We made it. What a crazy long day! Can’t believe we were strolling around Amsterdam this morning and are back in our own bed tonight. It’s great to be home!

The Amsterdam airport (Schiphol… pronounced “SHKI-pull”) is a modern behemoth with mostly self serve processes. Our driver dropped us off at the doorway of the second terminal and told us to turn right for Air Transat. He was bang on. We turned right and read the schedule board and sure enough we were exactly where we should be. Rudy enjoys the benefits of first class such as the priority line for checkin. He hates line ups (just like his father). Check in is a breeze and we make our way towards the gate. We are gate G ; they practically go through the whole alphabet.

To enter the security area you scan your boarding pass and the gates open. Once in the security area there is the passport check. Again self serve. You step into a booth and insert your passport then an automatic facial recognition monitor zeros in on your face and snaps a pic. If you’re kosher the sign signals you to the passport stamping guy. There’s a list of countries which passports can use the self serve; some have to be screened in person. You can guess which countries are not trusted travellers.

Once your passport is stamped you proceed to the security line. One by one your belongings are placed in a bin by staff and then you step into the body scanner. Everything is modern and efficient. Is anyone at Pearson listening??

In the gate areas there is a wide variety of good options from Starbucks and McDonalds to juice bar. We opt for a sandwich and salad (served in a glass bowl). Everything is recycled hardly no plastic bottles or dishes. You can also self serve wine and beer. Very civilized and efficient.

We grab a few items at the store and make our way to gate G. It’s packed. We are supposed to board at 2 pm. My phone buzzes and it’s a notification from AirTransat; flight delayed by 30 min. Once boarding starts we get on first. We are seated in row 1. Rudy is very pleased. We get settled in our seats which are equipped with personal entertainment units, a comfort kit (blanket, slippers, neck pillow) and a beauty kit including lotion and lip gloss and an eye mask. Nice. And almost immediately we are offered sparkling wine. Yes please!

The selection of movies is great. I end up watching 4 movies!! Crazy Rich Asians (loved it); Widows (loved it … love Viola Davis); Mary Poppins (pleasantly surprised in a good way); Can You Ever Forgive Me (loved it … great story). And during the movies we got the most attentive service and food and drinks and snacks and hot towels. Rudy was delighted!!

We land on time in Toronto in spite of our delay taking off. There’s the usual 3 mile hike from plane to immigration. We have nexus and it’s great. The area is a zoo. Eyes scanned and we are off to baggage. Another zoo.

After landing at 5:30 pm we finally get our bags at 6:30. The parking shuttle picks us up; another great deal on parking from my app “Park Whiz” – cheap parking and great service!! My fabulous car starts right up and we are on the road. It’s 7 pm and traffic is light.

In the driveway at 8:30 pm I’m practically bursting with excitement to see my girl Molly. She greets us at the door with a full body wag. Best homecoming ever. But it gets even better ….

Leo and Sandy have been staying with Molly and Otto (Bails did the first week) and aside from loving and caring for them in the best way, Sandy has a full snack tray and fresh flowers. Who could ask for anything more?!?!

Grateful beyond words ❤️

So much to see when you’re on tour…

Unlike Canada, Holland had an early spring. All the tulips were already bloomed. So much so that the ship even cancelled its garden tours. Museums were busy nonetheless. The bakeries and delis steal the show. The array and colours and aromas are irresistible. Sadly schlepping is not an option.

Rudy was happy to see a cigar lounge where they sell cigars of all varieties and have an attached smoking room. Is Canada the only up tight place? We seem to find one wherever we go!

Buskers are around the museums as well. I was surprised to find a duo of violin and tuba. They picked a spot under the arches with amazing acoustics. At first I thought it was on the speakers. A bit different than Justin Bieber.

Rudy marvelled at the kindergarten near our hotel. Dozens of squealing running and playing youngsters outside in the yard (a gated brick floor area with a play set and painted alphabet on the ground). Nice to see kids enjoying the outdoors and being happy. No filter.

We passed a bike shop and all of the bikes for sale were used. They mentioned on the tour that over 60,000 bikes are stolen annually. This is a bike crazy place.

Oh. Our airport taxi is almost here. Time to go.

Canada, here we come ready or not!

