11.13.19 Launceston, Tasmania

We had a simple morning at the hotel so I could catch up on work. Then we headed to the airport for our Virgin Australia flight to Launceston. I adore Virgin Australia. Planes are comfortable. People are nice. I also enjoy how the Melbourne airport lets people know they need to chill out:

The options are basically:
You missed your flight.
Your flight is boarding.
RELAX. Stay away from the gate. Have a snack.

Our flight was easy. Launceston airport is small so we got our rental car and baggage and headed out. Glenn is doing a terrific job driving on the left side of the road. I got a little flustered giving directions.

We checked in to our accommodations: CBD Apartment hotel. It's a unit with three apartments. It's recently remodeled and clean. I'm not sure I'm sold yet on staying in apartments versus hotels, but we'll give it a try. We relaxed for a bit and then headed out to Saint John Craft Beer bar for dinner and then to the Bottle Shop to buy some Australian wines. It was an early night back at the apartment watching Hulu. We've learned it's good to build in rest days for me to catch up on work and just relax.

Today, we are heading out to explore Launceston.

11.9.19 - 11.12.19 Melbourne Australia

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Seven years after our first visit, we headed back to Melbourne Australia to start a two week trip that will include a 10 night road trip around Tasmania.


We flew from Tampa to Denver to SFO to Melbourne. The whole journey took about 28 hours. We booked Economy Plus on United and upgraded to First Class on the first leg at check in. It was some of the worst service we’ve ever had on a flight. The First Class leg to Denver was the worst. The flight attendants served meals, one drink and then sat for the rest of the 4 hour flight. The SFO to Melbourne flight featured two flight attendants who seems to take a joy in ramming into mine and Glenn’s shoulders that were peeking out into the aisle. We both are now having shooting pains due to the repeated hitting. Shockingly, the other flights attendants and passengers had no problem avoiding our shoulders. The worst was at midnight when they slammed into us and then loudly asked if anyone wanted a sandwich. Then, they shined flashlights around the cabin to see who was awake and wanted one. We aren’t looking forward to the flight home.

Otherwise, the flight was uneventful and on time. A few things really helped me:

-        Breathe Oil. It’s like Vick’s Vapor Rub. I rub a little bit under my nose and it fends off the congestion I usually get on a long flight.

-        Rose Hydrating Spray. When my skin started to feel dry, I’d spritz some on my face. It worked really well.

-        A small lotion – Also a great tool to fight the dry air.

-        I got up every couple hours and walked around.

-        I focused on sleeping a couple hours at a time by watching movies I’d seen before.

-        Pillow at the small of my back. This really helped my posture.

Next time, I’ll bring saline eye drops because my eyes got really dry.

 When we arrive in Melbourne, we had car service waiting for us. We headed to the hotel – Ibis Budget Melbourne CBD. Our room wasn’t ready so we walked down to Charles Dickens Pub to grab lunch. I had delicious lemon pepper calamari and an arugula salad. Glenn enjoyed his burger.  Our room was ready when we got back. It was a very simple room with two twin beds and a private bathroom in a great location. We cleaned up and then headed out to join our walking tour.

We pre-booked Booze Makes History Better Tour. We usually book a walking tour for the afternoon of our arrival if we have an overnight flight to keep us going. This tour covered the main area of downtown. We visited two rooftop bars (Madame Brussel’s), a pop up bar (Park), and a specialty cocktail bar (The Croft Institute).

The Croft Institute - It's themed after a chemistry lab gone wrong.

It was very fun. The other 6 guests were all from different areas of Australia so we had fun listening to them compare their different areas of the country. After the tour, we were very tired to headed to bed.

On the 12^th, we pre-booked The Great Ocean Road tour. The Great Ocean Road is the world’s largest war memorial. It was built as project for returning servicemen from World War 1 to have something to do when they returned. It’s split into three regions: Surf, Green and Shipwreck.

In the surf region, we stopped at one of the popular surfing beaches in Torquay and enjoyed the scenic drive long the coast.

We stopped to take a photo at the Arch. 

We saw koalas. This was a funny part of the tour. On the tour description, it said guaranteed koala sighting. Glenn and I assumed this meant we were going to a refuge or zoo. Nope. We pulled up to a neighborhood, walked up a random road and looked for koalas. We saw three.

That blob hanging out where the branch meets the tree is a koala.

We had a delicious lunch at a Seafood Company in Apollo Bay.

In the Green Area, we went to Melba Gulley for a walk in the rain forest. It is a cool climate rain forest. The temperature dropped as we went further into the forest.  It also hailed. We saw the world’s only carnivorous snail and the second largest tree variety – the Mountain Ash strain of eucalyptus.

