April 30

And so the journey ends...thought I would end it the way it began with the Statue of Liberty and sunrise over NYC!  We were really glad to get home.  It has been a wonderful adventure and we enjoyed everything we saw.  Now we just have to sit back and absorb all of it!  Hope you enjoyed it also.  That's all.

April 24

We are now on the Queen Mary 2 headed back to the good old USA!  We are happy to be on this last leg of the journey finally!  The QM2 is an amazing ship - about twice the size of the QE2!  It woould take more than 6 days to learn your way around!  But we have found a favorite bar and our dining room and our room and the library (which is where I am now) - what else could we need.  Yesterday in Southhampton, between ships, we went to this fantastic hotel/spa out in the country for lunch.  It was fabulous.  Don't think I will be staying there any time soon though - their cheapest room was 290 pounds a night!  Almost 2 dollars to the pound!  It was nice and, as I said, we are glad to be on the QM2 headed home.  The BLOG is nearing an end too - may take some pictures of this ship and hopefully the Statue of Liberty on Saturday morning to end this journey.  Hope you have enjoyed.

April 22

Our program this morning said those who were doing the World Cruise from Southampton to Southampton will have traveled 40312 miles tomorrow when we arrive in Southampton! Hard to believe that a week from today when we get back to New York we will have covered 40312 miles on the seas! Our stop in Lisbon yesterday was wonderful - it is a really beautiful place and our tour was great. We left in the morning and headed to a couple of seaside towns - one of which was quite a resort. It would be a nice place to come spend some time. We passed one beach which our guide said was favored by wind surfers the world over - the wind was very strong - the beach sand had formed large dunes on the other side of the road. Our guide said the road was often closed in the winter because of sand. Then we went into the hills to the town of Sintra which was the summer residence of the king back in the 14th century. It was a beautiful drive and a wonderful small town. The roads were steep and narrow. A lot of the houses had beautiful tile work on them - our guide said that at one point tile was cheaper than paint - sure made for some beautiful houses! The town itself is divided into the old section - where we wandered - full of cafes and small shops and the new section where people actually live and eat at places like McDonalds and Pizza Hut. The Americanization of the world continues. On the way back we came the inland route - freeway and all which was not as pretty to say the least. We got back to the ship in time for lunch and then packed some more. At 4 we pulled out of Lisbon - it was very cold and windy on deck but we got some good pictures. There is a statue on the banks of the Tagus River (which is where the port for Lisbon is) that is in honor of the explorers - it was Portugal who first did a lot of the exploration what with Vasco da Gama finding the route around Africa and all. It looks like the bow of a ship with statues of each of the explorers along the side - it was impressive to sail by. They also have a huge statue of Christ the King like the one in Rio de Janeiro that was given to the city by the Catholic Church in exchange for their neutrality in WWII. All in all Portugal was a beautiful place - clean and scenic and friendly.

April 20

Today we left the Mediterranean and entered the Atlantic - must be headed home! Thought you would enjoy the pictures of the Rock of Gibraltar. It was beautiful sunny weather BUT the wind was blowing and it felt awfully cold! Great to be able to see Europe and Africa at the same time - too far apart for a picture that shows both though. Tomorrow Lisbon.

April 19

Today we are in Valencia, Spain. It is a wonderful small city. However, our tour was AWFUL! Absolutely horrid. Our guide was the pits. Our tour went to the Lladro factory which was really neat - amazing how they make all of the porcelain statues - really interesting. No wonder Lladro costs so much - it is very labor intensive! The woman who makes all of those tiny flowers is just amazing - no way my clumsy hands could work with something that small. And the women who painted the statues’ faces were amazing! Such delicate work. And the way the make parasols out of porcelain was too fascinating! Then of course they gave us time to browse in the Lladro shop. But our STUPID guide never even mentioned when we should be back at the bus so at 12:30 or so she finally comes back and we head off to our next stop - mind you we were supposed to be back on the ship by 1:30! By the time we got to the next stop it is 12:55 and she tells us only half the group at a time can go through the Ceramics Museum! That gives each group approximately 10 minutes since it is still a 5 minute walk away! Ginnie and I - even though she was really looking forward to it - opted to sit in a café and watch the people! It was a beautiful day and the town was great. We drove by a wonderful beach - very long and very wide. There were some beautiful buildings and the iron work on the balconies was fantastic - no two buildings had the same design. It looked great - had it all - a nice beach, beautiful buildings, wonderful weather. It was just the tour that was the pits! I think Valencia is a place I would like to visit again - just on my own - no tour!

