29 July 2013 Caribbean Sea

It is Monday morning and we have been on board 10 weeks today, how time flies.  I have just woken up and I am still not back to my stretch and abs class but hopefully in the next few days.  I have just seen the most beautiful sunrise and I thought I would get these blogs done and then send them off after brekky.  We should have been docking in Antigua this morning but a couple of days ago our Captain came over the loud speaker to tell us lots of storms down that way so we were going to Aruba and we will get there tomorrow Tuesday.  Everyone seems pleased as apparently Aruba is just so much lovelier than Antigua, beautiful beaches, lots of lovely shops, all the men are disappointed.  We have booked a trip to the lighthouse and 3 hours at a beach resort I do have to have a swim in the sea and then we will spend the rest of the day in the town and we do not have to be back on board until 7.00 as we then sail to Curacao the next day.  I have only head of Aruba in different movies when people are off to Aruba so I guessed it must be nice.  Anyway I am going to have a shower have some brekky, get some sun onto my bones, I am sure that will aid the healing process.   I did all my washing and ironing yesterday, free day today.  Lots of love Sabine and Sam  XXXX   

25 June 2013 New York

It is Thursday morning and we set our alarm so we would be able to see our sail into New York.  We were not disappointed. We sailed up the Hudson and the Statue of Liberty was so much more than I had imagined.  It was not light, she was indeed beautiful and I can understand the Americans and how they feel about her I was indeed taken myself.  We watched the sailing in, had our showers had breakfast to be in readiness for our tour which was booked for 9.10 am.  We had to be in the Princess Theatre by 8.00, quite a lot of delay, no tours had even left by then.  The hold up of course is immigration which we expected but not to this degree. Anyway we were called about 9.00 but when we got outside the lines were very long, anyway stroke of luck this lady pulled a couple of people from the end of our line out to be fast tracked so I very quickly got under the railing without her seeing me of course grabbed Sam who was extremely worried we would be on the fast track to San Quentin, a number of others followed and hey presto we were thru onto our bus, our guide was a very lovely fellow, we took the bus to the ferry which took us down the Hudson and then on to Downtown NY, through the start of Broadway and onto the 9/11 site.  NY is absolutely nothing as I imagined I thought it would be overwhelming but it was not it was quite a lovely city I was indeed impressed, mind you your view of anywhere is what you see through your guide.  The 9/11 site was huge and they are still working on it, the two fountains, one in the place of each building are amazing and the architect for these must have been a very clever person all I can say is they are perfect and what they have done there, well what do I say. It certainly gave us all a lump in our hearts we were with Barbara and Garry a lovely couple from our table from Ballarat we said how fortunate to have been able to spend such a lovely day with one another.

We were delivered back to the ship so we had a bit of lunch and a cup of tea, this was pretty much my first day up and I was still way from well but you cannot keep  a good woman down, I had a 10 min power nap and then the four of us headed out towards Time Square and Central Park we managed to do all this in about 4 hours, all walking and arrived back to the ship by 5.20 we had to be back on board by 5.30 for our sail away, mind you by then I was pretty much comatose.  We met up with everyone and they had had lovely days as well, unfortunately though some of the people who had not booked a tour did not get through immigration until about 12.00 very big shame, they do make it difficult, at least in India the officials came on board prior and did all the paperwork and face to face with everyone on board, anyway no one let it ruin their day.   Sam and Garry did not take too much in they were waylaid by two ladies in Time Square who only had their G-strings on but they were painted, quite a bevy of people around them, Barbara and I were waiting for them and I looked over and said to Barbara look at those two everyone else had dispersed and only Sam and Garry still admiring the painted ladies, I don’t know what is it with men and breasts, painted not painted, gracious me.  Gorgeous day and we said one could come back and spend about 10 days or so in a hotel and just go for it, see it all. 

