This photo is my own, but similar to the one that originally caught my attention.
I can’t say how many times an interesting photo has caught my eye and led me to plan yet another trip, but Baku, Azerbaijan, was definitely one of those times. I don’t even remember where I first saw that intriguing image of a classic Islamic medina (“old town”) with three flame-shaped skyscrapers looming in the background, but I do know I started researching straight away. Baku. Even the name was unfamiliar and intriguing. Azerbaijan I knew nothing about. “The Caucasus” for me was a region usually in the news because of some conflict involving Russia and/or Turkey. I clearly needed to know more.
Having traveled Uzbekistan last September, I was interested in seeing more of the old Silk Road. A quick search showed non-stop flights to Baku from Paris (our current home) on Azerbaijan Airlines. This was a new airline for me so merited a little more research even though I’m usually reassured by EU safety standards for airlines servicing the European Union. Reviews looked good, the timing was reasonable, the price was fair.
I originally pondered making this a short, one-city visit, but naturally looked at what was nearby as well. Researching Baku put the Caucasus in general on my radar screen and that meant Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia and part of Russia. Current international relations and the war in Ukraine meant Russia was off the table, and I’d traveled in Russia before anyway. Tblisi, Georgia, is a short flight away from Baku, once again on Azerbaijan Airlines. That sounded promising and a Scotsman we’d met in Uzbekistan gave it a thumbs-up. The more I read about Tblisi and Georgia, the more appealing the whole country became and Tblisi became a definite follow-up to Baku.
Armenia came into focus when I realized there were day tours to some Armenian monasteries from Tblisi. If you could do a day tour, could we maybe combine a day tour with a transfer all the way to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia? We could! And Transavia offered reasonably-priced non-stop flights back to Paris from Yerevan. Better and better.
However, research also led to more info about the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. A cease-fire was signed last November, so things seemed to be settling down. But still… And there were posts about problems getting into Armenia with an Azerbaijani stamp in a passport, but they were not very recent. Hmm. I read some more and decided to go for it. I had a plan: 4 nights in Baku (with 1 day tour), 6 nights in Tblisi (with 2 day tours spaced between free days in Tblisi), and 3 nights in Yerevan. I chose highly-rated boutique hotels in Baku (in the old town) and Tblisi (across from the opera on the main avenue) and a luxury hotel in Yerevan for a final hurrah paid for entirely with hotel points. I booked the iconic day tour from Baku directly with the tour operator: “mud volcanoes”, an ancient dwelling place full of cave drawings, a Zoroastrian temple, and “Fire Mountain” where natural gas burned perpetually on a hillside. I booked the day tours from Tblisi via Viator: monasteries, the historic old capital and cathedral, Stalin’s childhood home, a cave city one day; and, a great day wine tasting and cooking on Georgia’s preeminent wine route.
The only hiccup in my plans came weeks in advance when Azerbaijan Airlines canceled our Thursday flight, offering to re-booked us on the same flight on Friday. It was a disappointing loss of one day in Baku, but not a big deal. The hotel changed our booking and deducted the cost of a night, we still had a great time both on the tour and exploring on our own, and while we would have enjoyed the extra day, we hit all my Baku must-sees in the time we had.
The trip itself was fun and a learning experience. We witnessed mass pro-democracy demonstrations nightly in Tblisi passing under our balcony, were obliged to re-route due to an Armenia-Azerbaijan border dispute, and heard both sides of clashes that have marked the history of the region. Now that I’ve set the scene for our Caucasus adventure, I’ll write about each destination in separate posts. There’s much to share!
This post is not as fun as some, but I wanted to share practical travel-during-Covid info that took me awhile to pull together for our recent travels to Belgium (via the UK), France, Kenya and South Africa.
This year was a big birthday for me, so I was hoping we’d be able to do something special after last year’s pandemic isolation. We were thrilled when Europe opened up to (non-essential) American travelers again after we’d been banned for so long during the pandemic. When Antwerp friends asked us back for a favorite house- and cat-sit in September, we decided to launch my birthday trip there. I came up with a 2-month/4-trips-in-1 birthday trip that included Belgium, Paris, Kenya and South Africa. I made plans with the understanding that any portion of our travels could be canceled at any time given the vagaries of ever-changing Covid restrictions. I researched travel requirements throughout the summer, thinking early on that South Africa might be out when that country raised its Covid Level from 2 to 3 to 4. A ban on all alcohol sales and the closing of many venues would make our planned Garden Route exploration and wine tasting impossible. Fortunately, South Africa was back to Level 2 by the time we traveled there. When –just prior to our September 2 departure– the EU recommended member nations consider banning Americans as our Covid numbers spiked, we started to wonder if we’d even make it to our first stop in Belgium. I decided each and every step of the trip would be a gift. As each portion of our trip materialized, we counted ourselves lucky and crossed our fingers for the next. In the end, all four portions of our trip worked out and we had a wonderful time: We spent three weeks in Antwerp, two weeks in an apartment in my beloved Paris, a week on safari in Kenya, and 15 days in the Western Cape of South Africa.
