of palaces and cathedrals

Yesterday we boarded the local train to visit the pleasure palace at Versailles. We arrived before the gates opened and were quick in the door and through security to tour the chateau, built by Louis XIV, the Sun King. And what a palace and country playground it is! Since we arrived early, we were able to have a leisurely stroll through the chateau before the hordes descended and enjoyed seeing where the kings and queens entertained and held court. Then we headed to the gardens. The grounds are massive, and on summer Saturdays the fountains shoot off at scheduled times. Since Venice was a bit far to visit for a weekend in the 17th century, Louis built and grand canal atVersailles, He also threw in some Roman ruins in the gardens and statues dotting the landscape.

To cover as much ground as possible, we rented bikes and rode around the grounds. A large chunk of the park is open to the local area without requiring tickets, and the locals seem to make great use of the grounds for jogging and biking. Imagine being able to use that as your runningtrack! We enjoyed exploring the alleys of tall trees and occasional fountains and watching the rowboats on the canals. There were also golf carts available for rental. We didn't try them out, but after hiking out to the Grand and Petit Trianon (Marie Antoinette's country "cottage") I could make a case for saving one's feet and riding in style. Isn't that what Marie Antoinette would do if she were still here?

After a bite to eat, we finished our tour of the gardens, including one impressive fountain that was coordinated with classical music. Very charming. Music also played as we walked the main avenue through the garden form the chateau. So regal.

Throughly exhausted, we headed back into town for a rest before heading out for dinner at a local cafe, Cafe Constant, a small local place. The girls had a nice steak, and I had a grilled sea bass. An elderly French woman sat at the table next to ours, sharing the banquette with her Yorkie and Julia. The dog made quick friends with Julia. I wish I could have understood more of what the woman was saying, but I did a lot of nodding and smiling. After dessert of profiteroles and floating islands, we walked to the nearby Eiffel Tower to check out the lines to climb (toolong!) and headed home to get to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour. Vacation is tiring!

Today was another gorgeous day, as they have all been here. We were out relatively early to get in line to climb the Notre Dame Tower when it opened. We did see Quasimodo, although it was at the cafe across the street and not in the tower. I guess he needed his cafe au lait, too. We climbed the 400 steps to the bell tower for some gorgeous views of the city and an up close and personal look at the gargoyles that grace the church and a big bell.Then it was back down 40 steps and into church where mass was starting. We stuck to the side aisles and apse but enjoyed the singing (beautiful choir and cantors) before making our way out of the dimly lit church into the sunlit plaza.

We explored the Ile St. Louis - great little shops - on our way to a small lunch spot for more steak (Julia loves it here!), beef bourgingnon and salad (and a call from Dennis atop a fjord in Gerigen, Norway!) and a walk to the Carnevelet museum. We wanted to see the exhibit on the Revolution, but it was closed today. We remain sadly uneducated on Parisian history. I guess we have something to come back for! Then we made the walk to the Pompidou Museum, always refreshing after seeing so much old art. We saw what we could before our tired feet and selves decided we were done and ready for a rest. We hit the Metro and made our way back home. The Metro is a great system,and quite nicely laid out and clearly marked, but I swear we practically walked to Notre Dame this morning and halfway home today. The big transfer stations take you blocks and blocks underground as you switch trains. But it does work! Our tickets had become demagnetized somehow, but the information guy at the station was able to replace them for us so no harm no foul.

Now we are relaxing in our apartment and should make dinner soon. We need to use up the rest of our pasta and salad fixings! Then we may see how those Eiffel Tower lines are. Emma is ready for more stairs! Tomorrow is the Louvre and Orangerie and whatever else we can fit in. I think we'll do a night bike tour that includes a bateau mouches ride. We can sleep on the plane, right?

