Well, what now? We slept till we woke up (sometime around 3:00 am), and then began rummaging around for some food. It always takes a while for our appetites to adjust, as well as our sleep cycles.

Looking out from our Beijing apartment

Looking out off the balcony from our new home in Fort Worth.

Over the last week or so, the reality that we don’t have anything in front of us has begun to settle in.   The part-time nature of what I had been doing has helped me with the adjustment, but Judy is just now enjoying the moment. After years of spending our summers planning for the next school year, our planning now is turning to setting up our new lifestyle.

Looking up at our Beijing apartment building.

Looking at our building in Fort Worth.

We know we have work to do to get our condo set-up for full-time living. Until now, we’ve only been in it a few days at a time, before we would return to Beijing. We have LOTS of stuff in storage, and are increasingly aware that we don’t want most of it. We’ll have to set-up an estate sale or something.

We have to get our car titles transferred back to us from Brad & Courtney, and get the insurance in place. We need to get our iPhones setup for US use. Right now, our plan is to get new iPhones, unless we decide to wait for the new version of the phone in September.

Our Beijing shipment is scheduled to arrive at the docks in Long Beach at the end of July. I’m curious what kind of hoops we’ll have to jump through as it clears customs, and gets shipped to Texas

I guess the best way to “officially” finish up this blog would be to post a weekly update, until our stuff gets here from China, most likely near the end of August. There are bound to be some surprises as we get ourselves situated in the mean time.

We’ve got an 8:00 am flight, so we have to leave the hotel around 5:15.  I scheduled two taxis last night, hoping to guarantee we’ll have transportation.  Our six pieces of luggage, combined with Courtney’s luggage would overload a single vehicle.  The hotel had an early breakfast set-up for people like us, and we grabbed some food before departing.  The drive to the airport took about half an hour.  Check-in was smooth, and immigration and security were equally easy.  There were no crowds to speak of, especially at 6:00 am.

Our flight to Heathrow was smooth, and we arrived on time.  As we tried to figure out where our next gate was, we saw a big crowd gathered around a white board with flight updates.  Our gate had been changed, and the airport personnel at the white board were looking for people on our flight.  They grabbed us and two other couples, put us on an elevator and told us to follow the instructions of the guy on the next level.  Of course, no one was at the next level.  There was only one direction to walk, so we headed off. About a half mile later, walking down empty, deserted corridors, we saw some guy who pointed us to an elevator that took us down to a terminal area where we caught a train to our gate area. Whew!  That was a workout!

As we made our way to the gate, we were told we had been upgraded.  I hoped it was business class, but it was only up to the “extended leg-room” seats (whatever the British Airways title for those seats are).  It was still better than sitting in the really cramped sections, further back.  I had been trying to pay for upgraded seats since we first booked our flights in January, and couldn’t figure out how to get it done.  The trick British Airways has is that you can’t get an assigned seat until 24 hrs until the flight.  The only other option is to pay a sizable fee to guarantee the seats, which I had done, trying to make sure we would at least be sitting together.  Even paying in advance would only guarantee our seats in Economy.

Once on board, the flight was smooth, but long (around 10 hrs., watched lots of movies)  We arrived as scheduled, and breezed through immigration and security using “Global Entry”.  Brad picked up Judy & I.  Courtney called Uber.  We dropped Brad at his apartment and then drove on over to our condo.  We moved our suitcases in, and began the process of unpacking.  It didn’t take long for the excitement of being home to wear off, and the exhaustion of over 3 weeks of travel, touring, and jet lag to knock us out.  Our “China Experience” is officially over.

This is what our packing situation looked like when we departed DFW, July 27, 2013, headed for Beijing.

This is what we looked like when we arrived back at DFW, July 14, 2015. The rest of our stuff is “on a slow boat from China”, scheduled to arrive sometime near the end of August.

Judy always said she wanted to spend some time on a Greek island when she retired. Today is the day. We taxied over to the harbor and boarded a “Flying Dolphin” ferry. It has a hydrofoil that lifts the boat out of the water when it gets up to speed. It cuts the time to the island in half (about 45 minutes).

