Month: June 2023

Mo and I visited many sites in Dublin when we enjoyed a land tour of Ireland in 2015, including a visit to the iconic  Temple Bar

When we woke on this first full day of cruising this morning, my first thought was to get downstairs to the medical offices which opened at 8.  Breakfast began at 7 AM so there was time for a bite before I attempted to see what was involved in getting replacement prescriptions for the ones I had lost.

We found breakfast upstairs in the Terrace Cafe to be a somewhat lackluster affair.  The presentation was lovely, and the best part of breakfast on this entire cruise was the beautiful fruit.  On this first morning, however, I decided to order an omelet from the omelet station, freshly made in front of my eyes.  In spite of the delicious ingredients I chose, the omelet was rather terrible, flat, and tasteless.  The hash browns looked like the ones you get at Macdonald’s, except they were tasteless and soggy.  I think the problem with the omelets was the big vat of mixed-up eggs that were used to create them.  I never tried one again.  After a few days on the ship Mo and I learned to eat fruit, bagels and cream cheese, and an English muffin now and then.  I did try a pancake one morning and it was also soggy and I couldn’t eat it.  Mo tried the french toast one morning, one of her favorites, and it was a very large, very thick piece of doughy bread with only a bit of coating, and again, tasteless.

I would have to say this was the biggest disappointment we found on our cruise. This highly-touted luxury cruise couldn’t seem to manage a tasty, hot breakfast.  Even the yogurt came in paper cups, or in a parfait cup with soggy tasteless granola.  I found myself daydreaming of the thick, rich yogurt that I enjoyed while traveling in Turkey, with honeyed apricots and other fruits.  Certainly wasn’t something we would find on this cruise. I also remembered tasty ground oats on the coast of Ireland at a hotel that served a condiment table for the oats with everything my heart could desire, including Irish Cream.  The oats on the ship were runny, and there were no raisins or brown sugar to disguise the taste.  Ah well.  It is a cruise for seeing the world, not necessarily for the food.  Except…wait…isn’t a cruise often about the food?  We would experience some grand food on this ship, but never at breakfast.

After breakfast, Mo returned to our stateroom while I rode the very fast, and always-ready elevator down to the medical office on the 4th deck. The nurse was quick and efficient, and within minutes the doctor had prescribed my needed medications and I was on my way.  No questions asked, just a hefty bill, with 28 synthroid pills for my thyroid coming to a hefty 240 bucks!!  The visit was $150 and the gabapentin was only a few dollars.  Never could figure out the thyroid thing, and I certainly could have done without it for two weeks if I had known the cost.  The gabapentin I need for leg pain and such related to my disease, so whatever the cost it was worth it.  When I returned home, instead of turning it into my travel insurance, I needed to claim it on my blue cross plan.  We will see what happens when they get that processed for overseas care after a minimum of 30 days.

Mo and I had decided that since we spent several days in Dublin in 2015, we didn’t need to pay for an excursion to enjoy the city.  We discussed using the tender to get to the dock at Dun Laoghaire but then learned that it would be a considerable distance on public transportation to get to the part of the city where we could pick up the “Hop on Hop off” bus to possibly get to the Temple Bar for old times sake.  

The beautiful library at Trinity College, where the Book of Kells resides

Reading about all the things to do in Dublin was simply checking off all the things we had already done during our previous visit.  There were caveats for the onshore excursions stating that the visit to Trinity College no longer included a view of the Book of Kells.  Been there, done that, and loved the college, the library, and seeing the book.  We also loved our time at the Museum of Archeology where we viewed the incredible bog people of Ireland.  We had visited the cathedrals, and the churches and walked along the River Liffey, and the only thing left on the list was a visit to the Guinness Brewery.  We decided not to waste our time doing that in 2015 and certainly didn’t need to deal with tenders and buses to try to do it on this trip.