Traveling to these four countries required the usual check of entry requirements, visas, etc. plus country-specific Covid requirements. A useful, but not perfect, starting place for determining Covid travel requirements is the site Sherpa. Happily, Belgium had dropped all entry restrictions for vaccinated Americans like us. Unfortunately, flying American Airlines meant we were once again funneled through Heathrow which meant we needed a PCR test for the dubious “pleasure” of connecting through Heathrow to Brussels. A suddenly-filled CVS schedule meant an expensive trip ($139pp) to a Denton, Texas, testing clinic. Aggravating, but necessary. (Surprisingly, our health insurance did cover $51.31pp of these tests, so even if you need a totally discretionary Covid test for travel, it’s worth filing a claim.) The UK also requires a passenger locator form submitted within 48 hours of departure. Belgium, too, required us to fill out a passenger locator form prior to arrival and we had to show it at Belgium customs.
Entering France (via Thalys train) from Belgium was no problem. We did fill out the “required” French Covid Statement of Honor just in case we needed it to board the train, but no one asked us for it. I applied online at the French government website prior to our trip for an EU Digital Covid Certificate giving me a QR code establishing that I was vaccinated with an approved vaccine (Pfizer, in my case). This arrived prior to our trip and I was then able to upload that to the French TousAntiCovid app. In the app, I was able to mark this certificate as my “favorite” which then let me create a widget on a home screen so I always had the QR code easily to hand. This is important in France as nearly every restaurant, museum and venue requires a quick scan of that “passe sanitaire.” The French government has recently done away with the online application, and tourists can get the QR code establishing their vaccination status at local pharmacies, potentially at a cost. In a pinch, showing your American vaccination cards should work most or some of the time, but the passe sanitaire is the norm and definitely preferred. Alternatively, visitors can test at the many tents around Paris and provide a negative Covid test for entry.
To fly from Paris to Nairobi, Kenya, we again needed a PCR test. I found several sites offering the tests online and some by simply walking around. We opted for a Biogroup lab at 134bis, rue de Vaugirard, in the 15th arrondissement which did not require an appointment, was fast, and reasonably-priced at €45 (appx. $52pp). Once again, it was necessary to research entry requirements. Kenya specified the test must be 96 hours before our flight and we needed a special health surveillance form with QR code. Officials were waiting to check that form (digital or printed) as we deplaned in Nairobi. It was possible to look up the form by phone number, too, if the actual form was lost. Kenya also requires an eVisa that must be printed. Our flight was delayed an hour as Air France staff sorted through many passengers who thought a digital copy was sufficient, as apparently it had been in the past. [Note: The Kenyan eVisa is easy to apply for and relatively cheap at $51 including a $1 credit card fee. Use the official link above and don’t be fooled by much more expensive online “facilitators.” Also, although the Kenyan government said they’d email the eVisa, they didn’t, but it was online very quickly. We just had to check back to the accounts we created.]
To fly from Kenya (Nairobi) to South Africa (Cape Town), we needed yet another PCR test within 72 hours of our flight and a health screening form completed within 48 hours of travel. The PCR test was problematic as we would be in remote Masai Mara on safari during the window we needed the test since PCR results can take up to 24 hours and the labs are back in Nairobi. Searching online, I found a group offering tests at Masai Mara (on site for $110pp or at our lodge for $140). I arranged with our safari company to go to this testing site. In the end, they arranged for the doctor to come to us for no extra charge. There was a delay and some confusion in getting the results, but all worked out in the end.
[In addition to Covid tests, South Africa requires proof of yellow fever vaccine for travelers arriving from Kenya (and other yellow fever zones). The lifetime vaccine must be gotten at least 10 days prior to arrival in a yellow fever zone. We got ours at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp; easy, extremely knowledgeable, and much cheaper than in the United States. We booked an appointment by phone before leaving the United States. Prior to boarding in Nairobi, Kenya Airways staff checked that we had our yellow booklets proving our yellow fever vaccination status. We also got prescriptions for anti-malarial medicine at the Institute, not required to travel to Kenya, but highly recommended.]
Finally, we needed an antigen test to return to the U.S. from South Africa. The test had to be done 3 days (not 72 hours, which potentially allows a little more time) prior to our departure flight. In another online search, I found a testing center at a Cape Town rugby club less than a 10 minute drive from our final hotel. I booked an appointment and paid 450 rand ($30pp) for the tests online via EasyTesting while we were in Paris. This worked like a charm and we had results emailed to us within 30 minutes.
All of this extra Covid testing and documentation is expensive and a hassle, but it’s doable. (Our total out-of-pocket costs for Covid tests for this trip was $559.) Travel now requires both expense and research, planning and constant checking for changes. In normal times, I usually keep a folder with all the documents David and I need for travel, stacked in chronological order, this includes any visas, tickets (many countries require printed proof of departure tickets), etc. These days I’ve separated documents in the folder into a manila folder for each of us to accommodate the increased number of documents: our proofs of vaccines, Covid tests results, contract tracing forms, etc. Note: Printing can be tricky, depending on where you’re staying, so planning and attention to detail is essential.
We rent cars frequently when in Europe and elsewhere and have never needed an international driving permit. Just prior to our most recent roadtrip from Belgium, I came across information that really changes things. We’re in Antwerp house- and cat-sitting for a couple of months again and had some days away to do something with while the owners were home between their travels. I booked a rent car awhile back, but hadn’t settled on where we should go. We’d been thinking northern France and the Channel Islands, but were starting to lean more towards Switzerland since David had never been. A “why not” run to Lichtenstein had also piqued my interest so I began plotting out a drive south through France to Switzerland, factoring in a stop in Dinant, Belgium, that had been on my want-to-see list for some years.
