Crossing the Atlantic
April 3rd begins our Europe 2026 adventure. We are starting with a transatlantic cruise to take us from Ft. Lauderdale to South Hampton, England. When we disembark in South Hampton, we will have spent 16 days aboard the Majestic Princess, along with approximately 3,500 of our closest “friends” (not including the crew members, whose company and excellent service we really did thoroughly enjoy). here we are leaving Fort Lauderdale and heading out to the great wide water!
About cruising across the Atlantic Ocean for 16 days; First, this type of travel is not for everyone. This is our 2nd T/A cruise, and we thoroughly enjoy the experience, both times. It is rather daunting to imagine you are not going to see anything at all, not even a fish or a bird, for the first 7 days of the journey while you cross the massive Atlantic Ocean, before arriving in the Azores Islands. However, we find there is so much to do on the ship and the leisurely pace at which this travel is done, soothes my adrenaline-addicted soul. There are lectures, entertainment, games and tons of good food.
A big “plus” for me is that you are not rushing through airports, figuring out luggage, passport control, flight delays and a myriad of other air travel issues, none of which are relaxing, and you are managing the time changes, and hence the jet lag, in a body-friendly manner. By the time you arrive in Europe, there is no trying to figure out whether you should sleep for a few hours or just power through until nighttime and then spend 2 or 3 days trying to get your circadian rhythms back on track. When you have a neurological disease, this is particularly relevant. But even without having PD, it gets increasingly difficult for me to manage these time changes as I hit my golden” (HAHAHA) years.
So, we spent each day eating great food, working out for 1-1/2 hrs each day, drinking great wine and amazing cappuccinos, attending the very occasional lecture, seeing live entertainment, going to wine tastings, and sleeping. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. Look at this amazing food! Pizza and chocolate loveliness….and of course, the very first place we found on the ship was O’Malley’s Pub where they pour actual Guinness! No Lie!
After 7 days, we landed in the Azores Islands, a place we have both wanted to visit since learning about the islands from our Chicago-based friends, Chris & Sulina Zimmermann. Chris’ family is from the Azores and his description of their beauty and welcoming people put the Azores on our radar years ago. I am happy to report that The Azores did disappoint.
Having spent a full day in the Azores, we sailed to Lisbon for a day, then on to LeHavre, France for a day, and finally landed in South Hampton on the 17th of April.
The crossing was another great experience for us, and I am pretty sure we will do it again. In fact, we looked at crossing back from South Hampton to the US on Queen Mary 2 in September when we are due back in the US for my dad’s 90th birthday. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make the timing work so we will be back to dealing with the craziness of airports and time zone changes. But no complaints here! We are lucky to be traveling and experiencing the world! Anyway, it’s worth taking a minute to go back to the Azores…
Aloha Azores Islands!
The Azores is a group of 9 islands located about 1,000 miles west of mainland Portugal, of which they are considered an autonomous region. We visited Sao Miguel, the largest of the islands in terms of population. The Azores are in effect a major mountain range. The islands rise steeply to heights reaching 7,713 feet above sea level on Pico, the highest point in metropolitan Portugal. They were formed because of a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, which are still a threat today. Many of the houses of the Azores are in fact constructed of building blocks made of basalt. Deep craters, known locally as calderas, as well as lakes are a dramatic feature of the islands.
On São Miguel the volcanic heat on the shores of Lake Furnas, a popular picnic spot, is sufficient for cooking, which we witnessed first-hand. Our guide took us to a well-known, locals’ joint where lunch is cooked in huge pots set into the ground and cooked by the volcanic heat. The food consists of cabbage, potatoes, vegetables and a mixture of pork, beef and chicken. The pots are set in the ground early in the morning and removed in time to serve a delicious, steamy hot lunch!
We also visited the geothermal pools located throughout the island of Sao Miguel. This was particularly interesting as we had experienced similar geothermal pools outside of Reykjavik, which we visited last August. They are fascinating phenomena of nature, which are literally mesmerizing as you watch the water bubble up from the ground and witness the steam evaporating, which resembles a foggy morning.
The Azores are fascinating geographically and geologically. The people are mostly of Portuguese decent and Portuguese is the primary language on the Azores, although we are told the dialect is quite different from that which is spoken on the mainland.
The island of Sao Miguel is also known for being the only place in Europe with a commercial tea plantation! It still uses very old-school machinery, the tea is (obviously) grown right there on the plantation, and individuals (mostly women) still sit and manually sort the stems from the leaves. It is a family-owned business and provides jobs to many of the locals of Sao Miguel. We visited the plant and the plantation, which was really interesting. Of course, we sampled the tea and brought some back to the ship with us to enjoy when we get to England.
