Author: HigmanTravels

I know we’ve been home for a few weeks but I honestly forgot about the Paris post. So, here it is.

Paris in the spring…is wet, very wet, and cold!!

We arrived on a sunny day, though, and decided to go and see the Eiffel Tower, because it’s supposed to rain the next few days. Since we were staying just down the street from it, why not!

We left Venice on an overnight train to Paris. It was really easy and I would recommend it. But, it would have been weird if someone else was in the car with us. So, if you have 2-3 people and don’t want a stranger in your room, just buy 4 tickets. I don’t remember how much it was but it’s definitely worth it, especially if that 3rd person has a baby or something.

The next day we took the tour and got to go up to the top deck. The kids were a little disappointed because I was telling them how huge the tower was and, of course, they’d already been to the Burj Khalifa, which is about 3 times taller than the Eiffel Tower. It was a very rainy and cold day with a lot of wind. We were not up top for very long. Again, get a tour to the top of you are to go. You get to pass the lines. This was especially helpful as it was so cold and rainy out.

I was in Paris in 1999 and there were no walls and gates around it so it was a shock to see all the security. I thought maybe it was done after 9-11. But, I guess they put it up just a few years ago. When I was there all the street vendors were Chinese. Now, they’re all from Africa. Times change.

The view is gorgeous from the top!!

Next stop, Versailles. Beautiful and grand. Again, long lines so make sure you get the tickets with specific times for entry. We got to the front of the line. It’s early May and the place was so crowded. I cannot imagine being here at the height of summer. The most beautiful part, for me, were the gardens.

At least it wasn’t freezing and raining.

Next, and last stop, the Louvre. Again, so crowded. But, we had to see the Mona Lisa. That was a total cluster f**k. There was no organization at all so everyone was crowding and pushing and taking selfies – actually they wouldn’t let you take selfies if they caught you but the guards were not so attentive. Uggh. oh ya, I made the kids take the train for a pit stop at the Arc de Triumph. Just had to see it and it was a quick metro trip from our hotel.

Overall. I think the kids had a good introduction to both Venice and Paris.

Our trip home was very uneventful, which was good. We took Icelandic air and they offered to check all our bags for free!!! Yaaay. They were great. And, great service. We flew from Paris to Reykjavik, then Reykjavik to Seattle, Seattle to San Diego.

We are home and trying to adjust back to not traveling. It’s hard for me. I’d rather still be traveling but the stability is good for the kids. They’re very happy to be home. Jevyn is back in school for the last few weeks and get to enjoy all the 5th grade end of year activities. Jayden is back to her volleyball. Justyne wanted to go back to school but I think it’s more complicated than we need for the last two weeks of school so she will just finish up on her online schooling as much as possible.

I haven’t really had access to a dryer during our travels so I’m going to try not to use the dryer. Our clothes will last longer and there won’t be so much waste. We are also much more aware of waste and plastic as we saw so much trash and the damage done to our seas during our travels.

We are back to our very comfortable lives here in sunny San Diego, which has been very cold – like Europe. But we are so happy to be able to get any kind of fruit whenever we want, and have access to clean bathrooms. And sleeping in our own beds is always welcomed!!

Thank you everyone for following our travels. Please feel free to ask questions.

We hope to go on more adventures, obviously not to the extent we did last year.

Goodbye for now!!

We took a train from Rome to Venice. The train was about 40 minutes late so we got into Venice late. Taking the vaporetto was really quite easy. But, getting from the vaporetto stand to the hotel was a challenge. I would recommend to anyone visiting Venice to pack very lightly. Or, check your big luggage at the train station and just take some light luggage. The uneven surface of the streets, along with the bridges that have only stairs and no ramps, makes even the best wheeled luggage a challenge. Then, most of the hotels don’t have elevators so you’ll have to schlep your stuff up stairs.

Our first day was very rainy so we did a little sight seeing. The 2nd day was sunny so we took a gondola ride and walked around a lot more. We found Captain Candy and a chocolate shop. The kids were very happy.