April 18

Even the ship ride from Greece to Rome was great - we passed close enough to Sicily to see Mt. Etna covered in snow and then we passed very close to Stromboli which is an island that is an active volcano - just kind of burps all the time but there are villages on a couple sides of the island. But one side had smoke and steam rising from it because of the lava and hot rocks falling down the side. It was great. Then the real treat - ROME! Definitely a place I want to come back to explore! We took a tour that took us the 90 minutes into Rome from the port and dropped us off in Piazza del Popolo and turned us loose for 3 and a half hours! What a wonderful tour! It was Easter Monday which is a major holiday in Rome so all the stores were closed and there really weren’t very many people around - all the Romans take advantage of the holiday to go to the shore. Ginnie and I walked down to the Spanish Steps and then over to the Trevi Fountain! Great googly-wooglies! It was so fantastic! I was absolutely amazed. So beautiful - and so huge! Words really can’t describe. We did manage to find a couple of open shops and browsed for a while and bought a few things even though we have already packed our “junque” in the new suitcase we bought in Kusadasi! Then we took a cab back to Piazza del Popolo and had lunch in a sidewalk café - 5 Euros for a 200ml Coke!! The little tiny Coke cost more than the sandwiches! After lunch we got back on the bus and went to the Coliseum - it too was fantastic. Amazing to imagine what it may have been like with 70,000 Romans cheering on the gladiators! After the Coliseum we went to St. Peter’s Basilica. The crowds were huge - we had to stand in a ling line to get into the church. BUT good gravy - I was absolutely stunned speechless. It is so huge and so absolutely beautiful - it just takes your breath away! Amazing - absolutely amazing. No good pictures from inside though - too immense for a flash and too dark to take pictures without - I can’t keep a camera still enough. Another coffee table book to buy. But it was so beautiful and so grand! Then the drive back to the ship though the Italian countryside which is green and lush - even have redbud trees (at least they sure looked like them) in bloom everywhere so even though I missed them at home I got to see some! All in all it was a fantastic day. Now just 2 more stops until we get to England and change ships for the trip to NY.

April 15

4-15: Today was Greece! Amazing - just one country after another. We took a tour called Highlights of Athens - we went to the original Olympic Stadium that has been restored and they still use it. Then we went to the Acropolis which was fantastic. It is a real hike so Ginnie stayed in the café at the bottom. Acropolis literally means “city on a hill” and it was on a hill. The view from there was spectacular. The Parthenon - which was a temple to Athena - was huge - many of the columns are still standing. It was all wonderful to see after having heard about it for so long. There was another temple up there also which was much smaller then the Parthenon. Much of the original is gone - many of the statues are in the British Museum and the large statue of Athena was taken to Constantinople in the 1400s. From the Acropolis we could see the whole city of Athens. We could see another temple - one to Zeus - and two separate theaters. The day was beautiful - cool and sunny. Tomorrow a sea day and then Rome.

