Monday Packed up ready to head to the Scenic Crystal at 3 oclock. 'needed to head to the Apple store also also to buy a new camera before then. WORDS OF ADVISE.......Do not go on holiday with new technology. Its like taking new shoes and ended up withblisters only worse...........lost our camera as well, it was dying anyway but becasue we didn't have the technology to download lost 3 days of photos................... So the boat is beautiful. We are on only its 6th cruise and it has that new car/house smell. It has all the mod cons beautifully appointed and great attention to detail. We can close our balcony at the push of a button if the weather is cold. The shower I'm sure is straight from the starship enterprise with three heads and coloured ... read more

What a wonderful way to see amsterdam, by bike. At 10 am as we neared the yellow bike company iit was bucketing down but at 29 mins past with one minute to go the sky's cleared. with our lovely young hamsome guide. We spent 2 hours touring through the streets and lanes of old Amsterdam. This is the way that people get around here with hundreds of thousands of bikes on the move or parked in heaps. These are such lovely proper bikes obviously not made in china and on closer insection have classy names like savoy and giselle. The locals are so expert and fast too. The green horns are not so fast though . There are many of these groups of tourists on yellow bikes everywhere doing the speed wobbles and heading straight ... read more

We are having a wonderful time in Bangkok. Yes Denise we did get an upgrade to a suite overlooking the river on the 24 floor. But I don’t know if it was the Starwood card or the fact there is nobody here!!! The hotel has closed down 4 of its restaurants and is giving 25 percent food discount on the others. We went out to a restaurant and Grant dropped his napkin on the floor: 4 people dived for it. We have seen the big shopping centre burnt and closed. But it doesn’t make any difference everybody is really friendly and happy. It is hot but the pools are great. Found a big jewelry market just like when the Wendys went to China - didn’t buy anything. Would be a great place for a girls trip!!! ... read more

Well yesterday morning we all decided to hell with Portugal and climbed on the buses and drove to Spain. It was a hell of a busy road we saw two cars in the first half hour of the trip. Passed through a few small towns one with a little mini bull ring a Roman bridge and dry stone walls from the 12 century. Also lots of storks in nest with babies on the top of power poles bell towers etc. They look so funny because they were so big. After two hours we arrived at Salamanca. Fortunately we were positioned at a nice hotel to use as a rescue centre as it was 30 degrees. What a beautiful city so clean and pretty. It has about 160,000 people 50,000 of whom are students at the very ... read more

OK This is the life! Didn’t want to wake up this morning but had to be up for breakfast and ready for the bus for the tour of Porto at 9am (I know what it sounds like) Porto is just gorgeous. We had a tour missed getting a photo of this really funny sight of a dog leaning on the window sill of a very old apartment building in the sun. Of course here was yet another beautiful church this time Baroque. Then we got off the bus and did our own thing. We came back by funicular to the bottom and then walked along the river bank back to the boat in time for lunch. Porto is just lovely and not so many tourists. Then off to the port maker for the tour and class ... read more