On the Caribbean Princess

Last March I wrote a teaser to all of you about our upcoming river cruise from Amsterdam to Zurich. It was to be a wine oriented cruise lead by the well known wine maker Ed Sbragia on our favorite river cruise line AMA. We flew to Amsterdam for some pre-cruise festivities, checked into our beautiful hotel, and were upgraded to the Louis XIV suite. We dropped our bags in the foyer of the suite, said wow and then promptly zipped out the door, boarded a tram and headed for the largest outdoor street market in Europe and directly into a downpour. That downpour was to be the best weather we had on the trip until we reached Zurich twelve days later.

From that Amsterdam market until we arrived in Zurich, we experienced wind driven, horizontal rain, torrential rain, freezing rain, plain old continuous rain, sleet, snow, cold, white caps on the Rhine and total lack of sun. Not only that, part of the trip was over Easter weekend. As secular as Europe is they still celebrate Easter with zeal, not by going to church, but by closing everything from Friday to Monday and taking a holiday. No shops, no museums, few restaurants were open and few people were on the streets. The cities were deserted.

To make up for the weather, lack of cultural diversions, and general malaise of the trip, we thoroughly enjoyed every drop of wine poured by the Sbragia’s and food prepared by the ship’s chef. It did not lend itself to creative writing pursuits.

Today, I am writing from the Caribbean Princess as we sail out of the harbor at St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, into the Bay of Fundy on our way to Halifax, Nova Scotia. We’ve always wanted to do an East Coast to Canada trip and with our travel consisting of many short trips in the US this year, we booked ourselves and John on this one hoping to see some fall foliage, the Maritime Provinces of Canada, and to revisit Quebec City and Montreal.

We have never sailed out of Bayonne and thus we had high hopes of seeing the Manhattan Skyline at night, sailing past the Statue of Liberty and a well lit lower Manhattan, before gliding under the Verrazano Bridge into the Atlantic. It turns out, however, that Bayonne’s Harbor is located well past mid-town Manhattan and to the right of the Statue of Liberty, so all the ship needs to do is turn right and head toward the Verrazano Bridge: no passing by the magnificent Manhattan Skyline. I was able to get some good shots from our stateroom, but that was it.

While Bayonne was a slight disappointment, our good friend Baxter Graham took us for lunch that afternoon at his newly renovated club Canoe Brook. We’d spent many a happy evening there with Baxter and his wife Carol, she was in London this time, when we lived in Summit, and there are few things more pleasurable than catching up with longtime friend and the old place looked spectacular, especially on a bright, sunny, fresh fall day. It made us a little homesick for Summit, until Kathy reminded us that days like we were experiencing were rare in New Jersey.

Our first stop was Newport, Rhode Island. Known primarily as a repository for some of America’s finest mansions from the “Gilded Age” as well as it’s fine harbor, serendipity struck and after we toured the Vanderbilt Mansion, the Breakers, we were treated to real Americana by literally running into Newport’s Columbus Day parade. The Mansion was an architectural masterpiece, sadly no interior pictures allowed, but the parade told the story of what makes this country so great: local people proudly celebrating their heritage and local pride.

 

We watched the parade until the fire trucks arrived and then rushed away to meet our friends Tina and Milton for lunch and our first “chowda” and lobster of the trip. Tina and Milton are lucky enough to live half the year on a neighboring island and when not in Rhode Island, they live in Scottsdale. Unlike seeing Baxter for the first time in almost a decade, it’s only been months since we broke bread with the Richard’s, but time doesn’t matter and friendship does. It was great catching up, getting local information and looking forward to good times when they return to Arizona.

Friends also played an important part in our next stop, Boston. Having loved the Italian food in the North End, we asked Paul and Patti LaPierriere for a recommendation and they said Tratorria Il Pannino. It was fabulous and I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. The first is the lasagna I had and the second the mushroom ravioli’s Kathy ordered. John dove into his tortellini so quickly we couldn’t take a picture. Then we went to Mike’s Pastry shop for cannolis. Twenty-eight varieties are made daily along with many other Italian pastries. I had an amaretto one. Again, the picture speaks for itself. (In case you are wondering, eating will play an important part of this trip. Exotic ports and new cultures are not on the schedule.)

