Well, it was quite a day.  Blade and Ralph went off for a half day tour with a cruise and lunch at the Eiffel Tower, and I got a message that Blade had procured two ground passes to Roland Garros, so we headed off to meet them after lunch and go to see some tennis.  Blade had also gotten word that he had two tickets to tennis for Tuesday, and he and David were going to take those, Ralph and I went into the tennis center and look around.  It was very nice, but also very crowded, so we only stayed for a bit, had a beer, bought some shirts (a tee for David and a polo for me) and then met up with Blade and David and headed home.  Blade and Ralph took a walk and David watched some tennis and I took a nap.

I thought it would be nice to see another part of Paris, so we headed to the area where we would go out when we stayed in the 10th arrondissement – on Ave Trudaine.  We ate dinner at Auberge du Clou and it was very nice.  When we left, we needed to find a place to print the tickets that were emailed to Blade.  The adventure actually began with the cab ride up to the restaurant with a surly driver who made it clear that he was not happy about driving us for some reason.  Not sure if it was the wheelchair, or because there were four of us, but he wasn’t happy, and neither was Blade.  He had a few words for the driver when he paid the fare.  After dinner, the adventure continued when we asked for an internet cafe where we could get something printed.  We were sent down Rue des Martyrs, but didn’t see anything.  Asked a woman, who tried to help, but sent us where she thought there was something, but there wasn’t.  I thought we should head for Gare St Lazare, because there are always internet cafes near train stations, right?  Stopped at a hotel to see if they could confirm that there was something at the station, and he said it was our best bet and confirmed we were heading in the right direction.

We got to the station, and asked around there, but they were pretty much closed for the night.  It was late, and we were all tired at this point, so finally found a cab.  As a last ditch, we asked the cab driver if he knew of a place, and yes, he did.  Across from the opera, and he would take us there an wait while we printed the tickets.  This cab and its driver made up for the earlier “incident”.  He was great, and the tickets were printed and we were on our way home.

Blade was a still a bit on edge about the earlier cab drive, and while the last cab was great, he did get his head slammed with the automatic sliding door of the van.  I am sure the driver didn’t mean it.  Once home, Blade took a Xanax (or two) and is now drifting off to sleep.  Well, to be honest, he was drifting off to sleep a half an hour ago on the sofa, but now he is safe and happy in bed.
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We have been doing a lot of walking since the boys arrived – last night we had dinner at the far end of the Louvre at a restaurant that Luba recommended called Le Fumoir, which was very nice (see pictures), and we sat in the library in the back.  Had a nice view of two very handsome men on what looked like their first date, but who knows, it is Paris after all.  Maybe they have been together for 20 years!  You can see them over Blade’s shoulder in the picture. Afterwards we walked back along the Seine, through the Tuileries and got to the Place de la Concorde just in time to see the Eiffel Tower do its light show.  All in all, a couple of terrific days.  Tomorrow, we go to Versailles in the morning and then, back to tennis at Roland Garros – Blade, as I said, got tickets for David and himself and he also somehow wrangled passes for me and Ralph again.  We will sleep very well tomorrow night!

Today was a glorious day. Sunny and warm, without being hot. We started the day slowly, and when Alex, Claire and Theo arrived, Alex had to go to work, so we headed up to Parc Monceau and were going to meet Alex later at the restaurant we liked outside the park. A very nice walk up and the park was alive with activity. Theo enjoyed the day, I think as did we. Sat in the sun for a while, then went to look at the art and antiques a bit. Afterwards we headed to La Valois and sat outside for lunch. Alex arrived in time to eat with us, and I had a little too much to eat, I think, but it was very good. Then back and we watched a bit of tennis while Theo napped. I went to pick up a yoga mat and some wine and cheese.

Alex and Claire were heading home when I got back and we waited for Blade and Ralph to arrive. They did, just on schedule and we relaxed and had some wine and cheese then headed out for a short walk. I say short, but we probably made quite a circle. I thought that giving them a good lay of the land in our immediate neighborhood would be a start. All the important sights – Grand and Petit Palais, Champs Élysées, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Invalides. As I said, a good start! Most were just distant views, but now they know where we are in relation to everything.
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I posted a bunch of pictures at the top of this posting, if you are reading this in an email, you will need to go to the website to see the pictures. Yesterday we went to see the Joséphine exhibit, which was fun, and we walked to the Luxembourg. After that, we went to the Bastille to get tickets for the ballet, but all the performances are sold out. I will make some other attempts, but go to the Garnier, because it is closer. The woman at the box office said that they get cancellations pretty regularly. Then to Théâtre du Châtelet to get tickets to Le Roi et Moi. I was a little disappointed that we will be seeing The King and I, not Le Roi et Moi. It will be performed in English with French subtitles. Oh, well, it should be fun in any case. In all we walked about 5+ miles yesterday, which was very good. I was surprised that I still had trouble falling asleep.

Time is flying quickly, and we will have been here for two weeks on Monday.  Crazy!

We are going tonight to a little surprise party for Alexis and will go on a search for a nice bottle of whiskey for his birthday gift. Both Ed and Alexis were impressed with David’s progress since we saw them last November. David is, as always, dubious.  Maybe tonight he will be convinced.

