DAY 7 OR OUR CRUISE

Sardinia, a beautiful and expensive island with lots of narrow streets climbing the hills upwards & onwards.

 

We walked through an expensive shopping area and then descended back down to the port where things were much cheaper although nothing we wanted so we climbed the shuttle bus back to the ship and spent the afternoon by the pool.

As it was our 44th. Anniversary we booked to go to the Italian Restaurant – Portofino. Very posh although not impressed with the menu; Mike ordered Tiger Shrimp on Risotto which he did not really like & I had smoked duck with mushrooms which was ---- COLD! Cold mushrooms resemble slugs and I wasn’t impressed.

We both ordered fillet steak for main course which was fabulous; as Mike likes his steak well done it was butterflied and perfect for him.

Desserts were something else. I had 4 mini puddings and was instructed to eat from right to left otherwise, if I ate the chocolate one first then I could eat no more. i had a spoonful from each – yummy.

Mike had a chocolate dessert and even the “dish” was made from chocolate -

 

Then the head waiter appeared with a cake and candle and they all sang happy anniversary. Embarrassing but a nice gesture. The sweets were all delicious and we left feeling happy and went on to the Ice show which WAS amazing.

Brilliant skaters, good routines and very professional.

We set sail from Sardinia in good weather but it deteriorated and, after we had gone to bed it was pretty rough and several “bumps in the night”.

PINK SATURDAY NUMBER 12

During our recent cruise around the Mediterranean I was always on the look out for something pink.

I have quite a collection so let us start with some beautiful glass found in Gibraltar. We visited the glass making factory & I fell in love with several pieces but they were all very expensive.

This week I will show you Ruby glass, also known as cranberry glass. It is a rich, deep red colour which has a history and folklore of its own. The colour is achieved by adding gold to the ingredients that make crystal. The Romans first made gold ruby but the secret was lost with the demise of the Roman Empire. Rediscovered in the 17th century in Bohemia, it was some years before the secret became widely known. Cranberry glass became particularly popular during the Victorian period and is now very popular with collectors.

 

Two beautiful jugs with different designs.Perfect for an ice cold Pimms

Two pretty vases to enhance some tiger lilies

 

Different designed dishes – just made for some nuts or olives.

 

My favourite glasses.

 

Finally some bowls in which to float a night light or a flower.

The full display.

JJ

DAY 6 OF OUR CRUISE

At sea today travelling down to Sardinia, It really is like being on a floating hotel, very little movement and the engines are almost silent. Still no noise from other cabins and all in all pretty brilliant.

Our bed and my laptop – just like home.

 

I’m not hungry this morning so Mike has gone for his breakfast and left me here, in my favourite place, in bed snuggled up in those amazingly soft sheets.

A lazy day around the pools and bars - lovely. Weather still good.

Cocktail of the day – yummy.

As we would not be eating in the main dining room tomorrow, the head waiter brought us cake and candles and then several waiters sang happy anniversary. Mike visibly cringed. Heather & Keith gave us a card which was a lovely gesture.

DAY 5 OF OUR CRUISE

Cadiz. A beautiful city with quaint narrow streets at right angles to each other leading to many lovely squares.

 

 

In every street we saw tiny little boutique shops and wandered how they survived.

 

A MAGNIFICENT CHURCH IN ONE OF THE SQUARES – PERFECTLY SYMETRICAL.

Beautiful iron work on this gate

And on these balconies and windows – just love it.

We stumbled upon this market – a work of art isn’t it?

Prawns anyone?

We wandered around for a couple of hours before Mike’s knee and my back started aching so it was back to the ship for lunch. Mike ate nothing, he was not hungry but I indulged in a little Greek salad and some fish. Not so hot today on deck so we went to our favourite bar and settled down to read.

Art Deco at it’s finest

 

I nodded off and so did Mike and some guy on the other side was snoring for England! I decided to go for a nap so that I could enjoy the evening activities and Mike said he read but I bet he slept too!

After dinner we went up on deck to watch us go through the straits of Gibraltar and we appeared to be very close to the African coast as the lights ashore were large and bright. The moon cast a shimmering light on the water which was beautiful and very romantic and guesses what? I had a bit of wind which Barry would have been proud of. How embarrassing. Walking back to the lifts, half way along the deck, we reckoned it was further than walking up Merryland Gardens! I bet you won’t believe that bit  BUT it is true.

DAY 4 OF OUR CRUISE

And it must be Lisbon.

Docked at 7.a.m. after a calm trip to watch the sun come up via the TV camera on the Bow.

The 25 de Abril Bridge (Ponte 25 de Abril "25th of April Bridge"is a suspension bridge connecting the city of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, to the municipality of Almada on the left bank of the Tagus river. Because of its similar colouring, it is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA. In fact, it was built by the same company (American Bridge Company) that constructed the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and not the Golden Gate, also explaining its similarity in design.

 

The Statue of Christ (Cristo Rei) is across the Tagus River from Lisbon. Citizens of Lisbon who were grateful that Portugal did not join the fight in World War II built the statue as a thanks to God. The statue is a replica of the Statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado in Rio de Janiero, Brazil (although smaller).

Not feeling great today, one of my tired days so we decided to breakfast in the dining room as it is waiter service and less hectic. Won’t go again though. We were shown to a table with 8 other people on it which meant conversation first thing in the morning – O No!