After a thoroughly satisfying lunch, we walked some of it off by going to the Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market area and then headed for our scheduled Duck Tour. Frankly, while packed with history, I don’t find Boston an aesthetically pleasing or a particularly photogenic town. It’s dark and filled with lots of squat buildings on narrow streets. There is little of architectural interest unless you are into the Federalist style. San Francisco it’s not. The highlight of the Duck Tour was John getting to drive the Duck Boat, otherwise it was constant narration, but then we became stuck in one of Boston’s famous traffic jams and did not move an inch for over half an hour.

The window of time I had given us to return to the ship was quickly closing and we were miles away and no traffic was moving in any direction. The Duck driver was kind enough to somehow maneuver over to the curb to let us off and we started walking as fast as we could to the ship.

As the clock ticked, the traffic stood gridlocked in all directions and we, despite the best intentions of Siri, became disoriented as we walked toward where we thought the ship was, and a little angst began to settle in.

As we started crossing a bridge, we yelled over to a cab driver asking if we were going in the right direction, but he thought we were hailing him. Somehow he managed to make a U-turn on the crowded bridge and we then felt obligated to get in, but first we had to climb over the barrier separating the sidewalk from the road. John made it over easily, but Kathy and I had to sit on the top of it and swing over. It must have made quite a sight for the gridlocked drivers.

Thanks to the driver we made it with time to spare and after all the commotion, we were heading in the right direction, but we did get one last surprise. Our backsides were covered with a thick coating of a vile mixture of black grease that had formed on that bridge girder for who knows who long. I worked on my jeans for an hour to get it out, Kathy’s ended up in the trash.

Boston had the last laugh….

Off we go....again

It will have been 143 days since our passports were last scanned when we board our flight to Amsterdam to begin our next adventure. True we did a test run to Las Vegas a few weeks ago to see how Kathy's back would hold up, but the last time we left the country was 163 days ago when we winged our way to Venice. We are rather ready to hit the road.

We will spend three nights in Amsterdam before boarding the river boat AMACerto for a trip down the Rhine to Basel, Switzerland. We leave the boat in Basel and then spend two more nights each in Lucerne and Zurich. Instead of new countries, this time we will visit eight new cities. 

The cruise is a wine themed one with Ed Sbragia of Sbragia Family Winery from Sonoma County hosting the wine events. With wine tastings and seminars every day on the cruise, winery visits and tastings in each port, and wine themed dinners each evening, I trust you will understand if I don't post each day.

As we started talking about taking this trip, Kathy asked me about the weather. When we booked it and I researched late March early April weather it looked like highs in the mid-60's and low in the 50's. Well, here's the latest forecast for our four days in Amsterdam.

By comparison, here's the forecast for the same four days here in Scottsdale.

It was snowing in Switzerland. There's a reason why March and April are the busiest months in the Valley. One of these days I will learn.

Nevertheless, we are booked, heathy and looking forward to this trip. I sincerely hope you are as well.

Madeira

We left Barcelona and had two days at sea before we landed in Madeira. On our last trip we visited the Cape Verde and the Canary Islands and visiting Madeira meant that we would have been to the three major island groups off the coast of Africa.

Madeira didn't disappoint. The approach to Funchal was spectacular. Madeira was certainly the most picturesque of the three island chains off of Africa.

 

 

The city rises directly up from the sea and the mountains are literally covered with white houses adorned with red roofs. It is densely packed. The roads are narrow and twisty. It has a charm that quickly wins one over. It's easy to understand why it is such a popular vacation spot.

We chose a scenic tour that quickly took us out of the city and into the countryside which was pretty vertical. The views did not disappoint. As we climbed out of the city, we saw our ship anchored in the harbor. It is the one on the left.

 

 

 

 

Our tour was more about scenery than city life. Our one exposure to the city of Funchal, was one of the reasons we did the tour: a wine tasting at the famous producer of Madeira, Blandy's. Unfortunately this consisted of a ticket for a small glass of Madeira and a second glass one of our choice. No lecture, no tour, no information about the historic property, just drink and leave. Sometimes you don't get what you wish for.

