One of the things Tom and I enjoy about cruising is the towel animal orgami that greets us when we get back to our stateroom in the evenings.  Tom and I usually head out to supper about 6 and then to the evening show at 7:30.  So we are generally gone from 6 to 8:30.  …

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Tom has really looked forward to going to Gibraltar, ever since we first looked at this particular cruise possibility.  In fact, when I showed him the iternary and suggested going, he was all in, just because of the one port.  Gibraltar has enormous strategic importance for the British, and he spends a lot of time …

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Our third stop in the Canary Islands was the city of Arrecife on the island of Lanzarote.  Lanzarote is the easternmost of the Canary Islands about 80 miles west of Morrocco.  The island is the driest in the Canary Islands with rainfall, on average, only sixteen days a year.  The rest of the year is …

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The day after our wonderful visit to Funchal, Tom and I were off the ship exploring Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands.  People in Europe go to the Canary Islands for vacation the way people in the United States go to the Caribbean.  There were 16 million visitors to the Canary Islands in …

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Our first port on this part of our cruise was the city of Funchal, Capital of the Island of Madeira, Portugal.  We had a perfect day for our visit.  As a bonus, it was Freedom Day, kind of like our 4th of July.  On the one hand, Freedom Day meant that many buisnesses and museums …

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One of the things that Tom and I have really enjoyed during our cruise is watching the sea change and the world go by.  The ocean is as hypnotic as a fire.  It changes from moment to moment.  The color, the waves, the peaks of the waves.  The ocean is different on sunny days than …

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The clientele onboard ship changed in Rotterdam.  When we docked in Rotterdam, we were at the end of our first two-week cruise.  Tom and I are on the ship for two months, so technically we are doing four back-to-back cruises.  But each of the two weeks has a distinct itinerary, so it seems right that …

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One of the best reasons to go to Europe in April is to visit Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, Netherlands.  Keukenhof Gardens has the best display of tulips in Europe and it is only open from March 21 to May 12.  During those eight weeks, the show is spectacular as tulips, daffodils, and other spring flowers …

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In keeping with seeing one great thing every day we are in port, Tom and I visited Dover Castle.  We could see the castle as we sailed into Dover and the castle and hill dominated the city.  Although we considered walking there from the ship, we decided to take the shuttle once we realized how …

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During our one day in France, Tom and I decided to visit Rouen with the famous Cathedral of Rouen.  The Cathedral is a gorgeous example of church architecture, but is also the burial place of some famous kings.  Tom especially wanted to see the gravesite of Rollo, the first ruler of Normandy, from whom he …

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