We are off to Paris on the overnight train.

See you in Paris!!

What can we say about Rome. So happy that we got to spend 3 days there. We ate so so much! Everyone always says that the pizza in Italy is different than the U.S. but I didn’t find it that different and found it all delicious. Jayden’s favorite has become Diavola. I think she’s eaten about 10 of them throughout the Balkans and the rest of the world. The first day was sunny but then it rained. We didn’t let that dampen our spirit. We even bumped into Gabriela, she worked in the excursion office of the ship and became a good friend. She was showing her mom around Rome.

Going through the Suez Canal was not as exciting as going through the Panama Canal because there are no locks. But, it was definitely more interesting in many ways. We were going through Egypt and seeing Egypt on one side and the Sinai peninsula on the other side. There was this huge development on the Sinai side that could have housed tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands. A part of it was already populated but the other part was still under construction. Definitely weird. Don’t know where all these people are coming from. There was even what looked like a resort. And guards standing randomly in the middle of the desert. Very interesting, indeed.

We are in the Mediterranean and that means Greece. We were on the island of Crete, in the town on Heraklion. Such a cute place. I wish we could have stayed here overnight. The history and the ruins are simply amazing. We visited Knossos palace and it was packed! But, we saw as much as we could.

Sicily – Messina

We were in Messina for only about 6 hours. There really wasn’t a lot to do and we wondered why we didn’t go to a more happening place. Oh well, we don’t run the cruise company. The main site in Messina is the Astronomical Clock at the Cathedral of Messina. Every 15 minutes it dings and there is a movement of the bronze statues via complex combination of counter weights, levers, and gears. At noon, almost everything moves. We got really lucky and ended up in a restaurant just below the clock and was there for the entire display. You should look up a YouTube video. It will be better than mine. Kids love the tiny cars so I took pictures of them.

This is the one place we were all looking forward to. It definitely did not disappoint. Petra was a lot bigger than we imagined. We definitely didn’t have enough time and rushed through it. But, we did see 90% of it and we are thrilled. Enjoy the pictures but definitely visit if you ever get the opportunity. Just imagine this place when it was bustling with life. It must have been so amazing.

Here are some fun pictures from our time on the ship.

First stop in Oman was Khasab. It’s a port city and separated from mainland Oman by the UAE.

The big attraction here is the “fjord.” It’s not really a fjord because it wasn’t created by glaciers but was beautiful, nevertheless. Unlike the UAE, Oman was very mountainous. We took a traditional Dhow (boat) through the waterway. The boat was beautiful and very comfortable. There was dolphins in the waters. We thought it was fun to see the dolphins but we all got irritated because the boats were all chasing the dolphins and wouldn’t leave them alone. It got really frustrating after a while. This definitely was NOT responsible tourism. There were also a bunch of jellyfish. These didn’t sting but the kids were all itchy after the swim. I didn’t go in the water because of my ear infection. Didn’t want to chance it.

We went to the capital of Muscat where we took a driving tour through the city and stopped at a mosque. We couldn’t do in because it was Friday and was closed. Our tour guide was very cute. She said she wanted to have a career before getting married and that 28 seems like the right age for that. They still marry their first cousins, though. That seemed really weird to us. But, she wanted to emphasize that the girls can say no to the men the parents set them up with.

Here are some views of Muscat.

We are off to 5 ship days before reaching Jordan.

These two places were as impressive as you would imagine. It’s definitely different than the old developing world places. We loved the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall. We even took some time to go to a movie. We also drove out to the Palm Islands and looked at the Atlantis resort and the Burj al Arab, the only 7 star hotel in the world. Not sure who designated that. We weren’t allowed in so just took a photo outside the gate.

Jevyn and I went to the Creeksise area where building were built in the old traditional style. We discovered the Museum of Illusions and had so much fun!! Then we had ice cream in a cute little shop before heading back to the ship.

