Had a lovely day with our car - thanks to the Satellite Naviation fella - who even spoke mostly English. We managed to get out to a waterfall, really only about 20 minutes from Quebec City - The Montmorency Falls - these are actually higher than Niagara Falls apparently. Quite a lot of water going over the top, but hard to imagine what it must be like after the snow is beginning to melt. And absolutely impossible to imagine the entire thing frozen, but there is much pictorial proof that it freezes every year, and forms an amazing ice-climbing challenge for some people!!
About 45 minutes further on there was a really spectacular Canyon - called Saint Anne!!! Brilliant canyon with a stunning amount of water barrelling down, crashing into the walls, and turning corners as it rushed to the bottom. Several suspension bridges over the canyon, and many stairs to climb. This is also a major downhill skiing area for the locals, with many ski runs carved out of the nearby hills. Excellent day, and well worth the nightmare drive on the wrong side of the road!! We also drove around the Island of Orleans which is accessible from the mainland by bridge. Very sleepy little communities - didn't actually find one place to have a coffee... Tiny little houses on very small blocks of land, almost always two storey, timber, brightly painted, with lots of tizzy bits here and there. Great lengths of clothes line from the house out to some shed, or pole, and the line on pulleys as they do in Asia... Such neat washing you wouldn't believe... Everything hung in order.... No fences anywhere, around houses or paddocks. Obviously no pets, or they are kept indoors.
Arch had his first visit to the ubiquitous Tim Horton's (Canada's doughnut king).... Very average, VERY sweet, and once was enough - even for Arthur!
Drove for about 3 hours the next day too - absolutely nothing to see really, and pretty much a waste of time. Took the car back early - too hard to park, and wasn't needed!
Thursday - our last day in Quebec City. Decided to do our own thing after breakfast.. I managed to find the Observation Tower for a look over the town, and took some photo's of some photo's someone else had taken, of the St. Lawrence River frozen. Absolutely impossible for me to imagine... After pounding the pavements, decided to have a couple of hours at the pool. Nice. Hot spa and a cold beer. Some American woman decided that with my accent I must be Canadian - they really have NO idea..
We happened upon a restaurant which specialised in Mussels for dinner - they came every way you can imagine, and then some. Nice.. Then nearby there was then a laser produced visual display of the history of Quebec, shown on the side of some Silos at the port - brilliant effect.
This year is the 250th anniversary of the English "victory" over the French in Quebec, and this might be the historical truth, but in fact, Quebec is so French it's bizarre.... And it will never be any other way.
Before we got on the train, we had one last look down to the waterfront, there was another Holland America ship in port - actually the one we were originally scheduled to sail on. Amazing to see how small it is in comparison with ours.
Train to Montreal - okay, but the elderly gent in front decided he needed to lie down all the way, so I got to inspect the top his bald, scabby head for 3 hours. Nice....
Nice little hotel in the old part of Montreal, just one block back from the waterfront again. Lovely for walking about. We got a room upgrade (just because we're gorgeous Aussies) - now have our own lounge room, looking out over a garden/restaurant (we're on the ground floor). Had a late afternoon walk, and happened upon a pedestrian mall, lined with bars on both sides, and a very good busker doing his thing singing, so before we knew it, we were settled in for Happy Hour!! Thought we might as well stay for dinner, so hadn't moved for a few hours by the time we struggled home!
Gorgeous croissants (and chocolate ones too) for breakfast, and then set off on one of our famous marathon walks...... Covered the entire city centre of Montreal, saw McGill University, the major shopping centres, all buzzing with shoppers. Very sunny, warm day again (we have been so lucky with the weather) and we found ourselves on the top of the highest point in Montreal - a large park called Park Mont Royale - their Central Park really. A sad little lake in the middle, lots of lawns, lots of natural parkland, and an enormous, imposing, empty house overlooking the city... Possibly used for grand events occasionally, but with the exception of a tiny room which sold postcards etc., actually echoingly empty!! Great view over the city, but it's not really a very pretty city anyway. We had walked up major inclines for a very long time to reach this peak, and after we had walked through it, we left via some stairs - to get half way down, we walked down 287 steps(!) and then walked downhill again for 15 minutes!!! At least we walked off the croissants! But, the knees are a bit sore!
Came home through Chinatown - rather sad, very small area - pretty grotty, and not the sort of place which would attract you for a meal. Having been to San Francisco's China Town, everything else pales in comparison!! This made us decide to try to find an Italian restaurant for dinner - nice food, and a nice change!
Today, Sunday 13th, the Montreal Marathon was run. We stood on a corner just near our hotel and cheered the runners on for half an hour or so, and then the cyclists joined in (on the other side of the road!), so we stayed for about 45 minutes more. Quite impressive really, some old farts running who should have been home digging in the garden we thought... Have no idea how many actually finished, but we walked off, and about 45 minutes later came across them again, and a sign which said they had done 19 of 42 kilometres!!! Some not looking too flash, and had a long way to go!!
On our way back to the hotel, I stopped to ask a Policeman a question about the Marathon route, and he didn't have enough English to give me an answer. How appalling..... There are many English speakers in Montreal, I wonder how this bloke would deal with an incident involving them? Once again, really shocking to think this is Canada......
I'm off to have my hair cut in the morning (will have a few weeks to grow out if it's a disaster), and then we catch the train to Toronto. Will post again eventually.
Cheers everyone...
