Portland Horse Drawn Trolley Tour

During my Maine/Canada cruise back in September, I did a horse drawn trolley tour of Portland. The tour ended being really nice. The trolley took us around the historic parts of the city where the tour guide told us about the buildings as we passed them. I think the tour was 90 minutes long. I felt it was a very good tour and would recommend it to anyone visiting Portland.

Miami Hop Hop Off and City Photos

Between cruises, my travel friend Harvey and I decided to see some of Miami. One of the easiest ways to do that is do a hop on hop off tour. You get on the bus which stops at various landmarks and when one really grabs your attention, you hop off and check it out. When you're done seeing that particular place, you hop back on the bus and continue on the tour. It's a really easy way to see the city.

The company our travel agent Joel Mills recommended was Big Bus. They offer 2 different routes. One takes in Little Havana and other historic landmarks while the 2nd route does Miami Beach and South Beach. We chose do the first one.

Big Bus was convenient for us because all we had to do was walk across the bridge that connects Miami to its port, cross the street to Bayside Marketplace and walk around to the Big Bus stop. The first picture is of one of their buses. The 2nd is of some of the fine folks that work there. I don't remember their names but, I remember them being very nice. They represented their company well.

The 3rd picture of a courthouse interestingly. The 4th is of a 50's type store. The last photo is of the historic Biltmore Hotel. In its heyday, it was the place to stay when visiting Miami.

The Big Bus tour was very nice though neither Harvey or I felt like getting off the bus during the tour. We returned to Bayside Marketplace where we walked over to the Miami Hard Rock Cafe so, I could get my t-shirt. I collect them from all the Hard Rock Cafes I visit. After that, we stopped in the Starbucks where I treated Harvey to a coffee so, he wouldn't mind me getting on the Internet for a little while. I don't like coffee but, I love Starbucks's free WiFi.

Then, we hoofed it back to the Majesty of the Seas where we used our 2nd cruise SeaPasses to get on-board. The SeaPasses were delivered to our cabins the night before we pulled back into Miami. Thankfully, Royal Caribbean has those who do back-to-back cruises in-process once. So, we got to skip it on the 2nd cruise though we did have to do the emergency drill again before the ship left the pier.

The next pictures I'll post will be of the very impressive Atlantis Resort on Paradise Islands, Bahamas. Stay tuned.

Fort Fincastle and Queen's Staircase Pictures

Fort Fincastle was built in 1793 by Lord Dunmore, the governor of the Bahamas at the time. It was named Fincastle after his 2nd title Viscount Fincastle. The fort was 1 of the 3 forts that protected Nassau. The other 2 forts were Fort Charlotte and Fort Nassau which no longer exists. The fort had 2 12 pound, 2 24 pound and 2 32 pound cannons as well as 1 howitzer. Oddly, the fort is shaped like a paddle steamer. You can see what looks like the front of a ship in the 2nd picture.

The Queen's Staircase was built so soldiers could easily get to Fort Fincastle. According to my guide, it took slaves 16 years to hack out of stone the steps that led to the fort. Later, as far as I know, they beautified the staircase and, there is now a pretty waterfall as seen in the 4th picture as well as plants along the staircase. The guide for the tour I did was kind enough to give those who wanted to see the staircase the option of walking down it and joining the tour bus at the base of the staircase. My travel friend Harvey and I took him up on the offer and enjoyed checking it out barring the hustler who tried to get a tip off us for some information on the staircase we didn't ask for.

Atlantis Resort Tour Review

I thought it was time for another travel blog entry. As any of my readers know, I visited Nassau, Bahamas twice this past September. On my second visit, I did the Discover Atlantis tour. The tour cost $39 as I remember. Here is a picture of the resort:

As far as I know, the Atlantis resort is the most famous one in the Bahamas. It was built with an Atlantis theme and features the largest open water aquarium in the Caribbean. Here is a picture of some of the fishes in their tank:

The tour guide my group had was very good. She was funny and knowledgeable. I don't know about others in the group but, I was shocked when the guide told us how much the Michael Jackson suite was. The suite goes for $25,000 a night with a minimum 4 night stay. Supposedly, a butler is included. I still can't imagine a hotel suite being worth $25,000 a night. Also, there is supposedly a 6 month waiting list for the famous suite. I think those folks don't have better things to spend their money. The resort has some impressive artwork that artists created that was supposed to have been created by the Atlanteans. Here are 2 examples:

Overall, the resort was impressive though I don't have any desire to stay there. It's too expensive. Also, to me, the Bahamas are just another sun and sand Caribbean island. Plus, I didn't find some of the Bahamians very friendly. I found the people in Bermuda to be nicer. However, if you're going to visit Nassau, I would recommend you do the Discover Atlantis tour. I was very pleased with this tour and would highly recommend it.

Correction: the cost of the Discover Atlantis tour is $59 not $39. I got the price mixed up with the Hemingway walking tour I did in Key West.

West End Horse and Buggy Excursion

I haven't posted much of my Royal Caribbean cruise to Bermuda so, here is a post on 1 of the excursions I did there. Enjoy.

You have technically 2 days to see what you can on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas cruise to Bermuda. One drawback to the cruise is you arrive at 3 p.m. in Bermuda on the 3rd day of your cruise. The late arrival makes it hard to try to fit in some tours there on that first day there. Thankfully, Royal Caribbean does offer a very nice West End Horse and Buggy Tour.

The tour covers the West End part of the island. This part is where the British had a major military presence including the impressive Naval Dockyard where the ship ties up. During the tour, we got to see some former Army barracks, the old military cemetery and where they would leave a drawing of a ship's coat of arms when they made port in Bermuda (I'll have to post a picture I took of that). The tour also takes in some scenic bits with some pretty small beaches.

The drive/tour guide is a pro at these tours as he's been doing for most of his life. He gives an informative dialog as the tour goes along telling about particular shops in the Dockyard as well as some of the history of the places you get to see and what life is like in Bermuda (I found this interesting). Also, he makes it a point to stop at various places so folks can take photos. For those who are curious, the horses names are Sugar and Spice and, they were some very nice horses. They looked well cared for.

The tour lasted over an hour and started and finished in the Dockyard. I forget what it cost though I don't think it was terribly expensive. For those who are going to do the Segway tour, I wouldn't recommend you do this tour as you'll end up covering the same area. When I did the Segway tour, the guide was surprised when I told her a lot of the stuff I learned on this tour. I found most of the information the guide gave to be accurate with the one exception being the price of gas in Bermuda. He said it cost $30 a gallon but, it apparently costs around $9. Strangely, Bermudan gas stations don't show the price of gas like they do in the United States. I don't know why.

Overall, I found this a very nice excursion and a nice way to start one's first visit to Bermuda. I would strongly recommend it to those who are going to do a Royal Caribbean cruise there as it'll enable you to do something your first day there (barring taking in the Dockyard) and thus take advantage of the limited time you have there. Happy travels all!

Royal Caribbean's All Access Tour

On November 16, 2012, I got to do Royal Caribbean's All Access Tour on their Splendour of the Seas ship. I thought I'd tell a bit about the tour for those who don't know what it is and what you'd get to see.

The All Access tour in a nutshell a behind the scenes tour of various areas of the ship passengers don't normally get to see. It gives them a glimpse of what life is like for crew members as well as how the ship is run. The tour does have a minimum sign up number which I guess is at least 6. I know on my first cruise, we had 4 people sign up for the tour and, the ship cancelled because that wasn't enough people. Also, the ship runs the tour while the ship is at sea. This makes it possible for passengers to take in any land tours they want to do while the ship is in port. The tour lasts at least 3 hours and, there are some narrow steps that people on the tour must be able to handle. As tour enters sensitive areas of the ship, tour members were escorted by ship security the entire tour and at 1 point, they had to undergo a security check to make sure they weren't carrying anything dangerous before they were allowed in some of the sensitive areas. Cost wise, the tour can cost $150 which I found pretty steep and kept me from taking it before. To my delight, during my 2 cruises, the Splendour of the Seas offered a special where you buy 1 get 1 free. What that means is you pay the $150 and, you get to take a friend a long for free. This breaks out to $75 per person which is the same price (or close to it) you would pay for a land excursion. I thought that reasonable.

