by Jim Bellomo | Oct 3, 2024 | Uncategorized
It’s been a while, but I wanted to let you know to get ready for a plethora of posts as we leave for Europe a week from today. I know—we are going to Europe again. In our defense, when we were there in June, we were just up north in Scotland, England and Norway. This time, we will be heading south to Spain and Portugal.
Last October, we sailed on Oceania’s Vista from Montreal to Miami. On that trip, we were joined by our good friends Mike and Cathy from Wellington, Florida, my brother Steve and his wonderful bride Jamie from San Juan Capistrano, California and our good buddy Jocelyn Hartwell from Chelan, Washington. Sadly, Jocelyn won’t be joining us for this adventure, but the six of us (Mike, Cathy, Steve, Jamie, Kathleen and I) will all be back together. (Just an aside, Mike and I were talking about three months ago that we should always vacation together in October, so next year, we are cruising the Columbia River, and in October 2026, we will cruise the Great Lakes.)
As I mentioned, a week from tonight, we will board British Airways flight 48 from here in Seattle, non-stop to London Heathrow, where we will have about three and a half hours to either rush or relax (depending on how late our flight from Seattle is) before we head south to Madrid, Spain. Although we have been to Spain before, all our visits have been on the Mediterranean coast, where we have visited Tarragona, Barcelona, Málaga and Valencia. But this will be our first time in Spain’s capital.
We are in Madrid from October 11 until the 16th. During our stay, besides seeing Madrid, we will go on day trips to Segovia and Toledo. Since we are traveling with the king of shore excursions and tours, Mike Preisman, we will be on some of the best tours in all of the Iberian peninsula.
After five full days in Madrid, we will catch a plane to hop over the mountains to Lisbon, Portugal. From the time we land there and for the next ten days, we will fully enter the world of Viking River Cruises. We will spend two nights in Lisbon and then board a “luxury motor coach” for a ride north to Portugal’s second city, Porto, where we will board the Viking Torgil for a six-night cruise up and then back down the Douro River. From the riverboat, we will do excursions to Salamanca, Spain, as well as Regua, Barca d’Alva, Pinhão and Lamego, Portugal. (See the map above–you can click on it to enlarge it) We are sure to have fun, food and a great time!
After we are off the cruise in Porto, we are taking a private airporter-type coach south and back to Lisbon, where we will spend another four days at one of our favorite hotels—Hotel Portugal (really original name ?). On the 29th, we will board a flight back up to London Heathrow, where we will spend the night at an airport hotel before flying home the next day. So this means we are gone from the 10th to the 30th! It will not be quite as long as last June, but it will still be long enough for us to have a great time.
This post tells you only a bit because I plan to blog as often as possible. So get ready for another bunch of posts with photos. Of course, as always, my posts will be totally dependent on Wi-Fi. That means good coverage when we are in hotels and, who knows, what we will get on the boat.
In Spain, the dead are more alive than the dead of any other country in the world. —Federico Garcia Lorca
by Jim Bellomo | Jun 1, 2024 | Food Experiences
This post will be a personal one as opposed to my usual travel stuff wherein I complain about something ?. We are spending the first four days of our current trip with our good friends Paul and Gail at their home in Leeds, England.
After our ride with Welcome Pickups we arrived at Kings Cross station to take the train north to Leeds. If you are unfamiliar with European trains, I can only say that I LOVE them. They are a wonderful form of transportation that I wish we had more of at home. Clean, safe, on time and more.
We had pre-purchased a three-day (non-consecutive) rail pass before we left home. It allowed us to travel on any train in Great Britain for three days in a 30-day period starting on the day of first use. It took me a few e-mails with the folks we purchased it to understand how it worked, but I finally got it. You have to activate the pass for a particular day in advance. You can also purchase assigned seats for a very small amount ($5.00 each), and I did that for two of our trips, but I couldn’t for this one to Leeds because we were not sure what time we would get to the station from the airport. We know what time we will be leaving on our remaining train rides, so we have reserved seats.
