Day 2: time to explore Cascais

It was a great night of sleep and thankfully breakfast was served until noon! I am starting my trip in Cascais, Portugal at ARTSY Cascais. Just a delightful boutique hotel in the middle of the art district; thanks Hyatt points for free stays. I can not wait to get out and explore but first breakfast! I love me a good European breakfast.

The hotel manager came to check on me and give me a card to visit all the local museums and attractions for free. Thank you very much! So I get to planning . . . most of the places were not on my list but free is free and could pop in to check out as many as possible.

Paula Rego Museum.  I did not know who Paula Rego was but I found her interesting after visiting the museum in her honor . . . I found her art work interesting and fun. 

 

Museum Do Mar Rei.  It is a museum that covers all aspects of sea life.  It was free so why not?

 

Centro Cultural de Cascais.  It is an art museum . . . again free!

And like any good local, I took a midday break because most places were closed from 1-2 for lunch which meant siesta for me.  I headed back out to wander around Parque Municipal.  You know I am loving all the blue and white tiles.

Museum Condes de Castro Guimarães.  It was open on my second try!  It was worth the visit!

The inside was very fancy but the ceilings and tiled walls stole the show!

Casa de Santa Maria.  Beautiful tiles and view of the water.

Light House.  Well, it was a light house that took 2 minutes to visit since only bottom floor . . . again it was free so I stopped in.

Make way for these chickens just wandering around . . .

I decided to walk into the more touristy part of town passing by Ribiera Beach with all the boats.  I swear I feel like I am in a postcard.

I made a stop at NATA for my first pastel de nada and tea with a side of people watching.  The euro life is pretty laid back and good!

Museu da Vila:  The town museum was not on my list but it was free with my day tourist card so figured why not!  It gave a good overview of the history of the city but honestly I was tired of reading by this point.  I headed back to ARTSY Cascais but before calling it a day walked across the street to the fortress to see what was on the other side of the walls.

 

It was a great first day but that was it! 

Day 1: denied boarding

I woke up from a restful sleep. I mean how can you not when you basically have a lie flat seat with blanket and pillow. At some point in the night I remember hitting my hand and this morning realized that half my pinky fingernails was hanging. It hurt and hopefully will become less tender. I had a fruit plate while finishing up the last Ted Lasso episode. 

I really need to subscribe to whatever provider has all the episodes so I can watch the entire show.

We arrived in Madrid 3 hours late. It was a long process. I had forgotten how laid back life is in Europe. Two international flights arrived and only two passport lines open for non-EU people. It is so hot I can’t stop sweating either; yet I look around and see people in down jackets and scarfs. I did get scolded for not removing an electronic device from my suitcase when I had to go back through secondary security which is my fault but was not expecting to have to go through security again since I had not left the secure airport area. I finally found my gate and have 2 hours to wait for my connecting flight.

BAM! Just like that my trip collapsed. My boarding pass did not scan so I was pulled aside. The gate agent got on the computer and then looked and me and said my ticket was not valid so I went back to the Iberia help desk. She told me to show the gate agent a specific number and went back to my gate. The original gate agent ignored me and after everyone had boarded the flight, she looked at my documents again and said, "this is not a valid ticket you are still denied boarding." I was baffled and asked what to do, “call American”. So that’s what I did, they could not figure out why I was denied and after a long wait and another missed flight, they told me my only option was to take the 11pm flight. On the verge of tears, I said okay. I had already looked for one way tickets but my problem was my return flights were attached to this itinerary so I was worried it would cancel those flights and give me a bigger headache at the end of my trip. So I waited!  At this point I have been on this journey airport-plane-airport for 2 days plus 9 hour flight in middle.  I am a bit frazzled. But I wait with very low expectations of getting on last flight of the day.  I am not going to lie it crossed my mind to just board a flight back to DFW . . . it was just that awful.

At 1050pm we started boarding, I was nervous and also trying to hide my non Euro sized carry on. When my boarding pass didn’t scan, my heart sank but on the second try it did. I almost cried tears; happy tears of course. I spent 12 hours sitting in the Madrid airport and it was painful! I was so worried about making a flight I didn’t eat all day so the tapas snack on the flight was nice even if it was almost midnight. 

The Iberia gate agent and help desk in Madrid were just awful and so unwilling to help but the crew on the plane was super friendly. I will not be searching out any future flights with Iberia when I had such an awful experience with them being so unwilling to help with a codeshare American Airlines flight.

It was an easy Uber pick up for the 25 minute drive to my hotel. The hotel was a delight. Since it is after midnight and dark it will be a nice surprise to see what the area looks like in the morning. Nighty night.

