Hirsch Travels

Agriturismo il PalazzoFree slideshow made with Smilebox

2011-06-18T18:35:00.001-07:00

Conclusions

2011-06-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

We are on the way home via Air Berlin. So far, this airline has greatly exceeded our expectations. That makes a long trip quite manageable.

I have mixed feelings. I want to come home and yet I have not gotten the travel bug out of my system. I will begin investigating tomorrow.

Concluding thoughts for this trip:

Europe is crowded and expensive.

The Italian trains are awful.They are never on time. They are giant phone booths on wheels.

The Italian people are lovely except in Rome where they are rude and obnoxious.

We really had fun in Germany.

Emilia Romagna is great.

Small towns and villages are better than big cities.

Cruises are the best value.

Try to speak the local language.

Don't take too much luggage.

Have enough local currency before you arrive.

Try to take an international cell phone.

Investigate the lodgings thoroughly when reserving.

Don't make train connections too close. You probably will miss the second train.

Take as many videos and photos as possible.

Go with the flow and don't panic when things go wrong because they will.

Enlist the assistance of locals when you need to.

Try to obey local laws to avoid fines such as paying for train and bus tickets.

Don't forget to validate your ticket.

Be aware of your surrounds at all times.

Watch out for very slick pick pockets and scammers.

Always look like you know what you are doing.

Be adventureous. Don't be afraid to take some risks.

Be friendly to the locals and they will do likewise.

Don't be afraid to go to new places and try new types of food.

No need to stay in five star hotels.

Get out of your comfort zone for a while and make the most of it.

Enjoy the experience. Take it for all it's worth!

Travel safe!

Goodbye Europe, Hello Disney

2011-06-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

German motorcycle police at gay parade, Dusseldorf

2011-06-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

On the beach in Tel Aviv

2011-06-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

Pigging out at Johnny Rockets on Mariner

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The Happy Couple

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Dinner with Captain Fleming Neilssen on Mariner

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My Scottish boyfriend from the McDonald Clan

2011-06-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

Crete harbor wall from middle ages

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Crete

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Captain Nick from the snorkel boat in Crete

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Wth Captain Nick in Crete

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At work on the bridge of Mariner

2011-06-06T16:37:00.000-07:00

Mariner bridge with Second Officer

2011-06-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

Wine on the Rhine

2011-06-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

Dining al fresco in Dusseldorf

2011-06-06T16:33:00.000-07:00

Dusseldorf

2011-06-05T12:12:00.001-07:00

More gay pride party goers

2011-06-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

Jerry in the restaurant

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2011-06-05T12:08:00.001-07:00

Boat on the Rhine

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Promenade along the Rhine

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Old Town

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2011-06-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

The last place I would have expected this

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Gay Pride parade

2011-06-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

Dusseldorf street

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Dusseldorf

2011-06-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

Dusseldorf, Germany

2011-06-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

We had a great flight this morning from Verona to Dusseldorf. No wait, no long lines, a new plane with legroom and it was on time. Hard to believe these days. We arrived early enough to enjoy the whole day in the Old Town area by the Rhine river. We took the local bus and tram down to the city center and landed right smack in the middle of a gay pride parade! There was dancing, singing, marching and all the craziness associated with a gay pride parade. It was lots of fun. We couldn't have planned it if we had tried. That's the fun of not knowing where you are going and what you are doing.

Following the festivities we took a cruise on the Rhine. I had four glasses of Rhine wine in 45 minutes and could barely stand up. I got off the boat and went dancing with the gay guys. We had a nice dinner in the Old Town which is a beautiful north German city with the typical architecture of the area. We found our way back (with me hardly being able to walk upright) to the hotel and here we are, getting ready to head back to the USA tomorrow morning. I am sure I will have the biggest hangover in the world. Jerry has been doing a really great job with his German speaking. Everyone is impressed.

We checked our suitcases in all the way through to Miami. I hope I see it again.

Verona

2011-06-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

The hotel where we are staying seems to be in the middle of an orchard in a town so small that I can't find it's name. We took a walk down into the village and had dinner in one of the three local restaurants, a mom and pop affair with great home made pasta. We had to race back to the hotel instead of continuing our leisurely walk due to a thunder storm.

We are both exhausted so we will hit the bed early tonight. We have a mid morning flight to Dusseldorf, Germany where we will spend the day and night and fly home from there. Hopefully, I will find out the name of this town before we leave it tomorrow.

Teddy bear on the bridge of Mariner

2011-06-04T12:00:00.001-07:00

Stromboli erupting

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Lookout on the bridge

2011-06-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

Driving the ship

2011-06-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

Jerry learning to chart on the bridge of Mariner

2011-06-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

Back street, Crete

2011-06-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Synagogue from the 1500's in Crete

2011-06-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

Jerry after snorkling, Crete

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Local guy in Crete

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Crete beach

2011-06-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Crete

2011-06-04T11:50:00.001-07:00

Crete private boat harbor

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Lighthouse guarding the harbor in Crete

2011-06-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

Chania harborside

2011-06-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

Chania cafe prior to opening in the morning.

