Posts

October 13/14- New York Manhattan, Times Square, Rockefeller Center

Image
For our long-awaited vacation after 2 years, we decided to take a cruise up the New England coast and into Canada. The Princess cruise line, the Royal Princess, offered a 10-day cruise out of New York, stopping in Newport, RI; Boston, MA; Portland, Maine; then onto the Canadian ports of St John, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Sydney, Cape Breton; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI), and then down the St Lawrence River into Quebec City.  OCTOBER 13/14 New York- Manhattan, Times Square, Rockefeller Center   We arrived in New York late Saturday night and stayed at a Marriott Courtyard in Manhattan, near Times Square.   On Sunday we planned to walk around to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and Rockefeller Tower. We had breakfast around the corner at L' Adresse, kind of a Frenchie place. I had Puff Croque Madame, a puff pastry with Gruyere cheese, ham and egg. We headed down to Rockefeller Center, watching the Mexican Columbus Day Parade as we went, and

October 15- New York, Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty

Image
OCTOBER 15 New York Ellis Island & Statue of Liberty   We spent an amazing day at Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty. I was having problems walking and keeping up with the group so our tour guide got a wheel chair for me and we took elevators, always at the front of lines. Nice but embarrassing.  We took the boat over to the Statue of Liberty and inside we got to see the original flame that had been replaced, to see how big it was. (photo of our guide Nick w/ it behind him) They had replicas of the copper face and feet to see the actual size and the beautiful workmanship. The copper of the entire framework was the thickness of a couple coins and the design was hammered into the back, using the repousse method. The statue is hollow with a metal framework inside by the same designer of the Eiffel. Tower. It was an inspiring and beautiful gift from France.  We then took another boat over to the Immigration Center on Ellis Island. I knew about 15 years ago that my gran

October 16- Sailing from New York

Image
October 16 Sailing from New York Just boarded our ship, the Royal Princess. As we were boarding, we ran into Natalie Meyer (a fellow Dean Emeritus of Costume College) and her husband. Small world!  We checked out our room, ate a quick lunch at the buffet and ready to do a walkabout prior to the 5pm muster, the practicing of evacuation. Did a quick walk-through of one deck to find the library, shops, casino, live theatre, & lounge with seafood bar, with a live violinist, before telling hubby I couldn't walk the full ship that fast without messing my knee up before we go on our tours. So, I sent him off by himself, found a quiet corner to download pics, answer emails, and read before our safety muster at 5pm starts. I got one hour for that. These photos are from the middle of the ship. When we were done with the muster, I suddenly realized I didn't have my Kindle book with me anymore and had left it in the chair I sat in earlier. I returned to the

October 17- Newport, Rhode Island

Image
October 17 In Newport, Rhode Island Arrived this morning in Newport, RI. I may not be able to do the walking thru the 2 mansions but we paid for this tour and I'll enjoy the driving tour and seeing Breakers and Marble House. I'm not going to slow everyone down so I will sit and wait as necessary. Turns out I was able to go on the tours of both Marble House and Breakers because they were audio self-guided tours at your own pace. Although I was exhausted when we finished.  And look,  I got a Chloe-proof brass pineapple from the Breakers gift shop. I also bought this Suffragette doll ornament. First photos from Breakers: And these are from Marble House: After we were finished walking the downstairs, I took a seat on a bench in the center of the lobby and was approached by a docent who offered the use of a private elevator so I could see the upstairs. As tired as I was, I really did want to see it. The elevator was very ornate