I will close on that note hope all is well, we have quite a few days at sea now until we arrive in Antigua.  All the best Love Sabine and Sam  XXX

24 July 2013 Atlantic Ocean

I am just doing a quick blog tonight.  Normal day at sea but our choir did a lovely American Trilogy tonight at 5.30 and 7.30 in the Atrium it gave us all goosebumps not just the Americans, there are quite a few of board as they embarked in NY and will disembark in LA.  It is very interesting all the little legs different people are doing and why.  It was a major effort to get myself together tonight for this but hey I was not going to miss this no matter how unwell I felt, I just held onto the stair rail.  I am now going to my bed and hope I do not feel too bad for tomorrow.  Lots of love Sabine XXX  

19 July 2013 Atlantic Ocean

We were due to dock in Torshavn, Faeroe Islands yesterday.  We had made our way to within viewing distance from the port, but the wind and the seas prevented us from going into port, our Captain only interrupts us over the speaker if it is something we need to hear immediately, I was in my abs class when he announced due to the weather he would not be docking at Torshavn, the safety of the ship and its passengers being paramount we would just turn into the Atlantic and head for New York.  It would have been lovely if we had made it, but it is quite often the case in this area that the winds prevent the ships docking.  A very big shame for the residents of the Faeroes as all tours are cancelled, I assume the docking fees still have to be paid, but whatever would have been spent yesterday did not happen. What I am going to do though is type in Hutch’s (our Port Lecturer) notes, mainly because the Faeroes are not well known, and Graeme Harris I am doing this mainly for you.

“The islands of the Faroes are not well known, and so many visitors are not ready for the treat that awaits them.  The breath-taking natural beauty that you find here is like nothing else in the world. There are 18 islands in all, 17 of them inhabited. Although they are volcanic in origin, these landmasses were sculpted by glaciers during several ice ages and display steep cliffs, deeply indented by fjords.   The movements of the glaciers can be seen in the ridges, which sweep from northwest towards southeast, and in the nearly flat tops of the lofty peaks.  As you might suspect, the strong and untamed currents make navigation difficult around the islands, so the native sailors are among the best in the world. 

Since the islands are about equal distances from Scotland, Norway and Iceland, it was obvious that they would become important stepping stones to the North Atlantic.  We aren’t certain who the first human visitors were, but it may be that Irish monks came here seeking solitude for their prayers.  We are certain that early in the 9^th century, Norse wayfarers from Orkney and Norway found their way to the islands, and settled here to farm.  The present Faroese language has it roots in the Old Norse language of the Vikings. 

Sheep grazing has always been important in the Faroes and the land is managed to prevent over-grazing.  Farming is limited, as few crops will ripen in the cool summer temperatures.   Potatoes, introduced in the 1800s, are the most prevalent crop.  Other root vegetables, like carrots and turnips, are also grown.  There are few trees, but they do grow where they are protected from the sheep and the wind.  Large numbers of evergreens, ashes and maples have been planted to good effect.  Interestingly, fossils found in coal seams include large trees and vegetation one would expect in a tropical rain forest.  So we know that the latitude and climate were once much different than today.

Vast numbers migratory seabirds bred here in the summer, including puffins, gannets, guillemots and oystercatchers.  Some Faroese supplement their diets with seabirds abd their eggs, which are traditional foods dating back to early times. 

 

The earliest settlers governed themselves through a democratically elected assembly called the Ting.  During the 11^th century, Sigmund Brestisson took possession of the islands in the name of King Olav I Tryggvesson of Norway.  Sigmund also introduced Christianity, which gradually eclipsed the old Nordic beliefs.  But ties with Norway also reduced their self-governing status.  The Union of Kalmar (1397) united all of Scandinavia for the first time, and the Ting became a royal court to enforce policy made elsewhere.  But the Union broke apart once again, and the Faroes became a remote province of Denmark.

The Danish king established the Lutheran Church by royal decree in 1535.  During this early modern period, the islands were beset by numbers of English adventurers and fortune-hunters.  The local hero Magnus Heineson cleared them from the area in the name of King Frederik II, and built the Skansin fort to guard the harbour mouth in 1580.  Magnus is still remembered with great pride and veneration.  But the Union Jack flew at the fort during World War II, when the Royal Navy established its headquarters there during what is referred to as the ‘friendly occupation’.  Two defensive guns remain to mark the spot.   

