Good bye and a wish to return

The ship docked at 5 am but as we had a 3:30 flight we chose to be one of the last to leave the ship at 9:am. As we left our room it was amazing how many rooms were already clean and waiting for the new passengers to start arriving by 12 pm. 2500 off and another 2500 on, it is amazing how they do it so efficiently. We just carried off our own luggage and we were off in a very short time lined up in the taxi cue and soon headed to the airport. We were able to check our luggage right away so all we had was carry on luggage which had grown since the trip over. We took turns sitting and watching luggage while we walked around a bit. We were not too happy when we got on our flight as we had booked with British Airways and flew with them on the way to Barcelona and now we are on a small Iberia plane where the seating was so tiny , my legs were touching the seat ahead so Harvey and Don especially were very uncomfortable. The attendants ran down the aisle SELLING even water and no one bought anything. On arrival in London we got our luggage and took the shuttle to our hotel for the night. Not the greatest hotel but very cheap for London, quite noisy and we could not get cold water out of the taps but glad to be another step further to home. We walked a short distance to a English pub for supper. Everyone else had fish and chips but as I knew that Indian food as become the most common take out food in London now, I thought I would try chicken curry.....Ohhhh very spicy but quite good. I should of had the Fish and Chips.

Our flight home was at 12:30 but as we were up and ready we left for the airport early, checked our luggage and had breakfast in an Irish pub. It was not as good as it could be but after eating the best on the ship, we were spoiled. It was amazing how many were just sitting and drinking beer at 9 am.

We were glad to get on Air Canada flight for home and settled in to watch a couple of movies. There have lots of new movies as well as older ones to choose from and it certainly puts in the hours. I was sitting next to a fellow from Glasgow, Scotland and we chatted quite a bit too.

We had a 5.5 hour wait in Toronto, we sat at a table and played cards and a game and headed through security early and snoozed in the chairs. It was middle of the night according to our bodies but only 9:30 pm when we boarded. Once again everyone around me was snoring and passing the hours to Regina as they should, while I. could not sleep at all, once again. Another movie and a few walks up and down the aisles, until finally setting down in Regina.

What a great trip. The trip of our lifetime, still seems like a dream but as we start looking at the pictures we will then believe it all happened. To crawl into a pyramid in Cairo, walk around the Colosseum in Rome, visit a small Greek village, to stand where Paul preached to the Ephesians, to go down into the catacombs in Alexandria, to visit the beautiful island of Malta and dream of going back, ahhhh life has been good to us.

So that is the end of the Travel journal for this time. Soon it will change back to just my thoughts again and life will be boring once more. Maybe finally time for doing crafts, planting flowers and watching the ice go out. I hope those who were able to read some of this journal along the way, enjoyed it and it made you too want to travel to these same places or other places in this great world. Life is short, do what you can now, don't waste too much time worrying about the future...it will look after itself.

A few ship photos

Sitting on the back of the ship in the outdoor cafe

Supper with friends made through Cruise Critic

Decor above the elevators ( this ship was the Pride of Hawaii and still has that decor)

Enjoying the sea air

The 10 internet stations for the 2500 people!

Lil and Susan at the Meet and Greet. Through the website Cruise Critic we had 127 people registered and about 90 showed up.

At the champagne welcome as we came on board

Harvey sitting in the Medusa lounge, a bar used for lectures in the afternoon.

Our last port of call - Malta

The last port is Valletta Malta , which is on a small island in the Mediterranean between Sicily Italy and north Africa.
The city is surrounded by rock fortifications and has 7000 years of defending itself. The Germans bombarded this island during the Second World war and the people nearly starved until they were helped by the British. In the early days it was the Knights of St John who left their biggest mark with their hospital work and their Christian principals.
The city is full of beautiful churches and beautiful statues with so much history of these great knights.
We were to dock at 11am and most of the ship was on the outer decks or in the window seats by 10 to watch the sail in to this most beautiful of the ports. No where in the world is a harbour so picturesque and so architechurally imposing as here. We left the ship and walked to a taxi stand where we shared the taxi with a British couple to ride up the hill to the center of the town. We walked through the city gates to see hordes of people filling the car less streets. Another ship was in port and so Valletta was alive. We went in to many little shops and looked at things that were too expensive and too poor quality but some friends from the ship bought some wonderful Maltese silver, and the famous Maltese cross in form of linen work or jewelery. We found the morning outdoor market and did buy a table cloth for our selves, and then walked up and down a lot of little narrow streets that are made up of stone steps only about 3 inches high that go up and up and up.
We stopped for lunch at the famous Café Cordina and then to their gelata shop for the best ice cream ever.
We finally found our way to St John’s Co- Cathedral which was built in 1573, and where every inch of the inside is covered in ornate decorations in gold amongst huge paintings. The floors are covered with gravestones of marble chiseled with writing and intricate motifs. Each of these gravestones marks where a knight was buried. We then went to the oratory which was all Caravaggio’s painting, history and stories of his life. The one end wall behind the alter is Caravaggio’s famous painting “The beheading of John the Baptist.” It is truly magnificent to see it in person. Of course you could take no pictures again.

