The Living Journey

We arrived in Barcelona with just one day to explore, and so were delighted to have a bit of a driving tour and a visit to Sagrada Familia, the master work of Antoni Gaudi, who exemplifies the style of Catalan Modernism. 

After a stop in St. Tropez, we made a quick sail over to Cannes. The film festival was long over but the place was gearing up for the big marketing/media conference, Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity. Apparently, this has become a huge meeting for the marketing and creative communications industry and is now even bigger than the film festival for Cannes.

On our last day in Cochin we had a guide and went for a tour of the old city. It’s really a charming area of old shops, quaint streets, the Mattancherry Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue, the oldest in India dating from the 16th century.

We spent a day cruising the Kerala backwaters on a houseboat. This is always a very relaxing, pleasant experience. Cochin is in the province of Kerala which is actually quite large. The backwaters, known as the Venice of the East,

The first Indian port on our visit was Cochin. Cochin is interesting because it was an important trading city and you can see influences from Asia, Europe and the Middle East here.
One highlight of our time in Cochin was a cooking class we took.

On our Maharajas’ Express train ride through India, the staff was truly wonderful – although our butler had an uncanny – almost creepy – way of appearing each time we would leave our room. And the food! My favorite was Himalayan river sole prepared in a beurre blanc sauce –

We spent a brief few days in Sri Lanka, starting in Galle, where 90% of the world’s cinnamon is grown and the iconic scene is the stilt fishermen – those who have no money for a boat, and so set up precarious perches near the shore from which they pursue their daily catch.

Residents of The World were treated to an incredible gastronomic experience recently when two Michelin star Chef Soenil Bahadoer brought his culinary talent and passion for food to the one-of-a-kind residential ship. Owner and head chef of Restaurant

This morning we arrived to La Digue, the fourth largest island of the Seychelles with only about 2,100 inhabitants. They have some of the most beautiful and well-known beaches in the world. The unusual aspect of La Digue

For several weeks, we have been exploring the islands of the Indian Ocean, starting with two that were new to us. First was La Reunion, a department of (and favorite vacation place from) France. Even in rainy season, we could see the extraordinary beauty of the steep volcanic mountains (one is still active!),

The morning we arrived at Assumption Island late Saturday, we headed straight out to snorkel. We had nice conditions and spotted a sea turtle, which was a treat.
 Welcome to Assumption Island.
 
Getting a closeup.
 
When we got back I joined a short nature walk on the island.

We spent yesterday at sea making our way north. We filled our day with lectures, music, and even managed to get to the gym. Our first stop was Nosy Tanikely, an uninhabited marine reserve island with a lovely beach and a small lighthouse.