2013-5-13 Sailing to Copenhagen

We are sailing peacefully toward our last port, Copenhagen. The sea is calm but cold and foggy. The captain explained that we need to sound our foghorn every two minutes to allow boats without radar to get out of the way.

We attended a briefing about how to get off the ship tomorrow. We will be able to leave at 7:45 but we plan to stay on until the last minute—about 9 or 9:30. We are just in the way of people who are in a hurry. Our plane leaves about noon and we already have our seat assignments. We are flying first to Toronto, then Chicago, then home. I chose the shortest trip I could find. It’s supposed to be 15 hours total.

We need to put our large bags out in the hall by 1 in the morning. Once again, the cruise director warned us to leave out a set of clothes to wear. Someone always forgets to do that.

After that, I went to hear a talk by our Destination Specialist, Ian Page.  I happened to see him walk by near the main desk after his talk. I had my satisfaction survey with me and showed him the note I wrote about him: “Good job, Ian and David!” He seemed pleased.

I also wrote nice things about the Front Desk staff who have been both helpful and patient with us. They found the big wrench and loaned it to us several times. Each time they had to fill out a form for us to sign. I have to take it back by 5 p.m. today but I haven’t been able to get near the desk. Many people want adjustments to their bills.

Ian always ends his talks with this quote: “Life is not measured by the breaths you take but by the places and moments that take your breath away.”

2013-5-19 Ghent, Belgium

We took a tour of Ghent using a canal boat. We booked the tour on board our cruise ship. We had to be able to get into the boat and we were able to do that with a little help.

When we arrived at Ghent we each bought a waffle. We also bought of their famous "red noses" candy to take home. 

2013-5-18 St.Peter Port, Channel Islands, England

We took the tender into St. Peter Port, Channel Islands, England. It is a popular vacation destination for both England and mainland Europe.  One man said his family vacationed at the beach there when he was a child. The temperature was in the sixties today but sunny.

The Eurodam has taken the thrill out of tendering. They make it so easy and safe. We took the elevator to A deck and switched to another elevator to B deck. Then we stepped right into the tender.

Bill decided to wait for me near the entrance to the port so I walked into town alone. Cars drive on the left side of the road here. There are narrow streets lined with small shops, restaurants and Bed and Breakfast places. They only accept English money in the shops so there was no temptation to buy anything. Flowers in window boxes dress up the town.

It turns out that I missed all the action when I left Bill in the public plaza. There are two cruise ships in port so there were lots of people streaming past him. I wondered if he should sit right in that spot because the benches were filled with rowdy young men who were obviously drinking and looking for attention. When I returned, the plaza benches were filled with people of all ages and none of them seemed to be out of order. It was an amazing change in under an hour. I wondered where all the hooligans had gone.

Bill said that one of the young men had a bullhorn and he was trying to rouse the others to action. A person of color walked by and the young man with the bullhorn started to harass him by blocking his path and commenting on his looks. Bill just watched. A few minutes later, two English Bobbies showed up and started talking to the young man. Some of the other young men took that opportunity to leave. Others in the group went around and picked up all beer bottles before they left.

I took a picture of the two heroic policemen and put it in my collage.

2013-5-16 Vigo, Spain

We went off the ship during a minor shower to visit a shopping mall just a few steps away.  On the elevator, a lady with a British accent commented that we are having Scottish weather.

Bill wanted to look for a way to fix his scooter and I was keen on buying some more Panadol. There is a Farmacia so I bought two boxes of Panadol for 2.50 Euros a box for 12 pills. I asked the pharmacist how it compares to Tylenol. He said it is the same composition but I think it helps more with pain. My knees have been bothering me for the last few days.

Vigo is famous for sculptures of people on the street and there are two of them in the port area. 

Those are silhouettes of a couple standing near the statue of the woman and baby. 

The shopping center next door has free internet but Bill is afraid of using it so I am restricted to the ship internet. There are all the usual restaurants and shops plus a shop that caters to homesick Americans who want their usual snacks. I don’t know who would choose Fruity Pebbles over the European pastry and candy.

Bill finally settled on trying to use a soda pop can lid to fill in the gap in the steering column of his scooter. He bummed one from Martin, a steward on the Lido deck and broke off a small piece with the vise grips we borrowed. He thinks that the scooter is fixed but we are still going to take it easy.

2013-5-16 Military Museum in Lisbon and MacGyver of the Eurodam

We did not have a ship tour yesterday as we did the panoramic tour the last time we were in Lisbon. We heard that the Maritime Museum was one of the best in Europe and it was not too far to walk. So, when we left the ship, we asked one of the port officers for directions.

Unfortunately, we were directed to the Meseu Militair instead of the Mesue de Marinha.  They are in opposite directions from the ship. We didn’t know we were in the wrong place until we got there. We probably needed a taxi to visit the good one. Most people could have walked it in a half hour but we are not most people. The curbs and the cobblestones are murder here.

In this museum, we saw knights on horseback in full armor.  There were helmets and chain mail. There were many cannons, a huge wagon and also a very old fancy carriage that looked like it came out of the Three Musketeers. Adding to the ambience, there were Portuguese re-enactors practicing sword fighting in and amongst the cannons. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed and not much signage in English, either.  I have discovered that my meager French skills allow me to translate some of the signs.

Bill only saw the main level but I walked through the whole top floor. There was a large section devoted to WWI, and eleven smaller rooms that were very ornate. Some had models and some old furniture but mostly old war implements. One room was all old hats.

We suffered a minor disaster on the way home from the museum. The front steering section on Bill’s scooter broke. He borrowed some tools and took it all apart. He discovered that he needs to replace a part. I got a wooden pencil from the main desk. Bill fashioned a shim from the pencil and jammed it into the gap. He is the MacGyver of the Eurodam.  I am making it sound it easier than it was. We borrowed a vise grip from the main desk and he worked on it for two hours and it works. But he doesn’t think the repair will hold up for very long

We have no ship tours until Saturday so it looks like our wings have been clipped. It’s just too difficult without the scooter. We won’t risk breaking the scooter completely by venturing out on the cobblestones again. So we are going to be stuck on the ship until we head home on Tuesday, except for the one trip.

2013-5-14 Cadiz, Spain

We missed this port last time because Bill was sick. There were no easy tours so we decided to walk around the port area. That was also not easy.  We made it to the Museum of Cadiz which was mostly devoted to archaeology.  The museum was started when they found a sarcophagus and had no place to display it. The museum looks old on the outside but is totally up to date inside.

There is a statue of a giant lock in the port area but I don’t understand why. There is a memorial dedicated to Cortez dated 1812. People were kind and helpful here.

These are the museum employees putting out a ramp for us to use to enter the Picasso Museum. 

2013-5-14 Malaga and the Picasso Museum

We are finally allowed to touch things around the ship, so we must be past the Norovirus. Finally.

One of our tablemates is an historical re-enactor. He damaged his hearing by standing next to too many cannons. So, now he does a one man show about individual participants in the Civil War. He has a strong interest in history and so do Bill and I. We discovered that we all love the series of books written by Patrick O’Brian. The books focus on the Napoleonic wars around 1800. He gave me some new insights into Napoleon. I have a French ancestor named after Napoleon so this is really interesting to me.

We went to see the Picasso Museum. It was well done. Picasso was born in Malaga but didn’t live there as an adult. The city was given some of his works by a female relative. Photography is not allowed inside the museum.

We had to take an elevator in and out of the building because of the steps. They led us through the basement which is an archaeological dig. There are foundations dated from the Phoenicians and the Romans and on through the years.

We took the following pictures outside the museum.

The stadium below was built for bull fighting.