THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

BY JANET STEINBERG

                   “The fundamental things apply, as time goes by.”                                                       Casablanca-1942

Clocks make a statement.  You can be transported back in time or catapulted into the future just by looking at a clock.  Timepieces, differing around the world, can range from medieval to modern...serious to quirky.  They may be works of art, set a mood or give a feeling about their location, their customs or their people. 

On Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic, The Old Town Hall’s medieval Astronomical Clock (Prague Orloj) puts on an hourly show known as The Walk of the Apostles.  The show, that never fails to draw a large audience, features miniature figures of the Apostles—plus a skeletal representation of Death—who strikes the time every hour on the hour. The mechanical clock and astronomical dial date back to 1410 and has been repaired many times over the centuries.  The clock’s 600th anniversary in 2010 was celebrated with a light show on the face of the clock tower.

PRAGUE’S ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK

BY THE SEA, BY THE SEA, BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA

Ahhhh…the romance of the “Seven Seas”! 

The term “Seven Seas”, dating back to medieval times, referred to all of the world’s oceans.  Since the 19th century, the term has been taken to include the Arctic, Antarctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific and Indian Oceans.  By the end of 2018, it is estimated that 314 cruise ships will be sailing approximately 537,000 passengers on the “Seven Seas”.

Cruising those “Seven Seas” can take you to all seven continents in the world. Though it may not afford you hours of leisure time for people-watching or long lingering lunches, cruising will give you a comprehensive glimpse of the whole wide world.  The following are suggestions unforgettable port stops you might want to include in your itineraries on each of those seven continents. 

1. AFRICA: Though chaotic and crowded, CAIRO, EGYPT is one of the most exciting and exotic capitals in the world.  The largest city on the African continent, Cairo is so vibrantly alive that even the most jaded traveler must yield to its magic. Arriving in Cairo is like falling through the looking glass and ending up in history. Cairo’s over-all flavor is still very much that of the Middle East.  Egyptians in their flowing galabeyas and traditional black robes often make their past seem more vividly alive than their present. The Pyramids of Giza exude an excitement just by the very virtue of being there.  They have been considered to be the greatest of the Ancient Seven Wonders of the World…that they alone would survive the passing of time.  “He who has not seen Cairo,” said a traveler of old, “has not seen the world.“ 

THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA

GRAB YOUR VALENTINE AND GO

BY JANET STEINBERG

CAUTION: DO NOT READ THIS (unless you believe in love!)

My car’s disc player was serenading me with Placido Domingo singing a medley of Billy Holiday's “Blue Moon” and Johnny Mercer’s “Moon River”.  With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, I couldn’t help but feel that Domingo was singing the story of my second life…a life that began 30 years ago when a then-young widow met the recently widowed man of her dreams. 

“Blue moon”, Domingo crooned, “you saw me standing alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own.  Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for, you heard me saying a prayer for someone I really could care for.  And then there suddenly appeared before me the only one my arms will ever hold.  I heard somebody whisper ‘please adore me’ and when I looked, the moon had turned to gold...” 

“…AND WHEN I LOOKED THE MOON HAD TURNED TO GOLD”

A LETTER TO VIRGINIA: YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS…

BY JANET STEINBERG

With the remake of the 1934 mystery film Murder on the Orient Express lighting up the nation’s movie screens for the holiday season, I thought of what a newspaper editor might have said to an 8-year old girl named Virginia if she had written the following question, instead of the one about Santa Claus:

 

Dear Editor: I am 8 years old.  Some of my little friends just saw a movie named Murder on the Orient Express and they say there is no Orient Express.  Papa says, ‘If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.’  Please tell me the truth; is there an Orient Express?

Yes, Virginia, there is an Orient Express.  It exists as certainly as your family car, the planes in the sky and the ships on the sea.  As a matter fact, come along with me and I will tell you about a journey back in time when I was a passenger on the Venice Simplon-Orient Express (VSOE) for a luxurious overnight trip to Venice.  

Because I rode the rails in pre-Chunnel days, there have been some slight itinerary changes since my time on the train.  However, the classic journey, wrapped in timeless romance and epitomizing the golden age of rail travel, is still the same. 

THE JOURNEY BEGAN IN LONDON

BRIDGING GAPS AROUND THE WORLD

BY JANET STEINBERG

"I want to be the bridge to the next generation”

Michael Jordan

BRIDGE?  What is a bridge?  

A bridge can be different things to different people.  It can be a ship's control room…an understanding between people…the closing of a generation gap…a means of approach…the top of a nose…or even a partial plate of false teeth.  However, the bridges that fascinate me the most are those structures that allow passage across an obstacle. We walk on some, we drive on some, we sail under some and we even shop on some.  

In some respects, bridges are like people.  They have personalities and even nicknames such as The Swinging Queen, The Comb and The Coathanger. They personify the imagination, the architecture and the art of a city.  Next time you approach a bridge, don’t just walk on it or drive across it.   Be sure to look at it…I mean really look at it!  When I finally took a good look at a bridge that had been in my Cincinnati hometown for decades before I was born, I realized there was a treasure approximately one mile from my home.  Please allow me to share with you my hometown treasure and some other architectural gems from around the world.

CRYSTAL SERENITY: FROM THREE SEAS TO THREE 3 C’s

BY: JANET STEINBERG

THE THREE SEAS:

AEGEAN…MEDITERRANEAN…ADRIATIC…

Three majestic, magnificent seas brought me triple delights on my Crystal Serenity cruise from Istanbul, Turkey to Venice, Italy. In addition to sailing me to far away places with strange sounding names (like Kusadasi, Kotor, and Thira), these three seas afforded me a chance to enjoy three of my favorite things

THE THREE C’s

CRYSTAL… Let me make it Crystal clear that there is little wonder why the readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine rated Crystal Cruises the “Best Cruise Line” (Mid-Sized) for 2011. The ultra-luxe cruise line’s score marks the 18^th time the company has won its category--more than any other cruise line, hotel, or resort in the magazine’s history. 

CRYSTAL SERENITY