Family Biking on Hilton Head Island

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What's the best part of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina?

Is it the weather? Is it the ice cream? Is it the Southern charm? Nope. It's the biking! Where else can you bike along the beach and throughout miles of beautiful trails?



The problem with where I live, in the suburbs, is that there are no sidewalks. You can't even walk without having to leap onto front yards anytime a car comes by. Bike trails? No sidewalks also means no bike trails. If that's not bad enough, it's hilly where I live. Not a pretty sight to see me huffing and puffing up hills, especially when I slither off the saddle to catch my breath! People pushing strollers certainly get a work-out as they stride up the hills and back down the other side.



Hilton Head Island, on the other hand, is family friendly. You can rent bikes of all sizes, including teeny tiny ones. You can also rent bikes with buggy thingys at the back, where toddlers can sit. Fancy a tandem? No problem. Prices are really reasonable too.



Just watch out for the alligators!!



Give me the beach and trails on Hilton Head Island any day! If you'd like more information about Hilton Head please check out my photo tour.

Memorabilia, 1970's

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Guess what? I finally purchased a new blender! Guess how old my old blender is? Well...I bought it in 1974. Yes, it's a veritable old relic from the seventies. And, it still works!

I don't use a blender all that much. I use it to make Gazpacho, but that's about all. I'm thinking I might use the new handy dandy one a lot more. It seems so sturdy and robust. In the eighties I used my old blender to make Pina Coladas and Brandy Alexanders, but mostly it was just one of those items you pack whenever you move, carefully wrapping it in newspaper and placing it deftly in a cardboard box. It's a well-travelled blender!

My blender from the seventies got me thinking about other items I seem to have not parted with since way back then as well. Here's an old glass, or tumbler, as some would call it. I should toss it, I know, but I think it's cute, unique even, in its cheery seventies style.



Here are two brass items from the seventies. I bought them in Spain, when I was really into collecting brass.





I have two odd things. Not sure what they are. Maybe they're paperweights? One has a boat inside him, and the other has shells inside it. They're not too heavy, so perhaps they're not paperweights. I do still like them, don't I?





Here's the little Frenchman. I bought him because I liked his clothes, as well as his lovely basket complete with baguettes. Over the years he's lost his baguettes, however. My lonely Frenchman who is baguetteless.



I have keys that I've accumulated from somewhere. Why do I keep them? They must open something, mustn't they?!



I still have this huge gaudy gold leaf painting that I purchased in the seventies. His frame has broken so many times, that I feel he's a survivor. It'd be a shame to toss him now, after all those years.



The new blender I just purchased is shiny, sturdy, full of grace, and sits very proudly on the kitchen counter. It is a star, a smugly perfect specimen, a role model, an inspiration. I kid you not. Who knew that a blender could be so astonishing?!

But how can I toss the old one? We've been buddies for so long! And he still works.

Oh well, whilst I ponder this grave question, let's listen to some music from the 1970's. seventies style

Mediterranean Cruise

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I think I'm finally over jet lag! It's only taken me six days. Lol. Well, there was a six hour time difference, so I guess six days should have me back on schedule.



This was just our third cruise, so I'm far from being an expert on cruising. The first two cruises lasted for seven days and we experienced calms seas. Little did I know what could happen if there's a storm! In addition, seven days was enough to be using the teeny tiny bathroom you get onboard, not to mention the teeny tiny cabin. Even with a balcony, there's just not much space. This latest cruise lasted 12 days, so, at times, I was dying to find a real toilet. (The toilets on cruise ships are like the ones you get on a plane.) A real bathtub would have been great too! Anyhow, what's worse still is that on the last day of the cruise as we were sailing from Corfu back to Barcelona there were fifty mile an hour winds that lasted for the whole day into the evening. Guess what? I got seasick! Now I'm not keen at all to go on another cruise. :(



However, the itinerary was really good. We visited places we had been before years ago, which worked out well for we didn't feel rushed into running all over the place. Other places we visited we had never been before which was delightful as it's always fun exploring and discovering new locations.




We didn't take any of the tours as it's more fun to explore on one's own. However, one word of caution: if you really want to see Florence and Rome, then bear in mind that the ports of call, Livorno and Civitavecchia, are around two hours away from both cities. In the end, it's probably less stressful just to take the cruiseline's tours, especially for Rome.



There are benefits to taking a cruise. You get transported quite comfortably from one location to the next. All your food is included. If you like to get dressed up, you can do that on formal nights. If you have a reunion, then cruises are a great venue for there's plenty of room for everyone.

However, there are also drawbacks. There tend to be lots of people, especially on the huge ships. I think this latest cruise ship we were on had two thousand passengers. You may want to spend longer at certain ports, but you can't, for you have to get back to the ship. Don't want to miss the boat! There are extra costs that you may not be aware of - gratuities, wine, excursions, etc. These extras can really add up.



One website that's worth checking out is www.cruisecritic.com You'll get a lot of information about all the different cruise lines.

What I'd like to try is a river cruise. Yep. No stormy seas! Anybody know anything about river cruises?

Surreal Venice and the Gondoliers

We just got back from a Mediterranean cruise. Venice, Italy, was one of the places we visited. What is it about those gondoliers? They look as if they have stepped out of a movie, or the front page of some fashion magazine. They hang about, posing, their eyes down demurely, pretending not to notice the throngs of tourists taking their photos.

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Don't you think that the handsome, sexy gondolier in my photo looks sooo nonchalant, sooo amazingly modest and coy?! You wonder what he's thinking, all decked out his cute little outfit. For a second I thought I was in the Venetian in Las Vegas, so surreal he seemed, as did the canal in the background. I asked myself, is Venice real? Or, is the Venetian in Las Vegas more real?



Another cute, sexy gondolier appeared from underneath a bridge. Now, he was real, of that I'm sure. He was moving, steering his gondola out into the Grand Canal.



So many tourists, so many gondolas, canals, cameras and camcorders. Venice is like a movie. Even Coca Cola makes a splashing and spectacular entrance. The city appears as one gigantic movie set.



It was the pigeons and the sounds of the water lapping against the gondolas that brought me back to reality, that made me realise that what I was looking at was, in fact real.

We went in the month of August when it was really very hot and absolutely full of tourists. I think that May or September would be better months to visit if you want to avoid the crowds. We arrived on our cruise ship on this particular trip, but the first time I visited Venice I arrived by train. There are water buses and water taxis that will transport you around the city. Have fun exploring the narrow streets and being mesmerized by the all the activities on the Grand Canal!

In case you're planning a trip to Venice, here's a useful link that will give you lots of information: travel information