Finishing Up in Nice

To some of our favorite people in Nice:  Pascal at the Spar store (kept us stocked with Armagnac), the lady at Carrefour who barked out the lane assignments for the checkouts (listen up!), the seamstress at the shop downstairs (and her many cats), the lovely gal at Nver (who greeted us every time we walked by), the dude at the Socca stand (more pepper!), all the friendly people at our local Casino Supermarket, Frederic the Optician (Optique Deppon, 21 Rue de France), the folks at the local bakery and our landlords, Declan and Helen, even though they're technically in Dublin.  Salute to you all!

Along the hiking path:

Nice's Coulee Vert with its fabulous fountains:

A geezer watching the girls go by in the Square Messena (wait!  We know that geezer!):

And farewell to Nice for 2016:

Our summer promises to be a quiet one, if anything can be quiet during this rather interesting Presidential primary season.  We'll be at a couple of auto races and that's about it until September when we visit the Galapagos Islands.  No Nice next year, by the way.  Stay tuned, because January 2017 will mark the beginning of quite an adventure!

Of course, no trip is complete without the Wiener Dog contest results:

Gordon kicks butt once again:  Gordon 39, Pati 31.  He spotted his last one at the airport on the way out of town...right after we ran into David Coulthard at the check-in counter.

Wanderings in March 2016

We returned to Monaco for a day of shopping and walking around.  We set out on our "usual" route:  past Port Hercule and the Avant Port, up to the Casino, out Boulevard Moulin, down to the beach, pit stop at the Grimaldi Forum, through the Japanese Garden, then the famous tunnel, and back to the shopping areas in Fontvielle.

The Japanese Garden:

Monaco's Opera House amid the "rooftop gardens" above the Fairmont Hotel:

So, did the Principality think that if they built this ugly thing out of glass, no one would notice it?  Honestly, look at the various architecture.  It's what makes Monaco...Monaco.

Time out in Mid-March for a quick trip up to Vienna to visit the family.  Jeff, Sherry and the SWW's ditched the munchkins for the day and went hiking in the hills:

Along the Danube, gratefully without busses or river boats:

But back in town, the Easter Markets are unbelievable.  Food, fun, and Easter eggs:

Looks like the family will return to the States this year, and frankly, we'll miss visiting Vienna.  It's a great city with lots to see, do and eat.  Especially eat.

Formula 1 Testing, Barcelona, 2016

Circuit de Catalunya, March 2016.  The weekend began with a quick flight from Nice to Barcelona, and upon landing, we discovered that we were in the company of Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat.  He, of course, was in business class.

Overall, good weather, although there was a pretty cool wind up in the hills behind Barcelona.  This year, since rain never threatened, we spent four full days at the track and skipped the usual Barcelona sightseeing.  All except for seeing the sights inside our favorite restaurant, El Mussol!

The great thing about testing is that there are very few people at the track compared to the actual race weekend.  Almost everything is easily accessible (if you're willing to walk), it's an opportunity to watch from practically everywhere and there's plenty of action on-track.

Morning at the circuit:

Check out Red Bull's newest paint scheme on "smiley" Daniel Ricciardo's car:

Final turn and onto the main straight:

Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari:

But Kimi's Ferrari broke down.  Oh, the secrecy!

Red Bull pit stop:

View from the circuit's clubhouse...this is a treat.  Only members are allowed during the race:

Carnaval, February 2016

Three celebrations take place at the same time each year.  The Carnaval in Nice, the Mimosa Festival in Mandelieu, and the Citrus Festival in Menton.  We've never gone to the Mimosa Festival because Gordon appears to be deathly allergic to mimosa pollen.

The Carnaval schedule in Nice was slightly modified this year...no opening ceremonies, probably due to security concerns, and there were plenty of security people around who were not just standing around, but really looking everyone and everything over.  Also, this year, the Naval Flower Battle in Villefranche was included as part of the program.  At the naval battle, the locals dress in "native" garb, decorate the fishing boats with lots of flowers, and go out into the bay to battle it out by throwing the flowers at one another.  This may be something for politicians and/or dictators to consider.  Before the battle:

We walked to Villefranche and back, and got some great pictures of the coastline around the cape.

