Last day in Lunenburg

Tomorrow morning we catch a flight from Boston to Vancouver via Dallas, so we will not be posting a blog tomorrow.  Our last night's celebration tonight will be another meal of clam chowder and lobster, accompanied by some good wine, plus the best corn we have ever tasted (called "butter and sugar" - grown locally and in season).

Some information about the lake here (Hickory Hills Lake).  It is fed by underground springs, and was formed in 1957 by a landowner who dammed the flow so he could land his private plane on the water. It is the largest private lake in Massachusetts, is up to 20 ft deep, and covers 319 acres.  It attracts a very large range of wild life, including the flock of Canada Geese which woke us with extremely loud honking at 5 am this morning.  Many of the properties around the lake have a "day-boat" like ours at Eildon.  It is clean fresh water with some floating lily pads near the shore.  Sometimes the surface is like a mirror.

We will miss the squirrels and the birds on the balcony outside the kitchen window, and the ducks which come up from the lake to feed.  There is a large frog living in the pond in the garden, which sits on a rock and looks like a small statue because he is so still.  The humming birds are particularly fascinating - quite small, and its wings flap 50 to 60 times per second, and is the only bird to fly backwards.  They come to drink sugar water which LK puts out for them.  It's heart beats at an incredible 1,260 times a minute!  Photos do not show the wings clearly because they flap far too fast.

We will miss Mark and LK very much.  They have a been wonderful hosts, and their home has become like home for us.  We will see them again soon in AustralIa, because they are travelling for a family wedding in Perth and will be in Melbourne for a few short days.

Best wishes to all.

Maine

We took a day drive to Maine which gave us a different perspective of the country.  A winding road along the coast was fringed with endless cedar-shingled houses as close to the rocky shoreline as possible.  It is still holiday season here and the roads are packed with tourists.  Maine is supposed to be the poorest American State.

We passed through many small and quaint towns with interesting shops in the main street and some very old houses and buildings dating back to the 1700s.  A high proportion of homes have at least one American Flag at the front of the house or in the front garden.

In search of a seafood restaurant to enjoy more clam chowder and a lobster roll for lunch, we stumbled upon a great family-owned restaurant at York Point called Fox's Lobster House.  Wonderful food and a  great view over the rocky shore from the 1st floor (see photos)

We saw George Bush I's holiday house from a distance, which is located on a well-protected rocky outcrop (see photo)

This was an interesting day of sights and experiences.

The rocky coastline view at York Point from Fox's Restaurant

These houses would be battered with the icy winds and sea during winter.

A nice restaurant on a point overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

The girls after more chowder and lobster for lunch.

Every town has a Main St. but this one has a Maine Street.  Note flag in front.

This is George Bush's holiday house in Kennebunk Port on the coast in Maine.

Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Washington and New York.

Based on the number of emails received asking for the next blog entry, we realise that it is being read by many.  We were out of range for a few days but will try to catch up on the past 6 days.

Cape Cod.

We drove to the end of the Cape and found that Provincetown was a fun place with lots of sun seekers, many restaurants with a wide range of menus, and a high proportion of the community all out to enjoy themselves.  The cedar shingled houses and the beach views all added to make this a popular holiday destination.

Martha's Vineyard.

Caught the fast ferry to Martha's Vineyard (Oak Bluffs) and then a local tourist bus to do a 2 hour circuit of the Island.  Magnificent views, great lobster, and even an explanation of where and how the movie Jaws was produced.  The houses are priced extremely high, meal prices are at the top end, and if the movie stars and the President keep coming to holiday there will not be a drop in real estate values in the near future.

Washington.

Flew Boston to Washington and then boarded the subway to explore and admire the unique buildings which are at the "seat" of USA politics and history.  The city is extremely clean, and the subway and trains clean and efficient.  Buying a ticket is a breeze compared to Melbourne's Metro!  

It was extremely hot walking on the stone pavements in bright sunshine and a high temperature.  Exhausting! Over two days we covered many kilometres on foot around the White House (entry not permitted now), Senators' offices, WWII memorial, Vietnam War memorial, and the Lincoln memorial (the latter is very beautiful, and the War Memorials extremely moving).  The Mall and Reflecting Pool with Washington Spire at one end and the Lincoln Memorial building at the other makes a well-known photograph, but is exceptionally beautiful when viewed personally.  The Lincoln memorial building is particularly beautiful, and his large statue inside very realistic with great character.

We also visited Arlington National Cemetery which holds the graves of Military personnel.  JFK's grave is located there, and surprisingly also Jackie Kennedy/Bouvier/Onassis and two stillborn babies all side by side near the Eternal Flame.  Robert is buried in the same cemetery, but not Ted.

