Day 17…Norway Cruise…Disembarkation day!…In Amsterdam and then off to Reykjavik Iceland!…

35 Cool Things to Do in Reykjavik, Iceland's Funky Capital
Not our photo. Reykjavik, Iceland.

The ship is docked in Amsterdam, where most passengers will disembark (some are staying onboard and doing a back-to-back), grab their luggage and head off on various means of transportation. For us, it’s a shuttle to the Schiphol International Airport for a 2:10 pm flight to Reykjavik, where we’ll spend less than 24 hours before boarding Celebrity Summit to Greenland and beyond.

We are as excited now as we were when we boarded Azamara Journey from Edinburgh to Amsterdam only 17 days ago. This has been a fantastic cruise. Edinburgh, Scotland, and all those quaint villages in Norway were spectacular, let alone all the wonderful people we met during the cruise, many of whom we’ll stay in touch with in times to come.

At the moment, we’re situated in the Mosaic Cafe, having finished our last cups of coffee while carefully watching the time when we have to get to the luggage storage area where our three bags await us. Tom is in the cabin now, packing up all the electrical cords.

I just remembered I left a long power cord plugged into the lamp outlet beside my side of the bed. As soon as Tom gets down here, I’ll run back up and get it. I doubt Tom will notice it as he gathers up all the other electrical stuff. It’s hard to believe how many cords and devices we must continually haul with us. Over and over, we’ve tried to reduce the bulk and weight of so many cords, but at this point, we need every single item we have.

Tom just returned to the coffee shop, and he noticed the cord I’d forgotten and grabbed it. There’s no need for me to return to the cabin. He’s certain he got every last item, and I feel confident he didn’t miss a thing. In about 30 minutes, we’ll head down there, and then I will complete this post at the airport while we await our flight. Back soon.

We are back, now at gate 59 for Icelandair. We will board the flight to Reykjavik in about 45 minutes. The Schiphol Airport is a mess with long queues in every direction.

Once we arrived by shuttle bus to the airport four hours before boarding time, we realized we could be waiting awhile to get checked in. Little did we know that Icelandair’s check-in counter wouldn’t open for 2½ hours requiring us to wait around with our bags. all that time. This had never happened to us in the past, and I must admit, we became quite somewhat annoyed.

There wasn’t a good spot for us to hang out and wait, with limited seating available with the crowds waiting to check-in. I have trouble standing for long periods, which made the hours of waiting challenging.

Finally, the check-in counter opened, and we could check our bags and go through security. Our passports had been stamped by immigration at the pier when we disembarked. Little did Tom realize that when we went through security, he’d left the passports and boarding passes in the security tray, and after we finally made our way to gate 59, he had to retrace his steps and find the passports and boarding passes.

Thank goodness he found everything, and after showing his ID, he was able to return to the gate to wait with me for boarding time. By 1:30 pm, we were seated on the plane for a pleasant under-three-hour flight. But from there, it all went to hell in a handbasket.

Tomorrow, I will share the details of our awful day in Reykjavik. Please check back. In two days, we’ll start posting new photos from our Greenland cruise.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, August 17, 2013:

Due to a travel day, there was no post on this date ten years ago.

No worse for the wear…Amsterdam keeps giving and giving…Boarding the cruise today…

Me in front of soldier statues. It was a very windy day! ” Rembrandtplein (Rembrandt Square) is a major square in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was cast in one piece, and it is Amsterdam’s oldest surviving statue in a public space.”

With many photos from Amsterdam yet to be posted, we may save them to share at a future time, perhaps on the cruise on a sea day. Today, we board the ship.  

Tom, arm-in-arm with the statues.

Checkout time is noon at the Eden Hotel (charming, canal view) when we’ll arrange a taxi to take us to the passenger cruise terminal, a short distance from here. We’ll be ready to go.

Diplomatic building with many flags.

Now, at 10:30 am, Tom is streaming a Minnesota Vikings pre-season game with one quarter remaining. Since we never unpacked, only opening the bags to get clean clothes and toiletries, it will take 10 minutes to close the bags and be on our way.

There are 1000 bridges over the canals in Amsterdam.

Last night we had a great meal at Rain Americana Grill, walking distance from the hotel, adding to our daily distance up to 3.5 km, 2.2 miles. It was a lot of walking for me. But I’m thrilled I was able to do it, however difficult it may have been, and suffer no ill effects today.

Many of the vast estate homes have been converted to offices, apartments, and condos.

Tom needed some American food, so we selected this spot. He had a burger and chips while I had a gluten-free, starch-free burrito that was delicious with lettuce leaves as wraps. I have been craving Mexican food for some time. What a treat!

