Who said 25 years is nothing?

I was just looking through a bunch of photos on Facebook of my class 25 year reunion. It was this past weekend at a Rincon hotel. I was going but due to economy I decided not to go. It seems I was not only one if we conpare the attendance with the 20 year reunion. I was impressed with some people that had change a lot. Not the usual lost hair, gained weight or silver hair. I just didn’t recognize them and one of them was one of my closest friends. In just five years since the last reunion I notice a big change. AY!! Scary! I was able to attend the 20th anniversary it was a weekend at the Riomar hotel. It was great!. We were the same just 20 years older. It was incredible how from the moment I arrived at the hotel I reconected with my friends like it was just yesterday that we have seen each other. We were 18 again. I was glad I had left my children behind for a couples only weekend because I forgot even Eugenio. It was my weekend. Inmediately, I went off with my friends and Eugenio stayed behind lying by the pool. it was ok with him he was also on vacation. We felt exactly the same just the outside has change a little bit. That evening we had a cocktail, the next day a big party and the last day a breakfast. At the big party we danced our music and sang our songs, there was many memorabilia and a slice show from that days.The good thing is there were so many of us. Many people came from all over some staying the whole weekend and others for specific activities but in total most of us came and I came in touch with people I haven’t seen in 20 years. It was wonderful. This year it was a small group in comparison.

The first pic’s are from my closest group of friends then and at the 20 year’s reunion. The other’s are now and them. Eugenio and I at my prom (83) and last Sunday photo. And the other is a pic that i took at one of the classrooms of my classmates picking up one of our favorite teachers and the same pic 25 years later that my friends took this weekend. Same teacher ( he is only 5 years older than us) We may have changed in the outside but we are the same at least sometimes we behave like 18 year’s old. Ha!

A wedding and a lazy Cinderella

Before I begin for you all to understand I have to tell you who is who in this pics. In the first one you are seeing from left to right Gabriel( middle nephew) and his girlfriend Andrea. Continuing with the other that you may already know from other pics are Viviana and Cristian and my nieces that went with me on the Freedom) and the last couple is Jose M ( Nephew youngest of the brothers) and his girlfriend Valerie (groom’s sister) The fourth pic, the couple, are Raul( oldest nephew) and his fiance (sister of the bride)

The last 2 weddings we had gone had ended up in divorce. I really hope that the one we went yesterday Its different. They are both very special human beings coming from great families. 2 special Christian families both friends. Let me explain what is the relationship here. The bride is the sister of Raul (nephew) fiance and the groom is the brother of Jose M girlfriend. If you remember I went with the girls family to the Adventure when my sister in law got sick. All families knew each other before my sister in law die but after that we have become closer. Now we are related in a way to both families. The wedding was as at a church and the reception was at a Condado hotel. A beautiful wedding but very different. Let me start from the ceremony. All the girls and the bride wore beautiful dresses. The pastor was the groom’s father. A super nice cardiologist with a sense of humor who made a beautiful but concise ceremony with just the right words for his son and daughter in law. They both looked very happy and in love. Very tender with each other the bride cried all the time. I see them and in my mind Im asking God to help them go through what a matrimony is and conquer and make the difference. For some this tenderness and happiness pass so quickly!! At the ceremony his brother and her sister sang a song they made for them. Beautiful song made for them.They both have great voices. The bride also haves a great voice. After that to the hotel. This is were the different begins. Beautifully decorated salon with a view of the Condado lagoon. I was a little upset because there was a table for our family and 2 of us didn’t fit and they put my 2 children in a table beside the other other but with a bunch of strangers. Obviously and after seeing their disappointment Eugenio and I went to the other table leaving the children with their cousins. It’s always us. Why? Why not my brother in law family? Anyway not big deal but for me it wouldn’t have been such a bad impression if they have put us and not the children at the other table. You can do anything to me but don’t disappoint or let out my children because then it hurts. Because of their religious belief at the reception there was no alcohol. Again, fine we don’t drink. I have to tell you that at this time we were already starving and after a special dance ( not the usual ) we were waiting for the food but we got…and this is the different part….a magician. Yes a magician at a wedding. it was not that bad but his show was like an hour or more and we had not eaten and it was late. So we were crazy to get it over with. It was long………. The thing is that there was no dancing in this wedding and for us is like …ahhhh is this a wedding reception?? For me dancing is a manifestation of joy so a wedding without dancing is no celebration. I respect their beliefs but it was very different. It felt strange. Anyway we were happy to be there with 2 very special young people and I wish them all the the best because they deserve it. Today they are off to a romantic honeymoon to Venice, Florence and Austria. LUCKY!!

