Mazatlan

 Port #2 is Mazatlan. 

We have been to Mazatlan a few times and love to go back to our favorite hidden gem, Stone Beach. 

But first we go to town because my sister's love to go to the central market to look at the food. When you get off the ship you will get a shuttle to the entrance of the port where there are indoor shops and out door vendors. The outdoor vendor has the best tequila, but we buy some when we are coming back. My favorite?  Cinnamon tequila. I love cinnamon flavored things and know this is hard to get, and it's a reasonable price. I think I paid $36. There are other flavors available and he has plenty of samples. A few more hundred feet there is another indoor market with plenty of vendors. But you can always stop there on the way back. As soon as you head out you will see a ton of Taxis.  This is what they look like and what they are called. 

Pulmonia taxi

Only in Mazatlan will you find the Pulmonia taxi. Mazatlan's Pulmonias -- the open-air "golf cart" looking taxis -- were invented here; are unique to The Pearl of The Pacific; and make a very enjoyable way to get around Mazatlan Mexico.

They are usually around $20 to get to town. However, one of my sisters makes friends with a local and now we are following him down the block to his Pulmonia hoping we don't get into a Dateline episode. So my sister makes a new best friend and he only charges us $10 to get to town. Then we go into the local market just a few blocks from The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. 

The Mercado Pino Suarez is the main open-air market in old town Mazatlan. Easy to get there as many bus lines pass by the front or back of the market. One of the market has a number of meat vendors who have everything you might want (and probably a few things you don't, like whole pig's heads).

I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm a vegetarian and can't stand the meat smell or looking at all the dead things. So I bypass that to more interesting stalls. My sisters like to look and say "wow, look at size of those green onions!" 

I decided to check out some vendors for some slip on sandals that won't slip on water, because when I was in the Enclave on the ship, I almost bit it like 10 times. Between the small pool/jacuzzi and steam rooms the floors are pretty yet. If anyone is going to fall, it's me! And I'll probably do a cartoon fall where my legs will spin around a few times before I'm flat on my back. 

I hate to bargain! There I said it. Some people love it, some people hate it. That's why I hate car dealerships and turn into a Karen because I don't trust anyone. So there are some cute slip on sandals and the seller starts out at over $20, and I'm thinking ...Dang, I can buy these cheaper at Penneys. 😀 Since I'm not in the mood to haggle, and can't speak Spanish, I walk away and go into "3 Hermanos" a block away. It's a shoe store on the corner and I find some cheap slip on sandals for...... Wait for it........$2.50. No haggling, great price and out the door. I showed my daughter when I got home my best bargain and she said...."Oh, those are prison sandals" . 😐 In case you are wondering, they look like this. 

I wear these in the Enclave, at the beach, to the ship's pool. I definitely got my moneys worth! And I don't slip or fall anywhere. Bonus. 

Now onto Stone Island which is right by the ship. The Pulmonia's are everywhere, so $10 to get back and he drops you off at this rocky driveway. There are no signs pointing so just start walking to the right. You will see a little booth which sells tickets for $2 roundtrip. You get on a little motorboat, put on a life jacket and go across this little canal which takes about another 5 minutes. When you get off, someone will try to sell you lounge chairs and umbrella for $10  for a day. But we want to just walk down to the beach and pick a restaurant. So you turn to the left, look for the walkway, walk past a few houses and wha-lah, you are at the beach. Probably a 5 minute walk to the beach. What restaurant to pick? Well we just walk a little ways and don't want to pick the crowded one because we think it might be the ships shore excursion. So we pick a random one where the locals are. We order Margaritas, Chips and Guac, and sit back, relax and listen to the waves. 

The weather is in the 80's and we just enjoy the relaxing afternoon soaking it all in. The vendors will come to you while you are sitting at the table, but I have to say, we got the best deals there more than anywhere else. I like to buy earrings and just put them on right there. I think we all bought jewelry because it was such great prices. Even entertainment comes by and we know they are trying to make a living or just extra money and so we love to tip them to show we appreciate it. 

There are many vendors on the beach and one has these GI Joe looking action figures with a parachute looking attachment, so my one sister decides to walk down and get 3 for her grandkids. After eating, drinking, laughing, relaxing and shopping, we decide to walk back to the ship. Down to the beach, walk along the water, take the motorboat back and we decide to walk back to the ship. It's literally a couple blocks. Then into your last shopping experience and this is where we buy the tequila. Try his samples as they are very good. 