Day 0: all about the food

The beginning of a trip is always a bit stressful.  I had a very long layover at DFW so I just lounge hopped.  Terminal D was peaceful, fancier food, a more open area, nice runway views.  I am on an international flight but was leaving out of Terminal A so got to check out that lounge too.  Terminal A was noisy, crowded, cramped food area, limited food, and no views.  It was time to board and everyone was excited and I just do not understand why people feel the need to gather at the boarding area lanes . . . I have heard them referred to gate lice . . . anyway, the agents were turning away those trying to board with the wrong group!  It turns out to be an error because of a maintenance issues.  

So after standing around past departure time they finally delayed, delayed, and kept delaying until 845pm. As soon as I got the text I darted to the counter because I was going to miss my connecting flight.   I thought I would be smart and have the gate agent change my connection since I wasn't going to make it.  The agent rebooked me but there were issues since I was on a partner airline.  After 45 minutes he thought he had it fixed but I wasn’t feeling so sure so I walked down to the Admirals Club to see one of the agents there since they are usually more knowledgeable. Of course it was not correct so he printed out stuff and sent me on my way . . .  little did I know at this point my trip would quickly turn to a huge headache!  Since I still had over an hour, I got a snack and made myself an adult lunchable.

Why are we delayed?  First it was an issue with the lavatory door latch and then it turned into the first officer timing out.  After 3+ hours delayed we finally board.  I mean don't feel completely sorry for me as this is my home for the next 10 hours.

I have to admit flying up front is so nice and once you do it for a long haul flight; well there's no going back!  I had a light meal with a little Red Lasso!

. . . but the real star was the sundae!

. . . . and then the lights were dimmed which meant it was time to snooze!  I am so tired since I stayed up way too late watching the 2024 election results so I hope to get some solid sleep with no snoring.

Day 16: the end

Miles Traveled: 4452 nautical miles

Ports Visited:  6

New Countries Visited:  1

Medical Evacuations:  4

Ship Time Changes: 5

Meals Solo:  32

Meals with “Friends”:  1

New Foods Tried:  2 (reindeer and musk ox)

Towel Critters:  7  

Movies Watched:  9

Photos Taken:  1,359

Cups of Tea:  a lot

Positive Covid Test:  1

Favorite Photos . . . you knew it would be of the icebergs . . . near and far!

An Unforgettable Experience

This cruise to Greenland was more than just a vacation; it was a visit to a place that seemed like such a mystery. I was completely captivated by the majestic icebergs, the wildlife, the people, and their culture.  I had no idea what to expect but that is exactly why I was so excited to visit Greenland.  And most of all so thankful we were able to visit all three planned ports in Greenland too.

Day 15: Sea Day

I took a lot of medicine before going to bed. I woke up feeling better, but I’m almost certain I know what is wrong.  I am going to take it easy today and just eat, rest, and hydrate!

Guess what my biggest weakness is on a cruise ship? 

This pretty much sums up what I can not resist on a cruise ship; fresh bread with butter and tea . . . hot tea or iced tea . . . it doesn’t matter but I do make my own brewed iced tea because the tea they serve taste fake or instant to me.

My last origami creation . . .

. . . which is fitting since it’s time to pack and get off this ship!

Day 14: Sea Day

I woke up feeling sickly.  All I wanted was hot tea so managed to drag myself upstairs to grab a couple cups.  It was beautiful so I sat outside by the pool in the sunshine soaking up some vitamins which will hopefully make me feel better.  It’s not 35 (Greenland) or 95 (Texas) but a cool 65 which is perfect.  I took a few laps around the track in hopes that some sunshine will energize me to feel better.

I ended retreating to my cabin for a hot shower and took several cold and flu medications I brought with me.  I spent most of the day just laying around and resting.

Tonight is lobster night and no way am I missing this . . . and nothing screams a cruise more than Baked Alaska for dessert.

 

I have a new friend hanging around my cabin!

Day 13: St. John's, Newfoundland

Today I switched it up a bit and decided to hire a taxi by the hour to hit the places I wanted to visit around St John’s.  The weather is miserable but honestly this is the first port day the weather has been sort of crappy.  I was off as soon as they opened the door with hopes of beating the excursion groups!  I had a list of places to visit that I gave the taxi driver and off we went.

Cape Spear

Cape Spear's location is near the convoy routes of World War II which made it a strategic point in the Battle of the Atlantic. It provided protection from German submarines, and there are bunkers, underground passages, and two 10-inch guns. 

The Cape Spear Lighthouse was designated a national historic site of Canada for its age and architecture. 

Cape Spear is also the easternmost point in North America and home every morning to the first sunrise on the continent.

