Another travel lesson

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Given the climate of today’s world, I feel the need to write this.

A couple of days ago, I went to breakfast at my hotel and all the tables were full although some had only one person seated at a table for four.

I thought about asking wait staff to expand into the other room but then, I thought I would give the room another look over and see who I might ask to sit with. That I did; and I chose a Black woman whom it turned out to be from Brooklyn.

Let me tell you that was the most fun I have had at breakfast in a long time. Two of her friends joined us. I cannot remember what we talked about beyond our travels but we were having a great time laughing. I would love to see those ladies again but I recognize that is part of traveling.

Lesson learned is not to be timid, but seize the moment. The worst that is going to happen is that someone is a grouse and says no. But realize that grouse could be you in a moment when you do not want to socialize.

That gets me to another part of traveling. You will never see these people again so who cares what you wear. Tonight I goofed and thought I had opera so I dressed in my little black dress with pearls and heels, took a taxi to the Opera house to learn I was there the wrong night. So I am left walking about the streets overdressed, but do I care? Why should I? I will never see them again. Too, when you see someone like that, don’t you just register the incongruity of the situation and move on? If you are spending more time than that as an observer, you have a problem.

So relax and enjoy your travels.

Favorite City

What is your favorite city? Which place would you return to again and again?

I think we each have different criteria by which we make our judgment. It can be the culture, but what does that mean? You and I would probably define it differently. Is it the people? the music? the food? the physical environment? the ease of traveling about the city? the comfort one feels when there?

Brussels in comfortable for me. I have stayed in two different hotels and each provided a different feeling of the city. Still I love it for the food: waffles, chocolate, beer, mussels, and frittes. There is something whimsical about their sense of humor. Perhaps it is simply because my genes are at home there. There are other Belgian cities I would return to, especially Ghent which I prefer over the more touristy Brugge.

London has an advantage in that it is easy to communicate. No worries about the language issue . I love the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert. Every trip I must visit them.I have lost count as to how may times I have been to London but it is comfortable for me and has places I like to revisit.

Singapore and Bangkok are definitely not on my list to return to. I had some great food there and found both interesting but for me, once was enough. Decided I did not like the Singapore Sling but Raffles does have an amazing brunch.

Glasgow. I have seen so many different parts of the city and I love the museums as well as the people. Once your ears adjust it can be quite an adventure and the people are so kind. Edinburgh to me is limited in that the castle seems to be the only thing of interest.

Paris is a city many find off putting. Again I do not recall how many times I have been there but it is never enough. While many find the French to be rude, I cannot say I have ever had that experience. Quite the opposite. The food, the wine, the museums. Comfort in walking almost anywhere. Again part of that may be because I have most of the time said in a small boutique hotel on the Left Bank of the Seine across from the Louvre. I cannot get enough of this city despite the language issues.

Brisbane, Sydney, and Cairns. Again the language makes it easy. I enjoyed my time there and did not want to go home at the end of the three weeks but I cannot say I am anxious to return. Perhaps it is so connected to Bob; it was our first international trip together where I met so many of his international friends.

Buenos Aires was an adventure aided by Bob’s friends and colleagues. It is an interesting city with many cautions. Of course tango in the streets stimulates one’s interest in the exotic. The necropolis is easy to get lost in and without a map it is guarantee. I would love to go back to attend an opera at Teatre Cólon which has recently been reopened  after a renovation.

Lima Peru was worth the visit for me primarily for food and shopping, although I did visit several museums including the anthropological one of sex. Really not interested in returning with so many other places to go.

Mexico City was a surprise to me in that I felt so totally comfortable walking around Zocalo by myself with my almost nonexistent Spanish.I enjoyed my time there as a solo traveler and will be going back in a few weeks.

Of the German cities Berlin, Dresden and Núrenburg left the biggest impression on me. i really liked exploring East Berlin and I found Berlin quite easy to navigate alone. Dresden was magical in how they rebuilt after the destruction by the Allies. Nuremberg was sobering in that I visited the courtroom in which the trials were held. I just remembered the Güttenberg museum in Mainz which was amazing. I stumbled upon it by accident. The Güttenberg Bible is there, in a vault. Everyone interested in the printed word should visit sometime in their life.

Salzburg I will always have a warm feeling for the week plus I spent there. During the music festival is a wonderful time to be there for anyone with an interest in music.Touring Mozart’s home is also worth the effort.

My most memorable moments of Vienna is seeing the Venus of Willendorf. The airport at the time I went did not have security barriers; just dogs ant it made it so civilized.

Zurich was comfortable and clean but not a place that made me want to return. I still would like to visit Lausanne where there is a museum with the art of mentally ill.

