Friday 9 January 2009

Day Two at sea.

We had a pleasant night with the sea relatively calm, I sipped Ginger Ale and we both wore our wrist bands. Hilary was well asleep by the time that I got back from the Cyber Study and after one chapter of my new book without reading glasses it was slumber time until 6.00am when we talked and dozed before getting up for a shower at 8.00am. While it was still quite dark outside we drew back the curtains and found that we were overtaking a very large container ship with all his lights on, however despite using our new binoculars we were unable to decipher its name. The rise and fall of both ships just gave crazy light patterns in the lens. Another unique experience as we definitely have some swells out there. The showering itself is not too bad but trying to dry when you need both hands on the towel and another on the grab rail is difficult. Plans so far are fluid, a little light breakfast and then probably going to see a talk about Madeira at 10.00am. Tonight’s film is WALL-E, we’re already looking forward to it.

The breakfast was indeed light as Hilary is feeling a little queasy as we round the Bay of Biscay, so we settled on scrambled eggs, toast, and grilled tomatoes washed down with orange juice and coffee. I decided to take another sea sick pill just in case; they make your mouth very dry but for me it is better to be safe than sorry. After breakfast we went to the Welcome to Madeira lecture which for 30 minutes was OK but we walked out on the hour when she continued to burble on about helicopter tours.

Watching TV later in the day we realised that the whole thing had been recorded anyway and if you waited long enough it would eventually roll around and could be watched at leisure. We have decided not to take the P & O Tour of Madeira but either walk from the quayside into the town of Funchal or to take the free shuttle bus. Either way we will do a little bit of shopping and probably take the SkyLift up and come down in one of Madeira’s famous basket chairs.

We worked our way up to Level 13 on the ship where the Crow’s Nest and the Cyber cafĂ© is located. It is right at the top of the bow of the ship and a very popular drinking place and is also where the art lectures take place. I listened to the water colourist for 30 minutes and I am still unsure as to whether I will go back tomorrow – it all sounds a bit advanced to me. Hilary went back to the cabin as she is still feeling queasy but it does give her a chance to write up her daily diary ready for getting her scrapbook started. We may have a problem getting photos printed for the scrapbook but somehow we will figure it out.

Lunch was rather a rushed affair; we had leisurely made our way to Tiffany Court and ordered some soft drinks and light vegetarian dishes which failed to turn up after 20 minutes so we walked out and went to the Conservatory Restaurant where we had salmon fishcakes and vegetables. The place was nearly empty and we found out why when we saw that it was in the process of closing. After lunch we bought Hilary some Colgate toothpaste shampoo – see I’m not the only one to forget stuff – then wandered down to the Lords’ Tavern and took part in a TV quiz. We managed to get 11 correct results out of 20, the square eyed winning team achieved 17 – which only goes to prove that I don’t watch as much TV as some people say.
With the first part of the day’s activities out of the way Hilary retired to the cabin for a nap and a sort out of her scrapbook stickers – she still has a few queasy moments, again nothing serious but a little lie down is always helpful. Part of her time was also spent looking out of our cabin window for dolphins and whales; no luck so far. Then of course she has to sort out which of her many outfits to wear at the semi-formal dinner tonight.

Our second dinner was equally as good as the first, this time we looked a lot smarter with Hilary in a red jacket top and tailored pants and me with blue shirt, Astros tie (thank you Jeff) and blue blazer (thank you JC Penney sales). Same group on our table but one or two changed places so that we had different people to talk to. Hilary had the Quorn pieces inside a very large Yorkshire pudding smothered in spicy gravy while I had the baked haddock. Smaller dessert this time, raspberry sorbet and cheese and biscuits. Our table is one where none of us are bothered about drinks with dinner much to the disappointment of the wine waiter who is making no commission from us.

After dinner it was back to the cinema to see WALL-E. Now what was that all about, I couldn’t make head nor tail of it and closed my eyes in a mild doze once or twice. I think that there was a moral in there somewhere but I didn’t find it. We should have gone to the theatre as Hilary suggested.

Tomorrow is the Captain’s Welcome dinner so it is best bib and tucker. Will try and blog if we are still sober afterwards – the booze is free for that one!

1 comment:

samw7 said...

Thank you Sam for being the only other person I know who thought WALL-E was much ado about nothing. My movie review follows.

WALL-E! EVA! WALL-E! EVA!WALL-E! EVA!WALL-E! EVA!WALL-E! EVA!, etc, etc

Jeff (via Sam)

Sounds like you are both still getting your sea legs. I am sure that a couple more days and your body's will have adjusted. Yesterday was a good day. I received my passport with Chinese Visa, received a check that will be used for my spending money,and double checked on my $58.18 round trip ticket to Shanghai. After a moment of shock and horror when I visite the American Airlines website and put in my confirmation number only to have a "does not recognize" box pop-up, I was able to call American where they gave me the AA confirmation number rather than the BA confirmation number and I was able to go in and check everything and even change my seats to aisles. Looks as though the plane is not going to be full, so I found a seat near the back where hopefully I'll be able to lay down and get some sleep. I'm now starting to get excited.
Love you both.
Sam