Barcelona! oh my beautiful Barcelona

Barcelona – Such a beautiful horizon! Barcelona – Like a Jewel in the sun..... yes, well I’ll stop spouting Queen lyrics now and get on with the tale.

So the final full day of our holiday dawned clear and bright, our usual routine of getting up ran like clockwork. Heading up to breakfast we wished Alex a good morning before we took our seats.

Upon our return from the buffet with plates we were interrupted by the captain’s announcement. Due to so many nights of severe storms the ships engine had taken some damage and we were running about an hour late into port – but not to worry. Not to worry? The ships engine was faulty and we weren’t to worry?

Trying not to think about it too much we made our way slowly back to the cabin cradling our second mugs of tea and decided that it was time we could put to use packing so as to minimise the time required later that night. We began to sort out the suitcases – contemplating exactly how to get two bottles of wine back in one piece and ensure that the dresses still remained uncrushed by our return to Birmingham.

Whilst the temptation to explore Barcelona on our own had been great we decided that on this occasion a highlights tour would give us a great overview of the city and an idea of things we would want to come back to see. We started with the old palaces and cathedrals in the heart of the city.

 

 

The Viscount's Palace

 The Cloisters

 The Cathedral Walks - Love this vaulting

 Now thats what I call a grave marker

 

 

Inside the cathedral - they don't show the sheer amount of gold very well

We followed on with a quick bus tour around the streets – highlighting the work of Gaudi before finishing with a very short stop at the unfinished Cathedral.

 An example of the railings he designed

 Just one of his many strange buildings

 Still working on it!

 

 

Some of the sculptures on the main entrance

After the La Sagrada Familia we went to a relatively unknown place called the Spanish village – which is a collection of all the major building types and styles from around Spain. It was a fantastic little place and somewhere I wish we had longer to explore. After spending some time watching the glassblowers we wandered around to see some of the other artisans practicing their trade.

 

 

 

Just a small sample of some of the buildings they've rescued and brought to the village to be rebuilt

We left the Spanish village to go to our final stop of the tour, the plaza which gives the best views back over the city. It was at this point in the trip we had the choice of being dropped off in the centre to spend some time at Las Ramblas – well, you can’t go to Barcelona and not go up Las Ramblas and so Claire and I hopped off the coach for a quick trip up the high street. Sadly- as with much of this holiday, we really didn’t have enough time to do the place justice but we managed to make it to the food hall and have the most amazing ice cream! before we had to head back to the ship.

 View back over the city

 View down to the harbour - guess which is the Destiny

Best Ice-cream ever!

It's the umbrella house 

Back on board we had just enough time to get a cup of tea before we had to head downstairs and get ready for the night. On our return we found the bill and labels waiting for us. In the same fashion as the year before, our luggage had to be outside our cabin by 3am and so other than what we intended to wear the next day and our PJ’s everything went in the cases, leaving just the dresses and shoes from the night to be placed on top before we set them outside.

Making our way up for our final dinner onboard we were lamenting that the week had gone by so fast and we were wishing that we could have stayed for another week. But sadly, it wasn’t to be the case and instead of wallowing in pity that it was soon all to be over we intended to make it the best night we could. Dinner was, as always stunning and the evening finished with appears to be a tradition on the Thomson ships – the Baked Alaska Parade – where the chefs get a chance to receive the compliments of the passengers and the wait staff all dance around with flaming Alaska puddings before culminating with a couple of songs. It was all lovely and as we bid Raymond and Elvis goodbye for the final time it was not without some sadness.

Making our way to the show lounge for that night’s magic – West End Wiz, we claimed seats at the bar. It was a fabulous medley of songs from all the greatest shows ever and it was great until the 5 lads performed ‘ain’t nothing like a dame’ when Claire and I just dissolved into hysterics! With only Andy being straight, there’s something so very wrong in seeing this song being performed by a group of men who all bat for the other team. Getting ourselves under control we were fine for the rest of the show and when it finally came to an end we were sorry that this really did mark the beginning of the end of the holiday.

