Memories on this Date

[Cruising-along]

Nine years ago today, Celebrity Silhouette.  The ship was under a year old I believe, or close to it.  It still had that new ship smell.  Here's a sunset photo of Mykonos and the Silhouette docked in Mykonos.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Cruising-along

[whogo]

The Noordam arrived in Picton, New Zealand on November 4, 2018. We visited Kaipupu Wildlife Sanctuary, on a peninsula protected by an exclusion fence to keep out invasive rats, mice, stoats, and possums. Saw any number of traps and one successfully killed rat. Volunteers also set up nesting boxes for little blue penguins, seeing the penguins in a couple of the boxes was a cruise highlight.

 

I was amazed to find out that this was a fern tree, not a palm tree. They don't grow like that at home in the Midwest.

 

 

 

Great day in an interesting port. My reward for walking for miles:

 

 

 

[kb4683]

November 4, 2019 - Barcelona inside La Boqueria.

 

Sangria & beer

 

Jamon Iberico

 

pan con tomato

 

fried Padron peppers

 

the end result

[iflyrc5]

November 4, 2019 - Barcelona - Great city - We had a great tour that hit all the major highlights including the Park Guell and Sagrada Familia

[whogo]

Wonderful DIY pedestrian tour of Wellington, New Zealand on November 5, 2018 as we neared the end of our 38 night Noordam cruise. Beautiful weather, we visited the world class Te Papa New Zealand National Museum. I especially enjoyed the multimedia “Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War” exhibit. Maori exhibit was excellent, as you would expect, and I was flabbergasted that one of Captain Cook's cannon had been found:

 

We rode the cable car up to the botanical garden, great collection well presented. Stand on the date and raise your arms to tell time with the sundial of human involvement.

 

Things like cable cars and sundials of human involvement give me no end of pleasure.

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruising-along]

One year ago we were in Funchal, Madeira, our last port before the TA to FLL.  We took a walking tour, saw hundreds of beautiful and interesting painted doors and went to the farmers market where I bought the last flowers for our cabin (how I wish I'd been able to get these Nerines earlier in the cruise because they lasted SO much longer than most flowers.  I was sad to have to leave them behind when we debarked, they looked as good as the day I bought them).  Also that day we went to a wine tasting in an old fort.  A very enjoyable day for our last port.

[bennybear]

So enjoying these photos!  Love Barcelona and those tapas and sangria, sigh!  And the Amalfi!  
New Zealand is definitely on the bucket list, would have been there now if our French Polynesia trip  wasn’t cancelled!  
 

@Cruising-along I’ve never seen those lovely flowers!  
 

 

[Cruising-along]

1 hour ago, bennybear said:

I’ve never seen those lovely flowers!

I had never seen them before either, and fell in love!  I was told they grow up in the "mountains".  They last apparently for a month, I really wish I'd been able to get them earlier in our cruise.

[rafinmd]

October 5, 2017 the Prinsendam was in Malaga, and I walked into the city.  I first passed the Cathedral.

 

Continuing on I toured the Alcazaba

From one of the upper levels I got a nice view of the Elegant Explorer:

 

My final stop before heading back to the ship was the Teatro:

Roy

[whogo]

Cartagen, Spain, November 6, 2016. We stumbled into a street fair. The streets were lined with booths  and crammed with people, lots of families with kids.This was fun, it was locals instead of tourists. I saw places selling salt lamps, soaps, handmade jewelry, incense, lavender pillows, bibs, wooden toys, pastries, New Age stuff, and candy, it went on and on, up one street and down another. We hung out at Plaza San Francisco where there was a bit more breathing room. A big tent was doing good business serving paella, ribs, sausage and drinks, looked good:

There was a little train giving rides around the square and a nifty four seat kiddie Ferris wheel that was powered by a hand crank. The operator balanced out the load by adding sandbags where needed:

 

Nearby a line had formed for the woman making potato chips and I was inspired to join the queue. She was great fun, chatting with the customers while she turned a crank to slice peeled potatoes into boiling oil. The operation was mesmerizing as she scooped the chips out to drain and then spread them out before piling them into a paper cone.

 

The crowd had a lot of fun with my lack of Spanish and her lack of English. I finally understood to hold up one thumb to place my order and did not understand the cost beyond the two euros. How much more? A fellow patron held up 50 cents and I paid to the cheers and applause of the crowd. The chips were delicious.

