At sea today, we had an opportunity to tour the back of the house. Fun. Officers’ BarOfficers’ MessCrew BistroFlower RoomLaundry RoomProvisionsKitchenLadies’ Dressing RoomLead Lady Private Dressing AreaCabin of lead singerUniformsCopy Room TailorThis says it all!
For 10 years, from 1851, Melbourne’s population boomed from 77,000 to 540,000 due to its gold rush which was second in size only to California’s. The Yarra River is one of Victoria’s iconic waterways. Melbourne’s main Central Business District is a grid, parallel to the Yarra River with the main streets being a wide 99 […]
Eden, Australia is the only place in the world where whales worked alongside humans for mutual benefit. In the 1860s, the whalers entered into a type of partnership agreement with the orcas under what came to be known as the “Law of the Tongue,” in which orcas would help the whalers find and catch larger […]
Sydney is one of the world’s most beautiful ports to sail into, up there with Venice and Hong Kong. In the U.S. San Francisco and New York are also special. The city is equally wonderful. Often we have said if we had to leave the U.S. , that maybe we would move here. We have […]
Crystal Cruises provided a super-special complementary evening for 2024 World Cruisers at Hobbiton. This is where Sir Perter Jackson filmed “The Lord of the Rings” books. “The Hobbit” was published almost ninety years ago and “The Lord of the Rings” books came shortly thereafter. In 1998, director Sir Peter Jackson was searching for a location […]
Although I had to pass, Allyn was able to tour and experience sailing the Explore. It raced in the 150th America’s Cup Jubilee in 2001. Allyn and many friends said it was a must do THRILLING experience! The America’s Cup is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport, starting in 1851. Over the […]
Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu, a South Pacific Ocean country comprised of about 80 islands. A couple fun Vanuatu factoids – Cannibalism was practiced here until the 1960s. And, bungee jumping was invented here. Today was for kayaking. We drove well over an hour though tiny villages and remote roads to a spot […]
A world class gourmet dining and education experience was enjoyed by 12 of us last night, complements of our friends Bob and Sandi Kolitz. Allyn looked great as usual. Our seven-course meal was paired by special wines from seven countries.On top of everything else, each course was served with special panache. As an aside, I […]
In our travels, sometimes we opt for serious sightseeing, shopping, athletic activities, or just strolling around town. Today we did a unique outing to a mud bath! Upon arrival we had a traditional kava ceremony. Kava, the Fiji national drink is a mildly narcotic and sedative drink made from the crushed root of the yaqona […]
What an adventure we had here. Certainly it was one of the most unique and fun tours we have had. We went on an underwater scooter for a 30-minute dive. From the shoulders we were dry and had good breathing air and could speak together. We were about 10 feet down. The fish were […]