In the course of surfing the Internet, I came across a mention of France now requiring the international driving permit (IDP) or a notarized translation of American driver licenses. Hmm. I’ve dealt with notarized translations for other things when living in France, but this was new. Before, an American driver license was fine in France. An American notary or a random French notary (a different beast than in America) won’t do; drivers need a notary/translator specifically endorsed by the nearest French embassy. Costly and a hassle.
AAA and AATA are the only authorized sources of the international driving permit, and you have to get those back in the States before leaving, or have the physical IDP shipped overseas to you, a process that takes some time and expense. A printable IDP is not available from the legit sources. Sites promising printable IDP’s are not official and, according to some posts I read, have sometimes led to fines and charges of using counterfeit documents. Not worth it!
I started doing a country-by-country search through the embassy websites via the U.S. State Department site and, sure enough, France has changed their rules. So much for cutting through France (and that earlier Normandy/Brittany/Channels idea was right out for sure now). Fortunately, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Lichtenstein still allow American driver licenses for stays under 90 days, so we were good to go with a re-route around France. It added a little time to our trip, but the risk of getting stopped driving illegally in France wasn’t worth it… and we ended up in a really charming part of Germany we might have missed, so we considered it a win all around.
We’ve decided to head home in November via trans-Atlantic ship again, so I looked into renting cars in some of the ports we’ll be in and discovered both Italy and Spain to absolutely require IDP’s now for non-EU foreigners. Anyway, just sharing this heads-up for any Americans considering driving abroad. The IDP is relatively cheap and easy to get in the U.S. We’ll be getting ours back home before we head overseas again.
To research driving laws and requirements on a country-by-country basis, go to the U.S. State Department travel site and enter the country in the box in the right column. On the page that pops up, scroll to the bottom and click the “+” to expand the dropdown menu under “Travel and Transportation” where the local laws are listed and/or links are provided for that information.
Note: IDP’s support, not replace, a valid driver license. A valid, current driver license is a prerequisite to getting an IDP.
Waiting on the Gatimaan Express at Agra Cantt train station
We wanted to make the trip from Agra to Delhi on our own, so I began researching Indian trains. Right away, the relatively new Gatimaan Express train caught my eye. The Gatimaan Express makes the trip from Agra to Delhi (and vice versa) once per day in each direction. The Gatimaan actually goes beyond Agra to Gwalior and Jhansi, but it seems largely geared towards people in Delhi wanting to see Agra and the Taj Mahal on a day trip. The Gatimaan leaves Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin station at 8:10 am IST and returns from Agra in the evening at 5:50pm.
Whenever train travel is on my radar, The Man in Seat 61 is one of my first Internet go-to sites. As always, I found a wealth of information on the site. But, I also found some concerns. Stories of problems abounded: with the Indian Railways website, with using non-Indian addresses and credit cards, with fake security guards at the train stations, with luggage hijacked by porters, with train station taxi scams, and on and on. Oh, India.
I’m happy to report that I had no problems creating an account directly with Indian Railways or with buying our tickets online with an American credit card. The Man in Seat 61 had suggested an easier-to-use intermediary agency, but if my experience is any indication, Indian Railways has ironed out the kinks. I received our tickets promptly by email and was asked to take a screen shot of them and not to print out the tickets “unless extremely necessary.” I booked the highest class (Executive Class) because at 2990 INR ($41.93 US) for both of us, why not? Seats become available 120 days in advance and reservations are necessary. Popular routes do book up on the high-speed trains. I calendared the day tickets were to open and booked ASAP. This is one of those situations where planning makes things a lot easier and cheaper.
Despite warnings, we had no issues at Agra Cantt station. It’s a busy place, but it’s India so pretty much everywhere is busy. The train was on time and our car was comfortable if not luxurious. We were served a hot meal that was tasty and filling if not gourmet. The ride itself was smooth and uneventful. I enjoyed chatting with an extended family of Indians living overseas in France and Spain who’d returned to India to celebrate a major anniversary of the matriarch and patriarch of the clan.
Executive Class dinner on the Gatimaan Express from Agra to Delhi
At speeds of 99mph, travel on the Gatimaan Express from Agra to Delhi takes 1 hour 40 minutes and reaches Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin station at 7:30pm, which means we arrived after dark. Thankfully, we heeded warnings and had a good grip on our luggage as the train pulled into the station. Sure enough, would-be porters streamed aboard, blocking passengers attempting to exit and trying to wrest our luggage away from us. It took some pretty harsh refusals to get them to accept rejection and get out of the way.
Our next challenge came in getting a ride to our hotel. I’d read many warnings about taxis in Delhi and a favorite scam whereby passengers are told the street on which their hotel sits is blocked for a festival so the driver will have to take them somewhere else. Basically, passengers have ended up getting “kidnapped” and either pay a hefty sum to be returned to their original destination or coerced into using the services of scam “travel agents” and different hotels. (The 20-something son of the lady seated behind me on the train had a friend who’d endured this particular scam as well.) My original plan had been to use a transfer service offered by the Gatimaan Express, but the link to that service on the Indian Railways site was broken and no one on the train had heard of it. My back up plan was Uber which had worked like a champ in Jaipur. No such luck in Delhi. In our three stops in Delhi, Uber never worked. The app would find a ride, say it was attempting to book it, then fail to do so. Great.
