Thursday, November 14, 2013
A Random Five post [022] — Venice to Athens via the Black Sea [Bulgaria] — Feline Friday
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One: This, cat, a Hawaiian band member is the drummer. One of the chefs on our 2013-Venice-to-Athens-via-the-Black-Sea cruise made this cat from a pineapple.
You can see all of the band members, two of the chefs, and my Hawaiian shrimp salad here.
Below I will show pictures from our cruise that I took while we were stopped in Bulgaria.
On Sunday after church we did see more cousins, Dorothy who moved from Houston and SOME of the others.
One gave us this flower from her bush. She calls it a Confederate Rose. Mary took some blooms and also a couple of cuttings.
You may know more about Confederate Roses than they do. I don't think they are real roses. (Wikipedia says, "Hibiscus mutabilis, also known as the Confederate rose or the cotton rosemallow, is a plant noted for its flowers."
Three: Eating is good in our family. Mrs. Jim loves the fancy food on our cruises. One of her, and my, favorites is the Princess Coffee Club. We make one card last a whole cruise or more because with the card the special brews are "free". That sure beats the machine stuff.
Next is KP frosting the cupcakes she and Mrs. Jim had made. The whole family loves chocolate.
Finally is the "Special" board in one of the British pubs we had visited. I had a baked fish pie which was not on the menu. Sorry, no picture.
Four: I read this yesterday: "Upwards of 30,000 (African) elephants were slaughtered by poachers in 2012 — the largest number in decades. Despite a 1989 global ban on commercial ivory trading, the last five years have seen a dramatic surge in poaching that threatens to wipe out the roughly 500,000 elephants still living in Africa, experts say." (Read more here)
Five: Our Bulgaria stop on the cruise. First on our list was to go to the beach in Bulgaria.
The beach is on the Black Sea. Neither Mrs. Jim nor I had been on the Black Sea before, let alone putting our feet in. You will see below that I only put my finger in.
KP was leading the way. We rode over to the beach and back in this little train.
For this port we had to tender. That meant for us that we must ride back and forth to the ship in the life boats. That is kind of fun every now and then.
My Five things for happenings update, the cat and more cruise pictures
One: This, cat, a Hawaiian band member is the drummer. One of the chefs on our 2013-Venice-to-Athens-via-the-Black-Sea cruise made this cat from a pineapple.
You can see all of the band members, two of the chefs, and my Hawaiian shrimp salad here.
Below I will show pictures from our cruise that I took while we were stopped in Bulgaria.
Two: Visiting with the cousins ~~ Saturday, October 19, we had planned to visit my cousins (link) in Nebraska for a couple of days and then visit my sister in Iowa during the week. But we didn't go (link to my prior blog post about that).
But the next weekend we did visit Mrs. Jim's cousins in Louisiana. Above is Mrs. Jim with her 93-year-old cousin, Mary. Mary still drives and she teaches her ladies' Sunday school class every Sunday.
On Sunday after church we did see more cousins, Dorothy who moved from Houston and SOME of the others.One gave us this flower from her bush. She calls it a Confederate Rose. Mary took some blooms and also a couple of cuttings.
You may know more about Confederate Roses than they do. I don't think they are real roses. (Wikipedia says, "Hibiscus mutabilis, also known as the Confederate rose or the cotton rosemallow, is a plant noted for its flowers."
Three: Eating is good in our family. Mrs. Jim loves the fancy food on our cruises. One of her, and my, favorites is the Princess Coffee Club. We make one card last a whole cruise or more because with the card the special brews are "free". That sure beats the machine stuff.Next is KP frosting the cupcakes she and Mrs. Jim had made. The whole family loves chocolate.
Finally is the "Special" board in one of the British pubs we had visited. I had a baked fish pie which was not on the menu. Sorry, no picture.
Four: I read this yesterday: "Upwards of 30,000 (African) elephants were slaughtered by poachers in 2012 — the largest number in decades. Despite a 1989 global ban on commercial ivory trading, the last five years have seen a dramatic surge in poaching that threatens to wipe out the roughly 500,000 elephants still living in Africa, experts say." (Read more here)
Five: Our Bulgaria stop on the cruise. First on our list was to go to the beach in Bulgaria.The beach is on the Black Sea. Neither Mrs. Jim nor I had been on the Black Sea before, let alone putting our feet in. You will see below that I only put my finger in.
KP was leading the way. We rode over to the beach and back in this little train.
For this port we had to tender. That meant for us that we must ride back and forth to the ship in the life boats. That is kind of fun every now and then.