Im free!! Finally I’m off for a month. Now I have to do many things at my house that really needs some tender, loving care. My kids are also working and helping with the chores. I’m tired of being in charge of everything. Yesterday was a good example. I got everything ready for everybody all suits, dresses and shoes were out and ready for everyone. Except for Vivi’s silver shoes. I just thought they were at her closet. No problem. Wrong! She was missing one. I was almost ready when I had to start searching for the shoe. Sweating in this heat. You can imagine how happy I was. I searched everywhere. I didn’t find it.She went with black shoes. I still can’t find them and Vivi is still waiting for the Prince to bring the shoe. Yeah right! that Prince is slow …….. handsome but slow LOL I give up!!

PS: BTW If you look closely you can see Eugenio is wearing the Carnival Freedom pin. I told him not to it and I was mad. he took it off but at the reception he put it back on when I wasn’t looking. At that time I was tired to complain. I guess he is excited about the Carnival Splendor. AY!

Summer??

I

t still doesn’t feel like summer to me. Still working, still waking up early. I’m tired and I don’t want to go to school. Enough!! I don’t want to talk about school. There are still problems haunting us during the summer. They made me even talk to the Principal for the first time for something other than to sign my next contract. In 8 years I been there I have never complain or have any trouble to make me talk to the principal. It is all about the same people and this is just starting. That’s why I needed the full 2 months not 1 . Anyway we have to go to school until Monday and then Ill be free for exactly one month. What’s been happening?? Not much..At least once a week all the teacher’s do something after work. Yesterday we went to one of my co-workers (Prince charming mom) apartment at the beach in Dorado. We had a great time.Vivi hasn’t seen much of the Prince. He was at his Senior trip and this Saturday Vivi invited him to celebrate her birthday (19th)  with a bunch of friend. She likes him but not much happening, I think is the going away thingy. Anyway… The latest report in my eye is that I have nothing. Yes nothing. I have a lession that the doctor believes is old but everything else is perfect. He said not to worry about it so I won’t.My nephew got engaged! He proposed at El Morro. All this occasions are so bittersweet without their mom.So who else misses John’s Q&A?? I do. It is much more personal. I know it is too much work but I think is important. The personal touch. Will he ever go back?? Here it is soooooooooooooo hot that I can hardly do nothing at home. We can’t have the air aconditioning turned on all the time because it is very expensive. I want a vacation!! Ill write more as soon as I have something to write about.

