Cousin Jen Day 9 - Tallinn, Estonia

Hello all,

Tuesday morning we arrived Tallinn, Estonia. Another beautiful day - 70 and perfectly sunny!

We met out tour guide, Kadja (Estonia for Catherine) for a walking tour through the Old Town. We learned some interesting facts - Estonia only became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. I would imagine this was a huge event and made world news, I would have been 22 years old at the time, but I don't remember it happening. Estonia did not become part of the European Union until 2011. Only 900,000 speak Estonian, so most people speak English well. The Estonians seemed very friendly, which was a nice change from having been with abrupt Russians two days prior.

Its a picturesque Old Town of cobblestone streets, orange rooftops and beautiful churches. Really very fairy tale like! Outside of the Old Town there is a very bustling cosmopolitan city, skyscrapers and all.

We had opted for the half-day so we could explore on our own. After we left the group we stopped for lunch at an outdoor cafe, shopped and then meandered through the winding streets and walked back to the ship.

We had a nice dinner on the ship and then went to the Colony Club for drinks and more trivia. Again, we didn't win - the old people on the ship are just too smart for us!

Another really good day. We enjoyed Tallinn very much.

Jen

Cousin Jen in Russia with Love Day 8 - St. Petersburg, Russia

Hello all, 

Monday we toured St. Petersburg.  Another early start for us. We had arrived back to ship at 1:30 AM from Moscow, went straight to sleep and then up again at 5:30 AM for a 7:00 AM tour of St. Petersburg.  

We started our tour with a visit to the Pushkin (the summer palace of Catherine the Great). Of special interest in this palace is the Amber Room, which was once considered to be the 8th wonder of the world. Beautiful room, "tiled" floor to ceiling in amber. We weren't allowed to take photos but I tried to sneak one and got told-off in Russian by one of the museum docents.

 After we toured the palace we toured the gardens and boat house. In the boat house we sat in on a performance of a quartet that sang a capella - we enjoyed that. 

Our guide Victoria was very nice, but much slower than Lubmilla our guide from the day before, painfully slower. Oh, by the way, did I mention that Lubmilla was 70 years old!  Yep, the one we had to run to catch-up with. I hope I have her energy when I'm her age. She reminded me of my grandmother, no nonsense - she just got the job done.

Anyway, back to Victoria. She walked slow and talked slow and her loudest voice was a whisper at best, but we managed. We stopped for lunch and had a nice three course meal complete with caviar and a vodka shot, but we needed to keep things moving as several other groups were right behind us and I could see Victoria was slacking a bit so I went over to her and "suggested" she make an announcement to our group that they should try to use restrooms between courses (to avoid long lines) and be prepared to board the bus at a specific time.  She made the announcement. My plan worked!  We didn't have any long bathroom lines and we exited the restaurant ahead of schedule, which went more time for shopping and ahead of the other groups.  BUT, unfortunately the bus driver took the scenic route (aka - got lost) and we still only had 45 minutes for shopping. UGH! I tried.

Our next stop was Peter and Paul's Fortress, the first structure built in the city. Peter and Paul's Cathedral is the burial place of the Russian Czars. 

By this time we ran out of time (thanks to our bus driver getting lost) so we only had a few minutes at the Church of Spilled Blood (this is the famous landmark church with the colorful domes). Our guide explained the domes to us - the large center dome represent Jesus and the smaller domes surrounding represent the Apostles.

A few thoughts on the country - Russia is not a welcoming country. From the visa process to the availability of currency, their message is clear that they do not want foreigners in their country. The visa process is lengthy and expensive ($400 for a visa), two lengthy application forms (I probably signed off on giving them my first born) and 3 week processing time!  The currency is restricted, which means that you can't buy it outside of Russia and good luck trying to find a merchant or bank in-country that will exchange US $ for Rubles. Not to mention that their language is very difficult to read and understand (have a look at their alphabet) and very few people speak English.  Let's just say hospitality is not their strong suit and leave it at that.

I'm glad we decided to see Russia as part of the cruise and not make a specific 10 day trip to Russia alone. It is not an easy country to site without an escort and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone any other way (otherwise, safety is a concern). We saw the best of it, learned what we wanted to about their history and drank smooth vodka. Check the list and pin in the map!

