Monte Carlo / Sat Apr 6

This afternoon we docked in Monte Carlo. We'll be here this evening and all day tomorrow.

As we left Barcelona yesterday the wind picked up and it started to pour. The weather was foul all night and even this morning but as we got closer to Monaco the rain stopped. It's cloudy and chilly (high in the 50's) but it was worth going out on our balcony to watch our arrival. Here are some photos as we pulled in.

The Oceanographic Museum

The casino

Sunday we were in Monte Carlo all day so we spent several hours walking around this amazing city. We saw all the highlights including the Oceanographic Museum, the Cathedral where Princess Grace was married and is buried, the Casino, the Palace and the changing of the guard at noon, some of the gardens and statues and the Market. We had a small bite at the Cafe de Paris and saw where the Grand Prix will be held next month.

The Oceanographic Museum

Jacques Cousteau was Director of the Oceanographic Museum from 1957 - 1988.

The Cathedral

Changing of the Guard

Statue of Francois Grimaldi - he disguised himself as a Franciscan Monk and seized the fortress in Monaco establishing the Grimaldi dynasty which has reigned here for over 8 centuries

Gourmet Market near the Casino

The Casino - established 1863. People who are citizens of Monaco are not allowed to enter the game rooms - only foreign visitors with passports can go in.

Lunch at Cafe de Paris - a Monaco hot spot (and tourist trap) next to the Casino

We've got our seats for the Grand Prix!

"Sky Mirror" -by Anish Kapoor located in the in the Place du Casino roundabout. It consists of a concave mirror in polished stainless steel. Its mirror-like surface ‘makes the world turn upside down, giving the illusion of bringing the sky down to street level’.

Beautiful spring display in Louis Vitton window

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Dakar, Senegal / Wed Mar 27

Today we docked in Dakar which is the capitol of Senegal. We took one of the ship's tours since we weren't sure what to expect safety wise. Surprisingly, the tour bus was pretty modern complete with air conditioning and our local tour guide's English was good. We spent about 4 hours going to some of the highlights of the city. We didn't always stop for photos and the windows of the bus were quite dirty so there aren't that many great photos to share. Dakar has many modern high rise buildings, well paved roads and a decent highway system yet there is so much poverty. People are set up almost everywhere selling their goods and piles of garbage are all around. On one corner we saw someone selling bed frames and in another area, selling refrigerators. There are modern cars on the road as well as horses, wagons and goats. You can see how developed the road system is in the city... We saw a number of small, colorful buses on the roads. T

Busselton / Tue Feb 19

We tendered in Busselton, Australia today. Busselton is best known for the the Busselton Jetty which was built in 1865. It's more than a mile long and is the longest timber piled jetty in the southern hemisphere. At the end of the jetty is an underwater observatory. You can get to it by walking the length of the jetty or by taking the Jetty Train which looks like a Victorian locomotive but is powered by solar panels. We spent the day in Busselton with two other couples. We sat on the beach for a couple of hours then walked into town to explore. We met Walter who was quite the character. After that we had a snack at a local restaurant then took the train to the end of the jetty and toured the underwater observatory before walking back to the tender. Fun day!

Parting Thoughts and More ...

It didn’t take too long to re-enter our normal lives. Although I did miss having our linens changed daily, Larry was delighted to get back home so he could eat dinner wearing shorts (not long pants) ... which he couldn’t do on the ship. Because I get sea (and motion) sick I used the scopalomine patch on this cruise. Usually Bonine is enough but the cruise started in rough waters (crossing to Hawaii from LA) so I decided to use the patch. It worked really, really well with no side effects so I continued using it. When it was prescribed (by two different doctors) I asked each if using it for almost 3 months would be an issue and both said 'no.' Well, I should have done more research as it turns out you can get addicted and experience withdrawal .... and I did. I wasn't able to get off it until the 3rd time I tried and even then it took about 3 weeks to be free of all symptoms. After going online to find out how to withdraw, I saw that some people have much more trouble t

Opals and Romeos

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