We moved into the Oklahoma lounge in order to hunt down Neil. Finding him in his usual spot at the bar and with his usual shadows – Kane and Nick we made our way over. He gave us a cheeky smile before presenting us with 2 glasses of Champagne. Taking them from him with thanks we asked him what we’d done to earn them. He said that he felt we should finish the holiday in style and it was his way of saying thanks for giving him sensible and stimulating conversation all week.

Claire, Neil 'Buster' Brimson & Me

Settling into our usual routine we left our bags behind the bar and enjoyed another evening of joking with the staff. Not long after the second show had finished for the evening the Oklahoma Lounge was flooded with members of the show team as the girls took to the stage for a final show of the greatest hits of the generation by leading female artists. We were quickly dragged onto the floor to dance and as it turned out I ended up spending quite a lot of time with Andy discussing what he was planning on doing after his contract had finished. As it turned out he was heading to America in the new year with his own show in Vagas! Wow!

Show over and most of the passengers heading off to their cabins to pack, Claire and I were – once again- one of the last standing. Ordering a round in for all the staff still with us we talked away the hours until 2am and got to mess around with the lighting system when there were no more passenger’s left. It was a little after 2 when we bid them goodnight – they’d already all missed curfew again – thankfully Kane was with us so they weren’t in any trouble – only saying goodnight to 14 members of staff took a while and we really had difficulty leaving – but the cases had to be put out and we had one of the earliest flights back to the UK so we really did have to go.

Me, Kane & Claire

As we settled in to sleep we reflected on the holiday – bad weather, a terrible day of illness on Monday and delays into port were countered with amazing sights, incredible staff and more fun than I’ve probably managed to convey. Was it the perfect holiday? No! Was it an awful holiday? No! Would I do it all over again? Oh yeah!

Our last towel animal of the holiday

Beautiful Boats and Sunshine!

Aaah Cannes, city of the rich and beautiful and the next stop in our holiday!

When we awoke and peeked out of the cabin window with crossed fingers we were over the moan to see clear skies! At last – the summer dress could be donned – fabulous! Dressing for breakfast we headed up in high spirits to the restaurant for breakfast. Greeting Alex, who was on door duty – he made a pointed comment about our legs making a much appreciated appearance. Giggling like schoolgirls at his flirting we filled up our plates for breakfast and took a seat. Gracing our places, as had happened every day since we first requested them, were 2 mugs of tea. Hot and strong!

A quick gossip with some lovely ladies from Scotland – who we discovered had been on the Celebration at the same time as us the year before – and stuffed with a fry up, we headed back to the Cabin for a wash up and to grab our backs before waiting in line for the tender to shore. Now Cannes is the only port we can’t dock into. Apparently it’s due the water not being deep enough, but personally I think it’s because all the private yachts take up the space! Not that I'm complaining – I love a good boat!

Onto the shuttle boat we boarded and were met at the other end by our tour guide for the next couple of hours. We had decided that although we could have ventured further to Monte Carlo we a) didn’t have the money too and b) didn’t want another intensive trip and so we stayed local, opting for the walking tour of the old city and some shopping time. Our guide was in shock at the lack of layers we were wearing (and by we, I mean everyone on the ship) but at a very pleasant 21 degrees C. there was no way we would have covered up – even if they did think it was cold!

The tour started with a stroll around some of the lower city, where our guide pointed out the effects of the areas association with the film industry – where murals had become something of a tradition and a specialised talent.

 The streets of the old town

An example of the wall art thats become so popular

The trip then took us to the top of the tallest hill in Cannes, giving us a view back to the harbour and across the city as a whole. At the top of said hill we came to an old Monastery which had been built as a safe house and watch tower from the invading forces throughout the ages which attacked by sea. It was a beautiful place and is now a museum, but it was the views which really inspired us.

