Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/28/24 (Zeebrugge, Belgium)

Today is our last stop in mainland Europe, and our last shore excursion.  We have been choosing relatively low energy shore excursions, as neither of us have the energy for strenuous activities such as mountain hikes or long bike rides.  We'll leave those activities for the younger folk.  One of the nice things about a 14-day cruise is that it filters out many younger people.  On 7-day cruises, we find a lot of families with young children.  Although most of these children are well behaved, a small few are not.  Most of these families cannot afford to take 2 weeks off for a cruise of this length.  So, they choose shorter cruises which fit their vacation needs.  However, this means that a higher percentage of older people (mostly in our age range) are onboard, and we've encountered many people with mobility problems.  Too bad that these people are often unable to get off the ship and enjoy many of the excursions available to the rest of us.

Our excursion for today was the Ghent By Canal Cruise.  Luckily, it was scheduled for the afternoon, as we ended up getting moving later than usual in the morning.  This would be our last breakfast in the buffet, and we both had hearty meals before our excursion.  We would both feel that this would be a blessing, as we didn't have another meal until we got back from the excursion 5 1/2 hours later.

Once on the tour bus, we were taken to Ghent, where we boarded a canal boat for a 60 minute tour.  We got the history of this city, and (maybe) a smidgen of a sunburn.  The tour guide told us that there would be a "Wow!" moment, and she was right.  There was a castle built along the canal that took us by surprise, and this was the WOW! moment she told us about.  Sadly, the above pictures cannot do this city justice, as I should have been shooting with a proper DSLR camera with appropriate lenses.  It is a place where one should spend several days to get the true vibe of the area.

Unfortunately, we could only spend 60 minutes walking around the city.  So we didn't go far from the canal boat that took us to the tour bus that returned us to the ship.  Even so, we were the last people to board the ship.  Once onboard, we picked up our "free" photos from the photo center, then went for dinner.  Sadly, both of us left our phones in the cabin to charge, and we were not able to get pictures of the pilot boat coming to the ship to guide us into Southampton harbor.

Once back in the room, it was time to finish packing our large suitcases and put them out for porters to deliver them to the pier tomorrow morning.  Sadly, our cruise has come to an end, and now it's time to go back to reality.

Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/24/24 (Trondheim, Norway)

 

When we first boarded this cruise, we were informed that the time for our Trondheim excursion (Trondheim by Streetcar and Coach) had changed from 9:00 am to 10:00 am.  Since this benefited us, we did not mind the change.  What we did mind was that RQS thought she reserved an afternoon excursion.  It didn't bother me much, as I was the one getting up early for most of this cruise so far.

Once both of us were fully awake, we trekked up to the buffet for breakfast, then back to our cabin to prepare for the excursion.  I made sure to put on some sturdy shoes and to arrange my backpack for easy access to my coat before going to the tour bus.

Although the tour was advertised as being 3 hours long, we were back at the ship by noon.  RQS felt like we didn't get our money's worth - and she would have been right.  Yet, we wouldn't have known how to get around this city by ourselves, nor would we have had access to a historic tram going to the end of the line.  If anything, we know what not to do if we ever visit this city again.

Once back on the ship, it was lunch time followed by a short nap.  After this, we dropped by the future trips desk to see why some paperwork hadn't yet been delivered, and we were told that it's due to the time difference between Norway and corporate HQ.  This sounded good to me, so it was off to dinner and then the show in the ship's theater.  Although the show was entertaining, I wouldn't have paid to see it.

- - - - - -

By now, you know the routine on this cruise ship:

1. Get up.
2. Get some breakfast
3. Get off the ship and do some sightseeing (Port days only).
4. Get some lunch.
5. Get some rest.
6. Get some dinner.
7. Get some entertainment.
8. Get to bed.

It's a simple routine, and one that could also get you fat.  And that's what I'm feeling after almost 2 weeks of being away from home.  Although I've been walking more than when I was at home, I've been eating more as well.  I'll hate to see what the scale says when I get home.  I'm beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, I should take the plunge and go for weekly injections to curb my appetite.  Yet, I know that's another part of the equation that has to be addressed: why I eat so much.

Chicago Girls Trip - Day 1

 

What was it that John Lennon said?  "Life is something that happens while you are making other plans."  Well, our first day in Chicago was one where we started to try to do things according to plan, and where our actions diverged from the plan shortly after we started.

We met at 8:30 am (a big stretch for RQS and I), and had breakfast at a local eatery.  Once done with breakfast, we marched off to our first stop in a light rain - the El that would take us to the Bus's starting point.  And that's where our plan unraveled.  The train that would take us to the Loop was late, and we had to try something else.  And that's where we got lost - even with the use of Google Maps!  (I hate their walking instructions, as it's too easy to go in the reverse direction from where one wants to head.)  After some effort, we got to the Willis Tower and got on the bus.

Our first stop would be the Art Institute of Chicago, where we spent a couple of hours skimming what the museum had to offer.  There is way too much to see in one visit, and we were not out to perform a superhuman effort to do so.  After a quick lunch, it was off to the Field Museum for a while.  That's where my back problems got to me, and I had to sit down more than walk.  Once done there, we went out to catch the tour bus that would take us to Navy Pier, a tour bus that didn't come.

When we had waited 45 minutes, we decided to use our multi day passes for Chicago's mass transit system, and take a local bus to Navy Pier.  (This might have been a mistake, as the tour bus came shortly after we gave up on it.)  It was bitterly cold all day, and we needed a place to warm up and eat before our scheduled night time river tour.  Luckily, we found it at the pier.  But we ended up skipping the river tour.

After dinner, luck finally smiled upon us, as a bus that runs along Chicago avenue was waiting at the bus stop, and we found we could take it directly to our hotel.  So we did!