New England, Finale of our Autumn Cruise

 

Portland, Maine

We heard from family that Portland had a great food scene, so we signed up for a food tour. It seems, Portland’s waterfront was revitalized in the 1990’s which made it a tourist destination.  Now they have multiple James Beard award winning restaurants and bakeries.  We have done several food tours and this one from Maine Foodie Tours was very good because the food was great, and the guide gave us a great overview of the community and its history along with many stories regarding the local food scene. Besides the places below, we stopped at the Harbor Fish Market which is the source for many of the restaurants.  It had an amazing selection.  I had no idea how many different types of oysters there are either.

Maritime Provinces, Part 2 of our Autumn Cruise

 

  

Corner Brook, Newfoundland Island

We are now on the island of Newfoundland which is part of the Newfoundland and Labrador province of Canada.  It is supposed to be warming up some for us, but there is a steady rain outside that is ruining that fact.  On top of that, Jeff and I have an ATV adventure scheduled which warned us to dress warmly and in layers.  They are true ATVs so windshield and roof and holds 6 people but no doors so brr.  Happily, we dressed pretty well except we both had wet, cold hands at the end.  We also had helmets to wear which helped keep your head warm and dry.  Yes, I know that is not the reason for the helmet, but it was for our trip.  We drive around town some (town population 19,500) and see the James Cook monument.  Seems he first learned to navigate and became a cartographer here while mapping the area in much detail.  After a stop at the ATV shop for a comfort break, we are on our way to the trails.  

Quebec Provence, Part 1 of our Autumn Cruise

 Montreal

We got in on a Saturday afternoon after a taxi ride that took for EVER - longest ride in a long time due to traffic. Our hotel is kind of close to the old town and close to a food hall called Time Out Market which is part of an international chain we discovered in Capetown, SA.  We dump our luggage and headed for the food hall.  Turns out it is in a shopping mall called Eaton Center.  After a nice Spanish meal we wanderd the shopping center some and then headed out in the cold (40s and windy) to old town.  After a longer than expected walk we are in the old town area.  Unfortunately, some of the roads are being rebuilt so areas aren't that accessible, but we still find shops to explore.  Starts to look like rain so we head to a bar/restaurant for a drink while the rain passes.  It is now dark outside so time for another selfie!  Back to the hotel where we eat dinner and head to bed.  Next day we have a food tour with Secret Food Tours planned. 

Adriatic Cruise – Croatia and Slovenia

 

We are sailing on a small cruise ship – Windstar’s Wind Spirit with 2 other couples.  The cruise is called the Adriatic Icons and Venetian Treasures.  As we are visiting the different ports I come to understand why the Veneitan Treasures part – most if not all of these towns were under Veneitan rule at one time.  We will visit:  Rovijn, Zadar, Hvar, Dubrovnik and Korcula Croatia and Piran Slovenia with one day at sea too.  We are big fans of Windstar cruises and have sailed on several of their ships before including the Wind Spirit in French Polynesia (Tahiti) in November 2021.

Italian Alps

 

When the door of our plane opens at the Venice airport we are immediately hit with heat; something we had not felt in quite a while.  We went from mid 60 degree, cloudy weather to mid 90s sunny; what a change!  We wandered around the airport for a bit before we found the car rental lot (naturally on top of a parking garage), got our vehicle for the next week and reminded ourselves to drive on the right-hand side of the road.  And off we go.  We are heading for a shopping mall – we need another outfit or 2 each geared to 90-degree weather.  True to form when you need clothing nothing seems right, but in the end we each get something and then the adventure starts.  We are heading north of Venice to a small town in the  Veneto region which is a wine region specializing in sparkling wine.  Did I say small?  We are staying in a Bed and Breakfast called Villa Toderini and yes there is a fancy house associated with it, but that’s not where the rooms are; we are in a newer building.  The website has some directions, but we find ourselves circling around this small town when suddenly I see a sign for it and we turn.  Still not sure we are in the correct place till I notice the door says Agritourism on it.  We are warmly greeted and shown our room for the next 2 nights.  Room is nice and is actually 2 stories with a twin bed and a chest of drawers up the stairs. 

Castle Hotels - Abbey Glen, Ashford, Lough Rynn

Abbey Glen

We have booked a one-night package stay at a castle hotel in Clifden which is near the western coast. When we get there our room is not ready yet and we are hungry, we check out the bar area and enjoy a midafternoon light snack.  We figure we need food in us because our package starts with a history of the castle presentation with free prosecco at 6:30pm.  Before we get there, we wonder if this really is an old castle - yes, it is.  While we are here, we debate if there are any additions to the original buildings and decide we don't want to know.  Our room is on the second floor right next to the main staircase, so I am pretty sure we were in the original building. 

Westport - Wild Atlantic Way

 This is our next stop after our first castle stay in Abbey Glen.  Our route here starts with a scenic drive on the upper sky road leaving the town of Clifden.  It is another one lane road, but oh the views it gave us were fantastic and my favorites.  I have decided I prefer a landscape with a gentle drop off into the sea versus the steep cliffs although that is what you hear about in write ups for Ireland.  We are still following the "Wild Atlantic Way" road signs and we do stop at one of the scenic viewpoints.  It was quite pretty, and we were there probably a half hour or more.  We would have stayed longer but had to get to our next spot-sigh.  I liked how you could see so many small islands.  The tide was out so you also saw some beach areas.  On our way to this spot we had seen a group of people windsurfing and a couple of small boats.  At our spot is a local horse who is happy to have the people around him.