Oxleys' Adventures

What a charming town awaited us in Annecy, France! We decided to leave the coastal region of southern France and head by train to the foothills of the French Alps. There nestled away in the valley lies Annecy. She has a beautiful canal winding through her streets which provides the footpath to her majestic lake! We discovered great French pastries and wonderful cuisine. For Bud’s former patients, who have so faithfully been following his journey, he even found another ‘eye doctor’ carving to add to his collection from his forty years of practice:)!

Here’s a few glimpses of the charm of Annecy:

The idea of their markets continues to intrigue a person! Here is what you see along a canal path or a narrow cobblestone street.
I have no idea how these French women all manage to stay so thin facing these daily temptations!

As I shared, French pastries were to die for! Here is one of our very favorite spots!

For those of you who may have been blessed with the opportunity to have traveled in Europe, I know that you join me in the delight of ending your evening with the warmth of a heated towel…as only Europeans can so thoughtfully add to your room:)!
Here is a look at the simple invention that provides that added luxury!

Monday, September 17, 2012…..we were off to Nice, France! We decided to use Nice as our ‘home base’ as we explored the shores of southern France…known to many as the French Riviera!!
However, before I share some pics of our stops on this leg of the journey…YES….that is Bud looking over the fish market and making more friends along the way!!! So right along the alleyways of the city….there you suddenly are ‘gill to gill’ with the catch of the day:)!

Now, there were a few other delightful food options, too:

However, nothing will ever beat those beloved freighter BBQ’s:

Well, except possibly….a French ‘candy market’……this was a fun find!

By the way, we have also seen some beautiful spots! To capture just a glimpse of France’s charm…here are some favorite highlights along the way…
Cannes….

Yes…..those are the actual steps to the Cannes Film Festival but minus the red carpet! Of course being the typical tourist that I am…..I could not resist snapping a pic of Meg Ryan’s hand print ( just watched Sleepless in Seattle for entertainment on the freighter!)

St-Tropez lies between it’s famous port and the hilltop Citadelle with magnificent views:

Today we journeyed to the fairy tale city of Monaco. Of course, this is the spot where Grace Kelly became beloved, married her Prince, and then tragically was killed in an auto accident on one of the beautiful roads majestically lining the mountainside. Known for its Monte Carlo Casino and Grand Prix race through the streets…..it is truly matched by its breathtaking harbor. Take a peak …..

Of course, it was the kids that really stole our hearts!! They were adorable as they were being prepped for their first ‘sail’! We were almost positive that we could see a flashback to ‘Carebear Days’ (our daughter) and there she was in her pigtails getting ready to ‘man’ one of the sails….. Perhaps you can spot her:)!
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Off for some shut eye… as VERY early tomorrow morning we catch a train for Lyon and then on to Annecy, France, and a glimpse of the French Alps!

As you can see, Bud has already beat me to it….oh, my..if he knew I posted this:)! Shhhh….let’s just make this our secret!!

We have made the passage from Hamburg, Germany to Genoa, Italy! Many of you have asked about the condition of the seas. So far we have been very blessed with the roll of the seas being very manageable. In this passage we had one day with 40+ mile an hour winds/ approximately 10-12 foot waves….trust me you are holding on tight during those days!!
However, in a ship that weighs close to 30,000 ton ….it all seems to work!!

The passage between Africa and Spain was unbelievable!!! It seemed surreal to actually be passing by the infamous “Rock of Gibraltar”.

Our arrival in Genoa found Bud up on the top deck with the guys and yours truly down below with the cook and crew. It was a real treat to watch the crew’s reaction as we entered this beautiful Italian port city. It is always an exceptional experience when we enter by day, as everyone has an opportunity to share in the excitement of the port!

I may be experiencing some ‘technical troubles’ with my video clips…..hoping they will show up here somewhere…..maybe at the end (hopefully)!
I was trying to capture the moments I was speaking about ie. the
excitement of the crew coming into Genoa, the idea of ‘sea swells’, and the passing between Africa and Gibraltar!!!

Just in case the clips don’t appear, here is a picture from our deck as we docked in Genoa:

Now we are off to our land portion of the journey.
We have three and a half weeks to travel through Europe etc. before catching up with the same freighter…Rickmers’ Shanghai as she ties up in Singapore! From Singapore we will complete the full global passage. At this time Rickmers’ takes all necessary precautions and does not allow passengers to pass through the dangerous piracy areas; so we are off on our own land adventure!

We said our sad farewells to Lynton and Paul (Aussie blokes) and wished the crew well, as we will see many of them in Singapore!!

Hope that you will stay with us for the land portion of the journey!!

