Tag Archives: head cold

Uncategorized

Day 4 of our SeaDream cruise… Taormina, Sicily

First view

We woke up on Tuesday, May 14th in Taormina…  Actually, we weren’t in Taormina, but a coastal town near Taormina.  SeaDream was running a free shuttle bus to take cruisers to Taormina.  A lot of people also went on the excursion to Mount Etna, which I understand was pretty strenuous.  Some people were ill-prepared for the colder temperatures on the mountain.  One couple described the excursion and said they’d actually brought coats with them and they really needed them.

Sun was very welcome…

Bill and I went to the coastal town, but never made it on the shuttle bus to Taormina because I was still feeling pretty sick and was very tired.  The defining characteristic of my cold this time was overwhelming fatigue, and I ended up sleeping a lot on this cruise.  I wish I could have gotten up early as we sailed into Sicily, though.  I would have liked to have seen some of the scenery.  I had never been to Sicily before.

The coastal town wasn’t all that nice.  We walked around near the waterfront and were hustled by a couple of cab drivers looking to make some money.  One guy stopped us and gave his opinions about President Obama.  I also noticed a museum that looked like it might be interesting, but I didn’t have the patience to visit it.  If I had been feeling better, I definitely would have taken the shuttle SeaDream had arranged.

Etna is in the distance…

Beach… I probably would have enjoyed lying there for awhile.

As it was, we came back to the yacht and I had another long hot tub soak.  Job brought me more prosecco and I basked in the pleasant sunshine for awhile.  Once again, I really wanted to go swimming, but the water was very cold and I don’t think SeaDream opened the marina for swimming that day.

I really wanted to swim with these fishies…

SeaDream did allow water sports and I noticed a few people using the Wave Runners.  One guy even changed his shorts while on deck.  From my vantage point in the hot tub, I managed to see his bare butt for a second or two, even though he had sort of covered himself with a towel.  It was kind of shocking.  Later, another passenger mentioned to me that she had also seen what I saw.  We both wondered why he hadn’t gone to a restroom or his cabin to change.  But hell, people in Europe aren’t nearly as shy about nudity as a lot of Americans are.

I seem to remember having flounder for lunch, which I paired with an order of fries.  One of the waiters told me that we would be offered fish and chips later in the week.

Handsome devil…  I think that’s our favorite place to sit.

I’d have to say I was feeling the yuckiest on Tuesday, so once again, I went to bed early and skipped the piano bar.  I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

 Mount Etna

One of Manuel’s best margaritas…

Standard
Uncategorized

Day 3 on SeaDream… Amalfi!

We woke up Monday morning with a lovely view of Amalfi, another coastal Italian town.  I remember watching an episode of Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown when she visited Amalfi and talked about the beauty of doing nothing…

First view of Amalfi…

Nothing was pretty much what I felt like doing, thanks to my cold.  Nevertheless, we did venture ashore and were rewarded with yet another stroll in a very cute and tourist friendly Italian town.  We ate breakfast in the dining salon that morning.  I had oatmeal and asked for a “wee dram” of scotch.  I noticed a couple of passengers watching curiously as Olivier brought me a shot of scotch to pour into my oatmeal.  I really only needed a few drops.  I learned during our Scottish Isles cruise on Hebridean Princess that a little scotch can be heavenly in oatmeal.  Besides, Bill enjoyed drinking what I didn’t use.

After breakfast, my Nikon was suitably charged, so I was able to take it with me into Amalfi, which also has steep pathways but none I felt like I had to climb to get somewhere cool.  In fact, compared to Capri, Amalfi seemed very laid-back.

The center of town…

The sun kept coming in and going out that day and it was still a bit too chilly to think about swimming, even though the water was so blue and inviting.  Somehow, we ended up in a pedestrian tunnel which spit us out on the other side of the town, where I was able to get a few nice shots of the coast.  Unfortunately, I was still really fatigued from the cold and craving a massage from one of the tiny Thai ladies in the SeaDream spa.

Mmm… fresh fish!

Bill poses after asking about batteries for my camera.  I think we gave up on that after Amalfi.

We ran into this cool little display in Amalfi.  I was gratified to see an Italian school girl taking a photo as well…

BIG lemons!  Almost as big as my melons!

 
 

Beautiful shoreline…

After a couple of hours walking around, we boarded the somewhat treacherous tender and headed back to the yacht, where I made a beeline to the fourth deck.  I made a spa appointment for an Asian Fusion treatment for 2:00 that afternoon.  Then, I slipped into my bathing suit and sat in the hot tub for awhile, while Job the waiter kept me supplied with plastic flutes full of prosecco.  I couldn’t help but notice a much larger Silversea cruise ship was also in port.  I had seen two of them when we were in Venice, and I’m pretty sure this one was not one of the two we’d seen previously.  If I’m right, that means at least three Silversea ships were in Italy.  I think there was also a Le Ponant ship in port, too.  Bill and I couldn’t help but notice how much it was listing.  I was definitely glad I wasn’t onboard that rocking vessel, even though I’m kind of curious about Le Ponant.