Eventually, we resigned ourselves to the taxi/tuk tuk gamble and braved the throng waiting at the front of the station. After some haggling, we were led to a taxi operated by a taciturn Sikh who delivered us to our hotel in Connaught Place with no hassle save for the perpetual Delhi traffic.
Note: Per the email I received with our tickets, ” E-Ticket can be cancelled online till preparation of charts (which is normally 4 to 6 hours before the scheduled departure of the train from the originating stations. (For trains starting up to 12 noon the chart preparation is usually done on the previous night)) OR 4 hours before the scheduled departure of boarding the train in case of confirmed ticket OR 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of boarding the train in case of RAC/WL whichever is earlier.”
We got our first chance to try De Waterbus yesterday, the river bus that leaves from Antwerp’s Steenplein and makes a 30-minute run to nearby Hemiksem via Kruibeke. De Waterbus is new as of July 2017 so not yet in service when we were here last spring and not so appealing during the cold days when we were in Antwerp last October-November. Yesterday, however, was perfect: warm and sunny; just right for an explore.
The Waterbus leaves every 30 minutes on the hour and half-hour from Steenplein (the pier where the free cross-river ferry to Linkeroever docks, near Het Steen castle). The cost is €3 for a one-way trip or €5, round-trip. De Waterbus has plenty of room and racks for bikes and a nice, air-conditioned interior and public toilets.
It’s fun to watch the bustling water traffic on the Schelde while the banks are mostly high water reeds and grasses or industrial structures. Antwerp is the second largest port in Europe after all.
The Waterbus made a quick stop on the right bank at Kruibeke, but we stayed on to Hemiksem on the opposite bank where walked a short distance to De Veertoren Taverne a pub I’d spotted online for lunch. There’s nothing else near the dock save tidy new homes.
Terrace at De Veertoren
Wednesday lunch special at De Veertoren: a hearty and tasty steak/frites
After a nice lunch of steak, frites, salad and ice cold Gouden Carolus Tripels, we hopped the free cross-river ferry to the Kruibeke side of the river. (This ferry runs every half hour on the 14 and 45.) I’d seen Castle Wissekerke in the village of Bezel online and wanted to visit, but had been discouraged in the past by the apparent need for a car. I was excited to realize we could actually walk from a Waterbus stop. Checking Google Maps, I saw it’s actually a much shorter walk to the castle from the bank opposite Hemiksem (2 km) than it is from the Kruibeke Waterbus stop (2.5 miles) even though Bezel is in the Kruibeke municipality. The ferry dropped us off at a small parking lot that gave way immediately to the bike trails of the Kruibeke Polder. “Polders” are manmade emergency flood plains that also serve as extensive biking trails connecting towns throughout Flanders and the Netherlands as well as being nature preserves and walking paths. We were the only pedestrians getting off the ferry and we would have loved to have bikes, but it’s still a nice walk and we enjoyed our stroll through wild wetlands and marshy forest. The bikes are routed away from the cobblestone walking path which is an added benefit for those on foot.
Kruibeke Polder just off the cross-river ferry from Hemiksem
Walking path in Kruibeke Polder
Marshy alder tree forest in Kruibeke polder
Sluice in Kruibeke Polder
In no time, we arrived at picturesque Castle Wissekerke surrounded by a little lake populated with swans, geese and ducks.
Castle Wissekerke
Entrance is €5/adult and happily included an English-language booklet with two paths through the castle, one for the nobility and one for servants. We were turned loose to explore the castle which we had almost entirely to ourselves. It was fun and refreshing to be allowed to look through documents, open secret doors, climb a bell turret, descend to the medieval cellar and kitchen, and generally wander and indulge our curiosity with minimal restraint. (There’s a children’s academy of some sort using a portion of the building and that was one of the few areas we weren’t encouraged to visit.)
“Vestibule” of Castle Wissekerke
Gothic-style living apartment, a change from the majority Napoleonic/Empire decor
Servant’s stairway to bell tower
The castle was the home of the family of Count Philippe Vilain XIII and is mostly decorated in restored Napoleonic glory. There are many original items as well as period pieces. Although the castle dates back to the middle ages, it’s current iteration is more a mansion than a fortification. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Wissekerke and are happy the Waterbus and ferry made it doable on foot from Antwerp.
Neglected belfry
Dining room with original china, crystal and silver on display
Chapel of Castle Wissekerke
We wandered through the terrace of a charming café called Bistro Den Duiventoren next door to the castle and peeked in a little “free museum” and bar across the street which is only open on the weekends before retracing our steps to the cross-river ferry and then catching De Waterbus back to Antwerp.
Cross-river ferry dock at Kruibeke Polder with ferry visible on opposite bank at Hemiksem
Drop-off point for shuttles to and from the Civitavecchia cruise port. Note Hertz sign circled in green across the street where rent car companies pick up their customers. Cruise shuttles let passengers off in a big parking lot to the right of where I’m standing to take this photo.
Our month cruise from Singapore to Italy was better than we could have hoped for, but now it was time to be back on our own and we were looking forward to it. Civitavecchia is the nearest port to Rome and most information about the port assumes people are going to Rome either to stay or to fly out of the airport. We’d used a driver in the past to get from the port to Rome, but this time we were skipping the Italian capital and heading north. I wanted to rent a car for the 2+ weeks we planned to tool around Umbria and Tuscany, but I had trouble finding clear info online. I knew the port was too big to walk out of and that passengers not wanting to rely on expensive cruise ship excursions and transfers needed to get out of the main port gate to get to other modes of transport–taxi, train, rent cars–but the info was vague. This short post is just to clarify transport options and the lay of the land at the Port of Civitavecchia.
