Tricia’s Travelogue

We docked in Cadiz early this morning, and we left the ship about 9:30.  We walked about 15 minutes to meet our guide in front of city hall.  Betty, from Ethiopia, is an international relations graduate student at the University of Cadiz, and we were her only guests!  City Hall was decorated for Holy Week, and we got to see a city band playing and marching slowly in preparation for all of the Holy Week processions.  Betty explained that the two pillars represent the end of the known world in ancient times.  On the triangular pediment is a relief of Hercules, the mythical founder of Cadiz. He’s also depicted on the banners and part of the city’s seal. Cadiz is also the oldest city in the western world, established by the Phoenicians in 1100 B.C.  From there, we walked to the cathedral, which was surrounded by viewing boxes set up for VIPs attending the processions. Then we walked up to the wall surrounding the city. We walked all the way down, as far as you ...

Last night the wind picked up, and the ship began to rock quite a bit!  This morning I had to hold on in the shower to keep my balance.  The captain reported 12-foot seas. We’re still rocking enough that we are staggering a bit. Several women made only brief appearances at our final crafting group to say goodbye, because they were feeling seasick and didn’t sleep last night. Thankfully, my nightly Bonine has protected me from feeling queasy.  We’re all happy to see sunshine, though, and there were some sunbathers at noon, though the wind is still 30 mph. Last night we had dinner in Coastal Kitchen for a change.  I enjoyed the Caprese salad, and Charlie really liked his lobster cake (similar to a crab cake). Then we both had the barramundi (which is just sea bass, according to Charlie’s), and it was fine, if not thrilling (or photographed). Caprese salad Lobster cake To continue the food theme, for lunch today we chose the pineapple-glazed Caribbean-style pork ribs wi...

It’s hazy and gray today, and the temperature was in the high 50s this morning. The outdoor areas remain largely empty.  I saw another swimmer in a wetsuit as we were having lunch. Many people on board are wearing shorts and sandals, but with warm hoodies from the gift shop! We enjoyed another excellent dinner at 150 Central Park last night.  Following Caesar salads, I ordered the veal medallions, which came with mashed potatoes and roasted carrots. Charlie chose the lamb Wellington, which came with one bite of sautéed spinach and maybe two teaspoons of mashed celery root.  The presentation was interesting! Veal medallions  Lamb Wellington For dessert, we both had the chocolate-peanut butter tart with a small scoop of black currant sorbet and candied walnuts.  Everything was delicious! Today was the next-to-last crafting group meeting, too, as after tomorrow the remaining days are all port days.  It has been fun to learn about various projects and the craft...

When we did a transatlantic cruise in 2024, it was in May, so much warmer. We each wish we’d packed another warm outfit or two! The pools and sunloungers remain mostly empty, and today we saw a woman wearing a wetsuit into the hot tub! Some of the avid Flowriders wear wetsuits, too. Last night we enjoyed walking in Central Park to admire the plants and especially the orchids. We had another excellent dinner at Jamie’s Italian, with our charming server Reden, or Big Red, as he told us to call him.  We shared some arancini, then both had the green salads. Charlie had the lamb chops again, along with the tomato risotto for the main course. I opted for the shrimp linguine made with mascarpone—so delish! Green salad Tomato risotto Lamb chops minus one bite Shrimp linguine  Yesterday’s time change really hit us this morning, and apparently others are feeling it, too, as several crafters came dragging in later than usual. In chatting with a woman from Tampa, she told me that her husb...

We’ve now sailed over 3300 miles, and this afternoon we moved into Greenwich Mean Time, so we’re five hours ahead of Texas (surely the reference point for everything, right?). The weather is cooler, in the lower 60s, and the wind is still blowing. At 12:30 today, this was our view of the pool deck from Coastal Kitchen: There were two people in the hot tub, but no sunbathers anywhere. I’m wearing a wool sweater over a long-sleeved t-shirt. Last night we enjoyed dinner at Sabor.  Along with their very good margaritas and guacamole, we had the bacon-wrapped chicken skewers and fried calamari, which we did remember to photograph.  Our entrees were the grouper with a tasty salsa served with fried plantains and mashed potatoes (to Americanize it?). Charlie had jalapeno-garlic tiger shrimp and calabacitas (zucchini). This morning we slept past 7:00, unheard of for us, probably thanks to losing an hour yesterday. I had to scurry to get all my puzzles and Duolingo done so I could showe...

We’ve now sailed almost 3000 nautical miles, and we will jump ahead another hour this afternoon, putting us four hours ahead of Texas.   Last night we had dinner at Chops Grille, which was packed.  I heard today in the crafting group that both Chops and 150 Central Park are fully booked every night. I had Chops’ excellent mushroom soup to start, then their spicy grilled shrimp. Both were great!  Charlie had a wedge salad and the roast chicken, which he said was delicious.  He’s planning to get a Wagyu steak next time. I heard a wild tale in the crafting group this morning.  The woman next to me is British, but lives in San Antonio.  When she and her husband got to the port in Galveston, they handed over their (five) bags and lined up to check in.  Once at the front of the line, they discovered that her husband’s passport had expired! She decided to board without him!  She tracked down his bags in the hallway and got a crew member to help her get t...