Green
Blue skies
Fresh air
Comfy chairs
Slippers
Balderson cheese
Tea made in a cup with boiling water
Robust WiFi
CBC
Lightweight duvet
Squishy pillow
Open windows
Drinking coffee in our pajamas
Local news
Comics in the newspaper
Magazines in the mail
Adjustable shower head
Grab bars in the tub
Shampoo in a pump bottle
BIG bath towels
A whole closet full of wardrobe choices
BC Med
Chrystia Freeland
Friday, 28 September 2018
Tuesday, 25 September 2018
Trapped
It rained buckets in Montreal today, so we decided to explore the underground city instead of braving the elements. Except .... we couldn't. You see, there is no way to get down there with a walker: no elevator, only stairs and escalators. Which made me kind of cranky ...
Actually .... very cranky.
There is a restaurant on Douglas Street in Victoria, Cora, with the same limitation. These folks put on a nice (free) breakfast for the Tourism Victoria volunteers, but when I asked about access for persons with mobility issues, I was told there was none. Apparently to install a ramp would impact the sidewalk unless the entrance to the restaurant was changed, and that would cost too much. Too much to accommodate an increasingly large segment of the population ....
Yes, very cranky.
Contrast this with the hotel we frequent in Quebec City, the Clarendon. It's an old hotel, and it shows. It is also restricted by heritage building rules, and sidewalk limitations, but the doorman actually brings out a portable ramp for people with mobility issues. No complaints, no delays, it's just what they do.
I may have to put that crankiness to better use ...
Actually .... very cranky.
There is a restaurant on Douglas Street in Victoria, Cora, with the same limitation. These folks put on a nice (free) breakfast for the Tourism Victoria volunteers, but when I asked about access for persons with mobility issues, I was told there was none. Apparently to install a ramp would impact the sidewalk unless the entrance to the restaurant was changed, and that would cost too much. Too much to accommodate an increasingly large segment of the population ....
Yes, very cranky.
Contrast this with the hotel we frequent in Quebec City, the Clarendon. It's an old hotel, and it shows. It is also restricted by heritage building rules, and sidewalk limitations, but the doorman actually brings out a portable ramp for people with mobility issues. No complaints, no delays, it's just what they do.
I may have to put that crankiness to better use ...
Saturday, 22 September 2018
Fake news?
Something extraordinary happened in Quebec City this morning! I saw it with my own eyes ...
Friday, 21 September 2018
Saguenay
Gale force winds and rain greeted us as we docked in Saguenay this morning.
We've not been here before, so we really wanted to get off the ship and wander about. We held off until about 11:30, then decided to brave the weather and give it a shot. Well ..
The wind was so strong that we actually had difficulty making it to the terminal building. Part way there, about the equivalent of a half block's distance, we took refuge behind a small building and decided to turn back: we were wet, our glasses were impossible to see through, and the wind was almost knocking us over.
Along comes a young woman from the Port of Saguenay to our hidey-hole. She tells us to wait for the golf cart that is shuttling people from the dock to the terminal building. So we did.
This nice man, also from the Port, helped Tom onto the cart and wiped off the back seat for me (a wasted effort, I must say). We arrived at the terminal building in seconds. Once there, we looked around, but chickened out about going further into town. We caught the golf cart back to the ship and the warmth and safety of our room.
There are two other cruise ships in port, both of them at anchor. Glad we didn't have to tender to shore!
We've not been here before, so we really wanted to get off the ship and wander about. We held off until about 11:30, then decided to brave the weather and give it a shot. Well ..
The wind was so strong that we actually had difficulty making it to the terminal building. Part way there, about the equivalent of a half block's distance, we took refuge behind a small building and decided to turn back: we were wet, our glasses were impossible to see through, and the wind was almost knocking us over.
Along comes a young woman from the Port of Saguenay to our hidey-hole. She tells us to wait for the golf cart that is shuttling people from the dock to the terminal building. So we did.
This nice man, also from the Port, helped Tom onto the cart and wiped off the back seat for me (a wasted effort, I must say). We arrived at the terminal building in seconds. Once there, we looked around, but chickened out about going further into town. We caught the golf cart back to the ship and the warmth and safety of our room.
There are two other cruise ships in port, both of them at anchor. Glad we didn't have to tender to shore!
Thursday, 20 September 2018
Monday, 17 September 2018
Nova Scotia
Here we are in lovely Sydney NS. Once again there are three ships docked - two Holland America and one Disney - a boon to the local economy, I'm sure. Ours is the only ship that was actually scheduled to be here (and so we get the preferred docking location). The other two ships had their itineraries rejigged because of Hurricane Florence.
Had some nice chats with the locals this morning as we walked along the boardwalk.
(Tom kept challenging other people with walkers to a race.)
There's also a nice memorial to the Merchant Navy.
Yesterday we were in Halifax, our first Canadian port. I left Tom on the boardwalk while I went in search of the perfect t-shirt. By the time I got back, he had removed both his fleece and sweater, and was down to a golf shirt. We were both wishing we'd worn shorts, it was so warm.
Which made it a perfect day to meet our friends Leslie and Bill at Garrisons for a beer.
Oh, and I'm up $43 on the slots!
Oh, and I'm up $43 on the slots!
Saturday, 15 September 2018
Good times
After a stressful (and bloody) start to our cruise, I am pleased to report that we are back on track - a lovely dinner with great waitstaff, good wine (for one of us, anyway), a great show on the Mainstage, and a successful turn on the slots (up $9!!).
