April 7 Miami

 We begin a new journey in Miami to the western Mediterranean and Europe. We chose to leave from Miami to substitute a 7-day ocean crossing for a 9-hour flight.  For us that was a better choice.

The sail away from Miami was spectacular as always. The buildings and lights are brilliant.

 

 April 10 San Juan, Puerto Rico

We were scheduled to stop in Bermuda to breakup the crossing. We've never been, and still haven't. The wind and waves were forecast to be bad taking the northern route, so we detoured to Puerto Rico. This was our greeting in San Juan.

Didn't get any cookies, but it's an impressive marketing approach.

Castilo San Felipe del Morro

Totem Telurico, a celebration of Puerto Rico's quincentennial

 

And the seas were quite calm for the entire crossing. Thanks Captain! 

 

April 17  Funchal Madeira, Portugal 

Another few days at sea and we arrived at Funchal Madiera, an island of Portugal. We've been here before, but parts seemed unfamiliar.

We wandered through the town. Here's street art outside a restaurant.

Portugal has amazing tile art on their buildings. This was on the outside of the Worker's Market downtown.

The top of the building is interesting.  It's a hotel and restaurant.

Lots of ice cream shops along the main street. You have to distinguish yourself from the crowd.

The Cathedral of Funchal. Services were underway so no pictures inside.

Interior plaza of the town hall

Igreja de Sao Joao Evangelista do Collegio do Funchal, located on Municipal Square

There are two rivers that converge at the sea in Funchal. They flow through concrete channels. This one was adorned with oleander blooms.

 

NOv 10 Charleston SC

 Bracketed by days at sea, we make our last port before disembarkation in Charleston SC. Nothing special, just a walk around town on a clear day, and some of the cold weather we've brought down from Canada has dissipated. 

We passed Fort Sumter as we sailed in.  

St. Phillip's Church

French Huguenot Church

Old Slave Mart

Washington Square

St. Michael's Church

Row houses near the battery

Here's where the Civil War started

Prime real estate, Louis Desaussure house (I think). Southeast corner of the city right on the battery and the water.

Old streets formed from the ballast of ships

Waiting for us back at the dock

 

 

 

 

Nov 7 & 8 Newport RI and NYC

 A reason for this cruise was a visit to Newport RI which we last visited about 40 years ago. We opted for the Cliff Walk with a visit to the Breakers mansion.

The Cliff Walk begins with a bus ride to the walk, and we pass by Salve Regina University which owns a bunch of land and several of the mansions on the island. I am not surprised that some high school seniors choose their institutions of higher learning based on the prevalence of surfing at the school.

One of Salve Regina's buildings, Ochre Court

A washed out section of the Cliff Walk. Although the walkway is protected land, the mansion owners always tried to move it down and away from their dwellings. Here they got it just far enough.

McAuley Hall, other Salve Regina building. Also very near a favored surfing spot. Although it was about 40F today, a not many surfers (ie, 0) were out.

The Breakers, a Gilded Age "cottage" built by Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Our excursion included a tour of the building.

As befits its "cottage" designation, it actually wasn't that big. Only 62,000 sq ft, although the huge rooms reduced the room count -- only four bedrooms on the tour route.

Let's paint the ceiling like the sky so we don't have to actually go outdoors.

The fireplace is about the size of an NYC studio apartment

The music room being prepared for Christmas

Although barely seen on the tour route, the house has ingenious fittings to separate the servant areas from the residents. Back staircases and closets are accessed through these doors that disappear when closed.

Touro Synagogue National Historic Site, the oldest existing US synagogue

Next, we return to NYC. It was a beautiful, clear and cool day. And it was a Saturday so all of the locals were out, along with people coming in from the suburbs. And, it's the beginning of the Christmas Season -- this was the first weekend of the Rockette Christmas show. So it was crowded, but we walked around.

This building was across the street from the Cruise Terminal. 

There was a big line of people going in for the 10am Rockette show.

St Patricks Cathedral

We made the mistake of walking through the Rockefeller Center area. Long lines of people waiting to get into the Lego Store and FAO Schwartz.

They were putting up the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center. 

The longest lines appeared to be for the Build A Bear attraction at FAO Schwartz. And once you buy the bear, you can add all sorts of clothing and accessories. It's like Barbie, but plusher.