Through My Lens - Curacao

World Cruise -- Curacao

How many times have we been to Curacao? I’ve lost count but we love the port even though some on board made fun of it. It is not nearly as chaotic as St. Thomas (Charlotte Amalie) and you aren’t overwhelmed with insistent hawkers of goods and services like at St. Lucia and other places. The architecture is quaint. It’s Dutch and colorful and reminds me of the Netherlands a little.

There are several canals running through the town and the main one has a pedestrian bridge that connects one side with the other. It floats and moves back and forth to allow for ship traffic to pass through. There is also a ferry that makes a quick two minute trip back and forth in case you don’t want to wait for the bridge if it’s open.

We chose to explore a different section along the main canal and one side canal and were excited to find the local market. We didn’t venture into the large building that I’m sure housed many more stands but preferred to check out the ones that were out in the sunshine and fresh air—fresh except for the scent of fresh fish being scaled and cleaned.

The fruits and vegetables which we found out later came from Venezuela (about 40 miles away by boat) were beautiful. I don’t think I’ve seen more perfect bananas in a long time. We asked what the long root vegetable was and found out it was cassava, a staple of the Caribbean diet. Apparently it can be made many different ways including grated and dried to use in bread.

The boats that lined the canal must have gone to Venezuela and then returned with their cargo. The stands were set up in front of each boat lining the street.

We wandered about some more and crossed the bridge again to get back to the side where our ship was docked. On a previous visit we were docked near a nice mall area with some lovely restaurants and shops and we headed in that direction. Enjoying the shade, we strolled and window shopped and people watched.

All in all our morning walk was about three miles according to my Map My Walk app. Of course it took longer than the hour and fifteen minutes the app recorded because I paused it each time we stopped to look at something or rest from the heat.

Back on the ship in time for lunch and an afternoon of paddle tennis. This guy of mine is going to be in some great shape by the time he gets home again. I prefer to get my exercise “promenading” on the Promenade Deck and turning pages on my Kindle.

World Cruise - Safety At Sea

On one of our early days at sea, the captain came up with a great idea. He proposed showing the guests what the crew experiences when they first come on board and need to learn about safety aboard the ship. I’m sure there is lots more training that goes on but we got to see several demonstrations and the film that is shown to new crew members.

The film gave an overall view of things from a crew perspective and what they were to do should there be an emergency at sea. Once we viewed the twenty minute film which reminded many of us of those safety films on airplanes but this was much more specific covering things like reporting a man overboard, using a fire extinguisher, reporting emergencies, etc.

When the film was finished, the doctors (we have three on board) went over again the importance of hand washing and the symptoms of the Noro virus. They stressed the importance of catching it quickly and staying in isolation for a couple of days to assure it has less chance to spread. The doctor said that at least on a world cruise you are only missing a few days of a long voyage. Many cruisers complain about isolation if they are on a shorter cruise. The captain pointed out that if the virus is not quickly contained to the few who might get it, the whole ship would have to be emptied and wiped down. A process none of us would appreciate.

Captain Egil Giske oversees safety demonstration

From the movie theater, we moved to a back corridor of the ship where it was closed off and there was theatrical smoke they filled the corridor with as you walked through. The crewman kept telling us we needed to get low as if we were in a real situation. I said if it was real I’d crawl but there was no way I was going to do it this time around. While it got very dark and was nearly impossible to see, the comforting part was that you could clearly see the line of lights to follow and the crewman showed us how they go up the wall to indicate an escape door.

Out of the smoke, we headed for the back of the ship where they were demonstrating the fire equipment. We watched two of the three types of extinguishers they used for fires. 

There is one that is a fine water spray, one that is CO2 for electrical, and a fine powder spray that was for flaming liquids and of course, the fire hose. The crewman in charge of the demonstration was very detailed and pointed out that should anyone ever need to use one of the fire extinguishers they needed to keep their face away from the top when they pulled the plug and popped the button. Sure enough when another crewman demonstrated, the fire extinguisher jumped about six inches in the air.

