sailingdutchy
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Posts posted by sailingdutchy
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Good morning Daily-ites and thank you Rich and all contributors you all are keeping our dreams to go back to cruising alive .Growing up in Holland ( proper name The Netherlands ) I grew up with a bicycle , there are more bikes in Holland than there are people . ( The extra bikes are hanging around on the bridges in Amsterdam or in the canals ......!)
As a teenager my friends and I made big trips during the summer holidays to Belgium , Luxembourg, Germany and one year even to Paris, France and we stayed in Youth hostels which costs us a guilder , less than a dollar a day , mind you we had to make our own bed and breakfast and do our own dishes ! We did ride almost 1500 km’s in a couple of weeks per holiday and it was very adventures , that way in the early 60's we were one of the firsts in our families to visit a foreign country .I have a few pictures today of Copenhagen , Denmark from our Baltic cruise from 10 years ago on Rotterdam VI
Royal Palace
And Tivoli
Almost ready to take off to Northern Germany
Tony 😄-
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2 hours ago, Vict0riann said:
Good morning, all , from a warm Victoria! Yesterday, I must not have said "rabbit" in time, the day was a disaster! I took Pat to the hospital at one for his "Roto-Rooter" appointment at 2, after all the miserable prep. That was fine. But at 2:30 the electricity went off at home. I had no idea that the phones wouldn't work! I expected a call around 5, and wasn't too worried, but it got later and later and I went to a neighbour to see what was going on there. They had no electricity either, of course, but said about 300 homes were involved and it was due back on at 9:30. I was preparing to go to the hospital and just hang around outside when Pat rolled up in a taxi! He had been calling from about 4, and also emailing (I had 11 phone messages and 2 emails this morning!) The nurses had finally got him a voucher for a taxi ride home. He was not happy. DD went out and got MacDonald's for us for dinner (all the food she had prepped and was marinating is still in the fridge), and the lights eventually came on at 10:10. By this time, Pat had gone to bed, and evidently the lights went off again sometime after. Pat woke me up to tell me the Russians had hacked the electricity again - I've never seen our room so dark. I lay awake for some time worrying about all the food in the freezers - fortunately, thanks to CC, I had transferred all the ice in the ice maker to the freezer in the fridge, and this morning it was still intact, so I think the food is okay. The doctor's report says Pat will not need to have another colonoscopy, although he removed 4 polyps - I guess they will be biopsied.
Anyway, we are happy it's all over, and we are just hoping the Russians don't hack us again!
We have been to Phu My, my pictures a much like the others - enjoyed looking at them, especially Tony's very colourful ones. I found it a rather sad country, and have no yearning to go back. I'll include in my prayers special ones for everyone who needs them among my Daily friends.
To celebrate we are going out to lunch - probably Timmie's!
Sorry to hear you had quite the day Ann @Vict0riann but Pat should be very ,very happy that the hospital did not run out of power while they did the procedure , I just can't think about that snake being ...............that would have been just terrible ! Let's hope that he comes out with a clean bill of health !
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Phu My part 2 , Jan 2020
On our way through busy traffic going for lunch…….in Ho Chi Minh City on eleven Tri-shaws …..
Wrong turn off …... turn around guys otherwise we will never have lunch .....
We made it to Pho 2000 the place that American Presidents ( Clinton and Obama ) have made famous !
My inside pictures came out all upside down , blame it on iPad , we had a nice simple lunch ......sorry
After lunch to the market ........ lets try this on …..what….. $ 15.00 ….DW bought the nice red one ... wonder how often she will wear it ....looking good dear !
For New Year everybody was buying large flowering branches or trees .
To the lacquer place .... standard tour stop .
The former Palace now the Independence Palace , we chose not to go to the war museum .
Than to the Post office and to see the exterior of The Notre Dame of Saigon both from the old French Indochina days .
A great day was had by all .
Hey those guys look familiar from this morning .Farewell Phu My
Tony 😄-
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We have had the pleasure to get to Phu My a couple of times and the last time was on Jan 23, 2020 , which was our very last cruise ……...on the legendary Westerdam , the ship that the BBC on the news called the “Phantom “ ship because we were roaming the sea's for so long trying to find a port that would except us to get back on land .........
