Photo of the Week: Spain

Barcelona, Spain

String

String, so simple and small.  I bring string with me on medium length trips - over a week to a month or two in length.  The length of a trip where you can't pack clothes for ever day, but not so long that it's easier to just buy an actual travel clothes line.

It goes with my laundry soap to dry my clothes.  While some hotels have clothes line in bathrooms, not all do.  And do you really want to hang your clothes on the furniture of a hotel room?  All you need with string is two points to tie the string to and you have a clothes line, simple!  And since it's cheap you can just leave it behind.  I try to bring enough string to last a few dryings.

One nice spot to hang clothes in the winter is over the heater.  You'll want it a few feet above so it doesn't start a fire, but the warm air will improve the drying time.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - Review

Last December I went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party for the first time.   It's a special ticketed event celebrating Christmas at the Magic Kingdom. For 2012 the dates are November 9 to December 21, check the schedule for exact dates.  Tickets to the event allow entry to the park at 4pm, but the party doesn't start until 7pm. 

Terye and I started with an evening walk through of Swiss Family Tree House and then rode Jungle Cruise.  Both were unique experiences at night and both were empty.  At night there were a few interesting views of the Magic Kingdom from the Swiss Family Tree house.  Jungle Cruise is just at cheesy at night, but the darkness gives a different atmosphere. 

After those rides we went on line for the Seven Dwarfs, we got on the line a little before 7pm and there was an hour wait.  But, it is one of the few opportunities to get photos with all of them so we waited.  The dwarfs were really cute, and some of the kids there were really funny.  Like the kid who realized he was standing next to Grumpy and ran away.  While we waited we did each take an opportunity to take a quick walk around the park, I got us some free hot chocolate and cookies, one of the benefits of the event.

We got out of the seven dwarfs a few minutes before the parade and with the low crowds (one of the benefits of events like this) we got a decent spot.  The parade had some nice touches, like Scrooge McDuck. 

After that I planted myself in the circle in front of castle with my camera and tripod so I could photograph Holiday Wishes.  While we waited we got to view The Magic, the Memories and You, where they play music and show pictures of people in the park throughout the day, they did use holiday colors on the castle for this show.  Holiday Wishes were really nice, though Disney always has great fireworks, I particularly liked the colors they used.

Our last event of the night was the Christmas show in front of the castle.  Another nice little show and a chance to see the characters in holiday garb.  After that we decided to head back to the hotel.

One disapointment was a lack of Christmas Party merchandise, we only saw 2 T-Shirts and they weren't anything special.  But the party is great if you would like to get photos with characters, there are some special characters and if you go early the lines aren't as bad.  When I saw Captain Jack Sparrow he only had a few people in line waiting. 

There are a couple benefits of ticketed events like this; low crowds, cookies, hot chocolate, special parade, special fireworks and some other shows.  I'm not sure the $60 price tag is worth it.  I enjoyed the event, as did Terye, and I'm glad I went.  But, if I return to Disney during Christmas in the next few years I would probably skip it.  But I do think it's fun for a first timer.

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Photo of the Week: York

York, England

Palma

My last stop on the cruise on the Norwegian Epic was in Palma Mallorca in Spain.  I didn't know much about this stop before I went.  I had considered doing an excursion, but none of the options jumped out at me.  The most I had heard was from a woman I met at my hotel before the cruise, she said it was pretty there.

I was pleasantly surprised by Palma.  Although the weather wasn't great the day we were there (I did manage to miss the rain), the island was lovely, turns out there are some rich and famous there.  It was a fabulous marina there was lots of beautiful boats.

The cruise ships dock here near the town, and a shuttle bus is offered for just a few dollars round trip.  But it is walkable too.

The town is one of those places where a map is handy for when you finish, otherwise it's just lovely to walk around and pop into shops along the way.  It's a higher end shopping area, and not a great location for cheesy souvenirs.  I had been looking to get some souvenirs from my family that were different then the typical "Rome" T-shirt.  While they did have some stuff like that here, this was a better place to buy my mom a pearl necklace.  They are known for Mallorcan Pearls.

I didn't spend a lot of time off the ship here, as this was meant to be a more relaxing day in port.  But walking around the town it had a similar style and feel to Barcelona, only wealthier, cleaner and brighter.

In town there was a beautiful large Cathedral, my friend and I opted not to take a tour, it was in such an odd spot though, across a small road/alley from another building, it was tough to get a picture of the front.

Overall, this was not an "exciting" stop on my cruise, but a completely wonderful surprise anyway.  The island is beautiful and on a return trip I would either just sleep late and walk around or take a short tour on the island so I could see more of it's beauty.