Instead, we relaxed and spent our day exploring the ship a bit, and yes, taking a nice long nap.  It was a wonderful way to spend a rainy day in Dublin, or at least in the vicinity of Dublin.  We enjoyed a very good lunch in the Terrace Cafe, with a Mexican theme, which appealed to both of us.  

The Terrace Cafe is a pleasant space and was rarely overcrowded

Another walk around the ship to the very top deck where we found a small pickleball court and a creative 9-hole golf course.  The big surprise on the ship was the beautiful library on the 14th deck. There were six well-appointed galleries with comfortable chairs and tables and a great selection of books in many categories. Not surprisingly, all the travel books for Ireland and Scotland were gone.

Yes, I did go in the pool and the spa, but only once since the weather was quite chilly 

We were too worn out from our relaxing day to go back upstairs to the Horizons Lounge at the very top of the ship for the Captain’s Cocktail Celebration, with music and complimentary cocktails (proper attire required).  I guess afternoon jammies wouldn’t do.   I guess this is one of the nicer gatherings on the ship and in retrospect, I wish we had made the effort to participate.

Back to the stateroom for some quiet time and a nice shower in order to dress for our anticipated dinner at the Polo Grill.  This was to be our first dining in one of the four specialty restaurants on board and we were looking forward to the experience.

The restaurant is on the 14th deck aft.  Walking into the lovely space was a delight, with claret leather chairs, white tablecloths with several layers of cutlery, and a beautiful view from the windows.  With our reservation at 6:30, we were among the first diners for the evening and were led to a lovely table for two by the windows.

Dinner was superb, with a lovely prawn cocktail for me and a Caesar salad for Mo.  But first I had to try the pork belly appetizer, which was tender and crisp and perfectly flavored.  Mo’s filet was a tiny bit less than perfect but my ribeye, cooked medium rare and slathered with not only blue cheese but bearnaise sauce was delicious.  We ordered a bottle of wine with dinner, consumed only half of it, having the bottle sent to our room to be delivered by room service when we returned. Somehow I took photos of the appetizers and the desserts and never managed to take a photo of the rest of our meal.  Fun side note about cruising, you can order as many desserts as you might like, notice the cheesecake AND the creme brulee. I discovered when I returned home that I had lost 4 pounds overall on the trip.  Lucky me.

After dinner, we found our way back down to the 5th deck where the show of the evening would be performed.  On this night we were treated to a stellar performance of Broadway in Concert starring the Riviera Production Vocalists, accompanied by the Riviera Showband.  The music was wonderful, the voices were good enough that my vocalist daughter Melody would have approved, and she is a stickler for perfect pitch.  We enjoyed the show immensely.  

Dublin is on the 53rd parallel north, approximately the same as the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, and Edmonton, Alberta.  This far north, the sun rises early and sets very late.  We fell into bed accompanied by a lovely sunset toward the west as the ship sailed south from Dublin toward the next port in Cobh, Ireland.  With just a gentle rocking that evening, I slept like a baby, without a hint of motion sickness.  

Our drive north on I-5 to Melody’s house always includes a stop at this lovely rest area for a Mattie run

Yes, it has definitely been a while since I last wrote.    Anyone who has followed my blog for any length of time has experienced these periods of silence.  When life gets a bit too complex, I slip away mentally with barely enough energy to deal with the stuff of every day.  Writing slips into the background.  I was brought up short when a distant friend and follower sent me an email asking if everything was OK.  I immediately wrote back to Liz, and let her in on the many happenings of the last three months. I had full intentions of writing a blog that day, and yet here it is, a month later, with nothing written.  

We had a few lovely sunsets to view from our deck at home during June

Somewhere on my desk is a notepad with a synopsis of what I need to write about, but it is lost in the shuffle of airline and cruise itineraries, receipts for water system upgrades, calendar notations for chores that need to be completed, and yes, schedules for some fun times that we slipped into our everyday lives as well.  But there will be time enough to catch up on the past three months since I last wrote after I write about our most recent adventure.

