jpalbny

Looks like DW is 5h into his flight now with another 8+ to go. That is a long flight for sure. I've found that 9-10h is my favorite flight duration. Long enough to get some sleep, but not so long that you wake up and still have 8h to go. The 6.5-7h red-eye flights to Europe aren't long enough for me to relax so by the time I get to sleep it's time for breakfast. The longest one we've done so far is ATL-JNB which is about 15h. The first time we did that route I fell asleep right after dinner and woke up feeling refreshed...but the flight wasn't even half over! That was a little annoying; I was wide awake for about 8h, and going a little stir crazy being stuck in the plane. This last time, I knew better and I stayed awake for about 6h before I finally let myself sleep, so when I woke up there was maybe 3h to go. We are trying Singapore Air in June for our Kimberley cruise. After (hopefully) surviving the 18h direct flight from JFK-SIN we have a few hours' layover before we continue on from SIN-Darwin. And yeah, we might have to take a nap after that - unless I can figure out when to sleep on the plane. Jazz - what time of day does your flight leave? Is it the QF flight at 5:30PM? If so, that's not a bad time to start. I'd stay up until at least midnight NY time then try to sleep for the second half of the flight. The bad part is that you arrive at 5AM NZ time. Though I'd try to avoid it, a few more hours of napping might not be a bad idea upon arrival, then you'll be ready to seize the day!

Yes. It was one of the Delfin ships in 2016. I think that's not the first incident though. It was in the Peruvian tributaries by Iquitos.

The worst part of New Year's Day is taking down the tree. Oh well, that's done. Now time for a program on the treadmill, if Dora is done using it.

Our cats are already thinking about their New Year's resolutions. Dora is stretching and getting warmed up for a run on the treadmill. I think her resolution is to exercise more. Duma is oblivious and looking out the window. He has no intention of doing anything.

I have not done either, but have looked at this a few times for future planning. There are two very different types of Amazon "river" cruise. You can cruise from the mouth of the river, up as far as Manaus, on a standard ocean-going vessel. From the reviews I've read the river is wide and the experience is more like that of an ocean cruise. As an example, this Silversea cruise goes upriver for a few days to Manaus and then continues onward. It looks like you spend a full week on the river. https://www.silversea.com/destinations/south-america-cruise/rio-de-janeiro-to-fort-lauderdale-florida-sn240214c30.html Vastly different cruises are available on the upper tributaries of the Amazon, on smaller river boats, which focus on wildlife and are more akin to adventure/expedition cruises. These are the ones that I am more interested in. You can spend a week on one of the tributaries of the Amazon River (so technically it's the Maranon and Ucayali Rivers), in the Peruvian rain forest. Some day we will do this but so far the dates have not worked out. Example itinerary: https://www.uniworld.com/us/river-cruise/south-america/peru/peruvian-rivers-and-rainforest-discovery/2024-lima-to-lima From your question I assume you're most interested in the first option? Silversea does this a fair amount, and I'm sure there are others. Enjoy whichever you choose!

Happy New Year to all! May 2024 bring you many happy travels.

Happy New Year Mysty and Myster! Enjoy your celebration and the rest of the cruise.

Sunday afternoon and evening. La Réveillon de Noël. We got to Chartres by 2PM and parked underground near our hotel. We immediately went to the old part of the city near the cathedral for a late lunch. Then we went in for a look. A beautiful place. Cool astronomical clock. Intricate carvings surrounding the choir. And beautiful stained glass. The exterior facade was spectacularly lit by the last rays of the evening sun. Lucky us! We got our luggage from the car and checked in. The hotel receptionist had told us about a light show in town so we figured that we'd check it out on our way to dinner. There was a Christmas market across from the hotel. Not much, just food, and we didn't need any of that. The bear on the left is sitting with a drum set. Just before I took this picture, a kid was standing there beating the drums and cymbals, until his mother made him stop. I told the boy, "tu es un très bon batteur!" But I don't think that his mom was very happy about that! Back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Then out to the show. We found a small church, nicely lit up. And another. We walked down to the river. Bridges and houses were in on the show too. We made it to our restaurant but were still 15 minutes early. So we found more decorations. Then we went to dinner. Tasty food. After an apéritif and a few amuses-bouches, we had duck cannette with foie gras sauce, then salmon gravlax, and the main course was veal filet. Everything was great except the veal, which was cooked too much. But after dessert, coffee, and mignardaises, we were happy and stuffed. We walked back by way of the main cathedral, which also had a spectacular light show. There was one show at the side, And another on the front facade. Another peek inside for the concert. Beautiful acoustics and singing. And a nice crèche. The finale of the light show, as we left. And to all a good night! Christmas Day. We woke up around 7:30 and had one last look at the lights of the Christmas market from our window. The sunrise is so late here. Then we hit the road back to CDG. Light traffic, and we were back at Hertz right at 10AM. Drop-off was a snap then we checked in. I couldn't check in online so of course it was because I'd been "randomly" selected for the SSSS treatment. Merry Christmas to you too, TSA. Regardless it was a pleasant time in the AF lounge and a very nice flight home to Newark. Global Entry was incredibly fast and we were back at our car and on the road within minutes. Only one wrong turn on the way home but easily corrected. Home around 5PM. The cats were delighted to see us... (well, happy to be fed). A very enjoyable time! Glad we did it, even through work was a challenge the next few days.

