Although our Qantas flight didn't depart until 10.35am, we were picked up at 5.45am (maybe we need to think about whether we will use Redair again). Well at least we were at the airport in plenty of time for our flight!
All went well with our flight, and we were quite delighted that Qantas seemed to have improved their service in the couple of years since we last flew with them. Less than 14 hours after we said farewell to Brisbane for the next six weeks, we arrived in La La Land. In super quick time we had gone through Customs, collected our luggage and hopped on the shuttle bus for the short journey to our hotel for the night - the Crowne Plaza LA Airport. Bonus!...we were able to check in straight away. But we didn't stay in our room for very long as we were determined to make the most of our day...and stay awake. It was only a short walk to the bus transit centre and we hopped on a Big Blue Bus bound for Santa Monica. We really loved it the last time we were there, but unlike last time today was cool, with blue skies...and no smog. We spent several hours here wandering along the headland, along the beach and the pier. It was a real case of deja vu when we had lunch at "Pier Burger", the same place we dined last time we were in Santa Monica.
Tuesday 6th October, 2015
The alarm did go off the next morning at 5.30am giving us plenty of time to get dressed and catch the shuttle bus to the airport for our Delta flight to New Orleans. Because of the time difference we didn't end up arriving in New Orleans until mid afternoon. We checked into our lovely hotel right on Canal Street, the main street of New Orleans, and after a bit of 'housekeeping' ie ironing for the next few days we went for a walk into the French Quarter. As we wandered down Bourbon Street we could hear the sounds of a jazz band playing "Oh when the saints go marching in" - a really surreal moment which totally won our hearts.
Wednesday 7th October, 2015
A whole day to explore New Orleans! We got up early and had breakfast in the hotel's dining room - and discovered the absolute deliciousness of steel ground oats.
First thing was to get to the trolley car stop and travel to the World War 2 Museum. I was given strict instructions from John that I was not to whinge about how long we would spend here, in view of the fact that I was going to have a week in Disneyworld. It was actually pretty interesting, and John loved it which made me happy.
Tonight we had THE best meal of our whole holiday - in fact, one of the best meals of our whole lives. The conscierge at our hotel recommended Oceanas Grill in Conti Street (just around the corner from Bourbon Street). For a starter we had a fabulous waiter, Guy, who made us feel as if he was really excited that we were dining in his restaurant. And as he explained the house specials, we knew that we couldn't go passed them...I had the crab cakes (blue spanner crab cakes covered with a crayfish and mushroom cream sauce) and John had the blackened tuna steak stuffed with crayfish and covered with the same delicious sauce that I had over my crab cakes).
Our Cosmos tour of 'The Old South and Florida' officially began today. This morning we went on a morning bus tour of New Orleans with a local guide. We visited an above-ground cemetery
We had a bit of a line up but finally we found ourselves a free table and ordered a serve of beignets and coffees. They were nice, but not a patch on the jam donuts we had when we were in Berlin. There was a LOT of icing sugar and just air inside. But...we tried them and probably wouldn't bother again.
We headed out of the city this morning on an Airboat Swamp Tour. How exciting! There were about eight of us in the airboat which zoomed through the bayous and swamps of Louisiana. The captain was really interesting, and who knew that alligators like marshmallows! John even had the opportunity to get up close and personal with an alligator, although at this point I need to say that it was a baby and only about a foot long!
Tonight was another treat - a cruise down the mighty Mississippi River on the paddlewheeler "Natchez". After a delicious buffet dinner (where we first got to know Kerry and Russell from our tour group, and who ended up being good mates) we sat out on the deck in the balmy evening air and took in the sights and sounds as we sailed on the river.
Saturday 10th October, 2015
After biding a fond farewell to New Orleans we drove through the heart of Cajun country to the first stop on our tour, Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana. We spent a couple of hours in the Capital Building and when we reached the 27th floor viewing platform we enjoyed sweeping views of the city and the Mississippi River.