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Hi guys,
After spending the last day in port at Quebec city, actually swanning about on the ship, we felt ready to hit the city. As it was a day for sightseeing for most of the people on the ship, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We spent the morning sitting in the lounge of the Exploration lounge - big leather recliner chairs, in the sun. Very quiet, and we had a first hand view of what it's going to be like when we've been consigned to an old people's home.... Omigod - sitting there reading, we looked about and we were amidst a whole bunch of oldies, who could barely stay awake - and this was 11am!! There was the odd loud fart emanating in the silence, which made us hysterical (quietly hysterical anyway)... The occasional conversation started up, and they were talking so loudly, it could be heard everywhere. We were actually spooked at what might await us!!!
Went to a wonderful restaurant on board for the last night - had steak to die for - Arch stupidly ordered and tried to eat an enormous rib eye steak.... It was so magnificent, he tried to eat the lot, and we barely made it up to our room... The Americans eat this size meal every day, AND have entree and dessert!!
We exited the ship yesterday, and are now ensconsed in THE Chateau - the most photographed building in Quebec city. Amazing and so surprising how little English is spoken in this town - shocking to think that this is actually Canada, and many people have absolutely no English. I'm trying to imagine going to Brisbane and having them speak another language, and not having English. Really sad actually.
The old town is very pretty, and not surprisingly, the architecture is very French too. We've hired a car for tomorrow, and plan to run away for a couple of days. Hope they don't think we've been abducted when they come to clean our room and discover the bed hasn't been slept in. Arch is going to brace himself for the wrong-side-of-the-road driving, and hope for the best.
Will post again when we get back to Quebec City. We're here until Friday morning when we catch the train to Montreal.
Cheers,
Ann
After spending the last day in port at Quebec city, actually swanning about on the ship, we felt ready to hit the city. As it was a day for sightseeing for most of the people on the ship, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We spent the morning sitting in the lounge of the Exploration lounge - big leather recliner chairs, in the sun. Very quiet, and we had a first hand view of what it's going to be like when we've been consigned to an old people's home.... Omigod - sitting there reading, we looked about and we were amidst a whole bunch of oldies, who could barely stay awake - and this was 11am!! There was the odd loud fart emanating in the silence, which made us hysterical (quietly hysterical anyway)... The occasional conversation started up, and they were talking so loudly, it could be heard everywhere. We were actually spooked at what might await us!!!
Went to a wonderful restaurant on board for the last night - had steak to die for - Arch stupidly ordered and tried to eat an enormous rib eye steak.... It was so magnificent, he tried to eat the lot, and we barely made it up to our room... The Americans eat this size meal every day, AND have entree and dessert!!
We exited the ship yesterday, and are now ensconsed in THE Chateau - the most photographed building in Quebec city. Amazing and so surprising how little English is spoken in this town - shocking to think that this is actually Canada, and many people have absolutely no English. I'm trying to imagine going to Brisbane and having them speak another language, and not having English. Really sad actually.
The old town is very pretty, and not surprisingly, the architecture is very French too. We've hired a car for tomorrow, and plan to run away for a couple of days. Hope they don't think we've been abducted when they come to clean our room and discover the bed hasn't been slept in. Arch is going to brace himself for the wrong-side-of-the-road driving, and hope for the best.
Will post again when we get back to Quebec City. We're here until Friday morning when we catch the train to Montreal.
Cheers,
Ann
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Eurodam
Great that we chose to have our own two days in Boston, as the day dawned when the ship was in Port - absolutely pouring, and continued to do so all day. Pity the poor buggers who had only that day to do their sightseeing!
There were actually two "Dam" ships in port that day, and our taxi delivered us to the wrong one - Arch was concerned about not finding our name on the passenger list when the light dawned on me.... Had to get a nice fella to take our luggage down to the correct ship - this necessitated a tip of course!!!
Had to fight our way on board, some charity had organised a "viewing of the ship and lunch" to raise funds, and our arrival coincided with theirs.... Finally got to our cabin - nice room, but we had been upgraded to a larger room which was nice, but sadly, this time on Starboard, nor the Port side. Not to worry - we'll just spend less time in our room..
This ship is H U G E.... After getting off our little Arctic ship (100 guests) onto this (2,000 guests) - we are a bit in awe..
Got our good clobber on for dinner, and were posted to share an intimate dinner with 8 other strangers - okay, meal okay as well. Arthur dying to head to the Casino, so did just that for a couple of hours.
Went sightseeing at Bar Harbour, Maine the next day. The National Park about which I had heard much positive stuff, was the place to go. So we did. The view from the top of the highest peak in the Acadia National Park was apparently to die for - alas and alak - covered in pea soup fog when we got there. Imagination is a wonderful thing! The casino is keeping Arch amused..
Next stop was Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Once again did a full day excursion to see "stuff". Much interesting, but much also not so flash. On this part of the island, there is actually a Gaelic School - really!! They teach the gaelic language, piping, and everything a respectable Canadian would need to know to pass as Scottish!! VERY bizarre. They have tartan everywhere, play Scottish music everywhere, and you drive past cemeteries dedicated totally to one of the "Mc" Clans. It is like being in a time warp..
Halifax, Nova Scotia is supposed to be inserted here....... see below..
Next stop was Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island - known as P.E.I. See, we're locals already!