The ship docks for its final time (for us) at Amsterdam. The bustling port is busy with activities moving people and supplies. The disembarking is slow. The reasons are varied: elderly passengers, only 4 immigration officers (who seem to like the fulls day work) and only one escalator to reach the crowded immigration queue. We are not in Florida anymore (where they have ship processes down to a science). Adding to the mix is the full gray morning weather which is exasperating the scents of diesel and colognes. Overpowering smells are like pungent walls closing in.

Once the immigration hold up is over the outside security team has taxis hopping. We collect our bags and and are whisked quickly into a taxi. The driver (seems that every country has foreign taxi drivers) reads the address of the hotel from my phone and acknowledges verbally. Between his accent and the strange Dutch name we hope he’s on track. Either way we settle in to the seat and enjoy the quietly playing classical music. My mind is juggling the strange reality of the situation: we are in transit from our temporary comfort zone on the ship and heading toward our next adventure while Mozart is playing … I try not to conjure up a scene from any spy thriller movie.

We arrive at our hotel and it’s around 11 am on Sunday morning. There’s no false hope that our room will be ready but we are eager to unload our bags. The hotel clerk speaks a staccato broken English and it’s hard to keep up. Yes. Charge the card. Yes. We can book tickets through you. Yes. We need wifi. Yes. Yes. Yes. He’s firing questions a mile a minute while staring into his big computer screen. I take a moment to glance around as he moves us aside to deal with the next customer. Clearly we didn’t work at his pace. The lobby is bright and cheerful with a modern twist that is an interesting contrast to the building which is tall and skinny (like a townhouse) wedged amongst other old similar structures. There’s a small coffee area and every inch of space is utilized with the greatest efficiency; there’s a cubby for every essential in the self serve beverage built in that’s a sleek white lacquer and glass. There’s nothing bulky about anything.

We finish with the clerk who prints tickets for the hop on/hop off bus and boat and stores our bags. He rapidly circles points of interest on a city map and shows us where we are. We are a block from the Rijks Museum.

Heading out we learn something quickly and,thankfully, without incident: everyone here rides a bike. There are bikes parked and locked up everywhere (including our hotel which offers rentals). There are designated bike lanes and if you’re not paying attention you will get trampled. There’s a car lane and a bike lane and a pedestrian lane. Bikes take precedence.

The hop on bus is a short walk away and we get to the pick up point. The sky has lightened a bit but the air pressure is still low. Smells and sounds are trapped under the gray dome. Most hop ons are open at the top level, but this one had a plexiglass cover. We take our seat and I try to open the window without success. Earplugs are provided and there’s audio in 16 languages. Amsterdam is built around the water like a spiderweb with streets and canals making up the spokes. At the first opportunity we move seats to sit next to an open window. However, fixing one issue has created two more: the couple behind us are coughing and the man in front of us bathed in Axe cologne. It’s a sandwich from hell.

Almost a full circle later we hop off and enjoy a light snack and coffee at a cafe. Not to be confused with “coffee shop” which is code for canabis store and bar. We walk the area and enter a coffee shop called “Rookies”. When you go to the counter a “barista” shows you their selection of weed on a menu and you can also smell the product before buying. Very cool.

We circle back to the stop where we climb on board the canal boat for a tour. The sun has finally broken through the gray and starts to warm the air. On board the canals we are amazed at the water traffic. Loads of boats of all sizes are cruising the canals. We stay on board for the entire city tour and love it.

Once we hop off we stroll the designer street. Yorkville on steroids. We end up at cute restaurant for a drink, rest and snack. By now it’s after 3 pm and our room will be ready. We head to the hotel.

Like the lobby, our room is a showcase of modern efficiency. A colourful modern room with an elegant bathroom including a massive soaker tub. The Dutch have their priorities straight!!

Before we turn in we walk to a nearby park and make use of our purchases from Rookies. When we return to the hotel we grab a few drinks from the self serve bar and start to wind down. Our last night before home. Hard to believe.

Sweet dreams!!

Sometimes on your travels you’re lucky enough to meet great people who make a lasting impression in a really good way. For years we have cruised annually with our besties Ian and Cathie. Rudy and Ian lounge and read and chat about anything under the sun while Cath and I study the human condition from our deck chairs. We literally sit for hours and watch people while adding commentary and make up stories about them. Ian gets a good chuckle out of this practise. I’ve been known to do similar with my sister on occasion. Sometimes in inappropriate settings like the hospital waiting room for example. People are so amazingly unpredictable and hilarious.

