tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91240147821035586922024-02-22T00:32:25.530-08:00Second Marriage Romance: Adventures of Chuck&KarenSecond marriages can be more romantic than first marriages because the second time around, people are more sure of who they are and what they want in a partner. Couples are more often more romantic because they appreciate their second chance at love so much more. This blog is about love and romance the second time around!And, about how much I love my husband, Chuck!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-65510439724588927792016-11-11T13:58:00.003-08:002018-02-01T18:30:43.905-08:00I'm Still Here !!!<p>Oh my goodness, it has been a long time since I have written on this blog. If the date on this blog says 11/11/16, I have no idea why. It is really 2/1/18. I am sorry to have been absent for <b>SO</b> long. There was a glitch with this blog and I couldn't find it on the dashboard. After a friend asked me tonight if I was still writing on it, I decided to do some research...and I found it! (Thanks, Fran!)<p>
<p>Chuck and I have gone on a few more cruises since I wrote this, and we have two more coming up this year. We have a trip to Las Vegas planned in February for a conference he has to go to. That will be my next post on here. I have also started another blog about saving money so that has been keeping me busy. I have drawing for my subscribers each month for three items, including gift cards, and that has been keeping me busy.<p>
<p>If you are interested in saving money, or winning prizes, you can find that blog here:<p>
You can find that blog at karenhellier.com/
<p>And now, just for your viewing pleasure, I will leave you with two pictures from a cruise we took in 2017 aboard the Caribbean Princess cruise ship. I took these when the ship was docked in Bermuda. We had gone on a glass-bottomed boat tour and I was able to take these pictures from the water.<p>
<p>Enjoy the photos and I will be back later in February with some shots of our trip to Las Vegas.<p>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-52714643343455341032016-11-11T13:58:00.002-08:002016-11-11T14:03:08.074-08:00More Wonderful Exeriences on the Regal Princess Cruise (Days 7 & 8)<p>Friday, April 22nd<p>
<p>We can’t believe our cruise is almost to the half way point. This week has really flown by but been very relaxing. Last night I was asleep by about 11:15 pm and woke up at 4:00 am. After lying in bed for an hour, I decided to get up and take a walk around the ship as it would be a good time to take pictures, since not many people would be around. I did do that for about 30 minutes and talked to a guy from the passenger service desk. He told me that the desk is manned all through the night, and he doesn’t mind working all night because he works from 9:00 pm till 8 am, and then has the rest of the day off. He is from South Africa and because he doesn’t have a family, he loves working on the ship. When he goes home for his break, he misses being on the ship. That’s the first time I have heard that. Most people I talk to get homesick. Below are some pictures I took early in the morning which include the atrium, the art gallery, and a sculpture near the passenger's services desk.<p>
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<p> I went to the Horizon Court buffet and just had a cup of coffee. Shortly after I got there, a woman who had been having coffee at another table, walked by my table said "hello", and started talking to me. Before I knew it we were sitting down talking for two hours and it was a really interesting conversation. She’s originally from Columbia and now lives in Australia. She is 36 and going through a divorce and is in between jobs so it’s the perfect time for her to go on a cruise. She is staying on the ship for 25 days (ours is a 14 day cruise) and is going on to Germany and Russia. At 7:30 I realized Chuck was probably awake and wondering where I was so I headed back to the room.<p>
<p>We went to breakfast and then sat outside on a lounge chair in the sun near the pool for about 15 minutes. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, an oldie but a goody, was on the Movies Under the Stars screen. Chuck went to another enrichment lecture about the Truk Lagoon and exploring the ships underwater that were found there. I was so tired from waking up so early that I fell asleep for about 15 minutes, then went to the library to return my book. Unfortunately I couldn’t find much else to choose from so I found a chair to sit in and wait for Chuck and talked to a nice couple comparing cruise notes of different cruises and cruise lines we have been on. That's one of the things I enjoy about meeting other people on cruise ships...the chance to compare notes and find out tips for other cruises. After meeting Chuck and heading for lunch, we once again sat in the sun in lounge chairs, but only for about 15 minutes as the sun is strong.<p>
<p>Back in the room, Chuck took a nap and I watched the end of the movie, “By the Sea” which was written and directed Angelina Jolie Pit and Brad Pitt, and unfortunately for her, was one of the worst movies I have ever seen! Then when Chuck was working out I walked a mile on the walking track, and then went to use my favorite pool again. The water was pretty chilly even though the sun was warm but it was very refreshing. We then went to dinner at the Symphony dining room. I had fettuccine alfredo and Chuck had lobster tails with crab cakes. The crab cakes had red pepper and filler in them so weren’t as good as many we have had. BUT the lobsters tails and fettuccine were delicious. For dessert Chuck had an amazing choice called Chocolate Journeys and I was full so I just had peach sorbet. You can see pictures of our delicious meals below. We then went to see Tom Frenek again and he once again blew us away with his piano antics. After that we had just enough time to head to the Vista Lounge to see a new comedian, Darrell Joyce who was funny talking about marriage and the typical man/woman view of packing for and enjoying a cruise.<p>
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<p>Saturday, April 23rd<p>
<p>Today we got up and went for breakfast a little later than normal. I decided to take it a bit easy on the food although that’s hard to do since there are so many delicious looking choices on board this ship. I had yogurt and fruit and a small piece of banana bread with raspberry jelly, which is one of my favorite breakfast items on Princess ships. After breakfast we went to another on board sale. This one had many more items including jackets and hats, magnets, purses, etc. I ended up getting a hat that was marked way down because I forgot to bring one and the sun is quite bright out on the decks. Then we went to Club 6 which was where the eBay sellers of the world meeting was to be held, by my request. Chuck was hopeful that a lot of people were going to show up. Only 2 guys came, and they were both older men who hadn’t started selling on eBay yet, but had hoped to start. So instead of a group of eBay sellers getting together to compare notes, I gave them some tips on how to start selling on eBay. It was actually a lot of fun and I think we all enjoyed ourselves. During the meeting, Chuck had to leave to go to his lecture about the same diver that found a downed WWII airplane that was discovered off the coast of Corsica, and all of his experiences surrounding that discovery with the gunner’s body still sitting in the tail of the airplane. I happened to be going by one of the jewelry stores after my meeting was over and they were doing a drawing so I stayed and Chuck met me there and waited for me sitting in the sun on an outside deck area just outside the jewelry store. This area was a new discovery for us and it was relaxing to sit in the sunshine overlooking the water for a bit. We ate lunch (at this point I think I might be addicted to taco salad with guacamole for lunch!) and when we came back, I did our fist load of laundry of the trip. It costs $3.00 for a washer or a dryer, and $1.50 for laundry soap softener. I am glad we brought our own Tide in trial sized packets and laundry sheets. That saves $2.00 per load. You know me…always trying to save money!<p>
<p>Later we took a nap and then went to work out. I finally was able to show Chuck where “my” pool is and hope that he will come up there with me someday. I walked on the track and then went to “my” pool and met a woman there with her 10 year old daughter who is one of only four children on board the ship. They were really nice AND from Connecticut which was quite surprising. We went to dinner at the Horizon Court and the special thing they had tonight was Yorkshire pudding which was a very unusual offering at dinner. I also had a delicious peach Mouse with whipped cream on top for dessert. Chuck had an end cut prime rib, brussel sprouts. and beef stew over mashed potatoes and really enjoyed that. We headed to my favorite part of the ship…the back deck called the Terrace Grill and looked out over the be<strike></strike>beautiful view there for a bit, before heading to the song and dance show in the Princess Theater. Tonight was a show called, ‘Spectacular” which we had seen before on the Royal Princess and I wasn’t looking forward to seeing it. BUT the singers and dancers were SO good on this ship that we really enjoyed the show. Afterward, we watched a guy doing a street performance type of show in the Piazza. It was a juggling and balancing act where he balanced things on his nose and chin, etc. We called it a night after having a Coke and listening to a band play dance music in the piazza.<p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-29196091436681610302016-11-11T13:27:00.001-08:002016-11-11T13:27:10.501-08:00Days Three Through Five on Our Transatlantic Cruise: Spring, 2016
<p>Monday, April 18th<p>
<p>We went to breakfast in the Horizon Court and there is always so much to choose from. We find it hard to eat light with all of the variety.Here's a picture of the Horizon Court very early in the morning before they were even serving. It's very bright and airy.<p>
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After breakfast Chuck wanted to go to a lecture on sunken treasure by a guy named John Christopher Fine. It was held in the very large Princess Theater (see picture below). I was not that interested so brought my book to read, just in case. After 5 minutes, I decided I was not interested in buried treasure, so read my book. Chuck liked the talk a lot, and I will admit that he seemed a bit more interesting than some of the lecturers we have heard. We went to lunch, then went to the room and Chuck took a nap while I watched a movie.
