Day 103 - Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

 

Date:  April 21

 

Location:  Day 103 – Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

 

Next Port:  Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, April 22

 

Report:  A volcanic constellation 800 miles southwest of Spain and 70 miles off the coast of southern Morocco, the seven Canary Islands lie at about the same latitude as central Florida. While several of the islands are fertile and overgrown with exotic tropical vegetation, Lanzarote (the fourthlargest island) is dry as a bone, with volcanic craters, lava caves and desert sand dunes. Heat from an eruption in 1730 is still rising through vents in the earth.

 

Lanzarote’s desert landscape has been kept beautiful through thoughtful development. It is quite a holiday resort. There are golden beaches, white resort villages, caves and a volcanic national park.

 

Rather than go into downtown Arrecife, we opted to take the ship’s shuttle service to Puerto del Carmen – a resort area along a beautiful beach about 8 miles to the west. We spent a delightful morning – walking from a small boat harbor along a couple of miles of the town’s wide beach and back. We shared a pizza at a small restaurant on a volcanic outcropping.

 

This village is filled with low, white cottages; lots of bars and restaurants; dive shops; and two or three streets of shops. It seems to be a very popular destination for northern Europeans and SCUBA divers. The tourist menus were printed in five languages: Spanish, English, German, Norwegian and Finnish!

 

After taking the shuttle back to the ship, we hired a taxi to run us up the hill to the former home of artist Cesar Manrique. His home is now a museum and foundation. It was an amazing place. On display was a collection of Manrique’s paintings and sculptures as well as his personal collection of art that included works by Picasso and Miro. But the real attraction was the house itself. It was designed by Manrique and built in the late 1960s on lava flows that occurred from 1730-1736. The two-story building was built over five very large natural volcanic bubbles or lava caves. There are large glass windows that look out onto swirling lava formations. The swimming pool is at the bottom of a collapsed lava tube. The basement level living quarters incorporate the five volcanic bubbles and are connected by means of small passageways bored into the lava. Large trees ascend through openings into the upper rooms. Manrique painted portions of the volcanic rock and the floors a brilliant white. The contrast with the black lava is very dramatic. It was a very unique experience.

 

Manrique is considered the founder of modern day Lanzarote. He designed most of the tourist attractions and convinced authorities to require all new buildings be painted white with green or brown trim (white with blue on the coast) to suggest coolness and fertility. He also led the fight against overdevelopment on Lanzarote.

 

Due to high winds, the planned pool deck party was moved inside. Serving tables were set up on Deck 4 of the Atrium and large dining tables were placed on Deck 5, surrounding the Atrium. Diners could also take their plates into Compass Rose. After dinner, there was an evening of entertainment by the singers and dancers in the Horizon Lounge. It was a lot of extra work, but we understand everyone had a good time.

 

We did not attend because we had an alternative invitation for a good time. We, and Arlene and Bruce, were invited to dine “en-suite” with Marji and Dave in their Voyager Suite. Eric, their butler, had moved in and set a beautiful table for six. We had champagne and shrimp for appetizers and then ordered dinner from a special Compass Rose menu. It was a very special evening.

 

Karen and Larry

 

Photos of our cruise are available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

Pictures of our day on Lanzarote have been added.

 

Day 102 - At Sea

 

Date:  April 20

 

Location:  Day 102 – At Sea

 

Next Port:  Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, April 21

 

Report:  Today was a blustery, cool day at sea. No real outside activities. In the late afternoon the skies cleared, but the seas started kick up pretty good.

 

We slept late, attended our morning devotionals at 8:45, after which we had breakfast – inside today…a bit cool on the aft deck. Karen attended her Bridge lesson and followed it up with an hour of playing with her partner Kirk. Larry attended two morning lectures: “The Canary Islands” by Sandra Bowern and “60 Years at CBS, Half of Them at 60 Minutes” by Don Hewitt and his wife, Marilyn Berger. She now writes for the NY Times and was previously a reporter for the Washington Post, NBC-TV and PBS. It was basically a Q&A session and was fairly interesting.

 

After lunch, we played Scrabble in the Game Room, read and both worked out. Karen also played darts with pick-up teams in the Atrium.

 

We enjoyed dinner tonight in Signatures, the Cordon Bleu restaurant, with Judy and Kirk, and Helga and Siegy.

