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.
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.
After the food tour we walked around town for a while. We tried to go up an old lighthouse that is now in town, but it was closed for the season. It was a beautiful day, so we walked to a park on the shoreline and enjoyed the views before walking back to our ship on a path along the water.
Back on board and ready for our next destination
Boston, Massachusetts
Friends of ours who live out on the Cape drove up to Boston to join us for the day. And what a day it was as the weather forecast was sunny with a high of 75. We had visited Boston’s historical sites recently, so we opted to go to the JFK Presidential Library and lunch. We have visited 3 Presidential libraries and this one didn’t disappoint. It has a gorgeous setting overlooking the Boston Harbor Islands. It did a good job of covering his family and the years leading up to him becoming President. Topics that surprised me were the birth of the Peace Corp and Jacquline delivering speeches in Spanish overseas as well as her skill with French. There were also far more international and social initiatives he proposed than I was aware of. You have to wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t been assassinated.
Lunch destination
Warm gorgeous day to explore the city
The ship was scheduled to traverse the Cape Cod Canal, and our friends live not too far away from it. They thought it would be fun to come out to see the ship go by. So, a little after 10 pm we are coordinating on the phone and then waiving the lights on the phones so they could see us on board the ship and we could see them on shore. After passing each bridge, they would then drive to the next bridge. This fun project resulted in some great pictures, a few are below.
Our ship MS Insignia approaching Sagamore Bridge
I’m below the red arrow and the white light is Carol’s cell phone
MS Insignia passing below the railway vertical lift bridge
Farewell MS Insignia
Newport, Rhode Island
We had visited a few years ago and seen the great “Cottages” of the gilded age, so this time we wanted to explore town. The Historic Landmark District claims it is one of the largest concentrations of colonial homes. After a late leisurely start, we set out to explore. It’s a vibrant town with shops for the locals and tourist shops closer to the water.
Bottom right residence is a former fire station
View from our lunch destination It’s actually a steel hulled excursion boat, not what I hoped for
New York, New York
Our cruise is at the end, but we have a day to enjoy NYC. As a follow up to our tour of Ireland last summer, we are going to visit the Tenement Museum for the “After the Famine:1869” tour. Our guide escorts us through a restored tenement building while sharing the story of Bridget and Joseph Moore who immigrated from Ireland. It’s a personal experience as you learn what life was like in the late 19th century. They arrive in a vastly different world from what they knew. They fall in love, marry and start a family in a German speaking community with only one other family in the building from Ireland. The story concludes with a photo of their descendants from 2023.
After meeting up with our friends it’s off to MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art. We focus on the artists of the late 19th and early 20th century. Then it’s off to their temporary exhibit The Clock. You enter a theater where on the large screen you watch the current time told through clips from motion pictures. We thought we might spend a couple minutes, but only left an hour and half later when the museum was closing. I found myself getting pulled into the story of many of the films and wanted more. The editing was amazing as one clip related to the next in theme or setting, while sharing the current time of day. Yes, it was strange, but very entertaining.
We completed our day at Times Square to see the musical Suffs. It takes place in the 7 years leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment, where the movement transitions from being polite to one that pioneers new protest methods.
Suff’s promotional video
New York was a nice ending to a great cruise. Cruising in the fall was a different experience for us; cooler weather meant people weren't laying around pools or eating meals outside much so more congestion in the dining room for breakfast type of thing, but still quite enjoyable. If you haven't been to this part of the Northeast, I would recommend visiting and we will probably come back in the future and visit by car.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