2011-06-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

Crete lighthouse

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Chania harbor cafe row

2011-06-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

Cania, Crete

2011-06-04T11:44:00.001-07:00

Alley, Crete

2011-06-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Spice market, Crete

2011-06-04T11:42:00.000-07:00

Verona, Italy

2011-06-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

We are off the ship. Yesterday was a good day. We were invited to tour the bridge while the ship was just passed the Straits of MesJusina. We got a quick lesson in how they drive the ship and all the other details which made my head swim. It was really fun and I impressed them with my nautical questions.

Just after that we sailed right by an active volcano, Stromboli, off the coast of Messina. It was spewing a light colored ash and not making any noise. The amazing thing is that people live right on the slopes. They are nuts.

Packing was the usual hell, we saw the show and went to bed.

This morning it was up bright and early and on the train from Civitavecchia to Rome and then from Rome to Padova and then from Padova to Verona. The killer was the train from Rome to Padova. A couple and their two babies got on and both children screamed for three hours. They were sitting right in back of us and gave me the biggest headache I have ever had. Everyone on the train was ready to kill all four of them. Italian trains sure aren't what they used to be! Ugh! While in the Roma Termini main train station someone tried to pick Jerry's pocket but he started yelling and the guy and scared the crap out of him and he ran away.

We are now in our hotel in Verona. It is immaculate and quiet. It is hot here in Italy and more crowded than ever. Where is the world-wide recession? It sure isn't here.

We are not eating fresh vegetables for the next two days because of the e-coli scare. It is pretty serious and nobody is eating veggies. Of course, tomorrow we will be in Germany where the worst of it is. Maybe I will just have bratwurst and beer.

After all this running around by train we are convinced that cruising is the only way to travel. It makes life so much easier. You are pampered, you only have to pack once, and you can do as much or as little as you like. I am so over schlepping luggage on and off crowded trains filled with tourists. The days of fine train travel are over unless one can afford the Orient Express, which we can't.

Photos will follow later this evening. We are starving and are going to take a walk around this tiny little town where we are staying in the suburbs of Verona.

Haifa, Israel

2011-06-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

Last day aboard Mariner

2011-06-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

Great last day aboard. Toured the bridge and sailed right by an active volcano...Stromboli. More to come after I get off the ship and find an internet connection that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Chania, Crete

2011-06-02T14:08:00.001-07:00

Now to the port stop of the day. They saved the best for last. Chania, Crete is the best. It is one of the largest Greek islands and can be reached by cruise ship or ferry. It is clean, the people are very nice and the beaches are beautiful. We got off the ship early and went to two local markets before the crowds arrived. We had the whole place to ourselves. There is an old town and a new town. The best was the old town and old harbor. The place has been settled for thosands of years. The old town has narrow, winding streets with good shops and cafes. We found an old, beautiful synagogue which has been in constant use since the 1500's with the exception of the nazi era when all the Jews were rounded up and killed. There is a small, active congregation at present. Upon entering this tiny, special place a sense of peace and well-being washed over me. I can't explain it but It felt so good. We took a glass bottom boat tour of the harbor where the captain (Captain Nick, what else?) invited people to go snorkling with him. Jerry took him up on it. Not me. The water in Greece this time of year is too cold for this Florida baby. Jerry said it was about 72 degrees, according to his innacurate pool thermometer that he drags with him all around the world. Anyway, Captain Nick was great and the boat ride was really fun. We both decided that we loved Crete and could spend more time here. We are now underway under partly cloudy skies and 80 degree temperature. We have a sea day tomorrow and that's it. We were invited to tour the bridge tomorrow, which we will certainly do. I landove being on the bridge with all those cute young officers. It is really very interesting and lots of fun. Sometimes they let me drive the boat. I will be very sad and sorry to leave. We have had two wonderful cruises and I am ready for the next one (to be determined).