Food rations.

From the back of the ship we went starboard to look inside one of the lifeboats and see all the equipment that was stored in them. Medical kits, all sorts of ways to signal for a rescue, water, and then with a smile, the crewman held up a small box that was about nine inches square and maybe three inches thick. He told us how many kilograms of energy it held (calories) and that it would last a few days at least. “But not as tasty as the dining room food.”

Our last stop was at the pool on Deck 12. The crew had inflated one of the rafts that are used as well. The outside said it could hold 25 people but it would be cozy I think. The idea was to show us how if the raft was overturned, it would right itself. The problem was, try as they may, the crewmen in the water couldn’t get it to turn upside down. That was comforting enough.

It was a really great morning and if we had ever needed a confidence booster for our safety that was it. Those in charge obviously know what they’re doing. It would be a great activity to continue on other cruise ships. 

Wordless Wednesday

Through My Lens -- Santa Domingo Gardens

World Cruise - Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic

We’ve been to the Dominican Republic on another cruise. I remembered getting off the ship to explore and getting right back on the ship. I don’t remember the name of the port but it was nothing like what we found in Santa Domingo.

On our way to breakfast, we stopped for a picture of the city. The Spanish style architecture punctuated the skyline above the wall that surrounded the old part of the city directly across from where we were docked.

Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1492 (when he was out sailing the ocean blue). Actually the little rhyme I learned in school wasn’t far off. The Atlantic Ocean was called the Ocean Sea then. He named the island La Isla Espanola for the Spanish monarch who financed the Italian’s explorations. The island of Hispaniola, as it is now known, is occupied by both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. It was Columbus’ brother, Bartholomew, who actually settled Santo Domingo and it remains the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas.

There were lots of old historic buildings to explore if you were a mind to but we chose to take an excursion that would get us out in the open and walking—at least that’s what we hoped. We didn’t read the fine print, I guess. The panoramic part of our tour took us past several historic buildings and many of the newer ones all described aptly by our guide who spoke very good English.

Arriving at the National Botanical Gardens that we were to explore, we discovered that it would be by an open air tram that ran through the park. It took several tries to get people situated and then we ended up taking a different train that held more people to accommodate our group. A few were exasperated with the organization and opted to do a little exploring on their own. I wish we’d joined them but then we would have missed the fun.

People are a hoot if you don’t take them too seriously. One lady just kept tapping her iPhone at all the “glorious vegetation.” To me it looked like the jungle with lots of palm trees, bamboo trees and vines everywhere clamoring to get more sun. A muddy stream that looked polluted was declared to be a beautiful brook. I looked twice to be sure I hadn’t missed something.

Then the driver warned us that the train would begin to move fast. A siren sounded and we took off at a dizzying speed of probably 20 mph for about three minutes then slowed as our guide kept naming the different trees we passed.

The highlight was to be a Japanese garden which was very nicely planted and trimmed and dotted with appropriate Japanese statuary as well as the token bridge. As one man said, there weren’t any original Japanese plants there.

The most beautiful part of the park was actually the entrance where a stone design in the paving made a nice pattern and the water fountains and plantings that were blooming created a pastoral area where you could sit and enjoy the lovely cool breeze that chased the heat.

On our way back to the ship, much to our chagrin, the guide took us to a shopping mall for “immersion into the culture.” The mall was very upscale. Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Nike, and other familiar names graced the six floors of the mall. It was quite a contrast to the mostly poor areas we had driven through and continued on through as we caught a glimpse of Chinatown. People were hanging their laundry from the bars that covered their windows. The bars we were assured were not because of crime but were there to allow fresh air to flow through the homes as the windows were kept open.

It was a very interesting morning. We arrived back at the ship just in time to grab some lunch and meet some new friends that we seemed to be running into at the same table each afternoon. The afternoon ahead would be spent at paddle tennis and blogging. I needed to catch up on some work while the ship was stationary and the internet not as busy. 