And the best part was there were only a couple other people there and the tour busses were arriving as I was leaving.

Jellybean Row Houses

Quidi Vidi Village

By this point the weather was not great but the one place I really wanted to visit was the last stop.  I had intended for the taxi driver to end our tour here and do some hikes in the area before walking back to the ship but that wasn't going to happen in this weather. 

Signal Hill

Signal Hill is one of St. John’s most popular landmarks due both to the history and spectacular views of the city, Atlantic Ocean, and the rugged coastline. Originally known as the “Lookout” because of its strategic placement overlooking St. John’s harbor, Signal Hill was used in defense, observation, and signaling from the early 1700s to World War II.  Signal Hill was also the reception point of the first transatlantic wireless signal by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901.

Cabot Tower

The weather was miserable and not getting any better and I was starting to feel not so great so I called it a day.  I had the taxi driver return me to the ship and headed back on board.

A view of Fort Amherst as we sailed away leaving St. John’s . . . 

. . . and just like that it cruise is basically over . . . next stop will be Boston after a couple of sea days.

Day 12: Sea Day

Today we gained 30 minutes sleep when we traveled back in time!  Isn’t it weird we only changed time by 30 minutes?  Well, I learned something new today.  Newfoundland is 3.5 hours behind UTC. When time zones were introduced in the late 19th century, Newfoundlanders chose their 30-minute offset because that was close to the local solar time in St. John's, the city where most Newfoundlanders lived.  But seriously, we changed time a lot and it was hard to even know what the actual time was and the 30 minutes was just crazy.

It's another sea day.  I attended a lecture series on our last port stop, St. John’s Newfoundland.  It is the oldest easterly city in North America.  It is also the start of the trans Canadian highway which is 4860 miles long.  I learned about Terry Fox; he ran a marathon each day for 143 days.  It is a bit gloomy outside.

 

I chatted with two sisters from Florida, and they invited me to lunch. Honestly, it was such a delight to join people for a meal after eating every meal solo for 11 days.  Of course it was a bit awkward to chat with strangers over a meal . . . thankfully it was a quick lunch. 

I watched some old school movies today; Waitress, Napoleon Dynamite, and Cocoon.  At least they were not all depressing!

Day 11: Sea Day

 It has been a busy trip so far.  I spent a lot of time in my room!  

I did manage to get out to have three meals today which I did not need!  I watched the movie The Fault in Our Stars. Good grief what a tear jerker! I really need a funny uplifting movie. I am beginning to think Royal Caribbean only shows sad movies.

Day 10: Nuuk, Greenland

Nuuk is the capital of Greenland with about 20,000 residents.  

35% of the Greenland population lives in Nuuk

I was amazed at how compact and easy it was to walk around the town.  It does have a different feel than the other two towns we have stopped.  I did not have an organized excursion tour today and was doing my own thing.    

Nuuk Cathedral was closed due to construction so that was a bummer.

Sedna the Goddess of the Sea

I stumbled on a fresh market.  It wasn’t for the faint as they were preparing the local catch meat and fish for locals to buy.  I found it interesting and thought it was a great window into the life of the locals. 

 

My next stop was to the Katuaq Culture Center.  This is one thing I have been looking forward to the most.  In my research, I found that inside the culture center was a café called Cafétuaq that had a sampler plate of Greenlandic Tapas.  Now let me just say I am not an adventurous eater when it comes to trying new foods, but I really wanted to do this.

I am happy to report it was all very good and not that bad.  I liked some more than others but nothing was so bad I had to spit it out.  I spent a lot of the day just wandering around enjoying the cooler weather; it sure did not feel like 35 outside.  I popped into the grocery store to check it out.  I was impressed with the selection of fresh produce even if the prices were high. Honesty, the prices of produce in the US has become so expensive that the prices did not seem that bad since it is imported.  Most of the food in the grocery store is imported from Denmark or Iceland . . . except for fish and meat.  For example, a small personal size watermelon was about $8.

The prices are to be expected since it is all imported.  I read that fresh produce is not as readily available in the winter months due to shipping cost must be by air due to icy waters making it hard for shipment by boat.  So that might be why there is so much produce on the shelves right now.  I was a bit taken back when I saw this meat in the freezer.  That would be seal (right) and whale (left).

 

I made one more stop at the Hans Egede statue that was high above the city.  The views were lovely. 

And I hiked to the top!

The views were even better from above.  Those colorful house are so fun!

A few art sculptures as I headed back to the boat.

My new friend today is an elephant.

At this point the cruise ship has traveled 2,552 nautical miles.  Tonight, we turn around and head south towards Canada and the United States