New York

We stayed just opposite the 9/11 memorial site and could watch the construction work from our windows on the 23rd floor.  One new building called the Freedom Tower is almost complete, and the two memorials with waterfalls on all four sides of a deep well have the names of all those who lost their lives inscribed around the perimeters.  This site is a very sad and moving experience.  More than 400 Plane trees have been planted on the site to provide shade and to symbolise life.  There is also one pear tree which is called the "Surviving Tree" - it survived 9/11, was taken away and nurtured, and then returned and planted on the site.  There is a museum which contains remnants of the collapsed buildings and artworks which have been made from steel which was part of the buildings.

Many buildings next to the centre were so badly damaged that they had to be destroyed and rebuilt, but St Paul's Church Chapel was undamaged.  This chapel was used as HQ for volunteers and firefighters at the site.  It was built in 1708 and is the oldest building still operating in New York.

We took a ride through Central Park in a Hansom Cab which was most enjoyable, and the park surprisingly green and full of cyclists and picnickers.

Lunch was at a Jazz Night Club called "BBKINGS" where we were treated to songs by the Harlem Gospel Choir which is very famous.  Both as a group and individually their voices are amazing, and the crowd was very soon clapping and waving their arms in unison with the music.  A great day!

Provincetown at the top of Cape Cod.

Some large yachts with helicopter on top at Martha's Vineyard.

The "Gingerbread Houses" at Martha's Vineyard.

The memorial at the World Trade Centre on the site of the North Tower.

Judy and LK. In the museum for 9/11

The bell presented by London to New York located in the church yard of St Paul's opposite the World Trade Centre.

The park around the site of the World Trade Centre twin towers.

Freedom Tower built on the WTC site.

A ride around New York Central Park.

Some of the thousands of bike riders in Central Park and two on-lookers.

Always busy at Times Square.

What about this for a McDonalds outlet!

The Harlem Gospel Choir at BB Kings on 42nd Street.

Another Day in Boston

The photos show where we are staying with Mark and Lorraine in a little town called Lunenburg which is about 45 mins from Boston.  It is an extremely pretty neighbourhood, where fresh fruit  and veggies  can be purchased every day - just picked - at a roadside farm outlet.

The lobsters here are relatively inexpensive and absolutely delicious.  After the feast we cooked last night, there was sufficient lobster remaining for us to have lobster rolls for lunch today.  Decadent! The photo of the platter below shows them in their full red glory.

Mark's little red sports car is a manual "pocket rocket", and Brian thoroughly enjoyed a drive to bring back memories of the MG TF which he owned when I first met him.

It is very entertaining to watch the 6 squirrels which leap from the balcony to the trees to the bird feeders - they have very cute faces and move incredibly quickly when they are not eating.  They are usually just outside the kitchen window.

On Wed we leave from here for 5 days - Mark and I to Washington and Brian and Lorraine to Cape Cod.  We will then all meet in New York for two days for a show and dinner (Mark and I by train from Washington and Brian and Lorraine by car to our meeting point)

Mark ready to take Judy for a ride in his Sports Car

One of the squirrels feeding upside down on the balcony

A feast of Boston Lobsters

Mark and Lorraine, our wonderful hosts

Ready to attack the luscious spread which we prepared

View from the balcony across the lake at Lunenburg

Relaxing in Boston.

After a hectic rush to catch our plane at Heathrow, we just caught the flight with minutes to go. It took an hour to get from the plane after it landed from Amsterdam, into the terminal, through the terminal and on to the flight to Boston.  

We are staying with Mark and Lorraine where they live in a little town called Lunenburg which is about  3/4 hour drive from Boston.  You will see from the photos below that their place is located beside a beautiful lake, and Lorraine's garden attracts the most amazing array of birds and animals, which includes squirrels, ducks, humming birds, blue jays, and woodpeckers.

We have jet lag today and are very tired. It may take another day or so to slot into local time.

Heading for the USA.

We fly Amsterdam to London and then Boston today to stay with Mark and Lorraine. 

No blogs or photos for a short while. 

We will be changing 4 different currencies at the airport today so we finish up with US dollars.  

Will get back to blogging when we can.

Museum in Amsterdam.

A suburban view and still busy with bikes, canals and trams.

The trams are new and efficient, swipe on and swipe off and no fare evaders. 

Final Day in Europe

Amsterdam is a very interesting city, but I would not like to live here.  It is a major challenge to cross a road or footpath, because whatever the rules are no-one seems to follow them.  Near misses are very common, with cyclists carrying pillion passengers, children and shopping, silent trams, cars, motorbikes and scooters all seemingly unaware of other traffic.  Few "corners" are at right angles, and roundabouts are not obviously round.