If the cruise industry has a theme song, it's not The Love Boat (exciting and new!) as you might expect. Rather, it's got to be Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline. I am sure that every cruise we have been on has had at least one entertainer who gets the crowd waving arms (touchin' me, touchin' you), and belting out Sweet Caroline (bah, bah, bah) at full voice.
I confess: I'm one of that crowd.
There is something about that enthusiasm that really works for me. People are just letting loose, having a great time. From time to time, we all need to just let go and enjoy the moment. Good times never seemed so good.
If the cruise industry has a theme song, it's not The Love Boat (exciting and new!) as you might expect. Rather, it's got to be Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline. I am sure that every cruise we have been on has had at least one entertainer who gets the crowd waving arms (touchin' me, touchin' you), and belting out Sweet Caroline (bah, bah, bah) at full voice.
I confess: I'm one of that crowd.
There is something about that enthusiasm that really works for me. People are just letting loose, having a great time. From time to time, we all need to just let go and enjoy the moment. Good times never seemed so good.
Thursday, 13 September 2018
Banana crisp
Well, the hassles of travel are over (and there were a few 😣) and here we are just leaving NYC, unpacked, sitting in our stateroom watching MSNBC, replete with trout, steak, wine, fruit, cheese and yes, the aforementioned banana crisp, relaxed and unstressed.
Zzzzzzzzzz ......
Zzzzzzzzzz ......
Sunday, 2 September 2018
Ask me
This morning I gave my email address to a total stranger. The woman, whose name I never did get, was a passenger on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas.
You see, I volunteer down at the cruise ship port with the Tourism Victoria Ambassador program during the tourist season. We greet the passengers as they disembark, direct them to Victoria's hot spots and, generally, chat. Chatting is my favourite part.
Victoria is a regular stop on the Alaska run for over 600,000 guests on 245 ships from nine or so different cruise lines.
The recipient of my email address was a woman from England with a relative in Willenhall, where my Mum and Dad are from. (Anyone in England know Eileen Davis from Willenhall?)
Though most of the passengers are from the US, today I met a Canadian woman with relatives in Braeside (Malcolm Campbell, anyone?), and another, from Kemptville (who just wanted directions to the nearest Timmy's), as well as people from England, Jamaica, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, Colombia, Italy, Spain.
Many of the questions we get are pretty standard: Where is the shuttle? How do I get to ...? Do I need to change my money? How much is ...? But most of the time, people just want to know what they should do with their six or so hours in town. Each of the volunteers has a variation on this plan.
Here's mine:
Walk into town through the residential area. Check out the free tours in the BC Legislature; visit the Royal BC Museum's Egypt display, take a wander through the Fairmont Empress Hotel.
Walk up Government Street to the second oldest Chinatown in North America (San Francisco's is older) and visit the Gate of Harmonious Interest and Fan Tan Alley. Check out the local shops on Government, Johnson, Yates, and Broad Streets. Stop for a beer or a cup of tea at one of the many restaurants and pubs before checking out the craft market in Bastion Square.
Make your way back to the Tourism Victoria Visitor Centre and go down the stairs to the lower causeway and check out the vendors there before hopping on a Victoria Harbour Ferry to Fisherman's Wharf. There, treat yourself to halibut (the world's BEST fish!) and chips, before sauntering back to Ogden Point and the cruise ship, a mere 10 minutes away.
(I have another plan for people with kids which includes ice cream at Beacon Drive In and playing with the goats at the Beacon Hill Children's Farm!)
Oh, and today I learned how to pronounce Louisville like a native: Loovll
You see, I volunteer down at the cruise ship port with the Tourism Victoria Ambassador program during the tourist season. We greet the passengers as they disembark, direct them to Victoria's hot spots and, generally, chat. Chatting is my favourite part.
Victoria is a regular stop on the Alaska run for over 600,000 guests on 245 ships from nine or so different cruise lines.
The recipient of my email address was a woman from England with a relative in Willenhall, where my Mum and Dad are from. (Anyone in England know Eileen Davis from Willenhall?)
Though most of the passengers are from the US, today I met a Canadian woman with relatives in Braeside (Malcolm Campbell, anyone?), and another, from Kemptville (who just wanted directions to the nearest Timmy's), as well as people from England, Jamaica, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, Colombia, Italy, Spain.
Many of the questions we get are pretty standard: Where is the shuttle? How do I get to ...? Do I need to change my money? How much is ...? But most of the time, people just want to know what they should do with their six or so hours in town. Each of the volunteers has a variation on this plan.
Here's mine:
Walk into town through the residential area. Check out the free tours in the BC Legislature; visit the Royal BC Museum's Egypt display, take a wander through the Fairmont Empress Hotel.
Walk up Government Street to the second oldest Chinatown in North America (San Francisco's is older) and visit the Gate of Harmonious Interest and Fan Tan Alley. Check out the local shops on Government, Johnson, Yates, and Broad Streets. Stop for a beer or a cup of tea at one of the many restaurants and pubs before checking out the craft market in Bastion Square.
Make your way back to the Tourism Victoria Visitor Centre and go down the stairs to the lower causeway and check out the vendors there before hopping on a Victoria Harbour Ferry to Fisherman's Wharf. There, treat yourself to halibut (the world's BEST fish!) and chips, before sauntering back to Ogden Point and the cruise ship, a mere 10 minutes away.
(I have another plan for people with kids which includes ice cream at Beacon Drive In and playing with the goats at the Beacon Hill Children's Farm!)
Oh, and today I learned how to pronounce Louisville like a native: Loovll
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