Well, OK, now we went to the party for Alexis, and it was very nice.  The group included us, plus three other friends.  I felt bad, because even though it was a struggle for them, much of the conversation was in English for our benefit.  There was some French and even a smattering of Spanish.  We were lucky enough to stumble on a shop that specialized in whiskey, so that is what we brought as a gift for the birthday boy.  He loves whiskey.  Dinner was great with an asian theme – curries and rice.

Today was Claire’s day off, so she came to visit, and we went to see an exhibit at the Petit Palais about the Paris World Exposition of 1900.  Beautiful stuff, and it must have been quite a spectacle in it’s time.  I think that the Alphonse Mucha stuff was my favorite.  Predictable, I know, but there is just something about him that I love.  We followed this all up with a nice lunch in the cafe overlooking the garden in the Petit Palais.  Very nice.  We dropped Claire off at the Metro while the sky started looking threatening, but no rain, yet.

It waited to rain when I went out to do some shopping.  We were having drinks with the sister of the owner of the apartment we are renting, and the owner was there as well.  She lives in Berkeley and we got a bit of the background on the building.  It seems that the building where the apartment is was a family building, and the sisters retained two of the units.  Marine’s apartment is on the top floor and the views are spectacular.  Her English is not great, but we were able to manage.  Between my bad French and Lorraine’s very good English, we had a great drink and visit.  Marine has promised some fabulous cheese from Normandy where she has a little house.  She also suggested we go to the Rodin Museum to see the bust of her Grand Mother, who was a patron of Rodin.  Oh La La!

They also gave us some recommendations on restaurants in the area, and even with the tips, we decided to stay in and I made some omelets with zucchini and cheese. We will save the restaurants for some other time.  I think I have mentioned this, but it does bear repeating – I am loving being here in Paris.  The weather, while David is finding it very cold (and Lorraine concurred with him), I find bracing.  I know, that is an awful word to use, but it is.  Cool and a little damp.  I have been running in the morning, and it is perfect for that.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I like the sun and warmth of Southern California too, but this feels really healthy.  Add to that the fact that it says light until almost 10pm and the sun comes up (when there is a sun) before 6am, and it makes for a great time!  The wine ain’t bad either!

 

We had such a great day. The weather cooperated, and we took a walk to Parc Monceau and bought a new pin for David and looked at the antiques and art on sale at the market along the edge of the park. Such a great day, and so many people out on this lovely Fêtes des Mères. In the antiques market we saw some paintings that both of us found pretty intriguing, but not sure if we will be compelled to do anything about them. They are a bit odd, and many of you may know about out obsession with cows (it’s a Vermont thing, I think), and these paintings were pretty cool. Comical cows in a bucolic setting that was also urban at the same time. I will have to get some samples, as they are pretty hard to describe, but, they are colorful, modern and cool. I think.
After wandering a bit, we sat and had some lunch at a terrific little café, you know, the kind you read about in travel books. Just outside the park. We sat and watched the world wander by looking at the gates to the park, and had a great lunch. We both had reuben sandwiches. Now, I know you are saying, “Well, you didn’t have to travel to Paris to have a reuben” but, these were sublime, and I just saw them on the menu and couldn’t resist. The one thing that was missing were the frits. But, don’t despair, they were substituted with some pretty outstanding onion rings. The one great thing was that they weren’t catering to a NYC or american crowd, they just made a very mean reuben. In case you are planning a trip, the place is called Le Valois.  Highly recommended and I am sure we will be going back.

On our way back down to the apartment, we saw a painting in a gallery that may give the cows a run for their money.  It was something along the lines of a John Singer-Sargent portrait of two your girls that was pretty stunning.  We may wander back to see about that one, but I asked David where he thought it might work, but he seemed to think he had jus the spot for it.  We’ll see.

Once home, I took a nap, and then we got up and headed off to Alex and Claire’s for dinner.  Ed and Alexis were joining us and it was a great evening.  I decided that we should walk to their place because it was such a nice afternoon – no rain in sight.  I was actually getting a bit hot as we approached their place.  Lots of folks out enjoying the day, and I was glad we decided to walk.  The best part was that the further we got away from the Champs Élysées, the fewer foreign accents we would hear.  Theo was delightful, as always, and the rest of the company was entertaining as well. I may meet Ed for yoga in the morning, if I can get it all together!  Claire prepared a great mean with noodles and peanut sauce with a cucumber and pepper side and it was all great.  Just hit the mark.

Then home and watched the end of a James Bond movie.  Not sure which one it was, but it was with the ever bizarre Grace Jones and the ever weird Christopher Walken.  I like them both, so don’t take that as a putdown, I respect weird and love bizarre.  Maybe even prefer them.

I forgot to disclose one little tiny detail about the caught in the rain story the other night.  Not only did I not have an umbrella, which, as I said, would have only helped slightly, but I also forgot to bring any Euros with me, which made getting a cab difficult, if not impossible.  How do you say I need to stop at an ATM in French?  On top of that, I didn’t see any available cabs, but that doesn’t matter.  David wanted me to add this little detail that I omitted.

