Wednesday 30th August 2017 – Home to Heathrow.

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We’re off again on another new adventure, this time making a brief stop in Iceland before moving on to Chicago and then to Anchorage in Alaska where we join a cruise around the Alaskan Islands, across the Bering strait to Russian and then on to Japan finally finishing up with 10 days with us two and some rail tickets for a 10 day tour of Japan.

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We used our usual car service to take us to Heathrow and had a very smooth and uneventful journey (just how we like it) despite the rain that accompanied us for most of the way.  This time we stayed at the Doubletree by Hilton and very good it was too, the room was fairly basic but the service was very good and the restaurant prices weren’t too exorbitant either.

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Thursday 31st August 2017 – Heathrow to Reykjavik – Iceland.

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Our taxi was waiting for us when we checked out this morning and we were at Terminal 2 by 09:45 which gave us plenty of time to have something to eat (we chose not the have the hotel breakfast). We did what we often do these days and borrowed a wheelchair for me to push through security and, thankfully, it all went smoothly.  The flight left on time and after a three hour flight we were safely at Keflavik airport.  Unfortunately there was no wheelchair waiting for us but that was sorted quite quickly and we were on the shuttle bus into the city reasonably quickly.  Now, we had been warned that the local council had recently made some changes to the traffic flows in town and that, as a result, the buses could no longer call directly to the hotels but would be dropping off at nearby bus stops.  What we hadn’t realised was that the change was so recent that the bus driver didn’t know where he was supposed to drop us which meant we quite literally went round in circles for a while before being dropped at a stop not too far from the hotel (but far enough when you have suitcase to drag with you).

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The hotel has turned out to be a bit better than we expected and we have breakfast included which was a pleasant surprise and most useful as we are joining a day tour at 08:30 tomorrow morning.

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We had decided that we would like to try some local Icelandic food this evening (but drew the line at sheep’s head and rotten shark) so asked for a recommendation from the tourist office.  They suggested the Icelandic Bar a short distance away so we gave it a try and very nice it was too even if the beer was very expensive (around £9 for a half litre).  I know it’s very non-PC but Graham decided to try the whale meat as we’re never likely to see it again and it turned out to be really nice and much more like eating meat than either of us had expected.  Whilst in the restaurant we got talking to a young couple from Chicago which was really useful as they’ve given us some tips on what to see whilst we’re there.  After a quick neb around the tourist tatt shops we made a brief stop at a coffee shop before returning to the hotel for an early(ish) night.

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Friday 1st September 2017 – Iceland.

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As we had been warned that our hotel was on a fairly noisy entertainment street we had requested (and been given) a room at the back of the hotel in an attempt to get a good night’s sleep and that would have worked if the previous occupants of this room hadn’t set the alarm for 03:30 and we hadn’t forgotten to check that it was off!! 

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We had pre-booked a tour for today and due to the newly installed road closures we were to be picked up between 08:30 to 09:00 at the same bus stop where we were dropped at last night.  Unfortunately it seems that the world and his wife were also due to be picked up at the same spot and we spent a chaotic half hour with everyone milling around trying to work out which bus they were supposed to be on.  It all worked out in the end and we had a very enjoyable day visiting a number of significant sites.  Our first stop was at the site of the first Icelandic parliament which also sits right alongside the spot where the American and Asian tectonic plates meet and we were able to walk right through the split which was very interesting.  An area full of geysers came next and although not quite a spectacular as Old Faithful in Yellowstone these are more frequent so definitely worth the visit. Next on the agenda was the famous Gulfoss waterfall which was really quite spectacular with the water appearing to disappear into a very small split in the earth.  Following a brief visit to another waterfall in was on the Kerid volcanic crater which is exactly as you might envisage a volcanic crater to be.  The scenery made it a very worthwhile day and we saw some really good sights despite the low cloud and occasional drizzle.  It helped that the Driver/Guide was particularly good and had a very droll sense of humour.  All in all it was well worth what initially seemed to be a high price.

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We’re currently taking a rest in the hotel before going out to try to find another good restaurant before the hordes hit the streets (it’s Friday night and apparently the locals come out the play later with bars staying open until 06:00).

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Saturday 2nd September 2017 – Iceland to Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

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We took a walk further into town last night and ate at a local brew house, the food was good and we each had a local beer although if we’d been served mine in the U.K. we’d have sent it back as it was extremely cloudy although they assured us that was how it was supposed to be.

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As we had some time to spare this morning we went for a walk in the opposite direction to the main town, there wasn’t much to see but it gave us some exercise before sitting on an aircraft for umpteen hours.  Just as we returned from our walk it started to rain and it was still raining when we left with all of our bags in tow to get the bus back to the airport.  The designated bus stop was only a short walk from the hotel but provided absolutely no cover so by the time the bus arrived 25 minutes later both we and our luggage we’re soaked, luckily it seems that the suitcases kept the rain out.

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Keflavik airport isn’t too well organised either.  We went through the rigmarole of using the self check-in machines but it only printed out one of the two luggage tags we’d requested so we had to queue up with everyone else anyway.  That done we got hold a wheelchair (and pusher) and we’re taken through security.  That’s where we discovered that the nice can of Boss deodorant spray we’d bought for Graham at Heathrow was still in our hand baggage and as it was over 100ml it had to be confiscated. Oh well, our fault!

The flight was okay, boring but okay. As Iceland air provide cheap flights they don’t provide free headphones (and we didn’t want to buy any) and they only provide a very limited selection of food which you have to pay for so we took something with us to take the edge off.  We arrived at Chicago O’Hare without any fuss and we’re on the road to our hotel (in a taxi) in good time arriving at the Palmer House Hotel at around 20:30.  It’s a nice historic hotel and we have a very nice room, it obviously used to be two rooms as it has two bathrooms, one either end of the room.  As it had started to rain (hard) on the way from the airport we decided to grab some food in the hotel and headed for ‘Potters’ a bar and burger joint, not exactly what we’d have wanted but it served a purpose.  We’ll try something else different tomorrow.