And sometimes you are randomly thrust into the company of strangers and there’s a click. That’s what happened on this cruise. We were placed at a dinner table with two other couples and we started to chat. First date stuff like where are you from, what do you do .. the usual small talk to find similarities and commonalities. During dinner we find that Dan and Bonnie from Dallas are really neat and we’d like to hang a bit more.

One of the things we truly appreciated was their easy going manner. They would do their thing during the day and we would meet up st dinner. In order to get the prime table by the window we had to eat early (5:15 pm) which in real life isn’t bad, but in cruise surrealist life where you eat nonstop all day, it’s a tad early. We made it work. Totally worth the effort and (perceives) inconvenience.

We would review our daily activities and learned early on that they play bridge. Rudy and I tried to learn on our last trans-Atlantic but the guest instructor was horrible. We were totally confused. Even other seasoned players commented that they were lost. Luck of the draw; we packed it in. Bonnie and Dan offered to teach us. Now we’re hooked. Every night (just about) we retired to a card table and played bridge. We still have a ton to learn and absorb as there are more rules and strategies to bridge than a Roberts Rule meeting. But we get the gist.

Bonnie’s an interior designer who’s keen eye for style is evident in her personal taste; she arrives for dinner each night in a thoughtful, elegant outfit that complements her stylish white bobbed hair and bright blue eyes.

Dan (who we have dubbed Lieutenant Dan) is a refined gentleman with a mischievous grin and twinkle in his eye.

Both have a great sense of humour and wit as well as sharp intelligence. We really enjoy their company.

On our last cruising day it is their 51st wedding anniversary and they ask us to join them for a special dinner in one of the premium restaurants on board, Giovanni’s. The restaurant has floor to ceiling windows allowing the intense sunset to lighten the room in an ethereal way. The waiter (familiar to Bonnie and Dan) starts us with olive oil/balsamic/Parmesan and warm crusty bread. Then the charcuterie board and pickled vegetables arrive. We toast the anniversary couple and place our dinner orders. Osso Bucco and filet mignon are recommended. The next course is appetizers; the table shares a delicious caprese style salad and I can’t resist the pork belly. By the time entrees arrive I am stuffed.

After dinner the staff bring a festive plate to celebrate the anniversary couple and the entire restaurant sings and toasts. It’s the perfect salute to a lovely couple. So glad we met.

Hopefully our paths cross again.

PS. Bonnie is the only woman I know who can apply lip liner and lipstick flawlessly WITHOUT a mirror!

In search of Molly’s ancestry we instead found history and character galore in Bruges. The ship docked at Zeebrugge a small port area about 20 km from Bruges and 100 km to Brussels. Our time ashore is limited as we anchor up at 3:30 pm. We decide to grab a taxi and head into Bruges.

The port is a busy shipping terminal surrounded by warehouses and container yards. As such, the port authority collects all passengers at ship side for either an escorted excursion or shuttle to the terminal building. We shuttle to the terminal and hail the next can in the queue. It’s $55 Euros to travel from port to city centre. The drive is scenic and we search the farms for signs of Molly’s kin. No luck.

Our driver, a young immigrant from Gaza, drops us in the Market area and agreed to pick us up again at 1:30 pm giving us 4 hours to explore. The market area is a circular plaza of cobblestone and surrounded on two sides by large buildings (city hall) and restaurants and shops. There are horse drawn carriages, cyclists, cars and pedestrians swarming the area in organized chaos. We quickly exit the circle using one of the many side streets (spokes) leading away from the circle.

There are retail shops that would make the seasoned shopper swoon. A Mecca of designer stores and upscale boutiques as well as cafes and liberally sprinkled with chocolatiers. The aroma of fresh baking and chocolate and designer perfumes is wafting through the narrow streets. We meander our way through the main museum area which is a collection of beautifully maintained buildings including what appears to be the priory and perhaps convent. We notice the stations of the cross in pride of place in the tranquil gardens.

Throughout the city the narrow streets and interesting architecture there is a series of canals and bridges. (As an aside we note that the system is far cleaner and less pungent than Venice). There are ancient bridges and porticos everywhere. So we decide to take a canal tour by boat. Only approved boats are allowed on the inner city canals – no pleasure boats/crafts and swimmers. But they do allow swimmers in July and August. The water quality is ok! The canals were the main supply chain distribution method of old and the buildings abut directly into the water. Including the former jail where you can see the old prisoner loading dock. The oldest bridge dates back to the 1200’s and the newest is circa 1970’s when concrete was invented. Most of the buildings have retained their stunning heritage.