Before we left, I downloaded the schedule and knew there was a train to Leeds every half an hour for most of the day. It was almost noon when we were in the car about a mile from Kings Cross. There was a train to Leeds at 12:03, 12:33 and 1:03. Since it was noon, I figured that by the time we got there and got our luggage out of the car, into the station, found the train platform, we needed to be on, we could get the 1:03. Nope. We walked into the station at 12:20, got quick directions, walked to the platform, used our passes to get through the gates, and talked to a nice lady who directed us to our first-class coach. and we were aboard and sitting in our seats on the 12:33. Can you imagine doing that at an airport?
The ride north was just short of two and a half hours. We only made four stops, and they were quick ones. The midday train was about half empty, so we had no problem finding seats. Our “first class” ticket came with lunch, which turned out to be a drink, a sandwich and crisps (almost typed chips ?). It was not gourmet, but we were hungry after that horrible Virgin Air breakfast, so we were happy to get it.
Once we got to Leeds, we quickly got off the train, and Paul and Gail met us as we left the station platform. We got into their car and drove back to their house. We had visited them pre-pandemic before our cruise from Dublin to Iceland, but they had moved since then, so we got to see their beautiful new home. It is really very nice and just perfect for the two of them and the grandchildren who visit often.
Most of you who read my posts know that I am an early riser, but I have to tell you that yesterday, I don’t think I was up and moving until well after 8:00 a.m. I slept a full nine hours after being up for almost 30 hours, Thursday through Friday. We were both wiped out. Today, I seem to be back on schedule, getting up at my usual 5:30 a.m., which gives me a chance to write this. Win-win!
Our day yesterday was leisurely as Paul and Gail planned to let us recuperate from our flight. We went into nearby Harrogate midday and did a short walk through a beautiful park and around the city center before we stopped for lunch at the amazing Bettys Tea Room (no, there is no apostrophe). We had been to Bettys before as it is a Yorkshire institution. And the lunch was delicious. I had a rarebit that came with my choice of three chutneys (Onion, tomato and apple), but I asked for all three. Yum! But as good as lunch was, what you come to Bettys for is the Fat Rascal. The photo at the top is us holding the Fat Rascal that we split. After having lunch, there is no way to eat an entire Rascal on your own. Think of a Fat Rascal as a kind of giant scone (about that consistency) with raisins and maybe currants inside and almonds and cherries to make a face on the top. They are delicious and a must-eat treat if you come to Yorkshire (the general area where Leeds and Harrogate are located).
After lunch and another quick walk around the town, we were back to Paul and Gail’s, where Kathleen took a nap, and Gail and I went out on a 3+ mile walk around the area (which is beautiful). I did take a few photos while we were walking around Harrogate so those of you who follow me for those had something to look at. Nothing that will make my top ten, but certainly some things I liked. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
When you are in any part of Europe, you realize how young our country is.
So many of the buildings in Europe are older than our entire country.
And if the sky is right, they make great photographs.
And I love street stuff like this trumpet player who was playing on a pedestrian street we walked down.
Gail saw me shooting this old iron fence and wondered what I was taking a photo of. I was just trying to be fancy with my depth of field.
This is a Chilean lantern tree that is in P&G’s front yard. It is so beautifully delicate.
Then it was off to dinner at Murgatroyds, where they boast they have the “best fish and chips in England.” We have to agree, although I think the atmosphere was better at The Magpie, where Paul and Gail had taken us on our last visit. It is in the beautiful village of Whitby, but that was a complete day out, so this was close enough to just run over there for dinner. After dinner, it was back to the house to catch the final half of the Champions League game on TV. It’s funny that when we were here in 2019, I had no idea about football (soccer for the Americans) at all. No clue as to what was going on. But thanks to the amazing Ted Lasso, I can now ALMOST figure out what offsides is. And I can definitely follow the game.
Back at the house, we even got a proper English Trifle that Gail had made for dessert. They have been feeding us very well, and we certainly will give them high marks on Trip Adviser after we leave.