Menu of marijuana and other such products are available for sale to any adults who desire to partake. We happened to walk down an alley to run into people smoking pot outside at the cafe. From this site: “Cannabis has been available for recreational use in coffee shops since 1976. Cannabis products are only sold openly in certain local “coffeeshops” and possession of up to 5 grams for personal use is decriminalized. However, the police may still confiscate it, which often happens in car checks near the border.[citation needed] Other types of sales and transportation are not permitted, although the general approach toward cannabis was lenient even before official decriminalization.”

This morning we decided to wait until we board the ship to eat since they have such great options in our fare. Until I meet with the maitre’d to review my printed food list, we’ll wing it in the buffet. There will be plenty of salad bar items that will work for me.  

The small park where this statue of Rembrandt is located is a popular gathering place.

During the day, I’ll drop off the food list and make a particular order for tonight’s dinner until they coordinate my restrictions with the chef. Most likely, it will be grilled salmon, veggies, and Caesar salad (minus the croutons) on this first night. Fine with me.

Today’s photos continue from yesterday’s sightseeing along and in the canals of Amsterdam. Unfortunately, as the boat moved along, I couldn’t recall the names of the structures in many of the photos.  

The Sea Palace Chinese Restaurant is located on one of the canals.

Also, I try to “live in the moment” and pay attention to the scenery before me rather than worry about identifying the buildings the next day when I prepare a post.  

And live in the moment we did. The unique scenery continually enthralled us. Everywhere one turns, there’s something magical to behold. We both agreed we’d like to return to the Netherlands at some point and see more of this unusual country with design elements unique to the country.  

There are approximately 2500 houseboats with permits to dock on the canals.  Utilities are made available for those houseboats. Illegal boats can’t access city services.

We’d yet to see tulips (wrong time of year), windmills (not in the city), and stores selling wooden shoes, all very touristy but fun to see. Yes, sometimes we behave just like tourists delighting in the all too familiar tourist traps and sightseeing expectations.

Various types of mallards paddle in the many canals.

So, off we go, folks. Our next post will be from the ship on a sea day. We’ll share all the photos and excitement we’ll experience along the way.

Have a lovely day filled with wonder.

Photo from one year ago today, August 11, 2018:

What a lovely scene on the Crocodile River, as seen from Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here.

Amsterdam doesn’t disappoint…We accomplished more than expected…Challenging but rewarding…Food photos…

We were impressed by the stunning historic architecture on both sides of the canals in Amsterdam.

There’s no doubt I’m struggling to walk. I hope this pain will dissipate as I continue to wean off the awful medications, but a part of me is terrified it won’t go away. It takes everything I have to walk a block, let alone navigate stairs and ramps.  

We wished we could post the identity of all of these great highlights, but it wasn’t possible as the boat moved along.

My heart doesn’t struggle, or so it seems. It’s just the legs that could be entirely from the statins I stopped a few weeks ago.  Here’s the data on this situation from JAMA, and here’s the link to the report:

“Results  The mean (SD) duration of statin therapy before symptom onset was 6.3 (9.8) months. Resolution of muscle pain occurred a mean (SD) of 2.3 (3.0) months after discontinuation of statin therapy. Six patients (13%) were hospitalized for the management of rhabdomyolysis; 2 had reversible renal dysfunction, and 1 with preexisting renal insufficiency subsequently began lifelong dialysis. Hospitalized patients developed myopathy more quickly after initiating statin therapy (1.3 vs. 7.1 months; P = .048) and were more likely to be taking concomitant medications known to increase the risk of statin-associated myopathy (P = .03). Thirty-seven patients received another statin after an episode of statin-associated myopathy; 21 (57%) reported recurrent muscle pain, whereas 16 (43%) tolerated other statins without recurrent symptoms.
Conclusions  Patients with statin-associated myopathy experienced complete resolution of muscle pain on cessation of statin therapy. Although no deaths occurred, 13% of the patients required hospitalization for rhabdomyolysis. Recurrent muscle pain was common on statin rechallenge.”

The covered canal boat.

The above-highlighted comment about full resolution in 2.3 months makes me very hopeful. As we begin this big journey in our world travels, I do everything to stay engaged in our activities and avoid complaining to Tom.

The tour couldn’t have been more enjoyable.

He’s so helpful, guiding me across the uneven pavement, through crosswalks, up hills, and steps. Today was a real test of both of our resolve and determination as we walked almost 3.2 km, 2 miles, on the streets of Amsterdam, reveling in every moment, which was a good distraction for me.

What did we see and do? Firstly, all of my sandals and shoes to wear on the cruise had recently fallen apart. , My two pairs of long-wearing black and beige Clark sandals crumbled with pieces falling off in the suitcase. I’d been wearing them for almost seven years! Plus, the one pair of high wedge sandals I had were a thing of the past, and I left them behind in Ireland.