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<p>We had a glass of wine on the balcony of our room and headed to dinner in the Symphony dining room. We always do anytime dining, which means you just show up at a restaurant on the ship, as you would at any restaurant at home, and we had to wait for about 20 minutes for a table. After dinner we went to a show in the Princess Theater. Tonight’s show was a violinist named Gregory…yes, that’s it, just one name! He says he is the tallest violinist in the world at 6 feet 5 inches and played remarkably well, backed by the Regal Princess stage band. We even had time to see a second show which was Steve Couette again, the same guy from last night. I have decided I didn’t like him all that much because, although I did laugh at his jokes, he yelled at the audience a lot, and I found it annoying. Chuck really enjoyed him though.<p>
<p>Tuesday, April 19th<p>
<p>After breakfast, Chuck wanted to go to another seminar on by the same man, John Christopher Fine. This one was titled, Stallions and Treasure Hunting. I didn’t want to go, so instead went to a ship sale where everything is $10. They had a lot of items for ladies including watches, scarves, some clothes, nylon cross body bags, and cuff watches which I really like and since I only have a dress watch, decided to get a silver and blue cuff watch. I then went to the library and did one of the daily puzzles they have for passengers. Today’s was a trivia type puzzle about matching the different types of animals to what their young are called. For instance, a baby kangaroo is named a Joey, etc. I wasn’t very good at it and only got 11 right out of 25. And I was worse at Sudoku (if you know me, you know Math/numbers are definitely not my thing) I worked on a jigsaw puzzle for awhile that was laid out on the table for passengers to work on if they so chose. And then looked for another book but couldn’t find any I was interested in reading. I did bring some books with me but always like to peruse what they have to offer on ship libraries in case there’s something there that looks interesting that I may never get the chance to read again.<p>
<p>Afterward I met Chuck for lunch, then he napped while I watched the movie, <b>The Intern</b> starring Robert Deniro and Anne Hathaway and I have to say it was one of my favorite new movies. While Chuck worked out in the gym, I went to the walking track and got rained on as the ship went through some rain clouds shortly after I arrived on the track. Since we were moving pretty fast, I decided to keep walking and after 2 rainy loops around, we were out of the clouds and I finished enough laps to do 1 mile. I happened to notice a small pool on the deck below with no one in it and decided to check it out tomorrow.<p>
<p>I hurried back to the room to get ready for formal night tonight. We went down to get a seat in the Piazza area of the atrium near the champagne waterfall. Another couple that was from New York came and sat down near us and we talked to them for awhile. They had never been on a Princess ship before so we updated them on all the wonderful things about Princess cruise lines. We watched the Maitre d pour champagne to get the waterfall going, and then went to dinner in the Concerto Room. Here we are on formal night, and I have included a picture of one of the free dining rooms.<p>
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<p> After dinner we went to a piano show by a guy named Tom Frenek. I have never seen anything like this before. This guy was an excellent piano player who had more energy than most entertainers I have ever seen. If you have ever seen Robin Williams being interviewed where he just talked and talked and went off on tangents, this guy was sort of like that, but he played the piano and sand as well. AND he’s a bit of a contortionist so for some songs was playing the piano with his back to it and reaching his arms backwards, and at another point he was playing while lying on the floor. He has over 100,000 followers on his Facebook page so I will probably friend him when we get home just because of his sheer passion for music.<p>
<p>Wednesday, April 20th<p>
<p>Today we went to breakfast and Chuck went to hear a lecture on ships during World War I. It was given by the same man who has been lecturing on Treasure Hunting and once again he was apparently very interesting, but I didn’t go and instead went back to the library. Immediately after that, there was an interview with the captain of this ship, who has risen to the rank of Commodore, in the very same venue. Chuck had recognized his name from a previous cruise, and it turns out he was the captain on our very first cruise together,The Crown Princess in 2006. He has come far in 10 years since Commodore is the highest rank one can reach, although according to him, it’s just a fancy title for Captain!<p>
<p>While Chuck was going to these lectures that I didn’t have an interest in, I went to my very favorite spot on this ship, which is the same favorite spot I had on the Royal Princess. It’s on the back of the ship, at the outside of the Horizon Court buffet. I brought a book I was reading, The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch, but instead decided to take notes on a book I had borrowed from the library here on board, “Like Water for Chocolate.” I enjoyed it so much that I read it in less than 24 hours and am in a hurry to write a review on it for HubPages so I can return it to the library here on board so someone else can read it. One of the things I love about cruising is that I have time to read. I do read when we are home, but not as much because I feel it takes time away from eBay. Now that I am away from our everyday lives, and the frenzy of keeping up with eBay daily, I think my previous view is rather sad. There should be enough time in my everyday life to work on eBay and read. Reading is good for my mind, while eBay is good for my bank account! I am going to try to balance both in my life better when we get back home.<p>
<p>After I took notes on the book, I went to a photography seminar in the Vista lounge…the exact opposite end of the ship that Chuck was at. The seminar was given by one of the photography staff on board. It was pretty basic but the one thing it did remind me that I should be doing is taking my camera off the automatic setting and setting it on specific settings which will result in clearer pictures with better lighting. I have a Nikon Coolpix camera which Chuck got me to illustrate my articles when I first started writing online in 2012. I like the camera but I can’t get clear close ups on it. The speaker recommended the next stage up so I may look into that someday. Until then at least I have been reminded about how to take better pictures with the camera I have.<p>
<p>We had arranged to meet at noon in the photography area and look at pictures that were taken last night. Personally I was not impressed with any of them, but we have plenty of time to have more pictures taken and there’s no need to buy any of them, although we do like to buy a few as mementos of the cruise.<p>
<p>We went to lunch and decided to try the pizza, fries and hot dogs from the Trident Grill instead of the usual fair at the Horizon Court. When we came back to the room, Chuck took a nap and did some work on his computer which he unfortunately had to bring with him. I watched another movie. This time it was ”Burnt” starring Sienna Miller and Bradley Cooper. I enjoyed it, but I think people who really enjoy cooking might be the movie’s biggest fans!<p>
<p>After we rested, I went to the walking track again. Good thing for my pedometer as it really encourages me to get extra steps in. I decided to bring my bathing suit and was happy that no one was in the pool below. This pool is small, maybe about 12 feet in diameter and is in the shape of a circle. I had noticed it when I was walking on the track earlier as it is on level down from the track and I hadn’t noticed anyone there. When I did go down, I realized it is actually in front on the smoking lounge area on the back of the ship. But no one smokes around the pool and no one seemed to care that I was there. I had participated in water aerobics once back home in our community of Big Canoe and knew enough of my own exercises to combine with those and do a 30 minute aerobic water workout. It’s definitely too small to swim laps so if I walk as aerobic exercise and then so swimming exercises and stretches in the pool, I should have a pretty good workout. I am hooked and plan to walk and use the pool now every afternoon. I felt so relaxed when I was done. The Royal Princess doesn’t have this type of pool back there, only a children’s playground so this was really a nice surprise.<p>
<p>Here's my new favorite exercising spot with a great view of the back of the ship, and also the walking/jogging track that has great views because it's the highest point on the cruise ship...<p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbe7qabrzVcgM_8iGzQpwH2H04tkpeGDCqDkvhdWHxsiEtSHjoD24cvnFZJuGfeAY5AIKknwMamOjkGc1LuSqSobWobHkSbzmxYOzIGZL__8TnNykL0HUNLDJcWXsj2AAJ30Qc29fdmo/s1600/DSCN8164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbe7qabrzVcgM_8iGzQpwH2H04tkpeGDCqDkvhdWHxsiEtSHjoD24cvnFZJuGfeAY5AIKknwMamOjkGc1LuSqSobWobHkSbzmxYOzIGZL__8TnNykL0HUNLDJcWXsj2AAJ30Qc29fdmo/s400/DSCN8164.JPG" width="400" height="300" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-59135692970317964522016-08-25T12:10:00.000-07:002016-08-25T12:10:45.400-07:00Transatlantic Cruise, Regal Princess, April 2016 Day 1<p>Sunday, April 17th<p>
<p>After 7 long months of waiting for this cruise, we were quite excited to get on board our cruise ship, The Regal Princess. One of our favorite parts of any cruise we go on is stepping on board the ship for the first day of our cruise, especially a ship we haven't ever been on before. This is a fairly new ship, and the sister ship of one we have cruised on the last two times, the Royal Princess. We were pleased that the embarkation, arriving to the port and getting on the ship went quite smoothly.More than ever before. We walked up to the counter, checked in and walked on board...after getting the expected coming on board photo taken by the ship's photographers.<p>
<p>We were not going to be allowed to get into our rooms till 2:00 pm and it was 1:30 pm when we stepped onto the ship so everyone was being guided to the buffet area. We got reacquainted with the types of food on the ship, which is varied and delicious. Princess cruises always do a wonderful job with their food. One of my favorite lunch items from the last 2 cruises was taco salad so I treated myself to another one today. Chuck had a ½ a sandwich and some pea soup. Once we were able to get to our room, we were pleased to see it is the same as last time, with the bed actually heading in the same direction. Our suitcases came soon after we arrived, and we unpacked and met our room steward who is named Renan.<p>
<p>Then it was time to go to the safety drill, a mandatory drill that must happen, on Princess ships at least, before the ship leaves the dock. I don't like the safety drills because everyone must rush to find where they are supposed to be assembling, and it is different for different parts of the ship, then we have to stand around or sit and just wait till the last passengers straggle in. I think some people think they can get out of this drill if they don't show up, but they call your name on a loudspeaker if you don't show up and it just inconveniences everyone else. Fortunately, this only now takes about 15 minutes once everyone is assembled at their muster stations. After returning to our room, we were happy that Renan came back with our complimentary glasses of champagne that Princess cruises gives to all mini-suite and above passengers. We usually go up on one of the top decks (Deck 16) for the sail away party where everyone dances to the band and drink specials are touted by waiters as the ship sails out to sea BUT this time we decided to stay on our balcony and drink our champagne as we watched Fort Lauderdale sail by.<p>
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<p>One of the most fun things about this sail away is that the Princess Cruise Line ships play the theme from the "Love Boat" on the ship's horn as it heads out so sea. There are some tall condo buildings that the ship passes and people stand on their balconies and wave. One of the balconies had a very large Princess Cruises flag that they hung off their balcony and some had very loud horns that responded to our horns.<p>
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<p> Here's our view from our balcony as we were heading out to sea...
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<p>Chuck then went to work out while I went to the library to get a jump start on getting a good book to read on the cruise. The libraries on the Royal and Regal Princess are very small and the choice of books is not very good. I ended up getting the book, "Like Water for Chocolate" for me and the "Biography of Jimmy Stewart" for Chuck.<p>
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<p>We went to dinner at the Horizon Court Buffet area and were pleased to see it wasn’t very busy. Most of the passengers were probably at the fancier dining rooms, which are named the Symphony and the Concerto. After dinner, we went to the introductory show which consisted of one song/dance routine from the Regal Princess singers and dancers, and a comedian named Steve Couette. He was pretty funny. The singers and dancers were impressive and better than on many of the ships we have been on so that's a good sign in terms of entertainment for the rest of the cruise. We were tired after that and headed back to the room. I was happy to see there are 18 movies I am interested in watching on this cruise! I know...I am crazy...probably the only person you know who looks forward to cruising on Princess partly for the large number of great movies I get to watch! We already we are moving the clocks 1 hour forward tonight. By the time we hit Denmark, we will be ahead of the East coast of the US by 6 hours.<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-55067478840859536002015-10-22T19:12:00.000-07:002015-10-22T21:00:20.925-07:00Princess Cruise Excursion to Normandy and a Day at Sea<p><b>Wednesday, September 9th, Day 7</b><p>
<p> I woke up at 5:00 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. At about 5:30 am I decided I was just wasting time so got up and showered. I was probably too excited about leaving early for our trip to Normandy, France.<p>