Our tour group assembled at the customer relations desk where we were issued our special All Access badges. Then, with appropriate security escort, our tour director (sadly name forgotten) led us down into the areas never seen by other passengers.

The tour began on the 2nd deck where we met Martha Grimm, one of the ship's human relations people who lead us through the crew members club and dining room. She told us about various activities that were organized for crew members and how long the crew would serve on the ship before getting to take leave and go home. She told us that no more than 2 crew members were put in a single cabin.

After visiting the we got to visit the laundry department. The ship has its own miniature dry cleaners and laundry service with big dryers and double barrel washing machines that can wash 100 kilos of laundry at a time. Also, there are pressing machines to steam out any wrinkles in various ship uniforms. The laundry department was very extensive though it would have to be considering the staggering number of sheets, towels and crews uniforms they would need to wash.

Next, we were taken to the incinerator room where we were briefed by the environmental officer Malcolm (last name forgotten). He was in charge of making sure the ship followed all the international and national regulations concerning the disposal of liquid and solid waste. The incinerator room was more than where they burned trash. They had bottle breaker with a box underneath that caught the crushed glass which would later be recycled at various ports. Also, there was a machine for compacting cardboard boxes which were also recycled. Concerning waste water, the water would be treated on board the ship to a point where it was safe to release it. The regulations concerning where it would be safe to release it could vary greatly so, the environmental officer had to have copies of different countries rules on this in his small office.

After the briefing was over with the environmental officer, we headed up to deck 4 where we got to stand on the stage of the ship's theater and see what it was looked like for the ship's performers. One of the actresses briefed us on how the productions were run. She showed us the show manager's console that controlled the lights and coordinated things with various stage hands. Then, we headed to the men's wardrobe and the women's wardrobe where we got to see their various costumes. We found out how they changed them so fast (they use a lot of velcro which enables them to get the clothes off quick) as well as having the costumes custom fitted for each performer. Lastly, she told how performers would rotate between ship's and shows and how they would be selected for various shows.

Chief Engineer Aleksandr Petrov was the main man in charge of the ship's engines as well as surprisingly the ship's fire sensors. The engines are constantly monitored by computers who instantly show how they are running on consoles one of the ship's engineers are always monitoring them. I think each 1 of the engines could generate something like 17,000 horsepower though please don't quote me on that. As I mentioned, the other job the engineers have is monitoring the fire sensors throughout the ship. If a sensor should go off, the person in the engine room will contact ship security immediately and, they'll send someone to check it out. If need be, they can activate various fire suppressor systems in the ship.

Everyone expects great food on a cruise but, not every one knows all the hard work that goes into producing such fantastic food. My tour group got to visit the ship's galley where we were briefed by the ship's Executive Chef Michael Luik. Chef Luik has cooked for the Queen of England, the President of the United States, various European Prime Ministers and celebrities such a Phil Collins and Celine Dion. Wanting a new challenge, he hired on with Royal Caribbean and certainly found it there. He runs all the restaurants on the ship as well as managing cooks from 19 different countries with considerable different levels of ability. Some are brand new cooks while others are sous chefs who run different departments in the galley such as soups or vegetables. Also, he checks all incoming food shipments to make sure it's of the best quality and manages over 10,000 different items the restaurants and dining rooms use. Lastly and surprisingly, he also monitors the disposal of food waste to make sure it doesn't do any harm to the environment.

Last up was 1 of the highlights of the tour, we got to visit the bridge of the ship. The views from the bridge were AWESOME!!!!! We got to see the radar screens and 1 of the ship's officers briefed us on how they could identify different ships on the screens as well contact the ship's if necessary. Depending on what the ship is doing, the number of officers on the bridge can vary from 2 to 6. The more difficult the task, the more each task is broken down to prevent overload on each officer and make it possible for Captain Iv Vidos to know what exactly is happening with his ship. The ship itself is very maneuverable with front side thrusters and engine pods that can rotate 180 degrees if necessary. Also, the ship has stabilizers which are deployed when the ship is in open seas which cut down on the rocking of the ship. After a briefing by 1 of the subordinate officers, Captain Vidos himself showed up and spoke to us for a bit before very kindly agreeing to allow tour members to have their picture taken with him. I thought this was really nice.