On The Way to Crete

2011-06-02T14:06:00.001-07:00

This is a sea day and we needed it after all the running around we have been doing for the last few days. It is also another formal night and we have a party with the officers tonight. Such social butterflies. I am exhausted from all this partying and running. I finally got the chance to sleep till 8:30 this morning without being awakened at the crack of dawn to be the first one to get off the ship. We had a leisurely breakfast and then I finally got to use my Kindle a little bit. It is too cold to sit outside on deck so I am in the nice, quiet, cozy library. Maybe I will take a nap later. Tough life. The port stop for tomorrow is Crete. They collected everyone's passports again for Crete. I don't know why. They didn't last time. Maybe it is some new regulation. We will probably just stay in the main town of Chania since we were in a different part of the island last time. It's my last chance to shop. Jerry made sure he got rid of every last one of his shekles in Israel by buying candy just before we got on the ship last night. Now he will be working on his Euros again and we have plenty of those for me to find some more shoes. I will probably have to send my suitcase home on a container ship since it will be too heavy to take on the airplane. In fact, we will probably have to put ourselves on a container ship since we have been eating too much. Right now, I feel like a stuffed pig! It will be strict diet time starting the minute we leave this ship. I couldn't even walk out on the deck this morning because if is far too windy and I hate the gym so I won't go there. Instead, I think I will go on the website and find a few more cruises to take. That ought to burn some calories. The nice thing about cruising, and especially this cruse and the prior one on the Equinox, is that we have met some lovely people from all over the world. I am now concentrating on the Pacific area. There are some cruises which circumnavigate Australia/New Zealand, stop at various Pacific island ports, continue to Hawaii and eventually end in San Diego. That sounds like a plan. Just dreaming....

Tel Aviv

2011-05-31T04:16:00.001-07:00

Back on the ship, I realized that I heard more Russian spoken today than Hebrew. We must have been in the heart of Russian emigre land. They all looked and sounded like my grandmother. I also noticed a large number of Africans and Jewish Ethiopians. In fact, we rode through the “hood” on our one-hour bus trip from the port of Ashdod to Tel Aviv. As always, uniforms were everywhere. All young people have compulsory military duty here. With so much at stake for the Israelis everyone has to be fully trained and expect the worst. Uzis were everywhere. Security, as always, is tight. You can't enter a bus station, train station or shopping mall without being wanded and having your belongings searched. I'm all for it if it means they are secure and have a little peace in their lives. A child's balloon burst in the mall we were in today and everything stopped dead for a minute. It was quite a sight. A funny thing happened for the second time. Just like the other day in Italy, someone asked us for directions in Hebrew. Second time in a week. I guess we look like locals wherever we are. People were late in getting to the ship for the third time. I don't understand how they can be so inconsiderate and irresponsible. Tomorrow we will be in our second Israeli port, Haifa. No plans yet. We might just get on a train or bus and see where we end up.

Main cultural complex, Tel Aviv

2011-05-31T04:12:00.000-07:00

Tel Aviv Beach

2011-05-31T04:09:00.000-07:00

Shopping center, Tel Aviv

2011-05-31T04:08:00.000-07:00

House with statues on the balcony, Tel Aviv

2011-05-31T04:07:00.001-07:00

JAFFA

2011-05-31T04:07:00.000-07:00

Teenage soldiers on a walkabout.

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Old men playiing cards at the beach. Jerry wants to play too.

2011-05-31T04:05:00.000-07:00

The Med

2011-05-31T04:04:00.000-07:00

White sandy beach, Tel Aviv

2011-05-31T04:02:00.000-07:00

Beach Promenade, Tel Aviv

2011-05-31T04:01:00.000-07:00

Israel

2011-05-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in a restaurant in Tel Aviv at the moment. Yesterday was a relaxing sea day and that was good because today we got a very early start. We took public transportation to Tel Aviv, walked around the city center and headed for the beach. It is a large, beautiful beach on the Med with white sand and hardly any waves. It is very clean, has a beautiful promende and goes on for miles and miles. The weather is perfect, sunny and about 80 degrees. After walking for a few miles we took a sightseeng bus for two hours. The city has grown so much since I was here last that I didn't recognize it at all. It has skyscrapers, beaches, beautiful residential neighborhoos and tons and tons of people visiting from all over the world. There is a section of beachfront condos that looks just like Miami Beach. It is a lovely, busy place with lots of vibrant life. Wonderful! Photos to follow.

Shoppin in downtown Rhodes

2011-05-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

Lady of Rhodes

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Back street, Rhodes

2011-05-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Jerry and His Friend

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Castle, Rhodes

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Templar castle, Rhodes

2011-05-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

Rhodes

2011-05-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

Beach walk, Kusadasi

2011-05-28T04:51:00.000-07:00

Local tourist store

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Practicing for graduation, Kusadasi

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Mid day at the mosque

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Jerry's new job selling Turkish pretzels in the market

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The tomato stand

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The spice section of the market

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Local farmer's market, Kusadasi

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The beach at Kusadasi

2011-05-28T04:43:00.000-07:00

Buying a carpet from Elliot's relatives

2011-05-28T04:41:00.000-07:00

Jerry shopping for bargains

2011-05-28T04:40:00.000-07:00

Kusadasi harbor

2011-05-28T04:39:00.000-07:00

Mariner next to the Noordam

2011-05-28T04:38:00.000-07:00

Aboard the Mariner

2011-05-28T04:36:00.001-07:00

Today's port stop was Kusadasi, Turkey. It is a shopping mecca for carpets, fake watches, fake purses, fake sunglasses. As it turned out, my sunglasses broke so I bought a pair of fake Chanels. They serve the purpose and were cheap. The vendors were not as aggressive as I remembered. We did not go to Ephesus since we had been there twice before so we just walked around, got out of the tourist area and went to a local farmers market. How fresh and wonderful everything looked and smelled. They had every possible fruit, vegetable, cheese, spice and sweet available. The vendors were shouting out their bargains in a cacaphony of noise.