This was just a couple of days before Chinese New Year so I might need a couple of posts to show my pictures going on a small group tour with Nguyen Tri Dung . From the port we went directly to Ho Chi Minh City ( the former Saigon )
On the Rooftop garden of the REX Hotel with our group of cruise friends....... @bobpatj
Ho Chi Minh
Dressed for the New Year
In the background from the French Colonial time the railway station
Thousands and thousands of bikes weaving between the traffic
On my special request Dung took us to the " Heavenly Lady Temple “ which happened to be in a very festive state !
All this excitement before lunch time , lets get on board our tri-shaw
To be continued …………..Tony 😃-
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Good morning all and thank you Rich , Roy, Jacqui and all the contributors for my morning “ newspaper “ The Daily !Like many of you we also have been a few times to Hawaii so today I expect we will be bombarded with lots of pictures , I will look for a few only from the Island of Oahu because I suspect the other Islands will get a turn on another "Port of the Day " .From this port I enjoy in particular the arrival and departure scenery and the nature outside the big city .
The pineapples at the Dole Farm were more expensive than what we have ever paid here in Ontario for a pineapple ..…………but it was nice to see all of the different varieties .
We are longing for a scenery like this ……
Tony and Martha 😍😄-
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We were in Marseille in October of 2014 on the Noordam and made a small group tour on a beautiful Fall day ! Our tour took us from a nice walk in Marseille to a beautiful market in Aix-en- Provence and to an amazing Carrieres de Lumieres in Les Baux-de-Provence .
We just had to buy some nougat from this man !
In an old dug out limestone quarry where they extracted the limestone which was used to built the Chateau in the village of Les Baux they have an incredible light and music show you walk into from the dark and are surrounded from floor to ceiling by images from different artist . The year we were there it was all about Gustav Klimt but other years they show Cezanne , Van Gogh or Renoir .
After this incredible show we went in the the nearby old village of Les Baux
We than enjoyed some delicious French Crepes
And did a little bit of shopping for chocolate and honey
Another wonderful day on one of the BHB ’sTony😄-
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Good morning all and thank you for the Daily , Rich , Roy , Jacqui and all contributors .
Before I forget @VictOriann wish Pat a Happy Birthday ( again ) from Martha and me . May the next 363 days be more exciting than what he is preparing for today and tomorrow ........
I will now start digging for some nice pictures of Marseille where we had a very nice small group tour a number of years ago , might take me a bit .
Our thoughts today also for all who fought to protect our freedom !
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53 minutes ago, Vict0riann said:
Haha! Tony, I accused him of having a clone on board, he seemed to be everywhere at once....
Yes you are right Ann , than to know , from what I was told that he never used the elevators he went all over the ship only using the stairs , he was in great shape and mentioned that in his retirement he was going to make long long walks like in the Austrian Alps , in Scotland or in Spain the Santiago de Compostela ( The Way of Saint James )
Once on the Zuiderdam in Split , Croatia I believe it was we had to walk off a very long pier and who came running by in shorts and running shoes and at good speed , you guessed it Captain Chris .
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11 minutes ago, St Pete Cruiser said:
Thanks for the pic of Captain Chris Turner. I met him onboard the Zaandam returning from South America to San Diego. We talked like we had known each other for years and i saw in him a dedicated Holland America employee and very decent person.
I agree fully Captain Turner was always seen going around the ship , chatted with the guests if he was approached and noticed almost everything if something was just not right and had it corrected . We have had the pleasure of being on 4 cruises with him on 4 different ships and besides a couple of dinners had some nice chats . When in port and if he had a chance he used to love going for a long run. .
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37 minutes ago, rafinmd said:
So you were on the Volendam. I was right behind you on the Amsterdam, getting worried because our next port was Hong Kong and I had to fly that day to Rome to catch the Prinsendam. Fortunately, Captain Fred really put the pedal to the medal and I made my flight with no problems.
