Miami, Florida to Ponta Delgada, Portugal to Brest, France to Cherbourg, France to Harwich, England
Thursday, May 3 Miami, Florida
Left Clearwater Beach at 8:00 am arriving in Miami at 2:00pm. Larry dropped me and the luggage off at the Port and returned the car to Budget. He shared a cab to the port with a gentleman who was boarding the Jewel of the Seas as well.
We had another fabulous boarding....NO LINES, No waiting for anything...As we walked through the port to embark on the ship, we remembered the rooms and all the people, the lines, and the waiting around to get on the Legend of the Seas last April. We loved every minute of boarding this cruise ship today...so much nicer than last year.
Miami Beach
The ocean turned from a gorgeous green and aqua color to a solid deep blue...so very fresh and clean looking. We had a yummy dinner and went to the headliner show to see Tracy Shield, who is an award winning impersonator of Celine Dion. If your eyes were shut, you would have thought that the real Celine Dion was upon the stage. She had an amazing voice.
Friday, May 4- Wednesday May 9, 2012 Six days at Sea Crossing the Atlantic Ocean
Our room
I made new friends with couples from Texas and Chicago by learning to play bridge each day at 1:00. Larry and I enjoyed several movies...Reel Steel, Cowboys and Aliens, Admiral Perry's Journey to the North Pole, The three Musketeers, Contagion to name a few. We also enjoyed a few shows...Sounds of Soul and Motown Hits, Comedian George Cantor, and a great speaker, Chuck Richardson who gave us some lively talks about the Azores, Brittany, and Normandy
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The Centrum on Jewel of the Seas
Time changes occurred one hour forward for four of the six nights. Not too much of a whammy all at once. Two more are expected to occur after leaving Ponta Delgada.
Did we eat!?! Lamb, roast pork and turkey, prime rib, shrimp, ham,chicken, steak, beef, and duck.....potatoes anyway that you wanted them, all kinds of vegetables, a fantastic salad bar for lunch and dinner, a fruit bar, and Larry's favorite, dessert bar. They had Italian, Oriental, Indian, and Mexican as well as a barbecue/grilled bar. At breakfast, waffles, pancakes, scrambled and boiled eggs, hot and cold cereal, bacon and sausage and an omlet bar. They always had fresh apples, pears, kiwi, bananas, and oranges available at different venues on the ship. Lemonade, hot and iced tea, coffee, and a sugar free lemon lime, kwiw, or orange drink. Larry enjoyed the soft serve ice cream on top of his pie and/or cake many times.
I read several good books...Prayers for Sale (fictionous female heroin who survived the 1930's Colorado gold mine era), Heros for My Son by Brad Meltzer (50 outstanding men and women of all times), Proud to Be by Kelly Flynn (autobiography about the first female B52 Bomber Pilot in America), A Mountain Between Us (a fiction novel about surviving a plane crash in the Colorado Mountains)
Thursday, May 10, 2012 Ponta Delgada on the Island of Sao Miguel, Azores Islands, Portugal
Arrived in Ponta Delgada, capital of the Azores, at 6:00am and the door opened for all travelers to go ashore at 7:00am. We had a leasure breakfast delivered to the room at 8:00, showered, and then headed to the top floor of the ship to take pictures of the city. It was a partly sunny and partly foggy day. The fog burned away as the day progressed....reminded us of San Diego....extremely pleasant temperatures around low 70's. The port was a large,clean modern area with shopping. Even the Atlantic waters looked very clean and pristine. How far were we from Portugal's mainland??...800 miles.
Ponta Delgada
At Crater Lake in the Azores
At 10:00 we boarded a modern bus to take a tour of the countryside of the Island of Sao Miguel...largest of the 9 islands of the Azores.....and also known as the "Green Island" because of its lush green foliage. This island attracts more visitors than any of the other Azore islands due to its untouched landscapes, volcanic formations, and charming coastline.