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Sunday 3rd September, Chicago.

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As we’ve no breakfast included with the hotel we decided to eat out at the Corner Café & Bakery which is literally just outside the hotel.  On our way back in we spoke to the Concierge to ask for some suggestions of things to do which would get us back here in time for our excursion to see Cirque Du Soliel (which we’d booked from home). He suggested the Architectural River cruise which had already been recommended to us by a few other people so we booked that for midday.  As it appeared to be a fair way away we took a taxi to the riverside pick up point and enjoyed a 90 minute trip along the river system, very enjoyable and pretty hot as it was sunny and 82f.

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Once back on dry land we walked part of the River walk around to Navy Pier an entertainments area full of boat trips, a fun fair and lots of eateries.  After a light(ish) lunch we walked a bit further down the pier before heading back (being a holiday weekend it was packed). 

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After a bit of a rest we took another taxi to the venue for the show.  We had booked and paid for this before we left home and were initially a bit disappointed with our seats as there was a rather large frame (holding up the tent) in our eye line but just as the show was about to begin we were able to move to some better seats and we thoroughly enjoyed the show.  It included many of the ‘usual’ acts we’ve come to expect from Cirque but this time with quite a lot of very clever and inventive effects with a waterfall.

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The show finished at around 19:30 and we did as had been suggested and caught a local bus back into the city.  We ate at a local pub which was pretty good and followed that with a drink in the Hotel’s bar where we got chatting to a number of different ‘locals’ which was fun, the only down side was to very, very slow service.

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Monday 4th September 2017 – Chicago.

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This morning didn’t start well for me as I woke with a migraine in the early hours.  I finally managed to drag myself out of bed at around 09:30 and after a bite to eat we decided to take a walk to the park a few blocks down towards the lake front.  As he was feeling okay Graham suggested that we keep going and take a look at the lake which we did.  Once there we decided an ice cream would be a good idea only the kiosk had sold out!!

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We started the walk back and decided that as it was lunchtime we’d do one of the other things we’d planned for our visit i.e. to have one of the pizza’s that Chicago is famous for.  We stopped and asked a couple of guys working a Valet parking booth and they recommended Rudy’s on Randolf and told us how to get there. Unfortunately it seems they knew the restaurant but not exactly where it was and we walked miles eventually finding that it was just around the corner from our hotel !!  Also, they’d recommended this for a great pizza but Rudy’s don’t do pizza – aaargh!  Luckily when I mentioned this to the guy running Rudy’s he explained that although they don’t their sister restaurant next door does and he kindly escorted us next door to make sure we got what we needed.  A shared deep pan pizza later and we’re back at the hotel for a break before we go out to one of Chicago’s Blues clubs later tonight.

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Monday 5th September 2017 – Chicago.

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Last night, following a recommendation from the hotel Concierge, we made our way by taxi to a Blues Club called ‘Kingston Mines’ which was quite a way across town.  We arrived shortly before it opened and joined a short line to get in and it’s fair to say that it wasn’t quite what we expected once we did get in.  We had heard that there were two stages and at least two bands featured each night but we hadn’t realised that the two stages were in different rooms so once the first set had finished it was a case of everyone shifting in to a second room and finding another table etc. etc. during a half hour break in proceedings.  Unfortunately this, in our opinion, made for a very disjointed evening and didn’t allow any atmosphere to build. Even more unfortunately Graham developed a severe and very uncomfortable bout of hiccups after we’d shared a slab of ribs so we didn’t stay all that long opting for another reasonably early night.

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This morning dawned rather cooler than the last few days so it was jackets on for our short walk to the Corner café and breakfast.  Our next stop (in yet another expensive taxi) was the Field Museum which apart from being in a really nice building is a little like our Natural history museum crossed with a museum of varying world cultures and it kept us amused for a fair few hours.  We had originally had a thought that we might also visit the aquarium today but as it was mid-afternoon by the time we left the Field Museum it would have been a rather rushed visit so we gave that one a miss.

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We’re now back at the hotel trying to decide where to eat this evening before we pack up ready for our alarm call at stupid o’clock tomorrow morning (we have an 08:35 flight to Anchorage).

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Wednesday 6th September 2017 – Chicago to Anchorage, Alaska.

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Our alarm went off at 04:00 this morning as we needed to get to the airport in time to pay to check-in our luggage (apparently most internal flights in the U.S. now require additional payment for checked luggage).  Having successfully checked in and been deposited at the gate I went and found us something for breakfast, that done we didn’t have too long to wait before boarding.

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Once again we were on a fairly small aircraft with a 3-3 seating configuration and we were allocated centre and aisle seats.  Shortly after we’d settled in a very large lady came to take her seat next to me and I had visions of a very uncomfortable journey (she only just squeezed herself between the seat arms).  Thankfully the flight was nowhere near full and before we left she moved herself to an empty row of seats which was far more comfortable for all of us – phew!  We knew before we boarded that there was no food included so had brought something with us what we hadn’t realised was that there were no T.V. screens either. The only way to watch the in-flight films was to either use your own portable device (which you could only do if you’d already downloaded a film) or to rent an I-pad.  We didn’t bother instead we attempted a huge crossword in the in-flight magazine which was complicated somewhat by the strange U.S. spellings.

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A fairly short taxi ride from the airport brought us to our hotel (nice) but we were too early to check in so left our baggage and went for a walk around the town.  We’re probably going to eat at one of the three in-house restaurants tonight as we’re both starting to wilt somewhat after our early start (and another time change).  