Sunday morning. Christmas Eve Day. We were up by 8AM and took our time getting ready. We planned to hit a coffee shop in town for breakfast then shove off. But nothing opens here until 9AM. The shop we were interested in was too crowded with people picking up their Christmas orders so we went with plan b. A nice pastry and a coffee and we were ready to go. We checked out and we made it to Château de Chaumont a little after 10AM. Not too crowded yet. And look at that blue sky! Lots of levels to explore. No elevators. The chapel, decorated in a winter theme. And a carving of Dionysius. This is our kind of Château! He looks like he's eaten too much foie gras. Here is some very interesting art. Apparently this library had been mostly destroyed by a fire. So the "books" now within the library were also artworks which had been made by fire. They somehow cast a mold around an item then pour molten glass into the mold. The glass burns the object away, but leaves its replica behind. Ghostly. And a unique art medium for sure. If you looked closely you could see little charred remnants of the original book within the glass mold. After more Christmas decorations we finished up inside. The gardens were pretty and the weather was spectacular. So we went for a longer walk to see some more works of art. Some kind of golden globe hidden in the trees. Nature is an artist too. The moss was thick and green. Bird houses. The Château in the distance, surrounded by trees. A cave-like structure. Burned logs. Fire must have been a common theme here. One last stop at the stables. In the practice ring they had a collection of poppies. With that we bid Chaumont au revoir, and set course for Chartres. We have a dinner reservation to get to!

Beautiful cave pictures @Lirio! Would love to visit some day!

Saturday afternoon. After lunch we took a quick drive to Château de Chenonceau. It was less that 20 minutes. A nice approach! Beautiful interior. What a ballroom! Louis XIV left his mark. I guess the recipients of this lovely "gift" were obligated to display it, whether they liked it or not? Loving the Christmas decorations. We walked in the gardens for a bit. This castle was originally built at the water's edge, over the foundation of a mill. Then it was expanded completely across the river. Very unique. This would male a lovely wine cellar, but it was only the apothecary. Another Château, and another hedge labyrinth. This one was easy. Here's Chris proclaiming victory at the center of the labyrinth. Back to Amboise, where we did the completely atypical thing and went shopping for souvenirs, and a few gifts too. Then dinner at Lion d'Or. Starters were spaghetti squash topped with shrimp, and a scallop ceviche. For the main we both had veal medallions. And a chocolate dessert. Of course! Delicious food, but the restaurant was more than half empty. A shame! Off to sleep. Tomorrow, Chartres.

Saturday morning, December 23rd. We were stuffed from dinner so we just had a coffee in the room. We headed out, stopping here to view this statue of a lady engrossed by her cell phone. Then we walked to Clos Lucé. Some pretty half-timbered buildings in Amboise. This restaurant looked really nice and had been our first choice for last night, but sadly it's closed for the season. We arrived at 9 but the door to the Château was locked. The staff arrived right behind us and opened up. The Château sits slightly uphill from Amboise. Its claim to fame was that Leonardo DaVinci spent his final years here. So, there were many exhibits about him. Some workshops, etc. The dining room, decorated for Christmas. Now the gardens. Lots more about Leonardo here. The Château, from the gardens. We walked back into town for more old buildings. Then we went to Château d"Amboise. Nice view from the balcony. And a painting of the death of DaVinci. His tomb is here, but the chapel is undergoing extensive renovations so you can't go in. These châteaux are so pretty. And nicely situated. The gardens. Wish I had time to trim my hedges so precisely! Chris found another sleigh to pose with. Now we were hungry. So, more crêpes for lunch! Back to the hotel to plan this afternoon's activity.

We were wondering! But we didn't see any.

Wow. Those châteaux are so old, they have moss that's older than me!

Sounds great! We did our own version of that a few years ago. Flew to Prague, spent 3 nights, then we took the train to Berlin for 3 more nights there. Too bad we missed everything in between!

Let's see...three martinis, then post on cruise critic! Are you taking lessons from QSS? 😉 Glad the weather is looking better, and keep enjoying the cruise!

No, you are correct. It is pretty much what we call "French toast" but in that dessert version, it was covered with ice cream, whipped cream, and some kind of chocolate sauce. So it was definitely "perdu"!

