Portugal Rivers of Gold with Viking River Cruise Trailer!

This trailer features "Portugal Rivers of Gold" with Viking River Cruises. Sailing the Douro River and featuring highlights of our cruise. More videos to come! 

Happy travels,

~ Cindy 

#MyVikingJourney #VikingOsfrid #ZamsZanyTravels

Sailing Up the Douro River....Our Journey Continues...

Viking River Cruise Portugal Rivers of Gold has been one of the most scenic river cruises we have taken. We traversed several locks and viewed exquisite vineyards and olive groves along the riverbanks. Enjoy a few moments of our cruise along the Douro River! Perhaps it will be your new destination!

Happy travels,

~ Cindy

#ZamsZanyTravels #MyVikingJourney

Quinta da Aveleda...Winery and Garden Tour

Quinta da Aveleda is an optional tour on Viking River Cruises “Portugal Rivers of Gold.” The gardens are so beautiful and we were able to sample some wines and learn about their history at this historic estate. 

Aveleda estate has been owned by the Guedes family for centuries. The estate is surrounded by well-manicured gardens and rustic architecture. There are many rare species of trees. The weather was perfect and we really enjoyed the gardens.

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Sailing Up the Douro River aboard the Viking Osfrid!

The Douro River is simply one of the most scenic European rivers I have ever sailed. Vineyards and olive groves beckon to us with their beautiful terracing and intricate landscape patterns. It's been truly a lovely experience aboard the Viking Osfrid. The crew are fabulous even when we had a few missteps with the air conditioning and no hot water the second morning of our embarkation. Meeting new friends  and traveling with old friends is always fun and interesting. 

Viking River Cruises, Portugal Rivers of Gold itinerary, is one that is very popular and scenic. And the excursion options are varied and allow for more exploration into the countryside and meeting the people that live in these rural areas along the river. 

All in all, it's a cruise I would recommend.

Happy travels,

~ Cindy

#MyVikingJourney

Picnicking in Marialva with a Castle to explore...

Sailing the Douro River with Viking River Cruises' Portugal Rivers of Gold itinerary offers some wonderful excursions. One in particular that we really enjoyed was an optional excursion in Barca d’Alva, Portugal. We enjoyed a lovely picnic in the vineyards and a tour of the Marialva Castle. There were six in our tour which made for a wonderful intimate setting for all. Many Portuguese dishes were shared along with some local wine. Rose was my favorite. It was very peaceful and delightful! 

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Portugal Rivers of Gold: Visits to Batalha & Fatima!

Traveling in Portugal has been a delightful experience. We were aboard the Viking Osfrid with their "Portugal Rivers of Gold" itinerary. Two  stops we made while traveling from Lisbon to Porto was at Batalha and Fatima. These are two of Portugal's most important religious sites.

Batalha is home to the Santa Maria da Vitoria Monastery. This beautiful 14th century complex was built in the Gothic and Manueline styles over the reign of seven kings from 1386 to 1517. We witnessed the Changing of the Guard during our visit.

Fatima was our second stop along our route to the ship in Porto. We visited the sacred shrine of Mary. This was where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in 1917. The Basilica was stunning and had a very ornate interior. We visited the chapel that marks the exact location of the Marian apparitions.

We saw two pilgrims walking on their knees to the chapel as a promise to the Virgin Mary. One had knee pads on and the other was obviously having a very difficult time as she continued her pursuit.

Justin and I left intercessions for the healing of myself and good health for our family. It's been important to us to visit religious sites on our travels and to pray for me to regain my health. 

These were very moving visits for us both and ones that should not be missed.

Happy travels to all,

~ Cindy 

#MyVikingJourney

Road Trip Abroad in France and England...

European adventures were new to us back in 2013. We decided to have a real adventure and planned over three weeks in France and England.

We arrived in Paris in early September and explored Notre Dame. You'll see a few photos at the beginning of the slideshow  of this magnificent cathedral. The Opera House was beautiful and we used the subway a lot while in Paris. Sainte Chapelle was another highlight of our time in Paris. 

Our high speed train to Caen was fun and we rented a car to drive to Ducey, France. Lovely area with lots of medieval history. Mont St. Michel was a highlight for our time in this area. 

Our final destination was London, England where we spent a week exploring. 

These are just a few highlights of our trip that I found when searching for photos of Notre Dame. 

More travels ahead...happy travels to all!

~ Cindy 

First cruise ever...to Alaska with the Princess Sapphire!

Selecting a cruise company for the first time is probably not always an easy decision. There are so many options out there today but one thing we knew for sure was that we wanted to see Alaska. 

Being retired from teaching for a year, we began to plan our Alaskan cruise. I read up on the different cruise lines and decided that we should try Princess. We booked their "11 Night Denali Explorer" aboard the Sapphire Princess for August 11, 2012. This was our very first cruise and we were hoping to make it memorable.

We booked a balcony stateroom and were excited about the opportunity to see all the majestic beauty of the Inside Passage and Alaskan towns. What we didn't know was that Princess had generously upgraded us to the Penthouse Suite Juneau! I guess all those added notes to our reservation must have helped. I'd mentioned that it was our wedding anniversary and our very first cruise ever! Princess' marketing department definitely had a hand in our upgrade. We were absolutely thrilled with our new and spacious stateroom.

We set sail from Vancouver and headed first to Ketchikan where we walked through the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary, a private reserve at Herring Cove. We saw many bald eagles, a salmon hatchery, Alaska reindeer, and toured the historic Herring Bay Lumber Company saw mill where a Native totem-pole carver was at work. I think the best part was the crab feast! We had an all you can eat Dungeness crab feast! I highly recommend their "Rainforest Wildlife Sanctuary Walk & Crab Feast."

