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About Me
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Location
Raleigh North Carolina USA
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Interests
Travel (duh), Cooking, Reading
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Favorite Cruise Line(s)
Viking Oceans, NCL, Celebrity, NOT Costa
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Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
hmmm, only one?
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If you have a personal or hobby CRUISE or TRAVEL BLOG, include the url here:
Instagram @ClaynMike email:bigncbear at aol dot com
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After 121 days with only a few hour of rain, I guess we canât complain about the downpour while disembarking, but it seemed to capture my feelings perfectly đ After hauling our bags out to the Gypsy Moth pub, we ordered up an UberXL and it finally arrived 15 minutes later. XL in London isnât as XL as at home but we and our bags fit (barely). An hour or so after that we made it to the Premier Inn Paddington-both us and the luggage still damp but not dripping like when we got in. The room is similar to our DV home except no balcony, closet, or storage space but it does come with mood lighting!đ
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Writing this on Tuesday morning from our balcony overlooking the Thames and London just before they arrive to throw us off. I will post something after we get home with fuller thoughts (donât forget we have a week in London with our newly college graduated niece who arrives tomorrow morning) but for now Iâm going to repost what I put up on Instagram last night: The last few weeks onboard Sky have been bittersweet as all aboard -passengers and crew realized this amazing adventure was coming to an end. That hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. One of the cafe servers made a special effort to thank me for suggesting to other passengers to let her and other crew board a shuttle bus back to the ship in Tenerife before the guests. This allowed them to get back before their shifts started. She said she would ânever forget how kind that wasâ. While that brought me close to the edge, it was when she said, â Smile when you get off tomorrow, please donât cryâ that the tears started and have been coming and going the rest of the day. While we always get to know a crew member or two, after four months we have really become so much closer to so many more. We have learned about their families, their hopes for their careers, the baby that is due next month back home, the toddler at home being cared for by granny while Mom is onboard making a better life for her family. Each of these people who work so hard to make our lives onboard a breeze have a story and itâs only because we have been together so long that we have heard them. We just finished our end of cruise survey and had to add paper to be able to commend all the wonderful people who have taken care of us for the last 120 days. Mike and I talked about it last night, and while we loved all our adventures and have great memories of so many places, cultures, and people it will be the memories made onboard with fellow passengers and especially the crew that we think will stick with us the longest.
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When we got back yesterday afternoon, there were a few of the entertainment staff and other crew out on the pier with music playing. As we went up the gangway, the wait and bar staff were coming down. Soon there was a long line of welcomers. As each bus arrived the party got louder and soon all of us on the balconies were in the party too. I have always thought the welcome back on the piers was a bit much-the crew works so hard for us to then ask them to come out and clap and dance was not for me. But after watching how much fun they were having together between buses-when there were no guests on the pier has changed my mind. They arenât being forced to be happy, they are having a good time together. We just docked in Dover after a beautiful morning of getting closer and closer to the White Cliffs.
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When we got back yesterday afternoon, there were a few of the entertainment staff and other crew out on the pier with music playing. As we went up the gangway, the wait and bar staff were coming down. Soon there was a long line of welcomers. As each bus arrived the party got louder and soon all of us on the balconies were in the party too. I have always thought the welcome back on the piers was a bit much-the crew works so hard for us to then ask them to come out and clap and dance was not for me. But after watching how much fun they were having together between buses-when there were no guests on the pier has changed my mind. They arenât being forced to be happy, they are having a good time together. We just docked in Dover after a beautiful morning of getting closer and closer to the White Cliffs.
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Beautiful day for our optional excursion to Giverny and Monetâs House and Garden today from Honfleur. Our first stop after about a hour and three quarters was a beautiful wedding venue (nĂ© Pig Farm) for a nice lunch. Mackerel Terrine Poached Chicken and buttery Mashed potatoes with a cream sauce (sorry I forgot to take a phot before digging inđ«ą) Delicious apple tart and French vanilla ice cream After lunch we rode about another 20 minutes to get to Giverny. What a horde of tourists-they really need timed tickets! But the gardens were so beautiful and the house interesting to see. The most amazing fact to me was that they only had eight gardeners. We are now about 20 minutes into our 2 hour drive back to the ship. Mike and I agree we are glad we came but would only do it again if we were staying closeby and could be there when the gates open and/or enter just before closing. We saw lots of tourists on day trips from Paris as well as two groups from Viking River boats docked in nearby Vernon. Tomorrow we are in DoverâŠgoing too fast!
