St. Catharines, Ontario April 30, 2011

This Blog would not be complete without a final instalment, so here goes:

After leaving Portugal, we had six sea days, during which we crossed the Atlantic on our way back to Fort Lauderdale.  On the second day out, the sea was fairly rough and a few people were sea sick.  Thank God I wasn’t one of them.  As soon as I began to feel a bit queasy, I took a pill for motion sickness and that did the trick.  Unfortunately it was impossible to dance during this time, but I had a computer project going so I put that time to good use.  Most of the other activities on board continued as usual though for those who were able to take part.

Re: my computer project.  Some of the ladies gave the dance hosts gifts of some kind or other to show their appreciation for the many lovely dances they gave us and I also wanted to do something special and different for them as well as for the couple that gave us the dancing classes.  I decided to get a small computer memory stick for each of them, and to put on it a personalized slide show.  Since I had taken a lot of pictures, I had a lot of material to work with.  We had learned in the computer workshop how to do this, so I figured there would be no problem.  Ha Ha Ha.  There are always problems when I do a project on the computer.  Fortunately our Computer Instructor had times set aside for us to go and get “Techspert Advice”.  I had to go twice before everything clicked, but the results were fantastic and the dance hosts and the dance instructors seemed to appreciate the thought and effort that went into their gift.

If it hadn’t been for this project, I would have had a lot of time to read and relax, those last 6 days.  I had hoped to play some more ping pong but didn’t get around to it.  Then there was also packing to do.  It’s a good thing I had resolved not to go crazy buying souvenirs, because as it was, I had a lot of stuff to pack and I had also brought way too much baggage from home to start with.  I wish I had learned the art of packing lightly like Jim and Mary do.  They had the same number of bags for the two of them as I did for myself.

Every time we had a formal night, the Cruise Line left a gift on our bed.  One of them was a large, sturdy, green duffle bag and I put it to good use.  If I hadn’t had that, my 2 other suitcases might have been overweight.  Since I was travelling first class using my air miles, I was allowed three check in bags weighing seventy pounds each.  I certainly didn’t have that much weight, but it was good to be able to divide my treasures into three bags instead of two.  Also I didn’t have to use the zipper feature on my suitcases which give you two inches more space.

The final night of the cruise was bitter sweet.  Everyone was saying their good byes and promising to keep in touch.  My official last dance was to the song “Time to Say Good Bye”, but at the end of the evening the band played another lovely song that was too good to waste so I ended up having two last dances.

The departure from the ship was very well organized.  We were given tickets to put onto our luggage which were colour coded and numbered according to our travel plans and we were informed as to the time our number and colour would be called in the morning.  All luggage except our carry on had to be in the hall outside the cabin door before midnight the night before.  I’m glad I wasn’t one of the porters.  There were thousands of bags and parcels to be carried out.

My time slot was for 8:15 - 8:30 a.m., because that was the time the bus would be there to take some of us to the Miami Airport.  As we left the ship someone directed us to the location of the bags with our colour and number and once we had identified them, we were able to take them to the bus.  I hired a porter.  No way I was going to try to handle 3 bags, a carry on and a computer case by myself. 

There was a lot of traffic on the way to Miami, but we reached there within an hour.  I flew from Miami because that was where I could get a first class flight home using my air miles and unfortunately this meant spending a night in Miami at the Airport Hotel.  Of course my room wasn’t ready for occupancy when I arrived, but at noon I was able to get one.  The airport is fairly isolated,  not near anyplace  within walking distance, but it is huge and there are a lot of shops to brows through so this is how I spent my afternoon.  It was a 15 – 20 minute brisk walk from one end to the other and the Air Canada Terminal was at the opposite end to the hotel.  I wandered down there to see where I would have to go in the morning.  My flight out was for 7:50 a.m.

The woman at the hotel desk gave me false information.  She told me that I had to be at the terminal 3 hours before the flight, so in the morning I was there before 5 a.m., an hour ahead of time.  The day before when I walked down to the Air Canada Terminal, there was no one there, because there were no flights going out or coming in, so I couldn’t inquire.  I tried to phone but only got an answering machine with pre recorded information.  Needless to say I was first in line. 

Travelling first class is great.  they put a priority sticker on your suitcases and when you arrive at your destination, your suitcases are among the first to be unloaded.  I had a very good flight from Miami to Toronto, arriving there at 11:00 a.m.  Before 12:30 I was on the airport bus on the way home.