A very long time ago, before COVID changed everything, Mo and I decided to sail with Oceania Cruise Lines on a trip around Scotland and Ireland.  It was in 2019 when we made our first deposit for the cruise, excited that we would be sharing ten days on the Sirena with friends Erin and Mui.  I vaguely remember that they were on a much longer cruise, but the segment around the British Isles was the portion where we would be sailing together.  

For years we have read about our friends’ extensive cruising with Oceania and knew we could trust their recommendation.  We heard about the cruise through Mo’s Alma Mater, Oregon State University when they sent a flyer about this cruise, and we originally booked with the travel service through OSU.  All that changed when COVID shut down cruising, not only for our booked cruise date in 2020 but for the second booking in 2021, which was also canceled.  When it came time to roll our money over one more time for the same cruise in 2022, we had already paid for our RV trip in New York City with Adventure Caravans, and there was no way we could fit a cruise in before that long trip.

Once again, we rolled over the money and booked a cruise with Oceania for 2023.  It wasn’t exactly the same cruise.  It was on a different ship, the Riviera, with a bit of difference in the itinerary, and sadly, Erin and Mui would be somewhere else on an extended cruise during the dates in 2023 so we wouldn’t be sailing with our friends.  

We spent much of June packing and making arrangements for home care, dog care, and dealing with some water issues, but that is another story.

Mattie adores Melody and Robert so we knew she would be in good hands

By the time June 27 rolled around, everything was arranged.  The most important arrangement for the day was delivering Mattie to her home away from home with daughter Melody and husband Robert.  As anyone who follows my Facebook knows, Mattie adores Melody and Robert.  When some previous arrangements for Mattie’s care fell through, we were thrilled and relieved when Melody and Robert agreed to keep her for the two weeks we would be gone.

This isn’t exactly a small request.  Melody and Robert have two very spoiled cats that tolerate Mattie but don’t exactly adore her.  They also don’t have a fenced yard, and keeping the dog would require morning and evening walks, and all the other needs that little dogs have that are not quite the same as living with cats.  In addition, the cats have food down all the time, and Robert’s first comment was, “Well, I guess we will have to figure out the feeding thing”.

Our departure for the cruise was arranged by Oceania, with a flight from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, British Columbia, and then from Vancouver directly to Dublin, Ireland. We were scheduled to leave Portland on the 28th at the reasonable hour of ten AM.  Our trip north to Portland wasn’t difficult.  We dropped Mattie off with Melody at lunchtime, enjoyed a visit with her, and then continued north to Mo’s brother Dan and wife Chere’s place not far from Portland.  They kindly offered to take us to the airport, keep the car so we didn’t have to pay for parking, and then pick us up when we returned. 

We arrived at their place in the late afternoon, with plenty of time to visit and enjoy a lovely supper that Chere prepared for us.  The guest room was waiting with Chere’s beautiful quilts that I always enjoy and a comfortable bed.  

The morning was easy, with a light breakfast before we traveled to the airport, arriving at 8, about 3 hours before flight time.  Check-in was easy, and everything was smooth as we navigated the security lines and enjoyed a coffee as we waited at the gates for our on-time flight to Vancouver.

Seeing the City of Portland from the air is always a treat

We got a great view of Sauvies Island and the Columbia River where we camped last spring

Once in Vancouver, we had four hours of layover time to deal with passport control and get our boarding passes for British Airways. I had requested assistance before boarding, and in Vancouver wheelchair assistance, and once we were through passport control, we were provided with a ride on a golf cart to the correct terminal for our flight to Dublin. For some reason, we weren’t able to use the phone app for this airline and needed paper boarding passes, even though I had completed all the online check-in procedures.

Our first flight was on a plane with two seats per row which was quite nice

It wasn’t until after we enjoyed a nice lunch in the airport that I noticed with chagrin that our seat selections had been changed and we were no longer seated together.  I went immediately to the gate the second it opened and managed to get our seats changed, but the seats we were assigned together were in the second to the last row of the plane.  Not a good choice if you care about noise on a ten-hour flight.