Day to day weather is unpredictable, so one should not leave the house without both sunglasses and an umbrella.  You will see from a photo below that we were caught in a downpour whilst waiting to buy tickets to a museum.

We have found that "lines" are common here - a line to buy a ticket, a line for entry to the museum, a line to buy lunch, a line for the toilet, and a line at the tram stop.

For dinner last night we chose an Indonesian restaurant (see photo) - such cuisine is not unusual when the Dutch occupation of Indonesia during their maritime dominance is remembered (remember "The Dutch East India Company"?)

Indonesian meal with so many different dishes - degustation style?

Our B and B room with small garden

Tiny red car

Queue for entry to the Rijks Museum

And down came the rain!

Another tiny car, with a theme

Boats available for one-hour canal cruises

Private boat on a canal

Another day in Amsterdam.

Szilvia has been the most amazing Cruise Director.  She has made everything run smoothly, and managed to have all passengers and crew in the right place at the right time. Nothing was too much trouble for her, including arranging the crew to provide ice and a bandaid for my knee when I managed to miss the last step when descending the stairs and slither across the entry foyer in front of many observers!  

Last night she took a group on a tour into town and into the red light district after dark.  The main danger was to avoid being run down by a bicycle or tram (both are quite silent and seem to appear from nowhere) so much care is required when walking anywhere.

Sadly we all had to leave our ship this morning, each bound for home or further travels by air or train.  We had a taxi which brought us to this quaint little B and B in Amsterdam where we will stay for 2 nights.  A couple owns this building which has 9 separate little suites with our own small garden, and breakfast and coffee/tea facilities.  Tram, restaurants, and large park nearby, and right next to a canal.  Today we spent just walking and some R and R, but will undertake some wider exploration tomorrow.

This is Szilvia the Cruise Director, who took us into the "Red Light " district last night.

Thousands of bikes on every street, all looking well used.

Start of the Red Light district, this coffee shop is really a smoke shop for drug users. Some drugs have been treated as acceptable by the authorities.  No photos of the girls in the windows are allowed.

Judy thought it safer to pick up a statue, there were an array of strange types in the red light area.

Canal bridges raise for the boats

Boats have right of way

Some barges on the canals are very large for a small canal.

The Blog is not behaving !!!

To those that are following our adventures, we apologise for the dysfunctional manner in which the Blog is acting.

We have lost 3 postings and appear to be headed for more problems.

If you receive this one, that will be a bonus.  

We will keep trying and hopefully sort out this issue.

Regards to all

Brian

Amsterdam

Last evening we had a final farewell dinner with the Captain and all of the passengers.  This was the usual a la carte meal, with the addition of lobster.  After dinner the crew provided us with a performance in the lounge - most of the acts were hilarious and great fun was had by all.  There were even some "blue" Australian/English jokes which will need person to person telling!

Early start this morning for a choice of activities in and around Amsterdam.  We chose a mix of three visits - a sheep/goat farm with a cheese-making facility, an inspection of a still-active windmill which is grinding limestone and various natural pigments for dyes, paints, etc, and an artisan who still actively makes clogs (which are worn by most of the people who work in the fields or near the dykes).  Rather than carving by hand, now a machine is used to replicate an existing clog which is clamped to the machine and used as the mould.  All were fascinating experiences.

An interesting statistic - there are two cycles for every three people in Amsterdam!

Just reached the Rhine River.

We have left the Main River which flows into the Rhine, and now cruising through the Rhine Valley.  This valley is filled with magnificent castles on both banks, high on the hills overlooking the river.  This area is well known for its white wine (particularly Reisling) which is very good.  You will see a section of a vineyard in one of the photos below.

We are beginning to think of our tour as a "Y" tour - YAC (yet another castle or church or cathedral), YAV (yet another village), YAM (yet another meal)!!

Last night we were entertained by a highly accomplished zither player - such a difficult instrument and such an expert musician.  There was a camera trained on the instrument and his hands which was directed to a large TV screen, so we could watch his finger work closely.

This morning we visited the Siegfried Music Cabinet in Rudesheim - a magnificent collection of very old pianolas, some of which played many instruments at the same time (using paper rolls with perforations as precursors of computer generated sound).  This music museum is not to be missed - it is amazing.

The ride in the cable car to the Lady Germaine statue at the top of the hill gave a great view of the Rhine, the valley, the vineyards, and our ship.

I try to smile as they take the money at the tourist shop !

Castles, turrets, rivers and some grape vines.

On the way up the cable car to the monument.

General view of Ruedesheim.

Another castle above the railway line alongside the Rhine.

Another church.