Welcome back DW! Time flies. Just a week ago we were sitting in the Hertz office at CDG, having arrived 30 minutes early. It was a short flight to begin with, less than 7h flying time, so we didn't sleep much. Our car was ready a few minutes after 7AM so we hit the road! Traffic was painful on la Rue Périphérique but eventually we broke free and headed southwest towards the Loire Valley. It took us about 3 hours to reach our destination. Our first stop was Château de Chambord. It was beautiful despite the cloudy weather. Lots of festive decorations inside too. Some traditional, and others less so. On the roof we could see this beautiful tower, but couldn't climb up into it. Oh well! Looks pretty. We did get a look at the moss-covered roofs and decorations though. The upkeep must be a challenge around here. We had a wander around the grounds but other than some different views of the Château, not much to see. So we came in from the cold misty weather, and had crêpes for lunch! Now another half-hour to the next stop at Château de Cheverny. More festive decor. Smaller on the inside compared to Chambord, but in addition to Christmas decorations, they were doing some interesting stuff with Legos. This painting of Jeanne d'Aragon was replicated in Legos! Pretty grounds. More extensively decorated than Chambord was. They had a hedge labyrinth which of course we had to walk through. Luckily we found our way out! On to our hotel in Amboise, where we checked in a little after 4PM. We had a shower, made dinner reservations, wandered the town a little, scoped out some souvenir shops, and then got ready for dinner (with a glass of wine of course). Veal sweetbreads and country pâté for appetizers, steak frites for our mains, and a delicious spin on pain perdu for dessert. With that we walked back to the hotel, enjoying the decorations along the way. Early to bed after all that time driving, and not much sleep the night before. Tomorrow we'll stay closer to Amboise.

Thanks Jazz, it is actually becoming more difficult as time goes on. Or maybe I'm just sick of working and ready for retirement? 😀 We've started coming home from longer trips on Saturday rather than Sunday, if possible. We're doing that for our return from Perth-JFK in June, after the Kimberley cruise. And we might even stay at the TWA hotel in JFK that Saturday night so we can rest up before driving home Sunday morning! But this was just a 3-day stay so jetlag wasn't an issue. We never really adjusted to European time. And only a short Transatlantic flight home with no connection, so not too tiring. We have the "long weekend in Europe" thing down to a science.

Yes! Dave Barry wrote a column about that "word" I believe. Something about Farhvergnugen in the closet... Hope everyone's Christmas was everything that you wished for and that the New Year is full of health and happiness. We had a fun Christmas Even in Chartres, and our Christmas Day was spent on the plane coming home. Back to work today!

Hope everyone's Christmas weekend was great! We got home from The Loire yesterday around 5PM after an on-time arrival into Newark. Back to work in a few. Will try to post a few pictures later. We saw six chateaux in the three days we were there - Chambord, Cheverny, Clos Luce, Amboise, Chenonceau, and Chaumont. And yes, almost all of them started with "C" so it was hard to keep track! Luckily Chris had her index card all prepared. We arrived in Paris Friday morning, grabbed a rental car, and went to Chateau Chambord, then Cheverny, before checking in to our hotel in Amboise. The next day we walked to Close Luce and Chateau d'Amboise before lunch, and visited Chenonceau in the afternoon. Amboise worked very well for the first two nights. It was a cute small town within easy striking distance of all of the chateaux. And the Christmas decorations in town, and in all the chateaux, set the mood nicely. The weather was about 50 degrees during the day with occasional sprinkles and some annoying wind at times but we didn't expect anything better so we weren't disappointed. For Christmas Eve we drove to Chartres, stopping at Chaumont on the way. Chartres was surprisingly beautiful. They had a light show in the evening which we wandered around and enjoyed before dinner, and a there was a Christmas concert at the cathedral just before midnight mass, which made for a nice stop on the walk home afterwards. On Christmas morning we drove back to CDG which was an easy 1.5h drive with minimal traffic. It was much nicer than the drive in the opposite direction on Friday morning! The airport was hopping but still, no long lines anywhere. After enduring the annoyance of the dreaded "SSSS" I was allowed to join Chris on the plane for the easy flight home, where I binged on Christmas movies and rested up for the drive home. Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Great scenery, and the wombats are adorable! The snake, not so much...Chris would most definitely agree with your captain!

Ome of my two favorite natural phenomena, mimicking the other! Nice picture. Hopefully off to the Loire Valley on Friday.

Welcome back, and have a wonderful trip! Is this your itinerary? The map is from the Ponant site, but for the cruise following yours. I hate that you can't see the itinerary for ongoing cruises on any line's website. There are some really nice stops on this trip! In Promise Bay, if they offer a hike to Winglass Bay, take it. Really nice views. And the Tamar Valley is another very pretty setting. With wineries! Looks like fun, though I'm disappointed that you don't stop in the town of Penguin! I'll look forward to your ongoing reports while we are freezing up here in chilly Upstate New York.

All that, and what you shipped ahead? Are you moving in? 😉