April 14

4-14: Today we were in Kusadasi, Turkey. What a beautiful town. We headed out this morning to go to the ruins at Ephesus, but Ginnie just felt she couldn’t make it so I went by myself. It was a wonderful thing to see - Greek and then Roman ruins. It used to be a coastal town but is now 5km from the sea. It is also important in early Christianity - Mary supposedly spent her last days here. Also, St. John is buried here. The city is on a hillside and inside the gates at the top were the Roman bathes - when a traveler arrived the first thing he was to do was bathe. The road was paved in marble - and the story has it that when Anthony and Cleopatra came here on their honeymoon they poured red wine on the marble - the first red carpet! The library was one of the largest in the ancient world - the building looks like a two story building but it was actually three stories and there were no stairs inside so they think that there was an elevator! And the public restroom - the one the ancient people used was amazing - a large room with carved holes around three sides of the room that had running water through a trench under them. Obviously no modesty here because it was unisex and they were one right next to the other! The archeologists estimate the size of the ancient cities by the size of their amphitheaters - in this case the amphitheater holds 25,000 therefore they estimate the population at 100,000 people! Many more people than live in Kusadasi today! Then the tour took us to a carpet store where we learned how the Turkish carpets were woven. Boy were they beautiful! They served us refreshments and I had a local beer - called Efes - it was pretty good. After the carpet demonstration we came back to the ship for lunch. After lunch Bill and Susan and I headed out on a quest for suitcases - yes we have bought too much JUNQUE to fit in the suitcases we came with! And this will be the last port where we could get a cheap suitcase. We were successful so now we will be able to get everything home! Tomorrow is Athens so this BLOG will probably not get posted until Sunday BUT I wanted to get it written. It was a great day even though it was cool and rainy.

April 13

4-13: Good Gravy! Yesterday as we are driving into Cairo after a 3 hour bus trip our guide says casually - now, look out the right side windows! Lo and behold over the city building are peeking the pyramids! Amazing! Then for the next 10 minutes or so as we were driving through the city we were just mesmerized by these mammoth pyramids dwarfing the city. These three pyramids that are right here on the edge of Cairo are of Cheops, his son Chephren, and grandson Mycerinus. The Pyramid of Cheops was completed about 2500BC and covers 13 acres! There are also a few very small pyramids that are of various and sundry wives. Once again, until standing next to it, it is hard to realize how huge they really are! Absolutely stunning. We stopped between two of the pyramids so that we could get close up views and then drove up to a hilltop where we had a view of the three together with the city of Cairo behind them. Then we drove down to see the Sphinx! Amazing - but it is not really in very good shape - there was scaffolding in front of it. BUT it is huge and carved out of one rock. Truly mind-boggling! Then came the CAMEL rides! They warned that we needed good balance and Ginnie could see her oxygen pulling her off the camel so she opted to watch but I went. They are high off the ground. I got on while he was down on the ground and as he unfolded those LONG legs it was hard to stay put on his back, but once under way it was like being on a horse only higher! We walked up to where there was a good view of the pyramids and my camel person took pictures of me on the camel with the pyramids in the back! It was great. When the camel kneeled back down at the end of the ride so that I could get off it was a rocky ride then too. I have ridden a camel - how neat is that! Then we went to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities which was great - did not have anywhere enough time. We saw King Tut’s stuff - absolutely amazing. Supposedly a lot is in America right now BUT as we looked around there were very few signs saying “on tour” in place of this or that artifact. His throne was amazing and his gold mask and the sarcophagi and everything else! Could have spent days here - instead of an hour! Then we had lunch on the Nile. It was okay but the lunch was not wonderful. It was a Hyatt boat and fancier than necessary - would have enjoyed something more casual. Cairo itself is a filthy city - trash all over the place - and poor living conditions. Once again many unfinished houses and dirt alleys where the people lived. And the traffic was amazing - they made 7 lane roads out of roads that should have been 3 lanes! On our way back we went by the market in Alexandria - it was amazing - so much for sale - in the shops and on the streets. And so busy at 8pm - people everywhere! Egypt is a place I would come again - but only if I had more time. There is way too much to see - we feel we just barely scratched the surface.