The ship offered a free motor coach shuttle to an area just outside the port gates where other transportation is offered. Buses for the train station pick up here for €2 per person. Rent car pick up is just across the street. I’d booked us a Hertz rent car and emailed with them from the previous port. When we left the ship, I called them (Hooray again for T-Mobile international!) and a van arrived to pick us up shortly after we got off the ship’s shuttle. Another 5-minute drive and we were at the Hertz office in a nearby strip center where we did paperwork and were on our way in short order.
12-2019 NOTE: SEE COMMENT FROM MARTIN FOLLOWING THIS POST REGARDING CHANGES FOR THE WORSE AT THE MORMUGAO PORT.
I decided that Goa was the Indian port where we’d go it on our own. Researching ahead of the trip, I’d read warnings about Goa port taxis (the “taxi mafia”) and local newspapers decried the state of affairs at the port and the port authority’s slow pace at installing a promised taxi stand with fixed prices that cruise ship passengers could trust. Happily, we arrived to find that a taxi stand was now in place and the system works smoothly and cheaply. Goa turned out to be fun, cheap, and just what we wanted.
Immigration booths are set up on the dock just outside the ship’s ramps. Just beyond immigration is a money exchange that takes both cash and debit cards. Right next to the money exchange is the official taxi stand. Cash is required for the taxis. Eight tours are offered in guests’ choice of a compact car or SUV. Alternatively, you can create your own itinerary and rent either a car or SUV for 8 hours with either 100, 125 or 150 kilometers. Any overage is charged at a very reasonably 14 rupees/km to be paid directly to the driver. All vehicles are air-conditioned.
Ship-side immigration booths in Goa; convenient and fast
We opted for 8 hours with a compact taxi and 100 kilometers since I wanted to see Old Goa (“Velha Goa”) and then spend time on one of Goa’s famous beaches. (I calculated distance and drive time in advance using Google Maps: We’d basically be traveling a triangle with about 1 hour of driving on each leg.) Our total cost was 1700 rupees (just under $30), an awesome deal, especially when compared to the sky-high tour prices offered by Celebrity. (For example, Celebrity wanted $109.75 each–$219.50!–for transfer to and from a beach where we’d get 4 hours free time and lunch at a beach-side restaurant. And no Old Goa included in that excursion.)
Money changing under the blue tent to the right; taxi/tour vouchers for sale under the blue tent to the left
Simple, cheap options for hiring taxis and booking tours on the spot at the Mormugao (Goa) port dock
We paid for our taxi, got a voucher in exchange with the license plate number of our taxi and the driver’s name and were directed to walk to the nearby port gate where someone would help us find our taxi.
Voucher we gave to our taxi driver (with personal info redacted)
There’s a bit of a chaotic air outside the gate with lots of taxis and drivers milling about, but with the help of some of the drivers standing around, we quickly found our taxi.
Interesting traffic on a Goa road
I was a little worried at first when our driver brusquely shrugged off my first choice of a South Goa beach, saying he would take us to another just a bit farther on that was also on my list of 3 beaches I was interested in (provided by a native-Goan assistant waiter on the ship). Not absolutely wedded to my first choice, I went along with his suggestion. Our next point of contention came when we pulled out of the port and he seemed to disagree with David’s request to roll up the window and turn on the air conditioning. A crazy idea in the brutal heat! We told him we’d get out of the car if he didn’t turn on the air conditioning and he acceded. After those initial conflicts, I was worried we’d be stuck for the day with a surly driver, but he was fine after that and took good care of us for the rest of the day. His English was limited, so some of the subtleties were no doubted missed on all sides.
The main roads we traveled to Old Goa were in great shape and obviously newly paved and expanded. Still, it’s an hour drive from the port at Mormugao to Old Goa due to winding roads and small towns that we had to pass through. We drove through the city of Vasco da Gama, pausing for a quick visit at a Hindu temple before continuing to to Old Goa.
Hindu temple in Vasco da Gama
Our first stop in Old Goa was at the ruins of the Church of St. Augustine, built in 1602 by the Portuguese. The sole remaining tower belfry created a dramatic highlight to the extensive ruins of the church and adjoining convent.
St. Augustine belfry
A nice visual aid at St. Augustine belfry
Convent ruins at St. Augustine
Our driver waited while we wandered the ruins, then informed us that we would stop at 3 shops before continuing on to the churches that form the center of Old Goa. We weren’t thrilled about the all-too-common store detour, but quickly realized this was something our driver needed to do. We gamely looked around the first store, a glitzy place reminiscent of People’s Stores in China, offering high-priced trinkets, jewelry, furniture and more. There were some lovely things, but we had absolutely no interest. Heck, most of our belongings are in storage during this vagabond period of our life! I tried to talk our driver out of the second store, but had no luck so we made an even shorter stop. (We ran into a group cruise excursion at that 2nd store and we were more than happy to be free to leave as they were stuck until the last person had made a purchase or made their way through the long line for the toilets.) Back in the taxi, I told our driver we would go in the last shop, but only “for him.” No, he insisted, “for you.” We back-and-forthed that a couple of times, but all in good humor. David and I made one last, speedy stop in a nearly empty store–taking advantage of the clean, western-style toilets and no line–and finally we were on our way the few blocks to the center of Old Goa.