World Cruise - Sea Legs And A Routine

Our World Cruise started off with two sea days--a good way to start. It helped us establish a bit of a routine. When you have a small room to service two of you and one small closet with sliding doors, you have to choreograph your moves to avoid getting in each other's way. After two days of that we were beginning to get it down pretty well.

Two days at sea was also a good way to work on getting those sea legs. There is a rhythm to the sway of a ship and a little swell in the ocean was bringing back the memory of how to cope with it as we walked our mile around the Promenade Deck and navigated the hallways of our ship.

In the evening of the first day at sea, we had our first formal night--black tie optional but many were decked out in their finest. The captain's welcome aboard celebration was in the Palm Court Lounge and guests danced to the tunes of the ensemble and were introduced to the head staff members of the Serenity. The captain's welcome aboard celebration always leaves you wondering who's "driving the boat?" He always assures the guests that the navigation and control is in capable hands.

Dinner gave us the chance to have our first lobster and we even splurged on a little dessert before we went off to enjoy a show that featured the music of Billy Joel.

I would be neglectful if I did not mention one of the treats that we look forward to each afternoon. Tea. In the Palm Court Lounge, there is a string quartet playing and a tea with all the trimmings: finger sandwiches (no not made of fingers but of cucumber, salami, egg or ham), cookies, petit fours, cookies, and the best of all, scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream. Pinkie fingers up!

Our daily routine for sea days involves a walk around the Promenade Deck, reading for me and paddle tennis for Bob. He's quickly learning who to team up with. We meet for the lectures we are both interested in or just meet up at lunch time.

Afternoons involve more reading, more paddle tennis, tea, lectures or movies, and then a meet up for a specialty coffee in the Bistro before we dress for dinner. Our tablemates have been great and we are sharing all sorts of stories which will only get richer as we each experience different activities on the ship and off.

Today we reach our first port, Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, but I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

World Cruise -- Goodbye Miami, Hello World!

The excitement was building. You could feel it at the dinner table as our six tablemates talked and laughed with us. Sailaway was scheduled for eight o'clock and we excused ourselves a bit early as scurried out to the Promenade Deck just in time to see the ship moving away from the dock and hear the blast of It's A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong over the loud speakers outside. We wondered if that tradition would continue. Apparently it will.

The city of Miami is beautiful at night. Reminds me of Hong Kong a little. Colored lights created a sparkling skyline. Ribbons of lights moved along the causeway beside us as cars made their way out to Miami Beach. The air was sweetened with a slight ocean breeze as we slowly made our way down the channel and out to the ocean.


It wasn't long before we were sitting in the Galazy Lounge enjoying the Welcome Aboard show and feeling the familiar gentle roll of the ship as it made its way further out into the ocean and turned south.

Lookout world! Here we come!

World Cruise - Celebrating Crystal's 25th Anniversary

Wednesday evening was said to be a Gala Event. And it was! It began in the atrium of the Crystal Serenity that was decorated with balloons festooned everywhere. Big band music encouraged dancers to the dance floor, many with a dance host. It reminded me of Annie on her cruise in my book, In A Pickle.

Because of the start of the World Cruise and the celebration of Crystal Cruises twenty-fifth anniversary, the president of the line, Edie Rodriguez, who earlier had greeted each guest personally as we embarked, gave a send-off speech followed by a dance with Captain Egil Giske, who is captaining his first world cruise. Then balloons fell everywhere and were promptly attacked with toothpicks. Bob and I broke a couple and then headed for the main dining room for our special dinner.

Dinner was even more spectacular. Each table was set with so many glasses and pieces of silverware and a large beautiful flower arrangement in the center, I wondered where the food would go. As each course was served, the waiters would circle our table of six, each with a dish in their hand and together would place the dish in front of each diner. Our first course was a mound of crabmeat surrounded by an avocado sauce with dollops of sour cream sprinkled with caviar. I could have stopped there but there was more.

