Tulip Time and Porto

Biking or Het Loo Palace

adventuresfromcorona — Fri, 5 Apr 2013 09:23:00 GMT

Another very cold day in The Netherlands ..... 4-5C and windy ... layers of clothing seem to be the way to go for this So Cal girl. Jim decided to bike through Arnhem, a city witha populaton of 140,000 located in the lower Rhine River. The trek will be along 13 miles of Arnhem. I, on the other hand, opted for a tour of Het Loo palace. This is a state museum displaying original furniture, paintings and such of the House of Orange-Nassau (royalty). The gardens are supposed to be stunning. Bundle up for another fun day in The Netherlands!!

Late Start

adventuresfromcorona — Thu, 4 Apr 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Woke up to cloudy skies, very cold and late...missed our first tour of the canals. How you ask? Well, the alarm clock in our room was set an hour earlier, so we thought we had plenty of time. Heard announcements over the PA, but thought the cruise manager was just getting everyone going. Turned out our clocks were an hour behind, so we completey missed the city tour. No worries, we were able to get on a one-hour bus tour for late starters like ourselves. Took us around the inner sights of Amsterdam .... 109 canals still remain in use. Bettween boats on the canals and the endless number of bicyclists, we were grateful to be on the bus. The tour guide believes in 10-15 years, no on street paring will be available as the city population, especially bicycles grows. Although unofficial because bikes aren't registered, it is believed that 600-900 thousand bikes are in use . We toured a former convent that surrounds two beautiful courtyards containing new sprouts of purpole tulips and yellow daffodils. This was a peaceful location with a small/active Catholic chapel hidden behind what looks like a house and an Anglican church just steps away. Both were beautiful inside. Bus returned us to to the ship for a light lunch. Next tour is in an hour...culinary delights - Dutch bites (pickled herring, Dutch fries wh mayonnaise (amazing!), and pancakes. Top it all off with a tast of Dutch gin. More updates later.....

Made it to the AMAPrima!

adventuresfromcorona — Wed, 3 Apr 2013 16:40:00 GMT

Well, we made it and finally have internet to update everyone. Here's a summary of the fist twodays of our trip.

Monday, April 1 - construction done, taxes were paid, last minute banking done, and we were packed and ready to go. I tend to be an anxious traveler, wanting everything perfectly organized and distracted by the what about's from others. Sheesh, wish I could relax and go with the flow. Anyways, we got to the airport, kissed Ben and Zachary goodbye and headed in to KLM. Check-in was smooth and we were through security in less than 30 minutes. Boarded KLM....first time we've ever seen a plane with stairs to an upstairs deck....course, this is for first class passengers, so not even a peak at their perks. Found our seats, and took deep breats to begin our relaxing vacation.

Tuesday, April 2 - arrived in Amsterdam (Schipol Airport) at 9:20 a.m. The ten hour fight provided very little sleep for both of us. I guess that's to be expected when the time difference is 9 hours. Naturally, our bodies had a hard time sleeping when it was only 4 p.m. Culli time. We took a shuttle to the hotel Estherea, dropped off our bas, and walked the canals. First rule .... watch out for bicycles and vespas....they are EVERYWHERE and take no prisoners....they run 40 mph on one way streets and nearly run pedestrians over. We have never seen more bicyles in our lives. Had lunch at an outdoor cafe across from the Rembrandt statute/plaza. We toured the Hermitage Museum, taking in Van Gough's at for a few hours. I fell in love with his red box and balls of wool yarn, but unfortunately, the shop did not have any postcards of it. You know I'm a yarn horder, but this was Van Gough's inspiration for colors that go together. Very pretty. Nice seafood dinner at Lucias, one block from the hotel. Almost didn't get seated .... we arrived at 7p.m., with no reservations, and about 8 people in the whole restaurant. The server hemmed for everal minutes and finally seated us. Turned out to be a very nice evening with good food and nice servers. Back to the hotel for what we hoped to be a god night sleep.

Wednesday, April 3 - Woke at 9:30, got coffee and walked to the red light district. Yup, they really do stand in the windows looking for business! Passed a few feel good coffee shops, but didn't stop in. Lunched at nice little german-influenced restaurant and relaxed. A little more walkin and dodging bicycles and vespas, and we returned to the hotel to pick up our luggage and take a taxi to the ship.

Boarded the AMAPrima a little after 3. It is beautiful and the staff are charming. We have been invited to have dinner with the Captain on the 3rd deck this evening. WOW!! Fire drill and welcome speech at 6. Jim's wanting to tour the ship so, I'll sign off for now. We will post pictures laters when we have a little more time.

BTW, have I mentioned the weather?.....brilliant sun, a little windy, and about 35 degrees F....... it is BRRRRRRRR cold. Thank goodness for layers and scarves. Cheers! xoxo (haven't found spell check on the comptuer in our room, so forgive the misspellings) We are also checking our emails ..... thanks for the updates.

Packing

adventuresfromcorona — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 07:44:00 GMT

Finalizing the improvements to Corona so we can take a vacation and get away for a while. I've been picking up little things to make the trip there more comfortable. Outfits have been organized, now just need to narrow it down and get focused. Suspect this will be done the week prior to our trip. Can't wait to spend relaxing time with my Jagmo......