Lovely warm, sunny day, about 24 degrees C. Were greeted by some sort of Corroboree by the local natives, doing an endless repetition of "singing" and drumming. We were happy to get on our bus for yet another outing - this time to a town about 30 minutes away, where we went on a cruise up the estuary, to see how they grow and harvest millions of mussels. We also made the acquaintance of a few fat seals, lolling about on their little mussel shell island.
Dressed for dinner tonight, and forced ourselves upon a nice little foursome - some kind of family relations, Canadians/Americans. Now, that was an interesting dinner. Arch and I had attended the "sail away" party on deck for a short while, and had had one or two glasses of something... We landed up with this group, none of whom apparently drank - anything - and proceeded to shock them to the core! It is SO much fun, and SO easy to do.... 99% of the passengers are American, they are all so bloody pious, SO religious, and SO delightfully shockable!! We love to tell them that nobody in Australia goes to church any more, we never have our kids Christened, much less have our deceased buried by a Man of the Cloth - it's absolutely fantastic to see their faces whilst they pretend not to care!!! I had breakfast this morning with a woman who couldn't wait to tell me that she was a devout Catholic who went to Mass every day - even on the ship, and I couldn't wait to tell her my version of life!! I'm loving it, I can tell you.
The Nationalised Health Care issue is big in the US at the moment, and it has been funny to watch their faces as ALL the Canadian tour guides tell them what a fantastic thing their health system is (very similar to Australia's), and that they wouldn't have it any other way. Hopefully it has given the Americans something to think about when they go home.
Today has been totally at sea as we are travelling between P.E.I. and Saguenay Fjord in Quebec. - arriving tomorrow morning.
The weather has been a bit average today, so haven't done much. Did do a 5km walk around the Promenade to raise for Breast Cancer research. Good fun, and very easy to walk without hindrance!! Formal Dress for dinner tonight, so Arch and I went to the ultra casual dining room and ate in great comfort - no boring conversations either..
Somehow, this next bit has been juxtaposed, and I can't find a way to cut and paste....... Bear with me....
Next day, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Whatever you've heard about Nova Scotia being in a time warp, and still wearing the tartan, and bearing their "Scottishness" with pride is true, and somewhat hilarious!! We visited an amazing place called "Peggy's Cove" which consists almost entirely of absolutely humungous rocks, left behind when the last glaciers receded about 200 thousand years ago - under ice was which was about 1 mile thick... Must be something to do with Global Warming!! We were greeted at Peggy's Cove by an extremely talented female Piper, piping her way to College she hoped, and her case was indeed full of money. Good on her.
The ship sailed at about 5pm so it was nice to be up on deck watching the town disappear from view. Dinner was again at a table with 8 other strangers - really tedious having to talk to a heap of total strangers, so mostly didn't bother - just conversed with one woman near us!!
You really cannot imagine the variety of people on this cruise - all a big eye-opener to us. I reckon we are really the only passengers who have not been cruising for years - when listening to snippets of conversation, you hear that they have all been everywhere!! Aussies obviously came late to cruising, and we feel totally unable to converse with them about their Cruise experiences. There are SO many zimmer frames, wheel chairs, and the lame and infirm making their way about the ship, one has to proceed with caution! Happily there are more physically capable, and some even young passengers to balance this out..
The facilities are amazing - those who have cruised will know, but it's very revealing to us "cruise virgins".
The main Recreation room is on the Observation Deck, and it's really lovely. Picture windows about 180 degrees, leather recliner chairs facing the ocean (the front of the ship), heaps of other chairs, leather lounges, wine tables, etc.. A lending library, a book exchange, CD and Video library, any game you can imagine, card and board games - two huge jig-saw puzzles on an equally huge table, just there for anyone to spend a minute or ten. When the puzzles are completed, magically a new one appears. Very good indeed. There is also a coffee shop and a bar on this section of the ship, and indeed I am there now, using the internet...
All in all, a very relaxing holiday, and we're really only using our fellow-travellers for our entertainment and amusement - if you don't feel like talking to anyone, you just don't....
If you can be bothered "Googling" (on Google Earth) the Coastline around between Boston and Quebec City, you will find it is fantastic, and we're really enjoying the scenery.
Okay, that's it I think. I'm off to have another glass of wine, and watch the sun set.
Cheers,
Ann and Arch
We arrive in Quebec City in a couple of days, and that will be interesting - considering our French is non-existent!!!
There were actually two "Dam" ships in port that day, and our taxi delivered us to the wrong one - Arch was concerned about not finding our name on the passenger list when the light dawned on me.... Had to get a nice fella to take our luggage down to the correct ship - this necessitated a tip of course!!!
Had to fight our way on board, some charity had organised a "viewing of the ship and lunch" to raise funds, and our arrival coincided with theirs.... Finally got to our cabin - nice room, but we had been upgraded to a larger room which was nice, but sadly, this time on Starboard, nor the Port side. Not to worry - we'll just spend less time in our room..
This ship is H U G E.... After getting off our little Arctic ship (100 guests) onto this (2,000 guests) - we are a bit in awe..
Got our good clobber on for dinner, and were posted to share an intimate dinner with 8 other strangers - okay, meal okay as well. Arthur dying to head to the Casino, so did just that for a couple of hours.
Went sightseeing at Bar Harbour, Maine the next day. The National Park about which I had heard much positive stuff, was the place to go. So we did. The view from the top of the highest peak in the Acadia National Park was apparently to die for - alas and alak - covered in pea soup fog when we got there. Imagination is a wonderful thing! The casino is keeping Arch amused..