Yesterday we took a nice long walk through the Tuileries to the Carousel du Louvre.  The walk was great, and we stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants in the park.  I thought it would be convenient, but expected high prices and low quality and was surprised at both.  It was the cheapest lunch we have had in Paris so far, and the food was pretty good.  The Carousel du Louvre was a mall that could have been anywhere in the world. OK, it was under the Louvre, which certainly makes in unique, with an inverted glass pyramid in the middle of it, but, otherwise, I thought we were in Palm Desert.  There were an array of souvenir shops, but also an Apple store and even a McDonalds.  Also stopped at the shop at the Musée des arts Décoratifs which we liked when we were here in November.  Still very nice, but didn’t have a scarf or umbrella.  These were the reasons for our trek to the Carousel in the first place, but we didn’t find anything.  David has been chilly since we got here, and it has been a bit cool, but I love that.  Fortunately, Alex had a coat that David could borrow, and we picked that up last night.
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We went to Alex and Claire’s for dinner last night and had Indian food, which was great.  Another relaxing evening.  Watched an episode of The Graham Norton Show.  Not the best, but fun.  Made it home in a cab and dry, so that was a good end to the evening!

I have continued my running and exercise regime, which makes me feel better.  One of the delightful things about running in Paris, and there are so many delightful things about Paris in general, is that you are always being visually reminded where you are.  I don’t think that there is another city like, or certainly not as dramatic as Paris.  Every corner you turn, you catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower peaking over the trees (or even sometimes in its full glory), or Notre Dame, or The Musée D’Orsay, or the Place de la Concorde.  This afternoon, when I was jogging back to the apartment through the Tuileries, I had a view of the gold top of the obelisk with the Arch de Triumph in the distance.  It really is breathtaking.

We had a very nice day.  A slow start, because it was raining a bit this morning, and after last night (I will get to that story later), we weren’t going to head out until we were sure that the rain had stopped and wasn’t going to start back up.  When it was safe, we went to get some lunch, and ended up at a nice Italian place near the Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré.  Not far from where we are staying.  We were looking for a place to get haircuts, but that was eluding us, so lunch was what we did first.  We did finally get our haircuts at a place just up the street.  After being turned away at the first place – I didn’t quite understand what she was saying, but I think she was saying that she was closing for lunch and we could come back later in the afternoon.  Fortunately, there was another shop across the way, and they were happy to take us.  We both look beautiful, and you will just have to take my word for it.  Pictures maybe tomorrow.

So, the story last night was about the rain.  We had a great day with Claire, and made plans to join them at their place for dinner and to visit with Theo.  He is great, and lots of jumping around and fun was had by all.  I decided, because the rain had subsided, that we would take one of the autolib’ cars, as there are a few parked around the corner, and I checked and there were some open parking spots near Alex and Claires.  Autolib’ is the Parisian auto sharing service.  Just as we were getting to the car, it began to rain again.  Fortunately, we were safe and dry in the car when it started to pour!  We go across town, and parked the car, and the deluge had stopped, so, while we got a bit drizzled on, it wasn’t terrible.  We had a great visit, and when it was time to go, I decided to use Uber to get home.  There were cars close, so I waited until we got downstairs before calling for the car.  It was only going to be five minutes, and by the time we walked to the curb, it should only be a few minutes wait.  Some of you may have used Uber, and one of the things that this geek likes to do, is track the driver’s progress.  Well, he didn’t move from where he started for about five minutes, and then began moving very slowly toward us.  He was just around the corner, and it was starting to drizzle again, so I called to make sure he was on his way.  He only spoke very little English and said five minutes, and I said that we had already been waiting for five minutes and then I notice on the phone, he was actually driving away from us, so we decided to head for another autolib’, and I cancelled the Uber and booked a car on auto lib’ a few blocks away.  As we crossed the street heading away from Alex and Claire’s and about halfway to the car, it began to rain buckets, and we were both soaked.  Now, many of you may be saying, “why didn’t you have an umbrella?”, and yes, that might have been a smart thing to have had, but we didn’t, and honestly, with David in the wheelchair, I couldn’t hold it, and it wouldn’t have helped much anyway.  Well, maybe David might have stayed slightly dryer.  We ducked under the awning of a really great bakery and waited for it to let up a little before proceeding.  It did, and we did, and got home and dried off, and went to bed.

We did, however, have a lovely view of the Eiffel Tower as we rushed to the car.

We had a very nice day today. Slept a little late and then I went out to the boulangerie for some croissant and brioche. All very nice. Alex met us around noon, and we went out for lunch to a Chinese restaurant that David and I went to in November. It rained a bit in the afternoon but we avoided it.  Have to go out and get an umbrella tomorrow.  Did some laundry today, which is very nice to be able to do leisurely and on my own.

As you can see from the picture, we took a nice walk this morning in the park across the street.  It is a sweet park on the Champs Èlysées with a restaurant, theatre and puppet theatre.  I looked up the schedule for the puppet shows, and hope that we can catch one.  I think it is the usual Punch and Judy stuff, but could be fun, and certainly something to say we have done.  We also had a nice nap in the afternoon.  So nice to take an afternoon nap!  Tomorrow, I hope to get some exercise in and we are having a visit from Claire, which will be fun.

