* LIVE from the Rotterdam - 30 day Passage to Spain and Western Europe - Mar. 30th*

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry your time in LeHarve was reduced.

Great pictures.

[KNOT2L82SAIL]

Such beautiful photos. If you posted the info and I missed it, I am sorry...but what camera are you using? Your photos just show so much detail. Thank you once again for all of your effort put into this live from blog.

[ILUVPOMS]

What a delight it has been to read about your travels. Thank you for posting! I can't wait to hear about Paris.

[kazu]

Such beautiful photos. If you posted the info and I missed it, I am sorry...but what camera are you using? Your photos just show so much detail. Thank you once again for all of your effort put into this live from blog.

 

You are very kind. I am not a good photographer. A lot of the inside pics are taken with my Ipad.

 

My camera is a Samsung WB700 with a Kreuznach lens. Just a little automatic with an excellent lens.

 

DH uses an Olympus and a Canon. The Canon I can't download so his pics are with the Olympus.

[kazu]

What a delight it has been to read about your travels. Thank you for posting! I can't wait to hear about Paris.

 

 

 

I am behind and a bit weary from a lot of walking today ,but I will try to get a few more posts done from the cruise and shortly we will be at Paris. Sadly, tap a talk is giving resistance. I'll try again in a bit but if there are no new posts, it's for that reason and I will retry tomorrow.

 

 

 

We walked so much the last two days - I think if I had a fit bit / step counter on, it would have been burned out !

Edited May 2, 2017 by kazu

[kazu]

Hi Kazu, thank you so much for the detailed live thread which is a bless to read.

We leave Paris today after a long weekend and if you still have time I highly recommend the afternoon tea in the Gallerie of the Plaza Athene Hotel. It is very famous in Paris because of the high quality of the patisserie and not a tourist event. We loved it. Enjoy Paris and have a safe trip home!

 

 

 

 

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Thanks so much for the wonderful tip. I'm going to see if we can pull this off on Thursday. Not sure if we have time tomorrow. We're doing the "big" museum tomorrow. (The Louvre).

[kazu]

A view from behind

 

 

As we walked around medieval Rouen

 

 

 

 

I don't know if you an tell well enough by the picture or not. But this is Rouen's leaning house. It has been leaning for years. They say Pisa has their leaning tower, we have our leaning house.

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

In our travels we hit this place....

 

 

It's in a plaza surrounded by homes in an old part of Rouen.

 

What was it for? In that green area you see are buried the bones of a multitude of people. The church ran out of grave space during the great plague so they bought this property and people were burned and their bones buried here.

 

the buildings around were used at one time to store the bodies and you can see the symbols of death on them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bones are still there to this day. RIP.

 

And, we continued on.

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

Continuing on our walk...

 

 

 

Can you see the gargoyles???

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

Yes, we were at the famous clock - the division between old and new Rouen.

 

 

 

I really think the archway is beautiful for the clock. You have to look up and underneath but it is lovely.

 

 

 

 

Tap a talk is failing again so I will leave off here and come back later.

 

sorry about that.!

 

 

 

 

 

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[Boston Accent]

I started reading your posts to learn about the Rotterdam before boarding her in August as I'm a newbie on HAL. You have done a tremendous job providing information and beautiful pictures. I was in Rouen, sick with a bronchial problem after touring Great Britain, and could have missed seeing this city. Your pictures of the church, clock and streets brought back the joy of that day and I am again grateful I didn't miss it! Thank you for that and all your hard work taking us along!

 

Pam

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

Love the details you give us.

Great pictures.

[kazu]

I started reading your posts to learn about the Rotterdam before boarding her in August as I'm a newbie on HAL. You have done a tremendous job providing information and beautiful pictures. I was in Rouen, sick with a bronchial problem after touring Great Britain, and could have missed seeing this city. Your pictures of the church, clock and streets brought back the joy of that day and I am again grateful I didn't miss it! Thank you for that and all your hard work taking us along!

 

Pam

 

 

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Please feel free to ask ANYTHING about the Rotterdam. I will be doing a recap down the road but overall, our experience was very good. A couple things I didn't care for, but no vacation or cruise is perfect.

 

We were very impressed with the service on this ship - I would put her 2nd to the Prinsendam (which is my favourite in the fleet - but the Rotterdam is a close 2nd).

 

I found many of the staff doing some of the little "extra" things that was a HAL tradition many years ago. Waiters knew what you drank and asked you if you wanted it.

 

On cold days, I found my coffee tainted with chocolate to warm me up or a hot chocolate miraculously appearing. On hot days, it was a "special" lemonade that Lester surprised me with. Blankets draped over your shoulders if it was windy, etc.

 

Our stewards were very observant as to when the sign went up for "service" and our room was cleaned quickly. Always nice.