paris:love as feet:aching

After our leisurely morning, we headed out to see what Paris had in store for us. First stop,since we were passing by, was Invalides with the tomb of Napoleon. We could have used Grandpa Howard or Dennis to tell us the whole story, but there was no shortage of glory to Napoleon in the tomb. We walked to the Orsay museum, stopping at a familiar at the time sounding place for sandwiches. The Orsay has an amazing collection of Impressionist and post-impressionist art, and we took in all the Monets. Manets, Cezannes, Van Goghs, Degas and Emma's new favorite Maurice Denis. We figured we had come half way to the Ile de la Cite so we walked the rest of the way along the Seine, stopping for a caffe au lait and an ice cream on the way. We pulled a Mom, as Emma now calls it (I always liked hat kid!), remembering a tip from some guide book about avoiding the long security line at the Ste. Chappelle by going through the Department of Justice line and whisked our way into the chapel. I bought a museum pass at the train station,and it has paid for itself already in being able to go to the front of the line at all major museums. The girls are free at all museums. Sweet.

We headed to Notre Dame, but the long lines dissuaded us from going in or going up the bell tower today. We'll try again earlier another day. We thought we'd save our feet and take the metro back to the apartment, but we were thwarted on our first attempt because the station where we needed to transfer was under construction and our transfer was unavailable. So it was on to plan B, which would have been better if the connection had actually been a connection. Small print on the maps, don't you know. The third time we got it right but then took a wrong turn out of the unfamiliar metro station. It did bring us to the Rue Cler, however, where we bought fixings for our spaghetti alla carbonara and salad dinner before heading home. I don't think we saved our feet at all, but it was a cool walk. We snacked on a brie-like goat cheese with baguette before dinner. Ooey and gooey and oh so yummy. After dinner, we managed to rouse Julia from what she swears was not sleep to check out the lighting of the Eiffel Tower at 10 pm. It was about a 10 minute walk to the park to see the tower lit in flashing,sparkling lights. Quite a delightful spectacle.

Then home again to finish our salad and get ready for bed. Tomoorrow is an early call for the train to Versailles.

falling in love with Paris

Our time on the ship had to come to an end, I suppose, but we were sad to say goodbye. There were 4 cruise cards prepared for the Cremin family for the next cruise. You mean we could have stayed??? We said our farewells to Dennis, who headed off to work on the next set of lectures. Then the Grafes and Cremin girls boarded the train for London. The train was packed with cruisers, and our luggage was precariously perched next to a door, which was fine until they needed to open the door on that side at a station. Oops. This prompted the kind conductor to upgrade us to first class, which was empty for the duration of our trip. Not a bad deal.

We parted ways at Waterloo station with the Grafes heading to their hotel and the Cremins heading to St. Pancras station to catch the Eurostar through the Chunnel. Word from the Grafes is that they took at trip on the London Eye and took in Mamma Mia on the stage last night. What else they saw will have to wait until we see them back in Chicago.

The girls and I got checked into the Eurostar waiting area in plenty of time. There was a bit of a delay for the train, but we were able to store our luggage easily and sit back for the fast trip under the channel and into La Belle France. I never knew your ears could pop so much in a train! We all napped, and I think Emma and Julia may have even drooled, although they aren't saying. We emerged from underground about halfway into the 2 1/2 trip and enjoyed views of the French countryside before arriving at Gare du Nord.

From there it was a taxi ride to our apartment. Emma was so happy to be in Paris. She said she might cry at any moment seeing all the monuments and all the architecture. She's in heaven! Our apartment is in the 7th arrondisement, across the street from Invalides. We have a great view of the dome if we lean out our window, and Sacre Coeur sits on top of the hill. The Eiffel tower is a short walk away, and the BEST boulangerie is right down the street. We made that our first sop on neighborhood explore, stopping in to share caffe au laits, a ham and butter sandwich and an apple tart. Yum.

The apartment is a small, one bedroom place that has been recently updated in clean Ikea style. Julia sleeps on the comfy pullout couch, and Emma and I are sharing the bedroom. We have a rain shower showerhead and the world's tiniest kitchen. But it's all functional and clean and delightful. And we figured out the internet. Yea!

