Saturday. Dubrovnik.

Today is our last full day aboard. At lunchtime we will be arriving in Dubrovnik where there is a tender service to land.
Yesterday the show in the theatre was 'I have a dream'. A show performed by the staff from various departments who thougt they had a talent to share. Sadly they were wrong. Simon Cowell would have cried. Honestly I am sure there must be some better talent onboard.
The show was followed by our second gala dinner so we was boted and suited again and I have to say looking mighty fine. Although the food was 'pleasant' (Note the wording Julie!) It really wasn't gala. Cheese stuffed pasta followd by cheese stuffed profiteroles with salad and blue cheese dressing folloed by a plate of .. cheese. I think someone needs to have a word with the menu planner! Having said that we did have enough to eat and enjoyed our evening.
**************************
Today's photo prompt is 'up' . The first thing that caame to mind (you know me!) is not a photo I can publish here! So here's one I can....

Well when i take it that is... watch this space....

Thursday. Istanbul.

Yesterday evening in the restaurant,following my complaint of the night before, we were well looked after even the maitre d' slending time at our table to make sure we were happier with the food. Of course we were the menu was back to being excellent. Last night's show in rhe theatre was billed as 'Magic,mirth and musical - comedy show'. Lets just say it was musical and leave it at that sshall we?! This morning we have been in Istanbul. The Palaces and Mosques are spectacular and in general the good folk of the city friendly. Interestiing fact: 16 million people live here! Taxi drivers on the other hand are like many all over the world and ripped us off at every turn.... ah well I guess they need to make a living. The most frustrating thing for me has been the inability to coomunicate well as we speak no.Turkish and altough they profess to speak Enhlish they really dont understand. Tomorrow we are at sea all day so i shall mostly be reading and eating.... ><><><><><><><><><> Today's photo prompt is 'man-made'. A pic of the ship could have sufficed here but I have added one of the view of Istanbul showing the Topkapi Palace and blue mosque - man made and incredible.

Wednesday. Izmir in Turkey.

Yesterday's tour around Olympia was interesting and enjoyable. For a change we weren't rushed around and had free rein looking around the site of the ancient games.
Returning to the ship for lunch was a mad bunfight aseveryone wanted to eat at the same time. Not an enjoyable experience at all.
The evening was the first gala dinner, preceded by the Captain's cocktail and a 'fantasy spectacle' in the theatre.
Unfortunately the gala dinner didn't live up to its billing and was the worst gala menu ever. I ended up with a small salad and was far from a happy bunny.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's photo prompt is 'underneath' and I've no inspiration at the moment. I shall wait and see if our trip into Ephesus will help.... and indeed it did... underneath 10 metres of soil this is what they found....

Tuesday. Katakolon, Greece. CET +1

This morning we have arrived in Katakolon in Greece. It's only just 7am and we're up and breakfasted already.
Yesterday was a fantastic day in Bari. After disembarking we found some bike-taxis and jumped aboard to be shown round the city by a delightful Bulgarian girl who really knew her stuff.
In the first church we stopped at I saw the bones of Saint Nicholas - or as we usually say -Santa Claus.
Later on we saw a street lined with women making pasta by hand which was then left to dry in the sun.
Back on board for lunchtime and we set sail for Greece.
Last night in the theatre we saw Roberto Sinagoga. Another excellent, as was dinner.
Today we are off on an excursion to Olympia, details of which will be posted later.

*********************

Today's photo challenge is price.... it's given me a lot of food for thought. Price of the cruise.... a bargain. Price of drinks onboard.. usual good value. What price tourism... Venice protesters.. the price is right..... Price's shop in the high street where I grew up. So here's today's photo.... what price fame. Anyone any clue as to the photo reference?

Monday breakfast musings

I've decided I am going to write a daily blog post and publish it as and when I get free internet access.
Yesterday we boarded after hours of hanging around and queueing with the hordes. Cruising really isn't just for the elite any more. I guess we ourselves are proof of that, although we do try to maintain certain standards. There are some on board, however, that do not. Dress sense at dinner proved that once and for all last night! I mean, would one normally wear cut off denims and a megadeath t-shirt to a 'nice' restaurant. Yes, there we have it. The travelling snob in me is alive and well!
Our cabin is spacious and comfortable, comodious I guess one could say. And that's where I've left hubby happily snoring whilst I feast my way through a plate of hash browns and scrambled eggs, washed down with orange juice. And whilst on the subject of food let me just comment that although we did come straight (sic) onboard yesterday and grab some lunch, and enjoy a FULL dinner last night we are not hogging. Others, on.the other hand' are making the most of the availability of food and piling their plates high but sadly leaving them piled almost as high when they leave. The gluttony and waste is something I find remarkable on cruises, clearly as I have just remarked.
Today we are due to enter Bari. ( Fnaarr) We've not yet decided if we will get off (Fnaarr) or simply lounge around on deck. Quite frankly we're both a little jaded after the last few days of socialising, both here and at home in VnG so the later is a possibility. I shall apprise you of our decision later.
////////////////////////
And today's photo challenge.. in my fridge:

The Adventure begins.