The Canadian cities I have visited were so much like being in the States they did not capture my desire to return. In my travels, interacting with Canadians has not changed my mind.

Johannesburg was scary but Cape Town I loved and would return anytime.Not sure why except for the diversity of the landscape that includes Table Mountain, the vinyards, the food, the sea, the art. This was a surprise for me in that I had not been interested in Africa at all, but I do like Cape Town.

Tangiers in Morocco;  I want to be with a group and not alone! So, going back is really questionable.

Istanbul is so exotic and I have been there several times and have yet to get tired of it. Many of the highlights of the old city I would love to return to. I have walked many of the streets alone and obviously am here to tell about it. I attended outdoor opera, found a museum little visited by tourists that was an amazing history of civilization as well as all the highlights such as the Blue Mosque and Agha Sofia.

Athens I cannot say is a favorite or somewhere I wish to return to in the near future. The Partheon is definitely worth the visit, but as a woman alone other than the Dionyous theatre for Norma is not something I would return to soon.

Rome is not a city I am not anxious to return to and I suspect part of that is due to the location of the hotel in which I stayed. I do think there are better places to stay that would influence my experience.

Lisbon I loved the history and the people even though I got lost so many times and it challenged me. Definitely would return.

Malaga, Spain was one of my favorite port cities since you could leave the ship, walk a wide boulevard and be near everything from shops to restaurants. Plus the Picasso museum.

I have such mixed feelings about Barcelona. Probably because everyone I have talked to loves it and my expectations were too high. Maybe I just selected the wrong hotel in the wrong part of the city to stay. I did find the Guadi art interesting and worth seeing. Did not like Las Ramblas, the tourist street, but did love the Opera production I saw.  It was the most creative interpretation of The Magic Flute I have ever seen. Because of where I stayed I needed to take the metro and is easy to use or a taxi so it really was not a walking city to me.

Presently I am in Madrid and overwhelmed by the Prado plus Reina Sofia with all the contemporary art. Presently, I do not know if I will put it on my list of cities to return to which is one of the criteria for me of favorite city. Yet it is still a possibility.

At my age and as a solo traveler I am realizing the hotel and its location does make a difference. I  do not have the energy to be out and about for 8-12 hours at a time so need to be able to return to the hotel to recharge my batteries.

Sitting at unknown bar; lost in Barcelona.

How did I end up in a bar, who knows where in Barcelona, sitting next to a self-confessed alcoholic philosopher with limited English that I could only understand less than half of what he was saying or asking me.

The Barcelona tourista bus (Hop on-off) did a California stop where I needed to exit. Had to wait for the next official stop. Even tried to make them feel sorry for me and let me off when they stopped at a red light. No go. :-(

At the next stop I was given directions with a wave of the hand, so hurried off in that direction at my usual pace. After a block, things weren't looking so good. Lots of steel doors and graffiti. Occasional person coming in opposite direction. The one comforting fact was a playground with children playing and adults present on my right.

Then it looked like a dead end and on the right was a Tapas bar that was rather crowded.  So that is a  good sign, right? Wrong. No one speaks English. I walk through and find only one table....a table for four and I get yelled at in Spanish that I cannot sit there because I am one. Go sit at bar! I am told.

Confused, I go over to the bar and look for an empty stool. Only one is next to a man who gets the bartender's attention to give me a menu. My thoughts were that I was very hungry and some gazpacho would be perfect. Bartenders were super busy but I finally got a glass of gazpacho with a straw. Then a local version of paella that was potatoes, fish, and bell peppers, Actually was good. And finally a small beer.

The guy next to me starts talking to me.  I could make out something about relationships,  Joseph and Mary and a child, but he says he is not Catholic. He kept asking if I am from England, Scotland, or Ireland. When I say the United States he goes on another religious tangent about Santa Cruz, San Jose, etc all being saints. Then it is my hat that becomes the center of his attention. He proceeds into a series of what he thinks are flattering words and wants to know what one calls all of them together  in English.

Asks if I am over 50. Do I know of the movie Rumble Fish?  Insisted I must see it. Then the Beatles and the way he said it, it sounded like Bittles. So when he started naming them I caught on and he got excited.

He did not speak as loud as many men seem to do in restaurants or bars so along with the bar noise and his minimal English I was unable to hear or understand.  Even if could have understood every word I still would have felt as though I was talking to a mental patient.

Where was my money and my purse? On my lap under the napkin.

If you were watching this you would not  have known whether to feel sorry for me or burst out in laughter.

I think the bartender felt sorry for me and asked if I wanted the check as I was finishing my beer. Which I did and scooted out of there.