 

The food was quite decent and the Lido even had "made to order" sandwiches (YAY).

 

A number of people chose to eat in the Lido because of the quality and the selection.

 

BBKings on this cruise was VERY good and very enjoyable and not too loud. The band had a following and needless to say, Stryker always does.

 

She might be a small ship but the entertainment offereings were good IMO and the ship did NOT shut down at 10 pm contrary to what you might hear people say on the boards. Stryker was kept up past closing on the TA portion. (Poor guy). BBKings played late too :)

 

We had late stays in a number of ports which really helped to see the ports we were in.

 

While the captain may not have been overly visible, it was clear that he was working hard on the bridge to make sure that we had a good sailing and enjoyable ports. He always kept us up to date so that there were no last minute "surprises".

 

The ship is older and you will see some rust here and there. I found the bathtub stained (not dirty) and on the cabin crawl, it seemed to be the same. But, everything worked as it should, our room was clean, the crew were constantly varnishing, cleaning, etc., so the ship is being cared for.

 

I'd happily sail her again.

 

Just stopped in to take a little break from the rain and change as I am soaked and will be back later to continue on. Have to head back out to face the Paris rain.

 

Never fear - it will be warm and sunny on the weekend we were told today. I laughed and said we are leaving Friday.

[Kennykat]

Have a great time in Amsterdam you two!. I envy you tiptoeing through the tulips!

 

Thanks for a great time on board and on tours.

 

 

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Jacque, thanks...we have had a wonderful time both while on the ship, tours with you and Amsterdam....heading home tomorrow after a fabulous time! Enjoy Paris! Thanks for everything, we truly appreciate it!

Claudia and Ken

[kazu]

Well, I have been drenched twice in Paris rain, so it is time to change again and come in.

 

Let's see if I can do some catching up ...

 

Here is another part of the archway underneath the clock at Rouen.

 

 

And what did we find in the street?

 

 

 

This is the mark for the path of St. James. For those taking the French "way", this is the path for that camino to Santiago de Compostela.

 

Rouen retains so much of it's medieval roots. It's absolutely charming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

The last picture in that post is important as it is the beginning of a church. A very important church as we arrived at a place that burns with infamy (literally).

 

Yes we have arrived at the spot where Jeanne d'Arc was burned at the stake.

 

 

I have long been an admirer or Joan of Arc so if this doesn't interest you please just skip this post.

 

 

 

 

Dedications abound to her - in cathedrals, etc. And this church. As they should...She successfully got France's dauphin crowned and rallied France to freedom and regaining their country.

 

 

 

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[kazu]

Then we were off to Honfleur. DH and I have been before, but it is such a pretty relaxing spot you can't help but want to return.

 

It does have some history,but it is greatly overshadowed by its beauty so we skipped the walking tour and just enjoyed the beauty for a few hours

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

Just a few more of Honfleur - so pretty, so relaxing even though there are tourists...

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a delightful day (despite a few "bumps") we returned to the ship to enjoy our dinner

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

I got a wonderful piece of origami from our Yum Yum man because of course we were celebrating the King's birthday tonight

 

 

Here is the menu for the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner was very good. I, in the spirit of the day, thankfully, had an orange sweater and did some poses with a few of those that madem cruise special. Thankfully, they are on DH's camera and not downloaded yet, but I will share if anyone wants. Otherwise, not. (I am getting too old to be beautiful and not photogenic as you have already seen).

 

 

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[kazu]

Our last day was a sea day and, you know what that means - packing - uggh. Thankfully it takes a lot less time to pack to leave than it does to go.

 

No decisions to be made just hope it is not too heavy.

 

I did play the last bingo and got nowhere. One number away does not count but It's all in the spirit right?

 

Here is our When and Where for our last sea day

 

 

 

 

And here is the menu for the last night. (No international menu, YAY), but Dh and I were not destined to dine there so I can't comment on the meal. We had bid our farewell to our dining room stewards and were dining in the PG for the last night. It's a tradition that we have started and I kind of like.

 

Here is the dining room menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

Here is a clearer PG menu

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't do food porn that night as it would have been repetitive, but do stay tuned there is some food porn still coming.

 

All too soon, our night ended and it was going to be time to arrive in lovely Rotterdam.

 

And Rotterdam is lovely

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

Rotterdam awaits our arrival...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disembarkation was as smooth as silk. Not a lot of people bidding us good bye but not necessary. There was a gentleman all dressed up in formal Rotterdam attire showing us the way. People everywhere helping us and directing us to our luggage. So easy and so smooth.

 

Rotterdam knows how to do a disembarkation for sure and from what we saw the embarkation was as good.

 

We would have loved to stay here but we were off to Paris and the high speed train.

 

Another adventure and a bit of a laugh. Once I get that post done, I really don't know how many pics people want. I don't want to overwhelm you but there were so many amazing things. I'll finish here and just say that the Rotterdam cruise was a very good one for us.