Well, we arrived in Paris without any bumps, until we were settled in the apartment, which, by the way, is gorgeous.  Such a glorious day too.  Bright sun and warm.  When we arrived the host was there to meet us and give us keys and directions, etc.  She was also kind enough to bring a cake for us, and no sooner had the door closed did David ask me to break open the box and dive in.  Now, I will alway refer to this as Molo’s revenge.  Many of you may have heard the story of David going to my Mother’s memorial service.  It was in NY, and we flew up to Albany and at the airport in DC, David got a bagel, and as soon as he bit into it, his front teeth came out.  David used to make fun of my Mother for her dental issues, when they would occur – you know, those times when you have a temporary tooth and it is a little off?

Well, tonight, David took a bite of the cake, and his front teeth came out.  Quel dommage, as they say! So, we had our first Parisian adventure going to the SOS Dentaire.  I was a bit scared because I worried about whether the dentist would be able to speak English, and we all know my French is almost non existent!  Well, he didn’t speak English, and we were able to actually talk a bit.  We also had a visit from a neighbor upstairs – the sister of the woman who owns the apartment.  She dropped off some plants for the garden.  Then we ran into the neighbor across the way (no relation) on our way out for a walk and again on our way to the dentist.  He was being very nice and helpful, but I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying.  Well, I did get his instructions about opening the door and where the light was for when we got back, so I guess my French isn’t non-existent, just really bad.

So, to end tonight, I will treat you to two pictures, one of toothless David and one of David in the garden enjoying some wine and cheese.  I will also add to that a selfie that I took.

The cruise is winding down, and we arrive in Copenhagen tomorrow morning and will be in Paris by the afternoon!  A very nice thought.  We have had a couple of nice days, and today, it rained a bit, but was OK.  We had a lovely day on shore in Dover.  The town was small, but lively, but we had a quick view of the castle and then lunch on the shore in town.  The taxi driver who took us in kept apologizing for there not being more to do, but we were fine with a It could be buying online viagra used for curing pulmonary hypertension. price levitra What treatments are available for male erectile dysfunction? The treatment for low sex drive as well as erectile dysfunction. This property of the Tadalis is plus point over all other medications used to cure the underlying causes related to it. like this discount bulk viagra At cheapest generic tadalafil birth, the skull of a person overrides with each other and as the person grows older – what interests you now will have the same impact on you later. slow day.  The weather was glorious too.

Had some bubbly with the guys from Australia and Buenos Aires followed by our usual Friends of Dorothy meeting. The FOD group has been getting bigger and bigger and tonight we had about 25 folks, and there were about another 10 who weren’t there. Then off to dinner with Pavel and Rick.  Nice and quiet, and now the luggage is outside our stateroom waiting to be picked up and delivered to the airport.  While this has not been the best experience with the ship, the company has been great.

So, I have been reading Dan Savage’s  American Savage, which may be coloring my opinions lately, but tonight, I went out dancing after dinner, and was a bit early for the actual dancing and one of the lame game shows that are so popular on cruise ships was still going on.  It was a bit called the liar’s club and the panel consisted of entertainers from the ship and they were to give or make up definitions for odd words.  I have to find out where Timmy is from, and I actually don’t usually do this, but I am planning on submitting a complaint about his performance.  His “bit” was being as homophobic and misogynistic as possible, always the height of hilarity!  In one of his answers he made disparaging remarks about the Greeks and how gay they were and when the woman on the panel said something to him, he told her that it was much like today – there were no intelligent women in ancient Greece.  Now, I do suppose that we should expect that an adult man who calls himself Timmy is going to be in a perpetual state of adolescence, but I question why someone would hire him to entertain adults.  I guess it is called playing to the lowest common denominator, and I can assure you, some of the denominators are pretty common and low.

On a positive note, and, who knows, it may be a reason for my irritability, there was a spectacular full moon tonight as we plowed through the Atlantic.  The sea is sparkling and I may even take a walk on deck to get the full effect.  We are heading full speed for Dover, UK, and cleared UK immigration this morning.  They told us as we were going through that we are good for a six month stay.  Not sure what we are doing in Dover, but I don’t think we are staying for six months.  Had a terrific dinner tonight, but not for the reasons you might think.  It was the company, not the food.  We were with the guys from Sydney and their friends from NYC and Buenos Aires.  Ralf, the German guy who lives in BA rents apartments in Argentina, so we might plan a visit next spring.  It is something that both of us have wanted to do, so, why not!

It has been a day now since I wrote the above.  Two very unsatisfying breakfasts.  Yesterday David stayed in bed, and I went down to have breakfast with Paul and Richard.  We ordered a a bit after 9am, and at 9:55am they had to leave to go to a lecture they wanted to attend, before their breakfast had arrived.  This morning, more or less the same story, except David ordered the salmon and it was almost 15 minutes after he had finished his breakfast that mine arrived.  I don’t think it is me, but breakfast should not take over an hour, start to finish, right?  I mean, there is the other extreme – in NY you sit down and three minutes later you have your eggs Benedict and are out the door in 15.  20 if you are lingering.  Alright, another NCL tirade, and they are getting tired, I know, but so are we.  Other folks on the ship are saying that this ship is not representative of the line, but honestly, I don’t think I would take another chance.  They may have to pay me to take another Norwegian ship.  And I keep saying, I can’t figure out what it is.  I told David this morning that the Norwegian Star should be on an episode of Restaurant Disasters on the Food Network.