After the Peace of Kiel in 1815, Norway was turned over to Sweden, but the Faroes remained a Danish province.  Danish rule was unpopular among some nationalists, due largely to differences of language and economic policy. The Danes made honest efforts to reduce the ill feeling by financing public works and developmental projects.  After 1849, a local parliament was allowed once again, and the islands gained the right to send one member to both upper and lower houses of Danish parliament.  King Christian IX visited Torshavn  in 1874, and the event was marked by a memorial obelisk that stands on a hilltop in Torshavn.  Total self-government was granted in 1948.  Although the islands continue as part of the Kingdom of Denmark, they have not joined the European Community, primarily because of fishing rights. 

Today, Torshavn is as modern a capital city as it wants to be.  Picturesque charm in a robust climate seems more important than following every fad from the outside world.  The quality of life is high and the crime rate is low.  Before 1900 the entire community was on the Tinganes peninsula, between two separate harbors.  The modern town now wraps around both harbors, but still seems very compact.  The narrow Gongin was the main street, and still displays some fine old homes, mainly from the 19^th century.  The art gallery, natural history museum and history and maritime museum all focus on local interests but are unique for that reason.  The city park in Torshavn, with its small forest, is a source of special pride in a largely treeless land. “

There is a pop of 48,520 (April 2008), size of 540 square miles, language is Faroese (derived from Old Norse) Danish, capital Torshavn, government, autonomous region within the Kingdom of Denmark and the currency is Farose krona, Danish krone

All this is thanks to Hutch.  It probably would have been easier if I had asked Hutch for a copy of this to just plug in but now I know it myself as well.  I am spending the day in my bed today, my chest infection having got the better of me.  Sam is off at choir making sure I have all the right timings for the different pieces we are singing for our concert.

There was a beautiful concert last night by a fabulous pianist by the name of Chris Contillo, he was quite amazing and he will do anor concert before he disembarks in New York, he was telling us his Mum passed away four days ago and he came on board for us all the same, he said it was his Mum who made him what he is, we are indeed privileged to hear these people who are brought on board for us. 

I am going to re read my emails and answer some of them today, we have had extremely patchy or non-existent satellite owing to the location for the last good number of days, so with a bit of luck I can do this and get them sent off.  I just do them and this blog in word and then send them when I can, I leave the sending to Sam, I figure I type them he can post them.  All the best Love Sabine and Sam  XXX    

16 July 2013 Oslo

Tuesday morning and we sail up Oslofjord which takes about 3 and half hours, very lovely scenery indeed.  Oslo is about 60 miles from the open sea. For each of our ports we receive a Port Guide prepared by the Port Lecturer Hutch, he gives us fascinating information, we are indeed privileged to receive the info he gives us.  I have not used his info before this, but today I am going to give you his info on Oslo. 

“It is no accident that Oslo actually wraps itself around part of a beautiful fjord  -  it’s as though the sea has been invited in for a visit!  Seafarers have lived in Oslo Fjord since the 8^th century, taking advantage of the beautiful harbour 60 miles from the sea. 

The founder of Oslo was the half-brother of St. Olav, Harald Hardrade (whose nickname means ‘uncompromising commander’).  The city probably dates from 1048, when Harald build a fort and a settlement on the left bank of the Aker River.

From the time of its founding, Scandinavia’s oldest capital enjoyed steady growth and affluence.  Even while Trondheim and Bergen were larger, Oslo grew fat by supplying provisions to ships and trading in timber.  Shortly before 1300, King Hakon V selected Oslo as his principal residence, and the trappings of a capital city followed.  The powerful Akershus Castle was built to provide additional protection for the thriving town. 

Norway’s union with Denmark pushed Oslo back to the status of a provincial capital.  The German merchants of the Hanseatic League had steadily lost their economic grip, and their cultural leadership was no longer present.

Most of the old city was destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1624, reportedly set by three witches.  King Christian IV of Denmark (I told you about him yesterday) spared no expense to rebuild Oslo on the right bank of the river.  He strengthened Akershus  Fortress to guard against the Swedes, the first of many military improvements.  The king loved his beautiful renaissance town, and renamed it Christiania after himself.  Exactly 300 years later, in 1925, the name was changed back to Oslo.”