<p>As we left the port, the sun was rising this absolutely gorgeous shade of red and I would have taken a picture of it, but the part of the port of LaHavre we were docked in is not very pretty so the sun was rising over transport containers in the dock yard, which is definitely not the prettiest of settings for a sunrise.<p>
<p>We headed out through LaHavre to the beaches of Normandy as that is our excursion for today. On the way, we went over a really extraordinary bridge over the Seine River. To our right was the mouth of the Seine where it joined the sea, and to the left was the Seine River flowing toward Paris. At the mouth of the Seine we went by a town called, “Honfleur” which is where a group of explorers left from France and settled in Canada. I felt a real connection to that town because I am part French Canadian on my dad’s side and it was really exciting to see where my French ancestors came from.<p>
<p>I have to say I was not looking forward to this excursion but on our last transatlantic cruise, I promised Chuck that if he took me to Paris,(which he did) I would go with him to the beaches of Normandy on our next cruise in the area, so here we are. I didn’t want to go because I thought it was really going to be incredibly sad. But for some reason that I can’t quite fathom, most of the men I know are really intrigued with war, especially World War II, and Chuck is included in that group so we were on our way. It was a 2 ½ hour bus ride. The guide was quite interesting, although he was originally from Australia. I was disappointed that he was not a native of France. We passed a lot of fields with cows, sheep and horses. The terrain in France is mostly fields with some hills, but not high hills. More like slopes with lots of green grass. We saw a lot of hedgerows, although the guide, Geoffrey said that 70% of the hedgerows in France have been taken out. There are no forests in France so what people did was to make rows of earth that are about 3 to 4 feet high. They planted trees in rows on top of these mounds, and used them as living forests. Not only did they serve to delineate fields for farmers, but each year branches would be sawed off and used for firewood, and every 10 years, the trees would be chopped down to make lumber to build things, with more trees being planted to replace them. During WWII, the Allies lost a lot of men when tanks would try to go over the hedgerows and expose the bellies of the tank as it was going up the hedgerow, and the Germans would shoot into the belly of the tank which was the most vulnerable part, and blow the tank up. Within a few weeks of breaking into France, the Allies came up with a way to prevent that from happening by using metal spikes to attach to the front of the tanks that would act as teeth and dig into the hedgerows, and pulling the tanks through without exposing the bellies. Geoffrey also pointed out many apple orchards in this area of Normandy which are used to make apple cider and apple brandy. We stopped at a rest area which had a bakery and coffee shop and shared a croissant which was absolutely delicious. It was moist, light and flaky and pulled apart easily, which is exactly what you would think a pastry from France should be.<p>
<p>Our first stop of the tour was at Point du Hoc. When you get off the buses you follow a path down toward the cliffs. On the way is a series of plaques with pictures of some of the rangers who were the first to climb the cliffs and take fight the Germans. The plaques honor those men who died either on the beach, or within 24 hours after they made it to the top. It was quite sad to see their faces.<p>
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Past that, the path leads to the top of the cliffs. All around were grassy fields and it was odd to imagine that this is what those men saw when they climbed up the cliffs. Although on that day, they probably couldn’t see much due to smoke and exploding ammunition. There were still huge craters on the earth, now filled with grass and some wildflowers, where the Allies had been trying to fire at and explode German cannons and gun arsenals. I thought it fitting that the wildflowers are growing in such a place of destruction and death. It seemed a fitting tribute to our men who gave their lives at this place. I have seen enough movies about WWII that I could imagine the sounds of gunfire and explosions all around me. I also imagined seeing US soldiers falling down dead and hurt all around me through smoke and a gray sky and tears sprung into my eyes. I felt no sympathy for the Germans who also died that day. They were fighting for something so evil, I find it hard to find sympathy for them. Here are a few pictures of those craters.<p>
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<p>We wandered around in that field for awhile, and were able to go down inside a German gun embankment, where rooms had been built underground to house German soldiers and a lookout area was built in the concrete structure to look out to sea. In front of that was a fenced off area but we could go to the edge of it and see the cliffs the rangers climbed up after they landed on the beaches of Normandy that day. It is really as sheer and straight up as the movies portray. Some had grappling hooks to help them climb up.<p>
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<p>After that somber experience, we went to Omaha beach, which is an open area where the ships came in. There is a monument there with flags flying in front of it from each of the Allied countries. I went down to the water and walked around the beach and touched the ground. I needed to walk where these brave men walked, and to touch the ground they walked on to defend freedom. I could only get 1/2 of the flags in the picture.Here's also a picture of Chuck in front of the monument on the beach which symbolizes wings and freedom.<p>
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<p>After this we were supposed to go to the American cemetery. I am sure you have seen pictures of all the white marble crosses that overlook the sea. Unfortunately, pictures are all we will have of this site as well because the cemetery was closed due to a loss of electrical power there. No one could quite figure out what electrical power has to do with a cemetery, but we were denied access. Everyone on the bus was quite disappointed.<p>
<p>I want to mention here that at this point I was quite sad. This trip is very moving but not easy to someone who is sensitive to the suffering of others. I would have much preferred to get out and take pictures of all the beautiful old stone farmhouses we were passing in the French countryside. By noon I had had enough about death and destruction. Here is a picture I took from the bus of the narrow streets we were driving through on the way to various beaches. They were very quaint.<p>
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<p>Since we were not able to go to the cemetery, we went to lunch earlier than planned. Lunch was held at a very pretty country club surrounded by a golf course. We sat down to beautiful table settings on white tablecloths. We had a choice of French Rose wine, or a Merlot. Each setting had 2 wine glasses. The first course was a wonderful salad with a piece of French bread. On the side of the salad plate were 4 round slices of cheese which were delicious and very rich tasting. The main course was chicken, a solid potato patty, and a baked tomato. Dessert was a custard type of patty that tasted as though it had pineapple in it. All in all, it was delicious taste of French cuisine.<p>
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<p>Back on the bus, we headed to Gold Beach, and then another area above Gold Beach where there were still German guns present in the embankments. Our guide said he didn’t know why they had been left there because after the war, metal was hard to come by and almost anything the French could get their hands on was melted down. It was so peaceful up above the ocean, it was hard to imagine Germans being there and looking out to the sea, within walking distance to French houses. It must have been so hard for the people of that village to have the Germans occupying their land. Chuck is the man in the blue striped shirt in front of the cannon.<p>
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<p>The last stop of the day was in the village of Arromanches. This was where the D-Day museum is located. On the way into the village, many of the stone walls and sides of homes had large pictures of the Americans coming into the village as heroes and the townspeople greeting them with enthusiasm. I truly don’t understand why the French seem to dislike Americans so much today when we helped set them free from the Germans 70 years ago. I should have asked the guide about that.<p>
<p>The town itself centers around the D-Day museum. There are lots of gift shops and the museum itself, all set along the beachfront area. The museum is small and old, and with a few bus tours in there all at once, very crowded. There are lots of models of the beaches and surround areas. There are examples of uniforms and helmets worn, and guns, canons, etc. that were used in the war. One whole wall is full of portraits of the generals and important Allied political people such as Winston Churchill, Franking D. Roosevelt, and generals I have never heard of but were important. The museum also offered a diorama of the floating harbor built in England and transported to this beach because the Allies were unable to capture any of the harbors the Germans held, so they designed their own and brought it over. That was actually really interesting and quite ingenious of them to do. You can still see some of this floating harbor in the water. The museum offered a 20 minute movie which everyone raved about on the ship since many of them had already been to Normandy. I was disappointed because it was a black and white movie, probably done in the 1940s and it wasn’t about the storming of the Normandy beaches, but all about the floating harbor only. After the movie we had 30 minutes of free time. I wandered around and took some pictures, mostly of the village, since I didn’t get many pictures of France today, only war related items. Chuck and I then met up and went in one store and bought a book about the Normandy Beach landings.<p>
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<p>Then it was back on the bus for another 2 ½ hour bus ride back to the ship. We were tired after this day so just ate in the Horizon buffet and enjoyed our meal. We went back to the room, read a little and headed to bed.<p>
<p><b>Thursday, September 10th, Day 8</b><p>
<p>Today is the first day I woke up at a normal time. We went to bed at 11:15 pm and I woke up at 8:00 am. I hope I am adjusted to the change in times now because I am tired of feeling tired. We had another wonderful breakfast at the Horizon Court buffet area and came back to the room. At 11:15 Chuck went to a port lecture about the port of Lisbon, Portugal while I went to a Ladies’ Pamper Party put on by the spa staff here on board. I would have gone with Chuck but we had already booked our excursion for Lisbon and I thought it would be fun to do something different. Basically the Pamper Party consisted of the spa staff demonstrating the spa products such as make up remover, toner and moisturizer, and then letting us use them as a group by ourselves. We also tried a teeth whitener, and a “California Sun glow” product that they put on us and is really a bronzer. We did our regular routine after that, which included lunch, a movie and a nap in the room. I watched the movie, “Wild” starring Reese Witherspoon. After a workout, we got ready for the first formal night of the cruise. I was excited that as I was waiting for Chuck to get ready for breakfast I went out on the balcony of our room and saw dolphins off the side of the ship. For those of you who have read my cruise blogs before, you may remember how happy these sightings make me. And since I have seen dolphins in the wild in their natural habitats, I have no interest in ever going to an aquarium again. There were about 12 of them, leaping over the water next to the ship. It’s is truly an amazing sight to see.<p>
<p>We headed downstairs to the atrium area in time for the champagne fountain to start. The waiters came around and offered everyone champagne or mimosas and the champagne began flowing into a pyramid of champagne glasses. At 7:45 the captain came out and introduced himself and his main staff. The staff passed out chocolate lollipops to celebrate Princess Cruise Lines 50th anniversary!Here is Chuck all dressed up for formal night with his lollipop!<p>
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<p>We then went to dinner in the Symphony dining room. Chuck had salmon and I had beef which of course was delicious. After dinner, we went to a show by the Princess Theater singers and dancers titled, “Colours of the World.” The troupe sang a series of songs from different countries and it lasted about 45 minutes. It was quite colorful and there were 4 main singers, 2 guys and 2 girls, and a troupe of about 12 dancers.<p>
<p>After a relaxing yet eventful day at sea, we headed to bed to rest up for our day tomorrow in Vigo, Spain.<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-88398371472809134912015-10-07T18:58:00.000-07:002015-10-07T18:58:02.010-07:00The First 3 Cruise Days: Amsterdam & Rotterdam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRytRIYCSAYfxoATvg8AfP2WKmZV4g7GmU4_cGjtzjuy0w9CeRwtpHQ0qxKudRuTGYEpugnjkYV6zVVMpvtDkIFMXQ_UsVEnvhaaQuznEEz61EwWtJfhw8UpvBlsYMPhOAQpNwZJThCDQ/s1600/DSCN2695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRytRIYCSAYfxoATvg8AfP2WKmZV4g7GmU4_cGjtzjuy0w9CeRwtpHQ0qxKudRuTGYEpugnjkYV6zVVMpvtDkIFMXQ_UsVEnvhaaQuznEEz61EwWtJfhw8UpvBlsYMPhOAQpNwZJThCDQ/s320/DSCN2695.JPG" /></a></div>
<b><p>Sunday, September 6th<p>
</b>
<p>Today is the day we are getting on our beautiful ship. And even though we have been on this ship, The Royal Princess, 18 months ago on our last cruise, we are still excited to be getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. One of the things that we love about cruising is the chance to get away from work phone calls and emails and just gives us a chance to relax.<p>
<p>This morning we had another delicious breakfast at the Novatel hotel and then got ready to head to the ship. A 10 minute taxi ride and we were there. We were extremely surprised and thrilled that the check in process went so quickly and easily. We were dropped off at the pier at noon, done with security at 12:15 and walking onto the ship at 12:20 pm. It really pays to be a repeat customer with Princess cruises as we had priority check in. Fortunately we got there when we did because I heard other passengers talking about getting to the pier at 1:30 pm and having had to stand in a very long line due to a fire alarm. We were able to go straight to our rooms and after dropping off our carry-on luggage we headed to the Horizon Court for lunch.<p>
