Another stellar day on the ship. We are going pretty slowly so as to time our arrival in Iceland tomorrow morning correctly. The Captain has told us we will be heading into the dregs of Hurricane Irene. Lots and lots of wind and rain. So it looks like we will be doing Iceland from under either a hat or umbrella. I think I shall dig out my jeans tomorrow!
Lots of lectures today. Iceland, earth in our galaxy, Greenland and then Hemingway. Our lecturers are all semi famous and well educated. I have learned lots. But…
Whilst we were attending the Hemingway lecture, a couple sat down right behind us, which was fine. Until the lecture started. One of them does not speak a whole lot of English, so she was interpreting, which is great but she was doing it in a lOUD voice, so loud Bill was having trouble hearing the speaker.
So I tried the evil glare first. I would whip my head around, eye contact, baleful stare and turn back around. To no avail. So, I then tried whipping my head around, eye contact, and very dark unhappy frown. Still to no avail. Finally, I whipped my head around, eye contact and put my finger to my lips and did a loud SHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!. They just stare at me like a pair of stunned deer, but they were quiet for a few minutes, then started again. This time I turned around and point blank asked them to be quiet. In broken english she explained that she was interpreting. At which point Bill and I got up and moved way over out of earshot. I just overheard her telling her friend that they just bought tickets for the same tour we are going to be going on. They had better not be on our bus.
On another note, Bill is getting sick. It always starts with his hands getting and staying cold, as they have been for the last couple of days. I noticed yesterday that he wasn’t really eating and today his ass has been draaaaaaaaagggggging. He even took the elevator up one level…ONE!!! I will have to tuck him in early tonite as we have a really long busy day tomorrow, in the dregs of Irene! I can’t wait!!!!TTYL ps…please pardon missing little words and mistakes, my right eye has become so bad it is getting harder and harder to read properly. I hope they can fix it when I get home. Everybody take ten seconds right now to just stop and appreciate their vision! I took mine for granted and now look (or not in my case LOL!!!)……..I just had to go back and put the word eye between right and has! This double vision, and now blank spots is throwing me off!!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
day 19 Torshaven, The Faeroes
Next to Israel, the Faeroe Islands has to be the most unbelievable place I have been on this whole planet. Wild, remote, uninhabited, cold, windy, scotch misty, stark and truly beautiful. Our guide was a rock musician, guitar player, and guided when the odd ship came in. Its very rare for them to have cruises come into their tiny place, especially one carrying 2500 eager passengers!
We went with a bus load of people out to the outer outer reaches of one of the islands. Talk about remote and lonely. There are 45,000 people and 78,000 sheep on these 18 islands that make up the Faeroes. Man I wish I could post pics. I will as soon as I get home.
After the bus part, we got off in the capital village (or willage as they say) and walked around, in and out of little shops. Their speciality here is wool. They knit everything from sweaters to covers for the park benches. Its amazing. We stopped in at a wee cafe for a panini and sheep beer. Mmmmmmm……………
As we sailed away towards Iceland, our intrepid captain (from Canada have I mentioned?) sailed through a tiny narrow passage that a large sailing ship has never gone through before. Imagine and I will try to paint a picture: six miles in length, one third of a mile across, barren cliffs on either side covered in mossy green grasses and lava rock, long haired wooly sheep clinging to the cliff sides, wee little sheep crofts also clinging to the cliffs, sheer drops into the ocean and the cliffs looked like they were close enough to touch, soaring way above our heads. No words.
I was so exhausted upon returning I almost couldn’t eat my dinner. We went up to our stateroom, left our drapes wide open to watch for northern lights and fell soundly asleep. A UFO could have drenched our room in brilliant light and abducted us and I would not have awakened! TTYL
We went with a bus load of people out to the outer outer reaches of one of the islands. Talk about remote and lonely. There are 45,000 people and 78,000 sheep on these 18 islands that make up the Faeroes. Man I wish I could post pics. I will as soon as I get home.
After the bus part, we got off in the capital village (or willage as they say) and walked around, in and out of little shops. Their speciality here is wool. They knit everything from sweaters to covers for the park benches. Its amazing. We stopped in at a wee cafe for a panini and sheep beer. Mmmmmmm……………
As we sailed away towards Iceland, our intrepid captain (from Canada have I mentioned?) sailed through a tiny narrow passage that a large sailing ship has never gone through before. Imagine and I will try to paint a picture: six miles in length, one third of a mile across, barren cliffs on either side covered in mossy green grasses and lava rock, long haired wooly sheep clinging to the cliff sides, wee little sheep crofts also clinging to the cliffs, sheer drops into the ocean and the cliffs looked like they were close enough to touch, soaring way above our heads. No words.
I was so exhausted upon returning I almost couldn’t eat my dinner. We went up to our stateroom, left our drapes wide open to watch for northern lights and fell soundly asleep. A UFO could have drenched our room in brilliant light and abducted us and I would not have awakened! TTYL
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
satellite connections
they tell us we are so far north we may lose satellite connection. I am going to blog anyway and post when I can. It is three thirty in the night and I am sitting on the turlet to get reception as it is!! And its arocking! Going back to bed. TTYL
Monday, August 29, 2011
day 18 robe disrobe
Another lovely day at sea…almost. I had a truly panicky experience today. We skipped down for a liquid (coffee) breakfast…a fast one. We didn’t get up until 9 and we were attending a lecture on the solar system (why?) at ten. So we whipped down to the Lido, gorfed down a couple coffees and on down to mainstage. I found the lecture quite fascinating, but Bill kept falling asleep. That alone is bad enough but we were in the front row, the only ones up there, and the speaker could clearly see us. At one point I took a quick glance around and behind, and 90% of all those old people were asleep. How the hell would that feel if you were the lecturer? So I became very animated in my responses, engaged in much eye contact with him, laughed loudly at his jokes, hollered out answers to his general audience questions…..he must have thought I was a spastic.
After the lecture we shot up to the Lido and had a delicious light lunch (we are eating in the specialty restaurant tonite and want to be hungry) and back to our room. I want to have a shower and put something a little nicer on for this afternoon’s lecture, this time on Iceland, and dinner tonite. In our room, hanging on the wall are two lovely fluffy white bathrobes. So, after Bill left to go up to the library for a while, I decided to shower, use the bathrobe, put some make up on, pick out some jewelry etc…. I told him to stay away for a while and come back just before the lecture. So I did just that. A long lovely shower, lots and lots of hot water and their special bath foam stuff, I even used the special loopha thingy these spa staterooms come equipped with. I cursorily dried off and grabbed the bathrobe.
Laying out on the bed it looked huge. I grabbed it up, pushed my left arm all the way in and immediately noticed that the arm only reached my elbow, and it was tight. Oh well, whatever. So I pulled it around and pushed my right arm in, to the elbow and ..you know I should have quit at this point….but I didn’t. I swung both arms harshly forward, yanking that thing right on. Oh My God..I couldn’t move my arms further forward, or down and my shoulders were pulled up to my ears and my arms just ended up kind of hanging straight out in front of me and I couldn’t move them. Crap. The thing was definitely too small. Well, I couldn’t get the f…… thing off. It was stuck to me like shit on a blanket. I swung this way, I swung that way…and no matter how I gyrated, my arms would NOT come together or go back and my head was starting to swell into my neck and my lower arms and hands were tingling and turning cold. I simply could not get that bathrobe to budge. I tried absolutely every angle possible. At this point claustrophobia set in. I started to hyperventilate, and freak out a little. I ran around the room smacking into things, twisting and turning and then, oh god, I caught sight of my reflection in the giant mirror these cruise lines insist on lining the walls with. Big fat naked me, arms stuck out of the sides of my head, turning purple at the ends of them, bathrobe flapping about….What the hell!! It was an hour before Bill was due back, my arms would be clinically dead by then and I would be certifiably insane.
Well, I made myself stop and think. Focus in on the problem. I had a most brilliant idea!! I went over to the bathroom door, leaned myself awkwardly forward and opened it. I turned around and backed into it and got down on my knees, hooking the doorknob into the back of the neck of the robe, the robe bunched up onto the knob first (a really big knob that had room to hold most of it). Once it was securely held fast, I just slithered down onto the floor, the door knob effectively pulling the whole robe up and over my head and off my swollen arms. This sounds easy but it wasn’t. It took several tries and a lot of concentration all the while I am trying to block out of my mind what this all must look like. When I finally wrestled that thing off, I just took a moment on the floor to relax and recover. That stupid robe is back on the hanger and staying there.
Okay, I can hear some of you laughing….at me. But I tell you, it was NOT funny at the time. But, now we have been to dinner and now we are back in the room. This is what we ate:
a) delicate shrimp chips with beautifully served sauces(3) spicy and hot
b) three kinds of spring rolls and dip/large prawn tempura…absolutely divine!
c) delicious broth with lobster wonton, green onion and bamboo shoots
d) schezwan prawns (giant huge) deep fried in a light batter, hot pepper sauce, green pea pods etc.., jasmine rice and vegetables with mushrooms
e) tempura icecream balls, in a basket of thin thin nut brittle, a small dish of spicy hot peach salsa, and fruity cream sauce. Unbelievable.
Served in the classiest pan-asian dining room all covered in silk panels and such….15 bucks each!!! Paleo much??? I took pics and will post when I can. Now to bed and Torshaven, the Faroe Islands tomorrow…I can’t wait!! TTYL
After the lecture we shot up to the Lido and had a delicious light lunch (we are eating in the specialty restaurant tonite and want to be hungry) and back to our room. I want to have a shower and put something a little nicer on for this afternoon’s lecture, this time on Iceland, and dinner tonite. In our room, hanging on the wall are two lovely fluffy white bathrobes. So, after Bill left to go up to the library for a while, I decided to shower, use the bathrobe, put some make up on, pick out some jewelry etc…. I told him to stay away for a while and come back just before the lecture. So I did just that. A long lovely shower, lots and lots of hot water and their special bath foam stuff, I even used the special loopha thingy these spa staterooms come equipped with. I cursorily dried off and grabbed the bathrobe.
