Cruise 2010

Hola ! Notwithstanding the horror of the virus in the ship which didn't thankfully affect us, we did have a good time. We had a pretty room with enormous French windows at the back of the ship where we could see other boats on the high seas or when our ship docked at each destination. The climate was colder than here in Britain and on the excursion to the Etruscan mountains we got wet from tip to toe in a torrential rain that didn't give us a respite and my beautiful summer straw-hat was left as limp as a rag doll ! Maybe I will be able to fix it, if I spray it with starch. If you could see me at that time, I looked like a cat that had been dipped in a swimming pool but the excursion to Tarquinia was really interesting, especially the visit to the museum where they have funerary paintings and ancient stone sarcophagi which are intact and date back long before the Roman era. Afterwards, we were taken to an ice-cream establishment. The five ice-creams would have been very welcome on a hot summer's day but not when we were cold and shivering, dripping rain from head to toe but even so, they were absolutely delicious and I am happy that we didn't catch neither pneumonia nor the blessed virus that was circulating in the ship. On that same excursion a lady recognized Peter from the Heir Hunter show and she yelled out: Peter Birchwood from Celtic Research from her table to ours. She was fascinated talking with him afterwards. There were other people who recognized us from the show, Peter and I were surprised to see this whenever we shared a table with other people.

The excursion to Naples was cancelled, the captain told us the pilots were refusing to come out to direct the ship because of bad weather although an Italian lady whose family was expecting her at the port, telephoned her to tell her they had enquired about it to the port authorities and they were told that the ship was not allowed to dock in Naples as there were too many passengers in quarantine. They couldn't risk unloading people from our ship for reasons of health and hygiene so could not allow them to roam freely in the Napolitan streets. We didn't have any problems with the other countries. Although we didn't get to see Monte-Carlo as the excursion was cancelled due to the Grand-Prix going on, the reason being that the roads would be too congested to get back in time before the ship sailed again. Maybe we will make it another time.

Next, was Cannes. Really pretty with its yachts moored in the harbour. We got there in time for the Film Festival: Palm D'or. We saw the white marquees as we strolled along the beach where the film stars were being interviewed by the T.V. channels. It was very exciting! After that, we were taken by bus to see the red rugged cliffs washed by those intense blue ink waters of the Mediterranean; something really beautiful and impressive to see.

Afterwards the ship headed to Corsica where Napoleon Bonaparte was born: his statue was prominently displayed in the main square and his birthday is celebrated every August. In Corsica they make good use of the plants they grow there, turning them into essential oils. Plants like Myrrh , sea weeds, lemon, rose petals etc are turned into perfumes or potions for different remedies. I bought lemon oil, for sea sickness, then we were taken to a nougat factory where they produce a special Napoleon nougat which includes chocolate and other secret ingredients in the recipe that of course, was not even whispered to us. I had more than my share during the tasting time ! It’s not polite to do this but I couldn't help it. We bought about 5 different nougats. Then we went to sample their wine at another location. The weather was balmy and very pleasant. The roses were already in full bloom. It was a really enjoyable day.

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