Boston

Got to be the one America's best city to visit.  There is so much going on.  Walked through the north shore aka the Italian zone the first day and stopped for a cannoli.  Went out to Harvard for the afternoon.  It was busy with visitors.  I believe it must have been freshman orientation. Found an old speakeasy under the street that is now a very popular cigar lounge named Stanza Dei Sigari.

The next morning I was on a 90" harbor and back bay tour. Wanted to go down to see the Kennedy Library at U Mass but there was too much road work going on and it will have to wait for another trip.

PHOTOS HERE

Bar Harbor

This morning I actually made the sunrise on deck.  I wanted a chance to spot some whales as we pulled into Maine.  Didn't see any but it was a beautiful sight. Now this place is something to see.  It's an island part of Maine which was the favorite retreat of the wealthy in the early 20 th century.  The Rockefellers, the Fords and Carnegies have all been know to have summer retreats here.
I took a tour of the Acadia National Park which occupies most of this island.  John D Rockefeller was responsible for a lot of the development of this magnificent place. The highest point of the park is Cadillac Mountain.  The is the point reputedly that receives the first sunlight of the day for the US.   Finished the day off w a Lobster Roll on the wharf.

PHOTOS HERE

Halifax

So the fire wasn't the only problem in Syndey.  The wind was so strong that the captain couldn't push away from the pier..so we had to wait 4 hrs till the wind died down and then got away.  He made up a lot of time and we got into Halifax an hour late on Thurs. am.   I set out on foot to climb up the hill to the old Citadel which was a fort that had been built in the early settlement days to protect the town. It reminded me a lot tof the Alamo but there was more of it preserved.  I had lunch from a fish shack on the wharf and then back on the boat for the last formal night.  I joined up with my new friends from the DC area.  He was a retired newspaper man who had grown up in Pasadena, worked for the Hobbys at the Houston Post and later covered Washington for the Post.  His daughter was with him and had attended Tulane several yrs after me.

PHOTOS HERE

FIRE

I had just written the sequence on the ship and left the stateroom for a workout and then stopped for,a,Nathan's dog w/sauerkraut.  I was sitting by the pool enjoying my reward ( the hot dog and fries) when one of the alarms went off.  We had a real fire in the elevator control room.  We are docked and the boat is half empty but it was a real fire and the crew swung into action.  I was on the upper deck by the pool but for a moment thought I was going to be forced to evacuate the ship through the service gangplank with no return trip to the cabin for my valuables.  Within 5 min ; everything was under control and everyone "stood down".  I can see that we lost service in 2 forward elevators which service my cabin.  I assume we will move on minus an elevator or two. We'll this is the first "emergency" I ve encountered in all my travels.  And I'll admit I was getting a little nervous there for a moment; however theOfficers and crew handled it very professionally with lots of explanations. They really had it under control.

The Veendam

So now I have taken 12 cruises in the past 6 years.  Holland America is a throwback to the old glory days of sailing. The the help is very attentive cause the clientele is  more affluent,older and demanding of this higher level of service. The ships are smaller, very eloquent, and  have plenty of private space where on can find his/her own favorite place to hide and get lost in their favorite book.  One unique program of Holland is their association with Microsoft.  They have a computer lab and a talented young lady who has free daily workshops on different features of Windows.  Typically each day is a different subject, ; photo editing, video, working with a digital camera and so on.  They are vey informative and  you take away handouts.

Of course one has the multiple and continuous food service, entertainment, gyms and lots of areas to take in the views available.  This cruise is a good one since we are in view of land constantly. We are making 4 ports of call in addition to Quebec City and Boston.

PHOTOS HERE

Quebec City

PHOTOS HERE

Off to the Boat

July 5

It's travel day as a bid farewell to the Lopez s and catch the train to Quebec City to board the Holland for my 7 day cruise to Boston. The train from Montreal to Quebec City is a very relaxing 3 hrs. The "train experience" is so nice compared to the hassle of the airport and the cramped airplanes.  I highly recommend it whenever you have a choice.
The train station in Q C is downtown next to the port.  It was about a 10 " walk to the ship.  Luggage with good wheels is a must to travel the way I do it.

Bike Ride

July 3

9:30 and I was at the bike shop ready for my 4 hr cycling tour of Montreal.  My guide Pam was an architecture student. We toured the riverfront, all the islands that make up Montreal, there are about 5 or 6,  The tour took 5 Hours, we got rained on, but it was a blast.  The highlight of my day had to be riding around the island which had been developed for the 1967 World Expo, attended by my brother and I.   Then in 2004, along with some friends from Smith Barney, I was back on the very same island for the Montreal Formula 1 race.

Those Canadians are certainly resourceful.  The built the island with excavated dirt from the Metro buildout.  Had an Expo there with millions or world visitors, later turned it into a park, with a large casino and host a world class F-1 race every summer.  If that would have been Houston or Las Vegas, they just would have demolished and rebuilt. 

We had dinner in old town.

PHOTOS HERE

Montreal

July 2
Sandra and I set off to see the city.  Mt. Royal is the highest area in Montreal, also from which the city takes its name.  Near the bus stop for trip up,the mountain is a very famous bagel shop.  Montreal bagels are different from New York bagels.  A little drier and not as chewy. They think they are wonderful.  I think Kenny and Ziggy's. Then it was on the bus and up to the observation area on Mt Royal.   We took another bus to a park below the mountain and did some hiking up.  It was very hot that day and we didn't make it very far.  We later strolled through McGill University, really a picturesque campus.  That evening it was a walk down this long street which is blocked off for pedestrian only in the summer, Rue St. Catherine was full of bars and outdoor restaurants. More on Rue St. Catherine later.
We found a Lebanese cafe with a lovely young waitress and had a great dinner.

PHOTOS HERE

Summer 2014

July 1
Ok Another summer, another trip.  This year I'm staying a little closer to home ; Canada , Oh Canada.  It began as a very ambitious flight in the Mooney up the Atlantic Seaboard with multiple stops to see the country.  After many sleepless nights worrying about the weather and an marketing email from Holland America with last minute deals on their St. Lawrence River cruises; I'm really a sucker for those cruise specials; I got up 2 Sundays ago and in 1 hour booked passage on the Holland Veendam from Quebec City to Boston, air using United miles, confirmed availability with my friends John and Sandra in Montreal and I was set.

Early Tuesday morning the 1st of July I was off. To the airport with the help of my trusted driver Harvey.  It took about 10 hrs on old United equipment, delayed connections and transfers in Montreal, but I hooked up with John & Sandra during a heat wave in Montreal.  We spent the first evening in a sports bar on Rue St. Catherine ; more on Rue St.Catherine in a minute; watching the most boring televised sport in the world Futbol!.

We later had some Sangria down by the river walk, I signed up for a bicycle tour for the next day and called it a day.