Hutch then goes on to tell us about World War II years etc and its effect, I will add this in later when I return home. 

 The architecture is quite beautiful.  Sam and I agree that Oslo is the favourite city on our trip so far.  There is a great deal of construction activity going on in all parts of the.  In about 1974 an oil drilling company asked for permission to drill off the coast, it took 8 years to find the oil they were looking for, the government decided that with the proceeds of this find they would make the city a beautiful place, improve the social structure etc.  Their medical treatment is free, but they do pay 70% tax, their  home loan interest is quite small and 28% of their home loan repayments are tax deductible.  Everything is quite expensive, but a very prosperous looking city. 

Sam and I did not have a tour booked for today but caught the Hop On Hop Off bus when we left the ship, we did the entire journey and came back to the ship to get changed as it was so cold and then we walked the city and very beautiful it is too.  I am sure everyone is very excited today no info on Cathedrals.  We had a sleep on our return and then a quick dinner and then to see the show a young man by the name of Craig Richard, plays the sax, the piano and sings as well, a very talented young man, he is with us to New York where he lives, he is on again tomorrow eve so I think I will go and see him again.  We have a sea day tomorrow, and we are indeed delighted, then on to Torshavn in the Faeroe Islands on Thurs.  Talk soon.  Love Sabine and Sam  XXX

15 July 2013 Copenhagen

We have woken to the ship just arriving in Copenhagen.  Up and organised , had brekky etc, we were going to do our own thing today but I have a chest infection and Sam a sore throat etc so we quickly booked a city tour yesterday afternoon. We met our tour at 9.00am, the ship is docked right in the city again which is great really.  We would have just caught the on off bus but as we decide on the tour it has been made easy for us, we went for a drive through the sights then taken to an old fishing village (Dragor) situated about 25 mins from the city, very cute place, a lot of the cottages still have their thatched roofs, which are very expensive to maintain, every 30 years or so they have to be replaced, the insurance is huge and if it has a thatched roof it has to be replaced with thatching as it is heritage listed.  We then had morning tea in a hotel and walk thru the city before our drive back and then to see Amalienborg Palace (this is where Mary and Frederik live), there are four rococo pavilions of equal size, Margaret the Queen lives in one, Mary and family in another, one is a Museum and apartment for Frederick’s brother and the other one is for visiting dignitories, they are built around a square. 

Copenhagen was founded in 1167. Most Danish Kings are called Christian or Frederik.  The only King they remember of course is Christian the 4^th who ruled from 1588 to 1648, he is pretty much responsible for all the beautiful architecture which is Dutch Renaissance, it was not a pretty place before he ruled. He was married twice and had 22 registered children.  They say half the population can trace themselves back to him.  They know so much about him as he kept a diary of every day.  He loved getting involved in Wars and they lost much land from this, Denmark was only half the size by the time he passed away, but he was a favourite.  Greenland and the Faeroe Islands are still part of Denmark, they each have two reps in the Parliament.

Lovely place one could go back to and explore more.  Sam says I have to give you all a break from all this info, I could go on.  We were delivered safely back to our ship and we have now let the ropes go and our esteemed captain is taking us on to Oslo.  Love Sabine and Sam  XXX    

13 July 2013 Rotterdam

Today we sailed into the port of Rotterdam, one of the biggest ports in Europe, it takes about 2 and half hours to sail in and we saw about two oil rigs as we passed thru.  The port is virtually in the middle of the city, we just left the ship and walked over the bridge into the city, great when you can do this.  We did not have a tour booked for today so did a city walk ourselves.   The city had been completely flattened in WWII very little remaining so the opportunity was there to build anew and it is a lovely city, very modern.  There is a Maritime Museum situated in one of the canals so we were able to just wander thru and have a look at this.  Sam was greatly taken by this.  The population of this town has earned its living with fishery and shipping.  The city is laid out very well and one could not get lost. 