A little plug for Tours by Locals…. we had an excellent guide who treated us to a “locals” experience while showing us all of the fascinating aspects of living on Sao Miguel. If you find yourself in the Azores and want an excellent guide experience, look up Filipe Cordeiro with Tours by Locals.
Aloha Lisboa (Again)!
Next stop on our 14-day high seas adventure was Lisbon. This was a 2nd visit to Lisbon and so we decided to take a Hop On/Hop Off tour bus and a stress-free way to revisit the sights we had seen back in 2024. It was helpful to see Lisbon again as it increased our appreciation of this beautiful city. You never quite get to really experience all that a city has to offer when you visit it for the 1st time; spending a lot of time running from one museum or point of interest to another. To revisit again brings back memories and creates new ones!
One of our favorite memories of Lisbon includes our visit to the Time Out Food Hall! We visited again and were happy to find that it still exists and the food served is still excellent. The Time Out Food Hall consists of a plethora of international food, wine and beer stalls. It is communal eating and seating first come, first serve. Get your lunch, set the eagle eye in motion and swoop down on the nearest seats when they become available. It helps to have a drink to sip while waiting for an open seat. The Time Out franchise is worldwide, but the flagship location can be found in Lisbon! Note, if you like ordering your food while sitting at a table and being served by a server, skip the Time Out experience. It is not traditional dining. It is fun and noisy and something like cafeteria dining only the food is fabulous and as varied as you can possibly imagine. Many of the food stalls are represented by Michelin-starred chefs, side-by-side newcomers to the restaurant scene.
We didn’t do it this time, however, if you go to Lisbon, be sure to take a food tour that includes a visit to a Fado restaurant, where traditional Fado is being sung. The food will be truly representative of the local cuisine and there is nothing like a traditional Fado performance! It is hauntingly beautiful and sad and powerful!
Of course, Lisbon has its share of beautiful parks, the memorable Avenida da Liberdade (my personal favorite in Lisbon), as well as significant museums, monuments and a fascinating history of monarchy, fascism and dictators on the order of Franco. The point is, there is a lot to see, do and experience in Lisbon!
Beach art in Lisbon – amazing!
The April 25th Bridge, named for the date of the revolution overthrowing the dictator, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar
The palace square in Lisbon
Aloha LeHavre!
LeHavre is in Normandy. It was and remains steeped in maritime history and industry. Modern day LeHavre is home to the largest container port in France, while it is simultaneously committed to turbine technology and the aeronautics industry. It consists of an “old” and “new” city, and in 2005 it was named a UNESCO site largely due to the significant reconstruction of pre-WWII buildings. The reconstructed parts of the city provide beautiful examples of the architectural genius of the 16th century. Our guide was a wealth of knowledge, although after you have seen one 16th century building, you have seen a hundred. LeHavre is also home to a museum that boasts the 2nd largest collection of impressionist paintings in the world. Our tour did not allow time for a visit but having visited Paris, home of the largest collection, we did not feel overly cheated by missing the LeHavre collection.
We did pass some interesting eating establishments, the French can be fabulously cheeky and here is an example!
In modern times, LeHavre is a beacon of environmental friendliness. Le Havre is distinguished as the least polluted urban commune of France and the third best large city in France for air quality.
The city has received many eco-label awards and is known for its proliferation of green spaces. While traveling via bus from the port to the city, fields and fields of yellow canola flowers were in full bloom. The canola is used not just for cooking oil. Its single largest use is conversion to petrol to fuel trucks and other industrial type vehicles. Imagine converting flowers to petrol. How brilliant is that!
On our way back to the ship, we passed a neighborhood filled with homes still sporting the old-fashioned thatch roof. On the roofs, were rows of irises (the beautiful purple flower) just getting ready to bloom. I was fascinated by why anyone would have flowers growing out of the roof. I would have Jim up there picking those babies out of the roof in a heartbeat. Not so fast my friend. Turns out that the irises serve a significant purpose other than looking messy in the winter but beautiful in the spring. They are purposefully planted by residents because they act as an “adhesive” of sorts. Their roots “dig in” to the thatch and thereby hold the roof together! How genius is that!
Well, back on the ship and next stop is South Hampton, where our sea-faring journey ends. We will pick up our car in South Hampton and head to Chipping Norton. We visited Chippy 2 years ago and fell in love with it and the surrounding towns in the Cotswolds. So, we decided to visit again before we begin the summer adventure in Ireland.