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Fine print stuff:
==> I am linked up today with Nancy at A Rural Journal. She conducts her "A Random Five" blog hop there. Click that link to read other "A Random Five" posts or to join in with your own.
==> For more Feline Friday cat pictures, you can to Sandee's blog here. Or go to Steve's at http://burntfooddude.us/ as he is the author of this meme.
==> Click on any picture for a larger size and a better view.
==> Click on any picture for a larger size and a better view.
Labels: 2013-Venice-to-Athens-via-the-Black-Sea, A-Random-Five, Family, Feline-Friday, Flowers-buds-plants, Friends, Travel
Saturday, October 12, 2013
The Cats of Constantiople — Six Word Saturday — Venice to Athens via the Black Sea [003 Istanbul, Turkey, part IV] — Feline Friday
.my Six Words:
I don't think that the Cats in Istanbul fared any better than the Dogs did. I showed some of the Dogs here.
The cats seemed to be more in the suburb areas while the dogs congregated in the highly congested pedestrian areas. I believe all of these cats are on the loose, but they aren't very afraid of people.
I never did see any of either animals begging for food. The stalking cat, third from the bottom seems to be very thin, the rest are okay though they are NOT FAT.
You can see the rest (what I've gotten done) of my 2013 Pacific Princess (ship) cruise here, 2013-Venice-to-Athens-via-the-Black-Sea , including the Dogs.
My holiday I never dreamed of
Spending eight weeks and a day
All in London or surounding except (Link 1)
Black Sea & Crimean Coasts Cruise (Link 2)
(posting is still in progress)
I don't think that the Cats in Istanbul fared any better than the Dogs did. I showed some of the Dogs here.The cats seemed to be more in the suburb areas while the dogs congregated in the highly congested pedestrian areas. I believe all of these cats are on the loose, but they aren't very afraid of people.
I never did see any of either animals begging for food. The stalking cat, third from the bottom seems to be very thin, the rest are okay though they are NOT FAT.
You can see the rest (what I've gotten done) of my 2013 Pacific Princess (ship) cruise here, 2013-Venice-to-Athens-via-the-Black-Sea , including the Dogs.
Fine print stuff:
==> I'm linked with Steve's Burnt Food for this today, go see his cat.
He and others have a Mr. Linky going there so you can see other cats too.
.
He and others have a Mr. Linky going there so you can see other cats too.
.
==> Click on any picture for a larger size and a better view.
Describe your life (or
something) in a phrase using just six words for Six Word Saturday. Click the box
at right (or here) to visit Cate's blog with
Mr. Linky showing all the other blogs participating this week. Cate is the boss
at Six Word Saturday. She would like for you to
participate.
Six Word
Saturday: .
Describe your life (or
something) in a phrase using just six words for Six Word Saturday. Click the box
at right (or here) to visit Cate's blog with
Mr. Linky showing all the other blogs participating this week. Cate is the boss
at Six Word Saturday. She would like for you to
participate.Labels: 2013-Venice-to-Athens-via-the-Black-Sea, Feline-Friday, Istanbul, London Summer 2013, Six Word Saturday, Travel
Friday, September 20, 2013
A Random Five post [018] — Feline Friday — Venice to Athens via the Black Sea [002 Split, Croatia]
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Two: I have started back to playing golf now that it has cooled a bit down to the lower 90's. Tuesday I played with a group of men from Mrs. Jim's Sunday school class. I am the oldest who plays, oldest by two months.
Three: Back to our Pacific Princess (ship name) cruise from Venice to Athens via the Black Sea posting. Today will be pictures of onboard and of our visit to Split, Croatia.
This would not be our first visit to Croatia as Karen, KP, Mrs. Jim, and I went to Dubrovnik (Croatia) last December (link to those posts).
Old town Split was somewhat similar to Old Town Dubrovnik although Dubrovnik has been much more repaired after the Bosnian War. Dubrovnik is also very much prettier than Split.
It is time for some more on board pictures. Every time Karen and KP returned to their cabin they were greeted by two balloons and a sign given to them by Princess. KP's birthday was July 16 and Karen's was July 19.
Below is my first breakfast, the exercise facility, and the golf driving range. You can click on them to make them large size. Please note that I did not gain weight on this cruise. I ate sensibly and consumed a lot of seafood while doing that.
Five: After ice cream we walked down to our ship. Walking under the palms and down the promenade was much more pleasant than going up and over through the old town.
My five things today
One: My cat find for today was from the "Events & Exhibits" section of my new read, the October issue of Saudi Aramco World magazine (link for on-line edition)(the cat is the print edition only). Saudi Aramco is a petroleum company with offices here in Houston, Texas, and in Saudi Arabia.