After biding a fond farewell to New Orleans we drove through the heart of Cajun country to the first stop on our tour, Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana. We spent a couple of hours in the Capital Building and when we reached the 27th floor viewing platform we enjoyed sweeping views of the city and the Mississippi River.
The majority of our tour group had signed up for an optional dinner excursion but we opted to take a walk from our hotel into the town. On the way we came across another antebellum home, "Rosalie".
Sunday 11th October, 2015
Farewell Natchez - bound for Memphis, Tennessee. We drove for a few hours along the absolutely gorgeous Natchez Trace Parkway until arriving in Jackson for lunch....at Walmart!
The drive from Jackson to Memphis was long but very scenic, and we arrived at our destination late in the afternoon. We were not terribly impressed with Memphis itself but we were pretty excited about tomorrow....Graceland!
Monday 12th October, 2015
Graceland, the home of 'The King' Elvis Presley. No wonder he loved this place so much. As we wandered through the mansion itself, equipped with headphones and iPads, you could almost 'feel' Elvis' presence. Although very grand for its day, it was still very much a home.
It was very moving when we ended up in the Memorial Garden and saw the graves of Elvis, his mother and his father. Very sad that such a generous and talented man lost his life so young.
After leaving Graceland we headed to Nashville, some 3 hours drive away. Our tour guide Peter had a supply of country and western CDs which he played the WHOLE way to Nashville...ERK!
Tuesday 13th October, 2015
Our first stop this morning was RCA Studio B, and what turned out to be one of the most memorable times of our whole tour. Studio B is Nashville's oldest surviving and most important recording studio. The guide for the next couple of hours had worked there for many years and was so incredibly passionate about his work. He recalled many of the artists that made recordings there and when we walked into the actual recording studio where Elvis recorded "Are You Lonesome Tonight" it was a truly surreal moment. He told the story of the night that Elvis recorded this song. All of Elvis' musicians and crew were in the studio jamming, eating pizza and drinking. Then around 2am Elvis announced that he was ready to record and instructed that all the lights in the studio be turned off. And as we sat in this same studio the lights were turned out. And then the song was played - well, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. It was so beautiful and we could 'feel' Elvis' presence in the room.
Something that I definitely will miss about Nashville though are the most delightful chocolate biscuits that I have ever tasted in my whole life...Goo Goo Clusters. These taste thrills were created in Nashville back in 1912. They are a disk confection containing marshmallow nougat, caramel, roasted peanuts and coated in milk chocolate. They are not available in Australia, which is probably just as well.
Today we said goodbye to Nashville, Tennessee and travelled over the Appalachian Mountains bound for Atlanta, Georgia. Way off in the distance we could see the Smokey Mountains, home of the black bear and the most famous black bear of all...Smokey!
Around 10.30am we made a stop in Chattanooga's Terminal Station so that we could see the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Terminal Station was formerly a railway station but is now a hotel (The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel to be exact). Hotel guests can actually stay in restored railway cars - how cool would that be?!!
Around 2pm we arrived in Atlanta, just another big city. During the American Civil War General Sherman ordered that it be burnt to the ground so there is absolutely no history here at all. We were dropped off outside the CNN Centre and John decided that we should do a tour of the CNN Studios..which we did. How professional do we look reading the news?...
After leaving the Studios we had a wander through Olympic Park and on to our dining venue for tonight, 'Pitty Pats Porch'. The cute name was our deciding factor to eat here but it also turned out to be an amazing dining experience. Our waiter, Terence, was an absolute honey and he made us feel very special. Following Terence's recommendation we ordered the Southern Fried Chicken, the 'best mashed potatoes ever' (he was right), black eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread. What a feast!
Thursday 15th October, 2015
Another day, another place. This time our destination was Savannah, home of 'Forrest Gump'. On the way we stopped off for morning tea at a Cracker Barrel store. We had been to one of these stores on our last visit to the USA and they are just wonderful. Lots of lovely souvenirs, sweets and Xmas and Halloween decorations...as well as 'Possum in a Can' (erk!).
