November 30, 2017
I met tonight’s entertainer while I was sitting in the beauty salon waiting to have my hair cut. He told me that being clean is easy, being funny is hard. I hate to say it, but he did the easy part, not the hard part. It was painful watching him doing his material and getting two or three laughs. I thought that some folks were just laughing to help fill some agonizing quiet space. I’m not judging, just reporting. Don’t wanna plant no seed.
My talk today was “Alexander Selkirk: The Real Robinson Crusoe.” Tomorrow I am doing “When Pirates Sailed the Atlantic” (which on some ships and some cruises is called “Pirates of the Caribbean”). I get to tell my awful pirate jokes (I’ll see how it feels to be a comedian) and to tell them that one of the greatest Pirates of all time came from Puerto Rico.
Well, it was a pretty slow day today. I think I’ve told you everything except the menu (I had two eggs over medium for breakfast, pasta with cream sauce for lunch, and carne asada for supper and creme brulee for dessert), and that we sent out laundry day before yesterday and so it should be back tomorrow, and that we had a towel animal on our bed tonight (only the third one of the cruise – it was a seal – I think), and that my cruise partner continues to stomp a mud hole in me rummy wise (after winning the first 2 I am now down 3-7), and that I have been reading a Star Trek novel (“The Diary of Elena,” written by Davan Kylesbreau, a powerful story that has not yet been sold to Pocket Books), and that the people we ate supper with last night (Tom and Irene) were back at the same table for 4, but tonight they were alone, and that the large loud carpet dryer that was in the hall outside of the room next to ours is finally gone after 2 days of very loud air movement (drying out what someone called “a waterfall”), and that the light I told our room steward wasn’t working was merely turned off (it had a hidden switch that no one told us about), and I guess that’s it.
And now, hereeeee’s Bonnie!
TTFN
No he, the comedienne not David, was not funny. I got up and we went to breakfast. Bacon sandwich and some hot chocolate, not very good chocolate. Then, I went for my walk around deck 6, walked 1.7 miles today. It was windy but not real cold. Didn’t need my hat. After my walk and my shower, I took my newspapers and my crocheting and went to the deck chairs outside our room to sit. I took my sweater and my blanket and peacefully sat and read my papers and then got some crocheting done. David came out about 10:30 and said he was going up to listen to the talk on sinking the Bismark. I sat for a little while then went up also. After the talk we went to the Lido for lunch. I had a little spaghetti, the soup didn’t sound good but David said it was. I had a little ice cream for dessert. At lunch today there was a couple that started to sit at our table but moved, that if they were at our table for supper I would get up and leave. They had carried up two of the metal cups with lids with them to use for lunch. The woman had brought two of the decorative pillows from her room to put in her chair. Well, when they originally sat down the woman walked off with one of the cups. Then, they moved their stuff to another table and they couldn’t find one of their cups. They came back to our table twice asking if we had their cup. The man looked under the table, etc. They finally found it about 5 tables down from where they were currently sitting. Evidently the woman had carried it there, sat it down and didn’t remember. They were definitely weird!
After lunch he went back to get ready for his talk and I went to the theater to wait. They were doing bingo. I watched. Good crowd for the talk.
After the talk we headed back to the room so he could unwind and nap. Me I crocheted because I couldn’t sleep. After napping we dressed and went to supper and then the show.
Now back in the room, I have my pills to take and my teeth to brush.
Any post cards yet?
Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
SEVEN DAYS AT SEA
November 29, 2017
Our sail away from Funchal, Madeira was delayed by over an hour. First testing on one of the two emergency diesel generators – part of regular ship’s maintenance – showed a part needed replaced and that was done. Second, there was a medical emergency on board and a passenger was taken off and rushed to a local hospital – had we sailed on time, we would have had to come back to get the guest off. But we set sail for Fort Lauderdale at 6:30 p.m., and now we have seven days at sea. Actually we stop at the ship’s private island – Half Moon Cay – on December 7 before reaching Fort Lauderdale on December 8. I will be earning my keep with a talk every day for the next 7.
It was a beautiful day in Funchal today. The weather forecast called for showers throughout the day, but it was a perfect Irving Berlin.
We walked along the water front for a good ways and then turned up into town, touring some streets and shops we’d never visited before. And we bought some more non-souvenirs. I will let Bonnie regail you with those items. I tried to get her to buy a pair of cork shoes that looked like the saddle oxfords we wore when we were kids, but she said she didn’t know how her feet would like them. Then once we were back on board, she said, “I’ll buy a pair if we get to come back here.” Silly girl!
Super tonight was the least satisfying meal of the cruise. We were back in the dining room tonight and ate with Irene and Tom – good company. But my chicken corn soup was nothing extra and the Fettuccini Alfredo was too dry. I did have a good butterscotch dessert. Well, even a fully sighted hog misses an acorn now and then.
And now I will turn the keyboard over to my traveling companion.
TTFN
Well, my traveling companion neglected to tell you he has gotten quite fluffy and so he got a hair cut. Because he is service staff if cost only $17.50 not the normal $35. He got it really short. Not fluffy now.
We did have a marvelous day. I carried 2 umbrellas and 2 ponchos off in case of rain and of course no rain. We did do some shopping. We found several cloth and yarn stores. Yeah. The second shop we looked into had some beautifully embroidered towels with crocheted edges. We got a Christmas theme one and a Madeira one. Very nice and I got 2 new skeins of yarn. I am going to use all of my yarn from Cadiz and Madeira to make a new afghan. It will be cool.
We walked over 2 miles today and got some gelato before we got on the ship. We found a church we hadn’t visited before and it was beautiful. We also visited the church we had been to before. We visited one store that was an organic all natural clothing store. They had gorgeous clothes. I enjoyed also browsing the stores that had all the neat cork purses. They are really pretty.
We got back on board about 12 or so and had a bite of lunch and then headed to the cabin for a nap. I crocheted for a while and then napped an hour. He had an appointment in the spa for a hair cut at 3pm. After he returned we dressed for supper and we stood on deck from 4:30 till after 5. We watched the last tour bus board about 4:35 and the last 2 people at 4:41 ( both were late). And waited for us to leave the dock. But we didn’t. Finally the Captain came on to tell us we would be leaving late.
So we went to supper. I had prime rib and a baked potato. The meat was a little dry but I enjoyed the baked potato.
The show tonight was a singer and dancer production. They have a small cast, 3 female and 3 male dancers and 4 singers. They are good and fun to watch and listen to.
When Dad was up getting his hair cut, he met the performer, a comedienne, for tomorrow night’s show. Believe or not he is from Columbia, South Carolina and he is a Christian comedienne. He is going to be in Augusta at the Journeys(?) Church on Dec 15.
Well, I am tired and a little worn out tonight so I am not long out of bed.
Any postcards Yet?
Love you all, Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Our sail away from Funchal, Madeira was delayed by over an hour. First testing on one of the two emergency diesel generators – part of regular ship’s maintenance – showed a part needed replaced and that was done. Second, there was a medical emergency on board and a passenger was taken off and rushed to a local hospital – had we sailed on time, we would have had to come back to get the guest off. But we set sail for Fort Lauderdale at 6:30 p.m., and now we have seven days at sea. Actually we stop at the ship’s private island – Half Moon Cay – on December 7 before reaching Fort Lauderdale on December 8. I will be earning my keep with a talk every day for the next 7.
It was a beautiful day in Funchal today. The weather forecast called for showers throughout the day, but it was a perfect Irving Berlin.
We walked along the water front for a good ways and then turned up into town, touring some streets and shops we’d never visited before. And we bought some more non-souvenirs. I will let Bonnie regail you with those items. I tried to get her to buy a pair of cork shoes that looked like the saddle oxfords we wore when we were kids, but she said she didn’t know how her feet would like them. Then once we were back on board, she said, “I’ll buy a pair if we get to come back here.” Silly girl!
Super tonight was the least satisfying meal of the cruise. We were back in the dining room tonight and ate with Irene and Tom – good company. But my chicken corn soup was nothing extra and the Fettuccini Alfredo was too dry. I did have a good butterscotch dessert. Well, even a fully sighted hog misses an acorn now and then.
And now I will turn the keyboard over to my traveling companion.
TTFN
Well, my traveling companion neglected to tell you he has gotten quite fluffy and so he got a hair cut. Because he is service staff if cost only $17.50 not the normal $35. He got it really short. Not fluffy now.
We did have a marvelous day. I carried 2 umbrellas and 2 ponchos off in case of rain and of course no rain. We did do some shopping. We found several cloth and yarn stores. Yeah. The second shop we looked into had some beautifully embroidered towels with crocheted edges. We got a Christmas theme one and a Madeira one. Very nice and I got 2 new skeins of yarn. I am going to use all of my yarn from Cadiz and Madeira to make a new afghan. It will be cool.
We walked over 2 miles today and got some gelato before we got on the ship. We found a church we hadn’t visited before and it was beautiful. We also visited the church we had been to before. We visited one store that was an organic all natural clothing store. They had gorgeous clothes. I enjoyed also browsing the stores that had all the neat cork purses. They are really pretty.
We got back on board about 12 or so and had a bite of lunch and then headed to the cabin for a nap. I crocheted for a while and then napped an hour. He had an appointment in the spa for a hair cut at 3pm. After he returned we dressed for supper and we stood on deck from 4:30 till after 5. We watched the last tour bus board about 4:35 and the last 2 people at 4:41 ( both were late). And waited for us to leave the dock. But we didn’t. Finally the Captain came on to tell us we would be leaving late.
So we went to supper. I had prime rib and a baked potato. The meat was a little dry but I enjoyed the baked potato.
The show tonight was a singer and dancer production. They have a small cast, 3 female and 3 male dancers and 4 singers. They are good and fun to watch and listen to.
When Dad was up getting his hair cut, he met the performer, a comedienne, for tomorrow night’s show. Believe or not he is from Columbia, South Carolina and he is a Christian comedienne. He is going to be in Augusta at the Journeys(?) Church on Dec 15.
Well, I am tired and a little worn out tonight so I am not long out of bed.
Any postcards Yet?
Love you all, Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
ONE DAY BEFORE MADEIRA
November 28, 2017
There was a good crowd for my 11 o’clock talk on Madeira. This was, I think, the 4th time I’ve given it, and I made some drastic cuts – things I thought were keeping it from flowing smoothly, and the audience seemed to like it. Tomorrow we dock on the downtown side of Funchal (where I wish we’d been last month when we stayed over night) and so we can get off the ship and go right to exploring. The port lecturer mentioned a couple of the old parts of the city we haven’t seen yet, so we are going to head in that direction. We’ll let you know tomorrow night.
Tonight’s entertainment was “Five O’Clock Somewhere,” a husband and wife group, he from Ireland, she from Denmark, who do a musical variety show. We heard them on the Koningsdam last month, and would you believe, they did the exact same show? They said they were going to stay on the Veendam and would be back with a different show in a couple of nights. We’ll let you know.
For lunch today we ate on the Lido Deck. I had a hamburger and Bonnie had tacos – she’s been wasting away for some Mexican food, and there was a self-serve, make your own, bar. With the noro virus on board earlier they weren’t able to have something like this, but since we’ve all been washing our hands and being well they were able to put it out. She pronounced the salsa and the cheese dip excellent. But I am stealing her thunder. I just know she enjoyed it.
We’ve been eating a lot on the Lido because ever since the earlier dibunction, my beloved wife hasn’t been able to eat and really enjoy it. The Lido gives us the opportunity to sit alone and eat smaller amounts, and if we don’t like something, no one is watching us. So it has been a comfortable situation. We were back in the dining room tonight and at a table where we’ve been before. There are two women with more food allergies than you can shake the proverbial stick at who have reserved their seats at that table so they can order nightly for the day after.
Well, I am rambling, and Bonnie just said, “I didn’t do anything today,” so I will wrap this up for both of us sending hugs and kisses.
TTFN
There was a good crowd for my 11 o’clock talk on Madeira. This was, I think, the 4th time I’ve given it, and I made some drastic cuts – things I thought were keeping it from flowing smoothly, and the audience seemed to like it. Tomorrow we dock on the downtown side of Funchal (where I wish we’d been last month when we stayed over night) and so we can get off the ship and go right to exploring. The port lecturer mentioned a couple of the old parts of the city we haven’t seen yet, so we are going to head in that direction. We’ll let you know tomorrow night.
Tonight’s entertainment was “Five O’Clock Somewhere,” a husband and wife group, he from Ireland, she from Denmark, who do a musical variety show. We heard them on the Koningsdam last month, and would you believe, they did the exact same show? They said they were going to stay on the Veendam and would be back with a different show in a couple of nights. We’ll let you know.
For lunch today we ate on the Lido Deck. I had a hamburger and Bonnie had tacos – she’s been wasting away for some Mexican food, and there was a self-serve, make your own, bar. With the noro virus on board earlier they weren’t able to have something like this, but since we’ve all been washing our hands and being well they were able to put it out. She pronounced the salsa and the cheese dip excellent. But I am stealing her thunder. I just know she enjoyed it.
We’ve been eating a lot on the Lido because ever since the earlier dibunction, my beloved wife hasn’t been able to eat and really enjoy it. The Lido gives us the opportunity to sit alone and eat smaller amounts, and if we don’t like something, no one is watching us. So it has been a comfortable situation. We were back in the dining room tonight and at a table where we’ve been before. There are two women with more food allergies than you can shake the proverbial stick at who have reserved their seats at that table so they can order nightly for the day after.
