Life Drawing

The few days we spent  with friends have flown by, from dog-walking to playing a hilarious 'Very British Problems' board game and having a barbecue.

We have just arrived at a B&B from a life drawing session in Hornchurch, Essex. It has been pouring with rain and trying to find the B&B in the dark was a bit of a mission.  Oncoming traffic in the narrow lanes didn't help - getting dazzled out and leaving us unable to see properly.  As a result, we missed the place and overshot the mark, according to the satnav, so at x-roads we turned around and found the place at last.  Time to settle down now and reflect on today's events.

Initially we were going to check into the B&B before going to the life drawing session but unfortunately the traffic was very bad for most of the way and when we finally did turn off, we headed down the wrong road – the M20 rather than the A20 which itself was bumper to bumper with traffic.  Too late to change our minds to get back onto the M25 to head towards Hornchurch! 7 ½ miles down the road we managed to come off the south-bound M20 motorway and get back on it to go northwards and meeting up with the M25 again. As we got closer to the Dartford Tunnel traffic got heavier.  We then noticed that , of the 4 lanes, the 2 right-hand lanes of traffic towards the tunnels were backing up yet the 2 left lanes were relatively free so we naturally took the faster lanes. As we got to the tunnels the traffic in the 2 right-hand lanes were at a complete standstill - their tunnel was completely blocked off. (For those of you who don't live in England, 4 lanes of traffic go through 2 tunnels under the Thames river, 2 lanes to a tunnel.  Oncoming traffic goes over a bridge.) We weren't sure what had happened but were only too happy to keep moving.

We arrived in Hornchurch with about 40 minutes spare but were glad of the extra time. Being new to the group I felt better meeting people as they entered the art room rather than to have to face a room full of people and feeling like “a rabbit caught in the headlights”.

It was an as an interesting evening, more so being it our second time to be models for artists. The sketches, drawings and paintings looked really nice. The artists were a pleasant bunch - more in their senior years with only 2 younger artists. Posing for 5 and 10 minutes proved easy but we got tired during one pose in a 20 minute session so for the longest 40 minute session, we took a nap - as per the painting at the top of today's blog. It was far easier that way than straining muscles!

Exeter World Naked Bike Ride – Not!

We were up early to go to Exeter for the world naked bike ride and looking forward to it.  The weather forecast wasn't too great but at least it was positive; overcast but warm.  

Just outside Brynmawr traffic was diverted due to roadworks and we navigated the alternative route without any hiccups.

We stopped briefly at a service station along the motorway to pick up breakfast.  Whilst there I one of my flip flops felt a bit strange on my foot and on looking at it, discovered that the toe thong was coming loose.  I ended up having to get a pair of cheap flip flops in a hurry, which was a pity because I did rather like my comfy croc flip flops.

Next thing to start going awry was  a traffic  notice on the motorway advising that  there was traffic congestion one junction along a road that we intended to take to Exeter.  We ended up getting off the motorway at the next junction 5 miles further on, only to get off and find at the next turn-off to Exeter was chock-a-block with traffic .  So we continued up the road to take an alternative route to bypass the traffic, an 8 mile diversion, but it did the trick.  We finally arrived close to the destination and drove around a bit trying to see if we could see anyone else with bicycles or signs of life near the area that they were due to meet.  We didn't see anything.  Contrary to weather forecasts, it started to drizzle and we were at loath to take the bicycles out, pump the tyres and cycle around the estate and private roads to get to the river and see if we could see the group.  Unfortunately the map that we had been as to where the group was meeting up wasn't very good.  We drove around a bit more and even sat waiting a while to see if the drizzle would ease off but it didn't.  We ended up giving altogether, cutting our losses and heading towards Exmoor for a cream tea (scone, cream, jam, tea/coffee/hot choc) somewhere.  

Tarr Steps  was an obvious choice because it a lovely area and also there is a tearoom there, as well as accommodation.  We decided to take the direct route there rather than the fastest routes.  It made for an interesting journey:  very narrow roads, tall hedges, stopping or reversing for oncoming traffic to pass.  Sometimes it was tricky to find a passing point and try to not to end up in a hedge or go off a steep cliff.  Found eventually got to Tarr Steps but on the wrong side of the river.  Fortunately the river wasn't too deep and we managed to cross it at the 'ford' crossing point.  The area was very busy with visitors as was the tearoom so we didn't stop.  Further along the road there was a farm (Liscome Farm Ice Cream Parlour) that advertised home made ice cream and cream teas.  We couldn't let that pass us by so we went in and consoled ourselves over warm home made scones, thick clotted cream and jam and Paul had a cup of tea.  We finished our visit with a delicious ice-cream.