There’s a large hook hanging from the roofs that remain in place. Since most of the buildings in Amsterdam are so narrow, which results from a tax base determined by the width of a building, it’s impossible to get furnishings up the narrow staircases. Subsequently, these large hooks on the exterior of buildings are used to hoist the items to the appropriate floor.

Knowing we had to find a shoe store within walking distance was a daunting task, but I learned that trying to walk would be better than taking a taxi, forcing us to be out and about seeing a bit of this beautiful city.

Each building has its unique design.

After a very long walk, we stopped for breakfast along the way, we found a few shoe stores, and I was able to purchase two pairs of comfortable flat shoes, one a dressy flat black sandal and another, a very comfy pair of Sketchers slip-on shoes. I was thrilled.  

Surprisingly, the shoes weren’t more expensive than they’d have been in the US. Everyone talks about how expensive it is here. Yes, the hotel was twice as much as we usually spend, but we had accumulated points to use, which softened the blow.

Many elaborate former homes from the 17th and 18th centuries have been converted to governmental and diplomatic structures. Not this building’s construction year of 1843.

Dining out is comparable to the US from what we’ve seen so far. Last night we dined in the upscale hotel restaurant, Brasserie Flo, which turned out to be rated #720 out of 3736 restaurants in Amsterdam. I loved the food…Tom did not. He’s not the gourmet kind of guy. Here are a few photos of our meals.

Tom’s veal and mashed potato dinner.

This morning we had breakfast in a pub we encountered on our walk. They didn’t make eggs with butter or healthy oils, so I ordered a chicken Caesar salad. Tom had a ham and cheese omelet, which he said was “just OK.”  

My rack of lamb on a bed of assorted mushrooms was delicious.
Please understand, I am traveling the world with a picky eater, but then again, he has to live with all of my peculiar dining options. We figure it out as we go. It’s not perfect, but we’ve learned to live with these limitations, and now…others.
This seafood platter for two looked appealing, but Tom’s not a big fan of most seafood. It didn’t pay us to spend Euro $125, US $141 for this meal alone.

After we had breakfast and walked the distance to the shoe stores, on the way back, as we walked along with one of the 100 canals in Amsterdam, we spotted a canal boat tour starting in 15 minutes. This was ideal for us.  

As we walked down the narrow street, exploring and looking for a shoe store.

We’d hoped to tour the canals today anyway, and this avoided us going back to the hotel for more walking, only to find our way back to another tour boat.  It had been raining off and on all morning. It was sunny when we left the hotel.

The clock tower building.

This particular boat was fully enclosed with big glass windows we could open when the rain stopped. We were grateful that a few minutes into our tour, the sun came out once again, and we were able to take many photos, more than we can ever share here today.  

Ornamental pillars at one of the 1000 bridges in Amsterdam.

More photos will follow in tomorrow’s post, which we hope to finish before heading to the ship at noon. This is all happening so fast! This time tomorrow afternoon, we’ll be situated in our cabin and hopefully unpacked, ready for the cruise fun to begin.

Have a fantastic Saturday night, wherever you may be!

Photo from one year ago today, August 10, 2018:
Tom’s excellent new haircut. She cut his hair this time as opposed to using the electric clippers. Cost with a tip? ZAR 130, US $9.35 (includes tip). Wow! I love the beard! For more photos, please click here.

We’re in Amsterdam…A world apart…Wow!…




We’re hoping to go on a canal cruise sometime tomorrow.

This morning, returning the rental car was somewhat of a hassle. We’d chosen a company, Easirent, based on reasonable pricing for a new car which we did enjoy during the three months in Ireland.  

However, there were two drawbacks: it wasn’t conveniently close to the airport, located in an obscure office park, and two, they required a considerable sum to be charged to our credit card for damage possibilities.  

In, our case for three months in Ireland, they took Euro 2677.80, US $3000. I guess they like having free use of our money, especially since we won’t get it back until 20 days from today. We’ll be checking with the online credit card app frequently to ensure it was returned.

It was well worth paying a little more for this view.  Also, we used two free nights we’d accumulated from Hotels.com here on our site.
After considerable effort, we finally were able to get the SIM card working on my phone, making it possible to find the place. Once we checked the car in, a damage review was done (none). We were on our way to the Dublin Airport in a large shuttle bus provided by the car rental company.
Nonetheless, we arrived at the airport three hours before our flight (Tom, the worried early bird). Still, we found a comfy spot in a restaurant to park ourselves for the wait, which is when I began writing this portion of today’s post to be completed once we arrive at our hotel.  
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Oh my, oh my, oh my! We’ve arrived in Amsterdam, and we’re in heaven! What a beautiful city with so much wonder and excitement at every turn. Our hotel, Eden, is located on the bustling Amstel canal, and we have a canal frontage view. 

The photos posted here today are those I took moments ago through the glass of our hotel room window. I could spend hours looking out at the canal. But the reality remains, we will only be here 36 hours until we board the cruise, leaving little time for much sightseeing.