 The Monastery - Bell tower: the face is called Brian! hehe

The wall to the Monastery

 Back down over the town - more wall art

Back down to the harbour

Coming down from the monastery and through the winding back streets we then came to the old markets – where food from the local region was in abundance and the flowers were stunning a so cheap. If only we could have got them back to the UK – sadly we could not. Whilst in the market we purchased a couple of apples to munch on – only I swear these things were the size of a small melon! By the time I was half way through I was convinced that I wouldn’t have to eat again for the rest of the day.

Heading on we made our way down the sea front promenade, passing the statue of Lord Brougham, an English gentleman who had discovered Cannes by accident and left only to bring his wife and daughter over from England. It was Brougham who began helping the area to invest in itself and much of the seafront remains today as he designed and help to build it.

 The Bandstand

The statue to Lord Brougham

Passing the statue and many, many more beautiful boats we came to the world exhibition centre – which is better known for where the Film Festival takes place every year. Sadly the red carpet wasn’t out for our arrival; rather an awful lot of purple carpet was in its place as a world trade conference was taking place. We took some time to walk around and spot the hands and names of actors who had attended Cannes through the years before we continued along the seafront to admire the architecture and history which remained. Almost half way down the crescent we came across a man doing sand sculptures for money, It’s only when you see how small he is next to his creation that you realise the magnitude of what he had built (and the fact it was only 11 o’clock made me question what time he started).

 Sadly no film stars at the exhibition centre

Sand Sculpture

When we reached the oldest remaining section of the crescent we were released to go shopping and although Claire and I did wander round the streets, everything was chronically expensive and so we decided to soak up some sun on one of the decking areas by the dock, enjoying a game of ‘who owns this boat?’ – especially when we discovered the boat called Octipussy was not just owned by a James Bond addict but actually Roger Moore!

 

  Aaah beautiful boats!

 

Heading back to the meeting point to wait for the rest of the group we began to make our way back to the Destiny. Back onboard we went to the restaurant for lunch before returning to the cabin to done bikinis to hit some sun on deck. Up on the top of the ship we claimed two sun loungers and Claire promptly fell asleep. Dozing on and off I vaguely paid attention to the afternoon quiz, mumbling out answers where I knew them and just generally people watching. About an hour and a half later I decided a drink was required and slipped my sundress back on to go to the bar. Grabbing a can of coke I poured it into the glass, leaving the can there rather than having to search for a bin 5 minutes later.

Just as I was heading back to the sun lounger I met Andy coming up the steps. He asked if we’d successfully managed to snag any rich men – pointing out that if we had, it would be highly unlikely that I would be back on board at this moment in time. Getting a chuckle out of him, he informed me that he was rather glad that was the case. Raising an eyebrow in question he replied that if Claire and I had run away, they’d have to find someone else to keep Neil entertained for the rest of the cruise and the staff would run out of gossip! Ha! Telling him that they were worse than a bunch of girls at a sleepover and that really, how much gossip could Claire and I be generating he assured me that it was enough, slightly concerned by his statement I said goodbye as he was called away by one of the other entertainment team, Paul, for rehearsals.

Returning to the sun bed I found Claire awake and I told her what Andy had said to me. Laughing at the comment about keeping Neil entertained she said we should do some digging around later to find out just what was being said below decks. Agreeing with her and pointing out it was probably mainly about our ability to drink, not sleep and if she was single, she rebuked and told me that as much I hated to admit it, I was not the ugly duckling to her swan. Laughing at her comment, I settled back to read for a bit as she dozed off again.

We headed down to start getting ready for dinner about half 4 and after spending nearly an hour curling Claire’s hair we had just enough time to go and see our friendly bar staff for a drink before dinner. Propping up the bar we watched as they did the same slight of hand tricks on some other passengers and bid them adieu and went down for food. Dinner as usual was a stunning affair and Elvis and Raymond (our waiters) entertained us throughout with different napkin folding. Whilst we were having tea, Alex came over to say hi before we bid him goodnight as we made our way to the show lounge just in time to see that nights spectacular – Africa!