Well, I am rambling, and Bonnie just said, “I didn’t do anything today,” so I will wrap this up for both of us sending hugs and kisses.
TTFN
Monday, November 27, 2017
NOT THIS GIN JOINT
November 27, 2017
Speaking about Ilsa, Rick says, “Of all the gin joints, in all the world, she had to walk into mine!”
When we booked this trip, one of the things I wanted to see was Rick’s Café American in Casablanca. Now I know that none of the movie was filmed in Morocco – it was all done on a studio sound set. But still, some enterprising folks came up with the idea of making Rick’s a tourist trap and I wanted to see it. That is, until we went to the shore talk for Casablanca and listened to all of the warnings.
Shorts must cover your knees. Shirts must cover your shoulders. No t-shirts, only polo/golf style shirts. No touching. No acts of affection. No breathing (that one I made up – almost – we are sitting in a working dock and there is lime being loaded, and blowing towards the ship, and some powdery brown stuff being loaded and blowing towards the ship).
If you ask a taxi driver to take you some place and he says, “That is closed, but I know a good place,” he’s lying.
When the shuttle bus stops (and you must take a shuttle bus – we are on the hind end of a very busy working port) the locals will already be pressing their faces to the windows offering their wares for sale.
And listening to table conversation of con men, pick pockets, and other swindlers, we said, “No thanks!” I’ve traveled with a con man and a swindler (those of you who spent 10 years growing up on Cap Chat Street know what I mean). I’ve been bamboozled by fast talking, fast dealing currency cheats in the Samara Rynok. That’s enough.
So we will play cards. And I bought a set of double sixes dominos yesterday for 75 cents, and we’ll thrown in a few games of the bones. Plus reading, napping, and a very interesting sounding supper tonight on the Lido Deck featuring Mediterranean food specialities.
And the ship’s entertainment tonight at 8 and 10 is the movie “Casablanca.” “Play it Sam. If she can take it, so can I!”
Rick did not say, “Play it again Sam.”
TTFN
We just got back from popcorn and a movie. Wow. It was as good as I remembered. Great evening.
The day was lazy and I got 2 miles walking in and lots of crocheting. I sat on the Lido deck for most of the morning watching out over the dock and the city in the distance. The haze and stuff hanging in the sky at times would be so thick you could barely see the dock. I heard one lady say she rode the shuttle into the town and didn’t get off because it was too difficult to breathe.
We enjoyed our day. Then, there was supper. A Mediterranean fare. Well, there were pastas, chicken, vegetables and even goat. Yes I said goat. No we did not try it. There was a delicious Moroccan mousse, that was a very dark chocolate, I did have it. I would have liked to have visited the city but there were too many negative vibes. Maybe another time.
Then, we went to the movies. Front row seats in the balcony and popcorn to boot. Not real good popcorn but popcorn none the less. And they had the air on high tonight. I got your Dad his blanket. It was great.
Well, tomorrow we are at sea and your Dad has a talk at 11 am. Then, we will be in Madeira the next day before we begin our journey across the ocean. Making one final stop in Half Moon Cay, the private island. Then, Ft Lauderdale. All to short.
Miss you all but this has been a really good cruise. Love you. Has anyone got a post card yet from Athens?
Mom, Granny, Bonnie
Speaking about Ilsa, Rick says, “Of all the gin joints, in all the world, she had to walk into mine!”
When we booked this trip, one of the things I wanted to see was Rick’s Café American in Casablanca. Now I know that none of the movie was filmed in Morocco – it was all done on a studio sound set. But still, some enterprising folks came up with the idea of making Rick’s a tourist trap and I wanted to see it. That is, until we went to the shore talk for Casablanca and listened to all of the warnings.
Shorts must cover your knees. Shirts must cover your shoulders. No t-shirts, only polo/golf style shirts. No touching. No acts of affection. No breathing (that one I made up – almost – we are sitting in a working dock and there is lime being loaded, and blowing towards the ship, and some powdery brown stuff being loaded and blowing towards the ship).
If you ask a taxi driver to take you some place and he says, “That is closed, but I know a good place,” he’s lying.
When the shuttle bus stops (and you must take a shuttle bus – we are on the hind end of a very busy working port) the locals will already be pressing their faces to the windows offering their wares for sale.
And listening to table conversation of con men, pick pockets, and other swindlers, we said, “No thanks!” I’ve traveled with a con man and a swindler (those of you who spent 10 years growing up on Cap Chat Street know what I mean). I’ve been bamboozled by fast talking, fast dealing currency cheats in the Samara Rynok. That’s enough.
So we will play cards. And I bought a set of double sixes dominos yesterday for 75 cents, and we’ll thrown in a few games of the bones. Plus reading, napping, and a very interesting sounding supper tonight on the Lido Deck featuring Mediterranean food specialities.
And the ship’s entertainment tonight at 8 and 10 is the movie “Casablanca.” “Play it Sam. If she can take it, so can I!”
Rick did not say, “Play it again Sam.”
TTFN
We just got back from popcorn and a movie. Wow. It was as good as I remembered. Great evening.
The day was lazy and I got 2 miles walking in and lots of crocheting. I sat on the Lido deck for most of the morning watching out over the dock and the city in the distance. The haze and stuff hanging in the sky at times would be so thick you could barely see the dock. I heard one lady say she rode the shuttle into the town and didn’t get off because it was too difficult to breathe.
We enjoyed our day. Then, there was supper. A Mediterranean fare. Well, there were pastas, chicken, vegetables and even goat. Yes I said goat. No we did not try it. There was a delicious Moroccan mousse, that was a very dark chocolate, I did have it. I would have liked to have visited the city but there were too many negative vibes. Maybe another time.
Then, we went to the movies. Front row seats in the balcony and popcorn to boot. Not real good popcorn but popcorn none the less. And they had the air on high tonight. I got your Dad his blanket. It was great.
Well, tomorrow we are at sea and your Dad has a talk at 11 am. Then, we will be in Madeira the next day before we begin our journey across the ocean. Making one final stop in Half Moon Cay, the private island. Then, Ft Lauderdale. All to short.
Miss you all but this has been a really good cruise. Love you. Has anyone got a post card yet from Athens?
Mom, Granny, Bonnie
Sunday, November 26, 2017
SO CLOSE, AND YET SO FAR. NOT.
November 26, 2017
We marvel at how something we searched so diligently for and struggled to find was actually so close to us. Hmmm. I think that will preach.
This is our third trip to Cadiz, and on each of our first two trips we searched for the Camera Obscura.
On our first trip we rode the hop on hop off bus to the Cathedral of Cadiz, and after visiting the cathedral, wandered around looking for the CO. We finally stopped at an information booth where a woman said, “Go up to the next corner, turn right, go to the big square, turn left, follow the yellow brick road, and you can’t miss it!” Well, she was wrong. We missed it.
On our second trip we rode the hop on hop off bus to the Cathedral of Cadiz, and after visiting the cathedral, wandered around looking for the CO. This time we were armed with a map and finally found it. As I blogged at the time, it was well worth the effort (if you want to relive those exciting days of yesteryear – with the Lone Ranger and his faithful Indian companion Tonto – oh never mind, just read the blog from October).
Anyway, on those two earlier occasions, the bus took a route that, we realized today, actually went away from the Cathedral and the CO. This morning, being Sunday, many of the shops and stores were closed when we went off early. So, we walked across the street – the ship was parked parallel to the main thoroughfare and less than a hundred yards from said thoroughfare (speaking of 100 yards, how ‘bout dem Auburn Tigers! Rolled Tide!!). Within 15 minutes we were at the Cathedral, and Bonnie said, “Do you realize the CO is just over there?”
We had a good laugh over that and continued to walk around downtown Cadiz, shopping in and out of stores, exploring once again the flea market that sets up, literally, around the block.
Our flea market goal today was to find a novel in English. We saw a Spanish copy of Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth” (The small boys came early to the hanging). I would have bought it just for the collector’s value of it, but the frazzling thing was three inches thick and weighed two pounds, and with all of the souvenirs we have not bought on this trip, our luggage would have been overweight for Delta 1420.
We walked by the shop where I bought my European man purse (I haven’t told you about that and I’m not going to – certain of my offspring would enjoy the tale too much). I saw a kitchen sink, a roll of duck tape, several varieties of unmentionables (so I won’t), rusty tools (sorry, Mac, same weight concern), three 8-track tapes (Cub Scouts honor), a box of power cords for a variety of extinct electronic devices, and the list could go on, but we came to the conclusion of the flea market and reveal there was not a single book written in English. Are you surprised?
We stopped in a gelatto store and sampled the offerings, each of us getting a two-flavor small cone. We met up with a lady with whom we ate supper the first night of the cruise – she was buying an Octopus Hat. Well, actually it was a straw hat that featured a hand-painted octopus. When I raised my eyebrow at her selection, she said, “It’s because I have been eating octopus this entire cruise.” So. There you go.
Back out in the square from whence we started our quest, which was empty of vendors at the time we first entered it, and now full, we browsed through. My Mom, Skinny Granny (for those of you my readers who never met her) had a way of working my Dad to get him to buy something for her. She would pick it up, examine it closely, and then say, “I don’t really need this, do I, darling?” And Dad would reply, “Get it if you like it.” It worked every time. Bonnie has her version of the trick. She will pick something up, admire it, turn it over, examine it closely, and then say, “I don’t need this.” And I buy it for her. It works every time. Today’s object under consideration was a necklace with thin leather straps, silver ornaments on one side, and a beautiful, white (people?) oval-shaped stone as its pendant.
Back on board we had cream of broccoli soup and then enjoyed our afternoon nap.
As I write this it is about 11 a.m. Augusta time. I am not sure of the Steelers starting time, but for all you Yinzers out there: “Here we go Steelers! Here we go!”
Oh, and we set our clocks back an hour tonight, so we are only 5 hours ahead of you.
And thus endeth my writing for today.
TTFN
Well, what a nice day. It was not hot but just needed a sweater.
We really felt dumb. We walked off the ship and out into the square. We expected everything to be closed but we found a lot of shops open. We walked out of the square and up a street and found a church we hadn’t seen before. It was beautiful inside. We proceeded up and found a street we recognized as the one we had gotten off the bus in October when we had found the camera. There was the Roman theater which is never open and there was the big church we had been into one Easter Palm Sunday. We could hardly believe it. We hadn’t walked a half of a mile and there was the street that led to the flea market and the camera. We walked and shopped . It was fun. The flea market is just like an old fashioned one. There was all kinds of stuff. I found a little store that had yarn! Yes I bought a skein. We also bought a tiny light up Christmas tree to add to our decorations in our room. I know it was made in China but it is really cute and only cost 1.50 euros. We bought a few other odds and ends. We walked for a couple of hours a total of 1.8 miles today and came back to the ship.
Your Dad bought a can of Pringles.
We were in time to have a bowl of soup for lunch. It was cream of broccoli today. There was a lemon mousse for dessert. Then back to the room for our nap.
Supper was nice. We had a great seat in the window and got to watch the ship leave port. We were supposed to leave about 6 but it was closer to 6:30 because the large German Mein Schiff ship left first. It was fun watching it maneuver out and then it was our turn. We saw the pilot ship come along and pick up the pilot, though we didn’t get to see him get off.
Supper was a NY strip steak and a crab roll for appetizer. I had a devil’s food cake with mousse between the layers for dessert.
The show tonight was a violinist. WOW! He could play. He played the themes from Schlinder’s list, Fiddler on the Roof, and then Hey Jude, and the William Tell’s Overture to name a few.
We are back in our room and Dad is watching some football hoping to see the Steeler score. We are watching Buffalo Bills versus KC Chiefs. No score yet.
Well, I think maybe I will crochet for a while. We get into Casablanca at 6:30 am and are there till 8:30 pm. They have a tour to Mericash(?) that is 13 hours long including an 8 hour bus ride (4 there and 4 back) for $249.95! Needless to say we didn’t buy that.
Tomorrow on board they are showing the movie “Casablanca” and we are going to go see it. So cool.
Love you all,
Mom, Granny, Bonnie
We marvel at how something we searched so diligently for and struggled to find was actually so close to us. Hmmm. I think that will preach.
This is our third trip to Cadiz, and on each of our first two trips we searched for the Camera Obscura.
On our first trip we rode the hop on hop off bus to the Cathedral of Cadiz, and after visiting the cathedral, wandered around looking for the CO. We finally stopped at an information booth where a woman said, “Go up to the next corner, turn right, go to the big square, turn left, follow the yellow brick road, and you can’t miss it!” Well, she was wrong. We missed it.
On our second trip we rode the hop on hop off bus to the Cathedral of Cadiz, and after visiting the cathedral, wandered around looking for the CO. This time we were armed with a map and finally found it. As I blogged at the time, it was well worth the effort (if you want to relive those exciting days of yesteryear – with the Lone Ranger and his faithful Indian companion Tonto – oh never mind, just read the blog from October).
Anyway, on those two earlier occasions, the bus took a route that, we realized today, actually went away from the Cathedral and the CO. This morning, being Sunday, many of the shops and stores were closed when we went off early. So, we walked across the street – the ship was parked parallel to the main thoroughfare and less than a hundred yards from said thoroughfare (speaking of 100 yards, how ‘bout dem Auburn Tigers! Rolled Tide!!). Within 15 minutes we were at the Cathedral, and Bonnie said, “Do you realize the CO is just over there?”