Laying out on the bed it looked huge. I grabbed it up, pushed my left arm all the way in and immediately noticed that the arm only reached my elbow, and it was tight. Oh well, whatever. So I pulled it around and pushed my right arm in, to the elbow and ..you know I should have quit at this point….but I didn’t. I swung both arms harshly forward, yanking that thing right on. Oh My God..I couldn’t move my arms further forward, or down and my shoulders were pulled up to my ears and my arms just ended up kind of hanging straight out in front of me and I couldn’t move them. Crap. The thing was definitely too small. Well, I couldn’t get the f…… thing off. It was stuck to me like shit on a blanket. I swung this way, I swung that way…and no matter how I gyrated, my arms would NOT come together or go back and my head was starting to swell into my neck and my lower arms and hands were tingling and turning cold. I simply could not get that bathrobe to budge. I tried absolutely every angle possible. At this point claustrophobia set in. I started to hyperventilate, and freak out a little. I ran around the room smacking into things, twisting and turning and then, oh god, I caught sight of my reflection in the giant mirror these cruise lines insist on lining the walls with. Big fat naked me, arms stuck out of the sides of my head, turning purple at the ends of them, bathrobe flapping about….What the hell!! It was an hour before Bill was due back, my arms would be clinically dead by then and I would be certifiably insane.
Well, I made myself stop and think. Focus in on the problem. I had a most brilliant idea!! I went over to the bathroom door, leaned myself awkwardly forward and opened it. I turned around and backed into it and got down on my knees, hooking the doorknob into the back of the neck of the robe, the robe bunched up onto the knob first (a really big knob that had room to hold most of it). Once it was securely held fast, I just slithered down onto the floor, the door knob effectively pulling the whole robe up and over my head and off my swollen arms. This sounds easy but it wasn’t. It took several tries and a lot of concentration all the while I am trying to block out of my mind what this all must look like. When I finally wrestled that thing off, I just took a moment on the floor to relax and recover. That stupid robe is back on the hanger and staying there.
Okay, I can hear some of you laughing….at me. But I tell you, it was NOT funny at the time. But, now we have been to dinner and now we are back in the room. This is what we ate:
a) delicate shrimp chips with beautifully served sauces(3) spicy and hot
b) three kinds of spring rolls and dip/large prawn tempura…absolutely divine!
c) delicious broth with lobster wonton, green onion and bamboo shoots
d) schezwan prawns (giant huge) deep fried in a light batter, hot pepper sauce, green pea pods etc.., jasmine rice and vegetables with mushrooms
e) tempura icecream balls, in a basket of thin thin nut brittle, a small dish of spicy hot peach salsa, and fruity cream sauce. Unbelievable.
Served in the classiest pan-asian dining room all covered in silk panels and such….15 bucks each!!! Paleo much??? I took pics and will post when I can. Now to bed and Torshaven, the Faroe Islands tomorrow…I can’t wait!! TTYL
Sunday, August 28, 2011
day 17...Dublin
How incredible it feels to finally step on Irish ground. I have heard so much since I was a child about the sacred Ireland and now I am here. Bill and I are definitely coming back.
It is lunch right now and we are back on the ship. We had a city tour this morning and a tour of the Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. Google it. LOL!!! Pretty amazing.
Dublin is quite small and walkable. There seems to be a picturesque pub with quaint names on every corner. In fact I will hazard a guess that there are more pubs here in Dublin than Starbucks on Robson street! Man I wish I could share some pics!!! Which reminds me, my camera is acting up. Gotta redo the settings methinks! This afternoon we are going out of town, north side and seeing a castle as well. So,,,I shall report back later.
Back and happy. This afternoon was awesome. The Irish ladies that guide here are so frigging funny! The one this afternoon had us in stitches the whole trip. We went to see a castle and the seaside and then to a pub for an Irish coffee. So much fun and Dublin is truly beautiful. When we arrived back to the ship there was an immense line up to get back on. We have to get on one at a time, swipe our cards and put our bags through security checks. I counted out six buses arrived at the same time, forty people per bus, plus all the shuttle bus people and as sunny as it was, the wind was just howling off the Irish Sea. It was FREEZING!!!
Just as Bill and I joined the line, we heard sirens, getting closer and closer and up screams a fire truck, first response van and….oh god nooooooooooooooo………….an ambulance. Every bloody cruise I have ever been on someone kicks it and it holds things up unbelievably. So, we all back off the ramp, get herded WAYYYYYYYYYYY over there and have to stand and wait and wait and wait and wait. The guy was dead…what could take so damn long!!!! They had to transfer him to their own gurney from the ship gurney and tie him down etc…..The poor little wife was beside herself, freaking out and crying in some weird language I didn’t understand. It was almost an hour before we were allowed up the ramp and by then I thought we were going to have to call ambulances for a number of the oldsters standing around waiting. Cruising can be hard work and I tell you, a lot of the cruisers here just don’t qualify. They can barely get off a bus let alone handle freezing wind and standing around for an hour.
Now we have eaten, another bbq out back, and I am blogging whilst Bill fixes his pictures, sitting in the Lido, relaxing. My hairdresser just came over and told me that he had seen me the other day before the treatments and now he thinks I look so much better!! Ahhhh…what can I say? I totally agree with him of course. Two old people just sat with us for a while and we shared a big bowl of cherries with them. They were delightful. Being from Pennsylvania, I asked them how Intercourse got its name….and he explained!!! Later, around ten oclock we are going down to a mainstage show featuring an Irish comedian. The internet is out until we leave port at 11 oclock tonite so I shall post this then. At sea tomorrow…I shall go out and look for trouble to report!!! TTYL
It is lunch right now and we are back on the ship. We had a city tour this morning and a tour of the Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. Google it. LOL!!! Pretty amazing.
Dublin is quite small and walkable. There seems to be a picturesque pub with quaint names on every corner. In fact I will hazard a guess that there are more pubs here in Dublin than Starbucks on Robson street! Man I wish I could share some pics!!! Which reminds me, my camera is acting up. Gotta redo the settings methinks! This afternoon we are going out of town, north side and seeing a castle as well. So,,,I shall report back later.
Back and happy. This afternoon was awesome. The Irish ladies that guide here are so frigging funny! The one this afternoon had us in stitches the whole trip. We went to see a castle and the seaside and then to a pub for an Irish coffee. So much fun and Dublin is truly beautiful. When we arrived back to the ship there was an immense line up to get back on. We have to get on one at a time, swipe our cards and put our bags through security checks. I counted out six buses arrived at the same time, forty people per bus, plus all the shuttle bus people and as sunny as it was, the wind was just howling off the Irish Sea. It was FREEZING!!!
Just as Bill and I joined the line, we heard sirens, getting closer and closer and up screams a fire truck, first response van and….oh god nooooooooooooooo………….an ambulance. Every bloody cruise I have ever been on someone kicks it and it holds things up unbelievably. So, we all back off the ramp, get herded WAYYYYYYYYYYY over there and have to stand and wait and wait and wait and wait. The guy was dead…what could take so damn long!!!! They had to transfer him to their own gurney from the ship gurney and tie him down etc…..The poor little wife was beside herself, freaking out and crying in some weird language I didn’t understand. It was almost an hour before we were allowed up the ramp and by then I thought we were going to have to call ambulances for a number of the oldsters standing around waiting. Cruising can be hard work and I tell you, a lot of the cruisers here just don’t qualify. They can barely get off a bus let alone handle freezing wind and standing around for an hour.
Now we have eaten, another bbq out back, and I am blogging whilst Bill fixes his pictures, sitting in the Lido, relaxing. My hairdresser just came over and told me that he had seen me the other day before the treatments and now he thinks I look so much better!! Ahhhh…what can I say? I totally agree with him of course. Two old people just sat with us for a while and we shared a big bowl of cherries with them. They were delightful. Being from Pennsylvania, I asked them how Intercourse got its name….and he explained!!! Later, around ten oclock we are going down to a mainstage show featuring an Irish comedian. The internet is out until we leave port at 11 oclock tonite so I shall post this then. At sea tomorrow…I shall go out and look for trouble to report!!! TTYL
Saturday, August 27, 2011
day 16 Sweat and Feathers
Another awesome day at sea. I have now read four books, had my hair done, gained weight, met new people and seen some crazy amazing performances. Today I went to the hairdresser and asked if they could wash my hair. Little did I know I was about to be smooth talked into an expensive probably necessary hair treatment.
Just before leaving home I went into my little Vietnamese lady to get my hair permed. It was due. After she puts the solution on, she usually takes a quick hair cut because I have to sit for half an hour. Usually its a man needing a trim. This time when I saw her client, I got nervous. Eileen is a precise perfectionist when cutting hair. Doing a man’s trim is one thing…this client? No way was she going to be able to get it done in less than an hour, never mind a half hour. The girl had hair down to her ass and had never cut it before. This was her first..and yes, she was crying before Eileen even got the first snip in. When we hit the half hour mark, when I am supposed to get the neutralizer put on and stop the perm action, Eileen was knee deep in hair and tears. At the 45 minute mark I signalled her and she said one more minute, its okay, just one more minute. At the one hour mark, I got mad. So, the day after I got on the ship I felt a crusty scab on my scalp under my bangs, my hair pick had nicked it. Blood everywhere. My hair is falling out in clumps (just at the front) and is so burnt I can’t do anything with it.
