September 6, 2010

Keeping up with this blog is challenging! But we will keep trying.

Paul had a conversation with Father TuTu and mentioned that he did not mean any disrespect by the tosh grab. Father gave him the friendly fist. Paul continues to call him “Dad” and Lela, “Mom.” One of these days soon, we will share a meal with them, but I want to finish reading two of his books first. Right now, he is often surrounded with students at the meal tables. He and Lela walk around Deck 7 between 6:30 and 7:00 when I’m up there working out. He is very accessible and friendly. They will be on the ship the entire trip. Paul asked him today if he knew Barack Obama. He said yes but seemed to be on guard which Paul felt was because he is aware of many are against Obama. Paul assured that we are still Obama supporters even when we disagree with some things. “Arch” as many call him is a warm and friendly person with a wonderful laugh who smiles all the time and loves people! We are privileged to have this opportunity to share time with a man who helped change the world for the better.

Paul asked me the other day who Heather, one of the Life Long Learners, reminds me of. “Your mother,” was my answer. I noticed the resemblance soon after we met. At times I see Nancy Atlee Lagomarcino much of the time. She has a little bit of French and English in her heritage. We’ll get some photos of her. Wish I knew how to attach the photo to this blog, so those of you who knew Nancy might see what we’re talking about.

Now we’re in Spain and it’s quite warm, in the 90’s. We’re used to that, but we’re out walking loads! Paul continues to have hot flashes and “Sweat like a pig,” he says. We are in Cadiz, on the Atlantic Coast, where it meets the Mediterranean Sea. It is the oldest city in Europe, although the entrance to Trier looks older when I think of that. This is a small town, only about 2 square miles so it’s easy to walk around. Cadiz has many lovely plazas and botanical gardens with specimens from all over the world. We keep coming across Catholic churches, but no mosques or temples. Those must be more prevalent in other cities of Spain. We will visit Seville tomorrow and note differences. Wish we had time to visit another couple of cities. But we have been to some museums in Cadiz, seen the ancient castles and the wall around the city, and the many monuments.



Spain is noted for their food and “tapas!” We are meeting other LLL’s for tapas shortly. The dinner hour here does not start until after 8:30. Most eat around 10:00. Families with children and babies are out walking, dining and visiting around the plazas when we are on our way back to the ship.

We had this wonderful little bit pricey late lunch today by the sea, so tonight we bought bread, cheese and wine for 7 Euro (about $10) and sat in the park and had supper about 9:30. I did go to the Garden dining room on the ship earlier and eat green beans and coffee ice cream about 6:30.

One of our favorite meals was simply from a tapas bar. All the other diners were locals – no tourists. We chose various seafood items that looked good or interesting, about 4 pieces of each, which were put into a rolled paper cone. Beer and freshly fried sea food! Yummy! – don’t even know what we were eating except for the sardines, chili empanadas and croquettes which are like hush puppies with cheese inside.

The food on the ship is good! Lots of vegetarian entrées with beans or lentils and veggies. No tofu yet. Always a fish dish. We do miss Spring greens however, but we're pretty well satisfied - better than expected.

Yesterday we went to Seville for the day and saw the fourth largest cathedral in Christendom, and I will never forget what it looked like because our guide was so knowledgeable about everything, so the tour took forever! I have photos of it, but still can’t get them on the blog. Seville is elegant – gorgeous old homes everywhere you look. We drove down an avenue where the homes were built during the 1929 World Exposition to house the various countries’ ambassadors. It reminded me of Lindell Blvd’s lovely homes across from Forest Park which were built for the same reason for the 1904 World’s Fair. The architecture was totally different though.

You should see the farmer’s market in Cadiz! Lots of fruit and vegetable stands, meat stands, cheese stands where we purchased Manchego cheese, and olives stand. That was the best! Have you ever tasted fresh olives and brined olives marinated in saffron? Delicious! We bought small bags of them, more wine and bread and picnicked in the park again.

But the most interesting part was the fish market is really something!! The vendors pile the previous day’s catch on long stainless steel counters and the customers choose the fish by looking under the gills for freshness. The fish is then prepared to their preference. We did not know so many different kinds of shrimp existed from tiny pink shrimp about ¾ inch long to some the size of small lobsters! Shrimp fritters are one of the more popular tapas. The tiny shrimp are added to the batter and fried alive!



