The Daily for Thursday Apr 29, 2021

[Cruise Suzy]

1 hour ago, summer slope said:

Pumpkin Spice Mule:

Ingredients
1 1/2 oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka

3 oz ginger beer
1tbsp pumpkin puree
1 lime, squeezed
Directions
Add Tito’s Handmade Vodka, pumpkin puree, and lime juice to a shaker with ice.
Shake and strain into a glass.
Top with ginger beer.

 

Similar to one given on November 1, 2020

 

2 ounces Pumpkin Pie Vodka
3/4 ounce ginger liquor
Ginger beer for topping
Fresh mint and star anise for garnish

 

Add ice to a copper mug and let it chill.
Pour in the vodka and ginger liquor then stir.
Top with ginger beer and garnish with fresh mint and star anise
 

[StLouisCruisers]

Continuing in Jerusalem, we got off the bus and walked through the Jaffa Gate, walking past stalls and shops.  

 

Entrance to a convent.

 

 

Very well worn stone pathways.

 

There was a huge gift shop we were allowed to look around in for some time but I stayed outside most of the time taking photos of fountains and small stalls.  From there we walked to the Holy Sepulchre Church which is believed to be the site where Jesus Christ was crucified and buried.

 

 

 

Inside the Church we saw the Crucifixion Altar

 

and the Tomb of Jesus

 

We continued on with the tour for several more hours and I have a lot more photos but wanted to cut to the end where we went to the Wailing Wall (also known as the Western Wall). 

 

The area was divided with women on one half and men on the other.

 

From there we walked back through a different gate to our bus and the drive back to our new home away from home, the Prinsendam.  There really is too much to see and learn about on these tours so it is somewhere we should try to visit again.  It was the same way in Haifa when we went to Nazareth and the Jordan River.  I recommend a Holy Land cruise to everyone.  

 

 

[ger_77]

Good morning, late to the party - slept in!  Things are greening up on the "frozen tundra" (yay!), I love to dance and will often grab DH in the kitchen for an impromptu swing-around, and Peace Roses are so pretty!  

 

DH would totally agree with Thomas Edison; he has his "mad scientist's workshop" in the garage where he creates the most amazing(and unusual) things.  He's very creative and has more talent than he is willing to admit.

 

We've been to today's port - Ashdod in 2009 on the Rotterdam, then on a HAL bus to Jerusalem for the day.  It was the first time our whole family(at that time) went on a cruise together, and DH had a bad ankle, so he chose a less strenuous tour, while our 20 something son and I took off on the longest one available.  It was fabulous seeing all the places I'd learned about in Catholic school, but things started running together and there was definitely information overload.  At one point (it was the Rock of Golgotha in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre), DS turned to me and said "What place is this again?"  To which I replied "Oh my gosh, I've lost track, all I know is that rock is holy, just touch it and pray!"  LOL

 

Neither of us is a huge fan of cauliflower, so I think I'll give a pass to today's menu suggestion.  Yesterday DH said we haven't had burrito bowls for a long time, so I think we'll be doing an order and curbside pick up of those for our dinner tonight.  And wine.

 

Prayers for everyone who needs them and even for those who don't think they do.  Extra prayers for Roy.  Raising the wine glasses tonight to toast everyone on the happy list.  Stay safe, be well, wash your hands, wear your mask(s) and get your jabs!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

Gerry

[kb4683]

Our very last cruise 😭 was “32-day Holy Land & Journey to the New World” on the Rotterdam – 10/19/2019, to 11/20/2019.  

 

We were in Ashdod on 10/24/19.  We took a 9.5 hour ship tour and, when going thru our photos, they are almost identical to @StLouisCruisers.  Wonderful experience!

[JazzyV]

Good morning. Thanks for the Daily.

Good days.

I'll pass on the nachos, but like the drinks. I like Roy's meal.

I've not been to today's port. Thanks for the pictures from those who have been there.

It's gray and rainy here today; it's good for the lawn. I'll work on my eBay stuff I think.

 

Prayers to the care list and cheers to the celebration list.

Stay safe everyone!

[Overhead Fred]

A couple of days ago we bought a cat tower for our "grand kitties". To say they loved it would be an understatement!

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is the last from my 2012 Celebrity Solstice Transatlantic.  On April 29 we disembarked in Barcelona.