So, Mark, (and that’s a whole other story) the hairdresser today freaked when he saw my hair. Long story short, I got treatments, combined treatments, pre treatments, apres treatments, during treatments, and four bottles of process treatments to use myself. He treated and treated and washed and clucked and unloaded 200 bucks from me. But I must say, my hair is awesome!!
Tonite I dragged Bill to the eight pm stage show. Svetlana and Romeo, third world champions (that didn’t come out right but you know what I mean) ballroom dancers. Holy Hannah! We went down early to get a front row seat. My wonky eye is so bad that if I am too far back everything is totally double. Well, they danced, and cartwheeled, and gyrated and threw each other over each others shoulders until they were panting and covered in sweat. At the end she came out in an incredible out fit complete with a feather fringed long coat. And as they executed the most energetic pasodoble (sp?) I have ever seen, we got sprayed with sweat then covered in boa feathers. At one point I thought we were going to have to catch them!! Crazy!! Well off to bed early. We have a long long day tomorrow in Dublin. Can’t wait!! TTYL
Just before leaving home I went into my little Vietnamese lady to get my hair permed. It was due. After she puts the solution on, she usually takes a quick hair cut because I have to sit for half an hour. Usually its a man needing a trim. This time when I saw her client, I got nervous. Eileen is a precise perfectionist when cutting hair. Doing a man’s trim is one thing…this client? No way was she going to be able to get it done in less than an hour, never mind a half hour. The girl had hair down to her ass and had never cut it before. This was her first..and yes, she was crying before Eileen even got the first snip in. When we hit the half hour mark, when I am supposed to get the neutralizer put on and stop the perm action, Eileen was knee deep in hair and tears. At the 45 minute mark I signalled her and she said one more minute, its okay, just one more minute. At the one hour mark, I got mad. So, the day after I got on the ship I felt a crusty scab on my scalp under my bangs, my hair pick had nicked it. Blood everywhere. My hair is falling out in clumps (just at the front) and is so burnt I can’t do anything with it.
So, Mark, (and that’s a whole other story) the hairdresser today freaked when he saw my hair. Long story short, I got treatments, combined treatments, pre treatments, apres treatments, during treatments, and four bottles of process treatments to use myself. He treated and treated and washed and clucked and unloaded 200 bucks from me. But I must say, my hair is awesome!!
Tonite I dragged Bill to the eight pm stage show. Svetlana and Romeo, third world champions (that didn’t come out right but you know what I mean) ballroom dancers. Holy Hannah! We went down early to get a front row seat. My wonky eye is so bad that if I am too far back everything is totally double. Well, they danced, and cartwheeled, and gyrated and threw each other over each others shoulders until they were panting and covered in sweat. At the end she came out in an incredible out fit complete with a feather fringed long coat. And as they executed the most energetic pasodoble (sp?) I have ever seen, we got sprayed with sweat then covered in boa feathers. At one point I thought we were going to have to catch them!! Crazy!! Well off to bed early. We have a long long day tomorrow in Dublin. Can’t wait!! TTYL
Friday, August 26, 2011
day 15 HST and surprise
Oh geez, just checked in and have noticed that the silly people of BC, not looking past their collective noses, has done a silly thing. We are going to pay and pay now. I really have to say something about this.
When one travels to all the different countries of the world, it becomes more and more evident that we are truly blessed in our country, both federally and provincially. Our taxes are by far the lowest we have come across (except for the states….but look at the crap they are in) We have a medical system, we feed our poor, we try to house them, our living conditions are the best in the world and our gas is the cheapest we have seen anywhere . Our teachers are well paid, our nurses make more than nurses in almost any other country, our police system is one of the best, our education is good, our legal system works and we are free…to vote, to move, to change professions, to read what we want, to eat what we want and to think what we want. These little storms in teacups, Olympic pros and cons, convention centres (which will be paid for and making money in less than five years by the way) Campbell lies, HST are of very little consequence in the whole picture. The more I travel the less I see the trees and the more I see the forest. Our forest in our little neck of the woods is truly green and fertile and will continue to be that way, no matter what. We must never lose sight of that. On another note….
Today I made the choice to NOT go anywhere. I told Bill he could go to Brussels, Brugges anywhere. But I needed a day on the ship to read, relax and vacation. So he took himself off the ship, onto a shuttle bus and into the little city at this port in Belgium. Ahhhhhhh…I thought. Time alone…this never ever happens. He is always right by my side, no matter where I am going. So I took myself off to a quiet corner of the Lido, set up my laptop and my ipad book, got a coffee and set about having an unusual amount of time to MYSELF!
About one hour later, my peripheral vision picked up a largish person wearing tan pants and navy blue top….exactly what Bill wears everyday. Well, my heart did a little skip, a little frisson of joy skipped through me, a smile spread quickly across my face and I looked around at him….and it wasn’t Bill. I immediately felt deflated and a little lost. WTH??? I was so happy without him. I was so glad to get time alone…so why was I feeling like this? What the heck is going on? The feeling didn’t leave, so after a little while of not enjoying myself anymore, I packed up and went back to the room and actively waited for him to come back. Another hour later, I heard the key in the door, and in walked tan pants and navy blue top and my Billy and I was so happy to see him. Lesson learned. TTYL
When one travels to all the different countries of the world, it becomes more and more evident that we are truly blessed in our country, both federally and provincially. Our taxes are by far the lowest we have come across (except for the states….but look at the crap they are in) We have a medical system, we feed our poor, we try to house them, our living conditions are the best in the world and our gas is the cheapest we have seen anywhere . Our teachers are well paid, our nurses make more than nurses in almost any other country, our police system is one of the best, our education is good, our legal system works and we are free…to vote, to move, to change professions, to read what we want, to eat what we want and to think what we want. These little storms in teacups, Olympic pros and cons, convention centres (which will be paid for and making money in less than five years by the way) Campbell lies, HST are of very little consequence in the whole picture. The more I travel the less I see the trees and the more I see the forest. Our forest in our little neck of the woods is truly green and fertile and will continue to be that way, no matter what. We must never lose sight of that. On another note….
Today I made the choice to NOT go anywhere. I told Bill he could go to Brussels, Brugges anywhere. But I needed a day on the ship to read, relax and vacation. So he took himself off the ship, onto a shuttle bus and into the little city at this port in Belgium. Ahhhhhhh…I thought. Time alone…this never ever happens. He is always right by my side, no matter where I am going. So I took myself off to a quiet corner of the Lido, set up my laptop and my ipad book, got a coffee and set about having an unusual amount of time to MYSELF!
About one hour later, my peripheral vision picked up a largish person wearing tan pants and navy blue top….exactly what Bill wears everyday. Well, my heart did a little skip, a little frisson of joy skipped through me, a smile spread quickly across my face and I looked around at him….and it wasn’t Bill. I immediately felt deflated and a little lost. WTH??? I was so happy without him. I was so glad to get time alone…so why was I feeling like this? What the heck is going on? The feeling didn’t leave, so after a little while of not enjoying myself anymore, I packed up and went back to the room and actively waited for him to come back. Another hour later, I heard the key in the door, and in walked tan pants and navy blue top and my Billy and I was so happy to see him. Lesson learned. TTYL
day 14...Edam and annoying bus passengers
Yesterday was a truly picturesque day. We bumped our way through a major lock, floated down a long narrow channel, right through the heart of Amsterdam to our dock. We boarded a bus and headed out of town about an hour, north of Amsterdam. The guide was great, in that we learned a huge amount from her, but…..she spoke in a harsh monotone and if you removed the words, north, east, west and south from her speech, two thirds of what she was saying would have been gone. And, the bus driver, a good looking skookem sized girl with short spikey blond hair, and our guide, a good looking skookem sized girl with short spikey blond hair were totally enamoured with each other. Blessedly there would be moments of silence, and, not so blessedly, scary close calls on the road, while they gazed at each other and giggled.
It was almost surreal how perfect and beautiful Edam was. We walked from one side, through cobblestoned streets, along weeping willowed water canals, to the other side (much to the chagrin of the more crippled and fat). I so wish I could share pics with you. We then went on another half hour to a village I can’t spell. It was like entering a badly planned tiny Disneyland. Windmills, wooden clogs, delft china, cheese, tulip bulbs….ca..ching ca..ching. Bill and I cut loose of the hoards, found a little cafe deck on a canal and enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee and baguette and cheese. Lovely.
Now for the not so pc part of the day. Always the front set of seats are saved for the crippled and infirm or the “too fat” to get down the aisle. I agree with this totally. What I don’t agree with is them getting off first, or at all in some cases. Let me explain.
We paid about 89 dollars each for yesterday’s excursion. Happy to do it. The ship was late docking so that cut about 45 minutes off our time on shore. We had to be back to the ship by 1:15, and those tour guides make sure we are, and we were. Our excursion was to be four hours. Well………one of our less able guests, a man about my age, a “stick person” had something wrong with his hips or leg or something and judging by his size, it wasn’t going to get any better any time soon. I would have felt a lot more sympathy for him if his attitude hadn’t been so poor me, me first and you all can just bloody well wait, can’t you see I am in pain? As soon as the bus doors opened he would heave himself over to the aisle and start the loooooooooooooooooong laborious movements of leaving the bus. It would take him more than five minutes of grunts and groans and nasty remarks until he would finally hit ground. Then he would engage our guide, the one we all paid dearly to have, in an impossibly long unnecessary conversation about how much walking would there be and can he sit along the way and repeat over and over how he cannot walk fast or long distances. blah blah blah whine. Off we would go and we continually had to stop and wait for him whilst he sat for a while or hobbled and stopped and hobbled and stopped and hobbled and stopped. Well long story short, he absolutely without question cost us about 45 minutes at the least. This is not the first time this has happened to us. In Mumbai we had a couple of very very obese men on one of our tours. Half way through the streets to a market that was listed on our excursion, they stopped, could not go further and insisted we turn around. We did and did not get to see the market. We were pissed to say the least.