Excuse the yucky bathing suit shot, but this is how I enjoyed Amalfi…

After lunch, I went to the spa and sat in the sauna and steam room, which helped soothe me somewhat.  Then, a very tiny and cute massage therapist worked some of the knots out of my body.  After an hour on the massage table, I was feeling very relaxed and needed another nap.

I noticed during lunch that SeaDream had changed out their china.  Instead of the blue and white plates with little anchors on them, they had black and white plates that looked very modern.  I kind of missed the old plates.  It seems silly to notice it, but I did.

I made it to the piano bar on Monday night, but was a bit hoarse and couldn’t sing worth a damn.  I left early and hit the sack.  Our stewardess, Antonette, left us breath mints.  No, it wasn’t a hint.  SeaDream usually leaves little gifts at night and breath mints are what they give on the third night, I think.

Beautiful scenery…

I could get used to Amalfi…

Standard
Uncategorized

SeaDream cruise day 2… Capri!

I woke up the first morning of our cruise with a hangover.  I drank way too much prosecco in the piano bar.  A Diet Coke from the minibar seemed to help chase away my headache as I headed up to the top of the yacht (TOY Bar) for some coffee and fresh pastries.  I had brought my new Nikon P330 camera with me, hoping to get some beautiful shots of the landscape as we headed toward Capri.  Unfortunately, I wore out my camera’s battery and neglected to bring my charger with me.  I ran back down to the room to get my backup camera, a Canon PowerShot that I purchased before our trip to Scotland last fall.  I had to use the Canon all day in Capri while my new camera was hooked up to my husband’s laptop, recharging.

My third set of SeaDream jammies…  

The waters around Capri are an absolutely enchanting deep blue.  If the weather had been a little warmer, I know I would have loved to have gone swimming in them.  SeaDream had offered an excursion to The Blue Grotto, a place where people can take boats into a cave and see even bluer water.  The swells were a little too rough the morning of our arrival, though, so the excursion was cancelled.  A local tender service provided transportation for SeaDream passengers to the cute little port area.

Beautiful water!

Cute little port town…

I was kind of preoccupied about finding another battery for my new camera.  A little shop near the port didn’t have any of the batteries I needed and the proprietor recommended going into the town to see if any of the photo shops had them.  For some reason, it didn’t occur to us to take the funicular up the hill to get to Anacapri.  We saw a sign with an arrow pointing to the center of the city and started climbing what turned out to be a seemingly endless path upwards.  To make matters worse, I was coming down with a cold.

This little shrine was on the way up the steep path…

We made the steep climb and I remember feeling hopeful when we got to the first road.  A friendly Italian couple who didn’t speak English to us laughed and pointed to the next segment of the path as I pantomimed exhaustion.  In all, it was about a thirty minute climb, which for my out of shape body was quite challenging.  On the other hand, I was pretty proud of myself once we reached the top.

Many steps…

There were lots of crowds in Capri and lots of very high end shops, though none of the photo shops had any camera batteries for me.  I was amused when we were passed by a couple of people driving “Twizys”, the same weird two seater vehicle our hotel offered in Rome.  The streets in Capri were so narrow that I could see how they would be popular there.

So many pretty views!

The town of Anacapri is adorable and Bill and I enjoyed the sunny and relatively cool weather for awhile as we strolled around the village.  At noon, Capri became a bit of a madhouse and we sought refuge in a little restaurant called Ristorante Isidoro when a charmingly zealous waiter beckoned us inside.  We climbed up three more flights of stairs to sit on a terrace, where we were completely alone for about twenty minutes.

 

The view from the restaurant’s terrace…

Another waiter, who seemed to claim the terrace as his own and bore a striking resemblance to British comedian Matt Lucas (of Little Britain),  served us a delightful lunch.  I had the catch of the day, which was very fresh white fish and homemade tape pasta.  Bill had langoustines.  We sipped white wine and watched the harried masses below as more patrons joined us.  It was a great way to refuel, even though that particular lunch was very expensive.  

Lunch!

After lunch, we walked back down the steep path and the muscles on the front of my thighs got a workout.  By the time we got to the bottom of the hill, I was really feeling fatigued as the cold virus progressed.

On the way back down…

We went back to the ship and I took a nap.  By dinnertime, I was firmly entrenched in a cold and kind of out of sorts.  That didn’t stop me from making Pierre laugh when he served me panna cotta.  The dessert was molded into a small mound and had a garnish that suggested a woman’s breast.  As he set the plate in front of me, I blurted out “That looks like a boob!”  Pierre had to take a moment to compose himself.

The yacht had also stopped at Positano for a couple of hours that evening and guests who wanted to go ashore had the opportunity.  I was too tired to consider it.  I’ve heard Positano is a beautiful place.  I hope we can visit sometime.

I skipped the piano bar because my nose was running and I was exhausted.  Looking back, I think Capri was one of my favorite stops on our cruise.  I would have really loved it if I hadn’t been getting sick… but on the bright side, at least by then, Aunt Flow had packed up and left.

Saw this little guy on the rock on the way back to the ship…

 
 
Standard