We had to get up early because we had to go through a passport check before we could get tender tickets. Our tour was originally scheduled for 8:30, but a few days before we left on the cruise they changed it to 9:30. We went to the earliest time for passport inspection and went straight to the tender tickets after and we still did not get on … Continue reading South Queensferry, Scotland
Our port today started at noon. We got off the ship as soon as we could and headed to the bus stop so we could get to Torshavn (the main city). Ahead of us it looked like half the boat had the same plan that we did. When we saw the group of people waiting for the bus, we changed plans. First we had to go back to … Continue reading Runavik, Faroe Islands
This is a very small town. We did not have an excursion today because they were SUPER expensive due to the fact that the tour companies have to drive in from the capital. We thought it would be nice to just walk around and check out the few things that were highlighted at the talk we attended about each port. We were not the only people who … Continue reading Djupivogur, Iceland
The first port stop on our Holland America cruise was Heimaey. It is a tiny place so we had to take a tender to shore. Apparently, it is generally a rough trip. They started the tenders at 9am, but there were issues to due rough seas near the boat. The tour we booked did not leave until 12:45, but we decided to go get tender tickets a little after … Continue reading Heimaey, Westman Islands, Iceland
We took the train from Gare de Nord in Paris to Antwerp. We made reservations the night before on our phone and were surprised to find that our options for a direct train were very few. Who knew everyone was coming here on a Monday? We found a train at 9:46 in which we had to change trains in Brussels to arrive in Antwerp at 12:30. Gare de Nord … Continue reading Antwerp, Belgium
This town is at least an hour outside of Paris, but you can get there using only the metro, which is an amazing deal. Why go here? It’s the last place that Vincent Van Gogh lived. It is where he died and also where he is buried. You can visit various areas that were the inspiration for his paintings, visit the room that he lived in for 70 days … Continue reading Auvers-sur-Oise, France
Chateau Chantilly We took a train from Gare du Nord to get to this chateau. It was about 40 minutes. At the train station there was a bus that took us to the chateau for free. A walk would have been about 25 minutes. We knew we would be walking all day so we took the bus. You need to buy a ticket in advance to get in and … Continue reading Chateau de Chantilly
Chateau de Fontainebleau Today we did something a little different and booked a tour to the two chateaus. We usually do things on our own, but these two chateaus are located a ways from train stations and the travel seemed complicated. Our tour included transportation from Paris to each chateau and back and admission to both chateaus which included audio guides. We had no guide on the … Continue reading Chateau de Fontainebleau and Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte
Chateau de Maisons In order to reach the first chateau all we needed was a metro ticket for 2.55 euros. We had to take two trains. The second had lovely views of the countryside. Chateau de Maisons was located in Maisons-Lafitte. We walked from the train station to the Chateau through a small town with lots of appetizing storefronts. The park had a carousel from the 1800s (it was … Continue reading French Chateaus outside of Paris: Maisons, Germaine-en-Laye, and Monte Cristo
We woke up this morning with the boat tossing in the water like a kids’ bath toy. The drawers were opening and closing and we could hear banging all over the ship. I thought to myself, I don’t want to go snorkeling this morning! Then my husband says to me, I don’t think I want to snorkel today! He had also signed us up to go kayaking right after … Continue reading Galápagos Islands: Santiago Island
Bonney Voyage 