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Thursday 7th September 2017 – Anchorage to Silversea, Silver Shadow Cruise ship.

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Although we didn’t have full transfers booked with Silversea we were told by the local Rep. that we could check our bags in with them at the hotel to save having to transport them ourselves but that  meant they had to be in reception by 09:00 this morning.

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Once we’d left the bags we took one look at the queue for breakfast and decided we’d go elsewhere choosing to go to a café recommended by one of the staff.  It was a very big for a café and also very busy so we had a twenty minute wait for a table which gave us time enough to take a brief walk to the shoreline to see the Captain Cook statue.  After breakfast Graham returned to the hotel whilst I went to pick up a few bits of shopping we’d realised we should have done yesterday.

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Next it was another taxi ride to the Alaska Railroad station at the airport where we checked in for our cruise and were allocated seats on the scenic train to Seward. We were expecting to leave at 12:30 but the train was late getting to us so it was 13:30 before we made a move. The train is set out four to a table and we were initially sharing with two ladies from California but as there were spare seats which meant they didn’t have to face backwards they moved to an empty table before we left.

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The journey itself was very pleasant with some lovely scenery to be seen despite the drizzle that had set in.  By the time we reached the cruise terminal it was raining hard but we only had a very short walk to the ship and we were on board and in our cabin pretty quickly which was just as well as there was a mandatory muster drill shortly after we boarded (it’s the first time we’ve actually had to don our lifejackets rather than just take them with us).  We then just had enough time to change our shirts and head to the Panorama Lounge for a welcome drink and introduction to the crew and then on to dinner in the main restaurant where we chose to share a table and consequently met some very nice people.  The food was also very good and the staff very attentive.

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It’s early days yet but so far we’re very impressed with Silversea, it’s certainly not a cheap cruise line but it seems that you get what you pay for.  Our suite is very nice with lots of room, a lounge area, a huge walk in wardrobe, a bathroom with full sized bath and a separate shower and, of course, we have a Butler although we didn’t get to meet him this evening as things were a bit rushed.  I finally finished unpacking/hanging everything at around 23:15.

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Friday 8th September 2017 – Kodiak Island Alaska.

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We were up quite early this morning as we had a few things we wanted to do before taking our scheduled excursion at 09:30.  As we have already been away from home for a week we needed to have some laundry done so our first job was to pack up everything we wanted cleaning, we then paged our Butler (yes, I know very pretentious) who came along, brought us tea, introduced himself, stocked our inclusive mini bar with our chosen bottles and took away our laundry.

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There are a number of restaurants on board and we chose to take breakfast in the main restaurant which offers full waiter service.  We then had a fairly quick turn-around to be ready on time for our tour.  We had chosen to take a boat ride around part of the island to try to spot wildlife and it turned out that there were only six of us on a fairly small boat.  During our trip we saw lots of sea otters, some huge sea lions, a couple of Bald Eagles and a variety of other bird life, all in all very pleasant despite the iffy weather. After the tour we stayed in town to take a look around which, due to the size of the town didn’t take long, we then returned to the ship via the free shuttle bus.

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As we didn’t want to eat too much at lunchtime we opted for the Buffet restaurant which wouldn’t usually be our first choice.  This turned out to be a better option than we had hoped as although it is a buffet it isn’t the usual free for all as you are seated by the Maître D and once you’ve selected what you want to eat someone will deliver it to your table for you if you want them to.

Having spent a short while exploring the ship (which didn’t take long as it really isn’t too big) we’ve returned to the 

cabin to try to catch up with this blog and the photos etc. before getting ourselves dressed up for a Formal dinner tonight.

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Saturday 9th September 2017 – At Sea.

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Today is our first day at sea on this trip but we still needed to be up reasonably early as we had decided to attend a talk on the next two ports of call followed by a lecture by an Alaskan teacher who works with Eskimo’s in the far north.  This very interesting talk focused on providing general information about the State of Alaska and she had promised to continue in a few days’ time when she intends to provide more details regarding the culture etc. of the area.

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A little later we went along to check a few details regarding the up-coming tours we’ve booked and to speak to someone regarding the likelihood of us ever being able to fulfill one of our bucket list dreams i.e. visiting Antarctica.  We were unsure if this would ever be a possibility for Graham bearing in mind many of the tours take place by Zodiac and we have been assured that getting on and off of these is no worse than getting on/off of one of this ship’s tenders which we know can be easily achieved. It has certainly given us something to think about.

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A light lunch and a rest in our suite followed and we’re now sitting in our cabin with a glass of Prosecco watching the spray that’s reaching our 5th deck balcony.  The sea has certainly been a little on the rough side today, nothing drastic just a little bumpy.

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Sunday 10th September 2017 – Unalaska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

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Last night, after another very good dinner shared with a group of people we hadn’t previously met we spent a very pleasant hour in the ship’s show lounge listening to a superbly talented flutist.

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This morning we were up early again as we docked at Dutch Harbour in Unalaska at 08:00.  Until we booked this trip we’d never heard of Unalaska but we’re now aware that it one of the many Aleutian Islands which run in a 1200 mile arc between Alaska and Russia. This harbour is apparently very famous these days for a T.V. programme called ‘Deadliest Catch’ (it’s not one we’ve seen) but is otherwise famous for being the biggest fishing port in the U.S.  It’s hard to believe when you see just how small the town is but we’re told that by volume of fish caught it is by far the biggest.

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As there is very limited infrastructure here our ride into the town was provided by the two school buses which operated a shuttle between the dock and the main points of interest.  We chose to visit the Museum of the Aleutian’s which provided an insight into the history and current day culture of the islands – very interesting.  Next we walked a short way to the Alaska Marine Supply store which had just about everything in it including mufflers for fishing boats! Next was stop at the Aleutian Hotel where we had planned to have a coffee, that was until we found that the coffee shop is closed on Sunday. A short walk across to Safeway cured that problem.

