The highlight of Day 9 in Japan was lunch in my hotel room.  Clouds still blocking a view of Mount Fuji.  The Sheraton Yokohama Bay Hotel sits over a large underground shopping mall.  A close-by market supplied chutoro and hirame sashimi and a bento of beef curry over rice.  The hotel provided the hot green tea and cold beer. Our final Club Lounge session was five hours and, below, last breakfast on Day 10. Best croissant I've had in years.  All in all, in consideration of price, this has become our favorite hotel in Japan. Then off to the Oceania Riviera.  Azaleas are in bloom. Approaching our ship.   I've been on more than a dozen cruises, maybe two.  Checking-in almost always involves standing in line, with long waits.   Perhaps an hour or more.  This time, a lot of personnel to get our luggage off the taxi and wheeled to the baggage check area.  Then, maybe a five-minute processing period.  We were on the ship ten...

Pope Francis died at the age of 88 on Easter Monday.  He made a valiant effort to modernize the Catholic Church to make it relevant for the 21st century.  Promoted unity among Catholics and called upon the church to embrace its global diversity.    Comments are mixed about his actual effectiveness . From  Time  magazine: T he film   Conclave   begins with the death of the Pope. It then follows the chain of events from that moment to the election of a new Pope, following a few characters—portrayed by a cast that won the top honor at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. A 2024 film based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris, stars Ralph Fiennes as the cardinal who organizes the  conclave , Stanley Tucci as a liberal American cardinal candidate, John Lithgow as a moderate Canadian cardinal, sort of the villain, and Isabella Rosselini, a sister who serves as the conclave's head caterer and housekeeper.  Earned 93/86 ratings from  Rotten Tomato...

  I've noticed that reading of my blog peaks during my travels.  We earlier this year had an around the world journey I called   OMGA for Our Memorable Global Adventure .   So today, an alert as to when you can return for three future trips. In a little more than a month, we leave for Europe to catch a European River Christmas Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest.  Most people just take a long flight east to Europe.  Ours will be a cruise from Seattle, through the Panama Canal, to Southampton, England. Then in the Spring of 2025, we fly to Osaka for the World Expo. During the Winter of 2025, we are contemplating the following extravaganza, I call Our Monumental Epic Global Adventure, OMEGA. We would like to catch the Queen Mary 2's around the world trip.  We might need to leave the ship in Los Angeles.  It's possible that we won't be able to disembark in Honolulu.  However, we can fly back to Hawaii.  So three truly monumental trips, t...