We got back to the ship and had a nice dinner and champagne to celebrate my birthday (thank you all for your birthday wishes. I'm looking forward to more celebrations when I get home). Then we went to the casino to play Roulette and I won $50 when my luck 26 hit.

Sorry this one was so long, more tomorrow from Estonia.....

Mama B's Studio

The following Artists have joined Mama Bs Studio don't miss the opportunity to view there work in out Studio.

Susan Cheney Ralston,
Justine Cornelius
Diane Lesser
Dee Alcala-Callahan (being Hung This morning)
Brandon Callahan (Arriving Saturday)
Patty Larson
Alexus Lewis
Gary Visconti (Arriving this Saturday) ...
Christie & Vilma Heflin (This Sunday)
Geri Gittens (in the coming days)

There are only four spots left.....Being part of the very first batch of local artist to showcase their work at Mama Bs Studio. — at Glendale Glitters Holiday Celebration!Mama Bs Studio

 

Bitzee Mama

 

The artist are arriving and new artwork is being hung, Drop by and check out the newest Art Gallery to hit Downtown Glendale.
Keep an eye open for the Open Mic nights to include Poetry, Comedians and musicians .

Bitzee Mama's and Mama B's Studio is going to rock this town into a new era one with Art's and Entertainment which you can see and hear from the sidewalk. — at Downtown Glendale, Glendale, Arizona.

Cousin Jen Day 6 Helsinki, Finland

Hello all,

I got a little backed up with the blog because we've been on back to back excursions, but will try to catch-up.

Saturday we were in Helsinki. This day has been our best so far. The weather was 70, sunny and beautiful. We had a great tour guide, Violet was her name. She was really on the ball and a genuinely warm person.

We started the excursion with a tour of Porvoo, the 2nd oldest town in Finland. Very quaint and charming, sort of like Cold Spring Harbor with a European flair and more shops.

Next stop was at a manor home in the countryside for lunch. It was not what you would expect from a traditional manor home, this was more like a farm home to me. The venue we ate at looked like a barn on the outside and a wine cellar on the inside. I have photos to share when I'm back.

Then we went into the city center of Helsinki and visited the markets and Rock Church.

I was pleasantly surprised by Helsinki. You never really hear all that much about Helsinki and it doesn't attract as much attention as the other Scandinavian capitals so my expectations were low, but this one surprised me. Beautiful scenery, nice people and a mix of all types of architecture.

We got back to the ship and went to the Now & Forever show the ship was presenting. It was short vignettes of Broadway shows. It was well done and who doesn't love Mamma Mia and the Abba music!

 

Then we went to the Colony Club to play extreme trivia and drink White Russians. It consisted of four rounds - general trivia, Catch Phrase, Name that Tune and World Explorer (identify photos of monuments around the world). We didn't win, but we held our own.  I was no help to Ellen with Catch Phrase but I made up for it in the World Explorer round.

Overall a great day....more tomorrow on our adventure to Moscow.

Jen

Cousin Jen Day 5 Stockholm, Sweden

Hello all,

 

SOOO, we arrived Stockholm and boarded our bus for our full day tour of Stockholm and Sigtuna (a small town on one of the nearby islands).

 

After about ten minutes on the bus we reach a scenic view point and we all get off the bus to take photos, then about 15 minutes later we board the bus again for the 45 minute drive to Sigtuna. After about 20 minutes into the drive, the tour guide (Eliza) realizes that we left someone at the scenic view point.

 

Now, here is where it gets really screwed up. The husband AND daughter (approx 45 yrs old) of the woman we left behind are on the bus!  SO, I'm wondering why the hell they let the bus pull away knowing that their wife/mother wasn't on the bus. What were they thinking?!? Mind boggling!!

 

SO, the tour guide makes an announcement that we have to turn around to go back to get her!!  At this point we don't even know if she will still be there - She didn't have a cell phone and neither did her husband or daughter. We get back to the view point and she is there. She gets on the bus and not one word, no apology to the people on the bus who just wasted 45 precious minutes - which meant we had 45 minutes less for shopping!!  We were so pissed!!