After an uneventful flight we arrived in Venice safe and sound. Catching the waterbus we arrived at Ponte de Goglia an spotted the hotel straight away. As we got off the boat I mentioned that I needed some cellotape. Turning round there was a paper shop selling the very item.
After dropping off our cases at the hotel we went out to explore and I realused I had forgotten to bring a spare memory card for the camera. The next shop we passed was a camera shop which was having a sale on those very cards.
After a wandsr and a beer we found a nice restaurant with tables by one of the canals. As we sat down a small group of musicians settled down there too and inccredibly started playing our song..... it seems that magic is in the air today!!
************************
And the photo for today's prompt .... the first thing i see.... this is the first thing i see as i come out of the hotel.

Planning

We've had a bit of fun today checking out the details for our cruise in September.

We fly to Venice on the 15th of September and will be staying in the Hotel Marte for one night.

The next day we board the Costa Favolosa -now there's a name to conjure with -So Jules and Sandy.

 

We've had a look at the excursions and been checking out the  places we can visit. I am so looking forward to going to Olympia. Just seeing the pictures on the PC I have a feeling it's somewhere I know. Then there's Ephesus, and Istanbul and Dubrovnik. Oh what a fine time we are going to have- TulStig cruising again.

And whilst we are away we know that our animals will be in safe hands as Janey and Amy will be housesitting.

A Good Friday...

Here it has most definitely been a good Friday for us.

I started the day with a leisurely walk through the fields with Cuddy & Xali. When I got back I started to put together the Mona cake I have been making for Julie. Yesterday I made the sponge base and the butter icing and a couple of chocolate eggs for assembling today. The Icing went well, but when I tried to fix the tow halves of the egg together it started to melt in my hot hands, and I started to get a bit stressed. Finally it all came right and when I gave it to Julie later she was thrilled:

Lunch today was at Julie's place down in Cubelles. She was testing a new recipe on us, as sent over by her mum in New Zealand. We started off with Leek an Potato soup (Vichyssoise- yes Olga that is what it is called!) and followed that with a courgette pasta mix, which she was slightly disappointed with, but was delicious.

Last night was the usual parade around town. From our church the 'villagers' drag a couple of platforms around the town. One has Jesus on the cross, and the other has Mary his mum on. These are preceded by a band made up of local youngsters, and it is all done at slow speed in reverence for the solemnity of it all.

Just cruising along

Key word in today's title: Cruising - yup we've booked our September Cruise. We're flying out to Venice for a one night's stay in a hotel there- it's goodness how long since we were last there- we know it's an age as we actually booked the hotel by fax last time!
The return flights are booked -Vueling - the hotel in Venice is booked - The Hotel Marte- has good and bad reviews but the good outweigh the bad and it looks nice enough and is cheap and central -and the cruise, of course, is booked too - we are on the  Costa Favalosa ( I just LOVE the name -echoes of 'Round The Horne') starting in Venice, on to another stop in Italy, then Greece, including Olympus, Turkey (Istanbul and another stop) and then Croatia - Dubrovnik, returning to Venice from where we will fly back to BCN. All that's to book now is the flights for our 'babysitters' Janey and Amy and we'll be all set- I'm discussing the details with Janey on Saturday -Skyping and booking all at once. 
It's all just so Favalosa. And for the more observant of you - yes it is with the same company as last year, and yes that is the same company as the Costa Concordia which didn't fare so well just recently. We had no issues with the company at all, and trust them to deliver an excellent time again.

The Costa Favalosa

As for my writing- I've been well into the sequel today again , another thousand or so words -I'm trying to step up the production. I'm enjoying the story, and yes it is surprising me too.  As for 'The Key' it's bouncing round in my head so I'm grabbing another notebook and noting down important facts and details so hen the time comes to set that down on disc (PC) I'll be well set.

St Anthony's Day

Today was St Anthony Abbatt's day, and as h is the patron saint of our town we had a day off and a a fiesta. Apparently St Anthony Abbatt was a bit like Saint Francis of Assisi and an animal lover. So for us that mean s that animals are allowed in the church for blessings- no we don't take ours they are truly blessed already!  - and there's a parade around town of horse, donkey, mules etc. some being ridden, some pulling carts and some pulling fine carriages. Even our neighbour has a Shetland pony that he parades around the town with Mrs Next door-neighbour in the back and grand-kids.
 

Of course we don't just watch the animals around town, although that is part of the enjoyment of the day-we also make a day out of it. Today we met Sue in Beverly Hills for a beer and a  plate of fries. Sue couldn't stay out all day but we did, so our next port of call was 'The Pupot' - one of our favourite bars, and where we had our stag-party before we wed.
Next we stopped of a few doors up the road at the 'Sentit's bar and then had quite a wander up the road. We dropped in on Jordi, just to say hello, as his bar wasn't officially open- him the missus and son were just tucking into their (late) lunch.  Our final stop off was at 'Café-Bar Neus' to see the couple who used to run the bar next door -- Inez and her hubby. Their son works there too now- scarily we remember him as a little lad running round with football -and has just returned from 18 months working in London. Interestingly he didn't speak English with us, he's still as timid as ever!
When we got back Tony hunkered down in bed for a quick siesta whilst I sat on the sofa for a while reading, then I too dozed off cuddled up to Cuddy and R2.
Thanks St Anthony, and Tony for a great day - now we've got to work all the way through to Carnaval next month!!