sailingdutchy

Dank je wel Jeroen en Annie , hope to see you guys one of of these days again on one of our cruises , it has been a while ! Greetings from Canada ! Tony

We have been about 5 times in Kerkira and explored the beautiful Island of Corfu to its fullest most of the time with our wonderful driver / guide Dimitris , I have chosen today pictures from when we were in Corfu in 2016 while we were on the Koningsdam without too much commentary today because I am also busy filling my suitcase for when we are leaving on Tuesday to Athens to meet up with the Oosterdam . It is very easy to find our driver among the huge crowd of drivers at the entrance of the port ! Going through lovely small villages Stopping at a small bakery to have the most amazing fish bread , feta and olive oil Enjoying the food and the scenery Next stop A 2000 year old olive tree The Palace of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria , also known as Sisi ( One of the first movies I ever saw in the theatre , with a girl from my class in 1957 , “ Sisi : The Young Empress " with Romy Schneider and Karl Heinz Bohm , very romantic ….. I was 12 ... the movie was ! If I remember well this is Mouse Island with a small monastery and church Back in Kerkeira There she is we are almost back home Next day it was a very short ride to Saranda , Albania but that’s for another time . Have a great weekend all , I have to first plant my garlic before we can go on our next cruise Tony 😁😁

There is no reason whatsoever to edit or delete your post @kochleffel nothing bad has been spoken here today I am just talking about the advantages and ease of the metric system what for instance @JazzyV very nicely showed us how much more accurate the "decimal " metric system is I was only trying to say , and maybe in an awkward way , that the Imperial system is only used in a couple of countries anymore , the US being one . Even the English are slowly converting to the metric system , specially in industrie and commerce , with Imperial units still widespread being used among the public , it might take another generation before it is fully accepted . BTW it still is nice to see when I drive in Maine to our daughters place on Mount Desert Island that the road signs show Miles and also Kilometres , ( a kilometre is 1000 metres and 1 metre is 100 centimetre . Just like a Dollar is 100 cents ) Tony

A pound is 500 grams in the metric system so much easier than all these strange measurements measurements that you are using , how many feet in a mile , you say ? The temperature of freezing water and boiling water ? There are only 2 countries in the world the USA and Liberia that have this odd system , plus a few minuscule little Islands . Canada has almost changed completely since the 70's that our PM Mr Trudeau enacted , it is because of our dear neighbours to the South that we are still talking about 2 by 4 's Hope I did not start a war here now ....... Tony 😁

Yes it is a very nice and easy walk down all the way through the gardens from near the exit if I remember well it was a short walk with the help of a little map or with your phone to get to the shuttle bus . T

Few pictures of when we were in Wellington , New Zealand in April 2013 on the Oosterdam and toured the city on our own to the wonderful Te Papa museum where we spend a few hours to learn a lot about New Zealand and than we took the Cable Car up to one of the large hills in the city to walk back down through the beautiful Botanical Gardens We had a very nice day and would love to go there again soon ! Have a great day everybody , back to slowly filling my suitcase .......... Tony 😁😁

We had a very nice turkey yesterday that DMIL ( at 97 ) made for us and she did a wonderful job , Martha helped with the trimmings in the afternoon while we just had a much smaller group than usual this year only with 8 of us around Great Grandma's table . A Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving to all our Canadian friends and Dailyites . Oh and by the way it was not one of these Tony

We have been in Split a good number of times , have toured the city and surrounding area always with our wonderful guide and good friend Ante Batarelo . Last September while cruising on the Oosterdam in the Adriatic Ante suggested a day going through the mountains South of Split through the St Jure Tunnel to the impressive Biokovo Mountains to the Nature Parkland where they just finished building a new Skywalk with a glass floor about 1260 mtr above sea level to have a good view of the Islands Hvar and Brac . It was too bad it was a little bit cloudy. Medieval chapel overlooking the Cetina Canyon A good number of people held on to the railing on the sides but I don’t know if that would have helped them IF …….. From there the tour went back towards Split along the coast seeing a number of small historical towns like Makarska and Omis In Zrnovnica we had another very nice stop for a delicious Croatian Tasting Lunch to the sounds of rushing waters , of coarse including Croation wine and schnapps to toast our guide and the people at the Antonicin Mlin ( A Game of Thrones Filming Location ! ) before returning to Split after a great day . A wonderful day was had by all , see you next time Ante …….. Tony 😁😁