 

It wasn’t the day in the sun on the pool deck we had hoped for (after staying up late last night to get our journal caught up)…but we still had good fun. We’ve learned to be very adaptable!

 

Karen and Larry

 

Photos of our cruise are available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

Day 101 - Gibraltar, UK

 

Date:  April 19

 

Location:  Day 101 – Gibraltar, UK,

 

Next Port:  Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, April 21

 

Quick Summary:  We had a quick stop at the tiny British colony of Gibraltar – whose rocky silhouette dominates the strait between Spain and Morocco. The World Cruisers were invited to a special morning concert inside St. Michael’s Cave, high up on “The Rock.” It was a great experience.

 

Report:  Being on the western edge of the time zone, it was still quite dark as we circled the peninsula and sailed into Gibraltar’s wide harbor. Nevertheless, we went up to the deck just before 7:00 a.m. and got a bit of exercise before breakfast. It was fun to watch “The Rock” become more and more visible in the early morning light.

 

Shortly after 8:00, about 250 of us climbed into minibuses for the short journey through the town of Gibraltar and up to St. Michael’s Cave. It is the largest of the more than 150 caves here and is a series of chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites. It’s a stunning venue.

 

We were greeted with orange juice, mimosas and champagne – at 8:30! It really will be hard to get back to normalcy! (Kids: Don’t worry, we only had the OJ.)

 

The 80-minute, classical performance in the grotto by the European Sinfonietta and violinist Barbara Doll was superb. This group tours throughout Europe and is primarily comprised of members of London’s greatest orchestras. Barbara Doll (Barbie Doll???) is originally from Germany and is a busysoloist and chamber musician. We felt very fortunate that their paths and ours crossed in such a spectacular venue.

 

On our bus ride down the hill, we made a stop at an outlook over the harbor, airport and the strait.

 

A geographical/historical refresher: Gibraltar sits at the end of a peninsula just east of the narrow 14 km strait separating Spain and Morocco (Europe and Africa). The Arabs and their Moorish armies seized the peninsula in 711 and went on to a successful conquest of Spain where they ruled for 750 years. The Spanish recaptured the peninsula and the rock in 1462…just prior to Columbus’ voyages to the New World. The English gained control in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession and after several years of local skirmishes, finally ceded Gibraltar in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht. Spain has been trying to get it back ever since, but to no avail. It was a strategic outpost during the Napoleonic Wars and both World Wars. In 1967, Franco closed the land border with Spain to strengthen his claims over the colony, and it remained closed until 1985.

 

Further down the hill, we stopped to visit a colony of Barbary Apes that inhabit the side of The Rock. These cinnamon-colored, tailless monkeys are native to Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. Legend holds that as long as the apes remain on Gibraltar, the British will keep the Rock.

 

We were dropped off in the old town of Gibraltar and enjoyed congested, colorful streets and shops. There is definitely anEnglish flavor – pubs, red phone booths, police with Bobby hats and prices in pounds Sterling. Gibraltar is a bizarre anomaly of Moorish, Spanish and British influences. But its population of 30,000 is fiercely patriotic to the crown.

 

We walked back to the ship for lunch prior to our 2:00 sail-away. Lunch on this warm, sunny day was accompanied by the Voyager Quintet and an ice cream bar. Oh, are we going to be in shock when we return to turkey sandwiches at home!

 

Shortly after leaving the dock, Capt. Dag announced we would be turning slow circles in the wide harbor for an hour or so as our magnetic compass was recalibrated. This compass is located on the forward portion of Deck 12, right where the new forward observation point was put in. Apparently all the metal in the new railing was having an impact on the compass’ accuracy. It was interesting to watch the technician use magnetic rods in the base of the compass to recalibrate it to the ship’s gyro and electronic systems on the bridge.

 

We then sailed through the strait -- with the mountains of Morocco on the left and Spain on the right. Goodbye Med and, once again, hello Atlantic Ocean! We last left the Atlantic on Feb. 4, when we sailed from Cape Town. Now we really are on the home stretch!

 

This evening, we were invited to have dinner with Jamie and Dana Logan, respectively our Cruise Director and World Cruise Hostess. We were joined by Cecilia and Don. It was a great dinner. Jamie and Dana reside in Traverse City, Michigan six months a year and have strong ties to Chicago. We are hopeful thatthey will visit us someday. They are fun people to be with.