We had a good laugh over that and continued to walk around downtown Cadiz, shopping in and out of stores, exploring once again the flea market that sets up, literally, around the block.
Our flea market goal today was to find a novel in English. We saw a Spanish copy of Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth” (The small boys came early to the hanging). I would have bought it just for the collector’s value of it, but the frazzling thing was three inches thick and weighed two pounds, and with all of the souvenirs we have not bought on this trip, our luggage would have been overweight for Delta 1420.
We walked by the shop where I bought my European man purse (I haven’t told you about that and I’m not going to – certain of my offspring would enjoy the tale too much). I saw a kitchen sink, a roll of duck tape, several varieties of unmentionables (so I won’t), rusty tools (sorry, Mac, same weight concern), three 8-track tapes (Cub Scouts honor), a box of power cords for a variety of extinct electronic devices, and the list could go on, but we came to the conclusion of the flea market and reveal there was not a single book written in English. Are you surprised?
We stopped in a gelatto store and sampled the offerings, each of us getting a two-flavor small cone. We met up with a lady with whom we ate supper the first night of the cruise – she was buying an Octopus Hat. Well, actually it was a straw hat that featured a hand-painted octopus. When I raised my eyebrow at her selection, she said, “It’s because I have been eating octopus this entire cruise.” So. There you go.
Back out in the square from whence we started our quest, which was empty of vendors at the time we first entered it, and now full, we browsed through. My Mom, Skinny Granny (for those of you my readers who never met her) had a way of working my Dad to get him to buy something for her. She would pick it up, examine it closely, and then say, “I don’t really need this, do I, darling?” And Dad would reply, “Get it if you like it.” It worked every time. Bonnie has her version of the trick. She will pick something up, admire it, turn it over, examine it closely, and then say, “I don’t need this.” And I buy it for her. It works every time. Today’s object under consideration was a necklace with thin leather straps, silver ornaments on one side, and a beautiful, white (people?) oval-shaped stone as its pendant.
Back on board we had cream of broccoli soup and then enjoyed our afternoon nap.
As I write this it is about 11 a.m. Augusta time. I am not sure of the Steelers starting time, but for all you Yinzers out there: “Here we go Steelers! Here we go!”
Oh, and we set our clocks back an hour tonight, so we are only 5 hours ahead of you.
And thus endeth my writing for today.
TTFN
Well, what a nice day. It was not hot but just needed a sweater.
We really felt dumb. We walked off the ship and out into the square. We expected everything to be closed but we found a lot of shops open. We walked out of the square and up a street and found a church we hadn’t seen before. It was beautiful inside. We proceeded up and found a street we recognized as the one we had gotten off the bus in October when we had found the camera. There was the Roman theater which is never open and there was the big church we had been into one Easter Palm Sunday. We could hardly believe it. We hadn’t walked a half of a mile and there was the street that led to the flea market and the camera. We walked and shopped . It was fun. The flea market is just like an old fashioned one. There was all kinds of stuff. I found a little store that had yarn! Yes I bought a skein. We also bought a tiny light up Christmas tree to add to our decorations in our room. I know it was made in China but it is really cute and only cost 1.50 euros. We bought a few other odds and ends. We walked for a couple of hours a total of 1.8 miles today and came back to the ship.
Your Dad bought a can of Pringles.
We were in time to have a bowl of soup for lunch. It was cream of broccoli today. There was a lemon mousse for dessert. Then back to the room for our nap.
Supper was nice. We had a great seat in the window and got to watch the ship leave port. We were supposed to leave about 6 but it was closer to 6:30 because the large German Mein Schiff ship left first. It was fun watching it maneuver out and then it was our turn. We saw the pilot ship come along and pick up the pilot, though we didn’t get to see him get off.
Supper was a NY strip steak and a crab roll for appetizer. I had a devil’s food cake with mousse between the layers for dessert.
The show tonight was a violinist. WOW! He could play. He played the themes from Schlinder’s list, Fiddler on the Roof, and then Hey Jude, and the William Tell’s Overture to name a few.
We are back in our room and Dad is watching some football hoping to see the Steeler score. We are watching Buffalo Bills versus KC Chiefs. No score yet.
Well, I think maybe I will crochet for a while. We get into Casablanca at 6:30 am and are there till 8:30 pm. They have a tour to Mericash(?) that is 13 hours long including an 8 hour bus ride (4 there and 4 back) for $249.95! Needless to say we didn’t buy that.
Tomorrow on board they are showing the movie “Casablanca” and we are going to go see it. So cool.
Love you all,
Mom, Granny, Bonnie
Saturday, November 25, 2017
WALKED 4.2 MILES, SPENT LESS THAN 6 EUROS
November 25, 2017
If we come to Gibraltar again, I am going to try to arrange a taxi way ahead of time to meet us at the ship and take us to St. Michael’s Cave. We are used to being bombarded, inundated, overwhelmed if you will, by taxi drivers trying to get us to do a tour with them. Cheap, Mister. First price, Mister, not last price. What’s your price? Today? Not a single gypsy cab! All of the cabs were 6 and 8 passenger vans, located only at the port and not one wanted to take two Georgians to St. Michael’s. Well, phooey!
So we walked into the shopping area which is one very long street with shops on either side and a few streets cutting away left and right. My main goal was to find a new book. I brought one with us that is almost finished, and I hoped to be able to find a novel or something. There is an antique shop that we have visited before, and we know they have used books, but no titles or authors that struck my fancy. James Patterson, vampire stories, and other non-appealing stuff. But we had a good walk and Bonnie bought some fancy chocolate for her evening’s enjoyment.
Back on board we had supper with a couple currently living in Phoenix, AZ. They are going to do a cruise to Australia next year, and hope to be able to find another cruise coming back to the States. They said they’d be willing to stay in Australia for up to two months to catch a ship coming home. Sounds like fun. And expensive, I’d guess. We’d like to do a cruise to Australia, but the only one we’ve been offered so far was a crew cabin with bunk beds. Pass.
Local talent was tonight’s entertainment. A classical Spanish guitarist whose fingers moved faster than I could follow and played harmony and melody with only his right hand. And he was followed by a troupe of flamenco dancers. Ole!
Well, Bonnie’s turn.
TTFN
We didn’t dock until after one. All aboard is 10:30pm. Needless to say we are not out. It gets dark at about 5 pm and we went off about 1:30 and were back on board by 4:00. Not much doing today. The other David did a talk at 11 and there was bingo at 10. I went to both. Just to watch the bingo and listen to the talk, about U-boats and world war II.
We walked very long and I am really tired. I have not eaten my Gibralter chocolate. I haven’t finished my bar from Amy yet. Have been able to eat a little better. I had pizza for lunch but it wasn’t much. Supper was spicy spaghetti, much better.
I have seen shows like the one from tonight when we went through the Panama Canal and I really don’t care much for them. The guitar was not to my liking and the dancing is just a lot of stomping and clapping and ole. Oh well.
We go to Cadiz tomorrow and it is Sunday. So a lot of stuff is closed. Then, the next day is Casablanca. I think we are not going to get off there. They say the street sellers are very aggressive and we arrive in a working port with nothing for tourist. You must take a shuttle for $5 American, one way, to go into town. Women and men must have there knees covered and shoulders covered. Men have to wear polo shirts, they can’t wear t shirts. There is no hand holding or physical displays allowed, or they are frowned on. It just doesn’t sound like some place I want to be.
Well, it is time to go to bed. Love you all.
Mom, Granny, Bonnie
If we come to Gibraltar again, I am going to try to arrange a taxi way ahead of time to meet us at the ship and take us to St. Michael’s Cave. We are used to being bombarded, inundated, overwhelmed if you will, by taxi drivers trying to get us to do a tour with them. Cheap, Mister. First price, Mister, not last price. What’s your price? Today? Not a single gypsy cab! All of the cabs were 6 and 8 passenger vans, located only at the port and not one wanted to take two Georgians to St. Michael’s. Well, phooey!
So we walked into the shopping area which is one very long street with shops on either side and a few streets cutting away left and right. My main goal was to find a new book. I brought one with us that is almost finished, and I hoped to be able to find a novel or something. There is an antique shop that we have visited before, and we know they have used books, but no titles or authors that struck my fancy. James Patterson, vampire stories, and other non-appealing stuff. But we had a good walk and Bonnie bought some fancy chocolate for her evening’s enjoyment.
Back on board we had supper with a couple currently living in Phoenix, AZ. They are going to do a cruise to Australia next year, and hope to be able to find another cruise coming back to the States. They said they’d be willing to stay in Australia for up to two months to catch a ship coming home. Sounds like fun. And expensive, I’d guess. We’d like to do a cruise to Australia, but the only one we’ve been offered so far was a crew cabin with bunk beds. Pass.
Local talent was tonight’s entertainment. A classical Spanish guitarist whose fingers moved faster than I could follow and played harmony and melody with only his right hand. And he was followed by a troupe of flamenco dancers. Ole!
Well, Bonnie’s turn.
TTFN
We didn’t dock until after one. All aboard is 10:30pm. Needless to say we are not out. It gets dark at about 5 pm and we went off about 1:30 and were back on board by 4:00. Not much doing today. The other David did a talk at 11 and there was bingo at 10. I went to both. Just to watch the bingo and listen to the talk, about U-boats and world war II.
We walked very long and I am really tired. I have not eaten my Gibralter chocolate. I haven’t finished my bar from Amy yet. Have been able to eat a little better. I had pizza for lunch but it wasn’t much. Supper was spicy spaghetti, much better.
I have seen shows like the one from tonight when we went through the Panama Canal and I really don’t care much for them. The guitar was not to my liking and the dancing is just a lot of stomping and clapping and ole. Oh well.
We go to Cadiz tomorrow and it is Sunday. So a lot of stuff is closed. Then, the next day is Casablanca. I think we are not going to get off there. They say the street sellers are very aggressive and we arrive in a working port with nothing for tourist. You must take a shuttle for $5 American, one way, to go into town. Women and men must have there knees covered and shoulders covered. Men have to wear polo shirts, they can’t wear t shirts. There is no hand holding or physical displays allowed, or they are frowned on. It just doesn’t sound like some place I want to be.
Well, it is time to go to bed. Love you all.
Mom, Granny, Bonnie
Friday, November 24, 2017
NOTHING TO SEE HERE! MOVE ALONG!
November 24, 2017
Ah! A brisk day of shopping! Go, go, go! Spend, spend, spend! Oh wait! That’s y’all, not us. There was a flyer a couple of days ago offering Black Friday sales in the shops on board, but if they had ‘em, we missed ‘em, and we actually looked. I enjoy shopping when I can walk past all of the stores in 5 minutes, and know that none of them have anything that I want. I’m so glad there is Amazon.com.
Anyway, it was a slow day at sea on the ms Veendam. I did my Gibraltar talk today which I wrote a year and a half ago for a Carnival cruise, and my agent didn’t get word to the entertainment department that I would be on board. So after we were on board and he said, “Oh! There’s another speaker in here!” (memories) I had an extra day of rest and picked up the schedule at the next stop, Madeira, which will be my next talk on our next sea day, 3 stops hence. Gibraltar tomorrow, Cadiz on Sunday, and Casablanca on Monday. Of all the gin joints in all the world, she had to walk into mine!
Because we did not bring gala clothes this time, we did not attend supper in the dining room, but went to the Lido instead. I had a steak cooked just for me, medium rare, and it was delicious. Mom asked for one medium and got one which was cooked a few minutes earlier. She said it was dry and made up for it with a liberal application of ketchup. Chocolate ice cream for dessert for her, coffee ice cream for me. And then a good show, combining two acts from earlier nights, and now back in Stateroom 321 to blog. That’s about it for me.
Hereeeeee’s Bonnie!
TTFN
Let’s see, where to start. Well, he got up bathed and dressed. I got up and dressed in my walking clothes. We headed for breakfast and I had some chocolate milk and a bacon sandwich. Two pieces of bread that I tore off the crust from and added some mustard. Then, we headed to the room where I picked up my headphones, kindle, sweater and winter hat. It was breezy outside and cold. It takes four laps around our deck 6 on the outside to reach a mile. I have walked 2.3 miles today. Only a few people out walking this morning.
After completing my walk, I returned to the room and showered and washed my hair. It was raggedy looking after several days of wearing my hat all day. Then, I took my crocheting and headed to the theater for a port talk and then the other David’s talk on the Man Who Never Was from WWII. Then we headed upstairs for lunch where I had a bowl of soup, cream of celery with ham (they must have had ham left from supper last night) and some saltines. I have promised myself a pizza tomorrow for lunch. We don’t get into port till about 1 pm, so we will eat lunch before going off. We don’t sail until 11pm.
Well, after lunch I headed to the theater for another port talk and then Dad’s talk.
After the talk we headed to the cabin for a nap. Then, dressing somewhat for supper headed to Lido and ate.
The show tonight was pretty good. The Tina Turner singer was better tonight and the magician who was more of a comedienne was also good. Well, he got me a can of ginger ale so I have had a drink a some saltines and I guess we will play some cards and head to bed.
Love you all. Hope you had some fun shopping.
Mom, Granny, Bonnie
Ah! A brisk day of shopping! Go, go, go! Spend, spend, spend! Oh wait! That’s y’all, not us. There was a flyer a couple of days ago offering Black Friday sales in the shops on board, but if they had ‘em, we missed ‘em, and we actually looked. I enjoy shopping when I can walk past all of the stores in 5 minutes, and know that none of them have anything that I want. I’m so glad there is Amazon.com.