It was not a dead end after all, but a ramp up to another street that I followed.  Once on the street I recognized some landmarks and was able to find my way back to the hotel and tried to process what had just happened.

Food adventure in Barcelona

TASTING MENU at HISOP in Barcelona

oysters and piparras gin fizz

stuffed squid

herbs omelet with "sorella"

hock beef with aubergines and capers

fish of the day with chanturelles and summer truffle

pork jowls with sea cucumber and tea

selection of cheese

melon with tomatoes, oil and salt

pears with bay leaves and yuzu

61€

tasting menu with wine pairing

90€ I chose not to have the  wine pairing but drank Cave instead. The olive oils for the breads were fantastic and I could have made a meal of one of them. The restaurant has only 12 tables, so it is only one seating per evening. The female wait staff efficiently and smoothly take care of all diners. The clean elegant and simple lines hide all the necessary serving items from glassware, utensils, bread, and menus as well as stations for serving. Love the clean wood cabinets and floor with the white tablecloth tables adorned with a single red rose in a low clear cube in water and an oil candle. I was struck by the casual attire of the diners and not all were tourists like me. Irritating however was the presence of a toddler who chose to cry intermittently. Other than that it was normal restaurant noise. As I dined alone I could not test the ability to hear your dining partner without shouting, but given the overall volume I suspect that is the case. I have done tasting menus in the past: one in Bangkok and another in San Francisco. Both were memorable as was this one. Certainly this was the most adventurous in flavors and foods. My favorites were the oyster and piparras gin fizz which actually used a cocktail shaker to complete the dish served in a martini glass. hock beef with aubergines and capers fish of the day with chanturelles and summer truffle pears with bay leaves and yuzu

Tour guides

From bored to passionate and energetic, I have had both extremes in guides this trip. I have booked primarily through Viator and used to be quite satisfied with them. Not so this trip.

The best was a woman through Urban Adventures in Lisbon for the walking tour and Fado show. She was so full of information and one could see she was proud of her heritage/country yet acknowledged that Portugal, as she said it, had a dark period.

Another guide from Lisbon to Sintra and the furthest western point of Europe did double duty. He had both English and French speaking clients so he was talking almost constantly.

I wish all would mike so you can hear them without standing next to them. One note here is that

Some tour guides have such limited repertoire or English skills you cannot ask a complex question. It appears to be related to the amount of training they have; not just English skills.

Without exception all guides arranged by the cruise line were excellent. Too the people were friendlier as a group. Perhaps because we were all on the same ship. Today I attempted to talk with others along the tour and it just did not work out. Nor did my queries to the guide result in a cohesive answer that was beyond what she had already said. Absolutely frustrating and I was ready to wander off on my own.

I have one more event booked for this trip that includes a guide. I am hoping for the best, but then it is a Flamenco show so it cannot be too bad. Plus this one was recommended by a friend who was here in May.

Windstar Cruises

The largest of the yachts of the Windstar cruise line is Wind Surf and has staterooms for 310 passengers. First of all I never thought I would be comfortable "confined" to a ship for 8 days! They went by so fast! Days we were docked in port and sailed at night.
Was hard to get a good shot of this information about the ship.

Prior to boarding, the cruise line collected our bags which had been color coded with a ribbon. Then, a quite nice coach (bus) collected us and delivered us to the dock. Upon boarding, we had our photo taken, of course.

At 6:30 p.m. a mandatory life boat drill was held. Seven short beeps and one long beep indicated the need to grab your life jacket from your room and go to your muster point. Crew members guided us. We were instructed which life boat we would be on and the function of the life jacket. Those who arrived late were requited to attend a "make up" session the next evening. They take this seriously and crew had a separate exercise mid week while we were in port.

My stateroom (they are all called staterooms) was on the first deck near the front of the yacht. I consider them a nice size but if sharing it must be with someone with whom you are extremely close.

All rooms have portholes. Those on the third deck have windows. A single person from house keeping is assigned to a group of rooms and is your friend when you lock yourself out. Plenty of bottled water is supplied daily. Room service is available 24 hours.

Crew members you interact with frequently learn your name and cabin number and address you by your name. I was "Ms Mary" to them. They could even remember what wine I drank.

It took a day to get my sea legs. One night it was a little rough in that it felt like a baby must feel being rocked to sleep in their cradle.

First day was at sea so it gave those who were new time to explore and learn where the restaurants, lounge, reception, gym, and pool were.

WiFi, excursions, casino, spa, and laundry were separate packages to add as well as all alcohol. Tips are built into the total bill.

