Month: April 2017

April 30, 2017 Paul Groves

Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida Our first day at Walt Disney World was spent at the Animal Kingdom. It’s iconic symbol is the Tree of Life which looks pretty small in photos, but is actually huge and the trunk is made up of interlaced sculptures of different animals. It is worth staring at…

April 30, 2017 Paul Groves

Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida Ron and I are both fans of J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter books so we could not pass up an opportunity to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We were here several years ago and saw Hogsmeade, but they had just announced that they were working on another portion…

April 29, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 111 of 111. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida The last morning on the ship was full of moist eyes and details with which to deal. Our “breakfast club” got a picture one last time. As we said good bye at the end of the meal, the fact that we were all going our separate ways hit…

April 23, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 108 of 111. Atlantic Ocean We are halfway through the seven day journey from Europe back to North America. Our Grand World Voyage is coming to an end and everyone is a little sad, a little nostalgic, and a little glad to get back home. I heard one person describe the feeling as, “It’s…

April 19, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 104 of 111. Funchal, Madeira Our final foreign port on this Grand World Voyage is the city of Funchal on the island of Madeira. Our excursion first took us to the highest cliff in Europe (and the second highest in the world), Cabo Girao. Of course, they have built a glass-bottom vista point at…

April 17, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 102 of 111. Rabat, Morocco After we finished our tour of Casablanca, we traveled further up the coast to Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. After visited the royal compound, we went to a Moroccan restaurant for lunch called Le Ziryab. When the waiter brought us water, he asked “Distilled” or “Gas”? That kind…

April 17, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 102 of 111. Casablanca, Morocco There is a region in the older part of the city called the Habous Quarter, kind of a marketplace or city center. We walked through some small streets lined with carpet sellers, a few souvenir shops, and cafes. We visited a very fascinating small cul de sac with about…

April 17, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 102 of 111. Casablanca, Morocco Of course, the first place that comes to mind when you say Casablanca is Rick’s Cafe from the movie, Casablanca. Rick’s Cafe is fictional, but there IS a cafe built especially for tourists. I can see now the strategic importance of Casablanca. The city is on the continent of…

April 16, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 101 of 111. Cadiz, Spain After our overland trip to Madrid, we met the ship in Cadiz on the west coast of Spain in the early afternoon. We had a few hours to explore the town which was within walking distance of the port. We visited Cadiz on Holy Saturday. In this predominantly Catholic…

April 15, 2017 Paul Groves

Ron took a tour of the cathedral that is visible from outside the city. In the Sacristy or robing room of the church you can see an El Greco painting, “El Expolio” or “The Disrobing of Christ”. The gold structure is called the “Monstrance” and is the vessel in which the Eucharist is carried during…