Roy
There you are Roy @rafinmd The Volendam is up front here and the Amsterdam behind her , she was on the special 2017 Grand Pacific & Far East Voyage !
You were allowed to leave first …………going backwards for a mile or so
To than start to make the turn where the river is wider
Here are we leaving also being guided backwards by the tug
……and fitting just under the bridge
Captain Christopher Turner was not a very happy man with what had happened in Shanghai with the authorities and the pilots …….
But he took us out for dinner a few days later ! We loved Captain Chris wonderful man and a great Captain !Tony 😃-
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We were in Fukuoka with the Volendam in 2017 but because we were shanghaied in Shanghai ( The authorities kept the Volendam completely locked up in port for an extra fourth day which is a long story for another day , we could not get off the ship that day ) so we missed being on a Cooking and Walking tour that I had booked for Oct 30th and instead on Nov 1st did an organized small group walking tour and went exploring on our own for the afternoon .
We started the walking tour from the Nakasu subway station and visited the Jotenji Temple , the Tochoji Temple , the Hakata Folk Museum and the Kushida Shrine .
Mom who are those strangers ……….. the little girl actually started to cry ......
After a nice Japanese lunch we went exploring on our own by subway to the beautiful Ohori Park and the Japanese Gardens …….. had to ask for instructions to get on the subway in sign language ………it was surprising to me how few Japanese people speak any English .
We did it ….
Young lady celebrating a very special occasion in the Japanese Garden it was a special birthday or graduation .
…..and a very nice day was had by all , despite this major change in our schedule .
Their husbands were also on my tour , but I thought this was a nice picture !Tony 😃😉-
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7 hours ago, Vict0riann said:
I'm not supposed to tell you, but Pat will be 85 next Monday - definitely a senior. We will have missed out on two years of cruising by the time all this is over, so I'm telling him, in cruise years he'll only be 83.
Hope you have a couple of bottles of his favourite wine in house Ann , and does this also mean he will also get his favourite Irish meal on Monday ? Pat's age might make him a senior I guess but sometimes I have trouble keeping up with him and also his quick wit . Best Wishes !
Cheers , Martha and Tony 😍😃
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Lenda @Quartzsite Cruiser thank you very much for your nice pictures of Guam . Hope one of these years I can have a peak at Guam myself I would like to see some of these historical sites but I guess I would have to book a HAL World Cruise or be a trader and go with a different company .............that won't happen , too much Blue and Orange blood in my veins !
Tony 😉
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1 hour ago, XBGuy said:
There used to be a lot of Russian tourists coming to the Mediterranean countries , specially to Greece I believe the numbers have dropped way down over time which you can see on the large number of stores where they sold fur coats etc that are closed up now . Favourite stores specially to the Russian tourists .
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1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:
Good morning, all. Interesting day - especially as it's wine day!
In honour of Towel Day
Like Tony, we have been to Cyprus, but not Limassol. We docked in Larnaca and took a tour to Nicosia. It is a very interesting area, with the variety of cultures.
I decided to post a "few " of my pictures anyways Ann @VictOriann I had it all prepared until all of a sudden I saw the nice pictures of @Quartzsite Cruiser . ( Only one double lucky enough ) Noticed you were not on our tour that day but some other friends were .
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From our cruise on the “Elegant Explorer “ the wonderful Prinsendam in Oct of 2016 landing in the port of Lanarca .We organized a mini-bus tour with a small Bus Line with a good English speaking guide.The tour included a ride to Nicosia , the capital , walk across the green line through no-mans land into the Turkish- occupied district , visit the Selimiye Mosque the Caravanserai Buyuk Han and the Saint Lazarus church with the Tomb of Saint Lazarus .On our drive to Nicosia
Walking through the Greek portion of the city through the markets .
Getting to the " demarcation line “ to give passport information to the Greek guards
Walk about 20 meters across United Nations controlled no-mans land , no pictures please
Crossing the Attila Line into the Turkish - occupied sector and get checked again
Selimiye Camii ( 1208 - 1326 ) Saint Sophia Cathedral including signs of bullet and bomb damage
Visiting the Buyuk Han Cultural Centre
MMMmmmmmmm.