Next stop was Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Once again did a full day excursion to see "stuff". Much interesting, but much also not so flash. On this part of the island, there is actually a Gaelic School - really!! They teach the gaelic language, piping, and everything a respectable Canadian would need to know to pass as Scottish!! VERY bizarre. They have tartan everywhere, play Scottish music everywhere, and you drive past cemeteries dedicated totally to one of the "Mc" Clans. It is like being in a time warp..
Halifax, Nova Scotia is supposed to be inserted here....... see below..
Next stop was Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island - known as P.E.I. See, we're locals already!
Lovely warm, sunny day, about 24 degrees C. Were greeted by some sort of Corroboree by the local natives, doing an endless repetition of "singing" and drumming. We were happy to get on our bus for yet another outing - this time to a town about 30 minutes away, where we went on a cruise up the estuary, to see how they grow and harvest millions of mussels. We also made the acquaintance of a few fat seals, lolling about on their little mussel shell island.
Dressed for dinner tonight, and forced ourselves upon a nice little foursome - some kind of family relations, Canadians/Americans. Now, that was an interesting dinner. Arch and I had attended the "sail away" party on deck for a short while, and had had one or two glasses of something... We landed up with this group, none of whom apparently drank - anything - and proceeded to shock them to the core! It is SO much fun, and SO easy to do.... 99% of the passengers are American, they are all so bloody pious, SO religious, and SO delightfully shockable!! We love to tell them that nobody in Australia goes to church any more, we never have our kids Christened, much less have our deceased buried by a Man of the Cloth - it's absolutely fantastic to see their faces whilst they pretend not to care!!! I had breakfast this morning with a woman who couldn't wait to tell me that she was a devout Catholic who went to Mass every day - even on the ship, and I couldn't wait to tell her my version of life!! I'm loving it, I can tell you.
The Nationalised Health Care issue is big in the US at the moment, and it has been funny to watch their faces as ALL the Canadian tour guides tell them what a fantastic thing their health system is (very similar to Australia's), and that they wouldn't have it any other way. Hopefully it has given the Americans something to think about when they go home.
Today has been totally at sea as we are travelling between P.E.I. and Saguenay Fjord in Quebec. - arriving tomorrow morning.
The weather has been a bit average today, so haven't done much. Did do a 5km walk around the Promenade to raise for Breast Cancer research. Good fun, and very easy to walk without hindrance!! Formal Dress for dinner tonight, so Arch and I went to the ultra casual dining room and ate in great comfort - no boring conversations either..
Somehow, this next bit has been juxtaposed, and I can't find a way to cut and paste....... Bear with me....
Next day, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Whatever you've heard about Nova Scotia being in a time warp, and still wearing the tartan, and bearing their "Scottishness" with pride is true, and somewhat hilarious!! We visited an amazing place called "Peggy's Cove" which consists almost entirely of absolutely humungous rocks, left behind when the last glaciers receded about 200 thousand years ago - under ice was which was about 1 mile thick... Must be something to do with Global Warming!! We were greeted at Peggy's Cove by an extremely talented female Piper, piping her way to College she hoped, and her case was indeed full of money. Good on her.
The ship sailed at about 5pm so it was nice to be up on deck watching the town disappear from view. Dinner was again at a table with 8 other strangers - really tedious having to talk to a heap of total strangers, so mostly didn't bother - just conversed with one woman near us!!
You really cannot imagine the variety of people on this cruise - all a big eye-opener to us. I reckon we are really the only passengers who have not been cruising for years - when listening to snippets of conversation, you hear that they have all been everywhere!! Aussies obviously came late to cruising, and we feel totally unable to converse with them about their Cruise experiences. There are SO many zimmer frames, wheel chairs, and the lame and infirm making their way about the ship, one has to proceed with caution! Happily there are more physically capable, and some even young passengers to balance this out..
The facilities are amazing - those who have cruised will know, but it's very revealing to us "cruise virgins".
The main Recreation room is on the Observation Deck, and it's really lovely. Picture windows about 180 degrees, leather recliner chairs facing the ocean (the front of the ship), heaps of other chairs, leather lounges, wine tables, etc.. A lending library, a book exchange, CD and Video library, any game you can imagine, card and board games - two huge jig-saw puzzles on an equally huge table, just there for anyone to spend a minute or ten. When the puzzles are completed, magically a new one appears. Very good indeed. There is also a coffee shop and a bar on this section of the ship, and indeed I am there now, using the internet...
All in all, a very relaxing holiday, and we're really only using our fellow-travellers for our entertainment and amusement - if you don't feel like talking to anyone, you just don't....
If you can be bothered "Googling" (on Google Earth) the Coastline around between Boston and Quebec City, you will find it is fantastic, and we're really enjoying the scenery.
Okay, that's it I think. I'm off to have another glass of wine, and watch the sun set.
Cheers,
Ann and Arch
We arrive in Quebec City in a couple of days, and that will be interesting - considering our French is non-existent!!!
Friday, August 28, 2009
This will be an abridged version, I'm using a mini keypad - aagh!!!!
Firstly, how exciting to discover that Kirt and /butch are engaged - pity we were almost as far away as it is possible to be - is there a message in that?
We have had an incredible time on our Arctic expedition - our tour leaders threatend physical violence if we referred to it as a "cruise".
