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
I was excited to see Sweden, since it was the only country on the cruise I had not visited. However, Kronborg Castle is right across the bay from Helsingborg and we really wanted to check out what is known as Hamlet’s Castle. We had to take a shuttle bus into the city. The bus waited until every seat was filled and only left on the exact half … Continue reading Kronborg Castle, Denmark, Helsingborg, Sweden
After spending the day relaxing and cruising the Kei Canal, we were ready for another adventure on land. On our quest to see as many castles as possible, we traveled by train to Schwerin Castle. We planned to return by bus, but the clerk at the train station said we would need to pay the driver in cash and we had none. So we decided to still get … Continue reading Schwerin Castle and Wismar, Germany
We took a train to deal from Dover. It only took about fifteen minutes for the ride. After arriving in Deal, we stopped at a bakery for my husband to get a delicious donut. Everything looked lovely, but I was not hungry. I believe the shop was called Albert’s. It was on the main pedestrian street. There were quite a few people out and about on a Friday … Continue reading Deal, Walmer and Dover Castles, England
If you are anything like me, you had no idea where Guernsey was located or to what country it belonged. Honestly, I didn’t even know it was an island until I searched it. Guernsey is part of the Channel Islands. It is associated with England, but it has different money, different postage. The island of Jersey, which is nearby, also has its own money and postage. They are interesting places … Continue reading St. Peter Port, Guernsey
Our first port was near Porto. We have been there a few times, so we decided to check out Guimareaes, which is called the Birthplace of Portugal. It’s a medieval town that is about 45 minutes from the port. We were going to take the train, but our ship docked too late. We considered taking the bus, but were concerned about not being able to figure out … Continue reading Guimaraes, Portugal
Yesterday, I asked my husband if we needed any special tickets for Pearl Harbor. He said we didn’t. Entry is free and you only have to pay for parking ($7). Then he looked online and realized that if we wanted to take the boat out to view the remains of the USS Arizona, we did need a special ticket. They only cost $1 online and standby are … Continue reading Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii
We opted not to do a tour today, so we were able to eat breakfast in the dining room for the first time. My husband was very excited because they had a special with a pretzel roll sandwich. I tried some yogurt with granola and strawberries. It had one strawberry and the rest was like a jam. The granola was mealy. It was a little disappointing from what … Continue reading NCL Cruise: Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
This is the first stop on our 12 day cruise around Spain, to both sets of Spanish Islands, two stops in Morocco, and ending in Lisbon, Portugal. I would first like to comment on NCL. We have not been on an NCL cruise since we went to Alaska two years ago. The ship we are on now is a sister ship to the one we were on … Continue reading NCL Cruise: Palma de Mallorca
Bonney Voyage 