Haloranch

I thought I had written all there was to say about our cruise, but then Hans downloaded the rest of our photos and lo and behold, the fog cleared from my mind. How could I forget the Azores? This archipelago of 8 jewel green islands lies quite some distance off Portugal. Sao Miguel is the island we visited and we took a tour to the crater lakes. One lake is bright blue and the other a brilliant green, though over time their colours have unfortunately faded. The legend is that a blue eyed princess fell in love with a green eyed shepherd, but she was promised to a neighbouring island prince. In their despair at not being able to marry the lovers wept copious tears. Hers became the blue lake, and his the green. In reality, the lakes are separated by a natural wall that for years kept the two lakes separate. Now that they are a uniform silvery gray, perhaps the lovers finally found a way to be together. In town, we came across this fabulous poinsettia tree.

In the coming week I'll start posting some of Hans' photos into his Camino blog (check August and September archives). He has to go through 700 and choose a few representative ones so it may be a bit of an ongoing project.

Got back Friday morning around 1:00 a.m. and all day Friday I did laundry but we had to go out in the afternoon to fill the fridge. Hard to make a meal from pickles and mayonnaise. And then we both got diarrhea as our systems purged themselves of the indulgence from the past 4 weeks. Alas, it didn't purge the 8 pounds I gained so now I have to work on that for the next few weeks. *sigh* Why couldn't I have been born as someone who doesn't like to eat and drink? Today all our clothes are clean. At least i didn't have to hang 10 loads outside like this photo in Venice. Hans' tux fit both before and after the cruise so I didn't need to use the needle and thread I brought. It must be a miracle fabric! Nor, luckily, did I have to use the seam ripper on my clothes. As for the next vacation, we're off to the Philippines in March. I looked for a cruise to take us there or back in order the avoid the 14 hour plane trip, LOL. Found a 32 day Holland America c...

It's a little after the fact to mention our stateroom, but it does deserve mentioning. These are the largest cabins we’ve ever had on a ship! There’s so much closet room we aren’t even using it all. Above our headboard is a large mirror and it faces an opposite mirror spanning the desk and mini bar. I see the tv reflected 8 times in diminishing size until it’s absorbed in the distance.

Ron from Australia approached me one day in the “Vinyard” as I was typing. “I see you have a Dell,” he said. “So do I, and the thing is, I forgot my charger at home. Brought 2 batteries, but now I’ve run them both down. Any chance you have a charger and I could borrow it?” “Sure,” I said. I got his room number and said I’d call him later. Shortly after that Hans joined me so I explained about Ron and just then, Ron walks by with 2 splits of champagne and frosted glasses which he was bringing to his wife who was doing their laundry. We arranged for Ron to pick up the charger later and in return, he said he’d buy us a nice bottle of wine, which he did. To our sincere appreciation, a fine bottle of Australian Rosemount Shiraz was delivered to our dinner table that evening. We ran into Ron again the next day at the pool and we talked about wine. John Glasier (sp?) was the chief winemaker for Wolf Blass and John’s a friend of Ron’s. John left Wolf Blass to make his own wine, thoug...

“I think I smell my socks," Hans said in horror as we were standing in the central open area of the ship. In fact, I could smell them too and was horrified at their pungence. Since Hans walked the Camino, even though he washed out his socks every night, his shoes and sandals became permeated with foot odour. In fact, we deliberately left his sandals behind on the ship. “Let’s go back to the cabin”, I suggested. On our way back as we walked past the International Cafe and the Vinyard, I noticed that the smell became distinctly riper. “It’s not you. It’s the cheese in the appetizers!” Couldn't find a photo of Hans' socks, so instead, here's a dress we saw in Cannes, France for $5,000.

Time to catch up on some of the ports that I didn't get a chance to write about earlier. The Acropolis, which is the entire hilltop that includes several temples and the Parthenon, was stunning. There’s a lot of restoration being undertaken to prevent the ultimate crumbling of the buildings. Oddly, it took only 9 years to build the Parthenon from scratch. But restoration has been ongoing now for over 20 years. We had the guide from Hell. Eva found only minimal and inconsequential subjects to discuss on the long bus ride from Piraeus to Athens. But once in situ, she would herd us like cattle off the beaten path and dredge us with a lecture that found no end. At the second stop, some of us asked her where we would be meeting, and when, so we could look around a little rather than remain in one spot listening to her. She wouldn’t tell us. By the third or fourth stop, which was the acropolis, a few of us became insistent on information: where, when, tell us now! She relented...