The pasta course was two large raviolis filled with a sweet squash. I should have stopped there but there was more. We each had a choice of main entrée, sea bass or beef (looked like filet mignon). We chose the sea bass and it was absolutely perfect accompanied by two small rolls of kale and rice.

Of course there was dessert. I was on a roll. Why stop now? A chocolate mousse was covered by a crispy chocolate shell topped with a small circle of chocolate cake on which sat a little ball of ice cream. A chocolate lover’s dream!

Stuffed to the gills, I was afraid I was going to start waddling as we made our way to the show lounge. Our entertainment was spectacular as well. An orchestra (mostly strings) filled the stage and we were entertained by Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis Jr.—well, actually their impersonators. Fun!

It was a late night. Anything past ten is late for us anymore. It felt good to see our bed all turned down and ready for us.

Morning came with a fog that obscured the tops of some of Miami’s skyline but by the time we had breakfast, the Sunshine State was living up to its name. We boarded a shuttle to Miami Beach from the ship and spent our morning looking for a post office, enjoying the art deco area of MB, and walking to the ocean. Oh yes, and there was the shopping for things we’d forgotten. Who was responsible for packing the sun block?

Tonight, Thursday, we sail at 8 PM. Our first full day at sea will follow.  I’m ready! Let’s get started.

World Cruise - Around The World Day One

Arriving at the ship by way of a Lincoln Town Car and our own chauffeur, excitement peaked. This would be the first day of 108 days of a grand World Cruise. Check in was seamless and took only a few minutes before we were on board, escorted by a staff member and led to our choice of dining, the informal Triton Grill. I knew they had the best French fried sweet potatoes. That was the joy of having sailed Crystal's Serenity before. We were somewhat familiar with the ship.


After lunch we were pleased to see our room was ready even before the 1:30 suggested time. We left our things and went on to wander a bit to fill the time before our bags would arrive. A few minutes were spent with our Miami grands on FaceTime showing them the swimming pool and what it looked like peering over the side then on to the Palm Court Lounge where we found a quiet place to sit and enjoy the Miami Beach skyline.

The neat thing about cruising is meeting new people and it wasn't long before we were exchanging travel experiences with a couple from the west coast of Florida who have lived all over Europe and parts of Asia.

Checking back at our room we discovered our luggage had arrived--all of it. What a relief! Having sent it off more than a week ago it was nice to see it all arrive safely. Now the question was, where do we put it all? The closet was smaller than I remembered but eventually everything fit in and we found enough drawers to divide between the two of us. Most of the empty suitcases fit beneath the bed and we put some of the things that we didn't need until later in the trip in one of them. The other two went off to storage.

Our cabin stewardess gave us the schedule for the gala celebration night and we are about to begin the fun. It includes a cocktail party, a special dinner, and some special evening entertainment. Did I mention the balloon drop to start the festivities?

Tomorrow we sail but tonight it is time to meet and greet the other 606 world cruisers embarking on this great adventure. We will be making 44 stops in a total of 23 countries and sailing 32,706 nautical miles (37,637 land miles). All in the southern hemisphere where it's summertime.

I'm not sure how these posts are going to go. A lot will depend upon time and how well our internet works in other parts of the world but come along with me. I'll try to make it interesting.

Wordless Wednesday

A Late Christmas In Florida

On our way to our World Cruise we arrive early for a few days with our Florida kids. We've brought our Christmas gifts instead of sending them on ahead. By now the excitement of Christmas and all the new things Santa brought are probably waning so we will stir the waters again. It's a grandparent's privilege. 

We have spent a few Christmas times there before some holiday cruises and it has always been a treat to experience a warm Christmas or if the weather changes, a cool Christmas. There is still snow as this old post from a Christmas past shows. So as you read, we will be enjoying our grandkids and another opportunity to celebrate Christmas.

December 2009

Please indulge a grandmother today. Our son, Rob, who manages the CALL FM stations in Florida made an annoucement to run on the station for the city of Clewiston and their Winter Wonderland event coming up next weekend. Caleb is only four but he did a great job with Dad's coaching (and some editing). I used the audio clip on a video I took at the Homestead festival last year. This is how they make snow in Florida. The kids love it!