Our destination is Aegina. We had been asking around (concierge, taxi drivers, etc.) getting opinions on the best island to visit. There are 3 nearby islands, but Aegina seemed to be the only island with beaches with sand. We weren’t interested in crawling around on rocks, trying to get to the water, so Aegina is it.

We arrived, and began walking around, trying to figure out what to do. I had done some homework and knew the name of a couple of beaches. We found an empty taxi, gave the driver the name of one of the beaches, and off we went. It was a small beach, with chairs, and umbrellas, and a small café/restaurant nearby. The beach had sand and the water was great. We got to the beach around 8:30, and stayed until 3:00. The food was cheap, and the waiters were quick and helpful. We had a blast!

A line outside one of the banks on the island.

A beautiful morning!

Later in the day, things began to pick up a little.

Looking back into the hills from the beach restaurant.

The beach restaurant.

Looking out toward the beach

Waiting on the taxi, heading back to the harbor

Checking out the harbor area

Main Street Aegina

Pulling out of the harbor on the ferry.

Athens, off in the distance.

A taxi took us back to the harbor area in time to do some shopping, sample some Greek coffee and ice cream, before boarding our ferry back to Athens. It was a quick trip back to the ferry port, and there were lots of taxis available to get us back to the hotel. We packed for our flights back to the US, while watching the CNN reports on the status of the Greek financial crisis. We’re relieved to find out the country isn’t going to collapse tonight, and we should be able to fly out tomorrow. Whew! What a relief! We’re ready to get home.

We met Brad & Glenda at breakfast before they headed out to the airport for the flight back to DFW.  They decided to catch the hotel shuttle to the airport at 9:30.  The flight isn’t until 1:00, but with all their problems coming over, they wanted to arrive early and try to get ahead of any trouble.  Glenda had read that the Toronto Airport was struggling with labor issues, and Air Canada had to cancel over 200 flights the day they were trying to get to Barcelona.

We found out when we got home that their hotel “shuttle to the airport” was really a shuttle for 5 minutes over to the nearby train station where they had to catch a train to the airport.  It took them a while to figure it out, but they made it to the airport, and their flights to Toronto and then DFW were problem free.

We really didn’t have much of a plan for the day.  I originally thought we would be on the Hop-On / Hop-Off Bus, but we saw so much of the city on the Segway tour, none of us were that interested in getting on a hot bus for the day.  One site I definitely wanted to visit was Lycabettus Hill, the highest point in Athens.  We took a taxi from the hotel, and were dropped at the funicular (train) at the base of the hill.  We climbed aboard, and made the ride to the top.  The views of the city were great.  It’s one big sea of white buildings spread out to the horizon.  We enjoyed some snacks in a café before coming back down and catching a taxi back to the hotel. 

It’s been interesting being in Athens in the middle of the financial crisis.  There are lines of people at the ATM’s, and lots of protest signs posted around.  I’ve been talking to the taxi drivers about their opinions.  One of our drivers said today that nobody really believes what their political leaders are telling them, and that somewhere, someone is making a lot of money.

We relaxed in the hotel, enjoying the pool, waiting for the sun to settle a little before we went back out.  We wanted to explore some of the market areas and see what kind of things the Greeks were selling.  We took a taxi to Monistiraki Square where I chased down my “Athens” Starbucks mug and then began looking through all the shops.  Judy and Courtney both found shoes, and I was about to get a pair of leather sandals myself.  The sales staff said we’d get a discount for buying several pair, but when the “big boss” came over to check us out, there was no discount.  I handed him back the sandals and we walked out.  We got to experience some of the Greek anger and stubbornness as we left.  Judy eventually got her sandals, but the “big boss” experienced some of my stubbornness and lost a sale in the process.

Twirling a little fire

We found a nice restaurant with outdoor seating where we could “people-watch” and eat “greek”.  We enjoyed the evening as it cooled before we headed back to hotel to prepare for our adventures tomorrow. 

It’s sad that the cruise has to end, but we have a full day ahead of us.  Since we’re spending tonight in Athens, we decided to take an excursion off the boat that toured us around, then dropped us off at our hotel.  The tour began with a drive around Athens.  We eventually made it to the Acropolis, which is a sight to behold.  The way the hill sits above the rest of the town with the Parthenon is breathtaking when we first see it.  As we discover during our stay here, wherever we are, the Acropolis always seems to be visible.

