Our son James enjoyed a wonderful week in Morocco for his Spring Break. I shared a few of the great photos he took BUT now you’ve gotta see these videos.
Check out these 4 videos!! Tell me what you think.
They are amazing!! New places added to my Bucket List lol 😛
Smile mon! that’s right we’re in Jamaica for the day!
Jamaica is our first port of call. Ocho Rios is Spanish for “eight rivers”. The name “Ocho Rios” is a misnomer because there are not eight rivers here. It is most likely a British corruption of the original “Las Chorreas” or “the waterfalls”, the name given because of the nearby Dunn’s River Falls. Ocho Rios is in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica. Scuba diving and other water sports are offered in the area.
Limestone, molasses, sugar and coffee are the key exports in Jamaica.
Docking at James Bond pier named after the 1962 James Bond movie Dr. No
Dunn’s River Falls Waterfall and Beach
A “MUST HAVE” while in Jamaica is Jerk Chicken with festival ( the little fried donut) and bammy (made from cassava root)
The birds were so much fun to interact with at Dolphin Cove. Macaws, lovebirds, parrots, an owl…were all very friendly and liked the attention.
This way to the Iguana!
Meet Charlie! Charlie II that is. The first Charlie, the one I held last time we were in Jamaica passed away. This Charlie was a sweetie though. I love Iguanas, they are just so interesting!
David was REALLY brave and held the snake. NOT me though…I am terrified of snakes!!
We had an amazing day in Jamaica…now to set sail!
David purchased a bamboo shirt…he’s looking a bit tropical for our dinner tonight.
Goodbye from Jamaica ( and Charlie)
A cruising vacation! Ahh…
Heading out on the Norwegian Pearl this morning. This is our fifth cruise and the 4th time for us on this particular ship. It just feels like home ❤ The Norwegian Pearl just finished a 2 weeks refresh at dry dock in Miami. There are lots of new updated features and we are the first aboard to check it out. How exciting!!
Here is the itinerary…
And here are some pics…
We arrived bright and early at the Port of Miami and checked in and got our stateroom cards. We had to wait until 12:00 to embark. First stop the Great Outdoors for a bit of food. It was overcast and windy with intermittent rain, so the pools and furniture were tied down. After discovering a mechanical problem during rechecks and requiring a part, we were delayed in our sail away. We were scheduled for 4pm, the first ship to leave, BUT ended up being the last ship to finally leave port. Two Norwegian, Two Royal Caribbean, and a Disney Cruise ship all went ahead of us. There’s so much to do on a ship, and David finally had someone to play a game of chess as we watched the other ships leave port. Since it was rainy and not great for being outside to watch the sail away, we had a lovely dinner ( complete with LOTS of desserts), and enjoyed some great Classical music.
We ended our day being rocked asleep in our cozy refurbished stateroom
Bon Voyage!
And so it begins…
It’s the OSCARS!!! Did you watch it?
I love this awards show. But mainly for the fashions. I love to see the stars all glammed up on the red carpet. And I love Mondays after the Oscars. I really enjoy listening to all the reviews…from fashion, to the big winners, to behind the scenes special moments on all my favourite morning talk shows as I am doing my things around home. In your opinion who was the BEST dressed/ WORST dressed on the red carpet this year?
My Number 1 was Nicole Kidman
Like WOW!!! Keith Urban must be a proud man.
Number 2 was Jessica Biel
And how about that opening by Justin Timberlake!!!
I love these two couples, they are so good together and the ladies looked fabulous as ALWAYS.
Worst dressed…I hate to comment on this, but I didn’t care for the style that Octavia Spencer ( Hidden Figures) wore
And I honestly didn’t care for Halle Berry’s wild and crazy hair!
Everyone has their own style/taste and I’m really not one to judge…these were just my preferences. Everyone looked fabulous.
Speaking of red carpet ready… My cruise clothes and dressy outfits are all picked out and packed. Yay!!!! I’ve packed way too much, considering I normally can do 10 days in a carry on ( NOT THIS TIME) but a girl has to have options when cruising!!!
One and a half more sleeps and it’s VACAY!
The Coldest Night of the Year is a super-fun, family-friendly fundraiser that raises money for the hungry, homeless, and hurting across Canada. Bundle up and WALK!!
Our church’s teens and leaders are participating in this walk. It’s such a great activity and for a super great cause!
Today was a gorgeous day and great weather to be outside. We had errands to do, packing for our cruise, and David even had a bit of time to start getting his tan on…
We had a simple dinner and are now vegging in front of the TV for a couple hours.
Hope you’re having a nice relaxing Saturday!
*** Make sure you press PLAY on the audio file to get the full effect as you read this post. lol
It’s that time of year in Brazil!
It’s Carnaval! It falls on February 24-28 this year. It is the biggest celebration of the year in Brazil. We had so much fun experiencing this when we lived there, and just to break up the wintery snow month of February and help me think about warm, sun and beaches…I just had to break out my Havaianas ( have to pack them for my cruise next week anyway)
AND for dinner tonight I just had to make some delicious Brazilian food … shrimp with heart of palm and rice topped with toasted almonds and lime…lime pie and coffee… and caipirinha’s of course!