Everybody have a great start on the weekend , all of a sudden it is getting much cooler here in SW Ontario this morning we were down to 8 C from a nice 23C yesterday afternoon . Time for our woolies and getting ready to get out of here ! We had a wonderful day on May 12th 2029 when we were on one of the very last cruises from the much loved Prinsendam in the Holland America Family and hit the Port of Portree on the Isle of Skye so I have to get a few nice pictures together to give you an idea of the beautiful scenery . Was this the same day you were there @StLouisCruisers ? to bad we missed you than . Everybody wants to get off , it looks like a beautiful day ……… Let’s find our guide Donald with whom I had set up a tour for 13 of us We are starting to go and see “ The Old Man old Store “ + Lealt Falls + Kilt Rock + The Quiraing ………… I know that tells you a lot ! Guess who were here first ……..a very long time ago …….. The “Fairy Glenn “ Time for a break ……. Did you see that ……... only for “Dogs and Well Behaved Humans “……. that was us ! Driver stop here please ….. Going back to the Port after a lovely “Scenic Tour “ That must have been because of the Scotch tasting from DW Martha After this gorgeous day it was time for dinner in the Canaletto where our friend Rifki , the manager gave the young ladies a nice rose for mothers day ! Have a great weekend everybody Tony 😍😍

Happy Thursday everybody , today a different story from sailingdutchy Fall time has arrived in SW Ontario so a few pics from farmingdutchy , the gardens are empty and I am well on my way to get them ready for spring once the snow has melted . This is just one on my gardens , I have used the fallen leafs to keep the pathways free of weeds next year . Today the skies are grey but yesterday it was brilliant in our woods and love to share it with you. Across the road the feed corn is ripening and drying Oh Canada ...... In a few days it is Canadian Thanksgiving , yes we are earlier than you folks below the 49th Parallel because Thanksgiving is a harvest festival and we have to do that earlier than you’ll below the 49th Parallel before the snow flies . So this year it is on Monday Oct 9 , 2023 . ……………and guess what we already have a turkey in the freezer that DMIL at 97 will be preparing for us on the weekend so we do not have to get one of these guys that just came to visit us today , all 9 of them ……… Have a beautiful day everybody ………..got to do some last minute stuff for our next cruise coming up soon ! Tony 😍

I am very late posting this because I was fighting and struggling with my iMac after I had this all prepared earlier this morning to show you our very nice day in Villefranche . We visited Villefranche-sur-Mer a couple of times in the spring and again in the fall of 2022 , in May while on the Nieuw Statendam I had booked a small group tour with 7 of us to go from there to a few Perched Medieval Villages of the Alps because in earlier years we already had been a few times to Cannes , Nice and also a number of times to Monaco . After tendering into Port we met up with what worked out to be our wonderful guide Fouad who showed us the beauty of this area The first mountaintop village we visited was Tourrettes-sur-Loup , in the Province- Alps-Cote d’Azur For our dearly departed friend Jose ............ we had just heard about what had happened back in Canada , RIP . Admiring a new Citroen 2CV …..meaning “two taxable horsepower “ Getting some sweets for on the road , some delicious Nougat Next we were taken to Gourdon another beautiful old mountaintop village Gourdon , one of the most beautiful medieval villages in France where the Roman ruins are to be found and its dramatic perched vantage point earned it the name “ the Eagles Nest “ For a nice little lunch I had a Croque-monsieur and madame Martha had a Croque- madame It was now time to slowly go back towards the coast while having another stop in Greolieres overlooking the Loup valley dominated by the the remains of the village “ Hautes Greolieres and the St Etienne’s chapel An amazing day was had by all , we hope we can hook up with this great guide soon for another tour with him ....................a;ez, alez , alez Fouad ! We have to get back to the port to go on the tender , the Captain is waiting and blowing his horn ........ Have a great evening everybody , sorry for the long post and being so late , see you soon on board another BHB ………… Tony 😍😍

Sorry people I tried for a while to post a video of the Japanese Kindergarden classes singing the "Ode to Joy " but just could not find a way to do it ,it is about 2 minutes long maybe that is the problem , Usually I can do quite a bit on my iMac but do not consider myself a techie. Tony 🤔