Video Link – Acropolis

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5p3gtrg60idltq5/15.7.11.Acropolis.m4v?dl=0

The port of Pireas, docking for Athens.

One of the stadiums used for the Olympic Games in 2004

We take the tour up to the top.  It included a short climb.  They turned us loose for 45 minutes.  We scurried around through the crowds, trying to see everything, and take our pictures.  The views of the city are great.  Everywhere you look, there are sites with ancient ruins.  I can’t imagine trying to restore and maintain all of it, with the crowds all day in such close proximity.

Video – City View from the Acropolis

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tk1mszd9ykmp2f6/15.7.11.City%20view.m4v?dl=0

Near the top, about to enter the gates.

The city of Athens runs out to the horizon.

After our tour finishes, they dropped us at our hotel.  The rooms weren’t ready yet, so we ate lunch and killed a little time in the coffee shop area until we got our keys.  We unpacked with plans to meet up around 7:30pm for our trip to the Segway shop and our “Athens Night Tour”.

Looking out our hotel window at the Acropolis on a distant hill.

The Segway “Athens Night Tour”, was one of the highlights of our entire trip over the last 3 weeks.  We saw lots of beautifully lit ruins and watched the sun set from “Mars Hill”.  Our guide toured us through several large crowded market areas and city squares, and then to the 11:00 pm changing of the guard at the Parliament Building (guard changes every hour, 24/7).

Segway Video Segment

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mgv1utmg17a0wrb/15.7.11.Segway.Athens.m4v?dl=0

Making a trial run

Sunset from “Mars Hill”

Judy & Courtney watching the sunset

Video – Parliament Guards changing (check out the crazy step.)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uxqvvelx394ehmr/15.7.11.Guards.m4v?dl=0

We certainly got our money’s worth, as well.  The tour started at 8:00pm and it was nearly 11:20 when we got back to the office.  Everyone was hungry, so we found a nice café with outdoor tables nearby.  It was a great way to end our cruise, all of us together, enjoying a relaxing meal in Athens, with the Acropolis as a backdrop.

THURSDAY, 7/9/15

REST, REST, REST! That’s what I’m craving. Slept late, had breakfast, then I began looking for places where I could RELAX! I found some nice places to sit, and watch the ocean go by, while catching up on a ton of writing. The blog writing isn’t so hard, but sorting through all the pictures, getting rid of the junk, and deciding which ones I want to use, takes the majority of the time. Some of the excursion days, we took over 250 pictures.

Sunset on our day off.

I’m going to miss all the activity when our “China Experience” ends next week, but I don’t think I’m going to miss all the writing. It sometimes feels like “homework”. I know that no one makes me do it, but it’s a project I started, and I want to see it to the “finish line”. The “finish line” is in sight.

FRIDAY, 7/10/15

Chania, Crete, is our port today. It’s actually a large island that’s a part of Greece. The excursion we decided to take was a half-day trip to the beach. We had a nice time, holding down some beach chairs, and enjoying an occasional dip in the cool waters of the Mediterranean.

The port of Souda, access point for Chania, Crete.

Walking around the ship before our morning on the beach.

This is a fountain play area, similar to the fountain play areas in lots of cities.

GRASS? Grass on a cruise ship, and a lot of it.

The beach area near Chania (pronounce “Hanya”).

Crete in our rearview mirror.

Back at the ship, we began the process of packing for our departure from the ship tomorrow. If you’ve cruised before, you know the routine. We had to pack everything except a small carry-on for the things we might need tomorrow. I’m glad we’re not flying out tomorrow. It makes the packing a little easier.

Four consecutive days of excursions is tough, especially in this heat. We woke up this morning in the Port of Salerno. I’m on an excursion touring sites on the Amalfi Coast (I couldn’t have told you what that was before today). Brad and Glenda decided to do a 5 ½ mile hike up and down Mt. Vesuvius, including a tour of Pompeii. They’re officially crazy! Judy and Courtney stayed on board to enjoy the ship all day. We’ve been so busy since we boarded Saturday, we haven’t seen much of the ship besides the eating spots and where we sleep. I’m looking forward to an “at sea” day tomorrow.