We did a bit more walking and then decided to head back to the ship early. We had seen enough history over the last week to last a long time and now time to turn out thoughts to going home. We wanted to start packing and trying to figure how to pack the things we had bought . We bought another carry on bag in Malta to help but we still only had so many hands to carry the bags. We were not alone in this as everyone was struggling with packing the things they had bought. I have not seen anyone thrown off the plane yet for a bit too much carry on, but this could be the first time

Alexandria "Pearl of the Mediterranean"

Monday morning saw us getting a bit later start as we did not have to be out the blue gate and over the long long bridge until 9:00. This time our driver parked the van on the other side of the busy crazy street but did walk over and we all felt like holding hands as we crossed the street with him. A policeman held up his hand for the traffic to slow down so that was good. Today there were only 10 in our group as one couple had got a bit sick the day before and were confined to their cabin for 24 hours. The ship takes great precaution to not have Gastroenteritis on the ship. If any one is suspected to be sick they are quarantined and we also have to have our hands sanitized each time we enter a restaurant or store and when we return to the ship. After Egypt they always stop anyone from serving themselves in the buffet and garden café and have lots of staff to put what we want on to our plates, pour our coffee etc. There is much grumbling by those that have not researched their trip previously, but it is only for the health of everyone. On a place as confined as the ship, if an infection of any sort breaks out it can spread like wildfire.
So it was off to pick up our guide and start our day in Alexandria, the 2nd largest city in Egypt and where the stormy relationship between Queen Cleopatra and Mark Antony took place. Our guide today was Mohammad and he was the director of a museum but now is guiding while he gets his PhD. It takes 4 years of University in Egypt to become a tour guide, (and with the thousands of years of history they must know, it seems reasonable)
The first stop was at the Roman Amphitheatre, which covers about a full city block in size and there they have uncovered hundreds of ancient artefacts. The amphitheatre is much smaller than Ephesus or Rome but the acoustics where amazing. The one thing different here from Ephesus is that the ground is still strewn with pieces of pottery and ancient stones that are not being saved, so we were able to pick up pieces and pocket them.
Ancient bath tubs and stone coffins were still just sitting in piles of rumble. Nothing is displayed or protected like other places.
Pompeii’s Pillar, which is a 25-meter-high granite column that was constructed in honour of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 297, is also here. It was always believed that Emperor Pompeii’s ashes were held at the top, but when translating some lettering they now know it was not for Pompeii at all. This magnificent tall pillar sits right in the middle of a huge area that is surrounded by old crumbling buildings and houses with laundry hanging on each balcony. Some how it takes away from its magnificence. PPPPPP
Back into the van and onto our next place which was the Catacomb Tombs of Kom el Shoquafa. Once again no cameras as they are afraid the flashes will begin to fade and destroy the wall paintings. A circular staircase leads down in to the catacombs. We started down, and down and down going by opening after opening where we could look up to the light in the top, where the body was originally lowered by rope. At points along the way we came upon rooms that were decorated with engravings and statues that would have been used as funeral banquet halls. They think these catacombs were originally just used for one family but they now know that over 1000 were buried there in the still existing openings hewed out of the rock. We continued down and down further until we reached the bottom. At many times we went into little anti rooms where there were dozens of tombs and often water on the floor where we had to walk on 2 x12 planks that were perched about 24 inches off the floor. They had 2 planks together to walk on, and often tours would come from the other direction, so we would have to hang on to the opening of the tomb and turn sideways so they could get past us. Half of our group got lost from the tour guide and yes I yelled “Help, where are you Mohammad?" We then entered another room where there were 3 sarcophagi which he said; one was for the king, the 2nd for the wife and the 3rd for the children. They were very ornately decorated with hieroglyphics and figures, and replicate statues of each of them. Next we entered a room that has been called the Hall of Caracalla, where bones of horses and humans were found together. One of the tombs was much bigger and longer and probably a horse was buried there. I guess back then, they loved their animals too.
Now remember me saying I had to balance myself on the beams, and I needed to reach over and hold onto one of the tomb opening, well upon coming out I found myself rubbing my lips and someone said, you realize Cheryl, you just ate 2 ancient Egyptian’s in dust form. Yikes! It was good to come up out of that deep abyss and sanitize our hands again, (something we did very often,)
Next we visited the Fortress of Qaytbay; this citadel which looks like a castle fortress was built in the 1480s by Sultan Qaitbey on the site of the Pharos Lighthouse, to protect the city from the crusaders who used to attack the city by sea. Others went inside and walked the hundreds of steps to the top, but we chose to sit out side and then walk up to the edge of the wall and sit and look out at the sea. It was very beautiful and we understand why a lot of people of Cairo come here for their holidays.