As always the Church is fascinating, immense and quite beautiful.  It was built between 1449 and 1525 right behind the dam that cut off the River Rotte from the River Meuse. The church has always been austere which fitted how the population earned its money.  The effects of the reformation also made for the austerity.  In 1572 it was stripped of the sculptures customary in catholic churches.  Nearly all the walls are slanting as it was built on very boggy ground.  During the bombing on May 14 1944, it was almost destroyed and the tower badly damaged.  The tower was restored from 1947 to 1962 and the church building from 1952 to 1968. Three are three organs, we were very fortunate as while we were there we had the privilege of hearing a concert taking place. After this we continued on our walk ran into two other cruisers who were looking for the schuttle bus, we said we are walking back so they walked back with us. We were totally exhausted, had a sleep and only got up had a shower and went down for dinner.  After dinner I came up and finished all my blogs, re read all my emails and were asleep in no time.  Another busy day and we are in Copenhagen tomorrow.  Love Sabine and Sam  XXX    

12 July 2013 Dover

We sailed into Dover this morning, one always thinks of the wartime song The White Cliffs of Dover by Vera Lynn, I had always wanted to do this, we had been to Dover but not quite the same as sailing into the port, not a particularly pretty port mind you, I think it is not what it once was.  There is a castle on the hill, one of the girls from my abs class walked up to see it but she did not go thru it.  We joined our tour, a very intimate tour indeed, only half of one bus, we are in the habit of going with 20 or more busloads so this was very different.   Our guide was a nice chap, very informative. We drove to Leeds Castle, it was begun in1056 ish, many owners particularly wives of kings, Catherine of Aragon being one of them, we went thru her bedroom.  There have been many restorations but the thread that ran thru this was the restorations always broke the owners and they had to sell on. The last owner was a Lady Baillie, she had had three husbands, she loved Leeds and restored it, she passed away in 1974 and bequeathed it to the state so it could be used and enjoyed by future generations, she was a very interesting woman.  There has been a G8 meeting there, among other things very noteworthy international meetings.  It is used for weddings etc and the weekend before we were there, there was a wedding between an American and an Englishman which went on for three days, one of the guides was telling us this.  After a walk back thru the lovely gardens we rejoined our bus to drive to on to  Canterbury, our guide let us go on our own to see the Cathedral, now this is something, one really needed a full day for this, bit like Salisbury Cathedral, you need a day for that too.  Anyway we did our best, it is just amazing to be standing there in the midst of all that history.  We then had a drive back home thru some very pretty little towns, Sandwich, Deal and others, the driver did a great job of getting thru the streets as they are only as wide as a bus.  We arrived back at 5.00ish, 700 passengers had disembarked that morning and 800 newies had embarked, you do miss the ones who got away so to speak.  Sam says everyone will be bored to tears he would have kept this to 10 lines, lots of love Sabine and Sam XXX

11 July 2013 Le Havre

Today we arrived in Le Havre in France which is at the mouth of the River Seine.  It was founded in 1517 and now has a population of 250,000 and was badly damaged during WWII.  We had a tour booked for the afternoon so we took a walk into town in the morning.  We were able to walk into town from where we were docked, it was a reasonable size place by the population but not particularly vibrant, mind you we were there about 9.30 in the morning bit early for the French I think.  We walked thru the streets went into Our Lady’s Cathedral, a very lovely building which has suffered much since a first chapel, made of wood and dedicated to Our Lady was built in 1520, it was soon replaced by a stronger church with stone pillars. The present church was built – for the greater part between 1575 and 1610.  Devastated and ransacked during the French revolution it was restored a first time in 1830, badly damaged again during the Allied bombings of Sept 1944, which destroyed the old parts of the town, its restoration was only finished in 1974, the greater part of the furniture was destroyed by fire. A new diocese being elected in Le Havre Our Lady’s church became a Cathedral and was solemnly consecrated on December 7, 1974. 