June 19-20, 2007 last day in Rome and a long journey home

Today Danielle had to go to work and it was just Angela. I knew she wanted to go to the hospital so we all went to breakfast at the scheduled time and we wanted to leave as soon as possible. While we were having breakfast I asked Angela about Remo and she called him for me. I talked to him for a while about our conversation the last time we saw each other and about how close to death he has been. He was sad not only because of what hapenned but also for us. He wanted to have our address maybe one day he could come our way. This time Angela was going to take us to the station with one of their employees who was always there washing the cars. They both have small cars so the kids went all with Angela and the adults in the other car. This time we we were supposed to call Angela when we came back. So even though we were so tired we wanted to give Angela enough time to do her things. This morning we wanted to go see the Villa Borguese gardens. This gardens are huge and beautiful. I specially wanted to find a pond I have seen on a picture. We walked all the gardens trying to find it. It was a big change to the madness of the city. It was an oasis, no noise, not many people. We took many breaks to enjoy it. We had plenty of time. After that we went to see the many stores near the Spanish Steps. We just walked back to some places we have already seen. I have one regret. That afternoon we could have done something else, we had time but I completely forgot about it. The catacombs!! We still regret that. There is so much to see in Rome that we still haven’t see everything. We were ready to go home early . Danielle has just arrived from work so he pick us up. We were planning on going to the the trattoria again but we were so tired that we even rejected Danielle suggestion of getting a pizza. We wanted to munch on some cookies and potato chips , take a bath and go to bed early. We had a very early flight the next day. When I went to pay Danielle for this part of the stay I asked him if he was going to take us to the airport (at 5:00 a.m.) He told me that Emanuelle was going to drive us. So we were going to say our goodbyes that night. He told me that he would go and say goodbye before he left for a football game. We were all at his side of the house, joking, playing table tennis and other things he has there when he came. He and his wife played a game with the kids and we took pictures. Later his wife came with a warm pie that Angela has made for us and after that it was Angela who came to say goodbye. It was an excellent experience and they were very good with us. When we go back to Rome we will definitely stay with them again. The next morning we woke up at 4:00 a.m. to get ready for our long journey home. Just in time Emmanuel appeared at the gate of the house with a big smile to take us. I had to take a picture with him. As soon I could reached my computer I was going to send it to my friend and I did. I was bad. LOL Funny, Emmanuel was the one who came to pick us up the very first time we went to Rome. Now 2 years later he was taking us back to the airport. This time we didn’t have a direct flight from Madrid to San Juan. It was Rome-Madrid-JFK-San Juan. Everything was perfect in Rome and Madrid, good flights and on time. I don’t know if I was tired or overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the last 2 weeks but when the plane in Madrid started to run on the runway I started to cry. Tears running down my face and I couldn’t stop them even though I don’t like to cry in public and I had a flight attendant (male) seated right in front of me I couldn’t help it. We were leaving Europe, we were leaving behind my dream and I didn’t know when I was going to be able to come back. When we arrived at JFK thats when everything changes. There we had to change from Iberia to AA. The flight was delayed more than one time and our terminal was one of the ugliest I have seen. When the airplane reached the runway it stayed there for over an hour waiting!! It was near 10:00 p.m. (add 6 more hours for us) when we finally take off. Vivi was crying, she was so tired. We arrived home at 1:00 am. People always complain about other airports in other countries and foreign airlines. This situations don’t happen only at other countries they also happen at home and the experiences can be very different for each individual. Well people this is the end of my trip. It ’s a shame that Carnival has decided to pull out the Freedom from Europe. I am sad for so many people that won’t get to live my wonderful experience.

I’ll leave you with a quote. If you want to go do it!!

If you want to get somewhere you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then never, never, never give up.
Norman Vincent Peale