The weather is slightly cloudly, but around 25 degrees and we're going out momentarily to enjoy some rays before indulging in a delicious and beautifully presented sushi buffet upstairs. They had one one before and as you can probably imagine, it's a picture. These sea days mean you either sit by the pool or participate in some of the pool activities. We've done all those on previous cruises so we're really just indulging ourselves in doing... nothing. Love it! The ship's chef and maitre d' just did their comedy routine where the chef really does pick on his poor assistant, the maitre d', as they prepare appetizer, meal, salad and dessert. They made us weep with laughter. It's another hot and beautiful day on the Atlantic. Those aren't the chefs, but our friendly waiters. Now, out to the pool and soon, lunch. And also soon (but a little later) diet. Yuck.

Last night we watched "Licence to Wed" on the huge screen outside under the half moon. It gets cool as the sun goes down so the deck attendant bring us blankets. Then they brough popcorn. And a little later, milk and cookies!! It was great, and since it was still early, 7:00 pm, we got to see the movie before going down for dinner. I did have popcorn but drew the line at cookies knowing a fabulous dinner was waiting downstairs. And it was: Alaskan crab legs. Yummy. The after dinner entertainment last night was Robert Mesmer - no doubt a pseudonym since he's a hypnotist. These shows are always howlingly funny so don't ever volunteer to be up on stage! In other news, the last 4 nights we've turned our clock back 1 hour every night. The first 2 times was great. All that extra sleep. Now, however, we're waking up at 5:30 in the mornings! It makes for a long day, LOL. It's another beautiful day today. After we woke up once again at 5:30 am, we watc...

Another gorgeous day! Every day has basically been 23 degrees, sunny and beautiful. I'm so sorry we're in the last quarter of our cruise. The ending is bittersweet, but not bittersweet like chocolate. More like kumquats.

I know, I know. I'm not blogging our ports in sequence but sometimes I have to write about where we've just been or I forget. Some of you know how that is. On our second trip to Barcelona we toured the amazing La Segrada Familia. This stunning cathedral was designed and started by Antoni Gaudi over 100 years ago but it's still not complete. Luckily, he left behind detailed drawings and calculations and so the City of Barcelona is able to continue construction. They expect it to be completed in 25-30 years. The exterior is so detailed. In fact, it's a book telling various tories of the young Jesus. The West details the last supper, the betrayal and crucifixtion. The East side has a huge Christmas tree filled with white doves, the birth/manger, Jesus at 12 in the temple, etc. The north and south sides still need to be detailed. The interior is stunning, even unfinished. Above you see huge pillars forming the tee trunks soar about 100 metres and unfold into gil...

The sun topped the uppermost railing thatlined deck 19 of the ship and pierced through an opening so that a stream of hot light pointed across the pool. I was alone this early in the morning, except for a maintenance man fixing the clock, which had dropped its minute hand a few days ago to protest the passage of time. The pool was mirror still and inviting as I slipped into the sun kissed blue. Forty minutes later I was still alone in the pool. It's so delightful to be able to swim into the current. If I had a pool, I would have to get one of these machines! Now Cadiz. We took a turn on the hop-on hop-off bus to get an idea of the old city. It's beautiful, and so clean. The lady mayor has the entireold city washed early every morning and the city shopkeepers reflect their pride by doing their part, sweeping and washing their storefronts. There are kilometeres of long, wide beaches of golden sand that line the atlantic side of Cadiz. It makes this a tempting city for a ...

By the way, I can't access Facebook on Princess. They block the site. So I haven't been able to check any messages there. Sorry if you've been sending stuff.