The ship has a production show called "Rock Opera" which is amazing to say the least. Princess has the best shows for sure. Tried a new drink tonight. "The Butterfly"  Changes colors as they pour it and you stir it, found at "Good Spirits at Sea" . 

#Travel #Cruise #vacaylife #podcast #Cruisingtheworldpodcast #MexicanRiveria 

Day 2/ Royal Caribbean 3 day to Ensenada Mexico

 One thing I want to add about the room, and not sure if it was just our room, but there were no USB ports. Luckily, I had my charging cord with a plug in.  I believe there was 2 outlets in the room, which most cruise cabins don’t have a lot of outlets and we usually bring a power strip. Depending on the cruise line, I am hearing that some do not allow power strips. Earlier in our cruising days, we had our teens, so we needed all those outlets, but now that it’s just me and my husband, we don’t need a power strip. So be sure to bring a plug in!

 

On Sea day’s I like to have breakfast in the MDR because I’m not rushing.  On port days, I will have breakfast in the buffet. My husband likes to have salmon on bagel, and I had egg’s benedict w/out the ham and fruit. It’s not crowded in the restaurant, so it’s enjoyable and relaxing.

Today I’m going to go on the slides because I’m the thrill seeker. There is the “Blaster” slide which is a 2-person raft, and you get the raft at the top. This was a longer line for that one and they would not allow you to go by yourself. I would have waited at the bottom for another single rider, but the line was a little long for me. (Plus, it was the early afternoon and I’m sure it’s less crowded if you go earlier). So, I decided to go on the “Riptide” which is a mat, and you hang onto the 2 handles and go head first. This line is not as long and goes fast. The water may be semi heated because it didn’t feel super cold to me. Anyways, you through this tube and parts of it are dark with neon lights and parts of the tube are clear. You are not allowed to take your phone or camera with you, just remember it in your head, ha-ha. When you are done with the ride you will hand off your mat to the next riders who carry it up the stairs. I would definitely do this again, but I didn’t want my husband to wait around all day for me.

 

The Riptide - Here I come!

We continue to discover the ship and find Mini golf at the front of the ship, and we try our hands at it. I’m someone that likes to keep active, so I want to try everything. It’s challenging, at least for me, but I still have a lot of fun doing it. I only hit the ball out of the area twice! After all this we decide to sit poolside and relax a little.

Photo ops everywhere

This is Paradise

Putt Putt Golfing around

We sit pool side for awhile and I order the “Rum Punch”, which is Spiced rum, Bacardi superior rum, guava and passion fruit syrups, pineapple juice, lime juice and a float of kraken Black Spiced Rum.  Your first sip is super strong because of the floating Kraken Rum, but after you stir it up it blends in.  I went to the El Loco Fresh and asked for 2 chips because I was going to just have chips and guacamole. When she saw I didn’t have any food on my plate, she asked for my plate and just put a plate full of chips on it. Then I went and added guac and Pico de Gallo for my own little lunch/chip and dip plate.  

Enjoying the View

Time to Relax

Putting our feet up

 

We decided to eat dinner early, which anytime dining opened around 6:45pm and we got there around 6:30pm and they seated us on the 2nd floor. That’s how I know the second floor is much nicer then the first floor. It was not crowded, and the servers were super nice, and even the head waiter came over and talked to us. He thought my husband looked like a famous chef from India and wanted to make sure it was not him. Lol. My husband had salmon again, and I had the Seafood linguine. Food does not disappoint on this cruise. I have no complaints as everything was delicious!!!

Dinner in the Main Dining Room

On to the production show which I know was booked up. The production was called Past, Present and Future, with the dancers and singers, and I always love these shows. I admire all the dancers and their hard work, everchanging costumes, great voices. Another great production show Royal!

 

We love karaoke. We are used to Princess where it is in a small type of theater style setting, and not in a bar setting. But on Royal it’s in the Cosmopolitan bar which is on the very top of the ship, and you have to take the elevator to get there (I think because I didn’t see the stairs). Anyways that started around 10:00 pm and glad we got there early so we could seats, which I would advise to do. At first no one was there, but at 10:00 I felt like someone just dropped off a busload of people because all of a sudden tons of people were filing in. Karaoke was an hour and a half, and everyone was having a great time, singing, drinking, and talking to each other. It’s more of a club scene than watching the singers. One thing for sure, Royal passengers like to have a good time!!