My interesting clothing choices are so that my heaviest shoes and pants weren’t in my suitcase and I expected to be chilly on the outer islands of Scotland. Mimosas in the Vancouver Airport.

We were both happy that we had enjoyed such a great lunch when the meal service started.  We were informed that there were no other choices except for some kind of vegetarian food which was very strange, and we aren’t new to vegetarian food.  The other two choices of chicken and something else were long gone by the time the food service trolley reached our row.  

I am not a fan of British Airways.  The seat spacing is the tightest I have yet to experience on an airplane, and the seats are hard and very uncomfortable.  We were in a window and center seat and were lucky that the young man from Ireland seated on the aisle in our three-seat row was quite delightful. He talked a bit, but not too much, and was always kind when I had to climb over him to get to the bathrooms.  It was nice that the bathroom was just a row behind us, but that also meant that we had a lot of traffic coming and going past our seats.

The young man and I conversed a bit during the long flight, and I learned he was from Sligo, not far from the hotel where Mo and I stayed when we were in Ireland in 2015.  He told me that it was the first time he had to fly separated from his mum and twin brother who were several rows ahead of us.  At the end of the flight, he asked to hug me and thanked me for being so kind to him and that it had made his flight much easier.  I will always remember his sweet smile, his curly red hair pulled back in a ponytail, and his kind blue eyes.

I did try to sleep, but the cramped seats and lack of legroom were pretty hard to take, and my legs started cramping and jumping about halfway through the flight.  I finally decided to take some of the prescription gabapentin that helps with this problem and dug deeply into my carry-on bag to find the med container I had carefully packed.  What I didn’t know until bedtime on the ship was that in the crowded craziness of the airplane, I somehow managed to lose the little pill container I had so carefully packed.  

Our lovely terrace overlooking the port of Belfast

We arrived in Dublin on time at 8:30 in the morning, Dublin time, and managed to get through immigration/passport control without incident.  I did have my walker with me on this trip, and it was a godsend for getting us past long waiting lines through special gates for those of us with trouble walking.  Not a bad thing.  Oceania had a representative waiting for us at the baggage claim but so many people were having trouble getting their checked baggage that it was a long wait before we got on the bus to Belfast.

Now this seems a bit crazy, but we were flown directly to Dublin, and we had arranged transport with Oceania, which was a godsend since we had to get to the ship port in Belfast to embark the ship. We would then set sail that evening for the next morning’s arrival back in Dublin.  I think this must have had something to do with Dublin lacking a large cruise port, but perhaps Belfast had issues with certain airlines.  We never did figure this out. The drive to Belfast took about 2 hours and I found myself nodding off a few times before we arrived.

Once in Belfast at the cruise terminal, the embarkation process was quick and efficient.  I must say we got on that ship more quickly than we have ever managed to do on a cruise.  Our concierge-level room wasn’t available for another hour, but the regular staterooms had to wait much longer.  We took advantage of the time to enjoy a simple burger for lunch from the Waves Grill and explore the ship a bit.

When we opened the door to our stateroom, we were delighted to find it roomy and comfortable. Our complimentary bottle of chilled champagne was waiting for us on the table. I immediately checked out the bed and was thrilled to discover a perfect mattress with fabulous bedding.  Opening the bathroom door was an even bigger surprise, beautifully redone in the most recent ship upgrade.  The bathroom was bigger than we have ever enjoyed on a ship, and much bigger than most RV bathrooms, with a roomy shower and lots of extra drawers and cupboards.

Mo napped a bit, but I was too excited to sleep, even though I was exhausted.  Supper that evening at the Terrace Cafe dinner buffet opened at 6:30. 