Only one afternoon Carnaval parade in Nice this year.  The weather was perfect and we've never seen such a mob of people.  The theme:  King of Media.  Here we go. The king:

The TV weather lady:

Fanciful inflatables:

Media hogs from days gone by:

And some fun:

Our next stop is Barcelona.  Again.  Pati will try to stay well clear of the easy chair at the hotel.  It'll be Formula 1 testing at Circuit de Catalunya!

Nice 2016 - The January Report

Ah, back to apartment living in Europe.  The sounds of the lift running (if you're lucky enough to have one), dogs barking, horns honking, children screaming, doors slamming, seagulls crying, drunks singing, bums hollering, and the upstairs neighbor playing piano exercises (never a song, only exercises) at seven a.m..  But the sun's streaming in from our balcony, the wine's good, the food's fine, and all's right with the world.

We've already been to Monaco twice for Circus and the final day of the annual Monte-Carlo Rallye.

Now, Monaco.  It used to look like this:

But in the past few years, the building up, and we do mean "up" has gotten a touch out of control. The principality gets taller and taller...take a corner with a four-story building containing a couple of businesses and maybe 12 apartments.  Tear that down and build a 20-story building with a couple of businesses and maybe 80 apartments.  But don't add another grocery store anywhere!  Pretty soon the sun will never reach the ground except at the Prince's humble abode.  Don't get us wrong.  We still love it.  We'll post some shots of the newer architecture later.

We headed over for the annual circus parade and see the circus animals.  Nice kitty:

The parade is always well-attended, and while it's a short one, it's not bad.  All the circus entertainers walk or ride up the hill to the palace, where a free, open-air show is held for the crowd (and of course, their Serene Highnesses).

 
Next up, the WRC Monte-Carlo Rallye.  In Monaco, all one gets to see is the freshly washed cars returning from the final stage held up near La Turbie, and checking in at the last timing station at the port.  Here's one of the early arrivals working the crowd:

The competitors took a different route down the hill this year and that included a drive through the famous tunnel.  It offered us an opportunity to take photos, finally, from a different angle.  First up, Sebastian Ogier, who three-peated this year:

And here's some of the rest of the field arriving.  This first guy is missing a grill, but hey, he finished!

For the most part, everyone we know around Nice is still here.  The lady at the Spar store who stashes armagnac away for us, the optician, and the tailor downstairs are doing fine.  The weather's been good and we've gotten plenty of exercise.  Every Friday is a pilgrimage, pulling the grocery caddy, to the Carrefour and each Sunday we try to walk down the promenade by the sea to the airport and back.  It's actually nice to not worry about where to park a car.  February will bring Historic Rallye and Carnaval in Nice.  In March, we'll go to Barcelona for Formula 1 testing and also fly up to Vienna to see the kids.  Stay tuned!

Heading Back to Miami from the Amazon

We dropped anchor off Devil's Island, French Guiana, and watched the local Navy, or maybe Coast Guard, do their morning fishing from one of their vessels nearby.  Looked like it was going to be a big fish lunch.  We stayed aboard and made it a "sea day".  After a day of cruising the Atlantic, we visited Bridgetown, Barbados and then St. John's, Antigua (the saints are marching in again).

The Navigator gives guests a unique opportunity to watch the docking process.  Here we were arriving in Antigua.  That's our Captain at the controls, although we never did figure out who the dude in the blue shirt was.

For a little fun photography, here's our ship, reflected in the Aida cruise ship parked next door!

And more fun photography.  The little town of St. John's.

The final stop before Miami was San Juan, Puerto Rico, which offered yet another opportunity to visit the rainforest!  So, of course, we went to the El Yunque National Forest, the only rainforest in the United States National Forest system.  Absolutely beautiful.  Here are some different perspectives of El Yunque.

And so ended another fabulous trip, with a glass of wine and a sunset.

As always, we submit the Wiener Dog count, and in the Christmas spirit, no less.

  While there are lots of coconut retrievers in the Amazon, there are no wiener dogs.  Count:  0 to 0.

We did still have a tight schedule.  It was time to unpack, wash, visit doctors, dentists, and hairdressers and repack...headed out for Nice on January 1 for three months!  And then there's always the minor nuisance of Christmas and New Years...so that's why you didn't get a Christmas card.

