Adventure 2012

We have recently finalized our travel plans for 2012. Our departure will be on September 10th for a bit of a puddle jump to Barcelona, Spain. Imagine we leave on the 10th to be in Barcelona on the morning of the 12th - That is 11:30 pm on the 10th and pretty much a full day layover in Montreal before we catch a 6:00 pm flight to Barcelona, with the time change landing in Barcelona at 7:45 am local time on the 12th. Points gotta love em.

We will be staying in Barcelona for two nights then taking the train to Sitges for 3 nights.

Sitges is about a 40 minute train ride south of Barcelona and is where our son Dustin is living with his girlfriend Stephanie and their dog Lily. On the 17th is when we board the ms Prinsendam for a 30 day Holland America Collector's Voyage to the Black Sea and the Holy Lands. Itinerary as follows:

Sep 17th: Barcelona - Depart at 5:00 pm

Sep 18th: At Sea

Sep 19th: At Sea

Sep 20th: Gythion, Greece - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 2:00 pm

Sep 21st: At Sea - cruising The Dardanelles & The Sea of Marmara

Sep 21st: Istanbul, Turkey - Arrive 6:00 pm

Sep 22nd: Istanbul, Turkey - Depart 11:00 pm

Sep 23rd: At Sea

Sep 24th: Sochi, Russia - Arrive 7:00 am - Depart 8:00 pm

Sep 25th: Trabzon, Turkey - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 5:00 pm

Sep 26th: Sinop, Turkey - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 5:00 pm

Sep 27th: Sevastopol, Ukraine - Arrive 6:00 am - Depart 4:00 pm

Sept 28th: Varna, Bulgaria - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 5:00 pm

Sep 29th: At Sea - cruising The Sea of Marmaris and The Dardanelles

Sep 30th: Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey - Arrive 7:00 am - Depart 5:00 pm

Oct 01st: Piraeus (Athens), Greece - 6:00 am - Depart 7:00 pm

Oct 02nd: At Sea

Oct 03rd: Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt - Arrive 6:00 am - Depart 10:00 pm

Oct 04th: Port Said, Egypt - Arrive 9:00 am - Depart 6:00 pm

Oct 05th: Ashdod (Jerusalem), Israel - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 11:00 pm

Oct 06th: Haifa, Israel - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 11:00 pm

Oct 07th: At Sea

Oct 08th: Antalya, Turkey - Arrive 8:00 am- Depart 5:00 pm

Oct 09th: Marmaris, Turkey - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 5:00 pm

Oct 10th: Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 11:00 pm

Oct 11th: At Sea

Oct 12th: Katakolon, Greece - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 11:00 pm

Oct 13th: Kerkira, Corfu, Greece Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 5:00 pm

Oct 14th: Korcula, Croatia - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 5:00 pm

Oct 15th: Brindisi, Italy - Arrive 8:00 am - Depart 5:00 pm

Oct 16th: At Sea

Oct 17th: Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy - Arrive 7:00 am

Train into Rome for a weeks stay at a B&B in Rome.

Jan’s brother Jeff and his wife Sunny will be joining us in Barcelona and for the first two weeks on the cruise from Barcelona to Athens. We are very excited to have them on board as it will be their first cruise and we do hope that they will be joining us on our future cruises.

I will be posting a monthly update between now and the commencement of this next adventure to keep the blog active. I will include some of our activities along with a few my favorite recipes.

Until next time ....

Grand Asia / Australia Summary - January 15, 2012

Well we are back for just over a month, Christmas and New Years behind us and as I write this we are spending the weekend at our place on the Sunshine Coast. With the many chores out of the way as we have not been here since September I can settle in looking out big picture window and reflect and bring to the forefront all the memories and highlights from our most recent adventure.

What comes to mind, well what an avalanche of thoughts, first though was the realization that we did not take a cruise but truly a Grand Voyage. The massive waves and weather for roughly five days (pun intended) on our crossing from North America to Russia really did indicate that we were on an adventure. I recall kneeling on the bed so that I could lean over the area before our large picture window so I could get as close to action as possible and then being in awe of the distance between the tops of the waves and then the depths of the troughs we were definitely on our way. Going outside, I don’t think so ... oh I did try the doors on the promenade deck but you really had to force them open with all the energy you could muster and then only to be exposed to the howling conditions while just getting soaked, ah no I lasted only for a few seconds before settling for watching the action from the inside of our safe haven. The other indication of the sea conditions was the emptiness of the dining room for those many rough nights, the quartet playing in the evenings was reduced to a duet.