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Along the way we saw a couple of Bald Eagles including a juvenile which really wasn’t bothered by having people close by.  It wasn’t long then before we caught the bus back to the ship as there wasn’t a great deal more to see.  We’re due to set sail again at 14:00 and as the sky is pretty clear we should get a good view of some of the other islands in the chain.

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We did get some reasonable views on the way out including of a very large pod of whales which chose to show themselves. Most of the afternoon was spent simply watching the world go by from the Observation deck – very pleasant.  This was followed by yet more food in yet more great company and another show this time from one of the on-board entertainers who sang a range of his favourite songs and very good it was too.

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Monday 11th September 2017 – At Sea.

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As well as gaining an hour last night we gained something we could perhaps have done without i.e. a strong wind which is causing quite a bit of movement; it’s not a real problem (for us at least) but it does make moving about the ship a bit more difficult especially for Graham!

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Because of the bumpy ride we decided to eat in the full service restaurant this morning so that we didn’t have to manage plates from the buffet.  Once we’d eaten we made our way to the Panorama lounge where we had a very long, very interesting conversation with one of the on-board singers, Erin.

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We decided to risk the buffet for lunch (you get far too much food at the full service restaurant) and joined a table with another group of people we’d not met before, we do like this open dining idea. The rest of the day has been spent rather lazily but we’re now about to get ready for a cocktail party hosted by the Cruise Director and Cruise Consultant which is being put on for those of us who are new to Silversea.  The only issue could be getting safely to the venue whilst wearing a pair of high heels on a ship that’s getting more ‘lively’ as we speak!

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Tuesday 12th September 2017 – At sea.

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I said last time that things were getting a little ‘lively’ on board and they continued to do so over night with a lot of pitching and rolling going on.  The ship was moving about a lot as we got up this morning and it was with great difficulty that Graham managed to get himself in to the bathroom (which is up a step) and in to the bath. With the ship moving about as much as it was we decided the buffet restaurant really wasn’t a good idea so went full service, I don’t know if it had anything to do with the movement but there was hardly anyone about.  Shortly after breakfast we attended another lecture about life with the Eskimo’s which was fascinating. The rest of the morning was spent sitting watching the world go by in the Panorama lounge.

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The strong winds hadn’t improved any by lunchtime but we decided we’d have to risk the buffet for lunch otherwise we’d have been in for yet another three course meal.  As we approached the restaurant doors the ship lurched sideways and everyone, us included, took three very large steps sideways ending up against one of the walls.  It was just about that time that we heard a major crash from inside the restaurant where a pile of crockery and cutlery had slipped from one of the serving areas. A small group of staff were sent to pick up the pieces and there rest came out to escort passengers to their seats, the staff really have been very good.

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Lunch over we returned to the Panorama Lounge and sat chatting with another passenger (Sue) until Tea time when we managed to get just the tea and not the snacks despite being offered them at least three times!!

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This evening Graham and I are booked into one of the speciality restaurants, Le Champagne.  As we understand it there will be a six course meal with wines to match.  Let’s just hope it’s six small courses!

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Wednesday 13th September 2017 – The non-existent day!

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There is no 13th September for us this year as we crossed the International Date Line overnight and have moved straight on the Thursday 14th  which is a bit of a bummer for the two crew members who have birthdays on the 13th!!

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Thursday 14th September 2017 – At Sea.

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We thoroughly enjoyed our meal in ‘Le Champagne’ last night especially as we shared a table with a very nice couple (Niels & Pam) from Utah but it wasn’t quite as ‘special’ as we had expected with a menu which doesn’t change from day to day or week to week.  As a result we’ve changed our plans and cancelled the booking we had for the 17th opting instead to go along to the speciality Italian restaurant.

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The weather has calmed considerably since yesterday and we’re currently sitting in the Panorama lounge looking out on some lovely sunshine before attending two lectures on Russia and it’s connections to Alaska (both very interesting), we then spent some more time relaxing and watching the world go by before rounding off the day by going along to the evening show which this time was music of the 60’s and 70’s.

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We’re in port tomorrow and have an excursion booked which will be a welcome change after three consecutive sea days.

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Friday 15th September 2017 – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russian Federation.

 

It was a little cloudy when we woke this morning which meant we couldn’t see the tops of the many volcanoes which surround Petropavlovsk but it was still a pretty place to see when we opened the curtains with many coloured roofs to the buildings.

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We had been warned that the Russian Immigration procedures could take some time and that we would each be subject to a “face to face inspection” before we were allowed to go ashore and this time we were being tendered to the pier as we were anchored a short way out in the bay. The tour we had booked was the last to leave the ship; we were met by a bus and a guide who spoke extremely good English.  This tour was to take us to a traditional ‘Dacha’ or summer house.  It seems that almost all Russians, whatever their status, has some form of a Dacha.  The one we visited was a 45 minute drive from the town and consisted of a main house and a number of small guest houses (which were essentially just a room with couple of beds and a shared outside toilet).  The owner of the house was a very sweet lady who seemed very happy to show us around and to answer any questions we had.  Most Dacha are used as somewhere to grow produce and this one was no exception, there was a very large vegetable garden and a large greenhouse.

Once we’d had a look around we were all invited in to one of the buildings for tea and pancakes which were very nice.  These were served with a choice of caviar and/or jam, I tried both but I’ll be sticking with the jam in future as the caviar was particularly salty.

Following the drive back (via a couple of photo stops) we took a walk along the waterfront to the main square where there are a number of monuments.  There were also supposed to be a couple of souvenir shops but we didn’t find them which was probably just as well as we didn’t have any Roubles.

