I Love LISBON!

Day nine was spent in beautiful Lisbon. I want to come back and spend more time here. Once again, we pulled into port in the early morning hours. I'm not a morning person, but I was up and on our balcony as we approached.

And then as the sun rose, I got some great pictures of the city.

Lisbon at dawn

The day before we arrived, we attended a lecture on board to tell us all about the city. That's where I learned about the tiles in Lisbon and was looking forward to seeing them. But let me say that it's one thing to see them in pictures, but it's another to see them in person. They are spectacular. Some create optical illusions of movement, while others are just pretty to look at.

After we disembarked, I boarded one of the Hop On/Hop Off buses for a circuit of the city, before getting off and starting to walk.

This apartment building caught my eye from the bus; I think the face is  rather startling and they were on more than one side of the building. I wonder if after living in the building for a while, you'd not even notice them.

There was so much to see and so little time, that I just enjoyed the ride and snapped away. 

Jeronimos Monastery

When I got off the bus, I began walking in the general direction of port, so that I could work my way back to the ship.

 My walk carried me through Rossi Square, where I was fascinated with the artistry of the tiles. The tiles truly look like they are undulating.

As I continued meandering, I stumbled on Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhua, makers for more than 100 years of Pasteis de bacalhau, or cod fish cakes. It's a hand pie of sorts, Being a lover of most things that are fried and contain cheese, I tried one. Pretty tasty.

My time in Lisbon was drawing to an end and I continued my walk back to the ship. I saw lots of people of color and wondered if they descended from the Moors or if they are Brazilians. I saw the first Starbucks since landing in Europe and being a "typical" American, had to make a stop.

We also learned why we hadn't gotten our passports stamped in the ports. Apparently, you have to request it and only Americans ever ask. Clearly, the customs officer doesn't want to stamp 3,000 passports every time a ship pulls in.

Back on board, I chilled on the balcony to watch the city as we pulled out. 

Late afternoon sun on Lisbon

We passed under the replica of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Lisbon also has a replica of Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue, called Cristo Rei. We said farewell, but I will be back.

Vasco de Gama Bridge in Lisbon

Cristo Rei 

Until next time...

Vigo, Spain

After leaving Cherbourg and Normandy, we spent a day at sea. For some, that's relaxing, hanging around the ship, taking in the activities or sitting on deck. For me the trip was about the ports of call so I was anxious for the next day. When we arrived in Vigo, I was up early, and took pictures as the sun rose.

We enjoyed a sunny day in this beautiful port city.

When we exited the port terminal, an accordion player was outside lending to the atmosphere.We all took a picture with him,

and then we saw one of our waiters, Eddie, and took a picture with him.

After we left the terminal area, we ventured into the city, through shops and restaurants and a cool church.

I noticed that witches seemed to be a theme in the shops. Apparently, in the Galicia region of spain, witches are thought to be good luck. It took a while to find this out, nobody spoke enough English in the first shops we saw to understand what we were asking and our Spanish is non existent. We discovered this merman And this Vespa Soon it was time to make our way back to the ship. We captured a few more memories as we made our way back to the ship and once again, it was time to say goodbye.

Back on board, we sat on the balcony to wave goodbye to Vigo, watching the tugs lead us out of the harbor.

Hip Hop Hamilton, Mizzou football and race in 2015

Last week, I saw an interview that Charlie Rose, the CBS news anchor, did with Lin-Manuel Miranda, on his hit Broadway show, Hamilton, the hip-hop story of Alexander Hamilton. During the feature, they showed a clip from the show, when Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson are arguing about how to pay off the debt from the Revolutionary War. The exchange is portrayed as a rap battle, and Jefferson says something about being like Virginia, where they create. He’s bragging and claiming that he has the solution. Hamilton replies, (and I looked up the lyrics): "A civics lesson from a slaver. Hey neighbor Your debts are paid cuz you don’t pay for labor 'We plant seeds in the South. We create.' Yeah, keep ranting. We know who’s really doing the planting." Thomas Jefferson clearly isn’t the hero, and his position as a slave owner is called to the forefront. I can’t wait to see this show. Anyway… Fast forward to Saturday night; the black football players at Mizzou declare that they will not play in support of Jonathan Butler’s hunger strike to address racial issues on campus. Sunday morning, the coach states his support for the players and says the team will not play until changes are made.