Whilst having our scones and ice cream we were able to watch cows being milked via a dividing glass panel of the barn/tearoom walls.  It was a very interesting mechanised process.  From what we could see, a cow would enter the milking area and a reader would read a chip in her ear to check whether she had been milked or not. If she had, a chest-high barrier would remain open for her to leave, if she hadn't the barrier would close.  The machine would then get to work via sensory lasers.  An arm would go between the cow's back legs and brushes gently washed and cleaned her udder and teats.  The automated laser guided suction cups would go onto the teats and the milking started.   In the meantime the cleaning brushes were washed/disinfected.  You could see milk going through the pipes to a big glass container, and which also measured how much milk the cow yielded.  Once the cow had been milk, the suction cups were released and the barrier would open so she could walk out into the barn.  Usually another cow was waiting to go in or in time a cow would take herself to the milking machine.  In between cows the suction cups would go to a cleaning point where they were cleaned.  It was a very interesting piece of equipment and a fantastic way of seeing cows being milked whilst having a snack.

Absolutely full and just about 'creamed out' we waddled back to the car for the drive back up to Brynmawr.  Part way back Paul got me to take over the driving because he was very tired.  I've not driven a car, let alone a big car, for a while so it took a bit of getting used to – width vs lane size.  Poor Paul was almost sitting on the edge of his seat and by the time he got back I can almost swear he had a few more grey hairs!  We also had to negotiate a diversion because one of the roads towards Brynmawr was closed off due to a traffic diversion.  Somehow we lost sight of the diversion signs and ended up having to use the satnav to find our way around but even then Paul had to do a bit of zooming in on the satnav map because the unit quite often got confused as to where exactly we were.  What a shemozzle!  We got back to Brynmawr in the end though.  If not we would have sent out smoke signals to Sue and Ian!

Dinner was absolutely delicious.  Ian had sliced up some salmon, dotted it with garlic, lemongrass and ginger; and then baked it.  He also did some stir-fry with it.  Some beers and plonk were on hand to compliment the meal.

Mishap day

We were tired when the alarm went off but I had a GP appointment to go to. Unfortunately roads through the town were closed off due to a fair in the town centre. Not knowing the town very well, it took a bit of trial and error to negotiate around it as well as using the satnav to help us.

We rocked up with minutes to spare and discovered that the appointment was next week! We didn't look a the appointment slip carefully enough at the time of booking the appointment, and we thought we had made it for this week. The receptionist was unable to fit us in today but kindly re-arranged for me to come back on Monday instead.

Paul dropped me off at Sue & Ian's place went to get car's aircon sorted out whilst I had a nap. I was so tired and needed some sleep.

Paul rocked up at the garage where he had booked an appointment for the car's aircon system to be looked at. Unfortunately the garage's machine was broken so they couldn't do anything. They couldn't ring us in advance to tell us not to come because a technician hadn't taken down our telephone numbers at the time of booking, to contact us. With nothing else he could do, Paul looked at a few places to see if they could fit the car in but they were all booked up. The car will be looked at on Monday instead.

Later on we went Tesco in Pontypool to get Tesco Mobile to look at my phone. I've had a sim swap to a micro sim for my new Samsung mobile phone and whatapp contacts have not automatically come through even though I still have the same number. After over an hour of fiddling around, the chappie couldn't find a solution. It all had something to do with the fact that my old phone was a Nokia, Windows-type, phone and Samsung is android. So some things are not quite compatible even if you have backed up information. I had also noticed that my telephone contacts had not transferred - only some via google and facebook. We left non the wiser but determined to get to the bottom of things by trying again ourselves.

I hope tomorrow will be a better day!

Fans & Ebikes

Oh yes... the saga about the fans? We did see some yesterday – but they were very fancy Dyson bladeless ones. They have a hole in the middle. As there were no other regular fans available Paul ended up getting a very modern looking one, small tower version, which left his wallet feeling a lot lighter. Sod's law – today it is a lot cooler!

We were so tired that we slept around the clock until around 1pm. It's a waste of a day but we needed the sleep.

We ended up taking a drive to Bristol to look at e-bikes with one particular model in mind. Unfortunately they didn't have it however there were more electric bicycles that we were able to look at, with different specifications. We left the shop a little bit more knowledgeable and with a better idea of what is out there and their capabilities.

Our route back to Brynmawr was different – we tend to like going to a place one way and coming back another. This route back went via the country roads rather than the main roads and although it took longer, it was more scenic.