We pass university, brewery, hospital, churches and plenty of private homes. One of the canal side homes recently sold for $1.2M euros. Simply amazing.

At the end of the tour we back track to the brewery we passed on the water. We enjoy a tasting flat of local beers on the waterside patio. And then continue our stroll back to the market plaza via a chocolate store. We meet the owner who empathizes that we can’t schlep anything major back home and offers a shipping (pay with PayPal) solution. US or Canada. But US is half the price. Go figure.

We make our way to the plaza to where our taxi will collect us and we decide to relax with another beer and a snack. We have a pint of local beers complemented with olives, cheese and salami. It’s one of the many restos in the plaza and offers an outdoor patio perfect for people watching. The scenery is bar none. As our table neighbours get their lunch orders we are envious of the delicious looking salads and frites (served appropriately with mayonnaise).

Just as we finish our last sip, our taxi approaches. We wave at each other and make our way. He whisks us back to the port. We pass lots of farms and herds but there is no sight of Molly. I can’t wait to see her.

Back on board we watch the port activity from our balcony. Did I mention it’s sunny and 60’s?? Another day in paradise.

The sea days on board the ship are interesting when weather is not suitable for outdoor activities. While there’s plenty to do some of the options are not our style: shopping sales, bingo, art auctions, salsa lessons, bean bag toss, teeth whitening seminar, next cruise highlights. The list goes on and on. We enjoy reading and people watching.

Today there was an activity that caught our attention and we couldn’t resist. Wine tasting. Usually we do more than “taste” but this sounded interesting as they were featuring wines from Portugal. I can’t even recall a section in the LCBO from Portugal. We were definitely curious.

There’s a nice cozy bar on board the ship called Vintages and two of the four ship’s sommeliers work there. Denis is from Russia and Natalia is from Costa Rica. We enjoy sipping drinks at this bar because the view is good and it’s not overly busy. They have only a limited bar selection: wines and whiskey. So it’s perfect for us. Denis has brought the wine tasting to our attention and we are intrigued.

We arrive at the bar and they have set their side table with 10 places settings featuring 4 glasses and a plate of cheeses. Everyone takes their seat and Natalia welcomes us. She is clearly knowledgeable and very passionate about her craft. Starting with wine general information she leads us into production in Portugal. As we suspected, Portugal is not famous for their wines and none of the grape varieties are familiar to us. Neither the white or red blends are great, but paired with the cheese they are passable. I wouldn’t rush out to buy them for sure.

However, the Port was another matter. We’ve enjoyed port at home but our knowledge was limited so today’s I information was very interesting. Porto (the official name) was discovered centuries ago by accident. As the British enjoyed their tipples from France, war with the French precluded trade and they needed a new source. Portugal stepped up but shipment was questionable due to distance. There were concerns that the wine’s integrity would not survive. So someone thought adding brandy would lengthen the shelf life and presto! Hello Porto!

There are different varieties such as Ruby and Tawny depending on the aging process, type of grape and quantity of brandy. Aging is based on the vintners guess as production time varies. How’s that for a vocation!!

We tasted two varieties and both were sweet and complex. Natalia paired them strong cheese and also fig compote to highlight that the drinks sweetness could pair nicely with desserts as well as savoury.

After her formal presentation Natalia invited us to enjoy sipping and nibbling. However, this part of the session was the opening that the table know it all (a burly bearded man from Mississippi seated next to Rudy) needed to take over the lead. Verging on annoying, our sip and nibble was suddenly not as enlightening. One glance at Rudy and I could see him edging from his stool. He’s so much like his father!

A lovely afternoon reprieve nonetheless. Cheers!

Today was grand. In every way. We docked in Cobh (pronounced Cove) which is a small hamlet with a deep water dock. There’s a Titanic museum at the pier but it’s validity may be questionable according to locals. Nonetheless Cobh is a few train stops from Cork and there were definitely Titanic passengers from Cork. Either way, the train station is literally across the parking lot from the dock. And aside from our ship the other vessels were naval ships and fishing boats. We disembarked into a slightly misty morning and boarded the train to Cork. It was $4euros per person each way.