After picking up a few supplies at the market, we headed toward the Champs Elysees, stopping on the bridge over the Seine to admire the Eiffel Tower. We were on a mission to find the latest Harry Potter and succeeded in finding it on the Champs Elysees. Since we had some time before it started, we wandered the street, checking out the shops (It is VERY expensive here) and having a bit of melon and prosciutto at a charming cafe where they were very kind to us. Then it was time for the main event. We put on our 3D lunettes and enjoyed the final battle with You Know Who. It was sad to say goodbye to those characters, but a good ending to the series. Then we walked home, with just a small detour. We really should listen to Emma more on those directions! We did get to use the Eiffel Tower as a guide. Fun!

This morning I couldn't bear to wake the girls up too early. They need a vacation from their vacation! So they slept in a little while I picked up the best croissants ever and a baguette, butter and jam for breakfast. THey are almost ready to head out for our first adventures - maybe Notre Damed, Ste. Chapelle and sites in the Latin Quarter. I'm sure we'll throw a museum in there somewhere!

It's a good start! Now if only my fledgling French would kick in we'll be set. But Emma is working her French, too, so we get by

and now... the rest of the story

So, we must face the facts that we have been bad, bad bloggers this time out. By the end of the evening, after drinks at Adagio, we just had no energy for blogging. We are prepared to accept responsibility fopr our actions. So where were we?

To the best of our memory, we were in Greencock, the port for Glasgow. We walked through the local mall to reach the train. A half hour train ride brought us to the central Glasgow station. The kids were surprisingly excited for and actually asked to stop at the Modern Art gallery. The exhibits were We walked around the corner for a snack and stumbled upon the promotion for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in St. George's Square, to be held in Glasgow. There were booths set up for the kids to try the various sports such as pole vaulting, rugby, field hockey, net ball and shot put.

Then it was off to find St. Mungo's Cathedral, one of the only remaining Catholic churches to survive the Refornmation. Julia was pleased to have the opportunity to hold an owl, so soft. The rest of the gang got an unscheduled concert in the church, starting with an amazing rendition of Amazing Grace, sung by a local singer. No CDs available (sad face).

We taxied - tandem style - to the brand spanking new transportation museum on the river. Lots of moving vehicles of all types from all agesd and stages in a crowded but interesting space.

Then it was the mad dash back to the train station (Home Alone II style) to try to make the 2:30 train back to Greenock. We hit the platform at a run at 2:29:21 and just made the train. Julie still hasn't braved opening the Diet Coke she was carrying in her bouncing purse.

The kids hit the ppol Julie, Luther and Rebecca hit the pool bar and lounge chairs, and Dennis went to work.

Next day, Liverpool to chase the Beatles. Dennis packed his computer to try to get some research done for the next cruise. He went on his way while the rest of the group toured the crowded but informatove Beatles Story museum. Then we hit the Tate Modern, another hit with the kids. There was an echibit of giant furniture and another about sculpture and Luther's perpleding canvas of blue paint. Lots of coole things to see - basketballs flating in a tank, a mirror cube that reflected light in neat ways, spinning dishes and a castration machine (thankfully not seen by all).
passed through the blocks long outdoor mall to find a lunch in the Cavern neighborhood before hitting the Cavern, the bart where the Bealtes got their start.
Then we found the pound store, a pilgrimage of storts to appease the kids on our way to the 4D Beratles Experience movie. The kids liked it, but the grown-ups would like those 11 minutes of their life back. please.

Back to the ship for pools, dinner, drinks, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Dublin! After a taxi ride (2 taxis required for 8 people) we arrived at St.Patrick's Cathedral and paid to see it. Loved the church and the history of the place. Then we walked to St. Stephens Green, with Dennis ducking out for a needed haircut ("Here kids, you go on. I'll be right behind you."). We found a great park with the best swing in the world, and Luther and Ben played ball. Then we were off to Merion Square's Georgial houses and the art gallery to view a Caravaggion and Van Gogh and Monet. Check, check, check. Then it was the eternal walk for lunch in a big, long, neverending, continuous, eternal, circuitous, bs loop that ended at a restuarant that had gone out of business. Ben managed to catch soe grit in his eye along the way. Good thing Julie had packed the eye patches, but unlike Luther and Juliet's Copenhagen experience, no eye patch or MD was required. Phew!