After visiting the bridge, our tour was over. We were escorted back to the Centrum area of the ship where we were released. We were told we would receive 2 gifts as mementos from the tour. Later, I found an All Access tour tote bag and a kitchen apron in my cabin. They were very nice mementos of a great tour. If you can get the same deal I was able to get on this tour, I'd heartily recommend it. It is a very interesting tour that will show you how Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines do their "magic." Happy cruising all!!!!!

Tour Report on Israel

My tour of Israel continues. Yesterday, my tour group started in Galilee, visited the Shrine of the Beatitudes, the nine blessings Jesus preached of to people on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. After that, we drove to the close by Church of Peter's Primacy where Jesus commanded Peter to feed his sheep. It was also the site of his feeding 5,000 miracle. Then, to the ruins of Capernaum and the church that is built over the ruins of Peter and Andrew's home. Supposedly, it is the only church with a glass floor. The Jordan River is very famous though to honest, it isn't a very impressive river. It isn't terribly wide or deep. Still, it is the river John the Baptist baptized Jesus in. We visited a site that specializes in baptisms and makes it easy to get to the river. Supposedly mega-churches have baptized huge groups of people there. I wasn't super wiped out with the place though I did touch the water and my friend Harvey took a small bottle of it to take home. Bet She'an was next with a very interesting visit to the former Roman city. The city was the third largest Roman city in its time (Jerusalem was 1st and Caesarea was 2nd). Our group walked down the main street in town which showed the superb Roman engineering. The Roman's built the street with sloping sides that sloped up to a row of stones in the center of road. This helped carry water away when it rained. The city also hold some neat mosaics including one of the Goddess Tyche, the goddess of luck in a prostitution house. One last thing of note about Bet She'an is the tel located right next to the ruins of the city. The tel is over 7,000 years old and may hold all kinds on interesting archaeological finds but, apparently lack of funds has prevented any excavation though there has been funding for excavating the Roman city. Every thing our group saw was uncovered in the last 2 decades.

Our final destination of the day was the holy city of Jerusalem. For me, it'll be something to say I've been there. I wish the city still had a Hard Rock Cafe so I could buy a t-shirt and brag about to folks back home. We stopped at a place on the Mount of Olives that overlooked the old city. The views were awesome. It was something to see the walls built by Suleiman the Magnificent, the Al Aqsa Mosque (from a distance) and other points of interest. My tour director Jacob pointed many places we would visit today during a walk through the old city.

After our photo op, Asher our driver drove us to our hotel the Leonardo Plaza. It's a very nice hotel in a good location. We'll spend a total of 5 nights here. Stay tuned for more updates on my Israel tour.

Nazca Plain Drawings

One of the most fascinating mysteries of Peru are the famous Nazca plain drawings. The drawings can only be fully seen from up in the air. Some of the drawings stretch for miles. While there are a number of trapezoids (shown above) and lines, there are also drawings of a hummingbird (shown above), spider, monkey, dog, whale and an owl/space man as well as others. The drawings were hacked out of the parched soil and because the area gets very little rain, they've endured for centuries. The last accepted theory that I heard as why the drawings were made was that they were appeals or offerings to the mountain gods. The ancient Nazcans believed it was the mountain gods that provided the needed water that they used to grow their crops. All the water in the region came from the mountains.

These pictures were taken in an airplane I flew on out of Pisac, Peru. The plane flew to the Nazca Plain and descended to 1,800 feet. The aircrew would bank left then right so passengers on both sides of the airplane could get pictures of the various drawings. Due to the tight banking, the airplane ride could be one exciting ride. Still, it was well worth it as it was really something to see these famous mysterious drawings. This was part of my Legacy of the Incas Globus tour which I did in January 2011.

Machu Picchu

Above is a picture I took of the famous lost Inca city of Machu Picchu. I took the picture as I was coming down from a hike to the Sun Gate. The Sun Gate was one of the primary ways the Incas entered the city of Machu Picchu. The gate is located 990 feet about the city and has stunning views of the city and the valley below. Our local guide Rudy asked how many intrepid souls wanted to try the hike up to the gate. I was 1 of 8 crazies who decided to do it. It was one heck of a hike. It took us at least 2 hours and, I was never so glad to see the top as when I FINALLY reached it. The thinner air really kicked my butt. Still, it was neat doing the hike and, it gave me another memorable adventure on this incredible tour I took of Peru in January.