For the farewell in Shimizu I need space to show you this totally unexpected show…………... All of a sudden three special kindergarten school busses showed up right next to the ship , they looked as if they just came out of the factory a Red , a Yellow and a Blue one Very enthusiastic kids in their finest “uniforms “ with not a mark on their little white shoes or freshly pressed clothes while listening very well to just half a dozen teachers ran to their spots for what they came for , for us ….. It was getting to be a little cooler so the special jackets came out …. And than the musical instruments and flags They sang and played quite a few numbers for all of us , but it was almost time for “ All on Board “ when they started playing and singing Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy “ in Japanese which was composed by Beethoven in 1785 as it represents the triumph of Universal Brotherhood against war and desperation …….. when I think of this moment in Shimizu I am again getting emotional ………. I will never forget this day …….. 😍 I have a couple of short videos I don’t know if I am able to post that on this roll call I might try later ……. The kids and many of their parents stayed on shore and watched us slowly push away …. our Captain gave a few big toots This little guy but bigger than his classmates caught my eye as he was waving up to the people on their balconies on the ship PastedGraphic-1.tiff Tony 😍😍

Good morning Rich and all the major organizers and contributors to the Daily ! On Oct 14th , 2017 we landed in the Port of Shimizu on the Volendam we were only in Port for a very short time from 8 am until 2 pm so no time for a nice long tour but had a very nice welcome by the local dancers and an unforgettable rest of the day which I will show in a bit ……… With our friends that were on board we make a nice walk to the local seafood market where we saw the most incredible dishes , when we came back to port I enjoyed a nice Japanese tea ceremony and saw many ladies and also men trying out Japanese costumes . A special painted sign just for us .... After this friendly welcome we walked to the local large fish market They will eat almost anything from the sea in Japan ….. Let us taste some stuff ... Wow they eat the eyes ???? Kind of advertised as a delicacy ( I realize the picture is upside down , picture from an iPad , but had to show you this , you get the picture ?? ) Back in port , I am going for a tea ceremony . while the ladies and a lot of the crew are checking out Japanese costumes In a separate post I have to show you the departure from Shimizu in a few minutes ……… it was incredible ……… Tony 😄😄

Thank you for this Susan @durangoscots If you have a chance please show us some pictures of Sepp back home celebrating , he already had his big party in The Netherlands and in Spain .

Hello Daily Friends hope you are all having a nice fall day like we are having in SW Ontario , waking up with 13 C and temps going up to 25 C . Trees are turning and hundreds and hundreds of birds are coming through our woods on their way South to warmer climates. We are slowly getting our suitcases out for the Spanish Farewell cruise on the ms Oosterdam which is our way to look for warmer climates . I notice on the Daily that a lot of our Daily friends have similar desires and are getting on board soon , that is great to see! I found some pictures of Suva that I would like to share with you since I did not see many today . These are from our Pacific crossing in April 2013 , it was a very , very hot day so we did not stay out too long He scared me for a minute when we left the ship , headhunters in Fiji ……! The police band gave us a nice welcome . Have a great weekend everybody , Take Care and Stay Safe ! Tony 😄😁

Biggest joke for the day ........... Our dear daughter and grandson had to fly back home today and in Toronto airport they have US customs and security control . They took 2 nice jars of of Kraft peanut butter from her because that in their eyes is considered a liquid ?!?! Now if they would see a good and delicious tub of Dutch peanut butter they woud see a small layer of peanut oil on the top , I can see that ....... but Kraft ....... Natascha told the officers to enjoy the 2 jars one was crunchy and the other was smooth . ( the peanut butter that was ) Maybe because Kraft who does not manufacture peanut butter in the good US of A the officers would than after my daughter turned her back grab those jars to spoil their family ....... so now my dear family in the US has to wait until Christmas for their Kraft peanut butter , it would even be a larger present to them. I know this is kind of a nonsensical story but it kind of stuck to the roof of my mouth .......... thank the lord I picked those 2 nice 1 KG jars up this week on special ! Should I call Kraft not to make it so fluidly . Tony 😉

Happy Monday everybody , it’s a brand new week again and we can rest up from a busy weekend . We had a very nice but short visit from our daughter and grandson from Rye NY We have also been to Port Chalmers and Dunedin and after all the beautiful pictures from @StLouisCruisers and @JazzyV I don’t think there is much more to be seen than more sheep and more nice gorges but I will try to fine a few shots. The bank was closed ……. Lots of places to go to …….. we even have the direction to the South Pole Kids were selling their ware for a school project but from the looks were eating most of it themselves . It was a very nice day and we enjoyed the Train ride Have a great week everybody ! Tony 😁