 

THEN, we get to Sigtuna and while on our tour of the village, we lose all three of them this time!!  We happened to spot them walking past the turn off, the tour guide goes running off the grab them and then, I could not help myself but I took the opportunity to give the rest of the group a lesson on Logistics 101 & Following Directions (Kiera, I know your smiling).

 

Finally, with the intact group we start to walk back to the bus. I could tell the tour guide was upset so I try to comfort her by sharing my background and my story of when I lost our Chief General Counsel in DC and he had to run after the bus (I can hear Kiera and Kamal laughing - I will share that story at another time, but I can assure you it was all his fault). So now I'm acting as the "assistant" tour guide, taking headcount, remembering people's outfits to keep track of them, which ones are in the bathroom, who can't walk well  etc..

 

Anyway, "we" finally got things under control and salvaged the rest of the day.  We toured the old town, shopped briefly and went to the Vasa Museum. I can't quiet understand why the Swedish are so proud of a ship that cost them a fortune to build in the 1600s and  sank before it even got out of the harbor!  I will ask Ulrika. At least the Titanic made it Transatlantic just shy of the USA and was valiantly taken out by an iceberg. 

 

Weather was gorgeous - 70 and sunny. Stockholm is beautiful! Lots of beautiful buildings and waterways. I'd like to go back and spend more time there, we really needed two full days.

 

We got back to the ship and ran for food as we decided to shop instead of eat with the short time we had on our own.

 

After dinner we went to the pub for martini's and had a debate about the US welfare system - let's just say we agreeded to disagree and I had to have a second martini.

 

Ok, that's enough for now. More tomorrow from Finland......

 

Jen

Cousin Jen Day 4 at sea

Hello again,

Somehow I got tripped up with my days so I think I wrote Day 4 two times. Eek!

 

Anyway, nothing too eventful happened on Day 4 at sea en route to Stockholm, Sweden.

We attended a seminar on some of the destinations, ate, napped, had massage treatments, ate again, went for chips n margarita's, ate again and went to bed.

 

My hot stone massage was actually quiet good and much needed.

 

Weather was beautiful - 70 and sunny!

Cousin Jen Day 4 - Copenhagen, Denmark

Hello All,

 

We arrived Copenhagen Wednesday morning and headed out for our tour which included the famous Mermaid statue, the Royal Palaces and the quaint village of Dragor.

 

August 23rd is the 100th anniversary for the Danish Mermaid tale. Ellen and I got stopped by a film crew from a local TV station to say "happy birthday" to the mermaid on air. It is not am impressive statue, but there is a nice tale behind the symbolism. You can Google the story, but the message of the tale is don't try to be someone you're not.

 

Dragor Village was small, but charming. Lots of tiny yellow house with straw thatched roofs. Very picturesque, except for the chimney sweeper. Seriously, he looked like a character out of a Stephen King novel - all dressed in black, wearing what looked like a top hat and he had chains around his neck that had spikes on the end. I wish I had taken a photo to show you all but I was too scared to!

 

The weather was cloudy and cool, but we were just thankful that it didn't rain.

 

This was my third visit to Copenhagen and even though I saw some new sights, I still was not impressed by the city. Its one of those cities that you just need to visit once in your life and then move on.

 

We got back to the ship and played a round of mini golf - Ellen beat me by two strokes, but we are planning a rematch next week.

 

We took in a tango performance in the ship's theater before dinner which was quite nice. After dinner we went to the pub to watch the Chelsea vs Aston Villa football match and had a few glasses of port.

 

Overall, a nice day.

 

Jen

 

Cousin Jen Day 3 Baltic Europe

Hello All,

 

We were at sea all day Tuesday en route to Copenhagen, Denmark. We were slugs and slept until noon!! Then ate and sat in the Solarium to read and then ate again and had martini's at the bar.

 

Good sailing day; calm seas, cool and sunny.