 

I am smiling as I post these memories.

[kazu]

On 11/5/2020 at 2:16 PM, Cruising-along said:

I had never seen them before either, and fell in love!  I was told they grow up in the "mountains".  They last apparently for a month, I really wish I'd been able to get them earlier in our cruise.

 

Madeira really does have some of the most beautiful flowers 🙂. You made a very good choice. 😄 

[ski ww]

On board Prinsendam passing Gibraltar at 0400, 40k of wind. First pic is Africa & next is Gibraltar.

 

 

[Cruising-along]

A couple rainbow photos from the Koningsdam TA last year.

[bennybear]

Beautiful memories!  Thanks for sharing,  I want those chips! 

[rafinmd]

October 7,2017, the Prinsendam was in Lisbon.  I toured several of the key sites, using mostly the public transit system.  I visited Rossio Square in the morning.

 

 

I returned to the ship for lunch, and then rode some of the rail line that goes to Estoril, riding as far as the Discovery Monument.

 

 

I ended up walking a lot more than planned that day as a result of a lost/stolen wallet.  There was not a lot of value in the walled, perhaps 25 Euros, but the biggest loss may have been my metro day pass.  I was walking as I passed the Christ the Redeemer statue:

 

I did have a few coins in my pocket, enough for a single metro ride, so I rode back the last mile or so, arriving only a few minutes late for dinner.  I don't do much food porn but this was a bit of a special day.  Portuguese tarts are a really big favorite in Crystal's bistros.  I'm not that big a fan but getting one as part of my breakfast from an authentic Portuguese bakery was just too good to pass up.

 

I was especially pleased to return to the Prinsendam for lunch as they featured a superb baked macaroni and cheese:

 

Roy

 

[kb4683]

November 7, 2014.  Volver Restaurant, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.  The night before our Antarctic Explorer cruise on Quark's MV Sea Spirit.

 

Choosing our main course 😲

 

Off to the kitchen for the weigh-in 

 

Appetizer (not sure why we ordered it with the size of that crab, but we ate the whole thing)

 

Final presentation 😋

 

Another great memory!

 

[iflyrc5]

November 8, 2019 - Rotterdam visit to Casablanca, Morocco and a private tour to Rabat.

[Cruising-along]

Day 3 of our TA on the Koningsdam, some photos taken around the ship.  These may be some of the last photos for me, we've never cruised in December or most other winter months!  Funny, the first time we sailed the K wasn't a great experience. I think it was January 2017.  It wasn't good because we had a multitude of problems with the service, billing, and our cabin.  We have since sailed her 39 days (wonderful experience) and have a few more cruises booked on the K.  Just goes to show, always give a second chance 🙂  

[ski ww]

The Prinsendam was in Lisbon. And that's were we live. The western most point in Europe & then lunch.

 

 

[Horizon chaser 1957]

First sight of the elegant explorer at Port Everglades as we board to head out for the Amazon two years ago today.

second picture, visiting Singapore on board the Volendam four years ago today.

[1ANGELCAT]

November 9, 2016.  The Oosterdam was in Funchal Madeira. I did the ships tour that went to the sea cliff and ended up at Reeds Hotel for high tea. 

[rafinmd]

Two different trips for me but both concern my favorite HAL ship.  November 9, 2014 I boarded the Wind Star for a Transatlantic in Lisbon.  My hotel was in Estoril and I was up early watching the Tagus.  I watched the Prinsendam go up the river but at the time it was too early for a photo but I did get a couple from the Wind Star:

 

 

3 years later I was on the Prinsendam and we were in Funchal.  One of the things I especially remember is a number of logos on the sea wall posted by a variety of past visitors.  @Copper10-8 has posted on similar logos on the wall in Skagway.  I'll start with a collection of military ships:

 My all time favorite ship I have never been on is the RSS Ernest Shackleton.  It was our escort ship on our 2016 Northwest Passage trip and was present in both drawings and in the flesh:

Finally, there was a big collection of HAL mementos on the wall:

Roy

[ski ww]

In Funchal on board the Prinsendam during a TA .

 

[kb4683]

November 11, 2019 -- we overnighted in Funchal, Madeira, the last stop of our TA on the Rotterdam before Fort Lauderdale.

 

[bennybear]

Such beautiful photos,  and lots of great food!   Well I can join in again as three years ago we were in Fort Lauderdale pre cruise,   Dinner!