Our last stop was the New Library of Alexandria. Alexandria was the center of learning in the ancient world and this modern version is an eleven-story, cylindrical-shaped building that houses more than eight million books that are built on the site of the ancient library. The architecture on the inside as well as the outside is absolutely phenomenal. Every structure on the inside serves a particular function and incorporates Egyptian culture, even down to the chairs used in the reading section - they're designed to meet certain orthopaedic standards, and feel great to sit in.
We were then taken to a Greek restaurant for lunch. They called it Greek but it seemed more Egyptian. We were told we could order fish, chicken or meat. No other explanation.
Most chose chicken and a couple of brave ones chose meat. We got the plate with a quarter of chicken, a pile of rice and some French fries, and many little plates of things like roasted eggplant rings, spiced lentils, pickled potatoe cubes, and humus , all to be put on the pita squares ( we think). Not the best meal but filling (of course after eating on the ship for a week we are very spoiled.)
Here we paid for the trip and argued about prices again (which is how I assume they get more. from those that do not take along confirmation of price and deposits already paid) and we also bought a book written by our guide. Then back through the memorable traffic to the ship, tipped our two day driver very well and said goodbye to Mohammed.
At the ship there were many stalls of vendors selling thousands of souvenirs, and once again we argued and walked, or argued and bought more things that when we get home we will say, “What in the world was I thinking?” I bought a small wool rug that may be infested with camel lice, but not sure. lol

Cairo Egypt (long post)

Well finally time to update after two days in Egypt and a good night’s sleep to ease the aching feet and muscles. We docked in Alexandria Egypt at 7:00 and I got my group off the ship by 7:30. I had organized on line a private tour of Cairo through Rasha of Egypt Daily Tours for 12 of us from Cruise Critic. Our directions were that our driver would pick us up outside the big tour company area so we could get ahead of them in the convoy. We were to go off the ship, find the big blue gates and go through them, then go over the small bridge and find Gate 10 and he would be waiting for us with a sign with my name on it. Well the small bridge ended up being about 4 times the length of the 2nd NE overpass to the Southside in SC. I thought for sure we were lost but with Steven a younger, leaner fellow leading the way, he found the end gate and Sharif was there waiting for us. We loaded in to the van which was smaller than the one we had in Ephesus and headed through the unbelievable traffic of Alexandria on our 3 hour drive to Cairo.
As it was fairly early in the morning the traffic was not as bad as later in the day but still had us rolling our eyes and gasping. This was a much different scenery than the lushness of Turkey and the sides of the road and the once delta area was mostly sand, brown vegetation, poverty, crumbling cement, broken down buildings sprinkled with small patches of greenness. People along side the roads selling bits of fruits etc and some just sitting or walking in the heat. As we neared Cairo we could see the pyramids for the first time and were struck with awe. We truly were here, where most of us could only dream that we would be one day. We met up with our tour guide Rasha, in Giza and she told us that they had not had rain last year and today was an unseasonal hot day for them as well. We got out to take a few pictures at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Cheops and to walk a bit in the sand. We drove a short distance to the Pyramid of Khufu, who was the son of Cheops, where we got out to spend 30 mins. Those that wanted to walk up to the pyramids or take pictures of camels could do so and any one who wanted to go into the pyramid could line up for tickets and do so. Only 6 wanted to go into the pyramid and guess who were two of them Yes, Harvey and Cheryl. Somehow I think senility had set in with the high heat. What were we ever thinking of ???
We got into the log line with Steven and Jon from Phoenix and a newly wed couple from New York. We were double the age of some and maybe even triple the age of the new bride. What ever were we thinking???? After the long line up where sellers bombarded us to buy their wares of tiny replicas of the pyramids, postcards, and many things we surly could not live with out we reached the ticket seller. The family ahead of us had two young daughters and a vendor tried to buy them from the father for 5 camels and some silk or something. They tried to put headpieces on you and take your picture and then ask for a huge Bakeesh (tip). It was now time to form a single line to go down into the tunnel to the inside of the pyramid. The walk way was a descending set of wooden slabs with a hand rail, about 3 feet wide, where one group was coming up while you were going down. The 1st ugly part was that you needed to bend over at the waist and bend your knees as the opening was less than 4 feet high. Harvey was scraping his head and back all the way down. Sometimes the person coming up had to turn side ways so we could get by, and as it was at a good slant downwards I had to use two hands on the rail to keep from falling forwards. The 2nd ugly part was as soon as you entered the opening the air ended and it was like walking into dead air space. It was very hard to breathe and I was sure I would die. You could not turn around and so we crawled down about 60 steps until we came to a small opening where you could stand. But still no air. I looked forward and there was another set of steps downward for the same distance. We were only half way there. We asked those red faced, profusely sweating, bug eyed people coming up..”Is it worth it?” and they just shook their heads NO. They could not talk…..we looked at each other and said….lets go up. When we got to the top, I crawled to a rock, and sat on it and for the first time in my life,,,I hyperventilated. I could not stop gasping and thought…This is the end!..... we finally got enough breathe to head back to the van and when asked if we wanted to ride a camel….Harvey turned green and said nooooooooo. Sorry Aiden, Poppa just could not ride one.
We then drove to an advantage point where we could view the three main pyramids and take photos, and then a sort drive to the one block long Sphynix for more photos.
We were back in the van for a drive to pick up our ethntic Egyptian fast food dish.
It was so very hot outside and got into the van and turned on the air but we all just kept getting hotter. Our food came which was a huge container of hot food (lentils, rice, noodles covered with a tomato sauce, fried onions and a little plastic bag of garlic oil and vinegar to pour over it. I enjoyed it but could only eat about a third and many could not eat it at all due to the sickening hotness of the van. It was at this time we found that the heater button for the back of van was on and blowing hot hot air under our feet. What a relief to finally get cold air blowing on us. Then on to a 20 min ride to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities: It houses the world’s greatest collection of Ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the golden treasures of the famous boy-king Tut Ankh Amun. It was dirty and dusty but the amazing number of fantastic antiquities was overwhelming. Most things were very unprotected and we could touch them ( but no photos), and as we walked, Rasha explained everything very well giving us a background of the each statue, sacarfacus, gold jewellery etc. I heard that if you were to spend 2 mins at each thing in this musem, it would take 9 years to see it all. The room where all of the King Tut masks, coffins, clothing, shoes, toys, statues etc was a vision in gold but not well lit or displayed and seemed to be more of the dusty darkness of the museum.
On leaving the museum, our driver was summoned once again and we drove to the Khan Al-Khalili Bazaar (one of the world’s oldest and larges Bazaars) which was teeming with vendors, coming at you from every angle trying to get you to look at their tacky souvenirs. They would not let you even look at things before they were shoving things toward you, and making you walk away. At all times I felt very safe and did not feel threatened. Each one just trying to make a living in their Egyptian way. Our van was sitting where the bomb had gone off killing a French tourist a month ago and we were told that he was nearly torn apart by the merchants as acts like this kills their business. He was targeting the police not tourists. At this time the call to prayers burst forward from the temple beside the market but we did not see any one leave to pray as we thought would happen.
It was at this point that we said goodbye to our guide Rasha and boarded the van for the 3 hour drive back to Cairo. The lights of this teeming city took on another view as we manoeuvred through the streets at night, to get out of the city and back on to the road to the ship.