Books For The Road - Someplace Safe With Somebody Good

Jan Karon's newest book in the Mitford series, Someplace Safe With Somebody Good, was a choice for reading in our church book club. Unfortunately there were several who had never read any of the others in the series and almost gave up on the book before they got a third of the way through. Karon begins by trying to catch the reader up on a lot of the characters that have appeared in Mitford's history. Even if you have read the whole series as I have, it is slow going in the start. That said, stick with it because if you love a good story, sweet humor (often tongue-in-cheek), and characters that are lovable, this is a great read.

Here's the back copy blurb: After five hectic years of retirement from Lord’s Chapel, Father Tim Kavanagh returns with his wife, Cynthia, from a so-called pleasure trip to the land of his Irish ancestors.While glad to be at home in Mitford, something is definitely missing: a pulpit. But when he’s offered one, he decides he doesn’t want it. Maybe he’s lost his passion. His adopted son, Dooley, wrestles with his own passion—for the beautiful and gifted Lace Turner, and his vision to become a successful country vet. Dooley’s brother, Sammy, still enraged by his mother’s abandonment, destroys one of Father Tim’s prized possessions. And Hope Murphy, owner of Happy Endings bookstore, struggles with the potential loss of her unborn child and her hard-won business.

All this as Wanda’s Feel Good Café opens, a romance catches fire through an Internet word game, their former mayor hatches a reelection campaign to throw the bums out, and the weekly Muse poses a probing inquiry: Does Mitford still take care of its own?

As you can see, there are a lot of character's and subplots or stories but Karon eventually sorts them all out for you and makes it a delightful trip to this little town of Mitford. A nice book for the road.

Planning Ahead - Tuscany?

Planning sessions for our trips are often impromptu. They can happen at any time when one of us starts dreaming or finds a new travel destination online or when a new cruise brochure arrives. I stumbled across a possibility for something to think about after our world cruise. And, if planned right, could be a great place to celebrate our 47th anniversary.

I subscribe to emails from Smarter Travel and one came in a while ago that piqued my interest when it began talking about affordable vacation rentals in exotic places. Most of them require that you have at least six guests to make the rental fee look attractive at prices as low as $28/person/night. The one that really caught my eye involved a castle in Tuscany.

More than once we have said we'd like to go to Tuscany in Italy and explore a bit more. We only had a little taste of it once on a precruise excursion. The Castello di Montalto pictures in the Smarter Travel article looked intriguing and I looked it up on Tripadvisor. The ratings were all good and as I read of some of the reviewers' experiences, I saw that there were some villas associated with the castle that were for two people. But what would it cost?

I found the website and learned that there are three villas (actually one of them is a part of the castle's towers) that have one bedroom. The pictures are pure Tuscany and the accommodations look very comfortable and include a small kitchenette which means we could save a bit on food. But what would it cost?

If we went it would be in low season, I think, so I looked at those prices which were in Euros. It came to 650 Euros a week which shakes out to about 800 USD. Divide that by six nights and it works out to about 133 USD/night. Not bad!! Hey, Honey. . .

Cruise Cuisine - Chilled Fruit Soup

One of the choices for soup each night on a cruise usually includes a cold soup and it is usually a fruit based concoction. I love the berry soups mostly but all of them are good and it's like eating dessert first! Hmmm. Wonder if there is a chocolate soup?

Here is a soup recipe for Cantaloupe Soup. Looks easy enough. Kind of like a fruit smoothie in a bowl.

Cantaloupe Soup

1 cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and cubed
2 cups orange juice
1 tbl fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Place cantaloupe and 1/2 cup orange juice in a blender or food processor. Cover and process until smooth. Transfer to large bowl and stir in the lime, cinnamon and the rest of the orange juice. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour. Serve in small bowls with a mint leaf garnish.

