Bonnie’s End of Cruise Musings

It is Tuesday May, 13 Tate”s birthday. We have been home for about 14 hours. This is the final blog for our last day of travel, yesterday Monday May 12 which was the great granddaughter ‘s birthday Wrenley..

Now about our last day. Well I was up at 2 am and back to bed at 3 am hoping to sleep some more. We had set our luggage out before 10 and heard them carry it away, very noisily. We got up at 5:10 before the alarm went off at 5:30 (this was 12:30 am in Augusta). We dressed, I packed up my c pap machine, we packed pj’s, dirty clothes from the night and the turtle into the green bag decorated with pink flamingos which would carry off the last of our stuff. I had my backpack ready to go and he had his computer case.

We headed off to the Windjammer for our last time for breakfast. Not quite as cold outside but typical England weather rain and fog. He had on 4 layers of clothes for our trip. I enjoyed one more bacon sandwich with mustard. He had eggs and bacon. Well, after eating back to the room to turn on channel 7 and see where the ship was in going off. It was about 30 minutes behind schedule. We were to be in the deck four gangway lounge before 7:15 go off time. We headed that way about 6:45.

They finally called green 19 tag. So we got up and headed to the line which wound through deck 4 dinning room around the back of it and finally out onto deck 4 to join the growing long line. As we were walking down the side of the ship I realized I had left the green flamingo bag back in the lounge. The line to the scanner was long so he went back to find it. I got out of the line temporally till he would return empty handed. It was gone!! We tried to remember what was in it. Pj’s, dirty underwear, electric toothbrush, hair brush. All replaceable. Then as we went through the scanner and were walking down the long ramp to pick up our suitcases it struck me TURTLE was in the bag. That is unreplaceable! David bought him for me when I had shoulder surgery and he has been my constant buddy in the bed at night. I have never seen another turtle like him . He is gone. He has traveled on every cruise and seen many countries often sitting in the window of our cabin looking out when we had one. SADNESS!

Next we found the bus for green tag 19 heading to Terminal 3 in London Heathrow airport. We were the last 2 of the last 4 people to board the bus. Back seats for us. The ride would take and one and a half hours. The lady on the bus who was giving instructions about ride said that they had provided the usual rain and fog for our journey. They drive on the wrong side of the road which was interesting as we rode. We finally got to the airport around 10 am. Now we had been up 5 hours. At Heathrow airport they charge 6 pounds if you drive and drop off passengers. Busses is 6 pounds per person. If you don’t prepay or pay by midnight the fine will be up to 80 pounds.

Well, we went into the terminal and found the check in computers to check us in. We didn’t have to pay for our bags, Yeah! We printed the luggage tags and attached them to the suitcases. Then we headed to the desk to give our luggage to be put onto the plane and get out boarding passes. The cases were checked through to Augusta. I was feeling pretty good and we said we wouldn’t need the wheelchair till we got to Atlanta. England is not as kind to the elderly when going through security. Shoes off, belts off, jackets off no matter how old you are. Beep Beep and the usually very through pat down. Way longer than was needed or necessary. Not a friendly young lady, nice or kind. Took about 5 minutes before she was through probing me. Well, Heathrow, like Lisbon, does not put up gate numbers till about an hour before scheduled take off. The board said our gate would be shown at 13:45( that is 1:45pm) it was now about 11 am. We took turns going into the shops, and there were hundreds of them. We limited ourselves to a couple around where we were currently setting so we could see a board. We each got a sandwich, chips and a drink. Cost only 6 pounds for each of us. One  sandwich alone cost about $12 in Atlanta.

I shopped and bought a couple of souvenirs. We had brought 100 pounds to spend but only used 50.  Finally they put up our gate, 21. We pottied along the way because they are few and far between. We got to the gate and got put into the group for first on. Our seats were Row 47 A and B. Huge plane. Held over 400 people. There was a blanket and pillow in our seats, a TV to watch and they gave us headphones.

The flight was taking off at 3:30 and was to take 8 and a half hours. It would land at Atlanta about 7:30 Atlanta time. LONG flight. I watched 3 movies. I couldn’t sleep. I crocheted and made a new pot holder as we flew. I had brought yarn to make one while we flew. Seats were not bad but both of my hips were not happy. The meal we were served somewhat warm. They literally almost threw it to you and ten minutes later came back to pick up the garbage. Really! It does take a while to eat. There were wooden utensils, yuck! We also were offered a drink two other times and one of those  time with a cookie during the 8 ½ hour trip. Attendants were very inattentive.

When we landed in Atlanta there were to be wheel chairs waiting for each of us. It was on our tickets. A lot of people were getting off wanting wheel chairs and did not have it on their tickets. Plus for some reason there was a large shortage of wheel chairs. None to be found right at that time. There were none. We finally got 2 and headed off to pick up our suitcases and go through security. Well, the people who were pushing the chairs were assigned to the international airport and could not take us to our connecting flight in domestic. They did pick up our suitcases and put them where they needed to be to go to our connecting flight. So they parked us outside the security and customs place and left. During our stay there more than 15 people were parked there at any one time. They took our boarding passes and gave them to a very uninterested young woman who was to get the people from domestic to come get us. We sat there over an hour waiting! Finally someone came. A very nice young man, and he took us up to the customs guy and the security. More beep and beep and patting down.

