Easy day in Birmingham

6/20/09
Today we did not do much. The 10k was cancelled. We have not found out why, but we have mixed emotions on not doing it. For one, we are upset because we had planned on it. But on the other hand, we were extremely tired after 2 busy days and a lot of walking. We did go to the convention and walk around the House of Friendship that has a lot of booths and vendors. We got our convention bag. They have a carousal and a big slide. Of course we did both of those. It was a lot of fun. We then headed back to the hotel. We stopped by a grocery store to pick up some food. All the restaurants are great, but we just want to eat in some. The hotel has a great kitchen, so we are going to just eat in sometimes. We had a great pasta and green bean meal.

C&D

6/19/2009
Amsterdam
Well, sorry I have not blogged. There was a lot going on. We docked in Amsterdam very early and had to get off the ship by 7:30am! We had a very adventurous day. We had to get our luggage to the airport so we would not be dragging it around all day. We got to the airport via tram and got our luggage checked in ok. KLM is very deceptive. They say only one checked at 22kg and they mean it, but you can carry on 2 bags and they do not weigh them which the website gives a restrictions. We ended up shipping one of our bags via courier because it was cheaper than paying KLM their outrages rate to have an extra bag. We then stored our carryon’s in a locker and took the train into Amsterdam. Now that city is different. We did not really have enough time to do much sightseeing, so we just walked around and looked. Even in the non Red Light District there is a lot of inappropriate things to see. Not a good place to take children we figured out quickly. We did stop to eat and drink a beer at a neat restaurant, and to go to the bathroom. Bathrooms in Europe are not as plentiful and most seem to cost if you are not a patron of the place. Of course we did walk through the Red Light District during the day light. Not that is an interesting area. I will keep this pg so we will have to explain in person more if you want.

We then decided to get back to the airport. We stopped at a little bar and had a beer and bathroom stop. It was fun. Amsterdam airport is huge. The flight was on an incredibily small plane, but was ok. Once in Birmingham we went to the convention site and got checked in. With the Rotary badge all trains and busses in Birmingham are free. We then hauled our luggage to the train and worked to figure that out to get to our hotel. We ask a lot of questions to make sure we are doing the right thing and doing it quicker. We got to the train station in the city centre where we are staying and still had to get to the hotel. We did find it after taking the long way around. Our hotel is great. It is more like an apartment. It has a bedroom, bathroom and open living room/kitchen. We did go eat pizza for dinner and then to bed early since we had been moving all day.

Calvin & Dawndra

Belgium

6/18/2009
Brugge, Belgium
We had a great day. It started out tough because time changed here by losing an hour. We have changed times a twice already and I think we gain the hour back tomorrow going from Amsterdam to Birmingham, England. Brugge is about 30-40 miles from the port which is very industrial. We ported in a Blankenburg (not that is not because it is a bad word) and took a bus to the train station, then a 10-12 minute ride into Brugge. Brugge is another beautiful European town. We walked, of course, to the city center. Brugge is not as old as some of the other towns we have been to, but still amazing. We found the shopping street and market and walked around there. Also, there was the old churches and bell tower here. We were hungry so we found a small restaurant and got a Belgium Beer and some spring rolls. They had quite an extensive menu, but like some other places, they do not have near all that is on it. They only had about 15% of the items that were actually on the menu. I am not sure at all why they have a menu, when it is easier for them just to tell us what they have. Dawndra’s beer was a blonde beer and was good, I had a darker beer and it was not that good. It had maybe a ginger taste to it. We were not all that pleased there and it was expensive, but the waitress was very nice and helpful. We then went on our chocolate shopping spree. We looked around at several of the chocolate shops before buying. And once we bought, we bought. There are many different types of chocolate to choose from. The dark chocolates have a percentage on them to how dark they are. We got some of all of them!!! We then walked back to the train station to make sure we would get back on time. In the train station we had a waffle. Of course I got the chocolate and Dawndra got the plain. And they were good!! We sat on the train with some other people from the ship and once back in Blankenburg we all went to a restaurant to have some mussels, frites (that fries for you American types) and beers. Mussels are a Belgium specialty so we had to have them. I ordered one order which is was 1.3 kilograms (which is like 3 pounds) for 24 Euros. We all shared them, but I ate the majority. We were trying to hurry to catch the bus back to the port so I was being very barbaric eating with my hands and getting very dirty. The mussels were incredible. It was a lot of fun just hanging out with some others from the ship. We then had to get to the bus and wait (like always) for it to fill up before heading back to the ship. Once on the bus, Dawndra realized that she left HER bag of chocolates at the restaurant. So, I being the nice guy I am, ran back to get them. I did make it back in plenty of time.

We are now on the boat having to pack. ): It is very difficult because we have bought plenty and we are restricted to one checked bag going to Birmingham. We will be able to have two checked each on the way home because it is an international flight. So, Dawndra being the efficient packer is packing and I am blogging. We have to have our bags ready by midnight for them to get them off the ship tomorrow. We are not real happy to have to ending our cruise. It has been wonderful, but we will be moving on to our next adventure in Birmingham.

Tomorrow is going to be an adventure in itself. We depart the ship at 7:30am and will be heading to the airport to get our bags checked in and our boarding passes. We are doing this early so we will be able to go into Amsterdam and visit for a while. Like all places, we are not exactly sure what we will end up doing, but we know it will be fun.

Till next time,
Calvin & Dawndra

Dover England, and Canterbury

6/17/2009
Dover England

We docked around 8:00am and got going soon afterwards. We never try to get out early because the shore excursions get priority getting off in the morning. So we eat a nice breakfast and then get going. From out of our balcony we could see the famous white cliffs and Dover Castle. We took the double decker bus to Dover Castle to start our day. The castle was first built in the 1000’s and then was added on to and rebuilt for many years. It is just amazing how old it is and what they did there. It was built as a castle but used for many years as a fort and lookout for enemies coming from Europe. France is just 20 miles across the English Channel so we could see it from the top. There are many defensive areas and underground tunnels experience.

From Dover Castle, we walked to the town center and shopped and walked around for a while then went to the train station to go to Canterbury. The train ride was only about 15 minutes. Canterbury is very walkable. We walked to the city centre and shopped and saw the cathedral. We were heading to St. Augustine’s Abbey and went into a local pottery shop. We found some great things and talked to the store owner and potter. We also shopped at a market area that had all kinds of street vendors. He told us of a neat church that we should see too. St. Augustine’s Abbey was such an experience. It is considered by many of the birthplace of Christianity in southern England. Even though it is just the ruins of many buildings, it was amazing. We took many pictures that we can share later. From there we went to St Martin’s Church, it is the oldest parish church in England that is still in use. It is very small but so cool. The church is in the middle of a cemetery, or the cemetery ended up around it, but it is pretty eery. I am sure that we were the only ones off of the ship to see St. Martin’s Church. At that point our feet were pretty tired. So we went into the city centre and had a beer and some chips(fries) and onion rings. As we were heading that way I saw a place that sold Dr. Pepper so I bought one. It was not Dr. Pepper!!!! It tasted like it had licorice in it. Gross!! I could not even drink it all. I always like to try the local beers at least once to see what they are. We do seem to find the most local of places. This small pub with an outside sitting area seemed to be only locals. When ordering the food one patron could tell I was from Texas even before seeing my TTU t-shirt. We got to experience a homeless lady at the pub also. One patron and the bartender did a very good job of keeping her away and making her leave once she started bugging people. It is interesting to know that they have this problem too. At this point we headed back to the train to get back to Dover and the ship. Even as simple as it all sounds we wanted to make sure we got on the right train and get off at the correct station. From the station I thought there was a bus to take us back to the port, but there was not. Since we had time we walked the 30 minutes back to the ship. We are very worn out, so we just went to the buffet and got food to bring back to our room. We can drink wine and enjoy it just as much with out paying the corkage fee. Now we are going to just relax and get ready for tomorrow.

Cheers, tomorrow Brugge Belgium (drinking some beer)

C&D

Guernsey England

6/16/2009
Guernsey, England
Guernsey is a very interesting place. Joan Taylor (LesLee’s Mom) told us of a book to read, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society, so we had an idea of what all went on on the Island during WWII. We walked through the shopping district quickly and found out that there was not much for us to buy. It is amazing how many American brands there are in Europe. We then rented bicycles to ride around the island. We were going to rent scooters, but they question whether or not we had a license or experience and Dawndra was honest and said she did not. I was willing to go with the untruth. The bicycles were fun. Within the first 50 yards I changed gears and the whole rear derailer broke. Like shattered. Pieces all over the street. I had to walk it back holding the rear tire off the ground. The shop owner apologized and got me another bike. After that we were good. The first ¼ of a mile was uphill and steep and busted my butt. Dawndra does spin classes so was in better shape than I. From that point it seemed down hill. I am not sure how that works since at some point you have to go uphill, but we never really got to that point. On a bike you see a lot more than in a motor vehicle. The houses and foliage was beautiful. We stopped at one fort area that was neat to see. The map showed a Guernsey Candle place and we went there. It was not what we expected. We can buy Yankee and Woodwick candles in the LBK. We continued riding on the very narrow streets around the island. We found the Half Moon Café to eat at. It was good. We have to remember ‘chips’ are fries. Still not sure what they call chips? From there we could tell it was going to be uphill any way we went. There was the Underground Museum so we went to it. It was about the German Occupation of the island during WWII. After that we figured we should get the bikes back and head toward the ship. It was uphill to the bike shop. Legs were a burning on that short ride. The streets here are not like Lubbock at all. No North/South, East/West going on here. We then headed back to the dock to tender to the ship. We had a very good meal with an excellent wine that we picked up in Spain. We have thoroughly enjoyed drinking all of the wine we have purchased here.

Tomorrow, Dover England

Calvin & Dawndra

Another day at sea.

6/15/2009
Day at sea. We did absolutely nothing. Sleep, eat, sleep, eat, and sleep!!! What a day. Ok, we did get dressed up to go eat at the formal Farwell dinner.

Days at sea would seem useless, but they are such a recharging day after being so active the days before.

More of Bordeaux!!

C&D

6/14 9:30pm
What a day!!!! From lunch time we walked to the city center and browsed around. Almost all of the shops were closed. Most restaurants were open. We happened upon a cool little wine shop and the guy could speak enough English to explain the Bordeaux wines. Of course we bought some. We just walked around, then it started sprinkling and we found the ‘petite train’ and rode it for an hour that took us around Bordeaux and showed us many of the sites. WOW, what history there is here. After the train ride we were hungry and wanted to find a off the tourist track place to eat. Boy did we find it. It was a great small café called Le Petite Commerce. It was so fun to try and figure out what we wanted. The menu on the wall was all French and no pictures. We had the steak with a salad and mash potatoes. It was not at all like we have in the states. It had an unusual spice that we could not figure out.

Tomorrow is another day at sea, so not much will happen, just a lot of rest.

C&D