In a bit of more positive news, tonight, one of the Friends of Dorothy has arranged for an evening watching the EuroVision Song competition which was on the other night.  Very exciting.  Hopefully the ship won’t screw this one up!  Dover tomorrow and then three more days and we are in Paris!

I don’t normally take lyrics from G&S, but thought this was appropriate.  We are having a fine time, in spite of everything, which is great.  I don’t know why, but I am suffering from some allergies here in the middle of the Atlantic.  My guess is it must be dust or some mold, because it is better after and during my runs on the deck.  The weather hasn’t been so great for a couple days, so we have been indoors more for the past few days.  Today is a bit drizzly.  Fortunately, the first three days were very nice, so we got a lot of sun.

The Friends of Dorothy group has grown quite a bit.  Last night we were joined by two young men from Australia.  Since I last wrote we also added our first (and only) lesbian member.  She is traveling alone and says she is always outnumbered by the men.  She is from Palm Springs too, so we have five folks who are from Palm Springs including me and David.  The group may continue to grow because there are other folks on the ship who are gay too, but haven’t come yet.

We just got back from our dinner with the lone lesbian, Pam, and it was a nice evening.   We went, at my instance, to the show at the lounge with was billed as a broadway cabaret.  There were broadway songs, and it was in a cabaret setting.  I did think I would die when one of the four male cast members came out and gave an introduction that since they are at sea for up to nine months at a time, they thought this song would be appropriate.  “There Ain’t Nothin’ Like a Dame”.  Well, if by that they meant, they don’t want nothing like a dame, that might be more believable, if you know what I mean.  I thought that when one of them sang “I Feel Pretty”, that was more in keeping with what we were seeing.  I was a little distressed when they murdered selections from Les Miserables and a song from Chess.  I know, you are all saying, “what did you expect?!”  Let me say, I expected in tune and competent.  It was not.

We went ashore for a moment in the Azores, but it was drizzly and cold, so we didn’t stay for long, and just visited the dock.  When we met with the Friends of Dorothy, we heard stories about what they saw and that the weather got better as you went inland on the island I thought we missed out, but I wasn’t willing to take that chance with a cab.  It was an opportunity lost, but the next time we are on the Azores. . .

So, I mentioned we are having a fine time, in spite of. . .  Well, this ship (Norwegian Star) is odd.  I can’t quite figure it out, but it may be best described as a training ship.  The staff, while very nice, seem to not have a clue what they are doing.  I don’t think we have sat down at a meal and found that everything was in place at the table.  For breakfast there is always either coffee cups, bread plates, cream, sugar or silverware missing.  For dinner last night, they had to wrangle up some chairs for our table.  We wait for what seems like hours (maybe just thirty minutes) to be noticed by a waiter, and invariably, it isn’t our waiter.  Then, when we place an order, it is never quite what we asked for, or what you might expect.  And nobody seems to be in charge.  David and I are pretty easy going, but I see some of the other guests getting quite annoyed and the staff getting flustered.  The other thing that we find odd is most of the restaurants are “specialty restaurants” and there is a charge to eat in them.  On past cruises,  there were normally one or two special restaurants where the food and service were exemplary, but here, it almost feels like they make the “free” restaurants substandard so you want to pay the additional fee to eat at the others.  Sadly though, while the service is slightly better and the good in a bit better, they don’t come close to what the free restaurants on Celebrity are.  Let me just add that today, when we went ashore, there was a table selling ponchos to guests to go ashore with because of the rain.  On Celebrity, they always had umbrellas for free to take ashore if it was raining.  You did have to pay for them if you decided to keep them, but they were there for your use.

OK, that was my little tirade on NCL, and we are having a good time, in spite of it all. . .

Well, we had a great day in Miami.  Did a little business that needed to be done, and then had a fabulous lunch with Lynn.  I have been to South Beach, but never to Miami proper, and blindly I picked what was probably the perfect restaurant for lunch.  The food was terrific and the view was sublime.  We were on a balcony overlooking one of the inlets.  Perfect.  We got back to the ship, and I got a message from Lynn that she made it home, so all was right with the world.

At 7pm we made our way up to the Star Bar for the Friends of Dorothy gathering to see if the new passengers would add to our merry band, and they did.  A couple from Pittsburgh and Fort Lauderdale (snowbirds), another pair from Sydney along with a straight, single man and two guys traveling together (but I don’t think they were “together”) from NYC and Buenos Aires (one from each city) and then we were joined by a single guy from Prague.  His partner was still in his cabin.  David and I, along with three Aussies from the LA-Miami leg were the returning guest stars.  Great conversation, but because the group was larger, David was missing a lot of it.  We didn’t go to dinner with them, although most of the group went off to dinner together.  We stayed behind with the guy from Prague and found out that his partner also had a stroke, and had some difficulties as well.  We met them at breakfast this morning.  His partner is an American, and they split their time between Provincetown, Sarasota and Prague.  They also cruise across the Atlantic pretty regularly, so it will me nice to get to know them.