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I spoke too soon! Yesterday was my birthday and we were awakened by a delivery of my favorite buns and a handcrafted artisanal birthday card of curated recycled materials made lovingly by Mikeđ After breakfast, we enjoyed the included walking tour of Cherbourg a very nice little town. We were lucky that Thursday was market day in Cherbourg. So many beautiful flowers, vegetables, pastries, breads, cheeses, etc. We decided to buy some cheeses, meats, and have a picnic. It was chilly and rain was threatening so we went back to the ship and enjoyed it onboard with our prepaid wineđ We enjoyed the spa after lunch and had it all to ourselves! We had friends join us for dinner at Manfrediâs private room and had a great time. We had visits from Mukesh-the Hotel Manager, Sam-the Guest Services Manager, and Max-the Excursions Manager along with what seemed like most of the servers and chefs onboard when they delivered a special birthday cake-they even had me âblow outââthe candleđ We got back to the room to find another little remembrance of Portugal waiting for us along with another beautiful sunset. All in all, a wonderful birthday!
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Another beautiful day in Portugal! After the past six days of go-go-go while in port and because we spent so much time in and around Porto in 2018, we decided to have an easy day today. Sky is docked at the port of LeixĂ”es which is 45-60 minutes from Porto proper. Unfortunately, we are at the old cruise terminal which is across the Leça River and therefore while we can see the great market in Matosinhos from our balcony where we planned to have lunch, getting there involves a long walk the wrong way to mount the bridge and then up and over. So we decided to head the other way and explore the area on the north side of the river. We are glad we did. Like all of this part of Portugal the beaches are beautiful with wide walkways. In this case, in addition to an old fort that is now a police station, there is a public pool built into the rocks. We had a nice walk and enjoyed watching surfers ride the waves. After a nice walk, we headed back to the ship stopping for lunch and walking through the pleasant town. Lots of old buildings in need of a savior, some that had found theirs, and a couple of amazing new construction. We stopped at the end of the beach at BrasĂŁo Leca for lunch. This local chain has lots of traditional dishes and we split Portoâs heart attack on a plate - a Francesinha, Portoâs version of a Croque Madam if as Mike put it a Croque Madam was healthy! Itâs a sandwich stuffed with sausage, steak, ham, and cheese. Then covered with more cheese, broiled until melty, then topped with an egg and served in a slightly spicy tomato sauceâŠwith fries! So tasty! We ordered a bowl of vegetable soup (likely some sort of pumpkin or squash-very good) and a âMustard & Orangeâ salad. We expected mustard greens with some orangesâŠwhat we got was so much better! Juicy ripe oranges with red onions in a mustardy vinaigrette. Unlike at the places we ate in Lisbon the last two days, here we were happy to see bread, butter (in this case smoked ham butter!), and a bowl of olives and capers delivered to the table. In Portugal these are usually brought when youâre greeted and you are charged for them (in this case âŹ1,85 pp) but if you donât want them you ask them to take away. The restaurant also had the prettiest driftwood sink in the restroom. After our wonderful lunch we walked back through town and found Sky at the end of one of the many little streets. While not as fancy as the new terminal, the old one is a great renovation of what we expect was an old port side warehouse. We leave in about an hour headed to A Coruña Spain where we will be taking a day long trip to Santiago de Compostela. Speaking of which, while strolling along the beach we saw 50 or more âpilgrimsâ making the hike to Santiago. We were asked and took a picture of three young ladies headed there, they said they had nine more days before they hoped to arrive. We think we like our mode of transportation betterđ. But if youâre interested in more info: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago