Puerto Rico or a few hours in San Juan

I like this picture looking out onto our balcony.














Since we were near the front of the boat it was really fun to watch as we got close to land.














On our second day we were scheduled to arrive at San Juan at 3:00 pm but of course more accurately we would be able to leave the ship at 3 pm.














I like to watch the pilot ship guiding us in














We got our first glimpses of the port.











Apparently San Juan is the busiest cruise ship port after Miami.











We had elected to take a walking tour of Old San Juan offered through Celebrity. We were dropped off at the fort with our guide and then after touring the fort we would back through the old city towards the cruise ship.











It was very windy as we entered the grounds. Later we were told this is where they filmed the opening sequence of the TV show The Flying Nun!











I have never seen skies as blue as those in Puerto Rico.











The walls reminded us of Quebec City.

















The Spanish built this fortification in the 1500s.








San Juan was seen as the gateway to the New World.



































Where is that flying nun?


















The fort was very interesting but we felt as if we spent too long going up and down and around in the fort and felt rather rushed exploring the streets of the old city.









This imposing sculpture is Ballaja is by Spanish sculpture and architect Ochoa Sierra and represents how this district that has struggled against forces in order to conserve this district!


























The blue cobblestones were so neat-apparently originally used as ballast on Spanish ships until someone got the idea to pave the streets of San Juan with them








Here is the first governor of Puerto Rico, Juan Ponce de Leon

















I loved the bright colours of the houses








And of course the beautiful vegetation








I love the colour contrasts and look how summery it looks








Here's a cat deciding to come home








Such lush vegetation









Beautiful wrought iron balconies








Parking here must take skill








Those skies...


























I can not resist a cat








The there was this amazing statue, La Rogativa, commemorating how a religious procession fooled the British who had blockaded the city. They thought extra reinforcements had come so the British left without attacking.




















Puerto Rico has amazing skies





Amazing trees





And check out a cat on each car





It was so beautiful











Can you see our cruise ship hidden away?










But the best was yet to come because we were on our way to Raices restaurant to meet my friend, Laura, for the first time, who I had virtually met through our Facebook photography group. It was so neat and we all had a wonderful time.


we had so many questions for Laura and since she is a copy editor and translator for Puerto Rico's official tourism magazine, Que Pasa? she is a good person to ask!


Above is a Puerto Rican mojita and some delicious appetizers


Good night, San Juan!


We headed back to the ship after a glimpse at a very interesting city!
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Cruising Day One

I am actually writing this on the plane leaving Miami. If I thought it was a bit difficult writing a blog on an ipad it is even trickier on an iPhone and without wireless that it where my pictures were during the cruise so as a result I am way behind in my blogging it seems but here we go!







My first cruise was in 1981 to Alaska from Vancouver where I had moved from Montreal in 1980, my second from New York City to Bermuda in 1991, my third was to Alaska again in 2007. The first and second cruises were with my friend, Linda and the third and now fourth were with Linda; her sister, Carol, and their incredible mom, Lorraine. They all live in Montreal. I missed their Mediterranean cruise two years ago since I was still teaching!










This cruise was only planned about a month before we left as we worked around various schedules. Linda and I really enjoyed our first cruise as it was quite different than anything we had done before. the second cruise we didn't enjoy as much although we had a great time in New York and loved Bermuda.







The second cruise to Alaska was fun but I had been there before and had been living for many years on the west coast but I was looking forward to this cruise because it is always fun being with the Benoits and I love going places where I haven't been plus although Vancouver has the mildest winters in Canada days are short and can be often cold or rainy or this year foggy so a couple of weeks of warm sunshine was definitely appealing.




 Coming onto the ship was clear sailing and it was nice to be greeted with mimosas! The ship was lovely and eventually we were able to check out our rooms and balconies. And then we said farewell to Miami!





Here is our official welcoming picture but we kind of like the second one below more!


















We enjoyed our first ocean sunset and then we had a great dinner in the dining room followed by a show spotlighting all the entertainment on board. We chose select dining so that we made a reservation each night or took our chances. We had our own table that turned out to be the same table each night with our new friends, librarians from Nashville next to us. We thought we had the best waiter and assistant waiter. Most of the rest of our meals were eaten at the buffet on the 14th floor.


Here is that first sunset from our balcony! It have to admit our first full day is now a bit of a blur as we explored and became familiar with the ship. I know we enjoyed using the pool and hot tub! And just relaxing and reading our books! The ship had a good library! It is great having access to lots of entertainment as well. We also planned our shore excursions! Here are a few views around the ship!










One of three pools



There was a lawn on the top 15th floor


What are rooms were like


Can you see the library?



My favourite spot


Watching sunrises...

Location:Caribbean

Miami

Sometime in January I began talking to my friend, Linda, in Montreal about the possibility of holidays and then cruises and fairly quickly we came up with a plan. We would meet in Miami, go on a Caribbean cruise and then spend a few days in Fort Lauderdale.

Internet on the ship was very expensive so that I thought I would work on my blog off line but most of my pictures were on my iPhone so that was a bit trickier than I imagineplus with offshore excursions etc. I was very busy! Miami was way to frantic to blog there and in the end this blog is finally getting finished back in Vancouver!




















I arrived at Miami airport around 9:15 pm Thursday,February 13th and about an hour or so later was at our hotel near the airport, not easy spotting the right hotel shuttle! I was meeting my good friends, the Benoits, from Montreal-Linda and Carol and their amazingly energetic 87 year old mom, Lorraine.




















After a good breakfast and a bit of organizing, we took a taxi to catch an on off bus tour that for us began in the Cuban section of Miami. As we made our way to Bayside it helped orient ourselves to Miami. The weather was perfect!




















I was out of Vancouver's rain and the Benoits were out of the snow.




















We had all been to Florida but not to Miami and we were impressed!




















When we got to Bayside we transferred into the Island Princess boat and the pictures above are actually from our cruising around Miami's islands-some even more exclusive and expensive than others! And then there are the yachts such as the one above!




















The picture above is our tour boat




















Here are my travelling companions









































So Miami above




















After the boat cruise we got on the Blue line section so we could explore Miami Beach beginning with famous South Beach and above you see an example of the Art Deco architecture.





















Florida was discovered long ago by the Spanish but no one was too interested in the Miami area as it was hot and swampy, but that eventually did change, of course!




















And northerners started seeking escape from winter




















And you can see here the hotels where they flocked




















And which have been restored and updated! We really enjoyed our drive through Miami Beach. Here are a few more neat buildings





















































































































































Having gotten quite a good look at Miami beach we headed back to hopefully catch the last bus that would take us to Coconut Grove and closer to our hotel near the airport. Otherwise we would take a taxi back all the way. We made the bus but later we were not sure it was entirely a good thing. We initially enjoyed driving through this lovely neighbourhood until we became hopelessly stuck in a traffic jam. What should have taken 25 minutes took an hour and a half. At that point we decided to get out earlier and get a taxi back to our hotel. Getting a taxi took us another hour I think. The combination of it being Friday afternoon, Valentine's Day and the beginning of an arts festival seemed to be a fatal combination. We all would enjoy a visit to Coconut Grove when we had more time to enjoy being there! Here are a few photos!













































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