Here I am, still in Lisbon, a week before taking the plane to Copenhagen. I really loved Spain & Portugal-more than Copenhagen or any of the places we went on the NCL Cruise. You can read about my experiences in Spain & Portugal at https://viajesporamericadelsur.blogspot.com/
The NCL Cruise was a mistake--wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Yet I was able to enjoy my good friend Sandy, & together we explored New York City. NYC was terrific!
The 3 hour flight from Madrid to Copenhagen was especially enjoyable because I had a window seat. At first I thought my seat was on the aisle.
The young man below yelled with indignation that I was sitting in his seat. I was so surprised at his anger. Of course, he could have been Autistic or suffering from some sort of rigidity disorder. I moved to the window, which was actually a far better seat.
The murals on the walls of the Airport in Copenhagen were beautiful.
Exchanging 100 Euros for local currency was easy. Next I proceeded to the Train Station.
The Train Station Employees were extremely helpful. One man even drew a map of my destination & suggested I take a photo.
The Airbnb location where I stayed appeared well taken care of and the grounds were beautiful. No one was there when I arrived, yet my Host left a map to the room in which I was to stay the night.
I stayed one night in my Host's office, and the next 2 nights in the 2 bedroom lodging we had arranged. Helmut, the Host, was furious with me because I asked him to change the sheets the day after arrival.
What I didn't realize was how many renters were in the house. Helmut and his wife had no privacy! Airbnb is a way for them to survive. Denmark is an expensive country, & renting rooms is about survival.
I thought I would want to move into our room, yet there was no way I could sit at my computer there. Helmet's wife accused me of staying in 2 rooms when I paid for one. No one was home the whole day.
Fortunately, it was easy to take the bus #33 downtown, where I enjoyed the city of Copenhagen. Tivoli Gardens was not open that week though.
Danish architecture is quite beautiful, & I took more photos than I realized. By this time Sandy emailed me that her plane was late. She didn't arrive until Sunday, 36 hours after her scheduled arrival!
I enjoyed a cup of coffee with milk & a roll at the shop, the Expresso House, pictured below. The cost was 12 Euros! Copenhagen is a truly expensive city.
Monday morning I decided to see the sights on a Copenhagen Canal Tour. The Tour Guide, a Cheerful & attractive blonde, is shown below.
Below is Copenhagen's Opera House, located at Kongens Nytorv, right on the canal.
We did stop to see the Little Mermaid, a surprisingly small sculpture that is the most popular Tourist attraction in Copenhagen.
Trekoner was built as a sea fortress to defend Copenhagen from invaders.
The Church of Our Savior's distinctive spiral tower with gold accents stands out against the city's skyline & is Christianshavn's most famous building.
Below is the Nyhavn, which means "New Port." A favorite of many visitors, it is the gateway from the sea to the old inner city of Copenhagen & a hub for trading activities.
The Royal Danish Playhouse, or Skuespilhuset (in Danish), seen below, is an architectural marvel.
Below is the Equestrian statue of Bishop Absalon, considered the Founding father of Copenhagen. This Statue is located in Hobsjo Plaj, downtown.
Bishop Absalon is depicted with his head turned right, which is the direction of Copenhagen's City Hall.
Copenhagen's Town Hall Square is below.
Having heard from Sandy of her arrival (finally) I was
excited to take the train to the airport & meet her!
Eagerly, I watched for the arrival of her plane & which gate she'd be coming from. I met her there. She told me about the horrors of her plane's delay, reporting that she was sick of Danish people already.
The Norwegian Flight she was scheduled on had been full of Danes--many who missed weddings, & other occasions because of the plane's 36 hour delay. I was just relieved Sandy arrived in time for the Cruise, even though we didn't have much time for sight seeing in Copenhagen together.
Our first night together we wanted herring on rye with the popular Danish Schnapps, akvavitt. We searched many downtown eateries before finding where we wanted to eat our supper. The Restaurant we located was PERFECT.
Leaving the Airbnb & catching several buses to the Norwegian Cruise Line ship was easy. Danish people were sure helpful with giving us the directions we needed. Sandy immediately hit it off with my friend in Cuenca, Jean Wall Caruthers, also on the cruise.