Back in Greek territory after a short delay the Turkish guards could not find the passport info from one person in our group that they had collected a few hours earlier ………. He was lucky to be able to get across the line again .Arch Bishop Makarios , a Greek Cypriot clergyman and later after becoming an independent nation the first President of Cyprus who played such a large roll during the Greek Turkish Crisis .
In Larnaca
After he rose again by a miracle he left Palestine and became a Bishop on Cyprus for another long period where he died and was buried ............and did not rise again .
We needed a large one it was hot , but they did not have Heineken ……..What is up with that .......?
On our way to Ashdad ( Jerusalem )
Tony 😀-
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Thanks very much Rich , Roy , Jacqui and all other contributors to the Daily , this is so very much appreciated during this Covid time when we are still not able to cruise but who knows they say there is that " light at the ......end.....of .........????"
I thought we had been to Limassol , Cyprus on the Prinsendam in 2016 but double checking my files we were in the port of Larnaca some 40 miles ( 66 km's ) up the coast . I will wait if somebody shows up with some pictures from Limassol otherwise I might show some of mine from the " Elegant Explorer " it was another very exciting day ......... if there are pictures from Limassol I will wait patiently my turn
Tony 😉
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Oh and BTW I love escargots , this was in the Rudi’s Sel de Mer on the Nieuw Statendam , with our good friends Ann and Pat @VictOriann!
And we divide the fish platter with 4 of us as an appetizer
So good , it was good enough for a repeat on the Koningsdam the next year and again with our friends
and we happened to have our same favourite waiter Gabriel , to make it even better !Tony 😀-
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Our visit to Kyoto Part 2After lunch Ken took us to the Ginkaku-Ji Temple a World Cultural Heritage site ( Silver Pavilion ) with some of the most incredible gardens we have see in Japan .
Here a couple of gardeners were sitting on their knees with tweezers taking out very small plants that did not belong in the particular desired moss or ground cover .
Ken took us next to the downtown Gion street area a very old part of this old Imperial City
Young Japanese ladies that dress up for the occasion , there are a lot of kimono for rent locations .
Sorry I misidentified the first site from the other post it should have been the Ninna-Ji Palace and Gardens NOT the Fushimi Inari Shrine because that is where we went next and it is quite different .
The cleansing ceremony explained and shown to do the proper way
After a long but incredible day we arrived back in Osaka to continue our journey
Sorry I am taking so much space today , but it so hard to make a choice out of hundreds of pictures on an incredible day .................... Hope you liked Kyoto a great location to go to from Osaka .Tony 😀😀-
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This was on our cruise with the Volendam in October / November of 2017 .We had a fantastic tour from Osaka , Japan to go for the day to Kyoto with 3 other couples and guided by a retired professor Mr Ken Sakurai a man with incredible knowledge and wonderful humour in a very comfortable Jumbo Taxi with wifi for all !Because of the large number of pictures I might do it in a couple of postsFirst stop was at the Fushimi- Inaru Shrine and viewing the five storied Pagoda
Our next place to visit was the Kinkaku- Ji Temple ( Golden Pavilion ) . An incrediblebeautiful place and gorgeous setting which despite a mild rain we all really enjoyed.
After spending quite a bit of time here it was time to dry up a little and have a wonderful Japanese lunch , I always invite the guide and the driver to join us ,that way we get the best information about the local menus and what to order in the foreign countries for a little bit of extra cost for the group .
To be continued after the break ……..
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Sorry no pictures of Luanda , Angola from me either . Wonder how many cruises land there each year …….On the other hand I have a little bit of a Turtle story which happened to us this week . We live on a larger treed property with a good size natural pond .DW Martha heard something knocking on the wall and went outside to check who or what it was and close to where she thought the knocking took place she saw this turtle , I don’t think it was “Dork “ @VictOriann because this was a snapping turtle . He or she , I did not check carefully under the shield , seemed to be hung up on a wooden wall near the front door . Have a look at the claws …….