When I arrived home, I was greeted by the lovely sight of all my daffodils in full bloom.  I had wondered if they would wait for me and they had.  Then when I entered the house there were my 2 kitty cats waiting for me.  Spike didn’t recognize me and made strange, but Dora came right away, allowed me to pick her up and she stayed on my lap about 15 minutes, purring away.  what a welcome ! ! !   Spike made up for his behaviour by sleeping on my bed that night.

I must admit that I am suffering “withdrawal symptoms”.  The trip was so wonderful and I’d become accustomed to being spoiled and pampered.  I also miss the friends I made.  Luckily I have good friends and family here to help me over that hump.  Also I’ve been very busy getting my Income Tax Documents prepared as well as unpacking, doing laundry, opening and looking after the mail which accumulated during the past 4 months, so I don’t have time to think about what was and isn’t any longer. 

This World Cruise was the “Trip of a Lifetime.”   I’m so glad I was able to have this experience and I strongly recommend it to anyone who is able to do it.

                                                  The End

Funchal, Madera, Portugal April 19, 2011

Our last port of call was the Island of Madera, which is part of Portugal.   Went ashore today with Luis and Yoshiko.  We took the cable car up the mountain where we had a beautiful panoramic view of the city below.   Then we made a visit to a lovely church up there.  The weather looked iffey-- lots of rain clouds, so we returned to the city below wandered around for a couple of hours, enjoying the ambience.  Many of the  streets and sidewalks here are made with mosaics.  It is really lovely and quaint.

 

We didn’t get rained on down in the city, but another person told me that up above it poured.

We are on the Atlantic ocean now, and the captain announced that  for the next day or so, we are passing through a rough area.  After that he says it will be smooth sailing.  I didn’t feel too badly when it started, but decided to take a tablet against sea sickness, just in case.  A lot of passengers are feeling ill, including Paul, my favourite dance host.  I have my own wrist bands which help prevent this as well as the  old set I’ve had for years, so I loaned those to him.  Hopefully it helps.  There won’t be any dancing tonight anyhow  –  it is so rough that the ship is really a-rocking and a-rolling.  I’ll spend the evening in my cabin getting caught up with my blog and some other computer stuff I’m working on.  I may even get some reading done.

Cartagena and Cadiz, Spain April 16 & 17, 2011

I walked around these 2 beautiful cities with 3 of my friends from the ship and enjoyed the atmosphere.  The sidewalks and road where we were in Cartagena were made of marble – beautiful ! ! !  I got a chance to practise my Spanish and that was fun.  We were only in Cartagena for a few hours and we arrived there so early that everything was still closed.   At 10:00 a.m. the shops began to open.  The clothing on display in the shop windows were very elegant and not as expensive as in Italy.  Didn’t purchase anything.  My shopping limit has already been surpassed. 

We arrived in Cadiz early on Palm Sunday.  There were a lot of processions and ceremonies being held in the local churches.  They go all out here to celebrate Holy Week because it is a very Catholic country.  Unfortunately I didn’t happen to be where the processions were held, but I did get to go into one of the churches during Mass.  I had already gone to mass aboard the ship, so I didn’t stay for the entire service.   Needless to say, the church was packed.  All the locals were dressed in their Sunday best.  It was easy to tell the tourists from the natives

I was very surprised to see that some of the shops were open in the afternoon.   Again very stylish, beautiful clothes.   We wandered about for 3 hours and then returned to the ship, because we couldn’t find a public bathroom.  I got a very good impression of this city.  The streets are narrow but clean.  There are a lot of lovely plazas, where the streets come together and most of them have outdoor cafes where one can sit and people watch.  We opted for ice cream cones so we sat on a park bench.

 

Tonight is our second last Formal night.  The theme is “The Roaring Twenties”  Here’s a picture of  me taken with Paul. 

We were given boas and fedoras to wear at the dinner table, so after dinner everyone looked more like they belonged to the 20’s era.   These are some of my dinner table companions with one of the waiters (in in the back row)  I didn’t wear the boa – too hot and itchey.

Italy, Catacombs April 14, 2011

We are now further north and the weather is rather cool.   No more sunbathing.  Even the walks around the deck are just for the brave and daring souls, all bundled up.

Today’s tour lasted nine hours. Our ship was docked at Chivitavecchia, so it was about a two hour bus ride through beautiful Italian countryside to Rome.  The Catacombs of Domitilla,  which we visited were on the far side, another half hour’s drive.    They are among the most extensive in that area containing an underground Basilica and about 17 kilometers of galleries and corridors spread over four different levels, with almost 150,000 burials.   All the bones have been removed from there, because tourists were taking some of them home as aouvenirs. 