Now this was, again, a show we’d already seen but it was fantastic the first time we saw it and even better this time round. Still humming the song ‘circle of life’ from the show we moved on to the Oklahoma lounge for our usual evening activates and found Neil and two glasses of wine awaiting us – awww bless! Asking him how he felt today, he told us he was much better and very glad that the forecast for the night was calm seas! We made light conversation whilst we waited for the game show that night to start – today…..the generation game! It was brilliant and disastrous from start to finish and thus had everyone in hysterics!

Show over and the second show of Africa also done, the usual mass evacuation of the two lounges took place as many passengers headed to bed, some went to the casino and others to the clipper bar. Glad to have some space to move again Claire and I claimed one of the circular seats for the remainder of the evening. Now these seats are big enough to seat about 12 people so plenty of space for us to stretch out on – or so we thought until some familiar faces popped up. Nick and Kane both appeared as usual looking for Neil (who was outside having a cigarette) so Kane joined him whilst Nick got the drinks in. Asking if they could join us we of course said yes. Shortly after they’d sat, Simon and Vincent – the sound and lighting techs also joined us and had just got their drinks when Sarah, Andy and Paul joined us.

The night mirrored those before, good company, good conversation and lots of laughs. By 2am, the shoes had long since come off and we’d probably drunk our way through a couple of bottles of wine apiece when we were about to turn in for the night.  With one more day of the holiday to go, we were sad it was going to soon be over but with Barcelona as our final stop, it was going to a fabulous last day and who knew what the night would hold in store?!

Sea sick, land sick and 2 fabulous shows!

When we woke on Wednesday about 8am Claire was looking a little worse for wear. I had to admit I was feeling very tired still but otherwise fine. Even the bouncing ship didn’t bother me too much – well except for the fact I felt like I was relearning how to walk.

We had a couple of quick showers to wake up and dressed for a morning onboard ship we headed up for breakfast. Claire was looking decidedly green, but she suffered badly from sea sickness and whilst the tablets had been fine whilst the ship was rocking, the fact the ship was moving more like a pebble being skimmed was not agreeing with her one little bit.

Finishing up breakfast I suggested we try and get some fresh air to see if that helped and failing that, a seat with a view so at least she could associate the movement with what she was seeing. Heading out from the restaurant we ran into Alex he was concerned at Claire’s colour and asked if she’d caught we’d I’d had on Monday. Reassuring him that no, this really was just a case of seasickness he recommended we get a couple of cans of ginger ale and bash them until all the fizz was gone and then drink them slowly – a sure fire way to fix seasickness. Deciding anything was worth a go we headed into one of the bars to get a couple of cans and then began to knock the fizz out of them whilst we wandered up onto deck..... only problem was we couldn’t get out on deck – it didn’t matter where we went, which door we tried and how hard we pushed – we just couldn’t get the doors open against the winds battering the ship outside.

Admitting defeat we headed into the show lounge to secure some seats that looked out to sea and I left Claire sipping her ale and trying to doze whilst I went below deck to get my book to read. On my way down to the cabin I met some of the show team who were heading to the lounge to do a ‘behind the scenes tour’ of the stage, sound booth etc. They asked if Claire and I were planning on attending and explaining that it depended how well the ginger ale was curing Claire’s sea sickness I left them to it to grab my book.

On my return to the lounge, Claire was looking mildly better and said she wanted to attend the tour. Well all was well and good until we went up to the sound booth and the ship began swaying violently. Unable to cope with the movement – Claire left and headed below deck and try to sleep, as I went to get a cup of tea before joining her. As I waited for my tea I met Neil who was looking awful – considering the man spent most of his life doing entertainment on a cruise ship he really didn’t cope with rough seas well at all. Just about to tell him the trick of ginger ale and dry crackers to settle his stomach, I was interrupted with a captain’s announcement. Due to the storm they had been battling throughout the night, we were now 3 hours off schedule and would not be docking before the early afternoon. The look on Neil’s face and the groans off fellow passengers nearby summed it up!