Around lunchtime we arrived in the absolutely gorgeous city of Savannah. We were pretty excited about spending a few days here. It was everything we imagined the 'Old South' to be. Magnificent parks filled with huge live oak trees draped with Spanish Moss, historic homes, river walks and trolley buses.
Friday 16th October, 2015
A free day in Savannah! After indulging in a bit of a sleep-in we went down to the hotel's breakfast room to fuel up for the day ahead. We just sat down and were about to launch into our breakfast when I spotted this lady waving like crazy...at me! All of the sudden the penny dropped and I realised that it was one of the 'Wisconsin Girls'. They were all there - Bonnie, Bonnie's sister Linda, Marlene and Yvonne. It was like meeting up with old friends. This time when we finally bid farewell we made sure to exchange email addresses and the promise to become Facebook friends. It was fate.
After breakfast we headed up to the City Market and decided to take the Trolley Bus again. We got off at the River Walk for lunch (John enjoyed his first taste of fried green tomatoes as part of a BLT)
Following lunch we took ourselves on a cruise down the Savannah River on the steamboat "Georgia Queen" which was a most delightful couple of hours.
At the end of the day we made our way back to the City Market for a final stroll, a drink and dinner.
Saturday 17th October, 2015
This morning at breakfast we started chatting with a lovely lady from Illinois who absolutely loves koalas. I remembered that I had a brought some coasters with us from Australia to give out as little gifts to anyone special that we met. So I hurried up to the room and got out one of a koala and took it back down to her. Well, you would have thought that I had given her a million dollars. As our bus pulled away from the hotel bound for St Augustine, she and her husband were waiting on the kerb to wave us goodbye.
By morning tea we had crossed the border into Florida and by lunchtime had arrived in America's oldest town, St Augustine. It was so incredibly busy with tourists but we joined in with the throng and wandered through the main tourist area with its many shops and eateries.
But there's only so much of crowds that you can take. We very soon made our way to the waterfront and the very imposing fort, Castillo de San Marcos. It was so lovely by the water - cool and calming.
Sunday 18th October, 2015
What a day! We went to Cape Kennedy and it was even better than we had anticipated. It's absolutely vast and, even though we only had the one day, we made the most of it and saw so much...the space simulator, the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Saturn 5, went on a bus tour to the launch pads, chatted with an astronaut and it was made extra special because we were joined by our friends Kerry and Russell who we met on our tour. Epic day!
Monday 19th October, 2015Another day, another place. This time our destination was Savannah, home of 'Forrest Gump'. On the way we stopped off for morning tea at a Cracker Barrel store. We had been to one of these stores on our last visit to the USA and they are just wonderful. Lots of lovely souvenirs, sweets and Xmas and Halloween decorations...as well as 'Possum in a Can' (erk!).
Around lunchtime we arrived in the absolutely gorgeous city of Savannah. We were pretty excited about spending a few days here. It was everything we imagined the 'Old South' to be. Magnificent parks filled with huge live oak trees draped with Spanish Moss, historic homes, river walks and trolley buses.
Friday 16th October, 2015
A free day in Savannah! After indulging in a bit of a sleep-in we went down to the hotel's breakfast room to fuel up for the day ahead. We just sat down and were about to launch into our breakfast when I spotted this lady waving like crazy...at me! All of the sudden the penny dropped and I realised that it was one of the 'Wisconsin Girls'. They were all there - Bonnie, Bonnie's sister Linda, Marlene and Yvonne. It was like meeting up with old friends. This time when we finally bid farewell we made sure to exchange email addresses and the promise to become Facebook friends. It was fate.
After breakfast we headed up to the City Market and decided to take the Trolley Bus again. We got off at the River Walk for lunch (John enjoyed his first taste of fried green tomatoes as part of a BLT)
This morning at breakfast we started chatting with a lovely lady from Illinois who absolutely loves koalas. I remembered that I had a brought some coasters with us from Australia to give out as little gifts to anyone special that we met. So I hurried up to the room and got out one of a koala and took it back down to her. Well, you would have thought that I had given her a million dollars. As our bus pulled away from the hotel bound for St Augustine, she and her husband were waiting on the kerb to wave us goodbye.