Bom Jesus Basilica
Courtyard attached to Bom Jesus Basilica
Our driver let us off near some souvenir stalls, pointed the way to the Bom Jesus Basilica and then indicated how we should proceed to the other sites and where to meet him when we were through. He left the length of our visit entirely up to us.
With the Indian school summer vacation (April-May) in full swing, most of the tourists to the basilica appeared to be Indian families, although we spotted some fellow cruise ship passengers inside. We joined a line to file to the right of the main altar and to a back section of the church that held a holy relic, a large excessively-bloody crucifix and other religious items. We circled an inner courtyard before exiting the basilica to head across the road to the main grounds of the Archeological Survey of India, which consists of a manicured lawn area surrounding seven churches, cathedrals, the basilica and an archeological museum. We opted to skip the museum, but took in the grand Se’ Cathedral and the smaller, but beautifully-painted Church of St. Francis of Assisi (both free-of-charge).
Archaeological Monuments of Old Goa: Se’ Cathedral and the Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi
Detail of ceiling painting from Church of St. Francis of Assisi
Interior of Se’ Cathedral
Walking the short distance back to the road, we met our driver and started off on the approximately 1-hour drive to Colva Beach. I’d originally wanted to visit the smaller, less-visited Betelbatim Beach which is adjacent to Colva, but at our driver’s suggestion/insistence, Colva it was. At first, I was worried that he’d steered us to an over-crowded, cheesy touristy beach, thinking that was what we Westerners must want. The area just around the main access to the beach is dotted with tourist shops and little dive-y cafes. Lots of people milled about, too. Hmm. Not looking great. At least they were locals and we weren’t stuck in a Western-style resort. We walked over a small footbridge to the beach and saw that a string of casual waterfront restaurants spread out to our left along a naturally wide white-sand beach.
The beginning of restaurants along Colva Beach near main entry road
Happily, we could see that the throng thinned out pretty quickly further away from the main access road. We took off our shoes and strolled through the delightfully warm water to the last restaurant, Luke’s Place, attracted by both the look of the place and the location in spite of the uninspiring and less-than-exotic name.
Lots of free lounge chairs in front of Luke’s Place
Noticing another Western couple on two of a string of otherwise-unoccupied lounge chairs under an umbrella in front of the restaurant, I asked if they spoke English and discovered they were English and had been staying near this beach and frequenting this restaurant for two weeks. The woman was wearing a bikini and assured me I’d get no odd looks or hassles for wearing my bathing suit at Colva, despite the fact that all the local women were wading into the ocean in full saris. (I couldn’t believe how casually they treated those gorgeous dresses!) We did have the usual people wanting to take photos with us pale-skinned foreigners. I told David that in our “skimpy” Western bathing suits, it must be for them like Victorian travelers posing with topless natives! The Brits also informed us that the restaurant made excellent food, the large (strong) Kingfisher beer was a good buy, and that the owner would watch our things if we used the lounge chairs and they’d had absolutely no problems. Proving their point, they wandered off for a long stroll, leaving their belongings. This sounded perfect and turned out to be just that.
Luke’s Place, empty on an early afternoon on a weekday
We enjoyed a good, made-to-order Indian food meal (only Indian rupees accepted) with a great view, then planted ourselves on the cushioned loungers to sunbathe a little before swimming in the ocean. I lost my sunglasses to some great body-surfing and stupidity, but oh well. It was high time I retired those anyway…and I felt pretty sure I could find a cheap pair in India to tide me over until I got back home where I had a good pair waiting.
The ride back to the ship was about another hour and we rolled into the port parking lot, using all but about a half a kilometer of the 100 km we’d paid for. Not bad!
The 8 “Sweet Sixteen” port-side cabins on Celebrity Millennium class ships are just above the “S” through the blue space after the “N” in “CONSTELLATION” the photo above.
As part of our 3-month around-the-world journey, we spent one month on the Celebrity ship Constellation. This was actually two 2-week, back-to-back (“B2B”) cruises. The first two weeks were more a traditional cruise with many stops: Phuket, Thailand; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Cochin, Goa and Mubai, India; Muscat, Oman; Dubai and Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. The second two weeks were more along the lines of a repositioning cruise, i.e., fewer stops and a bargain price as the ship moved from one region to another for a season. This cruise took us from Abu Dhabi back to Muscat, Oman, through the Suez Canal, to Piraeus (Athens) and Katakolon (ancient Olympia), Greece, and dropped us off at Civitavecchia, Italy (the port nearest Rome, although we did not go back to Rome on this trip, but rather picked up a rent car to spend a couple weeks in Umbria and Tuscany before flying from Florence to Belgium).
Upcoming posts covering the cruise period will have more information on ports, directed to cruisers, in addition to regular travelogues. [I’m not that into cruise ship activities and such, but tend to view ships as moving hotels and chose cruises based on itinerary, i.e., ports-of-call and transportation from one point to another. Click here for an earlier post on my philosophy on cruising as well as tips for finding the best deals.] I had some misgivings that a month might be too long on a ship, but we had an amazing time and my only regret is that I can’t do it all for the first time again!