<p>There weren’t too many people on board yet so there were lots of tables with window views. I was trying to be good so had a huge salad and Chuck had a sandwich. The goal is to not gain too much weight during this 15 day cruise, BUT with all the delicious choices in front of us, it is always hard to not gain at least a little bit of weight on a cruise.<p>
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<p>Above is a picture of our mini-suite on the Royal Princess cruise ship. Our steward in charge of our room came and introduced himself to us. His name is Gabriel and he is from Romania. He brought us each a complimentary glass of champagne which is customary for mini-suite customers and above. We are still trying to get used to the time change so we took a nap, and wok up in time to go to the mandatory safety drill where everyone is instructed on how to use the life jackets. After the safety drill we headed up to the top deck for the sail-away party. Usually Princess Cruise lines does this up and a lot of the entertainment crew get people up and dancing and there are prize drawings. We were surprised that none of this was going on. There was a band, and there were waiters taking orders for drinks, only a few couples were dancing and there were no prizes or staff anywhere to be found. There are a lot of older people on the ship and we thought that may be why they didn’t really push a dance party. In fact, I have only seen one child so far, and she was eating with a woman and a male crew member so she is probably related to him. Here’s a cruise tip for you: If you don’t want a bunch of kids on your cruise, make sure to go when the kids are in school! We found a couple of lounge chairs and toasted our cruise with a glass of wine and enjoyed relaxing in the sunshine as it had been in the high fifties since we got to Southampton and today was the first day we actually saw sunshine, although it was still in the low sixties.<p>
<p>After the sail-away party, Chuck went to the work out center to do a work out and I went to the outside deck at the top of the ship to walk on the walking track. I loved walking here during our last cruise because it is really high up and I always brought my camera and got some beautiful pictures from up there. I walked a mile and then used a few of the arm and leg exercise equipment that they have around the walking/jogging track and went down to meet Chuck to get ready for dinner.<p>
<p>We were still tired from the time change so rather than get all dressed up for dinner, we stayed in our jeans and went back to the Horizon Court buffet and had our choice of delicious foods to eat. Chuck had prime rib that he loved and I had some delicious bow tie pasta. And we both enjoyed the mashed potatoes with gravy. My favorite dessert on this shop last time was the peanut butter cookies and they did not disappoint!<p>
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<p>After some relaxing back in the room, and reading our, “Princess Patter” the daily schedule the Princess puts out each night with the following day’s activities, we called it a night. We are excited to head into Amsterdam tomorrow. But before we go to sleep we have to set our clocks ahead one hour because we are losing another hour between Southampton, England, Amsterdam, Holland.<p>
<b><p>Monday, Sept. 7th Day 5<p></b>
<p>We had a good night’s rest last night, except I guess I am not adjusted to the time change and woke up at 6:00 am. and went to breakfast. I had a little bit of a variety of foods for breakfast including oatmeal, yogurt with a raspberry swirl, watermelon, a pear, banana bread, pumpernickel bread spread with raspberry jam, and grilled hash browns. There are so many different choices of foods here on the ship it is hard to just choose 1 or 2 things for breakfast. We spent the morning sailing up a channel to get into the port of Rotterdam. It took a few hours to get there and we saw a lot of industrialization along the way. There were a lot of wind turbines along the canal for power. We also saw many tall apartment complexes with a walking/biking path all along the canal. Many people waved and took pictures of the ship as we passed. I was surprised by all the groups of swans we saw along the way. They were beautiful and I am sure I saw at least 60 in small groups of 4 to 12 as we sat at breakfast.<p>
<p>We checked out the ship’s stores for fun, and headed back to the room. Chuck watched a bit of TV while I went and found the ship’s laundry room. One of the nice things about Princess Cruise lines is they let you do your own washing and ironing with a laundry room on every floor. A lot of my shirts had gotten wrinkled along the way so I got them all ironed this morning while talking to a very nice older couple from…wait for it: Atlanta, Georgia! Funny to have crossed the ocean to England only to meet some people who live an hour away from us on this ship.<p>
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<p>We docked next to the Erasmus Bridge (above with the sea walk on the ship showing to the above right) which is pretty impressive from an engineering point of view! At 1:00 pm we met with a bunch of other people in one of the ship’s dining rooms to get ready to board buses for the drive in to Amsterdam. The drive in took 90 minutes. We tend to enjoy the types of cruise excursions where we are bused somewhere because we can just sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery while the tour guide tells us what we are seeing out the windows. We find it much easier than renting a car on our own and trying to figure out where we are going on our own. We passed many fields of cows, horses and sheep on the way in. We also passed a lot of windmills and large wind turbines and I did my best to get a picture of them as we passed.<p>
<p>Once in Amsterdam, we got dropped off near the central train station. This is a part of Amsterdam we have never been to before, even though Chuck has been three times and I have been twice. I had made a list of things I thought would be interesting to see depending on where we got dropped off. The guide was very good about helping everyone figure out how to get where they wanted to go, and within 20 minutes we had arrived on foot at the Amsterdam Museum. I thought it was fitting that as we followed the guide to the Dam Square where he was going to give us directions to a museum, some young guys got in between us and the guide as we walked along the sidewalk, and they reeked of pot. What’s a trip to Amsterdam without a whiff of pot to remind visitors of the laid back attitude of the people of Amsterdam?<p>
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<p>The Amsterdam Museum has an interactive exhibit which seemed to take a long time because you had to wait your turn and pass a special code on front of a machine in order to hear the automated description at each station about the history of Amsterdam. I was much more interested in the permanent exhibit of paintings and art so was happier when we got to that. There are many paintings by Dutch artists of 16th through 18th centuries, but my favorite one by anyone recognizable was part of a painting by Rembrandt called, ”The Anatomy Lesson.” In Rembrandt’s time, once a year doctors would have this special day when they would actually use a cadaver to teach their patients about the human body and Rembrandt painted a scene from this day. The human body they used belonged to a deceased criminal. The original Rembrandt painting was actually destroyed by a fire, and so all that remains is a much smaller portion, but it is of a physician’s assistant’s hands holding the scalp of the cadaver, with the brain exposed. Holy cow, I couldn’t believe Rembrandt had painted that so I had to take a picture.<p>
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<p>After the museum, we were pretty hungry since we hadn’t eaten lunch so headed out to find a restaurant with traditional Dutch food. I also wanted a Heineken because although I don’t drink much beer, I had really enjoyed Heineken on draft when we were in Amsterdam a few years ago. We stopped at a place that looked good and traditional but after we ordered our Heinekens we realized it was just a bar with no food. It was really a quaint place though with real blue and white painted tiles on the walls and wooden booths. The date outside the building said 1869. We asked the bar tender where we could get some authentic Dutch food and he sent us to a place down the street that was absolutely perfect. The name of the restaurant is, “Restaurant Haesje Claes.” This is pronounced “Haajee KlaJee.” The building dates from the mid-1600s and was wonderful inside with lots of beams and dark wood. Chuck had been wanting some traditional Dutch pea soup that we had had on a previous trip. They served it with a side of rye bread and a slab of meat, and it was just as good as he remembered it. He also had a very thin beef, cheese and greens plate that he said was wonderful. I had beef stew which was a slab of extremely tender beef served over mashed potatoes with a beef gravy, sweet cabbage and applesauce were also served on the side.<p>
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<p>I love Amsterdam so took as many pictures as I could on the walk back to the bus. There’s just something about the beautiful old houses all crammed together along the canals that just speaks to me.<p>
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<p>After our bus ride back, we headed up to the food court as we had not had time for dessert at the Dutch restaurant. They have tea and coffee and iced tea that guests can help themselves to so I had two cups of orange spice herbal tea, 2 peanut butter cookies, and a few bites of angel food cake with vanilla sauce and whipped cream. It was all delicious. Chuck was able to get some vanilla soft serve ice cream that was a favorite treat of his on this ship. He said it was as good as he remembered it to be. Something tells me we are going to gain a few pounds on this cruise!Tomorrow we are going into the city of Rotterdam.<p>
<b><p>Tuesday, September 8th, Day 6<p>
</b>
<p>Today we didn’t have to get up early because we were just going to take a free shuttle into the city of Rotterdam. We ate breakfast (my favorite items are now Rye bread and banana bread spread with raspberry jam) and headed off the ship at about 9:30 am. We had to wait in a very long line to catch the shuttle bus, but spent the time talking with 2 women who are very experienced cruisers and have traveled all over the world. I think they were retired but I honestly don’t know how they have the money to cruise as often as they have. Once we caught the city bus shuttle, which was provided to the Princess cruise passengers as a courtesy of the city of Rotterdam, we were dropped off at the city market. This is an amazing place, divided into 2 parts: the first part of the market is housed in a HUGE dome shaped building with a glass window on the front and back that is almost as large as the building itself. Inside of this dome is almost any kind of food being sold that you can imagine. There are stalls for meat, candy, spices, a bakery with amazing looking cookies, doughnuts and pastries, coffee, fruits and vegetables, fish, nuts, etc. Downstairs is a wine shop, a grocery store and rest rooms which cost 70 euros to use (about 85 cents American money). Outside of this building is the outdoor market which consists of rows and rows of goods being sold. Some of the items are food like fish and produce but there were also stalls with clothing, shoes, electronics, sheets, coats, and hot foods for lunch. All of this is right in the middle of the city with lots of modern buildings all around. Most of the town of Rotterdam was leveled with bombing during the second world war and they had to rebuild it all over again so chose modern architecture. There is an old harbor area that got the least amount of damage and I would have loved to have gone there but we didn’t have time. We only spent a little more than an hour at the market then had to get back on the ship. We ate lunch and watched the shop leave the dock and head back down the channel we had just come up the day before.<p>
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<p>After lunch I did laundry which is a whole crazy experience. Each floor on Princess Cruise ships have a laundromat, with at least 2 washers and 2 dryers, but lots of people want to use them so you sometimes have to wait awhile. I wandered around the ship with our small bag of laundry and finally found an empty washer one floor up and on the other side. We used to have to use quarters for the machines but now you buy tokens and they charge it to your stateroom. It’s $3.00 to wash and $3.00 to dry a load of clothes. Good thing we brought Tide packets and dryer sheets from home or it would have cost even more. If you go on a Princess cruise, definitely bring laundry soap and dryer sheets from home.<p>
<p>We are still tired from the time change and our busy day in Amsterdam so we took a nap and Chuck worked out while I used the walking track. We went to dinner around 7:45 and we had to wait for a table because we chose anytime dining, but the wait was only 20 minutes. I had a crab and artichoke dip served with toast points, a Caesar salad, a pasta dish with oxtail gravy, and chocolate mousse cake with ice cream. The ice cream was butter pecan and was delicious. Chuck had shrimp cocktail, a tossed salad, smoked pork roast with a potato patty and carrots and the butter ocean ice cream for dessert. It was good and our waiter in the main Symphony dining room was excellent.<p>
<p>Although there was a show, I felt like I could fall asleep at dinner so I was ready for bed at 10:15 pm and fell right to sleep. I hope we adjust to this time change soon. Between the time change, my body waking up early, and exploring ports every day, I am still very tired.<p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-36615697508901138552015-09-06T03:36:00.003-07:002015-09-24T17:18:22.562-07:00Transatlantic Cruise 2015 Day 3<p> Day 3 Sunday, 9/6/2015<p>
<p> Today we enjoyed an absolutely wonderful buffet breakfast at the hotel. There was so much to choose from and many different styles than we would get in the US. Here's a shot of what I tried for breakfast and it was all good, especially the croissants with raspberry preserves.