One really only learns about any of these places by looking at their Churches and Cathedrals there is so much you can learn from just a general visit.  We continued on and went back to the ship to be in readiness for our tour to Rouen. The drive was very pretty, our guide was informative, Rouen a very pretty place indeed, I could have done some shopping there, we had afternoon tea in a pretty little café watching the world go by.  After a drive home we arrived back to the ship to catch up with our friends who were disembarking in Dover the next day. 

I know I add lots of info in these but this is what makes the journey.  Lots of love Sabine and Sam  XXX

9 July 2013 Greenock

This morning we sailed up the Clyde into Greenock, Greenock is a small town and the port for Glasgow.  I was up early to go to my stretch and abs class and gracious me I am very pleased I was, such beauty at we sailed up the Clyde, very picture book indeed.  We were greeted by a piper and some Scotsmen in their kilts, Sam did say it gave him goosebumps. We left the ship about 8.45, Donald was there to meet us it was lovely to see him, we then went to see Katy and Joe and we had a very lovely reunion.  We then went to see Margaret and Jimmie. Sam, Donald, Katy and Margaret are cousins.  We went for a drive to Aberfoyle, had some lunch and spent the afternoon, it was the most beautiful weather, 29 degrees unheard of in Scotland.  It was very lovely for us to all catch up and we were back at ship by about 5.00ish, very special being met by your loved ones.  A pipe band farewelled the ship as we sailed away, this was special indeed.  We had a sea day (needed one too) the next day.  Love Sabine and Sam  XXX

8 July 2013 Dublin

This morning we docked in Dublin anor beautiful day weatherwise and anor beautiful city.  We met up with Warren and Yvonne and took a shuttle bus into the city where we purchased tickets for the on/off bus, we decided to do the entire journey, see all the points of interest and then alighted in the middle of the city where we walked to Trinity College, Sam and I had been there before but we had not seen The Book of Kells which is over 1000 years old and it contains lavishly decorated copy, in Latin, of the four gospels.  It has long been associated with St Colum Cille (c 521-597 AD) who founded his principal monastery on the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland in about 561.  The Book of Kells was probably produced early in the 9^th century by the monks of Iona, working wholly or partially at Iona itself or at Kells, county Meath, where they moved after 806 AD, when Iona was attacked by Vikings in a raid which left 68 monks dead.  The Book of Kells was sent to Dublin around 1653 for reasons of security during the Cromwellian period.  It came to Trinity College through the agency of Henry Jones, after he became bishop of Meath in 1661.

We also visited Trinity College Library which is one of the world’s great research libraries, holding the largest collection of manuscripts and printed books in Ireland.  Since 1801 this library has the right to claim a free copy of all British and Irish publications under the relevant copyright acts and has a stock of nearly three million volumes housed in a total of eight buildings.  There has been a library since Trinity College was founded by charter of Queen Elizabeth in 1592.  The earliest surviving building, the Old Library was built between 1712 and 1732 to the design of Thomas Burgh. 

It is quite mind blowing seeing these things, The Book of Kells, The Book of Armagh and the Book of Durrow, there is also a harp, the oldest to survive from Ireland and probably dates from the 15^th century and is the harp which appears on Irish coins.

Dublin is a very lovely city, I felt the same about it this time as last, it is vibrant, friendly, its economy certainly is not what it was in those very good years, but the shops were busy (the sales were on, July 1 is the day the sales begin) there did not appear to be any closed shops that we could see anyway, just a lovely city where it would be very easy to slot in if one wished perhaps live there for a little bit.   

Enough history, my apols.  We then went to an Irish pub, had a bit of lunch and a beer of course and then headed back to the shuttle to take us back to our ship.  Lovely day, we then sailed that evening for Greenock.  Lots of love Sabine and Sam  XXX 

7 July 2013 Cobh

We sailed into Cobh, Ireland this morning.  It is pronounced "Cove"  It was very lovely indeed to be sailing into such beauty. We were given such an amazing welcome, the Tourist Bureau had organised an Australia Day for the ship.  There were many activities organised, a BBQ plus many other stalls with all manner of food, craft etc a mini market. There was a group of young Irish dancers all primary school age and they put on a beautiful performance.  There was a brass band playing in the rotunda this was just fabulous, they played for at least an hour and half.  We took a walk thru the very lovely town and then a little tour on the local train and the driver did a most entertaining commentary.