Anyway, it was a slow day at sea on the ms Veendam. I did my Gibraltar talk today which I wrote a year and a half ago for a Carnival cruise, and my agent didn’t get word to the entertainment department that I would be on board. So after we were on board and he said, “Oh! There’s another speaker in here!” (memories) I had an extra day of rest and picked up the schedule at the next stop, Madeira, which will be my next talk on our next sea day, 3 stops hence. Gibraltar tomorrow, Cadiz on Sunday, and Casablanca on Monday. Of all the gin joints in all the world, she had to walk into mine!
Because we did not bring gala clothes this time, we did not attend supper in the dining room, but went to the Lido instead. I had a steak cooked just for me, medium rare, and it was delicious. Mom asked for one medium and got one which was cooked a few minutes earlier. She said it was dry and made up for it with a liberal application of ketchup. Chocolate ice cream for dessert for her, coffee ice cream for me. And then a good show, combining two acts from earlier nights, and now back in Stateroom 321 to blog. That’s about it for me.
Hereeeeee’s Bonnie!
TTFN
Let’s see, where to start. Well, he got up bathed and dressed. I got up and dressed in my walking clothes. We headed for breakfast and I had some chocolate milk and a bacon sandwich. Two pieces of bread that I tore off the crust from and added some mustard. Then, we headed to the room where I picked up my headphones, kindle, sweater and winter hat. It was breezy outside and cold. It takes four laps around our deck 6 on the outside to reach a mile. I have walked 2.3 miles today. Only a few people out walking this morning.
After completing my walk, I returned to the room and showered and washed my hair. It was raggedy looking after several days of wearing my hat all day. Then, I took my crocheting and headed to the theater for a port talk and then the other David’s talk on the Man Who Never Was from WWII. Then we headed upstairs for lunch where I had a bowl of soup, cream of celery with ham (they must have had ham left from supper last night) and some saltines. I have promised myself a pizza tomorrow for lunch. We don’t get into port till about 1 pm, so we will eat lunch before going off. We don’t sail until 11pm.
Well, after lunch I headed to the theater for another port talk and then Dad’s talk.
After the talk we headed to the cabin for a nap. Then, dressing somewhat for supper headed to Lido and ate.
The show tonight was pretty good. The Tina Turner singer was better tonight and the magician who was more of a comedienne was also good. Well, he got me a can of ginger ale so I have had a drink a some saltines and I guess we will play some cards and head to bed.
Love you all. Hope you had some fun shopping.
Mom, Granny, Bonnie
Thursday, November 23, 2017
CAGLIARI – THE “G” IS SILENT
November 23, 2017
What a great day! It started out a bit nippy, but warmed up in the afternoon. We went off ship and booked a ride around the city in a windowless tour bus. They don’t have hop on hop off here. 12 euros each for an hour or so ride. Beautiful island. Beautiful city.
There was only one stop where we could get out and take pictures and it was on top of an acropolis where there are beautiful gardens, and on one side you can see the sea and on the other side the town. The only part of the tour I thought could have been better (other than the temperature – even Mom was a little cold) was the narration. Great voice, but I know there was more going on throughout the history of Sardinia than the little bit he told us. Long stretches of nothing but music when he could have been regailing us. It was funny, at one point in the narration, the narrator cleared his throat. I would have thought they would have cleared up the tape and edited that out. Many people caught it and laughed.
We got off the bus in town and wandered around. We were going to climb 100 steps up to an old fortress with a museum, but got waylaid along the way, and are we glad we did.
Mom saw a sign with the picture of Sherlock Holmes and his address 221B Baker Street and dates from now until January. We thought it was a play. But the door was open below the sign and there were stairs that led down and there were more signs. We went down to a desk where there were two ladies who spoke as little English as we speak Sardinian, but we communicated.
There is a free exhibition of Sherlock Holmes memorabilia and an art showing by as local artist Nel Segno di Calep. And what a fantastic exhibit and show! We spent at least an hour, maybe longer looking at everything. Calep has done a Western comic book, in Italian. His main character is Tex. There were original drawings he had done, plus the colorized versions, vintage covers of some of the magazines, plus he did some work with some old comic favorites of ours: Prince Valiant, Mandrake the Magician, and the Phantom.
The Sherlock material was incredible. Old movie posters. Old books. Old playbills. There was one playbill featuring William Gillette as Holmes (1883, I think). The JAMM kids may have been too young to remember, but Gillette had a castle in Connecticut that we visited once – built by his Holmes stage career. One of the pictures I sent you was a mosaic of Holmes actors over the years. Leonard Nimoy is obvious in one. Brent Spiner as Holmes in an episode of Next Generation was in another part I did not send you. But I must have taken 100 pictures. There was a Holmes game. A Mickey Mouse version – in Italian, I think. And on and on.
Back out on the street we stopped at a news stand and lo and behold there was a current Tex comic in full color with 5 complete stories. Can’t understand a word, but the art work is great.
We walked to the end of the square and I photographed some great old buildings. In one of them was a barber shop, and not wanting to pay $35 on ship, I considered going in, but kept the fluffy look for now. We shopped in and out of stores and found a fantastic sweet shop. Mom got two doughnut-like confections that were yeast donuts and lightly sugared. I got two helpings of a candy that was very finely sliced orange peels, sugared and served with nuts. Delicious!
And Mom bought a softie! A donkey. And a new blouse. No souvenirs!
Okay, it’s her turn.
TTFN
Up at 7. Breakfast wasn’t much. Still don’t feel much like eating. Tough to be cruising and not able to eat. After breakfast we got our stuff and headed off. We were going to ride the shuttle into town but found the little open air tour that took you around the town and opted for that. We saw a large water sanctuary where the flamingos come to nest. There are some that stay all year long and they were there. Mostly standing on one leg and sleeping. There were also old salt flats where they used to produce salt.
After the tour dropped us down town and we visited the fantastic Sherlock Holmes exhibit. Couldn’t read most of the stuff about the cowboy writer and artist but most of the stuff about Sherlock was in English. Great stuff.
As we walked up towards where the steps were for the old town we passed lots of shops. The first shop we went in had the cutest stuffed donkey, he has a scarf and is so soft. He is coming home with me. He will join turtle in the bed tonight. Then we stopped in a shop where I know everything in it was made in China but it had a soccer ball from Cagliari and I bought it for Tate. It is not blown up so it will be easy to bring home. Then, we visited the magazine kiosks and continued up to find the steps. But we decided we had gone far enough so took some pictures and headed back down to where the shuttle was to be. We walked down the other side of the street so we could see the shops on the other side. Passed a small shop that had sweets in the window and couldn’t resist. It was lunchtime and the Lido would be closed we got back so we splurged. Stopped into to look at some pretty sweaters and they had a nice short sleeve top on sale and I bought to wear under the new blue sweater I had bought. Then, it was on down the hill.
This city is like Rome in that there are street venders all up and down the street. They spread a sheet on the ground or set up a table and show their wares. Mostly pocketbooks, small electronic stuff, lots of spinners, magnets, etc. They display this stuff right on the side walk in front of the really classy store. I bet those stores hate it.
I had seen a church on this side of the street as we had walked down the other side and when we came to the large glass doors into a courtyard outside the church we went inside. This is an extremely old church. It is very much in disrepair and in the midst of being redone. But it still had some of the most beautiful statues and pictures inside. They had a huge pipe organ. It was the church of St Agostino. Your Dad bought a miniature nativity scene to set out in our room. We were going to put up our little Christmas tree but I hated to unwrap all the little pieces because of having to repack it.
Well, we found the shuttle and rode back to the ship. We stopped at the booth where we had bought the tour ride to tell the lady we had really enjoyed the tour. Then, onto the ship and up to the lido for lunch. He got a hamburger and I had a hotdog. It was okay. Then, back to the room where I napped. Our second batch of laundry had been returned and we had it to put away. They keep bleaching my underwear and now it is all gray. Oh my!
Supper tonight featured Thanksgiving turkey or ham. I had the turkey and Dad had the ham. It included cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. I ate a little of it. We had to wait till almost 7 before we could get a table tonight. Everybody was going to the dining room because of the Thanksgiving meal. We had a table for 2 tonight. That was okay. We enjoyed it.
The show tonight was a comedian/magician that we have seen before and your Dad didn’t really care about seeing him so we came back to the room. He has a talk tomorrow on Gibraltar at 2. I will finally get some crocheting done and get to walk around the deck after breakfast while he studies. We only walked 1.4 miles today.
Well, it is late and time for bed.
Love you all miss you all. Happy Thanksgiving.
Mom, Granny, Bonnie
What a great day! It started out a bit nippy, but warmed up in the afternoon. We went off ship and booked a ride around the city in a windowless tour bus. They don’t have hop on hop off here. 12 euros each for an hour or so ride. Beautiful island. Beautiful city.
There was only one stop where we could get out and take pictures and it was on top of an acropolis where there are beautiful gardens, and on one side you can see the sea and on the other side the town. The only part of the tour I thought could have been better (other than the temperature – even Mom was a little cold) was the narration. Great voice, but I know there was more going on throughout the history of Sardinia than the little bit he told us. Long stretches of nothing but music when he could have been regailing us. It was funny, at one point in the narration, the narrator cleared his throat. I would have thought they would have cleared up the tape and edited that out. Many people caught it and laughed.
We got off the bus in town and wandered around. We were going to climb 100 steps up to an old fortress with a museum, but got waylaid along the way, and are we glad we did.
Mom saw a sign with the picture of Sherlock Holmes and his address 221B Baker Street and dates from now until January. We thought it was a play. But the door was open below the sign and there were stairs that led down and there were more signs. We went down to a desk where there were two ladies who spoke as little English as we speak Sardinian, but we communicated.
There is a free exhibition of Sherlock Holmes memorabilia and an art showing by as local artist Nel Segno di Calep. And what a fantastic exhibit and show! We spent at least an hour, maybe longer looking at everything. Calep has done a Western comic book, in Italian. His main character is Tex. There were original drawings he had done, plus the colorized versions, vintage covers of some of the magazines, plus he did some work with some old comic favorites of ours: Prince Valiant, Mandrake the Magician, and the Phantom.
The Sherlock material was incredible. Old movie posters. Old books. Old playbills. There was one playbill featuring William Gillette as Holmes (1883, I think). The JAMM kids may have been too young to remember, but Gillette had a castle in Connecticut that we visited once – built by his Holmes stage career. One of the pictures I sent you was a mosaic of Holmes actors over the years. Leonard Nimoy is obvious in one. Brent Spiner as Holmes in an episode of Next Generation was in another part I did not send you. But I must have taken 100 pictures. There was a Holmes game. A Mickey Mouse version – in Italian, I think. And on and on.
Back out on the street we stopped at a news stand and lo and behold there was a current Tex comic in full color with 5 complete stories. Can’t understand a word, but the art work is great.
We walked to the end of the square and I photographed some great old buildings. In one of them was a barber shop, and not wanting to pay $35 on ship, I considered going in, but kept the fluffy look for now. We shopped in and out of stores and found a fantastic sweet shop. Mom got two doughnut-like confections that were yeast donuts and lightly sugared. I got two helpings of a candy that was very finely sliced orange peels, sugared and served with nuts. Delicious!
And Mom bought a softie! A donkey. And a new blouse. No souvenirs!
Okay, it’s her turn.
TTFN
Up at 7. Breakfast wasn’t much. Still don’t feel much like eating. Tough to be cruising and not able to eat. After breakfast we got our stuff and headed off. We were going to ride the shuttle into town but found the little open air tour that took you around the town and opted for that. We saw a large water sanctuary where the flamingos come to nest. There are some that stay all year long and they were there. Mostly standing on one leg and sleeping. There were also old salt flats where they used to produce salt.
After the tour dropped us down town and we visited the fantastic Sherlock Holmes exhibit. Couldn’t read most of the stuff about the cowboy writer and artist but most of the stuff about Sherlock was in English. Great stuff.
As we walked up towards where the steps were for the old town we passed lots of shops. The first shop we went in had the cutest stuffed donkey, he has a scarf and is so soft. He is coming home with me. He will join turtle in the bed tonight. Then we stopped in a shop where I know everything in it was made in China but it had a soccer ball from Cagliari and I bought it for Tate. It is not blown up so it will be easy to bring home. Then, we visited the magazine kiosks and continued up to find the steps. But we decided we had gone far enough so took some pictures and headed back down to where the shuttle was to be. We walked down the other side of the street so we could see the shops on the other side. Passed a small shop that had sweets in the window and couldn’t resist. It was lunchtime and the Lido would be closed we got back so we splurged. Stopped into to look at some pretty sweaters and they had a nice short sleeve top on sale and I bought to wear under the new blue sweater I had bought. Then, it was on down the hill.
This city is like Rome in that there are street venders all up and down the street. They spread a sheet on the ground or set up a table and show their wares. Mostly pocketbooks, small electronic stuff, lots of spinners, magnets, etc. They display this stuff right on the side walk in front of the really classy store. I bet those stores hate it.
I had seen a church on this side of the street as we had walked down the other side and when we came to the large glass doors into a courtyard outside the church we went inside. This is an extremely old church. It is very much in disrepair and in the midst of being redone. But it still had some of the most beautiful statues and pictures inside. They had a huge pipe organ. It was the church of St Agostino. Your Dad bought a miniature nativity scene to set out in our room. We were going to put up our little Christmas tree but I hated to unwrap all the little pieces because of having to repack it.