The other thought that comes to mind is the friendliness of the people of all ports visited, we are not all that different. People were helpful, courteous and very respectful. Of course you had the occasional idiot but overall a very comfortable journey. Other things would be the city contrasts of density, density, density to the oasis in the middle of the city where all is quiet and serene. Also, the night lights of the China ports of Shanghai and Hong Kong and the incredible night lights in Singapore. The transportation system in the many cities also comes to mind, if you take a few minutes you can actually figure it out and really make it work for you - it is really not that difficult. If you know ours or the one in your local area then you pretty much have it figured out (perhaps all designed by the same people - you know our global market). If you don’t know your local system, then it would be to your advantage to figure it out prior to traveling, you will save time and money and in cases some aggravation. And on the note of transportation, I will never forget the getting around in Indonesia, particularly in Jakarta and Samerang with our police escorts on our shore excursions, amazing.

I will never forget the kindness and professionalism of all our guides but to name a few Jerry in Beijing and Stephanus in Bali. If you want to peel a few layers off a city or culture a guide is a must, yes a few dollars but in many cases as our shore excursion people say, you can see or visit a place but you can also experience it by digging a bit deeper with a guide. It really depends on what your individual interests are. When visiting a port on a cruise ship you really only have a day or if you are lucky and overnight stay so maximizing your time is paramount - or not again it depending on you.

I will always remember and always enjoy sail ins. Ports like Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta and Sydney to name a few on this journey are just incredible to see these destinations come into view. I have yet to match the sunrise beauty of the early morning sail into Sydney harbour. Second to the sail ins are the sail aways, ah close my eyes and I am there.

Lastly and certainly not least is the professionalism of the crew of the MS Amsterdam that provided the transportation and all the creature comforts that Jan and I (as well as all others aboard) enjoyed while we were on this incredible journey. From Captain Eversen to the staff in the engine room, from the Cruise Director Gene Young and all the entertainment staff to the Hotel Manager Henk Mensink and the Housekeeping Staff that keep us and our stateroom looking great to Chef Bernie and his masterful culinary team awesome job and we do thank them for the memories.

Jan and I entered a few pictures in the ship sponsored photo contest taking place on the final week of the voyage. There were four categories, People, Architecture, Wildlife and Landscape and two voting categories, guest vote and celebrity (including the ship’s officers). For our first time entering we did very well, we won second place in both voting categories for Architecture and Wildlife. We have included our entries, leading with our prize winners.

Tip or Comment of the Day. The last of this chapter in this voyage, if possible get yourself a good quality camera when embarking on an adventure, especially one that will give you a plethora of photo opportunities. I have done all the narratives in this blog but Jan has given an incredible palette of photos to choose from to dress it up and make if, we hope, exciting. We hope you enjoyed the armchair ride as you came along with us. Next week I will be posting our next exciting adventure, I will say that it begins in Barcelona with a visit to Sitges where our son and his girlfriend are currently living. 

Our winners ...

Taken coming into Singapore Harbour. Second Place

 Taken at the Wildlife Park Koala reserve in Darling Harbour in Sydney. Second Place

Our other entries...

The morning view of the Sydney Opera House.

A beautiful day spent on the Great Wall of China.

Flower pot island in America Semoa.

Managing the boat in Hong Kong.

Not flowers but candy, taken in Dalian, Peoples Republic of China.

The second wildlife entry taken also at the Wildlife Park in Sydney.

Happy New Year !!!

A note of Happy New Year from us in Vancouver. We are currently working on travel plans for 2012 as well as making a few cosmetic changes to the blog. Our travel plans will be firmed up this week so I will post our next adventure by the end of this week.

Our return launched us right into Christmas / New Years so my trip summary has been delayed, this will also be posted very soon.

Again the best of the season to all of you that are following us and good health and happy travels in 2011.

Gerard and Jan