Globus Legacy of the Incas Tour

With the conclusion of my recent cruise on the Navigator of the Seas, I've started preparing for my future Globus tour of Peru. The tour is called Legacy of the Incas and lasts 10 days in Peru. We cover a lot of territory. We start in Lima, drive to Ica where we board a flight to see the Nazca Plain drawings from the air, take a boat ride to the Ballestas Islands, drive back to Lima, fly to Cuzco, drive to the Sacred Valley, take a train to and from Machu Picchu, drive back to Cuzco where we fly to Juliaca and drive to Lake Titicaca, visit Taquile Island and the Uros Islands, drive back to Juliaca, fly back to Lima and finish with a farewell dinner. That is a brief summary of travel and some of the things I'll get to do during the tour.

One item I was very interested in was the Internet access at the various hotels I'll be staying at. I'd like to be able to post current updates on the trip like I did on my recent cruise. To my delight, I found out every hotel I'll be staying offers free Wifi access. Because of that, I plan to take my laptop on the trip so I can post updates. For any readers I have, you'll get to read of my adventures in Peru shortly after they happen and possibly see some pictures I'll take during the tour. So, stay tuned for future adventures. In approximately 60 days or so, I'll be departing again for my first trip to South America.

Tulum

The excursion I looked forward to most on this cruise was the one to the Mayan city of Tulum. I'd never seen anything like that before. Plus, it would be a nice preparation for my tour to Peru in January. Tulum turned out to be awesome. Most of the main temple complex was intact and, there were other fascinating buildings. Our tour guide Mario did a great job explaining in limited time some of the history of the city including how it was discovered in the 1840's and later excavated. Another plus is that the city is walled. It was something to make my way through one of the narrow entrances. Lastly, there were awesome views of the Caribbean. Overall, I was thoroughly delighted with this excursion and would recommend it to anyone. When I get home, I plan to post some pictures of the city so any viewers I have can see just how stunning it is.

Back from Ireland

I'm back from Ireland. I flew back Tuesday. The tour was very nice barring some disappointing hotels. Apparently, some hotels feel they don't need air conditioning. I beg to differ. Also, the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran desperately needs a renovation. My room there was the worst of the hotels I stayed at during the trip. I'll have to post pictures I took of the peeling paint, stained wallpaper, cracked wall and shoebox size room.

Barring the hotel rooms, I enjoyed the tour. I saw lots of beautiful countryside, learned about Ireland and its people, feasted at an Irish medieval banquet, rode a jaunting car (it's like a wagon), clambered inside a mesolithic corridor burial mound, walked medieval walls in Derry, sang Irish songs in an Irish pub while drinking Irish ale, spent far too much money, met lots of wonderful people, took a fair amount of video and over 200 photos, and visited over 19 Irish towns and cities in 12 days. The tour covered a lot of territory. We drove over 1,100 miles.

The tour director Peter Dundon was outstanding. He really knew his stuff. He answered any question you could come up with on Ireland. Our driver Tony Dooley was a marvel. Some of the roads got pretty narrow but, he handled them with ease. Sometimes, there were some roads you didn't want to look down because they were a long way DOWN.

Overall, it was a good tour and, it reminded me how much I love to travel. While en-route home, I called my travel agent Joel Mills to start work on the next tour I'm going to take. That'll be Peru in mid-January 2011. It should be another awesome adventure. I can't wait. Stay tuned for some nice pictures of Ireland. Cheers all!