June 18, 2007 Back to Rome

Tomorrow is going to be the last one of this series. After that Ill be back at my usual, not so interesting, but good life with the good, the bad and the ugly. Nothing much happening lately. Don’t worry. Only at work and that you don’t want to know. Back to the Carnival Freedom…. that morning we only had time for breakfast and while we were having it our number was called. So early ? OMG It’s very different in the Caribbean at least when we are home. We had no rush to leave because our pick up time was 9:00 and it was only 8:00 so we stayed until 8:30. Heidi was at the gangway and I was able to wave at her and tell her to say goodbye to John for me. At the pier we decided to stay inside until we were sure our transportation has arrived. My sister in law went outside to check if they have arrived earlier. She didn’t see anyone with our names so she came back. At the pier were some of my cruise critic friends also waiting for transportation and I got to say goodbye to Kathie. At that time it was 8:45 and knowing how responsible my friends are I went outside to check again. There waiting for us was Danielle. How could she not have seen him ?? HellooOO!! LOL. We all got in the van with Danielle except Ginny and her mom who went with another chauffer in a sedan. As soon as we were out the pier Danielle told us that his father (Remo) had and accident the day before while he was going to buy some things for a party at their house. He was alone and one of the tires blew up. The van gave some spins until it stopped in a fender bender. Remo was ok but at the hospital. It made all my hair raise as I remember our last conversation. I remembered him at his chair in the office telling me What is going to happen ? Nothing is going to happen….. it almost did. God is good. We talked with Danielle about our trip, tours and his friend Giovanni. When we arrived to the house Angela was there to greet us and after hugs she explained to us what has happened and how this was Remo’s first accident after many years of being a chauffer and driving instructor. She told us that Remo was doing ok but he was shaken with all this and being so close to death. He was also upset because of us. He never got to play his accordeon. He was giving instructions at the phone. This family was not only going through this but also Remo’s mother (almost 100) was going to have an operation and was also at the hospital. We were in the middle. I felt bad because of that. I told Angela not to worry about us. Now it was Danielle taking care of business and us. We decided to be out of the way as much as we could. So as soon as we were ready we told Danielle to take us to the train station. The short ride to the station was fun with my brother in law and Danielle making jokes over the microphone of the van. Giovanni called while we were on our way. Danielle put him on the speaker and we all said hello. He asked which one was better. LOL The truth is they are all excellent. We arrived at the station and this time we have decided to take the train all the way up the colliseum. For that we have to take the train up the termini and at the termini grab the line B. Have any of you tried the line B ? It is very different from the line A we have been taking until now. Line A is clean and not many people. Line B ? LOL when we saw that train full of graffiti inside and out no a/c and packed…. Agh! I had to laugh. My husband got nervous and grab all of his belongings ,he didn’t like it at all. I was amused. When that door opened at the colliseum station we all had to move quickly to get out before someone was left behind. Grab the kids!! Out out!! We had survived!! Rome 101 I love the madness of Rome. Fascinating. We were almost locals now. The station is right in front of the Colisseum. We had survived Line B and the termini but what you really need to survive in Rome are skills to cross the streets. That is necessary !! We made it across the street and now we had the chance to go inside the Colisseum for the first time. We have read that we should buy tickets at Palatine Hill because there you don’t have to make long lines. It’s true, no lines. We went to see Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Last time we only saw this places from the outside we didn’t have time to see them. This took us a long time .This place is huge. When we finished we went inside the Colisseum. Many people were making the line to buy tickets. We just went right through. I wanted to shout at all this people that at Palatine Hill there is no line. Make your homework before each trip it really pays up. After that Piazza Del Campidoglio and trying to find La Bocca de la Verita. I have seen this at the Movie Only You and it was believed that if one told a lie with one’s hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. It was hard to find and when we got there it had a long line of people that wanted to try it and take a picture. The kids were really looking forward to this so we made the line to stuck the hand on the famous mouth. We were really tired at this time after so many days of sightseeing. I really wanted to keep on going but it was too much. We walked up to the Circus Maximus and took the train there. We haven’t eaten at that time but we decided to ask Danielle were we could dine ( or order a pizza) near the house after we rest and took a bath. He told us he would take us to a trattoria were they usually go. When we were on our way to the trattoria Danielle told us that that he was going to play football with friends and that he would give us the phone # of one of his chauffers that was coming back from Florence , Emanuelle , and that when we were finished he would come to pick us up. Viviana and I looked at each other. Emanuelle?? The same Emanuelle that came to pick us up at the airport our first time in Rome 2 years ago?? Emmanuelle was the main character of one of our favorite stories of our first trip. We used to tell everybody of how he was our welcome to Rome and the strong impact he has made on the girls making my best friend literally drop her jaw to her feet when he saw him and how her daughter told him in his face how hot he was. LOL I still remember that moment. It was brilliant!! She was going to die when I told her. Now we were going to show my nieces that he was not a myth. When we arrived at the trattoria Danielle went inside before us and he was standing at the door when we got in. He told us Good luck and left us. Good luck? Why? We didn’t know Italian and they didn’t know english or spanish. We were out of the tourist zone. Remember? OMG but we had fun!! With our little italian, the spanish and the hands we got excellent service and great food. Again we felt at home. After that we called Emmanuelle who came to pick us up like the first time. He got out the van with a big smile and made a vow . We talked to him like we knew him forever. Super nice. All this is what I like about Italy we feel welcome and at home. When we arrived at the house Angela and Ginny’s mom were outside talking. Angela was waiting for us to ask about breakfast and our schedule for the next day. Danielle was going to be out working and she has to go to the hospital. They were going through a tough time and we were in the middle. I told her not to worry about us. But all of them did and never let us feel bad about it.

Tomorrow last blog of the series!! Last day in Rome and the long journey home

June 18

Im going to be out most of the day today. So this blog is going to be a little late. Im at the middle of it.it will be out before night ( I hope) Stay tuned if you want to know what happened to Remo. Have a great day!!