We were a little disappointed in Venice. Yes, it's famous and has some great landmarks, like the San Marco Square, but it's dirty. There are cigarette butts between all the cobblestones, and lots of pigeon poop and feathers everywhere. However, the side streets were charming. Locals shop with little pull carts of cloth on 2 wheels. Of course they have to. There are NO cars! This alone makes Venice unique. Since the whole city is geared to pedestrians, there are benches everywhere and locals are usually found there chatting and gossiping in between shopping. We picked up some very inexpensive wine and could have paid even less in one of the shops that sold it right out of the barrel. You bring your empty bottle and fill it for under 2 euros. Venice has a beautiful garden, the entry to which has a sign which reads: "Think with the Senses. Feel with the Mind." And a last note about Venice. One of the evenings we were in port, a local string symphony of 17 mem...

Ow. Ow. Ow! Whoever said strolling along a beach was romantic? We sauntered through lovely white sand on the famous beach at Cannes but boy, is it tough walking. For awhile we held hand but quickly realized that we really needed both arms to keep our balance. Sand walking is definitely not smooth. The beach, however, is gorgeous. We saw pretty women in dental floss bikinis, men smuggling grapes in their speedos, and even a topless 80 year old woman. Cannes is about 3 miles of beach interrupted by a very upscale marina with huge yachts and triple masted sailboats. On the other side are the high-end shops like Armani and Chanel. We saw the area where they show all the new films, but other than the hundreds of tourists from the cruise ships, there were no famous people in sight. *sigh*

Our first night at dinner on the second cruise leaving Venice, we were joined first by Ian and Betty from Florida, and then by a stunning platinum blonde woman from Atlanta travelling alone. After our introductions, the maitre d' escorted an attractive gentleman to our table and seated him next to Natalie and I remember thinking how lovely, she'll have a charming dinner companion during the cruise. That's the last time I found myself thinking "charming" and "Ronnie" in the same sentence. Ronnie, not Ron, also prefers to be called The Baron . And he flashed his card to Natalie to prove his provenance. After that, almost every sentence he spoke was a conversation killer. He was in 2 words, a pretentious prick. In short order we discovered that he's 71 - but he does look good for his age - has 5 children, the youngest of whom is 9 (hip, hip hooray!) has 3 wives, had a wife of 12, yes TWELVE, given to him by the king of some obscure country in West ...

The Greeks first settled the Sorrento peninsula and named it Sirentium. They believed the gorgeous blue waters between Sirentium and the Isle of Capri were alive with mermaids - sirens - hence, the name. From our perch on the high road above these same blue waters, we could see clearly to the bottom. Alas, no mermaids, but it was invitingly blue and green. And we were so high up that we were actually above a heliocopter passing by.

"I know. I know I won't have your complete attention," said Stefano, our tour guide, as our bus deftly evaded 3 scooters squeezing between us and an oncoming bus. And then we dove into traffic so thick and roads so windy and steep they defy description. Of course, that's not going to stop me. They actually have traffic wardens along some of the curvier sections of road who radio several curves ahead and then have buses here, or there, stop and wait so that we don't encounter each other in a tight corner. That worked fine. However, on more than several occasions cars had to back up to give way to us. And on the other side? nothing. The cliffs plunging into the Mediterranean are so steep that in some cases they are negative: not straight down, but slope backwards towards the road. And the road itself? As we rounded curver after curve and looked back we could see it hanging over the edge! It is jaw droppingly spectacular. And in the distance, the deep...

We decided to look around on our own here and just wandered through town, browsing in the market. This looked a lot more like the type of market I was expecting: crowded little kiosks filled to bursting with schlocky goods. We bought some Turkish Delight which we found to be surprisingly good. It was pretty hot, 29, so we stopped for a beer in a little roadside cafe. Then back to the ship to cool off in the pool! Once again we sailed off at sunset. From the top of the ship the water goes on forever stretching till the earth’s curvature stops the eye just below a tangerine sun. href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3deQS2SJP8kKqbADEc9ck-IpJ2uQlkdsAo0gO8lgVVueLqyo-ObA7v-RogHPMW-WjhO-saUop-cNtGdKwHxacqNXVy3c8zuTG3axsUlqJxEIPYeIkhoH9oNPrkxSu23pp2rM2Ow/s1600-h/IMG_1176.JPG">

Can't blog. Wrote some stuff but the computer can't read our disc so... it will have to wait. But we're having a grand time. We are back in Civitavecchia today and decided not to go back to Rome since we'll be doing that on a later land holiday, so today we're just browsing around and enjoying the great weather.

