sea day on our way to Maderia

The gentle roll of the ship lulls me into a state of relaxation. It’s been a steady motion since we left Lisbon yesterday - if this is the Atlantic it will be okay!

I feel totally detached on sea days… no dogs to let out… no Grace singing… just quiet in our room or a hubbub when we set foot into the public areas of the ship. It’s strange to walk up some stairs (or take an elevator) to a plethora of food options, all prepared by someone else. I am starting to feel over-fed so just had a bowl of oatmeal with dried apricots for breakfast.

We wandered around, taking in all the activity until we were sure that Alfredo had the time to clean our room and make our bed (isn’t that crazy to have someone else do those things!). Then we lounged about in our cabin for a bit before heading back into the frey for a coffee, followed by lunch (yes, more eating).

We ate at the little Italian restaurant call Alfredos (no, not the room steward), at a group table. I’d seen the guy that was sitting next to us around the ship: middle aged guy with backwards baseball cap and muscle shirt… 😨 he is hard to miss as he stands out like a sore thumb. He and his Italian wife were interesting lunch company.

Carm ran off to play bridge while I chilled in the room for a while. Then I wandered around enjoying the sights. I was seated in the piazza when they started a cha cha class and was slightly annoyed that Carm wasn’t with me!

Early afternoon blurred into late afternoon when it was time to get ready for supper. We get a bit dressed up and then go down to the piazza for a beer. Supper was a bit of a bust though - we sat next to an older couple that were rabid trump supporters. He was an old retired submariner mumbling unpleasant things under his breath.

The show was ½ the MacDonald brothers, and ½ Katei, the marvelous violinist. I was sad to hear that he’s off the ship tomorrow.

Madira is almost on the horizon, I believe we arrive at 8am tomorrow. I’m excited to see this exotic locale.

our 22nd country (give or take a few)

Like a slightly tipsy pig wallowing in the atlantic we left the city lights of Lisbon behind. I was in the theatre watching an entertaining show and feeling like I was in another universe. The green lights on the stage accentuated the otherworldly feeling. Day after day of being disconnected from reality is starting to take its toll. Each day is remarkably the same yet absolutely different. 

Every morning starts with flinging open the curtains to reveal a new landscape. The day is spent walking and driving around seeing new places that are nothing like home. A return to the ship is not a return to reality, but instead a step into another bubble disconnected from the real world. 

But I’m having a great time.

Lisbon is a city that we’ve added to our ‘visit again’ list. It’s a beautiful city full of history. Our day started with grey skies and ended in a glorious blue. It was the warmest day that we’ve had since leaving Canada.

Our bus took us on a circular tour of the old city, passing through large squares and traversing countless round-a-bouts. Lining the street were old buildings with shops on the ground level and apartments above. Some were clad in colourful tiles. There were many areas that I would have loved to jump off the bus to walk around.

Eventually we ended at the Monument to the Discoveries statue, a giant monolith jutting towards the water.

From there is was a short bus ride to the Maritime Museum. It was housed in a beautiful old building that had been a monastery, a tall tower jutting into the sky. From there we had a few minutes for a quick espresso - we’ve had one in almost every town we’ve been in.

It was a short walk to the adjacent church with it’s amazing architecture. I haven’t counted the churches and cathedrals we’ve been but it’s been a few. They are starting to meld into one large building with a dome. Except Sagrada Familia - it stands out. I guess St. Peters too.

Back at the ship we quickly got ready for supper starting with a stop at the excursion desk - I realized that our tour in Madeira didn’t have a stop at a Madeira winery! Such an oversight!

We had supper with Bonnie and Mike again tonight. They are Republicans, but okay regardless 😉

The show tonight featured two Scottish guys that played the fiddle, accordion, piano, and guitar. They excelled at Celtic music. After that we stopped at ‘Take 5’, the Jazz bar, for some cranberry juice. I’ve discovered that I prefer Celtic over Jazz. 

Tomorrow is a sea day 😊 

Cadiz, a city of sun

Cadiz is a city of sun - they get around 300 days of sunshine a year… today was not one of those 300…

We boarded the bus for a drive around the old city and then off we drove, through the Spanish countryside to the main attraction in a nearby town. We’d signed up for ‘A taste of Andalusia’ which involved a cooking lesson, sherry, sangria, and eating (oh my goodness, yes, more eating).

We passed wide salt flats and open marshes.

We trundled off the bus and down a narrow street past old buildings until we came to an open doorway. A tall slender man dressed in period costume answered the door and graciously invited us inside. The old home has been restored by a Spanish couple and then turned into a bed and breakfast with entertaining facilities. We toured the two b&b rooms and then descended to the ground floor where a large Spanish style room filled with tables, waited for us.

We made 4 tapis dishes which we then got to eat. A potato salad with onion was first, followed by mushrooms stuffed with pork in a sherry sauce, gazpacho, and finally garlic shrimp. Rivers of olive oil and heaps of salt flavoured the dishes. A dash of saffron was tossed in for authenticity.

Of course all this cooking makes a person thirsty… and since we are in Spain… a bit of sherry and then some sangria found their way into my glass.

It was lots of fun and a bit of a break from cathedrals and moorish castles.

Unfortunately we didn’t pass a store selling marmalade so some people are going to be out of luck for souvenirs.

Back at the ship it was time to do a real load of laundry - we’ve been doing our unmentionable bits and my wool excursion shirts in the sink but it was time to bring out the big guns. The laundry room is at the absolute other end of the ship, Carm estimates 600 feet, so we got our steps in running back and forth over and over again. 

We had barely finished the laundry when it was time to get dressed for dinner… you got it… more eating. My pants shrunk tremendously in the laundry or perhaps I’ve expanded, but the end result is ‘tight pants’. We’ll have to go on a water and gruel diet when we get home.

We sat beside a lovely couple (Bonnie & Mike) from Utah tonight.

The show tonight was fantastic. Kadie is an amazing violinist that puts a rock spin on things. He started out as a busker in Melbourne OZ and was discovered by a man walking past. He’s been playing cruise ships for 5 years now. We’ll not miss his next show.

Then we wandered around the ship and found a band playing. A glass of cranberry juice lasted long enough for a few songs and then it was back to our room to crash. Tonight we are expecting a swell of over 15 feet. Rock a bye baby!