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As we’d not had quite so much to eat today we stopped off at the Panorama Lounge for afternoon tea before heading back to the suite to try to get some of our photos sorted.

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Saturday 16th September 2017 – At Sea.

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After dinner last night we were joined in the lounge by Sophie one of the on-board singers who we connected with early on in the cruise as she knows Lincoln quite well having played Snow White there in panto in 2015.  We had a very pleasant evening chatting about everything and nothing but definitely had one cocktail too many so we were both feeling a bit jaded this morning. Note to self, watch the bottomless glasses at dinner and watch the cocktails!

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It was beautifully sunny when we woke this morning and we spent some time in the Panorama Lounge simply watching the world including a number of pretty islands, some whales and some dolphins going by.  Just as we sat down to lunch a sea mist came in and it has been coming and going all afternoon making it quite cold at times. Just to add to the fun we have been warned that there is a strong Typhoon in the area at the moment and it MAY impact on our itinerary, let’s hope not but if it does it does, better safe than sorry as they say. After a few more hours watching the world go by and a light afternoon tea it was back to our suite to get ready for our second formal night tonight.

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Sunday 17th September 2017 – At Sea.

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Our second formal night went very well.  We shared a table with two couples we have met before and a good evening was had by all.  We followed this by taking in the show which, tonight, was a mix of classical, opera and show tunes and it was superb, far better than I might have expected on a cruise ship.

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As we had another sea day today I took advantage of one of the three on-board laundries before heading for a lecture on Japan, its people and its culture.  Once again it was very interesting and most helpful.  There was special Gala lunch organised today which was extremely good but being a buffet we ended up eating more than we should have.  Much of the afternoon was spent sitting in the Panorama lounge where we were joined by Erin, one of the singers.

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This evening will be a little different as we have been invited to pre-dinner cocktails in the suite of a very nice couple from the U.S.A. We will be following that with dinner in La Terraza which during the evening becomes a specialty Italian restaurant.

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Unfortunately it looks as though our trip IS going to be disrupted by Typhoon Talim.  It has now officially been downgraded to a Severe Tropical Storm but it is due to reach the island of Hokkaido at the same time as we are.  We have been told that unless the weather forecast changes the port of Kushiro will be closed and we will, in the words of the Captain, be spending another day at sea “riding it out”.  With predicted force 8 to 9, winds of 45 knots and swells of 6 to 9 metres overnight tonight and tomorrow morning it sounds like we could be in for a very bumpy ride.

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Monday 18th September 2017 – At Sea.

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A very bumpy ride has turned out to be something of an understatement, it’s now 10:30 and were currently riding out the peak of the storm and encountering ridiculously high seas. We are on the 5th deck and the waves are reaching way over our balcony and apparently the balconies above too. Everything that WAS on the dressing table and bedside cabinets is now tucked away in cupboards as it all ended up on the floor, all of the bathroom accoutrements are now in one of the sinks too (not our doing).

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A short time ago the divider between our balcony and the next detached itself from the railings first at the bottom and then also at the top.  I rang to report it and discovered that the same had happened next door too. We have just had the excitement of watching seven men outside in all the weather removing the panels and bringing them (a total of 3) in through our suite.  Our floor is now covered in towels soaking up the copious amounts of water that have leaked in. The view from our window now is of all of the chairs and tables from nearby suites which have been tied down on out veranda.

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The last message from the Bridge advised that these weather conditions were stronger than had been forecast yesterday with wind gusts reaching 85 knots (not sure what that is in English but we’ll work that out later, all I know is it’s b----- windy) and that they’re likely to last another couple of hours before things start to slowly calm down, neither of us has any problem with sea sickness but moving around is dangerous especially for Graham and the Captain has appealed for everyone to remain in their cabins during the worst of the weather so that’s exactly what we’ll be doing.  We’re expecting another weather update in an hour or so and we’re hoping it’s going to be good news.

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On a more positive note we had a lovely evening yesterday having joined Stuart and Davideen and some other guests in their Royal suite (very posh) for drinks and canapés before joining them for dinner in Le Terraza.   The ship was already starting to move around quite a bit by the time we left the restaurant so most returned to their suites while we went to listen to Jonathan the visiting flutist who incidentally was supposed to be leaving the ship today to take a flight home!

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The weather finally started to improve at around 13:30 so we ordered in some lunch via room service, just as we did the sea turned rough again so we ate from a tray which was laid on the floor for safety. It’s now 16:30 and the Captain has turned the ship around as we had been heading in entirely the wrong direction to try to get away from the storm we are now, apparently, back on course with the weather improving by the hour (thankfully). 

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The plan now is to have the showers that we didn’t dare have this morning so that we can keep our dinner date with Sophie and Erin from the ‘Silversea Voices’ this evening.

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Tuesday 19th September 2017 – Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan.

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We did manage to meet up and dine with Sophie and Erin last evening and a very nice it was too.  After dinner we went along to the show which, this evening, was put on by the Cruise Director Allen, after that we were both bushed so called it a night.

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We woke to much better weather than had been predicted this morning.  We had been told that there was an 80% chance of rain but the sun was shining on us which made a very nice change. As we had been unable to dock yesterday everyone on-board had to attend a face to face inspection with a Japanese immigration officer before being allowed to disembark, unfortunately for everyone involved Hakodate only has one immigration officer (they aren’t usually the first port of call for foreign travellers).  As a result the tours which were due to start rolling out at 08:15 had to be postponed, which meant our 7 hour tour left the dockside at 10:30.

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There were 24 of us on our tour and the first stop was at the morning market.  This is largely a local’s market selling seafood, vegetables and a few other bits, it was an interesting visit although I can still taste the dried squid we tasted – hmmmm!

