The food in Amsterdam is outstanding. We saw so many different types of pastries, but the savory food is great too with meats, fish, soups, stews and pastas. Here’s a sampling of some of the foods we came across:
Now you see another reason why we love Amsterdam so much!
Sarah and I were very recited to return to Rothenburg, which we had visited when we travelled with Ambassadors of Music. This ancient walled city is beautiful, and even more so at Christmas time.
The shops were full of delightful displays.
The darkened streets were fun to wander; something new was around every corner.
We ate more than one meal in Rothenburg and the food was outstanding.
This is a great town to stay in for a while; I’ll share more photos on my next post.
The next stop on our tour of Christmas markets last year was Baden-Baden, Germany. This was a really special market place.
Just beyond the market was a unique display of artwork that was gorgeous.
Once again, the food got our attention, but not only the food, the restaurant itself. It was an enclosed porch of a beautiful hotel, but cold enough that they provided blankets at each chair. So nice and cozy with warm cider!
Really yummy!
The breakfast buffet was fantastic too.
Today I’m sharing “sign” pics from the Crystal ship Symphony that we enjoyed so much. First, a safety sign:
Next, the first sign I saw every morning before going out on the deck for a morning walk:
I discovered an interesting room in the ship that displays all the wonderful gifts they have received from each port they have visited around the world. It’s impressive!
There was also a huge display and blessing provided by the craftsmen of the shipyard in Finland, where Symphony was built in 1995:
Finally, I’ll share a couple more menus from our week at sea:
This is the final shout-out to the ship and crew of Crystal Cruises. We had the best time in the Caribbean and would certainly go again if we get the chance. Some of the passengers would remain onboard for another week, as they toured the Panama Canal, Colombia and other stops, but we couldn’t go the extra week (and had already been through the Panama Canal previously). So it was a sad farewell but the memories linger!
I had toured the ship’s kitchen one of the days at sea, and it’s incredible to see how they prepare all the great meals we enjoyed.
Again–wonderful staff members giving it their all. We ate in the Italian restaurant on our last night and the food and presentation here was also delicious and impressive.
Our guide in Costa Rica took us to a banana plantation, which was very impressive to see. We were not allowed to take photos of many of the areas, but we took those that we could.
My favorite moment was when Oscar asked to take some bananas to the children in poverty at his church. I loved this, and we willingly helped carry them to the trunk of his car.
Then we had another beautiful drive along the beach!
Our next stop on the cruise was beautiful Costa Rica. We started the day with salmon eggs benedict on the ship and watched our arrival at Puerto Limon.
As we disembarked we could hear music off the deck of the boat, and it was a welcoming marimba duo that was wonderful!
Once again, we had a driver to take us to various places for the day and he was very nice and helpful in many ways.
First we went snorkeling and saw some wonderful fish and corral.
Before leaving the area, Oscar pointed out a sloth in the tree.
It was a great start to our day!