With regards to Constellation, one of Celebrity’s Millennium class ships: I once again booked one of the “Sweet Sixteen” cabins about which I blogged when we sailed trans-Pacific on Constellation‘s sister ship Millennium. [Click here for that post.] These cabins offer a suite-type, double-sized balcony for the price of a regular balcony cabin. For some reason, the extra-large balconies do not appear on the ships’ diagrams and the cabins are categorized as regular balcony staterooms. I prefer the rear-most of these cabins because they offer extra privacy from the cabin just sternward and a more open view. (Both times I booked one of these staterooms, the booking agent had no idea that these cabins existed.)
A manageable crowd on Free First Sunday at the Louvre
Yesterday was the first Sunday of the month (December), which means Free First Sunday of the Month at the Louvre and many other Paris museums. (The Louvre and the Rodin Museum are free on first Sundays between Oct. 1 and March 31. Other museums offer Free First Sundays all year. See the bottom of this article for more info.) I’ve heard and read the horror stories about Free First Sunday hordes, so wanted to check it out myself so I could report what I found on Wanderwiles. I’ve been to the Louvre more times than I can remember and am a past member of Amis du Louvre, so I’ve always avoided these Sundays. Since we’re just in Paris for a month this time, David and I decided we’d give the Louvre a miss on this visit unless First Sunday surprised us…and it did!
No hordes here!
First off, we decided NOT to be waiting when the museum first opens at 9am. Although I’ve seen recommendations to do that, I’ve also heard that there are huge lines waiting at the opening which thin over time. Also, we wanted to go to the first Sunday of Advent at the American Cathedral at 11am. So, we went to church, walked the pedestrian-only Champs-Elysées (another first Sunday of the month thing), then rode line 1 of the Métro to the Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre stop so we could enter the museum by the underground Carrousel du Louvre entrance (thereby hopefully avoiding any line at the above-ground pyramid…and the cold drizzle of the day).
UPDATE: As of June 2018, the Porte des Lions entrance on the Seine side arm of the Louvre has re-opened to regular individual ticket holders. (It had been designated group-only for awhile.) This has always been my favorite every day entrance for quick access to La Grande Gallerie and the Mona Lisa (just up the stairs from this entrance and mid-way down the gallery on your left). However, the Porte des Lions entrance has previously been closed to all on free first Sunday and may still be so. Also, the Porte des Lions entrance is now only open to individuals who already have a ticket or museum pass. Buy Louvre tickets online here. (As mentioned below, this portion of the Louvre is more prone to excessive crowds on free first Sundays.)
We could see the line still formed outside the glass pyramid from inside the Louvre where we’d been happily touring for over an hour.
Walking past the shops (put l’Occitane on your left) towards the upside down pyramid suspended from an atrium, our first glimpse of a huge line of people was disheartening.
Uh oh. Line to Carrousel du Louvre security entrance
We slipped around them to the upside down pyramid where we could see that things were backed up and crowded in the hall beyond (which leads to the main atrium of the Louvre below the courtyard glass pyramid). It seemed the horror stories were confirmed.
Yikes! Not looking good. View from upside down pyramid, looking back towards shopping area from which we’d just come.
But, I wanted to give it a little time to be sure the crowd we were seeing wasn’t just a backlog of groups. (That seemed to be a possibility.) So, we browsed the shops for maybe 15-20 minutes. Stepping back into the hall, we saw that the line had completely disappeared. We walked back to the upside down pyramid atrium and crossed right into the hall beyond which leads to the main atrium/ ticketing and information center of the Louvre.
15-20 minutes later, the line was gone and we walked right in.
The main atrium, under the glass pyramid, was bustling with people.
Once in the main Louvre atrium, you are presented with three escalators going up to the three main wings: Richelieu, Sully and Denon. I figured most people would be going to Denon to see the Mona Lisa and other Renaissance paintings, Winged Vicory, etc. Although the Denon hall of paintings (“La Grande Galerie”) is one of my favorite places on earth and I like the museum “stars” as well, we’ve seen those many, many times, so I opted for Richelieu. I love the French sculpture rooms of the Richelieu wing and thought they might be less crowded, too. Sure enough, they were delightfully uncrowded.
Plenty of open spaces and free benches among the French sculpture
There were other visitors, but the numbers were very manageable
We found much of the Egyptian exhibit and earlier Mesopotamian exhibits to be equally horde-free. As were the Louis XIV rooms and objets d’art exhibits in the Sully wing. Sure, there were other people, but there really wasn’t a problem or anything remarkable about the numbers. This was great!
Enormous column capital from the palace of Persian king Darius I, 510 BC
Marie-Antoinette room
Egyptian bust “Salt’s head” in a beautiful setting
We ended up spending four great hours wandering our favorite museum. We saved the Denon wing for last (5-5:30pm) and were able to visit a popular, but easy-to-view Winged Victory.
Free First Sunday crowds around Winged Victory didn’t interfere with the view.
I got to say hello to my favorite Botticelli “frescoes” just beyond Winged Victory (look for the lady with the giant scorpion), and the Grand Galerie, that wonderful long hall of Renaissance masterpieces. There were a lot of people, but not much if any more than I’ve seen on other busy days at the Louvre. I had no trouble viewing my favorite Raphael works in peace.
Botticelli’s “A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts”
La Grande Galerie, around 5pm on Free First Sunday in December (The Mona Lisa room is ahead on the right.)