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Our choices included:<p>
<p>Waffles,
pancakes,
mixed fruit, sliced and peeled oranges, or sliced and peeled grapefruit,
3 types of yogurt,
scrambled eggs,mushrooms,
fried potatoes (like tater tots but larger and in a triangle shape),
sausage,
thick bacon slabs,
4 types of instant cereal including museli,
croissants, 2 types of other pastries,
thick white or wheat toast,
slices of cheese and ham,
coffee,tea, 4 types of fruit juices.<p>
<p>After breakfast we headed to the Sea City Museum which is divided into 3 parts: the Titanic exhibit in terms of how the tragedy affected the town of Southampton since the Titanic left from here and 500 families lost a family member in the disaster, the history of Southampton going back thousands of years, and a dinosaur exhibit. We didn't do the dinosaur exhibit but our favorite part of the museum was the Titanic part. We were surprised that there wasn't actually more from the ship itself displayed at the museum. We saw a lot of items that were from the Titanic's sister ship, "The Olympia" and saw more from the Titanic when we saw the Titanic exhibit when it was in Las Vegas. There were some items displayed that belonged to people who were on board the ship, some items belonged to people that died, but more belonged to survivors. One of the most poignant exhibits was hearing actual voices of survivors and their retelling of the events as they remembered it. Here are a few pictures from the museum.<p>
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<p> After we were done we had tea and lemonade in a cute cafe attached to the museum while we waited for Chuck's friends George and Carol Crowe to pick us up. They actually live in Norwich, England and drove down to take us to lunch. We had a wonderful time and learned a lot about England during our lunch at a nice Italian restaurant. After they left us we came back to the hotel room and took a nap. We haven't adjusted yet to the time change.<p>
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<p> Dinner was at McDonalds as it was also in the parking lot of the hotel. They had no salads here so I was disappointed. But the ordering process was fun. You can actually order from a screen in the lobby and pay with your credit card which speeds order along. They do things a bit differently here though and my grilled chicken wrap had a mayo and ketchup sauce on it. I missed the ranch sauce I get in the US. The fries were yummy though.<p>
<p> After dinner I decided to try out the small pool and get some laps in. I felt as though I was in a spa and because I was by myself, it was great. And the water was quite warm as well. Perfect way to relax before bed. Chuck used the workout room which is behind the pool windows that you can see in this picture, but he said it wasn't very good. Nothing like the workout center at Big Canoe, but we are spoiled!<p>
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<p> It is now Sunday morning and we are getting ready to take our taxi to the ship. We are SO excited to board. Although we have been on the Royal Princess before, it is always exciting to board a ship at the beginning of a cruise and to know we have a wonderful 2 weeks ahead of us on our transatlantic cruise! More to come in a few days...<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-52046168532534453962015-09-06T02:09:00.003-07:002015-09-24T17:15:35.944-07:00Transatlantic Cruse, Days 1 & 2 of Our Adventure<p>Day 1, Thursday 9/3 <p>
<p>On Thursday, September 3rd, 2015 we left Atlanta, GA by plane to begin our journey on our long awaited transatlantic cruise. The flight left at 10:00 pm and we settled in quickly. I was originally going to get some sleep as soon as dinner was over but was too tempted by the free in-flight movies, as was Chuck. He watched The Godfather, while I preferred to watch movies I had never seen before, and knew if I didn’t watch them that night, probably wouldn’t get a chance to see them at all. The first movie I saw was Aloha, starring Bradley Cooper, Rachel McAdams and Emma Stone. I enjoy all of their talents and enjoyed them in this movie as well. Then I watched Far From the Madding Crowd, which was filmed in England, to prepare me for the few days we would spend in England. Since I am a hopeless romantic and this movie was about a young woman in England who tried to remain independent while being courted by three different men, I loved it. The Princess fleet of cruise ships shows wonderful movies on board and I just hope they don’t include these because I want to catch up on my movie watching on board the ship too. I don’t have a lot of free time to watch movies in my regular everyday life.<p>
<p>Day 2 Friday, 9/4/2015<p>
<p>We arrived in England at 11:45 am which was really 5:45 am GA time. Chuck only got about 1 hour of sleep while I think I squeezed in about 3 hours. Chuck got a chuckle out of my reaction when I woke up and thought we had slept through breakfast. Ha, if you know me, you know I don’t want to take a chance on missing anything FREE, and since breakfast was included in our flight, I didn’t want to miss it! They gave us a small breakfast of coffee, juice, yogurt and bagels just before landing. We took a taxi from Heathrow airport to the Novatel Hotel in Southampton.
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The hotel room is small, but adequate. I was surprised at how modern the rooms are here. We have everything we need, including a small love seat, but there are only 2 drawers to keep things in, unlike in the US where the hotel rooms have actual bureaus. The bathroom situation is rather odd. As soon as you walk in the door, to the left is a very narrow room with a toilet in it. That’s it, just a toilet. There’s a tiny closet across from that, then you walk into the main from which includes a bed, desk, love seat, TV and the doorway to the rest of the bathroom which includes a tub, shower and sink. There is also a cute set up with a frig with cold water, and above it, an electric kettle with your choice of instant coffee or tea, including herbal tea. I have already had some peppermint tea. After all, when in Rome, uh, er, I mean England in this case.... What's England without a "spot of tea?"
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Accessible from the lobby are the bar, restaurant, workout center, and a really wonderful yet fairly small heated pool.
We settled in, took a nap, and got up for an early dinner at TGI Fridays which is adjacent to the parking lot of the hotel. We were too tired to be adventurous! Chuck ordered a lemonade and when it arrived at the table it was a lemonade by Schweppes which was really lemonade soda, which tasted surprisingly like Sprite! I had a cheeseburger and Chuck had salmon. Both were fine, but Chuck’s mashed potatoes left a bit to be desired and the vegetables were al dente.
Below is the view from our room, with the TGI Friday's straight ahead, in front of the IKEA store!
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Too tired for dessert, we headed back to the hotel room and after a bit of time on our computers, we went to bed around 11 pm England time, which was really 6 pm US time. We woke up wide awake at 4 am due to lots of yelling and shouting in the parking lot which had been going on intermittently throughout the night. We had read online that this hotel has no air conditioning so we had left the windows open. We weren’t used to the time change yet so got on our computers till 6:00 am and then tried to go back to sleep. Instead of voices, this time we heard very loud sea gulls outside the hotel room window. Southampton is a sea port and we are very near the cruise ship dock so there are lots of sea gulls around. We finally decided to get up and go for breakfast.<p>
<p> That's it for now, because we have to run, but I will add more exciting things soon, including a description of the wonderful breakfast we had, with a picture! Stay tuned!<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-91896182647926658692015-02-25T14:46:00.001-08:002015-02-25T14:55:07.214-08:00Another Las Vegas Conference and What I Have Learned About Marriage
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<p>The week before Valentine's Day Chuck and I went to Las Vegas again for his annual conference. Chuck attends meetings during this conference, and his company also has a booth in the convention hall that is open at various times during the three day conference. Last year, I had three days to Las Vegas all by myself and I had a ball going to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, exploring the Las Vegas strip and shopping. I took a lot of pictures and wrote all about my experiences online. I thought I was going to be able to do the same thing again, until a few days before we got on the airplane to head for Vegas.<p>
<p> Before we left Georgia, we were having a conversation about our schedules in Las Vegas. I mentioned something to Chuck about wanting to go check out some thrift shops to find items to resell on eBay as I have gotten much busier with my eBay business recently. He asked me how much time I was going to be spending at the booth in the hall, as he thought I would be doing that. I hadn't expected to be manning the booth at all this year. I had done that only one year when his company was down a man at the conference. This year that was not the case. I was disappointed and it took me a day or two to adjust as I could tell he really wanted me to be around.<p>
<p> Had I been in my previous marriage, or married to someone else, I probably would have put up a fuss and made a real case for myself about how I really needed to be able to get out and about for my eBay business. But because it's my second marriage, I have learned a few things. I have learned to pick my battles. I have learned that there are some things more important than what <b>I</b> want, and that I will have a happier and more fulfilling life if I remember the fine art of compromise. And I remember who I am married to, and how much he does for me, and how much we both love and respect each other, so I adjusted my plans. I did spend some time at the booth, and felt quite helpful on the first night when I stayed at the booth by myself as Chuck and the other person covering the booth were able to go around and network with other people because the booth was covered. I was there other times too, and I think Chuck appreciated that. <p>
<p> But I was also able to get out and explore some on my own for a few hours each day. We stayed at the Golden Nugget and just outside the back door of the Golden Nugget is The Fremont Street Experience. If you aren't familiar with it, it's five blocks of restaurants, stores, and wait for it...casinos (surprise, surprise). This is where the picture above was taken on our second night. I have been here other years, but I love exploring it and seeing all the strange people that dress up and want you to pose with them and expect a tip. This year I was thrilled to find something new while I explored. The toy expert on the show, "Pawn Stars" has recently moved his toy store to this area and I had a ball talking to an employee about all of the toys in there and wishing I had saved my toys from the 1960s because apparently they are now worth a lot of money! I even came home and got paid to write an article for an online website about the Fremont Street Exerience.<p>
<p> All in all, the trip went well and I think that my decision not to push to get time to go to thrift stores and do my own thing was the best decision to make. I have learned through past experiences that having a good marriage and showing my love and being loved by Chuck is worth more to me than all the money in the world, and certainly more than I could earn on eBay in a few trips to Las Vegas thrift stores! <p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-54105075175652957992015-01-01T11:35:00.000-08:002015-01-01T11:35:06.801-08:00Holidays With His FamilyOne of the challenges of marrying for a second time is that you both often bring with you a ready made family. Chuck's kids were all adults when we got married, and mine were teens who are now young adults living on their own. We lived in Connecticut the first few years of our marriage and my parents and children were all nearby. Holidays were spent with my family. Chuck's children and their families lived in California and Georgia. Now that we have moved to Georgia, we are closer to two of his kids and their families. Although it is hard for me to be away from my family during the holidays,(especially Christmas) I am happy for Chuck that we finally get to be with his family. It's been a very long time since he has been able to spend any holidays with his kids and their families. We spent Thanksgiving at his son's house, and Christmas at his daughter's house. Last night, we were able to go out to dinner with his son, daughter in law and his daughter at a wonderful restaurant with good food, good music, and good company on New Year's Eve. It felt good to me to see him surrounded by his family. And I know he enjoyed being able to spend this special time with them. The sacrifices a spouse may have to make in a second marriage are so often worth it to see their husband or wife happy. I was feeling very happy and blessed last night because I think this move was great for Chuck, and good for us as a couple. We didn't take any pictures last night, but here are a few from a previous visit with his son and daughter.