Our gate was D15. The restrooms were even harder to find here so we stopped and used them before we got to the gate. The young man took us to D15 parked us and left. We had received a text saying our flight was delayed from 10:55 to 11:28. About 15 or so minutes after the young man left we got another text to say the gate was now D21 and would leave at original time. It was around 9:30 by now. So Dad left his chair and pushed me to the new gate. It was not too far away. I was totally wiped out by this time. He walked a little way and found us a bag of chips and a drink. So we waited. Totally disorganized. Finally they were ready to board. We had seats 14 c and d  about 2/3 of the way back. They asked if I could walk out and I said yes and very slowly went. We got to our seats. We are use to planes in Atlanta they take forever riding around till they take off. I was so tired and I fell asleep before we took off. They next thing I know there was this huge jerk and bang and we were landing in Augusta. I have no memory of anything.

We got off the plane and slowly made our way to find our luggage. Standing just outside the doors to the baggage area was a tall young man named Matthew wearing a Pirate t-shirt. We got our suitcases and headed to the car and toward home. It was one o’clock Tuesday morning when we entered the house. Bed Now! Slept till 6 this morning. 25 hours traveling!!

Well, I had a nice nap this afternoon and still fill like I haven’t had any sleep for days.  Maybe I will feel better in a couple of days.

Well, I still love you all and missed you. We just sang happy birthday to Tate and he is wiped out because he spent the day at the Atlanta aquarium with his class.

Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie

Last Blog for this Cruise

 

May 11

I did not lose my pants. I did not  take my pants off. I had to take my belt off and hold onto my pants because I’ve lost 35 pounds and the pants have never been altered.  I’m going to wear my suspenders home, so there will be no danger of anyone seeing my Star Wars underwear and reading  Yoda say, “Try not.  Do or do not.  There is no try.”

Our bags are packed and we’re ready to go, they’re sitting right outside our door. At the time we get up tomorrow morning our time, it will be midnight in Augusta.  By the time we land at Bush Field it will have been a 24 hour journey. T raveling west seems to be easier, but still a long day.  Tuesday morning we will start the laundry – two weeks of it.  Then a nap maybe two.

Aside from being annoyed by my computer, this has been a good cruise.  A very good cruise. The tech staff in the theater kept things going and it was fun doing the talks.  Many good comments.  I think I told you, one woman said  I should write a book.  Maybe later.  My cruise buddy and I have laughed and carried on and had a really good time. 

It’s a couple of hours until bedtime, and so for whatever goodies she has to tell you, here is the bride of my youth, my beloved, my best friend.  And yes, whichever clever reader said, “Do you mean Mom?” 😊 Yes.

TTFN

May 11, 2025, Mother’s Day!! Happy Mother’s Day to all. It has been nice.

Well, my day started at 1 am up and back to bed. Then, up 4:45 read and played my game. Laid back down at 5:30 to go back to sleep then up at 10 to 6 when he got up just before the alarm went off. I had showered the night before so I dressed and waited for him to get up and get ready. Before anything it was take your passport and sea pass card and head to dining room on Deck 5 at 7 am. Awaiting us was English immigration. It was necessary that the ship scan the key card and we proceed in and have our passports inspected. It took about 15 or 20 minutes. Then, out the door and up to Windjammer for some breakfast. Mustard and bacon sandwich for me. He had oatmeal. Then, I had brought my jogger up and while he went to the room to study, I was going out to walk. WHOA! It was about 40 degrees outside and the wind was howling. I started on deck 12 but quickly moved down to deck 11. It was no better there. I made one round and was very, very cold!!! So I went back to the room and retrieved my cup and my crocheting and headed to deck 5.

I took two of his books with me. One he had brought with him on board and had finished and one he bought in Bermuda but decided he did not want. I was taking them to the library on deck 5 to leave for someone else to read on the next cruise. Another lady was going in as I was. She was returning books and looking for something to take with her and read as she traveled tomorrow. I laid down the book Dad had finished and said this is a funny book and a good read. She looked at it, read the back and decided it would a good one. She said they were RVers and it was a book about traveling. I hope she enjoys it.

I found my spot to crochet and got started. Dad came up and brought me all my Mother’s day cards. What a nice surprise. How thoughtful of him and you all. It made the day all that more special.

Then, it was time for his talk in the theater. It was a good talk. Crowds are small 100? But the ship does absolutely no advertising. We have talked to countless people who did not have any idea there were lectures and talks on board. SAD! Lots of great comments from the people who come.

Well, it was time for lunch so up to the Windjammer. As we went into the door they had set up a couple hundred mini cupcakes I a great variety of colors and Mother’s got to have one. How nice.