I was looking for my Abu Dhabi pictures but we didn’t have any. That’s because no one wanted to tour around with me and so we went to the mall for internet. Of course, there was no internet at the mall so the day was wasted. But, Abu Dhabi is definitely not as developed or fancy as Dubai. AD is the cultural center of the UAE. The largest attraction is the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque. Here’s a picture I pulled from the internet. Everyone told me it was amazing.

We are off to Oman next.

OMG, did I really not post about these places? I feel like I did. Hmmmm. Ok, let’s see if I remember since we’ve been to so many places since.

SRI LANKA

One day in Sri Lanka was definitely not enough. Though it’s a small island, there is a lot happening here. We went to the elephant sanctuary here but it was a bit disappointing. The elephants were in chains but I have to give them some credit for saving some of them. Trying to look on the bright side. They sell some of the elephants to zoos around the world and they “rent” them to different temples for celebrations. So, it’s not exactly a sanctuary as we would define them.

We also visited a Buddhist temple. This place was a hoarder’s dream. They get donations of everything from people around the world. So. They just stack them up. It was crazy !

Then, there’s a shrine right in the middle of a street. Actually, there are many of these and the streets just have to go around them. We had an amazing Sri Lankan meal- so so spicy- and then we were done for the day.

One thing we noticed was that there was a lot of construction going on. Would love to see this place in about 10 years. Most of the money is coming from China (of course).

Then, with the help of our new friend Sarah, I celebrated my 52nd birthday!

Next, on to Maldives. We had 2 days there so decided to go to a nearby island and spend the night and get some internet action. OK, I swear I did a post about these 2 places but oh well. I don’t see it.

So, the Maldives. Our first impression of Male wasn’t great. Lots of trash and gas/diesel fumes. As we were leaving Male for Paradise Island, there was so much trash in the water. Justin talked to a representative from the port and he told us that a tax is collected from all tourists and the money is given to a NGO who then does the clean up. Yes, the water probably is cleaned frequently, otherwise it would be a lot worse than it is. Made us feel a little better. But, why the automatic straws with all the drinks? We were happy to see at the local Burger King there was a notice that no lids or straws would be provided unless requested. Yaaayyy!!

Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful here. But, it was hot and the water was hot so it wasn’t even refreshing to jump in the water. Unless you want nothing to do, which I’m sure some people want, I would not recommend this place. There is good diving in the area so if you’re an avid diver or snorkeler, a couple of days is enough. Our friends who spent 5 days there had a good time diving and relaxing. Just depends on what you want. Island hoping would be great. We wanted to go to the under water restaurant but it was a bit far for us.

The last picture is of the 5 of us squeezing into this crappy old taxi. So, including driver there were 6 of us. We all survived!!

I loved Singapore when I used to come here a lot and I still love Singapore now that I come every 16 years. Yes, it’s been that long. Since Justin and I’ve been here many times we didn’t do a lot of touristy stuff. It was really hot and muggy due to the rain so we went to a mall (or many malls that are connected underground) and spent the day eating and shopping. No, didn’t buy souvenirs, bought food. We also caught a movie (Justin and Jevyn caught two). Overall a successful trip! Kids likes it minus the weather. I’m discovering my kids are not hot weather people. They’ve become spoiled to San Diego weather.

Day 2 was Chinatown. We had yummy dim sum and did the shopping thing. Hmmm. I guess I don’t have pictures.

Malaysia was one day so we did KL Tower then Chinatown for lunch and a shopping for a DVD player. Jevyn’s Xbox broke so we cant watch DVD’s on it. Got a cheap little one that we can use as a spare.

We docked in Patong beach about 30 minutes from Phuket. Wow! What a party town. I feel like all the towns near the beach are like this. We took in a ladyboy show and Justin and I caught a Thai kickboxing fight. We went to James Bond island and visited the floating market. Interestingly, our tour guide told us that it’s all Muslims here, not Thai. Does that mean there are no Thai Muslims? Hmmm. Have to research that a bit more.

So, next, we are off to Sri Lanka for my birthday! Whooo hoooo! Can’t believe I’m caught up.