A drive through Cairo is a journey through time, a journey through the history of an immortal civilization, but “Humanity” is certainly its basic feature and the 30 million people that live here, leave one truly moved as how they survive as they walk between, in front and beside the teeming traffic. There are traffic lights but no one uses them and they wind their way through this huge city using horn beeps, flashing head lights, hand waves and head nods to allow cars to move in front of you or to say I am going. Our tour guide said it is “concentrated organized confusion” that works better than stop signs, yield signs and road lines. At no time did we see any road rage or any one hit or scraped as the vehicles and pedestrians often were only 2 inches apart. Truly a moving experience that leaves one feeling very good about living in a small city.

To Rub It In.

It is to be 33 C in Cario tomorrow.....promise to bring some home.

The Best Day so far!

The day started early as the ship docked about a half hour early and so we were down the gangplank and took a short walk to where all the tour buses were lined up and there our tour leader Tim from Vancouver, Washington went ahead to meet our guide Hulya, for the day in Ephesus. The 12 of us got on to the 14 passenger van and we were off to drive through the bustling port city of Izmir, Turkey. The landscape was beautiful as we past flowering peach trees, olive groves, flowering almond trees, and cotton fields. Mountainous regions and pastoral regions mixed with bustling cities, strewn with fortresses, columns and ancient ruins and after about an hour drive we arrived at Mary’s house at the top of Nightingale Mountain. Jesus had asked the apostle John to care for his mother Mary before he was crucified and he brought her to this place in 34AD ..It was a very weaving, long road up to the top of the mountain where John thought Mary would be safe from the Romans. It was a very spiritual feeling as we walked through what would have been her living room and bedroom. You were not allowed to speak and the silence added to the reverence we felt. We took pictures from outside and then back onto our van to head to Ephesus. Ephesus is the best-preserved ancient city in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is absolutely impossible to explain the sites we saw as we walked about one mile through columns, temples, library, bath house, brothels, houses, theatre, latrines (marble rows of holes where everyone sat beside their neighbour to do their duty...see picture),and a 24000 seat amphitheatre with the seating still intact, plus much more. This area is huge but what is amazing that only about 13% has been excavated so far. I took 120 pictures today, so that shows how amazed we were with everything we saw.
Next we went to the Terrace Houses. This is an area on the side of Mt Coressus, where they are excavating what would have been 3 story luxurious homes (like our condos today only much much bigger) of the very rich. They have uncovered room after room with frescos on the walls, mosaics on the floors which are all being put back together by archaeologists and workers. It is amazing what they are finding. They had bathrooms, running hot water, sewers, heating, kitchens, etc. Truly the highlight of the day for us, it is amazing as not many tours go here, thousands of tourists in the ruins outside but only our group inside.
Our day ended with a visit to Sirince, a beautiful hill town where we ate a Turkish lunch of a type of Turkish pizza and Turkish beer and then wandered the small streets where vendors were selling all types of souvenirs, olive oil , evil eye jewellery, wine, and lots of hand made table cloths etc. we headed back to the ship through very busy traffic and made it to the ship just in time for sailing.
We are ready for another sea day to rejuvenate and rest in readiness for Egypt. Sunday we will be in Cairo and Monday in Alexandria.
We have now turned back the clock one hour so we are only 8 hours ahead of you in Saskatchewan.