We saw St Colman’s Cathedral, which overlooks the town it enshrines the traditions of 13 centuries of the Diocese of Cloyne within its walls.  It is built in the form of a Latin Cross and its exterior is of Dalkey Granite with dressings of Mallow limestone.  It is named after St Colman (522-604) who is patron of the Diocese.  It is French Gothic and it took 47 years to build(1868-1915) at a total cost of 235,000 pounds, 90,000 of this was raised by the people of Cobh, and the remainder came from the Diocese and very substantial amounts were raised in America and  Australia.   There is so much more I could tell you about the Cathedral, quite outstanding.  When we were there on our little tour the bells played Waltzing Matilda and Advance Aust Fair. 

We then went to a typical Irish pub there was a fellow singing and playing his guitar and I did ask him to sing “Maggie” for us which he did to great applause.  We had a beer or two.

We all had a very memorable day, they say some days are diamonds well that is true.  An Irish dance troupe came on board and did a concert for us at 4.30 and then we were given a fabulous farewell.  All in all Cobh gave us a very lovely day, one we will all remember.

 

Cobh is the last port visited by the Titanic on its fateful journey where it took on around 150 passengers.   In order to save time on the race to break the Atlantic speed record the passengers were taken by ferry from the town to the ship anchored in the bay.

We sailed away at about 6.00 a very picturesque place indeed.  We have had dinner with Yvonne and Warren and a lovely girl called Corrine and we are due to dock in Dublin at 11.15 tomorrow.  This is really quite an amazing holiday, lovely places, lovely people we are just having a wonderful journey. Lots  of love Sabine and Sam  XXX

4 July 2013 Lisbon

We sailed into Lisbon on Thursday 4^th July.  A very pretty first impression as we sailed into the port.  We were tied up and received clearance by about 8.00am. We were booked on a walking tour which began at 10.00.  Our guide Annabella gave us a brief history and then took us through the old town. 

The likely founders of Lisbon were the Phoenicians around 1200 BC.  These were followed by the Romans and then occupied by the Moors between the 8^th and 12^th centuries.  A large part of the city was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami in 1755, which also killed 30,000 people. This enabled the city to then be rebuilt with wide streets, in a geometric pattern, including many large beautiful squares.  These wide streets were frowned upon by many as a waste but today the town supports a great population and these wide streets, squares and buildings which were only permitted to be built to a height of four or five levels make Lisbon the lovely place it is today.  The ship was moored within easy walking distance of the old and new city.  

Our walk took us to see the birthplace of St Anthony, there has been several churches built on the site over the many years.  St Anthony of course is the patron saint of things lost and women wanting a husband often prayed to St Anthony to find them a husband, hence the current church still sees many many weddings.  Fifty percent of the population are still practising Catholics.  Across from this church is the Cathedral of St Mary Major, quite beautiful also, there is a most amazing chapel within the Cathedral all done in gold leaf.  The patron saint of Lisbon is St Vincent and he was the patron saint before St Anthony was born, but everyone looks on St Anthony as their patron saint.

We then took the funicolare up one of the seven hills on which Lisbon is built, a stunning view indeed.  We then wandered back down through the artistic and theatrical area, this is where all the high end shops were.  The women in Lisbon are quite lovely, trim and well dressed, I pointed this out to Sam but he was ahead of me and had already taken note.  Pretty much the whole group said good-bye to our guide and made their own way back to the ship.  Sam and I found somewhere and had a beer, I found a very tiny supermarket and bought a few hair colours and some handcream for a lady on the ship and a pair of sandals as well.  It was then 2.00pm which is their siesta and about 42 degrees, we made our way back to the safety of our ship.  Unfortunately about 8 people from the ship were robbed whilst in town, unfortunately a hazard of going anywhere these days. 