In addition to admiring the frescos and the wealth of Christian symbols in this ancient cemetery, I was also impressed by the magnificent engineering skills and the mastery of the workers who planned and carved out this huge labyrinth of underground passages,  working only with the aid of oil lamps.

 

A lot of people speak about how claustrophobic these catacombs are.  I didn’t find this the case, thank goodness.

Our next stop was a surprise for me, because it wasn’t mentioned in the trip description.  We visited Castel Gandolfo, which is the summer residence of the Pope.  It is located in the quaint little walled town of Gandolfo.  It looks like a very peaceful place and the view onto the nearby lake is spectacular.  The gardens of the Castle are magnificent, according to the pictures I saw, but no tourists are allowed in – only the pope, his guests and the gardeners.

Our final stop was at a farm-winery-restaurant.  The host was very friendly and we were greeted with Antipasto and wine.  Then we were treated to a demonstration of how to make pasta gnocchi.  We were invited to participate in the making of it, but no one volunteered.  Thank goodness, because this was going to be a part of our meal and I didn’t fancy the thought of eating something that several tourists had put their hands into.

Our meal was a plentiful garden salad, lasagne, gnocchi with a lovely tomato sauce, bread and wine followed by a very tasty tiramisu – probably the best I have ever tasted—and another type of pastry with a strong coffee.  Most enjoyable.

Then of course, we were faced with the long drive back.  Just as we arrived at the dock entrance, a bunch of policemen, ( five to be precise – in two cars)  stopped our bus and started giving our driver the once over.  He had to produce all his papers as well as the log disk of the number of hours he has driven without a rest.  As it turned out, on April first, he had driven 8 hours without  stopping.  For this he was fined, and after a lot of hemming and hawing and filling out forms, we were allowed to continue on our way.  This delayed our return by almost a half an hour.  Pedestrians are not allowed to walk around in the dock area, so even though we could see our ship, we had to sit there and wait.  We had skipped the bathroom break a half hour before because we were all anxious to get back fast, and now many of the passengers were  wishing we hadn’t.  Such is life ! ! !  We arrived back shortly before six. 

All in all, it was a very good tour.  Not too much was crammed  in one day, but what we saw was very interesting and I for one slept quite a bit on the bus.   Upon our return, I was raring to take a shower and go dancing , and that is exactly what I did.  I didn’t stay to the bitter end though.   I left to go to  bed when the band took its last break at 10:30.  The dance hosts looked rather tired and we ladies took pity on them.  If there is no one there, they can leave.

Our next two stops are in Cartagena and Cadiz, Spain and the last stop is in Madeira, Portugal on April 19th.  After that we have six  days on the Atlantic Ocean and then this wonderful voyage is over.  I’m not planning on taking any tours in Spain  and Portugal, because I’ve been there before. I’ll get off the ship with some of the others and wander around, get a taste of the atmosphere and practise my Spanish. 

I should arrive home in the late afternoon of April 27th.  See you soon.

Naples, Italy Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Since I’ve been to Naples within the past 5 years, I didn’t take a tour today.  Shirley, Elizabeth and I went out together to explore.   I probably would have gotten on the “Hop On Hop Off” bus to go and explore, but the other 2 didn’t have any Euros on them, so we just set out on foot.  All kinds of Italian men were after us to take their taxi for a tour.  We were able to evade them, but one little man stuck to us like a leech.  He wanted to take us on a walking tour – said it wouldn’t cost us anything because he was working for the company (didn’t say which company).  We couldn’t get rid of him.  He followed us and ended guiding us to the top of the hill where we had a great view of the city.  We would have visited the museum there, but it was closed today.  along the way, we found out which company he worked for – he led us to a jewellery shop where a man was busy carving out cameos out of sea shells.     They were really quite beautiful and of course they were hoping to make a sale, but all of us had left our credit cards on the ship and non of us had much money on us, so they were out of luck.  All of a sudden the little guide was no longer interested in guiding us.  He did lead us back down to the ship and even though he had said it was to be without cost, we gave him a $15. tip.  He started grumbling and complaining that it wasn’t enough.  Fortunately, Paul, one of the dance hosts was iin the near vicinity and he soon told our guide where to get off at.  The presence of a man sent our guide on his way and we returned to the ship, happy to be back.

Wm had been warned, by the person aboard ship who gives us talks about the places we visit,  to watch out for pick pockets, so that is why we left our valuables behind. 

I was really sorry that I’ve forgotten most of the Italian I learned a few years ago.  At that time I would have been able to hold a simple conversation.  Now most of it is gone.