Giving my best to Neil and telling him the best thing he could do was sleep I left to check in on Claire. Fast asleep she looked a better colour and after finishing my cup of tea and reading a fair chunk of my book I decided I may as well catch up on some sleep as well. Dead to the world, I awoke with a scream as the ship tilted violently and my alarm clock and book flew off the dressing table and hit my on the head. Obviously, waking Claire in the process with my scream, I told her we weren’t due to dock for at least another hour and asking how she was feeling. She came to the conclusion that a cup of tea and some more tablets where the way forward, I agreed whole heartedly and we made ourselves presentable and headed upstairs.

So 3 hours later than anticipated we very happily made our way off the ship to the coach for our trip – a taste of Corsica! We started off the visit by going to a little business run by two brothers who used the natural abundance of medicinal plants that grew in the area to make herbal remedies – essential oils and such like. It was really interesting and you’d have never have thought that in this tiny little place (which looked more like a house than a manufactory) was a company that exported thousands of bottles of oil to the states every week.

 

The views of the mountains of Corsica!

Given chance to examine and purchase some of their products, Claire and I both plumped on an oil which was designed to help relax muscles and mind – given our tendencies to high blood pressure and stressful day to day lives we figured that anything was worth a try to help relax us at the end of the day (does it work? Well...... for a short while at least, yes)

Claire outside the herbalists

We followed on from the herbalists to a winery – one of only a few which is owned and run by a woman- and very successfully might I add, given the number of awards it’s won in recent years. As vineyards go this one was very young, only 15 years old. After a quick tour of the distillery, bottling plant and a speech from the owner, we were given the chance to taste 3 wines; white, rosé and red – and these weren’t small samples either – oh no! 3 half glasses of wine later (on relatively empty stomachs). Thankfully, Claire and I live on wine – well sort of, it’s our poison of choice – so we were fine and were happy to invest in a couple of bottles each (one for us – one each for our respective parents) – needless to say the sight of us walking away with 2 bottles each did nothing to improve our standing as being resident alcoholics! Lol!

The final stop of the day was at a family Nougat factory. It was as we were stood listening to the talk that Claire asked me if I was drunk – raising an eyebrow with a sarcastic comment on the tip of my tongue I realised why she’d asked – I was swaying in circular motions! I wasn’t sea sick, I was land sick! The toll of being on the ship moving so violently and countering it as a matter of course had made my body unaccustomed to being on solid land again when I was stationary. Ha! Irony! Nevertheless, the visit was very entertaining and the owner was a brilliant laugh – and of course, how better to finish the day then on a sugar high (Oh yes, lots of free tasting took place). Purchases made we headed back to ship and raised a few laughs from staff members as we struggled to juggle our purchases whilst getting our boarding cards out. They finally relented and sent us through and logged us in manually – bless them.

The ship on our return

Due to the delay in docking and thus the trip, we were late back for dinner and unable to sit in the main restaurant – which was fine. We used the lack of need to rush to make sitting to our advantage, had leisurely showers and got ready as usual before heading to the Lido Restaurant (which is self service) where we ran into Neil, still looking a tad green. Inviting him to join us we enquired how he was fairing and was he going to make tonight’s late night live performance? He really wasn’t well and had spent most the time at sea in the bathroom emptying his stomach and his time in dock sleeping. He seemed cheery enough but he’d already been forewarned of another night of bad seas. Great!

Exchanging a look with Claire we both dug into our handbags for anti sickness tablets again. Best to take them and have them working before we hit the sea! Neil laughed at our identical actions and asked if we were always this prepared – answer? Yes! Offering him some tablets, he gratefully accepted and said he actually had to be in the hospital bay before he could get out of performing – the joys of the contract! Dinner over, Claire and I excused ourselves to pick up the photos from Captains night before going into the second sitting of that night’s show – Park Life.

