captain, in full uniform, was there to oversee our departure. I decided to play it cool and asked him if he was ready for the next five days (at sea). His response was “are you?” I can only imagine what he was thinking.

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