Well, we found the shuttle and rode back to the ship. We stopped at the booth where we had bought the tour ride to tell the lady we had really enjoyed the tour. Then, onto the ship and up to the lido for lunch. He got a hamburger and I had a hotdog. It was okay. Then, back to the room where I napped. Our second batch of laundry had been returned and we had it to put away. They keep bleaching my underwear and now it is all gray. Oh my!
Supper tonight featured Thanksgiving turkey or ham. I had the turkey and Dad had the ham. It included cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. I ate a little of it. We had to wait till almost 7 before we could get a table tonight. Everybody was going to the dining room because of the Thanksgiving meal. We had a table for 2 tonight. That was okay. We enjoyed it.
The show tonight was a comedian/magician that we have seen before and your Dad didn’t really care about seeing him so we came back to the room. He has a talk tomorrow on Gibraltar at 2. I will finally get some crocheting done and get to walk around the deck after breakfast while he studies. We only walked 1.4 miles today.
Well, it is late and time for bed.
Love you all miss you all. Happy Thanksgiving.
Mom, Granny, Bonnie
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
A DAY IN SICILY, NO MAFIA SIGHTED
November 22, 2017
Once we were up and showered and getting ready to head up to the Lido for breakfast, I asked my beloved if she knew what happened on this day in 1963. She said, “Yes, What’s His Name was shot.” They had ETV in Hagerstown schools. We had Principal Johns coming on the PA System to tell us. I was in typing class. I wonder what our world would be like if JFK had lived. I read once that he was on the verge of pulling out of Vietnam although he had been accelerating for a time.
Once again we hopped on, rode around the city of Palermo and then rode back around and hopped off at the Cathedral of Palermo. It was started in the 12th century when Normans from France invaded the island. It was an interesting time in Sicily’s history, but one which I had to bump from my talk because of time constraints. The island was invaded 13 times and I don’t think that counts the Allies on July 9, 1943. But having seen the Cathedral (and now you’ve seen some pictures) and read the story, detail of its building and rebuilding and reconstruction, if I do the talk again, I will make way for it. I bought two books for a total of 6 euros, one written by the parish priest (it is an active church). You may read them when we are back at 233.
When we started off on this cruise, She Who Must Be Obeyed said, “We are buying no souvenirs this time.” I agreed. Books aren’t souvenirs, right? And she bought the sweater I told you about in Rhodes, and a new spoon holder for the kitchen stove today. No souvenirs, right? Baloney! We are spending our children’s inheritance (sorry kids!). You can divy up the books and the spoon holder and share the sweater.
We were back in the dining room tonight feeling like normal people after three days of the yucks and general malaise. I dived into the lobster-asparagus quiche and the beef stroganoff. Bonnie had cheddar cheese soup and chou-chee, a pork with sauerkraut dish. Both meals were tasty. And strawberry Sundae’s for two.
A great show, “Heat,” by the singers and dancers tonight and now we are back in the room blogging with a game of rummy to follow. The score is tied at two games. Sardinia tomorrow and then a day at sea when I’ll do my Gibraltar talk before we land in Gibraltar (I thought that was good timing). St. Michael’s Caverns are on the Rock and we are going to see if we can find a taxi to take us there.
Well, Happy Thanksgiving to all! Sorry there will be no noodles tomorrow. Neither here nor there.
TTFN
Sorry I didn’t write last night. Just a few comments about yesterday. We walked 3.3 miles, got to see a real cannon fire and we had gelato. Great gelato store you got a cone in which they made the gelato in the shape of a flower with petals and all with what ever flavors you wanted. I had amarano and chocolate. Dad made a video of them making his. Expensive 7.20 euro for the two cones. And there was a bookstore and magazine shop and I got 3 new arrowwords puzzle books. One is pictures arrowwords, one is just arrowwords and one is a UK puzzle book that has some of them in it. Great find. Only 12 euros.
Well, on to today. We are both feeling better. Still am not quite up to eating regular. Saltine crackers have been my nighttime snack. Trying to drink a lot of water, eat light and wash our hands about 20 or more times a day!
We only walked 1.8 miles today. This town of Palermo is really not labeled well for tourists. We got on the hop on hop off bus which they had brought down to the port and had 25% off the tickets, 15 euros each. You could ride their 2 lines, the red and blue, for the one price. The bad thing was they didn’t bring you back to where they picked us up. They dropped us at the end up at their regular stop 1. Fortunately it was located so we could see our ship and where the port was. It was about a 15 minute walk to the port. The entrance into the port to get back in the ship wasn’t marked at all. But we managed to find it, kind of watching other people as they wandered around, too. Well, back to the bus ride. It was only a bout an hour long. We rode around the first time on the red line in the old part of town to decide what we wanted to hop off and see. We finally decided we would get off at stop 8. Well, when we got at the end of ride one back of their starting place we asked if we stayed on the bus we were on to ride the redline again. I told your Dad the lady said we were now on the blue bus, he said no red. Guess what I was right! So before the bus took off we got told the lady we wanted to do the red again, as did several other people on with us, so she took us across the street to another bus. So off we go. Got on the red busline and rode to stop 8 and hopped off. Great church. It cost 2 euros, for old people, to view the crypts, treasury and royal tombs. We didn’t go to the roof, it cost some more, because it was 100 steps up and then back down. It cost .50 euros each to use the W.C., that is potties for all you Americans. Yes we did. They were in the church behind an altar on the side. Very small.
After leaving the church we did some shopping, yes I bought a very expensive spoon rest made in Sicilia. He bought 2 books and we bought a few other things. Then, we had time and there was a shop selling sweet rolls, drinks and pizza. We each got a piece of cheese Sicilian pizza, thick crust, for 2 euros and a diet coke, for 1.50euros.
Pizza was okay. I like thin crust. Then, we had to wait for a bus back to the port area. It was about a 30 minute wait. It had started to get cooler and the ride back was cooler. We had a good time and enjoyed seeing everything.
I don’t think I will ever complain about GA drivers again. These people are crazy. There are no lanes marked on the streets. So sometimes they will drive 2 across or 3 or 4. The streets are almost all one way. They park of one side ,bumper to bumper, and double park everywhere. They just park the car and get out. Sometimes they will put the four ways on, sometimes they don’t. Then there are the scooters and motorcycles. They make their own lanes and weave in and out of the cars. Around the cars and buses everywhere. The cars, buses and scooters pretty much don’t stop for pedestrians and there are not many crossing lights. So be careful!! They really ignore stop signs and if the traffic is backed up at an intersection and it turns red they just keep going blocking the road so the other direction can’t go. Crazy.
We made it back to the ship safely and were on board by 2:30. Of course the dining room was closed so we just had some water and some ice cream. Rested some and then dressed and went to dinner.
Now my tale is done and we will play some cards. Love and miss you.
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Once we were up and showered and getting ready to head up to the Lido for breakfast, I asked my beloved if she knew what happened on this day in 1963. She said, “Yes, What’s His Name was shot.” They had ETV in Hagerstown schools. We had Principal Johns coming on the PA System to tell us. I was in typing class. I wonder what our world would be like if JFK had lived. I read once that he was on the verge of pulling out of Vietnam although he had been accelerating for a time.
Once again we hopped on, rode around the city of Palermo and then rode back around and hopped off at the Cathedral of Palermo. It was started in the 12th century when Normans from France invaded the island. It was an interesting time in Sicily’s history, but one which I had to bump from my talk because of time constraints. The island was invaded 13 times and I don’t think that counts the Allies on July 9, 1943. But having seen the Cathedral (and now you’ve seen some pictures) and read the story, detail of its building and rebuilding and reconstruction, if I do the talk again, I will make way for it. I bought two books for a total of 6 euros, one written by the parish priest (it is an active church). You may read them when we are back at 233.
When we started off on this cruise, She Who Must Be Obeyed said, “We are buying no souvenirs this time.” I agreed. Books aren’t souvenirs, right? And she bought the sweater I told you about in Rhodes, and a new spoon holder for the kitchen stove today. No souvenirs, right? Baloney! We are spending our children’s inheritance (sorry kids!). You can divy up the books and the spoon holder and share the sweater.
We were back in the dining room tonight feeling like normal people after three days of the yucks and general malaise. I dived into the lobster-asparagus quiche and the beef stroganoff. Bonnie had cheddar cheese soup and chou-chee, a pork with sauerkraut dish. Both meals were tasty. And strawberry Sundae’s for two.
A great show, “Heat,” by the singers and dancers tonight and now we are back in the room blogging with a game of rummy to follow. The score is tied at two games. Sardinia tomorrow and then a day at sea when I’ll do my Gibraltar talk before we land in Gibraltar (I thought that was good timing). St. Michael’s Caverns are on the Rock and we are going to see if we can find a taxi to take us there.
Well, Happy Thanksgiving to all! Sorry there will be no noodles tomorrow. Neither here nor there.
TTFN
Sorry I didn’t write last night. Just a few comments about yesterday. We walked 3.3 miles, got to see a real cannon fire and we had gelato. Great gelato store you got a cone in which they made the gelato in the shape of a flower with petals and all with what ever flavors you wanted. I had amarano and chocolate. Dad made a video of them making his. Expensive 7.20 euro for the two cones. And there was a bookstore and magazine shop and I got 3 new arrowwords puzzle books. One is pictures arrowwords, one is just arrowwords and one is a UK puzzle book that has some of them in it. Great find. Only 12 euros.
Well, on to today. We are both feeling better. Still am not quite up to eating regular. Saltine crackers have been my nighttime snack. Trying to drink a lot of water, eat light and wash our hands about 20 or more times a day!
We only walked 1.8 miles today. This town of Palermo is really not labeled well for tourists. We got on the hop on hop off bus which they had brought down to the port and had 25% off the tickets, 15 euros each. You could ride their 2 lines, the red and blue, for the one price. The bad thing was they didn’t bring you back to where they picked us up. They dropped us at the end up at their regular stop 1. Fortunately it was located so we could see our ship and where the port was. It was about a 15 minute walk to the port. The entrance into the port to get back in the ship wasn’t marked at all. But we managed to find it, kind of watching other people as they wandered around, too. Well, back to the bus ride. It was only a bout an hour long. We rode around the first time on the red line in the old part of town to decide what we wanted to hop off and see. We finally decided we would get off at stop 8. Well, when we got at the end of ride one back of their starting place we asked if we stayed on the bus we were on to ride the redline again. I told your Dad the lady said we were now on the blue bus, he said no red. Guess what I was right! So before the bus took off we got told the lady we wanted to do the red again, as did several other people on with us, so she took us across the street to another bus. So off we go. Got on the red busline and rode to stop 8 and hopped off. Great church. It cost 2 euros, for old people, to view the crypts, treasury and royal tombs. We didn’t go to the roof, it cost some more, because it was 100 steps up and then back down. It cost .50 euros each to use the W.C., that is potties for all you Americans. Yes we did. They were in the church behind an altar on the side. Very small.
After leaving the church we did some shopping, yes I bought a very expensive spoon rest made in Sicilia. He bought 2 books and we bought a few other things. Then, we had time and there was a shop selling sweet rolls, drinks and pizza. We each got a piece of cheese Sicilian pizza, thick crust, for 2 euros and a diet coke, for 1.50euros.
Pizza was okay. I like thin crust. Then, we had to wait for a bus back to the port area. It was about a 30 minute wait. It had started to get cooler and the ride back was cooler. We had a good time and enjoyed seeing everything.
I don’t think I will ever complain about GA drivers again. These people are crazy. There are no lanes marked on the streets. So sometimes they will drive 2 across or 3 or 4. The streets are almost all one way. They park of one side ,bumper to bumper, and double park everywhere. They just park the car and get out. Sometimes they will put the four ways on, sometimes they don’t. Then there are the scooters and motorcycles. They make their own lanes and weave in and out of the cars. Around the cars and buses everywhere. The cars, buses and scooters pretty much don’t stop for pedestrians and there are not many crossing lights. So be careful!! They really ignore stop signs and if the traffic is backed up at an intersection and it turns red they just keep going blocking the road so the other direction can’t go. Crazy.
We made it back to the ship safely and were on board by 2:30. Of course the dining room was closed so we just had some water and some ice cream. Rested some and then dressed and went to dinner.
Now my tale is done and we will play some cards. Love and miss you.
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Pictures from the Cathedral of Palermo
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| In the crypt of Palermo Cathedral. Is name is Joe Paterno. Someone tell Chris Kersey. |
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| To the Altar |
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| Outside the Cathedral of Palermo |
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| The street runs under the arch. |
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| The Cathedral dome. |
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
TOTALED TINA
November 21, 2017
Tonight’s entertainer was a Tina Turner tribute act called “Totally Tina” (not the way I spelled it). Bonnie didn’t care for it because the artist did all of the shimmeys and shakes and facial expressions Ms. Turner does, and she just wanted the music. I liked her rendition of “Proud Mary” and “Golden Eye.” There was another one, but I’ve forgotten it already. Tomorrow’s show features the Veendam Singers and Dancers. We are looking forward to their show. They are always our favorites.
This morning my beloved wife woke me at 6:30 and said, “Get up! It’s 7:30!” She does not set her watch on ship’s time, but keeps it on Augusta time and then adds the correct number of hours. Today she was one short. Oh well. We went to breakfast and then went out into Malta again. Up the elevator again and this time out into town.
