Jamaica Mon – Day 2

A very relaxed day today…but isn’t that what Jamaica is all about?

The resort has changed very little since it re-branded except we have noticed that there have been many small cut-backs.  Not as many staff and a little less quality.  I mean after all, using banana flavoured rum instead of real bananas in a “Dirty Banana”?  They have also quit serving food at the little beach bar at the edge of the property.

I went to check out the driving range and to see what the golf lessons were like.  They are still included and the golf pro was quite helpful.  It seems I’m an OK golfer and I need to only change my grip, my swing and my weight transfer and I have a glimmer of hope of becoming a better golfer!  But seriously he had some pointers that I hope will help.

We had dinner in the main restaurant tonight.  During the day, breakfast and lunch are served buffet style but at night, there is sit down service and the food choices and quality of food was pretty good.

It was casino night and there was a hokey but fun blackjack table set up – no money needed and you played for resort points which you can use for a free bottle of rum.  Only 600 points needed and we have 300…half way there!

They also had crab races where you could bet which crab would leave the circle first.  $3.00 a bet and I thought I was a good judge of crab but never did win.  Guess I will judge crab more conventionally – on my dinner plate.

Watch for our update tomorrow – we’re going golfing at Runaway Bay.  Hope that lesson has helped…

Jamaica Mon – Day 1 – Breezes Rio Bueno

We finally arrived in Jamaica!  We did have to overnight in Toronto and the Courtyard by Marriott was a good value choice.  It is just of Dixon and they have shuttle service that runs every 25 minutes.

We ending up renting a car for some running around in Toronto and I booked a compact car through our web site (www.uniglobevacation.com) and the rate including all the charges was under $40.  Great rate for Toronto!

The 4 hour flight was smooth and we really enjoyed Air Canada’s entertainment system…some pretty good movies.

Upon arrival in Montego Bay, we cleared Immigration and right outside those door is the Superclubs reception area.  You need only go in and fill out the registration form, have a bottle of water and wait for the shuttle service…very civilized!

The transfer was about 45 minutes.  Check in was quick and easy after being met with a cocktail and a cold towel.  Our room was much better than the last time we were here and they certainly upgraded some rooms.  Some of you may know that the Breezes Rio Bueno was formerly the Grand Lido Braco but Superclubs has done away with that brand.

Some other changes, they now charge $85USD if you want to visit the “au natural” side of the resort.  Surprisingly, this is a busier side of the resort than our side and does have a much nicer beach.

There are 2 restaurants that you need to make reservations at and we dined at the Japanese restaurant last night.  Very good.

The resort is only 50 percent occupied so pretty easy to get what you want.  Another change we noticed is that they will stock your in room minibar once and then if you want more there is as fee.  I am not sure why…it is an all inclusive resort.

More to report tomorrow…

Ed

We have managed to get a summer house on the west coast of Denmark.  We are in the resort town of Blavand.  The cottage is a 3 bedroom home and is about 2 blocks from the beach.  We are going down to the beach today since the weather is good.  We are heading home on Friday so this will be my last blog.   The vacation has been great but we are looking  forward to getting home

Blavand Beach

We are really enjoying our trip here in Denmark.  The people are very friendly and everywhere you go you will find people speak English.  Denmark is mostly surrounded by water so it gives them some of the greatest beaches. 

 On Sunday, we went to the West coast to a resort area called Blavand.  The beach there has powder white sand and it separates the town and summer houses.  There is plenty of shops and restaurants on the main drag into town and it is really busy right now as the factories in Denmark have closed for 3 weeks vacation.

 On Monday, we went to Legoland.  Denmark is the home of  Lego and the park is right across from the Lego plant.  That is probably why the store in Legoland has all the new Lego not available yet in Canada.  The cost to get it was about 50.00.  All the rides are based on Lego characters and everything in the park is made of Lego bricks.  It is really something to see. 

Legoland

 On Tuesday, we went to the island of Romo which is attached by a causeway.  Romo has the widest beach in all of Europe and you can drive your cars onto the beach as it would be too far to walk especially if the tide is out.  We stayed there for 2 days and we are now back in Kolding.   We are trying to arrange a summer house in Blavand for a couple of days so I will let you know what happens there. 

Romo

Well we made it to Denmark.  It seems funny to be travelling in Europe, all the borders seem as one as we did not have to show our passport or clear any customs.  It is kind of like flying from Saskatoon to Calgary. 