Raglan to Brynmawr. Bits n bobs day.

Raglan to Brynmawr

We hardly slept at all last night – it was too hot to sleep. I was a bit like 'a bear with a sore head' in the morning – feeling quite grumpy and irritable due to the lack of sleep and feeling so darn hot.

It was an early start to get to Brynmawr because I had an appointment to attend at 8:50. We got to the surgery well in time but we discovered that my appointment was actually at the main surgery, not the branch. We found the main surgery and checked in for my appointment with minutes to spare only we ended up sitting for around 45 minutes to see the nurse. It was later on, after collecting our mail and going through it that I discovered that in actual fact the appointment had initially been correct but that the letter was to say that the appointment had been moved to another time and at a different venue. Oh well.... The nurse was very pleasant and we got through our 'new patient medicals' without too much trouble – normal heart sounds, blood pressure, weight and height measurements (I've lost a few centimetres since I was last measured) as well as dietary and alcohol intake, exercise, etc. Paul had not actually been booked in for a new patient medical but I had to cancel half of a double appointment for a test that I couldn't go through with that morning so instead of wasting an appointment – I asked if Paul could have his new patient medical instead. They were very understanding and fine about it.

We spent the next few hours looking for a fan just in case we would be too hot tonight. Every place we went to – the fans were sold out due to the heatwave.  Paul also looked for t-shirts and swimming trunks. He got the t-shirts but not the swimming trunks – there was nothing nice and virtually no choice. At least he can survive, for now, with the ones he has got until either they disintegrate or he finds something soon. Paul also made enquiries about re-charging the car's air-conditioning unit but all places were booked up – no doubt busy due to the heat wave.

And so we rocked up at a friends' house feeling hot and very tired, and probably looking a bit dishevelled. It was good to see Sue and Ian again as well as their children: Callum and Lindsey; not to mention the 3 cats: Strawberry, Lightning and Tigger; and Kai – the dog. First things first was to down a nice cold drink before doing anything else. It has been a lovely late afternoon/evening spending a bit of time catching up. No doubt there will be more to come.

It's getting very late – time for some zzzzz.....

Rijsbergen, Netherlands to Raglan, Wales

We slept in late this morning – we needed it - and woke up to another bright sunny day along with a heatwave. It wouldn't have been too bad if we were able to stay in front of a fan the whole day but unfortunately we were travelling in our personal sauna. And it was a good drive from Rijsbergen to the chunnel. Paul had booked a train and then later amended the booking so that we could catch a later train. We discovered that we were late for the chunnel check-in and had to wait an hour for the next available train. We spoke to someone at the information desk to see if we could get onto an earlier train as we felt that we had checked in on time. It turns out that Paul's amendment to the booking didn't work and we had still been booked on the earlier train – which we had to miss, and miss the next one that Paul had tried to book us on because it was full, and take the next available train.

We wondered how we would cope sitting in our personal sauna until it was time to drive onto the train but in the end we spent time in a duty-free shop (looking at books which we didn't get) at the chunnel terminal and didn't spend too much time in the hot car. Thank goodness for the airconditioning in the building otherwise we would have been well stewed by the time we left.

When we finally got on the train there was a delay by a good 20 minutes to half an hour due to a technical fault. Later when our tickets were checked, the train conductor went from vehicle to vehicle advising its occupants to complain if they wished – the fact that the air conditioning system was not working on the train and no water was handed out whilst we waited in the stuffy heat until the technical fault was fixed. We also think it was for the personnel's benefit because they have complained many times about the lack of airconditioning on the train and having to work in hot conditions but their head office don't listen to them but it may well be that conditions would improve if customers complained. The woman was pleasant enough and kept apologising but we were fine with the circumstances.

We finally arrived on English soil and headed up the motorway with the windows open, trying our best to keep cool. A couple of times I put my feet briefly out of the window to cool them down because the footwell became too hot.

We headed up to Bristol and ended up looking for a hotel or BnB to stay in overnight – it was getting late. We ended up staying in the The Beaufort Hotel in Raglan, rocking up at reception just as it was closing. Fortunately the bar was still open so Paul had 2 ice cold beers whilst I had something less alcoholic. It was good to cool down.

Unfortunately for us, the room we are staying overnight in is very warm despite having a window wide open. There is simply no breeze to cool the room down and no fans. 😓

I hope we can get some zzzzz!

Arrival in the Netherlands

Our flight was uneventful although I was a bit uncomfortable now and then. Having short legs I find it a bind not being able to reach the floor to rest my feet on flights so I ended up putting my legs on Paul's lap now and then so that at least I could even out the blood supply a bit! We also didn't sleep very well – more dozing than anything else.