The Riviera is a lovely ship, with just 1200 guests and all the amenities you would expect on a luxury cruise ship.  There were a total of 16 decks, and we were on deck 9, reasonably close to the elevators.  In addition to the traditional Grand Dining Room, there is the Terrace Cafe, serving buffet meals, the Waves Grill for burgers and pizzas, and four wonderful specialty restaurants.  We had reservations scheduled for a night at each specialty restaurant.  Even though the ship is moderately sized based on current cruise ship standards, it has a nightly production show, music in the lounges, and afternoon tea served on deck 15 in the beautiful Horizons Lounge. We had great expectations for this cruise.

After our lovely dinner, we settled into our room and at that point, I discovered that my prescription medications were missing.  It was a bit terrifying, but I realized that I might be able to get replacements the next day at the onboard medical office.  I was so exhausted that with the help of a Benadryl I managed to sleep soundly until morning when we docked in Dublin.

 Gearrannan Blackhouse Village

For me, the next three days that we spent in Scotland were the most exciting part of our cruise.  Mo and I have been to Ireland, and Mo was in Scotland as a young woman, but I had never been there and we had never traveled to Scotland together. This was our first taste of a country with centuries of history plugged into my own genes.  With the introduction of DNA testing, I discovered I have much more Scottish heritage than I do Irish or any other origin.

Once again we were anchored offshore from the port at Stornaway, the largest town of the Outer Hebrides islands of Scotland.  Mo and I departed as soon as tender service allowed because we wanted to visit the town on our own before meeting our tour group on the pier at 2:30 for a tour of “Historic Lewis”, designed to showcase the history and culture of the island of Lewis, the largest and most populated island in the Outer Hebrides chain.  

The Isle of Lewis is shaped by the sea and harsh climate.  Steeped in history, the island has been inhabited for over 6,000 years, with nothing between it and North America.  Although we were to pass near the Standing Stones of Callanash, there was a message in LARGE PRINT in the Currents magazine to be certain that we knew that visiting the stones was not part of our chosen tour.  The tour that visited the stones was sold out before we were allowed to make tour choices, so I was aware that we wouldn’t see them.

We spent a couple of hours in Stornoway, exploring the small side streets, with me attempting to navigate the very narrow sidewalks with the walker.  I was glad I had it, however, since there were a few hills and a lot of walking involved in our explorations.  It was great to have a place to sit when I needed it.

The Neogothic Lews castle rises on land above a beautiful park on one side of the town, but we decided against visiting there and instead decided to spend our time exploring the town.  Stornoway is the center for the manufacture of Harris Tweed and tourism is also important to the economy.   The town was established by Vikings in the 9th century, with the settlement growing slowly around the natural harbor.  The economics of Stornaway is built on traditional industries like fishing, making Harris Tweed, and farming, but currently, it is influenced by tourism and the oil industry.

On the main street closest to the port, we saw an outstanding and very photogenic local landmark, the  Stornaway Town Hall.  The building is important in the history of Stornoway and is an iconic building on one of the most prominent sites in the town.

There were a few shops, and with a short time to explore, we skipped the shops to make an attempt to find the churches, which were highly touted in the city guide.

In this case, I was glad that I had taken the time to download the Google map for the island, and we used it to make an attempt to find the church.  The city maps are often very poorly made, not to scale, and often not oriented in any particular direction.

With a bit of walking, we found the Scottish Episcopal Church, but it was not open for visiting.  We saw tiny gates leading to charming gardens, but no possible way to enter with my walker.  

After walking around several blocks looking for the church entrance, we gave up and continued on toward the much larger Free Church of Scotland in another direction.

There were helpful docents at this church and we were invited to enter and watch a video about the beliefs of the Free Church of Scotland.  It was an interesting visit, and the austere interior reflected the somewhat austere version of Protestantism represented by this denomination.

The kind woman who showed us the church offered to take our photograph and would have spent more time with us, but we needed to be on our way for our tour of the rest of the island.

