PostCards from a TransAtlantic Crossing

Friday, 14 October 2015
Houston, Texas

Sixteen days — most of it at sea — passed by in the blink of an eye as NCL Jade whisked us from Barcelona, Spain to Houston, Texas.  Par for the course with TransAtlantic Crossings, we had just a few ports of call between our embarkation and disembarkation ports — just three of them to be exact … Funchal, Madeira (Portugal); Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas (US Virgin Islands); and Miami, Florida.

Embarkation Day — 29 October; Barcelona, Spain

Mirador de Colom (Columbus Monument)	Dárcena Nacional (National Dock)

Barcelona skyline across Muelle Adosado.

Funchal, Madeira — 1 November

Arriving in Funchal …

… and view of the pier where Jade docks for the day.

Fortaleza de São Tiago

Teleférico do Funchal … and up to Monte we go.

Tile panels like this one line the path at Jardim Tropical Monte Palace
and serve to educate visitors about the history of Portugal.

Monte Palace & Tropical Gardens

Hydrangeas at Jardim Tropical Monte Palace.

Funchal from the overlook at Jardim Botânico.
[The smaller of the two ships is NCL Jade.]

Formal garden at Jardim Botânico.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in downtown Funchal.

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean — 2-7 November

Seven quiet and relaxing days crossing the calm Atlantic Ocean.

Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, USVI — 8 November

Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, USVI … where NCL Jade docks for the day.

Cruz Bay, St John — USVI ... where the ferry from Red Hook docks so we can play at Cinnamon Bay.
Unfortunately we get rained out :-(

Miami, Florida — 11 November

Port of Miami … first to arrive, we watch the ships streaming in behind us.

sunrise over the Port of Miami.

The Miami Skyline on the port side of NCL Jade.

The marina …

… and the Miami skyline on the starboard side of NCL Jade.

Disembarkation Day — 14 November; Houston, Texas

Port of Houston from our aft veranda … waiting to disembark NCL Jade.

“Weren’t you bored with so many days at sea,” you might ask.  Not in the least — they were the perfect opportunity for some R&R between our busy days of traveling in Europe and resuming our routine at home.

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.

Fall in Europe

Saturday, 29 August 2015
Houston, Texas
Temps: HI 91F (33C) / Lo 72F (22C)

By the time this blog entry posts, our home on wheels will be in storage and we will be comfortably ensconced at a hotel near Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.  Our overnight hotel stay will kick start this year’s fall trip to Europe, which officially starts when we board our flight tomorrow morning.

Our travel plans this time take us first to Italy where we will spend three weeks enjoying the sights and sounds of the Eternal City … Rome.  Next, we will embark Oceania’s Nautica for a Mediterranean Cruise that will transport us to Turkey … with stops en route at mostly new-to-us ports that we are looking forward to exploring.  Turkey, as faithful readers know, is where our families live.  We will spend about three weeks visiting with them before the final segment of our fall trip … a TransAtlantic on NCL’s Jade that will take us from Barcelona, Spain all the way back to Houston.

You all know that I tend not to spend too much time blogging when we are traveling abroad.  I’ll do my best, however, to at least share some “post”cards on the blog … and perhaps the occasional story if time permits.

© 2004-2015 Two to Travel.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by ERIN ERKUN.