On the other hand, we did get to walk done the main street in Funchal, which was pretty and full of life.

 

 

 

That was it. It was back to the ship, lift anchor and head off for seven days at sea. Sometimes you get a full meal on a cruise tour and some time it is an appetizer. This was the latter, but a tasty one.

 

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Barcelona

We arrived in Barcelona on an absolutely stunning day. The sky was clear and blue, the sun was out, and the temperature warm. Our initial plan was to go to the large market on the Ramblas and then walk around the Gothic Quarter before heading for lunch at a one star Michelin Tapas restaurant in the trendy Hotel Arts. Being on our own, we decided to take it easy and just do the market and restaurant.

The Ramblas was as crowded as it always is with people enjoying strolling, eating and shopping. It is the heart of Barcelona.

 

The street is several miles long and has some of the best architecture in the city overlooking it.

 

 

 

 

We had a savvy cab driver from the port and he managed to avoid the snarled traffic on the Ramblas and quickly get us to the market via side streets. It is the oldest market in Barcelona and arguably the best. It may also be the cleanest market we have ever seen in the world. Although there was a large fish section and lots of produce, meat and cheese, there was absolutely no smell and it was spotlessly clean.

 

Italy has it's prosciutto and Spain has its Jamon de Iberico Belotta piedra negro. As soon as we walked into the market we saw stand after stand of the ham. Suffice it to say we were shocked at the prices. On the other hand, we were able to buy a very small sample. It was fabulous.

 

 

 

 

The market had much to enjoy and we wandered around shooting and having a great time, but before long it was time to head for lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arola is not your standard tapas restaurant as we quickly found out when we ordered some tapas from the "traditional" side of the menu. Out came some creations that were unrecognizable as traditional tapas, but one bite into them and we were in food heaven. Patatas Bravas in the front, Calamari in the back, and Jamon Iberico on the side.

 

This was all accompanied by pan tomate, something we never had and a traditional bread dish in Catalonia. It was so simple, but so good that I didn't even take a picture. Imagine grilled slices of bread, cloves of garlic, fresh tomatoes, olive oil and salt on a plate. You first rub the garlic on the bread, then the tomato, pour on a splash of the oil and a pinch of salt, then eat. So simple, so rustic, so wonderful....

We then got creative with grilled octopus and steak tartar all washed down with a beautiful bottle of a Spanish blend called Finca Valpiedra. Remembering the great food, I almost forgot to mention that our table was on a sun kissed terrace overlooking the blue Mediterranean Sea and that we were served by this lovely young lady who spoke great English, but with an accent one would only find in Catalonia. She and the setting were truly delightful.

In Spain, lunch is a lengthy meal, even in a tapas restaurant, and we enjoyed every moment. After a phenomenal desert called Chocolate 2014, consisting of chocolate done six different ways, they presented us with the platter pictured below. What a great way to end the meal and what a nice, personal touch.

 

We left the restaurant in a perfect state of bliss, hailed a cab, took a quick run past the Sagrada Familia and headed back to the ship. What a perfect day for us, especially after the disappointment of not being able to see our friends Keith and Annick in Provence. It won't be twenty years before we return.

 

 

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Taormina, Naples and Orvieto

Messina was the first stop on our cruise after leaving Venice, but it was a Sunday and the town was closed up tighter than a drum. As our guide explained, Sunday was for family dinners, after Church, that lasted well into the evening. I have no doubt she wanted to get our short tour to Taormina over and get to her family. As she told us of the dishes her grandmother was making, I wished we could have gotten the tour over as well, as long as we could have joined her.

The distance between Messina and the most southern coast of Italy is surprisingly small and you can easily see across to the mainland. The harbor is pretty, but there is not much of note except a monument to the Virgin Mary, who is the Patron Saint of Mesina, because of a letter she wrote blessing the city that was delivered by passing travelers all the way from Ephesus. Our meager offerings paled in comparison.

