Bookish Angel

Mushrooms. 

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I attended an opera here after having a tour of the Opera House.  The tour made me appreciate even more my "Evening at the Opera".  

How wonderful!  We would have liked to do that as well but nothing fit with our departure time.

Oh, wow, orville99, those photos are lovely. Thanks for sharing.

Our non-ship tour of the Sydney Opera House.  Being serious fans or modern architecture, furniture, art, etc., the extensive small-group tour was one of the highlights of our Australia/Southeast Asia trip.

10 minutes ago, lovelife said:

 

You should have heard the crowd when he stripped off his robe to reveal that sight!

12 minutes ago, lovelife said:

 

You should have heard the crowd when he stripped off his robe to reveal that sight!

Yikes! As I am short, I always sit in front rows to see anything so that would have been a surprising “Eyeful Tower.”  

3 hours ago, lovelife said:

If any of you were on this ship for this sailing, you will never forget this belly flop contest.  Wish I could unsee it.

 

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I dare say the belly was not the only thing flopping on this contestant. 😩

Sailing out of Sydney Harbor at night and seeing that beautiful, iconic opera house lit up after having an interior and exterior tour of it a few hours earlier.  

Riding in a bucking, water-logged Zodiac back to the ship in Antarctica.  I laughed about it despite being a somewhat afraid I might end up in the water.  
 

Hiking up to a weather station in the Galapagos.  It was not a challenging climb until we got to the areas with missing wood planks.  My husband is tall so he just stepped over to the next secure plank.  I am NOT tall and had to spider myself onward via the hand rail structure.  Thinking about it now, I get a slightly nervous tummy. 😳

Setting foot on our 7th continent in the lovely, friendly country of Vietnam.  I falteringly follow a Buddhist philosophy so completing a life goal after a serious illness in a largely Buddhist country was magical.

8 hours ago, Bailey & Sophie said:

 

And we don't think it's strong enough.

So true! It is very weak but still tastes awful and is caffeinated so I don’t bother. 😩

I drink iced water most of the time but occasionally make a pitcher of tea at home with “decaffeinated” (still has some caffeine but much less) organic black, green, mint and orange tea, brewed dark.  I then add 1/4 cup of sugar.   Strong, refreshing and very lightly sweetened.

“What a long, strange trip” that could turn into.

I would be so thankful that I was not lured into a false sense of normalcy and did not have to spend time getting my money back.

We always stay in Melbourne, Fl. as we dislike land-locked, crowded Orlando. Melbourne also has an airport, MLB, that can work for some flyers.

Melbourne is a nice, quiet town close to Port Canaveral and near good beaches.

The Hampton Inn on Durham Rd. in West Melbourne was newly renovated when we were there in January 2019. It is convenient to Publix supermarkets,  Target, and eateries.

Be aware of Allegiant Air safety issues as or December 2019. https://www.oig.dot.gov/sites/default/files/FAA Oversight of Allegiant Air Final Report.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Very good point, donaldsc.  
 

We made 4 spectacular Zodiac landings during our time in Antarctica. Though the trip for 2 was pricey, we felt that the odds of making at least one of four landings were much better than that of a frequently canceled flight.

We considered an expedition ship with excellent lecturers with other knowledge-seekers/adventurers and actual landings “must-dos.”

Iran, Botswana, Greenland, Iceland, Greece, Madagascar and back to South Africa, Cuba, the Galapagos and Antarctica. 

Thanks for posting this article.  
The financial incentive for doctors is disturbing.

Maybe try expedition ships.  While pricey, they have very low kid counts and well-traveled, well-behaved passengers.  Celebrity Xpedition to the Galapagos is among our favorite expedition cruise experiences.
 

We would rather do one expensive but far more enjoyable/better-suited to our personalities exhibition trips than 4 or 5 mainstream cruises.  We have been to wonderful, remote places (our favorite kind) where the only little “kids” are baby seals, turtles and penguins.