A Great DAy in Napflion, Greece

The day was hot and sunny and we had to tender in to Napflion. I assumed that they sent out boats to take us from the cruise ship in to the small port, but I had no idea that the ship carries on its upper side the tendering boats itself. Each boat holds 100 people and our ship had at least 6 on the side that I could see. It gave me great relief that if the pirates hit and sink the ship, those little boats are right there ready to save us. We drew boat #4 and as we were an hour early into port we were in Napflion by 11am. What a neat little Greek town, so very old and slow, yes I think we lucked out in getting to go here instead of big, dirty, crowded Athens.We walked a few streets trying to locate the main square, asked a few who did not speak English but finally found our way to the old square with its many our door cafes and little shops. Most were tourist junk but did find some nice places on the little streets off the main area. We stopped and had a Greek dish of ice-cream surrounded by piles of little hot donuts that were drizzled with honey and spices. Very good! We wandered the shops, sat in the sun in a sidewalk café, where I find I got a bit too much sun on this winter white Canadian skin, and then headed back to the tender by 3:00 and were on the ship and having a snooze by 3:30. We took in two evening shows, which were both great, a very talented ventriloquist and the 2nd show was a rousing musical of 70’s music that was “Showdown” a take off on American Idol where we the audience determined the winner. Off to bed for an early day in the port of Izmir, Turkey, where we will take a tour to Ephesus. This should be a good day as it is the first tour with a professional tour guide.

Off to Greece

Just a quick update before our 11:00 am docking in Napflion, Greece.
We are told that there are to be massive strikes in Athens today and so we can not dock there for our own safety. You may know more about that than we do as the news on TV is sparse. I think this may be a blessing in disguise as Athens is so congested and dirty and this small area in the Peloponnese region should be a bit easier to manoeuvre on our own. We plan to only do a bit of shopping (which has been nil so far) and do some people watching from an outdoor café.
We had a great anniversary supper for Don and Thelma last night. The meal was fabulous but I got sick right after it and so I did not attend the 9:30 show with the British comic. The others report that it was one of the funniest shows they had seen in a long time.
I think I may have gotten sick from just eating too much rich food, filet mignion, pate de foie, duck, and more crème brule but I think the real culprit was the red wine which I don’t usually drink but more so the huge lemon martini that I had at 5:30 with Susan and Lil from our Cruise Critic group. A non drinker like me should probably not do those two things in one evening. We did laugh a lot during the meal and say “Oh where is Shannon and the Plinka” This is a reference to 19 years ago when we were in Budapest and we tried their national drink and Shannon got embarrassed by the four of us acting a bit silly. Well, be assured, I am not about to try alcohol the rest of the trip.
So sorry I am not able to post pictures, the connection is just too slow it seems.

If this it Tues ..this must be Rome

Up early to be at the ready to get off the ship at 7 when it docked, and on to the shuttle bus to take us to the port entry. Here we walked about 10 mins to the train station where we had an hour ride in to Rome. After a long walk through the Roma Termini (main station) we got onto the metro to go to the coliseum. (Guess what?) so did a million others decide to see the coliseum today, too. The line to get in was about a city block long, but it moved quickly. We took an elevator to the top and walked around the whole circumference of that level. It is very moving to look down and see where Nero and his wife sat, see the lowest level where the animals were kept and to think of all of those that lost their life to the lions purely for the pleasure of the audience and that fate sealed by the thumb down of Nero. It is really much larger than what it looks like from outside and a lot of walking to get back out again.
A taxi took us through Rome (with a nice explanation of different buildings and monuments by the driver) and deposited us at the Piazza Navona. This is a very large square with 3 sets of statued fountains, surrounded by many small cafes. We picked a place (well helped by the waiters selling their establishments menu of the day) and making us think theirs was the best by far. We had a lunch of Bruscetta, pizza (a 12” each), of prosciutto, mushrooms, artichokes, olives, and of course Italian red wine. It was very good and so nice to sit and watch the artists painting and selling their wares, and the strollers in the middle of the square while eating.
We then walked to the Pantheon to marvel at the huge domed structure and all the statues and as well, the famous who were tombed there. Next off to see the Trevi Fountain, buy a smooth Gelato and then proceed to catch a bus back to the train station for the 3:30 train back to the port. We had to be aboard by 6:30 and so with the long train ride and the uncertainty of the bus and our walking stamina we had to make sure to have lots of time.
We had a bit of trouble with getting the bus, and tickets and the long walk at the station, probably 1 K at least, and so we truly collapsed when we got onto the train and all four of us slept a lot of the way back.
A later supper (for us) in the beautiful Grand Pacific, a meet up with the Internet manager to try to solve my problem, (which never happened), and then off to bed.
Only exciting thing of the night was that Harvey fell out of bed and scared me to death.
This time it was because his legs got tangled in the covers not like last time where he sat up on the floor and said “I took the wrong turn!”
It is now Wednesday and it is sea day so a quiet day of reading and relaxing and then Don and Thelma’s Anniversary supper in Le Bistro a French Restaurant. We have changed our clocks again so we are now 9 hours ahead of you. You are just getting up and we are thinking of getting dressed for supper. I now have to take my laptop and walk to wear I can get wireless service to send it. Over and out for now.

