We tried…An authentic Argentine dinner with offal and others…Tom, the supertaster…

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To us, these stuffed pig intestines, “Chinchulin,” were the least desirable items on the platter.  See description below:

 “Chinchulin / Small Intestines As you’d expect, it looks gross and tastes…well, it’s pretty particular and hard to describe, so you’re just going to have to trust me and try them. They should be well cooked and crunchy but never chewy. That means you got a dud plate. Squeeze abundant amounts of fresh lemon juice on top.

Parrillada in Spanish translates to “barbecue.” When we read online that Las Cabras is an authentic Argentine restaurant, especially popular with locals and known for their taste-tempting platters of meat, we thought we’d give it a try.

Located in the Palermo Hollywood district it was a direction we’d yet to walk except when we headed in that general direction to use an ATM located at a bank where we assumed fees would be less than other locations.  (We discovered this was not the case in Argentina. Using an ATM results in a fee of US $10 (ARS 186) regardless of the amount of local cash received, more than we’ve paid anywhere in the world).

Tom’s smile was as big as usual when I explained what was on the menu.

Earlier in the day, we had no hesitancy to venture out on this longer walk than usual for dinner. Also, there are a number of other restaurants in that area who’s menus we could check as we walked passed.

By late afternoon, it was raining hard but with a borrowed umbrella from the hotel, we decided to head out anyway. We never hesitate to walk in the rain especially when we have access to an umbrella. 

After all, we stood for 90 minutes in the pouring rain in Versailles in August 2014 (see story and photos here) without umbrellas and were soaked through to our underwear. We didn’t care as the rain ran down our faces. No walk to dinner in Palermo to dine would get us that wet. Off we went in the downpour. The experience was exquisite, memorable for a lifetime.

The bread was dry without butter and this little pat was definitely margarine which we don’t eat.

You may ask, “Why not take a taxi?” If a location we’re pursuing is within walking distance, we walk, rain or shine. (The exception to this may be when sightseeing when rain impedes the opportunity to take good photos)  It’s good to get out moving about after a big meal when the long walk back to the hotel would aid in digestion.

Unfortunately, no walk, no distance and no form of exercise could obliterate the heavy feeling in my gut after that meal or, for Tom…the taste in his mouth. Years ago, with his picky taste buds, I discovered he may be a “supertaster” as described here:

“A supertaster is a person who experiences the sense of taste with far greater intensity than average, with some studies showing an increased sensitivity to bitter tastes. It may be a cause of selective eating, but selective eaters are not necessarily supertasters, and vice versa. 

For additional details about supertasters, please click here.”

In most restaurants in Buenos Aires bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar are served at tables. Balsamic vinegar has a high carb count of 17 grams per 100 gram due to high sugar content and may contain wheat. Many olive oils used in mid-range (or less) restaurants aren’t pure, containing toxic canola and other vegetable oils we try to avoid.

Even in the rain, we enjoyed walking through the unfamiliar neighborhood of Palermo Hollywood, lined with apartment and office buildings and shops and restaurants although it was not quite as diverse and exciting as Serrano Plaza in Soho where we’ve dined most nights.

We easily found the restaurant only requiring a few turns, located several blocks from the Prodeo Hotel. I took a few photos along the way but found it difficult, preferring not to get the camera wet when the wind blew the rain.

At first, when this huge platter arrived, we anticipated it would be divine.  Once we left off the offal, there were only a few items we cared to eat. I took a taste of almost everything but I didn’t care for most of it.

Luckily, we arrived at an early enough hour there was no line. We’d read that at prime times, there can be a long queue to get inside the restaurant. Surprisingly, the restaurant was packed. The greeter suggested a table for two by the door, but we spotted one enmeshed within the other tightly packed rickety tables and chairs. after looking around.  

We seated ourselves at the other location and waited for a server with menus for quite some time. We’d read online that service could be slow so we stayed patient until a server arrived at our table with menus in hand, all of which was in Spanish. Why wouldn’t it be? I don’t recall menus in the US in other languages. We’d instead have waited for a table then take the busy spot by the door.

However, I can now read a menu in Spanish. There may be a few words I don’t know but over these past three weeks of dining out nightly, I made a point of learning more Spanish. I can’t speak fluently but I can use select words to get a message across.

After Tom became queasy after tasting some of the offal, he’d even lost his taste for the fries.

With the server too busy to wait while I got out enough words to ask about my dietary concerns, I threw caution to the wind and we ordered the “big meat” shared dish called “Parrillada” which translates to “barbecue” in English.

Surely, some of the meats wouldn’t be covered in sweet sauces and I’d find something that worked for me. Tom could enjoy the rest…so I thought. Silly me.

This time we ordered bottled water instead of beer and wine. Based on the huge platter of food we were anticipating, I didn’t order salad or vegetables. Much to our disappointment, shortly before our Parrillada arrived, the servers put huge wooden platters in front of each of us. I asked for “platos” for us instead of the wooden boards but she explained they don’t have “platos.”

The restaurant, Las Cabras, was busy at the early hour of 5:30 pm.

It’s not safe to eat on wooden boards. Often, bacteria get inside the grooves and the boards become a breeding ground for horrific diseases. Oddly, only a few days earlier, I’d read this article on Facebook on the dangers of eating on wooden planks or boards. It may seem fun to eat on these but it’s not worth the risks.

We could have left at that point but we decided to “wing it,” hoping we’d dodge a bullet and be safe eating the meat on their wooden platters. Next time, we’ll notice from online photos, if these boards are used instead of plates and we’ll avoid those restaurants. 

These wooden boards aren’t even safe to use in one’s home even with the utmost in care of the cleaning. A seasoned wooden plank may be fine for cooking the meat or fish at a high temperature but not to be used as a plate. Lesson learned.

The few pieces of beef ribs were fatty and chewy.

The sizzling platter of meats arrived at our table along with bread and fries for Tom. Again, there was no “real” butter and a pat of greasy margarine was served. Here’s another item we don’t eat…margarine…a hydrogenated, trans fat nightmare. We’ve yet to see real butter offered in any restaurant, except perhaps at La Cabrera (not to be confused with today’s Las Cabras).

I sorted through the meat trying to decipher what Tom (supertaster) would like only to discover there were few items on the platter he’d be interested in eating. At least half of the platter consisted of offal. See description below this photo if you aren’t familiar with this term.

Many pigeons walked around the restaurant as we dined. They didn’t bother us so we didn’t mind. We’ve had a variety of birds dining with us in various countries.

“Offal /ˈɒfəl/, also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs excluding muscle and bone.”

My taste buds aren’t picky and generally, I’ll try anything. After checking the items I determined there were a few items I wouldn’t be able to eat, mainly some of the stuffed intestines which contained oatmeal or wheat as fillers. Tom cringed and nearly gagged when he noticed the offal occupying a good portion of the platter. (See the main photo above).

We saw a number of other dishes served but most weren’t suitable for my way of eating, nor would Tom care for them.

There were more meats on the platter we didn’t care to eat including the following:

“Mollejas / Sweetbreads or Thymus Glands Not for the squeamish, mollejas’ unique gusto comes down to them being glands and not muscle tissue. Soft and delicate in texture, resembling pork on the taste buds.”

I’ve ordered sweetbreads in gourmet restaurants to find them moist and delicious in most cases but those on last night’s platter seemed overcooked, dry and chewy. No thanks. I passed on them as well.