 

Roy

 

[Cruising-along]

Good morning all!

Good collection of days.  I'll pass on the drink and meal,  not much of a fan of cauliflower, and it will be take-out tonight anyway. 🙂  The wine does sound great though, I love white blends.

 

For the first time in a long time I'm feeling optimistic about the start up of cruising after the announcement from CDC.  We have 2 cruises booked for late this year, who knows, maybe at least one of them will go. 🙂  

 

We had 4 days in Israel in 2011 on the Celebrity Silhouette.  It was meant to be 2 days in Egypt, 2 days in Israel, but our second visit to Egypt wasn't meant to be.  We were fully immersed in Israel, it was a great cruise.  My photos are pretty much identical to @StLouisCruisers, so won't post them here.  

 

Today will be spent packing and last minute chores, we'll be leaving tomorrow morning for our road trip to the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde NP and Yellowstone. 

 

Have a great day everyone!

[garlictown]

☕Happy Thursday and Thank You for the Daily!✏️

We'd booked a great trip from Greece to Italy with 🛳️Viking (ocean) for 2020 with Israel including and we all know what happened!🙃

🙏Prayers for all in need.....❤️to dance to the oldies!😉

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

27 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Good morning all!

Good collection of days.  I'll pass on the drink and meal,  not much of a fan of cauliflower, and it will be take-out tonight anyway. 🙂  The wine does sound great though, I love white blends.

 

For the first time in a long time I'm feeling optimistic about the start up of cruising after the announcement from CDC.  We have 2 cruises booked for late this year, who knows, maybe at least one of them will go. 🙂  

 

We had 4 days in Israel in 2011 on the Celebrity Silhouette.  It was meant to be 2 days in Egypt, 2 days in Israel, but our second visit to Egypt wasn't meant to be.  We were fully immersed in Israel, it was a great cruise.  My photos are pretty much identical to @StLouisCruisers, so won't post them here.  

 

Today will be spent packing and last minute chores, we'll be leaving tomorrow morning for our road trip to the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde NP and Yellowstone. 

 

Have a great day everyone!

Have a safe trip.  I know you will enjoy all three stops.

[rafinmd]

My call in Ashdod on the Crystal Serenity was 2 days. The first day I did mostly the same things as StLouisCruisers, and I won't duplicate her photos.   The second day we went to the Dead Sea and also the old settlement of Masada, once the Winter Palace of  King Herod.  I did not start blogging on Wordpress until 2011 and the photos are not labeled like more recent ones but  the first 3 are from Masada:

 

And a couple from the Dead Sea:

 

Roy

 

[cruzn single]

Again, thanks to all who make this such a special, positive place.  I have loved the pictures of Jerusalem this morning.  Was supposed to do a land tour of Israel this year, but, alas, not to be.  Surely hope that cruising can be resumed as CDC is now giving hope.

 

I love peace roses.  Not seen much anymore.  I remember that my Father was so proud of the one peace rose in our yard while I was growing up.  It is a very old type of rose.  He died in 1955, when I was 13, so know that type dates back a long time!

 

I already have nachos on the menu for this evening.  Not cauliflower, but the "unhealthy" kind!  Oh well, I will enjoy anyway, and think of those who choose the healthy variety!

 

It is finally warming up a little, and we have a beautiful blue sky today.  No rain in the forecast.  Have a great day, everyone!

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

Good morning.  @Seasick Sailor Joy, your storm got here about 1 am complete with light and sound show.  Our rain gouge shows .86 inches.

 

All the days are good ones to celebrate.  We will dance a little in the Ocean Bar on a BHB.  Will pass on the meal suggestion.

 

Like Edison's quote.  It's quite a story about his rivalry with Tesla.  

 

We have been to Ashdod on the Prinsendam in 2017, and spent two days there since our call to Egypt was cancelled.  Our taxi drive from the day in Haifa, met us at the shuttle drop-off and we spent the day seeing Masada, and Jerusalem.  I hope I don't repeat many of the pictures @StLouisCruisers posted.

 

On our way to Masada, we stopped at an overlook for a view of the Judean Desert.  You can catch a glimpse of the Dead Sea in the upper right hand corner of the second picture.

 

Our next stop was Masada.  The picture shows people walking up the Snake Path.  We took the gondola up and down.

 

A couple of views of Masada and the Dead Sea.