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Merry Christmas to you and your family!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-80513415498040389512014-10-05T19:59:00.000-07:002014-10-05T20:01:23.446-07:00Finally We Have "Our" Home<p>One of the problems couples often encounter with a second marriage is that someone will probably have to move into a house that was previously occupied by the new spouse and their ex. That can make for a lot of tension in a new marriage, especially if the person who originally lived in the home is reluctant to change anything. The new spouse may feel as though he or she is living in a shadow of an old marriage. They may wonder about the history of certain pieces of furniture, or decorating styles, etc.<p>
<p>If possible, I highly recommend a new home for the newly married couple so they can start their lives together fresh with no bad memories, or aggravation about not being able to change anything to their decorating style.<p>
<p> Chuck and I recently moved out of a home that he shared with his previous wife. I hadn't realized how much better I would feel once we got here and made this house OUR home. Although we brought most of the furniture with us, this home is 994 miles away and is much more my style. Plus it's in the mountains which is where I have always wanted to live. Even though we brought most of the furniture with us, it feels different because this is a home we chose together and decided together where all the furniture will go. There is a lot to be said for a fresh start in a second marriage. If that's not possible, I highly recommend that the spouse who previously lived in the house allow some changes to be made that both can live with. Fresh paint and a few new pieces of furniture may not be a whole fresh start, but it can make a difference and allow the new spouse to have a say about the home they now live in too.<p>
<p> Here are some pictures of our before and after home, in Connecticut and Georgia. The home on the top is the original house in Connecticut and on the bottom is the new house in Georgia.<p>
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<p> I don't actually have any pictures of the furniture in the new house but when I do I will add them.<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-1940100851184125652014-09-22T09:08:00.003-07:002014-09-22T09:08:47.881-07:00It's Been A Month Since We Left Connecticut<p>It has been a month and a few days since we left Connecticut. We have actually been in our new home for three weeks now. And except for missing my kids and parents, and a few friends, I have never been happier to leave someplace. I have a lot of bad memories associated with that state and am glad to put them behind me. Chuck is having a harder time because he had more friends that he saw on a regular basis. But as time goes by, we are adjusting and having fun exploring our new community, town and state. We found a vet for the dog, and are getting used to the grocery stores. But we are in the process of finding a new church, doctor and dentist. The one thing about moving far away is that a couple relies on each other more. That can be good or bad. For us, for the most part it's been very good. We have gone through this experience together and feel good about our new home and how we have it arranged. It took a lot of work and compromise on both parts, but when we get up in the mornings and see the mountain view from our bedroom window, it has all been worth it.<p>
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<p>Of course there has been some stress too. But for the most part, things have gone well. Now if we can only sell our house in Connecticut...If you know of anyone who wants to buy a beautiful house in a nice neighborhood in Connecticut, send them our way please!<p>
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<p>Apparently Reeses was excited too because she poked her nose in the door first and was the very first one in. We had so much fun looking around and discovering things that we hadn't noticed before, some good, some bad, but mostly good. These pictures are of the main living room of the house, and is the first room you see when you walk in the front door.<p>
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<p>We spent a couple of hours here at the house. I used the broom on the beautiful hardwood floors and Chuck found a hose and watered the drooping Black Eyed Susan's which were growing in the front and back of the house. Although it was hot today, about 84 degrees, it felt cool on the back deck because it is all shaded. I was also excited because we have two rain barrels that collect water from the roof when it rains and have spiggots for us to get the water out and water the plants. It's very environmentally friendly and I like that.<p>
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<p> We picked up our mail today and it was exciting to see that the post office is already forwarding our mail from Connecticut. We got a wonderful new home card from my niece (thanks Halley!), and Chuck got one from his wife...yes that does mean me! His HAPPY wife I might add! After going to the post office, we became members of the workout center that includes the indoor pool and we will start using it tomorrow.<p>
<p>I had forgotten what a beautiful view we have. In the far distance off of the deck, you can see about 4 or 5 high mountains. I can't wait to sit out there with Chuck and have a glass of wine to celebrate our new home.I think we will have a very peaceful life here in the mountains. Tomorrow we will be at the house because the Cable guy and the telephone guy are coming to set things up between 10 and 5. The following day the furniture will be arriving and we will spend who knows how many days setting everything up and unpacking.But we made it here safely and are embarking on a new chapter in our lives with excitement and enthusiasm!<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-60446079625719146642014-08-27T15:59:00.000-07:002014-08-27T15:59:35.246-07:00Days 4 and 5 of Our Move to Georgia<p>Sorry I haven't updated this blog in a couple days. My Dad asked me why I hadn't been updating it, so at least I know someone's been reading it! On Monday morning we left Virginia for Tennessee. The mountains here were more beautiful than in Virginia. I saw a lot of horse farms on the way. We stopped for gas at one point and I was amazed to see it was only $3.11. When we left Connecticut it was anywhere from $3.77 to $3.85! What a difference a few hundred miles makes!<p>
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<p> Each time we stop at a rest area or for gas we walk the dog. I did my best at this rest area to get the Tennessee mountains on the picture behind the dog! She has been wonderful on this trip, but she has been with either one of us or both of us for the past 5 days. She is clearly enjoying that and I hope she can adjust to staying alone in the new house sometimes once we get settled so we can go out for a romantic dinner without her now and then. Here's also a picture of my two traveling buddies. She looks so cute when she has her head out Chuck's car window as we drive down the road. Now I know why everyone on the highway smiles at her as they go by.<p>
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<p>We stayed in Knoxville, Tennessee on Monday night at a very nice Red Roof in that had a suite. Tuesday we headed down into our new state of Georgia. We stopped at a Burger King for lunch and during our meal, Chuck got a call from the moving van driver that due to circumstances beyond his control (whatever that means) he can't get to Big Canoe till Friday now. That means one more night in the hotel in Jasper. We drove over the Georgia line and I soon saw the gorgeous mountains we were heading to. I let out a yell and got all excited and said to Reeses, "Look there are our mountains. We are going there. " Poor baby had no idea what was going on and was looking all around the car to see what I was talking about! The mountains are even more beautiful than I had remembered. We got into Jasper at the Microtel Inn around 3:00 p.m. We are staying right near the Jasper Walmart so it will be convenient to go there for house supplies. There is a Subway inside Walmart so we had that for dinner last night.<p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-68199493820278747472014-08-25T15:04:00.000-07:002014-08-25T15:04:23.602-07:00Day 3 of Our Move: Virginia/West Virginia<p>We left Newark, Delaware at 10:00 a.m. We drove for a bit and then once again hit traffic. Fortunately it wasn't as bad as yesterday. We finally hit the mountains of Virginia and they sure are beautiful. It's so nice to see something beautiful instead of just traffic on Interstate 95.<p>
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<p>We stopped at a rest area just over the West Virginia line in a town called Charles Town. It was right after we crossed the Potomac River,and Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. That was exciting because we had heard about Harper's Ferry in history class, but neither of us had ever been there before. The place that we stopped for lunch was called, "Sheetz" and it was a rest stop. They seem to be all over the South. You can use the rest room and buy ready made sandwiches, drinks, chips, etc. or order a made to order sandwich, salad or pizza. You can of course also buy coffee here. We sat outside under and umbrella and it was the perfect place to sit with the dog.<p>
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<p> An hour after that stop, we arrived at our destination for the night: a Red Roof Inn that was in Staunton, Virginia. This one had an indoor pool but I was too tired to use it. Chuck is SO disciplined that he did use the workout center and I took a nap. For dinner, we found a KFC with outdoor seating so we could sit with the dog. We discovered that KFC has buffets down here. You pay $7.99 for all you can eat and it includes a drink. Of course Chuck noticed that for seniors, the cost is $6.99! Tomorrow we are headed to Tennessee which is great because that's a state I have never been to before. I LOVE adventure.<p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-18778244273588515682014-08-25T05:24:00.001-07:002014-08-25T15:12:39.242-07:00Day Number 2 of Our Move To Georgia<p>On Saturday we had coffee and orange juice in the room and headed out on the road. The dog started in the car with me, and as we drove down the highway, stuck in a traffic jam, people were smiling at her as she stuck her head out the window and enjoyed the sights and the cool gentle breeze as we were only driving 5 to 15 miles and hour for a 60 minute period. It was quite frustrating, but it was better for me since she was with me making people laugh and smile. We stopped for lunch at a rest area and found a picnic table outside that we could keep the dog at as well.<p>
<p>Once we got back on the road, the traffic jam had cleared and we were able to make better time on the way to Philadelphia to visit Michaela. Before we actually met her after she got out of work, we had some extra time so went to the cemetery where Chuck's parents and other relatives are buried. It was bitter sweet to be there. We cleaned up a lot of the grass around the graves before heading into the part of Philadelphia that Chuck grew up in.<p>
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<p>We had talked about going to Philly for years and Chuck was going to show me where he grew up. This trip seemed like the perfect time to do this. When we had talked about it, we were going to be in the same car, but me following him in my car with our cell phones on but on our legs, not in our hands, worked pretty well. It was really an eye opener for me to see where Chuck lived as a child. The streets were so narrow, and not in a very good section of Philadelphia. I am so proud of him for getting out of there and doing so much with his life. We made it there and it was raining so we were fortunate to find a wonderful Italian restaurant that had an awning out front with tables under it so we could sit there again with the dog. The restaurant was right around the corner from where Michaela works, so I walked there to meet her, and we had a wonderful meal together. I was so happy that we were able to see her on the way to Georgia because honestly I am not sure when I will be able to see her again since at this point we don't have any plans to be in Connecticut at the same time.<p>
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<p>After dinner, Michaela treated us to chocolates from the oldest candy store in America, "Shane" and also ice cream from The Franklin Fountain, the ice cream parlor where she works. According to USA today, they have the absolute best milk shakes in the U.S. so we split a coffee milkshake. It was yummy but I am not convinced that it was the very best milkshake in the U.S. Here is Michaela's ice cream store!<p>
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<p>After dropping Michaela off at her apartment, we headed south and drove about 90 minutes to Newark, Delaware. We stayed in a fantastic Red Roof Inn Plus there and although I had never stayed in a Red Roof Inn before, it was wonderfully surprising. There was even a goody box in our fridge that had a bottle of water, a bottle of orange juice, trail mix, and a granola bar in it. That was a nice surprise.<p>
<p>We have decided to shoot for 250 miles per day as that is about four hours of driving, with a break in between for lunch and switching the dog between cars which is a good change for all of us. The dog is doing amazingly well during this whole trip and that makes things easier for us.<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-59598604694263879832014-08-24T18:07:00.000-07:002014-08-27T15:59:46.341-07:00Moving From Connecticut To Georgia, Day 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUb1RB3NcZHpCPEaX7iDtzaM51BWyfI7RKCaT02BivJagMPTxKGLHtv4HC9uv0c9u1wTBHxPrzJajg2zKpuwIs23ZS9oTnJuHYmTSjWBnbM3EKp8rJbftIwShbmFpvuuXlsX_zqZgPSLc/s1600/DSCN6217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUb1RB3NcZHpCPEaX7iDtzaM51BWyfI7RKCaT02BivJagMPTxKGLHtv4HC9uv0c9u1wTBHxPrzJajg2zKpuwIs23ZS9oTnJuHYmTSjWBnbM3EKp8rJbftIwShbmFpvuuXlsX_zqZgPSLc/s320/DSCN6217.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>I haven't mentioned in this blog that we have our greatest adventure yet going on right now, and that is that we have bought a house in Big Canoe, GA and are currently in the process of moving down there from Connecticut. We are driving 2 cars, and bringing the dog. We each take shifts with the dog and things so far are going very well.<p>
<p> But I am jumping ahead. First let me say that it was a tough week last week because the packers from the moving company were at the house on Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday the movers actually came and loaded the truck. It was quite odd to see the house bare of all furnishings. Harder for Chuck than for me because I have lived here with him for only the past 2 years and he has been in the house since 1998. See the pictures below of the living/dining room area and you will see what I mean about the house looking bare! Unfortunately I didn't get the shot of this area from the same direction, but I stood in the living room looking toward the dining room/kitchen.<p>
