http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/ABF/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from ABF en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:46:31 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:46:31 +0000 A Quarter of a Century in France and Start sending my mail to Italy...So I turned the big 25 in Nice France of all places. I woke up on the morning on May 19th to find a castle constructed outside of my cabin door...how's THAT for a birthday surprise I also found out last night that since we have another charter onboard some computer software company they have decided to bring on some of th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Taormina/blog-279284.html The Beautiful Mediterranean Adventures in Horta Azores Funchal Madeira Barcelona and Malaga Spain....The Atlantic crossing from Ft. Lauderdale was a whirlwind of activities performing and lots of lots of sea days. It was also awesome having my Aunt Elaine and Uncle K.C. onboard to share in my life out here They were such a pleasure to cruise with...and loved seeing them in the front row http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-279283.html Just a quick blog to update you all on my itinerary for my last month on the ship Right now I am in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean crossing back over to the Mediterranean. I cannot believe how fast this contract has gone by how much I have seen and how much I still have to see Anyway this particular cruise is special because of some great company onboard. First of all I have my Aunt Elain http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Bermuda/Hamilton/blog-273519.html Two wonders of the world TallDarkHandsome MenI'm sorry I have neglected my blog for a few stops but this past week has been a whirlwind of ports and shows...so here is my best update. Since I last wrote I have visited my first worldwonder the forbidden city of Petra Jordan then off to the pyramids in Cairo Egypt then Rhodes Athens and Olympia Greece and finally Valletta Malta. I re http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Greece/West-Greece/Olympia/blog-270355.html Have you ever been on a Disney or Universal ride that starts with a movie describing the adventure you're about to take as a place of the future or the perfect place Then you get on the ride and something goes terribly wrong for purpose of the story Well I was watching a tourist advertisement about Dubai that the ship was running continuously the night before we arrived and it sort of felt l http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/United-Arab-Emirates/Dubai/blog-262446.html How can I describe my feelings for India in one little travel blog amongst blogs Easy....PEACEOUTINDIA I don't mean to sound insensitive or mundane or ungrateful for that but from a former Walt Disney World tea party afficianado India is just not my cup of tea. I already blogged from my first port Cochin. You read about my adventurous day with my wonderful tuk tuk driver. Since then we ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Maharashtra/Mumbai/blog-261601.html Today was our first stop in India in Cochin to be exact. I woke up at 7am this morning for immigration and after having breakfast on deck I looked around and was not too impressed by my surroundings in Cochin. Nonetheless I got off the ship with Tony and Mike...and we were greeted by a friendly TukTuk driver very popular mode of transport in Asia...a little car with three wheels that cost li http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Kerala/Kochi-/blog-258921.html After my final stop in the beautiful country of Thailand Phuket I think it's safe to say I have fallen in love with Thailand and all that it has to offer. Some good weather finally came our way as we sailed into Phuket...and what an unbelievable day we had We headed over to Kata Beach which was stunning. Thailand beats Hawaii any day....the water was stunning crystal blue the backdrop was lus http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-258208.html Well more like a day really. We sail out of Singapore tonight and what a hectic couple of days it has been over here in SE Asia We arrived in Pataya Beach Thailand and it was one of my favorite stops so far It was a gorgeous day finally some hot sunny weather and what's not to love about fun asian chotchkies bargain shopping a nice beach an insanely awesome Mariott hotel and some pad t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-255821.html Could it be true All those times of saying I haven't done that since 'nam have now come to an end because well I'm in 'nam Yes today is one of those days where you are reading my blog thinking OF COURSE Ashley is in Vietnam today. Nha Trang Vietnam. I mean duh. Where else would she be Let me start by saying we sailed out of Hong Kong after spending two glorious days in The City of Unen http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-253766.html I'MINASIA I must say that when we first arrived in Osaka Japan...for the first time I felt REALLY far away from home. Don't get me wrong seeing tribal dances in Papua New Guinea and sailing right next to the Sydney Opera House felt far...but now I feel REALLY REALLY far. Our first stop was very brief for a memorial service at Iwo Jima where Americans climbed the mountain to fight Japanese http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-251919.html So for those of you who have never heard of Saipan or the Northern Mariana Islands you will be happy to know that it is where I have been frolicking all day but at 70 ft below sea level in a yellow submarine. IT WAS AWESOMEI volunteered to be another tour escort and got put on a submarine tour I mean when else am I going to be able to go on a submarine point one and in Saipan point two http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Northern-Mariana-Islands/Saipan/blog-248165.html I never thought I actually would BE on a slow boat to China but hence...I am Segment Three of the world cruise has started and we are sailing off the coast of Australia after spending this past week in Melbourne and Sydney. We have 2 days at sea before we arrive at Hardy Reef the Great Barrier Reef and Cairns Australia. We then head over to Papa New Guinea Japan and China Let me first upd http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cairns/open-water/blog-245354.html Hey EverybodyHere I am in an internet cafe in Nelson New Zealand Lots to update on I ended up writing a fabulous blog the other day and then my internet shut down and it all got erased. So annoying Anyway I am here in NZ and loving it It is the most beautiful clean place with lots of good shopping and really warm friendly people. Auckland was a big booming city and Wellington yesterda http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Nelson-Region/Nelson/blog-242184.html That's right...I have officially crossed the equator and the International date line therefore making Ashley's calendar go from Jan. 25th to Jan 27th. WHHHHHAT So weird. January 26th did not exist for me this year and I am still getting over the weirdness of that Let me start by saying...THIS IS MORE LIKE IT This past week has been BREATHTAKING. We as a cast have had lots more time to rela http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-239815.html Aloha to all ..Honolulu was yesterday and it was absolutely gorgeous. We had the entire day and evening off and I was ecstatic First of all wearing flowers in my hair just makes me happy. Mike Christina Shari Ryan and I took a shuttle to Waikiki beach had a yummy lunch and spent the day laying out on the super crowded beach. It reminded me a lot of Ft. Lauderdale beach...except for the hu http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Oahu/Honolulu/blog-235983.html Just a few minutes to update...We have begun the world cruise segment and have left LA and San Francisco....there was an awful storm and the ship was really rocky. It was great to see Jenny and go to my most favorite store SKY in LA Bought some dresses and a cute shirt from Kitson on Robertson. Oh how I love LA and OH OH OH how I love Jenny Ashman In San Francisco we had a yummy seafood http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Maui/blog-233833.html Alright so before you all wonder why it has taken me THIS long to update...allow to explain that my life has been utter chaos for the past month and a half since I got on the ship. We had a 5 week rehearsalinstallation process from hell where I literally rehearsed from morning until night while battling being sick adjusting to ship life and trying to squeeze in Ashley time all at once. Now b http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/Cabo-San-Lucas/blog-232599.html Yes that's right everybody I have just signed on to perform my cabaret and as a lead production singer on a 5 month world cruise to 6 continents and over 30 countries to fulfill yet another big dream of mine Now I am combining the whole performinggetting paid thing already a foreign concept with performinggetting paidtraveling around the world...maybe that bachelors in Musical Theatre was http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/blog-196393.html