But..in spite of all that we had a most lovely day. Edam was spectacular. TTYL
It was almost surreal how perfect and beautiful Edam was. We walked from one side, through cobblestoned streets, along weeping willowed water canals, to the other side (much to the chagrin of the more crippled and fat). I so wish I could share pics with you. We then went on another half hour to a village I can’t spell. It was like entering a badly planned tiny Disneyland. Windmills, wooden clogs, delft china, cheese, tulip bulbs….ca..ching ca..ching. Bill and I cut loose of the hoards, found a little cafe deck on a canal and enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee and baguette and cheese. Lovely.
Now for the not so pc part of the day. Always the front set of seats are saved for the crippled and infirm or the “too fat” to get down the aisle. I agree with this totally. What I don’t agree with is them getting off first, or at all in some cases. Let me explain.
We paid about 89 dollars each for yesterday’s excursion. Happy to do it. The ship was late docking so that cut about 45 minutes off our time on shore. We had to be back to the ship by 1:15, and those tour guides make sure we are, and we were. Our excursion was to be four hours. Well………one of our less able guests, a man about my age, a “stick person” had something wrong with his hips or leg or something and judging by his size, it wasn’t going to get any better any time soon. I would have felt a lot more sympathy for him if his attitude hadn’t been so poor me, me first and you all can just bloody well wait, can’t you see I am in pain? As soon as the bus doors opened he would heave himself over to the aisle and start the loooooooooooooooooong laborious movements of leaving the bus. It would take him more than five minutes of grunts and groans and nasty remarks until he would finally hit ground. Then he would engage our guide, the one we all paid dearly to have, in an impossibly long unnecessary conversation about how much walking would there be and can he sit along the way and repeat over and over how he cannot walk fast or long distances. blah blah blah whine. Off we would go and we continually had to stop and wait for him whilst he sat for a while or hobbled and stopped and hobbled and stopped and hobbled and stopped. Well long story short, he absolutely without question cost us about 45 minutes at the least. This is not the first time this has happened to us. In Mumbai we had a couple of very very obese men on one of our tours. Half way through the streets to a market that was listed on our excursion, they stopped, could not go further and insisted we turn around. We did and did not get to see the market. We were pissed to say the least.
But..in spite of all that we had a most lovely day. Edam was spectacular. TTYL
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
day 13 fruitcake picnic
Had a fantastic day today. We went on an excursion to Leeds castle, about forty miles from Dover. Again, we had a really talky informative highly educated guide. She told us all the royal dirt involved with this castle. It goes back to 1056, built by William the Conqueror. Enough of the history though. Let me tell you about what we did whilst we were there.
From where the bus parked to where the castle actually was, was about a1.5 mile walk through the most beautiful park like grounds you ever saw. It was dampish out and had rained a little and so it smelled just heavenly. The big old fat people were NOT happy about the walk. “WE WERE NOT TOLD ABOUT THIS WALKING. THIS JUST ISN’T RIGHT. WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD. I SHALL HAVE A WORD WITH FRONT DESK WHENST WE GET BACK. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!” shouted one British complainant. So the poor guide said that she would arrange for transport for the “stick people”. Hahaha..she was talking about anyone with a cane. Meanwhile, Bill and I just took off through the lovely grounds, wandering along pathways past beautiful ponds with black swans, white swans, geese and so on. Huge beautiful weeping willows reflected back to us from water. It really was magnificent.
The castle was pretty amazing. I will post pics when I get back. We toured through it for an hour with a LOT of people. At the end, over the cobblestones and through the bridge over the moat, the livery had been converted to a shoppe. We went in and bought some lovely things. But…….Bill bought 3 different types of fruit cakes. Jeeeezzzz!!!! So then it was time to wander back through the beautiful park. Along the way we found a fairly private bench to sit upon, right beside a little stream full of wildlife of one sort or another. And before you knew it, he had the cakes out, open and was munching on them. Not having had any breakfast, we were hungry and I am ashamed to report….we at half of each one. (they weren’t really big … but still) So that was the highlight of our day….a fruitcake picnic under a weeping willow beside a meandering stream in the grounds of a beautiful English Castle! Tomorrow….Edam TTYL
From where the bus parked to where the castle actually was, was about a1.5 mile walk through the most beautiful park like grounds you ever saw. It was dampish out and had rained a little and so it smelled just heavenly. The big old fat people were NOT happy about the walk. “WE WERE NOT TOLD ABOUT THIS WALKING. THIS JUST ISN’T RIGHT. WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD. I SHALL HAVE A WORD WITH FRONT DESK WHENST WE GET BACK. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!” shouted one British complainant. So the poor guide said that she would arrange for transport for the “stick people”. Hahaha..she was talking about anyone with a cane. Meanwhile, Bill and I just took off through the lovely grounds, wandering along pathways past beautiful ponds with black swans, white swans, geese and so on. Huge beautiful weeping willows reflected back to us from water. It really was magnificent.
The castle was pretty amazing. I will post pics when I get back. We toured through it for an hour with a LOT of people. At the end, over the cobblestones and through the bridge over the moat, the livery had been converted to a shoppe. We went in and bought some lovely things. But…….Bill bought 3 different types of fruit cakes. Jeeeezzzz!!!! So then it was time to wander back through the beautiful park. Along the way we found a fairly private bench to sit upon, right beside a little stream full of wildlife of one sort or another. And before you knew it, he had the cakes out, open and was munching on them. Not having had any breakfast, we were hungry and I am ashamed to report….we at half of each one. (they weren’t really big … but still) So that was the highlight of our day….a fruitcake picnic under a weeping willow beside a meandering stream in the grounds of a beautiful English Castle! Tomorrow….Edam TTYL
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
day 12...at sea...fat dis...placement
Well howdy folks! Another day at sea. I am sitting in the Lido, dinner eaten, bottle of wine consumed, watching the people go by. I have become inexplicably interested in fat placement and why it ends up where it ends up. Let me explain.
I look at all of these aging people surrounding me and it brings to mind a nice fresh bowl of tomatoes, sitting on the counter, untouched, uneaten and forgotten. Over time, they slowly evolve into something quite different. They start to sag, lose their healthy plumpness and glow until they are a withered, flattened soggy shadow of their former selves. But we humans go through an added stage that a bowl of tomatoes do not..and that is fat placement or should I say fat displacement.
Unfortunately, there are just enough young people on board to remind us of what we once used to be. Flat tummies, firm butts, defined cheekbones, strong jaw lines, smooth tight skin…well you get the picture. Now, once we are beyond the youth stage, our flesh, fat and flab starts a slow but inevitable descent. Even the chunkier young ones have fat tummies that stick out in front, firmly leading the way. Once you get past that 55ish age, that firm lump of fat starts to slant downwards and downwards until you can’t see your privates anymore. The same goes with your jawline. Suddenly one day you notice an extra little piece of fat, deposited just either side of your mouth. And, paradoxically, the fat seems to disappear from under your chin to leave a saggy piece of skin hanging there. Where is the fat where you need it?? And what the hell is with that big fat lump on the top of some people’s back (me for example) Where does that come from and why THERE? I have a crease in the back of my neck that hasn’t seen the light of day for the last two years. Women’s breasts…another place that you wouldn’t mind the fat staying put…but does it? No it does not and where does it go I ask? Well from what I can see, it slides down to my lower stomach, which has taken on a life of its own.
Another unfortunate thing I have noticed is how your stomach circumference doubles the minute you sit down. I have learned to never ever look at myself in the mirror sideways, from behind or sitting down. It I only look at myself standing, straight on with my chin lifted up, I am not too bad. But holy hell, the minute I sit down and see my reflection from the side…I just can’t believe that all that is me. How is that possible?
I see on board here I have a lot of company in this area. If we aren’t fat, we are misshapen. And the skinny toned ones spend their entire day running around the deck and eating minuscule amounts of dry bread, fruit and fatless yogurt, all the while longingly staring at the likes of me eating steak and mashed potatoes. I think I would rather be me. TTYL
I look at all of these aging people surrounding me and it brings to mind a nice fresh bowl of tomatoes, sitting on the counter, untouched, uneaten and forgotten. Over time, they slowly evolve into something quite different. They start to sag, lose their healthy plumpness and glow until they are a withered, flattened soggy shadow of their former selves. But we humans go through an added stage that a bowl of tomatoes do not..and that is fat placement or should I say fat displacement.
Unfortunately, there are just enough young people on board to remind us of what we once used to be. Flat tummies, firm butts, defined cheekbones, strong jaw lines, smooth tight skin…well you get the picture. Now, once we are beyond the youth stage, our flesh, fat and flab starts a slow but inevitable descent. Even the chunkier young ones have fat tummies that stick out in front, firmly leading the way. Once you get past that 55ish age, that firm lump of fat starts to slant downwards and downwards until you can’t see your privates anymore. The same goes with your jawline. Suddenly one day you notice an extra little piece of fat, deposited just either side of your mouth. And, paradoxically, the fat seems to disappear from under your chin to leave a saggy piece of skin hanging there. Where is the fat where you need it?? And what the hell is with that big fat lump on the top of some people’s back (me for example) Where does that come from and why THERE? I have a crease in the back of my neck that hasn’t seen the light of day for the last two years. Women’s breasts…another place that you wouldn’t mind the fat staying put…but does it? No it does not and where does it go I ask? Well from what I can see, it slides down to my lower stomach, which has taken on a life of its own.
Another unfortunate thing I have noticed is how your stomach circumference doubles the minute you sit down. I have learned to never ever look at myself in the mirror sideways, from behind or sitting down. It I only look at myself standing, straight on with my chin lifted up, I am not too bad. But holy hell, the minute I sit down and see my reflection from the side…I just can’t believe that all that is me. How is that possible?
