Barbara J. Hamby

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We’re Back

We have returned home from a week’s cruise through the British Isles and the Low Countries. After flying to London and spending two nights there, we visited six other cities, and cruised back across the Atlantic to New York the second week. Most of the time the weather was ideal. However, the day we had time to sightsee in London was rainy and not too pleasant, but not cold. I learned that my rain jacket had lost its waterproof condition, to my dismay. I had an umbrella, but had left it at the hotel because it wasn’t raining when we started for the bus stop.

We splurged on a balcony stateroom on the cruise ship. While crossing the Atlantic on our way back, we kept the drapes open day and night to watch the ocean. One night there was a spectacular electrical storm just before I fell asleep, so I stayed awake to watch it as long as I could. The lightning was bright enough to attract my attention with my eyes closed. At first I thought it might be another ship or a lighthouse, but it soon became apparent that the jagged vertical bolts interspersed with sheet lightning were a natural occurrence.

As I get the tours written up, I’ll post them to the Travel section of my website. Life aboard ship is a trip in itself. Not all ugly tourists are American, but the ugly Americans seem to excel at their specialty. Some were pretty cute, however. One man in an elevator asked where the singles were going to meet. He announced he was looking for a rich widow and he heard a lot of them toured Europe. In another elevator that stopped on 14, where the buffet was located, a man rushed off exclaiming, “Let me out. I haven’t eaten in two hours.”

As on all the cruise ships I’ve been on, food was available 24/7. The dining rooms and restaurants had specific dining hours, but the buffet offered food all the time. Meal times covered long spans of time. Snacks and beverages were available in between those hours.

For the first time since childhood, I tasted frog’s legs, not a favorite delicacy for me. Many types of fish and shellfish were offered, most all delightfully prepared, and I tried most of them. Eggplant and zucchini were presented in many different ways and I enjoyed all of them. I had crepes suzette for the first time, I believe. I don’t remember ever seeing that dish before. Topped with vanilla ice cream, the crepes warmed in brandy sauce, were quite delicious.

Since we’ve been back, I’ve winnowed 450 plus emails down to about 35. The laundry is washed, dried and put away, and we’re ready to tackle the mail when it’s available tomorrow. In short breaks from the computer, I’ve unpacked some things and worked in the yard a little. I managed to get through the day today without a nap. Yesterday I had to have a short snooze in a recliner.