We arrived at Schiphol airport a bit earlier than expected but it didn't matter – we didn't have anyone waiting for us. We got through passport very quickly – having chip EU passports. The scanners for chip passports was waaay shorter than the queues to see a human. We had a bit of a wait at the luggage carousel. Unfortunately a lot of luggage from a previous flight was still on the carousel and the computerised system could only load a suitcase as and when it found a space on the carousel. So our flight's luggage took a while to get onto the designated carousel. We finally got our luggage. Paul discovered that a padlock on his suitcase had been cut and a tie-wrap was in its place. No doubt customs had seen something suspicious in his luggage on x-ray and opened it. We think it was 3 bottles of vitamin water lying next to each other in the suitcase that heightened suspicions. At least someone was doing their job!

We ended up taking a train from Schiphol Airport to Den Haag and then caught a connecting train to Breda. We almost had the carriages to ourselves – silence was golden! When we arrived in Breda we found the respective bus number that would take us home to Rijisbergen. We were the only ones on the bus apart from the driver. We got off near the local doctor's surgery and walked the rest of the way to Paul's mum's place. I was knackered when we arrived. The weight of pulling 2 small suitcases plus the early morning heat of the day tired us out further.

After something to drink and a few moments to catch our breath, we went to fetch Paul's car from storage just down the road from his mum's house, and then went to Aldi to do a bit of grocery shopping. Unfortunately the car's air-conditioner has packed up so it felt as if we were travelling in a sauna, even with the windows wide open.

When we got back home (Betty's place) we had a refreshing shower and a well deserved afternoon nap. We managed, sort of. The heat in the attic room was almost unbearable despite windows being open so Paul found a fan and aimed it at the bed. The resultant breeze really helped to keep us cool.

After dinnertime we were able to relax. Melvin, the cat, came in to greet us but didn't stay for too long – I guess he was seeking a cool concrete floor to zzzz on to keep cool.

Boston Airport, USA. Flying to the Netherlands.

Paul woke up at around 7am but snoozed for a good while after that. I had a nice zzzz, waking up at around 10am. We had thought about going to see the Barque Europa but I was still quite tired so in the end we didn't go. Hotel check-out was at 12 noon so we relaxed and had a refreshing shower.

Taxis were waiting outside the hotel so we didn't have to phone for one. The drive to the airport was uneventful as was the check-in process. Once our luggage was dropped off we were free to go through security and wait in the terminal for our flight. Unlike a lot of aeroplane terminals that I have been through, the ones in the USA tend to have more food stalls than shops selling goods. There were only 2 shops vs a host of food outlets. We had a bite to eat and Paul had a look at books in a bookshop but in the end he didn't get anything. I opted not to get a book – most books are in American spelling so it would probably drive me nuts wanting to correct words! Eg. Ax instead of axe, check instead of cheque, jewelry instead of jewellery, etc.

Our flight is due to board within the next 15 minutes or so and we've been waiting at the gate, relaxing. So far there has been 2 announcements about suitcases. Earlier there was one where an official mentioned over the tannoy that someone off flight XYZ had taken the wrong suitcase off the conveyor belt and could the person who took it please return to the baggage desk. Recently another later announcement was made, asking newly disembarked passengers on flight ABC to check their hand-luggage because someone had picked up the wrong wheelie case from an overhead locker. Ooops....

Time to board our flight!

Boston, USA. Leaving the Maasdam

Saturday 17/06/17

Boston, USA. Start of Paul's Holiday!

Poor Paul. Seemingly no sooner had he fallen asleep last night then the phone rang. Fog had set in and he had to go on duty until 4am after which the Captain took over. Just after 6am Paul got another wakeup call – he had to go before immigration! Poor chap... It was pointless him going back to sleep afterwards – he had a handover to do with his colleague. From that point onward it was all systems go for him and what a busy morning he had. The cabin steward left cleaning the cabin for as long as he could and when he did, he changed the bed linen and left cleaning the bathroom until Paul had finished his handover and taken a shower.

Paul finally managed to tear himself away from the ship at around 12 noon and we headed off the gangway and into the cruise terminal to a waiting taxi. Traffic through Boston wasn't too bad – we had expected delays and traffic interruptions due to the 'Sail Boston' event. It was the taxi driver who was the problem. He drove a bit like a maniac, a bit too fast and was very impatient at traffic lights. He seemed to like the sound of his car hooter too! We were glad we got to the hotel in one piece.

