Day 151

-
JANUARY 28, 2020

 AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

Ah, the big city. Karen and I walked off the boat and directly into downtown where we completed our errands. This is one fine city, modern, user-friendly and growing.
I couldn't resist lunch at KFC - my body needed some of that delectable grease.

 As evening approached we saw this from our balcony:

Have you ever seen a rainbow end in water? And just a few feet away.........

Dinner was a treat - frog legs and lobster ravioli in a saffron sauce. What other ship serves frog legs? 

 Just another day in paradise.
The Lord of the Rings begins, quite naturally, in "The Shire". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meK0G3o9mPw

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 29, 2020 at 9:46 AM

    Hey John,
    While in Auckland, did you get to go up the Sky tower in downtown Auckland, or maybe the Hop on /Hop off bus?
    We spent about 10 days there with Murray and Carol Firth exploring all the sites.
    Very nice city, but real estate is quite expensive. Our cousins live there and they pay their rent in a weekly format and quite draining on the pocketbook.
    Cheers,
    Shawn

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 182

-
FEBRUARY 28, 2020 DARWIN, AUSTRALIA We all recognize that life is an adventure - there will be surprises. Coronavirus is an unexpected development and this voyage has already made adjustments. Further adjustments are possible, even likely, during the two months remaining on Viking's World Cruise.  At a time when authorities must be " seen to be doing something " about the chances of a pandemic, fear can provoke overreaction and more surprises. Karen and I have taken a cautionary attitude about how matters could evolve. We believe this is prudent. Consequently, we have decided to defer the remainder of this voyage to a later date.    With that in mind, a fitting tune is Sophie Zelmani's  " Going Home ". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrIG3K40-8A
Read more

Day 11

-
Image
September 10, 2019 EDINBURGH - They say Scotland gets a lot of rain. Tell me about it! Arrived here in the fog and that became a steady drizzle. But at least it wasn't cold, around 16 degrees.  The rush hour (good planning) bus tour of The Queen City was mostly about crawling from stoplight to stoplight. Incredibly dense traffic made worse by many downtown streets being closed to accommodate the filming of Fast and Furious Nine - we saw the support trucks, an army of them, dozens. The main attraction, of course, is the Castle on the hill. Very impressive from below, but almost inaccessible due to the overwhelming crowds and the discouraging wait times - where did all these people come from? I'm told that tourism gridlock is becoming the new normal in cities like Paris and Rome. Meanwhile, on the Viking Sun there is so much space, even in the restaurants, one never feels pressed.  After returning to the ship from downtown, wouldn't you know it, the sun came out.
Read more

Day 72

-
Image
NOVEMBER 11, 2019 SALVADOR DA BAHIA, BRAZIL For a city that I've never heard of, Salvador da Bahia is a surprisingly large metropolis. Three million people live in this sprawling, modern city. It seems as though there is a catholic church at every street corner, a bit like Starbucks. The photos I took today all disappeared as I was downloading them, so I borrowed a few from the Internet. This is part of the old town where we walked - it was crowded.  Most of the city is on an escarpment above the water. In order to access the escarpment, there are three funiculars and this 73 meter Elevador Lacerda which was built in 1873 - it costs 4 cents to ride up or down.  Also in town is the cruise ship, World Odyssey. You might recall that this ship operated as a floating condominium at one time and sailed wherever the owners decided. I guess that concept passed its expiry date for the ship now sails under its new flag "Seminar a
Read more