Finally an update

Finally getting to post
What a struggle to get my laptop connected to the internet in my room.
They say it should work but just does not, no matter how I try.
I have used the internet stations to email but I really want to add pictures to this post and
I am very frustrated.
Well I will write a bit and hope someday I can send it.
The morning of our departure from Barcelona was a Sunday and most of the restaurants were closed for breakfast but we were pointed to a small place that obviously was for the working man. It was quite rough and filled with lots of old men, smoking, and drinking wine and eating breakfast all at the same time. We had a very good BIG breakfast, went back to our hotel and had the desk clerk store our luggage for a few hours. We proceeded to take the metro to see the famous La Sagrada Familia church that was started by Gaudi 125 years ago and they hope it to be finished by 2041. It was so magnificent and breathe taking but really hard to imagine how and why someone would go to that much work on a building. Somehow I think it was not to honour God but to honour Gaudi himself.
We took the metro back to the hotel, got our luggage all in one large taxi and off to the ship. It did not take long to embark and soon we were standing in the atrium with our sail away glass of champagne. We found our rooms and our luggage was there already. Oh how great to unpack and finally get to hang up clothes and put things where we know where they were. So much time over the last 5 days was spent hunting through suitcases trying to remember which one we put it in. So many plastic zip locks full of all the emergency things we may need. We spent the next hour just touring around the ship to get our bearings. We walked miles the first day or so just trying to find something only to realize we were on the wrong end of the ship or on the wrong deck.. The ship is very beautiful and the staff is so great and willing to help you at all times. As we had not eaten since breakfast we had a late lunch at the buffet which consists of about 15 different tables or stations with just about anything you want from sushi to roast beef and from fresh made pastas, and omelettes to comfort foods from every nation. I do not know how any one can complain about the meals as the food is terrific. We went out onto the outer deck to watch the ship pull out but it was too cold and windy so we went inside to watch
At 7:30 we took in the “Welcome aboard show in the Stardust Theatre which holds about 1000 people. They gave a sneak preview of all the entertainment that we would see for the 12 days and some very good ones at that.. A tenor who sang with Pavarotti, a Benny Hill type British comic, a Ventriloquist and the cast members from the musical “Shout”
At 10:30 we had a late light supper at the Blue Lagoon and then off to bed.
At this time the ship was moving and tipping pretty good and Harvey’s stomach was not doing too well but we thought sleep would help. There was a lot of creaking and I think his imagination took hold and so he never slept much and in the morning said, “Boy is that some storm we are having hey?” I turned on the TV to the web cam on the front of the ship and it was a beautiful sunny day with small swells. It took a day or two for him to get his sea legs but doing fine now.
Our first day at sea saw us at the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet where we met up with all of the friends I had made on line in preparation for this cruise. We were also able to meet up with those that are in our port tour groups that we had arranged on line. We also were welcomed by the captain and 4 other top brass of the ship who explained a bit about what they do and answered any questions.
The rest of the day was very relaxing (other than internet frustration) as we wandered around to the different bars and restaurants, looked round in the Galleria shopping centre, signed up for our casino card, played cards or read and settled in to our cruise life.
Supper was in the Grand Pacific and grand it was as I had lobster and the rest had beef wellington. Crème Brule for dessert which was awesome. I overheard someone say, he had had 5 crème Brule. That is the luxury of cruise dining, if you like it order another or if you don’t like it order something different.
The early theatre show was the great tenor Lawrence Robinson singing from operatic to show toons, I think…(I fell asleep a few times, but was told it was very good). So, it was off to bed for me while the others took in the 60’s Mod Musical, “Shout”.
Can't seem to post pics but will keep trying

Pictures of Family for Family

Marj, Chris, Linda

Hillary and Alan

Edward

David and Emma (lazer surgery)

Barcelona

Early morning finds us meeting up in lobby with Thelma and Don and on to the shuttle bus to the airport. Our flight to Barcelona was at 9:15 so time for an expensive coffee and toast while waiting. This gave us time to catch up on T and D's few days in London with other family. We all were feeling a bit weary from some great visiting, and now looking forward to getting on the ship, but first a day in Barcelona. We landed to a very rainy day, once again hauled our luggage on to bus and rode to Placa d' Catalunya. I had spent many hours using google maps to walk the way from the square to our hotel but somehow when getting off I had my map upside down in my head and we headed the wrong way. We spent a couple of hours looking at maps, looking at street signs, asking non English speaking people "Where are we?" and we finally got one old man who took a lot of time to tell us how to get back to where we should be. He spoke Spanish but with many pictures drawn on a paper, us picking up a word or two , lots of nods and "Si's", we started back to where we should be. He stayed with us until he figured these dumb Canadians were going in the right direction. It is not a pretty picture of 4 old people hauling too much luggage, wearing back packs, getting rained on and very frustrated in Spain. We found our hotel called Hosteria Grau and hauled our luggage up the stairs and collapsed in our rooms. It was not long before Harvey and Don were into a cribbage game, Thelma rested and I became very frustrated with none, or very weak wireless connection. It comes in and out and I have to shut down the computer and restart to get a connection. It is now 3:00 am and I am getting a bit better signal so trying to get this done, emails sent, and doing some research for a new port.

We have had an email from the cruise line that there is to be a big strike in Athens Greece on Thursday when we are to dock there. The last one saw many riots, fires and destruction and so they will reroute to Nafplion a seaside city in the Peloponnese region of Greece. If the strike does not happen we will still go to Athens.