I cut the blood sausage in half for this photo. We both tasted it. I could tell it contained some grain, but if it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have cared for it anyway. You should have seen Tom’s face when he took a tiny taste!

“Morcilla / Blood Sausage You’re gonna love ‘em or hate ‘em. Similar to black-pudding in the UK, they are made up of pig’s blood and ground up pieces of pork or offal and a few extra spices to make them taste less like pig’s blood. A much softer sausage than the chorizo.”

So it went. The traditional Argentine Parradilla was not for us. We asked a few of the hotel staff members when we returned from dinner if they cared for the offal and all said an emphatic “no!” Perhaps there were other items on the menu we may have enjoyed more.  

This was the first meal we’ve had in Argentina we found unappealing, and now as we wind down our remaining days, we look forward to returning to some of our favorite restaurants, mainly La Cabrera, Brave, and Diggs (BBQ).

Our total bill including tip was US $45.72 (ARS  850). Tom mentioned, “This was the first time I’ve ordered the most expensive item on a menu and didn’t like it.” So true…

Today’s a big football day.  Right now as I write, Tom is watching yesterday’s two NFL games and tonight after dinner at Rave, we’ll return to the hotel to watch the Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints game which starts at 6:40 pm. 

Go Vikings! Happy football day to all of our friends/readers in the USA and other countries!           

Photo from one year ago today, January 14, 2017:

Could this scenery be more beautiful than it was for us during the six-weeks we spent in Penguin, Tasmania? For more photos, please click here.

Tolerance and patience in the big city…

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We haven’t seen it in a newsstand like this in a long time.

It’s not always sunshine and roses, although it may seem so for our occasional readers. We don’t always feel like sightseeing, traveling in taxis through all-day-long-rush-hour traffic.

Wherever we are at any given time, it is where we live. Do you feel like sightseeing in your town on hot and humid days when you know a 10-minute drive can turn into 45 minutes in near-stopped traffic?

Interesting buildings on Santa Fe St. in Palermo Soho.

The only time I recall we ever went sightseeing in our old lives in Minnesota was when visitors came to town and stayed with us, having a confident expectation of seeing the world-renowned Mall of America, the Como Zoo, or the popular Minnehaha Falls. 

Public transportation is readily available in Buenos Aires by bus and underground.

Here in Buenos Aires, we find ourselves with little interest in visiting the popular tourist attractions, waiting in long queues, or bumping into people who don’t care to cooperate in the sharing of making space on the sidewalk as we attempt to pass.

There’s a bit of pushing and shoving, which we’d rather avoid. Although most service staff in hotels, shops, and restaurants are ultra friendly and helpful, we’ve found the passing locals on the streets on a mission uninterested in idle chatter with us or certain courtesies one may find in some other parts of the world.

It took us over an hour to walk back to the neighborhood of the Prodeo Hotel.

Then again, we’ve observed only a handful of tourists in the Palermo area and certainly few in our age range. In essence, we don’t necessarily fit into this fast-paced Buenos Aires lifestyle. That’s our reality, not theirs. 

Flower vendor on the street.  The rose bouquets are ARS 120, priced at only US $6.46.

We’ve never favored big cities, primarily for these reasons. “Too much of everything” prevails; people walking while texting or talking on a phone or to a companion while bumping into passersby; horns honking; loud talking and yelling in public venues; a sense of disorder and commotion, we’d prefer to avoid.

Are we nothing but “fuddy-duddies” set in our ways?  Perhaps, yes. But, place us in the bush, waiting for an hour for a herd of elephants to clear the road, making loud noises and sharing “their lifestyle and demeanor” upon us, we’re in heaven. 

Government building.

I suppose it’s all relative. We’re all entitled to like what we like and scoff at what may not be so appealing.  Does that make us intolerant? If we’re annoyed by someone talking during the movie at a theater, make us intolerant? Are we intolerant if we’re agitated during standstill traffic on the freeway when we’re in a rush to get somewhere?

Interesting architecture.

Not necessarily. Even our dogs or cats may become impatient with us when we don’t fill their food bowl quickly enough or hand them the treat their anticipating. It’s all part of the “human and animal” condition. Impatience.  Intolerance.

No one is so “nice” they’re not impacted by the annoyances of daily life, especially in a big city. Otherwise, one might question their link to reality. Through this past over five years of world travel, we’ve found ourselves exercising a greater degree of patience and tolerance than we may have in our old lives.

Most of the historical buildings are apartments.

We never want to be the “ugly America” so much despised in certain parts of the world. There was a movie, a book, and an adult animated series with this nomenclature.  

We make a special effort to avoid complaining, whinging, or objecting negatively in situations we find uncomfortable, trying, or annoying. Even Tom, who on travel days can be “overly grumpy,” has the desire and ability to contain his frustration on such occasions.

Clown painting on the left and Statue of Liberty on the right.

Overall, we prefer to avoid situations that cause us undue stress. Isn’t that one of the reasons we left our old lives behind to find joy and contentment in the exploration and adventure of an entirely new life, in new places, befitting our objectives of nature, wildlife, and culture?

Also, there are many more modern buildings in the city.

You may say, “Isn’t culture found in big cities?” And you’d be right to a degree. But we’ve found the hustle and bustle in big cities with traffic, noise, and crowded sidewalks more about modern-day life than the essential culture of a people who, through history and generations, made their lives work without all of the modern distractions.

And so, our days and nights dwindle to our next adventure, Antarctica, where the biggest distractions will be wildlife, beauty, and nature mixed in with wild seas, inclement weather, and getting soaked on Zodiac boat rides. We can easily handle all of that!

Photo from one year ago today, January 13, 2017:

A  rainbow over the ocean in Penguin, Tasmania. Looking carefully, Tom spotted a second lighter rainbow to the far left, difficult to see in this photo. Be well. For photo photos, as we wound down our time in Penguin, please click here.

How will we post while in Antarctica with the sketchy and slow signal?…

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My guy, looking fit, slim, and happy after taking good care of his health.

We’ve been contemplating how to upload posts and photos once we begin the Antarctica cruise in 11 days.  We read numerous accounts online about the difficulty of receiving and sending an email, let alone publishing a post laden with photos and text.

Previously, I used the app Live Writer, which allows the blogger to write the post with photos while offline and upload when there’s a signal, even if for a short period.

The waiting area outside of La Cabrera for the early bird diners begins at 6:30 pm and ends at 8:00 pm with a 40% discount on the bill.

Unfortunately, Windows is no longer supporting this app, and it no longer works. Instead, a few days ago, I purchased an app called Blogjet for US $39.95 (ARS 747) with a 30-day money-back guaranty from a reliable company I’ve used in the past, hoping it would solve the problem.

Unfortunately, for some odd reason, my blogger/google username and password won’t be accepted to allow the prepared post to upload when I instruct it to do so. I verified my username and password with Google, and there was no issue. They are correct.

Complimentary olives and a delicious tuna pate are served before the meal. Today’s photos are new, although they may look familiar from the last meal at La Cabrera.

To get this issue resolved would require an enormous amount of technical work and cost if I pursued a resolution. It’s not as if you can “call” google and get technical service for issues like this. 

Thousands of forums entries address this issue, and it sounds as if my problem has been experienced by others with many suggested solutions I’ve tried, to no avail. It’s a hopeless cause. 

More complimentary items are served a moment before the arrival of the main course, which includes roast garlic (in the forefront), applesauce, mashed potatoes, and mashed pumpkin. Delicious! Tom took the mashed potatoes and applesauce while I had the garlic and pumpkin.

