Written by Jodi Pickens
So traveling on an equal mix of small country roads and highways we make our way to the town of Oradour-sur-Glane. Driving into the new town of Oradour we buy a sandwich and eat outside the entrance in a park area before touring WW II martyred town of Oradour-sur-Glane.
Well after the fun evening I wake up at 4:30 AM and head to the buffet for another pre-breakfast. Grabbing my goodies I make my way to the aft deck as we are in the channel entering Ketchikan. My son joins me and we eat our breakfast as we dock at 7:00 AM and are able to leave the ship at 7:30.
We are the last ship on the far end of the dock and walk along the Waterfront Promenade to town. Heading straight through town we turn away from the water to Creek Street along Ketchikan Creek. This is an interesting area of town as it was the red light district at one time. Once prostitution was banned in Alaska the houses of ill repute relocated themselves to the creek as the law banned this practice on land but not over water. The Madams’ were resourceful and built the new houses over the creek bed to skirt the law. Now a pedestrian tourist shopping area there is one house left that is a museum to the ladies of the night.
At the end of Creek Street there is the Tongass Historical Museum exhibiting artifacts, text and photos telling the history of this first city that was a Native fish camp, mining hub, salmon-canning capitol, fishing port and timber town.
Further along the creek inland is the Totem Heritage Center with a collecting of unrestored totem poles of the Tingit and Haida villages.
We walk back to town and make our way over to stop for a snack back at the waterfront; I purchased a Mountain Dew and a very large thick piece of Snickers chocolate fudge, YUMMY. We go out side the store to sit on a bench and eat our food while we rest as we wait for the rest of the group to exit their show, “The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show”. Still having some time until the show finishes we walk through several stores to see if I can find anything for my grandson, no luck again.
At 11:00 the show ends and we all decide to go to a little food shack on the dock next to the Visitors Center for some fish and chips. The food was vey good but expensive as it was fresh halibut caught that morning and they catered to the tourist crowds, I must say that I was not disappointed it was that good.
We head out to do some additional shopping but must be back on board by 12:30 PM so walking back down the seaside walkway I stop in one of the shops along the Promenade and there is the gift, a nice baseball style hat for the grandson.
The boat leaves for our final destination Victoria, British Columbia at 1:00 PM. So having an afternoon to rest I notice there is a show in the theater at 3:30 PM on “30,000 Years of Art History” which was fun, educational and very relaxing. I almost fell asleep during one part in the dark theater with comfy seats; I guess an old man needs a nap every so often.
We have a quiet restful dinner with everyone in the Main Dinning Room then my son , daughter-in-law and I head to the theater at 6:00 PM for a musical highlighting 3 Rock Legends; Michael Jackson, Madonna and my favorite of the 3, Elton John. It was a very good, entertaining show, which we all enjoyed.
After walking 20,359 steps in 7.5 miles and climbing 25 stories today I head back to my room after the show to rest and I fall fast asleep very quickly around 10:00 PM.
Bayeux
There is no frigate like a book To take us to lands far away, Nor any coursers like a page Of prancing poetry: This traverse may the poorest take Without oppress of toll; How frugal is the chariot That bears the human soul! Emily Dickinson
Oh my how true this is, I am one who loves mathematics, history and reading; but I dislike grammar and spelling. I loved the literary classes which entailed reading and discussing books, poems and philosophies and have enjoyed reading since I was able to understand the written word.
Reading is a wonderful way to lose oneself in the story, be it comedy, science fiction, fiction, nonfiction, detective, mystery, romance, history…….. Instead of being force-fed others preconceived ideas of the scene as depicted in movies and television, books let you use your own imagination to visualize what I had read in the words of the author.
I have always used books to explore far away places, learn of other countries history, culture and to plan where to visit. I am still a “stick in the mud old timer” who would rather have a good printed book or map in my hand than a computer or phone screen in front of me. Give me the printed word, be it a map, book or magazine, in my room in the evening, on a plane, in a train, wandering around town or country or just sitting enjoying the sunshine in the outdoors.
Mind you, I still use the computer to get updated information on places I am visiting, booking rooms, finding food establishments, seeing other travelers comments and recommendations and keeping up with family and friends, but the bookshelf of travel / history books and maps in my study has set the stage for all the adventure and exploration that has been taken by us. I hope the printed word never dies as the batteries in my phone have so I may keep reading and enjoying the stories even in the middle of nowhere with out any power source.
It is so nice to unplug from the electronic leash that we all carry today.
9-30-08 – Haarlem, by Jodi
We wake up to rain, our good, clear weather has finally run out. And of course it rains when we want to visit an outdoor museum. We walk down the 3 flights of stairs to Margot’s ‘in kitchen’ dining room for breakfast. She pulled out all the stops for her great breakfast, we didn’t know where to start. There was granola, milk, drinkable yogurt, regular yogurt, a huge basket of all kind of warm breads, jams, butters, a platter of 3 different kind of lunchmeats and 2 cheeses, a basket of wedge spreadable cheeses, a bowl of strawberries, soft boiled eggs, coffee, hot chocolate, and OJ. YUM – our best breakfast yet and we stuffed ourselves. We were glad to have such bellyful knowing we would be walking the museum all day.