Knowing that we weren’t planning on leaving between the show and Neil’s sketch we tried to get seats near the front of the lounge. We’d already pre-warned Neil that any attempt to pick on us would land him in trouble so we weren’t too afraid he’d do anything. Waiting for Kane to finish his usual after show speech from the previous performance, Claire and I were propped up opposite the backstage door when Andy (our cheery Oz from Day 1) walked out, looking stunning in a beautifully tailored suit and the most fantastic black pinstriped shirt with red piping. I couldn’t resist and had to compliment him on his shirt (too many years of textiles and being my mother’s daughter kicked in). Shocked but happy to except the compliment he stopped to talk to us and to check , once again, that I was really recovered from Monday – remembering some of the comments made and my suspicions that the staff gossiped – I confronted him about my theory and he had the grace to look guilty! Ha! Some quick talking, a bit of flirting and a promise to join us for a drink later, we let him go run his errands before the second show and we moved into the lounge to get seats.

Settling down into our seats we felt the ship begin to lurch again. Checking Claire was ok, we ordered Ginger ale alongside our glasses of wine and planned to counteract any seasickness with every trick we knew. The evening show was something totally different from the rest – written especially for the ship it told the story of the life and lives of various people who used and worked in a park with modern songs some incredible choreography and a fantastic tribute to the Beetles. It wasn’t my favourite show of the week but it was, like every other performance, impeccable.

Show over and another glass of wine ordered we waited for Neil – whose arrival, donning a life jacket, snorkel and sick bag had Claire and me in hysterics. His show was brilliant and true to his word he did avoid the two of us, although pointedly picked on those either side, in front of and behind us! Although a late night show, he was not – like many comedians – crass. For over 50 minutes we, with everyone else in the show lounge, struggled to catch our breath as we laughed so much we cried. It was exactly what we needed and although the ship was once again lurching around we failed to notice it while Neil prattled on.

Show over we headed through to the Oklahoma lounge to prop up the corner of the bar as usual. We ordered in the round – knowing full well that not only would Neil be in shortly, but so would Nick and Kane. As it turned out, along with them came Andy (as promised), Sarah – who’d just finished tidying up from that night’s game show – Simon and Vincent (who were the sound and lighting techs). Mild outrage at the waiting drinks for Neil, Nick and Andy we graciously ordered in drinks for the others. Now we were on all inclusive, but that doesn’t include buying the staff drinks – only, because Claire and I never bothered checking the receipts as such, we failed to notice until the next day that the bar staff had managed to put all the drinks through without charging us. Sweeties! Love them all.

The night settled into its usual routine, gossiping – laughing and yes- Claire and I were successfully persuaded onto the dance floor. 2am rolled round and my shoes had long since come off. Bidding goodnight to Neil, Kane and Andy (Nick, Sarah, Simon and Vincent had all left at some point early) we moved towards the cabin. Andy followed after us and handed us the Pashmina’s we’d left behind the bar and escorted us down to the cabin whilst discussing what we were going to do the next day – Cannes! Joking that we were after some rich, good looking men to take care of us – we told him we were taking it easy with a walking tour of the old town and then an afternoon of *hopefully* sunbathing back on ship. Telling us not to run away with anyone just because they had a nice boat we laughingly bid him good night and retired for the night.

Tonight - not a towel, just my pj's

Day 6: Cannes – Pretty boats, rich men and sun!

A minor mountain climb and a brothel!

Tuesday morning dawned, grey but significantly less wet than the day before and as we sailed into port the sun was just breaking over the horizon giving just the briefest glimpse of what we hoped was going to be a fine day.

I awoke feeling slightly achey but otherwise fine and knowing that some food and a steaming cup of tea would start to put me to rights, I headed for a quick shower to revive me. The only problem with being in a cabin with someone else is that, no matter how quiet you are, there is nothing you can do to stop your movements being heard and so as I slipped into the bathroom I heard Claire’s drowsy enquiry to how I was feeling. Popping my head back out the bathroom I told her I was much better but needed a shower and she had time yet to doze before the alarm went off. Satisfied that I seemed human, Claire lazed about until I was finished in the bathroom and we got ready for the day ahead.