During the bus ride we saw many Holstein milking cows dotting the hills with a very small hut to milk their cows(large enough for one cow at a time to fit). Sao Miguel is known for its agricultural products, tobacco, tea, chicory and hot house pineapples (a prized commodity served in Buckingham Palace and all over Europe) as well as butter and cheese. The whaling industry was prevalent until 1981. The island supports a winery, brewrey, and distillary . The highways were mostly two lane and curved up, up, up to a foggy view of the sea shore. Lush green trees and plants surrounded a large lake with a small village nestled beside it. Wild callalillies, hydranas, morning glories, azaleas, and other wild flowers lined the roads. Palm trees existed in the the town with the temperate climate, but most likely were planted for we did not see them anywhere else on the island.
Triple Arched Town Gate (1783)
Back street in Ponta Delgada
Lunch in the City Center...note the tiled sidewalks....They were everywhere.
Our view during lunch
In summary, we had a fabulous day. We enjoyed the countryside, the people, the city, the architecture, and the pleasant temperatures of Ponte Delgada. In fact, we enjoyed Ponta Delgada, Portugal enough to come back for a longer visit.
Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12, 2012 Two Days at Sea
Cloudy, much cooler, and a rocking boat....rough 12 foot seas on Friday and 15 foot seas on Saturday...the ship handled very well....much better than our trip from Columbia to Miami on the Rotterdam. Too windy to walk outside the ship, but I walked inside each floor from the front to the back of the ship on all the floors that had cabins enjoying the art work displayed...It took about 55 minutes to walk the third, 1/2 of the fourth,seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth floors. I enjoyed playing bridge each day, reading, watching a television personality/comic, John Martin from Great Britian...hilarious! Another time change....one hour moving the clocks forward.
Watched the movie"I Don't know How She Does It!"with Sarch Jessica Parker. We also saw a fabulous dance show called " Tengo Buenos Aires". Two supreme dancers and two musicans from Argentina put on a awesome show with the ship band, singers and dancers. Beautiful costumes and excellent choreography. Another evening we watched a rendition of Frankie Valie and the Four Seasons called"East Coast Boys". Larry and I saw the real Frankie Valie in concert as well as the Broadway hit of Jersey Boys....so we familiar with this particular performance.
Sunday, May 3. 2012 Mother's Day Brest, France
What a beautiful spring day....exceptional temperatures.... although it was 55 early this morning by noon it was just like spring. We arrived in Brest at 7:00 AM and left at 4:30PM. Brest is located at the most western point of France on the Atlantic Ocean. The most prominent structure in the city is an old castle called the Chateau de Brest.
Chateau de Brest
Built during the 15th century, it is said to be the oldest castle that is still being used in the world. Its original ramparts and watchtowers overlook the harbor. The city of Brest was totally demolished during World War II when allied bombing raids attempted to destroy a Nazi submarine base in the harbor. Everything was destroyed except for parts of the historical castle that are still standing as a Museum of the Marine with ship models, vintage navigational equipment, and maritime art. A modern city was rebuilt during the 1950's....mostly of cement and concrete.
King of my Castle
Larry and I enjoyed walking around the castle and through the modern commerical city which also is the home base of the French Navy. The area has been inhabited by the Persia (800BC), Celts (600BC), the Romans (57 BC), the English (4th century AD), the Vikings, the Normans, again the Britains, and finally the French(1491). Because of its large natural sheltered harbor being close to the Atlantic Ocean and English Channel, the area was very desireable to many cultures.
Larry and many of the other male cruisers had heard that the city was named for the lovely women of Brest. Would the males return to the ship? HA!HA! Due to it being Sunday, most businesses were closed...so the men didn't get much of a chance to check out the rumor.
Wonder why he is grinning?
We luckily found a nice outside cafe that was open to enjoy lunch and catch upon our emails. Lovely flowers were blooming such as buttercups, camillias, wild daiseys, and rhododendrons . The city buildings were 4 and 5 stories with businesses on the first floor. We had a nice bus ride back through the city to the ship....the port was not scenic...it contained many large crains for loading and unloading ships...a very industrial area and major import area.