The train was extra busy due to the ship’s passengers and crew. I’m sure the locals were wondering where all the traffic was coming from. At the second stop there was a second cruise ship from the Costa lines. Lots of tourist activity. We exit the train at Cork and start our walk into town. Our cycling city tour starts at 10:30 am (a change from 10 am to accommodate us in case we were late) and we were to meet our guide at St Peters Quay. When we got to the right address (a bit tricky since not all buildings are numbered) it appeared to be a vacant building. Rudy was sure it was a scam and loudly declared as much. When suddenly a graffiti laden weird door opens and a man pops out. “Hi! I’m James your guide … I just heard you talking “. We are momentarily caught off guard and James continues with ” you’re early but I am just getting the bikes out now”. Not sure what to expect we were pleasantly surprised when James reappeared with two brand new bikes, vests and helmets. He fills us in. “You’re the only 2 on the tour today so we can start when you’re ready… “. Wow. A private tour. Another pleasant surprise. James gives us some of his background and the summary is he’s a local who has given up a career in pharmaceuticals for a full time business in cycle touring. We put on our gear. And we are off.

The tour starts with a short walking of the bikes up a hill to a less trafficked area and we hope on our bikes for a short ride to our first stop. A tiny humble street where a small yellowish row house has been designated a heritage site. This is the home of the first Irish immigrant to the USA. There’s a statue of her (young girl with her suitcase at the harbour in Ireland and a replica in the US at Ellis Island). We continue to the butter museum and all the while at each mini stop James provides copious informative narratives on the violent history of the Irish.

We venture back down the hill and tour through a lovely park and western edge of town where the river splits into two. Then we head back up hill to the University of Cork; one of 4 Queens universities in Ireland. It’s open house day for high schoolers choosing post secondary and the amazingly historical campus is flooded with giddy youngsters getting a taste of college life. At the campus there are a couple of interesting stops: the cathedral, the stone hall and the mud hut (a typical Irish homestead for the poor lands people of yore).

From there we head to Fort Elizabeth and the most famous cathedral in the city. James lets us know that in one of the (numerous) revolutions the Irish took up a position at the cathedral and the British at the fort and cannonballs flew between the two. None of the revolutions was ultimately successful and Ireland finally got their independence via negotiations. As a result during WWII Ireland abstained and was neutral as they would not fight along side Britain. In fact, their position was rewarded by Nazi Germany and supplies were shipped in as aid. (I wonder if that’s the warm friendship that was effortless between my parents and the Eldons where Brits were still mad a Germans in the 1950’s??)

From the fort we head downhill again back into the city centre. Where we can see the original city walls (Cork was built over very swampy land laden with canals) and the old buildings with steps up to the first level (out of the water).

We are back where we started (3 hours and a bit later) with so much more respect and empathy for the fighting Irish. What a resilient and proud people. And so welcoming and friendly.

After a quick lunch and local IPA (of course) – where the server tells us her brother is in Canada and she will be visiting BC this summer – we venture back to the train station via the city mall and shops. Marks and Spencer’s was a must for me (I remember the store in my hometown very well!) but since we can’t transport food into the ship I had to leave the onion crisps on the shelf.

We hop back on the train and sit with a local man who married a girl from Ottawa. The Canadian connection is alive and well here. He fills us in on more local information and points out places of interest along the way. He inquired about the hockey play offs and how the Maple Leafs (groan) are doing. He’s a sports fan and likes hockey and the Super Bowl. We share a laugh.

Ireland has made an impression on us that will endure until we meet again.

Videos of the processes. Amazing.

Today we dropped anchor in Dunmore East, Ireland. The bright sunrise woke me before 7 am and I was able to watch the ship cruise into the picturesque harbour. Passing the worlds oldest functioning lighthouse, the ship settles calmly overlooking bright green pastures and majestic rocky cliffs. It’s the perfect cover photo for a romance novel. The harbour is quiet with the exception of the tender craft being dropped from the ship.

I venture to the pick up spot for our tender tickets. It’s always a bit dodgy trying to get thousands of people off the ship onto small bobbing life boats and into shore. So the cruise lines invent methods to ease the crowd control. Nice try. It’s always a bit of a gong show and today was no exception. There was a bulging line up when our number was called but once the lube started to move it was very quick. I was impressed. As we waited in the tender, I wondered what the hold up was. Why were we not pulling away from the ship. Then, in a flurry of activity, several people appeared on an exterior elevator at the side of the ship. There was medical personnel and several orderlies. And a bundled up woman with an oxygen tank in a wheelchair. The elevator stopped and the entourage rolled off and into our tender. The woman looked exhausted and her husband was disheveled and confused looking. Once they were aboard our tender left. They were the first to exit after the 3 minute ride and an ambulance with staff was waiting. Very sad to watch.