Later today we are off to the Wensleydale Heifer for lunch. If you are a fan of the Wallace and Grommet animated films, they are set in Wensleydale, and they have a world-famous cheese store there. But we are only going as far as the Heifer. On our last visit, we went north through the Lakes District and spent the night at the Heifer (where every room has a theme) and had a wonderful dinner at their excellent restaurant. But this trip we aren’t going to be here in Yorkshire for that long so lunch will have to suffice ?. A full report on our drive north and lunch will follow tomorrow. See you then.
Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends. —H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 1, 2023 | Uncategorized
We are traveling THIS month. Now I can say that. Before September comes to an end, Kathleen and I will embark on our first major trip since September of last year, when we spent almost a month in Europe. For people like us who LOVE TO TRAVEL, this is just too long not to be on the road. I suppose I should be reminded that we did a five-day Holland America cruise in May, but I would rather forget that one; it was so bad.
Who’s going with us?
Besides us, we are traveling with a group of five that includes our regular traveling companions, my brother and sister-in-law (Steve and Jamie) and three of our best friends (Mike, Cathy and Jocelyn) as well. It should be an interesting trip as one of our party (Jocelyn) will be on her first cruise. Steve and Jamie are now seasoned international travelers, and Mike is well-known in the cruising world for his outstanding travel reviews (check them out here). He will undoubtedly do a review (with lots of photos) for this cruise after he is back home, so make sure to check his site around November 1, and you can compare his experiences to mine. I like live-blogging the cruise each and every day, so you get to read mine while it happens.
We first met Mike and the first love of his life, Carol, on a cruise in 2005, and we became close friends. The six of us (including our best buddies Bob and Judy) traveled together quite often over the years in between. Sadly, in those intervening years, we lost both Judy and Carol. We traveled with Mike alone once, but we could tell it wasn’t his best trip. Travel is something you need to do with someone. About three years ago, Mike met Cathy, and if you check out his website, you will see they are traveling like crazy.
Some of us get to have one great love in our life. Mike got lucky; he got two. Cathy is awesome, and other than when they visited us here in Redmond and when we visited them in Wellington, Florida, we have never traveled together before, so this will be FUN!
It is even more fun that our good friend Jocelyn is also joining us. It’s her first cruise. We always say that Jocelyn is the person who introduced Kathleen and I. She really didn’t do the formal introductions, but way back in November of 1997, when I was going through my divorce and feeling very sad, she came into my office in downtown Leavenworth and gave me a kick in the ass pep talk—told me to get on with my life. She told me about a dating website where she had met a nice gentleman that she had started dating. She talked me into checking it out right then and there. It wasn’t like dating websites now; it was more of a bulletin board where people posted what they were looking for in a partner. And the very first posting I saw…was Kathleen’s. The rest is history.
What are we doing?
We are doing a cruise on a brand new cruise line (for us) and a brand spanking new ship. As long-time readers of these posts know, we were very loyal Celebrity cruisers, have done a few on Holland America and gave Viking Ocean a try. But our friend Mike has been sailing Oceania without us. And he keeps telling us how great it is. So when Kathleen and I heard that he and Cathy were doing this cruise, we decided to come along. We were lucky to do that because this cruise was (at that point) sold out. We were only able to get “guarantee” staterooms. That meant we had yet to determine where we would be on the ship, but we were guaranteed to have someplace to sleep. We got the last “guarantee” stateroom about a year ago. Since then, other guarantees and stateroom reservations have been opened, so Jocelyn, Steve and Jamie could join us.
Oceania is known for having the “best food at sea,” so we shall see. I am trying to temper my enthusiasm so I don’t have expectations that can’t be fulfilled except by perfection (like I did with Viking Ocean). It may help that the ship we will sail on is Oceania’s newest, Vista. She was launched in May of this year and has been following a route from the Italian shipyard where she was built, across the Atlantic, up the St. Lawrence Seaway to Montreal.
As ships go, she is not one of the big ones. She is slightly larger than the Viking Sky that we sailed on last September with a total of 1218 passengers as opposed to the Viking ships that carry just under 1,000. This is the size of ship we will be the most comfortable with going forward. We already have another trip planned on Viking Ocean for next June.