A couple beside us at breakfast told us about two places not to miss and told us they were easily found. Maybe by them, but not by us. We saw two churches, neither of them the ones we were to see – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. One of the two we saw was sponsored by Queen Victoria. I have no idea how far we walked to see it, but we were at the top of a very steep hill and the church was on the other side. A long way down. And a long way back up. We made it, but went back a different way, on more level ground.
If you like ancient weapons, you would like the armory in the Grand Master’s Palace. Holy cow! I lost count of the number of pieces of armor, number of spears, number of cannons, number of rifles, and the number of other instruments of war and mayhem. There were big ones and little ones. Long ones and short ones. Speaking of long ones, there was a flint lock rifle that was probably twice as long as the one Davy Crockett used, but it was to launch a missile, not a rifle ball. The fanciest suit of armor beloved to one of the Grand Master’s (they were the leaders of the Knights of St. John who eventually began to think they were kings). That armor was covered in ornaments of silver and gold. He probably didn’t wear it into battle.
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (the Grand Master’s Palace and this cathedral were the ones we were to find, and find them we did) is one of the most ornate churches I have ever been in. Gold leaf covered almost every square inch of the walls. There were eight small chapels, plus the main altar. And they still have church in that building.
At noon we went back to the spot we found yesterday where they fire a noon cannon signal, but we got there too late to get a spot to actually see the cannon. It is a ceremony that dates back to the time when the explosion was used to set time pieces to the correct hour. Today it is totally ceremonial and no cannon ball is launched, just a boom and smoke, but impressive.
We went to dinner on the Lido Deck again tonight. I had chicken corn soup – very good – and chicken pot pie – very dry. Bonnie had spaghetti again. Tonight they had the smaller noodles that she likes. And we split a raspberry dessert and a chocolate dessert that my beloved said was chocolate cheese cake. It was chocolate something, but not my favorite.
Well, she’s tired, so that’s it for tonight.
TTFN
Tonight’s entertainer was a Tina Turner tribute act called “Totally Tina” (not the way I spelled it). Bonnie didn’t care for it because the artist did all of the shimmeys and shakes and facial expressions Ms. Turner does, and she just wanted the music. I liked her rendition of “Proud Mary” and “Golden Eye.” There was another one, but I’ve forgotten it already. Tomorrow’s show features the Veendam Singers and Dancers. We are looking forward to their show. They are always our favorites.
This morning my beloved wife woke me at 6:30 and said, “Get up! It’s 7:30!” She does not set her watch on ship’s time, but keeps it on Augusta time and then adds the correct number of hours. Today she was one short. Oh well. We went to breakfast and then went out into Malta again. Up the elevator again and this time out into town.
A couple beside us at breakfast told us about two places not to miss and told us they were easily found. Maybe by them, but not by us. We saw two churches, neither of them the ones we were to see – the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. One of the two we saw was sponsored by Queen Victoria. I have no idea how far we walked to see it, but we were at the top of a very steep hill and the church was on the other side. A long way down. And a long way back up. We made it, but went back a different way, on more level ground.
If you like ancient weapons, you would like the armory in the Grand Master’s Palace. Holy cow! I lost count of the number of pieces of armor, number of spears, number of cannons, number of rifles, and the number of other instruments of war and mayhem. There were big ones and little ones. Long ones and short ones. Speaking of long ones, there was a flint lock rifle that was probably twice as long as the one Davy Crockett used, but it was to launch a missile, not a rifle ball. The fanciest suit of armor beloved to one of the Grand Master’s (they were the leaders of the Knights of St. John who eventually began to think they were kings). That armor was covered in ornaments of silver and gold. He probably didn’t wear it into battle.
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (the Grand Master’s Palace and this cathedral were the ones we were to find, and find them we did) is one of the most ornate churches I have ever been in. Gold leaf covered almost every square inch of the walls. There were eight small chapels, plus the main altar. And they still have church in that building.
At noon we went back to the spot we found yesterday where they fire a noon cannon signal, but we got there too late to get a spot to actually see the cannon. It is a ceremony that dates back to the time when the explosion was used to set time pieces to the correct hour. Today it is totally ceremonial and no cannon ball is launched, just a boom and smoke, but impressive.
We went to dinner on the Lido Deck again tonight. I had chicken corn soup – very good – and chicken pot pie – very dry. Bonnie had spaghetti again. Tonight they had the smaller noodles that she likes. And we split a raspberry dessert and a chocolate dessert that my beloved said was chocolate cheese cake. It was chocolate something, but not my favorite.
Well, she’s tired, so that’s it for tonight.
TTFN
Monday, November 20, 2017
MALTA ON THE HOP ON HOP OFF BUS
November 20, 2017
Today we paid one euro each to ride a very tall elevator to the top of the city where we could look out at the Grand Harbor. With all due respect, that took about 20 minutes. We did see a gun emplacement and wanted to get a close up picture for Mac, but the only door to them was closed. And they do a noon shooting of the cannons. Maybe tomorrow (since we are here overnight).
Back down the elevator to the hop on hop off bus. Only 10 euros a piece this time, the cheapest one so far. We rode around for 3 hours, and that only covered one bus route. With sore bottoms and ears that were tired of listening to the loud mouth woman beside of us, we got off back at the ship.
Malta is an interesting island. All of the buildings are cream colored. There are several quarries on the island and all of the construction is made of it. The voice on the bus said they are opening no more quarries because there is no more free land to build houses or other buildings.
There are a lot of small garden patches (and some not so small – we saw one pretty big vineyard). They are all divided by rock walls to keep the soil from washing into the Mediterranean. It is a very old method, going back to prehistory.
Tomorrow we are going to the Information booth at the end of the quay and see if there are things to see other than the Grand Harbor once you ride up the very tall elevator. Then it’s off to Palermo, Sicily, then Cagliari, Sardinia before I have a talk on Gibraltar, the day at sea before we get to the Rock. Finally.
Well, my cruise partner has been taking notes the last couple of days she hasn’t felt like writing, so I will turn the keyboard over to her.
TTFN
Oh I have a tale to tell.
Let’s start at 12:01am Saturday morning and on through to Monday morning at 7:30 am. Just after midnight diarrhea followed by vomiting at about 2 or 3 am. You don’t want to know. For the next 24 hours between visits to the potty I slept, literally 20 hours out of 24. I did not get out of the bed except to go potty again. I ate nothing- except drink water and ginger ale. We were in a port in Crete. It was rainy and ugly outside. We put out the do not disturb sign so our steward never came into the room. David only left on Saturday to go get something to eat and bring me back more water and ginger ale. Sunday morning was his first talk at 11am. We ordered breakfast in the room hoping maybe I could eat some dry toast and some cranberry juice (which I did). During the late evening on Saturday he started to feel bad and by morning neither of us ate. He was able to go do his talk and I had taken a bath so I left the room to sit on the deck so the steward could clean the room. It was a cold and bumpy day on the sea on Saturday night and Sunday. After his talk we went up to the Lido deck to eat. We had some chicken noodle soup. We each ate about a half a cup of broth. Back to the room and he was getting worse but no vomiting. At about 7pm Sunday night it was “gala attire” evening, we weren’t feeling “gala” we went to lido in hopes of more soup or mashed potatoes maybe. But the chicken soup had orzo in it and the only potatoes were twice baked. I ate a half a potato and he ate some broth off the soup. We looked into the shops for some Pepto or something but there was nothing.
So we returned to our room where is was in bed by 8:00 and I soon followed. I slept till 2:30 Monday morning and then off and on till 7:30. He slept straight through except for potty breaks.
We showered and went to the Lido for some “breakfast”. I had toast and cranberry juice. We then went ashore and had a nice day. We stopped at the pharmacy on the way back and got 2 boxes of imodium, 6 euros for a box of 6 tablets. Expensive stuff. Getting back to the ship we again tried to eat something. I had some mashed potatoes and he had split pea soup, yuck. We got some more ginger ale headed to the room for a nap and some drugs.
While out in the town we did a little shopping after our bus ride. I got a piece of Medini glassware. The glassware is made on the island of Malta. It is a miniature Christmas tree about 8 inches tall. It is very pretty. We got a few other little things.
After the nap, he worked on his Gibraltar till about 6. Then, we went up to Lido to try and find something to eat. I wanted soup but no such luck. I got some spaghetti, living dangerously, and some ice water. He got some too. We will see how this goes. Well, tomorrow we are still here so we will venture out again. Maybe we can find a cheaper pharmacy.
Love you all, Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Today we paid one euro each to ride a very tall elevator to the top of the city where we could look out at the Grand Harbor. With all due respect, that took about 20 minutes. We did see a gun emplacement and wanted to get a close up picture for Mac, but the only door to them was closed. And they do a noon shooting of the cannons. Maybe tomorrow (since we are here overnight).
Back down the elevator to the hop on hop off bus. Only 10 euros a piece this time, the cheapest one so far. We rode around for 3 hours, and that only covered one bus route. With sore bottoms and ears that were tired of listening to the loud mouth woman beside of us, we got off back at the ship.
Malta is an interesting island. All of the buildings are cream colored. There are several quarries on the island and all of the construction is made of it. The voice on the bus said they are opening no more quarries because there is no more free land to build houses or other buildings.
There are a lot of small garden patches (and some not so small – we saw one pretty big vineyard). They are all divided by rock walls to keep the soil from washing into the Mediterranean. It is a very old method, going back to prehistory.
Tomorrow we are going to the Information booth at the end of the quay and see if there are things to see other than the Grand Harbor once you ride up the very tall elevator. Then it’s off to Palermo, Sicily, then Cagliari, Sardinia before I have a talk on Gibraltar, the day at sea before we get to the Rock. Finally.
Well, my cruise partner has been taking notes the last couple of days she hasn’t felt like writing, so I will turn the keyboard over to her.
TTFN
Oh I have a tale to tell.
Let’s start at 12:01am Saturday morning and on through to Monday morning at 7:30 am. Just after midnight diarrhea followed by vomiting at about 2 or 3 am. You don’t want to know. For the next 24 hours between visits to the potty I slept, literally 20 hours out of 24. I did not get out of the bed except to go potty again. I ate nothing- except drink water and ginger ale. We were in a port in Crete. It was rainy and ugly outside. We put out the do not disturb sign so our steward never came into the room. David only left on Saturday to go get something to eat and bring me back more water and ginger ale. Sunday morning was his first talk at 11am. We ordered breakfast in the room hoping maybe I could eat some dry toast and some cranberry juice (which I did). During the late evening on Saturday he started to feel bad and by morning neither of us ate. He was able to go do his talk and I had taken a bath so I left the room to sit on the deck so the steward could clean the room. It was a cold and bumpy day on the sea on Saturday night and Sunday. After his talk we went up to the Lido deck to eat. We had some chicken noodle soup. We each ate about a half a cup of broth. Back to the room and he was getting worse but no vomiting. At about 7pm Sunday night it was “gala attire” evening, we weren’t feeling “gala” we went to lido in hopes of more soup or mashed potatoes maybe. But the chicken soup had orzo in it and the only potatoes were twice baked. I ate a half a potato and he ate some broth off the soup. We looked into the shops for some Pepto or something but there was nothing.
So we returned to our room where is was in bed by 8:00 and I soon followed. I slept till 2:30 Monday morning and then off and on till 7:30. He slept straight through except for potty breaks.
We showered and went to the Lido for some “breakfast”. I had toast and cranberry juice. We then went ashore and had a nice day. We stopped at the pharmacy on the way back and got 2 boxes of imodium, 6 euros for a box of 6 tablets. Expensive stuff. Getting back to the ship we again tried to eat something. I had some mashed potatoes and he had split pea soup, yuck. We got some more ginger ale headed to the room for a nap and some drugs.
While out in the town we did a little shopping after our bus ride. I got a piece of Medini glassware. The glassware is made on the island of Malta. It is a miniature Christmas tree about 8 inches tall. It is very pretty. We got a few other little things.
After the nap, he worked on his Gibraltar till about 6. Then, we went up to Lido to try and find something to eat. I wanted soup but no such luck. I got some spaghetti, living dangerously, and some ice water. He got some too. We will see how this goes. Well, tomorrow we are still here so we will venture out again. Maybe we can find a cheaper pharmacy.
Love you all, Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Saturday, November 18, 2017
NOTHIN’ MUCH DOIN’ HERE TODAY
November 18, 2017
Bonnie is feeling better this evening. The aforementioned symptoms have subsided. She is still droopy and has eaten nothing today, but her nurse has been continually urging her to drink. Her beverage of choice today has been Ginger Ale. In between swigs and swallows she has napped frequently. I put out a room service menu for breakfast tomorrow – she is going to try some toast (I looked for jello today, but there was none).
I ate 3 square meals in the Lido today, and spent the rest of my time here in Stateroom 321.
When I wasn’t eating or nursing I was rehearsing my first talk for tomorrow on Sicily. I have cut it twice, but it is still too long. I’m going to attack it one more time after posting this blog and see where it is.
We set our clocks back tonight one hour, so tomorrow we will only be 6 hours ahead of you.
Looking for better news tomorrow. Or as Bill Burns used to say on KDKA, “Good night. Good luck. And good news tomorrow.”
TTFN
Bonnie is feeling better this evening. The aforementioned symptoms have subsided. She is still droopy and has eaten nothing today, but her nurse has been continually urging her to drink. Her beverage of choice today has been Ginger Ale. In between swigs and swallows she has napped frequently. I put out a room service menu for breakfast tomorrow – she is going to try some toast (I looked for jello today, but there was none).
