baltic17

@diebroke Thank you for your review.  We are doing the TA from Lisbon to Miami 3 December.  Looking forward to the adventure and will definitely take you wine comments to heart.

Is there someplace close the the Miami port where we can get a rapid covid test?

We are on a B2B and not sure whether there will be covid test available on board (Norwegian Sun) to get a test before leaving Miami as we are stopping in Bermuda.

As I don't know Miami, searching on google is just making me crazy.  Need test on 31 Oct. 

Is the wifi at the port reliable?  We can bring tests and schedule to do via telemedicine as long as the wifi doesn't drop out.

Thanks.

We absolutely love Zadar.  Not sure what your port times are but sunset is glorious. 

Alfred Hitchcock once said : ” Zadar has the most beautiful sunset in the world, more beautiful than the one in Key West in Florida, applauded at every evening. ”

We really enjoyed the Archeology Museum and the Roman ruins outside.  A very easy town to walk about. 

Lunch recommendation would be Konoba Dalmacija - Tavern.  We love calamari and octopus.  Everything is melt-in-your-mouth.   If there is a side of mangold (chard and potatoes with garlic), definitely have some.  We ate at a number of lovely smaller restaurants when we stayed there a couple of years ago.  Look at the menus and pick one.

Enjoy your trip.

@Faithcruiser If we are lucky enough to actually get to stop in your neck of the woods, what would you recommend we do?  Notionally we should be stopping on 24 October.

We are arriving in Lisbon on the Sun in November.  Having no recent NCL experience, we are not familiar with the disembarkation timeline.  The schedule notes that we will dock at 0700.  Are we likely to be able to disembark no later than 0900?  We want to catch at 1000 train.

@Quartzsite Cruiser great Korcula pics.

We were sitting in one of those nice open air cafes when the proprietor told us that the storm was coming and that he was closing.  He suggested a restaurant about three doors down where we could get out of the rain.  Looking out the door of the restaurant, this was the rain.  It stopped just as quickly as it started.  By then we had had a lovely braised octopus meal with local red wine and a wonderful conversation with the restaurant owner.

Best advice on maps is to print out something before you leave home. 

Check the Chamber of Commerce or Visitor Center webpages.  Also Frommers and/or Fodors will usually have pretty good maps that you can download.

As far as the Shore Excursion folks go, the ones on the Zuiderdam on the two cruises I did in May 2022 could book for you and would tell you which excursions were still available but didn't have much on-the-ground info and were lacking in some customer service skills.

Yesterday I received a notice that said my Tracy Arm excursion for 27 May was canceled for 'operational reasons.'  No reschedule.

Today I received an updated itinerary for Tracy Arm/Juneau that altered time in Tracy Arm from 9am to 11am, and arrival in Juneau from 1pm to 3pm.  It indicated that the shore excursion was moved to 11am.  I can't book it on the HAL website.

When my DH and I sailed on 4 May, when we arrived in the cabin, there was a brochure for the Tracy Arm excursion.  We had already booked something else so didn't do it.  I'm hoping that the same brochure is available when my DS and I arrive on 25 May.

Just have to flow with the changes.....

@ArkansasTraveler2  We live in Oregon, so driving up is the easy answer for us.  I know others who take the train from Seattle.  The delay at the border mid-week is only about 15 minutes.  We'll see how we do in a couple of hours as we are timing when we arrive at Canada Place.  I'll try to post again later today or on Friday from Juneau with how everything goes.

Thank you for the daily and all those who are here.

Just doing a little last minute downloading before heading off to Vancouver to catch our cruise tomorrow, HAL Zuiderdam.  Have completed all the apps, with a minimum of cursing.  The drive over the boarder tomorrow from Bellingham should be relatively easy and then we can take our time getting to Canada Place.

Prayers for all who need them, especially Ukraine and our Daily family members.  Special prayers for those who have lost loved ones, @kazu Jacqui and @cat shepard, Ann.  

Haven't' posted in a while and don't have access to any of my pics of Amsterdam, I would highly recommend the Dutch Resistance Museum if you have some time in Amsterdam, especially with the Anne Frank House.

Thanks for the Daily and everyone who enjoys it.  The food and drink look great.  I'll have to find some of those glow-in-the-dark ice cubes.

My FIL passed away shortly after DH and I moved back to the US in 2009.  We still have wonderful memories of visiting so he is still with us.

Love International friends and those on the daily.  Such a good way to increase good will.

Cheesecake is wonderful.  I switched to pumpkin cheesecake a number of years ago for Thanksgiving as my pie crust just never turns our like my mother’s used to. I no longer eat any dairy and have a dairy free pumpkin cheesecake that I make that everyone says is just as good as the Martha Stewart recipe I used for years.

@mamaofami  Glad to see Sam is doing better with the cane.  That weather sounds very scary.

@kazu Love today's memes.

@Crazy For Cats - enjoy your cruise.  Sorry about the unfortunate freezer problem, at least it's controlled and you aren't finding it when you get back.