I see on board here I have a lot of company in this area. If we aren’t fat, we are misshapen. And the skinny toned ones spend their entire day running around the deck and eating minuscule amounts of dry bread, fruit and fatless yogurt, all the while longingly staring at the likes of me eating steak and mashed potatoes. I think I would rather be me. TTYL
Monday, August 22, 2011
day 11 at sea
9:00 a.m.
I am up in the internet cafe area and its nine in the morning. It is super duper foggy out and being up so high on the ship, the ship’s horn is incredibly loud, every three minutes. The internet is, as usual, slow to not working, mostly not working. Occasionally someone gets on, but most cannot. I know that the fog can possibly play a part, as the techie says, but I have been in way worse fog than this and the internet on other boats have worked. People are seriously pissed!! Oh well. It looks to me that a lot of strangers that originally do not know each other, are bonding over a common enemy. Bill is in the stateroom, sneezing, coughing, harrumphing, farting, other disgusting things, clipping, ointmenting, showering, picking, scratching…..I had to get out of there. We are going to some lecture at ten on Lord Horatio Nelson and what the hell happened to him. Do I care? I think not…but oh well……Back later and I promise not to tell you all about the lecture!
4:30 pm
I just came up to the cafe to check on my emails, to the news that Jack Layton has died. Sad sad news. I liked and respected him. It is shocking how many women we are seeing on the ship here with “chemo hair”. I know that there will be a higher ratio due to the age group, but it is still hard to see. So many many sad and difficult stories here.
6:00 p.m.
Dinner was delicious…steak and lobster. It is formal night so lots of us eat here in the lido instead of the dining room. We don’t have to dress up. But the food is formal food.
The average age on this ship is probably about 75..and not a healthy 75. I have been watching all the old people and they drive me crazy. I think I have complained about this before but I am going to complain again. The old men walk like robots. They shuffle along with their arms bent at the elbows, glued to their sides and don’t move their heads from side to side. If they need to turn around they plant their heels on one spot and wiggle their toes around, pivoting on the heel really really slowly, all the while keeping their heads pointed in the direction of their toes. When they reach the direction they want, they shuffle off again. If someone talks to them, they stop, look up startled and make two or three quick huffing noises of surprise and then go “HEY??” really loud. What the hell!!?? I don’t understand how they ALL end up walking this way. Women on the other had waddle sideways, back and forth. Whats with that? Its amazing. They don’t even have to be fat…they just waddle. I have been watching and I have not seen one man waddle or one woman shuffling. When I get home I am going to google it and see if I can figure out the difference between them and why.
The other thing I noticed about the men, they fall asleep, anywhere, anytime. No matter where you go on the boat you will find a fair number of old men asleep. Not the women, just the men.
I see one now. His wife is off in the line up for dessert and he is still at the table, head slumped down sound asleep. Do men need more sleep? I think not! I think this boils down to self discipline and we know about old men and self discipline! Well, gotta go. Another lecture to go to. This time about the Vikings….yay!!!!!!And right now, over the top of my laptop I see Bill, asleep. I need to go smack him. TTYL….
Sunday, August 21, 2011
day 10 Stockholm
Another stellar day!!! Other than my back feeling like a knife is being stabbed into it. Jeez I wish that would go away. We had to tender in to shore today. It went quickly and easily. Once ashore we boarded buses that took an hour to get into Stockholm…which was very old and beautiful. I wish I could share some pics with you…stupid internet. I am definitely going to complain at the end of the cruise.
On the way home on the bus people were tired and it was pretty funny to watch the various couples getting testy with each other. At the beginning of the cruise everyone is happy happy, but as the days go by, little cracks start to show. The other side of these happy people start to show. One couple that was sitting in front of us got on the bus…looking pretty tense. They sit down in complete silence for a few minutes (we had about 15 min til everyone was due back). Pretty soon though he leans over and says to her, “Why 3? i just don’t understand why you had to buy 3 of them.” She quickly mumbles back something about Christmas. Well…that was obviously a trigger because he explodes “CHRISTMAS!!!!???? SHIT WE ALREADY HAVE A BASEMENT FULL OF CRAP FOR XMAS!!! YOU’RE A HOARDER!! THATS ALL YOU ARE. A HOARDER!!!” At which point she elbows him, hard, and says “What about your garage. What about that Mr. “I need just one more tool!”? Have you looked in there lately? YOU are the hoarder, not me. The kids even say so!” He responds….”The kids??!! What the hell do they have to do with it? Have you been talking to the kids about this? What the hell is wrong with you?” At which point he gets up and storms off the bus to wait outside with the driver.
Meanwhile the couple across the aisle from them started their own, a little quieter, battle about VAT (like gst, only you can get it back here with the right paper work). She, as usual, had it all figured out and ready for turning in. He doesn’t understand, typical, and is all blustery about it. She is leaning over quietly going over and over and over the procedure and he slowly leans further and further into the aisle away from her. Finally, he plugs his ears! She got so mad she smacked his arm and yanked his finger out of his ear. God I was laughing so hard, quietly though because they were dead serious. All of these people have been together for many many years and they all have their own special way of dealing with each other and its fun to watch.
Well now we have two days on the ship and then we will be in Dover. We have booked an excursion to Leeds castle that day. I think in the morning I shall go up to the internet cafe/library/ lounge area and watch the hard core trivia players play. They have a major game every at sea day and honestly you just wouldn’t believe how dead seriously the hard corers take it and how they react when a newby does it wrong, or sits in the wrong chair or …God Forbid…win!! And there will be more angst to watch with people freaking out over the internet. With at sea days, there are just too many people trying to get on and it freezes everything up and then all the peeps go nasty crazy. I will observe and report! TTYL
On the way home on the bus people were tired and it was pretty funny to watch the various couples getting testy with each other. At the beginning of the cruise everyone is happy happy, but as the days go by, little cracks start to show. The other side of these happy people start to show. One couple that was sitting in front of us got on the bus…looking pretty tense. They sit down in complete silence for a few minutes (we had about 15 min til everyone was due back). Pretty soon though he leans over and says to her, “Why 3? i just don’t understand why you had to buy 3 of them.” She quickly mumbles back something about Christmas. Well…that was obviously a trigger because he explodes “CHRISTMAS!!!!???? SHIT WE ALREADY HAVE A BASEMENT FULL OF CRAP FOR XMAS!!! YOU’RE A HOARDER!! THATS ALL YOU ARE. A HOARDER!!!” At which point she elbows him, hard, and says “What about your garage. What about that Mr. “I need just one more tool!”? Have you looked in there lately? YOU are the hoarder, not me. The kids even say so!” He responds….”The kids??!! What the hell do they have to do with it? Have you been talking to the kids about this? What the hell is wrong with you?” At which point he gets up and storms off the bus to wait outside with the driver.
Meanwhile the couple across the aisle from them started their own, a little quieter, battle about VAT (like gst, only you can get it back here with the right paper work). She, as usual, had it all figured out and ready for turning in. He doesn’t understand, typical, and is all blustery about it. She is leaning over quietly going over and over and over the procedure and he slowly leans further and further into the aisle away from her. Finally, he plugs his ears! She got so mad she smacked his arm and yanked his finger out of his ear. God I was laughing so hard, quietly though because they were dead serious. All of these people have been together for many many years and they all have their own special way of dealing with each other and its fun to watch.
Well now we have two days on the ship and then we will be in Dover. We have booked an excursion to Leeds castle that day. I think in the morning I shall go up to the internet cafe/library/ lounge area and watch the hard core trivia players play. They have a major game every at sea day and honestly you just wouldn’t believe how dead seriously the hard corers take it and how they react when a newby does it wrong, or sits in the wrong chair or …God Forbid…win!! And there will be more angst to watch with people freaking out over the internet. With at sea days, there are just too many people trying to get on and it freezes everything up and then all the peeps go nasty crazy. I will observe and report! TTYL
Saturday, August 20, 2011
day 9 Helsinki
It is now one pm and I am up in the internet cafe/library/crow’s nest lounge area. This is the only place I can get the internet, still at a glacial pace mind you. It is generally a nice quiet place to come and read, have a coffee or go on your computer. But…..there is ALWAYS someone playing cards and the shuffling absolutely drives me nuts. I started hating shuffling on the bus trip we did years ago with the kids, in Italy. There was a woman and her kid that played cards the whole way through Italy, no matter what was going on outside. Drove me nuts.
I typed the above 2 hours ago. A lovely Australian woman sat down here with me and we had an awesome convo. I have actually met quite a few good people on this trip. Right now though, yet again, the internet is NOT working and the internet guy is off on a break. There are about ten or twelve women, absolutely up in arms, angry as hell, panicking that they are being charged because they can’t log off properly. I think it would be really easy to start a revolt!!
We went into Helsinki fairly early this morning and had a bus ride about. The place is beautiful. They have amazing parks everywhere. The buildings are not really old as they had the crap bombed out of them during the second world war……and they don’t like Russians here either.
Bill nearly got killed though which scared hell out of all of us that witnessed it. He is DEAF. He won’t admit it and won’t fill his prescriptions for hearing aids. Well, at one point we were crossing over a non car street, over tram tracks to the area where our bus was parked. He was NOT looking, busy counting out his euros change in his hand (he is scared to death of getting too much coinage) and damn near stepped in front of a silent electric moving train tram. It was so close that all of us around almost had heart attacks….and I was yelling frantically from across the street..but he just didn’t hear me. Its funny too because I knew he was a ways behind me and I saw the tram way down the track and I almost stopped to wait for him just to be sure. But then I just didn’t. And he came two inches from being killed. Achhhhhhh……….sometimes he is like being with a two year old!!! But then all us women think that and from what I can tell, we are mostly right.