By morning tea we had crossed the border into Florida and by lunchtime had arrived in America's oldest town, St Augustine. It was so incredibly busy with tourists but we joined in with the throng and wandered through the main tourist area with its many shops and eateries.
Sunday 18th October, 2015
What a day! We went to Cape Kennedy and it was even better than we had anticipated. It's absolutely vast and, even though we only had the one day, we made the most of it and saw so much...the space simulator, the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Saturn 5, went on a bus tour to the launch pads, chatted with an astronaut and it was made extra special because we were joined by our friends Kerry and Russell who we met on our tour. Epic day!
The beginning of one of the best weeks of my whole life! Today we went to Disneyworld. As we weren't being picked up by limo until 10.30am we wandered up to IHOP for breakfast (IHOP being short for International House of Pancakes). Whoa...those pancakes were massive! I ordered a short stack with a small cup of berries to go with them. I ended up with three dinner plate sized pancakes, about half a ton of whipped cream, and large scoop of ice cream as well as a large cup of fresh berries. I managed to eat half of one pancake and all of my fruit, and our waitress was most distressed that I didn't eat much...she assumed I didn't like them and offered to get me something else. It took a LOT of convincing that I really was full, and that I really loved what I had. But some of the meals that other diners were tucking away were astronomical.
By the time 10.30 arrived I was so excited I was just about jumping out of my skin. The trip to the entrance to Disneyworld from our hotel was only about five minutes, but from the entrance to our actual hotel was almost half an hour. Disneyworld is absolutely humungous!
When the limo pulled up outside our accommodation for the next week - Port Orleans French Quarter Resort - we thanked our driver, checked in our luggage and walked around to the entrance of the Resort. As soon as we turned the corner I spotted Carole and Marshall waiting for us. OMG, what a reunion! It was so amazing to see them both again.
As it was a bit early to check into our room, we went to the restaurant area for a coffee...and a VERY long chat. Finally our beautiful room was ready so we settled in before rejoining Carole and Marshall.
We couldn't go to any of the Kingdoms today, but we did catch one of the Disney buses to Disney Springs marketplace and wandered around, spent an hour or so at Disney Quest (an indoor interactive theme park) before checking into Fulton's Crab House for dinner. We enjoyed many beautiful meals at Disneyworld, but this one was very special as it was our first night and a celebration of friends.
8.45am and we met Carole and Marshall for breakfast before catching a bus to Hollywood Studios.
It was like I had walked into a dream - a wonderful dream. Apart from a fuel stop at the Commissary Store for lunch, we never stopped all day. From Muppet Vision 3D, Star Tours, the Great Movie Ride, the Extreme Stunt Show, Toy Story Midway Mania, and ending our day with the Fantasmic Laser and Light Show it was non-stop fun and entertainment.
By the time we got back to our room that night we were absolutely exhausted but looking forward to another adventure tomorrow.
Wednesday 21st October, 2015
Today we hit the Magic Kingdom! Carole made me close my eyes before we turned the corner of the street that led up to the Castle. When I finally opened my eyes, I just about cried. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
the People Mover, the Carousel of Progress, the Thunder Mountain Railroad (just John and I), the Grand Prix race track, the teacups and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride (Carole and Marshall were not too keen on this one)...
Interspersed with all these action-packed adventures, we also managed to fit in a Disney Parade
Thursday 22nd October, 2015
Another day...another Kingdom, well actually two Kingdoms. First of all we went back to Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom for lunch at the Beauty and the Beast Castle's 'Be Our Guest' restaurant...
After lunch we boarded the monorail bound for Epcot, the 'kingdom' dedicated to human achievement in technological innovation and cultural innovation. Its focal point is the huge 'golf ball' (or as Disneyworld refers to it - an 18 storey geodesic sphere). Whatever you want to call it, it's pretty darned impressive...
