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Asia Cruise Europe Hiking Mexico Travel

Wrapping Up 2017

2017 Elephant Riding in Thailand
2017 Elephant Riding in Thailand

Despite the various aches, pains, and torn up knees, we’ve traveled a lot this year:

In February, we cruised through Asia – visiting Singapore,  Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam,  and Cambodia.  We got to ride an elephant and saw temples in Siem Reap, including the Angkor Wat temple complex.

The “Tomb Raider Temple” – Ta Prohm at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia,
The “Tomb Raider Temple” – Ta Prohm at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia,
2017 Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017 Siem Reap, Cambodia
2017 The Bayon temple, Angkor, Cambodia
2017 Siem Reap, Cambodia- Can you see the faces?
2017 The Bayon temple, Angkor, Cambodia- Can you see the faces?

 

In May, we did a quick trip in the British Isles and France.  Highlights of that trip included  visiting Eric and Helen at their new home in Ripe, East Sussex.  We then took a cruise that included biking on the island of Sark- an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France.

La Seigneurie Gardens, Sark,  Channel Islands

We had to rent bikes because, with a population of about 600, Sark is one of the few remaining places in the world where cars are banned from roads and only tractors and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed.

Worth reading is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, about the people of Guernsey [also a Channel Island] during World War II, their taste in books, and the impact the German occupation had on their lives.

2017 Sark, Channel Islands
2017 Sark, Channel Islands

 

Dublin, of course included a trip to the Guinness Storehouse, as well as various pubs along the way.

 

2017 Lismore, Ireland [County Waterford]
2017 Lismore, Ireland [County Waterford]
At the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland
At the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giverny Monet's Garden 2017
Giverny, France – Monet’s Garden
2017 Monet's Gardens at Giverny, France
2017 Monet’s Gardens at Giverny, France

It was a treat to see Monet’s Gardens at Giverny, France. Some of his most famous paintings were of his garden in Giverny, with archways of climbing plants entwined around colored shrubs, as well as the water garden, formed by a tributary to the Epte, with the Japanese bridge, the pond with the water lilies, the wisterias and the azaleas.

 

Outside the Hard Rock Hotel and Resort when we watched the NBA Summer League
Outside the Hard Rock Hotel and Resort when we watched the NBA Summer League

Taking a break, we made our way to Las Vegas, Nevada in July.  We watched the NBA Summer League and had a great time.

September saw us in the Alta Pusteria Valley, in the northern Italian Dolomites. It’s an area renowned for its 3000m jagged peaks of pale, heavily-eroded limestone that shoot up from green pastures and pretty meadows and is recognized by UNESCO as a unique and spectacular mountain environment.  We stayed in Dobbiaco, Italy and hiked trails in the area.

2017 Le Tre Cime di Lavaredo
2017 Le Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Dobbiaco, Italy – three immense
obelisks of sheer rock that have been adopted as the symbol of the region
2017 Dobbiaco, Italy
2017 Dobbiaco, Italy: With an ascent of 700m, it’s a tough but entirely worthy pull up to the idyllic Bonner Hütte for a tremendous panoramic lunch overlooking the unmistakable Tre Cime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017 Dobbiaco, Italy
Chris and Sue join us on a hike. 2017 Dobbiaco, Italy

 

Walking sticks were a must as it was unseasonably snowy.  The days and the hiking trails became a little unpredictable. We will probably do something similar in the future as we met great people and had a ball.

2017 Dobbiaco, Italy
2017 Dobbiaco, Italy: Lago di Braies/Pragser Wildsee. The lovely turquoise lake sits majestically in the high Braies Valley at almost 1500m; it is surrounded and hemmed in by towering mountain peaks and 500m cliff faces

We took a quick cruise to Mexico in November, stopping at Cozumel and Costa Maya to see the Chacchoben Ruins.

2017 Chacchoben Ruins Mexico
2017 Chacchoben Ruins Mexico
2017 Chacchoben Ruins, Costa Maya, Mexico
2017 Chacchoben Ruins, Costa Maya, Mexico

Wrapping up 2017 in Hawaii, healthy and happy.  Taking golf lessons at the Mid Pacific Country Club, starting to work out again with my Body Opponent Bag, tennis and enjoying walks in the sunshine.

 

 

 

Mele Kalikimaka everyone!

 

Categories
Cruise Travel

Fourth Quarter 2015

What an amazing time we’ve had these past few months!  We traveled to London, UK to visit with best friends and family and then headed out on a cruise through the Baltic. After that, we traveled to Jamaica to attend a friend’s wedding.  Finally, we returned to New York!

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, netherlands
Van Gogh

When we began the cruise, we stopped off in Amsterdam, Netherlands and visited the Van Gogh Museum. Just a hint: be sure to order tickets online or be prepared to wait a long time to get into the very small museum.Ocean Princess Balcony and the Kiel Canal

Our next day was spent traveling from the North Sea to the Baltic via the Kiel Canal, Germany.  We had an amazing suite overlooking the ship’s prow.

Once we arrived in Stockholm, Sweden, we took a tour of the waterways [boring] then walked through the Gamla stan (The Old Town).  The streets were closed down for the 15th Stockholm Half Marathon. It was fun to see all the runners and the celebrations.

In Tallinn, Estonia, we walked on our own into the quaint old city and went shopping. The woolen goods are gorgeous, well made and reasonably priced.  Woo hoo!

Peterhof Palace, St PetersburgTwo days in St. Petersburg, Russia meant we visited the Hermitage, Peterhof Palace, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood and cruised down the River Neva.
The Old Town of Riga, Latvia had lots of medieval culture and Art Noveau architecture to explore.

Despite mockery by our friend, Eric, our excursion to the former missile silo in the Zemaitija National Park in Klaipeda, Lithuania was terrific. The best par Outside the missile silo, Klaipeda, Lithuania 2015t of it was listeninOutside the missile silo, Klaipeda, Lithuania 2015g to the guide’s childhood stories and the gradual growth of his sense of Latvian pride and nationalism.

We had the opportunity to visit the Louisiana Museum outside of Copenhagen, Denmark and saw the Yayoi Kusama: In Infinity exhibit.  It was terrific fun.

YAYOI KUSAMA IN INFINITYIMG_0539The Little Mermaid, Copenhagen