Nanni

June 17, 2007 Florence, Pisa and Farewell

I have find it so difficult to choose the pictures for all this blogs. You can’t imagine how many I have to choose from. So many beautiful places, so many faces, so many special moments. There are mine, Eugenio’s and Vivi’s. Also our travel companions took many. Mostly I have choosen mine and some of Eugenio’s but today I was looking for one in particular and that one was Vivi’s. I went to her facebook and searching through her 1800 photos I found many that I have forgotten. So many good ones, that I wish you could have see them all. Photos of them having the time of their lives. We are blessed to have lived this experience. Dare to do it!! I know it is expensive , OMG I know, but what you are going to live is priceless. Today we are at the port of Livorno. For this day we had a private tour of Florence and Pisa. I wanted to do Tuscany this time but we were traveling with first timers and they couldn’t miss Florence and Pisa. We have 2 drivers today. Two of our traveling companions were last minute bookings and they had to pay a lot to be with us. I have hired a van for us and they couldn’t fit so they had to take a Mercedes sedan. In style, yes, but……….. anyway I wasn’t paying. There waiting for us were Max and Victor and both greeted us in Spanish. Max super friendly and nice with a big smile was in the Mercedes so he was going to drive Ginny’s niece and mom and Victor was going to be our driver. Victor although very young was not talking much. We tried very hard to make him relax and talk more but we were not sucessful. I was told later that Max was just the opposite. The first thing we did was Pisa very early in the morning no crowds yet. The vendors were beginning to open. This time I got the chance to see the inside of the church. Majestic! We had time for pictures and shopping. After that it was the long way to Florence. I don’t know why this time it seem farther. From the highway you can see the little villages of La Toscana and the beautiful sunflower fields. In Florence there are strict rules about guides and drivers. They take you to the Center of the city and let you explore alone. In our case they also helped with our reservations for the museum to see the David. That’s the first thing we did. Viviana, Eugenio and I stayed outside while the others went inside the museum. That’s another must see. Another awe moment. We had experience it the first time. If you have never seen it you must but it is not cheap it’s like 11 E p/p and the only thing that you want to see in that museum is that. If you are 4 is more than $50 just to see David. Its tough with things as they are today. After that we got plenty of time to explore the city on our own. The Duomo and the Baptistry, the piazza della Signoria with the fontana and Palazzo Vechio, the music and the many statues around it, the markets, a nice lunch, the Ponte Vecchio and the incredible view of the river. I wish that some day I can see this fascinating city without the crowds.That is always my main complain in Florence. To many people!! After that the Santa Croce church were all the tombs are. Very interesting and I didn’t see it the first time. In this church is were the tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo are. At the church there is a leather factory with beautiful but expensive things. After that to Piazzale Michelangelo up in the hills with the incredible view of the city. It was time to go back to the ship and we tried one more time to get to know Victor better. No luck, strange for an italian, maybe he inherited more from his spanish side. Oh well at least he knew spanish. Don’t get me wrong it was a good service but we like to talk and get to know our drivers a little better. When we got to the ship Vivi beat us to our cabin and when we arrived she told us that John has left a message on the phone and that she got to hear it but she didn’t know what she touched but she erased it. Great! She tried hard to remember John farewell words as best as she could but it wasn’t the same. That night it on the dinning room we sang Happy Birthday to Viviana whose 18 birthday was going to be on the 22. Cristian said goodbye to his melting cakes and we all gave Tina and Luis great big hugs.We were going to miss them. After many cruises I can tell you they were the best we had. We did a final walk around the ship were I got to say goodbye to some of my friends. I saw Kathie at the library were she was trying to read some copies of John blogs for the week. I also tried (that week I don’t know why they were very long) but at least I got to see the one were I was mentioned. We didn’t know anything at that time and we all got very excited.The children wanted to do one last thing. They wanted to put their pj and go to the front of the ship on deck 9 and lie on the floor to see the stars. It was very windy and chilly but they have a good time. It was a way to say goodbye and I did sitting down on that bench right in the middle were I could see the stars. A perfect trip it was time to say Thanks.

Tomorrow-Back to Remo’s house with Danielle, a hunk from the past and an italian trattoria.