Below is Gothenburg, Sweden's 2nd largest city. Located on the West Coast of Sweden, Gothenburg is an important seaport. Our ship docked here for a day and we were able to tour the City.
Poseidon, & his fountain, is among Gothenburg's best Tourist Sites.
Gustav Aldolfs Torg, Gothenberg's Founder, is sculpted in Gothenburg's Central Town Square.
Our Housekeeper on deck, from Malaysia, was also our Salvation!
He left us daily events scheduled aboard the ship & animals made from towels:
Below is a photo of our cabin. The beds were not that big, & they were close together. No wonder Sandy & I got on each other's nerves. Sandy thought I was way too negative.
We toured London on a bus while the NCL ship stayed a day in Southport, England.
Next is Westminster Cathedral.
Below is the River Thames, seen from the bus window.
We enjoyed our lunch on a sunny day at Covent Gardens.
Below we are dining out on the ship:
One day the ship ported in Cork, Ireland, or at least nearby in Cobh. Sandy & I didn't do much that day but we did take a train ride to Cork & back. I would have preferred a trip to Dublin & County Donegal!
There wasn't much to see & we weren't interested in a tour of the Jameson's Distillery, where some of the others went. Also, we didn't want to get back too late & miss the ship's departure.
Below is an audience for a lecture (about the Azores) on board. The ship was so crowded, we needed to arrive 30 minutes early to get a seat! Finding a place to sit was always an issue, which I found frustrating.
Oh, and the art for sale on board was not only trashy, it was over-priced. I took a few photos because the "art" was promoted heavily.
I wanted to remember why I came to dislike the cruise so much. We always had to walk through the "art" and the casinos to get anywhere on the opposite side of our cabin.
One of our favorite bartenders on board is seen next. A drinks package was included in the price of our fare. Alcoholics abounded. The drinks were good, actually. I even had champagne for breakfast.
We enjoyed some of our meals out at the "Specialty" Restaurants, which were heavily promoted. We paid extra for these dinners.
Below is our Driver, who spent the day showing us around the island of São Miguel in the Azores. We each paid him $25. He was quite jolly.
Sandy & I are together at an overlook in the photo below. A woman who joined us for the day is at the right. We enjoyed a happy day, hiking among the natural steam baths of the Island.
After the Azores, we had no further stops. We were on the ocean for 6 days straight. I thought I would die of boredom. Jean complained too, saying planes were invented so that travel across the Atlantic Ocean would take several hours, not 6 whole days.
We all thought that Don & Donna, who put together the trip, must have gotten their trip free for enrolling all of us. One day Sandy observed Don & Donna out on the deck watching the sunrise. She knew they were people who love the ocean. They spent over 20 years sailing the world on their own yacht, so ocean travel had a different meaning for them than us.
I kept thinking about how exciting traveling around Italy, the Netherlands & France would have been for Sandy & me. We would have spent about the same amount of money (staying at Airbnb's & hostels) as the Cruise cost, & enjoyed ourselves so much more.
The last few days were REALLY boring. I'll always remember the sparklingly beautiful views of NYC on the night of our arrival:
Early the next morning, Sandy & I were among the first to leave the ship:
I was thrilled to find ourselves walking away from that NCL Ship. We walked & walked. We had no idea where we were! Turns out we were in the middle of Manhattan, & had walked to the Hell's Kitchen area.
Finally, we went to a Walgreen's store where a helpful Employee told us where we could catch the metro to Queens. We arrived about noon at the Airbnb where we had a reservation.
We had reserved a room through Airbnb in Astoria, right across downtown Manhattan. In fact, we took a nearby ferry to Manhattan the next morning.
A young Brazilian man greeted us when we rang, & enthusiastically carried our packs up to the 4th floor. The room was completely private, with a King sized bed & a very large plasma television screen.
The area was filled with over-priced condos rented out to immigrants from Latin America. Since I live in South America, I felt right at home. We paid $100 nightly for the room, which included a bathroom.
Frequently we heard the family of the Brazilian man cooking & eating. We weren't there that much so we weren't bothered by people living nearby.
