Well friends and family this looks like the last entry…just returned from the beaches of Normandy…..bus from LeHarve, France which is right on the seine river…….some very moving monuments to the service men who fought and gave their lives in wwII on d-day….beautiful French countryside and small cities and lots of cows (charolai) and lovely spring flowers and rapeseed which is a bright yellow flower all over the hills…..one more night then we get off the ship tomorrow morning in dover, England then on to heathrow airport in London and then home….
I had better tell about the thingson the ship….great entertainment….dancers and production numbers…belonged to the choir….singers, ventriloquists, jugglers, piano players, brass and string players, played bridge with another couple who love to play for fun….won at trivia with 2 other couples one from Canada and one from England….played the slots once in a while….saw ice carving, galley tour, walked the track, read a few books, chatted with people from allover the world…great fun….
Been quite an adventure although we are the short timers with this particular group most of whom have been on this boat since the 14th of January…an around the world group.. some are still going on to Sweden and some are even going on the queen mary across the atlantic…
chuck is starting to become annoyed at all the old people, hehehe….but by grannies they are hanging in there….I try to remind him but for a few years and there goes he and I…reduction of items on the bucket list…..chaaching….

Well a day in Cork, Ireland…went up the 175 steps to the top of the blarnay castle, tiny winding stairs….got clear to the top and found out we had to lay on our backs with out heads out a hole in the wall to kiss the blarnay stone….like that’s going to happen….took a picture of someone else doing that….then had to go back down the steps holding on to a large rope…sheese….raining but not hard just drizzly…reminded us of guess where….had 2 days at sea and boy was it rough I did not feel well the whole time…I wannnnnaaaaa go home, tried to jump but chuck held me back…to much paper work if I jumped….glad to be on terra firma…..
Had another word looking thru my stuff….in Dubai a street named abr jabber….heheh….

A Day in Lisbon, Portugal….sports red tile roofs, white buildings with an occasional pastel colored building, both side of the tagus river where we tied up and looking at a bridge that looks like the golden gate …..a delightful surprise city…clean and lovely….squares every couple of blocks with statues and fountains….old part a Moorish part with narrow streets two donkey butts wide…they take credit for bringing Christianity to the rest of the world and the best navigators and sailors ever….discovered all everywhere…fun….Jeronimos monastry was built in the 12 century and now houses the naval museum as well as a spectacular church…

After a day at sea we arrived this morning at the rock of Gibraltar…..catchey name,.,,humans share the ismus with about 60 monkeys called barbary apes ..from Africa…that run loose on the rock…not an island but an ismus of spain….with Africa just across the waterway,,,atlantic ocean and Mediterranean sea….tunnels throughout the rock used by the military in various war and sieges….windy….about 30,000 people live here and speak English and Spanish….beautifulll….

Today in Barcelona, Spain….they speak a form of Spanish called catalonia which seems to be amixture of French and Spanish…old city is called the gothic quarter, dating back to the 13th century….roman ruins from the roman empire are among new buildings and new old buildings…age seems to be not to important….like that concept….today was the feast of st. george so every person who lives in Barcelona was out today in the sunshine all 4 million of them….a sight to behold…went to the Benedictine monastry incredible church with wonderful gardens….the home of the famous black Madonna from the 12 century…the outdoor markets and small shops were a wonder…pike’s market on steriods….rough weather last night crossing the gulf of lion…..but smooth today….

Welllll …today we were in cannes, france and nice france and st. paul .france.…I keep having to remind myself what country I am in as we are moving a warp speed it seems….tomorrow spain…sheese…along the coast line called the French riveria….. All the beautiful places in cannes , fishing, fruit, olives and lavender and flowersl… where all the people stay who come for the film festival…..lots of huge boats….sand on some beaches and rocks to lay on on other beaches…towns of the artists of late…monet, Chagall, Picasso and the list goes on…beautiful gardens with flowers everywhere….then to Nice…5th largest city with Italian influence as well as French… went In a tram up the mountainside not one that goes in the air a tram that looks like a motorized small train….then on to st paul de vance a well preserved town of the 16th century with a wall around it and on the top of a mountain , small streets, art gallerys, elegant boutiques and a beautiful church…. Merci and bonjour…weather was beautifully warm and we tendered in once again….

Oh my goodness…we spent the day in Rome today….the first part of the day we were in the Vatican with a visit to the museums of the Vatican and the church of st. peter’s bacillica..and then in the Sistine chapel , hundreds of people all very quiet, can‘t describe the beauty… then thru roma by the Tiber river to lunch Italian style , have had more pasta the last few days…then on to the coliseum..you can almost hear the Romans cheering on the lions..…an hour from the port so the ride was thru the countryside of Italy….such a beautiful part of the world…my mind is in awe of all we saw…

Should probably tell you about our table mates…all 4 are from England , chuck says they are a little stuffy, I am sorry but they are hilarious, I am learning some new words…one is “they were having a bun fight” meaning any chaos around food, a spotted dick , is a pudding cake of some kind, and having dinner served is so civilized….one couple and two ladies that remind us of the queen mum….very proper….have tea in the afternoon, all of the people we are meeting on this ship have cruised all over the world some several times…
We just got back from the Isle of Capri just 20 minutes by ferry from Sorrento, Italy…what a beautiful place…high , curvy, narrow roads and the drivers drive like maniacs…….gardens….old churches, lots of lemon trees….lots of people from allover Europe….tendered in from the bay….took the funicular or cable car down the mountain….