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So, as I said, the population on the ship changed in Miami.  About 300 folks remained, and the other 1500+ changed.  My Father and many others will understand this, but now I feel like I am on a field trip with residents of The Villages of Del Boca!  More scooters and canes, but they aren’t necessarily relegated to the oldsters, there are plenty of people who are my age or younger who have some sort of physical disability.  The most noticeable change volume and accents of the new folks – very loud and mostly NYC/Long Island/NJ accents.  Just to prove that it isn’t all about the age, we were at lunch today and there were two couples at a table behind me, and I was sure they were 70-somethings from FL by way of Long Island, but when I turned around, they were younger than me, but just sounded old.

Got up early this morning and took the free Abs Class at the fitness center, which was good, but it was packed.  The room almost emptied when the Yoga Class was to begin.  There is a charge for the Yoga Class.  I thought it was interesting that during Yoga on the new age music that was playing was a version of the Theme from Titanic.  Believe it or not, it is a very popular song to play on a cruise ship.  You know how sometimes you hear conversations and think, oh, God, that sounds like my parents?  I signed up (again) for the Second City murder mystery luncheon.  As I was waiting on line, a couple walked by and the wife said, “Oh, that looks like fun.  Want to go?” and the husband’s response was “No, it’s $20”.  No offense Dad, but I told David all I could think was they sounded like Charlie talking to Molo (my parents)!

We went to the Friends of Dorothy gathering again tonight, and the group has grown quite a lot.  There were about thirty of us tonight, and don’t ask me to tell you names or where the guys are from (or why there are no lesbians, for that matter).  It was much more difficult for David tonight, but we fell into conversation with a guy and his partner who have a house in Palm Springs.  Well, they just bought a house in Palm Springs.  We left for dinner with the Aussie contingent, which was nice, but David was quite annoyed with me.  It was a long rectangular table with about eleven of us, and David was seated at the end and was left out of a lot of the conversation.  I tried to keep him involved, but it was almost impossible to act as translator and participate.  I think we need to stay away from large gatherings like that (which we did last night) and if we do, David will have to walk further to me at a more central spot.

It has come to my attention that when folks subscribe to the blog and get an email version, the picture galleries don’t appear in the email, and you would never know that there were pictures at all.  I am going to begin putting some text as a warning so you can go to the website and see the pictures – is you are interested.

PICTURES

Needless to say, David would be annoyed that I put these in.  I am not sure what happened, but when I posted the other pictures of the canal transit, these had disappeared, but I found them on my phone.  Ah, technology!

We arrived this morning in Miami, and it is really nice to have reliable internet service.  Yesterday we had a good day in Key West.  Just wandered and looked around.  As we wandered, we ended up in the housing projects of Key West.  Who knew?  I can always promise an authentic albeit accidental tour as a guide!

We are meeting Lynn for Lunch today in Miami, and have some errands to run, so will keep this short.  More later, maybe.

It was a rocky crossing of the southern Caribbean yesterday.  David was feeling a little queazy and they had posted the seasick bags at all the elevators.  Fortunately, last night at 9pm, as the captain promised, we became protected by Haiti and the seas calmed dramatically.  Thank you Haiti.  As we sat having dinner at La Cucina, all seemed to becoming right with the world.  And the bread was good too.  I haven’t mentioned this, I don’t think, but the bread has been pretty not so great on this cruise.  Anyone who knows me well knows that next to potatoes, bread is my favorite food, so, that is pretty distressing.  I think that they must freeze the bread and then defrost it in a microwave of some sort, because it is just a bit chewy and tough.

Anyway, enough about bread and rocking and rolling.  It has been a few days.  I really enjoyed the crossing through the Panama Canal.  David kept on looking at me perplexed at my fascination with the locks.  He finally said, why is this one different from the last one?  Well, it wasn’t really, it is just the process.  I’m a nerd that way.  To be honest, a nerd in a number of ways, and proud of it.  I took lots of pictures.  We also had breakfast in the cabin so we wouldn’t miss a moment of the canal.  I think David might have preferred watching paint dry.

Then, overnight to Cartagena, Columbia.  We went on shore and after dodging the birds and souvenir hawks, we shared a cab with the guys from Las Vegas and took a three hour tour of town.  We drove by the fort and then through old town, and finally drove along the beaches in the new part of town.  My car mates kept mentioning how it all reminded them of Puerto Rico, and I mentioned that they did have the same designer, some friend of Queen Isabella.  It is funny, but it also reminded me a bit of Malaysia, but, when you live in a climate like this, there are certain design principles that come into play – balconies, open courtyards, lots of shade, etc.  It was a nice tour and just what we needed.

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And now, we are are up to date.  I have been reading Tina Fey’s book Bossypants, which has an appropriate chapter on her honeymoon cruise, which has some finny insights.  Generally, I am finding the book a little underwhelming.  Funny moments, but I almost feel like I could have written it.  She reminds me of every Jody, Diane, Wendy and Liz I knew living through my 20’s and 30’s.  Granted, a lot more successful, and married, but very similar struggles.

Tomorrow Key West and then Miami and then, The Crossing.

After writing the above, I went to Yoga, and feel much more centered.  The sky is clear and blue, as is the water and we are looking forward to a lovely day at sea and by the pool.