Well it was egg salad for him, chicken salad for me. We had bought a can of pringles and we enjoyed some of them, too. On the ship they have this guy called the “piano man”. He has an upright piano on wheels and he rolls it everywhere all over the ship. He was even in one of the elevators one day playing. It is  loudly decorated and he is dressed crazily. Well, I was just outside the entrance to the Windjammer and he comes around the corner pushing his piano. He comes over to where I am standing and says he wants to put his piano there. I took a step to the right and he says he wants to put his piano where I am still standing. I was messing with the guy but I think I made him mad because I acted like I didn’t understand and kept being in his way. I did finally move. He was not amused but he should have been. He is supposed to be a fun guy.

The wind and cold was still EXTREME outside but we ran outside and got an ice cream cone and brought it back into eat. Well, at least it didn’t melt.

After that we went to the room and took a short nap. He had gotten a text from Delta that said he could check in. So we went to the library which has computers set up with a printer and tried to check in but were not successful. So we took our cards and went out on the deck to play a few hands. Didn’t get the game finished but he is leading.

They had huge nets of balloons way up in the top of the promenade that were going to drop this evening. As we set playing cards some of the balloons would pop. It was amusing.

At 5 off to supper. Shrimp cocktail, spaghetti Bolognese and a very hard stale brownie for dessert for me. He also had the spaghetti. It was good.

Well, we came back to the room and tackled the packing. Suitcases are packed, both weighing under 40 pounds. I have a small bag into which I will put all the clothes from tonight and the couple of toilet articles. This we will carry off in the morning and put in a suitcase when we get to the airport. I have my pack back and ditty bag ready. He has his computer case ready, almost. He has clothes for tomorrow and so do I. I will have to pack turtle and the c-pap in the morning. Well, 5 comes very early and we are supposed to get off at 7:15. Then, about an hour and half bus ride. We don’t fly till 3 so we will have to wait a while before we can check in and get rid of the luggage. We have some pounds to spend. Lunch and maybe a new Arrowwords  puzzle magazine.

If all goes well we get to Atlanta and have a 3 hour layover. We will have to travel from the international terminal to the domestic terminal and of course go through customs. I don’t think we have to get our luggage there. Then onto Augusta where a sleepy Matthew will be waiting around midnight.

Well, we have had a good time and I pray tomorrow is good. Love you all.

Mom, Granny and Bonnie

 

Last Port of Call Before Southampton

 

May 10

Bonnie awoke early, earlier than I, your faithful scribe, opened his eyes to a new day.  Upon arising I found a note which said, “I went up on deck to watch the ship come along side and tie up.” That is one of her favorite parts of cruising.  There are so many things going on involving so many workers and machines ashore.  In the olden days it was tug boats pushing the larger ships into place at the dock.  Now these multi-thousand passenger ships have special engines called azipods which can rotate 90 degrees in opposite directions (as needed) and they push the ships to the dock.  I  showered, shaved, and shampooed and was dressed when the bride of my youth  returned to Stateroom 2409, and it was off to breakfast in the Windjammer.

The sky was overcast, the wind was blowing smartly, and we wondered what the day would bring.  We were hoping to visit this old city that we’d never seen before, and since the weather was holding, out we went.  I came on this cruise without a jacket, trusting the weather reports that I had read and heard, and that was a big mistake.  Really big.  Huge.  Fortunately I had two long sleeve shirts in my wardrobe – a thin sweatshirt and what I call a sun-resisting shirt, so I layered up.  T-shirt, sweatshirt, casual collar shirt, sun-resting shirt, and for good measure, my long sleeve black sweater.  Yes, five layers.  And I was ready to go ashore.  Mom had on a short sleeve blouse and a jacket she bought in Bermuda and she was warm enough.

The city was advertised as handicap, cane, and wheel chair accessible.  We are not sure in whose estimation that was made.  True enough once you got into  the city  there  were gently sloping ramps, but to get that far you had to climb a mountain of stairs.  A wheel chair or other conveyance would never have made it.  Our first stop (aside from looking in the windows of a plethora of souvenir stores) was the main cathedral.  When we reached it there was a sign on the main doors that said  a Eucharist (communion) service was in progress and to please, tourists, do not come inside.  We noticed lots of people who obviously could not read English, or else didn’t care because they were going in and out – and the men did not know the common courtesy and respect for the sanctuary because they  kept their baseball caps and other head gear on.

We walked on, exploring, popping in and out of shops, and finally when we decided we’d wandered enough went back to the cathedral.  The sign was gone and we went in – after removing out hats.  I took two pictures from the doors towards the altar and then Mom and I lit candles and prayed for Frank and Karen (as he is undergoing treatment for leukemia) and for Mac and Tate.  Then Bonnie noticed that on the right side of the main altar a baby was being baptized and I walked up to watch.  It seemed a beautiful  service of worship, and I  smiled as I remembered a photo I have in one of my talks.  It is of a little girl, less than two years old, holding a cell phone and saying, “You won’t believe it, but in church today a man wearing a dress tried to drown me, and my family stood around taking pictures.”  I saw no attempt at drowning – a beautiful lace mantilla was put on the little girl’s head – but there  were three photographers recording the special moment.