After a resorative lunch, we hit Grafton Street for shopping (yea Emma and Dublin Disney Store!). We headed back to the ship in separate taxis that tried to follow each other until the second taxi (with Reba and Julie) was stopped for a traffic violation - too hot to handle perhaps? The poor driver was shaking because he couldn't find his licens. We cut our losses and found another taxi that made it all the way to the ship with no further infractions.

Believe it or not, the kids all wanted FOB (flop on bunk) time instead of the pool. We had finally succedded in wearing them out!

On to Cobh (pronounced Cove)! After a strenuous trek of about 20 steps we reached the train station, just missing the 9:00 train. Who knew it would be so close? We waited for the next train which brought us to the charming city of Cork. A walk through town brough us to the main shopping street and the English market, a fun collection of fruit, meat, bakery, wine, olive and other food stallss. We made our lunch reservations at Citygate Farms or Farmgate, or whatever it was called (good call, Dennis on getting our reservations in early). Then it was off to the cathdral of Fin Barre, with a stop on the way to ogle some great fascinators. After the church we hit Fitzsomeone park for a catch and a brief sitdown before hiking back to town for our tasty and fresh lunch. Dennis and Luther loved the seafood chowder, and the rest of the gang was happy, too. Sarah Stegner would have loved it!

After a brief look at shops we hopped into cabs to make it to the train with a three minute buffer (so much time to spare!). Luther, our hero, went back on the ship with the kids to the pool, while Julie, Dennis and Rebecca checked out the town of Cobh and found the 2 Euro Store and a cathedral, up the hill. It's a beautiful port town. Go!

Finally, our last port of call, and of course, Maggie Voigt's birthday. Guernsey was delighful, a charming town despite the foggy start to the day. We hopped a bus form St. Piester Port to the west side, hitting Vazon beach. It was a bit gray, but the kids stripped down as far as they could an jumped in the small waves. We found limpet shells and enjoyed the wide expanse of the Atlantic. Then it was back on the bus to St. Pieter Port to have lunch in the Hideaway, which all the kids loved. We shopped the streets and had ice cream before heading back to the ship for a final dip in the pool on a suuny, warm afternoon.

After packing (so sad) it was time for our last fun dinner in the big dining room. No bananas but Love Boats and Baked Alaska. The kids haded up to the kid zone for their farewell parties, and the adults had their fun, including final Baileys and cream with Jan the piano player in Adagio. And blogging of course. Tomorrow morning we're off the ship early for the train to London and Paris or home. Can it really be already over??? It seems too soon. It was a great time for all. Sorry for no pictures. We just downloaded a batch today but will try to get them uploaded sometime in the next few days. We'll have some downtime in Paris, right?

Thanks for reading. Cremins and Grafes are still speaking to each other. Truly an accomplishment! We raise our glasses and celebrate! For Kim and JMo - this means penal code!

Here Comes the Sun

Little Darling, it seems like years since it's been here but now th ice is slowly melting. Or at least it was yesterday just in time for our day at sea. Other than London, we had been having consistently chilly and somewhat rainy weather. We were expecting more cold yesterday for our day at sea, but the sun started shining by late morning and sunning on the deck it was the perfect temperature. It's amazing how a little sunshine can make life better! We spent the day at the pool and even guiltily skipped Dennis' lecture, all except for stalwart Luther who listened to the talk. That was Dennis' last live lecture. The next three will be taped for broadcast on the ship's TVs.

It was the second formal night, and everyone looked dashing in their finery.

Today's stop was Belfast, back to chilly but at least dry weather. Dennis' cab driver said that we were lucky to be getting such fine weather. Reminded me of summer in San Francisco. Brrr. We took the shuttle into downtown and looked ast the city hall. Then it was off to the Botnaic Gardens and the Belfast Museum there. The kids did a number of watercolor drawings, and we saw some paintings, flower print dresses, natural history and Belfast history. Then we toured the gardens, visiting the Victorian plan conservatory and the playground. After a bit of searching for a cab it was back to the city center where Luther and the kids beat a retreat to the ship for lunch and the pool. Even the chilly winds won't keep them out of that pool and hot tub! Julie and Rebecca checked out the shopping district, expecially liking a local craft center that had work from artisans of the area.

Dennis toured the museum on his own before finding a Starbucks where he could pull together his lecture on Liverpool that was taped this afternoon. Not much of a fun day for him, but the work must go on!

Tonight is Italian night. Love that limoncello! Julie and Rebecca will crack open a bottle of wine shortly and pull out a game of something while we await the showering kids and Dennis' desk hours to end. Someone has to do it. Tomorrow we visit Glasgow.

Turns out we wre misinformed, and it wasn't Ialian night. But we enjoyed our dinner nonetheless and look forward to limoncello night in a coupke of nights. For tonight, it's an earlyish to bed night. Every cruise needs one!

Until next time...

Edinburgh here we come!

Edinburgh is a tender port, but we were off the boat early, Dennis was a wee bit antsy to get to the Castle. He should know not to worry because with Julie’s expert online ticket-ordering skills, we had advance tickets in hand. We snagged taxis at the port and zipped up the hill, where the lines for us were mercifully short. The Castle sits at the top of the hill, surveying all it commands. We visited the crown jewels (before anyone else) and saw the Stone of Destiny, which sites in the coronation chair for coronations. The chair lives at Westminster Abbey (saw it!), and the stone is in Edinburgh. We saw St. Margaret’s Chapel (Abby’s favorite – hi, Maggie!) and the birthplace of King James before heading down the Royal Mile. The place was getting super crowded when we left, with at least an hour’s wit for tickets. We were soooo glad we hit it early!

Down the Royal Mile we trod, making stops at St. Giles church, the Writers Museum, a few shops, which provided 2 for 1 matchingish sweatshirts for the kids. Tummies began grumbling and kids began crumbling (no more churches, please!) so the Grafes with the Cremin kids retreated to the ship for pool and hot tub r-and-r while Dennis and Rebecca continued to walk their feet to bloody stumps visiting the new parliament building, Edinburgh Museum, and New Town before training it back to the ship.

Five Crowns came out for play at the wine bar while Dennis worked while we spent many frustrating minutes – or was it hours? – trying unsuccessfully to overcome issues with internet connections on the ship. Please be patient with us. We still haven’t gotten and photos downloaded and cross our fingers each time we open the computer. Drinks of the day are generally necessary.

Today was Invergordon, the port for Inverness and the Invergordon 500. Two cars were waiting for us at the pier, and the boys drove their matching Peugeots all over the district. Matching shoes are one thing, but matching cars are so overrated (until you check under the hood). Following the motto, look right, stay left, we managed to traverse the region in both forward and reverse, without incident. We headed south through Inverness to Loch Ness in search of Nessie, We didn’t find her, but Ben thinks he found some of her droppings. The views of the loch were stunning, and we did a driveby of Urquart Castle. We found a woodland walk in the hills that was lovely. Emma says it was her highlight so far. Everyone but Rebecca and Emma managed to take part of the downhill on their rears (laundry tonight!), but the trees and ferns and wildflowers and moss and distant baaing sheep were picturesque.

Then it was a long drive through the country to Dinglewall for lunch and a shorter drive to Tain where Dennis enjoyed viewing his mound of dirt while the kids played at a park and Julie shivered in the cold. Then it was back to the ship, filling up the cars with diesel to return them at the pier. Now the kids are playing in the pool while Dennis naps (excellent supervision!)and Luther is getting a hand massage to help with easing the death grip from the steering wheel – those trucks pass really close!

Later dinner tonight - Cosmopolitan night – then a sea day tomorrow. We’ll catch up again in a couple of days, if the good Lord’s willing and the internet runs.