June 16, 2007 Cannes, French Riviera

Cannes is our only tender port. So we had to go to the Victoriana to get our tender tickets and wait until we got called. When we got there we saw Heidi in charge of this. She was on the stage calling the numbers. I have told you before that Heidi was going to be joining the ship in Barcelona. I wanted to introduce myself and get to know her so we got our seats and I waited for the right time to go talk to her without getting in the middle of the operation. Between calls I went up to the stage to talk to her. I introduce myself and I told her how much we have been enjoying the cruise and how wonderful John has been with us. I also asked if she has seen what I brought John. Just a little chat because she was working but I didn’t wanted to get off the ship without getting to meet her. For this day we have decided to walk around Cannes a bit in the morning go back to the ship to have lunch and in the afternoon take a ship tour to St Paul de Vence. We didn’t know if we would be able to do this because John has announced that there was a possibility of changing the ship to a more secure place for tendering because there was going to be a chance of strong winds. We went ashore easily. Once there we just strolled around the main street. First we went to an open air flea market and them we continued on to the building were the famous Cannes film Festival takes place. Cristian loved all this because he wants to be a film maker. We stay a few minutes on the beach beside the building. After that we continue walking along the designer stores and expensive hotels. The wind have started to pick up and we saw that they were not longer tendering. At that time we decided that we would stay there and not risk going back to the ship and not been able to come back at the scheduled time for our tour. Wise decision. We later learned that this maneuver took plenty of time and that there were some unhappy people. We ate some sandwiches and other things by the beach. Near the time of our tour we sat on a little square in front of the meeting place. The sea was mad and the wind really made it chilly. It was bad but we had fun with it as you may see in the picture. We took the ship tour to St Paul de Vence. St Paul is a small medieval village up on a hill. Incredibly beautiful. Another place taken out of a fairytale. There was a wedding going on in the church . We ate gelato and creppes. This I like much more. This is what I wanted to see. Cannes is nothing new, it’s a place for the rich and famous. When we came back there was a long line for the tenders but it was moving. Now that was a ride!! Thank God we were outside and It wasn’t that bad but it was BAD. Because we didn’t go to the dinning room the evening before they were waiting for us with more Creme Brullee. Tina serve everyone. My kids nor my husband like that kind of dessert so i had more than one. I was so unhappy….. LOL Thanks Dino!!

Tomorrow- Florence, Pisa, goodbyes and a birthday

We

June 15, 2007 Barcelona

Barcelona, like Madrid on our last voyage we decided that this was the place we could live in. We love it! For Barcelona we were doing a private tour. I have heard a lot of good things about Jose Soler ( www.pepitotours) on the Cruise critic boards and although we knew we could do it on our own we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss anything so after much consideration we decided to take Jose. Thank God when I contacted him he was still available for that day. He was very nice on his letters and it was a nice change to be able to talk our language. Do you know that the main language in Barcelona is Catalan not spanish ? If you want to work or live in Barcelona you have to learn Catalan. We meet Jose at the pier, he is very nice and we had a great day with him. We began our tour going up Montjuic were we had a great view of the city. Right there is that famous statue I have seen on many pictures of the people with joined hands. The kids wanted to take a picture and Jose suggested to get in the middle and do the same thing that the statues. The kids had a lot of fun doing a photo shot there. It turned out in great pictures. it was a pleasure to see their happy faces. There are many things to do and see on Montjuic, a lot, but we just went by. We didn’t have enough time for everything. For that you have to stay in Barcelona and dedicate a day to Montjuic. From there we went to see the city, the different barrios and the Gaudi houses. Beautiful!! Another thing to do next time , go inside the houses. Next stop Parc Guell. This is a not to be missed place. Incredibly beautiful and different. We enjoyed all Jose’s explanations of the fabulous place and the maker of all this wonders, Antonio Gaudi. There was a filming of a Woody Allen film at the park when we there. Didn’t see any stars just crew. After the parc we went to see Gaudi’s masterpiece The church of the Sagrada Familia. Another breathless moment, the first time I lay eyes on this masterpiece. Again we were all in awe. You can see it many times in pictures but nothing is going to prepare you for this. It was a blessing to have Jose with us. He explained everything inside and outside the church. What a learning experience for all. The church inside, equally beautiful and different. It’s a shame it is still not done. Sooooo many years and still not done. They are preparing it for use even if they continue with the construction. After this Jose left us a little time in La Ramblas. Hardly any time to do anything but what else could we do. We have to come back sometime. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking with Jose through the many streets of the Gothic Quarters. The old city. So much history inside it. We had Jose to tell us all about it. It was time to go back to the ship. Not enough time in Barcelona. Back”home” it was time for the Salsa and Sangria Sail Away Party. Hearing the salsa music the girl’s started to dance. My nieces are very good dancers, they have dance all their lives. The oldest specially its very good in salsa. At that time they were the only ones dancing so Gary joined them. They started to teach Gary some steps. At that time they didn’t know that Gary’s girlfriend is a dancer LOL. Anyway they were having a great time with him. When it was time for the salsa contest some other people joined them. Not because she is my niece but she was the best dancer. But that was not what they were searching for. Maybe it was not funny. They gave the ship on a stick to another person. After that they did a Conga line. We didn’t get in from the start and this time not many people joined so Gary called us in the microphone; ” the girls who were dancing with me, join the line.” LOL Love Gary….. we joined the line. It was ok that Ginita has not won the trophy even though she was the best dancer, but the girl’s grandma wasn’t ok with it. When Gary went by her side she took care of him and gave him a bollocking. Ha!! I was seeing them from a distance. Gary patiently hearing her. Gary later told us that she told him ( the thing is that I don’t know if she did all this in spanish) that her granddaughter deserved the ship on a stick that she was the best dancer. The truth is that Ginita wanted a ship on a stick. Oh well! For the night we had decided not to go to the dinning room and see Phantom on the first showing because we wanted to see the The Carnival legends show. So we ate early and went to see our movie. My brother in law family joined us for the beginning of the movie but later went to the dinning room. When the girls finished they came back telling us that we were missed because they had cremee Brulee for everyone. I was sorry for this but I was not going to miss my movie. It was very chilly outside. We ended our night seeing the show and having the pleasure of seeing John in a dress. Priceless!