Where are we going?
So now you know who is going, the next question is, “Where are we going?” This is an almost three-week trip that will give us a few days in Montreal (a city we have not visited before) and then a cruise all the way to Miami. Here’s our route and stops in graphic form on this map I stole from Oceania Cruises.
We did the New England part of this cruise back in 2018, but there are some places in that region we have yet to go to, including Saguenay, Shelburne, Bar Harbor and Martha’s Vineyard. We have been to Charleston, but only on a land trip, not a cruise. Plus, we are thrilled to be stopping for an overnight visit to the Big Apple. We get to see a show (last year’s big hit, Six), and I get to do an early morning photo walk around the city!
And strangely enough, for people like us who have been on more than 30 cruises, we have never sailed into or out of Miami, one of the world’s largest cruise ports. Every time we have been to Florida, we have sailed in or out of Fort Lauderdale, a few miles up the coast. But there have been a few challenges as we are flying home from Fort Lauderdale, so we have to figure out how to get there.
When are we going?
As I mentioned—we are going this month. We fly from Seattle to Montreal on Wednesday, the 27th and board the ship on Friday, the 29th. The ship does not leave Montreal until late afternoon on the 30th, so that should give us three full days to explore Montreal. We finish in Miami on the 14th and fly home from Fort Lauderdale.
Why?
You have to ask? Because it’s been too long since we sailed on a cruise that was a true adventure. Someplace we haven’t been before. And I promise to take you along with my usual daily reports. Watch for them starting around September 25th as we pack our bags to go.
As Daddy said, life is 95 percent anticipation. —Gloria Swanson
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 22, 2022 | Food Experiences, Photography
The day after we took our day off in Rome was absolutely the best day of the whole trip from Amsterdam to Athens to that day. The ship was docked in Livorno, Italy, which is the port for Florence. And about 95% of the passengers on board were headed to either Florence itself or the Tuscan countryside and Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. We, on the other hand, had decided to do our own thing.
As I said about Rome in my last post, you can’t see Rome in one day. I also believe you can’t do justice to Florence in one day. If you really want to see the Uffizi or the Academia, you need half a day in each. That leaves no time for the Duomo, the baptistery, the Ponte Vecchio, or so much more that is Firenze. Besides, we had been there before. So we opted out. But sadly, that was the only place that Viking was offering tours to. So we created our own.
About three months before the cruise, I started looking for someplace else to see in the general area of Livorno that we had not seen. We had never seen the Leaning Tower and the rest of Pisa, but that was a two-hour tour, and we would be in Livorno for two days and would see that on the second day. So where to go? I searched maps and Cruise Critic for ideas, and in doing that, I looked up the coast, and lo and behold—Cinque Terre. We had heard so much about it but had never been there, and we really wanted to see it, but for some reason, Viking does not do any tours in that direction (although it took us the same amount of time to get there as it did to get into Florence). That meant I had to find us a tour. So off I went to Google, and the first tour that popped up was a “Tour to Cinque Terre from the Port of Livorno” by BellaItalia Tours. That sounded like just what we were looking for, so I contacted them.
Like most tours, this had one price—the price of the tour. Actually, there were two possibilities—a tour with a driver who got you there and got you off on your way into the first “land” and then picked you up and took you back to the ship after you finished touring everything. The other option was a driver AND a guide. The driver got you there, but the guide accompanied you throughout the day from village to village telling us all about them on the way. We wanted to do this because we were looking for someone to walk us through the entire thing.
If you got the driver and the guide, the price was just about 800 euros for two people. But if you could find more to join you, the price went down because you were paying for the car, driver and guide no matter what. Up to 8 people could come along. To find someone else to join us (the other four in our party had never been to Florence, so they were going there), I went on Cruise Critic to our roll call (click here if you need Cruise Critic and Roll Calls explained) and found Corky and Larry from Maui who said they would love to join us. This meant our price was basically cut in half. And not only did that make this tour a bargain, but we made two great friends in the process.