I can get my email, perform other google related tasks and continue to post in the blog, but I was fearful, if I made any significant changes, it could cause a problem preventing me from doing either. No way would I risk this.

I contacted the company from which I purchased the software, and they were no help, nor did I expect them to be. But, it was worth asking if they’d had such an issue with other customers. No response. So it goes.

Tom was served an egg salad along with his monstrous steak.

So, I asked myself how to prepare posts offline to be later uploaded when we get a signal on the ship?  When there is a signal, it’s comparable to that of a dial-up connection of 25 years ago. 

It’s not the problem of the ship’s satellite. It’s Mother Nature’s fault for her majestic mountains and glaciers in the very remote location. Who’s to argue with Her?  Not us.

Tom’s medium rare, perfectly prepared steak was accompanied by three sauces. Not a sauce kind of guy, he ate the steak and mashed potatoes along with a few tastes of my roasted garlic.

When writing a post, one cannot use a standard word processing document such as Word in its original format.  Not only will it not upload properly, but the formatted elements of Word and other apps speak a different “language” than that of the Internet. Many outrageous errors and formatting issues would be uploaded.

Yesterday, I tested the capability of my writing a post, copying and pasting it, and uploading it to our blog while online. It worked without errors. In a hopeful state of mind, I perused Word on my laptop to discover an appropriate document available for use while blogging.

Chef Ramsey would be proud of this perfectly cooked medium rare 800 gram  (28 ounces) sirloin steak. The rib eyes looked good but have more fat, and Tom prefers less fat on his meat.

Some of our readers may have noticed a new post pop up yesterday that read “test” and suddenly disappear after I was satisfied it would work. Usually, one can’t easily copy and paste from other non-web-related documents.  (There are some exceptions).

Then, I busied myself for a while preparing the working documents in “blog” format using Word, naming each one of the succeeding days on the cruise as Day 1 Antarctica
Day 2 Antarctica
Day 3 Antarctica
and so on…until Day 17 Antarctica, the final day of the cruise.

Each day, after we return from our Zodiac boat expeditions (twice a day in good weather), I’ll proceed to prepare the post as usual and wait for a time slot when there’s a good signal. This may be in the middle of the night when fewer passengers are online. Even with a slow signal, it should be able to upload a story and a few photos.

Once again, I couldn’t resist the Caesar salad, but I didn‘t request the add-on avocado since last time they included an entire massive avocado cut into big chunks.  I couldn’t eat that much, especially when Tom placed a big slice of his steak on my plate.

The cruise consists of 7 sea days (out of 17 days total) where we won’t be getting off the ship, and it will be during those days that I’ll be fine-tuning the upcoming posts for eventual download.

Now, let’s supposed the worst possible scenario…we’re unable to post anything with a poor signal which is a possibility. In that case, I want all of our readers to know not to worry about our safety. 

Please know that as soon as we’re back in Buenos Aires for a short two days, we’ll upload a few of the posts and continue uploading them after we get to Africa and get a night’s sleep after the long trip. In that case, we’ll probably do two posts a day, one about our arrival in Marloth Park and its adventures and the other, the awaiting post from Antarctica.

Our entire bill, including a full-sized bottle of Malbec (the balance we took with us) and Tom’s giant bottle of beer, was a total of US $56.75 (ARS 1,063), including tax a generous cash tip. Wow! The 30-minute wait outside until the doors open was worth it! At the end of the meal, a giraffe containing lollipops was delivered to each table.

I’ll make it clear at that time. No worries. On the post before our departure to Ushuaia to board the ship, we’ll repost the link for this post as a reminder.

Now, I can relax a little during our remaining time in Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Next week, we’ll begin the daunting task of packing what we’re taking with us and consolidating what we’re leaving behind in cardboard boxes since we’ll be taking our two large suitcases with us (23 kg), 50-pound limit each). 

The hotel will store the items we leave behind, 70% of the clothing we originally carried in our bags consisting of primarily warm-weather clothing. It will all work out well.

Last night, we savored a second visit to La Cabrera and couldn’t resist sharing some of those photos after an exceptional meal. Today, I’ll be working with our web person to make updates on our site, including once and for all, writing a piece for the “About Us” tab at the top of the page. We’ll let you know when that’s ready.

That’s it for today, folks. As always, we’ll be thinking about YOU! May you have a great end of the week, and I look forward to a delightful weekend.

Photo from one year ago today, January 12, 2017:

We visited Brett, a citizen of Penguin, Tasmania, who has spent the past 40 years building his beer memorabilia collection. It was fun to see this exceptional collection. For more details and photos, please click here.

It’s a wonderful life but differences prevail…

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Saturnalia, a Sculptural group by Italian artist Ernesto Biondi at the botanical garden.

Of course, we appreciate every day of this outrageous life of world travel and, we are reveling in our 31 nights in Buenos Aires, where culture abounds in vast and fascinating ways. 

Last night at dinner at an outdoor restaurant that had mediocre food, we couldn’t help but notice how this area of Serrano Plaza reminds us of Uptown in Minneapolis, and yet is more compact with narrower streets and at least 10 times the size…not that we’ve been to Uptown lately.

Cactus garden.

As we sat in rickety chairs at a wobbly table for four that barely fit the two of us, we giggled over the irony of our lives.  What are we doing in Palermo Soho Buenos Aires? How far removed is this from our old lives of only six years ago, when it was around January 2012 we decided to travel the world?

A bowl of peanuts in the shell was delivered to our table shortly before the Spanish-only menus arrived, and we each gasped in sheer delight over the tiny bowl of nuts.  What a treat! Somehow, we always manage to figure out everything on the menu.

I believe this is a Nopales cactus.

As I readjusted my wobbly chair, we looked at one another and smiled. We didn’t mind the rickety furniture and the tiny bowl of nuts. We were happy to be dining outdoors in this big city in this peculiar little spot with the most rudimentary accouterments. 

The fork and knife are plastic, and the paper napkins are flimsy. The salt (“sal” in Spanish) is in little packets in the rectangular holder along with tiny packets of ketchup, salsa, and mayonnaise. 

The information building is on the grounds of the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden.

Since I can’t get sour cream in many of the restaurants, I use mayonnaise on my salads, opening multiple little packets for enough to give my frequently ordered salads a bit of moisture…a cup of arugula, a bit of dry deli chicken, a few tomato slices and a few chunks of cheese, consists of my dinner most nights.

Most other items on the menu would contaminate foods I can’t have; grains, starches, and sugar.  I don’t mind. After all, it’s just food, and I’m certainly not withering away, nor am I tired of this meager fare. 

However, I am looking forward to cooking again when we arrive in South Africa, which will be in about a month.  And, without a doubt, we’ll have exceptional meals aboard the Antarctica cruise beginning in a mere 12 days, a French cruise line offering gourmet meals for the most discriminating of diners. Surely, they’ll whip up divine and suitable meals for me.

There are numerous statues of nudes at Jardin Botanica in Buenos Aires.

Thinking back to spending afternoons in the refreshing pool in Costa Rica, it seems so long ago, and yet we left only 50 days ago. There’s a pool in this hotel, but it’s partially indoors. We don’t care for indoor pools. 

Instead, we’re content with our walks in the neighborhood often during the day and again in the early evening when we search for the next new restaurant to try. We’ve only done two repeats, Diggs and Rave, where we may go yet again.  

Interesting tree trunk.

