Not a lot to write about today really. It was just another of those long, lazy sunny days when time is of no consequence and you can just enjoy yourself and the feeling of being alive. 🙂 While sitting out on the balcony this morning some movement on the surface of the ocean caught my…
Typically Tropical
We awoke bright and early this morning and went out onto the balcony to a day that already promised to be sunny and bright. We consumed a leisurely breakfast then had a walk around the deck and a look around the shops, and generally passed the morning in a relaxed and unhurried way, before we…
Terra Firma in Tenerife
When we got up this morning the Arcadia had just about docked and we looked over our balcony at the familiar sight of the port in Santa Cruz. This is the fourth time we’ve arrived in Tenerife by ship; the other times were Queen Mary 2 (2004), Black Prince (2008) and Queen Elizabeth (2010). No…
Heading South
When we got up this morning and went out onto our balcony, we could already feel that the weather was improving and we were leaving the cold, grey, wet English January climate far behind. Tonight we should be able to leave our balcony door propped open to enjoy the fresh sea breeze and listen to…
Quiz King and Karaoke Queen
We spent our second day at sea pretty much as we had our first; relaxing, looking around the ship and, as with every cruise, drinking and eating the marvellous array of different foods constantly on offer. 🙂 As tonight was the first formal evening and also the Captain’s cocktail party, I decided to go along…
Travelling to Tenerife
Got up at 8.30 this morning after a fairly calm night, considering we were starting to sail across the Bay of Biscay, infamous for rough waters and much pitching and tossing of the ship. Trevor and I are never sea sick and, in actual fact, quite enjoy it when the waves are high and you…
A Glimpse of Arcadia
First of all, apologies to Macdonald Hastings for blatantly plagiarising the title of his 1971 novel, as we get ready to set off on another voyage of discovery, this time on P & O’s Arcadia, a lovely ship in which we have sailed twice before, once in 2005 and once in 2007. We were up…
Two Planes and Two Trains
So… here we go again. After a fairly uncomfortable night in which we both dozed intermittently, we finally checked in for the first leg of our flight, Hong Kong to Shanghai. We were able to check our cases right through to London Heathrow. We then found somewhere to have a cup of coffee, then we…
Wet Market and Wal-Mart
Woke up this morning feeling a bit sad, as it was our last full day in Shenzhen with Alan and Margaret. 🙁 We checked the weather forecast on-line, because someone had said in Frog’s last night that a typhoon was supposed to be heading to Hong Kong and that the bridge between Shenzhen and HK…
Pedicures and Pampering
Woke up around 8.30 this morning, after waking up in the night a few times due to torrential rain and thunderstorms. The lightning was really bright, even through the curtains and my closed eyes. When we got up, however, the rain had stopped and the sun was attempting to get through the scattered clouds. We…