Back outside the weather was turning, the sky was dark, the wind had picked up, and the temperature was dropping.  AccuBon said it was probably going to rain and we left our exploration and returned to the ship, getting back on board before the rain came.

And now to fill you in with the many details I have missed, here’s my cruise buddy.

Pictures will follow her report.

TTFN

To be more accurate about my rising. I was first up at 2 unable to sleep. I read my Bible reading then played games on my phone (that is all it is good for except taking pictures, telling what time it is in Augusta). At 4 I was sufficiently sleepy to go back to bed putting my mask back on. For whatever reason at 6:50 my mask went crazy and I had to remove it. I actually threw on the floor. I decided since I was up again I would dress and go up and see to the docking at 8. I went to deck 4 without my jacket, bad mistake so I went back to the room to retrieve it. It was very cold and the wind was blowing. When I opened the door he was just getting up. I said I was going back up and he could take his bath, etc and get ready and I would come back about 9 when docking should be complete.

Well, yesterday they had said the gangway would be on deck 1. But I noticed when I got up there they had the stuff set up on deck 4. I got some good pictures of the town and the water and boats etc. A man had come out on deck near me and he was waving and shouting to a lady and man in the dock area. Speaking in Spanish but they seemed to know each other. He told me it was his sister and she lived just an hour away from Vigo. He was getting off the ship and going to spend a month in Spain with her and family. Cool. Well, as the ship was approaching the dock there was a worker on the dock yelling to someone on the ship and telling them to move further up before docking. So the ship which was almost against the dock but moved back out and up before finishing.

A line of people had started to form behind me lined up at the scanner for getting off even though we were not ready yet. It was strange they were putting 2 gangways. One was going to be up on deck four and it was two very, very steep ramps leading down to the dock. The other they set up off of deck 2, our deck.

Well, I came back to the room and the Captain was announcing that people could start getting off on deck 2 but 4 was not ready yet. Would loved to have seen the scramble by those people on 4 to get to deck 2. There were over 50 by the time I came down. David finished getting ready and we went out to go to the Windjammer. OOPS!! All those people wanting to get off including the tours were jammed into our hallway. Excuse me, excuse me till we finally got to the elevators.

We had some breakfast. I had my first mustard and bacon sandwich of the cruise. After eating we checked the weather outside and he decided it was very cold. So back down to the room, fight our way down the hallway, saying “we live down here , excuse us just going to our room not trying to cut in line”. We got to the room gathered our stuff and we were off.

The streets are narrow . They pretty much go straight up. Sometimes there were long steep steps and sometimes it was walkways. At the first leveling off place we found  a bookstore. It had honest to goodness books in English besides Spanish. We looked and purchased 2. Then on up the hill now walking on steps. He told you about the church which was just above the bookstore but we visited it later.

The next place we stopped was the sabor store, candy!! We got some free samples and made some purchases. There were tons of cafes with tables set up along the streets. One was selling octopi, there oysters and lobsters and all kinds of fish. I passed! Going on up and reaching a plateau we looked ahead and the street diverged into two first going down, down, down and then up and up and up. We saw a store with a cow in front of it (no a large statue of one not a real one) we have shopped at this store in others places in Spain. They had something in the window I wanted. I found it and purchased it and a couple of other things. David paid with a 20 euro note and some of the coins I had. The lady was supposed to return a 10 euro note but forgot till you dad asked. So sorry! As we were leaving he saw something he wanted for 3 euros and said oh why not and bought that. After paying we were going out the door and the alarm went off. OOPS! The clerk forgot to remove the electronic tag.

Next we stopped at the pharmacy. He got something there too. Then looking at the steep and long paths ahead we decided to return. So back the way we came we went. That is when we stopped at the church. I made my last purchase of some post cards and the clouds were getting darker so we continued back to the ship.

When we started our journey on the street we thought we were back in Rome. Lining both sides of the sidewalk were sheets on the ground covered with “name brand” purses. There were also all kinds of hats and soccer t shirts. These enterprising people also had noticed the clouds and there were many umbrellas for sale.

Well, there was another cruise ship in dock, not sure where it was from, so we had to navigate the right path to ours. Of course there was security, beep beep for me and losing his pants for your Dad. We finally got back to the ship and on board.

Went to the windjammer for lunch and to finish our card game. He won and is ahead 3 to 2.

Now back to the room. I was taking a shower and washing my hair. After at least 4 days of hat head I needed it. He went to the desk to get envelopes for our tips. Then we took a short 1 hour nap and off to dinner.