We even stepped into the Mona Lisa room, mostly to marvel at the throng straining to get close and taking selfies with the famous painting. It was crazy, but then again, not really out of the ordinary.
Not much more than the usual frenzy at the Mona Lisa
Practical info:
Free First Sunday hours are 9am-6pm. Entrance is via the main glass pyramid or the Carrousel du Louvre. Happily, as detailed in the update above, my favorite little-known entrance from the past, the Porte des Lions, is now open again for individuals with tickets or museum passes (not only for booked groups as it has been for awhile). On Free First Sunday, the Porte des Lions was completely closed and we could not even exit there, so had to retrace our steps down the hall.
Exiting via the same Métro entrance we came in at below the Carrousel du Louvre proved to be problematic: A huge crowd filled the area in front of the stiles. So, we exited onto the street instead and walked the short distance to the above-ground entrance to the Métro. There we could access the stile immediately and found no crowds on the quai. Just be sure you descend into the Métro so that you’re going in your preferred direction (toward La Défense or Chateau de Vinennes).
Bear in mind that French school holidays and those in other countries may well effect the crowds on Free First Sundays. Yesterday wasn’t a school holiday in France. The next Free First Sunday in January may well be more crowded as it will be a school holiday in France and elsewhere.
The Louvre and the Rodin Museum are free on first Sundays between Oct. 1 and March 31. Other museums offer Free First Sundays all year. Find many other Paris museums that are free on the first Sunday of the month on the official Paris tourism web site page entitled Free Museums and Monuments in Paris.
I love paying for flights with points and miles and David and I try to maximize the points we earn on nearly every purchase we make. But, as anyone who’s tried to book awards flights knows, those “free” flights are often hard to find. Airlines tend to raise the amounts required for convenient times and schedules, offer less award seats on a flight than you need, or simply don’t offer award flights at all on certain flights. Taxes and fees on some airlines and at certain airports (I’m talking about you, Heathrow!) can turn a “free” flight into an expensive proposition. For flights to Asia from DFW, we think Korean Air is the ticket. (Our opinion holds even with all the saber-rattling currently going on between our government and North Korea, although we’ll definitely keep an eye on developments.)
It’s hard to beat Korean Air for both award availability and affordability …and we love their product, too. Last year, we flew Korean Air First Class from Bangkok to Dallas via Seoul for 95,000 Korean Air Skypass Miles plus $204.77 each, flights that would have cost us over $13,000. We only flew one-way because we used repositioning cruises to get to Asia. (Repositioning cruises are one of my favorite, most comfortable and cost-effective ways to cross an ocean without jet lag.) Being pampered with super-soft designer pajamas, a down mattress, duvet and big pillow, plus delicious food, high-end champagne and wine, and attentive service turned a miserably long flight into a pleasure.
We enjoyed our Korean Air experience so much, I searched their flights again when I started planning next spring’s around-the-world odyssey. This time, I was able to book First Class again (DFW-Seoul-Singapore) for the same 95,000 miles each, but taxes and fees were a shockingly low $34.30 apiece. If we’d paid cash, our two tickets would have totaled $18,681.60! We could have booked business class for 75,000 each or economy of 42,500 each. Award availability was wide open in all categories. (Korean Air is partnered with American, but it would take 120,000 AAdvantage miles to fly business class just from DFW to Seoul on the same day and there was no First Class availability.) Korean Air flies to more American cities than any other Asian airline and flies to Hong Kong, Sydney, Tokyo and more. Seoul itself is a fun, dynamic city and Korean Air offers free stopovers at ICN on award flights. (If you have enough time in Seoul ICN and are flying first class, stop by the first class lounge for custom engraved metal luggage tags, a free perk.) See my earlier post for details about combining Korean Air Skypass points with a spouse and family on Korean Air.
We’ve found Korean Air Skypass Miles easy to accumulate using Chase credit cards that generate Ultimate Rewards (UR) points and SPG Starwood points we get from Starwood Amex. Starwood points give a 25% bonus when transferred to their airline partners, but the card and points may soon be phased out with Marriott’s purchase of SPG. UR points are transferable 1:1 to Korean Air Skypass (and many other partners) and are especially easy to accumulate. Last year, Chase offered a whopping 100,000 sign up bonus for the Sapphire Reserve card and my husband and I both jumped on it. The Chase Sapphire Reserve is expensive at $450/year, but that is quickly offset for us by a very unrestricted $300 travel reimbursement that applies to a wide range of travel expenses: airlines, hotels, AirBnB, taxis, trains, rent cars, cruises, toll tags and more plus other valuable travel perks that more than make up for the remaining $150/year. The bonus for Sapphire Reserve is currently down to 50,000, which is still good, but I’d keep my eye open for another super bonus if you’re a frequent traveler, or get the same 50k bonus with the Chase Sapphire Preferred for $95/year without some of the other perks. We use Chase Ink to get 5X miles on office purchases (with includes gift cards from Office Depot for Shell gas, Whole Foods, Amazon and more) and Chase Freedom Unlimited to 1.5X points on everything else purchased in the U.S. (Note: The Freedom Unlimited card charges a foreign transaction fee, so Americans should leave it at home when traveling overseas.) Those points are then combinable with our main UR Reserve accounts. It adds up!
It’s hard to beat Korean Air for both award availability and affordability …and we love their product, too. Last year, 