On The Amazon

Upon entering the Amazon River, the first stop was at the immigration station at Macapa, Brazil for a check of the paperwork and to pick up the three pilots, who traveled upriver with us to Manaus.
Pilots are on the bridge at all times, since while the river is well charted, things change rapidly.  There are two seasons along this equatorial river: dry and rainy.  Our visit was just at the end of the dry season, and everyone was looking forward to the rains coming.  Hard to understand why, when those rains raise the river level by an amazing amount, covering up everything along the shore, including the bottom floors of a lot of houses (the people just move up to the next floor and wait for the water to go down and the crocodiles to get out of the kitchen).  If you have a vision of the Amazon looking like it would on a Tarzan episode (bird noises, narrow areas with trees and vines overhead), well, it's not like that.  The river is often 2 1/2 miles across and it's more like being on a large, brown lake.

On the way upriver from Macapa, several things are noticeable.  First, the entire area smells like wood smoke.  The heavy, humid air holds the smoke from whatever everyone seems to be burning (garbage, fallen branches, etc.).  Second, it's hot, hot, hot and humid.  We crossed the equator and then ran along just south of it for the rest of the journey.  Lastly, there are critters in the air.  Mostly bug-type critters and we were roundly admonished to "kindly" keep our balcony doors closed unless we wanted to be infested, but apparently something was left open.  During happy hour, there came several crew members armed with brooms and buckets and chasing a bat.  The bat swooped through the bar (astonished looks all around) and was cornered near the back door.  He was promptly broomed out to freedom, having luckily avoided the bucket.

Our first stop was Santarem, where we visited the jungle at Tapajos National Forest.  The trip to Tapajos was interesting...local jitney-type busses with no air conditioning.  The forest, however, was worth the trip:

Next stop, Boca Da Valeria.  The ship had to stop, because if you blink, you'll miss Boca, even at only 10 knots.  A number of people tendered ashore to have their pictures taken with the local children, decked out in costume and carrying birds and sloths.  We passed on that one, and were glad we did because we saw the elusive "Boto".  The local name Boto refers to the Amazon River Pink Dolphin.  We heard about them from the lecturer, but never imagined we'd see any.  We saw a whole bunch of them, swimming right next to the ship, and they are definitely pink.  Bubble gum pink. Like all dolphins, they only pop up to breathe, so getting a picture was a lost cause, but check them out here:  http://www.wildernessclassroom.com/wilderness-library/pink-river-dolphin/

The day ended with an Amazon sunset.

Our overnight stop at Manaus allowed us to have two shore experiences.  First, we visited the jungle again, this time led by a real local.  Most people who live along the river are Caboclos, people who have descended from the indigenous tribes mixed with Portuguese and other nationalities.  Our guide, and two of his four children, were born in the jungle and are indigenous.  This guy knew that forest and everything in it and he's one of only four english-speaking guides.  We learned about weaving for fun and shelter, hunting, fishing, trapping, and drinking caipirinhas.  Here's our intrepid leader:

And here's a view of the forest.

Next, we took a boat trip to see the "meeting of the waters".  This is where the Rio Negro joins the Amazon.  The two rivers, each a different color, flow side by side for 6 kilometers without mixing. See  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meeting_of_Waters  for a little bit more information.  On the way, we passed some typical riverside housing and boat works:

The houses nearest the river are on stilts, and during the rainy season, they will still often be flooded. Loved the Amazon "dry dock" (note the boats pulled up on the sand).  Boat work has to be done during dry season...the beach won't be there in a couple of months.

OK!  Here's the meeting of the waters.  We know it looks like the beach, but it's really the two rivers flowing side by side:

No Amazon trip, apparently, is complete without a visit to the jungle, so here we go again.  We walked into this area, but in the rainy season, one must go in via canoe, and the trees seen here will be underwater up to about twenty feet.  Fish actually lay their eggs in the trees.

Now it was time to change pilots and head down river with a couple of beach stops at Parintins and Alter Do Chao.  We chose to stay aboard since we're not really beach people.  We're more like martini people.  Another low pass through Macapa to drop off the pilots and pass the paperwork and we were on our way to French Guiana.