 

Jerusalem was not on the day's itinerary, but we were ready to leave Masada about noon, so talked our driver into taking us to Jerusalem also.  He was not happy as that meant driving through Palestinian territory.  Once in the walled city, he rushed us through there, hitting a few of the high spots including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Western Wall.  I spent more time trying to keep up and watch my footing, so there aren't too many pictures of the different quarters.  Our driver and DH went to the wall, but I waited at the barrier overlooking the Wailing Wall so I could get a picture of them.  Just before they reached the wall, a man very rudely and loudly ordered me away.   

I would like to go back one day, and have a little more time walking through the old city.

 

Jerusalem from the viewpoint above the cemetery.

 

The street from the parking garage to the Jaffa Gate.

 

Another view of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which was very crowded.  The wait to enter the tomb was an hour.

 

One of the many narrow streets.

 

The Western Wall and the Old City

 

On the way out of the Old City, our driver spotted the Israeli President's car and wanted DH to take his picture beside it.  I also got a picture of our driver and the car.

 

Just a couple of pictures of Jerusalem as we headed back to the Prinsendam.  The traffic was horrific that day as it was the opening of the Knesset.

 

Lenda

 

[StLouisCruisers]

@Quartzsite Cruiserit's good to see some photos of other areas outside Ashdod, like Masada.  Thank you.

[jimgev]

Not too many flowers have a "national day". The peace rose is extraordinary. It is one of the most popular roses. First developed in Europe in the mid 1930's, its general introduction to the public was hinderd by WWII. In 1945 it was introduced to the public and given its name. It was an immediate success story.

[sailingdutchy]

We had a fantastic cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean , Greece , Albania , Italy , Cyprus , Israel , Malta , Spain, Portugal and after that all the way back to Ft Lauderdale on the beautiful Prinsendam in Oct / Nov 2016 .

 

Our good friends Ann @VictOriann  , with DH Pat and their DD had organized a wonderful tour to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea from Ashdad. It was a very long but amazing day one we will always remember , towards the end of the day floating in the Dead Sea healed us all .

 

Thank you very much for your beautiful pictures  and the descriptions @StLouisCruisers   and @Quartzsite Cruiser of coarse we went to a lot of the same places  I will try not to duplicate too many pictures .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An amazing day and wonderful tour we saw so much history and religion in just a few hours after that we went to the Dead Sea but I will show some pictures in a separate post . ( they will have to go through the  censor board first ! 😄😄 ) 

 

Tony 

Edited April 29, 2021 by sailingdutchy

[Vict0riann]

Good morning, all.  Sounds like an interesting recipe today - I have sent it to DD, as I think she will enjoy making it for us.  Love cauliflower!

 

I have good news and bad news for you today... which do you want first?  Right, the good news is that the  biopsy of the bump on my nose came back benign, according to the doctor's office.  I think when next I see him, I will ask him exactly what it was.  It definitely was a strange thing.   The bad news is that we will be cancelling our August 1 cruise on the new Rotterdam today.  So sad, it's given me a headache thinking about it, but I think we will be safer to wait until next year to cruise.

 

We have been to Israel twice on Prinsendam.  The first time I was recovering from noro, and was still in quarantine, so I didn't go ashore.  The Prinsendam had intended one day in Ashdod and one in Haifa, but there was some shelling going on near Haifa, so we stayed two days in Ashdod (I'm not altogether sure about that, as I was sick - it might have been the reverse, but I think we were in Ashdod) Pat and our younger DD chose different ship's tours, DH went to Jerusalem the first day (with DD), and then to Nazareth the second, and DD went to Acre and the Bah'ai Gardens on the second day.  Then they both got sick!  

 

The second time we went to Israel on Prinsendam in 2016, again with DD, we were joined by @sailingdutchy and a great group of CCers, we did lots of tours together.    The first day, in Ashdod, we took a tour to Jerusalem, and then had a quick dip in the Dead Sea!  Quite an experience.  I remembered my mother telling me that when she went there she more or less sat on top of the water!  My pictures of Jerusalem are like all the others, I was fascinated with how they had made the cobbled streets of Jerusalem wheelchair accessible, so I will show you that.

 

 

The Dead Sea  (You'd better be careful, Tony!)