Thus begins the calls for putting the players off the team and taking their scholarships. A former player tweets that the players are irresponsible and ungrateful. He says it is a privilege to play for Mizzou. {Note - he doesn't mention that the (white) coach supports their position} What’s not said is that the players earn millions of dollars for the school without sharing in the profit. Yes, they receive tuition and room and board, as some will point out. But they don’t share in the profit they generate. So what’s the connection? I looked up the earning potential of the football program. According to a January 2015 article in the Kansas City Star, the fiscal year 2014 revenues exceeded expenditures by approximately $14 million. After all sports were accounted for, the athletic department earned about $3.5 million. This white, former player is saying that the black current players, standing up to the injustice that is infecting the very environment of the campus, should be grateful to be given the opportunity to continue to generate profits for the institution. Why should they be any more grateful to generate profits and maintain the status quo than Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved laborers? Hey, they got room and board, didn’t they? For years, some of have referred to college sports as the modern day plantation. Plenty of others have referred to professional sports as such. In 2014, Donald Sterling, former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers created a fire storm when he was caught complaining about his mistress hanging out with black celebrities. He added fuel to the fire in an interview when he said about his players, “I support them and give them food, and clothes, and cars, and houses. Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them?” And there you have it. Donald Sterling thought he owned the professional athletes who negotiated contracts to receive compensation for services rendered. Apparently, too many others think that universities own their college athletes because of tuition and room and board, and they expect their allegiance, even when it's not in the athletes' best interest. Source - http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article8564105.html

Pont du Hoc

My tour in Cherbourg and Normandy ended with a visit to Pont du Hoc. The 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled a 100 foot cliff to disable the German guns that threatened the beach invasions. Of the more than 200 Rangers, only 90 survived. It was breath taking standing on the top of that cliff, knowing that so many gave their lives to take it.

Rather than tell you about it, I'll just show you.

Once again, all too soon, it was time to board the bus and head back to Cherbourg and board the ship. On the way back, we passed by Ste. Mere Eglise, the town near Utah Beach, the other American landing zone. It was at Ste. Mere Eglise, where paratroopers, blown off course, came down in the middle of the town occupied by Germans. Many were killed, and one trooper, whose parachute got caught on the steeple of the church, played dead. We were able to see the church from the road but unfortunately, didn't get to stop.

We ended the day watching the tug boats in the harbor. Until next time, Normandy region, Adieu.

Day at sea

Spent the day enjoying doing very little. I walked deck 13, which is open, but it's windy and wet. Took a nap this afternoon. Cruising the North Sea and heading into the Strait of Dover at midnight. Sad that I won't get to see the cliffs because it will be dark. That's more of my history nerd leaking out. I've learned that okay in any language sounds the same. Spent some time talking with an older German couple who have been to the U.S. multiple times. They were very eager to talk to us. Also, 99 percent sure my family are the only African Americans on the ship that aren't crew and staff. We get some funny looks from some - we're told they're Russians - but other than that, people are friendly. They have a staff of entertainers, called the Animation Team, who do all kinds of crazy stuff to ensure everyone is enjoying themselves. One night they had Viking night. (yeah, okay.)

Anyway, here's Kathy and I with Mohamed and Henricka, who were trying to entice us to come to the Viking party. Henricka, who is from South Africa, is wearing the Missouri Enjoy the Show pin I took along. There are about 600 English speaking folks on board, less than 70 are American, and around 35 are Canadian. Met some crazy fellow country men (and women) in the elevator. Recognized them immediately when they spoke. One couple from Tennessee and one from Florida. We spend the evening watching the television show "Castle" in German. I don't even like Castle, but I'm tired of cycling through CNN, which is hte only English-language channel we get. Incredibly excited about the next stop in Cherbourg, France. I'll get to visit to the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach and Pont du Hoc in Normandy. This history nerd is going to totally geek out.

Omaha Beach

Cornelius Ryan wrote the book The Longest Day, which was made into a movie in the '60s with a plethora of Hollywood's biggest stars. It tells the story of the invasion from the American, English and German points of view. I watch this movie nearly every year. Not as graphic as movies would later become, it still gives you a little of idea of the challenges the allies faced on the morning of June 6.

The Americans had a tough go of it at Omaha Beach, and very little went as planned. By the end of the day, the forces had obtained a small foothold and it took them several days to achieve their initial objective. We didn't get long at Omaha, but to be there at all was enough for me.

Next we headed to Pont du Hoc, the 100 foot cliff that the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled to disable the German guns that threatened the beach invasions. Of the more than 200 Rangers, only 90 survived. Along the way, we passed many other reminders of the war, including German bunkers and other memorials.