Today we were scheduled to stop in Marseille but overnight the wind picked up and we apparently have heavy swells. Too heavy to allow a vessel of this size to dock safely, so the port was cancelled. Didn’t matter much to us since we hadn’t scheduled a tour and were just planning to take the shuttle into the old part of the city for a walkabout. Instead, we have a day at sea and that’s never a bad thing when you’re on a fabulous cruise liner. Already, I was part of a losing team at a game this morning and now I’m catching up on blogging. Later, who knows? There’s never a shortage of things to do on the ship. And there’s always the fitness room. I can only hope it will be full.

Barcelona! A city capped by an azure sky that mirrored itself in the sea. Our first glimpse of the ship was such a dazzling white it hurt the eyes. All went well. Eileen used her influence at Air Canada with the baggage fellow, a friend of hers, who tagged my suitcases with a Priority tag. “This will decrease the likelihood of your suitcases being lost by 5%” he intoned with a smile. And the extra 5% worked for me as not only did they not get lost, but they came off the plane first in Barcelona! Hah. I’m taking her with me every time I check my luggage from now on. We did meet an unfortunate couple on the ship who are missing all 4 of their bags. This new ship features a different layout for the staterooms and the result is extraordinary closet space. We actually have room left over! The highlight to this first day on the ship was that we learned, quite by chance, that for this day only we could bring some booze on board. And wouldn’t you know it, right there inside the spraw...

Wow. We saw only a small portion of the excavated portion of Pompei but it dazzles the senses. We walked along one of the original roads still in excellent condition, It bears the grooves from countless chariots that travelled over the paved volcanic rock. On either side is an elevated sidewalk for pedestrians. Also on either side are the small shops the lined the road. Bars with terracotta amphoras hanging inside stone boxes to keep the wine cool on hot days. Fountains with running water for pedestrians to drink. The occasional villa, though most weren’t on the main road. Rooms were small, but the entrance foyers were large and each one has a sunken rectangle which contained the household water. The communal baths were divided into cold, tepid and hot water areas since even then, they understood that it can be a shock to the body to go from cold to hot. Hence the tepid water. It was piped in. Unfortunately, their pipes were lead and they were all slowly being poisoned. ...

These are the largest cabins we’ve ever had on a ship! There’s so much closet room we aren’t even using it all. Above our headboard is a large mirror and it faces an opposite mirror spanning the desk and mini bar. I see the tv reflected 8 times in diminishing size until it’s absorbed in the distance. Every day we get fresh fruit, but only if we request it, which we do.

Our stop in Marseille was aborted. The high winds and muscular, white peaked swells made it perilous for a ship our size to approach the dock. It was no big deal to us since we hadn’t booked a tour in Marseille but instead, were going to take the shuttle into the old part of town and look around on our own. Instead, we had an enjoyably relaxing day at sea. Still don’t know all the nooks and crannies of the ship, but we are now intimately familiar with the stairs. Today we are scheduled to dock in Livorno. However, because of the ongoing high winds the ship that is currently docked in our berth actually cannot leave! So now what? The captain explained since he had already aborted one stop, he wasn’t going to do so again so instead, he took us a little further down the coast. From here we would be tendered to shore and all tours would operate as before except that we were going to have to leave the ship a little earlier to make up for the longer bus ride. The drive into Flor...

Sorry - haven't been able to blog since I can't bring myself to pay 50 cents per minute on the ship!! However, I have written up a few things which I will post sometime. Not today probably since this is our FIRST opportunity to use internet! Yesterday we were in Istanbul. Fabulous city! We did get offered free internet by a Rotarian in a hotel however, it wouldn't let me access our webmail nor the blog so... Today we are in Kusadasi, Turkey, and it's hot! 29 degrees so we quickly ducked into the first internet place we found. We'll brave the heat later. We have seen beautiful cities. Rome is absolutely fantastic and we will be returning. Even though we didn't drop a coin into Trevi fountain. It's just a magical place and quite frankly, that took me by surprise. I hadn't expected to find it so fascinating. The ship is grand. We had some rough seas, not very rough but enough for them not to fill the resistance pool until yesterday when I was the...