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Next on the agenda was an early lunch which had been arranged for us at the Hakodate Beer House (Graham was really upset).  It was a set meal with a variety of local dishes (snow crab tempura, scallop, some sort of cod etc. etc.) and very nice it was too.  What we hadn’t expected was the inclusion of two drinks each (either alcoholic or not) so we each tried a local beer and then we had some traditional sake.  The restaurant was part of the Kanemori red brick warehouse complex which also housed a number of shops selling all sorts of products.

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Next was a visit to the Goryokaku Park and the Hakodate Magistrates Office.  Unfortunately Graham wasn’t able to visit the inside of the Magistrates Office as shoes had to be removed and they wouldn’t allow him inside with shoe covers on either (he didn’t miss too much really).

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This was followed by a visit to the Hakodate Tower observatory which provided some great views over the town and the two bays, one on the Pacific Ocean and one on the Sea of Japan, which are either side of a narrow strip of land.  Our last stop of the day was to Mount Hakodate an extinct volcano which was visited via a cable car, again this provided some great views.

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We arrived back at the ship at around 17:30 to find that our Butler, Ricardo had left us a welcome back note and some snacks (like we needed more food) which was very sweet of him.  The ship doesn’t sail until 23:00 this evening but we’ve decided not to go back in to town as not only have we seen enough but Graham’s ankle is starting to protest at the walking/standing and we have another full day tour to consider tomorrow so I think it’s going to be a nice meal in the restaurant followed by a fairly early night.

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Wednesday 20th September 2017 – Aomori, Honshu, Japan.

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We were up early this morning as our tour was scheduled to leave at 08:30.  It was described in the literature as a 7 ½ hour tour which was slight concern as the ship was due to sail at 16:00 with everyone needing to be back on board at 15:30 !  We chose this tour as it involved a drive through the countryside and a forested area to visit a lake and mountains.  The initial part of the trip gave us the opportunity to see rice paddies and apple orchards en-route to Lake Towada.  After an hours driving the coach made a stop at a local roadside service area where, for the first time, I encountered something I’d read about in the guide books i.e. a public toilet with a speaker that plays sounds of running water to “disguise your embarrassment” – very odd.

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We reached the lake view around an hour or so later and, yes, the views were pretty good but there wasn’t a great deal there other than the view so we were on the move again within around 20 minutes.  Next was a drive through a river gorge which for us was very good but if you’d been on the other side of the bus you wouldn’t have been able to see anything of the river.  Lunch was next on the agenda, we stopped at a hillside hotel/restaurant where we were shown to tables which were set up with a variety of traditional dishes including sashimi (raw fish) which wasn’t to my taste but I did try it all.  There was a menu provided listing the dishes for us the only problem was that we had no idea which was which or what many of them were, we could have done with an idiots guide or someone to talk us through it. 

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This afternoon we were due to take a ride on a cable car but when we arrived we were told it had been suspended because of the wind only there wasn’t any wind to speak of!  It turns out that the guides knew before we got there that it wasn’t running but they still took us there as it was in the schedule and we spent 20 minutes standing in the car park which was a complete waste of everybody’s time.  As we returned to the ship we heard a number of claps of thunder, saw quite a bit of lightening and then the heavens opened so we’re guessing that they knew this was forecast and that that was the real reason we didn’t go up on the cable car.  As it turns out we wouldn’t really have had time anyway as the ship was waiting for us to get back and sailed very shortly after we were back on board so we (and most of the people on the trip) feel like we’ve been conned somewhat having been sold a trip that didn’t fit into the time available.  As we walked through the reception area a little later there were a number of guests from the tour complaining to the man responsible and it looks like we’re going to get some sort of refund but we’re not expecting much to be honest.

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When we returned to our suite we discovered that there was still a very noisy dryer in there as the floor was still quite wet in places, it was also starting to smell quite damp.  We are aware that the conditions on Monday were exceptional but we’re also of the belief that the ship should have been water-tight so went along to see the reception manager to see who we speak to about our concerns. During the conversation she mentioned that there was a spare suite on our deck that we could move to but as we only have two more nights on board we don’t feel inclined to pack up and move and then to pack up properly tomorrow so we’re staying put.  If someone had made the offer a couple of days ago we could have had a more comfortable few days!

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Tonight we have our last formal night and the Captain’s farewell event so I’ll be going now as I need to see if I can still fit in my dress!

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Thursday 21st September 2017 – At sea.

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Last night’s Captain’s farewell was interesting.  He started by apologising to all those injured during Monday’s storm (there were a number of injuries mainly related to falls) and he was visibly shaking whilst doing so.  It seems that many of the passengers have congratulated him and his team for the way they handled the day but there have also been others who have complained and suggested that he shouldn’t have put us in that position but should have returned to Alaska instead.  It seems to me that this would have caused all sorts of other problems in respect of people being on entirely the wrong continent for onwards flights etc.

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A large chunk of this morning has been taken up preparing for the next leg of our journey by getting some laundry done so that we have clean clothes for Japan and packing etc.  This afternoon we sat outside near the pool for a while and then returned to our suite in time for our Butler, Ricardo to deliver some canapés to accompany our last in-suite bottle of champagne.  

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We will be heading out shortly as there is to be one last pre-dinner show by the Voices of Silversea (the on board entertainers) and as all of the shows have been particularly good we want to make sure we’re there for that.  It won’t be a late night for us tonight as we have to leave our large pieces of luggage out by 23:00 tonight and then be ready to disembark by 08:45 tomorrow ready for the next stage of our adventure.

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Friday 22nd September 2017 – Tokyo, Japan.

