music of the night and day

Our day at sea started like so many sea days in the past with a good late sleep in. We were in no rush and leisurely putzed around the room showering and getting ready for breakfast in the buffet. Smoked salmon is always my go-to breakfast and today was no different. Capers and thinly sliced onions topped it off.

After breakfast Carm went to trivia and I hung out on the balcony, enjoying the wash of waves against the ship and the wide blue vista that stretched out for infinity. I kept my eyes peeled for sea life, but wasn’t lucky enough to see any.

I eventually ventured out to the piazza where a dance class was underway. I sat on the sidelines thoroughly enjoying myself - I love people watching and the piazza is the perfect place to do so. By the time the dance class was over, Carm had tracked me down so we could get coffees and we sat in the piazza again, this time listening to a string duo. They were fantastic.

Thank goodness for the internet! Pat has been kind enough to send me pictures of the dogs which helps with my ‘leaving home’ anxiety tremendously. It is nice to know that she’s holding down the fort at home :-)

Listening to music, talking with people (Cliff and Ginger had a very sweet story about when they met), and watching the world go by, passed the morning all the way into the early afternoon. My stomach was growling (as if it needed more food), so we grabbed a quick lunch at the buffet, and then headed back down for some more music, this time a band quartet - good, but not as great as Blue Jade on the Coral.

If you sit quietly and watch you will see everything. People with their foibles and oddities, couples who are having fun, more serious people, the couple with matching shirts, the old guy with tap shoes dancing around clippity clappity clap, very very big people with towering plates of food, tiny people, and lots in between. It is a good motivation for getting back on that diet when we get home, and if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, motivation to take some dance lessons again.

There was one tiny old guy with a baseball cap identifying him as a WWII veteran. 94 years old and still cruising and tearing up the dance floor.

Carm played trivia this afternoon with a guy who disagreed that we evolved from the ocean…

Tonight was formal night which meant suit for Carm (so dashing), and a cocktail dress and jewels for me. We cut quite a swath through the ship on our way to supper. We shared with 2 other lovely couples. I had a cold pea soup and shrimp on rice - both wonderful. Oh so spoiled!

After supper we had just enough time to change out of my sausage squishing undergarments so I’d be comfortable for the show. “Born to Dance” was awesome - we’d seen it last year and it didn’t disappoint again.  I love the shows and get enormous pleasure sitting there letting the music and visuals wash over me.

We hadn’t gotten enough music yet so went to the Vista lounge where another band was playing - the same quartet as the afternoon. We even got up and danced (a slow dance, and even then we stepped on each other’s feet!) When asked if we dance, we tell people that we’ve been banned from the dance floor because of extreme ineptness!