Day at sea followed by A day in Athens, Greece….it was the day before their easter so traffic was a dream and weather was beautiful…highlite was the acropolis and the museum of artifacts with lunch in a wonderful local rest. High up a skinny little street , served in about 8 courses and then on to the local flea market….great people watching and we heard about 8 different languages spoken…
Should probably tell you about our table mates…all 4 are from England , chuck says they are a little stuffy, I am sorry but they are hilarious, I am learning some new words…one is “they were having a bun fight” meaning any chaos around food, a spotted dick , is a pudding cake of some kind, and having dinner served is so civilized….one couple and two ladies that remind us of the queen mum….very proper….have tea in the afternoon, all of the people we are meeting on this ship have cruised all over the world some several times…

Day crossing the suez canal, we were 19 in a convoy of 26 going north betweeen the Sinai desert
and Egypt which is the only country located in 2 continents…Africa and asia….guard towers every ½ mile and the canal is about 110 miles long…I don’t think I have ever seen so many guns…a real money maker for Egypt the canal……no locks just some wide spots they call lakes where we pulled over to the side and let the south bound traffic thru….lots of sand on one side and the nile side was lush and green…
Day of the pyramids today…incredible sight….went thru cairo a small community of 18 million people,..expected the pyramids to be out on the desert however they are right next to a rather shabby part of the city….the sphinx in front of the pyramids Kodak moments everywhere…I did ride a camel again this time I didn’t look quite so uncoordinated…fun the camels name was Cleopatra…went into one of the tombs narrow passage and very low ceilings not everyone went in if you were the least bit claustrophobic….and was it hot….sand, horses, camels, donkeys, tuktuks (small motorcycles with a seating contraption attached), motorcycles, cars, trucks, and buses all on the streets at the same time…wild driving…weather was pleasant not too hot…

Day in Egypt…..wonderful people watching, men driving carts( drawn by donkeys) talking on cell phones leaving houses with satelite dishes on the roofs that are not finished only have reeds on the top..also horses, camels and cows….
Lots of security checks on the highway and each one has a man with a machine gun plus various other armed men..now for the real test…it was 125 degrees out today and we spent 7 hours on a bus….now you can imagine how chuck handled this schedule,
…..saw some wonderful ruins and tombs of kings and queens that are thousands of years old with paintings and carvings that still look clear and beautiful….under ground tombs with hundreds of pictures….columns 25 feet across and 60 of them all with symbols of early time in Egypt…nile river with many boats and irrigation gardens that were spectacular….sugar cane, vegs, sunflowers, fig trees, palm trees, wheat, clover, we took lots of pictures, day at sea tomorrow

here are the little pirates we encountered, under the guise of fishermen...we were bookin, too fast for them...ho mates!!!!

Day 3 of 4 days at sea…..we are in the red sea out of the gulf of Aden, where we had the pirates approach the ship but we outran them, there were about 12 little skiffs with outboards.. and they acted like they were “JUST FISHERMEN”…holding up fish but no gear that we could see but no guns that we could see also… kinda exciting our crew was standing by with the water hoses ready……playing bridge daily and trivia winners we are, I now have a lifetime supply of baggage tags (the winning prize) ye haww….weather warm, chuck is trying to get a cold so he hunkered down and is just resting…fab speaker on Egypt so we are excited to go there…hugs to all...having a room service brunch for easter morning...happy easter to all...

Day in salalah, oman…
Spent the day on a tour of salalah in the country of oman…short history as 1970 was the year of rennaissance when the new saltan qaboos bin said, took over the country from his father in a coup, so all the building and education and health care are new building and all the omanies think he walks on water….saw the tomb of job, museum, fab beaches with no one for miles…all based on oil, no taxes all free services….however his compoundsssss are immense..and he has 4 wives,
We will be leaving in a few hours to head into pirate territory…..shiver me timbers….

Day 2 on the ship…..
Had our pirate drill yesterday, interesting…scared a lot of old people (the ones who can’t unclip their life jackets)…we will be going in a convoy of sorts with several other cruise ships thru the area of the attacks…have hoses with high pressure, some kinda of sonic device, no guns on board…we are ready…ya right….wea ther has been lovely and calm seas…found a couple who like to play bridge from florida….next stop salala in oman…

Dubai

Spring trip 2009.…starting on the airplane to Dubai
Hey all, we have recovered from jet lag and are now on the ship leaving Dubai.
We had a 20 hr. plane ride that seemed endless. From Portland to Minneapolis , Was uneventful…from Minnesota to amsterdam started out well, wonderful lst class seats, had my nest all spread out..personal TV, water, headphones, book, pillow and blanket, leg rest out seat back and comphy..now where am I going with this you ask…enter the chuckster…by the window he says I have to get out..leaps up and over goes the water in my lap, a full glass add two full water bottles in my lap along with everything else, leaving carnage in his wake goes to the restroom…now I don’t sleep as my left cheek and leg and lap are soaking wet as is my pillow and book and headset and remote…the flight attendant and I got a lot soaked up but the trip took forever…the next leg from Amsterdam to Dubai I slept all the way (finally dried out)
Dubai is very new and shiny, the building are spectacular and over the top, never saw so many cranes (working metal ones)…people are mostly covered up even at the beach, women with women and men with men …got to know what outfit went with what country…only 250,000 natives and 5 1/2 million others. Went on a sand dune adventure that made me car sick and scream also rode a camel (now that was a picture) a belly dancer and car mates were both from Africa, he worked in Afghanistan and she was going to school in geniva, switz. Very interesting couple, enjoyed talking to them and getting a new perspective on the world. Was in a 7 star hotel, has an aquarium that rivals maui’s, a ski slope in a shopping mall and some beautiful gallerys, a spice market and gold market. Now you have a picture of the last 3 days…