April 11

Not much today - we are now in the Mediterranean.  Came through the Suez Canal today.  Bob if you are reading this I still have your postcard and will mail it from home since you put a US stamp on it!  The Suez Canal really does just go through desert on both sides - the Western side does have some agriculture but the Eastern side is pretty much just desert!  Interesting though.  Soldiers stationed all along the canal - Ginnie and I have never seen so many armed guards - they are all over the place in Egypt.  And the weather was fantastic - actually cool - almost cold this morning.  And lots of sunshine!  Haven't downloaded pictures yet so no picture today - maybe I'll include a Suez picture with the pyramids on Thursday.  Tomorrow the pyramids - can't wait!  All for now.

April 10

4-10: Great Googly-woogly! Our trip yesterday from Safaga on the Red Sea to Luxor on the Nile was a marathon! 15 hours! But well worth it. The buses left Safaga about 7 in the morning in a convoy with armed guards at the front and back - each bus even had its own armed guard! First we went up through these stark rock mountains and into flat sandy desert. As we neared the Nile there started to be many irrigated fields. Lots of sugar cane grown here. But their method of harvesting is so primitive - out in the fields cutting it by hand and putting it on small carts pulled by donkeys. Then they get it to a small train that takes it to a central place for processing. And all of the houses are unfinished - because until they finish them they do not have to pay taxes! A lot of the places that were occupied looked unlivable to us. Once we got to Luxor our first stop was the Temple of Karnak which was just amazing. We’ve seen pictures and heard of the size BUT until you are standing among the 134 columns it is hard to imagine! Our guide was an Egyptologist who told us more than we really needed to know - he was very interesting but what with the sensory overload the information overload was almost too much. The statues and columns are so huge - and even thought he place itself is a ruin - so much of it is in tact. Even the undersides of some of the crossbars on the columns still had vivid paint on them - after 3500 years! It really is mind boggling. After the Temple of Karnak we went to a fancy hotel for lunch which was good - had a local beer - Stella. After lunch we went across the Nile to the Valley of the Kings which is where tombs of many of the pharaohs were located. It is barren desert mountains and the tombs were carved into the solid rock of the mountains. This is all what was called Egypt’s New Kingdom which is later than the pyramid era (1500BC -1100BC as opposed to 2500BC) - the mountain does have a pyramid shape so they didn’t feel the need to build pyramids. The tombs were all painted elaborately inside - and of course had been filled with all kinds of riches BUT those are not there any more - either stolen or in various museums. It was SO HOT and SO DRY that it was almost a killer - glad we weren’t there at the hottest point in the day. From there we went back across the Nile to the Temple of Luxor. It was also fantastic - amazing in size. And the statues are amazing in their detail - especially when you take into account the size -how do you make toes or knees that big! After the Temple of Luxor we headed back to Safaga - once again in an armed convoy. Got back to the ship about 9:30 and then of course had to stand in a long line in order to get back on board. All in all a LONG day but absolutely worth it. Now we are looking forward to the Suez Canal tomorrow and the pyramids on Wednesday!

March 6

4-6: Yesterday we saw our cousin, Starr, in Salalah, Oman - nothing like coming half way around the world to see a cousin that, in Ginnie’s case, you haven’t seen in 44 years! We had a great time. It all started out with our almost starting an international incident…Starr had taken a cab from her hotel to the port for 3 rials and the cabs at the port wanted 10 rials to take us into town! This is a bargaining society so Starr went down the group of cabs until she found one that agreed on 3 rials and brought it up to pick us up. We got in and headed out and all the cabbies got in front of the cab and would not let us pass. They were shouting at our cabbie and he was shouting back. Starr got out of the cab and was arguing with the head cabbie guy - it was wild. Then the cabbie told Ginnie and I to get out - he wasn’t willing to take the heat from the other cabbie guys. So here are the three of us with all these Arab men milling around talking to us - Starr at least able to talk back. A cop showed up but would not even talk to Starr - a woman and all that - but obviously was not backing the cabbies either. Finally, some nice cabbie, Saed, said get in and we did and he took us to town. The other cabbies were all still milling around. It was great! We sat in Starr’s hotel room and visited and talked to cousin Harry on the phone which was great. Then we called Saed and had him come pick us up for the afternoon. He took us to the suqs and then dropped us off for lunch - which was pretty bad - and then took us around Salalah. There are some beautiful beaches and since the Sultan will allow no foreigners to own land they are not at all developed - they were wonderful. The ocean is so clean and beautiful and even though it was a fairly warm day standing in the shade of the palm trees on the beach was great - nice cool breeze. When Saed was bringing us back to the ship he gave us presents - postcards and perfume! When was the last time a cab driver gave you a present - it was so sweet. All in all our day was great - we had a good time with Starr and Oman is really starkly beautiful. Now 3 sea days until Safaga where we have an all day tour to Thebes and the Valley of the Kings.