Martha tried to entice it with some of our freshly picked lettuce but that did not work, it just would not go for it , no movement whatsoever .So I put on my gardening gloves on and put my hands towards the end of the shield which was about a foot and a half long . The minute I lifted it off the RR ties ................ all of a sudden his head snapped toward the back and I dropped it and it fell on its back ........ I saw its yellow tummy ,……. but within 10 seconds I moved him right side up right near my delicious lettuce .
Still no movement at all , I hoped I had not hurt it or it did not have a concussion but as long as we stood there for a while waiting for it to move it did not even blink an eye . So we went inside and looked through the window but than it was nowhere to be seen , after some scouting we found it “running “ besides the back of the house and into the forest .So this was our excitement for the week , sorry I did not get it’s name nor it's age but from the looks of it it was not a “spring chicken “Tony 😀😀-
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We were in Reykjavik , Iceland for a couple of days with the Eurodam in 2012 on the Voyage of the Vikings cruise .Thank you all for posting a lot of very nice pictures which brought back some great memories . We had this extra day in Reykjavic because we had to skip our stop in the Shetland Islands due to a huge storm we had to go around that and because the days we were there were cold and rainy I went out by myself , did a lot of walking and exploring through Reykjavik went to the beautiful museum and had a real nice day , on the second day I joined a small group tour that I had booked before we left to do the Golden Circle Tour like I see many of you did .I will see if I can post some pictures without duplicating too many .
Statue of Leif Erikson the Norwegian explorer who discovered Iceland on the square in front of the Hallsgrimskirkja Church
View from the tower of the church
The place where the famous chess match took place between Spassky and Fischer ( World Championship during the Cold War )
In this Store / Restaurant there was a trench covered by glass to show the crack between the 2 Tectonic Plates that went right through this place .
A few of my waterfall and nature pictures , I know this is a repeat ....
Time to get back on board we are leaving soon for Greenland !
I would love to see a lot more of Iceland and its beautiful untouched nature ………have to convince DW first ,😀. she loves places with palm trees and there are none on Iceland to be found …….Tony 😀-
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We have been a few times in Valencia and surroundings because my youngest brother lives nearby .The inner court of his home .
Enjoying a nice lunch with my Dutch brother who has a summer home near Valencia and my Spanish Brother who has lived there for 40 some years . It was a long time ago the three have met all together
Enjoying a fantastic original Paella with the familia , cooked outdoors on a wood fire . Fred makes the best ones with either chicken , rabbit or seafood .
Brothers home on the left and to the right is where the ladies meet in the morning doing their laundry at the well . A lot of talking is always going on ............
The village from the tower in the centre where he plays his guitar because of the great acoustics
Lunch : a Set Menu of the day and bring your own bottle of wine . My brother works with a few Bodegas so nothing but the best !
Youngest brother Fred ( Alfredo ) is a great classical Spanish guitar player and composer .
Valencia .The nice old entrance hall of the Valencia train station
The Arena in Valencia
Entrance to the Ceramics Museum . Palacio del Marques de Dos Aguas .
The ceramics museum
The Catedral .
After sundown when the Spanish heat subsides in Valencia ( 38 C ) an nice outdoors dinner
I am also still looking for the cruise pictures when we had another very nice day in Valencia and met up again with the family near the “ City of Arts and Sciences complex “ . Spain has always been one of our favourite destinations .Hope you enjoyed seeing a few personal pictures from in and near Valencia .Tony😀😀-
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August 30, 2019 on the Prinsendam with other CC'rs and quite a few cruise friends like Jacqui and Jose @kazu which whom we had some wonderful tours on this cruise !I will try not to duplicate too many pictures of Porto when we were on a great tour with Pirates of the Cruise Ships
Just one more of the beautiful tile work at the trainstation ......
The well hidden very old Jewish Quarters
The bridge seen from the top near the cloister .
Time for a Port and a snack with "Bear "
Guide Bruno and the ladies .......he was quite the charmer !
Later that evening a wonderful Rudy’s dinner at the Pinnacle to finish another perfect day !
Tony 😀😀-
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The Daily for Sunday Jun 06, 2021
in Holland America Line
Posted