Streetcar Tracks
We thanked Margot for her hospitality and drive the 2 km to the Netherlands Open Air Museum. This museum is a collection of historic buildings from all areas of the Netherlands, relocated to this wooded land to form it’s own little historic village. The buildings included mostly farm homes, windmills, businesses, a train station and roundhouse, a doctor’s office, blacksmith, milk and cheese factory, and a brewery all from different eras depicting the lifestyle from that time. The center of the town are buildings converted to be used as a bakery and restaurants to buy food. Some of the buildings had people dressed in period dress that would answer questions, it was very interesting talking to them. Other buildings were well signed in several languages explaining their history or function.
9-29-08 – Arnhem, by Jodi
Valerie put out a nice breakfast of assorted breads, croissants, jams, yogurt, coffee, hot chocolate and OJ.
Into Brussels
This was our last stay in France until we hit Paris at the end of the trip. We take our time to eat and head out for the 1-½ hour drive to our next visit in Bastogne, Belgium.
9-28-08 – Verdun, by Jodi
We are both getting very tired. We’ve had a lot of consecutive one-night stays and are on the go constantly. We are looking forward to changing gears and moving into Belgium and Netherlands for a change of scenery and some multiple night stays in nice B&Bs.
This morning we eat the hotel breakfast, not wanting to even try to find anything open on Sunday morning. Everything in France is closed on Sunday except restaurants for dinner and the churches, which is the way it should be.
Verdun road monument
The 3-½ drive is a mix of small roads and some AutoRoute. The landscape is changing to rolling wheat fields, more cows and lots of big wind turbines that power the small towns; it is good to see alternative power sources at work. The tiny villages are quaint and are typical farm towns. Other than the food they grow, where do they shop for other incidentals? All the sizable towns worth any kind of market, are not close by, they must stock up on 1-2 week runs. But, just about every town has a patisserie – shame on them if they don’t!
9-24-08 – Carcassonne, by Jodi
This morning Alain gave us yogurt, fresh croissants, homemade spice breads and jam, coffee and hot chocolate. Francois pulled out his maps and wanted to see our intended route and made some recommendations of things to see along the way as we sat and had a wonderful breakfast at the family table. Unfortunately, we knew we wouldn’t have time, but he was a wealth of information and we appreciated his time. We thanked them both for being wonderful hosts and kept his notes for our next visit. We left with them both waving goodbye to us, just like a Mom & Dad, he he!
9-23-08 – Sarlat, By Jodi
Ginette accommodated us by having breakfast ready early so we could leave by 8:30. She was such a sweet lady, constantly bringing us things and moving nice lawn furniture in front of our room to sit. She always insisted on packaging up leftover baguettes or bread at breakfast for us to take for ‘picnic’ as she would say. After about every sentence, she would say, VOILA! , so that is why I said that in the prior post. We really liked her a lot and she really knows how to pamper her quests and run a great B&B.
So, on the road, about an equal mix of small country roads and highways, as we make our way to Oradour-sur-Glane. We drive to the new town of Oradour, buy a sandwich and eat outside the entrance in a park area before touring WW2 martyred town of Oradour-sur-Glane.
9-17-08 Battlebus Tour of the Normandy D-Day Beaches and sites (photo heavy post), by Jodi
We both slept great until 6:00 am. We got ready and had our breakfast in the large dining room- baguettes, soft cheeses, homemade jams, yogurt, cereals, apple coffee cake, coffee, and OJ. Delicious!
BattleBus Tour Bus
We left the B&B and head to Bayeux city center to meet our Battle Bus tour guide and the 3 other couples sharing the full day tour. Our tour guide Allan, was a knowledgeable Brit, who has studied the Normandy invasions for 25 years and is a historical author. During the drive between stops Allan told us of local history and sites we passed relating to WWII and prior history of the area, he certainly made the drive interesting.
This trip was taken between May 22, 2014 to June 10, 2014.
Our last full day on this adventure, Monday June 9.
Well again it was not a rush to get up and we again enjoy the last of our pastries for breakfast. As it has become a wonderful habit, we jump on the S-Train to the Main Copenhagen Station.
Main Gate to Christianborg Slot
Today we are heading to Christianborg Slot, a palace built between 1907 and 1928. This was the third palace built on this site, the first being built by Absalon in 1167. The Neo-baroque tower is 106 meters tall and is still the tallest in Copenhagen. This building now the Seat of the Danish Parliament, houses the Prime Ministers Office, and also The Supreme Court; this being the only building in the world to house all 3 branches of government (executive, legislature and judicial) and the reception rooms are still in use today by the Danish Royal Family. This building must have a lot of secrets it could tell if only the walls could speak.
TVP Journeys 
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