Now close your eyes and imagine blue seas and sunshine as you enjoy the flavor of your soup.

Wordless Wednesday

World Cruise - Preparing Mother Hubbard's Cupboard

Christmas is past, the New Year's celebration is over and fast approaching is our sail date for our 108 day world cruise. Since we spent Christmas in Japan, we didn't decorate much so there isn't a lot to pack up and store away but getting the house in order will require a few more preparations.

Our fish-sitters are lined up, one to come weekly to keep the algae growth from taking over the tank and check to make sure the there are no malfunctions in the equipment that keeps our salt water tank residents happy and another, professional, to come biweekly to do a water exchange and check the salt levels, etc. We did consider draining the tank getting rid of the fish and starting over on our return but those big fish eyes all lined up and looked at us pitifully and we gave in. Besides, bottom line was that it would have cost the same or more to start over.

The next challenge of course is the mail which is taken care of with a rented P.O. box to which we will forward our mail and a friend will visit weekly when he checks on our fish. He's a great guy and has even agreed to flush our toilets occasionally as well as run water in the sinks and tubs to be sure the traps don't dry out.

Of course we will also check in with our police department who will help the neighbors keep a watch on the house. They do a great job as well.

But one of the greatest challenges will be emptying the refrigerator and the cupboards of things that will spoil or go stale in the almost four months we'll be gone. We may be eating some unusual meals and I certainly don't want to buy a quantity of anything and have to throw it out before we leave. I'm thinking it may be a good excuse for eating out those last few days before we fly south. Bob will have to be prepared to hear, "Honey, the cupboard is bare."

Books For The Road - Personal by Lee Child

Pleasure reading. I love a good adventure with mystery and some action and of course good writing. All of that I find in the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child and this last one, Personal, was no exception.

Reacher finds himself involved with a plot to assassinate some world leaders at a G8 conference in London. He is engaged by old contacts through his history with the Army. The suspect is someone he put away years ago but is now free and is obviously gunning for him as well.

I loved the London location and could picture quite clearly the places Child took Reacher in his quest to find the suspect. Child's descriptive language gets a bit too much at times with his analysis of how to place a punch or what happens with a bullet fired from any specific gun. I can't imagine the research he does. This time I enjoyed the descriptions of London. Here's one of my favorites:

"Strategically Britain was an aircraft carrier permanently moored off the coast of Europe, and there was plenty of space for flight decks."

Page turner quality. Definitely one that makes my Books For The Road list.

Observations of Tokyo

Probably the most prominent thing you notice about Tokyo is all the food places. Don't get me wrong. There are lots of places to shop as well and rising above them are beautiful sleek office buildings. But the food places are fascinating. Most restaurants have large boards outside showing pictures of their foods on their menu. Many have plates of food displayed in large glass cases so you can see what might tempt your palate. You may be surprised to know that most of the food displayed is fake--very good fake.

Tokyo, being an international city, has everything imaginable from Mexican to Italian to Chinese (Yokohama is a large Chinese area) to every delectable type of Japanese cuisine imaginable. If there had not been so much walking on our visit, I would have felt very guilty indulging so much. Most menus are in Japanese but have English subtitles. Ordering is easy. Just point to the picture. The variety of foods and restaurants explains why our son is always posting pictures of what they eat.

Again, being an international city, you will find that many people speak at least some English and communication is not difficult.

We did a lot of travel by train and subway and once a bus. Having a car does not guarantee you getting anywhere any faster as the roads are full of traffic. It would also be difficult to keep a car in the small residential areas. Except for having to carry groceries which means having to shop more often, it's not a bad situation and there is a delivery service you can take advantage of. Stores are abundant so there is always one close by.

The trains are interesting. There are several different train companies and lots of lines lacing the city and making connections from one side to the other, up and down. It can be a bit confusing but after a little practice and some study of where you want to go (a Google app helps if you don't mind the data charges) you can make sense of it.