That is a wonderful memory, Ocean Boy.

I neighborhood is next to a huge Catholic Church and have walked in their equally large parking lot for years. All of the employees, parishioners, etc. have always been so nice to me, their agnostic/Buddhist-leaning neighbor.

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I very much like Nassau. That was the reason for my question. I want to continue having port stops there and prefer it over private stops. It will be really interesting to see what changes with the upgrades.

I also enjoy Nassau.  I was there a year ago March for a women-only cruise with one of my best friends.  We did a lot of walking, stopping at the chocolate factory and store and other places near it such as the lovely Catholic church where we met the friendly female sextant who gave us a free tour, cold bottled water and encouraged us to use the church’s super-clean restrooms. We hit the food truck near the beach at Fish Fry and had freshly made french fries and real lemonade while sitting under a large shady tree right on the beach.

We talked to many locals and had a great time by getting off of the beaten path here and there.  I don’t need sanitized stops  - a sense of adventure and reasonable expectations provide a more enjoyable experience for me.

Those look delicious!  Did they come out chewy or crisp?

Completing one of my life goals - to set foot on all 7 continents by age 50, in Vung Tau, Vietnam.  This was done while on a monthlong Australia and Southeast Asia cruise.  

On 5/21/2020 at 4:43 AM, deliver42 said:

I think that the chances of catching Covid-19 are being overblown if the precautions are taken. I work for a supermarket chain that has thousands of workers across 7 states, and we deal with customers as close a 1 foot away sometimes, and they aren't always wearing masks. Out of the thousands of workers, there have only been 19 cases, and thankfully no deaths. If I'm flamed for this, so be it, but these are facts.

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/22/859624421/grocery-workers-union-estimates-3-257-members-infected-with-coronavirus
 

I think the most significant portion of this piece is the 200% increase in 5 weeks.

RCI’s Empress of the Seas to Cuba in 2019.  Worst ship experience for us.

Cuba was fantastic but the ship had a strong sewer smell in the aft stairwells the entire cruise.  Part of that might have been due to the Norovirus on board but wow, the smell was eye-watering.

Our cabin had alternating freezing or broiling temperature control and a jagged metal bathroom sink lever - both of which took a few days to fix despite repeated requests at guest services.

My Time Dining was very poorly run. Our requests for tables for 2 was a nightmare and we once ended up at a table for 10 - dinner took 2.5 hours.  
 

Saw an officer sneeze right into a food tray at the Windjammer. 
 

On 4/27/2020 at 6:01 PM, Cruzaholic41 said:

Yes!  My all time favorite cruise was my recent trip to the Galapagos on Celebrity Flora. The islands were everything they were hyped to be, and the ship/cruise, although belonging to a mass market line, blew away every premium and luxury ship I’ve sailed.   Everything was perfect. 

We went on Celebrity Xpedition and I agree with everything you say.  We especially liked the lack of cheesy shows, upselling, noisy pools, etc. Upscale and peaceful is hard to beat.  We love remote places where animals and the land are the attraction as we don’t care to shop, gamble, etc.

Galápagos Islands, Antarctica, Havana.

No cruising with masks for me!

It is hard enough wearing an N95 for just an hour of brisk walking.  The mask makes my glasses fog up and my face damp and hot.  However, I personally think it is unconscionable to be outside without a mask so I deal with the unpleasantness to protect others and myself.
 

I could maybe do without the mask as I walk in a HUGE church parking lot with the ability to easily steer away from the few others I encounter. However, there are others on the sidewalk on the couple of blocks I walk to and from home to the church and back.  I will do all I can to protect others while maintaining my physical and mental health via exercise.

The art!  Most of it is fabulous and a must-see.  
 

I took a free art tour with one of the curators and it was one of the best things I have ever done on a ship.   

Also, Central Park is lovely and peaceful, particularly after dinner when all the subtle lighting is on.  I also did a free horticulture talk/tour that was so interesting.