The food at Diggs is excellent along with the service, although served in plastic baskets, on paper plates, and with plastic forks. Last time, the server brought me a flat plastic plate, and I was thrilled to be able to dump my salad on the plate from the smallish paper bowl.

Rave has real plates, flatware, and linen napkins but charges all types of service fees and a fee for the tiny bowl of dry bread without butter (Tom eats it anyway), and yet, a glass of decent Malbec is only US $2.95 (ARS 55). Go figure. 

A tree with leaves changing color after red berries had fallen to the ground.

We’re not complaining. We love all these cultural differences, finding them charming and enriching and, we thought some of our readers might find these morsels interesting. 

Today, after uploading today’s post and chatting with my dear friend Chere on Skype in about an hour, we’re off for a walk and to visit the mini-mart for a few items. Once we return, we’ll continue our research for upcoming travel bookings until it’s time to make the walk to discover where we’ll dine again tonight. It’s all good.

We hope you have an interesting and enriching day!

Photo from one year ago today, January 11, 2017:

While at Gnomon Pig Farm in Penguin, we laughed to see the white band on the newly born piglets, just like their mom. There were several breeds of pigs at the farm. For more details, please click here.

Planning and booking next USA visit…Late posting today…Tom

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An artist’s rendition on a wall on a side street as we made our way back to Palermo Soho, an hour-long walk.

It was a late start to the day.  We didn’t awaken until 8:00 am after a fitful night’s sleep. Tom showered and dressed first and then headed down to the lobby for coffee and a light breakfast of ham, cheese, and eggs while I stayed behind getting showered and dressed for the day.

By the time I sat down at my laptop in the lobby, my tea drink in hand, it was 9:00 am. Loading my computer (I’m still using the old one), I discovered I had three updates that required I wait patiently while they packed.

As we walked along Santa Fe Avenue in Palermo, we entered this church, Holy Eucharist Parish, taking some photos, saying some prayers, and thanking God for our health, well-being, and never-ending adventures.

The Internet is slow here, especially when there are several guests as there are now. The updates took a good 25 minutes to complete. Finally, close to 10:00 am, I began today’s post two hours later than usual.

With no big plans for today, I have plenty of time to get done, but I’m always thinking about our readers out there in cyberspace who may be waiting to read with their cup of coffee or tea in hand. 

Not unlike other visits to churches, we often see parishioners also in prayer.

Over these years, we’ve had many readers write to us explaining they have a ritual of reading our daily posts at home, at work, while on public transportation, or sitting in the park with their phone, iPad, or Kindle in hand.  We’re very aware of this fact and make every effort to get it done each day consistently.

Unfortunately, circumstances prevail, and as consistent as we’d like to be, sometimes it doesn’t come to fruition as readily as we’d prefer. I suppose that’s how life is, not always as we’d like it to be and certainly, not always on time.

A little-lopsided view of the altar at Holy Eucharist Church.

But, we’re here now and anxious to “get the show on the road” and share some details of our upcoming plans to see family in Minnesota in 15 months. Last time we visited the USA to see family, we started in Minnesota and ended in Nevada.

This time, we plan to visit each location at two entirely different time slots based on dates of cruises we’ve booked during these two periods, as indicated in our most recently published itinerary, which may be found here at this link.

Stained glass windows are culturally interesting in each country we visit.

We plan to visit Minnesota from 4/8/2019 to 4/25/2019 for 17 nights and Nevada, California, and Arizona from 11/8/2019 to 12/3/2019 for a combined total of 25 nights. We’ll spend a few days in California visiting my sister Julie in Los Angeles and a week visiting Tom’s sisters at their winter homes in Apache Junction, Arizona.  

 This schedule will leave us two weeks in Nevada. We’ll stay with son Richard in Henderson, visit sister Susan in Las Vegas, and renew our driver’s licenses, which require an in-person visit this time instead of the online renewal we did while in Bali in 2016.

Statues and lit candles along a wall.

In between these two USA visits, we have three cruises, a three-month stay in Ireland as shown in yesterday’s post, a three-night stay in Amsterdam, and a 62-night stay in a home in England, hopefully in the countryside.  

 All of the above are booked except for the three-night stay in Amsterdam as we await the Baltic cruise and the 62-night stay in England, where we’ll wait for another cruise from Southampton, UK back to the US.  

The Nativity scene was still on display after the holidays ended.

Once we’re settled in Africa, we’ll book the house in England, hopefully, close to the Cornwall area. 

 As for Minnesota, yesterday we booked the same hotel where we stayed for six weeks during our last visit in summer of 2017. I contacted the corporate rep who worked with us last time, and we were able to negotiate the same rate we paid in 2017 at US $107 (ARS 2,002) per night.

Tom noticed this artistic wall art in an obscure location as we walked along the boulevard.

The cost of staying in hotels and generally staying in the Minneapolis area is very expensive for travelers, often as much as US $200 (ARS 3,741) to the US $300 (ARS 5,612) a night for a hotel and well over US $100 (ARS 1,868) a day for meals.  

 Rental cars are also more expensive in Minneapolis than we’ve paid in most countries. We’ve budgeted over US $5,000 (ARS 93,423) for the 17-nights in Minnesota, even with the great hotel rates.

A colorful historic building, most likely with apartments.

In Las Vegas, since we’ll stay with Richard for two weeks of the 25 days, cooking most of our meals, our overall cost will be considerably less. In Los Angeles, we’ll bite the bullet and pay outrageous rates for a hotel near Julie. I’m allergic to cats and she has two making it impossible to stay with her.

 In Arizona, most likely, we’ll stay in a vacation condo or hotel for a week in Scottsdale or Apache Junction. At the same time, we visit Tom’s sisters, preferring not to impose on any of them other than Richard. As we’ve mentioned in the past, we prefer not to stay with family or friends. We have our own routine, spend lots of time online, and have this way of eating, not easy for a host to accommodate.

The Argentine people love color and design.

When staying with Richard, he’s at work all day, and we cook dinner most nights. We stay in a separate area of the house with its own bath. This avoids stumbling over each other, and it’s relatively easy, especially when we don’t screw up the alarm system!

 That’s it for today, folks. After a while, we’ll head out for a walk through this diverse and interesting town of Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires, enjoying every moment.

A bright green corner shop.

May you have a happy and fulfilling day!

                   
Photo from one year ago today, January 10, 2018:

This scene made us “squeal” with delight at the Gnomon Pig Farm in Penguin. Check our link here for the video above to see and hear! Tasmania, mainly when we listened to the pigs squealing over their right to occupy the mud hole. 

Photos!…Pricing!…Exciting new booking…House in Connemara, Ireland for three months…

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What a view from our upcoming Connemara, Ireland vacation/holiday rental for 89 nights.

We still have dozens of sightseeing photos we’ve yet to post, but today we are so excited to share a new booking we secured yesterday, we decided to put those photos on hold for another day. We couldn’t be more thrilled with this new booking!

As we peruse our itinerary, there were a few occasions on which we felt the time was near to secure a booking for Ireland, from 5/12/19 to 8/9/2019, in a mere 16 months.  

This may seem to be a long time from now, but the best vacation/holiday homes in Ireland get snapped up quickly, especially during the warmer summer months. 

In researching HomeAway on our site without entering dates, we found at least half of the properties were already booked during our dates. Once we filtered for our dates, with no other criteria, we found few with ocean views in good locations for our planned upcoming research of Tom’s ancestry. 