The menu was a little strange and they had said it was a “dress to impress” night which is the next thing to formal. Really! We just dressed. The menu had a mixture of things from previous nights. Strange. We were told every night would be different. I wonder what will happen tomorrow night. We each got a steak. They were okay. I ordered strawberry shortcake but it had mainly pineapple in it, only one strawberry. We gave the waiters their tips because on the last night it is usually very hard to find them.

When we got to the room the Cruise Compass said we should look at the app and it would tell us about getting off. Well, my app is worthless but he looked at his and it did not have on it that we had bus passes to go to Heathrow. So I got undressed and put on PJ’s while he went up to the desk with the receipt for $200 for two passes to find out why his app did not say anything about them. Found out we are to receive green 19 tags tonight or in the morning. It will be in the morning because our steward does not do a night turn down.

Well he has studied for tomorrow. We have an alarm set for 6. We need to be at immigration at 7 and then to breakfast, and he has to study and his talk is at 11. Then, we will start the packing process after lunch. Remembering to leave out clothes for Monday morning!

Well war and peace is over and I will say good night to all. In case I don’t get a chance to say this tomorrow:  “Happy Mother’s Day” to Jennifer, Amy, Carey, Ivy, and Madison.

And to you Karen! Thank you for the lovely flower bouquets (gifs) you sent me by way of David’s text. I loved the mouse!!

Love you all. Be home on Monday about midnight.

Mom, Granny and Bonnie

Last Day in Portugal

 

May 9

Hello all you fans out in hometown Georgia!! It is your cruise blogger Bonnie coming to you from the Independence of the Seas on day 12. Sailing away from Lisbon toward Vigo, Spain.

We were up at 8. I originally got up at 6, but read and played on my phone and got sleepy and went back to bed at 7 and slept to 8 when we both got up 😊.

We took showers this morning and headed to the Windjammer about 9. No hurry because we were still in dock from yesterday. Was warmer today than yesterday and a lot more sun. Probably low 70’s.

During the night or early morning a second ship had docked. It was the NCL Norwegian Dawn. That is the very first ship Dad had done his very first talks on back in 2008. Crazy!

We were going to the Aquarium today. We didn’t know how. We asked some of the workers from excursions desk what was the best option. They suggested UBER. So when we got outside about 10 ish Dad used his uber app and got us a ride for just a little more than 8 euros. The driver  said he would be would pick us up. In about ten or so minutes he said I am here. HAHA. He was in front of the Norwegian but he finally found the lady in the green Jacket and the man in a white shirt in front of the Independence. We told him we wanted to go to the “Oceanario De Lisboa”. He didn’t know where it was but he put it into the GPS and about 30 minutes later we were in the vicinity. We got out and proceeded to the building we thought was it but it was the building behind and around. We finally found the entrance and about 20 or 30 school field trips of little kids entering! They scanned our tickets and in we went.

We were first directed to the elevator which would take us from floor 0 to floor 1 and start our trip around. It is a fantastic aquarium. There are many types of ocean fish, sharks, manatees, sting rays, Dori and nemo fishes. Lots of sea anemones, star fish and 2 sea otters. It was curious there were countless divers in the water. Some were feeding the fish. Some were cleaning and vacuuming and one lady diver was washing the windows inside the tanks. It was great fun. We shared our time with all the kids and got to see everything. My favorite area was the artic zone!! It was cool there!

We visited the gift shop last of course. Found some goodies. And they had a restaurant in the gift shop and it had a gelato stand! Yes, two scoops each. Yum! 9 euros. Not as good as Venice but none the less good. Well, we had asked two people in the building how we could get a taxi to go back to the ship. First your Dad asked a young male worker inside and then the nice young checkout girl, who spoke perfect English, how to catch or where to catch a taxi. They both assured us the road in front of the building where we had arrived was the place to go. So off we went. It took us about 10 or 15 minutes finally to get a taxi. We told him we wanted to go to the cruise terminal and your Dad pointed to the front and the taxi driver said no and pointed the other way. They did that a few times till Dad realized that the driver was indicating the right way.  HaHa! The ride took about 20 minutes and it was very nice. It cost 10.15 euros. Both of the drivers we had were very good. And the taxi driver taught us how to say thank you because we said “gracious” The driver preferred the Portuguese.

We got back on the ship about 2:30. Yes it was through security, your Dad losing his pants and me beep beeping! Too late to nap or have lunch. So we went to deck 5 and the café after dropping the bags in the room. We each got a small sandwich, I ate the meat not the bun, and we ate our pringles we had bought yesterday. I got a coke in my cup so he and I could have a drink.  We played some cards and then came back to the room about 4 so I could change clothes. On the way to the room he stopped and talked to the guest services people about get off stuff. They had sent a text and we didn’t understand some of it. I pestered one of the young men about the TV. I know get off stuff is always there on get off day. Ours was crazy when we got on. He told me what channel to check and where to look. So when we got to the room I looked and the TV was working perfectly. I even watched the end of a movie “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief”. It has Pierce Brosian in it as a Centaur. I know how it ends now but I am going to look it up and watch. It was cool. When that went off the original “Les Misérables” movie in black and white came on. Watched a few minutes then we had to go. It was cool too.