Looking back at the port of Salerno as we pull away on our ferry to Capri.

The Amalfi Coast, as we cruise by on our way to Capri

My group disembarks from the ship, and boards a bus that takes us around the harbor to a smaller ferry for a short cruise to the island of Capri. After an hour cruise, we arrive in the port, going immediately to a funicular (steep train) that takes us to the town of Capri. We get a brief description of the island from our guide, and are led to a small garden with some wonderful panoramas. It’s a tiny island, but we’re told it’s very exclusive. Judging from the names on the shops on the streets, I would agree. Lots of very ritzy brands.

The Isle of Capri

Looking across the harbor as we sail in.

This is one of the “famous” views from the garden.

Another shot from the garden.

Looking down toward the city.

Along the harbor

Near the city square, up on the hill.

After our visit to Capri, we board another ferry to Sorrento, another beautiful little town. We get a tour of a shop specializing in making gorgeous inlaid wood table and boxes, and then have free time to tour the town before they take us to lunch.

Arriving in Sorrento

Looking across the Sorrento harbor area as we arrive.

The Sorrento city center.

The shop where they displayed the inlaid wood table designs. All these designs were hand cut and pieced together from various types of woods. There was some very detailed, intricate work involved.

Our meal is relaxing and filling with some tasty Italian food. Afterwards we board a bus to Pompeii, about an hour drive. The ruins are amazing. I was most surprised by the size of the city, and how well it’s been preserved (considering the manner of it’s demise). After our visit, we bus back to the ship for some rest and dinner, as the ship departs the port.

Looking back on Sorrento as we drive away.

Driving from Sorrento to Pompeii

Entering Pompeii

Vesuvius in the background

Looking across temple square. Vesuvius was a prominent view from the city. It’s still considered active, last having an eruption sometime in the 40’s.

Looking back as we exit the city.

Looking down on the current city of Pompeii as we walk out of the ancient ruins.

HUGE lemons (almost the size of grapefruits), in one of the cafes near the entrance to the ruins

Some of the apartments as we drove back into the port area of Salerno.

ROME! I’m really excited about this excursion, but dreading the heat. We have another early departure, meeting our excursion at 7:20 am. After an hour and a half drive to the city center of Rome, we unload at the Coliseum.

It’s an impressive site, especially when we get inside. The crowds are equally impressive. There are many long lines. Thankfully, we were able to move over to a “fastpass” lane for groups.

After the Coliseum visit, we drove through town and saw some of the important sites, arriving at the Trevi Fountain. We made a short visit to the fountain, as it in the middle of a restoration project. We can see a lot of it, but there is no water.

After the fountain visit, we did a little more sightseeing from the bus enroute to lunch. We had a nice lunch, building our energy for the visit to the Vatican.

We get off the bus and walked in to the Vatican Museum. It’s hot, but our tickets get in us quickly. I don’t know how the people standing in line, outside in the sun, can do it. There are many impressive statues and pieces of art, everywhere. We’ve been hearing a lot about Michelangelo, and there’s lots of his work on display here. The Vatican Museum tour ends in the Sistene Chapel. It’s as impressive as you’ve heard. What a masterpiece of concept and design!

After the chapel, we went into the Basilica. We’ve seen some great cathedrals in the last week, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, and the Milan Cathedral yesterday. They don’t match up to the sheer size and volume of design and art that is everywhere in this building. For me, the Sistene Chapel, and the Basilica make any hot, sweaty, uncomfortable moments, totally worth it to get to see these buildings.

After the Basilica, we walked to our bus. I was dreading boarding, after the heat we suffered yesterday in Milan on our trip home. YEA!!! The A/C works pretty well. It took a while to cool off, but when it finally did, it was great! Back home, we showered, rested, had a great dinner, and began to prepare for Day 4 of our excursions.

We woke up early this morning in Genoa, Italy. The excursion Courtney, Judy, and I scheduled is a visit to Milan, and meets at 7:20, so we have to get up and going really early. Brad and Glenda decided to do a half-day tour of Genoa, and it meets a little later in the day. It’s a two-hour bus ride, but we get a good view of the Italian countryside.