By late afternoon we decided to go out to Las Ramblas (a very busy tourist infested pedestrian street) to do what all tourists do. We did get to La Bocqueria, a famous huge inside food market. Very intersting as we walked amongst the 60+ food booths looking at the great variety of different meats and produce. We headed for a Tapas bar, had supper and stopped at pastry shop for some dessert, and back to hotel for an early bed time. We have now lost another 2 hours (8 hours ahead of home) and our bodies are not really sure if they like it. I guess site seeing of Barcelona's wonderful historic places will have to wait for another time.

Our Driver (everyone should have their own)

We were so lucky today, to have a driver for the day that took time out of his busy day to chauffeur us around London. Harvey and I were so amazed at the way Chris moved in and out of the traffic with easy and drove for hours on end to get us to the places we needed to get to visit with more of our British family.We were under the Thames, we were over the Thames and we were beside the Thames, we were in business areas, we were on many freeways, we were in residential areas…Some times he had to refer to his map under the dim light of the interior car light, but he got us where we needed to go. He never swore (that we heard) and remained calm at times when Harvey looked like he did not want to ever,ever drive again. We never realized how easy we have it in Sask to drive on roads that go North or South , East or West, do not curve, have yield signs and about a billion less drivers. We thank Linda and Chris for their great hospitality and the great care they gave us.

We had a great time at Alan and Hillary's where we had a great meal with a chocolate mousse to die for, and a wonderful time visiting with the family. We had not seen Alan for 19 years and Emma and Ed for 15 and so much fun to catch up in their lives. (I will post pictures if I ever get a wireless connection that is fast enough to upload)

A late arrival at the airport hotel saw us repacking for the flight and falling into bed.

Day Two London

A lovely day was spent driving out into the country and seeing some beautiful English countryside complete with thatched roofs, green rolling hills, fields of sheep, sleepy little towns and lunch at an English pub. The evening was spent at a Tapas eatery run by Thai's so we sampled Spanish and Thai tapas. Tapas are individual little dishes that are shared. We tried 7-8 different dishes and as it was just Marj and the two of us, we ate very well. Linda and Chris were having their local singing group in for their fortnightly evening of song and we returned to join them for the last one. We then spent a bit of time looking at Chris's massive collection of music books , where he was able to pull out about 10 or more Canadian folk song music books.

Today we went to visit Harvey's cousin (a few times removed) Jean and had lunch and a lovely visit with her. Tonight we are going to my cousin's son's (Alan) place for supper. We will then move to our hotel near the airport for an early departure for Barcelona tomorrow.

Early Morning London

A cup of coffee, the quiet of the morning, looking out at a beautiful green flowering garden in mid London, with my laptop on my knee...could one ask for anything more.

We had a very smooth flight from Toronto to London but sleep did not prevail. It was very frustrating listening to the snoring behind, in front and next to me but I could not go into that zone. I even contemplated laying in the aisle on the floor with my 10 inch pillow but that thought only lasted a second. We were met at the airport by my cousin Linda. We had arranged a meeting place but did not see each other for a few minutes. It had been 19 years since we had seen each other and maybe we had changed a small bit. She only lives an inch away from Heathrow on my map but it is actually 30 miles which took us about 90 minutes in London traffic. As we curved in and about the streets, Linda laughed as I kept saying .."Oh everything is so British". We arrived at her beautiful, old Victorian home with so many individual little rooms that they have decorated in such wonderful interesting ways.They think it was built in about 1850ish. Linda's Mom Marj (my first cousin) arrived a short time later to stay while we are here and it was so great to see her again. Marj has not lived in Canada for 60 years, has visited often though, but still thinks of it as home and so loves to touch base with it through us. We spent the morning at the kitchen table reminiscing and in the afternoon we went to Greenwich Park, walked and looked at beautiful views of the skyline of central London and all the buildings of
in the area such as the Royal Observatory and the Greenwich Time Museum. It was cool, and windy but was a great way to keep us awake to fight jet lag. We returned home and had an early supper before heading to bed at 8:30. At this point I had been awake 36 hours and a bed has never felt so good. I had a great 8 hours and H is still sleeping and may for a few more hours as his body adjusts. Today we plan to do a bit of touring by car, a pub lunch and more visiting.

Up, Up and Away!

Loaded down with too much stuff as usual but this picture was at the airport this morning in Regina. The flight to Toronto was a bit rough for about 90 minutes and we could not take off seat belts.....the mad rush to the bathroom when turbulence was over was a bit hectic as people filled the aisle in front of the one toilet. Oh there was another one at the front of the plane but that was for the 10 people in first class. I thought the caste system was mainly in 3rd world countries.

We are now sitting and waiting for the flight to London. We have put in 2 hours but still another 2......then sleep, glorious sleep...

Next trip---Remember!

I must remember to take along a small bottle of hand sanitizer that I could carry in my pocket. So often while walking down subway stairs hanging on to the railing, I would think who and what has touched this railing. Also going up steps at buildings, down walk ways to the plane, down aisles at theatres and many other places, I always hold on to the railing. I think it comes with age. I never used to have to hold on to railings but now it helps pull me up the stairs and it keeps me from sliding down the stairs too fast. At the age I am at now, I have to remember a "broken hip" could be a reality........