This kitchen with three sinks, a center island, a dishwasher, and that fantastic stove will undoubtedly fit the bill for our home cooking!

We decided that renting a property located close to the middle line of the country, north to south on the west coast, will allow us to drive to any of the cities we’ll research within two or three hours. 

Over the past few days, after we began entering data on our Excel spreadsheets and Cozi calendar for the new itinerary, we spent a few hours each day looking for the perfect property to fulfill our objectives in Ireland. After location, the next important consideration for us, views. 

We longed for an ocean view which invariably has a profound impact on the price. We tossed out a few lowball offers on properties more expensive than we’d prefer to pay with no success. 

Property owners in Ireland know the desirability of their properties in the warmer summer months. The responses we received indicated they felt they would get higher prices in the summer and prefer to book one week at a time. Long-term, lower-priced renters like us would considerably impact their annual rental income. We certainly understood. 

Weather permitting, we may dine outdoors but won’t mind eating at this table. 

We continued the search, fearful we’d run out of options in no time or have to settle for a less desirable property, perhaps without an ocean view and the amenities we so much desire that makes long-term stays comfortable and fulfilling for our lifestyle.

Of course, we’d yet to research other companies such as VRBO, TripAdvisor, and others. In most cases, we prefer HomeAway for many reasons, including our familiarity with the site and their ability to arrange partial payment deposits rather than requiring the entire rental amount to be paid in full at the time of the booking.

It makes no financial sense to pay an entire three-month rental a year or more in advance, leaving our money tied up for so long. Can you imagine spending your rent or house payment one or two years in advance?  For what?  However, we have no problem paying one-third of the entire rental amount to hold it for an extended period and the balance closer to the onset of the rental period.


Whether it was fate or “safari luck” yesterday, after a few hours of thorough searching, I stumbled across today’s shown spectacular home in the Connemara area with views of the Twelve Bens mountain range and magnificent Bertraghboy Bay. The sunsets will be outstanding!

There are no big trees on the property, but the views make up for it.  Plenty of photos will follow once we arrive in Connemara, Ireland.

The house was perfect for us except for the fact it doesn’t have Wi-Fi. The owner has agreed to provide us with unlimited Wi-Fi, which wasn’t listed as available for this property. Without this, it just wouldn’t work for us.  Using a hotspot or dongle is very expensive.

Then, to top it off, the price is so reasonable, we didn’t ask for a discount for our long-term stay.  The total price is US $7,368.49 (ARS 140,325) for the 89 nights, including taxes, fees, and security deposit, for which we paid one-third down with the balance closer to the rental period.

This averages at US $82.79 (ARS 1,577) per night over the listed US $77 (ARS 1,466) per night, and also at US $2,518 (ARS 47,953) per month. Based on the fact that we often book wonderful properties for even less than this amount, it works out over the year to remain within our budgetary goals.

Eileen, the property owner, couldn’t have been more thoughtful and delightful to work with us in facilitating the booking process, and we have no doubt she’ll be equally kind and responsive based on all of the five-star reviews on the listing.

This house so well fits our perception of our goal of a “home in Ireland in the countryside with an ocean view” we couldn’t be happier to have found this home. Once we’re situated in Africa,  we’ll go back to researching other vacation/holiday homes/hotels we’ll need to wrap up for our newly posted itinerary. In case you missed it, the itinerary may be found here.

For today, we’re staying busy updating the budget with all of these changes and later head out for a walk and our nightly search for a good restaurant, which isn’t hard to accomplish in Palermo Soho, Buenos Aires.

Happy day to all!

Photo from one year ago today, January 9, 2017:

Regardless of the roads we took to explore the area, and we were never disappointed in Penguin, Tasmania. This scene reminded us of what one may find in a painting.  For more Penguin photos as we began to countdown to move on, please click here.

The Buenos Aires saga continues…Resolution of health issue at our hotel…A new find…

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Last night, we had an exceptional meal at Rave Restaurant.

One month from today, on February 8th, the cruise to Antarctica will end in Ushuaia, Argentina. That day, we’ll fly back to Buenos Aires to the same lovely Prodeo Hotel where our bags are being held, and we’ll stay two nights, and then, on February 10th, we’ll begin the two-day journey to South Africa.

We’ll ship all of our cold-weather clothing back to the mailing service in Nevada during those two days, where they’ll keep the items stored in our box for such a time as we may need them again. Perhaps, the Arctic at some time in the future? One never knows.

Now that I’m feeling well again, I wouldn’t say I like the idea of discussing more health issues. Good grief. Our readers have heard enough! Speaking of the Prodeo Hotel, we simply have to share a story of a situation here during our stay.

The decor was typical Argentinian, with a kitchen view, tables tightly packed, and a casual atmosphere.

Unfortunately, I have inherited several health issues from my mother’s side of the family, most of which are totally under control with a good diet, exercise, and a positive state of being. However, allergies are not necessarily controlled by my many efforts to stay healthy.

Until we arrived in Minnesota last May, after all the vacation/holiday homes we’d lived in, I’d never experienced any issues with a long-ago allergy to bed mites. Here’s some info on dust/bed mites (nothing comparable to bed bugs):

The light fixture over our head but like most local restaurants, they are dimly lit for both ambiances and saving on electricity.

“What are Bed Mites

The most common “Bed Mite” is the house dust mite. House dust mites can be a problem in any building, in any city, clean or dirty. They are not as bad in unoccupied buildings because there is not much to eat.
Dust mites are generally found in beds, pillows, upholstered furniture, rugs, or other places where people sleep or sit for long periods. Dust mites require a damp environment, and that is why beds are a mite’s favorite place to hang out.
Adult mites live for one to three months, feeding on various foods, including dog food, cereals, yeast, and their favorite food or dead skin. They like our pet’s skin too. Dust mites don’t bite…
The good news is it is easy to deal with dust mites and make your home pretty much dust ” Bed” mite-free.
The remainder of this article may be found here at this site.“
It’s always nice to have a linen napkin at the table.

In my 20’s I was treated with allergy injections after testing for various substances, including bed/dust mites. For these past many years, I’ve had no symptoms until we slept on the bed in the hotel in Minnesota, the bed on the most recent South America cruise, and here at the Prodeo Hotel.

Over these past few weeks, the itching became unbearable, and I was unable to sleep more than a few hours at night from sheer exhaustion. I was in a quandary as to what to do. I approached our hotelier Alessandro for a possible solution. Alas, he had an immediate answer in mind.

For the first night in a long while, I slept for seven hours. What a relief! And, what a fine thing this excellent boutique hotel did for me! Within 24 hours, we had a new hypo-allergenic mattress replacing the other bed, new pillows, a new comforter, and bedding.

This dish may look messy, but it was the best meal I’ve had since we arrived in Buenos Aires.  It included white salmon, prawns, mushrooms, zucchini, red peppers, onions, garlic, all cooked in real butter. It was perfect for my way of eating and delicious. I can’t wait to have it again.

Not every hotel would be so accommodating. We couldn’t have been more pleased. Although I still itch a little from stuffed furniture, pillows, and dust that flies through the air, I’m able to sleep. 

I’m beginning to think of our next shipment when we may need to purchase a hypoallergenic mattress, box springs, and pillow covers to carry with us, just in case. Initially, when we first began our travels, we carried these items with us, but we eventually donated them due to the excess weight when we had no issues.

Changing the mattress may not be possible for most vacation/holiday homeowners. I’ll have to dispose of some clothing to compensate for the weight of these items, but it will be worth it to me.