Inside the 'ball' is the Spaceship Earth ride, which John and I went on. The ride takes 15 minutes and takes you right to the top and demonstrates how advancements in human communication have helped create the future.
One of the best rides that we went on in the whole of our time at Disneyworld was 'Soarin' - a 4D flight simulator ride which made us feel as if we were actually hang gliding over canyons, rivers and mountains. It was absolutely brilliant.
Later in the afternoon we had an 'appointment' to meet some of the Disney Pals - Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. We lined up with all of the little kids for our turn to be photographed and hugged (well why should children have all the fun!).
Tonight we dined in Italy at the Tutto Italia restaurant - another very memorable occasion with our friends
Friday 23rd October, 2015
Our final kingdom, and the one which I have to say was my very favourite...Animal Kingdom. John and I went there on our own this morning and met up with Carole and Marshall around 11am in time for our 'Wildlife Safari'. Each of Disneyworld's 'Worlds' has a focal point..in Magic Kingdom it's the Magic Castle, in Epcot the giant 'Golf Ball' and in Animal Kingdom it's The Tree of Life...
The tree stands 44 metres tall and 15 metres wide and from a distance it looks real. But as you get closer its amazing details come to life - a carving of nearly 400 animals in its framework.
Inside the base of the tree in the Bug's Life Theatre we saw the 3D animated film "It's Tough to be a Bug" with all sorts of special effects such as the feel of your seat being inhabited with cockroaches...ewww!
before meeting up with Carole and Marshall to go on our Kilimanjaro Safari.
Although we were taking this ride in a theme park in Florida, we could have well been in a safari in the depths of Africa - such is the wonder of Disney. We drove through Harambe Wildlife Reserve, some 2,100kms of natural terrain including forests, wetlands and open bush country and marvelled at lions, flamingos, hippos, giraffes, elephants etc...
After our safari we ambled into Dinoland where we enjoyed lunch...
After lunch we went to a production of "The Lion King"
followed shortly after by "Nemo the Musical"
We finally said farewell to the Animal Kingdom around 5pm where we bussed it to Epcot for our dinner at The Coral Reef restaurant - an amazing dining experience. We were surrounded by a ginormous fish tank with sharks, all sorts of fish, giant turtles, gropers, stingrays and even the occasional diver who waved to us on their way passed. Funny enough not one of the four of us ordered any seafood at all that night...
Saturday 24th October, 2015
Today we had to say farewell to our dear friends Carole and Marshall as they left to return home to New Jersey. We had the most amazing week with them and we felt so lost after their bus drove away. So to cheer ourselves up we decided to return to Epcot and visit the 'countries' that we hadn't seen previously. Although it was still very crowded, the day was magnificent and sunny so we just ambled along for several hours taking it all in.
At the end of the day we returned to our Resort to (reluctantly) pack for the next stage of our journey. But even though a Caribbean cruise sounded pretty exciting, I knew that the highlight of my holiday was coming to an end.
Sunday 25th October, 2015
Farewell Disneyworld
Our Lincoln Town Car picked us up shortly after breakfast to take us to the Orlando Train Station for our very comfortable and interesting journey to Fort Lauderdale. Once we reached Fort Lauderdale, a very bustling and crowded city, we checked in to our hotel for the night. Tomorrow would welcome a new adventure!
Monday 26th October, 2015
Cruise day! After a nice leisurely morning we were picked up by shuttle bus around 11am and transported to the cruise terminal. After a very efficient check-in we boarded the Oosterdam and found our 'home' for the next 11 days...Cabin 7118.
We just love Holland America, so it didn't take long before we felt right at home. It was interesting to follow the progress of the ship as it left the port and sailed into open waters. We were followed the whole way by a Coast Guard vessel armed with a 50 calibre machine gun...
