It’s delightful. Attentive service. A big cabin. A really roomy shower. Food’s delicious. Mind-boggling expensive. On Princess, I squirm at more than $2,500 per person. This was well over three times that. But you really can’t compare the two. One is mass market. The other is far more bespoke. We started with a hair raising … Continue reading American Cruise Lines on the Hudson
“Dress for the sun.” Well, hell, that’s a rather broad spectrum of attire. My kayaking gear (SPF 50 capris and long sleeved shirt), ready to evaporate any manner of splashes whilst I paddled? A breezy summer dress with strappy sandals? Butch shorts and t-shirt with a baseball cap? This simply wasn’t enough information. “It’s not … Continue reading Beloved wouldn’t tell me what we were doing for my birthday.
After having our visit to Màlaga blocked, this came up about Funchal (FOON-Shal), Portugal the night before we docked: Aw, shit. This was taken the night before we arrived. Funchal, for the uninitiated, is a city on the island of Madeira (any drinkers among us? - kidding… but yes, this is THAT Madeira). Off the … Continue reading The storm is stalking us like a bored dog goes after an unguarded steak.
Oh, batchit, I thought, as blind (sans glasses), I started running the water in the tub for a shower. One extremely leggy arachnid struggled to get out of the flow, but couldn’t as the stopper was firmly stuck. It was our first morning in a new AirBnB and I wasn’t familiar with how the stopper … Continue reading The spider screamed.
I don’t normally go out much in the evenings, but Beloved does, and I wanted to be a sport on this three night cruise to pick up our 15th credit… and magical Elite status on Princess. Not that it’s as magical as it used to be. However, it’s not half bad. You get a bar … Continue reading Well, that was about as silly-buggers as I’ve ever seen on a cruise ship.
Once again, the cheapo airline has the most violent colors. Not orange, though, Vueling uses neon yellow. The inside of the plane is yellow-er than the outside. Vueling is owned by Iberian Air as well as British Airways, and they use the Jetstar idea of pay for your carry on to minimize overhead bin space. … Continue reading “SIT. DOWN.” growled the flight attendant.
We went to see Sagrada Familia (Holy Family), the basilica in Barcelona planned and partially created by Gaudi… it’s insanely beautiful. The altar. I think it rather looks like Jesus was crucified on a merry-go-round, but I didn’t think the tour guide would appreciate that observation. Started in 1882, they’ve been working on it ever … Continue reading The longest construction project in modern history…
We made it to Barcelona, typically early morning as the cruise ships tend to do - and they clearly wanted us to bug off. So off we went to sit in the shade, surrounded by luggage, to wait until 11, at which point we could deposit our stuff in the AirBnB, then check in at … Continue reading Dark History of Barcelona
We started off the day early, for which I was grateful, given the almost 11,000 cruise ship passengers in port for the day. At around 8am, we were hustled off to the bus to be whisked away to the land of ancient pervy people. After a brief introduction, the tour guide (again, unsurprisingly in heavily … Continue reading Advertising the unprintable in Pompeii and other stories…
And now, Sicily. Specifically, Messina, the port that just about kisses the toe of the Italian boot. It’s a very short hop over to the mainland… which is why Messina has the dubious distinction of being the conduit of the Black Plague into Europe in the 1340s - well, that and the idea this place … Continue reading Muzzles and Clamps
Examining Misadventures 