The room was advertised as having beautiful views of Manhattan. We didn't really notice the views as much as we felt the long climb to get to the highest level of the condo. We enjoyed watching the television at night, including the popular series, Casa de Papel.
I've tried getting this show in Ecuador without success, so I enjoyed finally being able to see it. The young Brazilian man's good humor was infectious, & our stay was a happy one. Below is a daytime view of Manhattan from the Airbnb we stayed at.
We became experts at using New York's Metro System, & bought passes for a week. New Yorkers were incredibly helpful when we were lost. We always got right back on track!
This photo was taken in downtown Manhattan close to where we got off the ferry.
We decided we should go see the September 11 Memorial first thing in the morning.
I forgot what the next building is except that it is important. We saw SO much.
We don't get any of the stuff at TJ's in Ecuador, so my eyes almost fell out. TJ's is really efficient & the lines move quickly. Afterwards, we went to TJ's Wine Store, which is at a different location. The whole day (after visiting the 911 Memorial) was so much fun.
Sandy took us out to dinner at the Greek Restaurant below, which was the only "nice" restaurant we found in Astoria. It was good yet the service was a little "off." I remember enjoying myself.
The cab driver who took us to our Airbnb was nervous about going into our area. He said there were a lot of "projects" there & the Black people living nearby were scary.
We saw the building below on the Hop on & Off Bus Tour. Pretty sure this is the Administration building of Colombia University.
I was fascinated by seeing the famous Apollo Theater, even if it has aged over the years.
Grand Army Central Park, NYC
Thursday night we saw the play "Wicked" in Times Square. Our seats were in the balcony yet the photos still came out beautifully.
Friday we took the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day.
We ate lunch that day at an overpriced yet popular hamburger joint seen below called Five Guys:
Saturday Sandy took the Metro with me to the the Bronx, where I stayed at an Airbnb my last 3 days. The guy who ran that airbnb, Eduardo, was not very likable, yet his wife was fabulous.
Afterward, Sandy & I had lunch at the café below, which ended up being a life-saver for me after Sandy was gone. We got on the Metro & Sandy went to JFK
Airport to catch her flight from NYC to Sacramento.
The next day I went to the Bronx Zoo. I did enjoy the animals. The weather in NYC suddenly turned very cold. Also, my back was killing me. My Chiropractor said I sprained a few tendons bracing myself when our Cruise ship hit a few storms.
Sunday I went to a Marshall's & bought a beautiful set of sheets. I could never find a set of sheets as nice in Ecuador for such a good price.
Right away I took a trolley car around the zoo. It was a gorgeous ride. The zoo was pricey though.
The giraffes below are real! They were tall & elegant so I included them here. There were lots of great animals at the Bronx Zoo.
The Metropolitan Art Museum was more thrilling than I ever realized it would be. All of the originals I'd seen over the years in art classes were here!
Later in the afternoon, I saw these dogs on the side walk. I especially got a kick out of the dog doing "doggie-yoga."
The Metropolitan Art Museum is in a spiffy part of Manhattan, & these dogs all look like they come from "upper-class families." Their Professional Dog Walker was evidently taking a break.
I became especially fond of the Mirador Cafe in the Bronx, nearby the Airbnb where I was staying. George, the Owner, seemed to love hearing of my travels. I truly valued his caring & sincerity.
I arrived early at JetBlu, so security & checking in was really easy.
Our plane landed in Florida, & I transferred to Quito. We arrived in Quito about 11 pm.
Of course, I had to spend the night in Quito because there were no flights out to Cuenca until 6 am. Fortunately my back was not acting up!
Cuenca was so beautiful on arrival. The air felt fresh & clear. I must have been in an altered state of consciousness. The taxi Driver who took me home was kind. The streets & buildings all looked quaint. My apartment was gorgeous.
Can't say enough about how HAPPY I was to finally be home in Cuenca. I saved my favorite Chilean wine for the occasion.
Thank you for reading my blog post. The next update will happen sometime in the next months. This year I have a Visitor arriving mid-January (so excited!) & after that, I plan to put some silver away. Who knows what is happening with this crazy economy. I don't have any splashy trips planned... yet.