Our hotel room wasn't ready so we left our luggage with the hotel receptionist and headed towards the harbour with the aim of visiting the aquarium. The waterfront was barricaded and we had to find an entrance in the barricade to go through. All in the name of security. Bags and people were searched on entering the waterfront. After a bit of a wait we got through security and took a walk to the aquarium. The entrance fee was rather pricey and there was also quite a long queue to get in so we decided not to go. Instead we took a walk along the waterfront, looking at different boats that had docked for the 'Sail Boston' event. Some boats were open to visitors, others weren't. We caught sight of Barque Europa – she was beautiful! There was lots of activity happening on board – sails being tied down and rigging secured. Some of the volunteer crew were disembarking. The boat was not open to the public at that time so we continued walking along the waterfront. During our walk we stopped at a stall had had calamari – a rather late lunch but it was delicious and quietened our growling stomachs.

The afternoon was drawing to a close and I was getting cold. It was time to return to the hotel to check in. We took a bit of a detour back to the hotel, stopping in a nearby park to have a large cookie. We found a bench to sit down on whilst eating and watched a squirrel. It seemed to be quite 'human-savvy' and hoped for a crumb or two. A lady offered it some food – possibly popcorn – but it wasn't quite the meal that squirrel was hoping for so it carried on its way in search of something more suited to the squirrel's tastebuds.

We were able to check in at the hotel and I had a lovely soak in the bath. Ooooohhh, it felt so good.

Tomorrow we fly back to the Netherlands.

Anchored, Bar Harbour, Maine Excursion: Historic Lighthouses & Acadia National Park by Sea

Another day closer to home and the final day of this cruise run.

It was a beautiful day when the Maasdam lowered her anchors. For me it was another session to see officials from the Department of Immigration before I could leave the ship. As I was on a tour, and also Shore Excursions had asked me to help them with stickering, I made sure I was waiting early in the casino for the immigration process, sitting first in line in the queue, about an hour early than expected immigration officials' arrival. Although the doors to the Neptune Lounge were closed, some guests didn't want to listen to other guests about the fact that they had to sit and wait for immigration officials, saying that they had tours and had to go to the Neptune Lounge. Well, so did we! Crew duly sent them back out again to wait. Unfortunately a group of guests, who had been told to go back outside and wait, go it into their heads to stand right out side the doors thus queue-jumping ahead of fellow guests who they could see were waiting. Also they wouldn't listen to the fact that they were in the wrong line – they had to go to USA Nationals line. But because there was no notice on the door to that effect – they thought people were taking the piss. But in actual fact it had been announced time and time again which queue to line up in. I kept quiet – I was close to loosing my sense of humour altogether. As the group had queue-jumped and they weren't listening to what anyone was saying, I picked up my rucksack and went to the front of the group of guests, and stood between them at the door. One chap yelled at me and said 'hey, get back'! I looked him squarely in the face and said that in actual fact I and others had been sitting at the front of the queue on chairs since 7am. He looked at me and said 'whatever' but nothing more. The group still didn't take the hint and move to the back of the queue.

Eventually the immigration officials arrived and I got through the process without any further ado. Shore Ex was very busy with the tours stickering when I arrived so I ended up helping usher guests to the waiting tender platform on deck 3. An elderly couple in my tour group were slow – the chap had mobility problems – so they were allowed to proceed to the tender platform ahead of the rest of the tour group. Just as well because he took ages to get down the steps into the tender. The tour group themselves ended up going on the next tender and so by the time the couple I accompanied had slowly walked up the pier from their tender, the next tender had arrived. The ship's staff were absolutely fantastic with helping the gentleman; from getting him down onto the tender to helping him off the tender and onto the pier and up the ramp to a balcony and waiting area. We had actually gone on a catamaran-type boat which had been commissioned by the ship to help with the tender process. The ride to the pier was fast and quite exhilarating.

We were on a big boat for the historic lighthouse tour and I stayed with the couple as we made our way down to the boat in case they needed help. I chose to sit outside as the boat made its way out of the harbour and along the coastline and between islands. Unfortunately after an hour of sitting outside I was absolutely freezing cold so went inside and purchased a cup of hot chocolate to help my hands and innards defrost. After having defrosted I remained inside the boat but left the warmth of the cabin now and then to take photographs. The boat ride was very interesting and, apart from seeing Acadia National Park and lighthouses from the sea, we also saw seals and a variety of birdlife. A whale was even spotted but it dived too quickly for most people to see it.