I was hoping to buy myself a gelato along the way, but the one place we passed and stopped in, was in the process of making it, and wouldnt  have it ready for a while.  Perhaps when Ì go to Rome on my visit to the Catacombs on Thursday, I`ll be successful.  I love gelato  ! ! !

Formal Night Number 16, April 11, 2011

Our formal nights always take place on Sea Days.  This morning, I went for breakfast with Shirley in the Lido Dining Room at 7:15 a.m.

At 8 a.m. we went to the ``Sit And Be Fit``  exercise class.  This had helped me a lot with the shoulder and neck problem which I’ve had. 

At 9 a.m. we went to the dance instruction class where we were taught the Two Step.

At 10:30 I went to the Computer class called `Put Your Best Face Forward``.   It is a review for me, but I figured a review would be good before leaving the ship.  Here we learn how to download the pictures from our cameras onto the computer and then how to edit them.  I`ve learned a lot.

After a quick lunch I went to the hairdresser to get a wash and set in preparation for the big event of the evening.

At 3 p.m. I went to the second dance class to review the Two Step.  When that was over, it was time to get ready for the formal.  Our first dance time is from 4:40 until 5:30, just before the first seating for dinner, so I attended that.  The next session is between 7 and 8 p.m., just before the second seating for dinner and I attended that.  I also went for the session after dinner, but I had to leave early  around 10:30 because I was too tired to dance.  Would you believe that ! ! ! !   Dancing in the Ocean bar goes until 11:30 and upstairs in the Crow`s Nest it lasts until midnight – and I went to bed at 10:30.  What`s this world coming to ! ! !

Here I am posing with Howard in the Crow’s Nest.

 

I`m writing this blog in the early morning of  Wednesday April 13.  Last night I made it until midnight.  My 2 favourite dancers, Paul and Howard were in the Crow`s Nest and there were just 2 women there to dance – Shirley and me – so we danced every dance  ! ! ! !  What a great evening ! ! !

Piraeus, Greece, Sunday, April 10, 2011

My travel agent’ is associated with a company that provided me with 4 free tours on this trip.   The last one was here in Greece.  It lasted the entire day from 8 a.m. until around 4  p.m.  

From Piraeus where we were docked, we drove by bus to Athens where our first stop was the Acropolis.  It is located on a high hill in the middle of the city.  I visited it before in 1958 and was quite happy to see it again.  The last time I was here, we must have ascended the hill from the other side, because then , the first building we came to was the Parthenon and we had to climb the hill on a rough path with no stairs.  This time we climbed a very comfortable, wide set of  stairs and arrived at some of the other buildings first. 

The Parthenon is a really magnificent sight.  There is a lot of restoration going on, so there will likely be cranes visible in my picture.  It was also quite windy up there and I didn’t use a lot of hair spray that morning.

There are other temples on this site and we spent at least an hour up there looking at all the buildings as well as enjoying the splendid view of the city below.

Our next stop was the museum and our guide gave us a well narrated tour.  I got a lot of pictures of naked men at the museum and here is a fine sample – hopefully this will not be interpreted as pornography, after all it is art  ! ! !

Couldn’t bring myself to send the front view – you’ll have to come and visit me when I get back for that “show and tell”

By then it was well into the afternoon and we went to a local restaurant for a good Greek lunch.  I had a Greek beer to go with it and that tasted really good.  A b it of time was allowed for shopping before our return to the ship.  I just browsed and compared prices.  Things are a lot more expensive here than in the other countries we visited lately.  Now that we are in Europe and the Euro is the currency, we notice a big difference.  Also there is no haggling and bargaining.

We returned to the ship shortly before 4 p.m., just in time for the safety drill.  Every time we reach a new segment of the trip and take on new passengers, we have this.  The captain gives 7 blasts of the ships horn and all passengers must go on deck at their allotted spot near their lifeboat.  Attendance is taken and then a demonstration is given on how to put on a life vest and instructions given on what to do in case of emergency.  In the past, passengers had to come to the safety drill carrying or wearing their life vests.  This is no longer the case.  I believe there have been accidents due to people tripping over the cords of the life vests, so these now remain in our cabins during the drill.  One long blast of the ship’s horn is the signal that the drill is over. 

The tour today was the fourth consecutive long tour I’ve had, and I was sick for a couple of days in between, so I’m beginning to feel tired.   Because of that, I only went for the first session of dancing and   when that finished at 8 p.m., I came to my cabin, went to bed and slept for ten hours.  Ah that felt good ! ! !