Day 3 Books and Tuxedos

Day 3: books and tuxedos       

You may have noticed no posting yesterday. That was because though we may have some loyal fans – we wouldn’t if we told you what we DIDN’T do…

We have been at sea for 2 full days now. We have turned to the East and will pass through the Straits of Gibraltar between 4 and 5 am. Rather an inconvenient time and we are disappointed but what is a person to do? Needless to say – tomorrow – the Mediterranean!

Yesterday and today were largely spent resting up from jet-lag, reading and, in Dale’s case, eating. He is finding it difficult to reach his usual quantities though as the ship has been under strict hygiene protocols meaning we cannot serve ourselves at the buffet so his portions have been limited. That and they have disappointing ice cream aboard this fabled liner. Still, we are hardly suffering.  It has been interesting being on a ship that has UK residents as the clear majority rather than Americans. There is BBC and Premier League Football instead of MSNBC, Fox and the Super Bowl.  Actually, now that I think of it – neither makes much of a difference to us as we have not turned on a telly or watched sport  in one of the bars.

We have dressed to the nines an awful lot already with 2 formal dinners already behind us. Dale is the darling of the dining set as he is a rare bird indeed in that he ties his own bowtie! No fakery for this lad – if he has to wear a tuxedo he goes all the way – studs, cufflinks and a selection of tie-your-own silk bowties. VERY charming to all the ladies!

I scuffle along in his shadow and try not to bring down his glory too much though I have been know to scatter a little glitz and glitter about me now and again. We are seated each evening with a very lovely couple from Oxford, England – Pete and Pam – more about them later.

i have a picture of the man in his tux but am having issues with the wizards at google in UPLOADING it... grrr. Please bear with us!

from left to right: Irina (sommelier), Dale, Marsha,Salcedo (waiter), Luis (headwaiter), Ronnie (sous waiter), Pam Round, Pete Round

Oh – for you book lovers out there – beware of Cunard! Most cruise ships have libraries aboard so there is never a shortage of reading material but Cunard prides itself on being: a. true Ocean Liners – not cruise ships (a difference in structure and ability to withstand major ocean conditions for long periods apparently) and

b.forward thinking with not only a library but a bookstore as well (DANGER!!!!) We have managed not to pick anything up yet but it is very early days in this 3 week adventure.

Anyway – don’t lose interest – tomorrow we sail on to Spain and arrive at Barcelona early Monday morning. Hopefully some intriguing tales will follow.