April 4

4-4: Yesterday about 2 we pulled out of Dubai and headed back through the Straits of Hormuz on our way to Salalah where we will see our cousin, Starr! Our time in Dubai was very nice. It is a beautiful city - very clean and modern. The first day we did not really have time for a tour because we were having the “big to-do” for the World Cruisers and needed to be formally dressed by 5! Yippee - another formal occasion! So we went on the shuttle bus which took us to a big mall - surprise! It was a beautiful mall - 3 stories - hundreds of upscale stores BUT shopping in Saks was not why I ended up in Dubai. And it seems that it is just one of many many huge upscale malls in Dubai - there is even one with an indoor ski slope - yep, ski slope. It snows in the building everyday and has lifts and when you pay to ski it includes clothes as well as boots and skis! The picture that looks like the beginning of an aluminum tunnel to Mars is the indoor ski run! So we wandered a bit and then took the shuttle back to the ship in time for lunch. We spent the afternoon reading on deck. Actually - it was a cloudy day - about 82 or so. Our guide said we were in port the 2 cloudy days of the year! The party was very nice - at some fancy hotel - though not the one that looks like a sail. The cocktail party was out on a patio and they had camels and falcons and people smoking apples in hookahs. It was great. We really enjoyed it. Dinner was okay but we figured we would have been just as happy to go back to the hotel after the cocktail party. The next morning we had a tour called Old and New Dubai and it was a great tour. First we went out to a place on one of the few public beaches (you realize the Arab woman have their own beach and certain times when they are allowed to go there) where we could take pictures of the sail hotel. You can’t just go into the hotel - you have to have reservations for something like the $70 per person afternoon tea or $10,000 per night Presidential Suite! Then we went to take pictures of a mosque which was very pretty. Then we went to a village that has been preserved - or rebuilt - on the riverfront to show what life had been like and to the museum which was really great. It was built in what remained of the old fort which had been built with coral bricks! The museum was wonderful - amazing what oodles of oil money can do - the city really is amazing. But over 80% of the people who live in Dubai are ex-pats - only 20% are actually from the UAE. But the ex-pats are not allowed to own property within the city. After the museum we boarded small water taxis that took us across Dubai Creek to the suqs - we first saw the Spice Suq which really smelled good and then went to the Gold Suq. Hundreds of small stores selling all kinds of gold jewelry! However, it was not inexpensive so we did not partake! And besides that it is one of these bargaining places so I always feel like I have been taken if I buy something - okay for $5 souvenirs but not $300 bracelets! All in all we were very impressed with Dubai. BUT the most exciting thing that happened was while we were having our before dinner beers in the Chart Room. I had gone to the window to see if it was land or cloud banks I could see in the distance and what did I see but 7 small speed boats heading for us at breakneck speed! Scared us to death - they just kept coming and one guy finally waved and I hoped he wasn’t greeting Allah! Our first thought was terrorism - I relaxed a little after I saw that a couple of the men had life preservers on - figured suicide bombers wouldn’t be wearing life vests! But it really did shake us up - they got very close and then split up, some going in front of the ship and some behind! Needed another beer before dinner after that!