Tom’s risotto contained chicken, mushrooms, onions, celery, and garlic.  He loved it!

Recently, in Costa Rica, I had no issues, so for now, we’ll play it by ear and see what transpires. There’s always a solution for most problems that arise, although, at times, they may be costly and inconvenient. 

So, for now, we’re content, enjoying our time at the hotel and our walks through the city both during the day and at night. My FitBit is smoking up a storm, more than it has in a long time. 

Today, we have to enter our entire new itinerary into the Cozi online calendar we’ve been using since Minnesota.  Once I enter the items on my online version of the calendar, Tom can access the information or add more data to his version at any time. It’s a great app for busy family and business activities that are shared with multiple users. What a find! Here’s the link to the free app.

Last night, we had an exceptional meal and service at Rave Restaurant, located only a few blocks from the hotel. We’d walked by many times during our nightly search for a new restaurant, only to find them closed night after night. 

Soon, it would be getting dark. We dine earlier than many locals who generally have dinner after 9:00 pm. We eat so little during the day; an earlier dinner is best for us.  Also, neither of us cares to go to bed on a full stomach.

Now that the holiday season is over, they’ll be open all day from noon to midnight. Most certainly, we’ll return after last night’s exceptional experience.  Our meal, including tax, tip, bottled water, and two glasses of Malbec, came to a total of US $46.26 (ARS 918). 

This was one of the more expensive meals we’ve had in Palermo these past weeks, but we were pleased by how great affordable food is in this part of the world. Rave Restaurant in Palermo is well worth visiting if you’re in Buenos Aires sometime in the future. We’ll undoubtedly return during our remaining 15 days.

That’s it for today, folks!  We’ll be back tomorrow with many more photos. In a few days, we’ll be out sightseeing again.

Have a glorious beginning of a new week in 2018!

Photo from one year ago today, January 8, 2017:

Our friend and landlord Terry took this photo of a seal lounging on Sisters Beach in Penguin, Tasmania. We’ll be seeing some seals soon in Antarctica!  For more photos, please click here.

Worthwhile itinerary changes added more time we can spend in Minnesota visiting family…Newly revised itinerary here today…

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Tom, looking good with his recent haircut and, of course, always with a smile on his face.
The smell of the white flowers on this tree was intoxicating.

Every few days, Tom checks prices on cruises we’ve booked.  A cruise booking benefit provided to US citizens (may not apply to citizens of other countries) is as follows: 

If a price drop occurs before the final payment’s due date (90 days before the cruise sail date), we can ask that the price be dropped to the new pricing on multiple occasions.  If the price increases at any time before final payment, it has no bearing on our final price.

Entrance to Jardin Botanico. No entrance fees are charged.

However, a stipulation on this benefit is that we are responsible for discovering these price drops.  Subsequently, almost daily, Tom checks prices online for all cruises we’ve booked, searching one by one.  Doing so has saved us thousands of dollars over these past five years.

A map was posted with the layout of the triangular facility.

Yesterday, while he was searching for price drops, he noticed a newly posted cruise: Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas, April 26, 2019, a transatlantic crossing with an almost identical itinerary to the cruise we booked a few days ago, with a slight difference in dates and number of sailing days at considerably lower pricing.

A few remaining flowers blooming late in the season.

Immediately, he got to work to contact Vacations to Go to book this particular cruise based on two pertinent facts that particularly appealed to us:  one; we’d be able to stay in Minnesota with family for four more nights going from 13 nights to 17 nights and; two, we’d save a considerable sum.

A garden of stock-type plants.

In doing so, we eliminate the necessity of staying in Amsterdam for 11 nights. Instead, we’ll be staying three nights which is plenty of time to spend in the big city. Based on research we’d done, it would be costly to stay in Amsterdam for the prior extended period.

A statue of Julius Caesar.

Here are the changes we made yesterday: 

Originally booked cruise:
Celebrity Reflection 4/22/2019 – 5/6/2019
$4,497.10 (inc tax, no tips, no perks) (ARS 84,892)
$150 (ARS 2,832) cabin credit

Change to a different cruise:
RC Serenade of the Seas  4/26/2019 – 5/12/2019
$2,806.32 (inc. tax, no tips, no perks) (ARS 52,975)
$325 (ARS 6135) cabin credit
Includes two extra nights

Four additional nights in Minnesota:
4/8/2019 – 4/25/2019

We didn’t enter the information building.

Savings differences:
Difference between cost of two cruises:  $1,698.78 (ARS 32,068)
Difference cabin credit:  $175 (ARS 3,283)
Total savings:  $1,865.78 (ARS 35,220)

As a result of these changes, we’ve adjusted the itinerary we posted on January 3, 2018, as follows. To avoid confusion for those that closely follow our itinerary, we felt it was important to post the revisions as shown below:

 Location  Days  Dates 
 Buenos Aires – Prodeo Hotel 
20*
  12/23/2017 – 1/23/2018 
 Ushuaia – Ushuaia – Antarctica Cruise 
16
  1/23/2018 – 2/8/2018 
 Buenos Aires – Prodeo Hotel 
2
  2/8/2018 – 2/10/2018 
 Marloth Park, South Africa 
89
 2/11/2018 – 5/11/2018
  Zambezi River Cruise – Victoria Falls 
8
 5/11/2018 – 5/19/2018
 Marloth Park, South Africa 
89
 5/19/2018 – 8/16/2018
 Uganda – See gorillas,  Visit “Cradle of Mankind” in SA
7
 8/16/2018 – 8/23/2018
 Marloth Park, South Africa 
89
  8/23/2018 – 11/20/2018 
Mozambique, Africa (get visa stamped) 
1
  11/20/2018 -11/21/2018 
 Marloth Park, South Africa 
89
  11/21/2019 – 2/17/2019 
 Valparaiso, Chili 
36
  2/17/2019 – 3/24/2019 
 Cruise – San Antonio, Chili – San Diego 
14
  3/24/2019 – 4/8/2019 
 San Diego – fly to Minnesota – Family Visit 
17
  4/8/2019 – 4/25/2019 
 Cruise – Fort Lauderdale to Copenhagen 
16
  4/26/2019 – 5/12/2019 
 Ireland –  rent country house – research Tom’s ancestry 
90
  5/12/2019 – 8/9/2019 
 Amsterdam – (wait for upcoming cruise) – hotel stay 
3
  8/9/2019 – 8/11/2019 
 Cruise, Baltic – Amsterdam to Amsterdam 
12
  8/11/2019 – 8/23/2019 
 England – rent countryside house 
62
  8/23/2019 – 10/24/2019 
 Southampton to Fort Lauderdale 
15
  10/24/2019 – 11/8/2019 
 Las Vegas, NV – Los Angeles, CA – Scottsdale, AZ 
25
  11/8/2019 – 12/3/2019 
 Ecuador – Galapagos – Rent vacation home 
89
  12/3/2019 – 3/01/2020 
 Peru – Machu Picchu – Rent holiday homes, visit site 
30
  3/1/2020 –  3/31/2020 
 The Pantanal/Amazon River Cruise – Brazil (2   cruises) 
30
  3/31/2020 – 4/30/2020 
 Number of days  
852

*When we prepared this itinerary on January 3, 2018, we had 20 remaining nights during the first stay at the Prodeo Hotel in Buenos Aires until we depart for the Antarctica cruise on January 23rd. We have 16 nights remaining until we depart, but we chose not to change the published itinerary reflecting this difference.