 

Karen and Larry

 

Photos of our cruise are available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

Photos of our visit to Gibraltar have been added

Day 100 - Malaga and Granada, Spain

 

Date:  April 18

 

Location:  Day 100 – Malaga and Granada, Spain

 

Next Port:  Gibraltar, UK, April 19

 

Quick Summary:  We made a very special trip today to Granada and the Alhambra, Spain’s most popular attraction.  We traveled through many olive orchards and the springtime countryside.

 

Report:  We docked early today in the working harbor of Malaga, Spain on the Costa del Sol. Malaga is part of the province of Andalusia and is nestled between the high mountains of the Sierra Nevada and the beaches of the Mediterranean Sea. It is also the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. After breakfast, we joined our tour group for a quick tour of Malaga, a pleasant port city with ancient streets and beautiful villas. We then started our 80 mile journey to Granada and the Alhambra.

 

After a brief rest stop, we rode into Granada, the capital of Spain under the Muslims during the 11th century. This city reached its pinnacle during the 15th century when the Christians re-conquered it under the rule of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. King Carlos V later constructed the beautiful palace and also founded the University of Granada. We were dropped off for a “Kodak moment” to take panoramic pictures of the city and of Alhambra from afar.

 

We then enjoyed a delicious sit-down lunch at the beautiful Alhambra Palace Hotel overlooking the whole city of Granada from the hill named Assabica. From there we made the 20-minute walk to the Alhambra where we met our special guide for the almost three hour tour.

 

Alhambra, also known as the “Red Castle,” was created originally for military purposes. This Moorish citadel was begun in the 1240’s and once comprised a complex of houses, schools, baths, barracks and gardens surrounded by defensive towers and thick walls. Today only the Alcazaba (the original fortress) and the Palacious Nazaries (the Royal Palace) remain.  Our first tour stop was to the magnificent palace with its (as described by Fodor’s), “endless, intricate conglomeration of patios, arches and cupolas made from wood, plaster and tile, lavishly colored and adorned with parquetry and ceramics in geometric patterns topped by delicate, frothy profusions of lacelike stucco and ornamental stalactites.” It was spectacular. We also learned that it was here that Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand gave their final approval to Christopher Columbus to search for the New World.

 

Our next tour stop was through the Generalife Gardens, a former summer residence featuring lovely patios mixing Moorish and Renaissance features. Fountains, flowers and cypress hedges combine to make Italian style terraces “fit for a king.” 

 

We then visited a workshop on the grounds for a demonstration of the making of wood inlays used in the ceilings and walls of the palace.  The craftsmen today sell table tops, wall hangings and jewelry boxes that are truly beautiful. 

 

Karen found a book store to purchase a copy of “Tales of the Alhambra,” written by American author Washington Irving while he was a guest at the Palace in the late 1820’s. Karen has been enjoying comparing travel descriptions of the countryside then by horseback and mules to the air-conditioned luxury buses we traveled in today. She is also looking forward to reading about the lives and experiences that happened in the places we visited on the grounds.

 

On our way out of Granada, we passed by the gypsy quarters, the cathedral and the Royal Chapel.  The cathedral was built over a large mosque and was the first Renaissance church in Spain. Isabella and Ferdinand built the Royal Chapel during the 15th century to house their tombs. Unfortunately, we did not have time to visit inside.

 

It was a long day and we were glad to return “home” to our ship in time for the last 20 minutes of a special performance of local Flamenco dancing. It was a nice ending to another very enjoyable day in Spain. We had dinner in our cabin which was very nice!

 

Karen

 

Photos of our cruise are available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

Photos of our visit to Granada and Alhambra have been added

Day 99 - Valencia, Spain

 

Date:  April 17

 

Location:  Day 99 – Valencia, Spain

 

Next Port:  Malaga, Spain, April 18

 

Quick Summary:  We enjoyed a brief in stop Valencia, primarily for an exclusive America’s Cup Regatta event at the spectacular “City of the Arts and Sciences.”

 

Report:  Larry had a beautiful spring day in the Med to celebrate his birthday. Our “main event” was learning about the 32nd America’s Cup competition that is entering its final competitive stages here in Valencia.

 

If you are interested in a refresher on how this competition is current run, here is what we learned:

 

The America’s cup takes its name from the schooner America, which in 1851 beat the British fleet in a race around the Isle of Wright. The cup was bequeathed to the New York Yacht Club to be held as a challenge trophy to foster friendly competition between nations.