Tonight’s supper was of the Mexican flair. I had 2 soups, ate a little bit of a  shredded pork stuffed enchilada. There were beans and rice but I didn’t eat any of it. I had a caramel flan for dessert.

Then it was off to the theater. There was a juggler/comedian Pete Matthews.  He was good.

We are back in our room and he was cutting his hair so I started the blog. We get to our next stop Vigo at 9 in the morning and stay to 4:30. There time is one hour ahead of ours but we are to stay on ship’s time. No hurry in the morning. This is a walking around town to visit. But by the way if anyone says the aquarium in Lisbon is a 30 minute walk tell them they are full of beans.

Well, he is ready to tell you about his day. Love you all. Mom, Granny and Bonnie.

I knew I should never have allowed her to go first. But like Obi Wan said, “It was the truth, from a certain point of view.”

The taxi driver did teach us how to say “thank you” in Portuguese: obbligato (if you are a man), obligati (if you are a lady).  Then he told us how in two different languages and Mom told me to tell him in Russian, so now he knows four ways. Bolshoi spacebo.

The Juggler was great. He kept us in stitches with his humor. I know Bonnie and I laughed almost non-stop.  See there were two snakes.  Never mind, I’ll tell you later.  Great show.  Perhaps the best on this cruise and there have been some really good shows.

Ok.  I give up.  There is no way I can top Bon’s telling of our day.  She does get all the flavor out of the various experiences, and when she reads them back to me, they are even more fun than  the real stuff.  Reading about Vigo it sounds like we can spend hours amusing ourselves with  shops, churches,  historic sites and more.  We’ll let you know.

I’m going to put a few photos of the aquarium below.  I  did two short videos, but they are too big to get in the blog.  I’ll figure something out at 233.

Oh, while cutting my hair I dropped my clippers and broke the guard. Fortunately I was finished, but the guard is beyond fixing. Ebay to the rescue. A new set is in my shopping cart, and I'll order it as soon as we are home.  Well, maybe not at midnight on Monday, but soon.

Double Oh, as to catching the taxi … for those of you  who have been in Samara, Russia, you know exactly how I did it.  Tell everyone else, please.

TTFN – pictures coming.

 First, the banners from the V-E Day salute

And now from the aquarium

V-E Day Supplement

 At 10 o' clock this morning, all guests on board the Independence OTS were invited to Studio B to honor those who served in World War II.  May 7 was the 80th anniversary of the Nazi's unconditional surrender, ending the war in Europe.

Cruise director Natalie had a powerful reading to begin the memorial, then she invited all veterans from any wars to come to the main floor.  Seeing all of those who fought to defend our freedom, and remembering those who died made me cry.

Then three singers from the crew, one each from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States sang in turn each country's national anthem.  I put my hand over my heart for each one and cried some more.  It was incredibly moving, and the woman who sang the "Star Spangled Banner" was extraordinary -- great voice, great presence on the floor and sang it the way it was written! Mom sang with her, the entire National Anthem.

I broke down completely when the trumpeter from the orchestra stepped out and played taps.

The closing recitation was "In Flanders Field," the poem that commemorates World War I -- the War to End All Wars.  As we stood silently for a few moments, I prayed that there would be no more wars and no more young people giving the last full measure of devotion to preserve our liberties which so many  people seem to hold so lightly.

Tuk Tuk No No

 

May 8

After a mix up in communication and a very courteous driver we finally started our Tuk Tuk tour an hour or so late.  The instructions we received was that our  driver would come to the front of the cruise terminal holding a sign with our  name on it.  He was told to meet us across a very wide four lane street in front of a red kiosk.  After we decided he wasn’t coming we went for a walk and came into wifi range.  There was a message from him and we walked back the way we came until we had a signal and called him.  He was 3 minutes away and came to the red kiosk.  It was a fun tour.  Some roads  were VERY bumpy, but he was knowledgeable and we enjoyed the tour, stopping at several viewing points and going into one small chapel. 

Some pictures:

Your favorite cruisers from the highest point in Lisbon

The other pictures are at the end of the blog because that's where this crazy machine put them, not where I wanted them.  Oh well.

Tomorrow the aquarium.

Back on board, Astri and Fushawn were holding our table for us and we had appetizers, ice cream and in between excellent chicken parmasean with marinara sauce.  After dinner, we finished the 4^th game of rummy and Bonnie tied the score at 2 all.

I’m sure Mom’s version is going to be much more exciting, so I’ll move over and let her hit the ASDF space JKL; space

TTFN

Well, we were up at 7. We did our stuff in the bathroom. Today they were not having breakfast in the dining room but from 8 to 12 they were having brunch. So about 9 we went to deck 3 dining room and had brunch. Well, since it was a brunch and I didn’t really want eggs and such I ordered a fruit plate, a chicken sandwich, tomato juice and chocolate milk. Well the kiwi was not ripe, the pineapple was not sweet but the cantaloupe and grapes were good. The sandwich came with FF. The FF were great. The sandwich was not chickfila! The chicken was some kind of very thin processed chicken and tough as shoe leather. I ate half of the bun, the lettuce and slice of tomato.

