The above photo was taken from a scenic view while in Kirkenes, Norway.

In February 2017 I decided to cruise Norway with Hurtigruten.  The ship I was on is named the Finnmarken.  This was a 12 day round trip cruise this started in Bergen and ended back in Bergen after making many stops as far north as Honningsvåg and Kirkenes which is not far from the Russian border.

The first thing I should tell you about going on a cruise with Hurtigruten is that their ships are working ships.  That is why they make so many stops.  It is also more of a ferry.  New passengers get on and off the ship in various locations quite frequently.  People in Norway use these ships to get from one area the country to another.

I have been on 12 cruises in the past five years.  I have cruised with Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise lines, and Holland America.  Cruising with Hurtigruten was such a different experience.  Many people go on cruises for the entertainment and to party.  I know because I have done so in the past ;)  There was no entertainment such as singers, bands, and speakers and t is also very expensive to party as one glass of wine is 14 USD. 

In spite at the lack of entertainment on the ship, this was definitely one of the most fun adventures I have ever been on.  One of the best things about this cruise was the scenery.  The ship is never far from the shore and it makes frequent stops.  I also got to see the Aurora Borealis also known as the Northern Lights because of the time of year I went. 

I have written three posts about this cruise.  Here they are:

Visiting the Famous Snowhotel in Kirkenes Norway

Visiting the Beautiful City of Trondheim, Norway and the Nidaros Cathedral

Visiting the Top of the World: Honningsvåg, Norway

I will be writing more in the coming weeks.

 Nidaros Cathedral

As I mentioned in my previous post I recently went on a twelve day cruise up and down the Norway coast with Hurtigruten.  On our second day we stopped in a beautiful city with a population of close to 190,000 people named Trondheim.  We only had four hours at the stop which was actually one of our longer times to go on shore.  We were allowed to leave the boat at 8:00 AM and had to return by noon.  As you can see it was still dark but I got some great photos of the sunrise.

Today I returned from a seven day cruise on Norwegian Cruise lines.  The ship I was on board is named the "Star".  Over the course of the seven days we stopped in four places.  Our first stop was on Roatan which is an island in the Caribbean about 40 miles off the coast of Honduras.  I decided to choose a shore excursion for each of the stops on this cruise.  I chose to visit Gumbalimba Park in Roatan at this port. 

In the above photo I'm pretending to climb one of the large ruins.  I don't think I would have made it to the top no matter how hard I tried !

When I was in Cancun last week I really wasn't looking forward to seeing any ruins.  I had seen some before that took a long time two travel To and just didn't impress me.  I'm not saying that they aren't interesting they just weren't my thing.  Our visit to El Ray was really fun as I got to see many iguanas as well as some pretty impressive ruins.  One of the best things about visiting El Ray is the price which was only $3 in American money and it's also right on the hotel strip so it wasn't a very long drive to get there! 

As always you can visit my profile at Pixabay and download and use my photos for free and not worry about getting in trouble here

Here is one of the residents.  They are not too afraid of people.  I think a lot of people are scared of them but the fact is they will run away if you try to get near them.  It amazed me how they really do blend in with the scenery.

I enjoyed the hour or so that we spent there.  The grounds are kept very nicely and it's very different than being on the busy beach and host hotel zone which is just down the road. 

Here I am laying on some different ruins in Mexico on a table which was used for sacrifice a few years ago.



I thought this liked look a mother and baby iguana relaxing together:

Thank you very much for your visit.  I would love to hear your comments and questions.  Have you ever visited any ruins that you were very impressed with or thought we're very interesting?  If so,  I'd love to hear about them.  Have a wonderful week!

~Michelle

Perhaps it seems a little silly that I would visit the same city in Italy in just a little more than a year I actually almost stayed in the exact hotel I had in 2014.  At the last minute I decided to stay in a different location that was closer to the train station as I knew that I would be taking several day trips. 

When I visited Florence last summer it was very crowded on the streets.  It was wall-to-wall people on some days in some areas.  I was told that November was a very slow time there.  I noticed a slight difference in the amount of people but it was very slight. 

The good thing about my trip was November the weather is quite unpredictable in northern Italy and it did not rain a single day of the ten days I was there.  There were many days that I walked around with short sleeves on as it was close to 70°F.  When you're doing a lot of walking as I do in Italy you warm up pretty quickly, 

I took day trips to Cinque Terre, Rome  as Tuscany .  I left a couple of days open to visit Venice .  The weather, however, in that area of the country looked quite chilly and rainy so I decided not to go.   Although I am glad I saw Rome I would never go on a day trip to such a large area again the same goes for Tuscany.

  If you have been following my blog you know that I have visited Italy a lot and been to several areas.  I would have to say that Tuscany is on the top of my list for places I want to revisit.   I felt my trip to Rome was quite rushed. I did not get to see much of anything.  I did learn that it is a place I would like to visit for a longer period of time and spend at least five days there.  I was afraid of going to Rome as it is such a big city, but I won't be in the future.

   Florence also has pretty easy access to areas such as Tuscany and Cinque Terre.  There are several museums and offers everything a very big city does, but is not nearly as big as Rome.  Here are some of the photos I captured during this visit it is tough to go wrong with the Arno River as the architecture is so beautiful and interesting on each side of it and the sunsets are lovely. 

The Arno River is such a beautiful scene and a great place to have dinner or coffee:

At sunset:

Here is the Duomo which is way, way too big to capture in one shot, but it literally took my breath away the first time I saw it!
My hotel had a great view of the Duomo.  Below is a self portrait otherwise known as a selfie:

Below is a carousel in the middle of town and I was lucky enough to see a couple of princesses riding it!

Below is a photo of the Santa Maria Novella Cathedral.  I was lucky enough to witness another lovely wedding.

The interior of the cathedral:

Here is the ceiling of the breakfast room at my hotel.  No wonder I love eating breakfast in Italy which is something I never do at home!
My hotel had a lot of lovely antiques (another self portrait)
Here is a lovely coffee shop I stopped in on my last day for a cappuccino.  I was sitting there relaxing after walking for miles when the owner brought me these yummy confections:

The hospitality never fails to surprise me in Italy!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog.  Have you ever visited a far away city two times in a short period of time?  I love hearing and reading your comments!  Have a great week. 

~Michelle