The remains of the day consisted of an early dinner in the Vista dining room and then back to our cabin for a sit on our balcony looking out over the ocean
Tuesday 27th October, 2015
After a magnificent night's slumber we were awoken this morning with the arrival of our breakfast tray, always a luxury we afford ourselves on our first day of a cruise. We didn't leave our cabin until lunchtime, enjoying the rest of our morning sitting out on the balcony reading and just staring, mesmerised by the ocean
The rest of the day wasn't too active either - just an explore of the ship, a visit to the shops, a few drinkies by the pool, dinner and a show. Tonight was a Formal Night on the ship but we ate at the Lido buffet in our 'civvies'. We didn't actually pack any fancy evening wear as these were jettisoned from our suitcases during the packing process several weeks ago. It was a case of either taking sparkles, ties etc or taking our swimwear, and as we were going to be in the Caribbean and not into nude sunbathing, we opted for the swimwear.
Wednesday 28th October, 2015
This morning we actually ventured into the dining room for breakfast. John had his favourite breakfast - Bagel Loks - and declared his cruise had truly started. After breakfast I dragged John along to a seminar on acupuncture. He had been in quite a bit of pain in his knee, exacerbated not in any small part by our frenetic pace while in Disneyworld. And in a lightbulb moment, John actually realised that maybe this previously declared 'hoo hah' might just work for him. So he booked himself in for a series of treatments over the course of our cruise and this was nothing short of a miracle.
This afternoon after a few hours of balcony sitting, we went to a Dutch High Tea. We were fortunate enough to sit at a table with a delightful couple from Canada who told us of how they ended up married. They had been neighbours for many years and after each of their respective partners died they ended up falling in love and marrying. Very romantic.
Tonight's show was brilliant - a very entertaining and funny ventriloquist. As we were on a high after the show was over we decided to head up to the Lido Deck for a coffee before calling it a night. But two hours later we were still up on the Lido Deck. We started chatting to an absolutely gorgeous Australian couple, Mavis and Sid, and became instant friends. As there was still a lot to talk about, we decided to catch up again over lunch in a few days.
Thursday 29th October, 2015
Our first port - Philipsburg in St Maarten. St Maarten is only 37 square miles in size and is the smallest land mass in the world divided between two Governments, the French and the Dutch, and it has been that way since the mid 17th century. An interesting legend is that the border was decided by a drunken wager between a Frenchman and a Dutchman who agreed to see who could claim the most land by walking in opposite directions around the shore of the island and meeting on the other side. The Frenchman was declared the winner, claiming 21 miles and the Dutchman ended up with 16 miles. Philipsburg is the capital and main port of Dutch St Maarten.
We had organised a day tour with a local company, Bernard's Tours, before leaving Australia and what a terrific day this turned out to be. There were six of us in all and we travelled the whole circumference of the island. Our guide, David, was really interesting and extremely passionate about his homeland. Our first stop was Orient Beach, where we spent a blissful hour lounging by the pristine aqua waters tasting our first, but not last, rum punch.
Our travels also took us passed Coralito Beach, Marigot (the capital of the French side of St Maarten) and Belair but best of all was Maho Beach which is famous for the Princess Juliana International Airport which is adjacent to the beach. The beach is directly under the flight path and planes fly over less than 100 feet above ground level. We were lucky enough to witness an American Airlines plane from the relative safety of the closest bar...
On our way back to the ship we stopped beside a 'family' of Iguanas - Philipsburg had it all!
Friday 30th October, 2015
Another day, another port. This morning we sailed into Castries, the capital of St Lucia.
We had booked yet another shore excursion before we had left home and this one turned out to be an absolute hoot. Today was actually the only day where it rained, well poured actually. But that turned out to just add to the excitement of the day for us. We were collected at the port at around 8.30am and driven to the other side of the island for a 4 hour ATV adventure. After being kitted up with a helmet and goggles and a how to drive lesson
we were OFF!!...over mountains, down hills and through mud puddles (hence our joy at today's downpour) and passed banana plantations. Our two lovely guides were very attentive and we managed to keep up with them every step of the way.
By the time we got back to the ship we were VERY dirty and looked a bit like two drowned rats, but very happy rats.