Whats really funny to watch though is how all these old men are from the era of looking after the little woman. But they honestly don’t know what they are doing half the time. And I gotta tell ya, some of those women have become pretty damned bossy!!! Its so funny to watch. The women just simply always know what is going on and the men don’t but won’t admit it. We all go down to the huge theatre before our excursions, and wait for our tour to be called. We then all file out (there can be 400-500 people at once), get a sticker for our bus number and away we go. The men never ever can figure out the process, even though we have done it over and over. So you see older efficient busy fast walking grey haired women, dragging limping, questioning shuffling tan panted old men…all looking horribly confused and bewildered. God its funny. TTYL
I typed the above 2 hours ago. A lovely Australian woman sat down here with me and we had an awesome convo. I have actually met quite a few good people on this trip. Right now though, yet again, the internet is NOT working and the internet guy is off on a break. There are about ten or twelve women, absolutely up in arms, angry as hell, panicking that they are being charged because they can’t log off properly. I think it would be really easy to start a revolt!!
We went into Helsinki fairly early this morning and had a bus ride about. The place is beautiful. They have amazing parks everywhere. The buildings are not really old as they had the crap bombed out of them during the second world war……and they don’t like Russians here either.
Bill nearly got killed though which scared hell out of all of us that witnessed it. He is DEAF. He won’t admit it and won’t fill his prescriptions for hearing aids. Well, at one point we were crossing over a non car street, over tram tracks to the area where our bus was parked. He was NOT looking, busy counting out his euros change in his hand (he is scared to death of getting too much coinage) and damn near stepped in front of a silent electric moving train tram. It was so close that all of us around almost had heart attacks….and I was yelling frantically from across the street..but he just didn’t hear me. Its funny too because I knew he was a ways behind me and I saw the tram way down the track and I almost stopped to wait for him just to be sure. But then I just didn’t. And he came two inches from being killed. Achhhhhhh……….sometimes he is like being with a two year old!!! But then all us women think that and from what I can tell, we are mostly right.
Whats really funny to watch though is how all these old men are from the era of looking after the little woman. But they honestly don’t know what they are doing half the time. And I gotta tell ya, some of those women have become pretty damned bossy!!! Its so funny to watch. The women just simply always know what is going on and the men don’t but won’t admit it. We all go down to the huge theatre before our excursions, and wait for our tour to be called. We then all file out (there can be 400-500 people at once), get a sticker for our bus number and away we go. The men never ever can figure out the process, even though we have done it over and over. So you see older efficient busy fast walking grey haired women, dragging limping, questioning shuffling tan panted old men…all looking horribly confused and bewildered. God its funny. TTYL
Friday, August 19, 2011
day 8 riding the metro
I am at the moment, sitting in our stateroom with a towel wrapped around me and blow drying my hair. It is ten thirty in the morning. We haven’t ridden the met yet.. I have a miserable frigging kidney infection. It actually started a couple days before we left. I wasn’t sure what it was except all I knew was my right flank back hurts like stinking hell if I move the wrong way. I thought I had pulled a muscle but as time has passed other symptoms are showing up and I have had this before. Thank God for ibuprofen although I don’t think they help my poor kidney! Ah well, enough complaining. At least it isn’t raining…yet. Apparently they only have 60 sunny days here! We are up on the 60th parallel which Bill tells me is about the same as WhiteHorse. So, off to get dressed and go the way of the Russians. Yippeedoodle…can’t bloody wait!!!
I am back, and we had an absolute blast. It was sunny, the busload of peeps we were with were a hoot and did some fun stuff. We made friends with a couple from Nanaimo. He lived in Port Albernie for fifty years! She reminds me of a crazier (if thats possible) version of my Auntie Iris. We went through a dept. store, a veg. market, rode the metro and went to a vodka (all you could drink) tasting party. The bus was decidedly louder and laughier after that!!! To go on the metro we had to ride an escalator 290 feet below the surface. It took 4 minutes to get down to the platform.
We are now sitting up in the Lido, again. We just ate dinner and watched the ship leave the dock, heading for Helsinki, Finland. The sun is shining and everyone is still in a gay and happy mood. We had deliciously cooked duck, sirloin steakette, a mound of perfectly cooked mixed vegetables and an assortment of salads for dinner. Bill is now eating icecream and sugarless tiramisu and I am eating cantaloupe. When cantaloupe is good, it is the most magical fruit there is.
Now we are in our room and it is bright bright sunshine out. This would be great but it is ten at night…so its creepy. The people next door are on their deck and they are smoking and fighting. I don’t know which is worse!! She is mad at him for washing his clothes by hand. She wanted him to give them to the steward to get washed. She thinks that the stateroom cleaners will think they are low class peasants if they see clothes hanging all over the place. He said he wasn’t going to fork out forty dollars to have his shorts and shirts cleaned. Meanwhile they are both drinking gimlets and smoking horrible french galouses (sp)? Ah well, such is life on a cruise ship. Such important crap! TTYL
I am back, and we had an absolute blast. It was sunny, the busload of peeps we were with were a hoot and did some fun stuff. We made friends with a couple from Nanaimo. He lived in Port Albernie for fifty years! She reminds me of a crazier (if thats possible) version of my Auntie Iris. We went through a dept. store, a veg. market, rode the metro and went to a vodka (all you could drink) tasting party. The bus was decidedly louder and laughier after that!!! To go on the metro we had to ride an escalator 290 feet below the surface. It took 4 minutes to get down to the platform.
We are now sitting up in the Lido, again. We just ate dinner and watched the ship leave the dock, heading for Helsinki, Finland. The sun is shining and everyone is still in a gay and happy mood. We had deliciously cooked duck, sirloin steakette, a mound of perfectly cooked mixed vegetables and an assortment of salads for dinner. Bill is now eating icecream and sugarless tiramisu and I am eating cantaloupe. When cantaloupe is good, it is the most magical fruit there is.
Now we are in our room and it is bright bright sunshine out. This would be great but it is ten at night…so its creepy. The people next door are on their deck and they are smoking and fighting. I don’t know which is worse!! She is mad at him for washing his clothes by hand. She wanted him to give them to the steward to get washed. She thinks that the stateroom cleaners will think they are low class peasants if they see clothes hanging all over the place. He said he wasn’t going to fork out forty dollars to have his shorts and shirts cleaned. Meanwhile they are both drinking gimlets and smoking horrible french galouses (sp)? Ah well, such is life on a cruise ship. Such important crap! TTYL
Thursday, August 18, 2011
day 7...St. P
Its twelve midnight, still a little tich light outside, and Bill and I are sitting in the Lido, maybe too tired to go to our stateroom to bed. We spent the day in St. Petersburg and the ship is staying here tonite and we go in to St. P tomorrow as well. Today wore me out. It rained and rained and rained..to the point that i didn’t really get too many pics, I didn’t want to get my camera wet and it being a dslr, I can’t zoom and focus and hold an umbrella. We were driven around for three hours on a bus, stopping here and there to get off and take pictures of things we don’t give a crap about. Then we were dumped off at some huge amazing church and told we would be picked up in 3 hours. Holy Hell!!! We weren’t prepared to pay the ten euros to go in the church, so we wandered the muddy, wet, busy streets….for three hours. We did drop into stores to check out prices…..and they were high. I don’t know how people here do it. Finally our bus came and picked up forty soaking wet cranky people.
Tonite we got on another bus and went to a folklore show. It was totally awesome and fun. The dancers/singers were so good and the costumes were out of this world. And it quit raining. Getting on and off the ship is crazy….long long lineups to show our passports to the Russian officials. We were told if we could get one of them to smile we would get a free cruise. Will never ever happen.
Now its late and we are tired and there are way too many people wandering around. Tomorrow for some god forsaken reason that I have forgotten, I purchased a shore excursion for all of tomorrow afternoon, riding the metro. What the hell was I thinking? The excursion is called “through the eyes of the everyday Russian” Well Jeeeeeeez….I don’t really need to know. Oh well. I shall report back in the next blog on how that particular event went. TTYL
Tonite we got on another bus and went to a folklore show. It was totally awesome and fun. The dancers/singers were so good and the costumes were out of this world. And it quit raining. Getting on and off the ship is crazy….long long lineups to show our passports to the Russian officials. We were told if we could get one of them to smile we would get a free cruise. Will never ever happen.
Now its late and we are tired and there are way too many people wandering around. Tomorrow for some god forsaken reason that I have forgotten, I purchased a shore excursion for all of tomorrow afternoon, riding the metro. What the hell was I thinking? The excursion is called “through the eyes of the everyday Russian” Well Jeeeeeeez….I don’t really need to know. Oh well. I shall report back in the next blog on how that particular event went. TTYL
day 6
Okay, doing Paleo is proving hard. Its okay if I am on the ship, but when we go out on these excursions we get fed, and we get fed very well. I would have to choose not to eat at all. Oh well, at least I can control it on the ship.
Today we were in Estonia in their little city of Tallin. It was beautiful and very affluent and well kept. They HATE the russians with a passion. They moved all of the Russian statues to one park on the edge of town and they call it The Monster Park. Russia invaded and stayed for fifty years and only did Estonia get their independence in 1994.
Last night two middle aged, very well turned out gay men sat behind us at dinner. The only reason I feel free to write about them is because they were very flamboyant and kind of putting on a show. How I wish I could repeat here the conversation they had all during dinner. They spent the entire dinner discussing the scallops they had chosen in the buffet line. The entire dinner conversation was on how they were cooked, what seasoning was used, how they compared to the high faluting restaurants they have eaten scallops in, what wines go best with scallops, how the scallops had a perfect crust and colour but were still tender and not over done on the inside, how a certain chef back home could take lessons from the little brown line chef cooking them on the grill behind the food line, how they are definitely fresh and not frozen, how freezing them makes them lose moisture, and on and on and on and on and on….I couldn’t believe it. Then, right in the middle of it all, one of them chokes on one! He coughed and coughed and coughed until Bill, who was totally tuned out of all this, busy reading his book, got an annoyed look on his face and said lets get out of here. I am going no no I want to hear more and watch, but the coughing got to him and we had to leave. In between coughs though, they were still discussing scallops.