I ate 3 square meals in the Lido today, and spent the rest of my time here in Stateroom 321.
When I wasn’t eating or nursing I was rehearsing my first talk for tomorrow on Sicily. I have cut it twice, but it is still too long. I’m going to attack it one more time after posting this blog and see where it is.
We set our clocks back tonight one hour, so tomorrow we will only be 6 hours ahead of you.
Looking for better news tomorrow. Or as Bill Burns used to say on KDKA, “Good night. Good luck. And good news tomorrow.”
TTFN
Friday, November 17, 2017
YES WE HAVE NO GYROS
November 17, 2017
A great day ashore in Rhodes, home of the long gone Colossus of Rhodes. But the medieval town largely survives. There are the old city fortress walls, a castle, a hospital from the 16th century, and more. Oh yeah, and lots of souvenir shops. Mom bought herself a great sweater. I will let her tell you about it, but I heartily approved.
I don’t think we have ever set down at an eatery ashore before today. We may have grabbed a soft drink or a snack, but we planned at lunch to have a real Greek gyro. We picked out a restaurant, sat down, looked at the menu, decided on a chicken gyro, since this particular establishment did not have lamb on the menu (strange I know – even the gyro shop in the Augusta Mall features gyro that is 1/4 lamb). Anyway, we told the waiter we wanted to share a chicken gyro. He apologized and said they were out of chicken gyros. We said, okay, we’ll take the pork gyro. He said, okay, and then said, I am sorry we are out of pork gyros. He made another offer, but we declined. So yes, we have no gyros. We have no gyros today. Disappointing.
Another good dinner table tonight. A couple from the Upper Michigan Peninsula and the other couple from Detroit. Good conversation with no one trying to outdo the table with all the their cruises and places they’ve seen. I had the short ribs (as opposed to long ribs?) and blue berry sundae for dessert – which I dribbled down the front of a brand new, first time worn, shirt. Slobbo Bobbo!
Tomorrow we are going ashore on Crete, and another historic city. We can’t walk into town on this one like we did today, but the cruise director said there are taxis and local buses to take us. The captain said there was an 80% chance of rain tomorrow, so we may stay on board anyway. Tune in to tomorrow’s blog to see.
Well, Bonnie has a great souvenir to tell you about, so I will turn the keyboard over to her.
TTFN
Well, we slept in today. I woke up at 7:50 and woke him at a little after 8 because we needed to bathe and have breakfast before getting off. While we were getting ready I was looking at my key card and I noticed that it expired on11/23/17. That is not good. We aren’t getting off until 12/8/17. So after breakfast we headed to the guest relations to inquire. They didn’t have me as getting on to start with and now I was getting off in a week. Well, the young man who started to help us was very rude to me and it upset me, so I walked away and let your Dad deal with it. They fixed both of my cards and now I can stay on till 12/8/17.
We then headed to the room got our going off stuff and headed to the gangway which was on deck 3. We walked off, got a map and headed for the old city and our walk around. We walked a total of 2.7 miles today. We toured a castle and a museum. They were both very large stone buildings, with many rooms and several floors. As we were leaving the museum Dad asked what the building had been previously used for. The lady said it had been a hospital. The lower rooms were private rooms if you had enough money to pay for it and the rooms on the upper floor were the wards. After walking the cobble streets, seeing many cats wandering around today, no dogs, the dogs were in Athens, we were headed out of the town when we passed a store that had hundreds of beautiful sweaters, They were hand made by the man in the shop. They were hand knitted by him and made of 100% cotton thread. Absolutely beautiful. Well, I bought a dark blue, long sleeve sweater. Didn’t ask the price till we paid and it was 48 euros. But it was well worth the price. You need to wear a blouse or camisole under it because the weave is an open pattern. I had brought a black short sleeve blouse with me that I wore under the sweater this evening so I could wear it for supper.
Your Dad’s purchase, guess, wait for it, a book. We headed back to the ship and went to the Lido deck for a salad. And of course ice cream. I had orange sherbert, mint chocolate chip and Neapolitan. He had strawberry. Then, back to the room for a nap and then off to supper.
The show tonight was a Mime. He was very entertaining. Never seen a show like this before. He started out as an ostrich hatching from an egg. I guess you had to be there.
We are in the cabin and will go to bed soon. Oh, by the way the captain said the norovirus was improving only 4 new cases today and only a total of 13 people who are ill. Yeah. Wash those hands!!
Love, Mom, Granny and Bonnie
A great day ashore in Rhodes, home of the long gone Colossus of Rhodes. But the medieval town largely survives. There are the old city fortress walls, a castle, a hospital from the 16th century, and more. Oh yeah, and lots of souvenir shops. Mom bought herself a great sweater. I will let her tell you about it, but I heartily approved.
I don’t think we have ever set down at an eatery ashore before today. We may have grabbed a soft drink or a snack, but we planned at lunch to have a real Greek gyro. We picked out a restaurant, sat down, looked at the menu, decided on a chicken gyro, since this particular establishment did not have lamb on the menu (strange I know – even the gyro shop in the Augusta Mall features gyro that is 1/4 lamb). Anyway, we told the waiter we wanted to share a chicken gyro. He apologized and said they were out of chicken gyros. We said, okay, we’ll take the pork gyro. He said, okay, and then said, I am sorry we are out of pork gyros. He made another offer, but we declined. So yes, we have no gyros. We have no gyros today. Disappointing.
Another good dinner table tonight. A couple from the Upper Michigan Peninsula and the other couple from Detroit. Good conversation with no one trying to outdo the table with all the their cruises and places they’ve seen. I had the short ribs (as opposed to long ribs?) and blue berry sundae for dessert – which I dribbled down the front of a brand new, first time worn, shirt. Slobbo Bobbo!
Tomorrow we are going ashore on Crete, and another historic city. We can’t walk into town on this one like we did today, but the cruise director said there are taxis and local buses to take us. The captain said there was an 80% chance of rain tomorrow, so we may stay on board anyway. Tune in to tomorrow’s blog to see.
Well, Bonnie has a great souvenir to tell you about, so I will turn the keyboard over to her.
TTFN
Well, we slept in today. I woke up at 7:50 and woke him at a little after 8 because we needed to bathe and have breakfast before getting off. While we were getting ready I was looking at my key card and I noticed that it expired on11/23/17. That is not good. We aren’t getting off until 12/8/17. So after breakfast we headed to the guest relations to inquire. They didn’t have me as getting on to start with and now I was getting off in a week. Well, the young man who started to help us was very rude to me and it upset me, so I walked away and let your Dad deal with it. They fixed both of my cards and now I can stay on till 12/8/17.
We then headed to the room got our going off stuff and headed to the gangway which was on deck 3. We walked off, got a map and headed for the old city and our walk around. We walked a total of 2.7 miles today. We toured a castle and a museum. They were both very large stone buildings, with many rooms and several floors. As we were leaving the museum Dad asked what the building had been previously used for. The lady said it had been a hospital. The lower rooms were private rooms if you had enough money to pay for it and the rooms on the upper floor were the wards. After walking the cobble streets, seeing many cats wandering around today, no dogs, the dogs were in Athens, we were headed out of the town when we passed a store that had hundreds of beautiful sweaters, They were hand made by the man in the shop. They were hand knitted by him and made of 100% cotton thread. Absolutely beautiful. Well, I bought a dark blue, long sleeve sweater. Didn’t ask the price till we paid and it was 48 euros. But it was well worth the price. You need to wear a blouse or camisole under it because the weave is an open pattern. I had brought a black short sleeve blouse with me that I wore under the sweater this evening so I could wear it for supper.
Your Dad’s purchase, guess, wait for it, a book. We headed back to the ship and went to the Lido deck for a salad. And of course ice cream. I had orange sherbert, mint chocolate chip and Neapolitan. He had strawberry. Then, back to the room for a nap and then off to supper.
The show tonight was a Mime. He was very entertaining. Never seen a show like this before. He started out as an ostrich hatching from an egg. I guess you had to be there.
We are in the cabin and will go to bed soon. Oh, by the way the captain said the norovirus was improving only 4 new cases today and only a total of 13 people who are ill. Yeah. Wash those hands!!
Love, Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Thursday, November 16, 2017
ON BOARD AND UNDERWAY
November 16, 2017
Well, I told you earlier about adventure getting on board. Trying times when you are world travelers. But it is the start of 22 days cruising, and we are excited.
Our first stop tomorrow is Rhodes, Greece. You’ve heard of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – a big statute that guarded the harbor. Well, it’s gone. A hurricane or a war or something, but our cruise director told us we are docking very close to the old town, one of the best preserved medieval villages in Europe, so there will be a lot to see.
Speaking of cruise directors, we know her, and she us! We were together on our last cruise on the Koningsdam. She was just promoted to cruise director (from assistant) after only 2.5 months with Holland America. She was excited to see us and we offered her hearty congratulations!
On a down note, they have had 26 cases of norovirus on board, but the Captain said they were over the hump and it was getting better. Glad we got on when it was getting better. We’ve done a plague ship before and while we were, thankfully, well, it’s not much fun. Wash your hands. Don’t touch anything.
We are right now 7 hours ahead of you, but as with our last cruise, we will go back an hour until we reach Florida time. Speaking of time, my talks will be at 11 and 2, alternating days with David Russell (who was also on the Koningsdam).
Well, it’s time to play a few hands of Rummy and try to recover my honor which was crushed out last time out. I don’t know if I told you, but I have recovered enough to admit that I was crushed 4 games to 8, but this is a new day and a new cruise, and she’s going down!
Talk to you tomorrow.
TTFN
Yes I am supposed to be on board even though they didn’t know it!! It is really stressful to be in a place where no one talks your language trying to explain you are supposed to be getting on the ship. Oh such is the life of a cruise talker’s wife.
Lunch was a salad. We came back to the room unpacked, stowed the suitcases and I proceeded to take a nap. Then, it is up dress for supper and head to deck 7 and the dining room. Nice table two older single ladies, a couple from Canada near the border of Seattle. Supper was ribeyes and they were really good. Green beans and potatoes. Tomato soup for appetizer and butterscotch sundae for dessert. The show was quite good, 2 guys from South America who played all kinds of drums, pipes, guitars, and even the bag pipes. Very good show. They were called Duo Yalba.
Well, pills are taken, pajamas are on and we are going to start the card match. Love you all.
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Well, I told you earlier about adventure getting on board. Trying times when you are world travelers. But it is the start of 22 days cruising, and we are excited.
Our first stop tomorrow is Rhodes, Greece. You’ve heard of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – a big statute that guarded the harbor. Well, it’s gone. A hurricane or a war or something, but our cruise director told us we are docking very close to the old town, one of the best preserved medieval villages in Europe, so there will be a lot to see.
Speaking of cruise directors, we know her, and she us! We were together on our last cruise on the Koningsdam. She was just promoted to cruise director (from assistant) after only 2.5 months with Holland America. She was excited to see us and we offered her hearty congratulations!
On a down note, they have had 26 cases of norovirus on board, but the Captain said they were over the hump and it was getting better. Glad we got on when it was getting better. We’ve done a plague ship before and while we were, thankfully, well, it’s not much fun. Wash your hands. Don’t touch anything.
We are right now 7 hours ahead of you, but as with our last cruise, we will go back an hour until we reach Florida time. Speaking of time, my talks will be at 11 and 2, alternating days with David Russell (who was also on the Koningsdam).
Well, it’s time to play a few hands of Rummy and try to recover my honor which was crushed out last time out. I don’t know if I told you, but I have recovered enough to admit that I was crushed 4 games to 8, but this is a new day and a new cruise, and she’s going down!
Talk to you tomorrow.
TTFN
Yes I am supposed to be on board even though they didn’t know it!! It is really stressful to be in a place where no one talks your language trying to explain you are supposed to be getting on the ship. Oh such is the life of a cruise talker’s wife.
Lunch was a salad. We came back to the room unpacked, stowed the suitcases and I proceeded to take a nap. Then, it is up dress for supper and head to deck 7 and the dining room. Nice table two older single ladies, a couple from Canada near the border of Seattle. Supper was ribeyes and they were really good. Green beans and potatoes. Tomato soup for appetizer and butterscotch sundae for dessert. The show was quite good, 2 guys from South America who played all kinds of drums, pipes, guitars, and even the bag pipes. Very good show. They were called Duo Yalba.
Well, pills are taken, pajamas are on and we are going to start the card match. Love you all.
Mom, Granny and Bonnie
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
BAKLAVA AND GREEK COFFEE
November 15, 2017
We set our alarm for 6 a.m. so we could get breakfast here at the Piraeus Port Hotel, and then join the CitySightseeing Bus (otherwise known as the Hop On Hop Off Bus) to go to the Acropolis and the Parthenon and then tour Athens. Breakfast was good, but as Skinny Pappy might have said, “Nothing X-tree.”
The desk clerk gave very good directions and we found the bus with no difficulty, walking about 20 minutes to the stop where he said we could join it. There was a bus parked across the street, and we walked over to ask the driver when one would come in our direction. He said it would take more than 30 minutes, but since he was going to the first stop – at the cruise terminal, where we will be tomorrow – he would take us. We didn’t know it at the time, but that would be the first of two buses we would have all to ourselves.