As the Jewel of the Sea left the harbor, speed boats, one boat pulling a tuber, and loads of sailboats waved us on toward the English Channel. The waters were like glass and the sun set was extremely late...9:57PM. We knew we were aproaching the White Nights of Summer.
Monday, May 14, 2012 Cherbourg, France
The Jewel of the Sea only had to travel a couple hundred miles to Cherbourg, France in Normandy. The massive manmade harbor, constructed under Louis XVI, is one of the largest artificial harbors in the world. The first construction was made of wood and stones and was destroyed by severe weather. Napolean III rebuilt it forming two large walls that held back the waters of the English Channel.
Larry and I decided to take an excursion to Omaha Beach so we boarded the tour bus at 8:00AM and rode for about an hour through the Normandy countryside to the American Cemetery and Memorial (near St. Laurent) where 9382 American military were buried as well as 1,557 unidentified American soldiers. One third of the dead from this battle were laid to rest in this cemetery while two thirds were flown home at their families request.
Modeled after the Arlington National Cemetery, it was a site to behold seeing all the white crosses and the area that they had conquered. Looking at it today, it was miraclous to see what these men were up against and what they accomplished. We walked through the memorial and visitors center watching several videos and observing the displays of k-rations, medical kits, communication systems, and weapons. Many pictures of men and women were shown as well... we were in awe that these young men and women who shaped the future of the free world. God Bless Them All!
We also passed the German Cemetery where 21,000 German soldiers were buried two deep.
We stopped at the golden sands of Omaha Beach formly called "Red Beach" due to the high number of soldiers who died there. We observed one of 13,000 German bunkers that was built right on the beach. Our guide pointed at several that dotted the hillside as we drove along the beach. The Germans had constructed these during 1939-44 while occupying France prior to the United States involvement.
One of the many hillside German bunkers
German Bunker on the Omaha Beach
Each French household was required to house and feed one German soldier...this was a method of keeping control of everyday life in France. Marriage licenses, land acquisitions, birth certificates, etc. were required to be written in German instead ofFrench during those five years of occupation. 
French Village
Our last stop was in the quaint village of St. Mere L'Eglise.We observed the church where the story of a famous paratrooper, Private Steele, who accidentally parachuted onto the steeple of the church where he broke his foot and German Soldiers shot him. He hung alive unknown to the Germans until they went to take him down. Somehow he escaped German captivity. The church had colorful stained glass windows inside and a paratrooper that replicated the one that landed there years ago.
We enjoyed viewing the French countryside. Many homes dating two to five centuries old dotted the rolling green pastures of farmland. Gardens were planted and sprouting. Cows and horses were grazing throughout the rolling fertile fields. Purple and white lilac and whisteria were in full bloom. Fencing of fields consisted of thick bushes formed in a row. These bushes have existed for over seventy-five years and farmers prune them up to six times a year. We passed through many quaint old villages of old stone structures.
Upon returning to the ship, we packed up our bags and started getting our things together for a new adventure that started in the morning. We watched our final show....a real nail biter. A young Polish girl performed an amazing balancing act while a gentleman held her over his head. She was very talented in gymnastics and he was very strong. It was truely amazing and one of the best acts that we have seen on our trip.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Harwich, England
Our ship came into the Hatrwich Port around 2:30 am. Up and on our way at 7:00am, we boarded a bus to Gatwick, England about a two hour drive. We arrived around 9:30 am. The weather was rainy and cold. We were able to go to the north part of the airport and check our bags into British Airways. Then we walked over to the Hotel Softel. Here we were able to gain internet access, read, and relax while waiting for our 6:45pm flight. The time went by so quickly.We had thought about catching a train out to Brighton Beach for the afternoon; however the weather was pretty nasty so we decided to sit tight until flight time. Our flight was on time and we had a smooth trip landing in Amsterdam at 9:00pm. It was still light. Our friend that we had met in Costa Rica last winter, met us at the airport and took us to his home in The Hague, Netherlands. Here our new northern Europe Adventure was about it begin.
So long to the Jewel of the Sea