 

Everything isn't perfect and never will be and those that want perfection will always be unhappy.

 

I will say that the service on this ship was superb. I was very impressed with how a towel or a blanket would come on my shoulders on a cool day (even if I wasn't cold) or a "special" lemonade appeared if I said no to a drink, or a hot chocolate on a cooler day or a coffee spiked with chocolate. Lester is a gem on HAL and if you are lucky enough to get him, appreciate him.

 

I did two LUK forms on him, outlined him on both surveys and of course thanked him monetarily but based on what the crew have said those LUK forms mean a LOT.

 

So if you like someone or what they do, please do them.

 

OK, back shortly as we head to Paris. I think everyone said it would be ok if I posted a bit about our land trip?

 

Thumbs up to the Rotterdam and her crew. Once again, HAL's crew is what makes the ship great.

 

Oh, and I do have some art. Not sure which camera DH did it with so it may be a bit before I post but stay tuned. My pics aren't as good. I should have used the Ipad.

 

 

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[1of4]

Thank you Jacqui (and Jose) for sharing your cruise. Speaking for myself, p,ease continue! I don't want the adventure to end!

 

It must be raining everywhere as today's sun will be short lived and 70 mm of rain due over Thursday and Friday. Lake Ontario is overflowing.

 

But who cares about here....I want Paris!!! :D

[kazu]

Thank you Jacqui (and Jose) for sharing your cruise. Speaking for myself, p,ease continue! I don't want the adventure to end!

 

 

 

It must be raining everywhere as today's sun will be short lived and 70 mm of rain due over Thursday and Friday. Lake Ontario is overflowing.

 

 

 

But who cares about here....I want Paris!!! :D

 

 

 

Your wish is my command Gail, but how much can you take LOL (as in Lots of Love).

 

So off the Rotterdam lickety split, and on to a taxi to take us to Rotterdam train station where we would board the high speed train.

 

Now, those of you that know kazu, know she is a planner.

To the nth degree sometimes, so the train was booked,the seats planned, the luggage placing planned and KABOOM.

 

When we got to the train our seats were taken.

there are only 2 seats facing each other on each comfort1 category.

 

One single had taken ours. Rather than tell the person he had to move, we were told to take different seats -lots of seats we were told.

 

Ok, I'm flexible,so we don't get the seats we planned but how do we know someone else didn't book those?

 

Then we try to get our luggage put away. What a fiasco. You have to manage your own luggage on the train which we were prepared to do, but when I went to look, the racks were full. I managed to place one but could find no place for the other.

 

I stood their stunned unsure what to do and one of the staff came and said "you have to move your luggage". I said happily but where? He grumbled and told me to sit down and he would get it done.

 

Two minutes later, he came grumbling that we hadn't moved it. My mouth fell open. A fellow French traveller told me not to worry. He heard him say he would take care of it too.

 

Now,the joys of comfort1 on high speed trains is that you get a light lunch.

 

Ummm, I know some of you will love this, but this is not kazu's style of lunch and although she tries to go with the flow neither she nor DH ate a lot of it.

 

 

 

 

No biggie, we were on our way to Paris and it took an extra 15 minutes as they had to divert due to construction but we were there in less than 3 hours. Simply amazing!!!

 

Comfort1 is supposed to offer booking a cab for you but no one offered and I figured we were better off just doing it ourselves.

 

Once I stopped the pirate cab driver who literally snatched my reservation out of my hand we were in a legitimate cab and on our way to our hotel.

 

We are staying at La Clef Louvre which is right behind the Palais Royale and a combination hotel/apartment/boutique hotel.

 

I chose this hotel based on tripadvisor reviews, looking at the political situation and wanting to be somewhere safe and central.

 

We LOVE it.

 

 

It has a mini kitchenette,

 

 

 

A little sitting area

 

And what a welcome we got

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will confess this is NOT the room I booked. We got an upgrade which is what is promised with the membership if available. I didn't expect one since we were tying up the hotel for 6 days, but as I was filling up the forms I saw the category and had a little smile in my eye.

 

I just let DH soak it in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kazu]

So, I will start with a bit and then, if it's not boring,(and I hope it is not, I will leave you wanting more). We got to our meeting point in Versailles.

 

Yes, Versailles was our first stop. The researcher knew when it was open and when the fountains worked ;)

 

We booked with a great company. First two to book get the time and up to 6 can join in for Versailles.

 

Well, lucky us, no one else did so it was just us and our guide Steph who was the perfect balance of history, humour and joie de vivre.

 

Hello Versailles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were going to start at the gardens,

 

 

this just shows the extravagance of the times. These are all orange trees. Not grown for the oranges but for the flowers and the perfume.

 

Amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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