The waiter was grumpy when I asked for an orange juice and the mushroom omelette was not mushgood(Get it?) We walked the deck but I really did not want to go ashore and finally gave in & went for a nap at 11am. Felt better after that so then lunch. Now. Up until now I have avoided the sweet stuff but today I spotted like a French fruit tart with crème patisserie and put one on my plate and then …………. I spotted PECAN PIE.

 

Well, it just had to done, I helped my self to the smallest bit and a smidgin of whipped cream and it didn’t let me down. Best sweet thing so far.

We were moored just in front of the  bridge and expected to reverse back on departure but no …………… we edged forward and it looked for all the world that we would not go under. We did – of course.

Dinner was good again with loads of choice and after we went to watch some ballroom dancing but didn’t participate. Some of the people were quite good; I’d give ‘em “7” but some, despite having had lessons, were very funny. One guy doing the Paso doble was hysterical, I felt sorry for his partner.

And so to bed.

DAY 3 OF OUR CRUISE

Vigo – northern Spain. We decided not to go on an excursion being pretty familiar with Spanish beaches, churches, mountains et al so we just wandered ashore. This was the first time we had seen the whole boat from the shore – here is a part of it – see the tiny people ?

 

 

The port is the largest fishing port in the world and had that certain aroma which confirmed it!

 

Very, very old with broken down buildings and narrow streets leading up, I assume into the town. Too steep and too far for these old codgers we just strolled around and I did what I like best. Taking photos of various unusual buildings.

A very old , attractive iron gateway,

Those that had not started falling down that is.

Tiny beachside properties ripe for conversion!!

 

Strangely, we came across a beautiful little children’s play area and next door was a well kept garden with several fountains all working!

Back to the ship I was pleased to see good security and it was just like an airport with people scanners and luggage scanners. It was then time for lunch.

This is buffet style and there literally is everything anyone could possibly want. We stick to salad but many have a 3 course meal, with plates overflowing and then go back for more. Yes, there are some very large people on board and lots of wheelchair users. Great holiday for them of course

Dinner was Italian based, we ordered Sauvignon Blanc which was not quite as sweet but roll on tomorrow and a decent glass of red. Hated the starter which had cold roasted veg & I expected it to be hot so that was left. There is something about cold mushrooms that turn my stomach – yuck!

Main was lamb shank delicious and Tiramisu for sweet.

The waiters all paraded around the dining room and then sang O sole Mio to us all. Around 200 I think just for that dining room.Our waiter is the smiling one behind the two in red jackets. He was lovely.

The after dinner show was better with the usual mixture of music and singing and dancing and somehow I stayed awake... Could have been the large number of decibels that did it !!

Again, back to our cabin by the correct route and into bed.

I can have T E A tomorrow yippee.

JJ

DAY 2 OF OUR CRUISE

Woke up at 7.10, unpacked but I was feeling queasy. Decided to go for something to eat and made our way to the restaurant. There was masses to choose from but we just had orange juice, tea and bacon & egg.

Returned to finish unpacking and then booked our trip to Rome and our anniversary dinner in the Italian Restaurant. I walked a kilometre around the deck

it was going to be a mile but that is now scheduled for tomorrow. Lunch could have been anything from roast, casserole, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Mexican ,pasta, etc etc but we were good and just had cold meat and salad.

 

Simon Cowell Eat Your heart out!

They have a sale on teeth whitening, $50 off so I booked an appointment and have to say I’m thrilled with it. It did not hurt and just consisted of the teeth being painted with some substance and then a light was shone on it for 8 minutes at a time. I had it done 4 times in total and despite dribbling like a baby it was not too uncomfortable but I did have difficulty keeping the shield in place as my mouth is too small. Technician’s words – not mine!

Then, after hitting me with the bill guess what she said?

No red wine, tea or coffee for TWO Days; how will I survive? If I had known this first I would not have had it done. May need to take an extra Prozac or two to compensate!

I am just resting on the bed now typing this up prior to getting glammed up for the formal dinner tonight. I will tell you all about that later.

 

Formal Dinner Number 1 –

I wore my new handkerchief skirt with my purple silk blouse from Tombstone Arizona.

Mike wore his new (old) suit which he had forgotten he had and only found it when putting a new new one in his wardrobe! He scrubs up well but was surprised to see the majority in DJ’s. There were several in suits and none were wearing Mike’s burnt orange designer one bought in Calpe.

The meal was wonderful, I’m struggling to remember the starter but I had duck for the main course and it was the best I’ve ever tasted. Not greasy but very moist without being the slightest bit pink. I was good and had White wine with my meal – sweetish pinot grigio so it will be different tomorrow.

Then on to the Theatre which is bigger than the Princess in Torquay and watched a group singing Drifter songs and Motown.

Good but not my cup of tea although the audience were standing giving it some welly so guess it’s just me.

The show finished at 10 and I wanted my bed so we got in the lift, went up to deck 9, our deck, turned left into the corridor and walked and walked for miles – honestly. We had forgotten we were in the back of the ship and our cabin is at the front and you can‘t walk all the way through. The high heels came off pretty quickly I can tell you and I eventually fell into bed exhausted.

Have I mentioned the bed? Super king size just like at home with those wonderfully white cotton sheets which are as soft as silk. Mike says I keep going on about it.