We met at the pier to board our bus that would lead us on a circular tour of the northern half of the Island.  Our tour guide was a young woman with a lilting Norwegian accent, not quite as funny or charming as our Irish guide had been the previous day.  But as she told of the history of the Outer Hebrides and their Viking past, it made a bit more sense to have a Norwegian guide.  She told us she had recently relocated to the island for good and loved living here.  We enjoyed her stories about her Pentecostal Church of Scotland membership and other church services that she attended, which seemed to be her major social activity on the island.

Our first stop was at the black house village of Gearrannan, steeped in history, in a location of outstanding beauty.  The village’s history only goes back to the early 1900s, and yet it looked much like some of the sets on the Outlander series, set a couple of centuries earlier in the story. 

Since 1989, a local community trust has been painstakingly restoring the once derelict properties and croft (small farm) land to recreate an authentic settlement.

Traditional methods have been used to recreate the dry-stone masonry and thatched roofs of the original croft houses.  A typical “blackhouse” was a long rectangular building forty to fifty feet in length, with an interior width of 10 to 12 feet.  All the corners in the outside walls were rounded, and great care was taken to ensure that the outer walls, which were of undressed stone, had a slight slant to allow the rain to drip off and not seep into the interior. The thatched roof was a fundamental characteristic of the blackhouse and thatching was a family or community activity with the skills passed from generation to generation. 

The small rocky paths that led to vistas of the surrounding landscape and the distant ocean were covered in blooming heather and brilliant green grasses.  It was extremely quiet, even with all the people from the tour milling about.  

As was often the case on our tours on this trip, we were given just 15 minutes of free time to walk around, visit the museum, and peruse the small artists’ shop, where I didn’t have enough time to make a thoughtful purchase.  Another moment that I wish now that I had managed differently because some of the small art pieces would have been good gifts for my daughters.

Yes, I did manage to snag the front seat of the bus for this tour!

Once on the bus again, we traveled a short distance further along the rugged coastline on Loch Carloway, to the exceptionally well-preserved Carloway Broch, a 2,000-year-old circular, dry-stone-built, fortified tower. 

Here we viewed the collapsing stonework which made the interior galleries and stairways visible.  

Several folks from our group climbed the steep narrow stairs to the upper levels of the broch, but neither of us was even slightly inclined to try it.  I had a hard enough time trying to get through the low, narrow doorways to the interior of the ancient building.

The broch was on a high hill with another view of the Loch Carloway, and several farmhouses scattered about the landscape.  

There were sheep, and old stone ruins scattered about as well.

Google image of the Outer Hebrides west of the coast of Mainland Scotland.  

When we left the broch, our circular itinerary took us along the west coast of the Hebrides, pounded by the force of the Atlantic Ocean.  We motored across the moors on our way back to Stornaway.  However, along the way, our guide pointed out the Callanish Standing Stones, barely visible through the bus windows in the distance.

I took a photo but stole the second photo below from the internet to show what we missed.  Throughout the Outer Hebrides, and the Orkney Islands which we would see on the next day, there are numerous ancient sites of standing stones, brochs, and other prehistoric ruins.  

 Photo from the internet of the Callanish Standing Stones

I would love to return to Scotland, but it would require a minimum three-hour ferry ride to get to the island from the mainland, so I am glad we were able to see these islands from the ease of a cruise port.

Once we returned to the ship, we decided that it was a good evening to see if the 24-hour room service was a good option for a relaxing evening in our stateroom.  Our dinner was just OK, in fact, I wrote that it was “ok” in my notes, and never took note of what we ordered.

That evening the Riviera Lounge entertainment was to be a Concert of Movie Themes, performed by the Brilliant String Quartet at 9:30.  We chose instead to stay in our room and relax in preparation for our next day of touring, the third day in a row with a formal tour.

On a different day, I caught the lovely musicians performing in the Grand Bar.

The photo below I took from our veranda at 11 PM as we rounded Cape Wrath on the northwest coast of Scotland.