Stern sitting today

Finally a really nice day to enjoy the ship. We normally spend the sea  days here.

Such a late crossing this time that it was much cooler. 

Time to pack up!!!!

Thanks...

Tried to capture towel elephant on the thank you  card for our stewards.

I've picked up a cold form George wo got it waiting for pickleball games the first day!   Note to self, bring cough meds. Drops don't help much!

Happy to be getting home and looking forward to all our plans for the holidays and beyond 

Last two days...

 We have only one more sailing day after today.  They have been lazy days and fairly smooth until yesterday.  Now we are really rocking. and it's not even as rough as last night.

The food on this ship has been great.  Except for things I experimented tasting, everything has been great tasting and attractive.  I forget to take photos before digging in, however!  One night we went to the specialty steak house.  The food was even better with huge portions.  Both of us had stuffed tummies and swore we wouldn't need to eat the next day.  But we did of course.  We had had a really nice lunch that same day, steak again, I would never schedule both in one day again!!

I've enjoyed the origami classes and new friends and relaxing.  Now we're both ready to get busy with landscapers, the new exhibit at Big Arts, and Christmas.  And hopefully some painting time, especially before I teach!!

just sailing along

 These days are slow and leisurely as we make our way across the sea.  I've done a couple of art classes that were a nice break.  Origami seahorse and penguin were fun to learn.  We'll see if I can ever do them again!

Food is very good on this ship and we are enjoying far too much of it.  Today we will attend the Mariners Brunch and I expect even better dishes from what I've heard.  The invitation was a surprise to us and a nice perk.  Tonight we are going to the Pinnacle Grill, a steak house, and favorite of mine.  I've also discovered why people were taking so many mandarin oranges, they are fresh and delicious.

We're taking notes on what to bring on the next voyage....so far Band-Aids are on top of the list!! Between blisters and bumps we are using up the supply!

I'll post my seahorse and penguin from my phone.  We switch between pc and phone as only one device can be on at a time.  Less expensive and fine.  This new Starlink internet is great though!!

Seahorse

Yum!!!

Oops I ate half before I remembered to take a photo.  🍫 With raspberry under it. Beef bourgone (sp) was pretty good too. 

We had a nice day and were able to sit outside finally.  Spent a long time at lunch chatting with new friends from Vancouver. 

Met another couple from Scotland who live very close to where my great grandfather was from and they said there were lots of Hughs there.

Rick and roll show tonight...fun!!!

A windy day in the caldera....

Ponte Delgada

View from the rim

Blue and Green lakes in the Azores near Ponta Delgado. Sete Cidades

This is inside the caldera. A small town is at the bottom.

This is the greenist place I've ever seen!!

After three planned port stops we finally were able to see this island. A cool but nice day.

Oragami

Made a cute penguin today!!

We spent a nice day aboard chatting with several new people. Did a martini demo and tasting..yum. participated in Trivia on European food watched a movie. Had dinner with new people then listened to music.  There are new piano players who are not as good as the others. Bummed.

Tomorrow I think we will dock in ponta Delgado. Yea!  We're on a tour for half a day.

Orange juice machine

Oranges go into the chute at the top and are cut and squeezed.

Seville...

We didn't take photos!!!   The lovely thing is all the orange trees everywhere. A little messy but delicious when fresh squeezed. For a glass it took about five oranges.  Photo is of a plane tree which are planted throughout Europe. I think they are chestnut trees in USA.

I'll post the orange squeeze machine from the Picasso Cafe.

Today is beautiful but cool. Little balcony time this time of year. We always eat on the stern outside..  not so far this cruise.

What to have in Seville??

Sea Day

 What a nice relaxing morning and slow start to the day.  Yesterday we took a bus to Seville from the port of Cadiz.

Riding the Ho HO bus around the city is a great way to see what everything looks like and where they are.  This city is a mix of many different architectures and eras.  The old site of a World Exposition had some unusual modern buildings, some still use and many not.  There was also an avenue of buildings representing many different countries which were built for a different world event.  They are used to this day.  

We departed the bus to walk back to the cathedral area thinking it was fairly easy to do.  As it was in a historic area, the streets were all angled and street signs seemed non existent.  After walking quite a way we finally asked and were sent back to our start point to begin again in the correct direction.  We asked at least three others to finally get to the cathedral.  Whew  By that time we were ready to sit and have something to eat!!

The day was cloudy and occasionally rainy so we chose an inside seat to try paella and sangria for a light lunch.  I may have a photo to forward, but it was good in any case.

From there we went early to our meeting point as we were a little concerned about getting lost again!!A little cocktail party was held for 3,4 & 5 star mariners so we attended that.  Hopefully after our SA cruise we'll be 4...free laundry!!

We enjoyed dinner after that and met some new people but we opted for an early night.  Our calves are still aching from the fort in Alicante. Plus G tripped over the comforter and fell yesterday, skinned elbows and knees on the carpet and pulled a decorative wire out of the wall.  They must think we are really clumsy after this second crash!!

Today will be housekeeping day and just relaxing on the ship.