One of the other lifelong learners on the voyage is Craig Irving from San Diego. He journeyed as a student in 1984 and now he has brought his five children, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 and his lovely wife on this trip. He must be very successful! What a delightful family! They make a lovely picture since they all look very much alike and they are so polite. When Craig introduced us to his 8 year old Jessica, as she was leaving the table, she turned and said, “So nice to meet you.” They are going camel riding in Morocco. I told Craig when I was trying to pack for two people for four months, I thought of his wife packing for seven. But he said she only packed for six! He had to do his own. He was wishing he could have 10 minutes at home in his closet for a few more items – he only brought 35 pounds of belongings. Apparently, the Irving’s have always traveled extensively with all their children. They always look happy and treat one another with lots of love. The kids are across the hall from us – their parents have a large stateroom on the 7th deck. That’s were all the large rooms are.

As we left Spain tonight, we partied in what is one of the smallest rooms on that deck. It was quite lovely with a large walk-in closet and marble bathroom with a tub. The private balcony had room for two lounge chairs and a table, or as I told Sally, about eight Yoga students! I’ll tell you about our new friend, Sally Stemmons another day. Making new friends is definitely one of the best parts of this trip.

Two nights ago Paul wanted to go to bed, but new friend, Cathy Cochran and I wanted a glass of wine. So we got off the ship and walked a few yards to a dock bar where we ordered two red wines. Well, he brought us a whole bottle! Then a plate of homemade potato chips. When we moved outside to sit, all the chips blew off the plate! We laughed so hard, but sat down with two women who work on the ship and he brought out a large bowl of chips. And Cathy and I proceeded to have memorable evening with Juliana, the hairdresser, and Jacqueline, the masseuse, who was very sad because she had just left her lover. He was returning to Holland. Well, we learned all about them, their lives and loves. Almost four hours and 3 bottles of wine later, everyone was cheered up. And Jacqueline sang for us – lovely voice. She’s a fan of Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and others – we have that in common! She will be performing in the staff talent show in October. They are from Capetown, South Africa. Juliana will be leaving the ship there to remarry her husband. Her daughter will take her place on the ship. Jacqueline gets off the ship in San Diego to go marry her lover in Holland! Memories are made of this!









September 6, 2010


Keeping up with this blog is challenging! But we will keep trying.

Paul had a conversation with Father TuTu and mentioned that he did not mean any disrespect by the tosh grab. Father gave him the friendly fist. Paul continues to call him “Dad” and Lela, “Mom.” One of these days soon, we will share a meal with them, but I want to finish reading two of his books first. Right now, he is often surrounded with students at the meal tables. He and Lela walk around Deck 7 between 6:30 and 7:00 when I’m up there working out. He is very accessible and friendly. They will be on the ship the entire trip. Paul asked him today if he knew Barack Obama. He said yes but seemed to be on guard which Paul felt was because he is aware of many are against Obama. Paul assured that we are still Obama supporters even when we disagree with some things. “Arch” as many call him is a warm and friendly person with a wonderful laugh who smiles all the time and loves people! We are privileged to have this opportunity to share time with a man who helped change the world for the better.

Paul asked me the other day who Heather, one of the Life Long Learners, reminds me of. “Your mother,” was my answer. I noticed the resemblance soon after we met. At times I see Nancy Atlee Lagomarcino much of the time. She has a little bit of French and English in her heritage. We’ll get some photos of her. Wish I knew how to attach the photo to this blog, so those of you who knew Nancy might see what we’re talking about.

Now we’re in Spain and it’s quite warm, in the 90’s. We’re used to that, but we’re out walking loads! Paul continues to have hot flashes and “Sweat like a pig,” he says. We are in Cadiz, on the Atlantic Coast, where it meets the Mediterranean Sea. It is the oldest city in Europe, although the entrance to Trier looks older when I think of that. This is a small town, only about 2 square miles so it’s easy to walk around. Cadiz has many lovely plazas and botanical gardens with specimens from all over the world. We keep coming across Catholic churches, but no mosques or temples. Those must be more prevalent in other cities of Spain. We will visit Seville tomorrow and note differences. Wish we had time to visit another couple of cities. But we have been to some museums in Cadiz, seen the ancient castles and the wall around the city, and the many monuments.

Spain is noted for their food and “tapas!” We are meeting other LLL’s for tapas shortly. The dinner hour here does not start until after 8:30. Most eat around 10:00. Families with children and babies are out walking, dining and visiting around the plazas when we are on our way back to the ship.