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Our alarm went off at 06:00 this morning so we had plenty of time to sort ourselves out and have breakfast before disembarking, a process which went very smoothly. We were all invited to leave the ship in small groups based on our onward travel plans, our luggage was neatly laid out in the customs hall and we effectively just walked straight through after a quick passport check.

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We were met, as planned, by a representative from Trailfinders, a very helpful young man who provided us with the tickets we needed for the rest of our trip and who then (thankfully) accompanied us to our hotel.  This involved a short bus ride to the metro station, a two stop metro ride and a short walk through the station complex to our hotel where we were very lucky enough to find that our room was available even though it was only 10:30. The hotel is actually a little better than we expected, we had envisaged a tiny room with a view of nearby buildings but we have a reasonably big room with a view out to a nearby park.  The bathroom’s pretty small but perfectly adequate.

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Once we’d sorted ourselves out we decided it was time for a drink so we went to investigate what was available.  It turns out that the hotel is actually built on top of an office block with reception being on the 25th floor where there are also two restaurants. As we only wanted a drink we took the lift to the basement level where there is a coffee shop. Our next stop was to see the hotel concierge form some advice on what to do and see whilst we’re here, where to eat etc.  One of the things she mentioned was Shiodome City Centre a large building with lots of shops and eateries amongst the office buildings and we decided that would be a good place for lunch. Getting there was easy as we simply had to make our way back in to the station which can be accessed via the hotel entrance and then work our way through the network of subterranean footpaths.  Once there there was a very confusing array of eateries many of which were selling full blown meals so we chose a coffee bar rather than a restaurant.  We had a bit of difficulty with the menu and finally settled for doing the typical tourist thing of pointing at something on the menu we recognised as a result we had some very nice pancakes for lunch.

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Once we’d eaten lunch we thought a walk to and around the park we could see from our window would be a good idea so we consulted the map we’d been given to see how to get there, that’s when things started to get complicated.  There are a mass of interconnected tunnels heading in all directions and although they’re all signposted it wasn’t easy to find our way to where we needed to be, we went around in circles more than once and the most difficult thing of all seemed to be finding our way out into the open air.  Once we’d worked that out it became much easier to get our bearings and we finally reached the park as we’d intended.

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The park (or gardens) is on the site of an Edo period Shogun’s palace and it made for a very pleasant walk.  Part way through the park we found a kiosk selling Cherry Blossom ice cream which we decided we really should try.  As we’d already walked quite a way Graham took a seat close to the kiosk whilst I went for a longer walk and I’d just about reached the far side of the park when the heavens opened, by the time I got back to where Graham was I was absolutely soaked and, as it didn’t look like it was going to let up, we decided to walk back and just soak it up.  It looks as though the rain is set in for the evening so I suspect we’ll be eating in the hotel tonight rather than get soaked again.

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Saturday 23rd September 2017 – Tokyo, Japan.

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We did eat in the hotel last night and now realise that we shouldn’t have.  We chose the in-house Japanese restaurant and had a set meal (they swapped out the raw fish dish for us) and although it was a nice enough meal the price was absolutely exorbitant, the set meal cost us around £55 per head and a very small beer cost around £8.  Even the coke that I had cost a fortune.  We’ve since realised that we could have reached a number of much cheaper restaurants by using the subway tunnels so we could have had a much cheaper meal without getting wet !

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After breakfast this morning we decided to make our way to the Imperial Palace to see the gardens (the Palace itself it out of bounds as it’s still the residence of the Imperial family). We asked at the reception desk and were told that by far the easiest way to get there was to use a Taxi so that’s what we did at the cost of around £10.  After a brief security check we entered the gardens where we visited an archaeological museum, we then discovered that on Wednesdays and Saturdays there are free tours run by volunteer so we joined one of those.  It was a really interesting visit although it did involve an awful lot of walking for Graham; it’s hard to believe that such a lovely park exists right in the centre of such a big city.

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After leaving the park we decided to head for an area called Asakusa which is home to the Sensoji Temple and Nakamise shopping district which is filled with old Edo period stores selling all manner of goodies. To get there we used the metro and, as everyone says, it is a very efficient service but getting from platform to platform and line to line can involve some really lengthy walks and not all of the stations have lifts/escalators.

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We walked around the shops for a while amongst the seething mass of humanity (perhaps being here on a weekend wasn’t such a good idea) before stopping at a café for a light lunch. As Graham’s ankle was starting to protest we did something we wouldn’t have seen ourselves doing, we took a rickshaw ride around some of the old streets. We did feel sorry for the young lad who took us around even though he said he’d have to go and get a bigger rickshaw before he could take us!!

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Our rickshaw ride ended just a two minute walk from the Sensoji Temple so we made our way there to take a look and it was well worth the effort.  We then strolled back through another street full of small shops before taking another taxi back to the hotel.

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All in all it’s been a very good day and this evening should also prove to be interesting as we are meeting up with two Japanese ex-colleagues of Graham’s.

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Sunday 24th September 2017 – Tokyo, Japan.

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We had a really good night last night.  We were met in the lobby of our hotel by Kazushi, who Graham had worked alongside at Ford and Takaki-san who was a successor of Kazushi’s but who Graham had not previously met.

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Having made the necessary introductions we headed out across the street (in a straight line it would be just across the street but you have to walk a little way to get there via the various crossings) into an area full of small restaurants and bars frequented by the locals.  We can see this area from our hotel room but would have had no idea exactly what was here.  Our guides chose a very traditional restaurant and, thankfully, ordered for us so we had a really interesting meal with all manner of dishes being served to us including two very different forms of sea weed.