The evening before we were to dock we were presented with a slide show and talk about the port. Written information was also available.

The story was that almost half of the passengers were repeats with the Cruise line. That was believable as I met several who were repeats and one couple a dozen times.

I will do a separate blog with photos for each of the ports: Tangier, Malaga, Almeira, Cartagena, Ibiza, and Tarragona. I did organized excursions the first three ports and walked into Ibiza on my own. Two days I stayed on board.

Every time you go back on board you go through security. Exiting and returning to the yacht required your room key card that they would scan. That was how they kept track of people.

Two of the three evening restaurants required reservations and had separate menus. Reservations filled up early but I did manage one for Stella Bistro. Dress code for these Stella Bistro and Candles had a dress code and were on a top deck. Amphora, the main dining room off the lounge on deck 4 was more relaxed and food was excellent and plenty.  I dined alone several times, but all but the first night ended up in conversations with nearby tables or was seated at a table with others.

The gym had a full time trainer and all the requisite equipment. I did use the treadmill when I stayed on board.

One of the crew when I asked her if we were experiencing a little roughness (I knew I had not drank that much) said, "if you can walk a straight line on a rolling cruise ship, you should have no problem if a cop stops you."

The bridge was open except for docking and leaving port. The officers and captain were willing to answer all questions. The males on board loved this.

Disembarking was well organized as was everything. Bags were left outside the room the night before and were color coded with tags provided. When your color was called you could then disembark, collect your luggage and be on your way.

One night was the Captain's bbq which was an amazing spread on top deck. A band played every evening until late. One night the crew put on a talent show.

Those 8 days went very fast! The crew and the food were outstanding. Would I recommend this cruise line? Yes if you like smaller ships. I would sail with them any day!

Lifeboat

The main dining room, Amphora

Leading into the Yacht Club - the
crew called it the yacht's
version of Starbucks.

Day on board
Probably Cartagena

Evening Flamenco show

buffet menu for lunch

To order menu for lunch

Last evening entering dining room
for dinner. Woman I had met invited
me to join her, her husband, and another
couple.

Windstar

Seven short blasts of the horn followed by one long blast at 6:30 p.m. on our first night aboard we were directed to our point of muster by crew and informed which life boat we would be on. In addition, we had to bring our life vests that are stored in our staterooms.  Late arrivals had to makeup this mandatory session the next evening. They take safety very seriously.

Last night was the Captain's cocktail party. At the end of the receiving line of major management we were were handed a glass of champagne.  A short presentation  on Morocco followed. We were warned to be on alert for pickpockets and told how to say "no thank you" in Arabic.

The bridge is open for visitors except when in port. Also closed during that time is the gift  shop.

Have not checked out the Spa or the gym yet. With  three wooden decks to walk around and several sets of stairs to reach the main deck I have yet to feel the urge to exercise. 16 stairs between decks.

Crew members seem to be constantly engaged in the upkeep of the yacht: painting, cleaning. It is registered in the Bahamas as msy WindSurf. Crew members are friendly and helpful. Some learn your name rather quickly if you are served by them a couple of times. No one nation seems to be the majority.

There are 5 sails and they raise them each time they sail out of a port. Captain says they use both the diesel power and the sails. The sails can add up to 10 knots and helps with fuel efficiency.

There is a lounge on the main deck  with a small stage and another area called the yacht club where sandwiches and Continental breakfast can be had.  Three restaurants feed the passengers. Two require reservations as they are smaller and fill up very fast. I was able to secure a reservation for the Stella Bistro for the night we are docked in Ibiza. Other than that both are full.

With 300 passengers on board you may not see the same people all the time. Yet it does not seem crowded. The largest gathering I have seen was the Captain's cocktail party and the main dining room.

Food is excellent, although they would benefit from a new pastry chef. The fruit is exceptionally good. Beef is tender. And I can enjoy the salmon.  It seems so strange to order coffee and sandwiches without paying. Same with tips as they will be part of the final bill (alcohol, laundry, internet, and spa).

Laundry but not dry cleaning service is available. I signed up for unlimited for $62 and have already used $29 so that was a wise decision on my part. Also I signed up for unlimited internet which was significantly more but the other options would have only served to make me frustrated.

Many of the passengers are repeaters of the Wind Star Cruise line. At one point I recall something near 50% of this group.

Most people are friendly. I can dine alone, or be seated where others will be seated for dining.

Does the boat rock? I am on the very lowest of decks and I can at times feel a swaying but it is much like you would rock a cradle to put an infant to sleep. The loudest noise is when they leave port. Almost sounds like some jets overhead.




Photos to follow when I am able to get everything synched.