Photo of the Week: Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Happy Memorial Day!

Luggage Scale

Several years ago I bought a suitcase scale, after having to move a couple pounds of stuff from my suitcase to my carry on in Hawaii it seemed like a wise investment.  It has come in handy on several occasions.  You know, when you buy way too much stuff at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, true story. 

Mine is one of the larger ones, while it takes up more room, it's easier to pick up luggage with.

Norwegian Epic Debarkation

In one of my last posts about last years cruise on the Norwegian Epic in the Mediterranean I wanted to touch on debarkation.  I have one more post on Palma, but I thought this was a more timely topic since the ship is not stopping at Palma this year.

For those who have never cruise before, this is how a typical debarkation goes.  The night before your last morning you need to pack your bags up and leave them outside your cabin door, typically by midnight.  Then the staff comes around and picks them up, takes them to the cargo areas until the ship is in port.  When you leave the ship in the morning you will find your bag in the terminal waiting for you.

You do have the option of walking off with all your luggage the last morning too, but if you pack like me, that's not much of an option.  For the rest of us, you'll need to have a second, smaller bag for your last minute stuff - PJ's, toiletries and anything you wouldn't want in your main luggage (valuables, glass, etc).

On the 5th day of the cruise Norwegian made luggage tags available for debarkation, this was announced with an information packet on debarkation that is left in your room.  The tags are color coded depending on when you anticipate leaving the ship.  By the time I actually went to get my tags all the late times were gone.  Since I was staying in Barcelona 2 more nights I didn't need to be off the ship at 7am, I believe we were allowed to stay until 9am.

I tagged my bags with the 7am tags, but decided to sleep in and leave the ship around 8:30.  Having cruised before I know the chaos on the ship on debarkation morning.  Everyone trying to get breakfast and say goodbye to new friends, with their small luggage.  Forget the buffet unless you enjoy crowds!

Not interested in the chaos I opted to get up, dress, and finish my packing.  I then went to the studio lounge and had a continental breakfast.  I would have preferred a full breakfast, but this was much more civilized.  I met a few cruisers and chatted about the cruise, I made arrangements to meet a girl who was staying at the same hotel as me so we could share a taxi.  The only issue I ran into with this was that I had no idea it was cold and rainy that morning until I was outside the ship freezing my arms off.

After breakfast I grabbed my small suitcase and got off the ship.  Although it was well after the time my luggage expected me, it was there waiting for me under a sign that said 7am.  I had not been the only person to leave their luggage waiting.

My new friend and I met in the luggage area and then waited on a long, but quick moving taxi line.

Overall the debarkation seemed very civilized for a ship of this size.  I didn't have to deal with the crowds in the buffet, but did see that the elevators were crowded and you would have to wait a bit for one.  This is one time when being on a lower deck can be a pain, by the time the elevator gets back down to you, it's usually full.  But the luggage area was big and roomy so you could navigate with your luggage.

Photo of the Week: New York

Lake George, NY

World Trade Center Memorial

In March I finally had the chance to go to the September 11th Memorial.  Fortunately it was a nice day, but pretty windy, which can be a problem.

I arrived about 45 minutes before my ticketed time, even though they say not to arrive more then 30 minutes early and was let in.  The line moved pretty quickly and security was efficient, a marked difference from when I went to the Statue of Liberty last year.

You enter the memorial from the Southwest corner, straight ahead is the South Pool representing the South Tower or Tower 2.  This pool holds the names of the first responders as well as some of the flights, South Tower, and Pentagon losses.  Check out the 911Memorial website for more on how the names are arranged.

A Police Officer I had the pleasure of meeting about a month before the attack

When you enter, to your left is an open area with trees, beyond the trees is the North Pool.  On windy days it seems the North end of the North Pool has a water issue, the falling water being blown.  I was the only person I saw who walked along the North edge of the pool.  Actually, I went at more of a run and still got quite wet.  I did it to honor those who had died and whose names were on that wall.  But on a cold day, I wouldn't suggest it.

I love the memorial, and I have seen some great memorials around the world.  There is a serenity here with the pools, waterfalls, trees.  The only problem is the tourists.  With so many people there it breaks the serenity of the environment.  No matter how hard people try to be courteous, a large number of people always seem to fail.  For that reason I think going early in the morning would be best.

The saddest names

 

The wind blowing the water

After you leave the memorial you are directed to walk in a path that takes you to the shop associated with the memorial.  They have a few items on display, they play some documentaries on TV's and they sell a wide variety of books, videos, clothing and other touristy types of items.  It's worth a stop in the shop even if you're not looking to purchase anything.  The museum is scheduled to open later this year.

Photo of the Week: Italy

Sorrento, Italy