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As Kazushi knew Graham liked malt whiskey he suggested we move on to a specialist whiskey bar which we walked to via more very lively streets.  Unfortunately this particular bar was closed so we walked to another which turned out to be really packed, we eventually went in to what can best be described as a very confused bar, it was an Irish bar with a guy playing Scottish tunes on the bagpipes and where a Japanese lady was singing!  The guys all had a whiskey each whilst I tried a Japanese spirit made from sweet potatoes (very nice) before taking a taxi back to our hotel with plans made for Kazushi to meet us at 10:00 this morning and take us and Adam, one of his British colleagues, to Motegi to see the Twin Ring race circuit and the Honda Collection.

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We met in reception as planned and then took a taxi to JR (Japan Rail) Tokyo station where Kazushi helped us to exchange our vouchers for JR Rail Passes and to reserve some seats on the Shinkansen (Bullet train) for our journey to Hiroshima tomorrow.  The newly acquired passes allow us to travel on most JR services for the next seven days so we were able to put them to immediate use as we used one of the Shinkansen services for the next part of our journey.  After about an hour we arrived at Utunomiya station where Kazushi had arranged to hire a car to take us the rest of the way.  As we weren’t due to collect the car straight away we went to a restaurant for lunch where we each had a very large plate of mixed Yakimesi (I think that’s how it’s spelt) a Japanese version of Dim Sum which was very tasty but also very filling.

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Once we’d picked up the car Kazushi drove us to Motegi where we discovered there were some national Motorcycle races taking place so we spent a while watching proceedings before heading to the Honda Collection.  This collection must be absolutely priceless, there are all manner of machines from the very early days up to the modern vehicles including numerous championship winning cars and bikes.  There was a short demonstration ride/drive of a few of the vehicles and they even started up their new Honda RCV 213V-S motorcycle which cost mega money to develop.

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We left Motegi at around 17:00 and made the return journey picking up some Bento boxes along the way (they’re effectively a pre-packed picnic in a box) to eat on the train.  Once we’d said our goodbyes it was time to try to re-pack the bags so that we could travel with just our two smaller bags, the rest being stored at the hotel for us to collect when we return next weekend.

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Monday 25th September 2017 – Tokyo to Hiroshima, Japan.

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We left the hotel a little earlier than our schedule required this morning as we wanted to reserve seats for our remaining long distance rail journeys.  Once that was done we sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee whilst we waited for our first train to arrive.  Our journey today was in two parts, the first from Tokyo, Shinagawa to Shin-Osaka and then onwards on a different Shinkansen to Hiroshima.  The hotel we’re staying in is literally just outside the station so we were checked in in no time.

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When we had told Kazushi and Adam where we would be staying in Hiroshima they both recommended a restaurant called ‘En’ which they described as a good casual locals restaurant, well, we found it without too much trouble and with a little bit of help from the staff we managed to order a couple of the local specialities the first being a spicy chicken dish (mostly chicken skin rather than meat though!) and the second an onimakiyati (I think that’s how it’s spelt) which was described to us by our Tokyo taxi driver as a Japanese pizza.  It was shaped like a pizza but definitely didn’t taste like one, it’s made of noodles top and bottom and stuffed with all manner of things including prawns, pork and squid.  By the time we’d worked our way through that we’d had enough to eat but we did notice that everyone around us was eating their way through dish after dish, I just don’t know where they put it all especially when it was being washed down with copious amounts of beer!

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We had a brief walk around one of the local department stores on the way back to our hotel where I’m now going to try to catch up with labelling some of our pictures.

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Tuesday 26th September 2017 – Hiroshima, Japan.

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Having worked out what we wanted to see in Hiroshima we’ve both decided that we’ve got this part of the trip a little bit wrong, we should have had an extra night here.  As it was we’ve ended up rushing around a lot today trying to fit in as much as we could. 

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Our first priority was to visit the Peace Park and the various memorials to those who perished in the Atomic Bomb blast back in 1945 so we made that our first stop.  The museum at the entrance to the park was very moving and really does make you think particularly when we have two supposed world leaders who seem to want to wreak that sort of destruction again, very sobering.  The park itself is very pretty and the monuments very touching, we even came across a group of school children singing a song at the Children’s Memorial which was touching. One other thing we hadn’t expected to see at the museum was someone we knew.  We bumped in to Erin one of the singers from the Silver Shadow who was escorting a tour from the ship, small world isn’t it?

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We had decided our next stop would be Miyajima Island which is home to numerous shrines and temples and as we had very limited time we decided to pay extra and take the fast boat out there (the other option which was included in our JR ticket would have involved at least one bus and one train journey plus a ferry).  This was where we really noticed the need for extra time as there was way more to see than we had time for, we really only scratched the surface.  One other thing the island has is wild deer and they turned out to be a bit of a pain, as soon as they see someone with any form of bag or piece of paper they make a b-line for them and that included us when we bought some sort of snack on a stick, we effectively had to fight them off to get to eat and one of them even took a bite at Graham’s shirt which now has teeth marks on it!

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Once back in Hiroshima we took another ride on the sightseeing loop bus we’d used earlier in the day and went for a brief visit to Hiroshima Castle. By the time we reached the grounds Graham had had enough of walking (it’s also been really hot and humid today) so he sat on a bench in the park whilst I went to the castle. It was an interesting if brief visit of the castle that was re-built in 1951 (it was totally obliterated by the bomb) and it houses a number of original artefacts from the time of the Shogun and Samurai. I then just had time for a quick look at the Gokuoku Shrine which is in the park before we caught the last of the day’s loop buses.

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We jumped off of the bus at what was described as the ‘entertainment area’ and it certainly had three karaoke bars that I saw (and avoided).  Finding a restaurant where we could cope with the menu proved interesting but we soon found a Teppanyaki grill (yay – no raw fish) which although expensive was very good.  A short taxi ride later we were back here in our room taking a breather after a busy day.

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