Well, we were docked and cleared just before 12. We had a bridge and ramps connected to the ship to get off. We didn’t need to get off to around 2. There was a large crowd around the door on deck 4 to get off anyway. There were tons of tours heading off and everybody else. We finally decided to get off just before 2. The way was a little clearer. We walked and walked and walked till we finally found our way out of the terminal. Outside the doors there were MANY tuktuks and  drivers touting their wares. But we said we had already ordered a driver.

We waited, and waited and waited….. and finally gave up and started walking to the one church we could see above the buildings. It looked a lot closer than it really was. Much traffic, much construction. They have had flooding issues down in the dock area and they are doing construction to try and alleviate the flooding. Well, after we had walked and had not gotten to the church he decided to stop in a pharmacia, because most pharmacist can speak English, and see if we were on the right way to the church. Well, he noticed he had a What’s app and it was from the tuktuk driver. After some conversation we headed back to the port to see if we could meet up with him. Dad lost his signal but when we got back outside the port he was able to talk with him and he picked us up at the red kiosk on the corner.

My advice to you if you are riding in the old parts on Lisbon, DON’T USE A TUKTUK! It was very hard to get into and you wore cross body seat belts; thank God you did. The roads are about as wide as two of my sparks, there are cars parked on both sides of the very narrow streets which go up and up and are very curvy. The roads are very uneven, bumpy and full of pot holes. He hit one and I thought my butt was broke! The views from the top of the city are outstanding and beautiful! The driver was very knowledgeable and told us a lot of history. We had the opportunity to visit one small chapel and it was amazing inside for such a small place. I lit 2 candles. I would have liked to light more but I only had one euro coin. After we had seen the highlights of the old parts of Lisbon he was going to take us into the more modern parts but my back could not stand anymore. So he brought us back to the dock area. I must tell you how I was able to get out of the tuktuk each time we stopped to look at something. I slid off the seat put my butt on the floor and feet pointing out of the door, and then I dangled my feet and reached for the ground and got out. There was no other way. Not a pretty site to see!

We arrived back to the terminal and proceeded inside. Going through Portugal security, beep beep of course. Retrieved our stuff from the bins. Dad had to take off his belt and was losing his pants so first order of business was to put on the belt. We proceeded upstairs where  they have the typical tourist stuff we bought  pringles, nachos and a drink. Then headed back to the ramps to get on. But wait we and everybody in front of us and behind us were stopped just as we got to the last 2 ramps up to the ship. The tide had come in and they had to move the ramps. It took about 15 minutes and the line grew longer as we waited. Finally we were able to move and get on.

By the time we got on the ship it was about 5:45. Dad said we are going to the dining room. So we did. Hats and canes and stuff. Our table was waiting and the dining room was very empty. We ordered our supper and ate. It was 7 before we left. We went to the room, unloaded our  stuff and picked up my drink cup and headed for deck 5 to find a drink and a table sit at and play. We had started a game before we left in the morning and I was in the lead and I stayed in the lead and won. On the last hand I only needed 5 points to win.

We are in our room and I am crocheting and soon we will be in bed. He is tired. We don’t have to be up early and our tickets for the aquarium aren’t till 12:30. Weather is breezy but beautiful. Cloudy but no rain. Love you all. Mom, Granny and Bonnie

 

A church which is now a museum and mausoleum 

A church that is a church, and the part in the foreground used to be a monastery -- it will now be a hotel.
Above a beautiful nativity scene (which I can't get to move). The whole thing is behind a wire barricade.

V-E Day plus 80

  

May 7

All of you history buffs know that today is the anniversary V-E Day. 80 years ago today, the Germans surrendered and World War II was over in Europe.  And coincidently, that played into my talk to day. Not planned, just neat.

Times Square

It is getting late. After 9 p.m. here, and I just listened to DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates (ask Michael and Matthew if you don’t know what that is), so I’m going to be brief and then let Bonnie have at it.

Every group of staff on board has different uniforms  and the ones who wear the white shirts are climbing to the top of  their craft.  After breakfast today, Mom headed for the room to get some yarn and such and wait for me to join her for my next to last talk.  One of the white shirts came over to the table (Marigrace) and asked me how was breakfast, how am I enjoying the cruise and we talked for a good while she told me she has sailed since 1999.  She has  a 13 year old son back home in the Philippines while she is working at sea.  Her mom and dad are caring for the boy.  She’s away from home for 6, 7, 8 months at a time, but she can make money here like she cannot approach at home.  Hats off to Marigrace.