@cat shepard what beautiful scenery.

@highland cruiser went spent the day on the coast yesterday to avoid the heat here in the valley.  Too much to get done around the house today.  Enjoy the fog!

@Cruising-along agree with you on cilantro, yuck!  I just substitute regular parsley or spinach.

I have only been to Skagway once, in May 1994 on my first cruise.  Mys DS and I rode the White Pass train and saw lots of black bears, glad we were in the train.  Appreciate all the photos of the area.  I will post pictures of what I bought in town and still enjoy viewing around the house everyday.

Prayers to all those on the care list and those who need them.  Best wishes to all.

Thanks everyone for the daily.

The days look marvelous as does the food and beverages.

@smitty34877Fingers crossed about little Camilla coming home.

@cat shepardThanks for the wonderful Icelandic adventure story.

Prayers to all those on the care list and all those who need them.

Best wishes to all.

Thanks for the Daily everyone.

Always enjoy a bit of bagpipe music.

The pictures today are wonderful.  This is a part of the world I've not visited so am enjoying.

Those carts definitely look speedy and a bit dangerous if you are walking.

Prayers to all those on the care list and those who need them.  Best wishes to all.

Thanks for the Daily and all how contribute and/or enjoy it.

Prayers for all on the care list and those who need them.  Best wishes to all.

We have been to Stornoway.  We took the ferry from Uig, Isle of Skye to Tarbert, Isle of Harris and spent a week exploring Harris and Lewis before departing from Stornoway on the ferry back to Ullapool, Scotland.  This was our last trip in August 2009 before we moved back to the US from England in September 2009.

I was delighted to go to the home of Harris Tweed and made several lovely purchases, including yardage that I have made DH a lovely vest from and several wonderful throw pillows.

The journey to Harris.

Shopping....

Touring around Harris.

Visiting one of the many 'black houses' on Lewis.

Touring around Lewis

The Callinish Standing Stones.  This was the sunny day when we actually got a few pictures.  It had poured the day before.

Leaving on the morning ferry.  Our B&B hostess had left us a lovely take away breakfast as the ferry left well before breakfast time.

10 minutes ago, kb4683 said:

Totally agree!  We have mail stations with boxes in our community and last week we were expecting our new license plate sticker and a prescription drug delivery.  The Rx company showed the prescription was delivered on Saturday — not in “our” box.  Monday, our next door neighbors brought both missing items over! 😡.  (They had been gone over the weekend.). Not the first time this has happened this year.  Just glad they didn’t put it in the neighbor on the other side’s box, she’s been gone for 3 weeks and won’t return till next week.  (I was all geared up to go talk to the delivery person on Tuesday, so glad I didn’t have to have that confrontation 😅)

We also have the 'gang' boxes, as my postal worker sister tells me they are called.  Had a medicine delivery that they said was there on a very hot day.  I went to the post office and complained as there are several of us who get our mail delivered to one another and they didn't have the package.  Half an hour later the postmaster called to say my package was in my box.  Still don't know why he couldn't just drop it at my house as he had to drive past it twice.  Oh the mail system....

2 hours ago, Quartzsite Cruiser said:

Good afternoon. I finally caught up after a busy but not that fun a day -- house cleaning.   😌  At least, that's done for as long as I can put it off.😉

 

DH was checking tours for our cruise next year, and discovered we are not going to Hvar, but to Sibenik, which we haven't visited either.  Everything else I said about the town is accurate.  I looked and Hvar is an island north of Korkula.  @baltic17Thank you for the pictures.  I want to visit Hvar now.

 

@bennybear and @smitty34877. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to your DHs.

 

Lenda

 

 

The entire Croatian coast is so beautiful.  No matter where you stop the scenery is marvelous.  All the little islands have swimming in clear water, wonderful coffee shops with little pastries to also order, fabulous seafood - we particularly loved the melt in your mouth calamari and octopus, great wine, and just very friendly people.  Hvar is/was known for its wild lavender which you see when driving around the island and the lavender shortbread cookies!

We also loved Korkula and Brac.  We would love to go back and spend more time exploring the coast.  Dubrovnik is nice but oh so crowded.  Split was more to our liking. 

Thank you all for the Daily.  

Quite like the quote.

Cooler and overcast today.  Got more yard work done and blueberry picking.

Prayers for all on the care list and those who need them.  Best wishes to all.

We we in Hvar Croatia twice in May 2018.  We did a group bus tour from Zagreb to Dubrovnik and a yacht trip from Split to Dubrovnik with a car trip between tours and after they were over up to Zadar.  The weather was fabulous.  On the yacht trip I swam in the Adriatic everyday.

The bus tour had us taking a ferry from Split.  Getting to the hotel was around several narrow winding roads that I thought we would have to walk on the get back to town.  Not so, there is a wonderful walkway along the shore and harbor back to town. The welcome signs along the way said it all.