When you are on tour and on and off the bus there is no place to wash your hands and by the time you get to a place you may want to grab a hot dog from a street vendor, you have forgotten what may lay in the grooves of your finger prints and even do the unthinkable and lick your fingers...Yuck.
If I had hand sanitizer along I could freshen my hands immediately while I was grossed out with vivid images in my head.

Important things to remember for the next trip

1. If I did not have my heart set on a specific show, I would wait and go to the TKST ticket booth on Broadway in Times Square and get tickets for 1/2 price or less..... We talked to people who did that and got good seats real cheap. You may not have a lot of choice but you will get to see some play and really there are no bad plays on Broadway.

2. Bring a good piece of elastic that I could tie around Harvey's forehead with Gladys attached, then I could just punch in the address we wanted and she would tell us where to turn and I would not have to keep looking up at street signs ( Just joking, but I really really loved the GPS)

3. Remember to bring a good set of ear phones for the plane. They do sell them for $3.00 and West Jet's are 100% better than Air Canada's but one's own I-Pod or Walkman ear phones will fit. All the planes now have built in TV's into the back of the seat in front of you and they do put in time. You can even rent a movie for $1.99 by running your credit card through the reader.

4. Not to worry about having a couple of good places to eat. We ate at 3 great restaurants but we spent about $130 at each and that was with out alcohol. Yes they were very good but we could have eaten at many small places or deli's on any street you walked down. The deli's are really like a combination buffet and confectionery. You can get hot, cold, ready made up or mix and match from the display cases. Breakfasts, lunch or dinner... Every thing was good and you could tell most of the New Yorkers were eating there. Yes it is nice to sit down in a formal place,with fancy eye appealing meals but also expect fancy prices plus the 15 - 20% tip.
This would be one way to cut back on what one spends.

5. Cut back again on clothes. Even though I had taken 1/2 what I had planned, we seemed to wear the same things over and over as they were comfortable. One pair of shorts or casual pants and one pair of dress pants would have been plenty. Of course they should be in a dark color in case of spills. Unless you are travelling with others, you know no one, and no one knows you, so who cares....

6. Remember to pack more "mole skin". If you don't know what that is, it is like a thick spongy bandaid that you can cut to what ever size you want....a life saver when blisters appear on one's feet or just hot spots from walking so much. I had blisters on the bottom of both my feet and after putting on the mole skin I could walk miles the next day.

7. Try not to arrive at the airport 3 - 4 hours before flight time. Even the suggested 2 hours is way more that is needed usually. They have the security check down to a science and seem to have set up so many more check points. Also do not go to your gate until 15 mins before boarding time unless your gate is a mile away. If you do you spend 2 hours sitting in a cold, sterile area looking at others who are looking at you in the same boredom. Look at a map of the terminal and you will know how long it will take to get to your gate......
Now that all changes if you have a laptop with you as who could be bored with that on your lap.
Oh with a GPS and lap top...life would be so much better lol

8. Dress warmer for the plane. They keep it way colder than need be and the wind blowing from everyone else's little ceiling blower makes it very uncomfortable. You can ask for a blanket from the flight attendant but it is as thin as a Klennex and very very small. I put one on one shoulder and it helped a little.

9. Take taxi's more often. They are very reasonable even with the tip and the energy and time one saves allows you to do more for a longer time.

10. Take city tours as they give you a good overview of all important sights and then allows you to decide where to go and see more in depth. The guides are professional and always have some inside stories to add to the tour.

11. Do not take up dress clothes. No one dresses up any more....not even for fancy restaurants, or the theatre. Oh yes the locals dress up but the tourists certainly do not. No shorts would be the only stipulation for some places.

12. Plan, Plan, Plan.......Google, Google Google before you go. Copy the maps on Google and put in your favorite things you might like to see. Some cities like New York can be googled and go to street level where you can walk and look at the buildings, hotels, restaurants etc. If you have a good idea, where you want to go and how to get there you can just go and do your thing and not look like the typical tourist with a big map in one hand and a big Fodors tour guide in the other......

Just a few pictures

Our "beautiful" 8 x 8 room at the Mayfair where wall paper and curtains were matching, with about 2 feet around the bed to walk in, but a comfortable bed and pillows. One did not open curtains as the windows had 60 years of smog attached I am sure......Very similar to places we stayed in Europe..... Cheaper than big hotels and only 1/2 a block to Broadway and Times Square.

Early morning outside the Letterman Theatre

Harvey outside Rupert Gee's Hello Deli from Letterman fame...no that is not Rupert wiping tables in the window.

New York skyline. The tall grey flat topped building in the middle is right behind where the twin towers of the WTC stood before 9/11 and where the Freedom Tower will be built

Projected design of Freedom Tower

Cheryl standing in Times Square on Broadway singing "Give my regards to Broadway"

......Dreams unfulfilled ...SC Little Theatre....but never Broadway lol.

Looking at the construction of the New Yankee Stadium

Harvey standing in the Yankee dugout looking out toward left centre field where monument park honors all of those who have stood on the same step he is standing on....the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Casey Stengel, Yogi Berra and todays Derek Jeter.

Dreams unfulfilled .....SC Indians but never the Majors

Self explained