 

Since 1851 it has been contested 31 times. As a challenge-based trophy the event relies on a yacht club challenging the current holder to a match for the trophy. When you win, you also win the rights to the event.

 

For 132 years, the defending NYCC had a stranglehold on the trophy. But in 1970 the NYCC allowed multiple Challengers who could run their own selection series (known today as the Louis Vuitton Cup) to determine who would ultimately race the Defender for the America’s Cup.

 

The Challengers and the Defenders have split the six matches since the Australians took it from the USA in 1983. Swiss Alinghi won the trophy in 2003 by beating New Zealand. The win brings the competition to Europe for the first time. The Swiss, with no sea, chose Valencia as the site to defend the cup.

 

For the first time, a series of 13 preliminary fleet race regattas, the Louis Vuitton Acts, have been conducted over the past four years. All the teams have been competing in these Acts, with the results counting towards bonus points for the Louis Vuitton Cup.

 

Now the 11 Challenger team, armed with their bonus points, are meeting in Valencia for series of two round robin match races. The four leading teams will advance to the semi-finals. Winning the semi-final allows that team to Challenge the Defender, Swiss Alinghi. All the decisive duels are a best-of-nine series.

 

We departed the ship in a caravan of buses shortly after 8:00. First, we toured around the basin where the 12 competing teams have large, hangar-like structures that are the bases for their dockside operations. We made a brief stop at the VIP hall and climbed up on the deck to see some of the boats being made ready for the day’s competition.

 

The first Louis Vuitton round robin match was supposed to begin yesterday (April 16), but was called off due to lack of wind. The final 32nd America’s Cup Match will run from June 23 – July 7.

 

We drove to the City of the Arts and Sciences. This large tract of public buildings on the former bed of the Turia River was designed by Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava. Built between 1991-2001, it includes an opera house and performing arts center; an IMAX theater and planetarium; a science museum; an open-air oceanographic park; and a walkway/garden. The buildings are strikingly beautiful white structures – all curves and glass – surrounded by attractive streams and pools of water.

 

(We’ve visited Calatrava’s impressive winged-addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum, and his Olympic Stadium and other buildings built for the 2004 Athens Olympics. Plus, we are watching with interest his plans for a developer in Chicago. It would be the world’s tallest residential building and would be built on the city’s lakefront. It would be taller than the Sears Building and personally, we don’t believe its fits in on the small chosen site. It’s already been dubbed the “Drill Bit.”)

 

In the auditorium of the Science Museum we had a very informative presentation by Andy Green about the entire America’s cup operation and competition. Though he seems to still be a young man, Andy has been a very successful professional sailor – rising at one time to number 5 in the world rankings. He will be doing the radio commentary for this year’s America’s Cup.

 

Following this we walked over to the covered outside of the Hemisphere (Planetarium) for cocktails and local refreshments – accompanied by music and folk dancers.

 

We then re-boarded the buses for guided tours of downtown Valencia. We passed the important monuments such as the Central Market, the North Train Station, the Post Office and the Cathedral. It is am impressive city that would be well worthwhile for a future visit.

 

Capt. Dag had hoped to take the Voyager out too the race courts to watch the 11 boats in competition. We hung around awhile by some of the buoys on the western end of the course, but it appeared lack of wind would again cancel the day’s competition. (We had to leave before it was officially called off.) 

 

Karen arranged a special birthday dinner in Compass Rose for 11 of us. We were joined by Jenny and Kevin, Barb and Jim, Ken, Marji and Dave, and Judy and Kirk. We had balloons and table streamers. Judy presented Larry with a jester’s cap (actually one from FCB – the Football Club of Barcelona). Something to make Larry look funny! We had a birthday cake and of course all the waiters led the singing. (In addition, Larry received a small cake, two glasses of champagne and birthday wishes from Capt. Dag, delivered to the room in the afternoon.)

 

 Afterwards, Jenny and Kevin, Marji and David, and we retired to the Voyager Lounge where we were joined by Phyllis and Eddie. And Elisa sang “Will You Still Love Me When I’m 64?”  A fun day!

 

Karen and Larry

 

Photos of our cruise are available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

Photos of our visit to Valencia have been added.