After a VERY long day arriving in Resolute - pretty much all day to get there.... Our first few hours were spent in a "hotel" eating plastic cakes and drinking the usual hideous coffee. Then we had our introduction to Arctic life - we were piled on a Zodiac for the first, and ferried out to the ship.
Very comfortable ship, and we started off with amazing warm weather - blue skies, and sunshine. The meals were very good, and plentiful, although we were amused to note that they didn't encourage you to linger after dinner - the food was whisked away pronto, and if you wanted cheese after dinner, you had to get it with your soup!! We got used to it.
The tour leader was an Aussie guy from Melbourne, and amazingly, he and the Leiths were the only Aussies on board. Pretty much dominated by Americans and Canadians, with a fair smattering of Brits. Many of the Canadians were of English origin too, recent immigrants!!
The scenery was incredible - very bare, absolutely no vegetation. We stopped at various places, and each time, it was on with the Arctic parka, thick socks, hats, gloves, etc. etc. and onto the zodiac. We needed waterproof pants too, as it was always a wet landing, and we had to step out into ankle deep, or slightly deeper, water. Although the weather was brilliant, the wind, when there was any, was chilling.
We called into an Inuit settlement in Canada - a pathetic, depressing place, and we felt so sorry for the poor buggers who have to live there. They were moved there some years ago, in order to establish Canada's sovereignty over this godforsaken part of the world. There are no doubt valuable assets in the ground there.
The houses were okay - just, but the whole place was depressing. Nothing for anyone to do, and I can't imagine what life must be like during the long dark winter months. They certainly didn't spend their time creating wonderful handcrafts - there was nothing to buy. We had taken money over hoping to be able to leave them a bit of a bonus, but unless we wanted to simply hand over cash, there was nothing to purchase!
We wandered on - spending much time up on the top deck, just gazing out over the amazing lanscape - seascape.. We finally caught up with some pack ice - millions of acres of it, and we were hoping to see a big Polar Bear lazing about on board. No so..
We also visited another Inuit settlement in the northern part of Greenland, this is indeed the most northern inhabited settlement in the world!! Obviously this settlement is supported generously and seriously by Denmark (Greenland's 'parent') and they seem to have most of the modern amenities needed to stop you from going insane!! All was neat and tidy, and they do go hunting in the winter as well, so live a lot like their ancestors - wear seal skin boots, and make amazing, very practical clothing to wear. Their supermarkets are stocked with all the usual canned food too, and I suppose that shouldn't be surprising. They can't hunt in the summer, so god knows what they would eat otherwise.
We did finally see three polar bears, and that was a huge bonus, as I personally wasn't expecting to see any. One was actually just floating along, using the current, not even paddling - he looked like a big floating white blanket!! The other two were on land, and we had to spend about 2 hours, freezing to death (almost) in our small zodiacs, to see them. They are all practically starving at this time of the year as there is not much ice, and they can't hunt seals without ice, so they're hanging around, sleeping most of the time, waiting for the big freeze so they can eat again. They did move away from us when they became aware of us, but they certainly don't rush!! Wow, they're enormous. We also saw five walrus, hanging about, brilliant.
We visited the area where the last major polar expedition of the 19th century went missing - dozens of men and two ships vanished, and they have still never been found. Kinda spooky.
Quite a fun bunch on the ship, and we usually found ourselves with the same lot in the bar!! Alcohol was very cheap on board actually - not sure whether that was good or bad...
We managed to matchmake another little liaison on the ship too, but she is from Germany and he is from Canada, so it's not going anywhere, but it made us smile!!
Got back to Boston a couple of days ago, and the weather has been brilliant here too. We've walked for hours and hours, and they say Boston is a walkable city - they're right. Wish I'd been wearing my pedometer!!! It's a very sane, happy, prosperous, family-friendly city, with nice parks, very well used by the citizens. We also had the dubious pleasure of lining up with the locals yesterday for a couple of hours, waiting for the late, lamented Teddy Kennedy to drive past on his way to lie in state at the JFK Library. Chatted to locals too, and had a very nice time actually - we'd been walking for about 6 hours, so it was good to rest awhile...
Our accommodation is in the Back Bay area of Boston - very nice, middle-class area, and very civilised little parks and gardens dotted about. Very different from NYC - no local Diners as such, and very few street vendors of food and drink. We have had lovely food here, and today had a sandwich made with gorgeous bread. So far, I have had two brilliant cafe lattes as well - cappuccino machines are a rarity in this city, so I dive on one when I see it!! We walked to the "Knob Hill" part of Boston today - Beacon Hill.... This is a truly delightful part of town, and is indeed built on the only hill in Boston. The rich people certainly live here, and in one delightful cul de sac, all the gas lanterns are on all day and night, and parking is definitely only for the locals - no permits, I reckon when they buy in, they buy street parking space, and probably only one!!
We're doing all the domestic chores this afternoon (washing actually) - tomorrow, Saturday, we are boarding our positively obscenely enormous cruise ship to cruise up the New England coast to Quebec City. For the second week-end in a row, there is a huge storm approaching, and the sea will probably be very rough for the first 24 or 36 hours. We don't care!! We've been upgraded to a lovely verandah suite, so I'm guessing we'll be okay!!
One day on our Arctic trip, we had force 8 gales, and survived brilliantly - of course some of our fellow travellers were barely seen for 24 hours, and there was much food left over in the dining room!!
We caught up on a couple of the footy scores today - Arch was amused to note that North had beaten St. Kilda!