We had this wonderful little bit pricey late lunch today by the sea, so tonight we bought bread, cheese and wine for 7 Euro (about $10) and sat in the park and had supper about 9:30. I did go to the Garden dining room on the ship earlier and eat green beans and coffee ice cream about 6:30.

One of our favorite meals was simply from a tapas bar. All the other diners were locals – no tourists. We chose various seafood items that looked good or interesting, about 4 pieces of each, which were put into a rolled paper cone. Beer and freshly fried sea food! Yummy! – don’t even know what we were eating except for the sardines, chili empanadas and croquettes which are like hush puppies with cheese inside.

The food on the ship is good! Lots of vegetarian entrées with beans or lentils and veggies. No tofu yet. Always a fish dish. We do miss Spring greens however, but we're pretty well satisfied - better than expected.

Yesterday we went to Seville for the day and saw the fourth largest cathedral in Christendom, and I will never forget what it looked like because our guide was so knowledgeable about everything, so the tour took forever! I have photos of it, but still can’t get them on the blog. Seville is elegant – gorgeous old homes everywhere you look. We drove down an avenue where the homes were built during the 1929 World Exposition to house the various countries’ ambassadors. It reminded me of Lindell Blvd’s lovely homes across from Forest Park which were built for the same reason for the 1904 World’s Fair. The architecture was totally different though.

You should see the farmer’s market in Cadiz! Lots of fruit and vegetable stands, meat stands, cheese stands where we purchased Manchego cheese, and olives stand. That was the best! Have you ever tasted fresh olives and brined olives marinated in saffron? Delicious! We bought small bags of them, more wine and bread and picnicked in the park again.

But the most interesting part was the fish market is really something!! The vendors pile the previous day’s catch on long stainless steel counters and the customers choose the fish by looking under the gills for freshness. The fish is then prepared to their preference. We did not know so many different kinds of shrimp existed from tiny pink shrimp about ¾ inch long to some the size of small lobsters! Shrimp fritters are one of the more popular tapas. The tiny shrimp are added to the batter and fried alive!

One of the other lifelong learners on the voyage is Craig Irving from San Diego. He journeyed as a student in 1984 and now he has brought his five children, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 and his lovely wife on this trip. He must be very successful! What a delightful family! They make a lovely picture since they all look very much alike and they are so polite. When Craig introduced us to his 8 year old Jessica, as she was leaving the table, she turned and said, “So nice to meet you.” They are going camel riding in Morocco. I told Craig when I was trying to pack for two people for four months, I thought of his wife packing for seven. But he said she only packed for six! He had to do his own. He was wishing he could have 10 minutes at home in his closet for a few more items – he only brought 35 pounds of belongings. Apparently, the Irving’s have always traveled extensively with all their children. They always look happy and treat one another with lots of love. The kids are across the hall from us – their parents have a large stateroom on the 7th deck. That’s were all the large rooms are.

As we left Spain tonight, we partied in what is one of the smallest rooms on that deck. It was quite lovely with a large walk-in closet and marble bathroom with a tub. The private balcony had room for two lounge chairs and a table, or as I told Sally, about eight Yoga students! I’ll tell you about our new friend, Sally Stemmons another day. Making new friends is definitely one of the best parts of this trip.

Two nights ago Paul wanted to go to bed, but new friend, Cathy Cochran and I wanted a glass of wine. So we got off the ship and walked a few yards to a dock bar where we ordered two red wines. Well, he brought us a whole bottle! Then a plate of homemade potato chips. When we moved outside to sit, all the chips blew off the plate! We laughed so hard, but sat down with two women who work on the ship and he brought out a large bowl of chips. And Cathy and I proceeded to have memorable evening with Juliana, the hairdresser, and Jacqueline, the masseuse, who was very sad because she had just left her lover. He was returning to Holland. Well, we learned all about them, their lives and loves. Almost four hours and 3 bottles of wine later, everyone was cheered up. And Jacqueline sang for us – lovely voice. She’s a fan of Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and others – we have that in common! She will be performing in the staff talent show in October. They are from Capetown, South Africa. Juliana will be leaving the ship there to remarry her husband. Her daughter will take her place on the ship. Jacqueline gets off the ship in San Diego to go marry her lover in Holland! Memories are made of this!