 When we checked in at the airport in Paris, the counter only opened two hours prior since Denmark is not considered an International Destination, so there is really no need to get there early.  

 When we arrived in Copenhagen, we had to change our money from Euros to Kroners since they still have their own currency.  Jorgen’s Mom met us at the airport and we picked up our car today.  We are heading off to the small island of Romo on Monday for a couple of days.  It will be nice to spend a couple of down days after the hectic pace of Paris. 

 We are going to see Harry Potter tonight.  We stopped by the theatre to buy our tickets and you preselect your seats so you can come any time and still get a good seat.  The best part is there is beer sold right in with the snacks.  Now that’s my type of movie Talk to you soon.

Copenhagen

It has been a very busy 2 days.  Monday night we went shopping on the Champs Elysees, 15 blocks of pure pleasure.  This note is for the ladies,  July is sale month in Paris and every store in the city has between 20% – 70% off.  It’s the law! 

Notre Dame

We have been to the Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, Latin Quarter and out to Versailles today.  Taking the subway in Paris takes a while to get the hang of but once you do, it is so easy to get around. 

Paris is expensive but worth it!  The cheapest thing around is a sandwich and pop at 7.00 Euros.  When we sit down at a side walk café we are paying between 40 – 50 Euros depending on what you order and how much wine you drink

We are heading to Denmark tomorrow so we will talk to you from there.

Sacre Coeur

Hello from Paris.

We arrived yesterday after our flight on Air Canada.  The flights all went very smoothly and on time.  When we arrived at the Paris airport, we decided to take the train into Paris.  We had bought a 5 day 6 zone pass that was good from the airport.  The train station is easy to find and well marked.  The ride into the city was 30 minutes.  After finding our apartment and the 105 steps up we headed off to the Louvre which is 2 blocks from our apartment.  It is an amazing museum and a must for all Paris trips.  The Mona Lisa is always a show stopper and still as busy as ever.

 Today we took the Fat Bike Day Tour of Paris.  If you are not the bus type and want to try something different, this is the thing.  We biked through Paris and stopped at all the main tourist attractions.  Although we did not go in, your guide lets you know all about what you are seeing.  It is amazing.  It is nice to bike around Paris and see it from a totally different perspective.  From here we are off to our boat tour on the Seine. 

 That’s all for now. 

Louvre - Paris, France

Yesterday we went on a afternoon/evening trip to Barcelona.  We toured around the Las Rambla street for 3 hours.  Our legs were pretty tired by the end of it.  So we stopped to have tapas and pizza at one of the restaurants in the middle of the street.  We are not sure what we ate but it was pretty good.  Then we walked around the port of  Barcelona on our way back to the bus.  We then went to the famous fountains for the magic show at night.  We arrived back at the hotel about midnight very tired and hot. 

 The humidity is very high, and that is killing us.  The temperature has been 30 plus every day. 

Today we are leaving.  Our bus leaves at 1245pm.  See you on Monday.

Here is the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Hello everybudy it has been a busy couple of days here in Salou.   On Monday we went to Barcelona and spent the day touring and shopping.  On Tuesday we walked around the town of Salou checking it out.   We found a trolley that took us around to different areas that we did not realize were even there.   It was a lot of fun.   Salou is very much like Waikiki in Honolulu it is very commercialized and touristy.   The beach has very fine sand the water seemed much warmer.    Today we went to Montserrate and visited the Monastery and then we went to the Torres Vineyard and toured the wine cellar.   This has been the best tour that we have been on so far.  

The food at the hotel has been okay.  We would not say it is great but we are not starving.   The one thing that we have found is that the price of pop is the same or more expensive than beer.   We did discover that the Gelato is wonderful and have made that a treat everynight.      Talk to you later.

Our Hotel - H10 Europa Park - Salou

Just arrived in Barcelona.  The flights with Air Transat were great.  We left on time and arrived on time.  Our transfer took us to our hotel in Salou, the H10 Europa Park.  We are not able to check into hotel yet so we are wondering around the area of Salou.  The beach is about a 7 minute walk.  It has beautiful soft sand just like the Caribbean but the water is a tad bit chilly as we put our toes in the water. The weather is beautiful at 7 am this morning it was already 20 degrees and is getting hotter.  Thats it for now.  Check back later we are going to see if our room is ready.