Exploring the Acropolis and the Parthenon was on my bucket list before I knew what a bucket list was. Sometimes you wait for something to happen and it is less than you expected, but today I was not disappointed. We bought tickets and explored for about two hours. It is immense and we could have spent more time, but I also wanted to see the new Acropolis Museum. The exhibits cover three floors, but the first exhibit is outside of the museum. Walking up to a young man to ask a question, I looked down and through the glass floor you could see ancient ruins. He said, “Mysterious city,” and then explained it was part of old Athens. It is kind of unnerving walking on glass floors (is it bad to throw stones if you have glass floors and not a whole glass house?).
The neatest part of today’s adventure was the CitySightseeing hostess at the Parthenon, Evdokia Zkeri, a fantastic lady who really took care of us.
We had taken the green line to get to the Parthenon and after exploring there and the Museum (both incredible) then we rode the red line around Athens. When we got back to the Parthenon drop off spot 90 minutes later, we learned that there was only one more bus coming for today and it would be an hour and 15 minutes. We shared our disappointment with Evdokia, and she said, “Let me see what I can do.”
She got on the phone and found a driver who was close and off duty. He brought his bus up and took just the two of us to our chosen spot to return to our hotel. Now that’s above and beyond! I wish I knew his name, too, because we had a bus all to ourselves going straight to out stop. Thanks to him to be willing to go out of his way for us. And thanks to Evdokia for taking the extra step to find him and take care of two tired tourists!
We were both ready for supper because other than breakfast I had an Atkins Bar and Bonnie had some M&Ms. We went back to Refene, the restaurant where we had supper last night. Tonight we had only one salad, an order of Feta Cheese Croquets and pork chops with French fries. The chops were not like the ones we buy at Kroger or Walmart. They were more like tenderized beef – thin, no bones. We ate almost everything and washed it down with a large bottle of cold water. Tonight our waitress brought us two pieces of baklava each (last night only one each) and I ordered a Greek coffee, semi-sweet. It was served in a small demitasse cup, hot, sweet and delicious. It was the best cup of coffee I think I’ve ever had. The only thing that compares with it is a cup of espresso I had many years ago at a Georgian restaurant in Moldova. Excellent!
I'm going to try to post some pictures at the end.
Well, there was more to the day including a stop in a Greek Orthodox Church where service was in progress and our trip to the post office, but I will turn the keyboard over to my traveling companion.
TTFN
He has finally found a way to limit my writing. He leaves the computer on so I have less than 30 minutes to write. Well, to say breakfast wasn’t much was an understatement. For 8 euros each we won’t go back tomorrow. We stopped at the church on our way to the bus stop. A very ornate church inside. They were having a service and one priest was doing the ceremonial stuff and two other guys were singing a capella. Beautiful voices . We didn’t understand anything but it was wonderful to watch.
Where the bus finally stated its trip was in the cruise dock and the rest of our fellow passengers were from a celebrity cruise ship that was in dock. We rode to the acropolis and had a great time walking around, 2.8 miles in all today. Before we went to the museum we stopped at the little souvenir stand to find a hat since we only brought a winter hat. I got a beautiful hat of Greece. Really pretty but expensive. He got a hat about the Olympics.
The museum was great. The glass floors were a little unnerving. But I did okay. The bus ride around the city of Athens was fantastic. The city is huge. Cars and scooters everywhere. The scooters really drive very recklessly. The stores on the streets are very different from any city we have visited. There was even one street that had a flea market all along the street in the stores. They had a square where every weekend a large flea market is set up. It was funny the tapped talk on the bus said it was mostly junk nobody wanted.
When we rode back to the stop to get off to return to our hotel it had started to rain. And we had no umbrellas. We kept under awnings and tried to stay dry. We came to the supermarket we had visited yesterday and we bought 2 small umbrellas for 6 euros and of course it stopped raining! Oh well, no we have 4 umbrellas in our luggage. While in the supermarket we bought some rolls with nutella stuffing for breakfast. We also got some juice and chocolate milk. About 3 euros. Well, I have tried to repack the suitcases for tomorrow. We also found a post office and managed to make our self understood enough to buy stamps for our postcards. They actually had a machine where you took a number and waited for your number to be called to be waited on. Well, not long out of bed and off to the ship tomorrow. Hopefully they will know who we are!!
Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie
We set our alarm for 6 a.m. so we could get breakfast here at the Piraeus Port Hotel, and then join the CitySightseeing Bus (otherwise known as the Hop On Hop Off Bus) to go to the Acropolis and the Parthenon and then tour Athens. Breakfast was good, but as Skinny Pappy might have said, “Nothing X-tree.”
The desk clerk gave very good directions and we found the bus with no difficulty, walking about 20 minutes to the stop where he said we could join it. There was a bus parked across the street, and we walked over to ask the driver when one would come in our direction. He said it would take more than 30 minutes, but since he was going to the first stop – at the cruise terminal, where we will be tomorrow – he would take us. We didn’t know it at the time, but that would be the first of two buses we would have all to ourselves.
Exploring the Acropolis and the Parthenon was on my bucket list before I knew what a bucket list was. Sometimes you wait for something to happen and it is less than you expected, but today I was not disappointed. We bought tickets and explored for about two hours. It is immense and we could have spent more time, but I also wanted to see the new Acropolis Museum. The exhibits cover three floors, but the first exhibit is outside of the museum. Walking up to a young man to ask a question, I looked down and through the glass floor you could see ancient ruins. He said, “Mysterious city,” and then explained it was part of old Athens. It is kind of unnerving walking on glass floors (is it bad to throw stones if you have glass floors and not a whole glass house?).
The neatest part of today’s adventure was the CitySightseeing hostess at the Parthenon, Evdokia Zkeri, a fantastic lady who really took care of us.
We had taken the green line to get to the Parthenon and after exploring there and the Museum (both incredible) then we rode the red line around Athens. When we got back to the Parthenon drop off spot 90 minutes later, we learned that there was only one more bus coming for today and it would be an hour and 15 minutes. We shared our disappointment with Evdokia, and she said, “Let me see what I can do.”
She got on the phone and found a driver who was close and off duty. He brought his bus up and took just the two of us to our chosen spot to return to our hotel. Now that’s above and beyond! I wish I knew his name, too, because we had a bus all to ourselves going straight to out stop. Thanks to him to be willing to go out of his way for us. And thanks to Evdokia for taking the extra step to find him and take care of two tired tourists!
We were both ready for supper because other than breakfast I had an Atkins Bar and Bonnie had some M&Ms. We went back to Refene, the restaurant where we had supper last night. Tonight we had only one salad, an order of Feta Cheese Croquets and pork chops with French fries. The chops were not like the ones we buy at Kroger or Walmart. They were more like tenderized beef – thin, no bones. We ate almost everything and washed it down with a large bottle of cold water. Tonight our waitress brought us two pieces of baklava each (last night only one each) and I ordered a Greek coffee, semi-sweet. It was served in a small demitasse cup, hot, sweet and delicious. It was the best cup of coffee I think I’ve ever had. The only thing that compares with it is a cup of espresso I had many years ago at a Georgian restaurant in Moldova. Excellent!
I'm going to try to post some pictures at the end.
Well, there was more to the day including a stop in a Greek Orthodox Church where service was in progress and our trip to the post office, but I will turn the keyboard over to my traveling companion.
TTFN
He has finally found a way to limit my writing. He leaves the computer on so I have less than 30 minutes to write. Well, to say breakfast wasn’t much was an understatement. For 8 euros each we won’t go back tomorrow. We stopped at the church on our way to the bus stop. A very ornate church inside. They were having a service and one priest was doing the ceremonial stuff and two other guys were singing a capella. Beautiful voices . We didn’t understand anything but it was wonderful to watch.
Where the bus finally stated its trip was in the cruise dock and the rest of our fellow passengers were from a celebrity cruise ship that was in dock. We rode to the acropolis and had a great time walking around, 2.8 miles in all today. Before we went to the museum we stopped at the little souvenir stand to find a hat since we only brought a winter hat. I got a beautiful hat of Greece. Really pretty but expensive. He got a hat about the Olympics.
The museum was great. The glass floors were a little unnerving. But I did okay. The bus ride around the city of Athens was fantastic. The city is huge. Cars and scooters everywhere. The scooters really drive very recklessly. The stores on the streets are very different from any city we have visited. There was even one street that had a flea market all along the street in the stores. They had a square where every weekend a large flea market is set up. It was funny the tapped talk on the bus said it was mostly junk nobody wanted.
When we rode back to the stop to get off to return to our hotel it had started to rain. And we had no umbrellas. We kept under awnings and tried to stay dry. We came to the supermarket we had visited yesterday and we bought 2 small umbrellas for 6 euros and of course it stopped raining! Oh well, no we have 4 umbrellas in our luggage. While in the supermarket we bought some rolls with nutella stuffing for breakfast. We also got some juice and chocolate milk. About 3 euros. Well, I have tried to repack the suitcases for tomorrow. We also found a post office and managed to make our self understood enough to buy stamps for our postcards. They actually had a machine where you took a number and waited for your number to be called to be waited on. Well, not long out of bed and off to the ship tomorrow. Hopefully they will know who we are!!
Love Mom, Granny and Bonnie
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| Our hotel is on the right |
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| Hopped on |
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
One Woman's Story
Well, he says I only have 30 minutes of battery so this is a condensed version. All in all a fair trip. The ride to JFK was good. From there on it was kind of down hill. Finding the gate in JFK was an adventure and we had to go through security for second time since leaving on our trip. It was a guy yelling all chargers electronics in a separate bin, take off coats, shoes, belts etc. Very crowded loud and noisy. We had to get new boarding passes at aeroflot checkin desk before we could even go through security. (We didn’t realize till we got to Greece they kept our luggage claim checks!) Finally at the gate there were people all around and two very loud noisy little boys running everywhere and Mom and Dad talking to them as they chased them. Not a good omen of what was to come.
After getting on the plane, 10 seats across, we were in the second section where there were about 100 seats. A large majority was occupied by a contingent of Jewish people with about 10 kids ranging in age from 6 weeks to 4 years and the 2 little boys from out in waiting area where there too, These children were all extremely unmannered , very loud, they did not cry they screeched like banshees, for 8 hours non stop. No sleep was had by us. Their parents were as poorly behaved and illmannered as the kids.
Arriving at Moscow we were glad to be rid of all of them. Again we were on a long jouney to our gate preceded by, you guessed it another security, even though we were in the same terminal. Imagine our surprise to see the same two little boys waitibg with us at our gate. Still running at top speed and Mom and dad chased them. These boys each had a pacifier in the mouth, one was about 4 and the other 2. Fortunately this time on the smaller plane they were at the rear and we were at the front.
Now thr adventure on this aeroflot flight, it is snowing and runways are snow covered and we have to wait an hour on board while our plane is deiced. It caused a back up in take off so we were on the ground about an hour before flying off.
Now comes the good part, all I have to say is OJ scores one and Bonnie scores none. The juice spilled all over my pants, shoes, sweater and tray. After cleaning it up with your dad’s hankie (which got put in the trash) and my pack of kleenex and some napkins I was so disturbed I did not eat the breakfast offered. The flight was about 4 hours and thankfull about 2 hours before landing I fell asleep. On landing again a trek to find our baggage (at this time remembering our baggage receipts were still in JFK) we kept going.
Headed to passoort control, got stamped after about 30 minute wait we found the baggage carasole and there along with 2 other lonely bags were ours going around and around. We happily retrieved them and headed out the door to find Stephanos with our name on a sign .
After getting on the plane, 10 seats across, we were in the second section where there were about 100 seats. A large majority was occupied by a contingent of Jewish people with about 10 kids ranging in age from 6 weeks to 4 years and the 2 little boys from out in waiting area where there too, These children were all extremely unmannered , very loud, they did not cry they screeched like banshees, for 8 hours non stop. No sleep was had by us. Their parents were as poorly behaved and illmannered as the kids.
Arriving at Moscow we were glad to be rid of all of them. Again we were on a long jouney to our gate preceded by, you guessed it another security, even though we were in the same terminal. Imagine our surprise to see the same two little boys waitibg with us at our gate. Still running at top speed and Mom and dad chased them. These boys each had a pacifier in the mouth, one was about 4 and the other 2. Fortunately this time on the smaller plane they were at the rear and we were at the front.
Now thr adventure on this aeroflot flight, it is snowing and runways are snow covered and we have to wait an hour on board while our plane is deiced. It caused a back up in take off so we were on the ground about an hour before flying off.
Now comes the good part, all I have to say is OJ scores one and Bonnie scores none. The juice spilled all over my pants, shoes, sweater and tray. After cleaning it up with your dad’s hankie (which got put in the trash) and my pack of kleenex and some napkins I was so disturbed I did not eat the breakfast offered. The flight was about 4 hours and thankfull about 2 hours before landing I fell asleep. On landing again a trek to find our baggage (at this time remembering our baggage receipts were still in JFK) we kept going.
Headed to passoort control, got stamped after about 30 minute wait we found the baggage carasole and there along with 2 other lonely bags were ours going around and around. We happily retrieved them and headed out the door to find Stephanos with our name on a sign .
Dinner in Athens
One of our correspondents asked what they eat in Greece and suggested yogurt. I said, "And goat cheese." The correspondent replied, "Anyone who eats goat cheese would eat anything." And Skinny Pappy said that about macaroni.
Well, here are some pictures of our meal.
Well, here are some pictures of our meal.
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| Ready to eat |
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| Salads! |
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| Feta Cheese Fritters drizzled with honey |
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| Fried chicken with vegetables |
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