In general the Japanese are an extremely polite society--except where the trains are concerned it seems. We avoided rush hour as much as possible but when it gets crowded, the rush for space is on and the surge takes precedence. Finding a seat is not as important as just finding a space. It was quite a challenge several times with our grandchildren trying to keep them together and on their feet.

Something that seems to have changed in the fourteen years since we were here for our son's wedding, is cigarette smoking. It has lessened. I remember finding smokers everywhere and being bothered by the heavy smoke in the air as we weren't used to it any more. Today there are more places that have smoking and non-smoking areas and I'm guessing less smokers. It was much more pleasant.

Many times you will see people with medical masks on their faces. This is not because they are germaphobic, It is considered polite to wear a mask if you think you might have a cold. I'm sure during cold and flu season though, there are some who wear them to avoid catching something. And who could blame them as they travel in such close quarters on the train.

Getting back to food, one of the fun things we did was the Smart Sushi place. You ordered your food by electronic tablet and the food slid along on a tray automatically stopping at your table for you. Once you took the plates, you pushed the flashing red button and sent the empty tray back. Of course they charged by the plate and the plates stacked up. Most of the places where we ate served small dishes and you did a sampling of many different items.

I'm sure there were many things I didn't notice but I was having too much fun visiting with our grandchildren and enjoying Christmas with them. It's a great city and a neat place to explore if you have an adventurous spirit.

Yokohama-Tokyo, Japan

One of the things on our granddaughter's list of things to see in Tokyo was Chinatown in Yokohama. It was a sunny day and we strolled under hanging red lanterns and lights and took in all the sights of this busy area which is a large tourist attraction as well.

Restaurant after restaurant offered different Chinese cuisine and we chose one that we thought was Szechuan. The restaurant had several levels of dining areas and we ended up on the second floor. As usual with Chinese dining, we each ordered a dish to share and then spun the lazy susan to sample them.


After getting a bag of roast chestnuts and some origami paper, we strolled along the Yokohama harbor where a cruise ship was docked. We wondered if we would someday take a cruise and end up there. Always a possibility.


Eventually we found our way to the Cup of Noodle museum where we were introduced to Momofuko Ando, the inventor of instant ramen. He was quite an interesting guy. The process to create the first instant ramen noodles involved deep frying the noodles and was finally perfected in 1958 after much trial and error.


Then in 1971, Momofuko came to the U.S. and discovered that people liked food to go and made his chicken noodles more convenient by putting them in a cup with all the ingredients so that all you needed to do was add hot water. A movie (we were provided an English audio translator) told us of his research and final problem solving to get the dry noodles to fit the cup.


Momofuko didn't slow down as he aged. He continued to invent and came up with ramen noodles for space in 2005 when he was into his 90s.


The museum is designed to be interactive and one part of it was called the Noodle Factory where we paid to participate. We purchased a cup that had a design drawn on it but were given a seat at a table where we could add all the colors we wanted and even add to the design. When we were satisfied with our cup, we could take it to the factory area where an attendant took the cup and filled it with noodles.


Then came the decisions of what to flavor our noodles with. Some chose curry, some tomato, and others the favorite chicken base. Four choices of other dried ingredients were allowed and we chose from chicken, veggies, and other flavorful tidbits.


Once the ingredients were all in the cup, it was passed to another attendant who sealed it, then wrapped it in plastic seal wrap and sent it through a heater to shrink the wrap. The last step required us to put the cup in a sealed bag and inflate it with a balloon pump. This insured that our cup of noodles would make it home safely. The kids enjoyed tying the bags with the red cords to carry over their shoulder.


By the time we were done, it was already dark outside. The sun sets around 4:30 in Tokyo in late December. Our son and his wife took us to the train that we needed to ride home with the kids and went on the date night we had told them to take while they had ready babysitters. We got off at our stop for home and walked a few blocks to get Domino's pizza for dinner. Our twelve year old helped with the order although I think the clerk spoke some English.


Pizza, Coke, chestnuts, a movie, and a round of Uno finished our evening. Some things don't change even when you travel 6,000 miles away.