 

Jen

Cousin Jen Day 1 Baltic Europe

Hello all,

 

Monday late afternoon we boarded the ship. We were a bit concerned about our cabin assignment given that our trip coordinator booked the wrong cabin for us and the ship was sold-out. In the end, the cabin was actually fine and the obstruction was very minor in the grand scheme of things, but I still scored us a nice cabin credit to pay for our spa treatments :o)

 

As we boarded they were handing out flyers for spa specials that were only valid that day, so we took advantage and went straight to spa to sign up. $90 for a 50 min back/scalp/foot massage, we felt it was worth it. My therapist was great on scalp and feet, but when she got to my back I felt like I was in a Chinese torture chamber!  On my way out I made sure I won't have that therapist for the next two treatments later in the week.

 

So after my treatment I'm sitting in the relaxation room and I realize that we are over an hour late pulling out of port. No announcements, no nothing. I'm thinking this is odd. I'm assuming there is a mechanical issue that has delayed us, but I start asking the staff questions anyway.

 

Long story short - It appears a large, extended family of about 40 people of which a few did not have the proper documentation to board the ship, something about passports not matching the name on their reservations (I won't mention their nationality because it is really irrelevant). So, half the family decides to continue without the other half, while the half now not cruising have to wait for their luggage to be taken off the ship. 

 

Now what I don't know was how many of the people that decided not to cruise actually got on board and then off again. Of course the ship couldn't cruise with un-attended luggage on board but did anyone think about what hand luggage they had and was that accounted for?  In my mind this was a security breach on multiple levels. Do you all see where I'm going with this??  At the very least they should have had a K9 unit patrol the ship before we left port. Anyway, no one else seemed too concerned, I prayed to St. Michael and we finally pushed off, two hours late!

 

The Cruise Critic rated this ship four star, but, by  J Leto standards it is a three star! The ship is in good shape having just completed a $8 million renovation and there are some nice amenities, but I wouldn't put it in a luxury category. Having said that, we are getting value as there would have been now other way to visit six countries in 16 days on a $400 a day budget.   

 

Later that evening El and I had a nice dinner at a communal table and chatted with a few older couples that are "professional cruisers".  The passenger demographic of the ship is largely European and Middle Eastern with a handful of Americans. The crew represent 62 nationalities and our Captain is Italian. The sea has been calm and the weather cool, partly sunny and comfortable.

 

Catch you all tomorrow....

Cousin Jen Day I Baltic Europe

Hello All,

I figured it would be easier to update all of you at one time rather than individual emails (and Kamal and Kiera asked me to blog). Wifi service is intermittent on the ship so my updates may come late and only arrive on the days we reach a port.

We arrived London on Saturday night. Flight was fine. I watched Olympus Has Fallen and The Factory - both excellent movies that I recommend if you haven't seen them. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to get to the next moment with both films. The Factory had a shocking ending!

Sunday we spent the day with Ellen's friend Laura. She works for the government in "intelligence".  Very interesting and well traveled woman. It is a good thing I'm well traveled and I know my geography so I could keep up with conversation and even offer some new intel :o)

The Queen was on holiday at her castle in Scotland so Buckingham Palace was open for public tours. Thank goodness Laura got us tickets in advance. We were able tour 16 State Rooms in the Palace. It was a really interesting tour. They also had an exhibit dedicated to the anniversary of the Queen's coronation.

Then we went to high tea at Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly. Tea room was beautifully decorated and the scones were to die for. A must if any of you are ever in London.

Monday I met my friend Justine from Hess for breakfast. As most of you know, Hess is closing our London office at the end of the year so Justine will be laid-off as a result. Its heartbreaking to watch our colleagues/friends go through this transition, but I know Justine will land on her feet - she has always been a "star" player at Hess so I am certain that wonderful opportunities are in store for her and I'm hoping she and I will work together again in the future. It was too difficult to say good-bye so we just left it that we will find a way to keep our friendship going and meet-up every now and again some place in the world.    

Ulrika and Mats are at their summer home in Sweden until September in case any of you are wondering why we didn't catch-up with them.

After breakfast Ellen and I made our way to the bus station to catch our bus transfer to Harwich, England to board the ship.

By the way, Victoria Coach station is much more civilized that Port Authority.

The weather held up for us, mild and partly cloudy. Overall, two good days in London. I'm always happy when I get to spend time there and I realize now that I know it quite well and have an easy time navigating the city.

More on our cruising days in the next update...

Jen