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<p> One crazy thing that happened to us this week was that a reporter for Real Money With Ali Velshi read an article I wrote about moving south and called us to see if she could film us for the show. Apparently people are leaving the Northeast and heading south so they wanted to interview us on the actual moving day. So we spent some time on Friday being filmed and interviewed. Pretty wild huh? If it comes out okay, I will post the link to the video of it on another post. All of this was happening while the movers were going in and out of the house with our things!<p>
<p> The movers thought they would be done by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, but they didn't actually leave till 6:00 p.m. After we checked out the house to make sure they didn't leave anything behind (such as the towels we found in the top of the master bedroom bathroom closet), and cleaned up a few things, we were on the road by 7:00 p.m. I am following Chuck in his car. My daughter told Chuck that he will have a tough time with me because I drive too slow. She will think it's funny that we were not on the road even 20 minutes and he called me to tell me I needed to drive faster! Since then things have been fine and I have been doing my best to keep up with him.<p>
<p> The first night we just drove about 2 hours and stayed in New York in a little town called, "Nanuet". We stayed at a hotel that is new to us, "Candlewood Suites" that night. It was wonderful and we were quite pleased with it. Even the dog made herself right at home in her own bed, on the floor snuggled down right next to my side of the bed, just like at home.<p>
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<p> And so we are off on the greatest adventure in our marriage yet...the move from Connecticut to Georgia. I will keep the blog updated along the way.Stay tuned for more...!<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-49833921818234099162014-07-26T07:18:00.000-07:002014-07-26T07:18:50.466-07:00Day 8, Our First Port Stop on The Transatlantic Cruise<b>Sunday, May 4th, 2013 Day 8<b>
<p>Our first cruise port on the cruise:<p>
<p>We needed to get up at 6:30 a.m. in order to get up to breakfast and then meet with the rest of the passengers going on our excursion on the island of San Miguel in the Azores today. I woke up at 6:10 a.m., very unusual for me, and decided not to go back to sleep for only 20 minutes. Instead I got up and looked out the window and just saw land as we were coming in to the port of Ponta Delgada. The morning started off as fairly foggy with a bit of rain which was disappointing because the last time we were here at this same port for a cruise, it was so foggy we couldn’t even see the lakes on either side of us which are one of the highlights of this island.<p>
<p>As soon as we finished breakfast we arrived at the Princess Theater just in time to be escorted off the ship and onto our waiting tour bus. The tour was scheduled to be from 8:30 a.m. till 1:30 p.m. We set out driving to the middle of the island and on the way saw many of the small villages with very narrow streets that were originally designed for horse and buggies which makes it challenging for a tour bus to drive through. The homes are all close together with many of them joined together with doorways and tiled roofs. Many have a ceramic picture of Jesus Christ either above the doorway or to the right of the door. The Azores consists of 9 islands and is 97% Catholic. Outside of the villages, there were many green fields filled with cows. Milk production is one of the most prevalent businesses on the island along with pineapple and tea production.<p>
<p>Our first stop was to the village of Ribeira Grande, a colonial town with many old buildings that still stand. From the steps of the church you can see the town and the sea behind it. It was an amazing sight to behold. It did start to drizzle on us as we followed our guide around town, but I had brought a rain jacket and was fine. Here's a picture of part of the town from the church steps, and the church itself.<p>
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<p>Our next stop was to the summit of Pico de Ferro from which we could see the beautiful green tinged Furnas Lake, and a bevy of Azalea bushes that were mostly pink but there were also some purples and a few red bushes mixed in. Apparently the ginger plant grows wild on San Miguel and is taking over the countryside, making earth slides more prevalent. They have tried to get rid of the plant but it continually grows back. It had stopped raining at this point so we had a better view of everything from the summit.I am including a picture of me and the lake from the view from the top.<p>
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<p> On the way to our next stop, we hit a traffic jam consisting of about 50 dairy cows and 2 cattle herders walking down the middle of the road to switch pastures. The guide says this happens often on the island. Our third stop was to the Terra Nostra gardens which included a mud bath with water heated to approximately 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There are changing rooms there for people who need to change into swim suits before stepping into the muddy waters. Apparently this bathing area helps people with arthritis. We walked along the gardens and were treated to more Azaleas, Camelias, ferns natural to the area, palm trees and cork trees. It was a beautiful area.<p>
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<p>The last stop of the day was to the Furnas Hot Springs. The town of Furnas was originally well known for producing charcoal. The hot springs there though are amazing. There’s a sign that warns people to be careful as the steam that comes from the hot springs is boiling hot. In some area, you can see pools of bubbling hot water with steam rising. In other areas, there is just a round hole where steam comes out. The whole area smells like sulfur. This area used to be known as a spa area, but not anymore. I'm including a picture of Chuck sitting in front of the hot springs.There are homes in a small village around the area.<p>
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<p>It was about a 1 hour ride back to the ship after we saw the hot springs, and both Chuck and I took a brief nap before we reached the ship.Once back on board we had lunch and then took a real nap. As always, he went to work out in the gym and I went to the walking track on the 17th floor. I had already logged in 8,000 steps by lunch time because of all the walking we had done on the tour. But my goal is a minimum of 10,000 steps each day, and 30 minutes worth need to be aerobic steps so I wanted to walk again. Today while I was walking I did 6 times around the track (7 laps is equal to one mile) and was about to stop because I was tired from walking earlier, but a woman from Brooklyn, NY started talking to me and asked if we could walk together for a bit. I was glad I said yes because I got 3 more laps in and found her very interesting. She and her husband are from Brooklyn but now live in Florida. She had recently had knee replacement surgery so had to walk slow but I was fine with that. We compared notes on other cruises she and her husband have been on and before long he joined us as well.It's always fun to compare notes with other frequent cruisers.<p>
<p>After showering and getting changed for dinner, we had a very delicious dinner (Chuck said it was his best on board so far) in the Concerto dining room. One of the entrees was Lobster tail with a side of 2 crab cakes. Chuck had the whole meal and I just asked for the crab cakes which the waiter said he found interesting because most people do the opposite and ask for 2 lobster tails and skip the crab cakes. I guess I just like to do things differently! For dessert, Chuck had Jamaican coffee ice cream and I had the most delicious dessert I have ever had on a cruise ship. It was called chocolate pudding pie. It was basically the most delicious chocolate mousse I have ever tasted, baked in a small dish atop a chocolate graham cracker crust and topped with dollops of fresh whipped cream with chocolate shavings sprinkled on top.<p>
<p>After that delicious dinner, we went to the atrium whose 3 floors were crammed with onlookers to watch the International show. This was various members of crew musicians who entertained us with singing and dancing of music from various countries. The highlights for us were when 2 of the entertainers sang a song from our wedding called, “The Prayer” and did a wonderful job on it, and a trio of Greek dancers who came out in full costume and got a few audience members out of their seats to dance with them. One of them was a 3 year old little boy who was absolutely adorable when he tried to do the dance moves and clapped his hands and walked in a circle with the rest of the dancers. It was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes. I guess I am just a sucker for a cute kid! At the end of the program when all of the entertainers came out and took their bows, he ran out to join them. It was very sweet.<p>
<p>We came back to the room and watched the movie,”Playing For Keeps” starring Gerard Butler, Catherine Zeta Jones, Dennis Quaid, Uma Thurman and Jessica Biel before going to bed. It had been a wonderful day, and getting off the ship after 7 days was a nice change of pace.<p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-41965122859360319412014-07-12T19:26:00.000-07:002014-07-12T19:26:09.535-07:00Day 7 of the Northern Atlantic Transatlantic CruiseSaturday, May 3, 2014 Day 7
<p>Today after breakfast Chuck went to a seminar about opera in the Mediterranean while I went to an on board sale which was still very expensive. I forgot my black dress purse at home, and thought about spending $10 on this one at the sale, but you know me, I like to save money not spend it so I decided for the next 2 formal nights I will give my camera to Chuck to keep in his suit jacket pocket so I won’t need a purse.<p>
<p>When the opera seminar was done, we went to a talk about our stop in Lehavre/Paris. We learned a lot of thing about visiting Paris and the port city of Lehavre. We will only actually be in Paris for 3 hours which while disappointing, is still better than never making it there at all. Chuck said tonight that if we ever do another cruise to France, he really wants to visit Normandie. I agreed, and although I would much rather go to Paris again, this is my turn, next trip will be his.<p>
<p>We had lunch then came back and took a nap, worked out. I went to my usual place to work out which is the walking track on deck 17. On the way up there, I happened to look over the side railing and saw something dark in the water. I ran up to the walking deck and looked over the edge of the railing and there I saw a sight that made me laugh out loud…I saw a lone dolphin gliding through the water. I love watching dolphins in their natural habitat. They seem to enjoy the water so much it’s a thrill to watch them. I must say I was much more interested in watching for dolphins than I was walking but I needed to walk to combat all the extra calories I have been eating so I made a deal with myself: For each lap I walked around that deck, I would get to stop and look for more dolphins. I did do that and found dolphins on 2 more rounds of looking. They weren’t doing a lot of jumping but did surface a lot. It was quite exciting and I remembered that one of my favorite things about cruising is watching for wildlife. I met a woman who had seen dolphins at noon, and told me where she had seen them from which was from an outside deck at the back of the ship. On the way back to the room, I stopped at this place and was amazed at the beauty that could be seen from there. I couldn’t wait to take Chuck there. And after we got ready for dinner in our finest ( it’s the second formal night) I took Chuck there as a surprise. This deck is rather hidden, past the Horizon Court Buffet. There are outside tables and then nearest the railings there’s a series of couches and chairs with a bar at the back. We each had a glass of wine and watched the water as it glided away from the back of the ship. The sun was still in the sky and wasn’t going to set for a few hours. It felt warm on my skin as we sat there and marveled at how beautiful everything was from this perfect perch.<p>
<p> Scenes from the back deck<p>
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<p>We went back to the Concerto dining room for our meal. I had a small dish of Fettucine Alfredo and Chuck had a beef dish. This dining room has been our favorite of the trip. There’s always good service and very competent waiters. After dinner we tried to go to the Al Katz show but there were no seats left at all.<p>
<p>We came back to the room and watched a movie instead. We have to get up early tomorrow to go on our tour in Ponta Del Gada.<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-72477340089702150932014-06-04T19:35:00.001-07:002014-06-04T19:35:17.153-07:00Days 5 and 6 of the Transatlantic CruiseThursday, May 4th, Day 5
<p>Today was another day we had to set the clocks forward. But today was also the first day I have felt normal and I didn’t I needed 2 naps a day. We went for breakfast and then after breakfast Chuck decided to go to a seminar titled, ‘Why We Love Opera.” I had no interest in hearing that lecture because I do NOT love opera ( hope I didn't offend anyone buy saying that!), so found a comfortable chair near the theater and read for an hour. He thoroughly enjoyed this talk, by a guy named George Weston who does a lot of seminars on cruise ships. After the seminar we went to the library and Chuck looked through a book about the bombing of the Lusitania while I read some more. We both got online and checked our email for a short time as the minutes, even the free 250 we each get, go by quickly when it takes 5 to 10 minutes to even get onto the internet itself, or to download emails. We then went to lunch and met a nice couple from right outside of Toronto. Their names were Steve and Brenda and we talked to them for awhile. For the last 5 years they have been going on 2 cruises a year and travel a lot on land. Steve does what Chuck does in terms of working when needed, and so his schedule is flexible enough to allow them to have time to travel. Chuck was happy because Steve knows about NDT. We left them to go to another art auction. I was hoping to win a free print but I did not and during the auction they said you had to pay to send it home if you won so I wasn’t interested in that.<p>
<p>After a nap for both of us, we worked out and I am up to walking 1 mile on the walking track, and then am doing more of the strength training machines. Here are some of the machines to the left of the track. It's fun to use them outside under a beautiful blue sky with a view of the ocean on all sides.