We are in civilization again!! First stop Bay of Islands. Well, we know why they call it that, there were a ton of islands!! What a pretty area this is. We took a helicopter ride then a tour of some of the top sights in the area. Only one day there so we had to pack it in!

We were off to Auckland for the next two days. We took a tour to see the glow worms the first day. Glow worms are a group of insect larvae that glow through bioluminescence. The Waitomo caves were discovered in 1887 by an English surveyor and a Maori chief. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the caves but it was very interesting. The larvae drop string-like lines to trap their pray – much like the spider’s web. There was a boat ride to see the glow worms inside the caves. Very cool.

Before the caves we stopped in this cute little farm for lunch. They host tourists all the time and it was quite a lovely location. The highlight was the ice cream served in a frozen ice bowl. Yummy and very cool!!

We spent the 2nd day shopping in Auckland, visiting a grocery store and an office supply store to get a protractor for Tinger, among others.

Our ship looked so beautiful at the port that evening.

Sydney. Australia was next. Our first day was so fun, visiting a sheep farm just about an hour north of Sydney. Tobruk sheep farm was started by a gentleman who was stationed in Tobruk in Libya during WWII. When he returned from the war, the Australian government gave him some land and Tobruk was born. It now has about 100 heads of sheep and hosts tours and many events. Jevyn actually told us where Tobruk was – he knew from all his history YouTube channels.

We all learned to crack a whip and throw a boomerang. Jevyn got the hang of it right away.

On day 2 we did a little shopping and went to the Sydney sky tower for a view and lunch. The lunch wasn’t great but the view was great!

Justin and I had a drink in Sydney’s oldest pub, The Fortune of War, before getting on the ship to leave Sydney.

off to Melbourne next! We spent about 2 hours at Victoria Market shopping and window shopping. We event ate at the food court there. I had a yummy Sri Lankan plate. Loved the spice. Really missing spice on the ship. The food on the ship is not great. I was also very impressed that the whole market will be getting rid of single use plastic bags and utensils. Yaaay !! The girls and I went strolling around the city and took another sky-view is the city at Eureka 88 sky tower.

We were supposed to spend the night in Melbourne but there was a storm headed our way and the captain wanted to get ahead of it. So, we left a day early.

We did hit some rough seas on day 3. Many people were held up in their rooms for at least a day.

Off to Fremantle/Perth! We arrived a day early so we went to Rottnest Island to see the quokkas. Cute little animals that are very used to humans. We bikes around the island and it’s simply gorgeous!! The place doesn’t allow cars so the only motorized vehicles are service ones from the island itself. It had the most gorgeous coves and beaches. We have to come back! How many times have I said that on this trip.

We stayed in a beautiful hotel outside of Perth in Scarborough. We stayed at the Rendezvous hotel where some of the international water polo teams were staying for the world championships. The receptionist told us that the Chinese team had the tallest players – at least the men’s team. And they were really tall.

This is a beautiful place with beautiful beaches.

Day 2 was so much fun! I will show you in pictures.

We saw live “wild” kangaroos

And, koalas though they’re not wild. Koalas are not native to Western Australia so they were brought in.

We stopped in the town of Guilderton. It’s a hot vacation spot for Australians. It’s also where the Moore river meets the Indian Ocean. It was beautiful but the water was very cold in the river.

Then off to the sand dunes for sand surfing.

Pinnacles desert is this area where all these pinnacle formations exist. It’s only in the part of Australia and there is still controversy about what they are. Some think they’re petrified tree stumps and other think it’s limestone calcium buildup. We think it’s tree stumps because they look so much like it. You be the judge.

An then, just some really nice pictures of downtown Perth at night.

We barely made the ship boarding time because we stopped to eat Korea food and they were very slow, then our stove turned off. So, I ended up packing up half raw meet to take on the ship. We made it with 10 minutes to spare but then we were delayed almost 2 hours due to immigration issues and medical emergency. Damn! We could have sat and enjoyed our Korean meal!!

So, that was it for Oceana. We loved all of Australia and will be back! It seems that instead of taking places off our list we are adding to them.