An alternate view of the information center.

Yesterday, we went sightseeing to the Carlos Thays Botanical Garden, a 10-minute taxi ride from our hotel. The cab fare was a paltry US $3.22  (ARS 60), but we walked back to the hotel on the perfect weather day with brilliant sunshine and temperatures around 72F (22C).

A statue of a wild dog nursing two human babies.  This statue depicts the Roman mythological story of Romulus and Remus.

The season of flowers blooming was late for the botanical garden since it’s mid-summer here now. However, we were able to take many good photos of plants, trees, and a few remaining blooming flowers. 

Unknown pods preparing to bloom.

We walked through the garden for a few hours. The garden is located in the city, and the 17 acres triangle-shaped facility was surrounded by busy roads on all sides, making our long walk a bit noisy. Nonetheless, we had a pleasant stroll through the property, leaving with many good photos.

Small flowers in a garden patch.

After leaving the botanical garden, we decided to walk the busy streets of an area of Palermo we’d yet to see.  The hustle and bustle of Saturday shoppers and a handful of tourists filled the sidewalks and roads. We had to carefully watch where we were walking due to the uneven pavement.

Bamboo tree.

After walking for some time, we took a side street to head back to our neighborhood, an hour-long walk. It felt good to be out and about in the fresh air, away from our laptops, after staying indoors in the comfortable lobby of the pleasing hotel where we’ve worked for many days on future planning.

A decorative pond with a statue.

By 6:00 pm, we headed out to dinner. We found yet another restaurant we’d yet to try. (Only one repeat thus far).  I had a glass of Malbec (wine), and Tom had a few beers. By 9:00 pm, we were back in our room to relax and read for a few hours. It was a great day, especially after we had the opportunity to extend our time in Minnesota with family and also save a good sum in the process.

These purple flowers, Agapanthus, looked familiar, and we remembered there were blooming wildly in New Zealand when we arrived in January 2016.  Thanks to friend Louise in Kauai for once again being a great resource for names of flowers, trees, and birds!

Next week, we’ll head out for more sightseeing.  For now, we’ll be sharing photos over the next several days from yesterday’s outing. As I sit here in the lobby now well afternoon, Tom is wearing his earbuds while watching football on his laptop as we fast approach the time for Super Bowl. With the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs, he is interested in how the competing teams are doing.

We’ll be back tomorrow with more. We look forward to “seeing you” then. Have a wonderful day, wherever you may be. 

Photo from one year ago today, January 7, 2017:

We saw Meerkats at a rescue center in Tasmania. These adorable creatures are marsupials in the mongoose family. For more details, please click here.

Part 2…Challenges along the way…New cruise bookings…Changes in tipping on cruises…

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Celebrity Eclipse - Wikipedia
Celebrity Eclipse.

San Antonio, Chile to San Diego, California
15 nights departing March 24, 2019, on Celebrity’s Celebrity Eclipse
Our price:  $3,885.68 (we included tips on this cruise) (ARS 73,349.98)
(Prices listed here are for both of us included taxes and port fees)

Date Port Arrive Depart
Sunday, March 24 Santiago (San Antonio), Chile 9:00 pm
Monday, March 25 La Serena, Chile 10:00am 6:00 pm
Tuesday, March 26 At Sea
Wednesday, March 27 At Sea
Thursday, March 28 Lima (Callao), Peru 7:00 am 5:00 pm
Friday, March 29 At Sea
Saturday, March 30 Manta, Ecuador 10:00am 6:00 pm
Sunday, March 31 At Sea
Monday, April 1 Puntarenas, Costa Rica 7:00 am 4:00 pm
Tuesday, April 2 At Sea
Wednesday, April 3 Huatulco, Mexico 10:00am 8:00 pm
Thursday, April 4 At Sea
Friday, April 5 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 9:00 am 5:00 pm
Saturday, April 6 Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 9:00 am 5:00 pm
Sunday, April 7 At Sea
Monday, April 8 San Diego, CA 7:00 am


In reviewing our upcoming itinerary for 2018-2020 for 852 days (see this link), we realized we’d yet to post any information for the cruises we’ve already booked. 

We’ve yet to book the Zambezi River cruise in Africa, which we’ll do once we arrive on the continent, and also the sails for the Pantanal and Amazon River since they’re both far into the future.

Otherwise, at this point, we have a total of five cruises booked which includes the upcoming Antarctica cruise sailing in 17 days.  Based on the fact we’ll be spending a full year in Africa, other than the Zambezi River cruise, these four cruises are booked as shown, including pricing.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Dublin, Ireland
14 nights departing April 22, 2019, on Celebrity’s Celebrity Reflection
Our price:  $4,497.10 (tips not included) (ARS 84,891.76)
(Prices listed here are for both of us included taxes and port fees)

Date Port Arrive Depart
Monday, April 22 Fort Lauderdale, FL 5:00 pm
Tuesday, April 23 At Sea
Wednesday, April 24 At Sea
Thursday, April 25 At Sea
Friday, April 26 At Sea
Saturday, April 27 At Sea
Sunday, April 28 At Sea
Monday, April 29 At Sea
Tuesday, April 30 Ponta Delgada, Portugal 7:00 am
Wednesday, May 1 Ponta Delgada, Portugal 3:00 pm
Thursday, May 2 At Sea
Friday, May 3 At Sea
Saturday, May 4 Cork (Cobh), Ireland 10:00am 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 5 Waterford (Dunmore East), Ireland 7:00 am 7:00 pm
Monday, May 6 Dublin, Ireland 4:30 am

Tom suggested I mention that the pricing in Vacations to Go is not necessarily the price we paid.  Usually, they list the costs for the lowest valued cabin in the category mentioned. 

Based on our Captain’s Club member status, we often get an upgrade and also choose a more conveniently located cabin suitable for our needs that may be priced slightly higher than listed.  Thus, the prices listed here today may be different than those listed on the VTG site.

There are various perks listed from time to time, but few are included on the cruises listed here due to their excellent overall pricing based on “six of one, half dozen of another.”

Note: No map was provided for this itinerary.
Amsterdam to Amsterdam, The Netherlands
12 nights departing August 11, 2019, on
Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas
Our price:  $4,313,18 (tips not included) (ARS 81,419.90)
(Prices listed here are for both of us included taxes and port fees)

Date Port Arrive Depart
Sunday, August 11 Amsterdam, Holland 5:00 pm
Monday, August 12 At Sea
Tuesday, August 13 Copenhagen, Denmark 8:00 am 5:00 pm
Wednesday, August 14 At Sea
Thursday, August 15 Tallinn, Estonia 11:00am 6:00 pm
Friday, August 16 St. Petersburg, Russia 7:00 am
Saturday, August 17 St. Petersburg, Russia 6:00 pm
Sunday, August 18 Helsinki, Finland 7:00 am 3:00 pm
Monday, August 19 Stockholm, Sweden 7:00 am 4:00 pm
Tuesday, August 20 At Sea
Wednesday, August 21 Skagen, Denmark 8:00 am 6:00 pm
Thursday, August 22 At Sea
Friday, August 23 Amsterdam, Holland 6:00 am

Often, cruise passengers prefer the perception of getting a great deal with several perks provided.  After all these years of cruising, we’re well beyond the concept of perception and choose an exact price.