If you look closely, you can see a person in the left window of this permanent houseboat on the Amstel Canal, as seen from our room. Check out the owner’s means of transportation.

We’re trying to decide what we’d like to do that will be most fulfilling while we’re here…a canal cruise…a ride on the Hop-On, Hop-Off  Bus, or grab a taxi to drive us around the city.

As much as we enjoyed the cruise on the Seine in Paris, perhaps after a day of wandering about the stunning city, a dinner cruise may be in order. Tonight and tomorrow, we’ll pack everything in that we can since, on Sunday, we’ll be up bright and early to pack and get checked in for the Baltic cruise by noon.

Today was a day including lots of walking, although we’d arranged a wheelchair for me. There was no way I could manage the long walks on the tarmac and in the terminal.

The hour-long flight ended up taking our entire day. We arrived at Dublin Airport at 10:30 am and arrived at our hotel in Amsterdam at 1750 hours, 5:30 pm, thinking about freshening up to head for happy hour and a nice meal. 

Since I’m too pooped to walk to another restaurant, we’ve decided to dine in the hotel’s highly rated French Bistro. This upscale restaurant is pricey, as is most venues in Amsterdam, but the menu looks enticing with many options for each of us.

Last night’s dinner at the Crown Plaza in Dublin was good, along with the ambiance. We’re hoping for as good, if not better, experience tonight as we had last night.

Dear Readers, hang onto your chairs…a lot of excitement is on the horizon.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, August 9, 2018:

Little Wart Face, whose name we later changed to “Little,” often napped in our garden. He was so at home with us. I’ll always miss him. For more photos, please click here.

On the road again…Dublin, then Amsterdam, here we come!…

Goodbye, Ireland.  Thanks for welcoming us and for being so beautiful!

We’d decided to prepare the post after we arrived in Dublin for the night. This was an excellent way to keep the morning free to finish last-minute packing, organizing, and putting things back in their place in the house.

When we move into a new property, we often move some of the furniture to suit our needs. We make every effort to move everything back to its original location before leaving, which we did this morning.

Eileen, our thoughtful owner, stopped by to say goodbye. It was a pleasure working with her for the past three months. Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to have been hosted by excellent property owners and managers, and, of course, we’ve made every effort to be good guests.

Currently, we’re in Dublin. On our way, we stopped in Oughterard for Tom’s teeth cleaning appointment.  Previously, we’d made an appointment for me to do the same but decided to wait a little longer before having any dental work.

The total 3½ hour drive was seamless using “Maps” using the SIM card on my phone, which got us here without a hitch.  Once we arrived in Dublin, there were many turns and roundabouts, but somehow we never made an error. I often wonder why “she’ll” suddenly say, “Make a U-turn” when we’re on the freeway, and there’s no need for a U-turn. Go figure.

We’d decided to stay overnight in a lower-cost hotel close to the Holiday Inn Express Dublin Airport. The rates were reasonable compared to many other nearby options, and after seeing our room, we were satisfied with the amenities and cleanliness, including free Wi-Fi and breakfast.

This hotel doesn’t serve meals other than the included breakfast. Next door is a Crown Plaza with a decent restaurant, according to reviews online. The main dining room is being renovated. We’ll dine in the bar.  Tom walked next door and brought back a menu to ensure there would be suitable options for me. There were a few.  

I’ll have plenty of food options once we board the ship on Sunday. Their chefs always accommodate my dietary needs with enthusiast and precise care, often making beautiful meals the other guests at our shared table drool over.  

It will be nice to have someone else doing the cooking for a while. After 15 months of Tom or I cooking and the three months in Ireland, I’m looking forward to the usual good food and service.

Tomorrow morning, we’ll use the hotel’s shuttle to get to the airport. At the moment, Tom is dropping off the rental car, hoping to get a ride back to the hotel. Tonight, we’ll walk to the restaurant next door, and although my walking is still sketchy, it’s a relatively short distance.

How am I feeling? Tapering off the heart medications is taking its toll on me. It could be several more weeks until I begin to feel the benefit of being off the dangerous drugs with many side effects, including being on the drugs and getting off of them.  

But at least for now, I can keep my head up and eyes open during the day. I’ve gone several days without a nap and have slept through the past three nights, a significant improvement.

Like many of us seniors, a good night’s sleep is an elusive thing. Six good hours without awakening seems to do wonders. Tom sleeps even less, getting up at the crack of dawn and going to bed late. I don’t know how he does it.

Well, folks, that’s it for our last post from Ireland. Tomorrow, late afternoon, we’ll write a short post from Amsterdam.  Our hotel room is situated overlooking the canal. Photos should be good.

Happy day to all!

Photo from one year ago today, August 8, 2018:

Dad and his offspring posing for a photo we’d taken on a drive in Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here.