The yachts must make reservations nearly a year in advance just to drop off their guests and pick them up.  All day/night spots were very expensive and only a few were available.  Hvar is also a place to be 'seen' according to our guides.  Many very posh shops, but the grocery store was a great deal for beer and wine. 

Just walking along the harbor.

Other pretty views around town.

The local bakery had just delivered fresh baguettes which were hard to resist.

Thanks to all for the Daily.

As others have mentioned, it is cooling off a bit here in the PNW.  It was 64 when I went for my walk this am.  Nice walk and I also picked more blueberries.  The landscape manager for the parks dept planted lots of blueberries along one of the parking lots and he said to pick them when we saw them.  They are tasty.  Only getting to 93 today, much better than the 115 we had to go out in yesterday for a medical test.

We have been to today's port in August 2016.  DH chose just to walk around the port, particularly enjoying his visit with the young ladies at the grocery store.  A friend and I decided to take a hike up the river to see the falls.  The tourist information gent said it was a easy round trip walk of several miles and that we could cross the river and walk back along the road.  Off we went.  About a mile in we came across a little bridge to cross the river and walk back to town but we hadn't yet reached the falls so we didn't think anything of it.  We kept going on a fairly good trail and were enjoying several different falls and then started looking for the way across the river.  After climbing quite a ways, we finally decided that there wasn't another way to cross the river and that we would have to hike back the way we had come.  It turned out the little bridge we had long since past was the way over the river.  It was a beautiful hike and we earned our very expensive beers when we got back to town.

Prayers to all those on the care list and those who need them.  Best wishes to all.

Sailing into the fjord.

DH visiting a local site

Starting our hike

A view of the local golf course

Some nice waterfalls

The beer sign

Thanks for the Daily.

I got my walk in at 5am today to avoid the heat.  Then came back and gave some extra water to my trees and shrubs.  It's already past 90F.  Just a bit much for us.

The past two mornings the hot air balloons have been back.  Yesterday there were 6 and this am there were the 3 largest. They launch about a mile from our house.  It's so good to see that some things are getting back to normal. 

@mamaofamiHappy birthday.  The roses are beautiful.

Prayers to all on the care list and those who need them.  Best wishes to all.

Pacific Northwesters please take care in all this heat.

Thanks for the Daily.

We definitely eat our veggies willingly.  Thanks to all the nursing assistants we see regularly.  Crocs are okay from a distance.

Poke is yummy but ceviche is even better.

We did a Costa r/t Venice in 2005.  Followed the Rick Steves advice about just heading out in any direction since you're on an island and enjoyed new discoveries around the corner.  Found a Scottish bar around one of those corners.  Also enjoyed getting our water bottle filled with wine by the liter with our picnics.  Highly recommend Donna Leon Inspector Brunetti books that take place in Venice.
@grapau27Graham, looks like a nice lunch but it doesn't look like Betty's.  We used to live nearby.

Love all the pics of Venice and Crocs in Costa Rica.

Prayers to all on the care list and those who need them.  Best wishes to all.

Thank you all for the daily.

Like the prunes, take passable nature photos on the phone, and definitely agree with the power of a smile.

We were in Montevideo in Oct 2017 on the Zaandam, however it was a very wet day.  I have enjoyed all the lovely sunny pictures presented since we didn't really see much. 

@smitty34877 While I'm glad that you have a diagnosis for Tana, I hope and pray her progression is very slow and that course of treatment slows it down even more.  My DH has IPF and my heart goes out to you.  You and Tana will be in my prayers.

@mamaofamiPlease take care of yourself.  Glad to hear Sam is doing better.

Prayers to all those on the care list and all who need them.  Best wishes to all.

Thanks all for the Daily.

I'm aching from all the weeding I did yesterday after returning from our 6 week jaunt.  My high school graduation present was a Kenmore 10 sewing machine which I still use for fixing just about anything and some clothing and quilting.  Not a softball player.

The quote is great.

We spent most of our time in the St Lawrence avoiding Hurricane Dorian several years ago.  Had a lovely day in Cornerbrook, then the hurricane hit and we hid behind Anacosti Island for a couple of days.  Look forward to going again in better weather.

@Cruising-along An old West Virgina approach to moles is putting mason jars at the beginning of the tunnels.  They don't like the noise and echo they make.

Prayers for all on the care list and those who need them.  Best wishes to all.

@StLouis Cruiser My sincerest condolences to you and your family.

Thanks for the Daily. 

Looking forward to having a grilled meal today at our friends' house.

Another nice Oregon pinot!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes yesterday!

Our flight from Dulles to Albany NY was delayed multiple times so spent most of the day at the airport.  My creativity was pushed as there wasn't much to do but walk and read.  Made the best of the day anyway.

@kazuBelated Happy Birthday!

@Vict0riannHappy Birthday to Pat!

@smitty34877Good news about Tana!

Prayers for all those on the care list and those who need them.  Best wished to all.