The Oosterdam departed Castries around 3.30pm and for the next few hours we enjoyed a scenic cruise of Soufriere Bay until after sunset...just magnificent
Saturday 31st October, 2015
Hey Mon! This morning our ship berthed in Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. After enjoying a leisurely breakfast in the dining room, we departed for Harrison Caves, about a 40 minute journey each way. Travelling through the small towns on the way the one thing we noticed was that the building standards for a lot of houses were pretty much non existent. The foundations were built of Besser bricks, well not necessarily 'built' but more just 'placed' upon the bricks
One house that we drove passed had a lovely set of concrete steps leading down from the side of the house - with the door about 3 feet away from it!
Harrison Caves, Barbados' #1 tourist attraction, is an amazing gallery of rock formations and crystal clear waterfalls. We were transported through them on an electric tram which stopped periodically along the way to let us take photos and get out and wander around.
Harrison Caves, Barbados' #1 tourist attraction, is an amazing gallery of rock formations and crystal clear waterfalls. We were transported through them on an electric tram which stopped periodically along the way to let us take photos and get out and wander around.
When our tour concluded we were dropped back at the cruise terminal where we bought a pirate hat for Jack before boarding. John just couldn't resist trying it on...
Romney Manor with its history dating back to 1626, and the many monkeys that inhabit the grounds,
(legend has it that if you kiss your true love under the tree, you will remain together forever),
At the end of the day Elvis picked us up and transported us back to the ship...with 5 minutes to spare before boarding time! After a quick shower we were on our balcony ready to enjoy the sailaway from this marvellous place.
went for a walk along the walkway through Big Cypress National Park...
Sunday 1st November 2015
Sunday in Fort-de-France, Martinique and everything was shut! But we did go for a nice stroll along the pier
where we got chatting with a lovely couple from Miami. Our chat progressed to finding a café where we enjoyed an even longer chat over a few cups of coffee.
After leaving our Miami chat buddies, Carole and Mike, we decided to walk down to the fort (Fort St Louis) which is now a French naval base but...you guessed it...it was closed.
We were back on the ship by lunchtime and spent the rest of the day reading on our balcony, having an early dinner in the Lido and going to a show (tonight a magician and comedian who was excellent). And of course while on our balcony this evening we marvelled at yet another gorgeous sunset
Monday 2nd November 2015
Ahh, another day...another port. This morning we sailed into St Kitts and docked at its capital, Basseterre, right next to where Celebrity Reflections was also berthed.
We had booked yet another shore excursion before we had left home - a Panoramic Tour of St Kitts including Brimstone Fortress. There was very little that we didn't end up seeing of this gorgeous island...
the giant Saman tree that is over 400 years old
and Brimstone Hill Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the best preserved historical fortifications in the Americas
Tonight we met up for dinner with a lovely couple, Mavis & Syd, that we had got talking to a few nights back. We chatted on for hours until the four of us made our way to this evening's show.
Tuesday 3rd November 2015
St Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands, greeted us with a hot and sunny day. This morning we had a few hours to kill before departing for our pre-booked 'Sunny Liston' tour so we had a wander around the town and capital, Charlotte Amalie. There were so many jewellery shops and so many people touting for business! We decided to escape down one of the side streets where we discovered a very welcoming coffee shop with free Wifi. Here we plonked for over an hour until it was time to head back to the pick-up point for our sightseeing tour. Emancipation Square, with more chooks than people, was just over the road so we sat there until we saw our bus pull up.
Our bus was actually a truck without a roof, and bench seats for about 20 people. And our bus driver/guide was a delightful man by the name of Elvis. He had a terrible singing voice but that didn't worry him in the slightest - he regaled us with all sorts of Caribbean songs throughout the day. And when he wasn't singing he told us all about the history of Blackbeard, the infamous pirate and his quite dastardly deeds.
Elvis drove us right to the top of the island where we had the most magnificent views
and at the end of our sightseeing tour he dropped us off at Magens Bay for a few hours (Magens Bay is the second of the photos above). This absolutely idyllic beach gave us a chance to go for a swim on this very hot day and marvel at exactly where we were in the world...