Off we went through the picturesque countryside to the ancient town of Taormina. Mount Etna didn't cooperate on the trip and kept itself shrouded in clouds. It also didn't erupt, which was a positive.

Taormina has been around seemingly since recorded time began. Most, if not all, of the ancient seafaring peoples either occupied or traded with the Taorminans. The oldest structure in the town dates back from the third century BC and is a theatre built by the Greeks. It is in surprisingly good shape and is still used today although the bleacher seats don't look to comfortable.

 

 

It is a really pretty town with stunning vistas out to the mountains and the sea. The streets are narrow and lined with interesting shops, restaurants and churches. On this Sunday, however, they were also densely packed with tourists and local families enjoying the beautiful day. We did manage to find some space for photography and had, arguably, the best cannoli we have ever had, but it was a chore getting around and not as pleasurable as it might have been on a Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

 

As we left, the local Vespa Club arrived in mass and occupied the main square. It was fun seeing so many vintage Vespas.

As our ship left the harbor, we bid arrevadercia to Scilly and looked forward to arriving in Naples, where we would eschew the popular destinations such as Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast and explore Napoli on foot in search of the perfect pizza.

Naples is a not a city most people want to spend anymore time in than is necessary for a slice of their famous pizza. It is a vertical city that starts rising up within blocks of the scant flat in front of the sea. It is city of high rises, chaotic traffic, narrow, steeply rising streets, where little light reaches the pavement, and churches in varying states of repair are almost every where one looks. It can be intimidating, as it is dark and groups of men seem to be loitering on most street corners and in the many squares, but also illuminating as one observes the residents going about their daily chores oblivious to the tourist in their midst, happy to be living amongst friends and family. It is not a clean city, but not dirty either. Messy may best describe it. I found it very alive; Kathy not so much.

 

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Unfortunately, it is also a city under construction near the port. After negotiating numerous detours trying to get to the main shopping street, we gave up, hailed a cab and headed off for a pizza at Sobilla's which is heralded as one of Naples best. We arrived just as they were opening for lunch and fifteen minutes after we sat down, there was a long line out of the door.

It was very simple inside with tables crowded together. There was no wasted motion amongst the staff. Once you ordered, your drinks and pizza arrived in minutes. Piping hot, with the freshest ingredients one could imagine, and a crust unlike any in the States,( it had a yeasty taste) it is knife and fork pizza heaven. Everyone had their own pie from the thinnest young girls to the largest men and everyone ate with gusto. Once the last piece was eaten, your check arrived, you paid and you were out on the pavement. No deserts were on this menu nor anything else but pizza. It was wonderful.

 

Unfortunately all of the walking we had been doing was starting to take toll on Kathy's knee. So after the pizza we headed back to the ship where she boarded and I headed off to explore more of the streets of Naples. Three hours later I returned, exhausted, but happy that I got to explore many of the nooks and crannies of Napoli.

The next day we docked in Civitavecchia and instead of following the herd to Rome, we headed off into the Italian countryside to see the town of Orvieto and it's famous Duomo. This city has been in existence from before the Etruscans and sits high on a hill overlooking a verdant valley. It is closed to most traffic and that meant a mile walk up an upward slope over a cobblestone street. Picturesque yes, but not good for someone recovering from knee surgery. Kathy toughed it out and we were rewarded with some great scenery and then with a view of the magnificent Duomo as we walked into the square.

 

 

 

As magnificent as the front of the Church is, the sides are truly unique. Unfortunately no photography was allowed on the inside.

 

We had ample time to stroll around the town, but aside from photo ops, we didn't find the town too exciting. It really is all about the Duomo, which when one thinks of it, is such an incredible structure to have in such a small town. We finished off our day with a wonderful lunch is a small restaurant off of the square. The folks we sat with didn't drink wine, so Kathy and I had two bottles of a nice Orvieto all to ourselfs. The white went perfectly with her pasta and chicken and the red did the same with my rabbit and polenta. Sometimes Bacchus smiles on you.

 

 

Next it was back to the ship to head for France and to see our friends, but as you already know, weather kept us from doing that. We had a great time in Italy, but all of the walking was beginning to take its toll.

 

 

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