We're missing everybody, particularly missing our on the Engagement celebrations - it will be kinda old hat by the time we get back!
Cheers,
A&A
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Noo York
Well, have survived our 5 days in New York. After an uneventful flight over, sadly not on the promised Qantas A380, we hit the ground running. We were staying in a perfectly positioned Inn on the Upper West Side of New York - brilliant position, very close to a subway, and close also to Central Park and the Museum of Natural History. We walked through the lower section of Central Park for an hour or two - it really is amazing, and no doubt the lungs of NYC. Finally, we decided to have a 30 minute ride with a young Croation fella who rode around with us on the back of his bike. Everyone in Manhattan is from somewhere else, and everyone is out to make a dollar. There are so many vendors selling food from incredibly portable 'kitchens', and people appear out of nowhere with eskies full of ice and cold water - they sell it for $1 a bottle, others for up to $3!!!
That evening, we went on a dinner cruise around the harbour. This left port about half an hour before dusk, so we saw all the lights of Manhattan and New Jersey come on as we sailed about the harbour. We could hardly sit still in the dining room long enough to eat dinner, which was remarkably good(!) - we took our drinks up on deck to suck it all in. Truly a stunning view, and we also visited the lady herself "The Statue of Liberty" in all her lighted glory. The evening was beautiful - very warm, so everyone was in a very festive mood. I may have had one too many drinks, because when we left the boat, I left my cardigan on the back of a chair - never to be seen again. Bugger... The DJ on the boat was an Aussie - we recognised him pretty quickly - when he first talked to the crowd, he tried to say Noo York, but kinda slipped into Aussie, and gave up trying to sound American. There was also an Aussie girl waitressing/singing on the boat too, and they were all loving NYC.
Went out for our first real American breakfast at our neighbourhood diner. We did the right thing and had eggs etc. etc.. It was okay, but of the course the coffee was undrinkable. I tried to order a cappuccino, but they had sprinkled about a dessertspoon of cinnamon over the top - omigod.....
Once again, made our way onto the subway - this runs like a dream, a train comes every couple of minutes, they are clean, the air conditioning works, and their ticketing system is infallible. Why can't we do something in Melbourne.
We joined a hop-on-hop-off bus tour for a look around Manhattan - good way to get an idea of the layout of the place. The tiny island has the population of Melbourne crammed into her wee self - everyone living on top of everyone else. They told us that an extra 3.5 million tourists were in town for the week-end... We believed them.
Times Square really has to be seen to be believed - it is a stunning, pulsating, shiny, ever-changing sight for sore eyes. The local Police were out in force, but mostly posing for photo's with tourists, although there were 3 or 4 big blokes, not there for fun, toting very big, automatic rifle type weapons - scanning the crowds. Reality check I guess.
The weather has been brilliant, not as hot and humid as usual, and very pleasant to walk around, which we have done miles of..
On Saturday night we went to see the Neville Brothers at the BBKing Blues and Jazz Club, right in Times Square, on 42nd Street. Great show, they still sound brilliant - not sure Arthur liked it too much, but I loved it.
We caught the subway down to Greenwich Village - the 60's are definitely over!!! All very clean and middle-class we thought. Barely a lentil in sight..
On Monday we caught the train down to the bottom of Manhattan to do the trip out to see the Statue of Liberty. We were on an early ferry, and on arrival, only had about a 45 minute wait to get into the Statue. The queues can be up to 4 hours - for the ferry, and for the Statue!!! Can't think I would've waited that long!! Anyway, they don't let too many people in at once, so the experience is really very pleasant, you are not rushed, and not pushed about. All in all, well worth doing we thought.
We had booked a helicopter sightseeing flight over Manhattan for the afternoon, and after a bit of a marathon, arrived at the heliport, only to be told that flights had been cancelled for now, and they couldn't tell us when they would be going again. Unfortunately, on Saturday afternoon, a sightseeing helicopter with 4 passengers had crashed into a light aircraft over the Hudson, and 8 people came to a sticky end!!! We figured they might have the safety issued okay by the time we flew, but it seems they were hauling bodies out of the water at the time, so thought it best not to keep flying!! Bugger. Hope we get on several hundred dollars back!!
Last real day in New York Monday - so we went back into the madness of Times Square in the evening for a night time view from the top of the Rockefeller Centre - "The Top of the Rock". Once again, well worth doing, and another gorgeous evening.
Tuesday, we were up at the crack of dawn to catch a bus to Washington DC for the day. There were four buses going on this trip, and we were on the only English speaking one. The other three were Spanish speaking..... Every second person seems to speak Spanish!! It was an absolute marathon of a day - about 4 1/2 hours there, and back, and a couple of hours in Washington itself. Saw the absolute 'musts' The White House, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Smithsonian, and all the War Memorials - Vietnam, Korea included. There is a nut case of a woman camped outside the White House, she is protesting about nuclear weapons, and has been there, without a break, for TWENTY EIGHT YEARS.... Her shelter is a kinda plastic lean-to, not a tent, can't imagine what that's like sitting there 24/7 in three feet of snow in Winter. They have changed the laws because of her, and now nobody can stay there protesting for more than six hours. Her husband can come and relieve her for a wee while, but if the camp is ever without an occupant, it will be removed forever. Bizarre..... We were absolutely knackered by the time we got home - could barely walk up our stairs, which were only one flight!!