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After showers, we went to the atrium and got a couch/chair right near the window so we could look out the window and watch the waves go by. They were about 10 to 12 feet high. After a glass of wine there, with music being played in the atrium by a band, we headed into the Concerto room for dinner. We have decided this is out favorite dinner restaurant as the service was better there. We had a delicious meal of roast chicken and veggies for me, and an Austrian weiner dish for Chuck, plus Cherries Jubilee for him for dessert and Chocolate brownie ice cream for me. We then went back to the room and watched some TV before heading to the Princess Theater for a comedy show starring comedian Al Katz.<p>
<p>Friday May 2, 2014 Day 6<p>
<p>Today the weather is cooler but the seas are a bit calmer. After breakfast Chuck went to a lecture about Jerusalem while I finished reading my first book that I brought along with me. Afterward we went to the Live taping of the ,’Wake Show” which is a round up of the days happenings and includes guests. The tapings happen one day in advance so today’s taping will be on tomorrow. The Captain of the ship was the guest, as well as comedian Al Katz who is quite funny. He travels 300 days a year entertaining on cruise ships.I think that sounds like a fantastic way to earn a living!Here's what the television on board the ship looks like.<p>
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<p>After lunch we took a nap and worked out. I really enjoy working out on the walking track. It’s so beautiful to see the water from where we are all around me as I walk in a circle on that top deck. At night we ate at the Horizon Court Buffet and it was actually pretty nice. We sat side by side at a table that looked out over the water. At 8:30 p.m. we tried to go to the Illusionist show but it was booked solid and there were no seats left in the whole Princess Theater. We decided to go back to the room and do laundry until the third show. We did 2 loads of laundry, and that's one of the things I like best about cruising with Princess...they have washers, dryers and ironing boards so passengers can do their own laundry. We always bring our own trial sized packs of laundry detergent so we don't have to buy them from the machines, and a baggie with dryer sheets packs well in a suitcase. After doing laundry, we then went back to the last Illusionist show. Chuck really enjoyed it but I feel illusionists are just phony and I don’t like being tricked so I didn’t like it at all.<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-31371215425537082762014-05-31T19:15:00.001-07:002014-05-31T19:16:14.953-07:00Day 4 Of Our Transatlantic Cruise<b>April 30th, 2014 Day 4</b>
<p>Today we had breakfast first thing but after too much rich food yesterday, I went easy and had yogurt with fruit (there is a choice of a peach or strawberry yogurt parfait with fruit on the top and in the middle) and I sprinkled granola on top, a small piece of banana bread, ½ bagel with whipped cream cheese (yummy) and a pear. Much better than some choices I could have had such as French toast, pancakes, omelets, etc.<p>
<p>After lunch we read for awhile on one of the couches placed all around the Promenade deck inside, and then went to a presentation about our second stop, Southampton, England. During the talk, an interesting thing happened. The Captain came over the loudspeaker asking for assistance for a person who was critically ill in the medical center. They needed blood donations from anyone who had an American Red Cross Blood Card with them, was a regular blood donor, and had O + blood, and O – blood as a last resort. Of the 300 people that were in the seminar, about 6 or 8 got up to go donate, to the applause of everyone else in the theater. And that was just from where we were sitting. I am sure other passengers from all over the ship also went to see if they could donate, as there are over 3,000 passengers on the ship. It was quite a touching moment to see these strangers willing to help out, and I would have gone because I am O positive, but haven’t given blood since my kids were born.Anyway, here's a picture of Southampton.<p>
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<p>After the talk we came back to the room and I had a quick catnap as I am having a hard time adjusting to the time change. Then we went and had a light lunch…hard to do on a cruise ship with so many choices. I went to a seminar on advanced digital photography which probably was not a good idea because I am not an advanced photographer, but I did learn a little bit. After going back to the room, both Chuck and I had a nap and then he went to workout in the fitness center onboard while I went up to the 17th floor to the walking track. It was extremely windy out there and I felt like I was going to get blown away. Even so, it was warm out because this track was outside and the sun was strong. The track goes around the basketball/ping pong table area and alongside the track are strength training machines. I walked a bit, then worked out on some of the machines and it was fun to do it outside. Chuck went up to save us 2 seats on the lounge chairs for the Movie Under the stars. I joined him shortly afterward and we enjoyed pizza and french fries while we watched the movie, “Saving Mr. Banks.” During the movie, Princess staff came around and offered free ice cream and popcorn, ice water and lemonade. We enjoyed the movie but left it a bit confused and I am looking forward to getting back to the internet to research more about the book, ‘Mary Poppins” and its author, P.L. Travers.<p>
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<p>After the movie, we went to the Horizon court buffet for a quick cookie snack, and headed down to bed. I watched the movie, “Blue Jasmine” by Woody Allen starring Cate Blanchett. It was billed as a comedy and was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I did not think it was comedic in the least and was sorry I wasted my time with it. I don't know if you have seen it but if you haven't I don't recommend it.<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-46050096182370638422014-05-29T19:31:00.000-07:002014-05-31T05:44:27.722-07:00Day 3 Of Our Transatlantic Cruise<b>April 29th, Day 3</b>
<p>Last night we were supposed to set the clocks forward by one hour, but didn’t realize it so all morning we were an hour behind schedule. We didn’t realize it till noon when the captain came over the loudspeaker to give his daily report. The captain on this ship is great about that and gives a lot more information than other captains on other cruises we have been on.<p>
<p>We started the day off with breakfast and I ate too much rich food, including eggs and biscuits with mushroom gravy which gave me indigestion for the rest of the day. After breakfast we went to the special $10 sale Princess has on every cruise. We were disappointed that the amount of items for sale were only about half of what is normally offered and we only stayed about 5 minutes without buying anything. The sale today offered scarves, dress purses, sunglasses and manicure set. <p>
<p>After this sale Chuck wanted to go to hear a lecture on Russian opera so we agreed to meet at the Princess Theater an hour later as that’s when the port talk about the Azores was being given. Although I had no interest in Russian Opera, I did have an interest in our port talk. I went and found a comfy couch with pillows to sit on up near the pool, and read for an hour. When I went to join Chuck, I found I was one hour late because we hadn’t set our clocks ahead. And he totally missed the Russian Opera talk, but had heard the whole port lecture. I was able to catch the last 30 minutes of it.The Princess Theater on this ship is huge, but it looks like the inside of a spaceship to me.<p>
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<p>We went back to the room and I watched a movie, “The Big Wedding” which I thoroughly enjoyed but Chuck was not interested in so he watched TV and took a nap. After the movie, we went to lunch but just had a light one and went back to the room for a nap. After the nap, Chuck went back to the workout center, and feeling like I had been too lazy lately, went to find the jogging track up on the 17th deck. I was pleased to find a walking track adjacent to the jogging track. And on the side of the walking track, at various intervals were various pieces of equipment to do strength training. That was really handy and during my walk, I stopped periodically to try out some of the equipment. I also was walking and noticed that there was a Zumba class going on from 5 to 5:30 p.m. on the basketball court. I may attempt that at some point. I did a Zumba class a few times on a previous cruise, but it was in the morning and since I am NOT a morning person that got old pretty fast. The cruise has a class in the morning as well as one in the afternoon on days at sea so that’s really convenient for passengers.<p>
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<p>Tonight was the first of three formal nights. We did the obligatory dress up thing and went to the atrium to join in the festivities for the champagne fountain and free champagne and mimosas. The Captain and crew were introduced, and as soon as it was over we hurried to the Concerto dining room, immediately got a table for two and had a very wonderful meal which included a crab meat quiche, salads, and I had chicken with roasted vegetables while Chuck had salmon which he thought was delicious. The best thing about the meal in this dining room was that the service by our waiter Mario was quick and personable. We had a great meal because of him and we even told him so. I am including a great picture of Chuck all dressed up for formal night as well as the champagne fountain in the atrium...a Princess cruises staple! They do this on the first formal night of each cruise, and offer people a chance to pour the champagne and get their picture taken, and waiters pass out free champagne and Mimosas during this event!<p>
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<p>We went back to the room to change and then went to the show at 10:30 which was called, “Colours of the World.” It was fantastic and we were really impressed with the talent, both singing and dancing. Compared to the last ship we were on, the NCL, this group of entertainers were so much better.<p>
<p>Chuck turned in but since I wasn’t tired, I decided to watch a show on TV that I have never seen before but have heard of it so was curious. The show is called,”Veep” starring Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and it was not as good as I had expected which was a big disappointment.If you haven't watched it yet, don't waste your time, unless you are a big Julia Louis-Dreyfuss fan.<p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9124014782103558692.post-55117701191481499452014-05-26T19:42:00.000-07:002014-05-26T19:42:17.705-07:00Day 2 of Our Transatlantic CruiseApril 28th, 2014 Day Two
<p>Because of the direction we are going, we will have to set our clocks ahead by 4 hours by the time we get to our first stop in the Azores in 6 days. So today was the first of those time changes. We had to set our clocks one hour ahead and I don’t know if it is that or because my body is so tired from cleaning the house for the Open House, but I am exhausted. Chuck woke up early today but let me sleep until 9, which was really 8. We had breakfast and met a very interesting man named Neil who is on the ship with his wife. This is the largest ship they have ever been on. This guy is a retired high school Math teacher and lives in Colorado. I don’t know how he and his wife have the money to travel like they do. But he told us of a recent trip to Tahiti where they stayed on my favorite French Polynesian Island, Moorea for a week. Also about a cruise they took down the Amazon River, and another one down around Cape Horn. They have cruised to Alaska, and many other places. When they get back from this trip they are going fishing in Canada for one week, and then to the continent of Asia. I often think I should write a book about cruise passengers and their adventures and lives. On the last cruise we took, I was thrilled to meet a woman who travels around the world in her RV with her husband and am now getting travel letters from her about her adventures.<p>
<p> After breakfast we found a cozy spot to read to give the steward time to make up our room. I just started to read a book called, “The Well Fed Writer” which is about how to have a writing career. Can't wait to read it and glean information from it. The library on this ship is not very good so Chuck didn't find anything he was interested in reading.Here's the ship's small library.<p>
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<p>So, after reading for a bit, believe it or not, we went to eat lunch at 12:15 so we could make it in time to the first art auction on board. We met a really nice girl that works in the on board art gallery last night and she gave us advance tickets to the art auction. You get free champagne during each Princess art auction so we have gone a few times. Today they were touting the talent of an artist whose art I didn’t like at all. His work was the main attraction for today’s auction but people could go around the room prior to the auction starting and tag paintings or prints they were interested in. They had some Thomas Kincaid, Goya, Peter Max, a Renoir Lithograph and a lot of others. People were paying from between $500 to $17,000 for the pieces that went up for auction. I think I may go again because periodically they held raffles and you could win prints just for being there.<p>
<p> We came back to the room and I took a 2 hour nap while Chuck dozed for a bit and also worked on his computer as he had a report to review. We get 250 free minutes each on the internet because we are Platinum members on Princess. Chuck says he is worried about me sleeping so much but I think my body is just trying to catch up from all the work we have been doing on the house to get it ready to put on the market, which we did the day before we left for the cruise. When I woke up, I didn’t feel like walking as I am still quite groggy but I couldn’t wait to write. It’s just something inside me that needs to be able to be expressed or I feel something nagging at me. I am sitting on the bed and have the doors open to the balcony. I can see the deep dark blue of the water, feel the breeze and hear the water crashing against the sides of the boat. It sounds like waves hitting the shore. It is a beautiful and very peaceful sound and I am so very happy to be on this cruise.<p>
<p>After Chuck worked out we got ready to go to dinner. On the way to dinner, Chuck suggested we have a glass of wine in the Piazza, a beautiful atrium in the center of the ship that is mostly glass, brass and marble. There was a band playing called, “The Rick Clover Band” and they played ballroom Dance music. We watched about 6 couples dance beautifully together. One we surmised as a competitor couple because their moves were so fancy. The second best couple kept trying to get Chuck out on the dance floor. I was silently cheering him on because I have been trying to get Chuck to take ballroom dance lessons on every cruise we go on, but he always says an emphatic, “No.” The guy, Reggie says he was the same way and his wife signed them up for dance lessons and now they go dancing 3 to 4 nights a week. He says he is 70 and it keeps him young. His wife talked to us afterward and they tried to convince Chuck to dance, but he was having no part of that! Here's a picture of the atrium where there is a space at the bottom where people can dance. <p>
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<p>After watching the dancers we went to dinner at the Symphony restaurant, one of 2 of the “anytime dining” restaurants on board the Royal Princess. This means we can walk in as at any restaurant back home and we can eat at any time without waiting till the traditional seating of 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on cruise ships a decade ago. We did not have a good experience at this dining room. They were very busy and we had the slowest service we have ever had in a cruise ship restaurant. To top it off, Chuck had lamb shank which he thought was awful, very tough and he only ate half of it. My meal of filet of beef was very good. So between the service and Chuck’s meal we would give this restaurant a big thumbs down. Tomorrow night we will try the Concerto Restaurant, the sister restaurant to this one but one floor up. After dinner we decided to skip the show which was entertainment by singer Jennifer Fair, and opted to go back top the room and finish the movie 9 to 5. After that we watched a Nicholas Sparks movie which I had seen advertised, called, “Safe Haven.” It was a love story with a few surprise twists and we both enjoyed it…me more than Chuck I am sure. Lights out after the movie to rest up for another busy but relaxing day tomorrow!
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