Have a great Carnaval our dear Brazilian friends!
And maybe I will watch Rio…love that movie and the music.
Today is Nova Scotia Heritage Day!
This year’s Honoree is The Mi’kmaq and their ancestors. The Mi’kmaq and their ancestors have lived in this land for at least 11,000 years. Mi’kma’ki, their traditional territory, includes Nova Scotia, P.E.I., and much of New Brunswick and the Gaspe Peninsula.
In the world of hockey, it is well known that Mi’kmaq craftsmanship resulted in some of the best made hockey sticks in history. This year, Nova Scotia Heritage Day will honour Mi’kmaq Heritage by celebrating the important accomplishments of the Mi’kmaq community, including its contribution to Canada’s favorite past time, hockey.
The Mi’kmaq community will host a two-game hockey challenge called The Mi’kmaq Heritage Hockey Classic – Bury the Hatchet. The theme, Bury the Hatchet, was selected to honour a ceremony held in 1761 that saw the signing of the Halifax Treaties. The treaty ceremony marked the end of more than 75 years of hostility between the Mi’kmaq and the British, and celebrated the beginning of a peaceful and friendly relationship between the two nations.
Canada’s native population did not record in ‘hard-copy’ the history of their nations. Rather, they had appointed ‘story tellers’ who passed on knowledge of their culture from generation to generation in the form of ‘oral history’. The early Ice Hockey sticks were carved from Hornbeam trees, which are native to Nova Scotia and provide a very durable hardwood. One of the tools used in the carving of Hockey sticks was known as a “Crooked Knife”. As a result of the huge numbers of Ice Hockey sticks made using these methods by Mi’kmaq, local supplies of Hornbeam were largely depleted and the Mi’kmaq then turned to the yellow birch, another hard wood which possesses the same characteristics. In the early years of the development of the game, sticks were simply called after the name of the game. Thus boys played with “Hurleys” and later with “Hockeys”, rather than with “hurley sticks” and “hockey sticks” as they do today.
It is always nice to enjoy a “day off” in mid February but it’s also a great way to learn about your country’s heritage. Sadly my husband worked a LONG day ( 13 hours) and it was just me at home. So no family day adventure. BUT I took advantage of it by just having a RELAX day.
IN honour of heritage day … we had fish for dinner ( no we didn’t catch them ourselves) and berries for dessert!
Is there anything more Nova Scotia than smelts, trout and blueberry grunt?
Hope you enjoyed your long weekend! Back to work tomorrow.
1700 Years to Build. 5500 Miles Long. What Were They Trying to Keep Out?
It’s FINALLY in theatres here in Canada. It was released December 16 in China and I have been waiting patiently…
THE GREAT WALL
I have been wanting to see this movie. There were advertisements and displays for it everywhere when we were in China before Christmas. It was released there December 16 and now 2 months later it’s out here in Canada.
I’m not a movie person. I rarely go to the theatre. BUT this one…I just had to go see!
And to start our “Great Wall Adventure”…we had dinner at the Great Wall Restaurant in downtown Halifax.
And then to the movies…
I was so looking forward to this and even googled to see what section of the Great Wall this movie was depicting…haha…I laughed. Oh…China! It was actually filmed at a giant film studio in Qingdao. I have seen such studios when I lived there and this information really didn’t surprise me.
Considering The Great Wall is a film about China, audiences around the world won’t be too surprised to find out that it was actually shot there too. However, no real-life locations were actually used.
Unable to shoot on the actual Great Wall of China for the obvious reason that it’s one of the greatest wonders of the world, Zhang’s colossal team of designers built two walls in a giant film studio complex in Qingdao — one was a low wall, while the other a high one. With the entire set stretching to well over 200 metres, both were placed in front of one of the largest green screen ever used in the film industry.
According to the director, even Matt Damon was impressed when he first set eyes on the structure:
“Matt Damon said it was the biggest green screen he’d ever seen and I think it’s the biggest green screen ever assembled in the world.”
Well the movie wasn’t what I had hoped for or expected ( based on one legend about the great wall) but it was a fun day and David’s older brother and his wife went with us for our “Great Wall Adventure Day” so that was fun to spend time with them and get our plans together for our upcoming cruise together in a couple weeks.
Hope you are having a great weekend.
Midterms done! Tax sale done! NOW…a much needed break from school and taking a week’s vacation from work at Queen’s Municipality before tax season is in full swing. Where to go? That was James’ question when he was planning a vacation.
Tonight David & I saw him off at the airport!
Where is he going?
This is his itinerary! I am so jealous. I know he will have a wonderful time and take some awesome pics!!
James spent the last month deciding where he wanted to travel for a little break away…He LOVES adventure and has been to some pretty great places. He’s going by himself, but that’s James…he started traveling by himself at 15. He’ll fly to London and then take some flights, and buses and trains, stay in hotels and hostels and visit some interesting countries, cities and towns.
Have a wonderful time James, take lots of pictures and remember to check in with your Mama once and while…BUT then I don’t have to tell you that! 😀
Just An East Coast Girl 