Wednesday, out to the airport, and flew to Ottawa. Thursday morning (today) walked about Ottawa... Arch had forgotten to bring some medication with him (of course, I didn't arrange it for him), so we had to trudge about to find a doctor. Ended up in a surgery in a less than salubrious part of town, and I think most of the 'patients' were druggies waiting for their daily dose of Methadone. At least the entertainment was good whilst we were waiting.
Took one of the ever-present hop-on-hop-off buses around town, and packed our bags again - leaving as much as possible here at the hotel - we're off on our Arctic Cruise tomorrow - back in Ottawa on the 25th of August.
Hope everyone's enjoying Winter in Melbourne - we have no idea who is winning the football, and strangely don't care!!
Cheers from sunny Ottawa, will post again when I can.
Ann and Arch
That evening, we went on a dinner cruise around the harbour. This left port about half an hour before dusk, so we saw all the lights of Manhattan and New Jersey come on as we sailed about the harbour. We could hardly sit still in the dining room long enough to eat dinner, which was remarkably good(!) - we took our drinks up on deck to suck it all in. Truly a stunning view, and we also visited the lady herself "The Statue of Liberty" in all her lighted glory. The evening was beautiful - very warm, so everyone was in a very festive mood. I may have had one too many drinks, because when we left the boat, I left my cardigan on the back of a chair - never to be seen again. Bugger... The DJ on the boat was an Aussie - we recognised him pretty quickly - when he first talked to the crowd, he tried to say Noo York, but kinda slipped into Aussie, and gave up trying to sound American. There was also an Aussie girl waitressing/singing on the boat too, and they were all loving NYC.
Went out for our first real American breakfast at our neighbourhood diner. We did the right thing and had eggs etc. etc.. It was okay, but of the course the coffee was undrinkable. I tried to order a cappuccino, but they had sprinkled about a dessertspoon of cinnamon over the top - omigod.....
Once again, made our way onto the subway - this runs like a dream, a train comes every couple of minutes, they are clean, the air conditioning works, and their ticketing system is infallible. Why can't we do something in Melbourne.
We joined a hop-on-hop-off bus tour for a look around Manhattan - good way to get an idea of the layout of the place. The tiny island has the population of Melbourne crammed into her wee self - everyone living on top of everyone else. They told us that an extra 3.5 million tourists were in town for the week-end... We believed them.
Times Square really has to be seen to be believed - it is a stunning, pulsating, shiny, ever-changing sight for sore eyes. The local Police were out in force, but mostly posing for photo's with tourists, although there were 3 or 4 big blokes, not there for fun, toting very big, automatic rifle type weapons - scanning the crowds. Reality check I guess.
The weather has been brilliant, not as hot and humid as usual, and very pleasant to walk around, which we have done miles of..
On Saturday night we went to see the Neville Brothers at the BBKing Blues and Jazz Club, right in Times Square, on 42nd Street. Great show, they still sound brilliant - not sure Arthur liked it too much, but I loved it.
We caught the subway down to Greenwich Village - the 60's are definitely over!!! All very clean and middle-class we thought. Barely a lentil in sight..
On Monday we caught the train down to the bottom of Manhattan to do the trip out to see the Statue of Liberty. We were on an early ferry, and on arrival, only had about a 45 minute wait to get into the Statue. The queues can be up to 4 hours - for the ferry, and for the Statue!!! Can't think I would've waited that long!! Anyway, they don't let too many people in at once, so the experience is really very pleasant, you are not rushed, and not pushed about. All in all, well worth doing we thought.
We had booked a helicopter sightseeing flight over Manhattan for the afternoon, and after a bit of a marathon, arrived at the heliport, only to be told that flights had been cancelled for now, and they couldn't tell us when they would be going again. Unfortunately, on Saturday afternoon, a sightseeing helicopter with 4 passengers had crashed into a light aircraft over the Hudson, and 8 people came to a sticky end!!! We figured they might have the safety issued okay by the time we flew, but it seems they were hauling bodies out of the water at the time, so thought it best not to keep flying!! Bugger. Hope we get on several hundred dollars back!!
Last real day in New York Monday - so we went back into the madness of Times Square in the evening for a night time view from the top of the Rockefeller Centre - "The Top of the Rock". Once again, well worth doing, and another gorgeous evening.
Tuesday, we were up at the crack of dawn to catch a bus to Washington DC for the day. There were four buses going on this trip, and we were on the only English speaking one. The other three were Spanish speaking..... Every second person seems to speak Spanish!! It was an absolute marathon of a day - about 4 1/2 hours there, and back, and a couple of hours in Washington itself. Saw the absolute 'musts' The White House, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Smithsonian, and all the War Memorials - Vietnam, Korea included. There is a nut case of a woman camped outside the White House, she is protesting about nuclear weapons, and has been there, without a break, for TWENTY EIGHT YEARS.... Her shelter is a kinda plastic lean-to, not a tent, can't imagine what that's like sitting there 24/7 in three feet of snow in Winter. They have changed the laws because of her, and now nobody can stay there protesting for more than six hours. Her husband can come and relieve her for a wee while, but if the camp is ever without an occupant, it will be removed forever. Bizarre..... We were absolutely knackered by the time we got home - could barely walk up our stairs, which were only one flight!!
