A River Cruise

A lunch cruise on a river boat on a beautiful Fall day to see the leaves turn.  On this day, however, there were not many leaves yet ready to turn.  So, we just enjoyed the ride, and the lunch, and a little bit of alcohol.  

I hadn't recently seen the Upper West Side from this perspective.  I was struck as to how consistent the buildings looked up here.  Someone asked me if I made a composite and stitched together the buildings to look the same.  But, they actually look like this.  You can see the Henry Hudson Parkway skirting the Hudson River at the base of the buildings.  

The Upper West Side

A little further south along the river is the Cruise Ship terminal.  As busy as the river traffic is, there are large boats and the little boats sharing the space together.  

Little Boat, Big Boat

Venice from the Sea

StreetObservations.com - I assembled a series of photographs taken from the cruise ship as we departed Venice a few months ago.  I was surprised that the path leaving the city took us directly past San Marco and the other prime sites.  

It was near dusk, so the lights were just starting to come out.  You can see the progression of the darkness from one picture to another.  The picture of the plaza at San Marco seems to me like it could have been taken 100 years ago or more and still look the same.  

Also, now disconnected from the ship, it strikes me how high up the view from the ship is, almost like we're flying over the city.   

Vantage Point

Parking

Up the Canal

Cafe

Gondolier at Dusk

San Marco

Moving Out

Yacht

Leaving Shore

I've been on a few cruise ships, and have always found it exciting when the ship leaves dock for the first time. Just the fact that something that big is moving is amazing. But, with the music playing, people waving and the great views, it's an inspiring experience.

Here are some pictures from a recent trip to Mexico. They look best if you click on them to view larger. We were second in line to get out of the port at Ft. Lauderdale. First was the Celebrity ship next door. The light at sundown was amazing.
There were a lot of people waving (from the other ship also). This guy seemed to make a special trip to come wave. Maybe he was talking to someone on board?
We seemed to be in a race with this speed boat. It was a bit speedier than us, but he suffered when it came to onboard entertainment. It seemed to me that it was levitating over the water. The slow shutter speed and panning along with the boat made a rather cool effect.
People on deck, of course, were walking around, pointing, and looking.
And, there were some people who managed to get to the bar.