In the Shipwreck Area, we visited the Twelve Apostles. It was so insanely windy. It had to have been 100 km/hour winds (56 mph).

We also went to Loch Ard Gorge – an incredible area of cliffs and beach.

 

 

On the way back to Melbourne, we stopped at a little town for dinner. We found a Vietnamese restaurant. Pho was perfect for the cold day. I'll let Glenn share the story of that dinner on his blog: https://www.yourgastronomyguide.blogspot.com


 

 

12.30.18 Holland America Rotterdam

Our cruise had a bit of a late start. Fog closed the port of Tampa. Our boarding time shifted from 1 pm to 9:30 pm. We were on board around 10:30 pm.

We had a late night snack as the buffet and a cocktail and headed to bed.

New Year's Eve - We were supposed to go to Key West, but that was cancelled and we spent the night in Tampa. We got room service breakfast and worked for the morning. Muster drill was at 10 am and we set sail at 11 am. We had lunch at Dive In Burgers.  

Then, Glenn worked and I went up to the Crow's Nest to enjoy the view heading under the bridge.

 Glenn joined me for happy hour. We also went to Sip and Savor. Each evening, the sommelier team explains two wines that pair well with an appetizer for $5/glass.

9.28.18 Vancouver and Norwegian Bliss

We joined my parents for a trip to Vancouver and a sailing from Vancouver to Los Angeles on the Norwegian Bliss plus two nights at Disneyland. 

Highlights of the trip:  

• Getting lost in Stanley Park and walking too far 
• Fantastic meals including a meal at a restaurant owned by a chef my parents met in Mexico 
• Sailing under the Vancouver and Golden Gate Bridge 
• My parents reuniting with crew members they loved from previous Norwegian cruises 
• The beautiful Norwegian Bliss with its amazing observation lounge 
• A great private tour in Victoria to all the highlights 
• An excursion to Sonoma and eating lunch at one of our favorite restaurants: El Dorado Kitchen 
• Enjoying the Disneyland Halloween party and decorations 

9.1.18 Trip to Secrets Maroma

We headed back to Mexico for Labor Day. We stayed at Secrets Maroma. 

We were surprised at all the activities available. We painted in the garden.  

Glenn played beach volleyball.

We loved the casino night, though Angie had to scold the men giving the craps dealer a hard time for not knowing the complex bets. We were playing for monopoly money. 

Glenn's favorite restaurant was the seafood restaurant.  Angie's favorite was the Italian because the service was fantastic plus they brought over a huge wheel  of cheese. 

Can't beat that. The poolside grill had grill whole fish which is one of our favorites. 

Overall, it was a great trip and we really enjoyed the resort. 

8.16.18 Work trip to Antigua

I was selected to go on a FAM trip to Antigua. On these trips, we visit resorts and attractions so that we can better match clients to these experiences 

This trip was fantastic. The other agents were great! The resorts we saw were fantastic. 

I stayed at Galley Bay. This is now one of my favorite resorts..ever. I had a beachfront room right in front of a group of coral with great snorkeling.

 I loved waking up each morning and going snorkeling. The staff was amazing. It is adults only all inclusive. Absolutely fantastic. 

My other favorite activity was heading to the Sunday night BBQ at Shirley Heights. The 40 person steel drum band was amazing. 

I also really liked Sting Ray City. I did not like the Grand Cayman experience, but this was so much better - less people, more space.

8.10.18 NCL Sun

I convinced Glenn to take a last minute cruise. We booked on Wednesday for a Friday departure. I've always wanted to do that since I moved to Florida. 

We worked Friday morning and then headed to the port. We were onboard by 2:30 pm. We booked an Oceanview cabin on the Norwegian Sun. We headed to the small buffet for a late lunch. Then it was the muster drill. We watched sail away from deck 6. Took a tour of the spa and then had a drink in the lobby. It was an open bar cruise which was fun. 

For dinner, we went to the Mexican restaurant. The food was very good and the drinks were delicious.

 We played the game This or That. I won twice "Popes or Brittany Spears songs" and "Swedish politicians or Ikea furniture'. We enjoyed the piano player. 

 

Saturday, we docked in Nassau Bahamas. We headed over to Sandals on a day pass. We enjoyed a pool/beach day. For dinner, we tried the sushi bar. Not my favorite so we had a second dinner at the buffet. We watched the newlywed game and then listened to the piano player. 

Sunday, we tendered to Great Stirrup Cay. We left early and got a clam shell on the beach. 

A big storm came in. We did have some delicious tacos before we headed back. We had a lazy afternoon. Then, we tried to hear all the musical groups on board before heading back to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. We ended the night back in the piano bar.

Disembarkation was easy. Glenn worked in the car on the way home.