Future Travel

While I've been slogging away at work and counting the days till I go on my long awaited trip to Ireland, I've also been working on other future travel plans. Some have been set in motion while others are still in the consideration phase. The one that has been set in motion is where I'll be doing a 5 day Western Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean. As I mentioned before on this blog, I don't care to go for a long spell again between trips. The trips help me deal with the stress at work plus, they make it worth putting in the long hours there. My next major trip will be to Peru which in January 2011 which is over 8 months away. That's a long time and, I decided to look for a short trip to tide me over till I went on that adventure. To my surprise, I found a nice deal with Royal Caribbean. They were offering a 5 day cruise balcony cabin for $588 per person. As I like having my own room/cabin, that meant $1,176 not including tax, gratuities and airfare. I thought that was very reasonable. Plus, the cruise visited places I've never been to before. I'll get to visit Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. Royal Caribbean has seriously awesome excursion out of Cozumel where you get to visit the Mayan city of Tulum. I was so pleased with this cruise that I booked it and paid for it fully. So, this is one travel plan that is a definite go.

The travel plan that is in the consideration phase is a Globus tour of Japan. Why Japan? Because of the fascinating history and culture. You have the legendary samurai and the battles that led to the creation of the Japanese Shogunate. I read James Clavell's novel Shogun and was enthralled by it even though it was a SERIOUS read (over 1,200 pages). Culture wise, you have the beautiful gardens which are places of reflection and calm unlike western gardens. Also, there is really cool bullet trains (I like trains) and the airs of the orient. There are the fascinating temples and Torii gates. I think it would be something to do a tour of Japan. The downsides I can see are the long flight to get there and the cost. A tour of Japan will likely be one of the most expensive tours I'll ever do. Still, it would be something to see the land of the rising sun. Hopefully, I can make it happen next year. We'll see. Stay tuned for more travel updates. Cheers all!

Ireland Tour Update

To my surprise, it seems Globus was on the ball and realized there was a conflict with my airplane reservations. Apparently, they realized there was no way I was going to make my connecting flight to Baltimore from JFK. To my relief, they didn't move me to a later flight that left JFK which would've caused a 4 hour layover on my way back. Delta decided to have me fly to Dublin from Atlanta instead. I'l gladly take Atlanta over JFK. I know I won't have any problems with my flights arriving or departing from there. The only down side to flying out of Atlanta is I'll have an 8 hour flight vice 7 to Dublin. Also, I wasn't able to get the extra night in Dublin before the tour started that I wanted. Apparently, I waited too long and, Globus released any extra hotel rooms they had with the Dublin hotel. I suspect I'll be one tired puppy for the group's first dinner. Lastly, I found out that the tour I'm on is for all effective purposes sold out. According to my travel agent, there is 1 seat left on the tour for the dates I'm going. I'm delighted the tour will be going. I've never forgotten when Globus cancelled the first tour I signed up for with them. However, we are going to have one packed bus. A full tour means 40 plus people on it. I'll be curious to what kind of mix we get. On the Canada tour I did, we had some Aussies, some Kiwis, some Brits, a few Canadians to my surprise and 2 couples from the Dominican Republic as well as a bunch of Yanks. People from other countries can make the tour kinda cool. It's interesting to hear of their experiences. If we do have some Aussies, I won't envy how long they'll have to fly to get to Ireland. I suspect they would have to fly something like 20 hours at least. It's over 10 hours flying from Sydney to Los Angeles alone. They will be really tired. We'll see. I'm hoping that I'll be able to enjoy some Victoria Bitter in Ireland. I first tried it in Australia and, it is a great brew. Sadly, we can't get it in the U.S. It would be great to knock back a few pints of VB. That's all for this update. Cheers all!

Farewell

I'm a bit sad at the moment. I just got back from the tour's farewell dinner. I know I only knew the people in our group for 7 days tops but, I'm still very saddened to have to say good-bye to them. They were another great Globus group. The groups are one of the things I like so much about Globus. You meet such great people. It can be a trip. Today, we played Get Acquainted Bingo. You have 25 blocks like a regular bingo board. You have to fill them in with names of people on the tour AND, you have to be able to identify them. The second part is the hard part. I had to go over the names on my card again and again to make sure I could identify them. I made a point of talking to those people so I could better remember their names. Those same people were rooting me on when we played Get Acquainted Bingo. To my delight, I won. Because I'd gotten to know them, I was very sad when it was time to say good-bye. I know I'll be going on a second Globus tour in just 2 days but, I'll still miss the people I met on this one. I knew them if only for a short while. Thankfully, our tour director did get a group photo so I'll be remembering them for a while. May they all have safe journies home and may I one day be blessed enough to get to meet them again. Cheers all!