Recently both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity (owned by the same parent company) have upped the daily tips from US $13.50 (ARS 254.84) per day per person for US $14.50 (ARS 273.72).  That results in an amount of US $29 (ARS 547.43) per day added to our cruise bill.  For a 15-night cruise, there’s a total of US $435 (ARS 8,211.49) added to the account.

These tips can be reversed by passengers when on the ship, and they can do whatever they’d like regarding tipping their favorite staff members.  However, we’ve never changed the daily tips and always include extra tips for cabin stewards and others.

London, England to Fort Lauderdale, Florida
15 nights departing on October 24, 2019, on
Celebrity’s Celebrity Silhouette
Our price:  $4,304.40 (tips not included) (ARS 81,254.16)
(Prices listed here are for both of us included taxes and port fees

Date Port Arrive Depart
Thursday, October 24 London (Southampton), England 4:30 pm
Friday, October 25 At Sea
Saturday, October 26 At Sea
Sunday, October 27 At Sea
Monday, October 28 At Sea
Tuesday, October 29 At Sea
Wednesday, October 30 At Sea
Thursday, October 31 Boston, MA 7:00 am 5:00 pm
Friday, November 1 New York (Any Port), NY 3:00pm
Saturday, November 2 New York (Any Port), NY 5:00 pm
Sunday, November 3 At Sea
Monday, November 4 King’s Wharf, Bermuda 10:30 am
Tuesday, November 5 King’s Wharf, Bermuda Noon
Wednesday, November 6 At Sea
Thursday, November 7 Nassau, Bahamas 10:00am 6:00 pm
Friday, November 8 Fort Lauderdale, FL 5:00 am

We discovered from a former cruise employee that removing tips is noted in the passenger’s computer file and visible by all serving staff members.  This could indeed hurt the quality of service. 

Like us, many passengers prefer to show an extra token of gratitude for exceptional service, especially for their cabin steward, bartenders, and other service staff one may frequent.  After all, these workers leave their homes and families and live in not-so-ideal conditions while aboard ship for many months at a time.

When we first began booking cruises in 2012, tips were often included in the price.  But, this was merely a case of convenience.  With price increases, these cruise lines decided to leave them out for passengers to pay separately, allowing them to raise introductory pricing, which would provide the perception of somewhat lowered pricing on many sailings. 

Artistic painting on a wall in Palermo.

Trickery.  It’s the nature of the beast.  We love cruising in between our land-stays, using cruises as much as possible for us to get from one location to another, as illustrated in our newly posted itinerary.

With the sun shining again, after last night’s rainy walk to dinner (the Prodeo Hotel staff provided us with an umbrella), we’re looking forward to getting out today for a bit of sightseeing, now that we’ve completed so much planning for the future.

We’re both feeling well, optimistic, and refreshed as we’re almost halfway through our extended stay in Buenos Aires, enjoying every day’s insight into life in this big city in Argentina.

Be well and happy!

___________________________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, January 6, 2017:

Joey’s head and legs were hanging out of the pouch in Tasmania last year.  It looks as if it’s time to stop living in there!  For more photos, please click here.

Part 1…Challenges along the way…Comments on new cruise bookings…Lost a loved one…

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La Panera Rosa, deli market, is similar to Panera in the US. “Bebidas con alcohol,” translates to
“drinks with alcohol.”  Tom had a beer while I had a glass of red wine. 

We apologize for today’s late posting and other day’s late postings since we arrived in Buenos Aires. Today, as it turned out, I spent most of the morning trying to purchase a Visa gift card for our granddaughter Maisie’s upcoming birthday but could not do so.

The deli was packed with patrons, and the only available table for us was in a highly trafficked area by the front door. Yesterday’s temps were well into the 90’s, and it was hot where we were seated.

There is some block preventing online purchases of Visa gift cards in Argentina, perhaps a result of fraud. We’ve experienced this a few times in our travels, even while using our VPN, Hotspot Shield. It still picks up that we’re in this country.

Complimentary bread is served with a pink-colored, beet flavored “butter,” which is, in fact, fake margarine.  Tom passed on it, asking for real butter he didn’t receive instead of getting some gummy concoction.

With no other alternative, I’ve asked our daughter-in-law Camille if I can send her a Bill-Pay check which she’ll cash, placing the money into the online card we’ll send Maisie. The challenges of traveling the world can easily present these types of issues. However, there’s always a workaround.

Instead of butter, he was served this margarine which he didn’t use.  We’ve yet to see real butter since we arrived in Buenos Aires, except at La Cabrera, a high-end restaurant.

Today, we planned to mention new cruises we’ve listed in our recent upcoming 852-day itinerary in this post.  None of these particular cruises have been described in prior posts yet were all a driving force in determining our lengthy itinerary. Tomorrow, we’ll post the cost and itinerary for a few of these cruises.

Tom ordered a barbecue pork sandwich which came with three onion rings.

One of these cruises listed in the itinerary embarks from Southampton, England, on October 24, 2019, with a port of call in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 31, 2019 (the seventh anniversary of our world travel). We’d hoped we’d be able to visit beloved Uncle Bernie, my father’s brother, in the 100th year of his life.

In September 2014, we purposely selected a cruise from Harwich, England, which ended in Boston to see Uncle Bernie and my dear cousin Phyllis. Sadly, a few days ago, Uncle Bernie, 98 years old, passed away, and our hearts are broken. We won’t get to see him one more time. 

I ordered gluten, sugar, and starch-free salad.  When it arrived, it was topped with these breadsticks. I sent it back, explaining I needed an entirely new salad due to the contamination from the flour.  We saw some appealing plates being served. Had we ordered differently, we may have had an altogether different experience.

Of course, when we left after a three-day visit, we were realistic in understanding we may never see him again. My father passed away in a tragic work accident in 1960 (see the story here), and Uncle Bernie was his last remaining brother. Our dream of one more visit with him was dashed when he passed away on January 2nd.  

We’ve decided to keep the cruise booking with Boston as a port of call, hoping we’ll see cousin Phyllis for a few hours when we’re in port that day. That cruise ends in Fort Lauderdale on November 8, 2019, at which point we’ll fly to Nevada for a few weeks stay to visit my son Richard and renew our driver’s licenses; visit my sister Julie in California and also visit Tom’s sisters and their husbands in Arizona. 

Decorated shelves in the restaurant.

Our upcoming itinerary will keep us very busy over the next two years. It will be a busy few weeks until we depart for South America for more sites we’d like to see. Now, as we busily work on bookings for these upcoming dates, we’re comfortable and content to do so while here in Buenos Aires.

Tomorrow, weather providing (it’s raining today), we plan to head out sightseeing after uploading the day’s post. After so much sightseeing on the recent 30-night cruise, we’ve been content to stay in the hotel lobby during the days and head out on foot each night to peruse the lovely Palermo area and find a new spot for dinner. 

A refrigerated case was filled with yummy-looking desserts.

So far, we haven’t dined at the same restaurant twice.  We’ll begin returning to favorites in a week or sooner as the time quickly winds down until the Antarctica cruise. 

Today’s photos include a restaurant we visited last night with a few disappointing results, which may have been an entirely different experience during a less busy time and in ordering additional menu items.

A tower of pancakes for dessert for other patrons, not us.

Have a blissful day, rain or shine!

Photo from one year ago today, January 5, 2017:

Tasmanian Devils aren’t as ugly we’d expected, except when showing their teeth when threatened. The photos we took of the rescued animals, the intent of Wing’s Wildlife Park, left them little reason to feel threatened in the spacious habitat in which they comfortably live among other animals. For more details, please click here.