We had a formal night on the night of the 5^th and today the 6^th the choir did their performance for this leg of the journey.  We dock in Cobh, Ireland tomorrow, we do not have a tour booked, Cobh is putting on an Australia Day party for us tomorrow, how lovely.  We will wander into town and perhaps take the train to Cork with Yvonne and Warren our buddies from Adelaide.  We had a full house for our performance today, it was very lovely.  This leg of the tour ends this coming Friday in Dover and 700 disembark and 800 newies embark.  Quite a number of the people disembarking would like to be continuing on.  Talk soon  Love Sabine and Sam XXX 

3 July 2013 Cadiz

Hello to all.  We docked in Cadiz this morning at 7.00am.  We were booked to do a tour of Arcos de la Frontera.  Our tour began with a 45 minute motorcoach ride from Cadiz to the peaceful and beautiful pueblo of Arcos de la Frontera.  On arrival we were taken by our guide “Jesus” pronounced “Yesu” on a walking tour through the town’s tangled labyrinth of cobbled streets, stunning architecture and centuries old buildings.  The viewpoint at the top of the town was quite simply breathtaking.  We visited the old Castillo and Santa Maria Church.  We bought a box of pastries from The Sisters of Mercy.  You just put your money in a box and they put the pastries in the box as they are not to be seen by anyone.  We then had tapas and a couple of beers at the Parador.  There was a picture window and it was so beautiful now I know what the view from a picture window should be.  Lovely morning.  We had coach journey back, had a bit of lunch on the ship, met up with our friends Yvonne and Warren and went into town.  What a beautiful city, only small, but one could certainly spend a week or so here, so much to see and explore, beautiful beaches as well.  Yvonne and I went into The Cathedral, the boys sat on the steps (had had enough Cathedrals) it was indeed a sight to behold. We then had coffee and a beer in the square before heading back to the ship. We are now all on board and just pulling away from the port, I am about to go to my evening stretch class. 

1 July 2013 Barcelona

Monday morning and we arrived in Barcelona.  The weather again was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky.  Our tour was to Montsarrat, about an hour and a quarter drive from Barcelona.  This is a small town around a Benedictine monastery complex hidden high in the craggy Montserrat mountains about 2,300 feet above sea level with fabulous views of the valleys below.  This monastery has been here since the Middle Ages however the Montsarrat Basilica was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and has been completely rebuilt.  It contains a sculpture of Catalonia’s patron saint La Moraneta, also known as the Black Madonna. There was a extensive range of stalls along the street selling local produce such as cheeses, dried fruits etc, which all looked very tempting.

When we got back to Barcelona we hopped out of the bus and explored the city, starting off with a walk along the famed Las Ramblas with its flower stalls, cafes, buskers etc, and wandered into the market with its fruit and vegies, meat and fish, all beautifully presented and very fresh.  The buildings on either side are very beautiful. We then walked through the Gothic Quarter and went to the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia, a 600 year old building with magnificent spires and stained glass windows.  We did not have time to visit the famous La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s masterpiece, as it is some distance from the city centre.  We then returned through the narrow streets back to Las Ramblas and headed back towards the Columbus monument near where we boarded a shuttle bus back to the ship.

30 June 2013 Monte Carlo

Sunday morning and we are anchored off Monaco.  Another stunningly beautiful day.  We were not doing a tour today, so we got ourselves organised down to the dining room to await our turn on the tender.  The ship’s staff do such an amazing job of everything honestly do not know how they do what they do for the price, beyond me.  We did not have to wait very long for our tender, a lovely crossing and straight into the town.  Perfectly lovely place certainly the place for the very rich and famous.  We me up with Yvonne and Warren and continued on through the gardens then up to the Palace and square, very fairytale indeed.  We ran into Heather and Ray from our table and they had just been thru the Palace so we did that as well. We then awaited the Changing of the Guard and then the four of us found a lovely restaurant and had pizza and a beer Yvonne and I had a coffee as well, had a look at the Cathedral where Princess Grace and Prince Rainer married on the 16^th April,1956.  After this we took a lovely walk and went thru the Aquarium which is housed in the most beautiful building, I know I say this about them all but it is true each one being as beautiful if not more so than the one before.   We wandered back to the tender and anor lovely journey back to the ship.  Love to all  Sabine and Sam  XXX