Back in the Saddle Again

Celebrating Great Britain Style
We are making our way through Britain’s greatest hits. We started with three excellent flights from Chicago to London and have been playing the greatest hits ever since. On Cremin Day 1 (aka Grafe flight day) we toured Westminster Abbey, visiting the tombs of kings, queens, poets and musicians. Then it was a brief tour through the National Gallery with snacks and then naptime for two of the party (guess who!) while the other two walked up the hill past Leicester Square and cool neighborhoods on our way to the British Museum. Unfortunately, Rick Steves led us astray, and the museum was not open late. So we hopped on the Tube and made a pub stop in Notting Hill before eating fish and chips in our neighborhood and sacking out.
The next morning we headed out for the Tower of London to see the crown jewels (fabulous!) and the rest of the bloody towers on a beautiful morning. We anxiously awaited word that the Grafes had landed and were on their way to meet us for lunch. They had adventures in urban travel (darn that closed Jubilee Tube line and he 11 bus that went the wrong way!), but they eventually made it to St. Paul’s from whence we headed to a pub lunch at the Cheshire Cheddar. Then Luther and the kids (minus Abby) took a trip on the London Eye while the rest of the grownups and Abby toured the London Museum for the history of the city (but really we were looking for seats to rest our feet – don’t tell Dennis!).
We met up for evensong at Westminster, aka naptime for Ben, followed by a walkby of Buckingham Palace and pizza dinner in our neighborhood and a happy sleep for all at the Luna Simone hotel.
Saturday morning was an early call - breakfast at 7 and a van picking us up at 7:30 for a trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury on our way to the ship. Both stops were excellent even with the pouring rain at Stonehenge. We beat the bi crows and enjoyed seeing the site and hearing about the ancient stones. Salisbury was a charming town with an amazing Gothic cathedral and open air market with Cornish pasties and the kids’ favorite shop – Poundland! Lots of cheap candy to be had.
Then it was time to head to the ship – a delightful trip in our private van until the one hour traffic back-up to reach the ship. But once we were there, it was an easy and quick transition to the ship and the drink of the day. Aah. Now vacation was on! The kids frolicked in the hot tub and pool, bravely ignoring the chilly air and brisk winds in favor of the warm water. We had a lovely dinner in the dining room and retired for our first port day on Sunday, which was in…
Le Havre. After a slow transition from ship to shore, we hoofed to the train station and got tickets to Rouen, an hour’s train ride away. Rouen was a charming town with an open boulangerie to provide baguettes, sandwiches and pastry and a market with the tastiest strawberries. We walked the town until our feet were bloody stumps, visiting the cathedral, site of 30 Monet paintings and bombings during WWII. There are lots of old beam buildings ala Shakespeare and medieval churches and a lovely art museum with many Monets and other Impressionists that were appreciated by all. Then after a relaxing train trip back to Le Havre and the ship, it was time for our next dinner, this one without kids, who would apparently rather spend time in the kid and teen zone than with their parents at a looooonnnnng dinner. So the grownups had a lovely dinner at a window table.
Surprisingly, we did NOT regain the hour we had lost the night before overnight (when does that Greenwich meantime start???), so Dennis had a little less time than expected to prep for his first live lecture in the 900-seat Princess Theatre. He was brilliant, naturally, taking about Edinburgh (tomorrow’s port) and Inverness (in two days). He even managed to throw in Scooby Doo – you’ll have to ask him how. The Grafes managed to wake up in time for lunch, but it was a stretch. It was a cold and blustery day, but it of course flew by what with snacks, kid activities, burgers from the grill, a wine tasting, Dennis’ lecture, formal photos and dinner. We are enjoying martinis in the Crooners lounge, listening to a good player who played for Frank Sinatra for a number of years. We will finally get back out lost hour tonight to get us ready for a full day of touring tomorrow in Edinburgh. No time to download pics yet – hard to believe since we are on vacation, for crying out loud! But there you go. Hopefully, tomorrow we can add some. For now, know that we are having a FABULOUS time – kids and grownups alike!