Tomorrow - Heidi, Cannes and St Paul de Vence

June 14, 2007 Third and final day at sea

Even though we still had 3 ports of calls ahead of us, this day had the farewell feeling. They were already saying goodbye because the last 3 days were going to be port intensive so it was a little bittersweet. We by no means were ready to say goodbye. The day started with the promised galley tour for the bloggers. It has been a long time since the last time I been on one so I really enjoy it. After that we had a relaxing day at the pool or just sitting at the Promenade together watching the sea having a good time. We went to the final travel talk and enjoyed the ship in general.Today we had a pre dinner show and Vivi went before me to get ready. When I returned to the cabin Vivi was waiting for me. She told me that I was right that John was the best CD ever. YAY!! Another convert !! I couldn’t wait to tell John that he had won over Richard. I would write a Dear John letter later to tell him. What made Vivi finally turn toward John ? She has seen the Caper for the next day and she saw that Phantom of the Opera was at the big Screen. What about it ? You may ask, well this Movie was a very special part of our first Med cruise. We saw it also on the big screen of the Grand one night after a very special day in Italy. We had the music with us through that cruise and just hearing it reminded us of very special moments. it really can move us to tears. I have asked John for the movie before our cruise through the blog and he had promised to put it on the big screen. Many of my friends on the cruise also remember it and were telling me about it next day. Many saw the movie also.( that’s for tomorrow )This were John words before our cruise; “Phantom is ready to play and gifts are waiting for you”. He didn’t let us down. We went to The Big Easy show and we were really impressed with everything. Awww!! That ending… At dinner Dino went to our table and asked if we had a special request. My brother in law and his family had really enjoyed the first day Creme Brulee and they were dreaming about it. So I looked at them with big eyes like this is your chance. They told him how much they have enjoyed the Creme and told him that they would love to have more. Dino took notes and left. We ended our night at the atrium were everybody was having a grand time dancing greek music. Before I went to sleep after another night of many emotions, I had the need to write a letter to John. Everything on this cruise had been so unbelivable that I needed to say thanks one last time. And I did. This time it was a long letter explaining to him that he had won over Richard and why. I thank him for being sweet and caring with her. So special that he won her over in no time. I also told him what Cristian thought of him. I told him thanks for every little detail. How this cruise has been a dream and a blessing. I also asked if possible to see him one last time before the end of the cruise and many other things. He really made us feel important. Ok enough…

Tomorrow - Barcelona , salsa, Phantom and creme brulee