Early morning as we pull into Genoa.

Castle entry

We arrive in Milan at a large castle in the old center of town. Our guide gives us the pocket history of Milan from the time of the Roman emperors, while we tour the castle grounds. Afterwards, we stroll toward the downtown area and the famous Cathedral of Milan. The weather forecast was for hot weather, and they didn’t miss the mark. It’s hot!!! We ultimately make it down the street learning more of the history. We walked by La Scala, and ended up in the square in front of the Milan Cathedral. I remembered this square and cathedral from my visit to Milan with the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra in the summer of ’69.

La Scala

We get free time to visit the area, and eat lunch. By the time we sat down for lunch, we were beat. The heat was brutal. After a long rest we toured the cathedral. It was over eighty years in construction, and massive. I was impressed when I visited in ’69, and wasn’t let down this time. Wow! After we met the group back out on the square, we walked back to the castle where we met the bus for the drive home. The bus was hot when we climbed on, and never really cooled down. Judy used her fan most of the 2 hour trip home. I’m not sure what the problem was, but it was too hot for a bus to not have better A/C.

Milan City Square

Back at the ship, we showered, ate dinner, and began to prepare for tomorrow’s excursion to Rome. They’ve been talking a lot about the heat, and today was just a “warm-up”……Bigger cathedral, and bigger heat!

Thankfully, the ship docks around 9:30, so our excursion doesn’t depart until 10:00am, allowing us to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. We’re docked in the port of Cannes, France, site of the big movie festival. The dock isn’t large enough to handle our ship so we have to board smaller “tenders” to get to shore. Once on shore, we board a coach bus and start driving through town. Our guide shows us a few sites around town, mostly related to exclusive hotels and celebrity hotspots when the festival is in town. We also saw some huge yachts in the harbor.

One of the tenders, heading into the dock

Our ship, Equinox, anchored in the Port of Cannes

We drove along the coast to Nice, another French Riviera town. There is some beautiful coastal scenery. After arriving around 11:15, we get a short walking tour through a market area and then they turn us loose for a couple of hours to wander, eat, shop, or whatever. We saw some big yachts in Cannes, but this harbor has some even larger yachts, and many, many more of them. Our group split up, with Judy and I doing a couple of short walks with brief stops at cafes for coffee, smoothies, and a sandwich. I intended to eat the sandwich on the bus, but it didn’t get that far. We had too much fun people-watching from our café seats, and my sandwich gradually disappeared. Courtney contributed to the Nice economy with a purchase of shoes, and Brad & Glenda walked the beach (it’s rocks, not sand?) and the streets, enjoying the sites.

Some of the coastal scenery

One of the rocky Nice beaches

Down the beach

The next portion of our trip took us along the coast, arriving at the 2^nd smallest sovereign country, the Principality of Monaco. Monaco is slightly over 2 square kilometers, and is divided into 4 districts/regions. Most everyone knows about the district of Monte Carlo, with it’s Grand Casino (didn’t get near it). Our bus dropped us off on “the Rock”, or Roche, where the palaces, and cathedrals are located. We thought there were large yachts in Nice, but the yachts in the Harbor of Monaco dwarfed the other boats we’ve seen. HUGE BOATS!!!! There is lots of “discretionary” income being spent in Monaco.

Palace of Monaco

Harbor of Monaco

Looking back up toward “The Rock”

The views were breathtaking as we drove in, and from our vantage point up on the rock. We were turned loose on the town for almost 3 hours. We ate lunch, and then I went on a search for a Starbucks where I could pick up a mug to add to my collection. I felt a little stupid walking around Monaco, with all it’s beauty, traditions, and history, asking for directions to Starbucks, but how else was I going to get my mug?

We arrived back to the ship around 6:00, ready for a shower, and dinner. When they talk about the French Riviera or “the south of France”, I’ve heard many times the phrase, “sun-drenched”. It always sounds so relaxing and comforting. This time of year, however, it means “really hot”. There is a heat wave in effect, and today was our first taste of “sun-drenched”. Combined with the humidity, the sweat factor was really high today.