Harper's Ferry & Gettysburg

Yesterday, I got to see Harper's Ferry and Gettysburg. I confess Harper's Ferry didn't excite me as much as Gettysburg. There isn't a whole lot to see at Harper's Ferry. They do have the original fire station that John Brown managed to get himself and the others in his group trapped in before they were captured. The town also has some nice old buildings. Still, the old town of Harper's Ferry isn't that impressive. Interestingly, the entire old town is a national park. The people of Harper's Ferry moved out of it due to the severe flooding the location is subject to. The had a flood marker on one of the walls of an old building that showed how high the flooding got at times. I was shocked. That had one flood where the water rose over 15 feet from their banks. It was hard to believe considering how shallow the rivers were the day I visited.

From Harper's Ferry, we made our way to Gettysburg. Gettysburg is the site of one of the turning points of the American Civil War. I watched the movie Gods and Generals which tells of the battle. It is an incredible story of epic valor, incredible incompetence, brilliance on the part of a few and sheer luck. Globus used a local guide by the name of Gary Kross. He was extremely knowledgeable about the entire battlefield. He could tell you exactly where certain units fought and how many casualties they suffered. He told us of a Brigadier General Green who is largely forgotten but, who was critical in preventing Lee and his forces from taking Culp Hill. Culp Hill was one of 2 anchors of the Union troops lines. If it had fallen, it would've been disastrous. Green had his men build a long wooden barrier which helped protect them from fire from oncoming Confederate troops. The troops initially complained about building the barrier but, they were very grateful for it when the Confederate forces attacked. It was crucial in enabling them to hold off forces that outnumbered them 4 to 1!

I got to see the places where the forces of Pickett's charge emerged to attack. I could imagine the 12,000 men as they formed up. Their attack wasn't an actual charge. It was a march. If they had actually charged, they wouldn't have had the strength left for when they struck the Union forces. As it was, they had to march 1 mile through shot and shell. 120 Union cannon blasted at them the entire way. Also, they had to climb over 2 fences to get to waiting Union forces. It truly must have been an unbelievable sight. The courage those men showed was epic.

I could spent more time at the battlefield and museum but, we had a set dinner appointment to go to. Perhaps, I'll return to Gettysburg and learn more about it. It is an incredible story. Cheers all!

Egypt Travel Stories

Recently, I finished my travel stories on Egypt for the http://www.exchangetravelstories.com/ website. I wanted to let people know what to expect on the Avalon Waterways Grand Tour of Egypt. The Globus tour website gives nice basic information but, it doesn't go into great detail about some of the sights and, it isn't impartial. While I like Globus, I won't hesitate to say if something stinks in my opinion. If I like something, I'll say why I like it and maybe give examples. One thing I did on my Egypt stories was praised the tour guide Sami Hassan. He really was outstanding. Why was he outstanding? I showed a number of examples where he watched out for his group. A vendor tried to gouge us at the Alabaster Mosque and, Sami wouldn't let him get away with it. He told everyone not to buy the booties we had to buy so we wouldn't have to take our shoes off when we went inside the mosque. Another time he told me of something that would help settle my stomach when I caught some unknown bug during the tour. His remedy worked (coffee and lime juice) but, it tasted god awful. I was really sorry to say good-bye to Sami at the end of the tour. He was always cheerful and, he knew so much about Egypt. If I ever visit Egypt again, I hope to have him as my tour guide again.

After posting my stories, I had to wait for the site editors to rate them. I don't know why they do or what their criteria is. It can be a little frustrating at times. I confess I like getting a high standard rating on my stories but, I don't know what THEY think makes and high standard story. For some reason, they didn't like my Luxor story but, they loved my stories on Edfu and lunacy on the Nile. I wondered how they were going to like those as I said point blank I wasn't impressed with the horse drawn carriages in Edfu. They looked very rickety. I believe one bunch in our group had a wheel come off their carriage enroute to the Edfu Temple! In regards to lunacy on the Nile, I told of the crazy salesmen who tried to sell stuff to people on our cruise ship from ROWBOATS. It was ridiculous. The salesmen were real characters. Still, I guess they make money doing it. I doubt any in our group could have driven a better bargain than they could. They've been doing it all their lives. Plus, their living depends on it.