We all disembark and we walk off the pier and into the little town (sleepy seaside village). We are to meet our taxi at 11 am at The Ocean Hotel. There are NO Ubers anywhere in Ireland. We take the opportunity to stroll the village and check out the views. No disappointments here. Quaint thatch roofed cottages, ivy, painted doors and narrow cobbled streets. It takes us a few passes to realize one of the small colourful buildings is the hotel. Definitely not our vision of hotel! Teaching us, yet again, not to assume. We meet a familiar couple from the ship and as we chat our driver (Paul) appears.

Paul confirms our destination in Waterford about 30 minutes away. He chats brightly with us about the lush green countryside and let’s us know there’s about 3 million people in Ireland. I think there’s more people in the GTA!! No wonder there’s such beautiful scenic vistas as we drive: rolling hills dotted with livestock, charming country homes and lots of greenery!

When we arrive in Waterford, Paul drops us in front of the Waterford Crystal Factory and lets us know he will collect us at half three (3:30 pm). I pre-booked an Epic Viking Tour and Waterford Crystal tour. The Viking walking tour was scheduled for noon; we had about an hour to spare so we did a brief stroll around marvelling at the obvious historical old town and we stopped for a quick pre-tour coffee. One latte and one cappuccino done in seconds … why does Starbucks take so long I wondered out loud.

Our tour meets at the Bishops Palace and the guide (a lovely young maiden named Ann Marie in Viking garb who was a picture perfect maiden out of Robin Hood) takes us outside to the street stopping frequently to tell animated tales of centuries ago. As she spoke I was taken, in my minds eye, to the time of Ken Follette’s novel Pillars of the Earth. Such great history. Waterford was settled originally by Vikings and is the oldest city in Ireland. Steeped in historical wars and conquests the original city was surrounded by stone walls and protected by towers. Viking superstition and culture abounds. To be followed closely by the influence of the church. Even the Irish flag 🇮🇪 is based on religion: one colour represents The Catholics the other colour The Protestants joined by peace (the white) in the middle. We know how that worked out. Everywhere you glance there’s another piece of history and with it a colourful story. Delightful.

We stopped in at the cathedral and lit a candle for Rudy’s mom. It was a giant hallowed place of worship that was undergoing considerable construction. The aura was unfazed by the activity and a feeling of solemnity overcame us.

Time for a libation! We settle on a traditional Irish pub called “The Reg” named after the Reginald Tower (the famous landmark from the Viking settlement nearby). We order local craft beers (we don’t care for Guiness which, if announced, could cause a riot!) and follow that with an Irish Whiskey tasting board and then a local beer tasting board. A delicious liquid lunch a la Waterford!! Slainte!! (Cheers in Gaelic)

The Waterford Crystal tour was next. I had pre-booked tickets for that, too. But after our “lunch” Rudy decided to pass. The tour was very interesting. There are several steps to creating a crystal piece; each step is completed by a skilled craftsman with at least a 10 year apprenticeship (some of the craftsmen were over 4 decades of service!!). The results of their work is brilliantly stunning pieces. I will ever look at Crystal the same way.

There is also a huge (and amazing) retail shop (big surprise) at the end of the tour. Here was my wonderful happy ending. Background: my mom wanted me to have a hope chest and every special occasion such as birthdays after the age of 13 or so, I got another piece to add to the collection. At 13 what does anyone know about chinaware!?!? But I dutifully chose a pattern (platinum by Royal Doulton) and hoped I would not regret it. Since downsizing last year we are using the platinum as our everyday dishes … no microwave!! … and enjoying their delicate strength. Today I was delighted to find my chinaware on glorious display in the store. I know my mom would have been so proud!

When I exited the store (empty handed) Rudy and Paul were standing at the car. I called to them to come and help me with the crates of things I bought. You should have seen their faces. Just Kidding, guys!! Their sigh of relief was audible. Ha ha.

Rudy has made arrangements with Paul to stop by a liquor store. Irish Whiskey is on his mind. Paul takes us to Tedesco; it’s like Target. They have everything from onions to diapers to booze. Excellent stop. Mission accomplished. We start our drive back to the ship as the sun shines brightly. I’m so glad we didn’t need the rain coats we schlepped.

The tender back to the ship is uneventful and we sit on our sun kissed balcony for a snack and reminiscing of the day. It was perfect.