As soon as the ship had been cleared by the port authorities, we were off and looking for my name on a placard being held by our guide, the amazing and hilarious Luigi. And he and our driver (Alessandro) were waiting right where they said they would be, we jumped in their Mercedes van, and we were off. What joy it was to ride in a van and not a “luxury motor coach.” It meant that there were two of us to a seat, with plenty of legroom and Luigi giving us non-stop play-by-play as we drove along.
On the way, we got to see some things we hadn’t expected, like the famous marble mountains of Carrara. I suppose if I had thought about it, I would have realized that the Carrara marble that makes up so many buildings in the Mediterannean or our very own tile floors at home comes from a huge mountain of marble. The mountains are magnificent to look at, as you can see in this small gallery. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
The Carrara Marble Mountains
Not snow…
Just a lot of marble.
A little while after passing through Carrara and some amazing hilltop towns on either side of the AutoStrada (Italian for freeway), we reached La Spezia, a coastal community that is the gateway to Cinque Terre. You climb far above it and that puts you about even with those hilltop towns, so here are some views from the hill above La Spezia and some hilltop towns we had seen between there and Carrara. Don’t forget; they can be viewed as a slide show.
After passing Carrara it was…
One hilltop town after another.
Then we reached La Spezia…
…and climbed high above it.
As soon as you have seen La Spezia go by, you go over the hill, and you are looking down at the first of the five “lands” of Cinque Terre (literally translates to “five lands”), Riomaggiore. It’s a beautiful little village built into the side of a very steep hill. Alessandro dropped us off, and we walked down into the town itself. We would next see our illustrious driver at the other end of Cinque Terre. From this point on, our transport was the Cinque Terre ferry. Luigi led us down through the town, pointing things out to us as we went. We all took a much-needed restroom break and then met Luigi to board the ferry to move to the next land.
Luigi was a font of knowledge all about the region. We all learned a lot, especially that we should wait for the fourth village, Vernazza, to get gelato because they had the best, then have lunch at the end of the journey in Monterosso because they had the best food. We liked that—eat dessert first.
The second stop on our visit was to the village of Manarola, which might have been the most picturesque. The photo at the top of this post was taken there. Luigi was more than thrilled to help me find my shots because he said we had something in common. His real vocation in life was a guitarist, and he loved it. He told us it was “his art.” And he said photography was mine. I truly appreciated his interest, and from that point on (he had this conversation with Kathleen on the ferry while I was outside taking photos) he took me to what he thought would make great pictures…and he was right.
The ferry to the next of the five lands (actually four because the ferry does not stop in the middle land of Corniglia as there is no place for it to dock—it is only accessible by train) comes just about every hour, so once we landed in Manarola for instance; we had an hour to take photos and look around before we got back on the next ferry and left for Vernazza.
Vernazza was the village where we heard about the awesome gelato, and again, Luigi proved to be correct. He had advised me that if I truly wanted to try what the locals loved, I would have basil gelato (seen at right). So I did, and it was wonderful. Kathleen had lemon, and when we put the two together…perfection. Vernazza was a great village for photography, so again, I took more shots until the hour went by and we boarded the ferry for Monterosso.
Monterosso was the final village and is the most commercialized of the five. It has bigger hotels, sandy beaches, etc. It also has amazing food, and this was where Luigi said we should get lunch. He was all set to drop us at a restaurant to fend for ourselves when we insisted he join us for lunch—our treat, which he did. He said that like the gelato I had tasted, the people of the five lands believed their basil was better than any other basil in the world and therefore, their pesto sauce was the best anyplace—hands down. So, of course, we had to try it. The traditional pesto pasta is improved in Cinque Terre by the addition of potatoes and green beans to the mix. This came about when they started making pesto at a time when those things were plentiful, and the recipe stuck.
Besides the pesto, there was one more thing I wanted to try while we were having lunch. It is something that Rick Steves had mentioned in his Cinque Terre video—fresh anchovies. Rick said that if you come here and order them fresh, you would be amazed how little they would resemble the anchovies you see on a pizza or a caesar salad and he was right—almost. I ordered (with Luigi’s help) “Tris di acciughe del marinaio” or Lemon, salted and stuff anchovies. The salted looked very much like what we put on pizza but bigger. It tasted like you might think but much less salty. Luigi told me that this is what it should taste like when brined, but it is much saltier when we get it because it has sat for weeks in a can on its way to America.
