July 15, 2025

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLOMBIA, CANADA

What a gorgeous day and place! I really could see living here as a possibility, if it could just be a tad warmer!! Lori, Christy, Gary & I started the day riding the HOHO bus for the complete 90 minute loop, to get an overview of the whole city and all the various neighborhoods. They have it all, great downtown, shops & restaurants and parks, beaches and beautiful homes.

Then the four of us were off to high tea at the fancy Empress Hotel. It was so YUMMY! Especially the Laurent Perrier Champagne & Chocolates flown over from Paris this morning! A great lunch and treat. Thanks Lori for inviting me!

Next Lori and I ubered out the stunning Butchart Gardens! the perfect way to catch up and work off all those calories from tea!

After I helped Lori get back on the ship with her luggage, I went out for a neighborhood walk with Bosco and had some fun in Port.

By Patricia Patrick October 16, 2025
Got to love a place that sells shirts saying " Where the heck is Yap? " Colonia ( population 3,100 ) is the Capital and Harbor town of Yap State ( population 11,600 ) one of four states in the Federated States of Micronesia. We are in the Pacific Ocean or Philippine Sea just north of the equator, Papua New Guinea and Australia.
By Patricia Patrick October 13, 2025
Ternate, Indonesia, which is both the name of the city and island, and is part of the Maluku Islands in eastern Indonesia. It is a port that sees maybe 3 Cruise ships a year. However, they really made an effort to show us the best of what they can offer. It's mainly a Muslim country, and we knew we had to dress discretely, but we knew little else. We didn't have our typical port talk prior, due to a technical issue with the AV equipment. Ben a fellow resident, organized an island tour, with about 8 stops, for 90 of us residents.
By Patricia Patrick October 10, 2025
Cebu greeted our Ship with a big warm welcome, despite having just been rocked by a major Earthquake, days before our arrival. The Minister of Tourism arrived with a motorcade and she proceeded to chat with the residents and thank us, for all our support.