At dinner tonight, one of the offerings was Maine lobster, with the catch that it was $16.99 extra.  It’s funny that lobster is now a luxury dish, but when people started eating lobster in great amounts, it was a food for the poor.   The rich wouldn’t touch it.  Now the poor can’t afford it.  Astri asked Mom if she was going to have lobster and Mom said, “No.  The only good part about it is the butter and it’s not that good.”  Astri and Mom agreed that it would be much better with ketchup.  To which I voiced a hearty, “Yuck!”  I thought their exchanged was wonderful.  Don’t tell the chef we dissed his lobster.

Today was Fushawn, our assistant waiter’s 26th birthday, and 3 of the tables he serves gathered around him and sang happy birthday, and one couple had bought him a special birthday cake.  A good, but brief party it was.

And last from my fingers tonight – I should let Bonnie tell you  this – on the chandelier shade in the next dining room is a stain that she says looks like a squished roach.  I’ll send you a picture.

Closest shade. Cockroach?

And now it’s my sailing buddy’s turn.

TTFN

To begin with he was wro..wro..wr..wrong. But to that later. We got up before 7 and the alarm was set for 7:30. Oh well. We showered, dressed and headed to breakfast. His talk was not till 12. We ate at the Windjammer, really not much I wanted. I had a couple of pieces of pineapple and bacon, a spoonful of baked beans and half of an English muffin. Then (here is his error) I went for a walk after breakfast. I headed out and up to deck 12. OOPS! Sign on the sliding door the weather is too bad you can’t go out on 12. So down to 11 and walked round and round till I got my mile. The aerobics class was in a hot tub sitting in the Solarium (the adults only space) since the weather was COLD and Windy! Outside on the deck 11. But I was bundled up and walked anyway.

After walking I headed to the room, picked up my crocheting and my cup. Then off to 5 to get a drink and secure a seat in the lounge across from guest services to crochet while he prepared for his talk at 12.

At about 11:30 he joined me and we sat for a few minutes then headed for the theater. The 11:00 talk was in progress. We sat up in the top and waited till she finished. Then, he went off to the potty and came out and said “I forgot my clicker”. It was by now 11:45 and he said he would go get it but he would then be late. So off I go and I send him down to the stage to get the tech to get the show set up. So off I go up 2 flights of stairs, all the way across deck 5, down 3 flights of stairs, back the hall to our room, get the clicker, back down the hall, up 3 flights of stairs and across deck 5 and down 2 flights of stairs. It was now about 3 minutes to 12. And the tech was still trying to figure out how to get his program up on the screen. Really. This ship’s system is archaic. And the techs are just soso. They finally got everything up and going about 10 minutes after 12. Then, he was off and running. He finished just about 5 minutes before one. Then he talks to several people and we head to the room to change clothes.

By now it was well after one. So he had a sandwich at the café and I had pizza . They are located at opposite ends of deck 5. He found a seat in the café and I went and got my pizza and drink. When I got back he got something from the café. It was very crowded. There was a couple sitting in the small table beside our small table her phone plugged into the wall watching ticktock(?) and her husbands’ laptop plugged in and doing something. This a place to have lunch! They looked like they had been there all morning.

By the time we finished eating it was almost 2. So we went back to the cabin and napped. Again I had to use my c-pap machine. We slept about 2 hours. That is good because I didn’t sleep well last night.  We were up at 4 ish. Tonight was formal night again. So we dressed as formal as we can and headed off about 4:35. Supper was good I had an onion tart, an Indian meal with shrimp and a lot of spice, and the chocolate cake with chocolate sauce (it was not no sugar added 😊).

We were going to the show tonight, a magician, not my favorite but he likes magicians. So we headed out of the dining room. I don’t know if I have told you about the woman who rides a round in a scooter with a bulldog in her lap but she was there at dinner. She was sitting at a table with the dog perched on her lap and it was at the table. There were three other people at the table but they didn’t appear to be with her. All I have to say is if they seated me with her at the table with  the dog in her lap and on the table I would ask to be moved.

Well, we got to the theater and found seats, near our usual spot. The magician is the runner up in the show “The British Have Talent “ show. He said he lost to a three legged dog. He did about 5 tricks in 45 minutes. He talked more than anything else. He was not the greatest. Your Dad agreed.

After the show we headed to deck 5 from deck 3, I got a drink, we walked across deck 5 and down to 2 and are now in our room. We don’t dock till noon tomorrow. We have arranged for a TukTuk  ( a device for driving us around) to meet us at 2:30 for a private tour. We are staying over night so the next day we are going to a large church and the Aquarian. We are supposed to be parked right down town and the church is only 10 minutes away and the aquarian is about 30 minutes from the church. The ship sails away about 4:30 that day.

Well, Praying for better sleeping tonight. Don’t need to set an alarm for tomorrow. But there is a tribute to V E day we would like to go to tomorrow at 10. I probably won’t get in my walk.

Hope you are all doing okay with the rain. Be careful. Be safe. Love and Miss you all. We are going to spend some of our EUROS tomorrow😊.

Mom, Granny and Bonnie