 

Day 98 - Barcelona, Spain

 

Date:  April 16

 

Location:  Day 98 – Barcelona, Spain

 

Next Port: Valencia, Spain, April 17

 

Report:  We enjoyed a sea-day morning, before arriving in Barcelona around 12:30 p.m. That meant our daily devotional group got together at 8:45 for the first discussion we’ve had in some time due to our schedule.

 

This was followed by a town hall meeting at 9:30 in the theater with Mark Conroy, Regent’s President and CEO, and Christian Sauleau, Regent’s EVP of Operations. Both joined us in Monaco for a few days. It gives them an opportunity to meet with and get direct feedback from their customers. In this case it includes the 360 or so full world cruisers, many of them repeaters who are known by name.

 

It was an interesting 90-min. session. Mark told us a bit about Regent and its parent company. Before opening it up to questions from the floor, he addressed the simmering issue of “smoking.” In particular, some people are bothered by people smoking on adjacent balconies or some smoke drifting into their rooms form the ventilation system. (Thankfully, Karen and I have not experienced either of these problems.) Then the discussion turned to the limited smoking in public spaces – the small part of Compass Rose restaurant, and portions of the Voyager and Horizon lounges. (Surprisingly no one mentioned the Casino!) Mark and his team promised the issue would be addressed by the company and that we would receive a personally addressed letter in the next six weeks or so that outlines what structural changes will be made and what the policies will be for 2008 cruises. (Capt. Dag had a good suggestion for an immediate partial solution: make Compass Rose a non-smoking restaurant just like theothers. Times have changed around the world. Non-smoking restaurants are not oddities.)

 

After a quick lunch, we headed into Barcelona on the shuttle bus with Barb (Jim was going on a biking excursion). Karen and Larry had been to Barcelona twice before so had only two goals for this short stop: Walk La Rambla and see what progress had been made on the construction of the Temple de la Sagrada Família.

 

Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is a visually stunning city. It has a beautiful Gothic Quarter where we stayed on our two previous trips, wide boulevards, majestic buildings, beautiful beaches and harbors, nice museums, former Olympic sites, and some pretty wild sculpture and art.

 

It was only a short shuttle bus ride to the Maritime Building which is close to the towering column that supports a large statue of Christopher Columbus pointing west to the New World. This monument is at the foot of La Rambla – a 10-15 block long, tree-lined walkway between two small streets. It is full of small cafes and tables; small vendor kiosks selling flowers, birds, small animals and souvenirs; and mimes, jugglers and acrobatic teams. Larry and Dodi joined us for a fun stroll up La Rambla taking in all the sights.

 

We took a small detour into Placa Reial – a large rectangular square lined with porticos and cafes. We also visited the Boqueria, Barcelona’s spectacular food market. Though many of the stalls were closed (Monday?), the food displays were beautiful.  Karen purchased some of our favorite marcona almonds.

 

At the top of La Rambla, Larry and Dodi hopped on the on and off bus for a tour around the city. Barb and we took a taxi to the Temple de la Sagrada Familia. If you have ever been to Barcelona you know that this is a unique temple that was begun in 1892 and is Barcelona’s most unforgettable landmark. It has been called one of the most important architectural creations of the last 200 years. The city’s famed architect, Antoni Gaudí, worked on the project for 40 years until his accidental death in 1926. The overall plan and his in-depth studies of the project, based on the innovative geometrical shapes of naturalist style, are the cornerstones on which the current architects continue his work to this date.

 

Actually, since our last visit 2-1/2 years ago, one can see that considerable progress has been made. In fact, four sky cranes are now operating on the site. Eight of the 12 bell towers of the façade dedicated to the apostles and having a height of more than 100 meters are complete. The oldest façade is dedicated to the Nativity and the most current one contains very modernistic sculptures depicting the Passion. The four belfries awaiting construction are the Façade of the Glory, the 170 meter central dome in honor of Jesus Christ, the Tower of the Virgin Mary and the Tower of Four Evangelists. The vaults of the main nave are finished and work is focused now on the area of the transepts and the apse.

 

We walked through the interior construction where we saw men working on plaster elements that were being placed high up in the nave and others laying out mosaic patterns. We took the elevator up the towers of the Nativity Façade and walked down the 60 meters on a tight spiral staircase (275 steps!). We walked through the museum where we could look into the model workshops, see Gaudí’s drawings and models, and see photographs of the 125 years of construction. I doubt that we will ever see this temple completed in our lifetimes, but it will be fun to watch its progress!