 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Vict0riann

[mamaofami]

Good morning everyone. We visited Jerusalem in 1982 after winning a free trip from a raffle in our synagogue. Little did we know that our oldest daughter would marry an Israeli and that we would have two wonderful grandsons who live in the US and have duel citizenship. They both have exemptions from the Israeli army since they don’t live there, but it has to be renewed every few years.

 

This morning my book group met on zoom since it’s a gloomy day outside. Yesterday , we had two couples come over to our patio. They were all vaccinated so I was the only one wearing a mask. I can’t wait till my nose heals so I can get my life back after I can get vaccinated.

 

Stay well and safe everyone.

 

Carol

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

The second day we were docked in Ashdod, we talked about finding a taxi to take us to Bethlehem, but after two long days spent in a taxi, we decided against going.  Along with another couple, we found a taxi in the port to take us to Jaffa and Tel Aviv.

 

If we're lucky enough to return to Ashdod, I want to find someone to take us to Bethlehem and Jerusalem for a slower walk in the Old City.

 

Jaffa is the ancient port for Jerusalem.  It is a town we really enjoyed.

 

Looking from Jaffa toward Tel Aviv.

 

Our driver dropped us off at seaside promenade in Tel Aviv.

 

After a short time along the sea, our next stop was a mall in downtown Tel Aviv, and we had an hour or so to wander around.  I'll confess we spent most of our time in the mall where we shared a pizza.

 

A couple of street scenes in Tel Aviv taken from the car as we headed back to the Prinsendam.

 

Lenda

 

[Cruising-along]

I found a few photos I hope haven't been posted already.  I'll spare you the ones of me floating in the Dead Sea!  😆

 

View of the Dead Sea

 

Masada

 

If there's a cat anywhere I'll take a photo of it.  This one lives in the ruins of Masada.

 

Going up to Masada.  This really tested my fear of heights, but so worth it.

[puppycanducruise]

@Vict0riannGood news about the biopsy.  Sorry you are cancelling your cruise.

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

@Vict0riann Great news about the biopsy results.  Sorry you are cancelling your cruise.

 

@sailingdutchy and @Vict0riann We were on the Prinsendam with you in 2016, but we got off in Athens before the ship headed to Israel.  Ann, I remember talking to you at the M&G after your boarded.

 

Ann, those "ramps" were why I was looking down not around on our "mad dash" through the Old City in 2017.

 

Hope we'll be able to sail together on another BHB.

 

Lenda

Edited April 29, 2021 by Quartzsite Cruiser

[cat shepard]

20 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:

....the good news is that the  biopsy of the bump on my nose came back benign, according to the doctor's office.  I think when next I see him, I will ask him exactly what it was.  It definitely was a strange thing.   

 

 

Wonderful news, Ann!

[Sharon in AZ]

Good morning everyone and Happy Thursday!  Thank you for the Daily Rich and thank you for your lists Roy. 
 

All the days are worth celebrating today!  Although I don’t dance much because DH refuses to dance, he just doesn’t have the desire. I talked him into taking dance classes years and years ago and he hated it so I stopped bugging him about dancing. Now I just dance in my mind. 
 

I am enjoying all the pictures of today’s port. Thanks to everyone for sharing. 
 

I’ll pass on the meal suggestion, I like cauliflower but just as a side, not the main attraction. 😉  I think I might dig out some chicken from the freezer and make the artichoke mushroom dish that @kazu and @VictOriann posted a few weeks ago. 
 

Have a great day everyone!!

[sailingdutchy]

Ashdad tour Part 2 .

 

It was quite a warm day and we had already done a lot of walking so after a drive towards the Dead Sea  we stopped for a snack and drink before we took a “ dive “ into the sea .

 

Here you can see the sea in the distance 

 

 

 

The date palm farms 

 

 

 

 

It is not easy walking into the sea because of all the very uneven seafloor you can't see under the water  but once in it was wonderful what an experience .!

 I have to admit , I am not a swimmer , but I was so happy to float on my back for minutes without doing anything  . DW got some very , very salty water in her eyes ( yes she was warned …....) so she went quick to the showers .

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

I am sorry to do this to you but the speedo and bikini pictures I have on file did not make it through the Censor ! 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Israeli guide  , Ital , who had done an awesome job all day  did not talk about the settlements we saw in Palestinian territory ......

 

Tony 😄

 

OK Ann @VictOriann you can look now you are safe !

 

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by sailingdutchy