This one has been in the Brooklyn (U.S.) Museum since 1937. It dates back to around to 305-30 BC. You can read more about it by clicking on the left hand picture above. Back then the cats were used to keep the mice, rats, etc, away from their grains and homes.
This one has been in the Brooklyn (U.S.) Museum since 1937. It dates back to around to 305-30 BC. You can read more about it by clicking on the left hand picture above. Back then the cats were used to keep the mice, rats, etc, away from their grains and homes.
Two: I have started back to playing golf now that it has cooled a bit down to the lower 90's. Tuesday I played with a group of men from Mrs. Jim's Sunday school class. I am the oldest who plays, oldest by two months.
This was animal day on the course. Besides these deer we saw three other deer, two turtles on a log, a black snake with yellow spots, and a lot of cranes an
other birds. But only this picture to show for it.
Oh yes, tomorrow morning Mrs. Jim and I will play on one of our courses here if we are ahead of the rain.
Three: Back to our Pacific Princess (ship name) cruise from Venice to Athens via the Black Sea posting. Today will be pictures of onboard and of our visit to Split, Croatia.This would not be our first visit to Croatia as Karen, KP, Mrs. Jim, and I went to Dubrovnik (Croatia) last December (link to those posts).
Old town Split was somewhat similar to Old Town Dubrovnik although Dubrovnik has been much more repaired after the Bosnian War. Dubrovnik is also very much prettier than Split.
It is time for some more on board pictures. Every time Karen and KP returned to their cabin they were greeted by two balloons and a sign given to them by Princess. KP's birthday was July 16 and Karen's was July 19.
Below is my first breakfast, the exercise facility, and the golf driving range. You can click on them to make them large size. Please note that I did not gain weight on this cruise. I ate sensibly and consumed a lot of seafood while doing that.
Four: We walked around the old town, sort of lost as to what was what and what was worthy of knowing what it was. The picture in the middle below was a cistern which supplied water to the town.
The center picture above was a large sidewalk cafe. They sold ice cream for which KP was very happy. She had ice cream or gelato at every excursion stop we made. Lucky girl.
Five: After ice cream we walked down to our ship. Walking under the palms and down the promenade was much more pleasant than going up and over through the old town.
On the way I stopped to check on what might have been a motor scooter ride around the town and out into the country a little. An afternoon was 200 of their kind of dollars, about $32 or so in U.S. money.
My Texas driving license was valid there but only for a small size scooter and not a motorcycle. For that they required an International License. I've had several of those but had no need for one this time.
Next was on board, with a final look at the town. Then we were literally sailing off into the setting sun.
Our next stop would be two days at sea before having two days in Istanbul, Turkey. I hope to blog of this next week or earlier in another post. Stay tuned.
Fine print stuff:
==> I'm linked with Steve's Burnt Food for this today, go see his cat.
He and others have a Mr. Linky going there so you can see other cats too.
He and others have a Mr. Linky going there so you can see other cats too.
==> I am also linked up today with Nancy at A Rural Journal. She conducts her "A Random Five" blog hop there. Click that link to read other "A Random Five" posts or to join in with your own.
==> Click on any picture for a larger size and a better view.
==> Click on any picture for a larger size and a better view.
Labels: 2013-Venice-to-Athens-via-the-Black-Sea, A-Random-Five, Family, Feline-Friday, KP, Travel
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
+ My Alphabe-Thursday (5th), the letter "O" — Some places I've been starting with "O"
- Countries:
None beginning with "O" -- Oman could be on my ToDo list someday
- States: (I've been to all 50)
Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon
United States:
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Omaha, Nebraska
Oakland, California
Orlando, Florida
Overland Park, Kansas
| Orange, California Olathe, Kansas |
Foreign:
Odessa, Ukraine
So, here goes:
Odessa -- We were in the Black Sea on our cruise from Venice (Italy) to Istanbul (Turkey) on to the Black Sea and back to Athens (Greece). We made two stops, one at Yalta and the other to Odessa.
Unfortunately my pictures are on my laptop that crashed (down to the floor) and also on the memory card that I cannot find. So take my word for it, Odessa is a beautiful old European city, one founded by Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great, in 1794. Perhaps by the time we get to "U" (Ukraine) and "Y" (Yalta) I will have resurrected those pictures.
Oman -- (haven't been there yet)
When we do we can Fly Houston to Oman - emirates.com?