Overall, I was delighted that most of my stories got high standard ratings. Also, I'm glad I got them done before I start my next adventures with Globus. I'm impatiently counting the days down till I get to go on the back-to-back tours I'll get to do with them. I can't wait to go. I'm big time burned out at the Post Office. I'll earn overtime this week and next. I think out of the last 12 weeks I've worked at the Post Office, I've earned overtime 9 of them. The money is great but, it really wears you out. I'll be glad to get away from there and do some exciting travel again. Stay tuned for some interesting travel stories. Cheers all!

Documents

I received my travel documents from Globus earlier this week. I've been waiting excitedly for them. I'm definitely ready to go on my upcoming trip to Egypt. It should be really awesome. The temples, tombs and history are fascinating. Plus, I'll get to cruise on the Nile River for 3 days. The only down side to the trip will be the long flights to and from Cairo. The flight from New York JFK to Cairo will be 10 hours 45 minutes alone. Plus, I know the flight will be delayed getting out of JFK. I think all flights out of there are now a days.

A different kind of travel bag came with the documents. The Nile Tour/Cruise is run by Globus affiliate Avalon Waterways. Their bag was blue and looked more like a messenger type bag. One pleasant surprise was the guide to the Nile that came with the documents as well as tips for cruising on the boat. I'll be curious to see how cruising on Avalon's boat differs from cruising with Royal Caribbean. Hopefully, Avalon won't try to milk me like Royal Caribbean did. If nothing else, I'll be on the boat 3 days which isn't too bad. It's sort of like an introduction to river cruises.

That's all to tell for now. Stay tuned for further updates. Cheers all!

Carcassone

We arrived at Carcassone around lunch time. The old city of Carcassone is the largest Medieval fortress in all of Europe. When you walk its streets, you feel like you've stepped back in time. The old city is surrounded by thick high walls with towering towers. It's a very impressive place though not as impressive as Mont St. Michel. For the most part, I enjoyed walking around the city. I wasn't impressed with some sword shops they had there as all they had was kitschy junk. I did have a pleasant lunch there. I had one mis-adventure here. The old city has modern free self cleaning bathrooms. Apparently, after someone uses the bathroom, the room automatically locks, the light goes off and water and soap are sprayed on the floor and in the toilet. Then, wind is blown across the floor to drive the water into in place drains which whisk it away. How I learned all this was when I ducked into one of their automatic bathrooms without waiting for it to clean itself. I started taking a leak when the lights went out and water started being sprayed across the floor. In a matter of seconds, my sneakers and trouser bottoms were soaked. Then, the wind started blowing across the floor which helped dry out my slacks a little. I finished my business and very embarrassedly stepped out of the automatic bathroom. I'll definitely remember how these things work after this mishap.

After our stop at Carcassone, we re-boarded our bus and drove to Nimes where we spent the night. The next morning, we'd drive the Roman aqueduct that was finished in 15 B.C. Stay tuned.

St. Emilion

We arrived at St. Emilion in the afternoon. It was a sightseeing stop where we could see some of the old wine making town. The town's history goes back to Roman times. When we arrived, they were holding a ceremony involving the Juraid. The Juraid is a body of officials that in Medieval times held political as well as economic power. Re-activated in 1947, it promotes the wines of the region. As you can see by the picture above, the town is surrounded by thousands of grape vines. Also, the town has scores of wine shops (no surprise there). It was something to walk around on the cobblestone streets checking out the old church and other shops. It was here that I remembered a couple friends at the Post Office and bought them gifts. One was a t-shirt that said I red heart St. Emilion. I thought it looked cute and, I'd promised her a t-shirt from France. I got the other friend a wall hanging that showed scenes of St. Emilion and says something in French. I haven't translated it to find out exactly what it says. I enjoyed checking out the town. Afterwards, we drove on to the city of Bordeaux where we spent the night. The next morning, we'd depart for Carcassone and Nimes.