Our captain got the boat safely back to the pier and the majority of guests headed into town whereas I decided to go back to the ship. Paul and I met up for lunch after which I had a short nap before heading downstairs to help the Shore Ex ladies with collating the next excursions brochure. In the end I got cracking on with stapling the collated brochures and everything was finished within just over an hour. Before leaving I said my goodbyes to the Shore Ex ladies – they were a really nice pair to work with.

Time for me to start packing for home!

You can see my photographs on facebook via this link: Excursion: Historic Lighthouses & Acadia National Park by Sea

Final leg of our journey to Boston!

Halifax, Nova Scotia. Excursion: Halifax by Horse Drawn Trolley

Last night at dinner time Paul and I met up with the 2 doctors (Aileen Siscar and Irene) and a nurse from the medical team, as well as Liz from shore excursions, and her fiance. Sadly Aileen and Irene were called away to an emergency so the rest of us ended up having the major part of dinner without them. Aileen got back around about the time we were starting our dessert. As usual we all ate a bit too much and were full afterwards, our bellies exiting the Pinnacle Grill before we did!

It was a chilly but bright and sunny day when we docked in Halifax but it warmed up a bit during the day. The excursion I was assigned to met not far from the entrance of the cruise terminal. Our horse hosts for the day were Mel and Mike. Mike was a curious chap with a good sense of humour whereas Mel wasn't really bothered, just getting on with what she was there to do.

We had a guide who gave us an interesting history lesson about Halifax and pointed out places of interest as our trolley trundled its way around, such as the city gardens, Citadel, Robbie Burn's statue and much more. Our carriage driver was a huge lass. At first I thought she was a lad until our guide introduced her to us (oops!). Its just that her curves seemed to be all in the wrong places and well hidden underneath her man-like clothing. She handled the Mel and Mike well, making sure they didn't get startled from all sorts of things going on around them – from traffic to humans and building works. Sad to say, not only did I thank the guide and carriage driver, but I also thanked the horses for taking us around Halifax!

Paul was very busy when I got back but eventually we managed to 'touch base' with each other. I went with him to see one of the winches undergoing a load-bearing test. A lifeboat was lowered into the sea and then huge rubber tarpaulins were hitched onto each winch. The tarpaulins were filled with water until a certain weight and left for a few minutes to hang. Then the winch brakes were tested: the full water tarpaulins were lowered a bit and then the brakes applied. Fortunately they held! The water was then emptied out of the tarpaulins.

After the tests were done the lifeboat was then hitched back up out of the water but it went back down into the water as fast as it went up. The winch had broken and fortunately nobody was in the lifeboat when it happened. Unfortunately this happened around about the time that the ship was about to leave and the mechanic who serviced the winches had already left the ship. So a frantic call was made for him to come back to the ship and look at the winch = a delay in the departure. Needless to say, things were sorted fairly quickly and the ship was able to leave without any further hiccups. According to Paul, the technician didn't have to do anything – the winch worked without any problems under his watchful eye – sod's law!

You can see my pictures on facebook via this link:  Excursion: Halifax by Horse Drawn Trolley

Travelling to our next destination:  Bar Harbour, (via sea though!)

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Brrrr, it’s chilly today and a bit overcast.  I didn’t have a tour to go on but instead of sleeping in late, Ana (from the shops) and I agreed to meet up at breakfast time.  Much to our surprise and dismay, crew drills interrupted us.  And they were earlier than usual, for what reason we were unsure – and so was Paul when I asked him later on.  Ana sat at the table desperately trying to eat some breakfast before heading off, and frantically filling a flask with tea or coffee, as well as packing some breakfast to take to her husband.  Poor girl…

In between trying to put my previous blogs onto blogspot I took a walk down on the pier and had a wander around the cruise terminal shops and craft market.  Whilst in the market hall I spied a maple products stall with tiny bottles of maple wine.  My brain got whirring …. “I don’t want to open the bottle of maple wine – it needs to be packed in with the luggage.  However I would still like a bit of sweet wine over the next 3 evenings before we head back to the Netherlands so I’ll get 2 miniature bottles of maple wine".  So after thinking things through, I went into ‘purchase mode’.  Apart from the 2 miniature bottles of wine I didn’t get anything else – I promise!

Time to get ready for dinner.  Tomorrow is another day.

Sydney, Nova Scotia to Halifax, Nova Scotia

PHOTOGRAPHS

 

 

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Excursion: PEI Coast, Lighthouse & Cellar

Yesterday I spent the day trying to catch up on my blogs on blogspot.  It just seems to take ages.  After a day at sea it was good to put foot on land once again.  It was a nice sunny and warm day when the Maasdam docked in at pretty Charlottetown.  As usual, there was a mass exodus as guests headed off the ship to go on tours or to explore the town.