Last night we went to the show on the ship.  The Look of Love – A NEW Burt Bacharach musicale extravaganza.  I don’t think I need to say any more, except we left about half way through. Oh, and they didn’t include any of the songs from that blockbuster movie musical, Lost Horizon. David doesn’t have the stomach for it (and it had nothing to do with the rolling of the ship!)  We went for sushi before the show, which was nice.  Also had our daily meeting with the FOD’s.

We binged a little more on Downton Abbey and caught up a bit more on the US news.  Nice to stay connected.  As I recall from our November visit to Paris, we won’t hear much about the goings on in America while we are away.  It will all be a surprise when we get home in June.  I had my yoga class today, and am thinking that I might try to keep it up while in Paris.  I am sure there will be a yoga studio somewhere relatively close to the apartment, and it might just help with my French.  I will at least have right, left, arm, leg, downward facing dog, cat pose, etc down by the time we leave.

Tonight we went out for our FOD meeting, and a few cocktails, then dinner.  Now, early to be in preparation for our passage through the canal.  We begin tomorrow morning at about 5am and have breakfast on the balcony at 8am.  According to the schedule, we should be hitting Atlantic waters by about 5pm.  Sadly, I will forego the yoga class for the passage tomorrow morning.  Maybe a run in the afternoon as we go through the lake.

In Puerto Chiapas, we went on shore very briefly.  There wasn’t much to see at the dock – a small market and lively bar with a pool – neither of which interested us much.  We got back on the ship and relaxed for the day.  Sat by the pool and played some scrabble again.

I don’t know if I talked about this, but I find it interesting that every cruise that we go on has a very distinct personality, and now I have found that even the temporary residents of an elevator take on their own mob mentality.  You might remember the gentleman who had his toe stepped on, and yesterday we were waiting for an elevator to take us up to the pool.  An elevator arrived, after waiting a bit, and it was quite crowded, so I got ready to wait a bit more.  about five people got off, and it looked like there was plenty of room for Me and David to fit.  David was in his wheelchair because it was so hot, I didn’t want him to be exhausted by the time we got to the pool.  As I began to back into the elevator, a voice yelled that there wasn’t room.  There was plenty, and as I looked back and said, sure there was, a woman said, “Well I’m getting off then, I’ve already had my foot stepped on twice!”  Pushed off the elevator, and as the doors closed, thanked the lovely folks for their kindness and generosity.  This was, of course, just one experience.  Normally folks have been very nice, generous and accommodating.  I was only very pleased to note that the voices from the elevator had a distinct non-American accent.  Not that we are gems, mind you.

Yesterday we were at sea and had another nice day.  Early morning yoga for me, then just wandering and relaxing.  TV is right up my alley – reruns of 30 Rock and an endless loop of Downton Abbey.  We had a little dispute about one of the actresses on DA who is also on another series we have begun watching, Ripper Street.  David couldn’t believe that she was the same woman, but after some research, I proved that she was.  We had dinner last night with Peter and Ara (the Aussies) and Steven and Joel (Sacramento).  We skipped the show.  It was a magic show, and David and I don’t have much interest in that.  It did sound a little like Siegfried and Roy with birds and snakes.  To be honest, just the thought of sharing the ship with birds and snakes made me a little uncomfortable and seeing them would have just added to my anxiety.  If I wanted to sail on the ark, I would have booked with Noah!  During dinner, David was pleased that the boys thought that he was in his 50’s.  I resisted asking them how old they thought I was.

The other night we stumbled into the sailing solo get together at one of the lounges.  We were too early for the Friends of Dorothy meeting because it had been moved back an hour to accommodate the celebration for the Dutch King’s Birthday.  Well, really, it looked like they were just looking for an excuse to drink heavily.  I am grateful for my Celtic/Anglo-Saxon blood – no excuse needed to drink.  Well, there we were, and David was delighted that one of the sailing solo ladies began to chat him up.  I only mention this because she was about 80 and wearing a lovely orange MuuMuu.  This morning we arrived in Costa Rica and did our usual on shore and back on the ship.  Nice day.

As I said in the last post today we went to Huatulco for a lovely day relaxing on the beach.  There wasn’t much going on when we were there, but as we were heading back to the ship, things were beginning to pick up on shore and in the bay.  Lots of motoring on the water and the beach and water were filling up with folks from the area.  Most of the visitors from the ship dispersed on tours.  The town is pretty small and I think it is mostly visited by the local population, which I like better.  We had a bite to eat at the restaurant by the beach and of course had margaritas as well.  David complained about being a little tipsy as we were rolling down the dock and up the gangway to the ship.

Then we had a little cool down, shower and headed down to the atrium for a coffee followed by a game of Scrabble.  David let me win.  Then we did some speech exercises and will do some PT as well.  Just a lazy day in Mexico.