Having learned from the day before, Claire and I packed a couple of spare dry tops into our bags (although hoping we wouldn’t need them) and threw in a pair of ankle socks to warm our toes on the coach – as we both had sandals on. Ready for the day ahead, we once again went in search of breakfast.

From the minute we left the cabin, members of staff asked how I was feeling and commented on the improvement in my colour and spirit. Answering everyone briefly and thanking them for their concern Claire and I finally reached the restaurant – 5 minutes after leaving the cabin and 4 minutes longer than it normally took to get there. Queuing for the syri-gel we chatted about the day ahead and Claire asked me if I was really up for it – after all, neither she or I wanted a repeat performance of the day before. Reassuring her that I really was much better and reiterating that I would have to be strapped to a hospital bed not to go to Pompeii I managed to allay her fears and we took a seat for breakfast. Within seconds of being sat, Alex and Elvis (one of our evening waiters) were at our table asking how I was and could they do anything to help. They were really very sweet and although they both offered to go to the buffet and get whatever it was my heart desired for breakfast I managed to persuade them that I was perfectly capable of getting my own food but if they could get me a mug of tea – rather than any of this pathetic 2 mouthfuls cups we normally had, I would love them forever.

Needless to say, by the time Claire and I had returned to our seats with some food, there were 2 mugs of steaming tea waiting. I loved these men! Leaving us in peace to eat, Alex returned as we were finishing up to seriously ask if I was ok, reassuring him (and thus every other member of wait staff) that I really was better, still not 100% but nothing some fresh air and exercise wouldn’t cure he let us go with best wishes for the day and told us he’d see us later at dinner.

A quick run down to the cabin for our bags and tickets turned into another challenge as more people stopped me to ask how I was feeling, so leaving Claire to grab my stuff for me I tried to reassure everyone that I wasn’t really so stupid as to go on another trip if I wasn’t up to it and yes, the fever had gone – I’d managed to eat breakfast and I would just take the day steady. Trying very hard not to hunt Kane down and ask him to do something as mad as an announcement to the same effect to stop me loosing my marbles, I met Claire at the gangplank for disembarkation to find her talking to some of the entertainment staff who were escaping for the morning before they had to be back for rehearsals. I was greeted to a round of smiles and pointed comments about not being able to hold my liquor (which in turn received some pointed looks and immature behaviour on my behalf) we made our way off the ship and to our coach for the day. Waving goodbye to the team we settled onto the coach as Claire told me she’d already told the entertainment guys how I was and asked them not to push the issue. Ever grateful to Claire for realising I was on the verge of madness I told her she had to do something now so everyone would leave me be. That suggestion was greeted to a look which would have put me 6 feet under if I didn’t know it was all in jest.

And so our trip began with the winding road up the side of Vesuvius. Ah Vesuvius – does anyone not know the name of this volcano and its volatile history? Well, I’m assuming not – so rather than bore you with tales of the disaster’s it’s caused I’m simply going to summarise it with the one name – Pompeii.

The view of Vesuvius from the coach

Reaching as far as we could by coach, we disembarked and our guide finished his talk on the volcano. Passing us our tickets he told us we had a little under 2 hours to make it to the top – go as far round as we wanted and get back to the coach. Ahhh! Simple, a leisurely pace and time to spare we thought. Oh, if only! Lol! Once you get through the ticket gates you’re greeted with a steep incline and a winding path to the top. Telling Claire that if need’s be I’d meet her at the top we began to climb and admire the view back down over the town and the bay. Now, not unsurprisingly, the higher you get the colder you get, but we hadn’t accounted for was the strong wind. Whilst we weren’t exactly cold, there is nothing like a cold head to make you feel colder – so bundling up under my scarf and Claire under her hood we carried on to the summit and when we got there….. a hole! Lol! The funny thing was we knew this and whilst we were happy watching it vent its steam there were people complaining about the lack of lava! They failed to consider the fact that if there was lava visible we wouldn’t have been allowed up to the summit in the first place.