My assigned tour group (Prince Edward Coast, Lighthouse & Cellar) was soon on the bus which followed the coastline in a south easterly direction to our first stop, Point Prim Lighthouse.  It is the first and oldest lighthouse on the island and is circular in shape, made with bricks.  It one of two or three built in such a way in Canada.  Today the lighthouse has wooden cladding on it to protect the soft porous brickwork.   It was a sweet lighthouse, not the tallest I’ve seen or been in.  The tower consists of 5 levels, including the ground floor and the lantern deck.  Wooden steps take guests up to each landing/floor.  Space is very limited inside and the wooden stairs are almost like ladders – but not quite as steep. Having a large group of guests proved problematic with most guests wanting to go right to the top of the lighthouse.  I waited a bit, taking photographs from the outside, before going in.  There were still queues of people wanting to go up/go down the narrow stairs.  Near the top of the lighthouse I heard a few people shouting in frustration at their fellow guests that they had been waiting for nearly 5 minutes to get down the stairs/up the stairs.  I kept my mouth shut and waited patiently, managing to finally reach the top, take a few photographs and head back down just in time before the bus departed.

We headed along the coast to the next lighthouse – Wood Islands Lighthouse.  Along the way we saw the famed maiden statue as we passed through Belle River.  The statue is of a naked woman carved in sandstone, and stands in its owner’s garden near the roadside.  It has caused a few car accidents, so much so that the villagers wanted it taken down/taken away.  The owner won the court battle on the grounds that the carving is ‘art’.  So it remains in its place to this day.

Wood Islands Lighthouse is the second oldest lighthouse on Prince Edward Island, a well preserved wooden structure consisting of 3 floors and a lantern deck, with an adjoining keeper's residence. It was a lovely little lighthouse.  Fortunately access was a lot easier apart from the steps to the lantern deck which were very steep and narrow.  From the top one could see a bald eagle’s nest.  Unfortunately eagles had been building their nests on electric wire poles and caused outages so man-made platforms have been built so that the bald eagles can put their nests on.  There was an eagle sitting with her chick.  What lovely views for the family to grow up with, looking at the lighthouse and out to sea.

Last ‘call’ of the day was at the Rossignol Estate Winery for wine tasting along with Prince Edward Island cheeses.  After tasting wines and making purchases, guests could wander around the vineyards and also have a tour of the small distillery.  Apart from some very nice looking wines and tasting them including rhubarb/strawberry wine, blackberry mead, cranberry wine and something else, I spied some maple wine and got a bottle of it (sorry Paul!).  Yum.

It started to rain on our way back to port, with nature giving a bit of a lightning show in the distance.  The ‘performance’ stopped by the time we arrived back at the terminal.  We made it in good time for departure, much to the determination of our guide.  We had a good 10 minutes to spare before the ‘all aboard time’ so I noticed some guests rushing around the terminal, making last minute purchases or attempting to connect to free WiFi.

We were invited to the Hotel Manager’s office, along with the Captain and 2 or 3 other officers.  His office is big enough, with a conference table for meetings.  The table was set for us and dining room staff brought us our meal – bread, fish, chips and platefuls of mussels cooked with garlic, carrot, onion and leek.   It was a delicious meal along with a bit of wine to compliment the seafood.

When we got upstairs the sun was setting – it was spectacular, so much so that I dashed to the cabin to fetch the camera.  Paul, the Captain and his wife, and I went onto the bridge (a very rare treat) to watch the sun going down behind the horizon.  I gave the camera to Paul to take some pictures – I felt I didn’t have a steady enough hand.  The sight was beautiful, giving us some nice pictures.

Yawn…  I’m tired.  Time for bed!

You can see my photographs on facebook via this link:  Excursion: P.E.I. Coast, Lighthouse & Cellar

Heading towards our next destination:  Sydney, Nova Scotia

Quebec City, Quebec. Excursion: Historic Walk & Horse Carriage Ride

The Maasdam docked early and the sun was shining nicely when I woke up.  It was to be a hot day with a breeze.  With the current and winds, bridge staff were more or less a bit more on alert than usual.

After breakfast I joined the waiting group in the terminal for my assigned excursion .  It turned out the guests would be split into 2 groups of about 20 or so in each.  There were enough people to complete the first group so they set off whilst the rest of us waited until the rest of our group was complete.