- I'm thinking of flying to Muscat, Oman, and then driving up to Dubai. From there we could take a cruise to places we haven't been and ending in Cape Town, South Africa.
- How close to Dubai? Answer: via Route 1 would be 4 h 36 min driving 454 km.
- Jenny is now on her tenth series of Alphabe Thursday. With 52 weeks in a year and 26 letters in the alphabet she is now in her fifth year. I am linked to her blog, GO HERE for more participants and their offerings.
Labels: Alphabe-Thursday [5th], Jim Does, Jim's Life, Travel 2
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
My Alphabe-Thursday (5th), the letter "Y" — Some places I've been starting with "Y"
"Y" is for some places, countries and cities starting with the letter "Y" where I have traveled:
- No Countries (Yemen is the only country beginning with "Y" and we haven't been there). No States at all begin with "Y".
- States
Yaroslavl, Russia -- We stopped off at Yaroslavl, on the Volga River, on our Moscow to St. Petersburg Viking River Cruise.
Yalta, Ukraine -- We visited Yalta in August, 2013, on our Venice to Istanbul to the Black Sea and back to Athens, Greece Pacific Princess Cruise (link). Yalta's city population is 80,500 but the metropolitan area population is about 139,500.
- We docked at Yalta in the morning of August 16, 2013. After breakfast we boarded a bus and headed for the Livadia Palace outside Yalta. We traveled a little over an hour to get there. It was there that the 1945 Yalta Conference was held by the big three leaders to discuss post warm WWII, plans to rebuild Europe.
Following are some pictures. On this cruise, our daughter, Karen, and our four-year-old grand-daughter, KP, came along with us. KP loved the kids' program that Princess had for them.
Mrs. Jim likes clocks, especially older ones. and has several in her collection. She liked this one. I am not sure if it was there for the Conference or if it was added later as room furniture.
Our ride back to Yalta was uneventful. We traveled down the coastal road and the scenery was beautiful. There were some old mansions along the highway and the road was great.
We took a short excursion ride through town and over to the ship where we had lunch before going out for the afternoon.
- No Countries (Yemen is the only country beginning with "Y" and we haven't been there). No States at all begin with "Y".
- States
Yaroslavl, Russia -- We stopped off at Yaroslavl, on the Volga River, on our Moscow to St. Petersburg Viking River Cruise.
Yalta, Ukraine -- We visited Yalta in August, 2013, on our Venice to Istanbul to the Black Sea and back to Athens, Greece Pacific Princess Cruise (link). Yalta's city population is 80,500 but the metropolitan area population is about 139,500.
- We docked at Yalta in the morning of August 16, 2013. After breakfast we boarded a bus and headed for the Livadia Palace outside Yalta. We traveled a little over an hour to get there. It was there that the 1945 Yalta Conference was held by the big three leaders to discuss post warm WWII, plans to rebuild Europe.
Following are some pictures. On this cruise, our daughter, Karen, and our four-year-old grand-daughter, KP, came along with us. KP loved the kids' program that Princess had for them.
[You can make the pictures larger by clicking on them]
[Back Button gets you back here, click again for larger still]
"The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Premier Joseph Stalin, respectively, for the purpose of discussing Europe's post-war reorganization. The conference convened in the Livadia Palace near Yalta in Crimea." (Read more)
Our ride back to Yalta was uneventful. We traveled down the coastal road and the scenery was beautiful. There were some old mansions along the highway and the road was great.
We took a short excursion ride through town and over to the ship where we had lunch before going out for the afternoon.
We had a little rain shower before we could reach the ship.
There wasn't any lightening so being under the tree was fine for us.
This was my favorite salad aboard the Pacific Princess.
It is a Scallop __? ? ?__ Salad
The Pacific Princess is going to Alaska for one trip this summer. Right now they are finishing filling it up with bargain fares. (Link to Princess) An interior room is going for $299 and a window will be $399.
The Pacific Princess is one of their two Small Ship cruise boats having a passenger capability of about 680. I think we knew about half of them by the end of our two-week cruise (from Venice, Italy, to Istanbul into the Black Sea and them back out to Athens, Greece).
The sister ship is the Ocean Princess. The original Pacific Princess was the Love Boat but this one has replaced it nicely.
- - - - -
- Jenny is now on her tenth series of Alphabe Thursday. With 52 weeks in a year and 26 letters in the alphabet she is now in her fifth year. I am linked to her blog, GO HERE for more participants and their offerings.
Labels: 2013-Venice-to-Athens-via-the-Black-Sea, Alphabe-Thursday [5th], Jim Does, Jim's Life, Travel 2