The view from the Cosmopolitan

#Cruise #Podcast #RoyalCaribbean #NavigatorOfTheSeas #Travel

 

 

Mexico Sister Cruise

I was fortunate enough to take a sister cruise with my 3 sisters. One had never been a cruise (really), another had only taken a cruise many years ago and didn't have a great experience, and the other had taken a cruise and was excited to take another. 

Long story short, they all had the best time and were ready to start booking cruises every year. 

We all met at the pier in San Pedro, coming from different cities, and were ready to start our adventure. It was fun seeing their faces and excitement seeing the ship for the first time, and then boarding and discovering everything. They were like little kids in a candy store.

The 4 amigas 

Being their first cruise, of course we got the sail away drinks to toast and celebrate our new adventure. 

 4 girls in a balcony cabin was a little tight but we managed. For some reason we had only 1 bunk bed, so they had to bring in a rollaway. It was so lumpy we had to put it on the floor, and guess who got stuck with it? And I'm not even the youngest!!! 

#MexicoRivieraCruise #Vacaylife #Travelingtheworld

Naples Italy

     This is my second time to Naples, Italy.  The first time I went to Positano, Sorrento and Pompei, so I wanted to try something different. I booked a "Naples Street Food and Sightseeing Tour" through Viator. 

The link below is for the Viator tour.

Naples Street Food and Sightseeing Tour through Viator

It was already 77 degrees when we started out in the morning at 8:30 a.m. It would of been about a 20-25 minute walk, but an adviser on the ship recommended the taxi for about  €15 because be warned of pick pocketing and being robbed. He didn't want to scare us, but wanted us to be cautious. However, when we got off the ship and went to the information to get to Piazza Dante, she said, "Why don't you take the metro? It's only 2 stops and € 1.20."  Well that sounded good, and being the adventurous type we decided, why not? 

The castle is right outside the pier, and we walked past it to the metro station.

Castel Nuovo often called Maschio Angioino (Italian: "Angevin Keep"), is a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall (Palazzo San Giacomo). 

We walked about a block, and someone helped us with the ticket machine, because they were not in English. He directed us which way to go, and off we went. The subway was very clean and very empty. Maybe because it was a Saturday morning. The train came in about 2 minutes and we hopped on. It took only about 5 minutes to get to our stop. We ended up in Piazza Dante, but our tour wasn't for a couple hours. We wandered around some cobblestone small streets for awhile before coming back to the square. 

With time to burn, and it being hot and muggy, we stopped for a melon granita. Anything with ice is heaven on a hot day! Then we went over to the statue to meet our guide Sara. There were 12 people in our group and off we went. She gave us a brief history lesson while the armed guards were standing close by. It's not unusual to see lot of police (mostly near churches) and armed guards around. Off to the central old part of town where all the shops and action is. 

We went to a little shop of Antonio's for an appetizer of buffalo mozzarella and eggplant. 

It was unlike any cheese I had before and it was amazing. I can still smell and taste the distinct flavor and texture. You can buy water for €1 from him, which we did because it was now in the 80's. Wish I would of brought a hydro flask.

 Then off to a small pizza place where we had "Pizza Pizza". 

Now you may be wondering what "Pizza Pizza" is. It's kind of like fried pizza with mozzarella in it that was folded over.

 

Then she came out with margherita pizza and we each had a slice of that.

Naples is known as the birth of the the pizza and they say it's almost impossible to get a bad pizza there.

 Onto the Limoncello store where they made limoncello in the back, and we got a quick tour of the limoncello process. Up at the front we had the regular limoncello shot and the "la crema", which is a milkier looking, smoother tasting limoncello. We bought both as souvenirs for ourselves to drink at home and reminisce. 

Piunicho. Rub his nose for good luck. 

By now we are stuffed! But we aren't done yet! She walks us through the streets for more history, and we rub Piunicho nose for good luck before we go to a tiny shop for gelato. We ask for no cone because it's too much. 

We go sit at a table in the shade as she says there is one more stop of bread dessert.

 She asks us if we want it now or takeaway. I can tell you that every single person said takeaway. 

It was a Great 2 hour tour, and we had such a great guide. 

When we left she gave us directions the the Metro, as now we were in a different spot totally from where we started. 

We went walking to find it, but actually didn't find it and ended up at the pier. Os instead of €30 for a taxi both ways, we spent €2.20 total. A great day as I would of never stopped at all those amazing places and tried those different foods. A great experience and I definitely recommend it to anyone.

Venice Day 1

Finally we have landed. 