Tomorrow: Cork.

Anchors away!!

We have boarded the Brilliance of the Seas operated by Royal Caribbean. This mammoth ship has 13 decks of well thought out pleasures. The boarding process was a breeze. Apparently we missed the noon rush. Upon boarding there are tons of guests milling around trying to figure out what to do or where the lunch buffet is. We marvel at the buzz below us on the dock as the forklifts zip in and out from the ship loading goods. The logistics of this operation are mind boggling.

Our decision to start the journey with a glass of wine is a good one. The Vintages bar on Deck 6 is manned by a youngish Russian who pours us a yummy Cab Sauv from California into sparklingly clean glasses. Our view is to the shore terminal and the sunshine. Florida… fuck yeah. We haven’t seen the glorious sun in 4 weeks and we missed it (I think we’ve had 2 sunny but cold days in Collingwood all month). Nasty. This is a great alternative.

It’s about 1:30 pm and having had no food all day we are feeling the vibe from our delicious wine. Lunch is calling us on Deck 11. There are so many people it’s hard to find a spot and just as we are feeling frustrated, a table for 2 vacates and we jump in. The selection is amazing and we enjoy a full lunch. Finished with a cup of coffee and a couple of cookies.

Time to check out our cabin. We have stateroom 9576 on the 9th Deck. It’s directly off the centrum next to the Book Nook (a cozy area with comfy chairs and several book cases). We are pleasantly surprised to find our cabin spacious with a king bed and separate sitting area. The balcony is oversized with 2 chairs and a bistro table and plenty of room to spare. I’m surprised they didn’t add a lounger as there is room. We decide to nap for 45 minutes until the mandatory drill.

After the drill (Which is the typical snooze fest except for the captains update which included some cool stats about the trip) we return to the cabin to see if our bags have arrived. Nope. Good time for another nap before dinner. Awaking at 6 pm we find our bags outside the door. Quick change in time for dinner. A wonderful schedule of relax, drink, eat, sleep repeat is emerging. Perfect.

As we are leaving we meet our steward Hubert and order a case of water and some club soda. Hubert is from Panama but lives in Costa Rica. He speaks great English which makes Rudy very happy.

My time dining means we can eat as our schedule dictates. But I have made reservations at the same time each day while we are at sea. The hostess asks if we don’t mind eating with others. Sure. We can do that. Our table for six has four guests already seated. Two couples. As soon as we sit the waitress from South Korea asks us about beverages. Our desire is water and plenty of it.

Dinner is full of chatter. Our table mates are engaged; one couple from Alabama chats with Rudy and the other from Seattle with me. All the ladies are Susan’s. All retired. Conversation is lively and we steer clear of the usual mine traps: Donald Trump and healthcare. Funny how religion isn’t even on the radar.

Alabama has to eat and run as they are attending the show. We eat at a much more leisurely pace with Seattle (Mike and Susan) and continue the conversation. Mike, we notice, is missing a hand. I’m struggling not to ask how as my gaze is drawn to the poor stump as though it’s glowing. Why does that happen?? Nonetheless we ask what he’s retired from (and I’m desperate for a clue on the hand …) and he launches into a spiel about being a banker specializing in commercial real estate. No clue there. My mind (helplessly) runs through scenarios at a rapid pace: don’t bite the hand that feeds you sticks as I imagine a hostile bank client lunging over the desk to gnaw on Mikes hand …..

yikes.

After dinner we take a stroll around the ship. It’s a beauty with neat art and sculptures and amenities that are nicely decorated and appointed. A definite step up from the party barges that have been our experience on Carnival. For example, the gym is huge with every imaginable equipment and gadget. The top deck has a full array of activities such as a sports court (hello pickleball), golf and rock climbing (don’t think so). The entertainment level has a cinema and pubs and casino.

We end our tour at the crows nest. Top of the ship with a spectacular view of the sunset. Breathtaking. Settled into cushy lounge chairs we order a cocktail and take in our upcoming journey. Something the captain said at the drill had piqued my curiosity and use the ships app to check it out. It’s apparent that my geography is lacking. I didn’t know exactly where the Azores are located. I assumed they were near Portugal. Nope. Try the middle of the Atlantic. It’s our first port and we arrive in 6 days or so.

So far the Caribbean Sea has been typical: warm, moist, slight rollers and breezy. Hope this continues for a few days.

Ahoy!