 The Face in the Mountain

 The start of the climb

 Looking back over the harbour

Letting of steam

So having conquered the mountain – sorry volcano and almost got blown off the top by the high winds, we made our way back to the coach to find it already more than half full – of 32 passengers, we were 2 of only 12 people that made it to the summit and along the rim! Warming our toes up whilst we waited for the last few to arrive and looking at each others photos I can honestly say I had forgotten how ill I’d been the day before.

As we left Vesuvius to head for lunch and Pompeii the weather cleared further and the threatening clouds cleared. Yay! Sitting down to a traditional Margareta Pizza for lunch (seriously there is nothing like it – if you ever go to Naples you have to have one!) we were joined by a highly amusing couple who we hadn’t met before on the ship; Nick and Claire. Full of pizza and ready to settle down for a siesta, we were once again rallied to venture into the past, to the world of gladiators, brothels and gluttony – oh how I love ancient history and more so, Pompeii!

I could rave for hours on the wonders of Pompeii – really I could, I studied the site and its history for 2 years as a student and my fascination with it has meant that it’s also been a personal addiction in my spare time. So rather than bore you, I’ll leave you with some of my personal favourite photos of the trip.

 The Gladiator's Arena

 The theatre steps - recreated

 The steps across the road

 Original wall writing - the name of the house owner

 The Brothel

 The Brothel 'Menu'

 From the marketplace - some of the original signs

 Decoration within the men's baths

 In the baths - carved from one singular piece of marble

 One of the bodies which has been cast

Some of the gardens on the way out of Pompeii

Upon returning to the ship, slightly weary and in my case, dire need for a cup of tea, we wandered to the bar to get a steaming hot mug before returning to the cabin for showers and that nights preparation for looking stunning (if it was actually going to be possible in my case). Mugs of tea drunk and two showers later, we stood staring at the wardrobe again and having debated which dresses we would don it then returned to the usual debate as to what to do with our hair. Not in the mood for having hundreds of pins stuck in my head again I kept it quite simple with a network of overlapping braids in a lattice effect whilst we twisted Claire’s up in a bun with strategically placed curls.

With time to grab a drink before dinner we ventured into the Clipper Bar, where the two bartenders enthusiastically welcomed us and declared how glad they were to see me up and about again. 2 glasses of wine delivered, they entertained us with some slight of hand before we headed down for dinner. Once seated I once again surrendered to a round of polite acceptance of everyone's best wishes and reassured everyone that I was much better.

The first course had just been served when we hit the open seas and the ship lurched. Slightly mistified we asked Raymond (our other waiter) if he knew what the weather forcast was for the night. He said he didn't but would ask around and get back to us. Well, getting back to us came in the shape of Alex and a cheeky smile as he explained he was using the answer as an excuse to come and say hi. Although he was lovely and it was great to talk to him, the news he bore was less fun - we were due rough seas, force 7 gales to be exact. Oh joys!

Thank goodness for sea sickness tablets is all I can say!

Dinner over we moved on to see that nights performance in the show lounge - Modelled by Mowtown. I can't fault the showteam, boat bouncing - passangers looking green and I defy you to know the showteam were struggling. A perfect performance and not a foot out of place. It was only later, talking to Nick (head of entertainment) that we learned over half the team had been throwing up moments before the show- suffering with an extreme case of sea sickness!

After the show we wandered through to the Oklahoma lounge to prop up the bar with Neil and half heartedly listen in to the alternative question of sport which was taking place. Lively conversation, much laughing and many drinks later the show team (or those who were still coping with the rough sea) came to do the evening disco - rock your soul, with Kane (the cruise director) making a guest appearance! well, all I can say is WOW! what a voice and a hidden talent and a half. Much dancing, more laughing and several drinks later we headed below deck to the cabin about 2am - knowing we didn't have to get up early as we weren't due to dock until midday. By this point in the holiday, a lie in was much needed!

Another fabulous animal creation awaited us in the cabin and after a pint of water had been consumed a rolled into bed to sleep the night away, totally unaware of the ship been tossed around like a pebble in the sea.

Day 5: A unexpected twist of events