- Summer Traveler Home Page
- About
- Iceland
-
England
- Day 1 Arrive in London
- Day 2 London and the Royals
- Day 3 London: Harry Potter Day
- Day 4 London: What's English Food?
- Day 5 Travel Day: Shakespeare's Globe Tour
- Day 6 The Lake District: Beatrix Potter's Hill top Farm
- Day 7 the Lake District: Guided Tour and Hadrian's Wall
- Day 8, Travel Day: Tour of Stratford-Upon_Avon
- Day 9, The Cotswolds Gardens and Afternoon British Tea
- Day 10 Exploring the Cotswolds
- Day 12 Bath and the Roman Baths
- Day 13 Stonehenge
- Day 14 Taking a Bath in Bath
- Day 15 Heading Home
-
Hawaiian Islands
- Day 1, July 13, 2023 Travel Day
- Day 2, July 14, 2023 Polynesian Culture Center
- Day 3, July 15, 2023 Diamond Head and Iolani Palace
- Day 4, July 16, 2023 Dole Plantation and Northshore
- Day 5, July 17 Pearl Harbor
- Day 6, July 18, 2023 Travel Day 1
- Day7 July 19, 2023, Spouting Horn
- Day 8, July 20, 2023 Spouting Horn and the Lighthouse.
- Day 9, July 21, 2023, Travel Day 2
- Day 10, July 22, 2023 Volcano National Park
- Day 11. July 23, 2023, Chocolate Day
- Day 12, July 24, 2023, Coffee Day
- Day 13 July 25, 2023, Botanical Gardens & Going Home Day
I woke in the morning, looked out the window to see the sun shining on the river and the swans swimming beside the shore. This was our last full day of the cruise.
After breakfast, we joined the walking tour of Breisach. Our program description of this area is as follows “the small city of Breisach that dates back over 4,000 years. … this town was mostly destroyed in WWII and then totally restored to its original beauty. View the towering Romanesque and Gothic St. Stephansmunster Cathedral.” The guide said there would be some stairs but not too many. Well, he was very young and I am not sure he knew what “not too many” meant for a crowd almost two generations older than he was. We all made it to the top, passing by one of the old defensive gate towers and viewing the other. Walking around the cathedral, we saw many signs of what happened to the area during the German occupation of WW II. In the courtyard surrounding the church, there is the town hall and a statue of a bull with ½ a naked lady on the bull’s back. It was a very symbolic piece of art but I can’t remember what the guide said. With free time at the end of the tour, Evie and I headed into the town and the rest back to the ship.
After breakfast, we joined the walking tour of Breisach. Our program description of this area is as follows “the small city of Breisach that dates back over 4,000 years. … this town was mostly destroyed in WWII and then totally restored to its original beauty. View the towering Romanesque and Gothic St. Stephansmunster Cathedral.” The guide said there would be some stairs but not too many. Well, he was very young and I am not sure he knew what “not too many” meant for a crowd almost two generations older than he was. We all made it to the top, passing by one of the old defensive gate towers and viewing the other. Walking around the cathedral, we saw many signs of what happened to the area during the German occupation of WW II. In the courtyard surrounding the church, there is the town hall and a statue of a bull with ½ a naked lady on the bull’s back. It was a very symbolic piece of art but I can’t remember what the guide said. With free time at the end of the tour, Evie and I headed into the town and the rest back to the ship.
After lunch, we again piled in the bus for our final excursion, a walk around Colmar, France with a wine tasting. We were on the bus that went to the wine tasting first. I was fascinated looking out of the window seeing almost every yard covered in grapevines. There were even grapevines growing along the side of the road. Our guide said this was the largest area for vineyards all of Alsace region of France.
We pulled into a parking lot of the Jean-Baptiste Adams winery and entered a very cute little showroom. After a brief history and short tour of the winery, we were led down the stairs into their wine tasting room. There we tried three white wines; a Riesling, a Pinot Gris, and a Gewurztraminer. Mom and I liked the second one the best. The first wine was a little dry and the last a little too sweet. That was also the consensus of the group. With wine tasting over it was back on the bus for the walking tour of Colmar.
