Venice is lovely, of course, though I only spent about 2 hours ashore there I've been so crazy busy since I got on the ship. I'm vastly relieved to discover it has exactly the same layout as the Diamond, so I can find my way around with my eyes closed. It's a little surreal though, it's as though I went to sleep and when I woke up someone had changed all the carpets and moved some walls around. I keep expecting to see people I know from the Diamond, but they've all been replaced like the carpets.
We always have our morning croissant and cafe creme at the same table in the same cafe overlooking the Jardins de Luxembourg. It's a fantastic place to watch the world go by and I'm starting to recognize all the little dogs that get trotted by the brasserie on their morning walks in the park.Tomorrow finds me getting up at the crack of dawn to go to Venice where I'll meet the next ship. I've been trying to work on my Italian, but it keeps getting mixed up with French in my head, so I guess it will have to wait.
Back in Paris again- where I must say the weather is far more congenial than it was in Copenhagen. I fortunately missed going through De Gaulle on the day the roof collapsed, though now I'm keeping a weather eye on the roofs of all new buildings. Four more days of glorious vacation and good food, and then it's back to the ship. Today all the museums are closed, so I shall be forced to go shopping.
I'm finding Copenhagen as chilly and windy as ever this trip, but it's always nice to get to come see the family. Yesterday was my niece's confirmation, which means a big party with lots of wine and interesting conversation and good food. Mind you, much of the conversation was in Danish, and being as my Danish is limited to "mother, father and potato" I missed some of the more entertaining parts of the speeches, but I had very congenial dining companions, and as we worked our way through the wine, everyone's English became much better. Tomorrow we've promised the kids a trip to Tivoli, where I haven't been since I was a child. I think I'm as excited as they are.
Actually, yesterday I was in Rouen, on a perfectly frivolous quest for a delightful meal. This time I managed to avoid ordering the sheep's feet in puff pastry (with a light vinaigrette) for my starter, and had a perfectly pleasant meal. I'm noticing a disturbing trend in France towards serving baked potatoes with what is otherwise a perfect french meal. Don't get me wrong, I like baked potatoes, but the French have so many other, better ways to serve potatoes, that I don't like to waste my time eating them baked here (mind you, yesterday's baked potato came with a slice of foie gras on the top of it, which is not a bad way to eat potatoes). But they make them sound so much better than they are "potato dressed lovingly in robes of silver" (foil wrapped potato), that I don't recognize them for what they are. Tomorrow Denmark, where all the potatoes will be boiled.
Those heady days of sleeping in and grazing out of the kitchen have come to an aprubt end, yesterday began a whirlwind of shopping and packing (3 malls in two days), and once again, my suitcases are far too heavy to be brought on an international flight, much less dragged around the streets of Paris, Copenhagen and Venice. Mind you, I could put out the travel humidifier, travel hair dryer and others, but what would be the fun of that? I just bought a bigger purse so I could fit more in my carry on.
Back in Seattle and for the moment I'm enjoying a day of not having to live to anyone's schedule. There are no classes looming, no 7:30 dinner , nothing but free time looming in front of me for the day. Mind you, that free time will have to be tempered with a certain amount of frantic unpacking and sorting of my clothes for my next departure on Thursday but for the moment I'm reveling in the fact that if I want a snack I only have to wander up two flights of stairs to the kitchen, rather than undertake a 10 minute trek to the buffet.
Had a lovely day in Ketchikan, glorious sun, good coffee and a refreshing change from Mexico.
Yesterday began my first Alaska cruise. Woke this morning at 5:45 as we went through some Narrows (I don't exactly remember which ones, and I won't put myself up for ridicule by making up a name) - apparently we're the largest ship ever to go through, and we have 7 pilots on board all wanting to be certified to take the big ships through. Fantastic scenery all morning as we went through the Inside Passage, no wonder they never sell any computer classes on the Alaska run.
Anyway, Saturday finds me in Seattle again, where I have 5 days to shop and play before getting on a plane to Paris. Two weeks there and then on to the Star Princess where I will float in the glorious Mediterranean for 2 months. Come visit me!
This last cruise has gone so quickly. I was ordering dinner last night (and this will give you an idea of how inured I have become to eating at sea) and the first hint I had that the cruise was over was that the dinner menu was "Landfall dinner". Now two short little four day cruises, and I will find myself packing up all my things and walking off the ship in Seattle. (I hope - still no news of a replacement - though Darryl, if you're reading this, the production staff all remember you from the Star, and are requesting your presence for the Alaska run.) I'll be a bit sad to leave, but having seen now both the smallest ship in the fleet and the largest, I think I prefer the smaller ones.