It's 11:30 the next day, and we are going to try to stay up as long as we can till we crash. We decided to take a water bus to our hotel which is one of the first stops when we get to Venice. We bought our tickets from a machine/kiosk at the airport, and there is someone there to help and guide you through the process. It's  Euros for a one way ticket. I thought I would be super efficient and buy a 3 day water bus for 40 Euros while I was at the airport. This pass will get me to St. Marks Square. a ride down the Grand Canal and even get me to Murano and Burano. It's unlimited for 3 days.  Once you walk out across the way you will see little booths where you can buy these. 

Just follow the people to get to the water taxis. They will  tell you which line to get into. It was a little bit of a wait for the water taxi. So be prepared, it moves slow. It was about a 45 minute ride to our hotel Ca'Pozza which was right by the Guglia stop. This location is the northern part about a 10 minute walk to the train station and 15 minute walk to the people mover for the cruise ships. Our hotel is down one of those very narrow little alleyways at the end, but the hotel is very updated and clean. 

Ca' Pozza Hotel

The front desk is very helpful and informative. No elevator which I already knew, but I was only on the second floor, and they will help you if you need it. 

After we unpacked and settled in we decided to venture out. I made tours for the next day in case we had any problems or unexpected delays. So I thought we could go to Murano and Burano, knowing it was a short water bus ride away. Lucky us we caught the water taxi right outside our hotel to Murano, the glass blowing factory island. It was about a 15 minute or so water ride to the island. We of course started buying souvenirs in some stores, and most every store is full of Murano glass, what it is infamously known for.

I like to not bring any earrings, go into a store and buy earrings to wear out. So I bought some cute Murano Glass earrings as one of my souvenirs. It was a pretty hot day and the clouds were coming in, so asked a few people for direction to the next water boat to Burano. It's easy to get disoriented in the twisty little alleyways and streets. So we took a 35 minute boat ride to Burano which is known for lace making and pastel colored houses and store along the way. Whenever you see paintings of Italy and the multi colored painted houses it is usually Burano.

By now we are getting hungry and tired so stopped at a little restaurant for beer and pizza.

We didn't buy any lace and headed back to the boat to get back to the hotel. We were both worn out and started to nod off even

 on the boat.  We transferred to another water boat and headed to the 

hotel to crash out. I never fell so fast asleep in my whole lie. 

My wish to time travel......or just win the lotto so I can fly first class.

Flying Hacks

If only I could transport myself halfway across the world, or be like "Bewitched" and wiggle my nose and time travel myself from Los Angeles to Venice, I would be one happy traveler. 

But in reality it's a long flight averaging around 13-15 hours. The older you get, the harder it is to travel those long distances, especially when you can't go first class. Economy feels like sheer torture, and the worst part of the whole trip as far as I'm concerned. So, I'm always trying to figure out some gimmick to make my flight easier. After listening to other well seasoned travelers, I decided to try their method of doing a stop over in the middle just so I can get up and walk around and eat, move, and break it up.  I also bought a leg sling for around $10 dollars on Amazon that you can hook up to your tray table to raise your legs. It only works if you are short or short legs. If you are tall like my husband, it won't work.

But this is what it looks like. 

My husband bought an inflatable pillow that was extremely easy to pack and blow up. You can put this on your lap and rest your head on it to fall asleep. You can put your arms in the holes and cross them over. It looks like this below that you can get on Amazon. for around 20-25 dollars. 

And of course we have the neck pillows that are great for not getting neck cramps when falling asleep. One other thing we do now is book aisle seats so we can get up more. And if the person by the window needs to get up, I certainly don't mind getting up and standing till they come back. I've tried Excedrin P.M.'s to sleep when I'm on the plane, but my husband doesn't like me taking them because it makes me groggy, and had to wake me up when he said I was cuddling up to the old man sleeping next to me. (I'm pretty sure he was exaggerating). 

So geared up for our long flight we start from L.A. to New York, and leave on a morning flight at 8:00 in the a.m. That seems kind of painless, and I watch movies all the way there. Our layover is 4 hours, but I'm fine with that as we stop and eat at a restaurant in the airport. It's not the greatest food, but I wasn't expecting much anyways. 

The next leg of the trip is like a red eye flight. It leaves at 9:00 p.m. but will arrive in Venice at 11:30 a.m. the next day. I want to sleep as much a possible so get all my gear ready. Sleeping sitting up in cramped airline seats is worse than going to the dentist and having a root canal as far as I'm concerned.  I keep wishing I won the lottery just so I could fly first class all the time. I would be in heaven if I could fly international in one of those pod loungers. I'm going to keep trying.