Then there was the stuffed version, filled with some rice, some veggies and who knows what, but it was delicious. But the winner of the three was anchovies marinated in lemon juice and olive oil. I could eat those every day, all day long. Delicious.
After we finished lunch, we walked around Monterosso for a while longer before we walked up a hill (thankfully much less steep than the one we walked down in Riomaggiore) to the top of the village to be met by our faithful driver Alessandro and transported back to the ship. This was around a nine-hour trip from ship to ship, but I have to say I enjoyed every minute of it.
This brings me to the subject of shore excursions. One of the reasons Viking appealed to us was that they included a free shore excursion in every port. But we are just not sure if that is a selling point anymore. After our day in a van with a guide and being able to move at our own pace, we think if (probably when) sail with Viking Ocean again, we will book our own shore excursions again. We had pretty much always done that in the past until COVID came along, and you couldn’t book a lot of private excursions. Now you can again and we likely will. It is so much more personalized, and you meet incredible guides. We had done three tours on this entire trip with private guides (in Amsterdam with Hans and Athens with George), and those were the best tours. Far better than being put into a “luxury motor coach” with 26 other people and a guide who is just a monotonous voice in your “whisper headset.” This really hit home with us after touring all day with Luigi and Alessandro. Luigi became a part of our group. Just look at the photo at the top of this post. Don’t we look happy? Cinque Terre—what a day. And here are the photos from that day. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…ESPECIALLY THESE!
The view of Riomaggiore from the top of the hill near La Spezia
A more wide angle view of Riomaggiore
There are hiking trails to all the “lands” so you can walk the entire way.
It is recommended to take a day between each if you walk.
Our first glimpse of the kind of ferry we would be traveling on.
The mountainsides above the villages were terraced.
This allowed the villagers to grow all their food nearby.
We have arrived in Riomaggiore
Walking down the long hill to the ferry.
The village is a delight.
Lots of great photo opportunities.
Everywhere I looked.
Everything in the villages seems vertical.
Finally the sea where there was a protected harbor.
And many colorful buildings everywhere.
Looking back up the village of Riomaggiore
Such great colors.
The ferry arrives.
There is no beach so sunworshippers just lay on the rocks while waiting for the ferry.
You get on the ferry on a very wobbly ramp.
And you sail away to Manarola.
The view looking back is stupendous.
Did I forget to mention that the travel gods were smiling on us.
The weather was perfect.
Had we come a day earlier or later, we would not have been able to take the ferry…
but we would have had to take the train that goes from village to village.
Coming into Manarola.
All off the ferry.
Manarola has some great swimming areas…
with very large rocks that people braver than I jump off of.
Luigi told me that for the “money shot: that would crown my photography of Cinque Terre, I should climb this hill.
He was right.
In so many ways.
I can’t imagine I would have done it if he had not been there to advise me.
This is the one I love the most.
But back in the village, the colors were wild.
As were the colors of the boats.
Looking in almost any direction brought you a different viewpoint of the villages.
And now we are back on the ferry going to Vernazza.
But on the way we pass some hilltop towns.
And terraced farms.
And the one village that cannot be accessed by the ferry.
Only by the train or on foot.
The village of Corniglia.
As you can see there is very little near the water in this village.
But it was still very photogenic.
No matter the angle.
Nor the distance.
From the ferry you could see it all.
I loved the rock formations as we headed into Vernazza.
This medieval church is in Vernazza
As is this tight and small but colorful alleyway.
And this staircase. Can you imagine taking groceries home this way?
There was a very cool opening to the sea below…
an apartment house.
I also found a small chapel.
And some very busy streets.
Larry and I had run off to take pictures while Corky and Kathleen finished their gelato.
Everywhere you look in any Italian town, there are churches.
