I wrote some notes when we were on our first cruise together and thought I would share…even though I have no idea if anyone will be cruising anytime soon. We went on this cruise before there were any reports of Coronavirus in the U. S. I got a serious cold on the day we left. Was it the virus? No idea. I hope you enjoy … Continue reading First Time Cruise (February 1-8)

We spent our final day enjoying a couple of excellent bands (after a couple of hours enjoying the beach of course). The first band was Barefoot Davis on Sapphire Beach. There was a huge crowd on the beach due to the massive cruise ships in port yesterday. Barefoot Davis played mostly cover songs, but with his own twist, often changing words to reflect the atmosphere. … Continue reading Music by the Beach

Yesterday we went to a beach that used to have my favorite beach bar, Iggies. Jef and I went there the first year we visited and I remember lying in the hammock outside the bar while listening to the band play. They had a hook screwed into a palm tree and you had to swing a ring onto it. Everyone tried their luck and if … Continue reading Changes and Turtles

Yesterday we went up to Mountain Top, which boasts the best banana daiquiris, which I have never tried, and an amazing view of Magen’s Bay. It also has a huge store filled with every souvenir you could imagine. Jef got me a big floppy hat and I bought both a t-shirt and sweatshirt for reasonable prices. After shopping, we headed to Magen’s Bay, which is … Continue reading Magen’s Bay, Brewer’s Bay, and Agricultural Fair in St. Thomas

This is my first time back to St. Thomas since the devastating hurricane in 2017.  I fell in love with this island the first time that Jef took me here six years ago.  Jef knows a lot of people here, so our visits here are not of the normal tourist variety. We go to a lot of beaches and we love checking out various bands at night.  Things … Continue reading St Thomas

Sadly, you can not visit the inside of this castle. It is a private residence and has been owned by the same family since the 17th century. They have about 20 acres of vines that surround the castle that they cultivate into wine. You can purchase the wine at the bottom of the castle. Unfortunately we were there on a Sunday and did not get … Continue reading Chateau Vufflens

I may have mentioned before that I love castles so when I saw Chillon Castle on the banks of Lake Geneva or Lac Léman I knew we had to visit. We took the train to Montreaux, which is famous for its summer jazz festival as well as having a recording studio for Queen. If you get off the train at Montreaux you have to walk … Continue reading Montreaux, Switzerland

You can’t beat the beauty of Switzerland…the lakes, the snow topped mountains, and the cleanliness of all that surrounds you. It is amazing that even in a large city, everything is so clean! I can’t decide if I would recommend visiting in November. It was a bit chilly and we had several gray days, but the crowds were nonexistent. It was so peaceful to wander … Continue reading Geneva, Switzerland

We traveled to Ghent on a Monday, which is apparently akin to a Sunday in which there was very little open including restaurants. We didn’t care because we were on a mission to see Gravensteen Castle, which basically translates into Stone Castle. (I love castles, so expect to see a lot of blogs in which we are wandering around them.) We arrived right when they … Continue reading Ghent, Belgium

I fell in love with Brugge (or Burges if you are looking it in English) as soon as we started walking down the street from the train station. The beautiful constructed houses on the canals, some with the dates displayed on the façade, the arched bridges over the numerous canals, and the skyline of gorgeous spires were all enchanting. Our primary focus for visiting Brugge … Continue reading Brugge