Wednesday, out to the airport, and flew to Ottawa. Thursday morning (today) walked about Ottawa... Arch had forgotten to bring some medication with him (of course, I didn't arrange it for him), so we had to trudge about to find a doctor. Ended up in a surgery in a less than salubrious part of town, and I think most of the 'patients' were druggies waiting for their daily dose of Methadone. At least the entertainment was good whilst we were waiting.
Took one of the ever-present hop-on-hop-off buses around town, and packed our bags again - leaving as much as possible here at the hotel - we're off on our Arctic Cruise tomorrow - back in Ottawa on the 25th of August.
Hope everyone's enjoying Winter in Melbourne - we have no idea who is winning the football, and strangely don't care!!
Cheers from sunny Ottawa, will post again when I can.
Ann and Arch
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Itinerary
ITINERARY – JULY 29, 2009
AUGUST 2009
DEPART AUSTRALIA/NEW YORK/OTTAWA
Thursday 6th Depart Australia
Thursday 6th Arrive N.Y.
Country Inn the City.
Our room Phone No.: 1 (212) 877-5658
Friday 7th New York
Spirit of New York Dinner Cruise – 6.30pm
Saturday 8th New York
2-day hop-on hop-off bus pass begins
Evening: BB King Blues Club –
Neville Brothers Tickets –
237 W. 42nd Street, 7-8 Avenue.
8.00 pm
Sunday 9th New York
Monday 10th New York
Tuesday 11th New York
Day Trip to Washington DC.
Departs 7am
from New York Airport Services Terminal
125 Park Avenue, Between 41st & 42nd Streets,
Across from the Grand Central Station.
Wednesday 12th Fly to Ottawa – Continental Flight 2512
Hotel: Chateau Laurier
HIGH ARCTIC EXPLORER EXPEDITION – AUG 13-26
Thursday 13th Quark tour begins Ottawa
Friday 14th Ottawa to Resolute
To
Tuesday 25th August Resolute to Ottawa
Wednesday 26th August Tour ends Ottawa
Hotel: Chateau Laurier
OTTAWA/BOSTON
Wednesday 26th August Air Canada Flight 8046
Dep. 11.25 Ottawa
Arrive: 12.59 Boston
Hotel: Inn at St. Botolph
99 St. Botolph Street, Boston.
Phone: 1 (011) 617-2368
Thursday 27th August Boston
Friday 28th August Boston
HOLLAND AMERICA NEW ENGLAND CRUISE IN & OUT FROM BOSTON – AUG 29- SEP 5/MS MAASDAM
Saturday 29th August Boston/Boston New England Cruise
(Depart 5:00 pm)
Sunday 30th August Portland, Maine
Monday 31st August Saint John, New Brunswick
September
Tuesday 1st September Halifax, Nova Scotia
Wednesday 2nd September Sydney, Nova Scotia
Thursday 3rd September At sea
Friday 4th September Bar Harbor, Maine
Saturday 5th September Return to Boston (arrive 7:00 am)
Hotel: Inn at St. Botolph
99 St. Botolph Street, Boston.
Phone: 1 (011) 617-2368
BOSTON
Sunday 6th September Boston
Monday 7th September Boston
Tuesday 8th September Boston to Quebec City (via Montreal)
Flight AC7681 – dep 9.40am
Flight AC8762 – dep. Montreal 12.00
Arrive Quebec City 12.48pm
Hotel: Le Chateau Frontenac
1 rue des Carrieres, Quebec City
Phone: (418) 692-3861
Wednesday 9th September Quebec City
Thursday 10th September Quebec City
Friday 11th September Quebec City/Montreal – VIA Rail
Depart 1.05pm – Arrive Montreal 4.07pm
Hotel: Le Saint Sulpice,
414 Rue St-Sulpice, Montreal.
Saturday 12th Montreal
Sunday 13th Montreal
Monday 14th Montreal/Toronto – 3.40pm train –Arrives 8.36pm
Hotel: The Suites at 1 King West
1 King West Street, Toronto.
Phone: 416-548-8100
Tuesday 15th Toronto
Wednesday 16th Toronto
Thursday 17th Depart Toronto 10.00pm, VIA rail – 4 days
to
VANCOUVER/VICTORIA/KNIGHT INLET
Monday 21st Arrive Vancouver 9.42am – go on to Victoria
Tuesday 22nd Victoria
Wednesday 23rd Victoria
Thursday 24th Drive to Campbell River
late afternoon arrive Knight Inlet
via float plane from Campbell River
Phone: 250-334-8858
Friday 25th Knight Inlet
Saturday 26th Knight Inlet
Sunday 27th Float plane back to Campbell River – night in
Campbell River
VANCOUVER
Monday 28th Fly back to Vancouver
Hotel: Opus Hotel,
322 Davie Street, Vancouver.
Phone: 604-642-6787
Tuesday 29th Vancouver
Wednesday 30th Vancouver
VANCOUVER/SAN DIEGO
Thursday 1st October Vancouver to San Diego
Air Canada Flight AC8318
departs 8.25am
Arrives 11.20
Hotel: US Grand Hotel
326 Broadway, San Diego.
Phone: 1-800-237-5029
Friday 2nd October San Diego
Saturday 3rd October San Diego
SAN DIEGO/LOS ANGELES/RETURN AUSTRALIA
Sunday 4th October Coach from San Diego to L.A.
Coaches depart at approx 11.30am
arrive L.A. 2.30pm
Monday 5th October Fly home
Wednesday 7th October Arrive Melbourne.
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