REFLECTIONS of a magnificent trip. by Nancy Kivlen Well here we are at the end of the trip, just one more day on the ship and then we arrive in Barcelona to start our long journey home to San Diego and Los Angeles. All of us have thoroughly enjoyed the trip: the sights, cities, countries, and the cruise. We all got along great and traveled well together. In spite of all the food consumption, we've managed to average over 10,000 steps per day something I've bee...

EUROPE The Trip of a Lifetime. by Nancy Kivlen Our first day at sea and our first day of rest in two weeks of nonstop travel. To say this has been a whirlwind trip is an understatement. LONDON, Oct 8 to 11: We took Jetlag pills that our friend Mary recommended to us and this helped combat the jet lag feeling; but we didn't get over it entirely. By the time we got to the St. James Court (a Taj Hotel) it was already evening. In an effort to stay awake at least u...

This is our last travel blog as we pack up and get ready to head home. Our 3 weeks have been great and we have spent the last day reminiscing about all the wonderful places we've been. After we left Lisbon, we stopped in an adorable town call OBIDOS (see pictures). This picturesque village sits within an old Roman Ruin wall that you can walk around. We shopped and enjoyed the views and after a few hours took off for COIMBRA. This was our last stop in Portugal,...

LISBON - OMG!! Who knew this was such a GREAT city??? I had no idea. It is San Francisco meets Cannes. It is GORGEOUS!! When we last left you we were in the Algarve Coast. We took off early yesterday (Monday) and headed to Evora (see Evora pictures). We hit lots of rain and it became much cooler than any of the previous weather we had. But the drive was beautiful through the lush, green Portuguese countryside. We arrived in Evora, a World Heritage walled city th...

We arrived in Portugal 3 days ago where we made the Algarve Coast, specifically the small town of Ohlos d'Agua outside of Albufeira (2 sets of photos attached) our home. After checking into our hotel, and seeing the room was just too small, we upgraded to a "suite". It's a 3 star hotel near one of the prettiest beaches, Maria Luisa, and has a pool. It's rated #1 on trip advisor for this area, but I wouldn't rave about it - only that the hotel staff is the nices...