I’m late again to the Sunday Daily Party , we were busy watching 2 races the Formula 1 and of coarse the Vuelta a Espana. The last American cycling racer who won a Grand Tour was Chris Horner 10 years ago but today Sepp Kuss stepped in his shoes . What a trio of racers in one team of 8 riders , Team Jumbo-Visma ( NL ) , the one team that has won all of this year's Grand Tours. #1 Sepp Kuss “ The Man from Durango “ the Super Domestique who now got his well deserved win in a Grand Tour . 21 days of racing #2 Jonas Vingegaard who won this year his 2nd Tour de France #3 Primoz Roglic who already won this year the Giro d’Italia and has previously won already 3 times the Vuelta a Espana Congratulations to Sepp and a shoutout to @durangoscots Sepp Kuss, they call hom “The Man from Durango " a 28-year-old from Durango, Colorado, rode into the maillot rojo at the Vuelta a España , becoming the first American man to lead one of cycling’s three Grand Tours in a decade . PastedGraphic-3.tiffPastedGraphic-3.tiffPastedGraphic-4.tiff Sorry had no time to find my pictures of Taormina , next time in the rotation . Tony 😁

We have been to Barcelona and are always very careful , other tricks they have for instance that somebody walks into to you with an ice cream cone in their hand and than start to clean of your shirt or pants . Also there could be somebody hiding in a tree and they drop something onto your clothes when you are underneath the tree . Be very careful when a small group approaches you trying to sell you something also take very good care when you ride in the Metro , young girls might bump into you and at the next stop run out of the train with some of your possessions or watch street shows in crowded spaces . We also have DW's purse slashed and her wallet was missing when we got to the hotel , since than we purchased slash proof bags which are recommendable. Do not set your purse on top of the table in a outdoor restaurant , it will be gone in no time . I do not want to mention any particular groups of people here but be careful . This goes for a number of large European and South American cities .

Good afternoon all , I am a little late after watching the Vuelta d’Espagna this morning to see how my team is doing in the race . Sepp Kuss , “ The Man from Durango “ on his 29th birthday came in third but is still leading the overall classification . Bet you @durangoscots was also glued to the TV . Saw some nice pictures from @Overhead Fred of our tour we did together also with @ToBe on the Rotterdam Anniversary Cruise last April when we landed in Inverness , the 6 of us had a lovely day , we saw a lot but what we came for to see “Nessie “ in the Loch , he was nowhere to be seen ……. maybe because it was not noon yet and we had not been drinking ......... Beauly Great name for a flower store “ oops a daisy “ Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness Invergorden The ancient burial mounts of Balnuaran of Clava Battlefield of Culloden A very nice day was had by all with our very good guide Neil M. Time for dinner with a very nice bottle of wine from Saint Emilion a present from my Dutch nephew for my BD . Tony 😁😁

From the looks of it on Marine Traffic the Zaandam with @HAL4NOW on board did not leave Halifax until this morning and instead of going to Bar Harbor is now steaming towards Boston . Wonder what the problem was that with a lot of work from the divers had to get fixed .

Hello Susan , I keep looking at your CC name @durangoscots , reason being that I am a huge cycling races fan , yes I grew up on a bike , and have been watching for the last couple of weeks “ The Man From Durango “ from the Jumbo Visma Team , Sepp Kuss who has been doing amazingly well , he is from Durango , in the Vuelta of Espanja race and which he is leading. Hope he can win this race , another 6 tough days to go , if he wins it would be very deserving because for a few years now he has supported and brought other riders of the team to be big champions . This year Jumbo is amazing and 3 of the 8 in that team are in the first 3 spots over all , that is 3 out of 176 riders who stared this race 2 weeks ago in Spain . Have you and people in your town been following what is happening ? Tony

Good morning all after a very exciting weekend with family , today a few nice pictures of the Falklands with still more penguins than you already saw today . We were very lucky that the captain of the Zaandam in 2015 was able to get us into the inlet near Port Stanley which usually has a 1 in 3 chance due to wind and rough seas. Ready and dressed for the occasion , including painters booties for the penguin dodo ! Roughing it for miles and miles through the wet fields in a group of jeeps so they could pull each other out in case they got stuck. And there they were waiting for us but than they turned their back on us ! Going in for a dive to get some lunch They chose the wading pool There were still a lot of mines to be found and to be cleared by experts coming from Africa , a result of the English - Argentine war . Old cruise ship ….. NOT from Holland America ! Yorke Bay …..more penguins DW would like a cup of hot chocolate ………. Next time I would like to go a little further to Volunteer Point where our friends went ………to see the Emperor Penguins …… Have a very nice start of the week everybody . See you in the next Port Tony 😁😁