Andra
Andra Folks Joined: January 4th 2005
Logged in: June 22nd 2011
Logged in: June 22nd 2011
http://www.e-heidelberg.com/
I also have a shared blog with my friend, Brigitte. Check it out:
http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Brigitte-and-Andra/
Travel Blog Posts
Our Boat
Well a few of you have asked what life is like for 21 days on the high seas, so that's what this post is about. Lots of videos in this post as they best show life on the ship. The boat we were on is the Norwegian Jade, which is owned and operated by NCL (Norwegian Cruise Lines) -the 3rd largest cruise line in the world. They are recognized for inventing “Freestyle Cruising”... which means eat when you want, where you want, with whom you want... you also do what you want, when you want to do it... they do have some schedules but it's up to you how engaged you want to be with their organized activities. There was always something going on somewhere on the boat... we loved this model!!! Since NCL is an ... read more
Barcelona Take 2
So our cruise has come to an end and we've arrived in our final port of Barcelona... although our sea days are behind us (at least for now), the vacation is not yet over. We still have one final day in Barcelona before our flight home. If you've been following our blog, then you might remember our earlier visit here when we took the hop on hop off bus tour; that was a cold day in Barcelona, but we were much luckier on this visit. The temperature was about 18C and it was bright and sunny. Since we knew a little about the city we bought a full day metro (sub-way) pass and started meandering our way around. Our first stop was Parc Guell. The park is a public park (yay! Free), and it encompasses 15 ... read more
What? What do you mean it's our last stop??
Malta is a stunning country and it is steeped in history. We could have easily spent our entire honeymoon here. The people are friendly, most speak English (as the British ruled these islands for a time). Every street, every building and every landscape is picturesque. You might be familiar with their very uniquely painted fishing boats. We also learned that Malta is home to a booming movie industry; Gladiator, Troy, The Count of Monte Cristo, Munich, Popeye, etc... were all filmed entirely in Malta. The architecture and settings lend themselves nicely to these epic period-piece films. Our pictures of Malta do not do it justice. The morning looked rainy as we came into port but it turned out to be a bright sunny day for about 90% of our stay in Malta. We spent the ... read more
Hello from Egypt
2 days and 1 nite in Cairo, Egypt... time to make some childhood Indiana Jones fantasies come to life... well maybe not... the Cairo in the Raiders of the Lost Ark is quite different from the Cairo of today. It is still wrapped in mystery and it is still home to some of the most important archeological discoveries on earth. Our trip was organized by the ship and we started at the Mohamed Ali Mosque (not the boxer, but an important leader in Egypt's history). We then moved onto the Cairo Archeological Museum which had some of the most fascinating artifacts we had ever seen. We were impressed by the museum in Athens but Egypt's history goes backs 10,000s of years, and the art, exhibits, and monuments show a highly advanced civilization that you could spend ... read more
Ephesus2
Have you heard of Ephesus...? yeah us neither... but surprisingly it is one of those awe-inspiring, magical places on earth. It is about 70 minutes outside of Izmir - which is the port city in Turkey where our ship docked this morning. We took a cruise organized tour, and our tour guide was once again local and fantastic. She talked about Turkey with a passion and knowledge that made you want to learn more about the country, it's people and it's history. Ephesus was our main stop, and Andra was especially pleased with the numerous stray cats that called this historical town home. This ruined Roman city was the most complete and expansive ruins we have experienced on this trip. Many of the marble streets are fairly intact and even some of the aqueducts (yes! they ... read more
Spray some Windex on it!
You may have heard of this little place called Athens (where a little event called the “Olympics” started). Athens is named after Athena (Goddess of wisdom, knowledge and battle) and she became the city's namesake when she gave the Greeks the gift of an Olive tree (not a bad gift)... and that very olive tree (or a suitable replacement) still stands at the top of the Acropolis next to Erechtheion (the most sacred spot at the Acropolis). The vast majority of Athens is a modern city, and is home to over 5 million people... but the Acropolis, Zeus' Temple, the Ancient Agora and a number of other legendary sites can still transport you back to the mystical place that existed thousands of years ago! The Acropolis itself stands atop a large jutting rock formation in the ... read more
Welcome To Rome
...and trying to see it in a day is impossible. But we gave it our best shot. Wow! Those three simple letters are what first come to mind as we begin this blog... or maybe these three: OMG; or these three: WTF... We could go on and on (especially if you let us use more letters)... Rome and Vatican City are unbelievable spots on our planet. This was the highlight stop of our trip (so far), and we're both committed to coming back here to spend multiple days, and maybe weeks, in Italy. We still have some heavy hitter locations to visit on this cruise (Athens, Greece, Cairo & Alexandria, Egypt, etc...), but Rome is going to be hard to beat. We had an organized tour booked through some folks we met online. This was a ... read more
Gaudi's Masterpiece
It's hard to believe but it's been 19 years since the Summer Olympics made a home in Barcelona. We may be old, but if it's any consolation Barcelona is much older, and with age comes charisma and it's for that reason that you should put Barcelona on your must see cities list. Barcelona's beauty took us by surprise. The city is filled with Gothic and Modernistic architecture (we didn't know what that meant either, but trust us it's worth seeing). Every building is different, some are wavy, some have sculptures, some have scales, some have towers, some have domes and the list goes on and on. Gaudi (a 19th century architect) is their favoured son, and his buildings, sculptures, and designs are everywhere. After visiting Barcelona we want to learn much more about him. He ... read more
Us and Picasso...outside his house
Malaga was a cold, harsh, and damp mistress. We arrived to chilly, wet weather and decided on the hop-on hop-off bus which goes to all the major highlights. Unfortunately when the weather is not cooperating this really is not the best way to see the city. Open-air double-deckers offer the best views when you ride on the top floor. We did have some moments of sun, and when we popped our heads out the city was beautiful. The bus took us through the core city which is an interesting mixture of historic Arab and Spanish architecture as well as modern buildings. There is quite a bit to see in the city. Pablo Picasso was born here. There is an active bullfighting ring. The cliffs overlooking the city are home to remains of an Arab fortress, and ... read more
Andra and Chris
We arrived to rain, so we opted for the hop on hop off bus tour and we decided on a seat undercover. It was a good option as we got to see a lot of the city, got our bearings, and allowed the rain Gods to finish up their gardening. After the bus we jumped on the Gondola which took us to the top of the hill. The rain scared away most of the tourists so there were no lines and we got a Gondola to ourselves. We had great views all the way up. Most of our pictures don't do the place justice. This city would make San Francisco look like Saskatchewan. Every house has a view of the ocean cuz each one is higher than the next. We're hopeful the parking break technology in ... read more