The muezzin called the faithful to prayer at the local mosque. Half of those praying on their little prayer rugs had cell phones attached to their ears. Turkey is a secular country with a moslem minority so there weren't that many faithful. I think their main religion is called tourism and their local god is currency in any shape or form.

We got caught in the daily downpour but it was all right because it was warm. We came upon a school where the local kids were getting ready for a graduation ceremony and were all dressed in their bright red graduation caps and gowns. So cute! Kids are the same all over if the crazy fanatics don't get to them and bend their minds out of shape.

We are both longing for a sea day. We have been running around like two maniacs. We say we will sleep late and not be the first ones off the ship but something goes off in our heads the minute the ropes tie up and off we go with me grouchy because I hate to get up early.

We had dinner tonight with a lovely Australian couple from Melbourne who seem to travel like we do so there was much to talk about. The entertainment tonight was someone who we saw at Cascade Lakes last year. Small world and getting smaller.

We were lucky enough to miss more European riots, this time in Barcelona. There seems to be a lot of unrest in the world these days. I hope things are calm when we get to Israel.

Jerry is taking videos like a crazy man. His head is forever stuck in the video camera. Today he took his famous pool thermometer to the beach and took the water temperature...about 74. Too cold for us. He made me take a video but I was laughing so hysterically that the camera shook like it was in the middle of an earthquake.

More to come from Rhodes tomorrow.

A Long Way Down

2011-05-27T00:40:00.000-07:00

Villa Jovis, Isle of Capri

2011-05-27T00:37:00.000-07:00

Mariner of the Seas

2011-05-27T00:16:00.001-07:00

Mariner of the Seas

We have just completed day 4 of our cruise. The boarding process in Civitavecchia was painless and fairly quick. We were able to get to our cabin which faces the front of the ship so we can always see where we are going. We have had nice weather although it rains every afternoon just at sailaway time. It only lasts for about half an hour. Our first port of call was Napoli, otherwise known as Naples. We took the ferry to Capri where we climbed one-thousand feet to the Villa Jovis, summer limlhome of the Roman emperor Tiberius. He would invite his enemies up for lunch and then push them off the cliff. It was a pretty grueling climb but totally worth it. We packed a lunch and had a picnic amongst the ruins. Quite lovely. The hike down was just as difficult so we really had quite a workout We had a sea day yesterday and we needed the rest. Last night was wonderful with our special dinner with the captain. He is charming and a great conversationalist. Great conversation, great food, great wine. What else can you ask for?

Today was our port stop in Athens, Greece. It was hot, smoggy, crowded, but no riots today. They have been having some political unrest but it was calm today. We did get caught in a rain storm with lightning and thunder but we survived. We took the subway back to the ship and then walked two miles to get from the subway stop to the ship. It was good because we rode the sightseeing bus in the morning and we needed to get some exercise. Everything was about the same here as we remembered it from last time.

The ship is good. The passengers are from all over the world and we all seem to be getting along very well. Today four Chinese passengers missed the ship. I have no idea what they will be doing and how they will catch up.

Tomorrow we visit Turkey, a port stop we have been to so we will get off the ship whenever we get up; no rush. It is a port stop which is good for shopping. We will not go to Ephesus since we have been there on two previous occasions. The seas have been very calm in the eastern Med and that is good for Jerry. Life on a cruise ship is good and travel is so much easier. It really is the only way to go.

Dinner

2011-05-26T04:54:00.000-07:00

Last night was formal night and we had dinner with the captain at his private table. More to come...

Athens

2011-05-26T04:35:00.000-07:00

This will be a short one. Will catch up soon. We are sitting in a coffee shop in Athens. It's pouring outside and we just came out of the rain. Very crowded, smoggy and tons of traffic here. No riots today.

Train strike

2011-05-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, there is now an official train strike here in Italy and the railroads are in complete chaos. Another reason why we moved closer to the port. We just have to wheel our luggage to the port shuttle to get on the ship.

Trying to get off the train at Roma Termini

2011-05-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

Toy store, Rome

2011-05-22T14:12:00.001-07:00

Egyptin obelisk

2011-05-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Part of the aqueduct

2011-05-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

Roma Termini railroad station

2011-05-22T14:10:00.000-07:00