At the end of the day Elvis picked us up and transported us back to the ship...with 5 minutes to spare before boarding time! After a quick shower we were on our balcony ready to enjoy the sailaway from this marvellous place.
And tonight, after returning to our cabin from dinner and a show, there was a card at the end of our bed with one of the loveliest bits of information that you can receive at the end of a long day - a time change and we got to turn our clocks back a whole hour!
Wednesday 4th November 2015
A whole day at sea. This travelling lark can be quite tiring so a day at sea to recharge the batteries is always welcome. Lots of reading, strolls around the deck, sitting on the balcony and eating (of course).
Thursday 5th November 2015
I had said to John yesterday that The Caribbean is just lovely but now that I had experienced it I probably wouldn't return...until today. Today we anchored at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Holland America's own private island. I have NEVER seen such crystal clear water, NEVER walked upon such soft white sand and NEVER swum in such perfect water. It was a dream and I really could have stayed for weeks instead of just one day.
We hired ourselves a 'Clam' for the day which gave us an excellent possie to sit in the shade while enjoying the occasional drink (delivered by staff from the ship) but we spent a lot of time in the water gazing around and marvelling at just where we were...in the Bahamas! At the end of the day it was so hard to leave this little piece of paradise.
Friday 6th November 2015
We awoke this morning just as the ship was docking back in Fort Lauderdale. By 8.30am we were off the ship and in a taxi and heading for our hotel in Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately we were a fair way out of town due to the fact that the International Boat Show was on and pretty much all accommodation had been booked out. But we were fine with that. Fort Lauderdale is a zoo! So busy, so many highrise buildings and freeways - not a pleasant place at all. We were fortunate enough to get an early check in to our hotel room and were happy to go for a wander around the area, chill out by the pool and watch TV.
Saturday 7th November 2015
Today turned out to be one of the best days of our whole holiday and justified us staying on in Fort Lauderdale for the extra time after our cruise ended. Before we left home we had booked a small group Ecotour to the Everglades. We had no idea the Everglades were so vast - 1.5 million acres of vast - comprising marshlands, pine flatwoods and the 10,000 Islands wildlife refuge.
Our guide, Alex, picked us up a bit after 7am and headed out of the city and on to the Everglades Safari Park. Here we rode on a swampboat through the Everglades...
visited some Gators...
Had lunch at the "World Famous Oyster Bar" (there's a lot of 'world famous' eating places down here in the south) where we tasted alligator. No, it did not taste like chicken because it was chewy, but it was hard to tell the real taste of it because it was (well we were in America) battered and deep fried.
From our world famous diner we drove to The 10,000 Islands, a chain of islands and mangrove inlets that harbor an abundance of wildlife and marine species. It was absolutely captivating to ride through this area in a pontoon boat for nearly two hours...
At the end of a very long but amazing day, Alex dropped us back right outside our hotel. A shower never felt so good!
Sunday 8th November 2015
The start of the homeward journey. Fortunately we scored ourselves a late checkout, always a bonus. The shuttle bus picked us up just before lunch for the transfer to the Fort Lauderdale airport and our Virgin Airlines flight to LA. So by the end of the day we had come 'full circle' and were back at the Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Airport where we had started our adventure several weeks before.
Monday 9th November 2015
Our last day in the USA, but our flight wasn't due to leave until nearly midnight so weren't about to waste our day. The lovely man on the hotel desk kindly gave us an 8pm checkout so, after a sleep in followed by a lovely breakfast in the hotel, we went back to the bus transit centre nearby and caught a bus to Culver City. The Westfield shopping centre here was ginormous and we were quite happy here for several hours.
We caught the bus back to the hotel around 3pm which gave us a few hours to have a 'nanny nap' before getting ready for our flight home. We checked out right on the dot of 8pm, caught an airport shuttle back to the airport and boarded our Qantas flight for an 11.20pm departure.
Farewell again America and thanks for another amazing adventure!