This was the hottest walk so far as the temperature of the day climbed to 88°. (We heard that Richmond was in the middle of a heat wave with 100° weather.) So it made the walk feel as if it was the hardest one yet. Colmar has canal cruises that runs through the town. We saw one of these boats floating through the canal and it made a very picturesque view. Our guide called it a picture moment so we all took pictures. Colmar’s “… old town has cobblestone streets lined with half-timbered medieval and early Renaissance buildings. The Gothic 13th-century, Eglise Saint-Martin church stands on central Place de la Cathédrale.” Our guide led us through the streets pointing out many interesting things about the area such as stores that sell the pottery used to make the traditional cakes and the best places to buy cheeses and meats. She also regaled us with historical information about the houses. She showed us how to tell the date of when the house was built by what was printed over the door. When we passed by a bakery, the guide stopped and asked if we all could have a taste. Cookies of all types were distributed. I had this tiny square cookie that just melted in my mouth. I was hoping to go back and find it later but never got the chance. We passed by a statue that was sculpted by Frederic Bartholdi. He is famous for sculpting the Statue of Liberty. We then went into the courtyard that was the entrance to the Bartholdi Museum. I was quite taken by the statue in the courtyard. We next went into one of the main gates of the town to the courtyard by the customs house. This is where she sent us off for free time for an hour. Mom, Linda K., and Victoria went to sit and have a “coffee.” Actually it was coffee ice cream with coffee poured over it. Evie went off to explore on her own and Linda C. and I went looking for ice cream. My mango ice cream with caramel sprinkle was delicious and Linda enjoyed her chocolate ice cream with the caramel sprinkle. Linda and I then went exploring. Linda was looking for the shop we passed that sold dried fruit. We found it and I was amazed by all the different fruit it had. They had some fruit you would not think could be dried. Ever heard of dried kumquats? I bought a few things to taste. With free time over, we headed back to the bus.
We pulled into a parking lot of the Jean-Baptiste Adams winery and entered a very cute little showroom. After a brief history and short tour of the winery, we were led down the stairs into their wine tasting room. There we tried three white wines; a Riesling, a Pinot Gris, and a Gewurztraminer. Mom and I liked the second one the best. The first wine was a little dry and the last a little too sweet. That was also the consensus of the group. With wine tasting over it was back on the bus for the walking tour of Colmar.
This was the hottest walk so far as the temperature of the day climbed to 88°. (We heard that Richmond was in the middle of a heat wave with 100° weather.) So it made the walk feel as if it was the hardest one yet. Colmar has canal cruises that runs through the town. We saw one of these boats floating through the canal and it made a very picturesque view. Our guide called it a picture moment so we all took pictures. Colmar’s “… old town has cobblestone streets lined with half-timbered medieval and early Renaissance buildings. The Gothic 13th-century, Eglise Saint-Martin church stands on central Place de la Cathédrale.” Our guide led us through the streets pointing out many interesting things about the area such as stores that sell the pottery used to make the traditional cakes and the best places to buy cheeses and meats. She also regaled us with historical information about the houses. She showed us how to tell the date of when the house was built by what was printed over the door. When we passed by a bakery, the guide stopped and asked if we all could have a taste. Cookies of all types were distributed. I had this tiny square cookie that just melted in my mouth. I was hoping to go back and find it later but never got the chance. We passed by a statue that was sculpted by Frederic Bartholdi. He is famous for sculpting the Statue of Liberty. We then went into the courtyard that was the entrance to the Bartholdi Museum. I was quite taken by the statue in the courtyard. We next went into one of the main gates of the town to the courtyard by the customs house. This is where she sent us off for free time for an hour. Mom, Linda K., and Victoria went to sit and have a “coffee.” Actually it was coffee ice cream with coffee poured over it. Evie went off to explore on her own and Linda C. and I went looking for ice cream. My mango ice cream with caramel sprinkle was delicious and Linda enjoyed her chocolate ice cream with the caramel sprinkle. Linda and I then went exploring. Linda was looking for the shop we passed that sold dried fruit. We found it and I was amazed by all the different fruit it had. They had some fruit you would not think could be dried. Ever heard of dried kumquats? I bought a few things to taste. With free time over, we headed back to the bus.
Back on board ship, it was a Farewell reception in the lounge, then the Captain’s Farewell dinner with Baked Alaska for desert in the dining room and then packing in our cabins. This was the end of our cruise. I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed the next night.