The inside was just as beautiful.
As you can see here.
Back at the harbor…
One more shot of color…
And off on the ferry to Monterosso.
As we approach you can see…
the umbrelllas on the only sandy beaches in the villages.
A much more commercial village than the other ones.
With fortifications above the small harbor.
Our first goal was lunch here at this wonderful restaurant. Pesto and anchovies.
Then we went to take photos with Luigi.
There is a whole story that must be told orally…
About these three pictures.
And of course there was a church.
And the inside was beautiful. It reminded us of the churches of Tuscany.
And my last shot before Alassandro picked us up—some colorful laundry.
It took us about 90 minutes to get back to the ship, but after the day we had, the time flew by. I truly hope I did a good job expressing my joy about this day and my gratitude to the amazing Luigi, who took such great care of us. I can’t recommend him more highly. If you decide to go, book with Bella Italia tours and ask for him specifically. You will not be sorry.
I think people in Italy live their lives better than we do. It’s an older country, and they’ve learned to celebrate dinner and lunch, whereas we sort of eat as quickly as we can to get through it. —George Clooney
by Jim Bellomo | Aug 28, 2022 | Air travel
It’s almost time to start our big journey. Just before 2:00 pm on Monday, our good friend Marjorie is going to pick us up and take us to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport where we will check in with Delta and wait about three hours until we are scheduled to take off on flight 144, a non-stop to Amsterdam at 5:20 pm (just about 24 hours from when I am writing this). We did a COVID test this morning and we are good to go. Our meals on the plane are ordered and after we eat dinner, I will get our boarding passes printed out.
We are supposed to get into Amsterdam at 12:20 on Tuesday afternoon (that’s our route above). Hopefully, we will be on time and picked up at the airport and transported to what we believe is the greatest hotel on planet Earth, The Banks Mansion. By the time we walk into the “Living Room” at The Banks, my brother and sister-in-law should be sitting there having a drink (free bar!!!) and waiting for us to join them.
We are then headed to a traditional Dutch dinner at Moeder’s. Probably going to have stamppot, a traditional Dutch dish. According to Wikipedia, it’s Dutch comfort food. We had it the last time we were in Amsterdam and it was wonderful.
We will spend the next day (Wednesday) touring Amsterdam, going to the Van Gogh museum and having dinner at Restaurant ZaZa which we loved on our last visit to Amsterdam. Then early next morning we will all head to the busiest airport in Europe, Schipol, where we will catch our 12:20 pm flight to Athens, Greece. Hopefully, we will arrive pretty close to when we are supposed to, meet our other traveling companions (my sister-in-law’s sister and her husband) and hopefully head to dinner at a traditional Greek restaurant I have reservations for.
The next day we will tour Athens with Alexios from Tours By Locals (a tour company we have used before and I love). Then another dinner in the Plaka district. The other thing we have to do on Friday is to take a COVID test. Here’s a strange situation. Greece requires a COVID test to LEAVE their country. I get it when someplace wants to keep COVID out of their country by testing those coming in. But to require a test only for people leaving their country makes no sense.
Then next Saturday, we will board the Viking Sky for our 21-day cruise. Viking calls it the Mediterranean & Adriatic Sojurn. Here’s where we are going.
For Kathleen and I this will be a chance to revisit many places we have been. For the rest of our group, this will be their first time in this part of the world. Although we have been to most every place after we leave Sicily, we have never been to most of the stops in the Adriatic Sea. We have spent time in Venice and it has always been one of our favorite cities. It was really the first place we ever went to in Europe. Luckily for us, we have almost three full days in Venice. Our good buddies (and always neighbors, Jayesh and Lisa) were there last month and did some scouting for us, finding us some amazing restaurants to try. We can’t wait to try.
So I want to invite you to virtually follow us on this journey. I will do my best to post here on a very regular basis but with not a single sea day on this trip, I might run a little late. And of course, it also depends on the quality of the WiFi on the ship. So make sure you have subscribed so you can keep up with the ports. You know how much I love to share our travels. See you soon, right here.
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
—St. Augustine