We had a nice walk from the cruise terminal to Quebec’s Old Town, Place Royal and its Market Square and through Petite Champlain with stops for photographs.  Despite a lot of walking involved, I admired a lady who came with us, complete with oxygen tubes, and her husband carrying a bag of oxygen bottles to which his wife was linked.  Fortunately our guide, Stacey, went at an unrushed pace but still there were stragglers for which she had to stop and wait for.  The stragglers kept stopping to look in shop windows or to take pictures rather than actually being physically slow.  That’s the way it was – although guests would have enough time in the afternoon to wander around town on their own.

We went up the steep cliff-face via a funicular and had plenty of time to take in the views of the old town below, and the river.  Stacey took us to the Chateau Frontenac (a hotel) where we were able to step inside the reception hall to have a look.  It was beautiful inside.  The place was HUGE!  The courtyard that we passed through looked very like a castle’s courtyard.

The next part of our tour involved a carriage ride, up to 4 guests per carriage.  An Australian lady and I had a carriage to ourselves which meant that we could sit facing forwards.  It was lovely meeting our horse.  There was also a white horse and carriage just in front of us so I went over to say ‘hello’ to her.  She gave me sniff and I bent my head gently towards her nose.  She promptly put her forehead down and we gently touched foreheads.  It was lovely!  Anyway… once in our carriages we set off in convoy through Quebec’s Upper Town with our carriage driver pointing out places of interest and various landmarks.  About halfway through the walk the horses were brought up to a small fountain where they could have some water to drink – if they wanted to.  2 or 3 did, but the rest of them didn’t.  There was something happening in town – possibly a ‘walkathon’ because there were some walkers with numbers pinned to their chests and there was some sort of a festival in a park that we passed by, complete with stalls and a small funfair.  There was a high amount of traffic on the roads, with cars bumper to bumper at times.  Fortunately, if our convoy got split up at traffic lights or whilst turning into a road, cars would stop and allow us to pass so that the carriages could keep together.

We said our goodbyes to the horses and our carriage drivers and met up with our guide, Stacy, at the entrance to Governor’s Park.  From there we took a slow walk back to the ship through the Upper Town and down a windy road through to the Old Town.  One or two couples opted to remain in town rather than walk back to the ship with the guide, and would make their own way back to the ship later on.   Again I was surprised at the determination and resilience of the lady on ambulatory oxygen – she did so well, never complained and never sat down on a bench to catch her breath.  She seemed determined to enjoy herself despite her health.


Back on board the ship I took photographs from the top deck and looked down to the park – there was a crowd gathering around someone on a podium.  I later learned that it was the official opening of the park.  Paul and I had a quick bite to eat and, with him having permission to go ashore, we headed into town; going up by the funicular to get to the upper town and then walking back down a road on the way back.  It was hot but there was also a strong wind which kept the town cool to a huge degree.  On the way back we walked through Petite Champlain, passing the lower station of the funicular and noticed that the building doors were closed.



It was a bit odd.  Then we looked past the building, up the rails – one of the trams was stuck part the way up.  ½ an hour later we past the funicular again, to get back to the ship, – the carriage was still stuck and there was a bit of a crowd gathering…  People in the tram were hanging out of the window, trying to get some air.  Having glass windows, the tram was like a sun trap in the 29C heat.  I noticed a small ladder on the side of the tram doors and also a stairwell between the 2 sets of rails, but nobody had got out of the tram to climb down.  Maybe people were unaware of the escape route or perhaps rules and regulations state that you can’t get out without assistance of the fire brigade or rescue services (??).  I probably would have got out…  Later on we learnt that there had been a short power outage which seemed to have affected the lower old city including the cruise terminal.  Power had come back on but we think that the tram’s power station had been affected/mucked up, or it had not come back on.  Needless to say, Paul forewarned the gangway that if there were any guests on the stuck funicular tram – they may be late.  As it turned out, everybody was back on board in time.

Paul and I continued our walk back to the ship but instead of walking along the road, we opted to cut across a newly formed park adjacent to the pier.  There were floor water fountains and mist sprays, as well as patches of grass and areas of foliage that had been planted.  As the plants and grass grow and take hold I think the area will look really nice.  Children played around the floor water fountains, squealing with delight.  It was like one huge party!

It will be an early night for me.  I’m very tired. The clocks are due to go forward 1 hour sometime during the wee hours of tomorrow morning = 1 hour’s less sleep for everyone.

The ship’s horn is blaring and the Maasdam is now setting sail for Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Sailing to Charlottetown (not going overland!)

PHOTOGRAPHS

Lower Old Town - Funicular

Looking up...

Looking down....

Upper Old Town 

Small vs large.  (Dogs)

View from the Upper Town

 

Courtyard of Chateau Frontenac

Passing the hospital

Time for a drink

Views From The Ship