After we sailed and sat on the balcony for a while, we caught up with the news in the US.  Not meaning to be critical, but glad we are far away from Nevada!  Then we went to visit with our friends of Dorothy.  We were a little late, and when it was time to split up, we went to dinner with two of the other couples.  One from Las Vegas and the other from Sacramento.  I haven’t mentioned this, but one of the goals for David on the ship was to walk as much as possible. It has been kind of exhausting and sometimes a little difficult to maneuver around the masses of people.
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When we were on our way to the restaurant, the six of us got on an elevator, and  were then joined by a gentleman on one of the intervening floors.  We were all getting off before him, and as David was trying to navigate around him, he stepped on his foot and apologized, and then, as he was trying to get off, stepped on his foot again.  The guy said “a second time??!!” and David said “Sorry” again, and one of our table mates lit into him as we exited the elevator.  I am guessing that he didn’t see the cane and the difficulty with which he was trying to make his way around him.  I am always amazed at how unaware folks are to other people around them.  I am only hoping that this moment made him feel smaller that he actually was.

Otherwise a nice dinner and now back in the room and relaxed.

Well, we took off a few days ago, and this is my first moment to sit and write.  I have finally figured out the internet, so hopefully I will be more regular, as they say.  We have settled into a routine.  We are just going ashore when we are docked, and not tendered.  Too much to deal with getting from the ship to a little boat.  We could do it, but it is nicer to just wheel onto shore.  It was nice to revisit Puerto Vallarta.  Took a cab into old town and had lunch on the beach, and then just went back to the ship.  Today we visited Huatulco and sat on the beach for a while, dipped our toes into the water, had a bite and strolled down the shopping street at the port and now, we are safely back on the ship.

Anyway, not much else to report, except we have found a group of Friends of Dorothy, and had a discussion last night about whether other passengers are wondering who the hell are Dorothy and Bill W. and why do they have special meetings???!!!   Are they related?  In other news, the people watching has been interesting.  The ship is quite crowded, and a sign at reception said that all the cabins are full.  We are hopeful that in Miami, we will get some elbow room.  Most of the folks we have talked to are leaving the ship in Miami.  We have decided that we prefer Celebrity for our cruising so far.

Our bags are packed. We’re ready to go.  Just got home from Donovan’s for dinner.  Wait, that is not how the song goes.  Dinner was very nice, and sadly, I got a call from Blade and he had to cancel because he and Ralph were on their way to Utah for a “Family Emergency”.  I only quote that because usually when you say “Family Emergency” you are going into rehab or are just hung over.  Well, neither is the case for Blade and Ralph.  They really did have a family emergency (notice the lower case).  We did have a great group though, Donovan’s Dad and his friend and Donovan’s doctor and his partner and a friend of theirs from Oakland.  We had a wait for dinner, so David had to try to participate in conversation.  He did really well, and Donovan’s Dad mentioned how much better David’s speech was since the last time we met at Christmas.  I noted to David that as we were leaving, he was telling the folks left how much better his speech was to prove that he wasn’t just saying it for David’s benefit.

I am all packed and resisting the urge to unpack and check and count what I already counted and checked and packed.  I am pretty sure that everything is in place, and I have the documents right here.  Passports checked for expiration dates, drivers license checked for expiration date.  Cruise documents.  Flight details.  The last thing to get packed will be all the stuff that is on this table now.  I think I will be able to pull it off.
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Took my last walk in Palm Springs until September, and it was very nice.  Ran for a bit of it.  It was hot, but the sun was sooooo nice.  Now, off to bed to get some sleep before the race begins tomorrow.  Ended by 29 days of relaxing and nothing to think about.  I will try to write.  And take photos.  Maybe even a selfie of me!!  Stay tuned.

I have been thinking lately about the songs that give me a lift, and it dawned on me.  They are all about optimism and hanging on until tomorrow.  I have been obsessed (as Kelli Osborne would say) with Andrea McArdle’s 1997 recording of Tomorrow from Annie.  The sun WILL come out tomorrow, right?  Sometimes at the gym, I will put it on a loop.  That, and some of you may remember my old ringtone – Put on Your Sunday Clothes from Hello Dolly! sung by Charles Nelson Reilly.  While it isn’t about tomorrow, it is about living for today, which is also pretty uplifting.

Anyway, living each day, and looking forward to tomorrow.  We went to the golf outing for the Stroke Center on Wednesday.  David didn’t think he did well, but he did great for the first time out and first time left handed.  I was impressed.  When we get back in the fall, we will try to pick it up again.

Otherwise, I have been busy packing everything up and ready to leave on Sunday.  I feel pretty prepared, and we are both looking forward to getting under way.  I finally booked our flights to and from Vermont after Paris and before Spain.

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We also have plenty of homework to do on the ship, and Holly told David that he should just leave it all at home, and have a good time.  At this, he grasped his notebook and held it tight and shook his head.  Anyone who knows David understands that he loves homework and to practice.

Tomorrow we have dinner at Donovan’s, as a sort of Bon Voyage, which will be very nice.  I made some pistachio Macarons last night.  They were a bit sticky because I think the nuts were a bit oily.  I think I read that it is helpful to dry the almond flour in the oven for a while.  Next time.

The valley has been very busy with Coachella Fest going on.  Lots of young girls who look like they are extras in Hair.  It is kind of funny, but they seem to be everywhere.  Very good for all the towns in the valley, even if the traffic sometimes is terrible.  I looked a the roster of acts, and there were a few that I had heard of (just the names) and only one that I actually could say that I had heard before – The Pet Shop Boys.  I told Bill (tennis instructor) that I was surprised to see them listed.  Surprised that they were still around!  Liked them a lot, back in the day!