Since Lisbon the ports have been daily. While other passengers headed off to Seville, ML and I enjoyed a spa special. I have never felt to pampered in my life. Full body exfoliation and massage, and facial. After, I lounged in the thermal suite reading and used the thermal pool (like a giant hot jacuzzi). I could have had a steam bath or sauna but I was much too relaxed to try. I had visited Gibraltar last fall so some of the touring stops were repeats but…. This time we saw the rock from tip to toe. Visited the siege caves built when the Spanish tried to starve the British off the rock. It didn’t work. There are massive fortifications around the rock to protect it from invasion and guard the entrance to the Med. While ... read more

Portugal Our first port of call was Porto. We took the local bus into the center of the city and walked down to the riverfront. It reminded me of Valparaiso in that it was very hilly. The streets and sidewalks are cobbled and that makes it a bit of a challenge for me. Still we persist. This is a town that respects it’s architecture and character and still maintains its Old World charm. It must be a zoo in summer since the square was chock-a-block with people. In the center is the church of Clerigos. It’s facade is beautifully tiled. We picked a narrow street leading downhill and checked out the shops. Near the square they were ticky tacky souvenir shops but here and there there was a goldsmith shop with delicate and intricate jewelry. This ... read more

On board the Konigsdam - Sea Day. We met the CruiseCritic group in the Crow’s Nest. We were 128 strong. The group was comprised one third American, 1/3 Canadian and 1/3 Australian. They appear to be in their 50’s and 60’s wth a few of us geezers sprinkled around. Everyone was excited to be on board. We then had to stand in line to pass British immigration and afterward it was time for Bingo for ML while I indulged in Asian food for lunch. We are sailing slowly towards the English Channel and I just want to read, relax and watch the world go by so I skipped the Hold ‘Em tournament and trivia pursuit in favor of a relaxing afternoon in the stateroom. We headed for Happy Hour at a new location, The Billboard. While ... read more

Minori While the group went to see how buffalo mozzarella was made and to a ceramic hot spot I slept in and ventured our at 10. I headed down to a cafe for coffee, sat down and waited and waited while the wait staff lounged and refused to make eye contact. Finally I had enough and found the waiter chatting up his buddy. "I guess you don't want to serve me" says I. "I'm coming" says he. "I'm going" says I and I did. So many cafes to choose from no need to put up with rudeness. I think There is a bias against women alone here. Found another cafe and sat in the sun enjoying my morning coffee. Wandered around a bit and my tummy said it was lunch time so I returned to the ... read more

I'm too old for this stuff. Smooth flight on Alitalia with more than a couple screaming children who acted up for hours, literally. The worst airline meal ever served didn't help. Originally had an empty seat next to me but was soon joined by Carol who had issues with her seat mate. We got along well but my fantasy of stretching out disappeared. Some bozo had booked our flight to Naples with an hour in between. We had an escort guide us to the gate which was a good thing because I would never have found it alone. It was over a mile away. Heaving and panting we cleared passport control then boarded a bus that would take us to the plane. Since it was on the tarmac I had to lug my carryon up the ... read more