Our next destination was the Mendenhall Glacier & Whale Quest. Breathtaking natural beauty surrounded us during this excursion. We saw lots of whales including humpback and killer. 

Skagway was our next stop and a ride on the White Pass Scenic Railway provided us with some beautiful scenery as well as the magnificent White Pass Summit.  There's a lot of Gold Rush history in this region.

During our land portion of the trip, we stopped at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. During my teaching days as a reading teacher, I taught the novel "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen. It's a wonderful novel of Gary's experience with the Iditarod. We were fortunate enough to be able to meet Jeff King, an Iditarod winner several times, during his Husky Homestead Tour. The dogs were wonderful to see and holding a new pup was the perfect ending to our visit. 

These are just a few highlights of our trip....the video hopefully captures our cruise and the fun we had on the trip. 

Alaska was the perfect beginning to our cruise explorations. We've been going strong ever since.

Happy travels to all...

~ Cindy 

Escape from Chicago's Polar Vortex to Turks & Caicos!

Escaping the Polar Vortex in Chicago was not an easy task. But the vision of a much warmer climate made us determined to get out of town and hustle down to Turks & Caicos!

Turks had been on my radar for a few years. Justin saw an article in a travel magazine that the beaches were extraordinary and that did it for me. We decided to give the island a year to recover from that horrendous hurricane last year and we were not disappointed.

Our home base was an easy choice. Serene Villa with owners Clay and Pamela Perry made us feel right at home and their island management company, Island Escapes, was simply amazing at follow-up to make sure our stay was perfect. Our two bedroom, two bath Villa was shared with our friends, the Kiraly's.  

Serene Villa is across the street from Sapodilla Bay and just overlooking our balcony is Chalk Sound. Two kayaks along with snorkel equipment were provided for our adventure, but we brought our own snorkel equipment. 

Our first night's dinner was at Las Brisas which is just a few steps from our Villa. Very good food and they also serve breakfast and lunch. A few other dining options we explored were Mango Reef, Bugaloo's, and the Thursday Fish Fry on Grace Bay.

Atelys was one shopping excursion I had to make. I'd read about her shop on Trip Advisor and enjoyed looking around her shop. I finally settled on a lovely pair of Larimar earrings which Julie had found.

One excursion which was so much fun was our Champagne Sunset Cruise. Sailing on a Catamaran which had just the right amount of guests was a delight. We sampled fried conch fritters, fried fish strips, chicken wings and strips. Mixed drinks, soda, water, and champagne also flowed very freely. That crew was wonderful as we climbed aboard the vessel from Grace Bay Beach. Wading out into ankle deep sea water or deeper, in some instances, was interesting.

Be sure to visit Turk's Head Brewery when you're on the island. We took the brewery tour and had two flights of brew per couple for only $15 per person. Very tasty beer and of course, it's not exported. If it were, Justin would be purchasing "I Ain' Gonna Lie!"

It was a lovely respite from the cold winter winds and of course we returned to chilling weather and ice storms. Warmer weather is coming....I just have to be patient.

Until next time....Portugal is coming soon!

Happy travels to all,
~ Cindy

Viking Sea Tribute to the Beatles & Abba....

Traveling the seas with Viking is always an adventure. Our most recent trip was aboard the Viking Sea where we enjoyed a very good musical tribute to the Beatles and Abba with their onboard entertainment musicians. I hope that we will see them again on a future Viking voyage. They were all very personable and entertaining. 

Enjoy a few minutes of their last production number...A Tribute to the Beatles and Abba!

Happy Travels,

~ Cindy

#MyVikingStory

The Great Viking Cook-Off Aboard the Viking Sea.....

If you’re looking for a fun time, be sure to watch the Great Viking Cook-Off when aboard a Viking Ocean Cruise. Hilarious antics prevail as two teams, the red and green peppers, have a spirited cook-off to see which can come up with the best three dishes. All of this happens with our Executive Chef, Eric,  overseeing the event in the Star Theater. Enjoy a truly witty and fun event!

Happy travels,
~ Cindy

#MyVikingStory

Sailing in the Sanguenay Fjord and Spotting Whales.....

Sailing in the Saguenay Fjord was quite beautiful to see pine and birch trees lining the shoreline along with jagged rocks. The highlight of our sail in the fjord was seeing the whales! We saw some Beluga and we think, Minke whales. 

Saguenay is a region in Quebec, Canada. The little town we visited today was founded in 2002 when they combined two or three towns into one. The population in this area is about 20,000 according to our taxi driver.

We are here tonight until 8:30 p.m. and then set sail for Quebec City. Our cruise is nearly over and it’s been most enjoyable. Sailing with Viking is alway first class and their stellar crew makes sure that we are taken well care of. 

Happy travels to all,

~ Cindy

#MyVikingStory #VikingOcean #VikingSea #InTheWakeoftheVikings

The North Coast....St. Anthony Newfoundland...

Weather has been a bit of an issue for us on this trip. The North Atlantic hasn’t been a very agreeable  partner. The Viking Sea, once again, had to change ports because of weather and tendering obstacles. Instead of landing in L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, we have dropped anchor in St. Anthony, Newfoundland. It’s proven to be a much smoother transition to our “The North Coast” excursion.

We opted for an optional tour and decided to go with the Alcock family’s Cape Islander fishing boat tour. There were 47 passengers on our boat and we quickly headed out to sea passing huge granite rock formations and birds perched high in their nests.

Dolphins were the creature of the day. Several pods with upward of 30 white nose dolphins greeted us and played happily around our boat. No whales were spotted as most have migrated and others were much further out to sea where it was much too rough for our little boat to venture. It was a very enjoyable yet chilly two hour tour.

Happy travels to all,

~ Cindy

#MyVikingStory