 

We caught a cab back to La Rambla, which was even more crowded with folks and entertainers enjoying a delightful spring afternoon. We found Kirk enjoying a beer at one of the cafes and joined him for a glass of Sangria and our marcona almonds. At 6:00, we hopped on the last shuttle bus back to the ship.

 

We had a light supper in La Veranda where we joined Shirley and John – very nice folks from Vancouver, B.C. They boarded in Muscat. We met them at our block party and enjoyed this opportunity to get to know them better. After dinner, Larry attended the show by the pianist Brooks Aehron and Karen turned in.

 

We have thoroughly enjoyed each of our three visits to Barcelona.

 

Karen and Larry

 

Photos of our cruise are available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

Photos of our visit to Barcelona have been uploaded. 

Day 97 - Monte Carlo, Monaco

 

 

Date:  April 15

 

Location:  Day 97 – Monte Carlo, Monaco,

 

Next Port:  Barcelona, Spain, April 16

 

Quick Summary:  We pulled into Monte Carlo’s beautiful small harbor during sunrise at 7:00 a.m. Our Seven Seas Voyager obtained the single cruise ship dock space within walking distance of all the attractions. We spent a lazy, spring Sunday walking up and down the hills of this small principality.

 

Report:  Our port-side balcony provided a ringside seat to our arrival in Monte Carlo this morning. We enjoyed seeing the fiery ball of the sun being reflected in the windows of the villas surrounding this small bay. The reflected light on the cream-colored sandstone buildings and hillsides reminded us of the sunrises we enjoy so much from our condo in Chicago (but there we don’t see millions and millions of dollars of yachts and mega-yachts swaying at dockside). What a sight!

 

We had a late (for us) breakfast in La Veranda and were surprised to see Alexis waiting on people. It seems he was working one last meal while waiting for his friends to arrive. So we said our second good-byes.

 

We joined up with Larry and Dodi for a walking tour of Monte Carlo. Right at the end of the cruise dock they met a couple of friends from their hometown of Ashland, Oregon who happened to be sailing on the Holland America’s Amsterdam. They had just gotten off a tender and our paths just happened to converge at the same time. Quite a coincidence. (The Amsterdam, which is on a 101 day World Cruise, and another HAL ship, the Veendam are also in port today. Both had to lay-out and use tenders to reach the dock.)

 

At the end of the dock we used stairs and an elevator to ascend the Rock of Monaco to the Monte Carlo Museum. From there it was just a short walk along the rim of the cliff to the Royal Palace – the home of Prince Albert. He was in residence, but didn’t come out to say hello! We watched the changing of guards at 11:55.

 

From this vantage point you can also look down into another boat harbor with millions and millions of dollars floating at anchor. We also saw the roof of the soccer stadium and the roof-top gardens and pools of many villas and condos.

 

Then we walked through the Cathedral where Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III were married on April 19, 1956 and where both are now buried.

 

(We were here on a Med cruise in 2004 and took an audio tour of the Palace – and would highly recommend it to anyone reading this journal who plans a trip here.)

 

Returning to the Museum, we caught a sightseeing train for a tour of Monte Carlo – from the Palace over to the hill with the Casino on it and back. We enjoyed the open air tram that was equipped with an audio headphone system describing the sights. After that we walked back down to the port and had sandwiches on the quay with Dodi and Larry, and their friends.

 

After that break, Karen and Larry walked along the docks up to the Casino, back down again and along the docks to pick out our mega-yacht. Our son-in-law will be happy to know we found one!

 

We returned to the ship at 4:00 and enjoyed sitting on our balcony facing the harbor.

 

(In the whole time we have been here today, we have only seen one boat move in or out of the harbor – and that was a modest sailboat. Can you imagine the cost of maintaining crews on all these mega-yachts?)

 

For our sail-away we had cocktails and canapés on the pool deck. Capt. Dag drew close to HAL’s Amsterdam and then the Veendam – and blasted them with music and thee long bursts from ourhorn and one short when they responded in kind,

 

We joined Judy and Kirk on the pool for drinks and then dinner in Compass Rose. We always have fun with them.

 

Our second visit to the Grimaldi’s fairly-tale principality of Monaco was just as special as the first. It really is a neat small corner of the world.

 

Karen and Larry

 

Photos of our cruise are available at the following web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

Photos of our visit to Monte Carlo have been added.