Hamburg, Germany, found us in a port city on a rather dreary, misty September day. We hit all the typical tourist spots but I really wanted to share the train station. As you may well know, train stations in Europe are huge, filled with people, and a major source of entertainment for people watching! The interesting thing about Hamburg’s train station was the packed grocery store with everyone waiting in line to load up on supplies for the weekend. Do take a look! Fresh fruits, meats and everything you could desire right here in the train station …

Here are a couple quick looks at the canal boat ride which we took through the city. Hopefully, you can see through the raindrops! Bud is pretty intense on trying to learn the German but thank goodness for the English GPS ear piece translators, which guided us with English descriptors through every canal turn!

Here is a look at how a lock works. Ships enter a ‘lock system’ in order to move from one sea level to another level. Take a look…

Almost through…the whole process probably takes about an hour and a half….

Here you can see the water level changing ….

Success!

Kids….quiz on Friday! Just kidding…:)!

Take a look at these clips as we passed through the locks on our way out of the port of Antwerp, Belgium! Talk about two is company and three a crowd…..hang on though ….check out the fourth!!

I thought that was about as close as you could get and then walked to the back of our freighter and saw this:

Upon the recommendation of a good friend of Keri’s …we decided to venture by train to Brugge, Belgium. Our one and a half hour train trip found us in an oasis of medieval beauty!

Hop on board our canal ride and get a taste of the beauty of the “Venice of the North”….Brugge, Belgium!

Chocolate was to die for….

The Cathedrals are all so very beautiful…

This is truly labeled the most romantic city of Belgium!

This was clearly the most beautiful city to date!!

We made it through customs and actually it was far easier than we had anticipated! We were please to discover it was very simple ….and we were off to do some touring! Antwerp’s old section of the city was well worth a look. We taxied in and spent the day seeing some of the sights. The blokes split up for the day and Terry, our New Zealander buddy, joined us for some more touring. The Cathedral and of all things….the train station…were major highlights!

At the end of our evening we decided to really be adventuresome and take the bus system back to the ship. This was our first minor ‘disaster’:)! It ended up that the suggested directions left in the ‘lounge’ by a previous freighter passenger were a “little faulty”. The last bus stop was really a few miles from the ship quay. So long into the night, in total darkness, three wandering sailors made their way through the unknown freighter docks on foot…ending up with blisters abundant for this ole mate:)! Lesson learned…cabs for the rest of this port!!

Here are some spots of Antwerp:

Finally in the middle of the city is the most elaborate train station that I have ever experienced. It was just absolutely beautiful….with a huge ferris wheel in front. Here, take a look:

Lovely dinner at a beautiful little outdoor cafe’….

Before I leave you in Antwerp, I have to mention the fantastic bike system they have in place. For thirty Euro a year (abt 38.00 American dollars) you can rent a ‘public bike’ any time you would like. They are located in racks all over the city. You swipe your card, a computer tells you which number of bike to take, and then you just ride off to whatever your next destination is and park it. It is an amazing system to navigate the city!

I wish you could be right here with us, as we are sitting out on the deck leaving the port of Antwerp headed down the Schelde River to the North Sea and on our way to Hamburg, Germany. Look at the amount of containers waiting to be loaded on these ships…and this is only one tiny, tiny section of this port- the second largest in the world. It is second in size only to Singapore!

It is about 7:00 pm on Wednesday, September 5, 2012. The air is beginning to chill…..sunset almost here…and a spectacular Antwerp lock passage awaiting us!

However, first, I want to share some glimpses from our voyage across the Atlantic.

I am sure that you can’t imagine this but we were actually THRILLED to be invited down to the engine room by our beloved Chief Engineer!! He has been an amazing host and delightfully informative. Come with us and take a look at what makes this 630 foot long, 110 foot wide and 30,000 ton vessel ‘purr’!! Meet our Chief:

Of course, the Chief is the gentleman on the right…the guy on the left is just the ‘want to be’!
I am going to attempt to share the actual sounds of the engine room….note the ear plugs as a necessity for this tour!! We are actually below sea level on parts of this ‘engine tour’….hope the thing ‘holds together’!

Take a look at this ‘drive shaft’….to make this thing ‘purr’ at about 16 knots for just simple ole ocean cruising….

Here it is with sound effects….it is really a drive shaft to the propeller of the ship (not a crane shaft as I described:)! ) SO much to learn!!!

Here are the cylinders in front of the silver exhaust values:

Control panels…lots of ‘fun’ dials to entertain the ‘adult kids’ on board:)!

And here’s Rolly’s ‘digs’…he is the electrical officer!

Of course, the Chief really was hoping that I would take over his watch at the control station….and if you believe this…I am sure there is an oil refinery in Antwerp that I can send you!!

OK …all you engineer types….now let’s see you step up to identify these other critical components:

If you missed that one – it is the ship’s incinerator. OK, now you are on your own for the rest…which really means ….I had no clue what I was actually experiencing:)!!

I do know this ….that was my exit door:)!! Enough of that …did anyone hang with me all the way through this one…..there will be a quiz when I get back.:)!!

Now, off to the ‘ocean party’!

Check this race out…as we see who is going to reach the berth first!!!