Tomorrow St Petersburg or Lenningrad, or Stalingrad…whatever. ‘Twill be interesting…..TTYL
Today we were in Estonia in their little city of Tallin. It was beautiful and very affluent and well kept. They HATE the russians with a passion. They moved all of the Russian statues to one park on the edge of town and they call it The Monster Park. Russia invaded and stayed for fifty years and only did Estonia get their independence in 1994.
Last night two middle aged, very well turned out gay men sat behind us at dinner. The only reason I feel free to write about them is because they were very flamboyant and kind of putting on a show. How I wish I could repeat here the conversation they had all during dinner. They spent the entire dinner discussing the scallops they had chosen in the buffet line. The entire dinner conversation was on how they were cooked, what seasoning was used, how they compared to the high faluting restaurants they have eaten scallops in, what wines go best with scallops, how the scallops had a perfect crust and colour but were still tender and not over done on the inside, how a certain chef back home could take lessons from the little brown line chef cooking them on the grill behind the food line, how they are definitely fresh and not frozen, how freezing them makes them lose moisture, and on and on and on and on and on….I couldn’t believe it. Then, right in the middle of it all, one of them chokes on one! He coughed and coughed and coughed until Bill, who was totally tuned out of all this, busy reading his book, got an annoyed look on his face and said lets get out of here. I am going no no I want to hear more and watch, but the coughing got to him and we had to leave. In between coughs though, they were still discussing scallops.
Tomorrow St Petersburg or Lenningrad, or Stalingrad…whatever. ‘Twill be interesting…..TTYL
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Day 5
Yesterday we went to Berlin by train. I am not that fond of trains. They stop for no apparent reason (to me anyway) out in the middle of nowhere and just sit there. Yesterday, we sat for over half an hour in one spot..but we found out that someone accidentally pulled the emergency brake cord. This sort of thing happens when you are with around 2000 OLD people. There were 12 people in our section. Going to Berlin worked out fairly well. It only took 3 hours and not too many stops. Coming home though wasn’t quite so uneventful. Firstly, we were all pretty tired, really thirsty, too hot and somewhat hungry.
There are two large windows that open from the top to circulate air in the car. A very large and quite lovely woman of about sixty years, sweating profusely, stated in a loud american twang that she was going to open those dang windows raht away….which was fine with me…so we helped her and got the windows open. The train started off and blessed cool air started to gently swirl around the car, cooling us off.
A few miles down the road, due to the time of day, many trains were whistling past us, going the other direction. About a half hour into the trip a woman of about 45, with a truly poor me look upon her face got up, went over and slammed the windows shut. After sitting down the large woman said it was still awfully hot in here. No answer. So, after about 15 min, the large lady stated, quite nicely, that it was just too hot in there and she was going to open the windows again. We all agreed and hopped up to help. After about four trains whistled by, the poor me lady got up again, stated quite loudly that it hurt her ears and slammed the windows shut. So, large lady hopped up, said “Excuse me, but we all agreed the windows should be open” and proceeded over to open them. Nasty lady jumped up and flew over and physically kept her from opening them all the while yelling in Farsi, which none of us understood….but I think we got the message. This went on for a little while when the conductor came and shhhhhed them down and said that he would open the window at our end and close the one at her end. But even then after another fifteen minutes or so, she got up and shut it. Quite loudly I stated to Bill that someone is sure used to getting her way. Large lady, quite loudly, agreed.
When we disembarked, long after dark, the line of people snaked all the way along the narrow sidewalk from the train to the ship. It was a solid very slow moving line. A woman a little way ahead would stop for a few seconds to take a picture of the ship and then keep moving. Well, nasty lady, right behind Bill and I , started yelling…”PICTURES!!1 OH MY GOD!!! THIS ISN’T THE TIME TO BE TAKING PICTURES!!!1 KEEEP MOVING!!! WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING???” So finally Bill turned around and quite forcefully said “She is taking a picture!!” And I said “The line goes all the way to the ship. THERE IS A LINE UP!!! She isn’t slowing us down. She can take all the pictures she wants and we will still get there at the same time.” At which point she shoved past me by stepping into the weeds beside the sidewalk. But she didn’t get far and ended up just ahead of us until we made our way onto the ship and to an elevator. When we got onto the crowded elevator she happened to end up right beside me. So I said “See? She didn’t slow us down at all, now did she?” And she just gave me a nasty glare. So I continued, “If you had spent more time helping those that have trouble walking, or have canes or even if you had joined in the fun we were all having in that line up, you wouldn”t now have such an ugly look on your face.” At this point Bill elbowed me and suddenly a familiar voice piped up from behind people on the other side of the elevator….”Yeah, your face is getting that permanent scowly look you know!” It was large lady!!! I laughed and agreed that at “our” age those lines and scowls become your permanent look! She got angry, shoved to the front of the elevator and got off at the next floor. Stupid woman. Large lady called over to me that she would high five me but couldn’t reach!! I hope I see her again!
There are two large windows that open from the top to circulate air in the car. A very large and quite lovely woman of about sixty years, sweating profusely, stated in a loud american twang that she was going to open those dang windows raht away….which was fine with me…so we helped her and got the windows open. The train started off and blessed cool air started to gently swirl around the car, cooling us off.
A few miles down the road, due to the time of day, many trains were whistling past us, going the other direction. About a half hour into the trip a woman of about 45, with a truly poor me look upon her face got up, went over and slammed the windows shut. After sitting down the large woman said it was still awfully hot in here. No answer. So, after about 15 min, the large lady stated, quite nicely, that it was just too hot in there and she was going to open the windows again. We all agreed and hopped up to help. After about four trains whistled by, the poor me lady got up again, stated quite loudly that it hurt her ears and slammed the windows shut. So, large lady hopped up, said “Excuse me, but we all agreed the windows should be open” and proceeded over to open them. Nasty lady jumped up and flew over and physically kept her from opening them all the while yelling in Farsi, which none of us understood….but I think we got the message. This went on for a little while when the conductor came and shhhhhed them down and said that he would open the window at our end and close the one at her end. But even then after another fifteen minutes or so, she got up and shut it. Quite loudly I stated to Bill that someone is sure used to getting her way. Large lady, quite loudly, agreed.
When we disembarked, long after dark, the line of people snaked all the way along the narrow sidewalk from the train to the ship. It was a solid very slow moving line. A woman a little way ahead would stop for a few seconds to take a picture of the ship and then keep moving. Well, nasty lady, right behind Bill and I , started yelling…”PICTURES!!1 OH MY GOD!!! THIS ISN’T THE TIME TO BE TAKING PICTURES!!!1 KEEEP MOVING!!! WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING???” So finally Bill turned around and quite forcefully said “She is taking a picture!!” And I said “The line goes all the way to the ship. THERE IS A LINE UP!!! She isn’t slowing us down. She can take all the pictures she wants and we will still get there at the same time.” At which point she shoved past me by stepping into the weeds beside the sidewalk. But she didn’t get far and ended up just ahead of us until we made our way onto the ship and to an elevator. When we got onto the crowded elevator she happened to end up right beside me. So I said “See? She didn’t slow us down at all, now did she?” And she just gave me a nasty glare. So I continued, “If you had spent more time helping those that have trouble walking, or have canes or even if you had joined in the fun we were all having in that line up, you wouldn”t now have such an ugly look on your face.” At this point Bill elbowed me and suddenly a familiar voice piped up from behind people on the other side of the elevator….”Yeah, your face is getting that permanent scowly look you know!” It was large lady!!! I laughed and agreed that at “our” age those lines and scowls become your permanent look! She got angry, shoved to the front of the elevator and got off at the next floor. Stupid woman. Large lady called over to me that she would high five me but couldn’t reach!! I hope I see her again!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
day 4 Berlin
Paleo was a FAIL today. I will get into that in a minute. But first I want to tell you about a passenger that came to my attention.
As you know,, if you know me at all, I am not a great fan of cruising passengers. For the most part they are not my cup of tea. And there are a few here ( I am trying to get pics to go with my description…not always easy) that I will definitely be writing about in the next few weeks. But this first one came to my attention the first day…and since that first day I have seen him numerous times. He came to my attention through his little boy. This little fellow would be about four, tiny and blond and he had the most adorable english accent. He was running around and sitting on the seats in the huge waiting area (in the cruise port) right beside us and talking away. Soon his dad, not a very big man, and very young, early twenties, came and gently and respectfully retrieved him to somewhere behind us.
Later, after we checked in and had gone up to the Lido, I noticed him again. He had his little boy with him, and he was behaving remarkably well, going through the cafeteria line. Somehow, the dad had managed to get a tray (they absolutely DO NOT use trays up there) and I wondered how he scored one…maybe because he had a kid? Later, while we were walking through the pool area tables, to our room, I saw the most extraordinary sight. Ever. I will never forget this.
The young man was sitting at their table. The little boy was in his seat, eating, talking a mile a minute. And pushed up to the table was mom, young, pretty, and in a permanent wheel chair. Her head was strapped back, her legs strapped down and upon watching a few moments, I could see her arms had some, but very little movement. And the young man was feeding her her dinner, mouthful by mouthful, talking to her (she can’t) talk properly, and helping his little boy and feeding himself, and feeding her and helping his little boy and eating himself.
I have seen them now numerous times. The little fellow has a wee scooter he uses. The dad says it keeps him up with them and the little guy can only use it if he stays beside them. They are travelling alone. So, take a moment and just think about what kind of life that young man has ,..all his duties and work, and he loves it. He is patient, kind, and so so loving. His wife was hit by a drunk driver on their way home from the hospital with their newborn. She was catastrophically injured. He is my hero.
Berlin was unbelievable. We have to come back and spend some time there. Every single thing we saw was amazing. I will put some pics on facebook. But……we went to this awesome brewery for lunch. I didn’t have beer, but I did have sauerkraut, sausage, meatloaf, pork knuckle and pretzel. Sooooooooooo good. There was a 3 hour train trip to and from Berlin from the port where we docked. It would have been relaxing…except a fight broke out between two of the passengers in our car. One of those women is such a cow that both Bill and I said something to her when we were walking back to the ship from the train. But I shall tell that one tomorrow! TTYL
As you know,, if you know me at all, I am not a great fan of cruising passengers. For the most part they are not my cup of tea. And there are a few here ( I am trying to get pics to go with my description…not always easy) that I will definitely be writing about in the next few weeks. But this first one came to my attention the first day…and since that first day I have seen him numerous times. He came to my attention through his little boy. This little fellow would be about four, tiny and blond and he had the most adorable english accent. He was running around and sitting on the seats in the huge waiting area (in the cruise port) right beside us and talking away. Soon his dad, not a very big man, and very young, early twenties, came and gently and respectfully retrieved him to somewhere behind us.
Later, after we checked in and had gone up to the Lido, I noticed him again. He had his little boy with him, and he was behaving remarkably well, going through the cafeteria line. Somehow, the dad had managed to get a tray (they absolutely DO NOT use trays up there) and I wondered how he scored one…maybe because he had a kid? Later, while we were walking through the pool area tables, to our room, I saw the most extraordinary sight. Ever. I will never forget this.
The young man was sitting at their table. The little boy was in his seat, eating, talking a mile a minute. And pushed up to the table was mom, young, pretty, and in a permanent wheel chair. Her head was strapped back, her legs strapped down and upon watching a few moments, I could see her arms had some, but very little movement. And the young man was feeding her her dinner, mouthful by mouthful, talking to her (she can’t) talk properly, and helping his little boy and feeding himself, and feeding her and helping his little boy and eating himself.
I have seen them now numerous times. The little fellow has a wee scooter he uses. The dad says it keeps him up with them and the little guy can only use it if he stays beside them. They are travelling alone. So, take a moment and just think about what kind of life that young man has ,..all his duties and work, and he loves it. He is patient, kind, and so so loving. His wife was hit by a drunk driver on their way home from the hospital with their newborn. She was catastrophically injured. He is my hero.
Berlin was unbelievable. We have to come back and spend some time there. Every single thing we saw was amazing. I will put some pics on facebook. But……we went to this awesome brewery for lunch. I didn’t have beer, but I did have sauerkraut, sausage, meatloaf, pork knuckle and pretzel. Sooooooooooo good. There was a 3 hour train trip to and from Berlin from the port where we docked. It would have been relaxing…except a fight broke out between two of the passengers in our car. One of those women is such a cow that both Bill and I said something to her when we were walking back to the ship from the train. But I shall tell that one tomorrow! TTYL
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Day 3
Such an awesome day today. After a sparse breakfast of egg and sausage, we hopped onto a hop on hop off bus that didn’t turn out too well. Not only was there Denmark’s major marathon happening, but also a bike endurance city race. Many of the main roads were closed so we took a very circuitous route with no idea what we were seeing!! We got off near the main canal lined with cobblestones and outdoor cafe patios, people, boats and many many baby carriages. We stopped at a cafe for lunch. I successfully ordered a delicious spring salad with grilled chicken, corn, peas, spring mix, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes etc…oil and salt and pepper for dressing and skipped the croutons and taco chip garnishments. Yummy!
We spent lots of time sitting here and there and watching people. The city residents here are very natty, tall, blond and pushy as hell. Other than when we were in Amsterdam, I don’t think I have had so many people stop and stand in the way, bump into me, step on my feet. I think there are no poor people here. They are all extremely well dressed, the kids are like little showpieces and the average baby carriage would be well over a thousand dollars. And NOT friendly.
So right now I am sitting at the Lido table, blogging, eating dinner and people watching. I like to sit in the section where the crew and staff sit. I can hear conversations right across the room, in spite of Frank Sinatra/ new kids on the block/ chris cross etc canned music. I pick up all kinds of gossip. And tonite I had carrots, veggie medley and sirloin steak. Tasted good, and I am full. Now I shall try to post this and tomorrow we are off in Berlin. Tomorrow I will tell you about a certain passenger that has come to my attention! TTYL…..
We spent lots of time sitting here and there and watching people. The city residents here are very natty, tall, blond and pushy as hell. Other than when we were in Amsterdam, I don’t think I have had so many people stop and stand in the way, bump into me, step on my feet. I think there are no poor people here. They are all extremely well dressed, the kids are like little showpieces and the average baby carriage would be well over a thousand dollars. And NOT friendly.
So right now I am sitting at the Lido table, blogging, eating dinner and people watching. I like to sit in the section where the crew and staff sit. I can hear conversations right across the room, in spite of Frank Sinatra/ new kids on the block/ chris cross etc canned music. I pick up all kinds of gossip. And tonite I had carrots, veggie medley and sirloin steak. Tasted good, and I am full. Now I shall try to post this and tomorrow we are off in Berlin. Tomorrow I will tell you about a certain passenger that has come to my attention! TTYL…..
Saturday, August 13, 2011
day 2
So far so good, but I am not doing Paleo until tomorrow. Last night we had a bbq on the deck and it was delicious. When I looked at the stuff available though, paleo would have been really difficult. But….I will see …..
Bill went to bed at seven last night…and I went at nine. Needless to say we were up and wide awake by three am. And starving!!! We got up and read books til seven and then went down and ate an enormous breakfast. Definitely not paleo. As I said earlier, I have to get all my favourites in today! We are going for a lecture of some sort at ten. TTYL
All in all a good day. The food was delicious and lots!!! I did manage to get all my faves in and now, finally, I am permanently full. Good thing. Tomorrow we are off the boat early and we will be walking into and all over Copenhagen! The lecture we went to this morning was full of tips on how to “do” Copenhagen on foot. So, either I shant eat or try to find grocery stores where I can buy raw veggies and fruit. I am going to try to include some of todays food pics in today’s entry. I almost, just missed, getting a picture of an older man with truly the longest biggest nose I have ever seen in my whole life. I am going to make it my mission to track him down and surreptitiously get his picture. There is no way I could have a normal convo with this guy. The word nose would somehow find its way into my dialogue, inappropriately. Goodnight. ps pics wont publish tonite
Bill went to bed at seven last night…and I went at nine. Needless to say we were up and wide awake by three am. And starving!!! We got up and read books til seven and then went down and ate an enormous breakfast. Definitely not paleo. As I said earlier, I have to get all my favourites in today! We are going for a lecture of some sort at ten. TTYL
All in all a good day. The food was delicious and lots!!! I did manage to get all my faves in and now, finally, I am permanently full. Good thing. Tomorrow we are off the boat early and we will be walking into and all over Copenhagen! The lecture we went to this morning was full of tips on how to “do” Copenhagen on foot. So, either I shant eat or try to find grocery stores where I can buy raw veggies and fruit. I am going to try to include some of todays food pics in today’s entry. I almost, just missed, getting a picture of an older man with truly the longest biggest nose I have ever seen in my whole life. I am going to make it my mission to track him down and surreptitiously get his picture. There is no way I could have a normal convo with this guy. The word nose would somehow find its way into my dialogue, inappropriately. Goodnight. ps pics wont publish tonite
Friday, August 12, 2011
Paleo on a Cruiseship???
My life coach (lc) likes me to have goals. Some time ago he suggested that, due to the fact that B and I go out to eat a fair amount, that I blog about how to stick to a Paleo (or low glycemic) way of eating whilst dining out. But….I am just not home long enough to really do a good job. So…with lc in mind, I have decided to attempt to do this form of eating…….. on a cruise ship, during a one month cruise. I shall be reporting my success in this endeavour on a daily basis. I shall try to include pictures of what I eat and. more importantly, what I am NOT eating. There may be a few other stories and observations along the way. So, if food and stories at other people’s expense isn’t your cup of tea….well then feel free to not come back to read. I don’t mind……really I don’t!
So, today we checked out of our lovely ancient crickety hotel, returned our rental car and got a ride from an ancient crickety old National car rental guy to the ship. We were immediately directed to the Lido….or the 24 hour buffet. So it starts already. I have made the decision to eat all my favourite stuff today and tomorrow and then cut it off. So, I enjoyed a lovely salad, bowl of cream of broccoli soup, fried chicken, potatoes and veggies. Icecream for dessert and a cup of coffee then back to the room to unpack. I hear there is a bbq this evening and live music on the deck. Tomorrow I shall attempt to get all my favourites in that I look forward to eating on cruises and put it all away in my memory. Wish me luck…I am going to need it!!!
So, today we checked out of our lovely ancient crickety hotel, returned our rental car and got a ride from an ancient crickety old National car rental guy to the ship. We were immediately directed to the Lido….or the 24 hour buffet. So it starts already. I have made the decision to eat all my favourite stuff today and tomorrow and then cut it off. So, I enjoyed a lovely salad, bowl of cream of broccoli soup, fried chicken, potatoes and veggies. Icecream for dessert and a cup of coffee then back to the room to unpack. I hear there is a bbq this evening and live music on the deck. Tomorrow I shall attempt to get all my favourites in that I look forward to eating on cruises and put it all away in my memory. Wish me luck…I am going to need it!!!
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